Chapter 734 A tough offensive and defensive battle
For Heihan, the most ideal outcome is for the Dutch and the Dutch to lose in the battle. They will be unable to recover for several years and continue to contain each other. In this way, when Haihan becomes full-fledged in the future and begins to expand his sphere of influence southward, their strength will not be enough to stop Haihan's attempt. The intelligence that can be collected during the battle between the two companies will also become an important basis for the Haihan military to study targeted tactics in the future. But it is a pity that so far, the intelligence obtained is only scattered information from the periphery, and there is not even the slightest bit of precise information on the central battlefield of the actual battle.
"Intelligence work still has a long way to go!" Tao Donglai sighed: "It is a pity that we have such a good opportunity but cannot get detailed battle reports!"
Yan Chujie responded: "The local sea area has been completely blocked by the Matalan people. Now we can only wait patiently for the war to end. However, Hao Wanqing gave me a guarantee, saying that the personnel stationed by the Ministry of Security in the area are very capable and are very useful in intelligence collection. The Executive Committee will not be disappointed.”
In the next ten days, news that Matalan Port was attacked by a Dutch fleet continued to reach Annan Port and Cam Ranh Port in southern Annan. Roger's previous speculation about the Dutch layout seems to be becoming reality bit by bit. Now that this news has reached the ears of the Haihan people, the main force of the Ma Da Blue Army fighting in Batavia must have also received the news. I just don’t know if the Marathon Blues can persist in carrying out this war when their opponent’s house is being ransacked.
August 7, Batavia, Java Island, South Asia. The siege has lasted for nearly a month, during which both sides paid an extremely heavy price.
There is no longer any fortress outside the northern city wall where the Dutch officer Bart is stationed for the defenders to arrange defenses. Even the two seemingly impregnable fortresses outside the north gate, which guard the only passage in the northern section of the moat, have completely become ruins. Although the Ma Da Blue Army had previously failed to destroy the two fortresses with trebuchets, they still used manpower to pull out the two nails that lay across the siege road. For this reason, the Madalan people paid the lives of about 3,000 soldiers, and about 600 Dutch defenders died in the flesh and blood millstone outside the north gate.
After clearing away these obstructive fortresses outside the city, the Mata Blue Army determined the main direction of the siege to be the northern city wall, and launched attacks day after day. After trying all kinds of heavy weapons, the offensive and defensive battle between the two sides finally entered the stage of hand-to-hand combat. Although the Dutch defenders had more advanced weapons and had city walls to defend, they still inevitably suffered a large number of casualties in the face of the enemy forces attacking the city that were ten times their own every day.
At the beginning of the war, there were nearly 3,000 Dutch defenders. However, as of early August, only about 1,400 people were still fighting on the front line, and the losses had reached 50%. The city guard army, composed of various motley crews, has now been recruited into its third batch. The first two batches of personnel have also suffered a considerable number of casualties in the war. Most of the men under the age of fifty in the city were temporarily recruited into the army. When the war situation was tense, the newcomers only had half a day to train, and then they were given an iron-tipped spear and were driven to the city wall to participate in the defense of the city.
One can imagine the fighting power and fighting will of these newcomers who have been pushed to the shelves. The area guarded by them has been in critical situations many times, with the enemy attacking the city. Fortunately, the Dutch army always arrived in time to rescue each time, and used muskets to quickly eliminate the enemy troops who climbed to the top of the city. But the emergence of this situation has actually shown that the walls of Batavia City can no longer be defended. A rational commander should indeed consider whether the preservation of strength should be the combat goal at this time. However, if he were not forced by the situation and had nowhere to retreat, Van Diemen might have announced his abandonment of the city long ago.
During this period, an episode also occurred. Some people in the council believed that the chances of continuing to fight against the Blue Country were low. In order to avoid Batavia being massacred by the enemy after its fall, the military should immediately send people to fight with the Blue Country. The Blue Army negotiated a peace, using conditions such as ceding territory and paying compensation, and first let the Horses and Blues cease fighting - at least opening a channel so that the Dutch could evacuate the city of Batavia with dignity.
This approach may sound very current, and it may be regarded as a plan to save lives and the last bit of face, but it is undoubtedly a great humiliation for the military, which has been fighting fiercely for nearly a month and has suffered huge losses in personnel. And after the news spread, it also had a great impact on the defenders and people in the city. Many people didn't know whether war or peace would follow, and people suddenly became panicked.
Van Diemen was adamant at this time, and did not object to the council's proposal. He simply expelled the person who came up with the idea from the north gate and asked him to negotiate with the Ma Da Blue Army - whoever came up with the idea would be the winner. Be responsible for solving it.
Of course, Van Diemen knew very well that at this stage of the war, both sides had paid a heavy price, and the anger could no longer be calmed down. Not to mention peace, even a temporary truce was unlikely. The Ma Da Blue Army is now holding their breath to attack Batavia regardless of casualties. After the city is broken, their first thing is probably to kill all the Dutch in the city. Now it seems that the city's destruction is just around the corner. How can it be possible to let the Dutch in the city leave safely at this time.
Sure enough, the representatives of the council who went to negotiate with the Dutch Council in the city did not get a good end. Soon the Malaman Blues sent back his head and stated that they would not enter into any form of truce with the Dutch Council in the city. negotiation.
After seeing the lessons learned from the past, the people in the council finally calmed down and did not dare to make any further comments on the military's command. Because Van Diemen has announced that anyone who proposes negative plans such as armistice or retreat may be a spy of the enemy outside the city and must be dealt with harshly. At this point in the war, Van Diemen no longer cared about the identities of the people in the council, because no one knew whether they would survive until the end of the war, so they had to overcome the immediate difficulties first.
The quality of the Xiaozao that Bart has been enjoying since the beginning of the war has declined significantly recently. Dishes such as chicken, duck, and seafood are no longer available in the recent supply. After all, the siege lasted too long, and Dacheng Rice Bank's reserves could not be replenished, so they could no longer supply these good things. However, basic meat and wine can continue to be provided, and the standard of food that Bart can enjoy is even better than that of the Council and his immediate boss Van Diemen.
But now Bart can no longer enjoy the small stove provided by Cheng Dapeng as easily as he did when the war first started. The many injuries on his body have affected his daily eating. Bart's left hand was injured by a musket explosion during the battle a few days ago. Currently, the entire forearm is wrapped in gauze. Cheng Dapeng vividly called it a fiddler crab.
In addition, Bart's face was also injured by the bow and arrow of the horse hitting the blue army in the battle a few days ago, but he was lucky. If he had been higher, he would probably have been shot through the eye. However, this injury affected his eating and he was unable to chew food. Cheng Dapeng could only change the main content of Xiao Zao to preserved egg and lean meat porridge.
However, Bart's interest in enjoying food was not hampered by his injuries. He was drinking porridge from a bowl with one hand, making a slurping sound, which even made Cheng Dapeng watch in amazement. Although he had not been to the city wall to watch the battle these days, he listened to Bart describe the battle that day every day, and he felt quite immersed in it. Cheng Dapeng asked himself that if he had been fighting on the city wall for so many days, his spirit would have collapsed, and he would have no time to enjoy food.
"This is really great!" Bart put down the porridge bowl, picked up the scallion egg pancake, took a big mouthful, and said vaguely: "Boss Cheng, I must admit that you are indeed right!"
"Ah? What's right?" Cheng Dapeng didn't come back to his senses for a while.
"This..." Bart pointed at the scallion egg pancake with his left hand that was held like a fiddler crab, and said with a satisfied expression: "A few days ago, you said you could no longer provide chicken as food. I thought it was a pity. But now I think you are right, leaving the chicken at least we still have eggs to eat, which is great! ”
Cheng Dapeng replied dumbfounded: "Little things, little things, Mr. Bart has given me a reward!"
"Boss Cheng, if the defense line is breached by the Ma Da Blue Men and Batavia City falls, will you be afraid?" Bart suddenly changed the topic and asked a very serious question. Cheng Dapeng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said: "To be honest, the villain is not afraid, because the villain has experienced more dangerous situations than this before."
"But you never thought that you might lose your life in this place, right?" Bart smiled bitterly: "I never thought about this kind of thing before, but in recent days, this idea suddenly came to me. ...Maybe I won’t have the chance to return to my hometown.”
Cheng Dapeng had been with Bart for many days, so he could naturally feel his emotional fluctuations very keenly, and he subconsciously asked: "But the city defense can no longer be defended?"
Bart hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded and said: "Boss Cheng, you have been very good to me during this period. I am willing to treat you as a friend, and I hope you can survive the war well. So I don't want to hide it from you. , there is not much time for this city to continue to defend, you'd better prepare early and think about how to save your life and property."
Cheng Dapeng asked: "Does General Van Diemen know about this?"
"Of course I know, but that's how war is. Either you die or I die. If you lose, you have to pay the price. This is what we knew the day we became soldiers." Bart's mood slowly calmed down and he said slowly: " But you are just a civilian. Even if the Matalan people attack Batavia, they will not massacre the city easily. After all, their purpose in starting the war is to conquer the city, not to completely destroy it."
"Is there... no chance of improvement?" Although Cheng Dapeng also knew that he had a high chance of surviving after the fall of Batavia, he did not want to see the day when the city was taken over by the Matalan people. Cheng Dapeng himself didn't know where this idea came from. Maybe it had something to do with his contact with Bart during this period.
It took a long time for Bart to answer this time: "Maybe there will be a turning point...but I'm not sure, because...we don't know if it's too late yet."
Cheng Dapeng suddenly remembered that Bart had accidentally mentioned one day last month that Van Diemen seemed to have some targeted formations before the war. But during this period, the situation of the defenders became more and more passive. Cheng Dapeng once thought that Van Diemen's tactics might not have any effect. But hearing Bart's words today reminded him of the conversation at that time.
Cheng Dapeng thought about it in his mind for a moment before he said: "Master Bart, if there is any little person who can help me, I will die without mercy!"
Bart shook his head and said: "There is no way, we can't even get out of the city now, how can we ask for help?"
Cheng Dapeng is such a clever person. He has already thought about it as soon as he heard this: "Master Bart, you mean that there are reinforcements somewhere outside the city?"
Bart nodded and shook his head. Cheng Dapeng looked worried and asked again: "There are reinforcements, but they are not outside the city?"
Bart nodded this time and admitted Cheng Dapeng's guess: "The reinforcements... are at sea!"
"Since there are reinforcements, why don't they come to relieve the siege of Batavia?" Cheng Dapeng asked puzzledly. It has been a month since the war started. If Van Diemen and others had prepared an army and put it outside before the war, wouldn't a month be enough for them to prepare and come to Batavia for rescue? ?
"It's really hard for me to explain to you... This is a very complicated plan..." Probably out of concern for military secrets, Bart hesitated to speak.
Cheng Dapeng could only guess on his own: "Are these reinforcements wandering on the sea waiting for a suitable opportunity? But the Matalan people have blocked the harbor, and the reinforcements don't know where Batavia is. No matter how the war is going, it is difficult to find a suitable time to send troops.”
"Although your guess was not entirely correct, you got part of it right." Bart was also someone who couldn't hold back his words. He couldn't help but reveal some inside information: "This support army has to perform some other tasks first, and then come to Bart." Davia comes to the rescue.”
Cheng Dapeng understood immediately and immediately responded: "So now Batavia wants to attract all Ma Dalan's army here and let the fleet perform other tasks? If they move slowly, they will not be able to catch up. Come to Batavia to relieve the siege?”
"That's roughly it." This time Bart readily admitted Cheng Dapeng's guess: "According to the time agreed in advance, the counterattack should be launched recently. But no one can predict things at sea, and small weather changes can cause It may delay the fleet's schedule, so we don't know if we can hold on until the day when reinforcements arrive."
(End of chapter)