Chapter 738 Dutch Counterattack
If the rain that started the night before continues, it will inevitably cause the large number of muskets and artillery in the hands of the Dutch to be unable to play their due role on the battlefield. Then the horse and blue army, who are more adept at cold weapon combat, still have a greater chance of winning. After all, the combined strength of the Dutch armed personnel inside and outside the city was only half that of the Ma Da Blue Army. The two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat, so the advantage of the blue army in horse strength could easily be transformed into victory.
But for the Matalan people, the weather was so unfavorable that the rain miraculously stopped almost at the same time the Dutch landed at Batavia Harbor. Otherwise, if the Dutch want to disperse the garrison at the port, they will not be able to use weapons such as matchlock guns, and it will probably take more time to complete the landing operation. And this also provided convenience for the Dutch's subsequent arson operations. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to set fire to the dozens of warehouses storing war preparation supplies on the port and hundreds of sailing ships on the shore as soon as possible under the continuous rain. Troublesome things.
If it weren't for such an unlucky detail, Lang Sang, the commander of the Ma Da Blue Army, would not have been prompted to hurriedly mobilize troops out of the city for rescue. Even if it were only about an hour later, the last stronghold in the city might have been captured by the Ma Da Blue Army.
However, there are no what-ifs on the battlefield. The horse-and-blue people failed to conquer Batavia in the original historical trajectory. After experiencing the butterfly effect created by various time travelers in this time and space, they still fell short in the end.
The main force of the horse-defeating blue army rushed outside the city to fight in a panic, leaving insufficient troops to suppress the Dutch in the city who they thought were already in a state of survival. This move laid the foundation for subsequent defeats. The Dutch in the Council Castle went from despair to chicken blood, and the state transition time was very short. As soon as the horse beat the blue army with their front foot, the Dutch found the stronghold of the castle with their back foot. They soon discovered the mobilization of the Horse and Blue Army, and Van Diemen ordered a counterattack without hesitation, biting the horse and horse Blue Army's baggage troops who were at the end and were trying to withdraw the artillery outside the city.
In order to conquer the barricades in Batavia, the Malta Blue Army had just transported all the army's artillery into the city a few days ago. This also resulted in the defenders having almost no heavy weapons available when the Dutch landed at the port. , and it was difficult to assemble to resist the Dutch who had just landed. Ratten Langsang knew the Dutch's combat methods. After learning that a Dutch fleet was launching a landing counterattack at the port, his first reaction was to transport the artillery in the city to prevent the Dutch reinforcements from approaching Batavia. However, it took a long time to reinstall the heavy artillery on the shafts and transport it away, so the baggage troops responsible for transporting the artillery were pulled at the back.
Although Lang Sang also left more than 2,000 people to cover the retreat of the baggage troops, no one could have imagined that the Dutch counterattack would come so quickly. At a minimal cost, the Dutch used musketry volleys to disperse the bewildered horsemen and blue rear troops.
The troops who were the first to rush outside the city to try to support the port were shocked to find that the Dutch had deployed a defense line outside the port in a very short period of time, and there were at least ten foot-chilling artillery pieces on this line of defense. However, the burning warehouses and sailing ships at the port forced the Mada Blue Army to bite the bullet and rush upward. If these supplies and ships were lost, it would be like draining the bottom of the fire for the Mada Blue Army.
But the Dutch armed forces that had just returned to Batavia Port were obviously different from the exhausted remnants of the soldiers in the city. Facing the counterattack launched by the Malta Blue Army, they responded in an extremely tough way. The thousand-man team that took the lead in charging only rushed to a distance of 100 meters before they chose to retreat because they could not withstand the gunfire from the opposite side. More than a hundred corpses on the ground proved that this Dutch armed force was not bluffing.
If someone like Su Keyi, who is familiar with the senior officials of the East India Company, is present, he will probably be surprised to find that the officer who commanded the Dutch army in the port position turned out to be the man who was reportedly expelled back to Damuan Port due to poor negotiations with Haihan. Van der Wegen, and Spikes, who had disappeared from public view in Batavia after the Battle of Ambrosia last year. These two senior military attachés of the East India Company, who had suffered repeated setbacks last year, seemed to have long since faded out of the company's top ranks, but they miraculously appeared in the Batavia Port at this time.
This is of course not a coincidence, but part of the military deployment adjustment plan that began last year. Cohen transferred Van Diemen back to Batavia, then found an excuse to let Spikes and Van der Wegen leave here, and quietly went to overseas colonies to organize and train another armed force. Even someone like Su Keyi, who had close connections with the East India Company's top brass, really thought they were being banished by the council due to poor performance.
This adjustment plan is huge and complicated. In order to prevent the news from leaking in advance, both Spikes and van der Wegen had to temporarily disappear from the public view with a humiliating image. Of course, this may not be a punishment from Governor Cohen for their previous defeat. Although they may have been unwilling to leave Batavia, when they led the fleet back this time, they knew that this was the best time to clear their name. As long as this battle is won, no one will mention their previous failures in Fujian and the Ambrosia Islands.
Seeing their own combat supplies burn up bit by bit in the sky-high flames, it was obviously not a pleasant feeling. The Ma Da Blue Army did not hesitate and continued to launch wave after wave of attacks on the port. However, due to the lack of long-range weapons in their formation, this practice of purely relying on human lives to consume the opponent's ammunition is difficult to last for too long, and morale is also declining rapidly. Seeing this situation, Laden Langsang was naturally furious and asked his subordinates loudly why the artillery had not appeared on the battlefield for so long.
However, at this time, the artillery that had held back the Ma Da Blue Army finally appeared at the city gate, but it was not the Ma Da Blue soldiers who pushed it out, but a group of Dutch. They didn't even have time to set up a decent gun mount before they opened fire at the rear of the Ma Da Blue Army arrayed outside the city.
Although the Dutch only pushed four small-caliber artillery pieces to the city gate, this move immediately caused chaos between the horses and the blue army. Everyone suddenly realized that not only had they not completely captured the city of Batavia, but they were also losing supplies to maintain the army's operations and operations. If they hesitated any longer, they might not even be able to return home. Some officers tried to direct their troops to turn back and attack the city gate, because they knew very well that there were very few Dutch armed forces left in the city. As long as these stubborn people were killed, the Mata Blue Army could reoccupy Bada in a short period of time. Via City. When the time comes, they can always get food by plundering the people in the city. However, if the Dutch outside the city want to take back Batavia, it will not be possible in a day or two. If senior officials of the East India Company can be captured, then the two sides may be able to sit down and discuss terms. Even if the Ma Da Blue Army has to withdraw, they can at least leave with dignity.
But more people couldn't think so much in this kind of chaos, and Lang Sang was one of them. The sudden change in the battle situation turned his mind into a ball of mush. At this time, he issued a second serious order. The wrong order required the army to recapture the port in the shortest possible time at all costs.
Although the Dutch at the port deployed some artillery, after all, time was very short, and the imperfect defense line was not enough to stop the large-scale counterattack of the Malta Blue Army. When the Dutch discovered that the Malta Blue Army was starting to get serious, they immediately I chose to retreat instead of fighting to the end. More than a dozen large warships docked at the port used naval guns to isolate a safe area on the port for the retreating companions. All personnel successfully completed boarding, but the Ma Da Blue Army who tried to stop them did not dare to pursue them. Too close - although the range of the naval gun is not far, it is still far beyond the bows, arrows and short spears in their hands. After a unit chasing too fast is incurring a bombardment, the people behind them choose wisely. Watch the Dutch board the ship and leave.
At this time, the small number of horse and blue troops who tried to counterattack Batavia City did not achieve the desired results. The Dutch armed personnel in the city quickly completed their assembly at the city gate and used artillery to block the only way into the city in the north. Avenue. Although such defensive measures pale into insignificance compared to the previous siege battles, the Ma Da Blue Army was obviously in no mood to repeat the previous battle process at this time. At least more than half of the Malta Blue Army immediately devoted themselves to putting out the fire and providing disaster relief at the port. Not only did they have to grab as many supplies as possible from the fire scene, but they also had to extinguish the burning sailing fleet.
Of course, the trouble didn't stop there. The damn Dutch fleet was lingering near the harbor. From time to time, several ships would be sent to the shore to fire a cannon, specifically to bombard the waterline of those sailing ships that had not yet caught fire. The number of armed ships deployed by the Mata Blue Army at sea was extremely limited. Although they tried to drive the Dutch fleet away from the harbor, the effect was obviously not ideal. It was not until noon that the Dutch fleet sailed north and took the initiative to leave the battlefield.
At this time, almost everything that should be burned in the warehouse on the shore was burned, and the quartermaster began to carefully count the remaining supplies. The situation at sea was also in a mess. There were a large number of sailboats that were almost burned to pieces on the shore. It is conservatively estimated that hundreds of ships have lost their navigation ability due to the fire and the subsequent shelling. As for the human losses, there were only a few ships. It is difficult to count in a short time. The price paid by the Dutch was surprisingly small. Only two Dutch sailing ships were damaged and capsized during the process of breaking into the port.
By the afternoon, the statistics of material losses had been roughly concluded. The biggest losses were the food supplies that everyone was worried about. More than 100,000 kilograms of food in three warehouses were reduced to ashes in the fire. The economic losses were secondary, but for this expeditionary army, at least half a month's combat rations were lost. The food reserves currently held by the Ma Da Blue Army are only needed to maintain this army for less than a week. This is also one of the main reasons why after Tianma defeated the Blue Army into the city a few days ago, they immediately found grain merchants and asked to purchase grain from other places as soon as possible. However, compared with the situation at that time, there was still room for maneuver, but at this time, the grain reserve had already been activated. Alert.
At this time, it is not impossible to return and attack the city again. After all, the resistance in the city is already quite weak and is not enough to stop the horse-attacking blue army outside the city. Lang Sang can be sure that the Dutch do not even have enough manpower to allocate defense in other directions, and most of them can only concentrate their main force in the north of the city. But just when he was undecided, another piece of bad news came.
Of the thirty-eight artillery pieces brought into the city in order to conquer the defensive fortresses in Batavia, only twelve are now outside the city, while the others have all been intercepted in the city by the Dutch who launched a counterattack. Also intercepted along with it were a large amount of ammunition. During the siege, the Ma Da Blue Army was not even willing to throw all these precious weapons into the battlefield. After breaking through the city defenses, it took a lot of effort to transport these heavy weapons into the city, but in the end they fell into the hands of their opponents. His hands have become a tool to resist himself. This is really a great irony for the Madrid and Blues.
If they want to attack Batavia City again now, the Blue Army will obviously pay a heavy price for this stupid mistake. After experiencing the previous battles, Lang Sang was not sure whether his army could really defeat the remaining resistance in Batavia within a day or two.
If the food supplies were not destroyed by the fire, and if the Dutch fleet did not appear at sea, then Lang Sang could have taken the risk. After all, Batavia's city defenses were severely damaged, and even if the Dutch had guns and cannons, It’s also difficult to hold on to. But now the Ma Da Blue Army only has about a week of supplies on hand, and there is a ghost-like fleet at sea that may appear from behind to attack at any time. Lang Sang is really not sure whether his army can sustain this kind of battle situation where it is attacked from both sides. But Lang Sang is really unwilling to retreat like this. This kind of opportunity may be difficult to come by again in the future. Even if the Madrid and Blues can make a comeback in a few years, they may not be able to defeat Badawi like this time. Asia City.
Before Lang Sang could make a decision, the Dutch fleet approached the Batavia port again that afternoon and had a small-scale confrontation with the Materan fleet. The Dutch fleet, which had the advantage in weapons, sank one and damaged three Matalan warships, and then quickly left the battlefield, and the damage it suffered was basically negligible compared to the Matalan fleet. Such results made Lang Sang realize that the Dutch would probably never have a head-to-head confrontation with the Malta Blue Army again. They would use constant harassment tactics to drag the Malta Blue Army into this port until they ran out of supplies. until it collapses on its own.
(End of chapter)