Chapter 806 Shelling
"Well done! I thought the range of this cannon couldn't reach the city wall. If I had known, I would have brought a few more 12-pound cannons. At least they would be much more flexible than those bulky siege artillery!" Takahashi Nan's first reaction when he saw the artillery was All rounds of shooting were empty, and instead of being angry, he was happy. Although he has not received artillery training, after so many years in the army, he is also very familiar with the basic techniques of artillery. He knows that this cross-fire phenomenon is actually only one step away from hitting the target. Compared with the embarrassment of the opponent's artillery being unable to hit his position, Takahashi Minami now has peace of mind and can deploy artillery with confidence and boldness.
In the third round of shelling, a shell accurately hit the upper half of the city wall, causing earth and rocks to fly, and there was a sound of exclamation on the wall. The frightened Spanish artillerymen did not even dare to approach the crenels to aim at the enemies outside the city. They just pushed the loaded artillery back to the gun emplacement, and then fired a random shot at the outside of the city. Anyway, it was random bombardment. It doesn't seem to make any difference whether you aim or not.
Two more 12-pound guns were quickly deployed outside the city, and a total of five guns began to bombard the east wall of Santo Domingo with a frequency of two minutes. Since the artillery used by the Haihan Army has achieved standardized production, as long as the firing angle and charge are uniformly calibrated, the impact points of the artillery shells fired from the same artillery position are extremely concentrated, and the number of artillery shells hitting the city wall begins to rise sharply. After five rounds, a cannonball accurately passed through the crenellations of the city wall, directly tearing the two unlucky gunners into pieces.
"Everyone hide!" Lopez had to give a reluctant order. The two unlucky guys who were torn apart by the cannonballs just now were only about three meters away from him, and the minced blood and flesh were splashed all over him. If the angle of the cannon being ejected was just a little higher, maybe the unlucky guys who were hit would be replaced. Become him.
If both sides are within the range of the opponent's artillery, then the Spaniards can probably put up a fight, but now it is obvious that the defensive side is being beaten unilaterally. Although they are trying hard to counterattack, it is obviously not possible to create equality for the attacking side. level of trouble. If you still insist on letting the gunners fight on the city wall at this time, they will undoubtedly be used as cannon fodder. In order to avoid further losses of precious gunners, Lopez had to ask the gunners to retreat under the city wall to avoid the wind, leaving only a few soldiers in the hidden place at the top of the city to look at the situation outside the city. If the opponent wants to use infantry to attack the city next, it will be too late to arrange artillery to return to the city wall defense line.
It wasn't until the five artillery pieces were so hot that they had to stop to cool down that Takahashi Minami picked up the telescope and carefully examined the results of the battle. At least 20% of the nearly 100 shells hit the east wall. There were obvious cracks and signs of collapse in some areas, and three or four crenellations on the wall had been destroyed. Although the opponent's casualties could not be seen through the telescope, Takahashi Minami believed that the artillery bombardment would not be fruitless. This could be inferred from the sign that the opponent had withdrawn its defense forces from the city wall.
The only thing that makes Takahashi Minami dissatisfied is that those 48-pound heavy guns are still stuck on the way here. It is estimated that they can reach the firing line tonight. However, the soldiers found a few skinny cattle in the farms outside the city and took them to be used as animal-powered engines. This should be able to effectively speed up the deployment of siege artillery.
After the bombardment ended, Sun Zhen also gradually calmed down from the initial excitement. While the artillerymen were shirtless and fighting hard, Sun Zhen was not idle. Since the defenders in the city could not pose a real threat to the artillery positions outside the city, the troops originally tasked with guarding and guarding could only do the work of transporting baggage—— Responsible for transporting ammunition to artillery positions. This is a real heavy physical job. The infantrymen work together to push the heavy carts of ammunition to the front line, and then they have to unload them to the side of the gun emplacement and stack them neatly for retrieval.
Sun Zhen saw that the veterans took off their military uniforms and went shirtless after sweating, so he followed suit and took off their shirts, carefully folded them and put them in a clean place next to them. When he is away on an expedition, it is difficult to clean military uniforms. Although the colorful background is resistant to stains, Sun Zhen will still try his best to take good care of this hard-won uniform. Fortunately, he was born into a farmer's family and had done a lot of heavy work, so he didn't realize how hard the job of transporting ammunition was.
This kind of menial work should originally be completed by civilian soldiers or logistics troops, but Qian Tiandun considered that the local combat environment in Tamsui River was relatively complex, and the special operations battalion operating alone had limited supply capabilities and the number of combatants that could be maintained was limited, and A large number of civilians were not arranged to accompany the army in this operation. Of course, it's hard to say whether Qian Tiandun had the idea of tempering his troops in this way.
Gao Qiaonan will definitely not raise any questions about the arrangement of his superiors. Qian Tiandun gave him few people, so he used them according to the few people. However, in this way, some combat troops were assigned to do rough work in stages. Mission accomplished.
"Report to the battalion commander that the artillery has been maintained. Please give instructions whether to continue firing!" the artillery company commander asked Takahashi Nan for instructions.
In addition to the navy, the troops cooperating with the special operations battalion this time also have an army artillery company specially transferred from Guangdong. Although the special operations battalion also has an artillery establishment, due to the special combat style of the special operations battalion, the standard heavy weapons are only 3-pound cannons that are easy to maneuver and transport. In terms of operation and tactics, they are the same as the 12-pound standard artillery that is the mainstream equipment of the army. There are certain differences, and siege heavy artillery requires specially trained artillery to exert its power.
Gao Qiaonan looked at the darkening sky and ordered: "Take a break for the time being, and fire a few cannons at intervals of one hour, so as not to let the people in the city idle!"
"Understood!" The artillery company commander saluted with understanding and took the order.
In such a critical battle, in addition to using force, it is also very important to find ways to destroy the defender's psychological defense line. Continuous artillery bombardment is undoubtedly one of the effective ways to destroy the will of the defenders to fight. However, the firepower of the special operations battalion is not enough to carry out uninterrupted artillery attacks on the city of Santo Domingo. However, the next best thing is to place a few artillery fires every now and then. Cannons can still do it. This can keep the defenders in a state of high nervousness, and may also reduce the difficulty of subsequent siege battles.
"Ask the platoon leader of the reconnaissance platoon to report to me immediately. I have a task to give him!" Takahashi Nan looked at the deathly silent city of Santo Domingo in the distance and continued to arrange troops.
Compared with the Haihan Special War Camp, which controlled the initiative on the battlefield, it was difficult for the Spaniards in the city to maintain a stable mood as they were unaware of the external situation. Gersmann was also very happy when he just received the news from his servant that the defenders had the upper hand in the artillery battle with the enemy. However, when he later stood on the balcony to observe the movement of the city defense, he discovered that the gun positions on the city wall were There were no gunners fighting at all, and all the rumbling cannons he heard came from outside the city. Gesman even witnessed with his own eyes two cannonballs passing over the city and directly hitting somewhere in the city.
Although Gesman is also a layman, he is at least much better than an uneducated servant. At a glance, he naturally knows that the battle situation is not at all what the servant boasted about when he came back. The defenders have obviously been suppressed by the enemy's artillery fire. I can’t even lift my head!
"Idiots! They are all idiots!" Gesman was so angry that at this time the servant who heard the noise outside pushed the door in and asked: "Sir, did you call me?"
Gesman went up and slapped him: "You idiot, you dare to lie about the military situation. Are you tired of living?"
The servant didn't know why, so he panicked and quickly fell to the ground to apologize. Gesman kicked him a few times to vent his anger, and slowly calmed down and began to think about how to deal with it. But he was not a soldier, and he could not think of any effective way to retreat from the enemy. It took him a long time to come up with a not-so-bright idea: "Ask Captain Lopez if there is any way to escape safely now. Remember, don’t ask in front of other people, understand?” “Understood...understood! I’ll go find Captain Lopez now!” The servant quickly left the room, covering his bruised cheek.
Later, after listening to the questions relayed by the servant, Lopez had a look of disdain on his face: "Sir Gesman may have forgotten that without orders from superiors, escaping during wartime is a serious crime that will lead to the gallows!"< br>
The servant quickly defended: "That was not Lord Gesman's original intention. He just wanted to know if he could send an envoy to Jilong Port for help."
"Presumably Mr. Gesman is very interested in carrying out this mission personally?" Lopez said sarcastically: "Unfortunately, the risk of getting out of here is very high. There are enemies outside the city and there are also enemies in the mountains. If you don't have a very strong As a guarantee, I am not very optimistic about the possibility of Mr. Gesman being able to successfully cross the battlefield to Jilong Port. My suggestion is... Mr. Gesman would be better off staying here honestly! It will give him more time to serve his country.”
Even if the servant was stupid, he could still hear the sarcasm in Lopez's words, but because of his status, he did not dare to talk back to a captain who held real power. He could only pretend to be ignorant and asked: "Then Captain Lopez sent a messenger." ”
"I have already chosen the candidate and will arrange departure after dusk falls. You can go back and tell Mr. Gesman so that he can sleep peacefully." Lopez was not interested in continuing the conversation and ended the conversation on his own initiative.
"Lopez is such a rude guy! Next time I have to teach him a lesson in my report!" After hearing the reply brought back by the servant, Gesman felt a little embarrassed on his face, but due to the current situation , it is impossible for him to cause trouble for the other party, so he can only talk about it in his own place.
Although Gesman wanted to get out of this hellish place, he also knew that Lopez's statement was indeed true. However, he had held on to a glimmer of hope before, hoping that Lopez would send someone to escort him out of the encirclement, but obviously the other party did not. A plan to give yourself face as a boss. Gesman seemed to have nothing else to do now except go to bed and wait for the news.
But now even a peaceful sleep has become a luxury. Not long after Gesman lay on the bed, he heard the roar of artillery coming from outside the city.
"Can't these damn Haihan people stop and rest for the night? It's already dark and they're still restless!" Gesman, who was lying in bed, could only gnash his teeth and curse. This was the only means of counterattack he had at his disposal. . But perhaps his curse had an effect, as the cannons only sounded for a moment and then fell silent. However, after doing this, Gesman was already too exhausted to sleep, and could only continue to mutter in bed and curse the enemy who suddenly appeared outside the city.
But Lopez, who shoulders the mission of combat command, is far less relaxed than his superiors. With the war situation in a completely passive situation, Lopez must find a way to keep the people in the castle willing to resist. Even if you can't defeat the enemy troops outside the city, you must at least give the people inside the city a little hope and let them know that there is still a way to stand firm and wait for reinforcements.
López gathered Delgado and twelve others of his choice and had the quartermaster distribute to each of them a simple map with a personal identification card in Spanish on the back so that they would not be mistaken for others when they arrived at the port of Jilong. Spies were put to death. There are also weapons, fresh water and three days' worth of food rations. Delgado had divided them into six groups and planned different escape routes. In addition to cheering them up, Lopez also gave each of them five silver coins as a reward. If any of them can complete this rescue mission, they will also receive a special reward of ten silver coins. Of course, the premise is that they have to survive to get the money.
This operation was completely formulated and directed by Delgado, and even the departure time of each unit was controlled by him. After five of the six teams started, Lopez finally couldn't help but asked Delgado: "Are you going to go with the last team?"
"No, I won't go with anyone." Delgado said unabashedly: "These teams are all cannon fodder used to attract attention from the outside. They will probably all be caught. If I go with them If we set off, I will probably end up with the same fate.”
"So do you have other secret passages to leave here?" Lopez asked curiously.
"There is no secret passage." Delgado shook his head and said: "The route of the last group of people is the easiest to be caught. I will follow them and wait for them to be caught before passing through the enemy's route. Blockade. If they catch the first team, they will relax their vigilance, so my chances of getting through will be great.”
Lopez had to admit that this hunter-turned-soldier did have a kind of natural cunning. This method of exploiting other people's psychological loopholes was indeed difficult to guard against in advance. This guy has successfully broken through and asked for help twice, but it was not all due to good luck.
(End of chapter)