Chapter 805: Strength Gap
Shooting at a stationary target at a distance of about a hundred meters is not a difficult subject for the gunners on the Haihan battleship, not to mention that the combat environment at this time is a relatively calm river surface. Instead of being on a rough sea, the difficulty of shooting is greatly reduced.
Four Haihan "Exploration Class" sailboats lined up in a row, facing the north bank of the Tamsui River with their starboard sides, and twenty artillery pieces fired unscrupulously one after another, bombarding several small boats docked at the docks on the shore. These ships were originally civilian ships, and their hulls basically had no means of defense. After the shells were hit, wood chips flew everywhere and the masts fell. Soon, some ships were flooded and capsized because the ship's planks near the waterline were punctured.
Of course, when performing this kind of mission that focuses on destruction without worrying about enemy counterattacks, the navy will not expose 100% of its capabilities to the enemy. The firing frequency is much slower than the normal combat level. More energy is put on the pursuit of hit rate. After all, accurate shooting is what gunners can be proud of. Who would show off simply by shooting fast.
Although the Spanish side entered the city early to take shelter, there were no casualties in this round of unilateral bombardment, but Lopez, who was watching the battle on the city wall, still looked as dark as the bottom of a pot. He saw at least two things from the Haihan people's show of force. First, the Haihan people did not intend to leave any escape route for them, so they destroyed all the ships on the shore before the official war started. This also fully proved that they Secondly, the hit rate and firepower intensity displayed by the Haihan warship in the bombardment were beyond his expectations. The only thing that made him feel lucky was that these artillery were deployed on the ship instead of on land, otherwise he would now It's time to worry about how to deal with the opponent's bombardment.
But Lopez then thought about it, I am afraid that there are not only a few warships sent here by the Haihan Army, and the warships' artillery configuration is so deadly, how can the army be worse? There is no artillery position deployed by the opponent outside the city yet. I am afraid it is just because the time has not come yet. If the enemy forces really use artillery outside the city later, how should they respond?
Haihan's bombardment did not last long, only about ten minutes. But several Spanish ships on the shore have been riddled with holes and seem to have been basically scrapped. For the defenders watching the battle on the top of the city, this was a very strong visual stimulation and psychological oppression. Among the enemies that the defenders had dealt with in the past few years, no one had any armed forces with the capability of naval warfare. Such strength as Han. Even for the Dutch, who could compete with Spain with maritime weapons, the number of artillery pieces equipped on the armed ships they originally sent here to fight was far less than that of the Haihan warships.
"Perhaps we should think about how to ask for help from Jilong Port..." Before the battle officially started, Lopez had such a thought in his mind.
However, he quickly came to his senses. The enemy's posture outside the city did not look like they would let loose. If they wanted to send people out to ask for help, it would be unlikely to break through the enemy's encirclement. At least the waterway would definitely be impassable.
"Come here, let Delgado from the reserve team come to see me immediately." Lopez gave the order with a stern face. Although the hope was slim, he decided to give it a try before giving in.
The ancient surname Delgado comes from the Santander Mountains and means "thin" in Spanish. However, the Delgado in Lopez's mouth is not a Spanish, and does not even have any Spanish ancestry. . The owner of this name is actually a Bondu native who was born in the mountains of northern Luzon. Because his father's generation worked for the Spanish colonists, he also received a Spanish title as he inherited his father's business.
Delgado is now also a member of the garrison in Santo Domingo. However, because of his blood relationship, his unit is only an auxiliary army rather than a regular army. He usually spends more time doing farm work than military training. There are many, somewhat similar to the guard soldiers in some areas of the Ming Dynasty. Logically speaking, his identity is not enough to gain the attention of the local top commander, but compared to other soldiers of the Confederate Army, Delgado has a special unique skill.
Delgado was a jungle hunter before serving for the Spanish. He was very good at hiding his tracks in the woods, and this skill did come into play after he joined the army. He once lurked out of Santo Domingo twice when the city was attacked, and crossed the Yangmingshan Mountains to Jilong Port to seek help. Although the straight-line distance between the two places is less than 40 kilometers, considering that there are many indigenous tribes in this mountainous area that have feuds with Spain, it is indeed a miracle that Delgado was able to travel through this area safely. Something that is not easy to do.
Since he had two successful rescue missions, when the city of Santo Domingo was once again invaded by foreign enemies and found difficult to defeat, Lopez naturally thought of this hunter who was good at traveling through the mountains and forests. If he could successfully cross the mountainous area again and go to Jilong Port to seek help, then perhaps there would still be room for recovery. Otherwise, everyone would just wait to die together in the castle.
However, this time Delgado looked embarrassed after listening to Lopez's order: "Sir, maybe you haven't noticed that these guys are holding rifles, not bamboo arrows and spears, and they are all deployed on several main roads. Near the passage, if you ask me to leave the city, I will probably die before I enter the mountain.”
"Delgado, you are a soldier, you can't act so cowardly!" Lopez did not expect that his subordinates would question his decision, and his face became even more ugly at the moment.
"Sir, I'm not afraid of fighting, but I don't want to die needlessly." Delgado defended himself: "No matter which direction I leave the city from, I will be discovered by the enemy. There is no chance for me to pass through the encirclement."
"Then what do you want to do?" Lopez asked, feeling that there was something in his words.
"I need ten to fifteen people, divided into five teams, waiting to leave the city after nightfall, and break out in different directions at the same time. I will arrange their marching routes to avoid the enemies outside as much as possible." Delgado proposed as expected. own ideas.
"As long as one of the teams can go out, maybe the news can be sent to Jilong Port." Lopez thought for a while and felt that Delgado's method made sense, so he immediately agreed to his proposal: "Then you Go ahead and select your personnel now. You can choose who you want from the reserve team.”
This plan seems feasible, but Lopez is not stupid. Of course, he can imagine that Delgado probably wants most of them to be cannon fodder to cover his own escape. However, he will not reveal Delgado's thoughts in person. This selection must be controlled to prevent this guy from selecting a group of Spanish soldiers to die. This kind of loss is not something Lopez can bear, and Mr. Gesman will never agree. As for the people in the reserve team, they were all natives of the colony. Anyway, they could recruit as many as they died, so Lopez didn't particularly care. Of course, Lopez also knew very well that the defenders had to hold on to their defenses before that, and this time might last for several days. According to Delgado's previous records, it would take one to two days to cross the mountainous area to reach the destination of Jilong Port. Then the local garrison would spend a day or two gathering troops to prepare supplies, and then rush over from Jilong Port for rescue. At least It will be four or five days later, and this is already an ideal state without any delays in the process. If the rescue organization is delayed due to weather or other objective reasons, it is possible that the reinforcements will have to wait ten days and a half to arrive.
If it were his previous opponent, Lopez would indeed have the confidence to defend until reinforcements arrived, or even repel the enemy on his own. But this time, the opponent who reached Tamsui River was not as easy to deal with as before. From the opponent's formation and tactical arrangements, Lopez could feel that the opponent was well prepared and tightened the noose step by step. , but did not leave any opportunity for the defenders to counterattack. If he doesn't brace himself and deal with it carefully, Lopez is not sure whether he can delay the arrival of reinforcements.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, three 12-pound guns with lighter barrels finally arrived at the front line. Takahashi Minami, who was anxious and angry after waiting, immediately ordered the artillery to be deployed to the predetermined positions in preparation for launching an offensive.
Since the city of Santo Domingo is located on a hillside, the artillery of the special operations battalion can only be deployed in slightly lower areas, which is relatively disadvantaged in terms of range. But this time Lopez no longer leisurely watched the opponent's movements outside the city, and immediately ordered the artillery in this direction to fire at the area where the opponent was setting up gun emplacements.
Sun Zhen's infantry platoon was fortunate enough to undertake the task of escorting the artillery soldiers into the combat position. As soon as they entered the predetermined position, the artillery on the city in the distance roared. He raised his head slightly and could see a cannonball whizzing through the air, heading towards where he was.
Although I also received combat training on infantry and artillery coordination during the training period, and heard the explosions of artillery fire at close range, after all, it was my own firepower, and I knew in my heart that the artillery shells would not hit my head. This is different from the enemy's current situation. The feeling of shells whizzing in is completely different. Sun Zhen believed that he had killed people in troubled times before joining the army, and he was considered a brave man, but at this time he still felt weak in his knees, his mouth was dry, and his mind was confused.
"Are you just standing there like a target?" It wasn't until Platoon Leader Wang kicked him in the butt that he was brought back from his distracted state.
The shell that fell from the sky did not hit him, but landed about ten meters in front of him on the right. After two bounces, it stopped in the grass with green smoke. This distance is almost the ultimate range of the defender's artillery. If Lopez wants to make the shells hit farther, the only way is to reload more gunpowder, which is a huge risk. Of course, Lopez may not have the courage. Extreme reloading is a dangerous behavior that can easily cause the barrel to explode. Both artillery and gunners are important resources that the city of Santo Domingo cannot afford to lose.
However, even if Lopez makes a desperate attempt, he may not cause real trouble to the attackers. Due to the limitations of weapon manufacturing technology, the artillery of this era is not very accurate at the extreme range. Whether it can hit the target is completely up to chance. Look at the face. Lopez ordered the artillery fire. In addition to frightening the attackers, it was more or less just to try his luck and draw a prize - what if he hit?
However, God was not so kind to the Spaniards. The four artillery pieces on the city wall in this direction fired four consecutive rounds without hitting a single hit. The nearest one was still about ten meters away from the target area, not even a hair on the attacker's body was hit. No injuries. Lopez had nothing to do about this result. Since there was no regular artillery training, he only had the opportunity to fire artillery once a year and a half, and he could not demand the performance of the gunners.
But Lopez can't show discouragement and uneasiness on his face yet. The people under him are watching his performance. If he loses control and panics first, then these people under him will probably have no intention of fighting.
"Don't stop, keep shooting!" Lopez ordered with a straight face.
At this time, Gesman's servant appeared in front of him again: "Captain Lopez, Mr. Gesman wants to know the reason for firing and the current battle situation."
"Tell Lord Gesman that the situation is under control. The enemy has been blocked by us from the range of the artillery..."
Before Lopez finished blowing the gun, there was a roar from the Haihan artillery position in the distance, and a black dot was ejected from the muzzle and flew straight towards the city wall.
The people on the city wall watched with their mouths open as the cannonball whizzed past about three meters above their heads and then smashed into a wooden house in the city. Obviously, the trajectory of this cannonball was because the opponent's launch angle was slightly higher, so that it directly crossed the city wall and smashed into the city. Of course, as long as you are not particularly stupid, you will realize that the range of the opponent's artillery is much farther than your own. If someone hits a high place from a low place, it will be farther than if you hit a low place from a high place. In terms of weapon performance, The gap was immediately highlighted.
Lopez's heart sank a little more. Before he could think of words to explain, Gesman's servant said optimistically: "Although the enemy has cannons, they don't seem to be very accurate!"< br>
Lopez forced out a smile and echoed a few words, and quickly sent the stupid servant down the city wall. This guy has probably never experienced an artillery battle and doesn't understand what this phenomenon of artillery straddle fire means. In order to avoid disturbing the morale of the army, it is better to send him away as soon as possible. As for how he will report to Gesman after he returns, Lopez no longer cares so much. Although the opponent had only deployed three artillery pieces, he was already a little panicked and secretly prayed that the sky would darken quickly.
(End of chapter)