Chapter 872 Hand-to-hand combat
On the afternoon of May 5th, Zhujiajian Island in the East China Sea.
Gu Ping looked at the enemy position in the south with almost despair. The armed men under his command had already launched two attacks, but they could not even get within 30 feet of the enemy position because of the lead bullets fired from the air. It can easily penetrate rattan shields and cotton armor, making it impossible to resist. Even the most crazy desperado would find it difficult to risk his life when facing this kind of situation.
The wisest thing to do at the moment is to evacuate here, leaving the green hills and not having to worry about running out of firewood, but Gu Ping knew that if he didn't get decent results here, even if he could retreat to Zhoushan Island safely, he wouldn't be able to deliver a message to his master.
Gu Ping is the owner of Jintang Island and the adopted son of Wang Jialin, the leader of the Zhoushan Boat Gang. He can be regarded as Wang's best confidant. Regarding the resistance attitude advocated by Wang Jialin, Gu Ping had nothing else to say other than his full support. And yesterday, the East China Sea Allied Forces, which had finally been organized with great difficulty, went out to sea for the first time. They happened to encounter the Haihan Fleet and were defeated. The only valuable information brought back was that the Haihan people had landed on Zhujiajian Island.
Of course, Wang Jialin could not sit back and watch the Haihan people occupy the key point of Zhujiajian Island so easily. This would be equivalent to cutting off the sea channel between Zhoushan and Ryukyu, and it would also mean that the Haihan people could attack Zhoushan Island at any time. He handed over the command of the counterattack to his adopted son Gu Ping and asked him to achieve a record on Zhujiajian Island that would make the Haihan people feel painful. Although this request seems unlikely to be realized, Gu Ping also knows that his adoptive father now needs a victory to boost morale and stabilize people's hearts, and there are only a few trustworthy generals around him. If he shirks it, he will inevitably become cold. He had to take over this hot potato in terms of people's hearts, emotions and reason.
Although he was not so willing to accept the task, Gu Ping still hoped to achieve some decent results on Zhujiajian Island, so that if Wang Jialin continued to promote him in the future, people would not gossip. Wang Jialin allocated 500 of his own men, plus 200 of the coalition forces, for a total of more than 700 men. Gu Ping selected another 300 of his own men, forming a team of 1,000 men.
Gu Ping never thought about the unrealistic result of annihilating the Haihan troops who landed on the island. He just wanted to cause some damage to the Haihan people as much as possible. It would be better if there was a chance to capture a group of Haihan people. After all, Only with hostages in hand can you have bargaining power. But the fighting situation really made him regret the errand he did yesterday. According to the current fighting style, even if there are one or two thousand more people on our side, I am afraid that we will not be able to attack the opponent's small position.
To be honest, the temporary position deployed by Takahashi Minami did not have much technical content. It only had basic defense measures of parapet and peripheral barbed wire, and even only one 3-pound gun. The ability to successfully repel the opponent's offensive mainly relies on rifles. Although the opponent's strength was three times that of the troops who landed on the island, Takahashi Minami knew very well that such a strength could not form an encirclement of the Haihan position, and it was even difficult to achieve a front-to-back attack because the pirates' backward communication methods meant that they had no way of encircling them. There is no way to implement more complex tactics on the battlefield. The only thing that can be used is to charge in one direction, and the other directions can only harass.
However, when Takahashi Minami chose his position, he specifically chose an open area near the seaside. This made it impossible for the opponent to carry out confusing harassment, and there was no bunker to use during the attack. When the live target appeared directly a hundred meters away, all the Haihan soldiers had to do was to reload and fire.
The first two waves of pirate attacks left hundreds of corpses in front of the Haihan position, but Takahashi Nan saw from the telescope that the enemy had no intention of giving up, and the camp a mile away still showed no signs of retreat. However, he was not worried about what other tricks the opponent could come up with. An infantry position like this would have to be bombarded repeatedly with artillery, or a large number of cavalry would be used to forcefully charge. Otherwise, attacking in waves would simply be a defeat. Just heads. Whether it is a large number of artillery or cavalry, it is obviously impossible for the pirates here to possess it. As long as Haihan maintains sufficient ammunition, it is basically impossible for the opponent to capture this position.
For Gu Ping, it was impossible for him to continue to spend time with the Haihan people. Haihan only deployed a few hundred people on this island. Maybe they would have reinforcements arriving at any time, but Gu Ping knew very well that there would be no reinforcements on his side, even if all the thousands of people died in the Zhu family. On Jian Island, the pirate coalition will probably not send a second group of people for reinforcements.
After a short rest, Gu Ping had to immediately organize a third wave of offensive. This time, in addition to distributing silver to the charging pirates as an incentive, he also joined the team himself, hoping to boost morale. .
Gu Ping held an iron shield in his left hand and a machete in his right hand. He knocked the shield hard with the back of the knife and said loudly: "Brothers, whoever rushes into the enemy's formation this time will be rewarded with ten taels! If you kill one enemy, A reward of one hundred taels! If you can capture Officer Haihan, you will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver. I have enough money here, but I’m afraid you can’t take it away. Come with me! ! ”
Gu Ping's reward indeed once again stimulated the psychology of the desperadoes. Faced with such a high reward, the pirates regained their courage and launched another attack on Haihan's position.
The person in the front row is a strong man holding a large shield. These shields were purchased by Wang Jialin from the Ming army through various means. They are all genuine and high-quality products supervised by the Ministry of War. This kind of shield is thick and heavy, and its protective power is better than the iron shield in Gu Ping's hand. Even the Haihan people's muskets cannot penetrate this kind of shield at a distance. But the people who followed were not so neatly equipped. They had swords, guns, swords, halberds and forks, and all sorts of things. Everyone shrank their heads and tried to hide their bodies behind their shields, which really looked a bit wretched.
After reaching a distance of 300 meters, sporadic gunshots began to ring out from the opposite side, and almost every time someone fell with the gunshots. Gu Ping could only curse in his heart, because the killing range of the musket was not that far, and the accuracy was too scary.
What Gu Ping didn't know was that this was actually not an ordinary piece of equipment in the Haihan Army, but was used by the only three snipers in the island landing force. The sniper rifles they use not only have a better range and accuracy than ordinary rifles in the field, but are also more lethal. They can still effectively penetrate cotton armor and ordinary rattan shields at this distance. Although the number of people that snipers can kill in this process is very limited, this method can indeed affect the morale of the attacker. "Don't stop, keep moving forward!" Gu Ping kicked a pirate in front of him who was afraid of fighting, and shouted loudly: "If you are afraid of fighting, you will be killed!"
Before the war, Gu Ping also organized a supervising team composed of close confidants. At this time, he followed behind with a knife to prevent anyone from escaping in fear of the battle. For a disorganized armed organization like the Pirate Alliance, the role of the war team on the battlefield is still very obvious. If there weren't someone holding a knife behind them, many people would probably choose to run back in the middle of the charge.
Seeing that the corpses of his previously killed accomplices were beginning to appear at his feet, Gu Ping knew that he had entered the opponent's defensive range, and immediately shouted: "Everyone, rush together! If you rush in, you will get money! Charge!"
Hundreds of people shouted in unison and began to rush towards the Haihan position. At this time, the gunshots finally began to become intensive. The most money-grubbing desperadoes who rushed in front of the shield bearer were immediately shot and fell to the ground.
There was a sound of cannon, and the cannonball pierced the air, tearing a shield into pieces together with the shield bearer behind it, causing a scream. However, it did not affect anyone else among the rebels, and the pirates continued to charge forward.
The Haihan Army deployed a chest-high bellbelt wire fence about fifteen meters outside the parapet. This was very difficult to deal with. The pirates who rushed here were stopped almost instantly, allowing the Haihan soldiers on the opposite side to Take your time and aim and shoot. Fortunately, Gu Ping reacted quickly enough and immediately ordered the shield hand to press the shield up as a springboard. So the pirates stepped on the shield and climbed over the barbed wire defense line. However, the impact surface that was nearly thirty meters wide was suddenly reduced to less than ten "single-plank bridges" that could be crossed by people. The defensive pressure on the Haihan Militia was reduced a lot. The pirates who stepped on the shield even Before he could jump over this line of defense, he was hit by a bullet and fell down.
"Second Company, bayonets on, ready for battle!" Takahashi Minami saw more and more barbed wire being pressed down by shields or pirate corpses, knowing that this line of defense could no longer stop the opponent's attack, and next The hand-to-hand combat is the time to truly test the special operations battalion. He smoothly pulled out the command knife from his waist, moved his neck, and prepared for the next bloody fight.
Finally, a pirate managed to avoid the ammunition and rushed to the last parapet. He stepped onto the wall in one swift step, but before he could jump over the obstacle, two long bayonets stuck out from behind the parapet and stabbed him. His chest pushed him back hard.
The multifunctional flat cart used to lay out the temporary parapets was a must-have for Haihan amphibious operations. At this time, the soldiers behind the cart worked together to push the cart forward and let it lie flat on the ground, while the soldiers behind the cart who had already fixed their bayonets Take the initiative to launch a counterattack.
The bayonet fighting technique of the Haihan Militia is still a unique tactic in this era. The Western musketeers of the same period have not even popularized the most primitive bayonet inserted into the barrel, let alone developed it into an effective tactic. As for Haihan soldiers, bayonet fighting has been a must-practice combat skill since they joined the army. Precisely because bayonets were widely installed in the army, the Haihan Militia eliminated the establishment of spearmen very early. However, the Western armies of the same period still needed to rely on a large number of spearmen to serve as close combat cover for the musketeers.
An army that has undergone long-term systematic training and actual combat training can exert much stronger combat effectiveness in this kind of face-to-face hand-to-hand combat than the chaotic pirate coalition. Although the pirates have a superior force, they often find themselves in the fight at the same time. Facing the bayonets wielded by two or three Haihan soldiers, if you delay for a moment, someone will take advantage of the situation and stab you.
Takahashi Minami is even more enthusiastic about killing. For him, as his military rank becomes higher and higher, the opportunities to participate in the front line of the war are becoming less and less. It is rare for him to have the opportunity to wield the katana in his hand like now.
The pirates probably had no idea that the commander of this Haihan militia was actually a Japanese man wielding a samurai sword. Anyone who fought with him would be chopped down almost instantly, and once he was attacked, he would be immediately killed by Takahashi Minami. Several guards were finishing their blows without even a chance to struggle.
Finally, I rushed to the enemy with bullets in my hand, hoping to use the weapon in my hand to teach these wretched guys who could only hide in the distance and shoot black guns, but at this time, I suddenly discovered that the opponent's melee ability was actually more terrifying, and the killing speed was even faster than before. It's hard to describe the feeling of being faster when using a musket.
Several sharp whistles were heard in the chaos. Before the pirates could figure out what was going on, they found that the Haihan soldiers who had just been as fast as a tiger quickly retreated to the rear, and then revealed two muskets that had been loaded with ammunition. They formed a formation and fired row after row at a distance of less than ten meters. The pirates who were caught off guard were howling like ghosts.
(End of chapter)