Chapter 1041: Killing
On the morning of May 11th, the Haihan Army set off from two strongholds No. 1 and No. 2 and marched toward the area where Maolishe is located from the north and south directions. Each of these two forces has two reinforced companies, plus the navy that temporarily acts as a logistics support force, and the number of troops mobilized has exceeded 1,000. It is no exaggeration to say that the ratio of the Haihan Army's participating troops to the population of Maolishe this time has exceeded one to one, and it can definitely crush its opponents in terms of combat power.
In order to ensure safety, the temporary command headquarters also used a number of pack horses and dropped four small-caliber field guns that could fire grapeshot into the front line. This is because if there are natives who want to stay in the tribe, they can use artillery to clear the way and clear their hiding places efficiently and safely. For the Haihan Army, the lives of soldiers are far more valuable than ammunition. One of the combat rules pursued by commanders is to use firepower rather than troops to suppress the enemy as much as possible when ammunition is sufficient, reducing the Needless combat casualties.
Yu Yao and Wang Tom were in charge of the north route troops, while Morgan and Chen Yixin were in charge of the south route troops. Four senior generals commanded operations on the front line at the same time. This kind of scene has been very rare in foreign operations in recent years, let alone such small-scale battles against indigenous tribes. Haihan's actions in the Miaoli area this time can indeed be regarded as killing a chicken with a knife.
At nine o'clock in the morning, both troops had arrived at the predetermined area, each still about four or five miles away from Maolishe. After stopping for a short rest, the commanders ordered a general attack on the target area.
The vanguard of the North Road first encountered a group of native warriors on a slope about two miles away from Maolishe. It was unknown whether this group was going out for hunting or planning to go to Houlong River to guard Haihan's fleet. He probably never thought that his opponent would take the initiative and attack at his doorstep. After a brief silence, the Haihan military formation immediately changed from a column to a horizontal formation. The leading troops of the two platoons spread out horizontally and set up a rotational shooting formation.
The officers commanding the vanguard did not wait for further reactions from their opponents. The instructions they received were to decide their own fighter aircraft after entering the combat area. The so-called "self-determination" usually means to strike first and gain the upper hand. There are no neutrals or innocent people in this area, and the Haihan Army does not have to worry about the possibility of accidental injury. Whether they kill or capture these natives alive, they will receive corresponding military exploits.
As the whistle sounded, the soldiers began to fire at the natives a hundred steps away. After completing a round of shooting, the commander ordered a ceasefire and used binoculars to observe the shooting effect. There was no one standing where the native was originally. He must have either been knocked down or had taken advantage of the chaos and fled. After the Haihan Army maintained their formation and slowly pressed forward, they found that four people had been killed on the spot, and several others had been shot in the body and lost the ability to escape. They were also quickly reloaded - such serious gunshot wounds. Haihan did not want to waste resources on treating the natives, and there was no difference in military merit between living and dead natives. On the contrary, the dead were easier to deal with.
"Fire!" Wang Tom also heard the gunshots coming from the front, which made him a little more excited. Although the opponent's strength is not strong, the sparrow is still meat. For Wang Tom, who has not carried out a combat mission for more than half a year, he made a special trip to Miaoli to supervise the battle. In fact, he wanted to relive the feeling on the battlefield so that he could Better to get in the mood before heading north on a mission.
This small group of natives almost collapsed at the first touch. Apart from consuming a little ammunition, they did not cause any trouble to the Haihan Army. Soon the troops regrouped and continued marching towards Maolishe.
Maolishe is the biggest obstacle to Haihan's entry into Miaoli. The reason for this is not because of how powerful they are, or because they have any natural dangers that are easy to defend and difficult to attack. To put it bluntly, it is just because Haihan has been busy in the past few days. Transporting supplies and personnel into the mountainous area, there is no room left to deal with this group of troublemakers. Now that the supplies and personnel in the Hope Oilfield are basically in place, and reinforcements have arrived from Sanya, there are no longer any objective conditions to save Maolishe. And this time Haihan was determined to completely destroy this tribe, so he no longer left any room for action.
The troops on the northern route did not encounter the second wave of resistance from the native armed forces until they were about 100 meters away from Maolishe. Hundreds of native warriors hid behind temporary bunkers made of wood and stones, trying to resist the Haihan army's offensive with this primitive fortification. But it is a pity that the weapons in their hands were only bows and spears made of bamboo and wood, and the Haihan army stopped outside the range of their weapons and began to assemble field artillery calmly.
This kind of light field gun used by the Army was first equipped to special operations battalions that were good at mountain warfare. After several years of actual use, it was continuously improved and the current mass-produced model was produced. This kind of field gun is composed of two parts: the barrel and the gun frame. The overall weight is less than 200 kilograms. After being disassembled, it can be quickly transported by manpower or animal power. It can also be installed when there are good traffic conditions. The wheeled frame further improves its mobility.
The shells used by light field artillery are also divided into two types. One is a three-pound solid bullet, which is suitable for attacking and destroying enemy bunkers. The other is a packaged grape bullet, which has a large killing area and is suitable for attacking densely packed areas. of enemies to clear. At present, some navy light ships have begun to equip modifications of this type of artillery. Although its power is not enough to shoot through the side plates of large ships, it can quickly clear out opponents like a storm by firing grape bombs from a distance of 100 meters. deck. Because of its small gun body, it is very convenient to move and change direction on the deck where space is scarce. The number of gunners required is also reduced to two to three. Coupled with the self-returning gun mount on the warship, it can be regarded as a kind of gun. A very useful melee weapon.
If I had to find something wrong with this thing, it would probably be the inevitable trouble when loading the muzzleloader. However, the Haihan Army already has a finalized breech-loading gun. However, due to cost and production capacity reasons, it cannot be equipped with new artillery on a large scale for the time being. And the existing artillery is fully capable of performing current combat tasks in terms of performance. Therefore, Neither the Executive Board nor the Ministry of Defense are too keen on updating this type of equipment.
Perhaps it was because the northern route troops were moving slightly faster and attracted the attention of the natives, but the southern route troops did not encounter any resistance on the way and arrived at the slopes south of Maolishe almost without the natives being prepared. .
From here, you can almost have an unobstructed view of the situation in the tribe and the battlefield in the north. After Morgan used a telescope to check the surrounding situation, he said to Chen Yixin: "It seems that the attention of the natives has been attracted by our companions. Now we can Entering the village in a big way.”
Chen Yixin said: "This should be the place where Sun Zhen and the others met the enemy that day. This native is really heartless. After suffering a loss, he still did not set up any defensive measures here."
"Perhaps they are just powerless. How can such a small village fight against us?" Morgan was now in high spirits, without looking worried about the intrusion of the natives a few days ago. "Let's go into the village when Tom Wang starts fighting." On the one hand, Chen Yixin didn't want to steal Tom Wang's limelight. On the other hand, he thought that after the frontal battlefield started, the natives would definitely rush over to reinforce, and his troops would be You can take advantage of the opportunity and enter from the south.
The troops under the command of Wang Tom quickly set up artillery positions and then fired at the temporary fortifications built by the natives. Although the power of small-caliber field artillery is limited, one shell can still open a gap in the weak fortifications, and the various fragments scattered by the shells are like arrows, attacking the turtles huddled behind it. The natives caused large-scale destruction.
The natives who were forced into a desperate situation realized that such fortifications could no longer provide them with safe shelter and would only suffer one-sided casualties. They gave up this unrealistic strategy and rushed out one after another, hoping to use the weapons in their hands. Weapons to turn an unfavorable situation around.
However, the disparity in force between the two sides destined this to be a unilateral death charge. What greeted them was two artillery pieces loaded with grapeshot, and an entire company of infantry who had been lined up and aiming their guns. With the loud sound of gunfire, the natives who rushed out were beaten to pieces almost instantly. Even if a few people were lucky enough to shoot the weapons in their hands, there would be no chance for a second shot.
The volleys of gunfire were interspersed with cold but firm copper whistles, which were the firing instructions from the commander. Every whistle sounded, which meant that two digits of natives had been shot and fell to the ground. It only took the Haihan Army two or three minutes to wipe out all the native soldiers on this line of defense.
At the same time as the Northern Route Army started, Chen Yixin and Morgan also issued orders to attack. In addition to the soldiers who broke into the tribe, there were more than ten sniper trainees on the hillside, providing fire cover from high places to their companions entering the village. The soldiers who invaded the village began to clear out the shacks in the village one by one, and drove the old, weak, women and children who remained in the village together for centralized control.
With Haihan's absolute superiority in military strength and force, the natives of Maolishe could take almost no effective resistance measures. The natives who grabbed weapons and rushed out of the shack had not had time to recover from the chaotic scene. If you identify a target, you will often be shot several times. The shacks that had been cleared were quickly set on fire by Haihan soldiers, leaving fewer and fewer areas for the natives to move and hide.
During this period, there may be a few natives who took advantage of the chaos and fled into the nearby mountains and forests, but more natives chose to stay because they did not know how to survive after leaving the tribe. Instead of dying in the mountains and forests with no way out, it would be better to die fighting for the tribe here. Although these natives are stubborn in their work, they are full of blood and have a firm will to fight. Unfortunately, the opponent they encountered was Haihan. This kind of fearless and fearless style will not only fail to reverse the situation of the war and save the tribe, but will further incite anger. He aroused the murderous intention of Haihan soldiers and accelerated their slaughter.
For all armed natives, Haihan soldiers were ordered to subdue them by any means, which of course included killing them. Therefore, the soldiers dealt with the natives in a simple and rough way. They basically shot them directly and knocked them down, and then used bayonets to touch them up. However, during this process, it is inevitable that some soldiers will be motivated to kill, and they will also attack innocent people, old and young. There will inevitably be some tragic scenes during this process.
In this situation, the most the officers could do was to stop. Military leaders have always turned a blind eye to unnecessary killings on the battlefield. Although from a human perspective, this behavior is not very appropriate, soldiers also need some stimulation to ensure that they have enough Murder and determination.
The organized resistance of the natives did not last long, and collapsed under the attack of the Haihan Army from the north and the south. The Haihan Army quickly took control of the area around Maolishe, then put the captives in shackles and handcuffs and escorted them eastward. All the buildings in the village will be burned to prevent the natives from rebuilding the tribe here.
Haihan still inevitably suffered casualties during the battle. Two soldiers were attacked and killed by natives while searching shacks in the village. Many others were injured during the battle. However, the casualty cost of this level is still acceptable, and it will not have a great impact on the overall strength of the troops heading north.
Maolishe, which had troubled Haihan for a long time, failed even after an hour of the military's well-prepared offensive. This also fully verified the gap in strength between the two sides. According to the inventory of the battlefield after the war, Haihan killed more than 160 natives and captured more than 520 alive during the battle. In addition, there may be a small number of natives who escaped from the battlefield and fled into the mountains when the battle began. However, the commanders did not intend to chase into the mountains to kill the remaining elements. Without the backing of Maolishe, it would be difficult for the scattered natives to form a climate again. If these surviving natives want to survive, they can only avoid the area under Haihan's control and flee to the inland mountains. Because no matter what, they would never be able to take back their former territory from Haihan.
As for these captured natives, they will be escorted to coastal camps along the land route, and then transferred in batches to mines and construction sites in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Penghu and other places to engage in heavy manual labor. The vast majority of them will end their lives on construction sites and will never have the opportunity to return to their homeland.
The main force of the troops performing this mission will not immediately return to the coastal camp. Instead, they will continue to march toward the eastern mountainous area along Houlong River and station in the Hope Oil Field camp to prepare for the next operational offensive against Dajiashe in the upper reaches of Houlong River.
(End of chapter)