Chapter 1430 A tough nut to crack
Erhe was confident in the tactics he had formulated. This set of tactics had been tried and tested repeatedly when fighting the Ming army. Although the last time he fought against the Haihan army in Dalian Bay, he was beaten by intensive firepower and lost his temper. Erhe believed that There will be no such embarrassment this time, because it has been raining today.
Erhe knew that rainfall and moisture were the natural enemies of powerful weapons such as muskets. Judging from the current weather, the rain would continue for at least two to three days, which was extremely bad for the Houjin Army, which mainly used cold weapons. Big good news. In the past records of battles with the Ming army, as long as the battle was fought on rainy days, the muskets in the hands of the Ming army basically turned into fire sticks that could not make any sound. Therefore, based on past experience, Erhe believed that the Haihan Army would also be affected by this. As long as those terrible muskets and artillery became mute, what was there to worry about?
Erhe believed that if the fighting distance could be shortened to face-to-face fighting, then the three thousand men under his command would be able to completely annihilate the Haihan army near the southern highlands. But to be cautious, he still arranged for the cavalry to form three waves of attack formations and launch an offensive against the Haihan position according to the traditional charge method.
Morgan ordered the enemy troops to be moved closer before fighting, also considering that the visibility was slightly worse in rainy days. Moving closer would allow the soldiers to aim better. As for the weather restrictions considered by the opponent, it does not have that big an impact on Haihan. Although the army troops stationed in the highlands are not equipped with seven-shot rifles like the special operations battalions, the flintlocks they use are also loaded with waterproof For packaged fixed ammunition, unless it is pouring rain, the impact of rainfall is actually very limited.
The first wave of cavalry rushed in to a distance of 100 meters, and then the first round of gunfire rang out from the Haihan position. At least a dozen cavalrymen fell down from their running horses on the spot, while the remaining cavalrymen did not hesitate to fight. They immediately turned around to attract as much firepower as possible from Haihan's position. The purpose of this first wave of offensive was to attract firepower. As long as Haihan opened fire, they would have achieved their goal. As for the casualties, they would have to live with their fate.
The two groups of cavalry that followed the first wave of cavalry were the real main force in charging and attacking the opponents. This rhythm must be controlled extremely tightly, without leaving time for the opponent to complete the ammunition loading, and this can only rely on the combat experience and tacit understanding of the leading officers and soldiers.
However, this tactic that had been used to deal with the Ming Army's firearms battalion seemed to have lost its effect in front of the Haihan Army. After the second wave of cavalry rushed into the firing range, they were still greeted by dense rain of bullets shot up and down from the slopes. This is not because the Haihan Army has completed the second reload, but when it fired the first wave of golden cavalry, it left some force specifically to deal with the last two waves of cavalry. Although the tactics used by the Later Jin Army to deal with the Ming Army were very targeted, it was not a secret. Haihan naturally had a plan to deal with it.
The number of cavalrymen who were shot and felled in this wave was obviously much higher than in the first wave. When they rushed to the nearby area, only about half of them were left. However, the trenches, horses and barbed wire fences outside the village at the foot of the mountain formed roadblocks that made these cavalrymen unable to fight. It is impossible to rush directly into the village to fight. As soon as their speed slowed down a little, the Haihan snipers at the height began to kill the cavalry at the front.
Even the bravest and best-equipped Bagala warriors, their armors and shields still couldn't stop the high-speed bullets fired by sniper rifles, and they could only fall down one after another with the sound of gunfire. This tragic situation reminded the cavalry involved in the attack of the scene when they attacked an abandoned fishing village on the coast of Dalian Bay a few months ago. At that time, a large wave of cavalry was blocked by roadblocks outside the passage in and out of the village. The cavalry had to dismount and fight on foot. Then they died helplessly in batches at the gunpoint of Haihan soldiers.
At that time, the Hou Jin Army did not find a truly effective solution. They could only rely on their superior strength to fight hard, but in the end they were still unable to completely break through Haihan's defense line. The scene in front of me seems to be a replica of the situation that day. The difference is that the hillside behind this village is full of firepower points of the Haihan Army. The strike power of this three-dimensional firepower net is not comparable to that of the abandoned fishing village at that time. . The Houjin cavalry outside the village had no place to hide and could not find a blind spot for the enemy's firepower, so they could only be beaten hard.
When the third wave of cavalry rushed closer, only a little more than a third of the previous wave of cavalry were still sitting on their horses intact. Such a situation was something that the Houjin cavalry had not expected before charging. They originally thought that the rain would cause the Haihan people's muskets to misfire, but now it seems that this was just a delusion. They can only pin their hopes on the last wave of cavalry. If they can rush into the village, then there should be a possibility of winning back the city in close combat.
However, a desperate situation immediately emerged. Several artillery emplacements that were originally blocked were removed from their bunkers at this time, revealing their ferocious appearance. As the cannon sounded, several rounds of grapeshot shot out from the muzzle, hitting the approaching third wave of Houjin cavalry.
Projectiles the size of fingers flew out of the muzzle and scattered in the air, forming a barrage that beat the charging riders and horses to bloody pulps. Compared with the two waves of cavalry charges just now, this last wave of cavalry, which was supposed to be tasked with harvesting the lives of the enemy, was the group of people who died the fastest and the most tragically among the three waves. Almost as soon as the cannon sounded At the same time, they fell down in pieces together with their mounts, with no ability to resist at all.
During these three waves of cavalry charges, they only fired some scattered arrows at the village defense line on horseback. Since there is no effective coverage, the hit rate of these arrows can only be left to chance.
When the sound of cannons sounded, the hearts of Erhe and other senior officers who were watching the battle in the distance also froze. They did not expect that Haihan had deployed several artillery pieces on the defense line in such a short period of time and formulated such targeted tactics. Obviously, all the contingency measures on the Hou Jin Army's side were carefully planned by the other side, and they were just waiting for them to come and kill them.
Seeing so many men being destroyed by Haihan's gunfire in an instant, Erhe's throat felt sweet and blood almost spurted out. He originally planned that as long as three waves of cavalry broke through the opponent's defense line at the foot of the mountain and formed a melee with the opponent, then the infantry could follow up and suppress the opponent with their strength in a close combat environment, thereby winning the battle. Although this idea is good, there is a premise that it must first break through Haihan's defense line. However, three waves of cavalry with nearly 500 cavalry dropped down, but they did not even break through the defense line, but nearly half of them were killed or injured. We must count on the defense line. It is no longer realistic for these cavalrymen, who are overwhelmed by gunfire and unable to lift their heads, to attack in.
Somewhat ironically, the first wave of cavalry, which was originally used to attract firepower, instead evacuated the battlefield in time and became the wave with the least losses among the three waves of cavalry. But there was no signal to retreat from the rear, so they had no choice but to turn their horses and fight back again. At this time, the Houjin infantry following from behind had also arrived on the battlefield, but the cavalry in front failed to successfully break through the defense line, so they had to use shields to withstand the constant rain of bullets pouring from the opposite position. Most of the shields used by these Houjin soldiers were wooden shields. Only a few elite soldiers' shields were covered with a layer of iron sheet, but even so, they still could not block rifle fire at close range. The sound of gunfire and screams were mixed together, with occasional gunshots ringing in between. Those horses that rushed too fast stepped into the trench, and the sharp bamboo sticks inserted upside down often pierced both the people and the horses, and those who followed later used them as stepping stones.
When the Houjin infantry finally rushed to the roadblock under the overwhelming rain of bullets and tried to remove the barbed wire fence and horses blocking them, they discovered that these damn roadblocks were all fixed to the ground. The wooden piles wrapped around the barbed wire and the supporting legs of the horse were buried deeply in the soil. It was not easy to dig them out with the weapons in hand. So they could only use the knives in their hands to cut down these roadblocks, and they had to cut a way out.
Several artillery positions were the key attack positions of the Jin army. Because the artillery had to leave a shooting angle, there were only relatively low barbed wire roadblocks nearby. Moreover, the time required to reload the artillery after firing was much longer than that of the rifle. This was a rare gap for the Houjin army to launch an offensive. After realizing this, many Houjin infantrymen rushed to the gap where the artillery was located in the defense line.
But Morgan also had pre-arrangements for this. Each artillery position was equipped with two squads of infantry. Their duty was to guard the area. During the interval between reloading ammunition after the artillery was fired, they lined up to attack the enemy who tried to attack through the gap. shooting. The combat distance was only a few meters away, so there was basically no need to aim when shooting. Just aim at the swarming Houjin soldiers and pull the trigger, and you would definitely hit someone unlucky. Then the Jin Army used shieldmen to cover the infantry while dismantling the criss-crossing barbed wire fences on the ground, while archers at the rear fired cold arrows into the gaps in the gun emplacements. This attack method can occasionally hit the target, but the difference in the efficiency of the two sides in killing each other is too big, even far exceeding the difference in troop strength. The Houjin army that has attacked the defense line continues to fall at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Morgan, who was commanding the battle on the top of the mountain, was actually a little frightened at this time. He originally thought that after defeating the cavalry offensive, the Jin army would withdraw first when they saw that the situation was not good, but he did not expect that the other party did not seem to intend to leave any remaining force, and directly The infantrymen were also escorted to the gambling table. Seeing that these fearless Houjin soldiers had destroyed many defenses outside the village and were about to invade the village, Morgan became anxious.
He doesn't think that his own troops will suffer too much in close combat. After all, bayonet skills are a compulsory course for every soldier, and their ability in this area should be stronger than that of semi-professional troops like Hou Jin. But the value of Haihan soldiers is far greater than that of these barbarian soldiers. Morgan does not want the troops under his command to fall into the quagmire of close combat. The battle losses are bound to be much higher than normal combat methods.
The battlefield where the two sides fought was too far from the coastline, otherwise Morgan could have let the idle warships at sea provide fire cover. If we want to avoid close contact with the enemy, we can only further reduce the defensive circle and withdraw the troops up the mountain. But if the village defense line is abandoned, it means temporarily abandoning artillery that is inconvenient to carry.
He was not worried about these cannons being snatched away by Houjin, because the cannons deployed at the foot of the mountain were relatively new breech-loaded cannons and required the use of specialized ammunition. Even if the Houjin Army could snatch the cannons back, they might not be able to do so. Can figure out how to use these weapons. But if these cannons were abandoned in the village and directly destroyed by the invading Hou Jin Army, it would be a considerable loss to Haihan.
When Morgan was hesitant, the adjutant brought him good news - the special operations battalion troops who had stayed on the east plain to cover them discovered that the Jin army had already attacked the defense line and was about to break into the sea. The company took the initiative to move closer to the Han position and entered the Haihan position from the southeast without any hindrance.
Morgan's eyes suddenly lit up. Of course, he was well aware of the equipment status of the special operations battalion. The power of the seven-shot rifle in close combat was really scary. It came in handy to deal with the current densely populated battles. Although there is only one company of troops, the special operations battalion is strengthened and equipped with new rifles with extremely high rates of fire. The firepower output capability of this reinforcement unit is already equivalent to that of an ordinary infantry battalion.
Just as Morgan thought, this force that appeared on the battlefield at the right time became the straw that broke the camel's back. Seeing that they were about to break through the defense line, another Haihan army suddenly came out. The continuous shooting of the guns immediately caused the Houjin infantry to bleed into rivers. The few Houjin soldiers who had rushed into the village did not get a chance to fight at close quarters, and were beaten into a hornet's nest by a series of shots that sounded like firecrackers.
The remaining Hou Jin army saw that it was impossible to achieve anything, and filling in more people would only end in vain, so they had no choice but to retreat and leave the battlefield. But it was not so easy to get away at this time. Morgan's sniper team was on the top of the mountain specifically targeting the cavalry who were still on horseback, taking out the fastest enemies first. As for the remaining infantry, they can only test whether their feet can move faster than bullets.
Erhe's face had turned from livid to pale. He never imagined that only half a day after the fall of the coastal highlands, the Haihan people would turn this place into a hard nut to crack. He brought three thousand soldiers and horses to attack here. Now the battle has only lasted for half an hour, and probably a third of the troops have been killed or wounded. How can we continue to fight this battle? How should we explain to the superiors after such a heavy loss? Erhe was so distraught that he didn't know whether to withdraw his troops or continue to make a desperate move.
(End of chapter)