Chapter 1657 Attacking Manila (7)
Before the Ministry of National Defense set out to conquer Manila, it had conducted countless simulations of various situations that might arise during the siege. Thanks to the effective intelligence collection work on the front lines of Manila, the staff of the Ministry of National Defense had almost no experience in making the sandbox. The original appearance of the entire Manila area was replicated, and a variety of combat plans were made in great detail for the residential area in the south of the city. The purpose was to defeat various tactics that the enemy might implement here, including of course cruel Street fighting included.
There is no doubt about the combat effectiveness of the most elite units in the Haihan Army, but almost all of these units are good at field combat, and their actual combat experience in urban street fighting environments is actually very limited, and the Ministry of National Defense does not want its own The ace troops made too many sacrifices in the bloody millstone of urban street fighting. Therefore, the staff designed a special combat plan for the southern area of the city to coordinate with the overall plan to attack Manila.
In order to be able to deploy enough manpower in this area without arousing the suspicion of the Manila authorities, the Ministry of National Defense began to make arrangements a few months ago, dispatching nearly a hundred military elites to the local area in batches, lurking in the city of Manila in various capacities. Outside, wait for the opportunity to come. The main task of these personnel is to act as surprise troops to disrupt the deployment of the defenders during war, and the core part of this large network is the Chaosheng Store located in this urban area.
Thanks to Ran Tianlu's hard work, Chaosheng Store not only became Haihan's intelligence center in Manila, but was also selected by the Ministry of National Defense as the command center for this covert operation. The person in charge of directing this operation on the front line was naturally Fang Peng, the head guard of Chaosheng Store.
Unlike Ran Tianlu, who had thought about his retreat early, when Fang Peng and his group received this mission, they knew how risky the trip was. They would most likely be wiped out by the Spanish defenders before reinforcements arrived. But the benefits are also considerable. As long as the mission can be completed and the army arrives, it will be a huge achievement. After the war, it is a certainty to receive awards from the Ministry of Defense and even the Executive Committee.
However, whether to implement the battle plan is actually a matter of Fang Peng's thoughts, because although the Haihan Army has arrived here, only those who are there can detect whether the Spaniards have set up defenses in the city to prepare for street fighting. At this time, it is obviously impossible to send the information to the Haihan Military Camp in the south, and then take action after getting the order. Fang Peng could only assess the situation and decide on his own whether to launch or not.
Fang Peng can command less than a hundred people in total, and they are scattered in different places in the city. It is basically impossible to complete the assembly under the supervision of the Spanish army before taking action. Moreover, he has been in the business warehouse and does not know enough about the deployment situation of the Spaniards outside. Before there is a clear target, rashly launching an attack has no practical significance except exposing himself.
However, at this juncture, a group of Spanish soldiers happened to be sent to Chaosheng Trading Store. Fang Peng felt that this was an opportunity to take action, so he persuaded Ran Tianlu to attack this group of Spanish soldiers. As for the consequences that would attract more enemy troops in the future, Fang Peng was not unaware of the consequences, but his original intention was to use this to attract firepower to gather the Spanish defenders, so that other lurking locations in the city could also launch attacks, in order to give the defenders a chance. The army was unable to complete its defensive deployment before dawn. In this way, when the Haihan Army launches an offensive after dawn, the defense intensity it needs to face will be reduced accordingly.
The actual situation was exactly the same. The Spanish defenders stationed outside the city were busy almost all the rest of the night quelling the armed riots in this area. The battle that started at Chaosheng Trading Post immediately activated several other lurking teams in the city, and began to fight guerrillas while moving closer to the location of the trading stack. When the Spaniards realized that the center of the chaos was the Chaosheng Merchant Store next to Chengnan Avenue, several other groups of Haihan armed personnel operating in the city had already completed their assembly to the store, with very few casualties during the process. The Ministry of Defense and the Military Intelligence Department expected much smaller battle losses when formulating the battle plan.
The signal flare that Fang Peng fired in the store was to notify the Haihan Army on the plain in the distance that he had launched an attack here. As for when the army will arrive, it's really up to God. Fortunately, the reinforcements from the rear did not disappoint him. The rumble of cannons came from the south, and Fang Peng knew that his own people had arrived.
However, in fact, the Haihan Army had not reached the city area at this time. The purpose of firing the artillery was to destroy some roadblocks and fortifications deployed by the Spaniards on the main traffic roads. The battle site was at least one mile away from the merchant store. But the sound of the artillery obviously greatly stimulated the Spaniards' hearts. They had to focus on the southern front first. After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Haihan armed personnel who appeared in the business inn and the city were just making a small fuss. Action, the real threat is the Haihan regular army coming from the south.
Several cannons that were originally aimed at Chaosheng Trading Post were hurriedly pushed away by the Spaniards, preparing to be deployed to the front line to block the Haihan Army. Francis saw clearly that it was not too late to block the Haihan Army's offensive in the south, then turn around and free up his hands to clean up the Chaosheng Trading Store. The group of people guarding the merchant house finally got a chance to breathe.
"Now that our army is approaching, what should we do now?" Ran Tianlu asked Fang Peng.
"Stick here and wait for reinforcements." Fang Peng's answer was very concise and clear.
Ran Tianlu was stunned. He asked this question because he was afraid that Fang Peng would get excited to fight. When the army arrived, he would lead his troops to charge out again. Unexpectedly, the opponent was much calmer than he thought, and did not get carried away by the result of the battle just now. Ran Tianlu was slightly surprised by his mind.
Fang Peng took the initiative to explain: "When our army invades this place later, the situation will be chaotic. Staying in the store can also avoid miscalculation and accidental injuries. Besides, the purpose of this operation has been achieved, and we will risk our lives to fight the enemy." It’s extremely unwise.”
The force responsible for the frontal attack today is still the special operations battalion commanded by Takahashi Minami. In order to achieve the best combat effect, Takahashi Minami deployed artillery at the beginning of the battle to attack the roadblocks on the main road leading to Manila. Cleaning was carried out, and then the infantry quickly pressed forward and cut into the city from the main road.
The artillery of the Spanish defenders was almost useless at this stage. The two artillery positions deployed on the firing line only fired three shots each before being destroyed by the Haihan Army's artillery counterattack. The record of rifle shooting is even more miserable. The effective range of the matchlocks and flintlocks equipped by the defenders is less than 100 meters, and their accuracy is far inferior to the standard rifles of the special operations battalion. Even if they can rely on some bunkers and defenses, The fortifications fought back, but they almost always fought and retreated. If they retreated too slowly, they would easily be shot by the Haihan army because they were too prominent.
Due to the actions of Fang Peng and others in the city last night, the Spanish defenders failed to complete their deployment at the first time. A slow step led to a slow step behind. When the forwards of the special operations battalion entered the city, they were originally planning to use Several of the artillery pieces that came to bombard Chaosheng Commercial Inn were still on their way to the firing line. Francis invested about 300 Spanish soldiers and 1,000 auxiliary troops in the south of the city. If there were more, it would be difficult to conduct effective command and dispatch. After all, this was a battle in the city, and there were too many obstacles that blocked the line of sight. Combat orders cannot be conveyed clearly like flags, drums, and bugles on the plains. Moreover, Francis received reports that the opponent not only invested troops in this direction, but also had Haihan troops in the east and west directions. It seemed that they were likely to launch an offensive in three directions.
Specifically, which side was a feint and which was a real attack, it was difficult for Francis, who lacked pre-war reconnaissance information, to make a clear judgment. But judging from the battle examples he knew, the Haihan Army usually fought very flexibly in such a situation where it took the initiative. It did not fight in one direction to the end, but tried repeatedly to see where the defense was weakest. This will increase the intensity of the attack in this direction. Therefore, he did not dare to rely on the general to focus all his forces on the south side - although it seemed that Haihan had indeed gathered more troops in this direction, he was still worried that the other two directions would be taken advantage of by the Haihan army. enter.
But after the war started, the ferocious momentum displayed by Haihan on the southern front made Francis somewhat doubt his previous judgment. He could feel that the enemy's attack force in this direction was extremely powerful, far exceeding his own defense. After the artillery fire opened the way, the infantry quickly broke into the city. However, there was no hand-to-hand confrontation that he expected. The Haihan Army still made reasonable use of the advantages of weapon performance. In street fights, it still maintained a fighting distance that was a headache for the Spanish Army, using rifle firepower to suppress the performance of the defenders.
Francis originally estimated that he would have to block the opponent outside the city for at least three to five days. The longer the offensive and defensive battle was delayed, the more beneficial it would be for his side. However, judging from the current battle situation, it may be a bit dangerous to survive today. Will we continue to invest in this urban area? Francis did not dare to take this risk. Based on the battle loss ratio between the two armies, even if he filled in all the defenders in the Manila area, it would be difficult to defeat the enemy's offensive here. At most, it would cost the opponent more money. Just some guns and ammunition.
But his opponent was not so hesitant. Takahashi Minami's operational thinking was very clear, which was to clear this urban area as soon as possible and clear the final obstacle for the army to reach the city of Manila. Of course, he did not forget the special task given to him by the Military Intelligence Department, to support his colleagues who were coordinating the offensive in this urban area, so he specially arranged a platoon to move towards the location of Chaosheng Commercial Store as soon as possible after breaking into the city. Save as many surviving colleagues as possible.
"I don't care how many Spanish troops are around. I will send you two more cannons to clear this passage as soon as possible. Within half an hour, our people will enter the merchant house to determine the situation there!" Takahashi Nan leaned over. He drew a route directly to Chaosheng Trading Post on the map and assigned tasks to his officers.
It is not a simple task to clear this long route within half an hour. There are still many defenders in this urban area lying in ambush in various places. What gives the Haihan Army some headaches is that these Spanish defenders are not all Spaniards who are easily identifiable in appearance. There are even many people of Han descent. As long as these people do not wear military uniforms and hide their weapons, it is really difficult to launch a sneak attack. Take precautions, so the Haihan Army had to be extra careful when attacking.
Taking into account this actual situation, the command headquarters also acquiesced to giving the special operations battalion wartime authority, that is, as long as the soldiers thought they were suspicious objects, they could be killed directly without reporting to their superiors or giving a warning. After all, compared to the people living here, the lives of Haihan soldiers are much more precious. Even if there is a manslaughter, the command headquarters does not want their own soldiers to be attacked by the enemy because their hands are tied.
Although siege and street fighting is not the strong point of the special operations battalion, if the internal response is to disrupt the deployment of the defenders first, the special operations battalion will encounter much less obstacles when entering the city. Coupled with the blessing of superior weapons, it can almost be seen with the naked eye. Visible speed rapidly advanced the front to the north.
The defenders showed obvious discomfort in this combat environment. Although they were fighting at home, the Spanish infantry, which was only good at square formation tactics, was seriously inexperienced in street fighting, and the entire command system quickly fell into disarray almost immediately after the war started. Falling into paralysis. This is partly because the officers were killed by Haihan snipers in the distance, and partly because the complex environment in the city makes it difficult for officers to use traditional command methods to deploy troops. Of course, even these officers themselves have no good tactics to speak of, they are just doing their best.
The Haihan Army is more flexible in its command system. Officers at all levels in squads, platoons, companies and battalions have a clear division of labor. Every soldier can receive clear combat instructions, instead of running around like headless flies in the city.
After breaking up several lines of defense of the defenders, the special operations battalion finally cleared the way to Chaosheng Trading Store and successfully rendezvoused with the military personnel inside the trading store. When Gao Qiaonan heard that most of the personnel were safe and the Chaosheng Commercial Store was still under his control, he immediately ordered his headquarters to be moved forward to the commercial store so that he could direct the subsequent battle from the front line.
"Fang Peng, a humble official, thank you General Gao for leading the rescue!"
Seeing Gao Qiaonan coming to the business inn, Fang Peng hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. Although Takahashi Minami's military rank is that of a colonel rather than a general, he is a leading general in his own right, and is often referred to as a general within the military.
Gao Qiaonan raised his hand to support him and said: "We are all our own people, so there is no need to be so polite. Please tell me quickly how the enemy's deployment is near here."
Immediately, someone stepped forward to set up a tripod and hung up a map. It depicted the terrain of the area south of the city. Several important buildings were marked on it, including some specially marked in red and blue. Chaosheng Store is included.
(End of chapter)