Chapter 1812 Pier Attack and Defense
"The enemy is starting to get serious!" Wang Tom put down the telescope and muttered to himself.
In the distance, outside Jiulian City, the Qing army was using pack horses to slowly drag several cannons out of the city. This was the first time the Qing army used artillery in a field battle after Haihan arrived here, but looking at this formation, it was definitely not just a test. Just the size of the artillery seen through the telescope is by no means an ordinary weapon. Wang Tom deduced based on experience that the artillery sent out by the Qing army outside the city were almost all twelve-pounders or above, and there were even twenty-four-pounders. Even the Haihan Army is not equipped with many calibers.
Wang Tom immediately thought of one thing. Perhaps the Qing army had stayed behind closed doors a few days ago, waiting for these heavy weapons to arrive at the front line. Although these old-style artillery were big, dark, and thick, and their range and accuracy were inferior to the small cannons equipped by the Marine Corps, they were superior in number. Wang Tom counted roughly and found that the Qing army dispatched more than twenty artillery pieces. It looked like they were planning to use artillery fire to clear the way.
Although the Haihan Army still has many warships on the river bank that can use cross-shore shooting, the shooting ideas of naval guns are to pursue power and accuracy, and there is no high requirement for range, so these naval guns can still provide fire cover for the Marines. OK, but in a head-on confrontation with land-based artillery, there is not much advantage at all. The Qing army obviously noticed this, so it formulated this combat plan and wanted to try to face off against the Haihan army.
The Marine Corps' lack of heavy weapons was fully revealed at this moment. This shortcoming is not obvious in the Marine Corps' daily combat methods, but when it comes to the offense and defense of positional warfare, the Marine Corps' lack of firepower will make the enemy The army can take advantage of the opportunity.
Haihan still lacks accurate information on the level to which the Qing army has developed artillery techniques and tactics in the past few years. Although the Qing army had been confronting the Qing army in the Jinzhou Isthmus for more than a year, in fact, the Qing army did not invest enough troops there to reveal its wealth, especially the musketeers and artillery, which Huang Taiji valued very much. He never appeared on the battlefield. Of course, this may also be because Huang Taiji knew that the strength of the firearms force was not as good as that of the Haihan Army. In addition, it was not easy to form an army, so he was unwilling to send these elites to confront the Haihan Army to avoid wasting losses.
Haihan had been stationed at the dock for many days this time. It is estimated that the Qing army had already figured out the strength of the marines at the dock through repeated tests and observations, and that was why they made such a bold move. The field artillery equipped by the Marines are all small-caliber artillery, which is useful for bullying the infantry, but if you want to fight against the enemy's large-caliber artillery, the result may not be satisfactory.
Of course, after more than ten days of non-stop construction, the defenses at the dock position are not as crude as when the Haihan Army first occupied them. In addition to the dozens of meters deep iron mesh and trenches built around the perimeter, In addition, most of the buildings in the dock area were also demolished, the defense circle was actively reduced, and the bricks and stones were used to build more practical bunkers. Although Wang Tom did not expect the time of the Qing army's attack, he also thought of the Qing army. The army will definitely try to attack this position with artillery, and they have been prepared for this in advance.
Perhaps because they suffered too many losses in the Liaodong battlefield, the Qing army was particularly careful when transporting these precious cannons to the front of the battle line. Not only were cavalry guarding them in front of the battle line, but they also specially dispersed the cannons, probably because they were worried about gathering together. Being together will lead to a concentrated fire attack on the Haihan position.
What Wang Tom considers is not whether the limited small-caliber artillery on the position can destroy all the artillery of the Qing army after concentrated fire, but if the range of the Qing army's artillery can really bombard the position, then this position can destroy the Qing army's artillery. How long will it last under the army's offensive?
The battle began about an hour later with the sound of artillery fire from the Qing army's formation. However, the artillery shell used to calibrate the firing angle did not hit the Haihan position. After landing, it bounced several times and finally stopped at More than 20 meters away from the dock position.
"Fire back with artillery and let them know what artillery is!" Sun Bingzai gave the order to the artillery.
The Haihan Army had already demarcated the firing range on the plains outside the battlefield in these days, so it was naturally more accurate than the Qing Army. However, this Qing army's offensive was organized extremely carefully. On both sides of each artillery piece were several modified carts filled with sacks of earth to serve as movable bunkers. If you wanted to hit the Qing army artillery sandwiched between them, you would not only have to Accurate shooting requires a bit of luck. Several artillery shells fired from the position failed to accurately hit the Qing army's artillery, but two artillery shells were fired directly into the Qing army's formation, causing a small chaos. In the first round of exchange of shots, Haihan had a slight advantage due to his good preparation.
However, the Qing army was not discouraged. They quickly adjusted the artillery firing angle and then launched a second round of shelling on the Haihan position. This time the Qing army's artillery bombardment posed a real threat. Two artillery shells hit the bunker outside the position, which caused a cheer from the Qing army.
But the cheers of the Qing army did not last long. The counterattack from the Haihan position started again. This time Haihan also performed more accurately. A shell hit an artillery piece on the left wing of the Qing army and flew into the air. The raised cannon body also knocked several gunners nearby, and they were desperate.
Although one artillery piece was lost soon after the war started, the Qing army did not panic and continued to fire at the Haihan position from all angles. During this period, several artillery pieces were constantly adjusting their front and rear positions. Wang Tom quickly saw through his opponent's trick. The Qing army was using actual combat to determine the firing angle of the artillery, and was trying to maintain a relatively safe engagement distance. After all, although Haihan's several small-caliber cannons fired quite accurately, their lethality would decrease as the engagement distance increased. The Qing army wanted to keep the engagement distance close to the range limit of its own artillery to reduce the risk of fire. risk.
However, the artillery of the Qing army are relatively primitive cast-iron cannons. After firing two or three rounds, they have to stop to let the gun barrel cool down first, so the firing frequency is relatively low. There is still more leisurely time to prepare counterattacks on the Haihan position. . But Wang Tom was convinced that the Qing army's tricks would not be just two. If the opponent wanted to use artillery battle to drive away the Haihan troops stationed on the river bank, then the only way was to invest more artillery in the position.
How many artillery pieces are equipped in the Qing army's formation is an intelligence that the Haihan Army has always been concerned about. However, due to the lack of effective intelligence channels and the fact that the Qing army also protects such military secrets very closely, it is difficult to speculate. A relatively precise number. However, this war with Huang Taiji's personal conquest and the goal of destroying the country will not be limited to the cannons currently launched.
The Qing army was very cautious and did not try to send other troops close to the Haihan position during the artillery battle. They were always looking for a balance point. In fact, this is not difficult for experienced commanders. There are only a few guns on the Haihan position, and the gun positions are basically fixed. Although Haihan tried his best to take into account the range of fire coverage when deploying gun positions to ensure that there were no shooting dead spots in front of the Haihan position, there are still some areas with relatively weak artillery fire coverage, and these areas are suitable for The Qing army arranged the position of artillery. The Qing army dispersed more than twenty artillery pieces to fight Haihan, also trying to find these special points as soon as possible.
The artillerymen in the Qing army mainly came from the Ming army who defected from Dengzhou and Dongjiang Town in Shandong, but their real-time computing capabilities on the battlefield are still lagging behind those of the Haihan artillery. If the situation were the same Let the Haihan Artillery handle it, and it doesn't take too long to find the weak links in the enemy's artillery fire range.
The bombardment lasted for two hours without any pain, and then the Qing army retreated on its own initiative. During the battle, the Qing army suffered losses of three artillery pieces and dozens of people. However, the artillery pieces on the Haihan position were all safe and sound. However, several of the artillery shells fired by the Qing army almost hit the artillery pieces on the position. If the fighting continues, it will probably be a matter of time before the Qing army destroys the artillery in the exchange of fire. "How do you see the Qing army's actions?"
As soon as Sun Bing finished commanding the battle, he was called by Wang Tom to ask for his opinion. Sun Bing's mind was very clear: "The Qing army's offensive today is obviously testing the strength of our defense and looking for loopholes in our defense line. The initiative to stop the war should be to adjust the strategy. If they figure out some way from it, I believe they will soon The next round of offensive will be launched.”
Wang Tom was quite satisfied with his answer and continued to ask: "Then if the Qing army continues to use artillery attacks to attack the dock positions, how do you think they need to respond?"
Sun Bing thought for a moment before replying: "If it were the level of shelling today, we could continue to hold our position, and the Qing army would not be able to attack easily. But if they increase their attack intensity after completing the test, then It’s hard to say. We have too few heavy weapons. If we want to hold on to this position, we need to deploy more artillery.”
Sun Bing's answer was a very pragmatic combat plan. Facing the enemy's shelling, he had to come up with stronger counterattacks to crush his plans. The Haihan Army also has artillery with larger caliber and longer range, but they are not deployed here. Sun Bing believes that as long as the firepower is strengthened, the current pressure will naturally be resolved smoothly.
Tom Wang nodded silently and asked Sun Bing to go back and take a rest. Although what Sun Bing said is very reasonable, Haihan Army should not take such countermeasures yet. The Military Intelligence Bureau and the Ministry of Security spent a lot of time cooperating to concoct a play, which was to create the illusion of voluntary withdrawal of troops, and wait for the Qing army to enter North Korea before returning to cut off the Yalu River. If we continue to strengthen the deployment of weapons and equipment on the position at this time, the subsequent active evacuation will appear very abrupt, and may arouse the suspicion of the Qing army.
However, these secrets cannot be disclosed to his subordinates for the time being, so as not to shake the morale of the military. Wang Tom plans to wait until the time is right before revealing the inside story to officers at Sun Bing's level.
The Qing army indeed took the initiative to attack again on the next day, and the number of artillery launched on the battlefield this time doubled compared to the first day. It seemed that the weakness of the Haihan position had been identified. He planned to use this method to suppress Haihan's firepower output.
The artillery battle that day started in the morning. This time, the artillery on the Haihan position did not dare to make any move to hide their strength. They launched with all their strength from the beginning, hoping to suppress the Qing army with efficient artillery fire. offensive. However, the Qing army was obviously determined to break Haihan's defense line through shelling, and deployed its artillery to the edge of the Haihan artillery strike range in a very targeted manner.
Half an hour after the battle started, battle damage began to appear on the Haihan position. This was the second time in many days that the Haihan position suffered battle damage. The previous time could be traced back to the night attack by the Qing army when they first occupied this place. Confrontation.
The damage in this battle was not that it was directly hit by the opponent's artillery shells, but that a section of the wall bunker collapsed, burying all the soldiers hiding behind it. Although the people nearby were hurriedly digging away the masonry for rescue, three soldiers still died on the spot. Sun Bing had to order the soldiers to try not to hide behind bunkers that did not look so stable to avoid being accidentally injured in the shelling.
The artillery battle that day continued into the afternoon. The Qing army fired at least more than 300 artillery shells, and the number of artillery shells fired from the Haihan position was almost half of that. However, comparing the bombardment effects of the two armies, Haihan had a slight advantage, destroying five artillery pieces of the Qing army, and one of the artillery pieces deployed by Haihan on the position was also scrapped. Fortunately, the Marine Corps also brought an extra cannon as a backup, so it was quickly replenished, leaving no opportunity to take advantage of.
The Qing army also took the initiative to cease fighting and withdraw its troops this time. Referring to the situation of the previous day, there is reason to believe that the Qing army should have summed up some experience and adjusted the current tactical arrangements, and then continued to launch the offensive the next day. As Sun Bing said, if the Qing army continues to strengthen its offensive day after day, it will become increasingly difficult for the Marines to hold on to this position with their current weapons and equipment.
However, Wang Tom believed that the scene was almost in place, and it was time to give up this place and let the Qing army cross the river. That night he summoned all Marine Corps officers above the platoon level and conveyed to them his decision to evacuate the place. However, in order to prevent the morale of the troops from being frustrated, Wang Tom also assured them that the withdrawal was only temporary, and the purpose was to create an opportunity to attack halfway. After some Qing troops cross the river and enter the DPRK, the navy will attack again to cut off shipping on the Yalu River.
Before leaving, Wang Tom also arranged a big gift for the Qing army. In addition to the explosives that had been planted on the dock to destroy the dock facilities, Wang Tom also ordered the engineers to plant more than forty mines in the position. When planning to evacuate, blow up the dock pier first, and then slowly enjoy the taste of winning when the Qing army clears the area.
"Commander, when will we evacuate here?"
"Tonight, leave overnight." Wang Tom ordered: "You go back and assemble your troops, and then board the ship and leave here later."
(End of chapter)