Chapter 1831 The Flesh Mill
Qian Tiandun was not worried about Gao Qiaonan's on-the-spot command. When he was stationed in Liaodong, he had already handed over the command of the front-line positions to Gao Qiaonan. Facts have proved that this bold decision is not problematic. Gao Qiaonan His performance as a field commander never let him down. The reason why he went to the position was not to take back Gao Qiaonan's command, but to see the specific effects of some of the newly installed weapons and equipment in battle, and to see whether the Qing army had any plans for this kind of position offensive and defensive battles. New tactics.
The only thing that can make the Qing generals feel lucky at the moment is that Haihan does not seem to be planning to send troops to drive the Qing army away from this area, so they still have a chance to open a breakthrough from here - provided that they have to use more lives to do so. Just open the way.
Of course, they may not really realize at this time that all fighters may be part of the enemy's combat plan. The defense deployment plan for the northern line of the base was formulated by Qian Tiandun and his engineering troops after on-site inspections. In fact, the so-called weak link was just a hole intentionally left open by the Haihan Army so that the Qing Army could see a breakthrough. Only if there is hope for the defense line will more troops be invested in the battlefield.
In fact, in order to seize this so-called fighter opportunity, the Qing army had to move its artillery position forward against Haihan's artillery fire, so as to concentrate the fire and blast a passage in the fortifications outside the Haihan position, and they paid for this The price was that more than 20 cannons were destroyed by shells fired from the Haihan position in the process, and the artillery lost hundreds of people. For the Qing army, which had difficulty training artillery, this was indeed a serious loss.
Later, the cavalry also suffered intensive firepower when they charged towards this opening. By the time the Qing army ordered a second wave of troops to come for reinforcements, nearly half of the two thousand cavalry who had previously attacked had been lost, and the remaining troops More than half of them were still blocked in Haogou, their way blocked by the corpses of their dead and wounded companions and horses, as well as the sudden appearance of several rows of horse-repelling guns.
At this time, the only tactic the Qing army could adopt was to dismount the cavalry and fight on foot, while the infantry fought hard. As a result, hundreds of Qing soldiers poured into the defensive gap of the Haihan position, trying to quickly pass through the areas where various fortifications were laid and break into the trenches and fortresses where the Haihan army was hiding.
However, although the flat terrain of this area made it easier for the attackers to launch a charge, it also made it impossible for them to avoid rifle fire from the front and the left and right slopes. The intensity of the firepower was far greater than when they rushed to the Haihan Formation before. In the previous process, almost none of the Qing soldiers who entered here could run more than seven steps, and they would definitely be shot and fall to the ground.
"Master Jin, please see, there are currently at least 300 rifles and six artillery aimed at the area where the Qing army launched its offensive. In addition, there are dozens of snipers led by General Morgan personally on the high platform to clean up the fish that have slipped through the net. With the current attack method of the Qing army, it is no exaggeration to say that they are dying in vain.”
Although Kim Sang-hyun is a little afraid of heights, he still insisted on climbing the tall observation tower today for the best safe viewing angle. Although Qian Tiandun did not accompany him in person today, he still asked the headquarters to send a staff officer to explain the battle situation to Kim Sang-hyun in real time.
Jin Sangxian asked: "If the Qing army clears that area and then charges with heavy cavalry, how will they deal with it?"
The staff officer responded: "This possibility is not impossible, but we don't think the Qing army can do it. Even if they can clear the remaining roadblocks in that area, their own bodies will become new roadblocks, and the cavalry cannot If they rush in directly, they can only fill it with infantry in the end!”
The staff officer's tone was very calm. If it weren't for the clearly audible sound of gunfire in his ears, it would be more like he was describing a combat plan that had not yet been implemented. But within their current field of vision, such a bloody massacre was taking place. Even though there was still quite a distance between their location and the battlefield, Kim Sang-hyun could still smell it in the air. The smell of blood.
As the staff explained, Haihan specially created such a fighting environment in order to lure the Qing army into continuously investing troops into it, and then use the advantages of weapons and combat environment to kill them. If the commander of the Qing army was tough enough, it would be easy for Haihan to take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate thousands of Qing troops - in fact, this goal was already quite close.
The Qing troops who rushed into this narrow area quickly turned into corpses on the ground. The layers of corpses and wounded soldiers turned into roadblocks blocking those who came after them. The cavalry completely lost the ability to launch a charge in this area. Possibly, the only option is to dismount in front of the formation, draw out a saber or short spear, add at most a round shield with a diameter of no more than two feet, and charge on foot into the bloody sea of corpses ahead.
The rows of horse rifles blocking the gap in the defense line were full of horses and cavalry that had been killed by charges. At this time, it was no longer possible to organize manpower to dismantle the chassis and move them away. The Qing troops pouring in from behind. Because his line of sight was blocked, he often couldn't see the situation in front of him. When he stumbled around the horse gun and rushed in, he realized that the corpses of his companions and a sticky pool of blood were all under his feet.
But at this time, there was no way to turn back. There was a supervising team that only obeyed Huang Taiji's orders. Anyone who turned around and retreated would be regarded as a fear of war and would be executed on the spot. They could only lower their heads as low as possible or bury them behind their shields, pray while charging forward, and then after a few steps they would be shot and fall to the ground, trampled under the feet of those behind them.
Hundreds of rifles fired from three directions at the densely packed Qing troops in the narrow passage only a few feet wide. They could hit someone with almost their eyes closed. In order to ensure uninterrupted firepower, each combat position was actually rotated by three infantrymen, ensuring that there were always about 300 rifles firing at the Qing army, as well as small-caliber field artillery in several gun positions. Maintaining a certain gap and taking turns to fire, coupled with the snipers who were replenishing their guns in the distance, the number of Haihan troops actually engaged in the battle reached a thousand.
Occasionally, grenadiers in the Haihan position would throw grenades and detonate them into the desperate charging Qing infantry formation. The killing effect was almost the same as that of a small-caliber artillery attack.
Although the second batch of two thousand cavalry troops and three thousand infantry troops invested by the Qing army also tried to further widen the attack surface, they had little effect. The iron net and horse-repelling formation deployed by the Haihan Army here is not a simple combination of quick deployment and quick retrieval used on the banks of the Yalu River, but a semi-permanent type that connects multiple iron and horse-repelling horses within a few feet of each other vertically and horizontally through dense barbed wire. Fortifications, these heavy iron horses are each fixed to the ground with thick nails. It is not easy to dismantle or move them. A slight delay will attract musket fire from the Haihan position.
Of course, the Qing army was not just beaten but did not fight back. The Qing army who was blocked north of Haogou bent their bows and arrows and launched arrows into the Haihan position. However, this attack method was very difficult for the Haihan army who had deployed defensive measures in advance. The impact was limited, but many people in the civilian team transporting ammunition to the firing line from the rear were injured by arrows. Although the Haihan Army built a canopy in advance for the trench combat positions on the firing line to prevent bow and arrow attacks, it could not provide the same level of cover for logistical supplies. Fortunately, the Qing army's attack surface was relatively narrow, and the trenches on the fire line were all connected to each other. Qian Tiandun quickly ordered to adjust the ammunition supply route, allowing civilians to enter the trenches from farther away on the left and right, and then use the The trench cover was transported to the battle location in the middle to avoid the Qing army's long-range attack on the base.
After the Qing army's offensive lasted for about an hour, more than half of the second batch of infantry that entered the battlefield had been consumed. The gap was like a life-devouring monster. Only living people could be seen entering, but Haihan's defense line had not been breached.
Although the casualties of the Haihan garrison were not large, the consumption of weapons and ammunition was also alarmingly fast. There were more than 70 rifles with various malfunctions, and tens of thousands of bullets had been consumed. Fortunately, Qian Tiandun had anticipated such a situation and prepared 500 new seven-shot rifles and a large amount of ammunition in the base's arsenal in advance, replenishing the firing line in time.
Seeing that this battle zone failed to form a breakthrough as quickly as expected, the Qing army was unwilling to mobilize the remaining artillery to the two wings, trying to open up two new battlefields in the same way so that more troops could be deployed Drop it closer to the Haihan position.
But this time the same routine did not have the same effect. The artillery counterattack on the Haihan position was obviously more violent than before. From time to time, Qing artillery was overturned by artillery shells flying from the opposite side.
Kim Sang-heon also vaguely noticed that Haihan's strategy was different from before, so he asked the staff officer next to him: "Why don't your army release the Qing army to concentrate and eliminate it like before?"
"The Qing army has superior strength, so it wants to try to bloom more, put more troops on the front, and use its superiority in strength to contain our army. Our army's strategy is to concentrate its superior strength and eliminate the enemy's effective strength." Staff Sgt. Answered Kim Sang-heon's question concisely and concisely.
However, Jin Sangxian did not understand this answer thoroughly and continued to ask: "That means that your army has limited strength, so it can only concentrate in one place to fight the Qing army at close range, and will not let the Qing army form a formation to attack." Where? ”
Naturally, the staff officer would not tell Jin Sangxian that the Haihan Army's combat method needs to take into account the consumption of weapons and ammunition. If they choose to fight on all fronts, they can still fight if they are defeated, but the ammunition reserves may not be able to last until the Qing army is completely defeated. At this time, artillery was used to destroy the long-range firepower of the Qing army, so that it could not destroy the fortifications outside the position before the infantry and cavalry charged. The Qing army naturally had no choice but to give up its original idea, considering the possible casualties in clearing these fortifications. , still put their troops into the war zone where they think they have opened up the situation.
The staff officer thought for a while and chose a short answer: "The strategy currently adopted by our army can kill the Qing army more efficiently. Mr. Jin may wish to observe it carefully."
Kim Sang-hyun was not a military attaché to begin with, so he seemed to understand the explanation, but he still shut up and continued to watch the fun. Although he did not understand strategy, he could still see that the pocket tactic deployed by Haihan in the middle was really powerful. Although the Qing army was still filling in troops at the battle site in the middle, the actual advancement speed was almost stagnant. Even if the Qing army later advanced even while carrying the corpses of their companions as cover, they still could not reach the Haihan position, which was only about ten feet away from them. Qing soldiers were shot and fell at every moment. This killing efficiency was indeed It is very efficient as the staff said.
When this flesh-and-blood millstone slaughtered all the second batch of Qing troops, the Qing army camp finally paid the price and retreated. The two groups of Qing troops that entered the battle totaled 4,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry, but in the end only about one-third of the troops withdrew safely. After the battle, there were hundreds of ownerless horses wandering in front of Haihan's position.
The generals of the Qing army had actually long realized that this fighting environment might be a trap deliberately set by Haihan, but they still had a fluke mentality of using strength to defeat luck, hoping to rely on the superiority of their troops and the bravery of their soldiers to break through the defense lines set by Haihan. . It is a pity that their judgment of the combat power of themselves and the Haihan Army was biased. After the more than 7,000 troops were put into the battlefield, they failed to achieve the expected effect. The casualties were second to none. The key is that after so many people were killed and injured, There is still no hope of breaking through the defense line. This is the biggest blow to the Qing army.
Taking advantage of the Qing army's initiative to withdraw its troops, Wang Tom suggested that Qian Tiandun ask his marines to move forward to defend some positions so that the combat troops of the independent regiment could take turns to rest. Qian Tiandun did not refuse, and readily agreed to Wang Tom's suggestion and handed over the Eastern Front positions to the Marine Corps for defense. The company originally stationed on the eastern front went to the center first to replace the unit that had been under the greatest defensive pressure, and let it return to the base to rest and recuperate.
Wang Tom did not let the Marine Corps go to the middle to seize the independent regiment's combat position because the two armies had already divided labor in the combat plan. The defense of the Datong River base was mainly completed by the independent regiment, and the Marine Corps only served as a substitute. After rushing to the north from the sea to intercept the defeated Qing army, the Marine Corps played the leading role. So although he was a little itchy about the fierce battle scene, Wang Tom still let his direct troops play the supporting role with peace of mind and take the lead. The stage was given to an independent group to perform.
The pile of corpses stretching for hundreds of meters outside the Haihan position has become a problem. It is midsummer now. Although the temperature at this latitude is not too high, if these Qing army corpses are piled outside the position for a long time, they will be dead in a few days. It begins to decay, and it will inevitably become a huge hidden danger to the defenders.
Not long after the ceasefire, there were still many living wounded soldiers struggling to crawl out from the pile of corpses. A large group of crows were already circling and landing in the sky, ready to enjoy this "big meal".
(End of chapter)