Chapter 2941
If we want to use the level of the main combat force of the Haihan Army as a criterion, the performance of Zheng Agui and others' company during the landing process can only be regarded as passing level at best.
Although there was basically no resistance, the landing process still seemed stumbling. The formation of the troops ashore was scattered, and many soldiers did not take the initiative to enter combat positions in the first place. Some squads and platoons even had to regroup after landing. The officers issued more detailed combat instructions, and the soldiers clarified their tasks.
Since this temporarily mobilized merchant ship did not have a springboard that could directly reach the beach, the unloading time of heavy equipment and combat supplies also exceeded expectations. So much so that the gun positions on the beach have been built, but the field guns are still laboriously being hoisted and unloaded.
The deduction before the operation seemed to be in order, but when it came time to take action, problems in various aspects were constantly exposed. The Bangui Battalion itself has limited strength, coupled with the lack of actual combat experience, and no time for targeted training before operations, it is inevitable that these chaos will occur.
Fortunately, the Spaniards' armed forces in Masbate Town were not strong. They basically encountered no decent resistance during the landing. They were able to establish a beachhead relatively calmly, transfer combat supplies, and organize the next wave of operations as a whole.
Half an hour after initiating the landing, the company that landed in the northern part of the peninsula finally began to advance towards the town of Masbate in the south. At this time, their progress was already nearly an hour behind the landing force in the southern part of the peninsula. Although the progress of the southern landing force was not yet clear, such a time difference would obviously affect the effectiveness of the north-south flanking attack plan.
Zheng Agui would check his equipment every once in a while to keep himself focused. So far, he and his men have not fired a single shot, which seems completely different from the expected state of war before the operation. But no one dares to be careless about the temporary tranquility in front of them.
According to the intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau before the operation, the Spaniards here are not unarmed people. They hold a large number of private weapons in their hands and have a certain will to resist. They cannot be expected to surrender voluntarily when they see the Haihan Army.
Zheng Agui finally received the action order. His platoon was responsible for searching the fishing villages near the landing point to eliminate possible threats and ensure that the company could safely pass through this area.
The so-called fishing village is actually just a dozen or so families of fishermen living near the coast. When he landed previously, Zheng Agui had already seen the fishermen who were sorting their fishing nets throwing away their tools and running home to hide in a hurry. What he had to do now was to drive these fishermen out of their homes and gather them together to guard them to prevent them. Possibility of causing trouble.
After approaching the fishing village, the Spanish translator first shouted with a tin trumpet, ordering the fishermen in the house to come out and surrender on their own. However, such calls seemed to have no effect. There was silence in the fishing village, and no one responded.
Zheng Agui led his men to approach one of the houses. Once an encirclement was formed, Zheng Agui took the lead and kicked the door open.
A man in the room held a harpoon in both hands, roared and rushed towards Zheng Agui at the door. Seeing this, Zheng Agui quickly stepped back two steps to let the man rush out from him, then raised his rifle and gave it to him. A gun butt hit his back and knocked him to the ground.
Qiu Yong, who was next to him, saw the right opportunity and stepped forward to kick the harpoon out of the man's hand. Then several people held down his hands and feet and took out the prepared shackles to cuff him behind his back.
Seeing that the man was under control, Zheng Agui led a team into the house to search to make sure nothing was missing. The room was filled with a fishy smell. Apart from a broken bed, there were only some pots and pans and fishing nets. No other people were found, and there was no valuable property.
At this moment, a gunshot was heard outside the house. Zheng Agui hurriedly came out of the house, only to find that the shooter was not his own men, but another team searching a nearby house. This shot knocked down a fisherman who was also holding a harpoon. It seemed that he was also planning to imitate his neighbor and charge to the death. But this guy obviously lacked luck. He didn't meet Zheng Agui, but someone who wanted to send him on his way as soon as they met.
According to the requirements of this operation, soldiers can open fire when encountering any resistance that poses a security threat, so there is nothing to say about this. I can only blame him for being too impulsive and wanting to fight against the Haihan Army on his own.
Upon seeing this, the Spanish translator picked up the tin trumpet again and loudly urged the fishermen to give up resistance and come out and surrender immediately, otherwise they would be shot without mercy.
Although Zheng Agui doesn't like this approach, he also knows the importance of speed. In order to clean up the fishing village as soon as possible, creating fear and breaking the fishermen's will to resist may be the most reasonable strategy at the moment.
This firing should have had a certain deterrent effect. Sure enough, some fishermen actually opened the door, walked out timidly and surrendered, but a closer look revealed that they were mostly old, weak, women and children. This scene reminded Zheng Agui that he had seen several small fishing boats on the sea when he came here. Perhaps most of the men in this fishing village went out to fish.
Not all of these surrendered fishermen were Spaniards, some of them clearly looked like local aborigines. But for the Haihan Army, this was not the time to check their identities, so they locked up all the adult prisoners with shackles. These prisoners will be dealt with after the town of Masbate is captured.
It took about a stick of incense to clean up the entire fishing village, and about forty prisoners were captured. During the process, only one fisherman died because he tried to resist. However, there were no casualties on Haihan's side. It can be said that it went quite smoothly.
If the previous action flow is followed, after capturing these prisoners, the next step is to destroy their residences. These wooden shacks are easy to catch, and just one fire can destroy the entire fishing village.
However, this operation is no longer as simple as destroying settlements, but to achieve long-term occupation. It is not necessary for all these residents to move away, and their residences need to be temporarily retained.
While they were busy gathering the prisoners together, the rumble of artillery was heard from the distance in the south.
Zheng Agui's face changed slightly, which was not a good sign. If it is our own side that fires artillery, it means that the troops in the south have encountered relatively strong resistance and have to use artillery to clear the way. And if the opponent fires artillery, it would be even worse. Although the Haihan Army has strong combat power, the infantry can only give in when encountering artillery. If it were to hit it head-on, I'm afraid there would inevitably be casualties.
"Speed up and push southward!" The company commander became anxious when he heard the sound of artillery, and quickly gave the order.
The fighting in the south has already been fierce, and the area near the coast has just been cleared here. If there is a delay, the troops from the south may have entered the town to end the battle, and their own company can only clean the battlefield. Then But it's so embarrassing.
(End of chapter)