Chapter 2981
After an entire protective wall was destroyed by fierce shelling, the defenders had no bunker in this direction. If they wanted to stop the swarming Haihan infantry, they could only come out of their hiding places and engage in head-on fire. However, the gap in weapon performance between the two sides is too great. As long as they are exposed to the firing range of the Haihan Army, they will be immediately beaten into pieces by intensive fire.
Although the defenders of other nearby forts wanted to provide assistance, at this time the four heavy cannons were already aimed at another fort closest to the battlefield and began a new round of bombardment. As soon as the artillery shells blast out of the passage, another company will immediately rush in and kill the resisters.
After solving the thorny issue of Fort San Pedro last night, the process of attacking other nearby forts has also been significantly accelerated. The solidity and firepower output of these small fortresses are very limited. Without Fort San Pedro to provide cover for them to attract firepower, it is inevitable that they will be named by the Haihan heavy artillery.
The target of the company where Zheng Agui and others were responsible was the second fortress that was bombarded by heavy artillery. As soon as the bombardment stopped, the charge horn sounded. Zheng Agui led the team out of the bunker, bent down and ran toward the breach in the fortress.
Several grenadiers had already thrown grenades from a distance and landed behind the gap in an arc. Several Spaniards just appeared in the gap, and before they could raise their guns to aim, exploding grenades knocked them all down.
When Zheng Agui stepped on the collapsed rubble and rushed to the gap, he saw another Spaniard struggling to stand up, so he shot him without hesitation.
But this gap was the focus of the audience, and whoever stood here would become a target. Before he could see clearly what was going on inside the fortress, he heard the sound of projectiles whizzing through the wind, and quickly shrunk his neck, bowed and jumped into the gap. in the corridor.
These forts were converted from private houses, and the collapsed areas were connected to rooms and corridors, which could lead to various places in the fort. But whether it is the attacker or the defender, a melee in the building is not easy, it is like a street fight in an extremely narrow space.
Such a combat environment is indeed a big test for Bangui Battalion, which has many recruits. The vast majority of recruits had not received relevant training in indoor combat before, and even junior officers like Zheng Agui had no experience in this.
However, the advantages of the Haihan Army are also obvious. In addition to the performance of the weapons, the psychological states of the two sides are obviously different. Haihan is determined to win Cebu, and all resistance actions must be suppressed. For the resisters guarding this place, once Haihan breaks through the defense line, all that is left is a desperate struggle.
Several trained Spanish translators had already rushed to the front line with tin trumpets and shouted loudly, which meant that the resisters in the fortress should put down their weapons, raise their hands and walk to the outdoor patio to surrender.
This method of persuading surrender still played a certain role. Some resisters who were unwilling to fight to the death, as well as some local people who did not evacuate in advance, soon surrendered with their hands raised, and then followed the instructions and lay face down on the ground. On the ground, waiting for the Haihan Army to receive it.
However, there were still some resisters who chose to continue fighting to the death in the building. The Haihan Army had to take risks and clear out all the rooms one by one.
The new recruits led by Zheng Agui had not learned how to use grenades, so they could not use the "efficient" house clearing method of kicking in the door and throwing grenades. They could only conduct searches in the traditional way, but this also meant that they needed to Facing greater risks.
But for Zheng Agui, this kind of close combat will undoubtedly allow his soldiers to grow faster. The soldiers who were still panicking during the battle in Masbate Town are now able to carry out the orders he gave calmly.
Zheng Agui made a gesture, and Qiu Yong kicked open the door. Zheng Agui then took the lead and entered the house holding a rifle. A Spaniard was busy igniting the fuse of the musket. Zheng Agui pulled the trigger without hesitation and knocked him down. The other guy who rushed over with a knife was shot by Qin Bo who followed Zheng Agui. Put down.
Four people were left outside the door to guard the corridor, and the rest of the people searched the house and confirmed that there were no other resisters here.
Several silver coins were found from the injured resister, and there were also several pieces of silverware in the house. Zheng Agui motioned to his men to seize these first.
According to Haihan Military Law, seized property must be handed over. However, the military generally has lax requirements on this, and the items that are difficult to pass are mostly large items. As for small things like silver coins, this may not be the case. The soldiers will more or less deduct some, and Zheng Agui is no exception.
Before leaving, Zheng Agui saw that the injured two people were still alive, but they were both shot in the chest, making treatment difficult.
Zheng Agui winked at Qiu Yong and signaled him to get rid of these two people. This was not the first time Qiu Yong had done such dirty work. He nodded understandingly and raised his hand to pull out the military spur from his waist.
The clearing operation against the fort lasted until noon. Fortunately, Zheng Agui's team suffered no casualties, but their company still suffered one death and four injuries. It was not too serious, but it also made the company commander very angry.
A total of more than 160 prisoners were captured here, most of whom were people who failed to evacuate in advance. As for the resisters who died from Haihan's gunfire during the battle, a rough estimate has reached a hundred people, about half of whom were Spaniards.
During this period, operations continued against other nearby forts. Several large-caliber artillery pieces transported thousands of miles from Manila made the first contribution, relying entirely on them to blast a passage through the outer wall of the fortress so that the infantry could advance along with it.
However, these two days of high-intensity combat have consumed most of the special ammunition, and the next batch of cargo ships carrying ammunition may still have two days to sail to Cebu. This means that the few remaining fortresses nearby may not be so easy to capture.
The actual situation was exactly the same. The frequency of heavy artillery fire was significantly reduced, which caused the Haihan Army to greatly slow down its advancement during the afternoon's clearing operation.
In contrast, the effect of small-caliber artillery on demolishing buildings is much worse. Even ten shots fired may not be able to match the effect of one large-caliber artillery fire. The Haihan Army had to dispatch engineering troops again and used blasting methods to open the attack channel.
Before dusk fell, the Haihan Army finally captured all the fortifications in this area. Although it successfully eliminated a large number of armed resisters, the Haihan Army also suffered a considerable number of casualties, which had never happened in the previous battles against Cebu.
At this point in the battle, the Haihan Army had only controlled most of Cebu's urban areas. It had not yet had time to pursue and suppress the resisters who had fled to the edges of the urban areas and nearby mountains and forests. I'm afraid no one will be satisfied with such a combat result.
(End of chapter)