Chapter 3023
In the original time and space, Penang was an uninhabited island for a long period of time due to the lack of a natural harbor. Even though it is next to an important waterway connecting the east and west world, it has not brought much popularity to this small island.
It was not until the late 18th century that the British East India Company built settlements on Penang Island and gradually developed towns and ports.
Penang Island currently belongs to the Kingdom of Kedah, but the domestic situation in this small country has been turbulent in recent years. The king is busy trying to break away from the control of Aceh and has no time to develop this inconspicuous offshore island.
Although Roger has some thoughts about this place, he has not taken action on this uninhabited island because of the feelings of Portugal and Aceh. However, the time was ripe this time, and he had already made up his mind to take advantage of the situation to capture Penang Island. By the way, he also used this small place to train his troops first, so that the troops could get into shape as soon as possible.
Although there is no one on Penang Island that can pose a threat to the Haihan Army, the whole show needs to be done, so it is still necessary to follow the normal procedures of an amphibious landing battle.
The main attackers were three troops from Annan, the Second Detachment of the South China Sea Fleet commanded by Mu Zhennan, the Third Regiment of the Eighth Army Division commanded by Ha Jianzhong, and the Jinlan Independent Battalion commanded by Wu Chengzhi.
After these troops were stationed on Star Island, they also conducted several joint training sessions with local troops. However, there are definitely differences between his own military base and the current unfamiliar environment. Roger also wanted to take this opportunity to see whether these troops from Annan had qualified actual combat capabilities.
The first to arrive at Penang was the flagship of the second detachment, the Wei Bang, and four expedition-class warships. These ships set up a position about two miles off the coast of the southern tip of the island, and then began to bombard presumed targets on the coast.
At the same time, more than ten troop transport ships were divided into two groups, left and right, and sailed to the landing site under the cover of artillery fire.
There was no detailed advance survey of the landing site this time because Roger's arrangements for the troops were not announced until they arrived in Penang, leaving them with less than an hour to prepare.
After a brief discussion, several commanders decided to omit the unnecessary reconnaissance link, let the fleet approach the coast, and directly use artillery fire cover to clear the way for the landing troops.
"Old Qian, what do you think?"
Hearing Roger's inquiry, Qian Tiandun put down the telescope in his hand and responded in a deep voice: "The attacking troops chose the open and flat west coast as the landing site. It is not difficult to observe that there are no defenses on the beach here, so there is no need to do anything." I think it is feasible to conduct trial reconnaissance and launch landing operations directly.”
"To be honest, I don't think artillery fire is necessary to clear the way, but considering that it is rare to have this kind of actual combat environment to practice tactics, I can understand their choice."
After listening to Qian Tiandun's opinion, Roger nodded and said: "After all, Annan has been at peace for a long time, and the troops there do lack opportunities for actual combat. Let's take a look at the subsequent performance. If we can achieve an orderly landing and quickly establish a beachhead, That’s considered qualified.”
The troop transport ship soon arrived at the coast amidst the rumble of cannons. As soon as the bow springboard was lowered, the soldiers with live ammunition jumped into the waist-deep water under the loud shouts and instructions of the officers, raised their rifles to their chests, and quickly Wading ashore.
Some heavy equipment and supplies have been loaded in flat-bottomed boats on the troop carrier in advance. After the infantry disembarks to make room, these boats, together with the equipment and supplies, will be sent to the beach.
The landing troops on the left and right belong to the Eighth Lu Division and the Jinlan Independent Battalion. Although they are both affiliated with the Annan Garrison Headquarters, given this opportunity to show their faces, the two troops are secretly competing, both wanting to be able to Show something.
However, the Jinlan Independent Battalion commanded by Mu Zhennan is an amphibious force after all. Its training level in landing warfare is obviously better than that of Ha Jianzhong's army, and the process of landing ashore is obviously smoother and more efficient. While Ha Jianzhong's troops were still regrouping after wading ashore, Mu Zhennan's troops had used the terrain to quickly build a bunker defense line, and separated into several small teams to begin exploring the periphery of the position.
Of course, there was no opponent on the island who would stop them, so the artillery fire covering the landing quickly stopped to avoid damaging the landing troops who had begun to expand their control area.
Qian Tiandun raised his hand and looked at the time on his watch, nodded and said: "The login process is basically qualified, but it is hard to say whether they can perform like this if they encounter resistance."
Roger said: "The Eighth Army Division spent too much time regrouping on the beach, which shows that the tactical deployment before the operation was not detailed enough."
Qian Tiandun said: "In the final analysis, it is still a lack of experience. Some things can only be summarized through actual combat, and exercises alone are far from enough."
While the two were commenting, the landing force had basically completed the occupation of the beach, and follow-up troops and supplies were being continuously transported ashore.
Roger ordered: "Take care of the affairs on the island as soon as possible, and arrange for the Portuguese to go to the island to have a look before dark."
What Roger wanted to show the Portuguese was of course not the temporary position built by the landing troops at this moment, but the "results" of the Haihan Army's landing battle on Penang Island.
Such a massive military operation must have some decent results in order to be worthy of Roger's declared goal.
Although Lopez heard artillery fire from the north far away, it was already three hours before his ship was allowed to enter the war zone.
According to Roger's instructions, Lopez can land on the island to check the results of the battle just now. Naturally, Lopez would not refuse such an arrangement and immediately transferred to a small boat to land ashore.
Tan Tianlei had already been waiting for him on the island in advance, and then took him to check out the fresh results.
"According to the intelligence we have, we found this pirate stronghold soon after landing. Unfortunately, they found that they could not resist and quickly withdrew into the mountains and forests of the island. We will deploy troops here to clear out all the pirates on the island. place, make sure to eliminate all the pirates hiding here”
While explaining, Tan Tianlei showed Lopez the "results" - a temporary settlement with traces of habitation, a few shabby tents, some pots and bowls, a few worn matchlock guns, and several unrecognizable corpses.
Lopez frowned and looked around, then questioned this: "This is the armed pirate that Mr. Roger claimed that heavy troops need to be dispatched to kill? This camp can accommodate at most twenty or thirty people. With just this few people, Can they intercept merchant ships in the Straits of Malacca? And where are their pirate ships?”
(End of chapter)