The content of today's exercise is a tough battle, so the cavalry is not the decisive force on the battlefield. After its appearance, the stage was quickly given to the real protagonist.
Several artillery pieces were pulled into combat positions by pack horses. However, the position of these artillery pieces was at least two miles away from the fortress, which seemed to be quite far from the target.
At such a fighting distance, it is hard to say whether these artillery can hit the target, but with the equipment level of the Ming army, the defender's artillery will definitely not be able to hit the Haihan army.
On both sides of the gun position, there are armed infantry in place to provide cover for these guns.
The military thoughtfully prepared a telescope for each guest so that they could view the details of the battle. At this time, they all picked up their telescopes and looked at the artillery deployed by the Haihan Army on the battlefield.
Guests who knew something about military affairs quickly noticed that the appearance of these guns was somewhat different from the artillery they were used to seeing. They were no longer short and thick. The ratio of the caliber to the length of the barrel was much larger than that of traditional artillery. It looked like More slender.
The shells used by these artillery pieces are not traditional cast iron spherical shells, but cylindrical shells with a slender shape and a pointed tip.
"Haihan has taken out the baby he is looking after!" Ximang's voice was full of excitement that could not be concealed.
This was not the first time he had seen this kind of artillery. Before that, he had seen this new type of artillery with a special appearance in the Haihan Army.
But all he knew was that this gun used a new type of shell with a primer, and the loading method was from the back of the barrel. As for the combat performance, he didn't know anything about it.
This is not the first breech-loading gun installed by the Haihan Army. At least two or three kinds of breech-loading guns have been deployed to field troops before. However, those types of artillery are generally smaller in caliber, but the cannons unveiled today are obviously one size larger in appearance.
The engineers used a shovel to dig out two pits at the rear of the artillery position, and then pulled the hoe from the artillery mount and fixed it in the pit.
At the same time, the artillery observed the target, calculated the shooting elements, determined the shooting angle, and after the artillery was fixed in position, began to adjust the gun and aim.
The whole process was not only explained in the text given to the guests, but also explained by the Haihan Army officer on the viewing platform. Even a layman did not have to worry about not being able to understand the movements of the Haihan Army.
According to the exercise procedure, the next step is to attack the front of the fortress with artillery. This is also the most critical link in all attacks on city fortresses. If the defenders' fortifications cannot be destroyed, then a traditional wall-climbing siege will have to be completed at the cost of the lives of a large number of soldiers.
But as we all know, Haihan soldiers are extremely elite and will rarely choose the close combat mode on the battlefield. They climb the city wall against fallen trees and falling rocks. This is a scene that has never appeared on the battlefield.
The Haihan Army relies on its powerful firepower attack methods. The artillery unveiled today is undoubtedly a further strengthening of the Haihan Army's combat model.
As the command to fire was issued, the cannons fired one after another, deafeningly, followed by bricks and stones flying around the fortress, and gunpowder smoke filling the air.
When the smoke and dust dissipated, everyone was surprised to find that after only three rounds of shelling, the gate of the fortress had lost its original shape, and a large section of the protective wall had been blown down, leaving a large gap at least five feet wide.
The envoys from various countries took a breath when they saw it. When they went to check the exercise venue just now, they all made a point of confirming the strength of the fortress.
Although it was not as good as the city defenses of the big city, it was made of solid adobe on the inside and blue bricks on the outside. It was more than four feet thick, but it was destroyed by artillery fire from two miles away.
Looking at this posture, even if the walls of this fortress were built thicker, they probably wouldn't be able to withstand these rounds of shelling. Moreover, the firing frequency of this kind of artillery is very fast. In the time it takes for three rounds of shelling, traditional artillery may not even fire the first shot. Putting this kind of efficiency on the battlefield is a very terrible gap.
However, Haihan's bombardment was not over yet. After assessing the effect of the strike with a telescope, the commander issued an order to continue the bombardment.
After three more rounds of shelling, the gap in the front of the fortress had expanded to nearly ten feet wide, clearing a passage for the infantry to attack.
If it is a normal battle, then the infantry can already attack the gap at this time. But the protagonist today is the artillery. The commander did not arrange for the infantry to attack, but let another batch of artillery appear. It's just that their deployment location is closer to the fortress, just over a mile away.
At this time, the potential threats on the front of the fortress have been basically eliminated, and there is no need to worry that the defenders still have enough energy to re-set up artillery for counterattack.
Although the caliber of the new cannons is smaller, perhaps because the distance is closer, the impact effect is not bad. The cannonballs fly into the fortress from the gap, and the smoke and dust from the explosion rise several feet high.
In the following time, all kinds of artillery appeared in turn, which was dazzling.
The envoys from North Korea, Annan and other countries were very busy. They picked up the telescope to take a look, then put down the telescope to compare the explanatory documents. The artillery they intend to purchase will demonstrate their power in this military exercise. Seeing the actual combat effects of these artillery is the main purpose of their trip.
Simang and Thomas were very excited at first, but as various artillery pieces were put into combat, their faces gradually became ugly.
With such intensity of shelling, not to mention this fortress that was used as a target, even the city of Manila, which Portugal has operated for many years, may not be able to withstand such continuous attacks.
What's even worse is that they each thought about it for a long time, but they couldn't come up with any tactics that could restrain Haihan's bombardment.
The Haihan Army was simply trying to defeat ten groups with one force. Whether it was a frontal confrontation or a huddled defense, they probably couldn't withstand such a fierce bombardment.
The only good thing is that they are still Haihan's allies and don't have to worry about facing such terrifying weapons on the battlefield for the time being.
But other countries were not sure. The two subconsciously turned to look at the Su family and his son. Sure enough, they saw that their faces were not very good-looking, and they felt a little relieved at the moment.
Although the Su family's father and son were both literati, the sight they saw was very intuitive. They could feel the terrifying power of these artillery pieces without anyone's explanation.
Su Yongshan, who had been very interested in this before, was greatly shocked after seeing the fortress turned into ruins under artillery fire.
He could even imagine how desperate he would be if he were a defender in the fortress facing such an offensive.
No wonder Spain and Haihan suffered defeat after defeat, without even a decent victory.
So can the Dutch resist such fierce firepower? The answer is obviously no.