Chapter 3529
When the commander of the shogunate army noticed that this battlefield had successfully established a landing point on the other side of the strait, he decisively reported it to Tokugawa Ietsuna, who was supervising the operation, requesting that troops be concentrated here to launch an assault and further expand the landing site to seize the other side as soon as possible. The high ground.
The purpose of the shogunate army launching the offensive in five directions was to disperse the limited forces of the Kyushu Allied Forces, find weak points in the defense line to break through, and achieve the operational goal of crossing the sea and landing. But now that there is a breakthrough point, it is also very reasonable to make on-the-spot adjustments by focusing on opening this gap.
Tokugawa Ietsuna agreed to this request without hesitation. The reason why he scheduled the sea-crossing offensive to be launched in the afternoon was that he hoped to open a breakthrough on the other side as quickly as possible and establish a beachhead before nightfall, and then take advantage of the difficult conditions at night. During this gap in the battle, more troops were sent to the other side.
In the original combat plan, the five-way offensive was both an actual attack and a feint attack. As long as one of them achieved a breakthrough, it could be immediately transformed into the main attack direction, while the other lines would automatically become feint attacks.
The speed of the breakthrough was even faster than he expected. It seemed that the opponent's deployment was not as strong as imagined.
Changes would happen later, and Tokugawa Ietsuna didn't want to give Haihan a chance to interfere.
Although the news brought back by Sakai Tadayoshi stated that Kaihan would not directly intervene in the battle between the two armies, Tokugawa Ietsuna would certainly not believe such a promise 100%.
At this moment, there are dozens of Haihan warships floating on the sea at the east end of the strait, ready to go into battle at any time. This is undoubtedly a large dark cloud weighing on the heads of the shogunate army. No one can be sure whether this dark cloud will turn into something at some point. A thunderstorm is coming.
What the shogunate army can do at this moment is to try to take the initiative in their own hands and stabilize the advantageous situation before dark.
The tactical adjustments of the shogunate army were quickly noticed by the inspection team near the strait. More and more sailing ships flying the flags of various people under the shogunate are quickly gathering towards the area where the battle is most intense.
Tao Donglai asked with a worried look on his face: "It seems that the shogunate army is going to concentrate its firepower to attack this place. Are the Kyushu Allied Forces prepared for this situation?"
Shi Diwen seemed to be confident: "Old Tao, don't worry, this is part of the coalition's battle plan. The shogunate divided its forces to attack, and the coalition could only struggle to cope with it, and the war of attrition could not wear out the opponent. The only way is to let the shogunate's army gather to the precipitate. After setting up a battlefield, the coalition forces can have the opportunity to concentrate on destroying the opponent's effective forces."
Ning Qi asked: "But with the deployment of troops and the intensity of firepower on that hill, can it really withstand the full attack of the shogunate army?"
Shi Diwen smiled and said nothing, but looking at his expression, it was obvious that he had full confidence in the coalition's response strategy.
On the other hand, spectators from other countries basically have no preset positions and do not lean towards any side, so they do not have such anxiety when watching the game.
The roar of artillery on the battlefield, and the billowing smoke rising from ships constantly being hit on the sea. Such a fierce amphibious operation scene is extremely rare for most people in the inspection team, even laymen who are not familiar with military affairs. It's fun to watch.
Although the losses in the process of crossing the sea were considerable, by evening, the shogunate army had successfully evaded the coastal defense artillery fire of the Kyushu Allied Forces on several troop transport ships and landed on the other side.
After landing, about two thousand shogunate troops began to attack the forts high in the hills. From the coast to the position of the fort, the height difference seemed to be only a few dozen feet, but the shogunate army found that this short distance was not so easy to pass, and the difficulty was even more difficult than the sea crossing and landing operation just now.
This seemingly inconspicuous hill is actually fortified layer by layer and a large number of fortifications have been built.
Barbed wire fences, deer villages and bunkers made it miserable for the shogunate troops who tried to launch an attack. Behind the bunker, there were countless muskets and small-caliber cannon firing grapeshot aimed at them.
The shogunate troops attacking from the bottom could only rely on the shields in their hands as cover, but these shields, which were used to protect against bows and arrows, could not protect against close-range musket fire.
With the sound of gunfire from behind the bunker, the shield bearers of the shogunate army fell to pieces. Those who picked up the shield would fall to the next round of shooting one after another.
It seemed that the shogunate army had successfully occupied the beachhead and could receive a steady stream of troops from troop transport ships. However, the troops who landed ashore were constantly being killed by the coalition forces, and the front line failed to advance much.
And another bad news is that more and more Kyushu coalition forces are concentrated in this area. Even the narrow passages leading inland from both sides of the hills have been blocked by the coalition forces.
If the shogunate army wants to achieve a breakthrough, it is obviously unrealistic to rely on the limited troops landed on the ground to rush forward. They can only hope to transfer heavy weapons ashore as soon as possible and use artillery to destroy the defenders' bunkers.
The shogunate army did prepare a lot of artillery for post-landing operations, but it was not easy to transfer these heavy weapons and equipment ashore on a beach with no infrastructure facilities. After several hours of work, only a dozen or so artillery pieces were transferred ashore.
When the shogunate army finally transported these artillery to the battle line, the opponent was already ready to fire, and attacked the shogunate army's artillery unit according to the shooting boundary measured in advance.
The artillery of the shogunate army often only has the opportunity to fire two or three rounds. If they fail to retreat in time, they will easily be called upon by the artillery shells of the Kyushu Allied Forces.
The battlefield where the battle was truly evenly matched was actually at sea. Both sides put their own armed warships into the narrow battlefield of the Kanmon Strait. In the strait, which is only more than 20 miles long, there are a total of more than two hundred large and small warships from both sides.
Many of these warships were produced in Haihan. From their appearance to tonnage to the weapons and equipment on board, they were exactly the same. The warring parties could only identify themselves by flying different flags.
Many officers of the maritime force of the Kyushu Allied Forces have received specialized training at the Sasebo base, so their level of commanding naval battles is slightly better than that of the shogunate army.
Although the shogunate army has a superior number of warships, the number of high-end warships produced in Haihan is about the same as that of the Kyushu Allied Forces, and the composition of the mixed fleet is complex, making it difficult for the commander to command the improvised subordinates. .
Both sides suffered considerable losses in this afternoon's naval battle, with at least dozens of ships sunk and damaged. The sea surface in the entire strait was full of shipwrecks and floating corpses, and the intensity of the battle had exceeded both sides' expectations before the war.
But the guests who were watching the battle were very excited. Many people thought that it was a worthwhile trip to witness such a battle scene with their own eyes.