Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 110 Great Victory
After years of fighting, the First and Second Divisions of the Brazilian Army have seen their numbers drop to less than 10,000 troops in each division. The two divisions plus a portion of the troops responsible for guarding the headquarters, totaling nearly 20,000 troops, are the maximum force Garcia can mobilize.

The defense line surrounding the Humeta Fortress stretched for more than 30 kilometers. The remaining 30,000 troops faced more than 20,000 Paraguayan defenders in the fortress. The force comparison advantage was not great, and the defense pressure was great. In order to maintain the defense line surrounding the fortress from collapsing, Garcia had to defeat the enemy troops on the river bank before the Paraguayan defenders launched a full-scale counterattack, and then return to defend the fortress defense line.

Half an hour after the cavalry troops set out, the assembled 20,000 Brazilian troops followed. As the troops marched, Garcia kept urging the troops to speed up.

After marching all the way, 20,000 Brazilian troops arrived at the edge of the riverside base. There was an exchange of fire between the Chinese soldiers on patrol and guard and the vanguard of the Brazilian reinforcements. After more than a dozen casualties on each side, they broke contact and returned to their respective armies to report the enemy situation.

The troops came in so fast that it was impossible for them to engage in battle immediately. After arranging the troops to be responsible for the guard, Garcia and a group of senior generals went into the temporary command center to study the combat deployment.

The sounds of artillery and gunfire from the Brazilian naval base on the river bank ahead disappeared, and the corpses of horses and cavalrymen were scattered all over the ground in front of the enemy's position. All the circumstances indicated that the Brazilian naval forces had been completely wiped out, and the 2,000 cavalry reinforcements had also shed their last drop of blood under the enemy's defense.

Who were the enemy troops coming down the river? They had just met the Brazilian army and killed the latter's expeditionary navy and 2,000 cavalry. The enemy's number of troops, weapons and equipment, and origins were all unknown. How much chance of victory could we have in a decisive battle with an army we knew nothing about?

After seeing the tragic plight of the cavalry units ahead, Garcia's determination to fight a decisive battle with the enemy began to waver a little.

It was difficult to make a decision whether to fight or retreat in a short period of time, and Garcia's change of mind also affected other senior officers in the temporary command. Some of the senior officers who originally advocated fighting changed their attitudes and tended to retreat to the camp and hold their ground, waiting for Brazil to send reinforcements.

The commander of the Second Division was the main officer who held this idea. He gave a very good reason. The enemy annihilated the navy and the 2,000 cavalry reinforcements in half a day. The quick and decisive fighting style was enough to prove the enemy's strength.
The 40,000 Chinese independence army has basically landed. The gradually improved defensive positions and sufficient number of artillery and machine guns will deal a huge blow to the Brazilian army's attack.

Forty thousand troops were deployed in a small riverside base. The senior generals of the Brazilian Army had a rough idea of ​​the number of troops of the Chinese Independence Army. Even the number of soldiers deployed on the front line by the Chinese Independence Army was no less than 20,000, not to mention the troops that were resting in the back.
The Second Division commander's opinions were conservative and steady, but no matter how good his opinions were, they could not convince other officers before a real clash with the Chinese Independence Army occurred.

The troops were on a fast track, and retreating without engaging the enemy would be a heavy blow to the morale of the troops. In addition, it would be difficult to explain to their superiors if they lost the shore supply base for no reason.

War is the continuation of politics. As a group of people who hold the highest power in the Brazilian Empire, Garcia not only has to consider the war factor alone, but various political factors are still important and inevitable reasons. In the original history, Garcia successfully besieged the Humeita Fortress, forcing Lopez Jr. to abandon the main force and escape. Not long after occupying the Paraguayan capital Asuncion, due to the intensification of domestic conflicts in the Brazilian Empire, Garcia had no time to hunt down and encircle Lopez Jr., and hurriedly left Paraguay, giving Lopez Jr. a chance to breathe and re-recruit tens of thousands of troops, delaying the Paraguayan War until two years later.

The Humeita Fortress is still in the hands of Lopez Jr., and there is no sign of the end of the war in Paraguay, but Garcia has to face a major choice in advance.

Emperor Pedro II of Brazil was an accomplished emperor. During his reign, he promoted political and economic reforms in Brazil, abolished the black slavery system, and promoted Brazil's economic development. Pedro II has made great contributions to Brazil's current strength. However, not every Brazilian wants to have a wise emperor. Pedro II's reforms were beneficial to the country, but hurt the interests of the native whites and landowners who held power in Brazil. Faced with conflicts of interest, they will not care whether you are an emperor or not, they will still oppose you and pull you down.

Because there was no significant progress in the Paraguayan War, Pedro II's situation at home became increasingly difficult. Republican figures in Brazil even publicly advocated the abolition of the monarchy and the implementation of a federal republican system.

As a famous royalist leader, Garcia had to consider the status of Pedro II. If he did not fight a war and watched the riverside base being occupied by the Chinese independence army without doing anything, the news would get back to Brazil and the Republicans who smelled blood would surface like sharks, accusing Garcia of his command ability and even throwing dirty water on Pedro II. This result was unacceptable to Garcia.

For the sake of his own honor and power, and also to maintain the status of Brazilian Emperor Pedro II, the battle to attack the Chinese Independence Army is imperative.

The Brazilian army rested in front of the river bank position for more than two hours. Just when the Chinese soldiers on the front line thought they had to continue resting, rows of soldiers and horse-drawn carriages pulling artillery behind them approached the Chinese Independence Army position.

When the Brazilian army was one mile away from the Chinese Independence Army's position, they stopped. The artillery behind the troops was pushed to a nearby mound by soldiers pulling a horse-drawn cart. An engineering company affiliated with the artillery carried shovels and other tools to dig the soil and level the land.
A thousand light cavalrymen on guard duty surrounded the mound, alert to the enemy attacks on the artillery positions ahead.

The Chinese Independence Army did not launch an attack on the Brazilian army. Under the command of officers, the Chinese soldiers in the front-line positions carried ammunition, checked guns, and made final preparations before the battle.

It is not easy to tow large artillery, and the Brazilian army only carried small and medium-sized field artillery. After a preparation, the Brazilian artillery adjusted the angle of the artillery and then launched the first artillery strike.

There was a rumble of artillery fire. A machine gun on the position was hit by a shell. The shattered machine gun mount flew into the sky and finally landed five meters in front of the position. The Brazilian artillery showed off their power. The raging artillery fire covered the front position. Chen Guozhu, who was commanding the battle, squatted in a trench to avoid the artillery attack.

"You son of a bitch, you white-skinned ghost, you made me hide in a pit and eat dirt, you will suffer in the future!"

Chen Guozhu cursed Lielie and pulled over a messenger, shouting, "Soldiers from all units are not allowed to act without authorization. Return to your positions after the bombardment is over and beat the white-skinned devils hard."

"Yes." The messenger took an iron plate and covered his head with it, then ran towards the other troops in the trench.

The bombardment ended and the Brazilian Army troops began their offensive.

The Brazilian Army was not originally large in size. After the outbreak of the Paraguayan War, no one expected that the war would last for three years. When the frontline troops suffered continuous casualties and the original size of the troops could not meet the requirements of the war, Brazil continued to expand the army. The First and Second Divisions were gradually expanded from a regiment-level unit with a size of 2,000 people to a division-level unit with a full strength of 13,000 people. The increasing number of troops reduced the pressure on the frontline troops to besiege the Humeta Fortress, and at the same time reduced the combat effectiveness of the troops to a certain extent.

Sirebat was a native white man who was recruited into the army. The black man next to him was Gorante. Gorante was originally a black slave. After the Paraguayan War entered a stalemate, the Brazilian government, in order to end the war as soon as possible, not only recruited young white people to join the army, but also offered freedom as a reward to encourage black slaves to fight. It was after Gorante heard the news in the town that he secretly ran to the recruitment site to sign up. For this, Gorante was beaten by his master, and the wound on his back has not healed until now. Sirebat looked down on the black-skinned Gorante, thinking that fighting with him would insult his reputation and would be looked down upon by other white people.

The Brazilian army quickly approached the defense line of the Chinese Independence Army. The machine guns on the positions fired at the intensively attacking Brazilian soldiers. The Brazilian soldiers in the front row advanced less than ten meters and fell under the fierce shooting of machine guns. Modern warfare is different from traditional wars dominated by cold weapons. In the battle for positions, a distance of several hundred meters on the front line often means casualties of hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of troops. This form of war that competes with each other's firepower and weapons and equipment is more bloody and cruel, and more direct.

Traditional offensive and defensive wars rely on the defensive fortifications of city walls, and the war may last for several months or more than a year, but positional warfare with firearms can decide the outcome of the war in a few days or hours.

The one-hour charge broke through the Chinese Independence Army's outer defense line, at the cost of more than 3,000 Brazilian soldiers being injured and killed.

Xirebat and Golant were among the rare lucky ones. Their company of more than 150 people was at the forefront of the attacking force. An hour of intermittent attacks resulted in heavy casualties among the entire company. The company commander and four platoon leaders all died in front of the enemy's position. Only they were still alive and well.

During the rest time of stopping the attack, Sirebat took out the cross around his neck and prayed devoutly for God's blessing, while Gorant sat on the ground alone, trembling while holding his rifle.

After Xirebat finished praying, he saw Golant's frightened expression and called him "nigger" with disdain. He immediately felt his courage increase a lot and looked down on Golant's cowardice even more.

After a brief rest, some soldiers were recruited from the rear and the attack was resumed.

This time, Garcia moved the artillery unit forward and placed it on the outer defense line occupied by the army, firing artillery shells close to assist the army's attack.

The outermost line of defense is the bait prepared by the Chinese Independence Army for the Brazilian army. The specific location parameters of this line of defense have been measured, and the artillery units have set the shooting angles according to the parameters, just waiting for the Brazilian army to take the bait.

After breaking through the outer positions, the Brazilian army's attack became more fierce. Ten thousand soldiers launched the attack together, and artillery shells and machine gun bullets rained down on the positions of the Chinese Independence Army.

The entire Brazilian army was mobilized, and the Chinese artillery unit that had not appeared began to fight back. The twelve captured Napoleon field guns once again showed their power, and shells fell one after another on the Brazilian artillery positions. The huge explosion shock wave gradually covered the entire outer position. After the bombardment, the artillery, soldiers, and piled up shells were left with only broken weapons and corpses everywhere.

The Brazilian artillery positions were destroyed, and Napoleon field guns and other types of artillery extended their fire, targeting the rear of the attacking Brazilian army. Hundreds of artillery pieces fired one after another, and after the shells exploded, a tight blockade was formed. The Brazilian soldiers in front of the shells were isolated, and they were greeted by even more intense machine gun fire.

When defending the outer positions, in order to prevent the Brazilian army from being scared away, the machine guns on the positions were reduced by half. When it came to counterattack, there was no need to hide them. The machine guns and the few remaining grenades were all used to quickly reap the lives of the Brazilian soldiers.

The situation on the battlefield reversed. Most of the Brazilian soldiers who were separated by artillery fire were killed or wounded. The remaining soldiers lost the courage to continue the attack and turned around to retreat.

The artillery unit was completely wiped out and the attacking soldiers suffered heavy losses. The highly motivated Chinese soldiers would not miss such a good opportunity. They jumped out of their positions and chased the retreating Brazilian soldiers.

Xirebat's face turned pale and he ran backwards with all his strength. The shouts of the Chinese soldiers behind him were getting closer and closer. Xirebat wanted to move his legs and run faster but he could not speed up. The sound of bullets whizzing through the air reached Xirebat's ears. Two Brazilian soldiers running in front of him were shot dead and fell to the ground. Xirebat's feet were out of control and he stared blankly at his comrades who died in front of him. One of them was the black man Gorante, whom he looked down upon.

He was stunned for a moment, and when he came to his senses, five or six Chinese soldiers had come not far from him. He subconsciously raised his hands. Xirebat saved his life and became a captive of the Chinese. There was no hope of escape. More and more Brazilian soldiers surrendered. Garcia put down the binoculars in his hand and said absentmindedly, "We are defeated, completely defeated."

With 20,000 main forces defeated by the enemy, how many soldiers could escape successfully? Without 20,000 soldiers, could the remaining 30,000 people defend the camp? Garcia shook his head in pain, took out the pistol from his waist, pointed it at his head and was about to commit suicide.

"Commander, there are still 30,000 soldiers in the rear, and they are counting on you to take them home safely. You can't just leave them alone!"

The officers around noticed Garcia's actions and immediately pulled his hand to persuade him.

"Go home? Yes, they are the best troops in the empire, I can't let them die here in vain."

Garcia muttered to himself, regaining some of his sanity, "Retreat immediately and try to bring the soldiers back to the camp."

Garcia reluctantly issued the order to retreat and fled to the rear camp under the escort of surrounding soldiers.

The Brazilian Army suffered a setback in the battle along the river bank, and only 3,000 Brazilian soldiers eventually escaped back to the camp. The Chinese Independence Army killed 5,000 enemy soldiers and captured 10,000. The other 2,000 Brazilian soldiers fled into the mountains and forests around the battlefield, and no more than half of them were able to return safely to the Brazilian camp.

(End of this chapter)