Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 267 San Fei
ps: I’m sorry for not updating for more than ten days.

March 1879, , in Santa Fe, an important city in northern Argentina.

"General, there's a call from headquarters."

"read."

"The situation you have presented is known to us. The headquarters has ordered the troops from Cordoba Province to provide nearby assistance. We hope that your officers and soldiers will resist bravely and hold out until the reinforcements arrive.

President Mitre, March 15th.

The communications officer unfolded the message and read it.

"Understood, let's go down."

Delgado, the commander of the Santa Fe garrison, waved his hand, signaling the communications officer to leave.

“General Delgar, the enemy’s attack is fierce. Our garrison troops have fought for five days and suffered more than three thousand casualties. If the President does not send a strong force to reinforce, I’m afraid that Santa Fe City will not last more than a week.

I beg the general to ask the president for help again, otherwise not only will the city of Santa Fe be in danger, but even the area along the Paraná River may fall into the hands of the enemy. The battle of Santa Fe is crucial, the general must be cautious! "

After the communications officer withdrew, Delgado's deputy Guzman spoke earnestly.

"Since the President has ordered the troops from Cordoba Province to assist our army, there is no need to request reinforcements from the headquarters."

Delgar waved his hand and rejected the other party's suggestion.

"Urquiza has always refused to obey the federal government. Now the main force of the federal government is in a fierce battle with the Han people. Urquiza is eager to stand aside and watch the fun. How could he honestly accept the order of the president to support us?
The troops of Urquiza and Cordoba Province are unreliable. If we want to solve the crisis in Santa Fe City, we still have to rely on the reinforcements of the President. General, I beg you to send another telegram to the President for help?"

"The president has his own difficulties. As subordinates, we also have to consider the president."

Delgar shook his head helplessly, remained silent for a while, and then said, "Well, for the sake of the safety of Santa Fe City, I will send another telegram to the President, hoping that the President can dispatch some troops to support us."...

The heavy rain stopped, and misty drizzle covered the battlefield after the fierce battle. Dozens of soaked soldiers were struggling to push a cannon stuck in a mud pit.

"Everyone, work harder. When I say three, let's push together!"

A junior officer, shirtless, loudly commanded more than 20 soldiers to push the artillery.

"One, two, three, get up!"

The officer counted to three, then shouted, crossed his legs and leaned back to support himself, pushing the wheel on one side of the gun with both arms.

"One, two, one, two..." More than twenty soldiers shouted slogans, mustered their strength, and pushed the artillery step by step. It took more than twenty minutes to move the artillery to the designated position.

After finishing their work, the soldiers rested for a while under the simple wooden shed. Then, still wearing their clothes soaked by the rain, they sat together with five or six people, holding a piece of hard steamed bun that was distributed, and had a simple lunch with a few canned pickled foods.

Heavy rains for several consecutive days caused the water level of the Paraná River to rise. The logistics teams departing from the country encountered obstacles in their way to the riverside ports. As a result, there was a certain degree of shortage of supplies for the troops on the Santa Fe front, and the soldiers' rations were not as abundant as before the war.

The heavy rain made it more difficult for the Han army to attack the Sanfe defense position. The five-day high-intensity attack had not achieved the desired results, which made Li Mingyuan anxious. Therefore, after yesterday's attack failed, Li Mingyuan suspended the attack and instead used the lunch break to personally go to the front line to check the situation.

His long military boots stepped on the loose soil, and when he lifted his feet, there was a faint splash of water. Li Mingyuan walked on the position covered with drizzle. Without the help of others who held umbrellas to shelter him from the rain, he walked steadily towards the high ground on the left wing of the position.

"Your Highness, ahead is the Corinthian position outside the city of Santa Fe."

Reaching the top of the hill, Luo Linshan, the commander of the attacking force, pointed to the position on the other side of the hill.

"Surrounded by mountains on both sides and supported by a tributary of the Paraná River at the back, the Argentines really chose a good location to set up their position there."

Li Ming looked at the tight defensive deployment on the Corianste position from afar and spoke.

"The Corinthian position is connected to the city of Santa Fe across the river. When our troops launched an attack, the heavy artillery in the city of Santa Fe could assist the Corinthian position in launching artillery attacks on our troops. Therefore, the attack in the first five days was unsuccessful due to the influence of the heavy artillery in the city of Santa Fe."

"Why didn't our heavy artillery suppress the enemy? I remember that the 155mm heavy artillery regiment was delivered to the front-line troops two days ago? Didn't you use the 155mm heavy artillery to fight back?"

"Your Highness, the distance of Santa Fe City is beyond the effective range of 155mm artillery. During yesterday's attack, I tried to use 155mm artillery to counterattack, but the effect was average. The shells fired failed to have an effective impact on the Argentine artillery unit. Moreover, the 155mm heavy artillery is huge and much heavier than ordinary artillery. It is difficult to move in heavy rain. Not only can it not cause damage to the heavy artillery in Santa Fe City, but it also has limited impact on the Argentine troops on the Correnste position. Therefore, although the front-line troops have received reinforcements from 155mm heavy artillery, the help of 155mm heavy artillery in terms of offense is very limited."

Rollin explained.

"The heavy rain is a headache, but our strategic goal is to use our superior forces and a large number of artillery to quickly capture Santa Fe. We will destroy the Argentine central government before the Argentine troops are fully prepared, and then divide and surround other local forces. If our army stays outside Santa Fe for too long, the Argentine central government will have more time to summon young and strong people to join the war. At that time, if we want to capture the entire Argentina, the price we pay will be even greater."

There were objective reasons for the unsuccessful battle to capture Santa Fe. The sudden deterioration of the weather and the continuous heavy rains were one reason for the obstruction of the war, and the slow progress of intelligence work was another reason.

Santa Fe is a city predominantly populated by white people, and it is difficult for intelligence personnel planted by the National Defense Forces to infiltrate the Argentine garrison and obtain the necessary intelligence information.

Intelligence is the eyes of military operations. Without the support of internal intelligence, the war between Han and Argentina would be nothing more than a head-on clash of power.

"The war is urgent. It is not appropriate to wait until the weather improves to continue the siege."

Li Mingyuan thought for a moment and made up his mind. He continued, "The machine guns and mortars of the Second and Third Divisions will be temporarily assigned to the First Division. The artillery units will also fully support your siege. I need the First Division to capture the Korenst position before nightfall the day after tomorrow. Remember, we must capture the enemy position before nightfall the day after tomorrow."

"I understand. Within two days, we must capture the Corinthian position at all costs!"

(End of this chapter)