Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 276: Three Surrounded and One Missing
The smoke of gunpowder cleared, the fighting ceased, and the Argentine civilians who remained in the city were organized by the National Defense Force to clean up the houses destroyed by artillery fire. Teams of soldiers attached to the gendarmerie headquarters patrolled the streets of the city, monitoring possible dangerous situations.

The battle of Lomas City ended. The Third Division and the Third Mixed Brigade Command left behind 300 seriously wounded soldiers and a team of 500 second-line guard soldiers to garrison Lomas City. The main force set out for the next attack target the next morning.

On the evening of April 15, the Third Division and the Third Mixed Brigade encountered a group of Argentine militia troops who were reinforcing De Zamora. Wu Fengdian immediately ordered his troops to launch an attack and wiped out more than 800 Argentine militiamen in the wild.

At noon on April 16, the National Defense Force arrived outside the city of De Zamora. After a brief rest, the National Defense Force pulled out teams of captured Argentine militiamen for public display, threatening the defenders of De Zamora to open the gates and surrender.

The garrison force of Dezamora consisted of just over a thousand soldiers. After seeing the reality that the reinforcement militia had been captured and the power of a round of artillery bombardment by the Wehrmacht, they reluctantly opened the city gates and surrendered to the Wehrmacht.

De Samos fell without a fight. Wu Fengdian's officers and soldiers continued their march. Except for leaving 300 troops to guard the Argentine prisoners, a large force of 10,000 marched to Florence overnight. Then, after two days of siege, they captured the fortified city where more than 3,000 Argentine troops were stationed.

The war progressed step by step as Li Mingyuan had expected.

On April 19, Chen Zongbai's 12,000 troops occupied Mercedes and compressed the Uruguayan troops to the vicinity of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, cutting off the communication channel between the Uruguayan troops and the Argentine federal army, forming a hostile situation in the north of Buenos Aires.

On April 22, 7,000 National Defense Army troops boarded more than 40 large transport ships and landed in Dolores, south of La Plata, with the cooperation of two main naval ironclad ships.

La Plata is a strategic fulcrum of Argentine President Mitre's defense-in-depth plan. Not only are more than 3,000 regular troops deployed there, but Argentina's only remaining main naval fleet is also docked in the La Plata naval port.

The La Plata Naval Base is sunken inwards and has complete defense equipment. It can berth ocean-going ships and warships with a displacement of 10,000 tons. It is an excellent deep-water port.

A frontal attack on La Plata from the open sea would be vulnerable to a joint attack by the local garrison and naval batteries, making the attack difficult. Therefore, the Defense Force landing force did not force a direct landing on La Plata as Argentine President Mitre had envisioned. Instead, it took a detour and set up the landing site in Dolores, 200 kilometers away, and used the plains north of Dolores to launch an attack on the city of La Plata from land.

On April 27, after five days of successive attacks, the defenders of La Tarata were captured by the National Defense Forces. That afternoon, the Argentine Navy, which had lost the support of the army and the cover of the artillery, forcibly broke through the attack from the land artillery and engaged in a fierce battle with the National Defense Forces Navy that was waiting in the waters outside the port.

The main force of the Argentine Navy was severely damaged in the transport battle to transport troops and supplies to Buenos Aires. The remaining two ironclad ships and more than ten modified steam warships were defeated by the superior Wehrmacht Navy fleet. After an hour of fighting, one of the two ironclad ships was sunk, one was severely damaged and lost steam power and was captured by the Wehrmacht Navy, and the remaining more than ten modified steam warships continued to sink as the battle continued.

At around 7 o'clock in the evening, except for three or four modified steam battleships that managed to escape the battlefield under the cover of darkness at sea, the other Argentine warships either accepted the request of the National Defense Navy and surrendered, or faced the attack of battleship artillery fire and sank to the bottom of the sea.

The latest battle reports were delivered to the National Defense Force Headquarters through sea and land channels. Li Mingyuan sat in the army headquarters and continuously adjusted the specific combat deployment by analyzing the progress of the war.

The Buenos Aires general offensive was a bloody grind. From the moment the order for the general offensive was issued, one brave troop after another was sent into the battlefield, but soon they would have to withdraw due to heavy casualties and be replaced by another troop.

Half a month of offensive and defensive operations tested the patience and perseverance of the commanders of both sides. Faced with the rows of casualty figures on the military reports and the young faces in the wounded camp, Li Mingyuan's patience was being consumed bit by bit.

Four thousand were killed, two thousand were seriously injured, and seven thousand were slightly injured. The total number of casualties of the Wehrmacht was nearly one-tenth of that of the main force, but it was difficult for the war to end with an overwhelming advantage.

Every soldier of the National Defense Forces who has been tempered by war is a valuable asset. The casualties reported at nearly a thousand people every day is something that Li Mingyuan cannot bear.

Inside the military tent, a group of senior generals of the National Defense Forces sat around a table with serious expressions on their faces, and no one dared to speak loudly.

"Zhu Xiliang, the commander of the Second Regiment of the First Division!"

"I am here."

As Li Mingyuan spoke, an officer in his thirties stood up cautiously.

"The attack on Anulis was unsuccessful. Immediately remove the commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Division and demote him to the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment!" "I obey your command."

His post as regimental commander was dismissed and his military rank was downgraded one level to battalion commander. Upon hearing Li Mingyuan's decision, Zhu Xiliang broke out in a cold sweat. He silently accepted the demotion and did not dare to complain.

"Tan Pingshan, you used inappropriate tactics, causing heavy losses to your subordinates. You are hereby expelled from active military service and assigned to serve in the garrison..."

After dealing with seven officers who performed poorly in combat, he was able to vent some of the anger that had been pent up for a long time.

"Luo Linshan."

"I am here."

"The frontline troops' siege tactics are rigid. You, as the frontline commander, have an unshirkable responsibility!"

"I know my crime."

"Humph, confession of guilt! I don't want a light confession of guilt. You should understand what I mean."

"Yes, I will learn from the previous siege and ensure that there will be no more unnecessary casualties!"

Luo Linshan lowered his head and expressed his opinion.

"As the commander of the front line, the war is not going well, and you have joint command responsibility. Luo Linshan, I will give you another division of troops. If you still can't control the number of casualties in the troops, I will hold you accountable!"

"As you command, I dare not disappoint Your Highness."...

After singling out Luo Linshan and reprimanding him, Li Mingyuan looked around at the dozens of officers around him and continued, "The casualties in the army are too high. The commanders on the front line are responsible, and I and you are also responsible.

The fact that 13,000 soldiers were killed and wounded is a fact. I will not discuss the results of the previous battles for now. I think it is necessary to make changes to the subsequent deployment of the battles. "

"Your Highness, although our army suffered heavy casualties in the Buenos Aires attack and defense, the casualties of the Argentine troops were not less than ours. I believe that changing the established battle plan midway may lead to unexpected consequences. Please consider this."

After Li Mingyuan finished speaking, an officer spoke up and expressed a different opinion.

"The battlefield situation changes rapidly, and our army must also learn to make corresponding strategic improvements as the enemy situation changes."

Li Mingyuan placed his hands on the table, leaving no room for objection, and made the final decision, "Starting from April 29th, the attacking troops will withdraw from the western encirclement of Buenos Aires, leaving the defenders in Buenos Aires with a retreat route to the inland provinces. At the same time, other troops will intensify the offensive on the front, and absolutely not give the Argentine defenders a chance to breathe!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"...

Thanks to classmate Ajun F for the reward and support!

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(End of this chapter)