Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 305 Kismayo End

At noon, the scorching sun shone directly on the Juba River, creating clouds of hazy water vapor.

Captain Zhao stood at the bow of the ship and could already see the towering Western-style church not far away.

"Captain, the Italians have spotted us."

The adjutant saw a group of Italian soldiers in light blue uniforms pouring out from the west of the church and warned them.

"The Italians have quite a few troops, more than a hundred regular soldiers."

Italian soldiers gradually entered the blocking positions along the river bank, and their weapons and equipment as well as the number of troops were displayed without concealment in front of the garrison.

"Since the fleet set out from Kismayo, we haven't seen any trace of Italians. I guess the situation is tense and the Italians are worried about being attacked by us, so they have withdrawn all the colonial forces in the inland areas to a few strongholds."

"It's very possible. The Italians exchanged fire with us once. We learned a lesson last time when we attacked Kismayo. Now it seems that we have gained a lot of experience."

Officer Zhao's eyes were always focused on the Italian troops on the shore, carefully observing the opponent's defensive deployment.

"You see, the Italians have built a line of defense in the area facing the river bank, and all their regular troops are deployed on this line of defense."

"There are at least three mountain cannons and one machine gun deployed on the front line. It seems that the Italians are planning to rely on the river bank defense line to severely damage our attacking forces. Then, they will take advantage of the setback of our frontal defense line and cooperate with the colonial forces in the east and west of the church to annihilate our attacking forces on the shore."

"The Italians still think we are stupid African natives, thinking we will rush to attack their positions and fall into their trap. The Italians are not very smart!"

Officer Zhao chuckled and continued, "The Italians have set up their positions, so we have to react. Order the First and Second Garrison Detachments to land 400 meters ahead and feint to attack the Italian defense line. Yellow Fish No. 1 and No. 3 gunboats carrying the Seventh Company of the Field Army will cross the water pass ahead and choose a suitable location to land and wait for an opportunity to attack the Italian flank defense line."

The combat order was issued to each ship. The guerrilla fleet of seven ships in total reorganized its formation. A small team composed of two gunboats adjusted their guns to bombard the wooden building in the center of the river bank. After two rounds of shelling, the fragile wooden building collapsed in flames, and the seven or eight Italian soldiers on it sank to the bottom of the water.

The water obstacles were cleared, and two gunboats carrying a team of soldiers moved forward while chasing several escaping steam merchant ships. The remaining ships, under the unified command of Officer Zhao, continued to bombard the shore defense line to provide cover for the landing troops' feint attack. …………

At the Dujuma Church, the three people who had just separated gathered together again and discussed loudly how to deal with the attack of the guerrilla fleet.

"There are only three or four hundred Orientals in the Juba River, Captain. I don't understand why you don't order the Kingdom's army to attack them directly?"

"Mr. Officer, the Orientals are different from the Somali natives. Their troops have received systematic military training, and the weapons they are equipped with are only slightly inferior to those of the Kingdom's army. You cannot confuse the Orientals with those stupid black natives."

"Orientals? Those yellow monkeys with greasy pigtails and opium-smoking days?"

"Captain, don't treat me as a Naples country bumpkin who has never seen the world," said Salvatore with a scornful smile on his face. "As for my understanding of Orientals, I can guarantee that no European on the coast of Africa knows their nature better than I do. They are just a group of numb and timid cowards. I once had the honor of following Lieutenant Grant and participated in the French army's conquest of the Kingdom of Annam. At that time, I had only sixteen Europeans and twenty Malayan mercenaries under my command. As a result, in a siege battle, two thousand Annam troops were defeated by my men.

Captain, the last Kismayo battle was just an accident. The Orientals only won a trivial victory by chance. You can't doubt the strength of the Kingdom's army because of a defeat. Your worries are totally unnecessary. When it comes to dealing with Orientals, the Italian Kingdom's army is not weaker than the English and French. "Savato has typical Italian characteristics and likes propaganda and exaggeration. Once it comes to the topic of colonial wars in Africa or the attack on the Annan army in which he personally participated, his mouth is like a stream of water, talking non-stop.

Captain Hunter did not have the patience to listen to a gangster leader telling about his glorious past, and in line with his duty as an officer, he decisively rejected Salvatore's suggestion. However, in order to avoid being labeled a coward and to teach the arrogant old Neapolitan gangster a lesson, Captain Hunter acquiesced to Salvatore leading his security police to launch a small-scale counterattack against the Chinese attacking forces.

At about 3 p.m., after a feint attack, Salvatore stood behind more than a hundred of his men, holding up a breech-loading rifle, and shouted, "Look, boys, show your courage and let the soldiers from the country see how the brave Neapolitan boys teach the cowardly Orientals a lesson!"

"Roar, roar, roar..." The desperadoes in various costumes responded to their leader in high spirits.

"Charge forward! Boys, take out the cowardly Orientals!"

Savato pulled the trigger and fired a blank shot. The subordinates gathered around him received the signal and rushed forward shouting.

The colonial troops under Savato's command attacked without any order. When a group of people approached the guerrilla line of defense, they ignored the coordinated operations and charged forward in groups. However, as mercenaries fleeing overseas, the Italian colonial soldiers had rich experience in saving their lives. They fought close to the guerrilla line of defense, and almost no one was stupid enough to bump into the defensive fulcrums where mountain artillery and heavy machine guns were deployed.

The chaotic attack lasted for half an hour. The guerrilla forces were worried about hurting the enemy, which led to the Italians stepping up their guard and deliberately hiding their true strength. The Italian colonial soldiers, as the counterattacking party, suffered seven or eight casualties, recaptured a captured stronghold, and stopped.

As the evening approached, the intensity of the battle gradually weakened. The Italian commander, Captain Hunter, was worried that the guerrilla fleet's flanking troops would attack the church's flank, so he withdrew 20 regular army soldiers from the shore defense line to support Savato's troops, while he himself stayed on the river bank defense line and personally commanded the Italian army to deal with the main force of the guerrilla force.

While waiting for the guerrilla force's full-scale attack, the Italian troops sent soldiers back to the coastal strongholds to request reinforcements. Two days passed slowly, and the flanking troops arrived at the designated location but delayed launching an attack. On the third day, two transport ships brought back a batch of food and ammunition from the hidden supply point established earlier. Captain Zhao distributed the supplies, especially the ammunition of the two 75mm artillery pieces, to the various troops. After resting for half a day, that night, the Italian troops stationed in Dujuma came under fierce attack.

"Captain, the Orientals' attack was too fierce. The riverside defense line was lost. Monsignor Salvatore and Father Amor also retreated from the church with their men!"

In the night sky illuminated by artillery fire, an Italian soldier brought the news that Captain Hunter least wanted to hear.

"Send someone to contact Savato and order them to return to their positions to stop the Orientals!"

"It's too late. Mr. Savato left a message saying that the Easterners have thousands of reinforcements and that staying in Dujuma will only lead to death. He also advised you to evacuate immediately."

"Idiot, where did the Orientals get reinforcements? Savato is clearly a coward!"

"Captain, the Orientals are cutting through our defense line. Give the order to retreat quickly, or it will be too late!"

"That's what the coward Salvatore did!"

Captain Hunter threw off his hat in anger, bluntly blamed Savato for the loss of the town, and immediately ordered a retreat.

(End of this chapter)