Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 451 Encarnacion Part

The combat order was issued to all grassroots units. After receiving the combat mission, the three infantry battalions, brigade engineering battalion, 75mm field artillery battalion, brigade reconnaissance battalion, machine gun company and other units under the 3600st Regiment of the st Mixed Brigade, totaling more than people, quickly assembled and then took the train at : noon to the designated combat area.

"Woo-woo-woo", the whistle sounded long, and a long train emitting thick black smoke was running at high speed on the railway to Villarrica. On the nearby plains outside the train window, one lush tree after another quickly appeared in the soldiers' sight, and then was pulled behind by the train in the blink of an eye.

The area between Encarnacion and Villarrica has not been affected by the war, but looking out the window, one can see groups of people fleeing and migrating.

There was great hatred among the people and the military of both Paraguay and Brazil. During the First Paraguayan War from the beginning of 1864 to the end of 1868, the number of casualties in Paraguay and Brazil reached 12 and 8 respectively.

Among the Paraguayan casualties, the number of men was about 9.2, and the number of women and the elderly and infirm died was nearly 3.

The 8 casualties of the Brazilian army were all soldiers and officers directly involved in front-line combat.

The Paraguayan War, which lasted for nearly five years, exhausted the endurance of both warring parties. Whether it was Brazil or Paraguay, when one side captured prisoners from the other side, in order to vent the pressure accumulated due to the war, they would often cruelly punish and retaliate against the captured prisoners.

Among them, because the war took place in Paraguay, the Paraguayan people who had no ability to defend themselves suffered more severe war persecution than the Brazilian side.

The villages and towns where they lived were burned down, and the men in the villages were arrested and executed on suspicion of participating in the war.

During the First Paraguayan War, the extreme measures taken by the Brazilian Imperial Army against the Paraguayan civilians were repeated time and again in northern and central Paraguay.

The corrupt and loose military discipline of the Brazilian army caused great harm to ordinary Paraguayan people. However, in the face of the banditry of grassroots troops bullying the weak, even though Marshal of the Army of the Republic of Brazil Shotpeto issued several orders, expressly prohibiting troops from looting Paraguayan people at will, but because the participating troops entering Paraguay belonged to different factions and each unit contained more than one-third of black soldiers, Shotpeto's orders were not effectively implemented after being passed down through many officers who deliberately favored and indulged their soldiers in looting.

The atrocities committed by the Brazilian army in looting and injuring ordinary Paraguayans have caused a large number of Paraguayans to be displaced and flee, and have also aroused the will of many Paraguayans to resist. Large and small civilian resistance forces have emerged one after another, and dozens of transit stations and logistics transfer stations set up by the Brazilian army in the central and northern regions of Paraguay have often been attacked or even occupied.

A considerable number of resistance elements were active in the occupied areas in the rear. Often, after one resistance force was wiped out, another would reappear within a few days. It was precisely because the rear transportation routes were frequently attacked that the front-line military command of the Republic of Brazil had to transfer some precious troops back to central and northern Paraguay to suppress the repeated attacks by the rebel forces and maintain the normal supply routes of the front lines.

The instability in the occupied areas behind the Republic of Brazil not only bought the defenders of Asuncion nearly a week of respite and repair time, but also provided the necessary mobilization and marching time for the Han army to calmly intervene in the Paraguayan civil war.

The fleeing crowd outside the train window appeared in the soldiers' sight from time to time, but as time passed, the soldiers' curiosity about the scene outside the window quickly disappeared.

"The train is expected to arrive in Villarrica at 5:30 this afternoon. It is now 4:17 pm. You still have 43 minutes to eat and rest!"

In the swaying steam train carriage, a junior officer sat by the window, holding the seat with his left hand while staring at the watch on his right hand and said loudly: "At 4:50, the brigade quartermaster department will distribute tonight's marching rations to everyone in advance. This is the last marching ration for our troops in the next few days. Brothers, please cherish it."

"Are there any canned pork, Captain?"

"Yes, we have canned pork, beef, and mutton. You can eat as much as you want today. After you get off the train, we don't know when we will have the next march meal. So, if you don't have enough to eat this meal, you can only rely on field rations tonight and tomorrow to fill your stomach."

The young officer looked down at the watch on his right hand and urged: "The train is bumpy and unstable. Brothers, finish your marching meal as soon as possible, then check your weapons and equipment, and assemble quickly when the train arrives at the station!" "Yes! Company Commander."…………

"Director Wang, have all the march rations been distributed to the officers and soldiers?"

At the other end of the train, Zhang Wenlian, commander of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Mixed Brigade, asked a quartermaster officer beside him.

"Just distributed. Each soldier is given a can of meat (choose one of pork, beef, or mutton), a staple food (fried noodles, bread, cold rice, or corn tortillas), a sausage, a salami, and a piece of cheese candy. A total of 3627 portions were distributed to each company and platoon at : pm."

The quartermaster of the 1st Mixed Brigade said, "Because time is urgent, we only brought half a day's marching rations and two days' field rations (Han's military rations are divided into three types: garrison rations, marching rations, and field rations). If the war is still intense in two days, the military rations for the advance troops can only be transferred from Encarnacion by the logistics department."

"Two and a half days of military rations are enough. If everything goes well, the brigade commander and Brigade Commander Hu of the 4th Guard Brigade will lead the main force to Villarrica before tomorrow evening. At that time, the advance force will meet up with the main force, and we won't have to worry about the supply of military rations for the advance force."

Zhang Wenlian was optimistic about the progress of the Villarrica battle, so after learning about the basic military supply situation of the troops, he continued: "The military rations and ammunition reserves are sufficient to sustain our army's combat needs for the next two to three days. Therefore, after solving the demand for combat material supply, what our army has to do is to complete the combat mission of occupying Villarrica first and blocking the Brazilian army outside the Villarrica Railway Station in accordance with the requirements of the brigade."

Zhang Wenlian stood up, maintaining his balance while focusing his eyes on the march map fixed on the table: "Please look, there are two strategic locations around Villarrica.
One is Mbokayadi and the other is Twekwari.

Mbocayadi is located northeast of the Villarrica Railway hub. It is the north-south throat for attacking the station from the Mauricio direction. It is surrounded by hills and has complex terrain, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is an ideal defensive position.

Teviquari is located in the south of the station, with mountains behind and the river in front. The land is open, which is conducive to the deployment of the Brazilian army, but not easy for our army to set up blocking positions.

Therefore, considering the geographical and strategic advantages and disadvantages of the two places, I plan to place the main forces in the town of Mbokayadi. The 75th and th Battalions of the st Regiment, two companies of the mm Artillery Battalion, a machine gun platoon of the machine gun company, and the reconnaissance battalion are all deployed here. "

"Which unit is responsible for the defense of Teviquari? Teviquari is no more than 20 kilometers away from the Brazilian army's straight marching route. If the Brazilian army takes a risky move and bypasses the front marching route and detours to the Teviquari front, our army will face great defense pressure in the south of the station."

Li Jitai, commander of the brigade's reconnaissance battalion, asked.

“We cannot rule out the possibility of this happening.”

Zhang Wenlian nodded and explained, "Teviquari is the biggest weak point of the Villaria defense line. So, in order to prevent the Brazilian army from threatening the Teviquari defense position, I plan to place the remaining four Jianye 4-year heavy machine guns in the machine gun company, a company of the 75mm artillery battalion, the 75th Battalion of the st Regiment, and the Engineer Battalion in the direction of Teviquari. Then, use the fortifications dug by the soldiers of the Engineer Battalion and the heavy firepower support provided by the machine guns and mm field artillery to disintegrate the offensive of the Brazilian army."

"Twekwari has to be defended. The combination of engineers, machine guns, artillery and infantry can give full play to the advantages of our military's combined arms and minimize the disadvantages of Twekwari's geography and terrain."

Zhou Liying, commander of the 75mm field artillery battalion, simulated Zhang Wenlian's troop deployment in his mind and nodded in agreement.

"It is easy to distribute our frontal forces by dividing our troops. However, with the station as the central defense point, the distance from the station to Mbokayadi and Twikwari is no more than seven kilometers. Considering our army's firepower configuration and the central support and mobilization of the reserve force, dividing our troops into two parts for defense is the most appropriate method at the moment."…………

(End of this chapter)