Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 471 Advancement
p.s. It’s been 4 years since I last updated. It hasn’t been easy during this period, so I’ll try to update as much as possible.

The street leading to the church was densely packed with soldiers fleeing in a hurry. They were the defenders who had fled from the Stone Bridge Ferry. A round of attack by the Han army had caused nearly 30% casualties among them. The rapid and violent blow had broken down the soldiers' psychological defenses. When a small number of dedicated grassroots officers were killed, there was no effective restraint. First, a small number of grassroots soldiers turned around and fled driven by panic instinct, and then like dominoes, the simply constructed defense line collapsed in an instant. Only dozens of Han soldiers broke into the position, which led to the breakthrough of the entire defense line.

Rifles, ammunition, military canteens, military caps, and some looted cloth and food were scattered all over the ground. All the items that had delayed the escape of the soldiers of the Republic of Brazil were ruthlessly abandoned, even though these items had once made them excited and crazy. When facing death, nothing was more precious than life.

"Bang, Bang" "... "Bang, Bang", the sound of gunfire gradually became more frequent, and the sound of powerful footsteps came from near and far. The lagging Brazilian soldiers could already see the iconic gray cloth uniforms of the Han army.

"Surrender and you won't be killed!" "Raise your hands in surrender!"

The Chinese language mixed with various accents was drowned out by the noisy sounds on the street, and the Brazilian soldiers who were eager to escape could not hear clearly.

However, in this situation of icy rout, even without a common language barrier, the Brazilian soldiers could understand each other's true intentions with just an expression or a gesture.

"I surrender, I surrender, don't kill me"

The lagging soldier was tripped and fell face down on a corpse beside him. His face was stained red with blood. Feeling the blood still warm on his face, the Brazilian soldier, whose brain was highly nervous, shouted anxiously, and then knelt on the ground, raising his hands and shouting.

The distance to the church was getting shorter and shorter, and more and more Brazilian soldiers surrendered. The Han troops following behind the deserters separated some of their men to collect the prisoners and maintain order among them. This busy schedule bought the remaining Brazilian soldiers more time to escape. However, the Shiqiao Ferry only sustained one round of attacks before the defenders fled in disarray. Even if they managed to make it to the church, how long could they hold out?
"Da da da", the pursuing troops rushed to the training ground west of the church and suffered a machine gun fire from the direction of the church.

"Get down, stop moving!"

A junior officer who was chasing the enemy crouched in the corner and shouted to the rear: "Is anyone injured?"

"No, the enemy's bullet missed!"

The crisp sound of gunfire extended to the rear, and bullets streaked across the sky, making continuous "whoosh" sounds.

Nearly a hundred soldiers who charged forward sought cover on the spot and dispersed.

"Fuck it, fire the cannons, fire the mortars! Mortars, charge forward!"

The two mortar crews at the rear followed the order, crawled forward, and went around the corner of a civilian house.

"Enemy fire is 50 meters in front of the east side of the church, one round loaded, ready!"

There are three people in a group, one person observes the direction of enemy fire in front, one person adjusts the position of the mortar position, and one gunner takes out the artillery and loads it.

"put!"

The shell fell into the mortar barrel, and with the propulsion brought by the rebound, it drew an arc and shot forward.

With a loud bang, the shell hit the wall of the church and exploded, stirring up a cloud of debris and dust.

"Adjust the gun position, 55 meters east-southeast, two rounds loaded. Fire!"

The first artillery shell deviated from the intended target and failed to effectively strike the enemy's firepower point, so the Han army quickly prepared for the second round of firing.

The two 60mm light mortars, which were supported by the gun carriage, were operated by the gun crew. They completed the azimuth adjustment and shell loading, and then started the second round of firing.

"Bang, bang, bang" accompanied by hoarse and low firing sounds, three shells fell into the direction of the church, followed by a dull roar of explosion.

"The enemy is silent!"

After the explosion, a fire point that was spitting out flames just now became silent.

The defenders' firepower point was hit by concentrated fire from two artillery pieces. In addition to two mortars, there was also a 65mm small mountain cannon that arrived later.

The 60mm light mortar and the 65mm small mountain cannon are the main supporting firepower for the Han Dynasty's grassroots battalion and company-level troops. Because of their convenience, relatively low cost and easy maintenance, the 60mm heavy mortar is usually used as a substitute for the small mountain cannon and is used in close combat.

"Company 3 and 5, move forward! Artillery and machine gun crews, suppress fire and provide cover!"

The Han army's follow-up troops arrived one after another. The number of Han troops outside the church was close to 1000. They rushed forward in a fan-shaped scattered charge, constantly surrounding and oppressing the church. Mortars and mountain artillery were fired one after another to provide fire cover and support for the assault soldiers. The surviving enemy fire points desperately spit out flames to fight against their unwilling fate.

The roar continued, and one firing point after another was eliminated. The huge wall clock on the top floor of the church was hit by a shell and fell straight to the ground, breaking into pieces.

Faced with the intense fire attack, this church, which was built nearly a hundred years ago, was like a boat in a storm, swaying on the verge of collapse!
"We surrender, we surrender!"

The counterattacks from the church gradually became sparse, and when the gunfire stopped completely, a white flag was raised from the top of the church.

"Stop attacking!"

The officer in charge of the battle command waved his sword and gave instructions to his troops: "Order them to lay down their weapons, raise their hands and walk out of the church. Those who disobey orders will be killed without mercy!"...

At the Shiqiao ferry, dense crowds of soldiers and mules and horses gathered on the river bank, waiting in line to cross the bridge. The sounds of carriages and horses neighing mixed together, making the scene particularly lively.

Because there were too many people and mules and horses, the small stone bridge was crowded with horse-drawn carriages pulling artillery. The carriages, artillery shells, baggage and soldiers in between were all gathered together, making the narrow stone bridge somewhat overwhelmed. In order to speed up the crossing of the bridge, the Fifth Division's engineering battalion hurriedly selected two rivers with slow currents not far from the stone bridge and wanted to build a simple floating bridge across the narrow river section for the soldiers with lighter loads to pass.

After receiving the marching order from Chen Zongbai, Chen Dechao led more than 9000 people of the Second Mixed Brigade and traveled overnight. At 9 am on September 24, they arrived at the outskirts of the town of Elisa and joined up with Cai Jiu's troops.

"How long will it take for all the troops to cross the river?"

Chen Dechao arrived at Elisa Town and took over the battlefield command from Cai Jiu. Standing at the stone bridge ferry, holding a telescope, he looked towards the church and asked.

"The engineering battalion is urgently building a pontoon bridge, which is expected to be completed by the evening. Currently, there are about 1000 people crossing the river. Once the pontoon bridge is completed, it is expected to take a day to transport all the troops and their artillery, ammunition, and supplies across the river."

The commander of the Fifth Division's engineering battalion replied.

"How is the battle going in Elisa Town?"

"At about 11 a.m., the garrison stationed in the west of Elisa could not withstand the attack and voluntarily abandoned the castle and fled towards Asuncion. On the way, they were intercepted by the cavalry battalion that was on guard. Except for a small number of people who fled into the forest, most of them were captured.

The battle in the direction of the church is still going on. The defenders' supporting firepower has been completely destroyed. It is expected that the battle will be over before the afternoon."

Chen Dechao took over the battlefield command, but the frontline attacking troops were still mainly led by Cai Jiu's troops. Therefore, Cai Jiu accompanied Chen Dechao and explained: "The church defenders have been surrounded by our army. If Commander Chen wants to end the battle as soon as possible, I can order the frontline troops to speed up the attack."

"Captain Cai, there is no need to do that. Just proceed according to the established battle plan."

Accompanied by Cai Jiu, Chen Dechao walked towards the church and said as he walked: "The frontline command has conveyed the latest order, ordering our troops to advance immediately and clear the outer defense line step by step on the way to Asuncion. That is, we must not rush and advance rashly, but we must also suppress the defenders along the way to a certain extent. The specific scale is determined by you and me."

"Is the frontline command worried that we will attack too quickly and scare the enemy away early?"

"That's what it means."

"The Imperial Army has been preparing for nearly ten years. The weapons and equipment and the tactical quality of the officers and soldiers are no longer comparable to those ten years ago. Your Majesty and the officers who formulated the Paraguayan strategy were afraid of hitting the Brazilians too hard, so they retreated directly. If that happened, the subsequent battles would be difficult to fight."

Chen Dechao glanced at Cai Jiu and saw the puzzled look on his face. He laughed and said, "Marching and fighting is not just a military issue, but also a political issue. If we scare the Brazilians away and they all run back, it will be difficult for the Empire to have a legitimate reason to launch an attack on the Brazilian mainland. After all, the bottom line set by the British and Americans is to maintain the stability of the existing territory of the Brazilian Republic."

"I'm grateful for your guidance." Cai Jiu said as if he suddenly realized something.

"You, you." Chen Dechao laughed.

"Sir, the church defenders have surrendered to our army. The frontline troops are advancing into the town to clear out the defeated soldiers. Please give your instructions, sir!"

A staff officer hurried over and reported.

"Well done. Let's go in and arrange for the troops to assemble and rest, and then march to Asuncion in three days!"...

(End of this chapter)