Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 494: Attack on Mount Klipona
The sun rose halfway up the mountain, and the weather was a little hot. The Brazilian soldiers in the Libona Mountain fortress group were nervously looking towards the foot of the mountain. Since 6 o'clock in the morning, the Han army began to mobilize. There was the noisy roar of warships on the river, and columns of black smoke drifted from the river to the mountains. Although the specific number of ships could not be seen due to the distance, the size of the ships would not be small just by listening to the noise.

At the foot of the mountain, figures were moving about in the Han army's position, and the intensive shouting could be heard even from hundreds of meters away. The Han army's position extended from the foot of the mountain to the rear camp. The entire position was five or six kilometers long and hundreds of meters wide, with soldiers stationed at certain intervals for defense. Looking down from the top of the mountain along the direction of the Han army's position, one could see that several kilometers away, in the winding trenches, teams of Han soldiers were gathering and advancing towards the front of the position.

The battle was about to break out. Many Brazilian defenders could not help but grip their rifles tightly, breaking out in cold sweats due to nervousness.

At eight o'clock in the morning, two fire snakes shot out from the river, aiming directly at the Libona fortress group.
Two dull loud noises of "boom boom" hit the eardrums of the defenders, and two huge columns of dust rose into the sky, covering part of the position.

Artillery shells were fired one after another, and explosions sounded one after another. The western position of the Libona fortress group was first attacked by naval guns, followed by the southern and eastern parts. The artillery fire extended to every corner of the position. The fierce and continuous bombardment cut off more than 20 centimeters of a protruding hill on the top of the mountain.

In the central position of the Libona Mountain fortress group, a middle-aged officer in his fifties stood in a thick fortress, looking out through the lookout to observe the situation around the position. The shelling was mainly concentrated in the western part of the position and lasted for nearly an hour. Through observation and information summarized from various positions, it was learned that two 120mm heavy artillery pieces were destroyed in the western position, and the eastern and southern positions lost a total of 1 heavy machine gun, three mountain cannons, and two mortars, with nearly 300 soldiers killed or wounded.

The middle-aged officer is named Ramirez, a colonel in the Army of the Republic of Brazil, 6000 years old and experienced in combat. The Third Regiment of the Second Division of the Army of the Republic of Brazil where he serves is an old unit left over from the Brazilian Empire period. It is one of the few elite units in the current Brazilian army. It has experienced the division of the Brazilian Empire, civil war, and rebellion. There are no more than troops like the Third Regiment of the Second Division with firm fighting will and sophisticated combat skills.

Ramirez did not expect the Han army's artillery bombardment to be so fierce, nor did he expect the Han army to send ironclad ships to attack Mount Libona. Aren't they afraid that the warships will be stranded?

Ironclad ships in this era were a symbol of national strength and naval power, and they were very expensive to build. Ramirez did not expect that the Han army would risk running aground and drive the precious ironclad ships to the inland waters of the Paraguay River to participate in the land war.

The battlefield is always full of variables and unknowns. The addition of the Han light cruiser brought severe tests to the Brazilian defenders. Ramirez looked at the soldiers outside the fortress who were destroyed by the raging artillery fire. He felt sad and helpless. They were all brave and fearless warriors. Many of them died under the artillery fire before they had time to fight the enemy head-on. If it were other troops of the Republic of Brazil, they would have collapsed long ago under such dense and powerful heavy artillery attacks.

The newly formed troops lack combat experience and need to go through the training and tempering of war. If they can survive, they will have the opportunity to grow into qualified soldiers.
Unfortunately, under the current unfavorable situation where the power of the Republic of Brazil and the Kingdom of Han is very different,
Ramirez also doesn't know whether the recruits will have enough time to grow and improve.

The war must go on. More than 20 years of military career have already tempered his mind. After observing the damage caused by the Han army's artillery bombardment, Ramirez calmly planned the subsequent battle arrangements.

"The southern position has a relatively flat terrain and a wide field of vision. It is estimated to be the focus of the Han army's attack. After the bombardment is over, deploy the remaining two mountain cannons and two heavy machine guns to the southern position to strengthen the defense there. The other two mortars and one heavy machine gun will be deployed on the eastern position to guard against threats from the Han army's flank."

Ramirez muttered to himself, and at the same time prepared himself for a fierce battle.

The bombardment scene came into view. On the Yangwu-class cruiser, Yang Guangzong put down his telescope and opened his pocket watch. When the clock pointed to 9 o'clock, he gave an order: "Stop the bombardment, notify Captain Wu, and the Yongxing-class cruiser retreat 2 kilometers to observe the battle situation on Mount Libona."

"Yes, sir!".
The artillery fire stopped, the air was filled with smoke, and the crisp charge sounded. Team after team of soldiers stepped out of their hiding trenches, and then merged into two torrents, launching an attack on Mount Libona from the south and east respectively.

The sound of gunfire rang out again. The 75mm field guns, 65mm light mountain guns, 60mm light mortars, and heavy machine guns desperately spewed shells and fire snakes to suppress the enemy's heavy weapons and provide fire support and cover for the charging troops.

The Han army's charge troops, in skirmish formation, advanced to the middle of the mountain.

Behind them were wave after wave of support troops. From a distance, they looked like tiny ants, densely packed together.

"Open fire! Adjust the positions of the mountain artillery and mortars to suppress the enemy troops on the southern hillside. Aim the heavy machine guns at the direction where the enemy troops gather on the ridge! Everyone, fire with all your might. Don't let the enemy rush up!"

Artillery shells roared, bullets flew, and fragments of exploded shells flew in all directions, knocking down seven or eight soldiers who were charging at a rapid speed. Several artillery pieces, heavy machine guns, and nearly a thousand rifles formed a dense rain of bullets, wantonly reaping the lives of the soldiers who braved the front. The offensive formation was disrupted, and the charging troops who reacted, led by their respective commanders, dispersed into smaller troops, and used obstacles such as rocks, trees, and tunnels formed by the explosion of artillery shells as cover to resist the enemy's counterattack, or squatted on the ground, picked up the rifles in their hands, looked up and fired back.

A moment later, the supporting mortars and heavy machine guns arrived at the front line. After the artillery and machine gun crews found a good position, they quickly set up their positions and then fired shells and bullets to attack the enemy's heavy firepower fulcrum.

After the first attack failed, the Han army's assault troops immediately organized a second attack. Relying on the coordinated cooperation of heavy machine guns and mortars, they advanced forward step by step. 50 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters, 300 meters, the Brazilian defenders' outer positions were broken through one by one, and the Han army was getting closer and closer to the position on the top of the mountain.

"Everyone hold on, I have sent a messenger to ask General Davis for help, and the reinforcements will arrive soon!"

Our troops were getting fewer and fewer. Ramirez held up a brass megaphone and shouted loudly to the outside positions through the lookout: "We have repelled the Orientals' attacks eight or nine times. They failed every time. Don't be afraid! We were able to repel them before. We will be able to do it this time too! Everyone hold your ground and fight back with all your might!"

Ramirez's encouragement played a certain role. The front line, which had been frightened by the fierce offensive of the Han army and was somewhat unstable, stabilized again.

Shells flew everywhere, the battle was fierce, near the top of the mountain, the enemy and our army's front lines were entangled, some soldiers rushed forward a few meters, were hit by the enemy's heavy machine guns, and fell straight to the ground. On the top of Libona Mountain, a 120mm heavy artillery was still firing shells towards the Paraguay River, and several light and medium artillery and heavy machine guns were also spewing fire snakes, hindering the advance of the army assault force.

"The enemy still has the power to fight back."

Yang Guangzong looked at the battle situation on the top of the mountain, pondered for a moment, and made a decision: "Inform General Liu that there are still remnants of enemy artillery in the Libona Mountain Fortress Group. It is recommended to evacuate the front-line assault troops and wait for the remaining enemy heavy firepower to be found out. The navy will launch a second artillery attack to completely destroy the enemy's heavy firepower!"
At the top of the mountain on the south side of Mount Libona, a force of more than 300 people advanced to a position about meters from the top of the mountain. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle over a narrow mountain pass on the south side leading to the top of the mountain.

"Captain, the enemy's heavy machine gun fire is fierce, and the road is narrow and steep. The brothers charged twice and were beaten back each time!"

An officer with blood on his head crawled behind a huge rock and reported to Zhang Kangren, the commander of the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Mixed Brigade.

"Organize a commando team, and let the Third Battalion Commander lead the team personally. If the Third Battalion Commander can't take the mountain pass, I will do it myself!"

Zhang Kangren was furious, and because he gave up the main attack mission yesterday, his anger grew even more.

"Captain, the casualties from the frontal attack are too great. Do you want to reconsider this?"

"The enemy is blocking the mountain pass. The heavy machine guns can't get up there. The terrain is too steep and the distance is not close enough. The mortars don't fire at the right angles. If we don't organize a charge, how can we break through the enemy's defenses at the mountain pass?"

Zhang Kangren tore off the bandage on his arm, snatched a rifle from the soldier on his left, pulled the bolt, and was about to order the troops to launch another charge when a voice came from behind, interrupting his action.

"Captain Zhang, all attacking troops must stop attacking and retreat to the foot of the mountain to wait for orders. We will organize an attack after the second bombardment by the navy is over."

Zhang Kangren snatched the telegram from the messenger, glanced at it briefly, and said unwillingly: "Brother, we are almost taking over the enemy's mountain pass position. Give me another 30 minutes, if not 15 minutes, I will personally organize a charge and take over the position!"

"The order from the headquarters is to retreat immediately. This is an order personally conveyed by General Liu and must be executed!"

"withdraw!"

Zhang Kangren clenched his teeth, unwilling to utter a word.

When fighting on the battlefield, before the final decision of the superior is clear, front-line officers can take the initiative to fight for it, but once the battlefield order is officially issued, they must obey it unconditionally. This is the first military order that Han soldiers learn when they join the army, and it is also the most important one.

The order was issued to the last unit on the front line. The Han army units that had been attacking fiercely withdrew quickly like a tide, cleanly and neatly without any delay.

Looking at the Han army troops gradually moving away, the Brazilian defenders, whose nerves were tense and even numb, breathed a sigh of relief. The surviving Brazilian soldiers lay lazily on the battlefield, breathing in the fresh air. More than 20 soldiers were organized to act as temporary medical soldiers, busy shuttling between various positions, bandaging, treating and transferring the wounded.

Accompanied by two junior officers, Ramirez walked out of the fortress to inspect and comfort the soldiers who were still holding their ground at various positions.

Half an hour passed in a flash, and when Ramirez was still hesitating whether to go to the next position to inspect and visit, one shell after another flew towards him with long tails.

"Sir, be careful!"

Two artillery shells came towards the direction where Ramirez was standing. A grassroots officer shouted in despair, but it was too late. The two shells exploded one after another within a range of less than 15 meters from Ramirez. The explosion of two 120mm heavy artillery shells formed an effective killing radius of 40 meters. Neither Ramirez, the Brazilian officer who warned him, nor even the Brazilian soldiers within the killing range were spared.

The second wave of shelling lasted about 50 minutes. When the Han army's assault troops reached the top of the mountain, they found that the enemy was no longer able to organize an effective counterattack. The more than 400 surviving Brazilian soldiers voluntarily laid down their weapons and surrendered the moment the Han army reached the top of the mountain.

(End of this chapter)