Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 436 Attack on Manila (6K)

After pacing in the cabin for a while, Fang Haiyang finally made a decision and made arrangements.

"Send a military order, ordering our fleet to move forward immediately and launch a bombardment on the Spanish fleet in Manila Harbor, launching a tentative attack."

"Hit me hard!"

"We must stop the Spanish from blocking the waterway!"

As Fang Haiyang finished speaking, there were sounds of agreement coming from all around.

Soon, with the waving of the flag on the flagship, the Tang army fleet began to slowly press forward.

Leading the way are five steam ironclad ships!
The reason why there are only five is not because the current South China Sea Fleet only has a few steam ironclad ships, but because the South China Sea Fleet has not gathered all its main forces in Manila.

The Tang Dynasty's South Sea Fleet, in addition to leaving behind some mobile forces to garrison Guangzhou and be responsible for the coastal defense of the Pearl River Estuary.

There is also a squadron stationed in the newly occupied Quang Nam Province.

In addition, a squadron was sent to Batavia to receive the surrendered Dutch fleet in Batavia while maintaining vigilance and deterrence against the British Straits Settlements.

To prevent Britain from intervening in the South China Sea War!

Although both Britain and France have stated that they will cut ties with the Netherlands and Spain, statements are just statements. Hasn't Britain ever gone back on its word?

The Tang Dynasty naturally had to be on guard to prevent Britain from getting into trouble.

In other words, the warships of the Tang Dynasty's South China Sea Fleet are actually scattered.

The South China Sea Fleet that has arrived in Manila now is only a part of it.

Although this part is the main force of the fleet, several of the latest models of ironclad ships are included in it.

……

boom! Boom boom!

With a burst of artillery fire, the war began.

The Tang army fleet was lying across the waters off Manila, with the warships' sides aimed towards the port.

It is worth mentioning that the Tang army’s steam ironclad ships today have abandoned the multi-layer gun deck design of the traditional sailing battleship era.

Instead, it was designed based on the pre-dreadnought-class battleships and adopted the design of deck main turrets and secondary turrets.

Although the warship still has gun ports on its sides, there is only one layer, and they are small-caliber artillery, which are only used for supporting firepower.

Because of this design, the number of artillery on the Tang army's warships has been greatly reduced.

But since all the artillery are breech-loading guns.

Therefore, the firepower density of the battleship has not decreased, but has increased a lot.

As the ship's guns opened fire, the sea was filled with smoke.

The recoil generated by the firing of the 240mm main gun caused the warship's hull to suddenly stumble, leaving ripples on the sea.

A shell poured into the port!

Rumble!
The shell hit the ground and a huge ball of fire exploded.

A Spanish sailing battleship was hit, and with the sound of the explosion, a large hole was blown in the side of the sailing battleship by the explosion of the shell.

As the waves surged, seawater poured directly into the cabin.

boom! Boom boom!

As shells fell, the Spanish ships anchored in the harbor were instantly blown to pieces.

Seeing this scene, Cyril, the commander of the Spanish army, was furious.

You know, if he wants to use the sinking of the fleet to block the waterway, then all the ships must be sunk in the right positions.

Instead of just finding a place to sink and block the waterway.

However, before their warships could move to the specific position, the Tang army's artillery shells fired at them.

In the blink of an eye, several armed merchant ships were severely damaged and even gradually sank, and those sailing battleships were also severely damaged.

Such a scene is really shocking!
At the same time, the large artillery in the Manila port also began to fight back.

boom! boom! Boom boom!

Amid the deafening sound of artillery fire, shells whizzed in and landed on the sea.

Streams of water shot up and the air was filled with mist.

With a loud bang, a cannonball hit the side of a steam ironclad ship.

The solid shell hit the side armor, leaving an obvious deformation hole on the side armor without any other effect.

This is what solid shells do to ironclad ships.

Solid shells that rely entirely on kinetic energy to kill the enemy cannot cause much actual damage to the side armor of ironclad ships.

boom! Boom boom!

Amid the sound of fierce artillery bombardment, both sides fired artillery at each other.

But it is very obvious that the Tang army's fleet completely suppressed the Spanish artillery from the very beginning.

The reason why this happened is very simple.

The Tang army's artillery was a breech-loading rifled cannon, which was far superior to the Spanish muzzle-loading artillery in terms of both range and accuracy.

In other words, when the Tang army's artillery could reach the Spanish artillery positions, most of the artillery on the Spanish artillery positions could not reach the Tang army's fleet.

Only a few large-caliber coastal defense artillery can cover the Tang army's fleet within a certain range.

So, don’t be fooled by the lively artillery bombardment on the battlefield today.

But in fact, most of the artillery on the Spanish artillery position was just doing useless work.

Most of the artillery fire they launched fell into the sea, and had no other effect except disturbing the fish.

"No, General. Our artillery can't reach the Tang fleet..."

As he said this, Pierce, the commander of the Manila Fort, looked unwilling.

Cyril looked around the battlefield and said.

"Then increase the charge and use a stronger charge to shoot me!"

Pierce heard this and said with a hesitant expression.

"General, a considerable number of the artillery pieces on the fort are old ones from a century ago."

"If you force charge, the chamber will explode..."

These days, lax military preparations are not unique to the Qing Dynasty; the Spaniards are not much better.

Cyril glared at Pierce fiercely and said through gritted teeth.

"Burst? Even if it bursts, we have to fight!"

"If this continues, our artillery will be destroyed!"

Upon hearing this, Pierce had no choice but to agree, then turned around and continued to command the artillery to fire.

boom! Boom boom!

Shell after shell landed on the artillery positions and Spanish warships in the harbor. Amid the deafening explosions, the Spanish were suppressed and unable to raise their heads.

On the fort, those old Spanish cannons, even with powerful charges, posed very limited threat to the Tang army.

With a loud bang, a cannon exploded on the turret.

The Spanish gunners in the gun positions were also blown into the sky.

The entire fort was in panic!
……

Fang Haiyang put down the telescope in his hand and spoke.

"Order someone to prepare and test the specific effectiveness of the torpedo."

Seeing that the enemy was suppressed, Fang Haiyang also had some free time and prepared to help the arsenal test the specific effectiveness of the torpedoes and collect some battlefield test data.

As soon as he finished speaking, his adjutant saluted and said.

"I understand the humble position!"

Soon, the torpedo operation team on the Tang army warship received the order.

Start adjusting the torpedo parameters!

After this was done, the torpedo was stuffed into the launch bay.

Accompanied by a shout, the leader of the operations team pulled the switch hard.

With a snap, the gate closed.

The compressed steam in the steam chamber bursts out, driving the transmitter.

With a loud bang, the torpedo was launched.

After entering the water, the propeller at the tail of the torpedo also began to rotate, pushing the torpedo forward.

The black torpedo moved across the sea, leaving a clear white mark on the surface.

Break through the waves!

Under the gazes of countless people, the torpedo hit the underwater part of the side of a Spanish sailing battleship in the harbor.

The next moment, the primer inside the torpedo was triggered.

With a loud bang, the explosive inside the torpedo exploded and a column of fire erupted instantly.

The sailing battleship that was hit by a torpedo first bulged high in the middle of the ship, and then fell back and collapsed.

Broken wood chips mixed with water vapor flew everywhere.

With the explosion, the hull of the sailing battleship broke directly into two halves and began to sink slowly.

At this moment, the entire battlefield fell silent.

Everyone stared blankly at the scene before them.

Fang Haiyang took a deep breath, his expression solemn.

"The power of this torpedo is really scary enough..."

"Fortunately, such cutting-edge weapons are in the hands of our Tang Dynasty."

"If the Western Barbarians get hold of it and use it to attack the fleet of the Tang Dynasty, what will happen?"

He knew that the new torpedo produced by the arsenal was very powerful, but he did not expect it to be so powerful.

A torpedo actually sank a sailing battleship directly!

You know, although in the eyes of the Tang Dynasty today, the sailing battleship is already an old product that lags behind the current version.

However, it still cannot be underestimated!

But now, one of the ships was sunk by a torpedo from the Tang army. The killing effect was really shocking.

Fang Haiyang couldn't help but wonder if his ship could withstand a torpedo...

A sailing battleship will sink if it is hit by a torpedo, but what about a steam ironclad ship?

Even if it doesn't sink, it will be seriously injured, right?
Fang Haiyang couldn't help but take a deep breath, his expression was quite solemn.

After a moment of consideration, Fang Haiyang continued to arrange the battle.

"The bombardment continues!"

"All ships release torpedoes in an orderly manner and clear the channel as quickly as possible."

"After clearing the waterway, the army immediately launched an offensive towards Manila Harbor..."

At the side, Li Shixian, the Tang army general in charge of commanding the land battle, spoke.

"Commander, if we attack the fort with just the fleet, even if we can take it down, it will take a long time."

"I propose that we send troops to land and attack the rear of the fort from a land route."

"With the combined efforts of land and sea, our army will be able to capture the fort as quickly as possible!"

Li Shixian was ordered to lead an army to the south this time. Naturally, he did not want to stay on his own warship and watch the fun, watching the navy fleet perform meritorious deeds.

They also want to be rewarded for their achievements in this campaign against the Spaniards!
Upon hearing this, Fang Haiyang did not refuse, but spoke instead.

"can!"

"I don't understand land warfare, so I'll let Commander Li take charge."

Upon hearing this, Li Shixian nodded vigorously, looking excited to show that he understood.

……

Inside the Governor's Palace in Manila!

Cyril, the commander of the Manila garrison, came before Governor Pedro again with a dejected expression.

"Governor, the Tang army's offensive is very fierce."

"I'm afraid our artillery can't hold out for much longer."

"Perhaps the Tang army will soon destroy our artillery positions and conduct landing operations."

Pedro held a walnut pipe in his hand and kept smoking.

As the nicotine entered his lungs, the expression on his face eased a little. "In that case, we should prepare in advance to fight the Tang army that has landed."

"We must defend Manila!"

"Once Manila is lost, Spain's sphere of influence in the Far East will be completely wiped out."

Seeing this, Cyril spoke hesitantly.

"Your Excellency the Governor, I don't think there is any need to be so pessimistic."

"Given the current situation in Manila, withdrawing from the city may be a better option."

In Cyril's opinion, Manila's cards are not defendable.

In that case, let's not defend Manila.

They could retreat to other important cities in the Philippine Islands and resist the invasion of the Tang army step by step.

Anyway, Spain has more than one city, Manila, in the Philippines!
If they withdrew the resistance in other important towns, they might have a chance to hold out until the Tang army could no longer fight and retreated from Manila, or until reinforcements were sent from their own land.

Upon hearing this, Pedro immediately shook his head.

"No way!"

"Manila is the most important supply port in the Philippines today. Once we lose this supply port, we will not be able to survive in the Philippines."

The Philippines is not the Spanish homeland, and the Spanish rule here has no mass base.

The Spanish ruled the Philippines by relying on their superior military force over the indigenous people.

Once the Spaniards lost Manila and their supplies, the natives on the Philippine island would certainly submit to their rule.

By then, the situation they will face will only be worse than it is now!

Pedro stared at Cyril and spoke.

"Go and arrange for the defense of the city!"

"By the way, where are the native reinforcements now?"

Cyril took a deep breath and then spoke truthfully.

"In reply to the Governor, after receiving our request for assistance, all the indigenous tribes chose to send troops to help."

"Now, we are outside Manila..."

The reason why those indigenous tribes came so happily was mainly because the Spaniards threatened them.

It is said that the reason why Tang’s army came to Manila was to avenge the Chinese who died in the previous Manila Massacres.

In the several Manila Massacres in history, these indigenous peoples have participated in them, and it can even be said that they were the main perpetrators.

Therefore, the natives were guilty and had to send troops to reinforce the Spaniards in order to protect themselves.

Hearing this, Pedro took a deep breath.

"That's good!"

"If we can have the support of these natives, then Manila City will definitely be able to be defended!"

Cyril also nodded vigorously, then turned around and prepared to leave.

But at this moment, a Spanish soldier ran in hurriedly from outside and came to Pedro and Cyril to report.

"Governor, Mr. Jinbao, something terrible has happened. The Tang army has landed!"

Cyril's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he asked hurriedly.

"Tell me quickly, what's going on?!"

The Spanish soldier said this with a sad face, full of dejection and despair.

"The Tang army sent land forces to land, then raided the fort from behind, and coordinated with their fleet to launch an offensive against our Manila Fort."

"The fort, the fort has been lost now, captured by the Tang army!"

Upon hearing this, Pedro almost choked and collapsed to the ground.

"Oh my God, how could this happen!"

"Has God stopped blessing Spain?!"

Cyril's expression was also frozen and his face was miserable.

I felt in my heart that things were going to be bad!
Touching the cross on his chest, Pedro forced himself to calm down.

"Cyril, hurry up, take your men to support the fort immediately. You must take it back."

"In addition, send more troops to the port to prevent the Tang army from landing. We must not let the Tang army seize control of the port."

"Otherwise, the main force of the Tang army will also land!"

"Hurry up!"

Cyril reacted after hearing the shout and immediately turned around to arrange these things.

……

"First regiment, immediately set up defenses around the artillery fort and prepare for the counterattack of the Western barbarians."

"Second Regiment, move immediately to seize the port and prepare to support the landing of our main force."

"Third Regiment, cooperate with our gunners to operate the artillery and attack the Spanish fleet in the port. Clear the waterway as soon as possible!"

Brigade Commander Liu Jinye yelled at the top of his voice, made arrangements, and commanded the Tang army to prepare to meet the enemy.

"Where's the machine gun? Hurry up and bring it up!"

"Hurry up, the Spanish counterattack will come soon."

"Brothers, cheer up and kill the Western Barbarians!"

Amid the shouts, the Tang army quickly made adjustments according to the orders.

Several rotary machine guns were carried to the position.

The soldiers also quickly checked their guns and made final preparations before the battle.

Shao An pulled the bolt, took out the bullet from the bullet pouch at his waist and stuffed it into the chamber, then closed the chamber and prepared to shoot.

Today, the Tang Dynasty already has the Type 53 bolt-action rifle that uses metal fixed ammunition.

However, the Type 53 bolt-action rifle has only just been finalized and has not yet been put into mass production.

Not to mention changing clothes.

At present, the Tang army can only make do with rifles that use paper shell ammunition.

He adjusted his posture so that the butt of the rifle rested on his shoulder and looked in the direction where the enemy was coming from.

Suddenly, Shao An's eyes focused and he saw a cloud of smoke and dust appear at the end of his sight in the distance.

At the same time, the alarm sounded throughout the fort.

"quick!"

"Everyone, get ready to fight, the enemy is coming!"

"Cannon? Where's the cannon? Get ready to fire!"

"..."

Amid the shouts, many guns on the Manila Fort turned their muzzles and aimed towards the land.

Although the performance of the Spanish muzzle-loading artillery on the fort was far inferior to the Tang army's breech-loading artillery, it was still better to have it than not to have it anyway.

boom! Boom boom!

Shao An lay in the trench with only his head exposed, ready to shoot.

There was a rumbling sound of artillery fire behind him, which made his ears numb.

But that's okay.

He was already accustomed to this level of bombardment on the training ground.

But his eyes were still fixed straight ahead, staring at the direction where the enemy was rushing towards.

The shell hit the ground and tumbled forward.

Wherever the bullet passed, there was devastation.

A Spanish soldier was hit by a cannonball and his body was torn apart into pieces.

Viscera and blood were splattered everywhere!
The shells continued to pour down into the crowd, and as they rolled and spun, they tore into pieces the bodies of several Spanish soldiers.

"what……"

"Oh God! Help me!"

"Help, someone save me, I don't want to die!"

"..."

However, behind these Spanish soldiers, the supervision team put extremely strong pressure, forcing these Spanish soldiers to continue to charge forward.

boom! Boom boom!

Shells were fired one after another.

A bloody rain rose among the crowd.

Finally, the Spanish soldiers, despite heavy casualties from the bombardment, rushed to the vicinity of the artillery position.

But before they could do anything, the sound of machine gun fire rang out!

Da-da! Da-da-da!
The Tang army machine gunner turned the crank, and the barrel of the machine gun turned accordingly, pouring out bullets towards the enemy in front of him.

The gun barrel swept past, countless bullets splashed, and the Spanish soldiers rushing in the front fell to the ground one after another.

The screams and wails were even worse than before!
At the same time, Tang army soldiers also began to shoot.

Snapped! Bang bang!

The crisp sound of gunfire rang out.

Bullet after bullet was fired at the enemy in front of them.

Although the firing rate of ordinary rifles is far lower than that of machine guns, they cannot withstand the situation where many people are firing at the same time.

Amid the sound of gunfire, blood splattered from the bodies of the charging Spanish soldiers, who then fell to the ground.

Soon, a dense pile of corpses piled up in front of the Tang army's position.

At the same time, the Spanish soldiers were fighting back, raising their guns and firing forward.

It’s a pity that the firing rate of the muzzle-loading rifles in their hands was too slow. They could often only fire one shot, or even die on the battlefield before having time to reload.

You know, the reason why a muzzle-loader is called a muzzle-loader is because it can only be loaded from the muzzle.

This means that soldiers can only stand when loading their muzzle-loading rifles.

However, on today's battlefield, for a soldier to stand and load his rifle is almost the same as seeking death.

And, more importantly, the Tang army soldiers were now hiding in the trenches, with only their heads exposed when shooting.

And he was wearing a helmet on his head!

This also made it almost impossible for the Spanish counterattack to achieve any actual results.

"Hit! Hit hard!"

"Kill these Western barbarians!"

"..."

Amid the sound of dense rifle fire, the Spaniards finally collapsed and retreated.

One by one the Spanish soldiers dropped what they were holding and turned around to flee in panic.

"Help!"

"Run away, I can't hold on any longer!"

"Dead, all dead, oh God!"

"..."

Seeing this, the Tang army soldiers did not rush to launch a charge to expand the victory, but continued to hide in the trenches, just continuously aiming at the backs of the fleeing Spanish soldiers and shooting.

Knock down the Spanish soldiers who were fleeing in panic one by one!
Cyril looked at the scene on the battlefield and couldn't help but clench his fists.

My heart is full of regret!

However, when he saw an indigenous chief beside him, he suddenly had an idea.

The noble people of God are not to be sacrificed at will.

But this is not the case with these natives.

Isn't it the best option to let them be cannon fodder?

Thinking of this, Cyril forced a smile on his face and turned to speak to a tribal chief beside him.

"Your Excellency Chief, it's time for your people to contribute some of their strength!"

(End of this chapter)