Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Jack Bonaparte naturally knew in advance that Chen Jie had taken over a Japanese trading company.

Therefore,
After receiving Chen Jie's secret letter, he quickly understood what was going on.

With the support of this Oriental Chamber of Commerce team, the subsequent attack will be much easier.

Although Jack Bonaparte had a map of the entire city of Taipei.

but,

The French fleet mercenaries had never been to Taipei before, so even with a map, it would be difficult for them to know the details.

If a strong attack is launched, the casualties will be considerable.

Now we have these Japanese as inside agents, providing the most accurate intelligence.

The war that follows will be much easier.

Originally, after Jack Bonaparte led his army to besiege Taipei, he planned to launch a feint attack to see how the Japanese garrison would react.

But now, he has changed his mind.

With the assistance of these members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, he decided to postpone the attack by one day.

First, we need to understand the overall situation in Taipei before making a final all-out attack plan.

In the military camp,
Jack Bonaparte stared at the sand table on the large table, lost in thought.

Toyotomi Masao, a member of the Oriental Merchants' delegation, was greatly surprised when he saw the sand table.

In his view, although the sand table map was not perfect in some places, it almost perfectly presented the topography of the entire Taipei city.

Even the outlines of some buildings in Taipei City and the structure of defensive fortifications are presented with great accuracy.

That's terrifying!
How can there be such an accurate sand table map?
The military maps used by the Japanese garrison are still drawn on paper, which are far inferior to these sand tables.

hiss--!
Next, Toyotomi Masao couldn't help but gasp.

He quickly realized that Simon had been meticulously planning and preparing for this battle on Taiwan Island for a long time.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to create such an accurate sand table map.

in fact,

What he didn't expect was that the 'sand table map' would actually be completed in less than two days.

Chen Jie mobilized dozens of local natives to roughly replicate the interior of Taipei City based on their respective descriptions of the city's internal structure when the craftsmen were creating the map.

Therefore,
When you first see the sand table map, you will feel amazed by its precision.

but,

With careful observation, one can find that the sand table map still has many flaws.

Toyotomi Masao did not come to the military camp for leisure.

He needed to perform meritorious service for Princess Ume-no-Koriko, and he had to sincerely help her and pledge his loyalty.

Therefore, without any concealment, he worked with the people of the Oriental Chamber of Commerce to further refine the details inside the sand table map.

Toyotomi Masao held a special position under Ume-miya Kaoru, being a key figure second only to Oshima Miyano.

Simultaneously,

He himself was a member of the Toyotomi family and was related to Princess Ume-no-miya Kaoru by blood. He was very familiar with the situation in Taipei, Taiwan.

therefore,

He gave Jack Bonaparte a detailed account of the situation of the Japanese military headquarters in Taipei.

After seeing that Taipei was completely sealed off and no more Japanese troops launched a counterattack,

Toyotomi Masao asserted that it must be Sakurai Chojiro who was expanding the army and recruiting puppet soldiers from the local area to serve as cannon fodder.

Moreover, according to his deduction, if Sakurai Chojiro were to expand his army, he could recruit around 100,000 local soldiers in Taipei to serve as cannon fodder.

Therefore,
He urged Jack Bonaparte to be especially careful and not to be misled by those cannon fodder.

The newly recruited army of 100,000 cannon fodder had almost no combat power, so Jack Bonaparte naturally didn't take them seriously.

Having the Japanese army concentrated would be most advantageous for Ximen Tang.

This way, the Japanese army can be completely annihilated, and the outcome of the war can be decided in one battle.

To avoid protracted warfare that is time-consuming and exhausting.

According to Chen Jie's plan, this attack on Taiwan Island will be swift and decisive.

What Simondon wanted was not to colonize this place, but to station troops and manage it, and to directly participate in the rule of the island.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to eliminate the Japanese garrison and the puppet troops in Taipei.

Only by expending our manpower can we better rebuild this place and completely eradicate the devastation left behind in the past.

Moreover, once the Japanese army has assembled its forces, it will definitely take the initiative to break out and launch a counterattack.

In this way, the elite troops of Ximentang, who were besieged on the outskirts, could adopt a defensive tactic with minimal losses.

therefore,

Jack Bonaparte reported to Chen Jie and decided to temporarily refrain from attacking the city, instead reinforcing the defensive positions to completely trap Taipei City.

He was waiting for the Japanese garrison in Taipei to launch a preemptive strike.

Simultaneously,

He dispatched scouts from Ximentang to closely monitor the movements of the Japanese troops in Taipei.

The ability to employ such a siege tactic requires substantial strength.

Jack Bonaparte had no worries about the fighting strength of Simon's elite troops.

Even he and others were not particularly familiar with Ximen Tang's military tactics.

Although Chen Jie authorized him to command Ximentang's army, he only had temporary command authority, not overall command.

That is,

The more he learned about the fighting capabilities of Ximentang's army, the more afraid, wary, and relieved he became!
in addition,

Although he didn't know much about the Japanese army, he had learned about everything from the previous battle and from Toyotomi Masao.

The fighting capabilities of the Japanese army stationed in Taipei were vastly different from those of the Kwantung Army stationed in the northeast of the Daqian Dynasty.

Although the troops under Sakurai Chojiro in Taipei were brave and belligerent, and fought without fear of death, they were willing to risk their lives.

However, these guys don't have any systematic tactics; to put it simply, they're inflexible.

This fierce fighting style, if it were in the era of cold weapons, would probably have been incredibly terrifying in terms of combat power.

but,

In the age of firearms, this kind of tactic of being fearless and only knowing how to charge forward is practically no different from suicide.

in fact,

In this era, not only the Japanese used this tactic, but also the tactics of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Western Allied Forces, and so on.

Only the armies of industrialized nations like the British Empire, the French Empire, and the Spanish Empire gradually changed their tactics.

This kind of tactical approach from the era of cold weapons places high demands on generals, emphasizing their ability to command and coordinate on the spot.

Ximentang's tactics were decades more advanced than these volley formations, spanning several levels.

Ambushes, flanking maneuvers, large-scale troop movements, guerrilla tactics, blitzkrieg, and so on, were almost nonexistent in this era.

Any tactic is a revolutionary and powerful tactic for this era.

have to say,

During the time Jack Bonaparte trained with Chen Jie in martial arts, he learned a great deal.

Chen Jie spent a lot of effort training Jack Bonaparte in order to develop the French Fleet mercenary legion, teaching him many advanced concepts.

Therefore,
Jack Bonaparte's admiration and respect for Chen Jie grew stronger.

He himself didn't even realize that Chen Jie was having an increasingly significant influence on him in his subconscious.

This is why Jack Bonaparte now places great emphasis on tactical arrangements and has changed many of his war concepts.

Not only do we need to win, but we also need to win at the lowest possible cost. This is the core of Ximentang's various tactics.

Given Jack Bonaparte's current military talent, he believed that even if he returned to Europe, he would definitely be considered a renowned general.

As expected,
The next day, all the Japanese troops gathered in Taipei.

Nearly 70,000 elite Japanese troops, plus 80,000 locally recruited puppet troops from Taipei.

Sakurai Chojiro personally led his army, taking all his elite troops into battle, and launched a counterattack towards the north gate of Taipei City.

That's right,

The Japanese army did not intend to break out from the east gate, but instead attacked from the north gate, planning to make a decisive breakthrough and directly attack Keelung City from the north gate. In the past few days, the Japanese army had completed its assembly.

The Japanese army that carried out the reforms was the Kwantung Army stationed in the northeast of the Great Qian Dynasty, which was extremely powerful.

The Japanese army stationed on the island of Taiwan still adopted the military system of the Toyotomi Shogunate era.

Samurai, infantry, foot soldiers!

This is the ranking system for soldiers in the Japanese army.

Among them, 'ashigaru' was the lowest-ranking soldier in the Eastern Army, equivalent to menial laborers.

The local cannon fodder recently recruited by Taipei City were foot soldiers, low-ranking soldiers.

They hadn't even received any firearms training; they were temporarily recruited to do the work of moving supplies.

Once the charge begins, these 'ashigaru' (foot soldiers) will serve as cannon fodder, forming the simplest infantry to lead the charge.

Moreover, when charging, these foot soldiers had to equip themselves with armor, and no one cared whether they lived or died.

As a result, the 'foot soldiers' were the most afraid of dying.

They were conscripted temporarily, and they had family members at home. Who would be willing to be cannon fodder?
On the battlefield, the 'ashigaru' could only shout encouragement and draw enemy fire.

The true main force in combat was not the foot soldiers.

Infantry was a specialized branch of the military that emerged in the Warring States period of the Eastern Kingdoms, and was considered the most professional soldiers.

Generally, the infantry were selected from the elite of the 'ashigaru' (foot soldiers).

They were physically strong, highly skilled in martial arts, and had acquired various weapons from the Japanese military, as well as being equipped with armor.

Due to their large numbers, they formed the core of the Eastern Army.

If you perform well, an 'infantryman' has a good chance of being promoted to 'warrior'!
In the Eastern Army, the 'samurai' were the most prestigious military branch and constituted the main body of officers.

In the era of cold weapons, they were considered the highest-level combat force in the military.

In Japan, martial arts families send their disciples to the military for training as 'samurai'.

They were of noble birth and extremely strong in personal combat, making them easy candidates for selection into the Japanese Black Dragon Society.

Generally speaking, officers at all levels of the Japanese military, including generals, were all of samurai origin.

Without the identity of a 'samurai', it is difficult to obtain an important position in the army.

The Japanese army assembled over 150,000 troops in Taipei.

Of these, 8 were cannon fodder, newly recruited local puppet troops with virtually no combat capability.

The Japanese army consisted of 70,000 men, including about 5,000 samurai, more than 30,000 infantry, and the rest were all foot soldiers.

the reason is simple,
When the Japanese army first fought in Taiwan, it fought a major battle with the Dutch, but its forces were not large.

After occupying the island, Sakurai Chojiro began to expand his army, which increased his forces to 100,000.

This resulted in the Japanese garrison on Taiwan being far less effective than the Japanese Kwantung Army.

One reason for this is that the previous troop deployment landed in southern Fujian during the Daqian Dynasty and entered the heart of Daqian, leaving the garrison on Taiwan Island with little combat capability.

but,

Sakurai Chojiro was quite satisfied to see that his army had been able to gather 150,000 men in such a short time.

Ximentang has now besieged Taipei City, and even the entire northern part of Taiwan.

Throughout the entire Taiwan region, the Japanese suffered heavy losses.

therefore,

Sakurai Chojiro could not wait any longer, so he immediately led his army out of the north gate of Taipei City.

Even if it means death, we will fight to the death with Ximen Tang in this battle.

Sakurai Chojiro led an army of 150,000, including many of his generals, and fought his way out of the north gate.

Only after seeing the defensive fortifications built by Ximentang one kilometer away from the North Gate did they stop their formation and prepare for the final decisive battle.

But then...
When Sakurai Chojiro and his generals saw the defensive positions set up by Ximen Tang, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Although many commanders of the Japanese garrison had not yet experienced a real major war.

but,

When they saw the defensive positions set up by Ximentang, they felt that it was like children playing house and was easily defeated.

this moment,
Many commanders of the Japanese army began to ridicule Yamamoto Hiroichi and Watanabe Kubo Takashi.

The powerful Japanese army was defeated by such a disorganized force; it was a disgrace to the Japanese Empire.

Although Sakurai Chojiro maintained a solemn expression, he suddenly felt disdain for Ximentang's defensive position.

He believed that with his army under his command, he would surely win a great victory in this battle.

The disdainful attitude displayed by the Japanese army was clearly seen by Jack Bonaparte through his binoculars, several kilometers away.

Because the main force of the Japanese army is now only 500 meters away from Ximentang's defensive position, and even further forward, it has entered the range of 300 meters.

Although this distance was considered relatively safe for the Japanese army.

but,

For Ximentang, this was the most terrifying distance for crossfire.

Heavy machine guns, mortars, rifles, assault rifles, and so on, can all exert their maximum power within this range.

This distance is within the optimal striking range for Ximentang's army.

to be frank,
Jack Bonaparte didn't rush to fire; he wanted to wait until they entered the 'death zone'!
He naturally knew what the commander of the Eastern Ocean was laughing about.

He had experienced this disdainful attitude before, when he was in Europe.

Jack Bonaparte gave a cold smile and said in a deep voice:
"It seems that the Japanese troops stationed on Taiwan Island are far less capable than the elite Japanese troops."

"Their way of thinking is still stuck in the way they fought more than a decade ago."

"Let's cheer you up for now. Once the final assault begins, you won't have a chance to laugh anymore."

Morris and Peter, who were standing beside him, were somewhat puzzled when they saw the disdainful expressions of the various Japanese commanders through their binoculars.

They didn't know what these Japanese were laughing at.
Morris had experienced many major battles, so he understood the mentality of these Japanese.

but,

Pete was relatively cautious; he took a deep breath and said:
"General, the Japanese have many times more troops than us. Can we win this decisive battle?"

Jack Bonaparte smiled and said:
"Pete, the upcoming war will overturn all your previous understanding of land warfare."

"Take a good look at the process of this great battle; it will definitely be a classic battle that goes down in history."

"In modern warfare, the outcome is no longer determined by human strength, but by weapons!"

at this time,

The Japanese garrison in Taipei finally launched a general offensive.

Although it was Sakurai Chojiro's first time commanding such a large-scale operation, he had little experience.

but,

After all, he was a top student at the Japanese Army Academy and had received systematic training.

therefore,

He divided his army into three armies.

Twenty thousand of them launched a frontal assault, drawing the firepower of the Ximentang forces.

The others flanked the enemy from both sides, employing a siege tactic.

The defensive position of Ximentang was a huge arc.

Arc-shaped battle formation!

The north gate defense line of Taipei City, with 5,000 troops stationed at the west gate.

Among them were 1,000 mortars, 100 heavy machine guns, and 200 modified Krupp infantry guns.

Because it is curved, it forms a concave shape in the middle.

The two wings are like crescent moons or crab claws.

From a distance, the entire defensive position appears very loose, like a pile of loose sand.

No wonder all the commanders of the Japanese army laughed with disdain when they saw this scene.

They thought this battle formation was easy to break through, and that a defensive position of only 5,000 men could trap 150,000 Japanese troops.

Isn't this a joke?
Beep beep—beep beep—!
As the bugle sounded, the Japanese army launched its first assault. (End of Chapter)