Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 306 Frontal Battlefield
three days later

Outskirts of Bandar Seri Begawan
On the battlefield

The sound of gunfire became more and more intense. The British and French forces launched more than a dozen attacks for three consecutive days. At most times, they had already reached the top of the earthen city, but were still stubbornly driven back by the Chu soldiers.

The outskirts of the city where the two armies are now facing each other have long lost their original appearance.

The British and French forces pulled out two small boats and drove them into the river, sinking them directly in the middle of the river. They put felled trees on both sides and connected them to form a bridge.

In addition to the existing bridge, the British and French forces could use their strong military advantage to launch attacks from both the left and right directions at the same time.

Days of artillery bombardment had torn the shallow pits, deep trenches and barbed wire defenses set up by the Chu army into tatters, leaving the place in a mess.

The earthen city was also bombarded with potholes and several parts collapsed.

However, the Chu army repaired the wall overnight, which made the British and French forces extremely angry but helpless.

This damned mud city is easy to build, but also quick to destroy, but also quick to repair. All you have to do is pile up large blocks of mud that have been beaten dry.

The battlefield was littered with large, black, foul-smelling bloodstains. In some low-lying areas, blood had accumulated into small pools, attracting a large number of mosquitoes and flies that flew everywhere, making one's scalp tingle.

On the Anglo-French side of the battlefield

Because the battle situation was tense, the commander-in-chief, Vice Admiral Calvin Phillips, also came here and was discussing the next combat deployment with Vice Admiral Connor.

Lieutenant General Connor said;

“His Excellency General Phillips;
My army is continuing to put pressure on the enemy, and judging from the fighting in the past few days, the situation is not optimistic.

Although some breakthroughs were achieved and the British Indian Corps attacked the earthen city wall several times, they were driven back by the enemy and both sides suffered heavy casualties.

The brutal fighting here is like a replay of the Crimean War fifteen years ago.

Both sides continued to pour in their forces, fighting over a section of the ruins until they were finally exhausted and bled dry.

Speaking of here
Lieutenant General Connor shook his head wearily. The Chu army he faced this time was very difficult to deal with and was a severe challenge in his military career.

Vice Admiral Calvin Phillips looked at the shattered earthen walls ahead and asked solemnly, "What are the casualties on both sides?"

Lieutenant General Connor replied, "Over the three days, because it was an active attack, casualties were greater. The British Indian Army lost over 4370 men. As for the enemy... casualties were no less than half."

"Then continue to intensify the attack. When the enemy is tired, send the French in and try to break through this damn earthen city." Lieutenant General Calvin Phillips ordered.

Lieutenant General Connor glanced at the area where the French troops were gathered, nodded silently, and replied, "As you wish, Commander-in-Chief."

On the battlefield

The British and French allied forces launched a fierce bombardment with more than 70 artillery pieces, with the main target being several sections of earthen walls. The dense shells rained down, cracking the earth and rocks and filling the air with smoke and dust.

Many Chu soldiers who were entrenched on the earthen city walls were torn to pieces by the bombardment, and their broken limbs and arms mixed with blood were scattered everywhere, staining the battlefield with blood.

The Chu army's dozen or so artillery pieces mounted on the bunkers also roared back, focusing on attacking the artillery positions of the British and French forces, destroying enemy artillery from time to time and causing considerable damage.

Overall
The artillery firepower that the Chu army could muster was weaker than that of the British and French forces, and it seemed inadequate in the artillery battle.

This is due to the defensive fortifications. The two tall bunkers in the front are six or seven hundred meters apart, and the openings of the bunkers are different, so each has its own firing range limitation.

The British and French forces seized this loophole and attacked from two directions.

While destroying a large number of artillery pieces mounted on the earthen city, the concentrated artillery fire also caused serious casualties to the defensive forces on the city walls.

After more than 40 minutes of continuous bombardment, the attacking Scottish organ sounded.

More than 600 Indian soldiers from Baotou lined up in neat rows, carrying guns and marching in unison, pressing towards the earthen city wall defended by the Chu army.

Behind them, another British-Indian infantry regiment was lining up, ready to launch the next wave of attack.

On another front, the same situation was happening...

The British Indian Corps under Lieutenant General Connor, relying on its strong military advantage, fought almost all its infantry regiments in three days and suffered varying degrees of casualties.

Overall, the loss is acceptable.

The British Indian Army did not want all Indians. The main source of troops came from the more powerful Punjab, Sikh State and Uttar Pradesh in the north, and most of them were Indians from Baotou.

We don’t want those who don’t cover their heads. Indians who don’t cover their heads are all snotty. Their legs will become weak when they go to the battlefield and they will not be able to fight at all.

In the British Indian Army
There are also Nepalese mountain people equipped with Gurkha knives, who are also a fierce and warlike tribe with as many as four infantry regiments.

Therefore, the British Indian Corps under Lieutenant General Connor's command has decent combat effectiveness and is not one of those softies that will fall apart at the slightest touch.

While the British Indian Infantry Regiment was attacking, the British and French artillery continued to bombard the earthen city walls. Not only did the firepower not weaken, but it became even more intense.

Shells rained down, raising clouds of dust and causing large sections of the earthen walls to collapse.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the attacking British and Indian infantry regiments successfully crossed the shallow trenches and deep trenches, crossed the barbed wire that was torn into sections, and approached the collapsed earthen wall. At this moment, the artillery fire of the British and French coalition forces stopped abruptly.

They were worried that if they continued the bombardment, they would inflict heavy damage on their own infantry regiment that was currently attacking.

Taking advantage of this opportunity
The white officer drew out his sharp command knife and issued the order to "charge". A large number of Baotou Indians held their rifles, shouted loudly to give themselves courage, and climbed up the collapsed slope.

Seeing that his attack was going so smoothly, Vice Admiral Connor's expression did not relax. He stood side by side with Vice Admiral Calvin Phillips, watching the battle progress on the battlefield ahead from afar.

Those Indians mustered up their remaining courage and rushed into the vast cloud of dust.

That was the smoke and dust raised by the artillery bombardment. It was as thick as yellow smog, and you couldn't see anyone once you got in.

Suddenly, there was a dense volley of gunfire like "crackling" beans popping, round after round, the volley of gunfire was very rhythmic, as if it was a highly efficient killing machine.

The roaring and shouting of the British Indian Infantry Regiment's soldiers as they charged and fought soon died down, as if someone had grabbed their necks.

Soon after, you will see

The Indian, with a terrified face, quickly escaped from the smoke and dust. In extreme panic, he even dropped the rifle in his hand and ran away with his head in his hands.

The faster you get in, the faster you get out.

Soon, more than 300 Baotou Indians escaped and ran all over the mountains and plains at a very fast speed, and soon dispersed.

More than 600 people were killed in the attack, but only escaped, which meant half of them were killed.

Lieutenant General Connor showed an expression of "as expected" on his face. He was no longer surprised by this in the past three days.

These soldiers of the British Indian Corps were more arrogant than the other when it came to bullying weak armies, but when they met a tough opponent, they showed their true colors.

With a light sigh, Lieutenant General Connor ordered his men, "Continue the bombardment and prepare for the next round of attack."

"As you command, sir."

The rumbling sound of the cannons stopped for a while and then exploded again. The shells hit the earthen city wall like raindrops, and smoke and dust rose up.

In the bunker on the front battlefield

Lieutenant Colonel Zheng Jiayu, commander of the 10th Royal Infantry Regiment of the Malayan Expeditionary Force, waved a flag, and the soldiers belonging to the infantry regiment stopped firing volleys and retreated one after another, away from the enemy's artillery bombardment area.

Recently

The fierce battle with the British and French forces was also a process of fighting wits and courage between the two armies. During the battle, strategies were constantly changed to adapt to the current cruel war situation.

The Malayan Expeditionary Force also adopted a rotation strategy. The 10th Regiment was pulled up to take over the defensive positions of friendly forces. Today is the second day, and they fought quite well.

Two days ago, the friendly forces defended the earthen city and suffered heavy damage from the British and French artillery fire. Nearly half of the 4th Regiment suffered casualties and was basically crippled.

After the 10th Regiment arrived, Lieutenant Colonel Zheng Jiayu learned his lesson and basically stopped placing soldiers on the earthen city walls. Instead, he used hundreds of scarecrows instead.

The soldiers all retreated 1.5 meters and built a -meter-high defensive earthen wall meters away. This was mainly to prevent the shells from rolling into the city and causing additional damage.

At the same time, it also has a significant effect in defending against enemy volleys during volley attacks.

The defensive earth wall is divided into several sections, basically covering the area of ​​the earthen city that needs to be defended. It played a huge role in the battle over the past two days and achieved very significant results.

Whenever the British and French forces attacked, the soldiers standing behind the earth wall would launch a volley of gunfire.

The specific command was issued by the officers standing on the top of the bunker, who could see the enemy's offensive movements clearly from a distance.

The soldiers only had to shoot in the general direction of the smoke, just like shooting training, launching round after round of volleys until the officer waved the flag.

After repelling the enemy's attack, they sent dozens of soldiers to the top of the city wall to place scarecrows again, and then withdrew after they were done.

With this tactic, the 10th Regiment has killed more than 1,307 enemy troops at the cost of 28 casualties in the past two days, delivering a perfect answer.

The new tactics were fully applied, which greatly reduced the damage to the Malayan Expeditionary Force and was highly praised by Major General Huang Shan.

"Well done, man. Another great victory." Major General Huangshan looked at the soldiers cleaning up the battlefield. They quickly gathered the enemy's rifle bayonets and piled them into a small hill. He was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

Standing on the top of the bunker, you can clearly see that on the battlefield behind the earthen city, there are many Chinese laborers carrying corpses. With hundreds of people working together, the cleanup is very fast.

They worked in groups of two, carrying the bodies of the killed British and Indian Army soldiers onto a cart, and quickly transported them away after the cart was full.

The valuables found on these corpses were the extra wages for the Chinese laborers.

Bandar Seri Begawan is located in the tropics, and corpses cannot be kept for long. They will deteriorate and stink after a dozen hours, so they must be dealt with quickly.

After being gathered together, they were thrown into a deep pit and burned to ashes, then sprinkled with lime powder and buried to prevent a large-scale infectious disease, which would be terrible.

(End of this chapter)