Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 313 Waiting for good news

Before 9 o'clock in the morning, hundreds of large sailing ships had already poured into the Batangas Bay. The Anglo-French Allied Forces' Fourth Sailing Battleship Fleet was sailing at the bay dock and engaged in a fierce artillery battle with the Chu army artillery on the shore.

Boom boom boom...

Boom boom boom...

Strong coastal artillery forts were also built on both sides of Batangas Bay, which were exchanging fire with British warships using 10-inch rifled guns, while the more powerful 15-inch Dahlgren coastal guns remained silent.

This was mainly because the enemy ships were too far away, always staying in the sea more than 15 meters away. At this distance, the accuracy of the -inch Dahlgren shore gun was much worse and its power was much smaller.

The British Fourth Sailing Battleship Fleet was at the edge of the maximum range of its naval guns. The fleet's large and small artillery pieces opened fire fiercely, raining down shells that slammed heavily around the gun platforms.

The main reason for doing this is that the artillery fortress is a large coastal target, and the accuracy requirements for artillery coverage are relatively low. Just raise the muzzle and fire in the general direction.

Rear Admiral George Hurst, commander-in-chief of the 15th Battle Squadron, was well aware that the Chu State's coastal artillery was widely equipped with extremely deadly 55-inch Dahlgren coastal guns, with a total of approximately 60 to guns.

In yesterday's battle in the Mindoro Strait, the two sailing cruisers that sank suffered losses from this kind of cannon. They were hit by several 400-pound bombardment shells and then completely torn apart in the explosion.

In the Battle of Wankou
The two sailing battleships of the Second Battle Squadron, the Count Perrin and the Arab Chief, were also killed by this dangerous large-caliber coastal gunnery and became its latest victims.

As for the armored battleship HMS Hudson's Bay, flagship of the 2nd Battle Squadron, the proud British Royal Navy refused to admit that it was sunk. It was just an unlucky ship that hit a shipwreck on the seabed.

This sounds like it could save the Royal Navy's face a little.

With so many painful lessons learned, Major General George Hearst did not dare to let the fleet get too close to the artillery fort, and had to attack slowly from a distance.

Among the transport ships, there were several ships loaded with black gunpowder, the quantity reaching more than a thousand tons, which was the sufficient war resource for the British and French forces.

The artillery batteries of both sides engaged in a battle in the air, and the rumbling sound of artillery echoed throughout the bay. It lasted for five or six hours, from around 9 o'clock in the morning until nearly 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when it came to an end.

Around 11 o'clock

The landing force of the British and French Allied Forces, under the cover of warships, landed at a small fishing village pier 4.5 kilometers away from the North Fort.

Even on this wooden pier less than 75 meters long, soldiers from the British and French forces arrived at the shore continuously, and then rushed into the small fishing village fiercely, launching a frenzied burning, killing and looting.

Fortunately, the Chinese villagers in the small fishing village saw that the situation was not good, and most of them quickly evacuated under the cover of the village chief and some militiamen.

Only some slow-moving Chinese villagers were blocked in the village and were immediately stabbed to death with bayonets by the vicious Allied soldiers.

The house was set on fire, and livestock such as chickens, ducks, and pigs also suffered. How could they have a good ending after encountering such vicious robbers?

Fortunately, the Batangas Bay bunker earth wall defense line was built long enough. Except for these small seaside villages, all other villages and towns 1.8 to 2 kilometers away from the seaside were shielded behind it.

The British Royal Navy warships had a deep draft and could not get completely close to the shore. The range of their naval guns was limited and could not reach the defense line of the bunkers and earthen walls.

The 12-pound Napoleon field gun equipped by the British and French forces fired solid shells almost the size of lead balls, causing minimal damage to the earthen city walls.

Around 11: am
After these rampant British and French allied forces landed, they assembled a force of five to six thousand men, and began to drag Napoleon's cannons aggressively, bombarding the earthen wall defense line and launching an offensive.

The Chu defenders were not willing to be outdone and also retaliated with artillery fire.

The artillery bombardment between the two sides was very fierce, and the rumbling sound of artillery continued for more than an hour.

final result
The ten-pound Parrot rifled cannon equipped by the Chu army was more accurate and deadly. While destroying a large number of Napoleon field guns of the British and French forces, it also killed and wounded hundreds of British and French soldiers, winning a phased victory.

Most of these ten-pound Parrot rifled cannons were set up in sturdy bunkers, firing outward through the muzzles and had quite good defensive capabilities.

Therefore, although the Chu army had few artillery pieces, they were able to cause great damage to the exposed Anglo-French field artillery group, destroying as many as 40 Napoleon field guns, giving the Anglo-French coalition a heavy defeat.

Fortunately, the artillery bombardment by the British and French forces also had a certain effect. It tore up the barbed wire defense line and collapsed part of the coal slag pile, making the slope less steep.

Starting from around 1:00 p.m.

The British and French forces sent a company of British Indian Corps of one or two hundred people to launch a tentative attack.

Around 3 p.m.

After being repelled for more than ten consecutive attacks, hundreds of corpses were lying in front of the earthen wall defense line near the small fishing village, and the British and French allied forces' offensive was temporarily halted.

The fleet led by Major General George Hearst made little progress, so they stopped bombarding and temporarily anchored their warships near a small fishing village.

On the wooden pier in the small fishing village

The serious-looking Major General George Hearst was surrounded by more than twenty naval officers, ranging from colonel to major. They were all subordinates of the Fourth Battle Fleet. They gathered together to discuss how to break the deadlock.

"The best approach is for the army to bypass the forts and capture them. This way, the fleet won't have to take the huge risk of bombarding the coast." "I agree. The two forts in Ba Dayan, one in the south and one in the north, have thick concrete defenses on top. Our artillery can't destroy them at all. Moreover, these two forts are equipped with deadly 15-inch guns. It's unwise to risk warships there."

"I second that. Dropping shells from such a distance can't cause any real damage."

"I second the motion. The Royal Navy's mission is to successfully deliver these landing forces to the shore. As for the combat mission on land, that should be completed by the infantry."

"I second the motion. We cannot get any closer to the enemy batteries. The 10-inch shore artillery has already caused considerable damage. My deckhands have suffered over 30 casualties."

"Seconded."

Seeing that all the British officers agreed to let the infantry handle the issue, Major General George Hurst nodded solemnly and replied, "I will convey the Royal Navy's request to General Maignan. It's just a minor additional request and shouldn't be a problem."

General Maignan is a lieutenant general from the French military. He is now the infantry commander of the Anglo-French Allied Forces, responsible for commanding the 2 Anglo-French troops.

At this moment, an officer representative sent by General Maignan was negotiating with a major in the Chu garrison, demanding that the battlefield be cleaned up.

The Chu defenders agreed in principle, but demanded that the weapons and equipment on the bodies be confiscated. This was flatly rejected by the French side, who arrogantly told the other side that "it is absolutely impossible."

Major Chu did not tolerate the French officer and told him directly, "If you are not afraid of death, come and collect the bodies." After saying that, he turned around and left.

This made the proud French officer so angry that his face turned green. Not only did he fail to complete the task, but he was also slapped in the face and ridiculed by the other party, which made him extremely upset.

After the French officer who had negotiated came back, he made such exaggerated remarks that really angered General Maignan, and the intensity of the battle quickly escalated.

The number of attacking forces sent by the British Indian Corps expanded to more than 500 people. Under the cover of the remaining artillery, they launched a large-scale attack and climbed onto the coal pile several times.

As a result, under the intensive hail of bullets from the bunkers on both sides and the defenders in the rear, they were unable to hold their ground and retreated, leaving behind more corpses.

After three consecutive attacks failed, General Maignan sent out the French army for the fourth time, and also sent out flanking troops, who fired neat volleys at the bunkers on both sides to suppress the firepower of the Chu army infantry on the bunkers.

After this deployment, the offense really improved significantly.

The French soldiers who attacked the coal slag heap held out for more than 10 minutes. The two sides opened fire on each other in a particularly bloody and brutal battle, with heavy casualties.

At its peak, the British and French forces deployed more than 2600 troops.

In addition to the soldiers fighting on the front line, there were more than 300 Baotou Indians who were desperately digging the coal slag pile with shovels. They dug a large gap more than 40 meters long in the coal slag pile, almost digging it through.

Later, because more than half of their troops were killed or wounded, the British and French forces had to withdraw the remaining troops.

By this time

Rear Admiral George Hurst then met with Vice Admiral Maignan and conveyed the Royal Navy's demands to him.

"Oh, capture the fort? Sure, but it will take some time. I think I should be able to hand over the fort to you intactly, my dear General Hurst, sometime tomorrow afternoon or the day after tomorrow." General Maignan had the unique pride of the French. After hearing the request of his British ally, he readily agreed.

Although today's attack was not successful, it gave him hope of breaking through the earthen city's defense line.

It is now past 5 p.m. General Maignan will deploy troops and increase the intensity of the attack, striving to capture this line of defense in 3 to 4 hours and not give the Chu army a chance to breathe.

He has a very deep understanding of this defensive line without depth.

If just one point is breached, the entire defense line will be paralyzed and lose its effectiveness.

No matter how high the price is, it is worth it.

Today, the coalition forces have suffered more than 2200 casualties. Even if the casualties reach more than 3000, it is still well within the tolerable limit.

Attack, attack continuously, and destroy the enemy with wave after wave of more fierce attacks. This is the battle plan that General Maignan is preparing to adopt.

It is possible that when this line of defense was destroyed, the defending officers and soldiers of Batangas Fort fled.

This situation
This had happened countless times in the colonial wars that General Maignan had experienced, including the war against the Qing Dynasty a few years ago, and he was very experienced in this.

After receiving the expected promise, Major General George Hearst breathed a sigh of relief and offered compliments, saying;
"Then I and the fleet look forward to hearing news of your victory. As an ally, I am honored to fight alongside your Excellency the General."

"Thank you for your praise. The French army never disappoints. We always win victory after victory on land, just like the invincible glory your country has created at sea."

"In that case, I will not disturb the general from commanding the battle and will wait for good news."

"Please make yourself at your convenience, General. I will have someone notify you when we seize the fort."

"That's great."

(End of this chapter)