Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 326: The Sorrow of Star Island
never thought

After the British and French forces broke through the three mountain fortress defense lines at all costs, they were forced to stop due to the tenacious resistance of the Chu army, at the cost of a total of more than 1.8 casualties and huge consumption of ammunition.

Eight days passed while we waited.

This gave the Chu army more time to conduct military training for the 3.5 forced laborers who were urgently conscripted.

On the mountain clearing

A large number of Chinese, Malays and white people dressed in civilian clothes, in teams of about 300 people, were carrying rifles and conducting drill training.

The squads, platoon leaders and other basic military positions among them are held by well-trained Chinese activists. Each team is sent 4 to 5 veterans for training, and they have already formed a decent team.

These local workers received training for as long as two to three months, and as short as more than 20 days.

The basic formations, gun loading and volley shooting have been practiced countless times. In real live-fire training, each person fires three to five bullets, just for the experience.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei, the front-line commander, was inspecting along the earthen ramparts with several officers. His Royal New Second Regiment was in charge of supervising the battle, and his eyes occasionally swept over the four militia battalions that were in training.

Fang Shiwei's eyes were filled with sternness.

There is one earthen rampart every 1 to 2 kilometers among these ten mountain ramparts.

Behind each earthen fort in the mountains, there were four militia battalions, each with more than 4 people, totaling more than 1200 troops.

The supervisory team of the newly formed Second Royal Regiment consists of about 200 fully armed soldiers, with a total strength of more than 1400 people.

According to combat requirements
Each earthen fort in the mountains must be held for more than one day, and strive for two days, depending on the specific situation.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei served as the front-line commander. His task was to lead these 1.2 militiamen to hold ten mountain forts for half a month. The troops supervising the battle came from the Royal New Second Regiment.

The main forces of the Singapore Expeditionary Force all retreated back into the city, including the four damaged regiments. After reorganization, they also returned to the defense zone in the city for repairs.

Singapore city today
It has the main force of the Singapore Expeditionary Force of more than 1.3 people, plus 2 militiamen who were urgently recruited and trained, totaling more than 3.3 people.

We are currently reinforcing the city's defensive barricades and various fortifications in preparation for a bloody urban battle where every inch of land must be fought, and we must hold out for at least three months.

Commander Ho Ruolin of the Singapore Expeditionary Force followed the strategy of "defending to the bitter end and fighting for every inch of land". The troops under his command would never take the initiative to attack, so as not to give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage.

The British and French forces could use their absolute superiority in numbers to capture heavily defended Singapore.

Provided that
Having to bear the loss of more than 10 casualties is not an exaggeration, but a cruel reality that the British and French forces have to face step by step.

The bloody battle has lasted for more than three months

The total number of casualties caused by the Singapore Fortress to the British and French forces has exceeded 4.63.

If they wanted to reach the outskirts of Singapore, the casualty figure would have risen to at least 6.

At this stage

It lay across the mountain road, posing an obstacle that the British and French forces had to break through and was extremely difficult to deal with.

The headache for the British and French forces was
These mountains can be crossed by a single soldier, but the problem is that even if they are crossed, they are of little use.

The British and French forces had tried several times to select three to five hundred skilled men to cross the mountains and harass the Chu army from behind, but the results were indescribable.

When they crossed, they were often discovered by the Chu army's outposts set up on the ridges or in the forests, and they would quickly call for reinforcements to attack them, and then retreat after suffering heavy losses.

Under the cover of night
The British and French soldiers who successfully crossed over had very limited combat supplies with them.

However, what they faced was a heavily-trooped Chu army fortress area, which was divided into sections by earthen wall defense lines and heavily guarded, leaving them with almost no opportunity to exploit.

Once discovered, the entire army will be wiped out.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei was inspecting the No. 1 earthen rampart, which was located between the No. 1 and No. 2 earthen ramparts, about 2.1 kilometers away. There were a total of 4 militia battalions and one supervision company stationed there.

There were also two 10-pounder Parrot field gun squadrons supporting the battle, equipped with 24 light field guns.

These two field artillery squadrons will be the first to retreat when the situation is bad to protect the precious artillery and avoid being captured by the British and French forces.

In the subsequent defense, the fire cover of the artillery brothers is indispensable.

As for the Singapore Expeditionary Force, the newly formed 5nd Regiment was equipped with only five artillery squadrons, totaling 60 10-pound Parrot field guns.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei stockpiled two squadrons of artillery at the No. 1 earthen rampart for fire cover, which can be said to be a big move.

When things go wrong, of course, retreat is the priority.

Today, the Singapore Expeditionary Force's artillery reserves are dwindling as each one is destroyed. The Singapore Strait and the Malacca Strait have been tightly blocked by the British Royal Navy and cannot be replenished.

After more than three months of bloody fighting, the rifling of at least 192 Parrot guns was worn out, and a number of them exploded during the battle and could no longer be used.

For long-term considerations, the Singapore Expeditionary Force has a limited number of artillery pieces assigned to the front line, and the main force of the artillery will be used in urban battles.

If one is destroyed, there will be one less.

"Sir, don't go up there. Those ghosts will shoot you from behind."

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei was about to climb up the slope when the guard company commander beside him stopped him and advised him against it.

"You think too highly of these foreigners, but they can hit me from such a long distance." Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei said with disdain. The success in the continuous blocking battles has greatly increased the confidence of all officers and soldiers in the army.

As he spoke, he pushed the guard captain away, but he climbed to the top of the earthen rampart with persuasion, and several other officers followed.

When the guard company commander saw that this was not going to work, he quickly signaled several soldiers around him to follow him, forming a human wall around Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei and providing close protection.

The earthen rampart is actually an earthen dam, 5 meters high, 9 meters wide at the bottom and 5 meters wide at the top. It is steep and upright on the enemy side, while the defensive side has a slope for the defensive soldiers to go up and down conveniently.

The side facing the enemy was made of mud blocks made of straw mixed with oil mud, which were then piled up after drying.

Use local materials, simple and easy.

The middle and back are filled with rammed earth, layer upon layer. Where there are gravel, they are filled with gravel, as well as some miscellaneous branches and dead trees, river stones, etc. Whatever is available is used for filling, and there is no particular emphasis on it.

The main feature is that it is large and thick. After a layer of rammed earth is compacted, a layer of glutinous rice water should be poured on it. After it is completely dry, the second layer of rammed earth can be applied. This way the earth dam will be more solid.

The soldiers cooked glutinous rice porridge with extra water. After it boiled, they poured the glutinous rice soup from the top of the pot into a wooden bucket and carried it to the earthen dam to pour it thoroughly. This process was repeated until an earthen fort was built.

Such an earthen dam, lying across the mountain valley, became an insurmountable obstacle for the advance of the British and French forces.

Using heavy artillery to bombard such an earthen dam in turns is a loss no matter how you look at it.

This was based on the successful experience of the Battle of Bandar Seri Begawan in East Malaysia. A large number of earthen ramparts appeared in various parts of the Chu State. Some of the earthen ramparts were 7 to 8 meters high and more than ten meters thick, making them difficult to destroy even with heavy artillery.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei climbed up the earthen rampart and carefully observed the British and French allied camp opposite with a telescope. There was nothing unusual compared to the previous few days.

The Anglo-French Allied Forces' camp was located behind the rubble of the third mountain barrier, about 1.7 kilometers away. The mountain clearing in the middle was completely exposed, and even the trees had been cut down.

The British and French allied forces were stationed there as a forward camp, and the real camp was still seven kilometers away. The main force of the allied forces was stationed there, which was the location of the remote mountain village in the past.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei also wanted to launch a successful counterattack or night attack on these Anglo-French forces, but based on various considerations, these plans were abandoned.

As world-class veteran colonizers, the British and French forces have fought many wars around the world and accumulated rich war experience. How could they be easily ambushed?
From the current earthen rampart defense line to the Anglo-French Allied Forces camp, there are a full nine kilometers in between. Along the way, one has to pass through the heavily defended Allied artillery camps, forward camps and other garrison camps, with more than a dozen guard posts along the way.

Three or five Chu officers and soldiers with Western faces might be able to sneak in, but it is simply a pipe dream to lead an army of thousands of people to break through quietly.

The British and French forces could only advance along the roads between the valleys, making it difficult for them to fight in a roundabout way.

The Chu army's counterattack was also limited by the surrounding towering mountains, thus preventing them from making any other plans.

The two sides can only fight head-on here, with almost no room for tricks.

"Sir, there's a call from headquarters." A communications officer came running to report.

"Oh, back to headquarters."

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei immediately put down the telescope in his hand, and hurriedly walked down the earthen rampart with several officers and headed towards a thatched hut at the rear.

The guard company commander finally breathed a sigh of relief, looked back at the distant British and French positions, spat on the ground with hatred, and led the guards to walk down the earthen rampart.

The conditions at the front-line command center were very simple. Two large stones were propped up together to serve as a table. When Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei hurried back, his officers handed him an urgent report.

This was an order from the commander-in-chief of the Singapore Expeditionary Force, which was painstakingly delivered to the front line by a communications officer who climbed over one earthen fort after another.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei took it and read it carefully, then said to the communications officer with a serious expression, "According to the order from the top, the front-line commander Fang Shiwei, on behalf of all the soldiers, will resolutely carry out the command of the headquarters. Even if it means fighting to the last man, we will hold the earthen rampart defense line for 15 days. As long as we are there, we will be there."

"Sir, I will fully convey your unit's resolve to fight to the headquarters. I wish you good luck!"

"Thank you for your hard work, brother."

"You're too polite, sir. This is all within my job scope. I dare not trouble you." The communications officer saluted, turned around and left quickly.

A war is about to begin here, and it is definitely not a good place.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei immediately turned to face his officers and sternly ordered, "Enemy reinforcements have arrived. A bloody battle is about to begin. Order all units to prepare for battle and fight the enemy to the bitter end."

"As you command, sir."

The other officers saluted in unison, then quickly turned around and left, returning to their troops to convey orders.

Lieutenant Colonel Fang Shiwei looked towards the Johor Strait with a serious look. Although the green mountains blocked the way, he seemed to be able to see the arrival of a large number of enemy reinforcements.

But in his eyes, there was not a trace of fear, instead there was a burning flame.

Come on! I want to see how much the Curry Soldier can invest.
If you bring too little, it won’t satisfy my good appetite.

The command he received from the headquarters showed

The British and French reinforcements in the Johor Strait have arrived and are unloading on the coast. The total number is approximately between 1.5 and 1.6.

With the addition of 5,000 reinforcements that arrived a few days ago, the Anglo-French coalition forces were almost fully recovered.

What needs more attention is
The British transport fleet from the Red Sea brought a large number of artillery, ammunition and other military supplies, which piled up like mountains at the landing site.

It has to be said that the British and French powers were really generous in their war investment, which the Chu State could not compare to.

More than half of the veterans of the Singapore Expeditionary Force wore military boots, which were basically trophies taken from the bodies of killed British and French white soldiers.

Almost every junior officer has small gadgets like telescopes and pocket watches, which are also trophies of war.

Faced with the frenzied attack of the British and French forces, the officers and soldiers of the Singapore Expeditionary Force, from top to bottom, had made up their minds to fight to the death and were ready to fight to the end.

Many middle and senior officers in the expeditionary force had experienced the one and a half year long siege of Tianjing during the Tongzhou militia period. Reliving similar hard battles again made them feel much calmer.

Johor Strait Landing Site

British Vice Admiral Connor, who had just returned from a short vacation in Kuala Lumpur, stood at the side of the ship, looking at the huge fleet that almost covered the Johor Strait, with a confident look on his face.

He took a puff from his briar pipe, then held it in his hand and said, "As long as we have sufficient artillery and manpower, there will be no fortress that cannot be conquered. I personally remain optimistic about this battle."

"General, the Chu defenders have incorporated 3.5 laborers into the army. This brings their total strength to nearly 5, which is not inferior to ours. This will be another tough battle!" General Maignan frowned, obviously not optimistic about the future of the war.

"Then continue to send more troops until we take down this damn island. Singapore can only belong to the British Empire. There is no second possibility." Lieutenant General Connor said in a very tough and arrogant manner.

He didn't care how many Indian soldiers died, but he had to take Singapore.

The island occupied by the Chu army has now become a thorn in the eyes of the British, a thorn in their flesh, and a very uncomfortable thorn in their throat.

This tied down most of the naval power of the British Royal Navy's Third Sailing Squadron, most of the manpower and energy of the British Indian Governor-General's Office, and consumed a large amount of the military budget. This year was another year of budget overruns and deficits.

The Chu army gathered heavily on Singapore Island, posing a constant threat to the surrounding Penang and Kuala Lumpur, threatening the safety of the West Malaya colony, and blocking the South China Sea route to the Chinese mainland. How could the word "pain" describe it?

This was like pinching a snake by its seven inches. Britain's Southeast Asian colonies and Australian rule were almost completely paralyzed, with no news at all and more than a dozen trade lines interrupted, which triggered widespread and strong protests from British businessmen.

Lord William Ewart Gladstone, Foreign Secretary and a member of the pro-war faction in the London cabinet, was under tremendous pressure but still provided valuable support.

But the prerequisite is
The war must be resolved within a month and Singapore must be recaptured from the Chu army.

(End of this chapter)