Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 329: Follow the order, General.

In the London political earthquake that broke out in early March, Prime Minister Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby, resigned in disgrace. Soon after, the tragic news came that he had suffered a stroke and was bedridden in just one day.

Disraeli, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and powerful leader of the Conservative Party, immediately took over as Prime Minister, and the new government cabinet members went to Buckingham Palace to meet Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

Among the many familiar faces

The only person missing was the former Foreign Secretary Lord William Ewart Gladstone, whose many actions during the Nanyang War were widely criticized. He became the final scapegoat and was widely condemned both inside and outside British politics.

Even the once bright political path was cast into a shadow.

Lord Gladstone was ridiculed by members of the British House of Commons as "a rough man from Edinburgh", "an arrogant guy who was scratched all over by a wild cat", and "a fool who brought shame to the entire British Empire". All kinds of harsh ridicules came flooding in.

Buckingham Palace Great Hall
After the new cabinet ministers paid their respects to Her Majesty the Queen, Queen Victoria, dressed in a royal white dress, looked at Prime Minister Disraeli with a complicated gaze and asked in a soft and gentle voice:

"My Prime Minister, a land war for hegemony is brewing in Europe. It may break out next month, or sometime in the future.
at this time

Britain should focus its attention back on Europe. The French have been making moves, which is not a good sign.

I wonder when the troubles in Southeast Asia will be resolved; they have been delayed long enough.”

"Your Majesty, the new government will resolve this war as soon as possible, but it will take some time." Prime Minister Disraeli replied with a respectful gesture of touching his chest.

"ASAP……"

Queen Victoria is not easy to fool. She ascended the throne at the age of 18 and has been in charge of this huge and powerful empire in the world for 32 years. She has the world situation under her control.

Her brows furrowed slightly, her voice grew colder, and she questioned;
"The war has been going on for more than half a year. The previous cabinet spent more than 2200 million pounds on it, and more than soldiers were killed or wounded. Singapore has not been taken yet.

This war has dragged on for too long, and now Australia has fallen.

There is no need to make excuses for the government's incompetence, it's time to end it.

The war affected more and more colonies. Every minute that this ridiculous war lasted was an excessive waste of the former glory of the Kingdom of Great Britain and seriously affected the kingdom's international prestige.

If you don't want to become the laughing stock of Europe, then end this war as soon as possible. I'll give you 15 days. I want to hear the news I want."

In an instant
The heavy pressure implied in Her Majesty's words made Prime Minister Disraeli break out in a cold sweat. He felt his throat dry and replied in a hoarse voice:
"Your Majesty, the young King of Chu has a huge appetite. Dealing with him is extremely difficult. He not only wants Singapore, but also the three colonies of East Malaya..."

"Singapore must be taken back, and East Malaya can be given to him, that's it... Remember, you only have 15 days." Queen Victoria gave the order decisively, turned around and left, not wanting to waste any more time.

"Praise your Majesty, your wisdom is the most precious treasure God has given to the kingdom. The cabinet will get the results you need as soon as possible, your loyal Knight Disraeli." Prime Minister Disraeli bowed respectfully and saw Her Majesty the Queen off.

When the footsteps faded away, Prime Minister Disraeli slowly stood up, a look of determination flashed across his face, and he turned around and said to his cabinet colleagues;

"Gentlemen, we must make a decision.

In my capacity as Prime Minister of the Kingdom, I propose that an immediate telegram be sent to Allied Headquarters to cease all acts of war and for both sides to disengage until the war is finally over.

Immediately authorize Sir Phillips as the plenipotentiary representative of the Kingdom of Great Britain to join forces with the French allies to conduct armistice negotiations with the Chu State, with a deadline of 12 days.

God bless Great Britain, and vote."

"Although it's a bit regrettable, this might be a more decent ending. I agree with this proposal."

"The Southeast Asian battlefield is truly disappointing. It's hard to say if continuing will yield any good results. I second the motion."

"I have reservations. Investing so much financial and military resources only to get such a regrettable result and ending it so hastily goes against my belief in victory."

"I second the motion. The State of Chu is a tough nut to crack. There's no need to continue this hopeless war. It's simply too bad."

"Second, this war was a mistake from the beginning."

"Second, it's time to end."

"I object. Perhaps if I persist a little longer, I might get a different result."

"Second, how long are we going to keep going? Half a year or a year? This is crazy."

"Seconded."

Prime Minister Disraeli glanced at his cabinet, nodded resolutely, and said, "I declare that the proposal to end the war has been adopted. Then please ask the Foreign Office to grant negotiation authorization as soon as possible so that we can put an end to this terrible situation. This is not the end of the world. Europe is where our focus should be. Okay, that's it."

A brief on-site vote at Buckingham Palace determined the final outcome of the war.

Singapore Earthworks Front
The holding mission, which was originally planned to be completed in 15 days, lasted for 41 days. The Chu army continued to deploy troops and killed a large number of British and French forces with the help of earthen ramparts and defense facilities.

Today
There were still two earthen ramparts that had not been breached. The two sides launched a bloody and brutal battle for this earthen dam, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.

The strong stench of corpses filled the valley, and the bright red blood had soaked the valley that was more than ten kilometers long. Under the scorching sun and rain, it fermented into a smell of death that made people's scalps numb.

The lingering smell of thick gunpowder and the rumbling of gunfire day and night have become the main colors of this small valley.

Second Battle of Singapore to date
Both sides fought selflessly in this valley that was more than ten kilometers long, and large numbers of troops were deployed one after another. The total number of casualties has exceeded 70,000.

some of

The Anglo-French coalition forces, who fought fiercely all the way, suffered casualties of up to 4.63 (note, including 1.8 casualties in the early stage of the offensive in this round of battle). The total casualties of the Chu defenders reached 1.89, including 1.21 deaths and more than 6800 injuries.

Both sides were really angry and fought repeatedly for the earthen dam in the valley at all costs. When the battle was fierce, the earthen dam changed hands more than ten times a day, and the fighting was quite brutal.

By now, the British and French forces could no longer attack.

From the Anglo-French positions

Through the telescope, you can see a large flat hilly area outside the valley, with small villages hidden among them, as well as large green fields where crops are growing quite vigorously.

But there were two earthen dams between them, so we couldn't get through.

Up to this point, the British and French forces still had 2.91 troops (note: the British Indian Corps subsequently reinforced them with nearly Nepalese soldiers). The morale of the entire army was low and it was on the verge of collapse.

The remaining strength of the Chu State Singapore Expeditionary Force was more than 3.1 people. The new recruits crawled out of the pile of corpses time and time again and grew up rapidly.

The existing Chinese replacement soldiers have experienced at least several life-and-death battles. They are the lucky ones who survived and have rapidly grown into qualified veterans.

Speaking of this mountain earthen rampart defense line, it really makes the British and French allied soldiers tremble with fear.

The 5-meter-wide earthen defense line may seem ordinary, but it is not easy to break through.

The British and French forces fought with all their might every time, fighting back and forth. They would never be able to win without the loss of at least one or two thousand men.

The No. 5 earthen rampart defense line suffered the most casualties. The British and French forces deployed 4942 officers and soldiers on this line of defense, and it took 11 days of bloody fighting to break through it, which was a heavy blow to the British and French forces.

The Singapore Expeditionary Force originally planned to hold out for 15 days, so why did they fight to the death with the British and French forces on ten earthen ramparts?
The key to answering this question lies in the fact that Colonel Fang Shiwei, commander of the newly formed Second Regiment (Note: due to the decree of the King of Chu, all officers of the Singapore Expeditionary Force were promoted by one level), defended well, fought brilliantly, and inflicted heavy damage on the enemy with relatively small casualties.

The No. 2 earthen rampart line was held for two days, the No. 4 earthen rampart line was held for four and a half days, and the No. earthen rampart line was held for a full week before they were breached by the British and French forces.

The first three lines of earthen ramparts held off the British and French forces for a full 14 days. The newly formed Second Regiment performed exceptionally well, leading a group of new recruits to effectively block the advance of the British and French forces.

This aroused great interest of the expeditionary force commander, Lieutenant General He Ruolin, who personally led the expeditionary force's middle and senior officers to the front line to observe.

I benefited a lot from witnessing the fierce battle between the two sides for the No. 4 earthen rampart defense line.

that day

The British and French forces launched a fierce artillery bombardment on the No. 4 earthen rampart defense line early on. This was a common artillery fire tactic to clear the way, and the Chu army was already accustomed to it.

On the entire No. 4 earthen rampart line
Colonel Fang Shiwei, commander of the newly formed Second Regiment, assigned only six observers to the defense line, two in a row, each squatting in a nest atop the earthen ramparts to observe enemy movements. The British and French artillery bombarded the area for over four hours, finally creating several collapse points in the No. 6 earthen ramparts before launching their infantry attack.

After more than four hours of fierce shelling, three of the six observers were killed and one was injured, with only two of them luckily surviving.

The British and French forces consumed thousands of artillery shells but gained very little, and their large-caliber heavy artillery only played the role of breaking through the earthen ramparts.

The cost is huge and the results are not significant.

The earthen rampart, which was only 5 meters high, was a headache for the British and French forces. Its front was steep and it was difficult for soldiers to cross it unless they climbed over it with ladders.

However, if the British and French forces used soldiers carrying ladders to attack, they would be subjected to continuous volleys of fire from the Chu soldiers squatting on the top of the earthen ramparts. The casualties would be extremely heavy and they could not afford the cost.

These Chu soldiers squatting on top of the earthen ramparts were arranged in a sparse horizontal row, with a distance of more than one meter between each other. There were about 300 people fighting on the ramparts each time.

They adopted the method of passing the guns in turns. After firing a rifle, they would pass it back. After taking the rifle loaded with live ammunition, they would raise the gun and shoot again.

In this way, an average of five to six volleys could be fired per minute, which means one volley every 10 seconds or so. Moreover, the firepower was sustained, and the dense rain of bullets caused heavy casualties among the attacking soldiers of the British and French forces.

The sparse musket formation of the Chu army greatly weakened the effectiveness of the British and French artillery fire.

The shells fired by the British and French forces were either too high or flew over the earthen ramparts and hit the rear.

The fired shells either flew too low, hitting the ground and bouncing before hitting the earthen wall, creating a hole in the earth as big as a bedside table, and that was all.

The shells could only cause casualties if they hit the top of the earthen rampart defense line and hit the defending Chu soldiers head-on, and only one soldier was killed or injured.

Otherwise, you'll just get covered in dust.

The Chu soldiers fighting on top of the earthen rampart stood back and fired volleys while squatting, exposing a very small area of ​​their bodies, making it very difficult for the attacking British and French soldiers to aim.

During the attack, the British and French allied soldiers' volley counterattacks were also very ineffective.

The two sides often suffered a huge casualty exchange ratio of 1:8 or even 1:9, which made it difficult for the British and French forces to bear.

Therefore, we had to use heavy artillery fire to clear the way.

Several collapsed points were blasted on the defensive earth ramparts, forming a slope that the British and French attacking soldiers could climb up, and they rushed up while the smoke and dust were rising.

Close-range gunfire and hand-to-hand combat are the more practical offensive options.

On the No. 4 earthwork line
There were only two battalions of reinforcements responsible for the front-line defense. They all sat behind the earthen ramparts, within a range of 30 meters, so that they would not be harmed by artillery fire that crossed the defense line.

Wait until the artillery fire from the British and French forces stops, and the soldiers will attack in formation!

When the distance approaches 500 meters, the soldiers of the two defending battalions will climb up the earthen rampart and fire neat volleys under the command of their superiors.

It was still a sparse formation, but this time there were two rows, front and back, taking turns shooting.

The front row of soldiers finished firing and turned around to reload their bullets in the rear, preparing for the next round of shooting.

A row of soldiers in the rear followed suit and, at the commander's command, fired another volley of gunfire towards the front.

This process was repeated until the enemy's offensive collapsed or they rushed to within 50 meters of the earthen defense line under a hail of bullets.

At this moment

Under the command of the whistle, the Chu soldiers at the top of the earthen defense line will quickly evacuate from the top of the earthen defense line, retreat more than 80 meters, begin to reload, and install bayonets, preparing for hand-to-hand combat.

100 meters behind the earthen defense line, Colonel Fang Shiwei placed the remaining two militia battalions here. There were intermittent low earthen walls in front of them to reduce casualties.

At this time, under the commander's order, they all raised their rifles, ready to fire a deadly volley.

At this moment

The 24 Parrot field guns equipped by the defending Chu army will fire a fierce salvo at the collapsed mouth of the enemy's attack, using artillery fire to stop the enemy's attack.

When the attacking soldiers of the Anglo-French forces appeared densely on the top of the earthen rampart, the Chu soldiers on the front and rear lines of defense would fire deadly volleys at close range, once again efficiently harvesting lives.

If the offensive wave of the Anglo-French coalition forces still cannot be stopped, then the front-line Chu soldiers will rush forward with their spears and bayonets, engaging in the bloodiest hand-to-hand combat.

After the Chu soldiers in the second line emptied their guns, they installed their bayonets and rushed forward to engage in hand-to-hand combat until they drove the enemy out of the earthen defense line.

If you really can't drive it out, most of your own strength will be consumed.

When the superior commander gave the order of "general retreat" by the sound of the gong, the entire army would retreat to the next earthen defense line. During this process, friendly forces would naturally provide cover with volleys of gunfire.

The defensive tactics arranged by Colonel Fang Shiwei were simple, efficient and practical, which greatly impressed Lieutenant General He Rulin. He immediately slapped his thigh and made a decision.
"That's it. Hold this earthen dam for one more day, and your mission is complete. Holding it anywhere... doesn't matter. We're going to have a hard fight. This general will have the infantry regiments at the rear come up, and we'll fight the foreigners to the bitter end on this earthen rampart line. Adopt Commander Fang's battle plan, and this exchange will be a win-win situation."

In this way

The various regiments of the Singapore Expeditionary Force took turns to defend the earthen dams and stopped the British and French forces in this small valley. The bloody battle lasted for 41 days.

In the end, there were still two earthen defense lines that had not been breached, creating a glorious record that will be remembered for a long time in the military history of the Chu State.

This valley was later called "Sad Valley" by the British and French forces. If the 2.6 officers and soldiers who were burned to death by a fire are included, a total of more than 7.67 British and French soldiers died here.

This was an unprecedented defeat, which led to the Anglo-French coalition forces refusing to admit the loss of 7.67 troops. They reduced the scale of the losses by three-quarters and only admitted to the loss of less than 1.91 troops.

Even so
Nor can the glorious achievements of the Singapore Expeditionary Force be erased. Shortly afterwards, the 2nd Expeditionary Division was officially awarded the honorary title of "Devil's Division". The pattern was a grinning devil, which frightened all enemies.

British and French positions

"What... stop the attack immediately, both sides break contact, and start negotiations to end the war. Oh my God, how is this possible?" Lieutenant General Connor shouted in disbelief after receiving the order, and still looked at the order in his hand repeatedly in disbelief.

"Please follow my orders, Commander-in-Chief."

"No. We've lost so many soldiers in this valley and failed to achieve final victory. How can we explain this to them? I need to confirm the legitimacy of this order."

"No need for that. This final order was passed by the cabinet and must be executed immediately and unconditionally. Otherwise, I will regretfully be forced to dismiss you from your post according to my authorization and send you back to the UK to await further action."

"This is absolutely insane! Did we sacrifice so many talented soldiers in vain? Are we just going to leave with nothing, swallowing the bitter fruit of failure in vain?"

"The cabinet has authorized diplomatic representative Mr. Phillips to negotiate with the Chu State to end the war. Let us hope for a good outcome. Other than that, nothing else can be done."

“This is a load of bullshit!”

Lieutenant General Connor could hardly conceal the shock on his face. He was powerless to challenge the cabinet's decision, but it was like a thorn in his heart that he could not change.

Suddenly

There were bursts of cheers coming from outside the military camp. Lieutenant General Connor walked out of the tent with a dazed look on his face. Seeing the soldiers jumping and dancing with excitement after learning that the war was over and they could finally return home alive, he couldn't help feeling melancholy.

At this moment, Lieutenant General Connor looked as if every last bit of strength had been drained from his body, and his figure was even hunched over.

He looked back in the direction of the earthen ramparts defending the Chu army. From here he could see the open hilly plains and the houses in the village in the distance, with smoke rising from them.

Only one step away from final victory, but no longer out of reach.

His heart was filled with great regret, and Lieutenant General Connor always believed;
As long as we keep attacking, attacking, and attacking again, we will be able to rescue Singapore from the clutches of the Chu army and enjoy the glory of the final victory.

This belief was finally shattered by waves of cheers from the British and French allied camps and became a pipe dream.

(End of this chapter)