North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 219 Mosquitoes in the Rainforest

Two companies of the 5th Independent Cavalry Brigade of New Grenada dismounted and plunged into the dense tropical rainforest.

The two companies of more than two hundred soldiers formed a loose line in the jungle on both sides of the road and searched their way forward.

As the soldiers searched, they would occasionally use their sabers to cut through the vines, branches, and weeds in their path, and sometimes even plunge their knives into the thick layer of dead leaves and branches on the ground.

“Snap, snap, snap…!”

The swarms of mosquitoes that filled the rainforest caused a cacophony of swatting sounds and barely suppressed curses to rise and fall among the soldiers.

"Damn jungle...damn mosquitoes...ouch, slap...!"

"Ouch...smack...damn mosquitoes, there are so many...and they're so big...!"

After searching the rainforest for only a short time, many of the two hundred-plus cavalrymen were covered in bites and were jumping up and down from the stings.

In this era, cavalrymen were considered "aristocratic" soldiers; when had they ever suffered such hardship?

The deeper you go into the rainforest, the denser the vegetation becomes, and the more snakes, insects, rodents, and ants you'll find.

Unable to withstand the onslaught any longer, the two companies of cavalry could only hastily search along the edge of the jungle.

Xu Lin, who was hiding in the rainforest, and the hundreds of soldiers behind him were all covered with thick layers of dead branches and leaves.

Even their faces were covered in mud, making them pitch black.

Although the mud and withered leaves were all filled with the stench of decay.

However, the mud and withered leaves covering its body not only effectively concealed it, but also prevented most mosquitoes from biting it.

"Click, click...!"

Several pairs of cavalrymen's tall leather boots stepped right under Xu Lin's nose.

All the soldiers in the ambush, including Xu Lin, buried their heads deep in the withered branches and fallen leaves, not daring to even breathe.

"Snapped……!"

The cavalryman who had just reached Xu Lin's doorstep suddenly stopped, and then with a "snap," Xu Lin was startled, thinking he had been discovered.

"Damn mosquitoes...!"

To everyone's surprise, the cavalryman only cursed viciously before following the cavalry in front and continuing to search forward.

……

A moment later, this wave of cavalry searching for the enemy gradually moved away and eventually left the ambush zone.

Fortunately, the National Guard soldiers lying in ambush along both sides of the road were not discovered.

Once the scout cavalry leading the way were completely away from the ambush zone, Xu Lin led his hundred or so soldiers and quietly made their way to the edge of the rainforest.

Here, the soldiers of the First and Second Battalions on both sides of the road set up dozens of HM51 heavy machine guns, waiting for their prey to fall into the trap.

A full quarter of an hour later, the sound of rapid hoofbeats finally echoed on the main road ahead.

Colonel Barbos's 5th Cavalry Brigade, with more than 3,000 soldiers, finally arrived late.

"Don't rush, don't rush...!" Xu Lin lowered his voice again and ordered the heavy machine gunner beside him, "Let the vanguard go through, and wait for the main cavalry to fall in...!"

To the left and right of Xu Lin's First Battalion, First Company, were several other companies of soldiers lying in ambush, all desperately suppressing their excitement, waiting for the fattest prey to fall completely into the trap.

A massive force of over three thousand cavalrymen marched in a long, imposing formation stretching for more than a kilometer along the main road.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and this huge cavalry force finally fell completely into the trap that the hunters had set up long ago.

"Fire!!"

As the two battalion commanders of the First and Second Battalions on both sides of the road shouted almost in unison, an incredibly dense barrage of gunfire immediately erupted from both sides of the road.

"Da da da da... da da da da...!"

"Bang bang bang... bang bang bang bang...!"

Two battalions, with a total of seventy or eighty HM51 heavy machine guns and hundreds of HM49 rifles, unleashed their most intense firepower almost simultaneously.

Caught off guard, the 5th Independent Cavalry Brigade was attacked from both sides by fierce firepower on both sides of the road and was immediately plunged into a desperate situation!

In the blink of an eye, on the seven- or eight-meter-wide road, people and horses were thrown about, blood splattered, and countless lives were mercilessly harvested by an incredibly dense hail of bullets!

"Hiss...!"

"Ah... Help...!"

"There's an ambush... Charge... Get out of there quickly!!"

But with more than three thousand cavalrymen blocked on the main road, how could they possibly break through so easily!
"Da da da da... da da da...!"

"Bang bang bang... bang bang bang...!"

Within the ambush zone stretching for a kilometer, the road was soon littered with bloodied corpses of men and horses, as well as the agonizing cries of wounded warhorses and soldiers.

Only the cavalry at the front and rear were fortunate enough to avoid falling into the massive ambush.

In the chaos of battle, the cavalry outside the encirclement were stunned and bewildered, unsure whether to flee immediately or charge into the encirclement to rescue their comrades and commander. Almost all the mid- to high-ranking officers, including Brigade Commander Barbos, were trapped in the ambush.

In other words, at this point, the 5th Independent Cavalry Brigade completely lost unified command.

On the contrary, the two cavalry companies that had been searching through the jungle not long ago suddenly heard a burst of gunfire behind them. After a brief moment of shock, they immediately turned around and rushed back to try to support and rescue the main force.

……

Meanwhile, three or four kilometers away on Mount Gamboa, at an altitude of about one thousand meters, near the summit, the headquarters of the Third Division had moved there.

Brigadier General Garcia, the division commander, and his staff were peering through binoculars at the large Independent Cavalry 5th Brigade that was winding its way to provide support along the main road.

Through their binoculars, the cavalry force drew ever closer, and they could even make out the pattern on the banner!
As the reinforcements drew closer, Brigadier General Garcia and his staff breathed a sigh of relief, while also planning how to launch a pincer attack after receiving reinforcements and crush the California army below the mountain in one fell swoop.

But at that moment, through their binoculars, they witnessed a scene that shocked and terribly disheartened them.

"Fuck...!"

Brigadier General Garcia roared in fury, "They've fallen into an enemy ambush...!"

"Damn Barbos, damn the 5th Cavalry Brigade... How could they be so careless...!"

"Didn't they send scouts to clear the way...?"

"Damn it, damn it...!"

Brigadier General Garcia was furious. Seeing that the reinforcement plan was about to fall through, he felt like he wanted to die.

"General...!" an aide quickly suggested, "We cannot stand by and watch the 5th Cavalry Brigade be annihilated like this... We must rescue them...!"

"How do we rescue them?" Brigadier General Garcia roared. "These damn idiots have fallen right into our ambush. How are we supposed to get them out?"

The staff officer said urgently, "General, it's time to use our last reserves...!"

"Only by mobilizing the entire reserve force of the 138th Regiment can we possibly rescue the 5th Cavalry Brigade!"

"The 138th Regiment...!"

Brigadier General Garcia lowered his binoculars and pondered, "This is our last reserve force. No matter how heavy the casualties were in other teams, I didn't put them into battle before."

"This is our last remaining counterattack force. If the 138th Regiment fails to rescue the 5th Cavalry Brigade, we will have completely lost all hope of victory...!"

The staff officer said impatiently, "General, if the 5th Cavalry Brigade is annihilated, we still cannot achieve victory...!"

"General, there can be no more reinforcements from Cologne Port...!"

Brigadier General Garcia's expression shifted, and he gritted his teeth for a long time. Seeing more and more cavalrymen of the Fifth Brigade falling into pools of blood, he finally made a difficult decision.

"Pass on my order: the entire 138th Regiment is to launch an attack and rescue the 5th Cavalry Brigade at all costs!"

"Yes, Sir...!"

……

Moments later, the 138th Regiment, which had maintained its full combat strength, charged down from Mount Gamboa like a tiger unleashed from its cage, unstoppable.

The 138th Regiment, with nearly two thousand men, was unstoppable. It broke through two lines of defense of the California National Guard 2nd Brigade and charged directly towards the 5th Cavalry Brigade, which was three kilometers away.

But after advancing less than two kilometers, the nearly two thousand-strong 138th Infantry Regiment was once again ambushed.

This ambush was personally led by Shi Dakai.

"What the fuck...!"

Brigadier General Garcia stared wide-eyed as he watched through his binoculars as the reinforcements he had sent to rescue the ambushed troops were ambushed again!

"These...these damned Chinese...how could they...how could they fight like this?"

"This is absolutely despicable, shameless, and treacherous!!"

"A double siege to lure reinforcements, this...who could have imagined this...!"

With both of his relied-upon forces now surrounded, Brigadier General Garcia was truly at his wits' end!
Under the watchful eyes of Brigadier General Garcia and his staff, the 5th Independent Cavalry Brigade and the 138th Infantry Regiment were largely wiped out in just over half an hour.

Of the more than 3,000 cavalry and nearly 2,000 infantry, totaling more than 5,000 troops, no more than 1,000 managed to break through the encirclement and scatter in all directions!
Even those who managed to escape were completely lost, plunging headfirst into the boundless rainforest.

Once lost in the boundless rainforest, who knows how many people will make it out alive!
"It's over...it's completely over...!"

Brigadier General Garcia, his face ashen, slowly lowered his binoculars.

Then, with a dizzying sensation, Brigadier General Garcia, who was over fifty years old, fainted.

……

When he slowly woke up, he saw a group of advisors around him, their faces anxious and flustered.

"General, General...you're finally awake...how are you feeling!"

Brigadier General Garcia slowly stood up, waving his hand weakly: "I'm fine... How long was I unconscious? How's the battle going?"

"General, you've been unconscious for over an hour. Now... now... the two California armies have completely surrounded Gamboa Mountain...!"

(End of this chapter)