boyutpedia Chapter 308 unfolds once again.
Chapter 308 unfolds once again.
"Good!" While the Manchu and Mongol armies were holding a meeting, Jiang Shan also received a telegram from Zhao Mancang.
They have successfully outflanked the rebels and cut off their retreat.
Now I'm not afraid of these people escaping! I don't need to hide my strength anymore. Jiang Shan grinned crookedly, "I'll make you pay tomorrow."
The next morning, the Manchu and Mongol rebels on three sides sprang into action, starting fires and cooking early in the morning.
Upon receiving the report, Jiang Shan and the chief of staff quickly climbed the watchtower and began observing through binoculars.
"It seems they're going to launch a three-pronged attack today!" Jiang Shan nodded, looking at the wisps of smoke rising from the east, west, and north sides.
"They can't break through our lines head-on, so they're trying to attack from three sides. Are they trying to take advantage of our small numbers? Hah!" Zhu Zhishan shook his head.
“That’s perfect! I was worried these Mongol cavalry would escape! The more we deal with them here, the less pressure Mancang and the others will face.”
"Pass down the order: we'll eat early too. Distribute all the weapons; tell the brothers not to hold back! Let's teach these barbarians a lesson."
The Imperial Army's logistics were already well-established, and its supplies were not only more abundant than those of the rebels, but also faster.
Soon the soldiers at the front were enjoying a steaming hot breakfast: fluffy white steamed buns and fragrant braised horse meat with potatoes. Each person was also given a can of apples.
This was a rare treat, and many soldiers were reluctant to eat it, wanting to take it home for their families to try.
Zhou Shunda led the militia to transport guns and ammunition to the front line. Each company in the first line of defense was reinforced with two general-purpose machine guns, and a mortar platoon was also deployed.
"Weiguo, it seems today is the decisive battle! Be careful!" Zhou Shunda patted Shen Weiguo on the shoulder. He had watched these children grow up, and he still had some affection for them.
"Thank you, Uncle Zhou! With so many weapons, what do we have to worry about?" Shen Weiguo nodded.
At eight o'clock in the morning, the Manchu and Mongolian troops were ready and lined up to approach the First Division's defensive line.
On the north side, Yi Gu dispatched five thousand men at once. This was the maximum force he could muster.
The few remaining cannons of the Eight Banners army also began to aim at the enemy's positions. Yi Gu rode his warhorse, with his personal guards following behind, personally supervising the battle.
The Eight Banners army prepared hundreds of shield carts as the vanguard, slowly advancing. They stopped about 500 meters away.
"Boom boom boom boom..." The Eight Banners army's cannons began bombarding the 226th Regiment's front-line positions.
The artillery of the division headquarters in the rear was not to be outdone and immediately opened fire on the Eight Banners army's artillery positions.
The artillery battle lasted only ten or twenty minutes before the Eight Banners army's artillery was almost completely wiped out.
"Attack!" Yi Gu knew his artillery couldn't defeat the enemy; his goal was simply to lure them into firing, preventing their cannons from attacking his infantry. He had deliberately spread his artillery out widely.
"Kill!" The Eight Banners soldiers roared, pushing their shield carts forward at breakneck speed.
Although the shield cart was bulky, its bulletproof effect was indeed quite good. The Eight Banners soldiers hiding behind it felt much safer.
"Boom boom boom..." The mortars of the first defensive line fired first, dozens of shells crashing into the Eight Banners army, exploding into clouds of white smoke.
With each exploding shell, soldiers of the Eight Banners Army within a 20-meter radius would suffer. Soldiers were constantly killed or wounded.
"No retreat! Continue the attack!" The Eight Banners officer on horseback, sword in hand, roared incessantly, leading his soldiers forward.
"Rat-a-tat-tat..." Maxim, atop the shield cart, also opened fire fiercely. The soldiers on the low wall were forced to bury their heads and take cover.
"Mortars, take out those heavy machine guns!" Shen Weiguo shouted as he ran to the mortar position.
"Boom boom boom..." The mortar crews fired shells rapidly. Two or three mortars were used against one heavy machine gun. They quickly silenced the Eight Banners soldiers' heavy machine guns.
By this time, the Eight Banners troops had advanced to within a hundred meters, and although the fighting was fierce, their casualties were not significant due to the cover provided by the shield carts.
The shield cart was pushed to a stop at a distance of fifty or sixty meters. The Eight Banners Army had learned their lesson yesterday and knew that the enemy's bombs could only be thrown thirty or forty meters.
The Eight Banner soldiers emerged from behind the shield carts and began exchanging fire with the soldiers of the first line of defense.
Gunfire erupted as both sides desperately fired at each other.
While the fighting raged in the north, Mongol cavalry also launched attacks from the east and west.
"Attack! Kill them all!" Lerji drew his golden saber and swung it forward with a fierce motion.
The cavalry slowly started moving, gradually accelerating, getting faster and faster. The Mongol cavalrymen on horseback brandished their swords and charged forward, shouting loudly.
The charge of thousands of cavalrymen was astonishing. The sound of their hooves hitting the ground was deep and dense, like the beating of war drums, making the earth tremble slightly.
Dust billowed up behind them, like a yellow dragon rising up and obscuring their view.
The 227th Regiment was defending the west side, and unlike the 226th Regiment, they did not deploy three companies on the front line.
Instead, the force was reinforced to six companies, and most of the general-purpose machine guns and mortars were also deployed to the front line.
The cavalry were too fast; only concentrated firepower could suppress them.
Faced with the enemy's overwhelming momentum, the soldiers held their guns and nervously watched the front.
"Fire!" Once the enemy cavalry had approached within 500 meters, the officers gave the order to fire.
"Rat-a-tat-tat..." More than a dozen general-purpose machine guns opened fire at the same time, carving bloody paths through the Mongol cavalry.
With a rate of fire of over a thousand rounds per minute, its power was fully unleashed on this battlefield. Wherever the bullets struck, men and horses fell, and large numbers of Mongol soldiers were thrown from their horses and trampled into a bloody pulp by the charging cavalry behind them.
Rows of men and horses fell, quickly piling up a thick layer of corpses on the ground. Human blood mixed with horse blood flowed everywhere; the grass in this place would surely grow very well this year.
"Hooray! Come on, you sons of bitches!" The machine gunners pulled the triggers, constantly making subtle adjustments to the firing arc. They had never fired so freely before.
The soldiers slumped over the tables stared wide-eyed at the Mongol cavalrymen falling one after another. That machine gun was too brutal!
"Boom boom boom..." Dozens of mortars behind them were not to be outdone, pouring shells at the Mongol cavalry. Clouds of blood mist continuously erupted from the cavalry ranks.
The two-hundred-meter mark seemed like an insurmountable barrier; the Mongol cavalry could only reach this point at most. The scattered cavalrymen were felled by concentrated fire from the soldiers.
The Mongol cavalry charged forward wave after wave, only to be completely defeated and knocked to the ground.
An hour later, the gunfire ceased, and not a single Mongol soldier remained standing on the battlefield. Only a few lone warhorses wandered about.
With a "pfft!" sound, Lerji spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered, almost falling off his horse.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!" The guards beside him quickly helped him up.