Han Shizu

Chapter 1675 Bloody Battle

The Battle of Kucha began with great vigor and vitality from the beginning of the Western Expedition to the Han Army.Starting from Wulei Town, the advance base of the Han army, it was only 180 miles to Kucha City, but it took a full ten days to reach the city of Kucha.

On the way to march, the Han army was harassed endlessly by the black khan cavalry. The flat road and convenient transportation gave the black khan Qingqi a space to move around.

The Han army, on the other hand, marched in formation, carrying a large number of heavy siege equipment and logistical supplies in the team. The speed could not be fast at first, and it was naturally more sluggish under the harassment of enemy cavalry.

The Black Khan cavalry were well-trained, brave and cunning, and did not dare to directly attack the Han army formation, but adopted their usual combat style of cruising, cavalry and shooting, mainly harassing the tired army.

Of course, this kind of harassing harassment could not hurt the Han army, not to mention that there were more Han cavalry accompanying them, but the time for marching was indeed delayed a lot. Some men were lost in the cavalry counterattack, but their goal was achieved.

It bought more time for preparations for the city of Kucha, and also made the Han army exhausted, a little frustrated, and even forced the Han army to approach the city of Kucha, and instead of launching an attack immediately, they chose to camp on the spot and build soil. Fortress.

However, Liu Min is not a disadvantaged character. During the attack, the Heihan people gave him a bad impression. To the west, we searched and plundered the villages and towns under Kucha, and cut off the traffic inside and outside of Kucha. In just five days, the enemy was trapped.

The leader of the Black Khan in Kucha is still Ariaman. This is a nobleman of the royal family with rich combat experience. After seeing the intention of the Han army, he did not passively defend. Attacking the camp of the Han army, trying to break their fortress tactics, but the Han army was already prepared to drive the waves of enemy soldiers back to the city with ease.

Until April [-]th, the Han army sent troops for [-] days, surrounded the city of Kucha in a hard fortress, and only after the foundation of a foothold was guaranteed, the siege battle officially started.Even so, at the beginning of the launch, there was no direct threat to Kucha City.

Probably from the very beginning, the strategy of defensive and counterattack was determined. In terms of city defense construction, the Black Khan Army made a lot of preparations, not only strengthening the city walls, stocking a large number of defensive equipment, but also doing repeated offensive and defensive drills.

At the same time, a strong Yangjiao city and towers were built outside the city, hundreds of criss-cross trenches were dug, and a large number of traps were laid out, making the city of Kucha impenetrable, at least it seemed so.

It was also after seeing the towering defense of Kucha City with my own eyes, and after discussing with the generals of the Western Expedition, they adopted a relatively conservative approach and sought stability in everything.

Of course, this is also following the consistent tactics of the Han army since the founding of the country. In terms of siege operations, the Han army has already formed a complete combat system. This is the experience summed up with more than 30 years of war history. The system is more mature than field combat.

It is the tradition of the Han army to be good at fighting in the city. Whether it is attacking or defending, there is no timidity.Therefore, although the defense of Qiucha City is strong and it is a bit troublesome to fight, it is nothing more than that.

Therefore, after the siege plan was set, the Han army mobilized and started in an orderly manner. First, they cleared and filled up the obstacles and traps outside the city. This process took a full three days and cost a certain amount of casualties. .

Of course, it was only to clear out a space enough for the Han army's siege equipment and troops to deploy. The fortifications of the Black Khans above and below the city were crazy, and they tried every means to create trouble for the Han army's attack.

However, although the effect is there, just like the harassing enemy cavalry, it cannot really stop the Han army from attacking.

Speaking of it, the siege tactics of the Han army are just those tricks, clearing obstacles, establishing positions, suppressing "firepower", and forcing the city to fight.

The same is true this time, attacking hard crossbows, thunderbolt rockets, and when the siege battle officially started, the Heikhans who were naturally well-prepared really saw the attack art that the Han army had practiced to its peak for decades.

If you don't move, you are done, and if you move, you will go all out, and you will be shocked.Echoing the defensive response of the Black Khans, the Han army also made sufficient offensive preparations for the siege.

This is fully reflected in the rich means of attack and a large number of siege weapons. Only the rhubarb crossbow, thunderbolt artillery cart, and rockets have prepared a hundred sets each. Under the operation of the enemy, it carried out a covering attack on Qiucha City.

The sharp arrows that pierced the air, the explosive kerosene bombs, and the roaring rockets were all so powerful that they stunned the defenders of Heikhan.Of course, there were not too many direct casualties, but the blow to their morale was serious, especially for those black sweat guards who were injured, none of them were intact, and all of them were torn apart.

Even if the Black Khan army is not afraid of death, it is easy to be shocked by the tragic scene.Of course, long-range strikes are just a prelude. If you want to conquer the city, you still have to look at the battle under the city.

The city of Kucha is high enough, but it is not as high as the ladders of the Han army. After paying a certain amount of casualties, the giant siege beasts approached the city wall and leaned directly against the female wall.The plan of the Black Khan army to take advantage of the condescending position and cause huge casualties to the Han army under the city was bankrupt from the very beginning.

The Han army's siege techniques and tactics have been developed for so many years, and its core purpose is to minimize the advantages of city defense, hit the morale of the defenders, and create the greatest convenience for the attack.

In the Battle of Tanzhou during the first Northern Expedition that year, Murong Yanzhao even built a mountain of soil directly outside the city of Tanzhou. He went to the extreme, but he successfully offset the advantage of the Liao army in defense.

This was not done in Kucha, but a series of successful tactical executions also made the siege campaign enter the stage of fighting for the city in the shortest possible time.

The tactics are very simple, and the key lies in execution, especially in the battle stage of ascending the city. However, most of the soldiers of the Han army in this western expedition are refined pawns, and they also have a lot of training for this kind of battle.

Therefore, after the siege warriors boarded the city of Kucha without many casualties, both Liu Min, who was watching the battle, and Yang Yanzhao, who was in command before the battle, were relieved.

However, the results of the subsequent battle proved that they were a little too happy.Although the Black Khan Army was caught off guard by the rich and varied tactics of the Han Army, it did not collapse after all, and after being caught in a fierce battle on the city, its fierce side also broke out.

Face to face, when fighting hand to hand, the black sweat army, especially those standing troops, is not far behind the Han army, whether it is training or weapons and equipment.

Thanks to the advanced smelting technology, the weapons of the Black Khan army can be regarded as excellent. In terms of the quality of the sword, it is not weaker than the big man at all, and even slightly better in some places.

The Han army's offensive came swiftly and violently, and the ascension to the city came suddenly. Although the Black Khan army was surprised, the hand-to-hand combat stage reduced the effectiveness of the Han army's siege weapons. After all, it was necessary to avoid accidental injury.Those who can be used as assistants are those crossbowmen who fight close to the city.

In the past, when the Han army successfully boarded the enemy city, most of the defenders would collapse, and even if there were stubborn ones, they would not be able to resist for long.

But the Black Khan army is a bit different, isn't it just desperate, what they seem to be least afraid of is desperate, and the cannon fodder armed by religion often has certain attribute bonuses.

In addition, while the chief general of the Black Khan, Ariaman, took the lead, he also urged the defenders to fight to the death with strict military laws, and drove the Han army out of the city at all costs.

The fierce fighting process was very tragic, and the scene was very cruel. During the process of bloodshed and casualties, the ferocity of the armies of both sides was aroused. .

On the first day of the attack alone, the Han army suffered casualties of more than 500 more than 1 people, and more than 1.5% of the casualties were directly fought.There were also many casualties among the Black Khans, but they basically reached a ratio of [-]:[-].

Such a result is somewhat unacceptable to Liu Min. The tenacity and madness of the Black Khan Army is somewhat unexpected, and he has to completely put away his underestimation.

Similarly, the Black Khan army was also a little shocked. The powerful offensive capabilities of the Han army also shocked them. This is a city battle. They have the natural advantage of the defenders, and they were completely suppressed.

Most importantly, from the very beginning, Ariaman had to spend the most elite troops of the defenders on the city. These people were not volunteers or militias, but trained professional soldiers, who he was going to use to fight back. of.Even Ariaman was injured in the fierce battle, and his arm was shot through by the crossbow arrows of the Han army.

If the battle on the first day was just a prelude and a test, then in the subsequent battle, when both sides spared no effort, the battle in Kucha would inevitably fall into a stalemate.

The price of maintaining the stalemate is the bloody sacrifice of the two soldiers.

On the second day, during the city battle for two hours, more than [-] Han soldiers died, and thousands of Black Khan soldiers died.

On the fourth day, when the city was attacked for half a day, more than a thousand Han soldiers died, and more than [-] Black Khan soldiers died.

From the fifth to the sixth day, strike and rest.

From the seventh to the tenth day, there was a truce when it rained.

On the 11th, the fierce battle lasted all day, but it still failed. The Han army suffered two thousand casualties.

Later, due to the heavy casualties, Liu Min finally suppressed the urge to continue the strong attack.

(End of this chapter)