America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Iquique Bay, night, clear, moon star thin.

Although it was the time of high tide, the wind and waves on the sea surface were not too big, shimmering under the moonlight.

The port is shining with stars and lights, and the ships returning to the port are quietly leaning against the side of the pier.

Sailors gathered in the taverns by the port to relieve the loneliness of ocean voyages with alcohol.

Everything looks so quiet and peaceful.

However, on the surface of the sea dozens of kilometers north of the port, the silhouettes of five or six steamships emerged.

This is a DuPont transport ship, and the original name and number of the ship have been concealed at this time.

Each ship was loaded with more than two hundred Peruvian soldiers.

Their goal was the flat beach northwest of Iquique.

As long as the more than 1000 people on the ship are successfully sent to the shore, they will be able to stab the Iquique Chinese defenders in the back in the dark.

The Peruvian commander who directed the landing was very confident in this landing battle.

Before the war began, he was in charge of stationing this port.

He is familiar with every place here, the hydrology and topography here.

After Mr. Swanson proposed the night landing plan, the commander studied it carefully.

The more I research, the more I feel that this plan is feasible.

Those Chinese never imagined that they had boats.

He looked up at the moon hanging in the sky.

On the brightest day of the moon, when the tide is high, is the best time to take back Iquique.

After DuPont's transport ships arrived at the predetermined location, eight or nine wooden boats landed one after another on each boat, and each boat carried ten people.

After the boat landed on the sea, it sailed towards the coast.

Due to the limited number of wooden boats used as landing craft, they planned to send more than 1000 people there in two or three batches.

The Peruvian commander originally wanted to conduct an on-the-spot investigation before landing, but he was still unable to penetrate the defense line of the brown shirts.

However, according to his judgment, the northern and eastern fronts have basically exhausted the strength of the defenders, so no one can care about this beach.

Even if there were, there wouldn't be too many of them.

This also seemed to be confirmed by his observations as the boat approached the shore.

Under the moonlight, there was silence on the coast, only the sound of the tide beating against the coast could be heard.

The first batch of soldiers who arrived disembarked, and the wooden boats returned one after another to pick up the next batch of soldiers who landed.

"Sir, should we go first?" A soldier asked the commander.

The commander looked at the Peruvian soldiers who were going ashore, and looked forward again by the moonlight.

Ahead was a raised mound.

The mound is not high or steep, and it is easy to climb up along the slope.

But he couldn't see behind the mound.

This also means that behind the mound, it is not easy to perceive the situation on the beach side.

This is really a natural concealment.

The commander thought so.

"Don't worry, wait for the second batch of people to come up." The commander said to the soldier, "It's a bit slow for their wooden boat to go back."

"Those who have already landed, assemble! Get in line first!" He glanced at the soldiers who were jumping off the boat and running around, and frowned.

It's really incompetent, no matter how you practice it, you can't practice it, and it's no wonder that the commissioner from the United States made a joke.

On the beach, the disembarked soldiers began to mass together in the customary close ranks.

Peru's army tactics are in the same line as Spain and other countries, and the infantry still uses line infantry tactics.

It is commonly known as "queue to shoot".

"Sir, they have already set off!" The soldiers behind the commander said, pointing to the wooden boats coming again on the sea.

A satisfied smile appeared on the commander's face.

So far, the enemy has not detected their landing behavior.

"Everyone, to the town of Iquique, forward!" he ordered.

At this time, on the opposite mound, six Maxims lined up, waiting for them.

"Uncle Da Nian, there are too many people on the other side." A young soldier said to Zhang Da Nian behind him.

His hands were shaking slightly as he held the handle of the machine gun.

With the moonlight, he could clearly see the darkness on the opposite beach.

"What are you panicking about? You can fight now as you usually train!" Zhang Danian said in a deep voice with his usual expression.

But in fact, he has no idea.

Zhang Danian didn't know what purpose Chen Jianqiu was considering, and only left him with more than 40 people to defend the beach.

As an experienced commander, he was able to judge the approximate number of enemies on the opposite beach.

There are at least three 400 people.

Not far away on the sea, there are continuous wooden boats sending soldiers to the coast.

"But Uncle Da Nian, the light isn't very good, I'm afraid I won't be able to shoot correctly!" The soldier felt a little guilty, but suddenly he was slapped on the head by Zhang Da Nian.

He said to another soldier beside him: "Pass the order down, according to what the young master said, don't aim, just scan."

These are the original words of Chen Jianqiu.

The phalanx of Peruvian soldiers has already begun to advance towards the mound.

They walk steadily, rifles in hand, ready to take orders from their commanders.

400 meter.
300 meter.
"Sir, there seems to be something on that mound, not like a stone." A sharp-eyed soldier reported to his commander.

The commander picked up his binoculars and looked in the direction the soldier pointed.

But the light was so dim that he couldn't see clearly at all.

He was hesitating whether to let the soldiers in the front row stop first, and then send someone to check.

Those soldiers have advanced to a place less than 250 meters away from the mound.

Then, the suspected stone thing on the mound suddenly burst into flames.

Accompanied by the fire, there is a rapid "da da" sound.

The soldiers in the first row fell down in an instant. They didn't even react, and their bodies were torn apart by the bullets coming at speed.

"There is an ambush!" The commander shouted loudly, "Stop advancing! Fight back! Charge!"

There couldn't be too many defensive soldiers on the opposite side, this was his first reaction.

At a distance of more than 200 meters, as long as they rush into the opponent's position, the second wave of landing soldiers who follow behind will be able to support them.

The soldiers rushed forward while firing their guns blindly above the mound.

But immediately, Six Ting Maxim began to roar continuously.

The bullet screen rushed over like a net, repeatedly sifting through hundreds of Peruvian soldiers on the beach.

It is also like an invisible sickle, tearing apart the formation of the infantry.

Scores of soldiers fell down as if they had been mowed, and those who were hit by bullets basically couldn't keep their bodies intact.

Flesh and blood were scattered everywhere, and the painful wailing of soldiers before they died was everywhere.

The Peruvian commander could hardly believe his eyes.

In a short period of time, this beach was covered with the corpses of Peruvian soldiers. Under the pale moonlight, it looked like a hell.

"My Lord! What have we encountered? Is it Satan? Forgive my sins!"

The commander stared at what was happening in front of him in bewilderment.

In his cognition, there is no power in this world that can instantly construct such a scene similar to hell.

So he started to pray involuntarily.

However, his merciful Lord did not save him.

The bullet quickly flew in his direction, hit him in the stomach, and tore him in two.

Of the three or four hundred soldiers, less than a third were soon left.

The second batch of Peruvian soldiers who landed didn't know what happened, and the adjutant who was assigned to command among them thought that they had encountered a major blockade ahead.

He rushed up with the soldiers anxiously.

But like their vanguard, it was as if they had hit an invisible wall of death.

This wall stands on the edge of the sandy beach about 200 meters away from the mound, and it will die when touched, reaping the lives of the soldiers who charged.

And from this wall to the large stretch of beach by the sea, the dead soldiers of Peru are strewn all over the place.

Their blood has already dyed the entire beach red.

The ships responsible for the transportation did not dare to approach the coast again, because the bullets could hit the sea all the way.

If luck is not good enough, I am afraid that even people and boats will have to turn over here.

What's more, depending on the situation on the shore, there is no need for the remaining one or two hundred soldiers to be sent to the shore to die.

Under such intensive blows, the formation of Peruvian soldiers quickly collapsed.

Seeing the miserable death conditions of the people around them, the Catholics thought they had encountered a devil and started to flee in all directions.

Some even jumped directly into the sea.

On the opposite hill they saw no enemy but a darkness swallowing their lives.

Behind is the sea, and in front is death.

The Peruvian soldiers were desperate.

In addition to the machine gun team in charge of manipulating Maxim, the guns in the hands of other soldiers on the mound also rang.

It's just that at night, it's impossible to aim, but it still causes damage to the remaining enemies.

"Amitabha."

Looking at the white and miserable scene on the beach, Zhang Danian was a little shocking.

Even though he has been on the battlefield for many years, he has experienced mountains of corpses and seas of blood on various occasions, and he has rarely seen such a tragic situation.

He involuntarily chanted the Buddha's name.

"Uncle Da Nian, you also believe in Buddhism. My father told me that when you were in Anyang, all kinds of white knives entered and red knives came out. The Buddha should not be able to save you, right?"

The young soldier controlling Maxim looked back at Zhang Danian.

He got another slap on the head.

"I think after today, the Buddha will not be able to save you." Zhang Danian looked at the mountain of bullet casings and said.