I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 200 Strong Suppression

"Come up, come up, first watch!"

"Quick, pull Gatlin up!"

"Place the sandbags and set up the machine gun positions first!"

Hundreds of Japanese troops made a surprise landing in small boats and rushed onto the coast of Maguindanao, but there were no Moro troops on the coast to stop them.

The Moros also knew how powerful the Japanese navy was. Their pirate ships could not even defeat the Spanish Manila fleet, let alone the Japanese fleet.

Leopold wisely chose to retreat to the rear and fight.

Although there were no enemy troops on the coast, the two infantry battalions that landed first stepped forward to establish a defense line and sent a sharp knife company to advance.

On the battleship, Oda Takatada and Ohkuma Toye saw the signal from the shore and immediately ordered their infantry brigade and artillery regiment to land.

The landing operation lasted for a morning. More than 10,000 people rushed to the west coast of Maguindanao. Some troops began to set up simple camps while other troops moved forward to guard.

The surrounding Moros had already withdrawn, leaving only some dilapidated wooden houses and warehouses.

The Japanese army directly demolished these buildings and cleared an open area. After sorting the demolished building materials, all the waste materials were burned.

The next day, the Japanese troops, who had rested for the day, began to march towards Sharif Aguac, the capital of Maguindanao.

Although Leopold concentrated his main force in Cherif Aguac, some troops also blocked the towns ahead. Not only that, some local Moros took up arms to resist on their own initiative.

Their few weapons were mostly flintlock rifles, and some three-pound field muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons.

Faced with the fierce firepower of the Japanese army, the Moro's petty quarrel quickly subsided.

Two days later, an infantry regiment arrived outside the city of Sharif Aguak. The leader of the regiment was not in a hurry to attack. He began to dig trenches and build defenses outside the city.

After seeing the actions of the Japanese army, Leopold laughed and said: "I just said, these people don't dare to attack. They are just showing off now. Someone will naturally negotiate with us when the time comes."

His men immediately shouted: "Provincial Governor, let's send troops and beat them up to let them know that we are not to be trifled with!"

The staff on the side echoed: "Sir, it would be good to show our force. This will make it easier to raise conditions during negotiations."

Leopold thought about it carefully and realized that this was a good idea. He only had two or three thousand men, and he had an army of seven or eight thousand men under his command. The advantage was mine!

"Well, just letting them arrange their defenses comfortably like this will be really advantageous for them! Call the brothers out of the city and teach these Japanese a lesson."

Thousands of troops gathered inside the city and then appeared outside the city. They formed phalanxes and formed horizontal formations. At the same time, the enemy troops in the city launched twelve-pound forward-loading smoothbore cannons.

The commander of the Japanese army took a look and smiled at the officers on the left and right: "These people really don't know how to write the word "death". Tell the machine gun position not to expose the firepower first, and wait until the enemy is close before attacking."

"Boom boom boom..."

The Moro artillery fired first, and dozens of projectiles fell on the Japanese position, raising countless smoke and dust, but most of the Japanese soldiers had already hid in the temporary anti-gun caves.

After several rounds of shelling, the Moro military musicians played military music. The group of Moro people moved forward at a somewhat chaotic pace, and the phalanx had begun to curve.

The commander of the Japanese army looked at the enemy in the distance with a telescope and said with a smile: "This phalanx is really like a plate of tofu, like paper. It seems that I can take this city even before the main force arrives."

"Bang bang bang..."

The Moros approaching the Japanese position began to fire volleys of fire, and the rounds of shooting only caused a few casualties to the Japanese.

The Japanese infantry immediately returned fire, and the Moros fell in large numbers.

"Come on!"

When the officer saw that the opponent's firepower was stronger, he immediately ordered a bayonet charge.

"boom!"

"Hit me!"

The Japanese army commander ordered the machine gun to fire.

The ammunition hand immediately inserted the magazine, and the machine gunner immediately started cranking.

"Da da da…"

Intense gunshots rang out, and the Moros fell down row after row like grass.

Leopold watched his soldiers fall down row by row like straw. His eyes were instantly bloodshot and bloodshot, and the corners of his mouth could not help but twitch.

His men were also shocked and speechless.

Two of the four phalanxes in front were instantly disabled, and the remaining two were reduced by hundreds of people. One-third of the thousand or so people were directly injured. The soldiers howled like ghosts, threw away their weapons and ran away.

When the people behind saw this situation, their footsteps became chaotic. The officers immediately shouted loudly and directly slashed the defeated soldiers who escaped back with their swords.

The firepower on the Japanese position had not stopped yet. The fleeing soldiers fell one by one on the way to escape. The surviving soldiers were crawling on the ground and were soon stepped on several times and lost their lives. “Withdraw!”

Leopold watched this scene, gritted his teeth and said this word. He was no longer in the mood to watch any more, so he left the tower directly and returned to the Governor's Mansion.

The Moro army fled directly back into the city. The Japanese army did not pursue them. They sent a company to clean the battlefield and pulled back the guns, ammunition and artillery dropped by the Moro people.

The bodies of the Moros were pulled together, and a fire was ignited that illuminated a large area even at night.

Leopold, who returned to the governor's house, thought for a long time. Finally, he called his confidants, assembled a convoy and fled Sharif Aguak with his family and property, and went to Umer in Cotabato.

The next day, before the Japanese army took action, fighting broke out in the city. When the Japanese army commander saw the intensive gunfire in the city, he immediately led the infantry regiment into the city. The vast majority of the Moro people laid down their weapons and surrendered, and a small number of them surrendered. Cotabato fled.

Follow-up troops arrived in the afternoon, and more than 10,000 people entered and took complete control of Cherif Aguak. Some of Leopold's cronies who had not had time to escape were arrested, and many powerful families were arrested and their property confiscated.

Then the Japanese army left one regiment to garrison, and the rest of the troops continued northward to attack Cotabato directly.

Omer learned Leopold's lesson and did not go out to attack the Japanese army. He had already planned to defend it.

After the Japanese army arrived, it was just a warning. Then the artillery regiment began to arrange artillery, adjust the elements, and then test-fire one howitzer and field gun each.

One shell hit the wall and another fell behind the city, causing several casualties.

"Why are the Japanese artillery so far away?"

"It should be Western artillery."

"Don't think about this, just hide away!"

As soon as the still confused Moros started to move, a sharp whistling sound appeared in the sky, dozens of artillery shells fell into the city, and the fierce explosion scared the soldiers and fled.

"Boom boom boom..."

In the city, countless dust was flying, wooden houses were smashed, artillery carts were overturned to the ground, dead bodies fell aside, broken into pieces, injured soldiers fell to the ground and wailed, and no one paid attention.

The fortifications in front of the city gate encountered a large amount of artillery fire. The soldiers were lying on the ground in a mess. Most of them were bloody and indistinguishable.

After several consecutive rounds, a total of more than 300 artillery shells fell. The position in front of Cotabato was in a mess, and there was no sign of soldiers.

"go ahead!"

Under the orders of the officers, the Japanese soldiers marched forward in skirmish formations and fought all the way to the city without anyone resisting.

The leading officer shouted: "Don't be afraid, the enemy must have been scared away by our cannons, everyone come together!"

The Japanese army launched a charge. Thousands of people rushed towards Cotabato City in the first wave of offensive. The surviving soldiers on the tower immediately opened fire below.

The Japanese soldiers were fighting and running, and soon approached Cotabato.

"Da da da…"

A Gatling gun was pushed over and fired at the enemy troops on the wall. The resistance of the Moros was instantly reduced.

"boom!"

Ahead, a big hole was blown into the thick city gate. The Moro people hiding in the city gate were killed and injured by the fragments of the broken city gate. More than ten people were injured. Others immediately fired into the gap. Those who were just about to step forward. The Japanese soldiers were beaten directly into sieves and fell to the ground.

The officer at the back quickly called for the Gatling gun. Several soldiers pushed the machine gun closer, directly hit the gap, and fired wildly. A large number of Moros in the cave fell down. Others were frightened and simply dropped their weapons and ran away.

"Come on!"

Japanese soldiers rushed into the city like a tide. The Moro people were defeated. Moro corpses were everywhere on the streets. The resistance in the city continued, but the movement was much smaller. Some Moro people could only hold Malaikali. The sword resisted.

As for Omer and Leopold, they were not able to escape and were quickly captured by Japanese soldiers.

Cotabato was quickly calmed down, and many civilians were called out to clean the streets.

The captured Omer and Leopold were sent to the camp. Oda Takatada immediately sent them to the fleet. The two men were to be brought back to Shinpo for a public trial to shock others.

A few days later, Omer, Leopold and others arrived at Xinpu Port and were paraded through the streets by the Japanese army. Many citizens followed and watched. Some people on both sides of the procession shouted in dialect: "You all have a good idea, this is the military and administrative province in the south." Du Omer and Leopold, they resisted stubbornly and were suppressed by the government's troops. Look at their embarrassed appearance, this is the fate of resisting the government!"

Moro leaders such as Omer and Leopold are well-known in the ears of the people of Nankai Road. The Moro people have always been unruly, and Omer and Leopold are leaders of local forces who dare to go against the Spaniards. .

Such a tyrannical local force was wiped out by the Japanese army in less than ten days. The day has changed.

Spanish rule in the Philippines was very limited, mainly in Manila and nearby areas on Luzon Island, mainly because there were too few Spaniards.

But Japan is different. There are more than 60,000 people in the four main divisions. No local force can resist this army.

Subsequently, coupled with the Japanese immigration and the government's wooing of the upper and middle classes of the natives, and the intention to forcefully manage and educate the lower classes of the natives, Nankaido was assimilated by Japan sooner or later.

(End of this chapter)