The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 135 The situation becomes uncontrollable
The sun sets in the west, and the setting sun is like blood.

The seven Nanyang Navy sail warships on the sea besieged the two Dutch warships with broken sails. The final outcome was not surprising.

The sides of each Dutch warship were tightly tied with cables by the approaching Nanyang Navy sailing warship. The sailors held long knives and muskets and stepped across the ship's side to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the remaining white sailors.

Gunshots and shouts of death resounded across the sea and soon stopped.

The bodies of the white sailors and officers who were killed were immediately thrown into the sea. The officers and soldiers occupying the Dutch warships cheered and waved their swords and guns in their hands to celebrate this rare victory.

A part of the manpower was allocated to take over the two captured Dutch sailing warships. Rear Admiral Hu Huadong led the fleet back all the way before dusk.

The target is Pekalongan Bay.

He would not forget that there were two burning Dutch warships in Pekalongan Bay. He had to watch them burn to the ground and sink in the bay.

When the fleet returned to the bay, it was completely dark.

But the two dazzling lights on the sea were like lighthouses indicating the path of the sailing fleet, and they were so eye-catching.

It's broken, I'm really afraid of what will happen.

In the early morning of the next day

When I discovered that the fleet was heading east in a straight line, my heart suddenly sank.

The surrounding sea was covered with floating corpses, charred canvas, large and small cracked ship planks, and clumps of oil stains. It looked extremely miserable despite the wind.

The hollow bullets shattered when they hit the armor, leaving only a shallow dent.

Then there was a heartbreaking sound of cracking, and the hull structure that was originally underwater was completely crushed and scattered in all directions.

The Dutch army's artillery shells were basically cast iron balls, which were difficult to break through the armor at a distance of three to four hundred meters. The combination of the armor and the ship's plate formed a soft and hard sandwich biscuit structure.

As the capital city of Central Java, the Semarang area is one of the main recovery targets of the white Dutch colonial army, and its importance is beyond doubt.

The Nanyang Navy's nine sail warships have increased to 11. Although each ship is riddled with bullets, this is a medal of victory and a mark of pride for the navy.

After the fleet gathered together, they dropped anchor not far from the burning "Hohenstaufen". They floated and sank with the tide in the harbor, quietly watching this huge warship come to an end.

At this point, the two sailing warships of the Royal Netherlands Navy were completely destroyed.

on the port

According to military information previously reported;

If these solid cast iron balls hit it, they will most likely shatter into pieces due to the collision.

In particular, the five armored sailing warships at the back withstood successive shelling attacks by the Dutch sailing fleet in actual combat and survived tenaciously.

The fireball on the sea has been completely extinguished, and only the large cloud of black smoke is still rising into the sky. The "Hohenstaufen" and another sailing battleship have been burned into charred ruins, and they are just floating quietly. On the sea.

Lieutenant General Koch and a group of senior generals stood in the distance, coldly observing the movements of the Nanyang Fleet with telescopes.

Pekalongan and Semarang are both on the northern coast of Java Island, and can be reached directly along the coast. The distance between the two sides is about 77 kilometers, and it will take two days for the army to march.

The Royal Dutch East Indies Army assembled an army of 2.37 troops, preparing to advance eastward along the coastal road from the direction of Pekalongan and attack the Semarang area where the Nanyang Army was entrenched.

Look at the side of these battleships that were in contact with the enemy during combat. The armor was pitted like pockmarks after being hit by enemy artillery fire.

Commander-in-Chief Hu Huadong gave an order, and the Nanyang Fleet pulled anchor and set sail. The "Zhenhai" took the lead and rushed towards the two blackened ruins on the sea, crushing it with its hard bow.

Stationed in Semarang is the Semarang Division of the Nanyang Army. The division has about 4320 troops, is equipped with more than 30 artillery pieces, and has a cavalry battalion of about 180 cavalry.

There are also about 1800 people from the local Chinese militia in Semarang, and there may also be some indigenous militias. The specific situation is unknown.

With a strength advantage of almost four times, the Dutch army attacked the Semarang area aggressively, and the possibility of defeat in one battle was almost 90%.

The problem is

The coastal road from Pekalongan to Semarang has a section of more than 20 kilometers that is almost close to the coast.

If these Nanyang navies anchored along the coastline and blocked the highway with broadside artillery, then the Dutch colonial army would have to advance under artillery fire throughout the entire process, and the losses would be so great that one would feel chills in the back.

"Oh, God, go and see where those Eastern sailing fleets are anchored?"

Lieutenant General Koch exclaimed almost subconsciously. The other mid-level and senior generals looked at each other and were speechless for a while.

The white officer who took the order immediately ran away, mounted his horse and went to investigate.

The mid-level and senior generals of the colonial army at the port are now as if they have fallen into an ice cellar, and their faces have become extremely ugly.

The land battle that has been prepared so hard for so long may become unpredictable again because of this setback.

someone said

Nowadays, the shooting range of naval guns is not very far. At worst, if we leave the coastal road and go around, wouldn't the problem be solved?
In fact, it’s not that simple. How far does it take to go around? This part of the coastal highway close to the coastline is more than 20 kilometers long. If you want to detour all of it, it means opening up a road of more than kilometers long. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for mules, horses and carts to pass.

There are indeed no mountains in this section, but it is more troublesome than the mountains.

Because this area is a depression where many mountains, rivers and streams converge. Over the years, it has formed a swamp and mudflat covered with dense mangroves, making it almost impossible to walk into it.

Now that the rainy season has just passed, there are large expanses of water in the mangroves.

The water is not deep either, only one or two meters deep at most. Below it is soft mud accumulated over countless years. It is a paradise for shrimps, crabs and beachhead fish, as well as countless waterbirds foraging here.

After a few months of dry season, the water level drops, and large areas of swampy soft land are exposed in the mangroves. It is not easy to rebuild roads.

more than an hour later

The white officer quickly reported that the Nanyang Army was stationed on the coast more than ten kilometers away from Pekalong. Eleven sailing warships were lined up. Each warship was about 700 to 800 meters apart, and the sides were all facing each other. In the direction of the coastal highway, the highway was completely blocked with artillery fire range.

It's over, what are you afraid of? It's true.

After Lieutenant General Koch heard the report, he was so angry that veins were beating on his forehead. He overturned the table in a rage and left the command post with his hands behind his back.

Only the officers in the command post were left, looking at each other with big eyes and small eyes.

Is there any other way from Pekalongan to Semarang?
The answer is; no.

The Dutch colonists colonized the East Indies for more than 160 years, but they never built any infrastructure, including roads, bridges and docks.

This road from Pekalongan to Semarang can be traced back hundreds of years to the Majapahit Kingdom and is the only road connecting the two places.

If you want to take a roundabout way, you can go south from Pekalongan to Bellik, and then turn east at Bellik to find a road leading to Saladiga.

After arriving at Saladiga, there is a three-way road that leads to Semarang in the north and Solo City in the east, where the Nanyang Army is now entrenched.

This road was the offensive route of the Dutch colonial army in the central part of the country. As long as the Belisi Fort and the Dahe Fort were defeated, they could enter the hinterland plain of Solo City unimpeded.

The problem is back to its original point

Doing so was equivalent to giving up the offensive route of the 2.37 northern white colonial troops, which was an unbearable and humiliating failure.

But what if you don’t give up?

Lieutenant General Koch was in a dilemma. He never imagined that things would turn out like this?

Originally covered by the Royal Netherlands Navy, Lieutenant General Koch personally led the main force of the northern colonial army and invaded Semarang with an absolute strength advantage, scoring a beautiful first kill.

To this end, he removed more than 1.1 of the main force of the white colonial army, totaling 8400, to join the Northern Legion, and combined with more than 1.5 more elite indigenous servants, the victory was guaranteed.

So he would often say that the attack on Semarang was "a pleasant march."

With such a record in hand, the Central Army, as a partial division, can engage in a tug-of-war with the Nanyang Army. Through continuous attacks, it can wear down the enemy's energy and also make the war protracted.

When will it end?
Naturally, it depends on General Koch's wishes, and he will have both the enemy and the Governor's Mansion under his control.

Damn it, how could things turn into this?

The Governor-General, Earl Charles Ferdinand Bahu, hurriedly arrived at Pekalongan in a carriage just before noon. Immediately afterwards, he convened a meeting of the highest military and political officials in the Governor-General's Palace and requested that military operations be launched as scheduled.

At the invitation of a good friend, the Governor took time out of his busy schedule to go to the white man's manor for a vacation and enjoyed the warm hospitality of the beautiful hostess.

When I was feeling happy and not thinking about Sichuan, I suddenly received an urgent military report from Pekalongan, and I hurried back from my vacation.

"I don't need to hear any reasons, and I don't want to see any excuses. The colonial army must launch military operations as scheduled to destroy these Eastern rebel forces in one fell swoop.

You must know that for every day of delay, the Government House will have to pay a huge war cost of more than 100,000 guilders.

General Koch, I demand that you act immediately. "

The Governor changed his former gentle and gentle demeanor, stared at General Koch fiercely, and said with an undisguised threat;
“If you cannot satisfy this governor, I will not hesitate to remove you from military service and hang you on the gallows.

Please do not doubt my determination. The Governor's patience has its limits.

No matter what approach I take, I want to see action immediately and remember there are no excuses.

You discuss the specific military action measures and then report to me. "

After saying that, the angry Governor Charles flicked his sleeves and turned around to leave.

The Governor was very angry, and the consequences were very serious.

If the military cannot treat it correctly, there is no doubt that it will be abandoned by the Governor and become the scapegoat.

(End of this chapter)