The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 138 Lure the enemy deeper
late at night
Under the bright moonlight, the huge silhouettes of the sail warships anchored on the coast, and the bay road very close to each other, seemed to be embraced by the shadow of death.

After ten o'clock at night, the waves lapped the coast monotonously one after another. The night wind blew by, and the coconut groves and mangroves on the shore made a "swishing" sound, like a sonata of the night.

Under the shadow of the road on one side, there was a dense line of crawling figures. These were indigenous soldiers who had made a sneak attack at night, crawling hard in the knee-high grass.

In order to save their lives, no one dared to stand up.

Time passed minute by minute, and the senior officers of the Dutch army who stood in the distance and quietly watched the raid of these indigenous soldiers were so nervous that they almost held their breath for fear of making too much noise.

Three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, 20 minutes...

As the excruciating time passed little by little, many white officers showed surprise on their faces, and their excitement was palpable.

The Dutch army invested 4000 men in the first wave of attacks, which was one-third of the remaining indigenous troops.

The purpose is to use a strong force advantage to break through the earth barrier two kilometers behind the Gulf Highway in front. According to the situation during the day, about 400 Nanyang Army soldiers were stationed.

10:1, no matter what, you can break through in one fell swoop.

"Hu Laohu is confident, and he is a close confidant of the commander-in-chief, with senior qualifications and rich experience. I will cooperate with him to go crazy regardless of emotion or reason."

Time passed minute by minute, and it was almost 12 o'clock, but there was still no movement in the distance.

In such a large all-out battle, there are too many opportunities to make achievements, so there is no need to rush for everything.

As a naval force, there is no essential competition with the army. We must cooperate with those who should cooperate.

After thinking about it, General Koch felt that he had a great chance of winning, so he gritted his teeth and ordered: "Give me my order and immediately commit the Second Regiment of Batavia Musketeers. Order all soldiers to strictly observe discipline and crawl forward for the first two kilometers. "

Coast

There are also the Javanese native faction and the Feng clan, but their strength is far inferior to the former.

"This is definitely not the case. Chief Hu has gathered the main force of the Semarang Division at the last line of defense to lure the enemy in and attack. As soon as the gunshots from his side are fired, our side can also start." Major General Hu Huadong explained again. One sentence.

Major General Hu Huadong should belong to the Javanese native faction. He has made great achievements after leading the sailing fleet to destroy the main force of the Royal Netherlands Navy Squadron in one blow.

On the ups and downs of the sailing warship, Major General Hu Huadong and the officers around him were not sleeping. They looked towards the coastline like hawks in the night.

While waiting, the officers of the sailing fleet also looked anxious, and asked uneasily;
"Your Majesty, Commander, there won't be any changes at Commander Hu's place, right?"

Soon, five minutes passed. Lieutenant General Koch's eyes were frighteningly bright in the night. He stared ahead in silence, thinking about something in his eyes...

Seeing that almost all of the four thousand indigenous servants had crossed the most dangerous two kilometers of the Gulf Highway, General Koch was ready to make a move and finally pulled out his trump card.

According to the normal speed, the Dutch soldiers who attacked at night had advanced at least ten kilometers.

"Sir, I don't think the situation is optimistic. According to the reports from the sentry on the side of the Bay Road, the Dutch army has invested at least about 1.5 troops. You see... even scattered carriages have come out. This is a test. "

Actually

Following the second regiment of Batavia Musketeers were still indigenous troops, totaling more than 3,000 people, who quietly advanced at night as the second attack wave...

Following the direction of the officer's finger, sure enough, in the darkness, there were some Dutch officers and soldiers on foot, pulling mules and horses on carts, separated in twos and threes, heading east along the Gulf Highway.

The lookout sentry at the top of the mast kept sending out news that a large number of dark enemy troops were passing through the coastal road, which could be seen under the moonlight.

The 2nd Regiment of Batavia Musketeers is an all-white army. The entire regiment of 1227 people is all white. It is one of the main infantry regiments of Lieutenant General Koch and will not be taken out easily.

Don't show your face in public anymore, otherwise you will be hated by others.

"Your Majesty General, the first batch of troops has been deployed for more than 20 minutes. You see..."

Starting at nine o'clock in the evening, the officers and soldiers entered the fighting position one after another. They sat on the deck one by one with their eyes wide open and almost no sleep.

The gun barrel is loaded with gunpowder and explosive shells. As long as the gunpowder is ignited, a salvo of naval guns can be fired.

Looking from the battleships on the coast, the moonlight illuminates groups of faint black shadows, which look very obvious and cannot be concealed at all.

"Wait, wait another five minutes."

The next step is to cooperate step by step with the main force of the army and carry out military operations to snipe the Dutch army.

The entire sailing fleet, from top to bottom, took a nap in the afternoon.

The ones behind me followed suit, and even looked good in crawling forward. They bent forward a little and became bolder and bolder.

"Yes, General."

"Don't worry, everyone. Don't worry about letting go of the ghost army. This is a feast prepared by Commander Hu of the Army for the red ghost soldiers. We can just act according to the plan."

No one could crawl forward for two kilometers. Those indigenous soldiers could crawl forward for a hundred or ten meters at most in the early stage. Then they got too tired and stood up and hunched forward!

Under the moonlight at night, the officers issued only one order to the indigenous soldiers; that is, to knock down and kill anyone who blocked the advance.

But this is not the case for Mr. Hu. He has already held his breath and wants to win a big victory.

Could it be that these Easterners lured the enemy deeper?
But my army has more than 20,000 people. Once some of the troops are deployed behind the coast road and completely destroy the earthen barriers built on the coast road, then the naval gun firepower alone cannot stop the army from advancing!

"As you command, sir."

"Commander, you see, these red ghosts have invested a lot of troops. It must be tens of thousands. Can General Hu have such a big appetite? Don't play big. The commander's military law does not allow it. Affection."

In the night, Major General Hu Huadong happily chatted with several of his officers. He said;

Calculating the start of the assault at 8 o'clock in the evening, the time left for the assault force is 3 hours, which is kilometers by walking slowly in one hour, which is enough to break through the Nanyang Army's -kilometer-long defense zone along the coastal road.

There are also factions in the army, and those who talk about mountain tops. Nowadays, among the first batch of guys who went to Nanyang with the general, the worst ones are company commanders, with regiment commanders and division commanders accounting for the majority.

If no one blocks the advance, then they all charge forward together, the faster the better, the longer the charge distance the better, and they can't rest until dawn.

This... you are obviously treating yourself as a blind person.

Seeing such a blatant test by the Dutch army, Major General Hu Huadong laughed angrily, shook his head and said nothing.

Because according to the agreement with Commander Hu, it is not yet time for the sailing fleet to go wild.

As long as there is a fight on Master Hu's side, the sound of gunfire and fire will spread very far at night, so there is no need to worry about not being able to see the signal to initiate the battle.

The other officers saw that it was past 12 o'clock and couldn't help but look anxious, because the coastal road blocked by the sailing fleet and the Semarang Division jointly by land and sea was only 13 kilometers long.

If your legs and feet are faster, more than two hours will be enough. "Commander, is there really nothing wrong? If the main force of the Dutch army is let go, and the commander blames us, all our efforts will be wasted."

"Wait a moment...don't panic." Major General Hu Huadong also showed anxiety in his eyes. He was under great pressure.

After thinking for a while, he explained;
"As for the battle plan to snipe the main force of the Red Bangui Lao army, the Semarang Division has made detailed arrangements to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

on the last line of defense
The Semarang Division dug a 38-meter-wide river channel at the front of the defense line, cutting off the entire bay road and connecting the flooded swamp with the bay.

Mr. Hu has already sent people to build a dam upstream to store water. Once the earthen dam is exploded, a large amount of water will pour into the river and pour down into the sea.

What we have to wait for now is that loud explosion. "

Oh I got it……

Everyone suddenly realized it. Looking back, they had to admire how vicious this plan was.

The poison of this strategy is to "lure the enemy deep into the enemy's territory and lead to nowhere to advance." A large number of Dutch troops made a surprise attack at night, all crowded on the more than ten kilometers of coastal road, becoming a living target for the sailing fleet.

You can't go forward, you can't go back, you can't go back.

After about a few minutes, large groups of mules, horses and carts appeared on the coastal road. They boldly began to break through the coastal road and became unscrupulous.

The shadowy follow-up army did not hide it either. They were trotting through the original artillery fire blockade area. The long team could not be seen at a glance.

It only takes just over ten minutes to pass the most dangerous two kilometers.

At this moment

I heard the faint sound of gunfire coming from far ahead, one after another denser and louder. It seemed that the leading troops of the Dutch army had already caught fire with the Semarang Division.

"Don't be anxious, the signal for full-scale activation has not been sent yet, please wait." Major General Hu Huadong looked calm and ordered quickly in a low voice; "Let all the brothers get up, wash their faces and wake up if possible, and be ready at any time. fighting."

"As you command, sir."

The officers under his command immediately went to notify them. When they got to the deck, they kicked all the soldiers awake one by one and ordered in a low voice: "Everyone get up and prepare for the battle. Quickly wash your face and wake up. We are about to fight." ”

"Understood, sir."

In fact, the soldiers were not asleep, and they took action immediately after hearing the order.

At this time, the sound of gunfire in the distance became more and more intensive, resounding into one sound, making the distant sky a fiery red.

The Dutch soldiers who heard the gunfire stopped hiding. Under the supervision of the officers, they all ran quickly and marched hurriedly forward.

Major General Hu Huadong watched the long convoy of mules and horses passing by, still standing firmly like a pine tree, waiting for the agreed signal to be transmitted.

A few more minutes passed
The fleet of mules and horses passing rapidly on the Bay Road had become sparse, and the officers were anxious.

I only heard an earth-shaking loud noise in the distance. The huge fireball could be clearly seen more than ten kilometers away. Thick smoke mixed with a black mushroom cloud slowly rose. The officers who looked at the sailing fleet were speechless. .

How much explosives did Chief Hu have?
Looking at this big noise, at least more than 100 barrels of black powder must have been detonated together to make such a big noise.

Now that the signal has been sent, the fight begins without saying anything.

Then the sharp battle whistle sounded from the Zhenhai, and a fiery red lantern slowly rose to the top of the mast, which was a signal for all to fight.

During the day, the battle flag was raised, and at night, a lantern was raised as a battle signal.

The soldiers who were already lurking on the coast immediately lit fires, then fired rockets to ignite the large bonfires piled on the other side of the coast road.

One bonfire after another was passed far away, and the blazing flames dispelled the darkness, illuminating large areas of the coastal road as if it were daytime.

The frightened Dutch officers and soldiers were all exposed in the light of the bonfire, and then they fired back in all directions.

But what's the use?
Can it still sink a sailing battleship?
After a slight adjustment of the muzzle, the nine sail warships lined up along the coast began to roar with concentrated fire and artillery fire.

The thunderous cannons rumbled endlessly, setting off a bloody storm on the coastal road. Countless deadly steel fragments flew, and the screams of death and despair intertwined to deduce this terrible midnight of death.

Under the blazing bonfire, the rumbling sound of artillery resounded throughout the world, and the unhurried bombardment was endless.

The rising smoke filled the air, and after more than an hour, the entire coastal road was stained with blood.

What started as rounds of volleys turned into sporadic shelling, which continued from midnight to early morning until no one could stand up.

This was a one-sided massacre that lured the enemy in, and the fighting was unprecedentedly brutal.

In the middle of the coast road
The place dug by the Semarang Division has been washed away, forming a large river more than 70 meters wide. It is expected that a large amount of river water in the swamp will rush from here to the ocean, taking away countless indigenous soldiers.

on one side of the river bank

Beside the earthen fortress built by the Semarang Division, the corpses of thousands of people were lying in random directions, layer by layer, and the entire earthen fort was stained with blood.

behind the fort
Twelve nine-pound cannons were set up in a row, all firing shotguns, used to kill a large number of enemy troops and curb their offensive momentum.

last night

The densely packed indigenous troops jumped into the pit one after another, then crawled out of the pit and fought towards the earthen fortress.

After the Semarang Division lit the bonfires along the coastal road as planned, the soldiers stood behind the earthen ramparts, firing volleys of guns neatly, and fired round after round.

With the help of artillery, they killed a large number of enemy troops. After holding on for more than ten minutes, they blasted the earthen dam upstream and flushed thousands of indigenous cannon fodder into the sea.

From this moment on, the battle belonging to the Semarang Division was over.

Across a river dozens of meters wide, the soldiers of the Semarang Division still concentrated their fire with volleys of guns. They continued to attack for more than 20 minutes, knocking down all the enemies within sight.

Then, there was another performance by the sailing fleet.

At dawn in the early morning, several large ships carrying officers and soldiers of the Semarang Division landed at the Pekalongan pier. Thick soldiers came down from the pier and began to clear out the remaining Dutch enemies.

The first step was to dispatch a force of more than a thousand people to seal the entrance to the Bay Road, so that the Dutch officers and soldiers who had survived last night could not return to Pekalong smoothly.

In the second step, a cavalry team of more than 200 cavalry was dispatched. After deployment, they searched for the enemy and reported the latest military information at any time.

The third step is to gather more than 2400 main members of the Semarang Division and more than 1300 armed militiamen, ready to attack at any time to attack the remaining enemy forces.

(End of this chapter)