Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 538 Santa Fe, just around the corner! (two)

A light rain started to fall from the sky, which made Chang Kaisheng secretly pooh.I'm about to attack God, it's really unlucky for you to make such an attack on me all of a sudden!

The artillery brothers hurriedly set up rainproof shelters for the artillery positions. The Spanish artillery had already fired in twos and threes. The intern staff officers of the military academy who accompanied the army carefully recorded the positions of the enemy's artillery—basically some civilian houses, and then handed them over to the artillery company. long.

The advantages of artillery caliber and range are reflected at this time.On the artillery positions set up by the people on the east coast, it was difficult for the Spanish small-caliber bronze artillery to strike effectively.Even if there are occasional long-barreled cannons that can attack here, the iron bullets fired are at the end of the crossbow. In addition, here is the soft river bank mud and it is still raining lightly. kinetic energy.If it wasn't for a direct hit, it would be very difficult to cause any harm to the people on the east coast.So far, the Spaniards have fired several rounds of artillery, and only two unlucky militiamen on the east bank were hit by the artillery, causing one death and one injury, and the casualties were minimal.

The artillerymen on the east coast were also ready to launch soon. Under the order of Chang Kaisheng, 24 artillery pieces of three artillery companies fired one after another, and the artillery shells were fired into the city of Santa Fe like raindrops.The location of the enemy artillery given by the staff officers was the key target of attack, so after only two rounds, one of the Spaniards' artillery was hit and damaged on the spot.

"This is the power of the cannon!" Sun Wen, the commander of the 1st Company of the Independent Field Artillery, who directed the entire artillery battle, said with a grin.He is a staunch artilleryist, advocating that infantry, cavalry, engineers and other arms on the battlefield must serve artillery unconditionally, and everything is centered on cannon, because artillery is the god of war.

The whistling artillery battle continued. Although they were beaten to hide, the Spanish artillerymen did not admit defeat.On the contrary, two of their lucky bullets directly destroyed an 8-pound gun carriage on the east coast, and caused three casualties of soldiers of the second company of independent field artillery.This made Sun Wen very angry, but there was nothing he could do.

The artillery battle lasted until ten o'clock in the morning, and the Spaniards damaged two more guns. So far, they only had one 8-pound gun that was still able to fire.The ratio of the number of cannons is 1:23. Such a disparity makes the Spaniards frightened. Maybe everyone will be smashed into meat sauce one by one by the shells falling from the sky?

The Spaniards obviously don't want to see this happen.Soon, about a thousand Guaranis rushed out from the streets of Santa Fe City. After finishing their formation, they shouted and rushed to the position of the army on the east bank.Most of these people held cold weapons. On this rainy day, the small number of arquebuses they were equipped with were no different from fire sticks in field battles. They might as well use wooden spears and bayonets.

When Chang Kaisheng saw the Guarani attack, he immediately guessed the Spaniard's intention.They wanted to take advantage of the rainy and humid climate to consume the strength of the people on the east coast with guarani cannon fodder full of religious enthusiasm.This is their only way, because if they are bombarded so recklessly by the artillery from the east coast, the whole city will be turned into ruins sooner or later, so why would they fight?It was directly buried under the rubble.

After seeing the Spaniard's move, Chang Kaisheng immediately took countermeasures.The 1 musketeers of the Army's 240st Company rushed into the artillery shelter with bullets, where they would shoot at the Guarani who rushed over from a distance.The Army's 101st Company, 103rd Company, and about a thousand militiamen all put bayonets on their guns, and they lined up in a tight formation wearing infantry breastplates, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Guaranis.As for the 106th Company of the Army and [-] militiamen from Rocha County, they were on standby in the dock area as the general reserve for the campaign.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Even though it was raining and wet, the Army's 1st Company hiding under the awning still had a firing rate close to 50%. Four or fifty of the charging Guaranís fell silently. , but more people are still charging forward without hesitation.Some small-caliber 4-pound guns also took advantage of their flexibility to quickly turn their muzzles and fired at the surging Guarani crowd. The flying solid iron balls, explosive bombs and even chain bombs created a terrifying panic among the crowd. Killing and wounding, more Guarani screamed and fell to the ground, and the people behind trampled on them and continued to charge forward.

The army's 101st company, 103rd company, and militiamen, a total of 1500 people, roared "Wan Sheng" solemnly at this time, and resolutely met the direction where the Guarani people were rushing.They first raised their rifles horizontally, stepped back and fired the bullets in the chambers in turn, and then rushed up with bayonets in the passionate "Victory Belongs to the Army" march.On both sides of them, the brothers from the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Companies have turned over and mounted their horses. Although there is not much space outside Santa Fe City, and the ground is slippery and soft, it is not suitable for the cavalry to attack, but at this time they also Instead of sitting back and watching the infantry fight the enemy, they decided to play their part and go into battle at a critical moment, instantly defeating these daring Guaranís.

"Crack" sounded repeatedly, and the sharp East Bank 41-year-style steel bayonet collided fiercely with the Guarani saber and wooden spear, and the array lines of the two sides collided fiercely.There were thousands of Guarani people when they set off. After being baptized by muskets and cannons on the way, only about 600 people rushed to the front of the east bank. How can the more than 600 Guarani people without any armor and with a fairly average organization degree be able to withstand the east bank army rushing side by side with as many as 500 people, wearing infantry breastplates and holding rifles with bayonets? ?

So they got knocked back pretty hard at first.The rifles and bayonets of the East Coast Army reached a terrifying length of 1.75 meters. If the wooden spears and sabers of the Guaraní people failed to hit the enemy's vitals, their bare chests would soon be covered by two or more guns. The bayonet pierced at the same time.

There were screams one after another, but most of them were from the Guarani people.Their wooden spears couldn't penetrate the high-strength curved steel armor at all, but the opponent's bayonet could easily penetrate their own bodies, so they were defeated in an instant.The east bank militiamen on the two wings gradually surrounded them, trying to encircle this army that underestimated the cold weapon fighting ability of the east bank army. They didn't seem to intend to let any enemy go back alive.

The cavalry also moved at this time.Among them, the 1st company and the 2nd company slowly outflanked from the two wings, and easily intercepted a small number of Guaraní soldiers who had successfully escaped from the battle center and wanted to escape back to Santa Fe.They slowly controlled the speed of their horses to ensure that they would not fall on the slippery and soft muddy ground by the river. Whenever they encountered a fleeing Guaraní, they would go up and stab them.The sharp blade easily sliced ​​through the enemy's body, as easily as cutting tender tofu.The 3 officers and soldiers of the 110rd Cavalry Company kept their eyes on the direction of Santa Fe to prevent the enemy from sending reinforcements again.If that happens, the Army's 106th Company and [-] militiamen from Rocha County who are on standby will be sent into battle.

The Spaniards did not send reinforcements after all, and perhaps they were also shocked by the defeat of the Guaranís. They did not seem to expect that a thousand barbarians who they considered very "brave" would be defeated so quickly and so quickly. Clean and thorough, which completely exceeded their expectations.

The sounds of fighting and shouting gradually died down, and the last hundred or so Guarani people were surrounded by the people from the east coast.Fear and despair hung on their faces, their eyes were blurred by the fine rain, and their scarred bodies were trembling slightly. They had fallen into a desperate situation.

Even fanatical and courageous believers will still be afraid when they are in a desperate situation!

Raindrops continued to hit the battlefield, and the muddy ground trampled by countless people was full of puddles, some of which were filled with muddy rainwater, while others were filled with dark red blood.The ground that has been trampled into mud is black mixed with bright red, and occasionally some fragments of human organs can be seen, which makes people feel sick.

"Bullets are fools, bayonets are heroes! Kill!" The 101st company deputy company Changshou Taoist priest who led the team shook the water drops on the bayonet and rushed forward with a roar.Behind him were countless shining bayonets. Everyone chanted slogans, cursed the enemy with the most vicious spells, and then handed the sharp bayonets into the enemy's body.

The battle was soon over, and the last of the Guarani fell to the mud, lifeless corpses.Warm blood flowed out from the wound, forming a large pool of dazzling blood on the ground.

After quickly eliminating the Guarani people, there was a moment of silence on the battlefield.The Spaniards don't seem to have recovered from the shock, and the East Coasters need a little reassurance.

However, the artillery brothers were still not idle. They transported the shells to the city of Santa Fe non-stop. After finally destroying the only small cannon left by the Spaniards, Chang Kaisheng gave an order and ordered the army soldiers to cooperate. Artillery, began the final offensive against the cowards who were huddled in the La Plata Infantry Regiment in Santa Fe.

The ensuing battle was lackluster, nothing more than the East Coasters using artillery to tirelessly destroy the houses held by the Spaniards one by one.They didn't even bother to engage in close-range musket fire with the Spaniards. Instead, they concentrated on using a large number of artillery to wash the ground and clear the houses on the street house by house.

The Spaniards really couldn't cope with this kind of offensive. After persisting until dark, they withdrew from the city of Santa Fe in the dark and hurriedly fled north.After dispatching all three cavalry companies for a limited pursuit, Chang Kaisheng led the main force into the ruined city of Santa Fe, where half of the city was in ruins.

(End of this chapter)