Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 591 Offensive Warfare and Defensive Warfare ([-])

"Come on!" Chang Kaisheng, who was on the front line in person, swung down the saber in his hand and said with a cold face.

Following his order, a group of Kelandi and Gauchos rushed out of the position in an extremely tangled manner, and then rushed towards a ditch not far ahead with sandbags on their shoulders.Behind them, more than 2000 musketeers had already lined up, waiting for the Kelandi to fill up the trench dug by the Spaniards and kill them.

After more than a week of continuous fighting, Chang Kaisheng's detachment of thousands of people overcame adverse factors such as weather and disease. Until yesterday, they finally cleared the Spanish fortifications outside the city of Asuncion, killing and wounding the Spanish army More than 1000 people (including the Guaranis), and the remaining [-] Spanish troops (including [-] Guaranis) have retreated to the city of Asunción, preparing for the final resistance.

At the same time, they ordered every grown man in Asunción to fight, and made a lot of hype about the diabolism of the East Coast Army (massacres, looting, rape, etc.)—most of which were obviously true.Under such circumstances, the resistance of the Spaniards in Asunción City suddenly strengthened. Yesterday, when Chang Kaisheng sent some Kelandi cannon fodder to launch a tentative attack on Asunción, they were simply beaten out by the Spaniards. However, more than a hundred people were killed or injured in the "Krandy Volunteer Army", which can be described as extremely tragic.

Chang Kaisheng himself was very angry at the Kelandi's incompetent attack, so this morning (May 5) he decided to send the Kelandi who retreated yesterday to the battle again. If they are still vulnerable, then he will not Mind ordering the Polish and Tatar mercenaries who supervised the battle to enforce battlefield discipline.

The artillery, which had been reduced to 20 artillery pieces, fired a rare volley. The ground-shaking firepower made the Spaniards huddle in the fortifications and dare not show their faces, which comforted the Kelandi who charged.There were more than 300 Kelandi people who charged with sandbags this time. They quickly rushed to the front of the ditch, and then threw the sandbags in their hands into the ditch.The trench is not deep and was dug temporarily by the Spaniards before the war, so it is not difficult to fill it up, provided that there is no harassment from the enemy.

Of course the enemy will harass!No, it wasn't long before the Kelandi rushed to the edge of the trench, and the first group of people who had thrown the sandbags had just run back not far away. Hundreds of Guarani people got out of the fortifications, and then used Miscellaneous weapons, such as: matchlock guns, bows and arrows, and spears, launched an attack on these unarmed Kelandi.The two Indian tribes on the South American continent fought each other for their own territory in such a scene.

As soon as the Guarani people showed up, Major Yang Xu, the artillery commander, immediately pointed his sword there. After several rounds of correction bombs were fired, the four howitzers that had been prepared for a long time immediately sent the explosive bombs to the group of Guarani on the head of the Nepalese.Although the fire rate and reliability of the explosive bombs were not high, after several rounds of continuous firing, a large number of shells still exploded near the Guarani people, and then sent hot fragments into the Guarani people's warm body.What's more, two inaccurate shells exploded in the air above the trench, knocking down more than a dozen Guaranís and several Kelandi nearby.

The continuous bombing by 4 howitzers was terrifying. In less than 10 minutes, more than 100 shells were sent to the Guarani crowd, and the flying shrapnel killed and injured more than [-] people. The morale of the Guarani people suddenly collapsed. At this time, it was useless for the priests to say anything. These collapsed Guarani people knocked away the Spaniards who prevented them from retreating, and then fled to the rear.

Chang Kaisheng, who saw that there was an advantage to take advantage of, immediately ordered the release of the second wave of cannon fodder.Three hundred Kelandi people carried sandbags and rushed to the trench roaring. The mobilization conducted by the east bank officer who led the team before departure successfully aroused their hatred of the Spaniards, so this time they rushed to the trench quickly. When they reached the trench, they didn't stop after throwing sandbags in. Instead, they picked up the weapons left by the Guaranís on the ground and chased after them with a roar.It wasn't until they encountered a volley of guns from the Spaniards that they fled back in embarrassment again.

After nearly a hundred casualties in two consecutive waves of Krandis, the attacking force finally entered the field.Thousands of Polish and Tatar mercenaries with flintlock guns, bows and arrows began to move forward slowly along with the artillery, relying on the artillery as the core to carry out siege warfare, which entered the battle rhythm familiar to the people on the east coast.In addition to a few heavy artillery pieces, a total of 12 light field artillery pieces were pushed forward by the artillery brothers of the two companies.Every time they encountered an enemy stronghold, they concentrated fire and bombarded them, almost invincible, while the mercenaries stared at the Spaniards vigilantly with muskets, and from time to time beat back some of the counterattacks they organized.At this time, the artillery brothers will also replace the artillery shells with grape shells or even shotguns, and shell the enemies approaching at close range, and cooperate seamlessly with the infantry.

After making a frontal breakthrough and attracting the enemy's forces, Chang Kaisheng resolutely increased his bargaining chips. Two of the four squadrons of the Zhenhai County Militia Brigade were thrown into the battlefield by him.About 500 people from these two squadrons carried two field guns and two heavy guns withdrawn from the front line, as well as 100 Kelandi who cooperated with them, and landed on the flank of Asunción in batches in several small steamboats and gunboats. And defeated more than [-] Guaranis guarding there in one fell swoop, and then quickly stabilized their position.

The Spaniards panicked when they learned that the flank had been taken. On the afternoon of the 30th, Major Antonio Carlos, who was in charge of commanding the entire battle situation, reluctantly mobilized 300 musketeers from the front line. At the same time, he equipped more than 30 white men who were forcibly recruited in the city with matchlock guns, and then drove them towards the west of the city. An attack on the eastern coast positions of the 40th Army was unsuccessful.And after nightfall on the [-]th, the people on the east coast had completely stabilized the situation at the landing site in the west of the city. Several gunboats cruising on the Paraguay River even sank two Indian canoes that had sneaked over. More than [-] Guarani people were killed. fish belly.

At this point in the war situation, the decline of the Spaniards has become obvious.It took only three days for the people on the east bank to formally launch a general attack on the city of Asunción, killing and wounding more than 600 Guaranís and about [-] musketeers of the Lima Legion. Two precious artillery pieces were also destroyed. There was simply no way to keep fighting.Municipal councilors, nobles, prosecutors, and big businessmen were in a panic, and their minds were full of thoughts of fleeing.

These people still have large plantations or manors in the countryside of Paraguay. They don't want to stay in the city to die, and they even want to negotiate peace with the people on the east coast alone.But how could Major Carlos allow this to happen!Because if these people escape, the morale of the soldiers who are struggling to support the front line will definitely be affected, and the entire defense line may collapse at that time.Therefore, under his rhetoric, these people reluctantly decided to stay in the city.

Of course, Chang Kaisheng also saw the wavering of the Spanish front, so he continued to invest heavily without hesitation. The remaining two squadrons of the Zhenhai County Militia Brigade and the Dongfang County Militia Brigade had a total of 1500 people. With the cooperation of the Polish mercenaries, they carried four cannons along the gap made by the Polish mercenaries. After defeating the interception of more than 300 Spanish musketeers, they successfully expanded to the east of the city. They not only occupied some blocks, but also captured a group of With a complete Spanish bronze cannon, the balance of the entire battle tilted heavily towards the people on the east coast again.

After investing in this wave of troops, Chang Kaisheng moved his headquarters to the outskirts of the city. At this time, he still held three elite infantry companies and one cavalry company. These people were his general reserve team. Used to prevent unexpected situations.The city of Asunción is in chaos now, and it's hard to say whether there will be any unexpected incidents.

On the night of June 6, after persisting for two more days, the upper Spanish figures in the city immediately decided to transfer in after seeing the increasingly unfavorable battle situation.That night, seven town councilors, a prosecutor, a supervisor, two priests, and more than a dozen well-known businessmen and farmers quickly evacuated from the eastern part of the city that had not yet fought with a large number of entourages and carriages.Although Major Antonio Carlos tried his best to dissuade them, he still failed to prevent these people from fleeing.

After the masters fled, the residents in the city were immediately frustrated, and their will to resist was also relaxed. The white residents from mainland Spain ran back home one after another, and then fled with their families. Those who could not escape simply returned home and resigned themselves to fate. .Of course, more soldiers threw away their weapons, and then ran into the church, waiting anxiously for the arrival of the new conqueror under the comfort of the respected priest Juan.

On the morning of June 6, after defeating the resistance of more than 2 recalcitrant Lima Corps musketeers and formally capturing the supervisor's mansion, the commander-in-chief of the Spanish army, Major Antonio Carlos, led the remaining soldiers of the La Plata Infantry Regiment to East withdrew from Asunción, officially proclaiming the end of organized resistance within Asunción.After hearing about this situation, Chang Kaisheng immediately dispatched three cavalry companies to pursue the cavalry, and at the same time sent naval gunboats to blockade the nearby river to prevent any non-east coast ships from entering or leaving, and then led the reserve team into the city of Asunción.

The Spaniards spent the night of June 6 in extreme anxiety, and various rumors spread rapidly among the crowd.Especially the more than 2 white residents remaining in the city, they are even more afraid of what inhuman things the notorious East Coast Army will do.At this time in Europe, the armies of various countries fought back and forth. They often obtained supplies on the spot, and burned, killed, and looted every time they broke through. For example, the Swedish army, the Austrian army, the French army, and the Ottoman army were all famous locust armies.They worry about people from the east coast doing the same thing in the city because they have previous convictions.

But they could finally breathe a sigh of relief when the first rays of sunlight rose over the eastern horizon on June 6.Because the East Bank Army did not carry out any massacres in the city except for prohibiting the residents of Asunción from moving around at will.But massacres were avoided, and organized looting seemed unavoidable.

(End of this chapter)