Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 660 The Decisive Battle in West Java ([-])
When the 30mm guns on the armored vehicles attacked the Württemberg troops of the two regiments, the sound of shelling that shook the surrounding fields immediately aroused the vigilance of the defenders on the other side of the Wujun River.Although they couldn't see the specific fighting situation on the other side due to the occlusion of the woods, both the Governor Overstratten and the officers below knew one thing, the four-pound gun and the two-pound gun would definitely not be able to shoot that kind of battle. Earth-shattering explosion.

Soon, several officers who fled back to the other side on horseback reported the battle situation to Overstratten. The young governor was shocked when he heard the news. He didn't expect the two regiments to be defeated so quickly.

The composition of the VOC coalition forces is similar to that of contemporary European armies. Each regiment is basically composed of two battalions, and the combat strength of each battalion ranges from 800 to 1000 people.Since Van der Gus wanted to divert the attention of the North Navy, he led two full regiments, that is, 4000 people.There were 700 people in De Corral, including a Javanese regiment of [-] Banten soldiers.

4000 people can't beat the opponent's 2000 people in a field battle, let alone use 700 people to fight the half-completed fortress.So he immediately wrote an emergency order, signed his name, handed it over to the messenger, and asked him to hand it over to Major General De Corral immediately, ordering him to withdraw immediately.

In addition to the inconvenient 12-pound artillery on the Wurong River defense line, there are still two Württemberg regiments, one Indian regiment and two Javanese regiments.If there is any good or bad for De Corral's troops, all Overstraten can do is destroy the pontoon bridge and lead the army to retreat to Sirang.As for Altin, he can no longer take care of it, so he can only ask for blessings.

Overstratten frowned and stared at the map, his inner self-confidence became flustered.Now it seems that the battle plan he and Altin made is almost in jeopardy.Overstraten couldn't imagine any other country's army in the world that could withstand such a fierce artillery attack.Thinking of this, he couldn't help turning his gaze to several British officers tens of meters away.

Last year, Beihai Town signed a military mutual assistance agreement with the local governing French, and then reached a military cooperation with the "Tiger of Mysore", all of which made Cornwallis, the governor of the British East India Company, very vigilant.When he learned that the Dutch were secretly preparing for a war aimed at retaking Batavia, he immediately provided a batch of arms and food to Dutch Ceylon, and then provided financial support.

Cornwallis hoped that the Dutch and Beihai Town would fight each other to the death and inseparable in Java, so that he could quickly send troops to take down the local governance, so that Beihai Town had no time to intervene.Since September last year, the Madras Governor's Office has placed spies in Pajayarai to keep an eye on the every move of the 9-strong army.

Because Beihai Town's military camp in Paza Yalai was very tightly guarded and some unknown monitoring methods were used, it was difficult for British spies to observe how Beihai Town trained troops.But the more you hide it, the more interested the British are.In order to learn more about the combat effectiveness and combat methods of the ground troops in Beihai Town, Cornwallis sent a battlefield observation team composed of several middle and senior officers.

The "Naval Battle of Changxing Island" a few years ago left an indelible impression on the British officer corps who trained the Manchu Qing fleet. Those people made a lot of publicity after returning to Calcutta, which aroused the interest of many people, so the battlefield observers of EIC It covers the Royal Indian Navy, Bangladesh Artillery Corps, Bangladesh Staff Corps, and Madras Command and other agencies.

Ten minutes ago, when Vandergus' troops were hit by overwhelming artillery fire, Major Edward Montagu, who had been watching the situation on the other side, was dumbfounded on the spot, but soon his face showed shock and excitement. , confusion and other complex emotions.

As the youngest son of British Royal Navy Admiral John Montagu, Edward Montagu came to India at the age of 15, and joined the artillery force of Bangladesh at the age of 17. It took him 21 years to experience great and small experiences. Fighting, from a "pyrotechnic officer" who manages ammunition vehicles, to a major of artillery step by step.In the history of another time and space, this person finally became the commander of the Bengal Artillery at the age of 44.

Montague thought he knew artillery as well as anyone else, of every caliber and type, new and old, and ammunition.However, after watching it for a long time, the only thing he can be sure of is that the opponent used a new type of cannon. Not only is the shell powerful, but the rate of fire is extremely high, completely beyond his understanding of artillery.In his opinion, even the Royal Navy's largest caliber 64-pound Caron cannon can't compare with it!
"William is right, the artillery of the Seres is simply, simply indescribable." Montague was filled with powerlessness and confusion, and he even felt that his decades of artillery career had become a joke.

The William he mentioned was Major William Kirkpatrick who had witnessed the naval battle of Changxing Island and was sent by Cornwallis to the north to negotiate with the Qing Dynasty.Although the man served in the Bangladesh Staff Group and was not in the same unit as Montagu, the two had a good personal relationship.

"It seems that being a soldier is really a dangerous business, especially being a VOC soldier. I had high hopes for this war, but it seems that this is a massacre of people's lives. It is so sad."

"Some people absurdly think that war is close to civilization, but in my opinion, it is only the destruction of life, and nothing else. To solve the war, you can only fight every battle with your heart. Faced with this opponents, there is no way out but to fight to the death, so as to be worthy of those fallen corpses."

"Yeah, dangerous business!"

Hearing the philosophical discussion among his subordinates, Colonel John Floyd from the Madras Command put down the binoculars in his hand, and said to his colleagues in a serious tone: "Gentlemen, it seems that the result of this war There is no doubt that the rule of the Dutch in Java will end with the end of the war. What we have to do is to report to Calcutta what we have seen as soon as possible."

Just when the British were expressing emotion, Major General De Coral, who led three regiments to attack from the southern line, had arrived at a position 1000 and [-] meters away from the North Navy camp.Hearing the sound of rumbling guns in the distance, De Corral thought that the enemy was attracted by Van der Gus's troops, so he couldn't wait to launch an attack, and the whole army directly pressed on.

"Let the armored vehicle go out for a turn! MMP, watch me clean up this group of bastards today!"

He Xiwen is not Hood. He is not in the mood and has no time to shoot infantry with the Dutch. There are still more than 3000 militiamen in the camp, and many projects have not yet been completed.

Armored vehicles rumbled out, while two companies from the Huibat and a battalion from the Servant Army provided infantry support.

From the scouts, De Coral learned that the northern navy had only dispatched 1000 people, and the "green box monster" that the Indian soldier called. Quickly teach him a lesson.

When the 30mm cannon and the 100mm low-pressure rifled gun on the armored vehicle fired alternately, the shell shells spewed out from the front of the vehicle body continuously, and the Javanese mercenary group on the right wing was immediately devastated. It took only 5 minutes There were casualties everywhere.

Declar was shocked when he saw this, and finally realized that he had seriously misjudged the enemy's strength. Just as he was hesitating whether to continue attacking or retreat, the artillery fire from the opposite side had turned to the attacking regiment in the middle.The soldiers of the North Navy surrounded the "green box monster" and kept shooting close-range targets.

Although the line infantry has to endure the enemy's artillery fire and shooting in order to achieve the tactic of queuing up and shooting these days, the soldiers of Württemberg are just for a living, and no one wants to line up to die.The mercenaries couldn't take it anymore when they saw their comrades around them being blown to pieces and flying into the sky, or being beaten to pieces and splashing blood on their heads.Once the morale that determines the fate of the battlefield drops, the atmosphere of extreme terror will lead to a collapse like an infectious disease.

"My God! They're a bunch of devils!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Go back! Continue to attack!"

De Corral's entire face was distorted due to anger, and his face was flushed red. He raised his saber, trying to reorganize the chaotic soldiers, but everyone was running away, shouting loudly, and emptied into the sky Gun, completely ignoring his orders.

The broken soldiers came to the pontoon bridge, but because the bridge deck was crowded with people, the people behind had to stop, cursing and urging loudly.When the gunshots behind him got closer and closer, someone finally dropped the rifle, jumped into the raging Ujung River, and swam desperately to the opposite bank.When the armored vehicles of the Northern Navy led hundreds of soldiers to chase to the pontoon bridge, thousands of soldiers who had nowhere to escape had to put down their weapons and surrender.The artillerymen on the other side were ready to shoot, but they didn't dare to fire because the monster was surrounded by their own people.

"Quick! Dismantle the bridge! Don't let the enemy cross the river, or we will be ruined!" Under the roar of several officers, a group of artillerymen and militiamen grabbed the tools at hand and hacked desperately. The rope finally broke, and the turbulent current quickly washed this end of the pontoon away from the river bank.

"Boom! Boom!"

A few shells landed on a gun emplacement on the opposite bank, and the thousand-pound 12-pound bronze cannon exploded immediately, and five artillerymen were killed on the spot. After the pot was poured, they scattered in all directions and escaped in a blink of an eye.

Inside the armored vehicle, the gunner who had stopped firing excitedly said to the others: "Do you want to drive over and attack them? Maybe you can catch a general!"

The driver said: "Forget it! The bridge is broken, it's very dangerous without infantry cover."

When Overstratten saw the distressed Major General De Corral, the first order he gave was to send someone to demolish the pontoon bridge to the north.Although the North Navy on the other side did not take advantage of the trend to launch an attack, he had already decided to withdraw his troops to Xilang tonight.

At dusk, in the VOC camp on the west bank of the Wurong River, people shouted and horses screamed, and all the soldiers were packing up their things, food, weapons, tents, and everything they could take away.And the officers of the EIC battlefield observation group are also packing up, but their destination is Banten Port.

Artillery Major Edward Montagu came to Colonel John Floyd's tent and asked him to go to Serang with Overstratten.

"Major, can I tell you why you did this?"

"Colonel, although the Dutch were defeated, we didn't figure out the weapons and infantry tactics of the Seres. Their green box was called the devil by those Württemberg guys, but in my opinion, it is nothing more than A mechanical device. Since it is man-made, it must have weaknesses. As you said before, Madras has not yet figured out the strength of Paza Yalai."

"Major Montagu, what on earth are you trying to say? It's only a 200-man army. Even if there are [-] Mysore soldiers, there is nothing to worry about. You worry too much!"

"Colonel, what I want to say is that what we have to face is an unknown and terrifying opponent. Since this is the case, we must learn more, otherwise once they use such weapons in local governance or Mysore, Even on the European battlefield, it will have a decisive impact."

Colonel Floyd stared at Montague for a moment, then patted Montagu on the shoulder and said in approval: "Edward, I admire your personal courage very much. Well, I will let Matthew stay with you, and I will let you The 'Sophie' is staying at Banten Port, waiting for you at any time."

After He Xiwen learned of the battle situation ahead, he reported his achievements to Zhao Xin happily, saying that he had killed countless enemies, captured countless prisoners, and captured countless, and the Dutch were ready to flee.Zhao Xin's answer was not to cross the river to pursue them for the time being, but to guard at Langas Betong, and send people to cross the river after the Dutch retreated.Now Zheng Wenxian's fleet has completed its supplies and sailed to Banten Port. Once the blockade is completed, Overstraten can only surrender.

The enemy in Langas Betong withdrew, and Altin, who led the troops to Bacheng, knew nothing about it. However, at this time, he was already devastated by the harassment tactics of the Beihai Special Warfare Battalion.Since leaving Wandong, officers have been killed and wounded by bullets shot from the depths of the dense forest and the mountains almost every moment. He has changed two regiment commanders, seven battalion commanders, and other lieutenants and second lieutenants. There were countless casualties, and the morale of the troops was seriously shaken.

There was even one time when Altin was surrounded by his staff officers looking at the map, a bullet shot down a captain beside him on the spot, and Altin was so scared that he broke out in white sweat.

No way, who made the military officers of this era wear fancy clothes and ride tall horses?If you don't hit you, hit someone!
For these enemies who are covered in leaves and grass and haunt the mountains and forests like ghosts, Altin's people hate and fear from top to bottom.Even if they asked the Cirebon native soldiers who are most familiar with this rainforest to assist in the search, they still found nothing; moreover, those ghostly guys often kill people invisible, and many soldiers disappeared as they walked. Has become a corpse.

On the fifth day after the troops set off, an astonishing news from the rear made Altin completely give up the attack plan, and he ordered the troops to withdraw immediately.

It turned out that the arsenal and grain depot he had set up outside Wandong City was attacked the night before. The explosion of 20 pounds of gunpowder razed the entire arsenal to the ground, causing heavy casualties to the defenders.Worst of all was the grain depot, where about [-] bushels of wheat and rice were charred.Well, he didn't even need to guess who did it.

It is easy to start a war, but not so easy to end it.As far as Zhao Xin is concerned, he let Wen Dai's team lose two people to blow up the arsenal, not to let Altin slap his ass and leave easily.

Under his order, all the left-behind troops of the Special Warfare Battalion and the Marine Battalion were mobilized, and even Chai Rugui brought some guards into battle, biting the retreating enemy troops and launched a reckless pursuit.

This harassing battle in the jungle of West Java made the North Navy Special War Battalion with tiger-head armbands famous, and was regarded as a devil in the jungle by the Dutch mercenaries, and it also made the local Javanese talk about it until decades later. .

　"Pyrotechnic officer"-let's call it that, the full name is "Lieutenant-fireworker".This was the lowest rank of officer in the British Artillery in the 18th century, lower than a second lieutenant.From 1771 to 1774, the British Royal Artillery and the Royal Irish Artillery successively abolished this rank.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)