I want to be emperor

Chapter 795 War in East Africa: Landing on Mozambique Island

The Chu people increased their troops in the East African region, and fleets of fleets arrived in Pemba Port one after another. Naturally, this situation could not be hidden from the Portuguese.

In fact, the Chu people did not intend to hide it from the Portuguese.

Chu State’s series of actions to increase troops and transport materials in East Africa are all obvious, they are to attack your Portuguese colonies.

To some extent, this is actually a military threat. I am afraid that the Portuguese will give up voluntarily. No matter how bad it is, they will let the ordinary local Portuguese go away and shake the morale of the Portuguese defenders.

If you are sensible, get out quickly, and you can save your life, otherwise the army will all die if they kill them!
Under such circumstances, many ordinary Portuguese have already begun to evacuate East Africa to avoid the upcoming war.

At the same time, the Portuguese did not sit still. On the one hand, they strengthened the defense forces in East Africa, while trying to negotiate with the Chu people, and even expressed their willingness to give up some interests in East Africa.

But the Portuguese's negotiations were useless. Chu's policy in the African region has always been simple and clear, that is, to control the coastal areas of Africa, drive away the European colonists, and then control the entire Indian Ocean Rim area.

The Great Chu Empire wants to turn the Indian Ocean into its own inland sea.

Under such circumstances, it is natural that no European colonists are allowed to stay in the African coastal area to do any colonization.

This is stealing money from the Chu people.

The African governor of the Great Chu Empire has already formulated the next economic expansion plan in the African region. It is planning to rely on the coastal colonies in the African region to launch a large-scale economic colonization of the African region and dump the local area as industrial products. At the same time, it is also used as a supply place for some raw materials, such as gold and agricultural products.

However, due to the harsh local natural environment, Chu State does not plan to carry out large-scale immigration and reclamation in these places.

Speaking of immigration and reclamation, Chu State is currently more inclined to carry out immigration and reclamation in the closer Nanyang region, as well as the American region and some Indian regions.

As for the African region, there is no interest for the time being, so the local expansion policy is mainly to control port routes, promote commerce, and economic plunder.

Under such circumstances, the Chu people naturally did not allow other European colonists to compete with the Chu people for the market in this area.

In the autumn and October of Chengshun's 31st year, the Chu army, which had completed various military preparations, also officially started operations, and immediately attacked the Portuguese's most important site in East Africa: Mozambique Island.

This place is the earliest colony established by the Portuguese in East Africa, and it is also the administrative, military, and commercial center of the Portuguese in East Africa.

Taking this place is basically the same as taking most of East Africa.

In order to seize Mozambique Island, the reorganized African fleet of the Great Chu Empire Navy dispatched most of the main force, including a 4000-ton battleship Taiyuan, and two old battleships Gaizhou and Jiaozhou with a full load of more than 3000 tons.

In addition to these three main battleships, there are five cruisers and thirteen frigates.

The above-mentioned 21 warships are all iron-ribbed wood-hulled ships that have been in service in the past ten years, and there is not a single pure wooden warship.

At the same time, steam engines were installed when they were built, which belonged to the sail power.

In terms of firepower configuration, they are also equipped with front-loading rifled artillery.

Since the Navy discovered that front-loading rifled guns were powerful, long-range, and high-precision in the Indian campaign, there was a wave of large-scale equipment for front-loading rifled guns.

Not only the newly equipped warships have adopted front-loading rifled guns, but many old warships in service have also undergone the modification of front-loaded rifled guns, especially some warships going to serve overseas, because they are facing threats at any time. Combat missions It is relatively nervous, so they have given priority to replacing the front-loading rifled guns.

However, many old hulls are more troublesome to modify, so although most of them have been replaced with front-mounted rifled guns, they still use the side-by-side gun method, which has a relatively large shooting range.

At the same time, because the cost of front-loading rifled guns is relatively high, and the output is not too much at present, it is impossible for the Navy to replace all the smoothbore guns on hundreds of warships in just a few years.

Therefore, we can only give priority to refitting some relatively new ships that happen to be stationed, maintained, and overhauled in the country at the same time.

After refitting, it will be dispatched overseas to perform combat missions.

Therefore, you can also see many old warships, which have both traditional front-loading smoothbore guns and new front-loading rifled guns, both old and new.

This was transferred to the African waters and incorporated into the African fleet to fight warships. Because of the expected combat, basically the transferred warships were relatively cutting-edge warships equipped with front-mounted rifled guns.

These warships seem to be only 21, but the actual combat capability is much higher than previous warships.

And it can also use the huge firepower and long range brought by the front-loaded rifled gun to provide stronger and more accurate fire support for ground troops.

Under the cover of the African Fleet, a large number of sail-powered transport ships loaded with soldiers, a large number of weapons and ammunition, as well as food and even fresh water and other ordinary logistical materials left Pemba Port and headed for Mozambique Island not far away.

After the huge Chu fleet was dispatched, it didn't take long for the vanguard fleet to arrive near the waters of Mozambique Island.

The Portuguese were terrified when they discovered the warships of the Chu people on the sea!

They were so scared that they didn't even dare to sail out of the port to fight, even if they had more than 20 warships or more armed merchant ships moored in the port, as well as some small ships.

But they didn't have the courage to go out to meet them.

Or rather, they were right to do so.

The past Indian wars and a series of battles in West Asia, Northeast Africa have proved that in front of the steam ships and advanced rifled guns of the Chu people, their pure wooden sails and warships with smoothbore guns can only be reduced to targets. None of the battleships that are close to the enemy can do it.

The performance of the battleships of the Great Chu Empire Navy and the European colonists' pure wooden smoothbore sailing warships has a huge performance difference...

This kind of performance difference cannot be compensated by tactics and courage!
No one runs faster, no one hits far, and the number of battleships is not as many as others... That's still a joke.

The Portuguese option was for the ships to retreat to the port and conduct defensive operations under the cover of coastal defense batteries.

Just because a battleship can't beat it doesn't mean that a fort can't beat it either.

Even if the battleships of the Chu army used rifled guns with a longer range, it would still be a disadvantage if they were bombarded with coastal defense forts.

Although the Portuguese forts are equipped with smoothbore guns, they are also large-caliber cannons. The power of large-caliber cannons is quite good.

In addition, land-based artillery does not need to consider the problem of shaking ships on the sea. If it is fired, it is like some 32-pound heavy cannons. There is no problem at all with an effective range of 800 meters. good.

If the accuracy requirements are lowered, in fact, more than 2000 meters can be shot, and even if you don’t consider the accuracy at all, you can also hit three to 4000 meters.

After all, the maximum range of a 32-pound heavy cannon is generally more than 5000 meters.

Some particularly perverted 32-pound cannons can have a barrel diameter of about 6000 times. In this case, the maximum range can even reach about 170 meters... Well, the Chu army has done this before and equipped a batch of [-]-pound cannons. Double-caliber [-]mm smoothbore gun, but it was not equipped later, because it is useless to have a maximum range... It is very troublesome to load.

For naval guns, it is useless to shoot far and inaccurately. It is better to equip medium-caliber large-caliber artillery and then project a large amount of ammunition to the enemy.

However, in the front-loading rifled guns adopted by the Chu army later, the barrel diameter is generally relatively large, and there is a tendency to become larger and larger. This is because of the rifling, and the accuracy becomes higher, so that the longer range can be Practical significance.

Among the front-loading rifled guns of the Chu army, the most battleships are currently equipped with the Dangtu-170 32mm front-loading rifled gun developed and produced by the Dangtu Heavy Artillery Factory. To be precise, the caliber is larger than the European [-]-pound gun. a few millimeters smaller.

However, the gun weighs 5000 tons and has a maximum range of [-] meters.

This, this is the theoretical maximum effective range used on land!
If it is used on a battleship, because of the problem of ship shaking, and the progress of the Great Chu Empire Navy in ballistics is not enough.

If you want to obtain a certain degree of accuracy in naval battles, then the effective range is very low, basically only 2000 meters, beyond this distance, basically don't expect to be able to hit enemy ships in motion.

In actual naval battles, when the Great Chu Empire Navy used front-loading rifled guns, the actual combat distance was often even closer, basically around a kilometer. In order to obtain a higher hit rate, it would even take risks at 700 meters. Shelling at a distance.

However, even so, the effective range is much higher than that of those smoothbore guns.

The smoothbore guns of the same period generally fired at a distance of two to 300 meters in actual naval battles... If it was farther away, the hit rate would be too low, and it would not be of much practical significance.

In naval battles, the front-loaded rifled guns of the Chu State Navy had a huge effective range and power advantage, coupled with the maneuvering advantage brought by the steam engine, so that since the Indian campaign, they have repeatedly injured or even wiped out the enemy's guns. fleet.

However, in terms of land artillery strikes, there are relatively large restrictions, mainly because the large-caliber smoothbore cannons in the enemy's coastal defense forts can also hit warships that threaten Chu State at a distance of 3000 to [-] meters.

This is also one of the reasons why the Chu Navy has developed and tried to build an iron-clad shallow-water heavy artillery ship in the past two years. It is for no other reason than to reach the shore or even enter the inland river, relying on the protection of the iron armor to bombard the enemy's fort nearby. Provide fire support to ground forces.

It’s just that the first test ship hasn’t been built yet, so when the current Chu Navy deals with these coastal defense forts, it often adopts long-distance bombardment. The coastal defense artillery is basically not accurate, and even if it is hit by the enemy's solid shell at this distance, the kinetic energy of the spherical solid shell is not good, and it is basically difficult to pose any threat to the thick wooden hull of the capital ship.

Taking a step back, even if it is pierced, it will only leave a small hole, which will not pose any real threat to the huge warship of several thousand tons. Even if it is penetrated below the waterline, the carpenter on board will easily The gap can be filled.

Conversely, our front-loaded rifled guns can maintain a relatively high hit rate at a distance of two to 3000 meters, and benefit from the cylindrical shells of the rifled guns, which have more charges and great explosive power , can often bring a deadly threat to the enemy.

The details of these battles and the use of weapons and equipment are all the experience gained by the Great Chu Empire Navy through live ammunition exercises and many actual combats in recent years.

This is how the current African fleet is fighting. After the first few frigates arrived in the waters near Mozambique Island, they did not approach immediately, but blocked the port from a distance.

Then more capital ships arrived, especially after the arrival of three battleships equipped with a large number of 170mm front-loading rifled guns, and then began to bombard the forts on the island at a long distance.

As the Chu army began shelling the land, the sound of rumbling guns began to resound on the sea. The Portuguese defenders on the island discovered that the Chu army had started shelling at such a long distance. Although they knew that it was not effective to fight back at this distance, Also had to bite the bullet and fight back.

After all, you can't just be beaten and not fight back.

If Chu's battleships were to continue fighting like this, the fort would be finished sooner or later.

You must know that the Portuguese fort is still an open-air fort, it is not a tight bunker, but a fortress with a roof.

The large-sized explosive grenade fired by the Chu army, the shock waves and fragments generated after the explosion will cause a lot of damage to the garrisoned artillery crew members, and some of them will hit the ammunition and then introduce the ammunition to die.

When the navy's warships and the Portuguese forts were bombarded, several frigates also covered more than a dozen transport ships approaching from the other side and preparing to land. It didn't take long for these transport ships to put down a large number of landing boats.

The soldiers were relatively safe when they landed, and they were not subjected to large-scale enemy shelling.

After all, the island of Mozambique looks small on the map, but in fact it is not small. It is impossible for the Portuguese to deploy a large number of coastal defense artillery in every place. They can only build coastal defense artillery in some areas, focusing on protecting ports, cities, etc. area.

As for other places, it can only be resigned to fate.

And the Chu army that landed in the first wave was the third regiment of the Indian Army, which has been famous in Africa recently, or in other words, the notorious Indian Army.

As the main force in the East African campaign, the regiment undertook the important task of capturing Mozambique.

Of the more than 4000 landing troops, more than 3000 are the third regiment of the Indian Army, and the rest are a battalion of the Marine Corps.

There are many uncertainties and dangers in the early landing, so the third regiment of the Indian Army is naturally in charge.

There were more than 600 soldiers of the Indian Legion who landed in the first wave, belonging to the [-]th Infantry Battalion of the Third Regiment of the Indian Legion, which is also the infantry battalion where Harrell is located.

Lieutenant Harrell was riding a landing boat at this time, and the landing boat was carrying more than 30 soldiers, except for a few people, who were all struggling to paddle.

The small boat moved up and down on the sea, while Harrell squatted at the bow, closely watching the situation on the beach ahead.

Although the distance was still a bit far, Harrell still saw the figure of the enemy in the woods behind the beach in front of him, and he also saw a lot of obstacles on the beach.

It looks like the enemy is ready!
But Harrell didn't have the slightest worry about this. It doesn't matter if these European barbarians are prepared, as long as they can land, relying on their powerful infantry firepower, they are enough to crush all stubborn enemies.

As time passed, the landing boats were gradually approaching the beach. When there were still 300 meters away from the beach, a cloud of white mist rose from behind the beach ahead, followed by the sound of gunfire.

Immediately afterwards, several cannon shots rang out in succession.

These Portuguese defenders conducted a beachhead attack, trying to attack the landing boats with the army field guns they carried.

It's a pity that the accuracy is too poor, and the number of artillery pieces is too small to pose any real threat to the landing craft.

And when the Portuguese defenders fired, the four frigates covering the rear also fired. The shells fired by the 130mm and [-]mm front-loading rifled guns directly covered the beachhead area, killing the people hiding here. The Portuguese defenders turned their backs on their backs, and soon Harrell saw a group of Portuguese fleeing towards the rear in embarrassment, even throwing down the artillery on the position.

The defensive operations organized by the Portuguese on the beachhead only launched a round of shelling, to be precise, six six-pound spherical solid shells were fired, and after no results were achieved, they were defeated by the powerful support firepower of the Chu army frigates. up.

Their infantry, before they even had time to contact and engage the Chu army, were forced to flee in embarrassment with the artillery.

This is why the Great Chu Empire Navy is so keen to equip rifled artillery!

Even if the technology is immature, the cost is high, and the service life of the barrel is low, one of the reasons why it is forced to equip: the explosion is powerful enough!

If the explosive power of the cylindrical grenade of the 130mm rifled gun is replaced by a smoothbore gun that fires a spherical grenade, at least a siege mortar of more than 200 mm is required.

Harrell couldn't help laughing when he saw dense explosion smoke rising from the beach in front of him, and seeing the survivors of the Portuguese defenders running away in a panic, and said in Chinese with a strange accent: "This is what happens when you barbarians fight against our Great Chu, haha!"

It's just that a group of Indian soldiers behind couldn't understand what Lehar was saying.

After all, most of the soldiers in the Indian Legion can't speak Chinese, let alone read and write.

Even Lehar, although he has learned Chinese in the past few years, his accent is also not good, and his reading and writing are also very average.

But even so, Lehar's Chinese level is considered top-notch among the Indian soldiers in the Indian Army, and it is precisely because of this that he was able to successfully become one of the indigenous officers in his early years.

The indigenous officers in the Indian Army were to assist the officers of the Chu people in managing and commanding Indian soldiers who did not understand the language. Knowing Chinese was a must, otherwise chickens and ducks could not speak the same language, and the management and command would be useless.

As the landing boat approached the shore where the gunpowder smoke had not dissipated, Lehar quickly disembarked and jumped directly into the sea, which was still tens of centimeters deep, while shouting in the indigenous language: "Get off the boat quickly, pay attention to the waterproofing of the ammunition !"

The 21-year-style flash cap percussion gun still uses lard paper-wrapped ammunition, which is usually moisture-proof, but it is absolutely impossible to remain intact after being soaked in water.

As for whether the lard paper-wrapped bombs will cause the resistance of Indian indigenous soldiers due to religious issues, the Great Chu Empire stated: The soldiers in the Indian Army of the Great Chu Empire do not have any religious problems. Buddhism.

As for other religions, when recruiting soldiers, those aborigines who said they believed in illegal religions but were unwilling to change their beliefs were excluded in advance.

The Great Chu Empire implemented a very strict management system for religions, and only government-run Taoism and Buddhism that had been reviewed and approved by the Religious Affairs Department under the Ministry of Rites and Education were allowed to carry out missionary activities in officially-approved religious places.

All the scriptures of Taoism and Buddhism need to be reviewed before they can be published and circulated. Many of the scriptures have been altered by various demons...

All Taoist priests and monks also need to pass special examinations before they can become monks.

In addition to the knowledge of Taoism and Buddhism, the content of the examination is actually the content of the imperial examination... because the examination for recruiting religious personnel is itself a subcategory of the current imperial examination system of the Great Chu Empire, called religious subjects.

Only after passing the exam and obtaining the official title can you become a monk or a Taoist monk.

Because, all religious places in the Great Chu Empire are official places, which are under the jurisdiction of the religious office of the Priest Division of the Ministry of Rites and Education.

The so-called temple properties are also state assets, and incense income is directly classified as general administrative income and brought into financial management.

The people who manage these temples and Taoist temples are naturally officials.

In other words... In fact, all the regular Taoist priests and monks in the Great Chu Empire are officials with establishments who eat imperial food, starting from the ninth rank.

As for wild monks and priests, that is against the law...

Taoism and Buddhism are so strictly managed, not to mention other messy religions, which are all banned.

Therefore, in the Great Chu Empire, no matter whether it is the local area or the overseas directly-administered territories, there are no other messy religions.

Not to mention in the Indian Legion as a servant army, if you have any religious beliefs, you will basically fail the primary election.

Therefore, the soldiers in the Indian Army have no problem using lard paper-wrapped bombs.

Harrell led the soldiers under his command to hold their guns high, and hung the bullet bag directly in front of his chest to avoid getting wet.

After staggering and wading onto the beach, Harrell received an order from his immediate superior, a young Lieutenant of Chu State.

Let him lead the third row, immediately start a battle formation, advance to the beach, and occupy a sparse bush at the end of the beach a hundred meters away.

That place is also where the Portuguese intercepted just now. Now there are still several six-pound field guns dropped by the Portuguese, and there are still some remaining Portuguese soldiers resisting.

After Harrell received the order, he immediately passed the order to the soldiers in each platoon and around in the indigenous language.

Soon, Lieutenant Harrell took the third row of more than 30 soldiers into formation, and headed for the sparse bush forest more than [-] meters ahead.

On the way, he was also shot by sporadic Portuguese defenders. One unlucky guy didn't know that he was hit by lead bullets flying in front, and fell to the ground on the spot and wailed.

But this didn't affect the actions of others, Harrell didn't even glance at the fallen soldiers, but led the troops forward steadily.

He has seen too many similar situations. In war, casualties will always occur. Harrell has seen countless soldiers of the Indian Army die on the battlefield.

Up to now, he can even ignore the wailing of wounded soldiers!
After steadily moving forward for a certain distance, Harrell estimated that the distance was about the same, and immediately pulled out his command knife and shouted in the native language: "Stop, aim at the first row!"

"Fire in the first row!"

After a burst of crisp gunshots continued, a white mist floated on the small front, and Harrell continued to order the second platoon to aim and fire.

After firing two rounds of volleys, Harrell saw a few Portuguese soldiers in front of him fall down, and when more than [-] Portuguese soldiers turned around and ran away, he immediately waved his sword and said, "Charge with the bayonet! "

As for reloading and firing a second shot... no need.

The opposite side was stunned by the naval artillery bombardment before, and now they have received two rounds of volleys of guns from themselves, and the last few people left have also run away.

(End of this chapter)