Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2134 New Changes in Beihai

"Send someone to clean up the battlefield." Outside a certain village north of Roermond, the people on the east bank just finished a small-scale battle, killing and wounding dozens of French cavalry, while only three of their own died. Ten people were injured.

The cause of the incident was an attack by a small force of French cavalry as they were retreating.Fortunately, the people on the east bank who had been on the battlefield for a long time responded very quickly. Under the command of the officer, the infantry quickly formed a formation and fired a volley of guns at the incoming enemy cavalry.Afterwards, the baggage soldiers and engineering soldiers also moved quickly. They piled up some vehicles and baggage to prevent the enemy cavalry from rushing forward, and then took out rifles from their luggage to fight.

It is worth mentioning that even the so-called non-combatants such as heavy soldiers and engineers usually conduct shooting training.There will also be guns in their establishment, which looks like one gun for 2-3 people, but this will be because it is in wartime, so some additional firearms will be allocated, basically one gun per person can be achieved.

The high quality of the East Coast Army caused the enemy to suffer heavy losses.In addition to being caught off guard at the beginning, a small number of French cavalry were let in, causing a few casualties, and then they responded calmly and quickly thwarted the enemy's attempt to expand the results of the battle.After seeing that the raid failed and the cavalry of the East Coasters mounted their horses one after another, the French wisely gave up the attack, retreated and disappeared behind a forest.

People on the east coast have experienced too many of these battles these days, but they are mainly fighting against the Germans.More precisely, the French servants from Cologne.Their equipment and tactics were not advanced enough, their training was poor enough, and their will to fight was mediocre, so the people on the east coast did not encounter too many challenges and defeated their attacks many times.

However, the situation changed last year (1690). As Louis XIV reactivated the Duke of Luxembourg, Buterville, who had been on the bench for many years, the French army began to gradually gain an advantage in the Southern Netherlands. At the end of June and the beginning of July, Buttwell led his troops to defeat the German coalition forces in Fleurus with less and more. The luggage and almost all the artillery became the trophies of the French army, and the situation of France in the southern Netherlands was immediately boosted.

You know, before that, they were in a disadvantageous situation under the command of Marshal Mier, and they were almost retreating to the French border.At that time, Prince Waldeck was so high-spirited. Many of his men were recruited from the eastern front of Turkey, no worse than the French army.Coupled with the full support of the Dutch in the back, all kinds of materials and soldiers (some from the Netherlands, but more from Germany, Switzerland, Italy and local mercenaries in the southern Netherlands) were continuously sent forward, making Val Prince Dirk was full of confidence and planned to capture the last dozen or so towns occupied by the French army in the southern Netherlands, and then push back into northeastern France to establish immortal feats.

But wishes are beautiful, reality is cruel.Butteville, the Duke of Luxembourg, was ordered to lead the outnumbered French army to a complete victory. Although only less than 1.5 German troops were killed, wounded and captured, they were all elite fighters, so the coalition forces were still in great pain.No, after the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Fleurus, the Van Beuningen government in the Netherlands immediately panicked. They acted immediately and transferred the troops stationed in Limburg-Brabant, Utrecht and some German towns to the south. Enter Brussels, Namur and other important cities in the southern Netherlands to prepare for the next attack of the French army.

Because Prince Waldeck's subordinates lost a large amount of luggage and heavy weapons, the Dutch opened their warehouses again and allocated the luggage, cannons and other military supplies to them in order to restore their combat effectiveness as soon as possible.After dropping their inventory to the Germans, the Dutch naturally couldn't keep the warehouse empty, so they placed large orders to North Germany and England, where the manufacturing industry was developed, and the people on the east coast did not fall behind. Purchase requests for four hundred pieces of artillery of various types, one thousand heavy-duty carriages, 1.5 rifles, and a large number of various materials including tents, engineering shovels, medicines, bandages, water bottles, leather boots, and saddles have been sent to Cai Zhenguo desk.

The United Provinces are now a traditional ally, and the people on the east coast will naturally not be ambiguous, so Cai Zhenguo quickly ordered to mobilize the stocks in the four large storage bases in Cadiz, Ceuta, and Viana do Castelo to get what the Dutch needed , and then urgently shipped to them.And the Dutch are more on the road, the payment is not delayed for a period of time like before, but paid immediately, which makes people very satisfied.And because of the particularity of the East-made artillery, the Portuguese who imported a lot of East Coast machinery and equipment to produce supporting tools and ammunition also received an order, which was a small profit.

And because of the large number of troops stationed in the south of the Netherlands transferred southward, the country is somewhat empty.In addition, there are calls in the country to welcome back William III, Prince of Orange, and support him to become the commander of the Dutch army to resolve the border crisis. Therefore, the speaker of the third-level parliament, Van Boyningen, was a little worried and decided to send the most trusted mercenary, from The headquarters of Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun, the Portuguese garrison on the east bank, was transferred back to the Limburg-Brabant area to garrison, and he secretly asked them to be ready to enter The Hague at any time if something happened. Just do it.

Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun had no objection to this. In fact, he also squatted in Maastricht.In that place, their biggest task was to ensure the safety of the transportation line and combat the enemy's sneak attacks-mostly Germans from Cologne, and a small part were French cavalry.To be honest, this was not his ideal war.The weather in Masutricht has been bad, cold and wet. The soldiers from the warm and dry eastern bank prairie hated everything here, and they vented their anger on the incoming Germans.But those people are cowardly guys, their equipment and organization are not satisfactory, and they are not very enjoyable to fight. To be honest, they are just a level better than the Spanish army in South America.

The real threat was an attack from the French cavalry.But their number is too small, at most no more than a thousand riders at a time, facing the east bank army with fixed fortifications is not a problem at all, they are all moving targets.Therefore, after going back and forth, the French seldom come to find bad luck for the people on the east coast. After all, their main goal is to confront the German coalition forces of Prince Waldeck in the Southern Netherlands. Maastricht is actually Secondary battlefield.

Before this retreat left Maastricht, after discussing with his subordinates, Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun suddenly marched eastward, and together with the Swiss mercenaries stationed nearby, they invaded the important German town of Aachen.The Germans defending the city were caught off guard and defeated by a total of more than 2000 soldiers—5000 from the East Coast, and [-] from the Swiss—and the ancient city fell into catastrophe.

The people on the east coast occupied important targets such as the city hall, the vault, and the arsenal, and removed most of the gold and silver, ammunition, artwork, and a batch of archives and books. The Swiss robbed the residents of the city and captured a lot of wealth.More than [-] people raged in the city for two full days, and then under the order of Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun, the whole army turned to the northwest to retreat.

The furious Germans pursued, but suffered a disastrous defeat in the field southeast of Sittard. More than [-] people were killed in battle, and more than [-] people were also captured.In this way, the people on the east bank continued northward with their captives and goods. After handling a batch of cumbersome goods in Roermond, they continued northward, but they were soon attacked by the enemy for the second time.The force of this attack was much smaller, but the victory was sudden, but it was still repelled by the people on the east coast. The French cavalry were not willing to fight for the Germans at all, and quickly retreated.Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun estimated that this was probably the last pursuit of the enemy, after all, this place is far away from the front line.

"How is the navy going?" Sitting on an emptied gunpowder barrel, Mr. Mao took out his pipe, stuffed tobacco into it, and asked the staff officer beside him.

To be honest, he is still very concerned about the trend of the navy.Last year, the fleet of Louis XIV made a big splash in the North Sea, defeating the fleets of the two old naval powers of Britain and the Netherlands several times. The most important battle was undoubtedly the Battle of Ireland in July.This naval battle broke out half a month after the Battle of Fleurus. Tourville, the deputy commander of the French Navy and commander of the Eastern Fleet (Mediterranean Fleet), led 7 warships to the coast of Ireland and encountered 72 British and Dutch warships. A big battle broke out on the spot .

The battle lasted for 10 hours, and the French did not lose a single warship, but instead sank and captured 15 British and Dutch warships, which can be described as a complete victory.If you count the victories of the French navy in the previous year or so, they have sunk nearly 50 British and Dutch warships in total, and their own losses are only 10 ships, which is a huge advantage in battle damage ratio.

The Anglo-Dutch navy, which has suffered heavy losses for more than a year, has entered a period of crazy preparations. The berths of the major shipyards of the two countries are full of warships.They learned from the pain, abandoned all kinds of armed merchant ships, and built a fleet of professional warships like the French, and many of them were heavy warships, hoping to avenge their shame in the next naval battle.But correspondingly, before the new fleet is ready, the sea can only be slowly handed over to the French, and they have firmly controlled the sea most of the time.

In this way, King James II of England and a large number of people who followed him set off from the port of Brest, France, escorted by the French fleet, and then landed in the coastal waters of Ireland, where the Catholics had an absolute advantage, and officially began their efforts to regain the English throne .In order to support James II, King Louis XIV of France not only generously helped him hire an army, provided a large amount of ammunition and daily necessities, but also presented the armor he had worn for many years to James. At that time, Louis XIV said to him : "Hope we never meet again..."

Of course, judging from the current situation, Louis XIV's words may come to nothing.Although James II had a French, Irish and German (mercenary) coalition force of 2.1 people, his organization was weak and his command was chaotic. The first battle was not very smooth: the siege of Londonderry, his army spent four In a month, they still failed to break through the city wall. Although their own casualties were not too great, it was a waste of precious four months, which was terrible.

When Lieutenant Colonel Mao Jun heard the news, he concluded that James II was in trouble.It has been two years since William III and his wife entered London, the situation has basically stabilized, and the pro-king forces in the country have also been eliminated.At this time, James II landed in Ireland. In fact, the foundation is not very big. Even in Ireland, which has a majority of Catholics, the nobles hesitated a lot.Therefore, James II is good for quick victory this time, instead of spending a few months on siege warfare, which can only expose his weakness and incompetence, which is simply too bad for him to control Ireland and then march into England.

William III used the precious time of these months to organize a large-scale army and drove to Ireland to fight against James II.At this time, James II also lost the bravery of his youth. Facing William III's army, he was defeated again and again. I don't know what happened now, but it should not be very optimistic.

But Louis XIV did not give up.It is reported that he intends to transfer about 2 elite troops from France and send them to Ireland to help James II stabilize the situation.The Netherlands and England also received the news, so they now desperately hope that the East Coast Navy can dispatch to help them fight the French and prevent this landing.

The East Coast Fleet is currently stationed in multiple ports in the United Provinces of Zeeland, the Netherlands, and Groningen, and is responsible for maintaining the safety of the Netherlands' offshore waters.To be honest, this task is relatively easy. The Dutch also paid to help the East Coast maintain the navy's expenses, and the domestic finances also breathed a sigh of relief.The Dutch paid a large amount of employment fees this time, and requested the East Coast Navy to attack the French naval ports of Dunkirk and Brest, break the French navy's sea control, and prevent Louis XIV from sending troops to Ireland for the second time. attempt.

However, neither Mo Lieel nor Cai Zhenguo could possibly make this important decision.The East Coast Fleet is the essence of the country. If you go head-to-head with the French, you should be able to win, but your own losses will certainly not be small. After all, they also have several super battleships with a tonnage of more than 1000 tons. The object of bullying at will.Not to mention, the East Coast Navy has been in the country for several years, and everyone is homesick, and they can't wait to set sail and return to China now.At this time, it is really inappropriate for you to force them to fight the innocent French navy for a little money.

"There is no sign of the navy being dispatched. Maybe everyone is very embarrassed. I went to Amsterdam once before, and the people in the navy said that everyone wanted to go home after being away from the country for several years. The navy of England was hit hard, and the two countries also temporarily Now that the past has been cleared up, the possibility of William III returning to the United Provinces is getting lower and lower, and it doesn't make much sense for them to stay here any longer, so they are all clamoring to go home. Commander Morley Eel should be in a difficult situation, I heard Every day in Amsterdam, there are marines who are drunk and making trouble on the streets, and he has locked up more than a dozen people in confinement, which is really a headache." The intelligence staff approached Mr. Mao, lit his pipe, and then replied slightly teasingly: "The guys in the navy are just squeamish. It's only been a few years, and they can't stand it anymore! And they are still basking in the sun at the port, how comfortable and comfortable. Like our army, rolling in muddy water every day, a few years Still don’t change your original intention, hehe, you can see the difference.”

"Aristocratic arms, naturally they have the squeamishness of nobles." After spitting out a smoke ring, Mao Jun also smiled: "We have also reaped a lot of benefits in this melee in Europe. We have made a lot of money, and the market It has expanded a lot, and the troops have also been tempered. In fact, the Navy’s thinking is correct, and they can go home. Well, I just don’t know what Special Envoy Cai thinks now, and it’s hard to make decisions. Of course, back home The family’s good deeds should not come to our army, grandma. Navy warships cost tens of thousands, 10,000+ a ship, and there are treasures on them. I’m afraid that one or two ships will lose money. Our army is cheaper, two People with legs are everywhere, and one postage stamp in the country can attract one, so don’t think about such a good thing. Just stay at ease, I guess we will need to squat in the Netherlands for a while, and take it slowly.”

(End of this chapter)