Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 290 Blood River ([-])

On May 1641, 5, the southwest wind was level 25 and it was sunny.An army that is considered to be the largest in South Africa is moving along the banks of the sparkling Beg River.

At the head of this force were more than 1000 warriors of the Eight Banners, lined up in four columns. Pieces of leather armor.They all carried a three-meter standard spear on their shoulders.These spears are standard spears produced locally on the east coast. The carburized iron spearheads are processed by a lathe and fixed to the top of the spear shaft with bolts. It is extremely convenient to disassemble and assemble.What's even more rare is that thanks to the high-precision standardized production, both the spear shaft and the spearhead can be replaced with each other.The warriors of the Eight Banners also liked this new type of spear very much, and they all said that with this "magic weapon", they would definitely defeat those barbarians in one fell swoop.

Immediately behind the Warriors of the Eight Banners was Xiao Baitu's 104th Company of the Army. The soldiers were all from the local army. The morale of the army was extremely high when fighting in the local area.Walking side by side with them were the soldiers of the engineering battalion. These people were even more unbearable. Not to mention the messy clothes, even the queue was extremely bad, not even as good as the Eight Banners warriors in front.But it's no wonder that most of these people are ordinary bannermen. They say they are engineering troops, but in fact they are just soldiers with the army, and the intensive training time is not long.Build temporary camps when camping, build bridges when encountering small rivers and creeks, and work as porters when supplies need to be picked up from supply ships, that's all.

Behind these two units are the elite unarmed artillerymen of the 1st Army Company, the South African Field Artillery Company and the 1st Independent Field Artillery Company.The 1 officers and soldiers of the 240st company were dressed in dark blue military uniforms, with their heads held high, their steps consistent and orderly, and they carried a faint arrogance of the troops in the capital area.However, there are also brother troops secretly laughing at these guys who walk with their noses upturned, mocking that this army composed of children from the capital is a young soldier who is stationed in the capital almost all the year round, even rarely doing things like suppressing the aboriginals, far inferior Little Brothers—the 101st Reserve Company also composed of children from the capital.As for the two artillery companies, a total of nine of their cannons and artillery vehicles were placed on the small transport ships that set out with the army, so they are now all unarmed artillery, with 15 horses by their side and followed by the 1st Company of the Army Walk forward together.

Mo Ming, the highest officer of the operation, led a group of staff officers, entourage and members of the South African Garrison Command, and walked with the 103rd Company of the Army, which was transported from Zhenhai Port to Hezhong Port ten days ago, and followed closely behind the 1st Company. .And behind them, there are more than a thousand Eight Banners warriors who are in charge of the rear.

The entire army meanders out to a length of several hundred meters. Accompanied by this land force, there are dozens of small transport ships belonging to the supply battalion on the river, and there are more than 300 escorts on board. The name is the militia of the Hezhong Security Regiment.All the combat materials and supplies of all the large troops were placed on the ship in order to lighten the load and speed up the march.Anyway, the transport ships sailed close to the river bank. Once they encountered enemy troops, they would have enough time to form an formation by the river to cover the supply battalion and engineering battalion to unload supplies from the ship and build a position, provided that there were horse scouts to warn them in advance.

It was almost evening at this time, and Mo Ming, who was riding on a very handsome Lusitano horse, raised his wrist and looked, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.Today, I have walked seventeen or eighteen kilometers. Although they marched lightly, the faces of the soldiers were still a little tired. Mo Ming pondered for a while, and when he was about to be ordered to set up camp on the spot and fetch water for cooking, he saw the soldiers in front of him. Suddenly seven or eight fast horses came galloping.

"Commander, a barbarian brigade has been found ahead. According to the cross-observation of several scouts in our team, the number of barbarians is about 500. They are driving a large number of cattle and sheep."

"Commander, our team found a marching barbarian brigade from a river bend more than ten kilometers away. The number is estimated to be around 8000. Among them, about 2000 people are relatively well equipped and generally equipped with leather armor. Unfortunately, We could not come any closer, being driven away by their infantry."

"Commander, we found a barbarian brigade about seven kilometers ahead. The number is estimated to be between 500 and 8000 people. The formation is relatively strict. It is worth noting that they are equipped with muskets. One of our groups The scout was accidentally shot off his horse. Also, we didn't see the cannon."

……

Several scouts reported what they observed one by one, and the staff officers behind Mo Ming picked up their brushes and began to record, discussing with each other in a low voice while recording.After a long while, when the scouts had retreated long ago, the staff officers of the South African Garrison Command began to report to Mo Ming: "According to multiple sources of information, the barbarian brigade is probably less than seven kilometers away from us, and the number is believed to be There should be more than 7000 people. Among them, 2000 people are relatively well equipped, generally wearing leather armor and other protective equipment, and their weapons are spears, short spears, long knives and a large wooden shield; Equipped with muskets, at least a few of them have good shooting skills, and know how to increase their hit rate by firing volleys. The other barbarian soldiers are ordinary soldiers equipped with wooden guns. In addition, there are an unknown number of infantry archers who use iron arrows Arrows. The range of the step bow is about 800-60 meters. The scouts reported that they are very accurate and well-trained; I also know that the main force of our army is not far away. The above is the situation analysis we have summarized based on the intelligence, for your reference, Commander-in-Chief."

Mo Ming nodded, no longer hesitated, and began to order: "Order the whole army to camp on the spot along the river. The fleet of the supply battalion immediately gathered and docked, began to unload, and the artillery cooperated; the engineering battalion began to build a circular fortification and set up defenses The barbed wire fence and the militia of the Fort in the River were temporarily commanded by Sergeant El Salvador, who sat in the camp and responded in the middle; Mo Wu and Liu Zhong commanded the Eight Banners warriors of the headquarters, and lined up eastward with the 1st, 103rd, and 104th companies of the army. Combat staff officer, repeat my order!"

"Yes!" The combat staff stood at attention, and then began to repeat Mo Ming's order: "The supply battalion..."

"Go down and deliver the order immediately!" After hearing that the combat staff's retelling was correct, Mo Ming immediately waved him to take the messengers to deliver the orders separately.

After the order was issued, the entire camp quickly began to operate like a sophisticated war machine.The fleet of the supply battalion docked one by one under the command of the personnel on the shore, and then the soldiers of the supply battalion on the ship first assisted the artillerymen to unload the nine cannons, shells, powder barrels and other materials on the ship.A battle could break out at any time, and it would be difficult to fight without artillery, so they are now completely racing against time.The River Security Regiment, under the command of Sergeant Salvador, maintained order in the camp and protected the headquarters and command center.

Lieutenant Chang Kaisheng, the company commander of the 1st company, was given the important task of commanding the front enemy by Mo Ming.He will command all three companies of the army on the front line and more than 2000 Eight Banners warriors to fight against the possible barbarian troops.He is not a rookie who has fought for the first time. Chang Kaisheng, who has experienced almost all the wars of the East Coast Republic, is also a "veteran" in the country. He will urgently put on about 50 people who put on the breastplate immediately. Two hundred Eight Banners warriors lined up in two 20*200 spear phalanxes, and there were about [-] Eight Banners step archers in leather armor in the gap between the spear phalanxes.

The phalanx faces east, with 103 officers and soldiers from the 104rd and 360th companies on the left, and 1 officers and soldiers from the elite 240st company on the right.A total of about 600 infantrymen wore breastplates, all flintlock rifles, and the standard bearers had raised the bright red jaguar army flag.In the middle of the two spear phalanxes are the positions of two artillery companies with nine cannons, but at this time the artillery is still pushing the artillery cart behind and has not yet entered the position.

The entire array process lasted less than 10 minutes, and it was orderly without any confusion.After finishing the formation, the soldiers were silent and looked forward silently, showing good personal qualities.

After a while, the artillery brothers also pushed the artillery up.The soldiers of the engineering battalion urgently dug nine artillery bunkers in the gap between the two phalanxes to give the gunners a little cover to prevent them from being hurt by the barbaric arrows.The nine cannons are four 4-pounders, four 8-pounders and one 12-pounder. The artillerymen carefully placed the propellant packs and gunpowder barrels inside the bunker, and then put solid iron bullets, grape bombs, and explosive bombs into the bunker. , Shotguns are placed in a fixed position one by one for easy access at any time.Li Wenchang, the company commander of the 1st Company of the Independent Field Artillery, was in charge of commanding all nine artillery pieces. As the main firepower output force of the East Coast Army, the artillery played a crucial role in this battle. It has gone through many wars and even served as a naval gun on a naval ship. Long Li Wenchang is confident that he will give the barbarians who dare to invade an unforgettable memory for a lifetime.

The barbed wire fence beside the camp on the river bank was being constructed rapidly, and the soldiers of the engineering battalion even urgently dug a shallow trench under the order of Mo Ming.From time to time, cavalry came in and out on both sides of the phalanx. They were scouts to detect the enemy's situation. They kept passing the latest news of the barbarian brigade to the highest officer here.From time to time, some messengers in the camp quickly ran to the front of the position, telling Chang Kaisheng and other frontline army commanders the latest information and instructions one by one.

The setting sun gradually fell towards the western horizon, and the silhouettes of thousands of soldiers were stretched out in the setting sun, like an oil painting.

(End of this chapter)