By defending the city, using city defense fortifications and fortresses to gradually consume the opponent's vitality, this combat plan was very effective in the Paraguay battlefield more than ten years ago. However, when Mitre moved this defense model to the war with the Han Dynasty, he inevitably suffered major setbacks.

On the morning of March 16, after a day of repair, Luolinshan commanded the 1st Division troops and, under the cover of more than 50 artillery pieces, took the lead in attacking the Kolenest position.

Kolenest is the key defense position of the Santa Fe defenders. Facing the attack of the National Defense Forces at all costs, Delgado on the one hand drew troops to reinforce, and on the other hand, ordered the artillery troops on the city tower to fully support the defenders and concentrate firepower to strike the attacking Han troops.

"Dadadadada", several old-fashioned Gatling machine guns quickly sprayed bullets, strafing more than a dozen fast-charging defense soldiers to the ground.

"Mortars are ready, shields are covering forward!"

A middle-level officer who led the attack hid his body behind the tempered shield and issued orders to the mortar behind.

"Group one, two, and three alternately cover and advance, and shoot me the machine gun in front!"

"It's the sir!"

After receiving the order, the three mortar groups lowered their bodies and crawled forward to the soldiers holding shields, and then under the cover of the shield, they approached the Argentinian machine gun positions step by step.

"Dadada..." Noting the actions of the National Defense Force, a row of bullets shot towards the mortar team.

"Bang bang bang..." The bullets made a dull sound on the shield. However, after the shooting, the bullets did not shoot through the shield, but only left shallow craters on it.

The early Gatling machine guns had limited penetration ability. Facing ordinary iron shields, Gatling machine guns could also pose a certain threat. However, the shields equipped by the Defense Forces offensive forces were forged with the latest special steel as raw materials, and were much higher than ordinary shields in terms of impact resistance. Therefore, when the Gatling machine gun used by the Argentinians to defend their positions faced the new shield, they could not cause effective damage to the soldiers behind the shield.

Avoiding a round of strafing from the Gatling machine gun, the mortar team that stopped slowly moved forward again, gradually shortening the distance from the opponent's position.

"Idiot, shoot at the front right, don't let them get close to the position!"

The Argentine officer, who was in the battle, kicked the machine gunner beside him and said furiously.

"Sir, the enemy's shield is too strong, and our machine guns can't penetrate their shields."

The gunner half-sitted on the ground and replied carefully.

"If the machine gun is not penetrated, use the cannon, go! Report to General Delgado and ask for artillery support!"

"As for the orders, sir!"

The gunner stood up, and didn't bother to pick up the military cap that was landing on the ground, and quickly ran back.

"You, you three, take his place, block the right front of the position for me, so that the enemy can't go any further!"

Argentine officers pointed out that the three soldiers were about to further command the troops to defend, a mortar shell landed on the periphery of the Gatling machine gun position in an arc.

"Boom", mud and water stirred by the shell explosion splashed onto the Argentine officer, but did not cause him fatal damage.

The first shell was a test fire before the official launch. After observing the place where the shell landed from behind the shield, the three mortar teams under the command of their respective gun team leaders conducted another round of launches. "Swish and Swish". The unique sound of the mortar fire came to the ears of the Argentine officers with the sound of the shells contacting the air. They looked up at the three slanted shells. The Argentine officers had no time to dodge, so they became scrapped with a Gatling machine gun beside them.

The cost of producing manganese steel is high. After the outbreak of the Argentine War, the National Defense Forces purchased only seventy tempered shields in total, but only seventy tempered shields played an important role in conquering the Kolenest position.

With the strong defensive performance of the tempered shield, the assault troops successfully captured the Gatling machine gun position. Then at 11:00 noon, the First Division troops broke through two lines of defense that Argentina hurriedly set up, and then followed the defeat of the Argentine troops and chased the river bank behind the Kolenest position.

On the morning of the 16th, the Korenest position was lost. In addition to the more than 600 people who fled back to the city, most of the remaining more than 2,000 soldiers were captured.

Losing the Corianster position, the only obstacle in front of Santa Fe is left is the Parana River.

At around 3 pm, taking advantage of the morale accumulated by the victory in the morning, six gunboats from the Inland Fleet entered the Santa Fe section of the Parana River, and then used the 155mm heavy artillery carried on the gunboat to shell the Santa Fe City along the river.

The Corianster position changed hands, and the National Defense Forces inland river fleet entered the Santa Fe section of the Parana River. Two unfortunate news came one after another. Delgado panicked and urgently ordered the defenders in the city to leave the city to block the attack, and attempted to regain control of the Colianster position and the Santa Fe section from the National Defense Forces.

However, the water power of the city of Santa Fe is far from the opponent of the Inland Fleet. As soon as more than seven or eight old and dilapidated gunboats left the Santa Fe Port, they all sank into the water under the fierce shelling of the Inland Fleet.

The water forces on Santa Fe were completely wiped out, and the fate of the Argentine troops who attacked for the Colianster position was not much better.

Delgar personally led nearly half of the military forces in the city to attack the Korenest position. As a result, under the tenacious counterattack of the First Division, after two hours of fierce fighting, the Argentine army retreated to the city only had more than 4,000 people, and about 1,700 soldiers were consumed on the Korenest position again.

The failure of the counterattack on the water and land means that Delgar lost the last chance to defend Santa Fe. At six o'clock that night, when he realized that the situation in Santa Fe was irreversible, Argentine President Mitre immediately sent a telegram to Delgar, ordering him to lead the remaining troops to quickly withdraw from Santa Fe. Then Mitre's order was too late. From the time when Delgar failed to compete for the Colianster position, the National Defense Force launched a full-scale attack around Santa Fe. The battle lasted until five o'clock in the afternoon. The Watergate in Santa Fe was broken, and the Inland Fleet carried a team of soldiers into Santa Fe from the Watergate. By six o'clock, all three gates of Santa Fe were lost. Delgar and the remaining soldiers could only huddle in the narrow fortress in the city to deal with the National Defense Force.

After reading the telegram translated by the communication officer, Delgaard sat in despair in his chair, touching the pistol at his waist with his right hand and trembling constantly.

"Guzman, order the troops to surrender. The Han troops have surrounded this place, so it is impossible for us to break out."

"General, hold on for a while, and in a few minutes we can open a gap to cover the general to break out!"

Guzman couldn't bear to look at the other party's desperate expression and comforted him.

"Forget it, holding on to the defense is just a way to increase casualties. I don't want to kill other soldiers because of my mistakes. Guzman, for the last time I ordered you in the name of the commander, to give up resistance and surrender to the Han troops!"

"Yes, General!"

Guzman gritted his teeth and turned around and walked out of the fortress. Just as he arrived outside the fortress and officially surrendered his weapons, he heard a gunshot from inside the fortress.

A tear flowed out of Guzman's eyes, and he understood that Delgaard had made his own choice and completed the last journey of his life in the form of a soldier.
Chapter completed!