The Battle of Kucha started with great vigor since the beginning of the Western Expedition of the Han Army. Starting from Wulei Town, the advance base of the Han Army, it was only a hundred and eighty miles away from Kucha City, but it took ten days.
Time, just arrived at the foot of Qiuci City.
During the march, the Han army was constantly harassed by the Black Khan's cavalry. The smooth roads and convenient transportation gave the Black Khan's light cavalry space to come and go freely.
The Han army, on the other hand, marched in formation, carrying a large number of heavy siege equipment and logistical equipment. Their speed was not fast, and they naturally became even more sluggish under the harassment of enemy cavalry.
The Black Khan cavalry were well-trained, brave and cunning, and did not dare to directly attack the Han army's formation. Instead, they adopted their usual combat style of cruising, riding and shooting, mainly to harass the tired army.
Of course, this kind of harassment could not hurt the Han army, not to mention that there were more Han cavalry accompanying them, but the march was indeed delayed a lot. Although the Black Khan cavalry was in the Han army,
The cavalry lost some people in their counterattack, but their goal was achieved.
It bought more time for the preparation of Kucha City, and also made the Han army tired and slightly weakened. Even after forcing the Han army to approach Kucha City, they did not immediately launch an attack, but chose to camp on the spot and build earthworks.
Fortress.
However, Liu Min is not a character who suffers losses. The Black Khans gave him a powerful display during the attack. After knocking the pass, he immediately sent a large number of Han cavalry to protect the logistics line, deal with the Black Khan rangers, and cross the city.
To the west, they raided the villages and towns under Kucha and cut off traffic inside and outside Kucha. In just five days, the enemy was trapped.
The black Khan general of Qiuci is still Aliaman. He is a royal nobleman and has rich combat experience. After seeing the intentions of the Han army, he did not passively defend, but chose to take the initiative, constantly expelling those who dared to die from the city, and attacking
They attacked the Han army's camp in order to break their fortress tactics, but the Han army was well prepared and easily drove the waves of enemy soldiers back into the city.
It was not until April 13th that the Han army sent troops for twenty days to surround Kucha City with strong fortifications and ensure a foothold before officially starting the siege battle. Even so, at the beginning of the launch,
, and did not directly threaten Kucha City.
They probably decided on a defensive and counterattack strategy from the beginning. In terms of city defense construction, the Black Khan Army made a lot of preparations. They not only reinforced the city walls, stockpiled a large number of defensive equipment, but also conducted repeated offensive and defensive drills.
At the same time, a strong Giethoorn and towers were built outside the city, hundreds of criss-crossing trenches were dug, and a large number of traps were laid out, making Kucha City impregnable, or so it seemed.
It was precisely after seeing the towering defense of Kucha City with their own eyes that the generals of the Western Expedition adopted a relatively conservative approach and sought stability in everything.
Of course, this also follows the consistent tactics of the Han army since the founding of the People's Republic of China. In siege operations, the Han army has already formed a complete combat system. This is based on the experience summarized from more than 30 years of war history. This system
The system is more mature than field combat.
It is the tradition of the Han army to be good at city warfare, and they are not timid in either attack or defense. Therefore, although the defense of Kucha City is strong and it is a bit troublesome to fight, it is nothing more than that.
Therefore, after setting up the siege plan, the Han army mobilized and carried out in an orderly manner. First, they cleared and filled up the obstacles and traps outside the city. This process took a full three days and cost a certain amount of casualties.
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Of course, it was only to clear a space sufficient for the Han army's siege equipment and troops to deploy. The Black Khans' fortifications above and below the city were crazy, and they tried every means to create trouble for the Han army's attack.
However, although the effect was effective, just like the harassing enemy cavalry, it could not really stop the Han army's attack.
Speaking of which, the Han army's siege tactics were all about clearing obstacles, establishing positions, suppressing them with "firepower", and forcing the city to fight.
It was the same this time, with hard crossbows and thunderbolt rockets. When the siege battle officially started, the Black Khans, who were naturally well prepared, truly saw the offensive art that the Han army had practiced to its peak for decades.
If you don't move, you will go all out, and it will be shocking. In response to the Black Khan people's defensive response, the Han army was also fully prepared for the attack on the city.
This is fully reflected in the rich means of attack and the large number of siege weapons. Just a hundred sets of big yellow crossbows, thunderbolt artillery carriages, and rockets were prepared each. These invincible weapons of the Han army were deployed, and under the influence of the Han army soldiers
Under the operation, a covering strike was carried out towards Kucha City.
The sharp arrows that pierced the air, the exploding kerosene bombs, and the roaring rockets were all so powerful that they knocked the Black Khan defenders into confusion in one wave. Of course, the direct damage was not too much, but it was a blow to their morale.
It was serious, especially among the Black Khan guards who were injured, not one of them was intact, they were all in pieces.
Even if the Black Khan's army is not afraid of death, it is easy to be shocked by the tragic scene. Of course, long-range strikes are only a prelude. If you want to conquer the city, you still have to watch the battle below the city.
The city of Qiuci was high enough, but not higher than the ladders of the Han army. At the cost of a certain amount of casualties, the behemoth siege beasts approached the city wall and leaned directly against the female wall. The Black Khan army wanted to take advantage of its condescending position to attack the Han army below the city.
The plan to cause huge casualties failed from the beginning.
The Han army's siege techniques and tactics have been developed for so many years, and their core purpose is to minimize the advantages of city defense, undermine the morale of the defenders, and create maximum convenience for the attack.
During the Battle of Tanzhou during the First Northern Expedition, Murong Yanzhao even built a mountain of soil directly outside Tanzhou City. He went to the extreme of his ability, but he also successfully offset the Liao army's defensive advantage.
This was not done in Qiuci, but a series of successful tactical executions also made the siege battle enter the stage of fighting for the city in the shortest possible time.
The tactics are very simple, the key lies in execution, especially in the stage of climbing the city. However, most of the Han soldiers in this western expedition are refined soldiers and have extensive training for this type of battle.
Therefore, after the siege warriors boarded Kucha City without much casualties, both Liu Min who was watching the battle and Yang Yanzhao who was commanding in front of the battle were relieved.
However, the subsequent battle results proved that they were happy a little too early. Although the Black Khan army was caught off guard by the rich and diverse tactics of the Han army, it did not collapse after all. After falling into a fierce battle on the city, its fierce side was no longer
It broke out.
Face to face, in close combat, the Black Khan army, especially the standing army, was not much different from the Han army, whether it was training or weapons and equipment.
Thanks to the advanced smelting technology, the weapons of the Black Khan army are extremely sophisticated. In terms of the quality of the swords, they are not inferior to those of the Han Dynasty at all, and in some places they are even slightly better.
The Han army's offensive came quickly and violently, and the city's attack on the city came suddenly. Although the Heihan army was not expecting it, the effectiveness of the Han army's siege weapons was also reduced during the close-quarters encounter. After all, they had to avoid accidental damage. Those who could be used as support were those close to the city.
Combat crossbowmen.
In the past, when the Han army successfully boarded an enemy city, most of the defenders collapsed, and even those who resisted could not resist for long.
But there is something different about the Black Khan army. It seems that what they are least afraid of is fighting for their lives. Cannon fodder armed by religious forces often have certain attribute bonuses.
In addition, the Black Khan's general Aliaman, while taking the lead, also urged the defenders to fight to the death with strict military laws, regardless of casualties, in order to drive the Han army out of the city.
The fierce battle was fierce and the scene was cruel. In the process of bloodshed and casualties, the ferocity of both armies was aroused. However, in the face of the Han army's tidal attack, the Kucha defenders still held on tenaciously.
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On the first day of the attack alone, the Han army suffered more than 1,500 casualties, more than 60% of whom were killed in direct combat. The Black Khans also suffered many casualties, but the ratio was basically 1:1.5.
Such a result was somewhat difficult for Liu Min to accept. The tenacity and madness of the Black Khan Army were somewhat unexpected, and he had to completely stop being underestimated.
Similarly, the Black Khan Army was also a little shocked. The powerful offensive capabilities of the Han Army also shocked them. This was a city battle. They had the natural advantages of the defenders, but they were completely suppressed.
The most critical thing is that from the beginning, Aliyaman had to put the most elite troops of the defenders on the city to consume. These people were not volunteers or militia, but trained professional soldiers, whom he prepared to use to counterattack.
. Even Ariaman was injured in the fierce battle, and his arm was shot through by a Han army's crossbow arrow.
If the battle on the first day was just a prelude and a test, then in the subsequent battles, when both sides spared no effort, the Kucha War inevitably fell into a stalemate.
The price of maintaining the stalemate was the bloodshed and sacrifice of both superior officers and soldiers.
On the second day, after two hours of fighting in the city, more than 700 Han soldiers were killed and thousands of Black Khan soldiers were killed.
On the fourth day, after half a day of siege, more than a thousand people were killed by the Han army and more than 1,300 people were killed by the Black Khan army.
From the fifth to the sixth day, we stopped fighting and rested.
From the seventh to the tenth, there was a truce due to rain.
On the eleventh day, they fought fiercely all day long but still failed. The Han army suffered 2,000 casualties. The Black Khan defenders had to use cannon fodder on their heads, resulting in more than 3,000 casualties.
Later, due to the heavy casualties, Liu Min finally restrained the urge to continue the attack.