During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Tsarist Russia and Japan fought fiercely.
The Russian army relied on the solid fortification defense of the Lushunkou Fortress, and the Japanese army dug trenches to a place only a few dozen meters away from the Russian position. The Russian army could not kill the Japanese army with ordinary artillery and machine guns, so the Russian artillery captain Nikolayevich
They tried to modify an old 47mm naval mortar on a gun mount with wheels, and fired a long-tailed shell at a high elevation angle. The result was that it effectively killed the Japanese troops in the trenches and repelled many Japanese attacks.
.
Did you see that the inventor of the mortar has a name? This fully shows that inventing the mortar does not require advanced knowledge or perfect equipment. It only takes an idea to invent a brand new weapon.
.
Compared with traditional artillery, mortars have many advantages. The main advantages are simple structure and easy operation. They are very suitable for the northern division of Rhodesia with low education level. In addition, they are targeted at tropical rainforests such as Nyasaland and Congo Free State.
Terrain, the movement of mortars is also more convenient than traditional artillery. It is very difficult for traditional artillery to move in the tropical rain forest, so it is difficult to accompany the troops in action. However, as long as the caliber of mortars is not too large, it can be done and can be fired as needed.
, hit and run.
That is to say, there is no market for mortars yet, so Rock is not in a hurry to launch mortars. If Nyasaland is not affected by the British now, Rock would have ordered the arsenal to start researching mortars.
However, the lack of market does not mean that there is no demand. Ethan Barrett now hopes to have a weapon that can attack the Nyasalands who carry out sniping.
Martin is still very good at selecting sites. The sniper position he chose is at the corner of a river bend. The mercenaries lack weapons to effectively attack the sniper position.
There are basically no roads in the tropical rainforest terrain of the Congo Free State, so rivers have become the most natural roads. The Belgians first colonized and developed the Congo Free State along the densely populated rivers in the rainforest.
The mercenaries took their guides with them when they set out from Kinshasa. However, when they were attacked on the first day, the guides dispersed, which made Ethan Barrett dare not leave the river.
Getting lost in the rainforest is no joke. Let alone more than 2,000 people, even if more than 20,000 people enter the rainforest rashly, they will be swallowed up by the seemingly peaceful and harmless rainforest.
The position of the Northern Rhodesian Division is on the other side of the river bend. If mercenaries want to attack the position of the Northern Rhodesian Division, they can only do it from the river by canoe.
However, the canoes had almost no defense against heavy machine guns, so after only two exploratory attacks and the loss of more than ten canoes and nearly a hundred people, the mercenary officers had another disagreement.
"Stop it. It is no longer possible for us to reach Kalemmi successfully. Even if we reach Kalemmi successfully, how much price will we have to pay? Do we still have the ability to launch an attack on Kalemmi?" Charles has already begun to retreat, starting from the first
After being attacked that night, Charles had fully realized that the mercenaries did not have the strength to fight against the Nyasalands.
"This is less than a hundred kilometers away from Kalemmi. We have gone through a lot of hardships to get here. Now you say you want to stop. Where is your professional ethics? Where is your chivalry?" Ethan Barrett did not agree to retreat.
If we retreat now, Ethan Barrett will be ruined.
Sometimes I have to admit that there are still people in this era who are very dedicated. Soldiers in the 21st century, because they have a higher level of education, think more about life, human nature, and value.
Relatively speaking, people in this era are relatively simple. For a simple ideal, many people are willing to sacrifice their lives and blood, regardless of the benefits and losses.
"When I decided to become a mercenary, I sold my soul to the devil." Robert said sinisterly, you are talking about professional ethics and chivalry with war hyenas, what a joke!
In the Western world, mercenaries are actually a profession. In essence, mercenaries are just like accountants and engineers. They are just a way to support their families. Mercenaries also have families, and the reason why they go to the battlefield is for their families to live a good life.
, Money is the only thing that mercenaries value, so don’t expect mercenaries to have high professional ethics and chivalry, that’s all nonsense.
In a word, mercenaries are still ordinary people in essence, and their technical and tactical skills are definitely not up to the standards of soldiers. Veterans who are truly skilled in skills and tactics will not become mercenaries at all. Isn't it good to work as bodyguards for those high-ranking officials?
There is no need to work hard to earn more, and there is no need to come to the Congo Free State to be surrounded by mud and crocodiles.
To put it bluntly, mercenaries can bully ordinary people, but fighting a real army means forcing others to do something difficult. Charles and Robert did not know how powerful the Nyasaland army was in combat, so they accepted Leopold II's employment and rashly
When they came to the Congo Free State, if Charles and Robert knew that they were facing such an army, no matter how high the price offered by Leopold II, Charles and Robert would not accept it.
"You bastard, do you want to betray your honor!" Ethan Barrett roared and stood up, apparently wanting to teach Robert a lesson.
If it were before, some people would have started to dissuade me.
It didn’t happen this time. The officers, including Charles, watched helplessly as Ethan Barrett stood up and walked towards Robert, all watching with cold eyes.
The situation of the war is really not good. Everyone can see that continuing to advance towards Carlisle is to risk death. Even if Carlisle has gold, it still has to earn money.
"Now, organize your troops and move forward. Don't let your family be shamed because of you!" Ethan Barrett roared almost in Robert's face, and the spittle must have been sprayed on Robert's face.
Robert was indifferent.
"What the hell, I have less than a hundred men left in my army. How do you want me to advance? If you want me to attack, fine, give me more men and I will let them die for you!" Robert didn't either.
Show weakness and stand up to confront Ethan Barrett.
Both of them stared angrily, tit for tat, breathing louder than an ox, and their voices were louder than the other. The mercenaries who were resting nearby were alerted. Many of them stood up with their guns in hand and looked at Ethan who was arguing indifferently.
·Barrett and Robert.
"Okay, let's take a break now, and let's discuss a more stable plan." Charles still came out to smooth things over, otherwise if the two men clashed, the impact on morale would be immeasurable.
"Safe? What is the safest method? How can we safely retreat?" Ethan Barrett was already carried away, and turned around to face Charles and spat again.
Charles spread his hands helplessly, such a good person cannot do this.
The atmosphere froze for a moment, with only the river flowing quietly around them. The mercenaries who participated in the attack before did not even retrieve their bodies, but all fell into the river. Now the river is churning and blood is surging. Needless to say, they must be wild animals in the river.
Animals are tearing apart the corpses of the mercenaries.
This is an unparalleled blow to the morale of the mercenaries.
"We are launching an attack. If it doesn't work this time, we will retreat -" Ethan Barrett calmed down and finally admitted that he had underestimated the Nyasaland people. In fact, retreating directly is the best option now.
But having come this far, Ethan Barrett is really not willing to give it another try.
What if the Nyasalands on the other side of the river are at the end of their game?
In fact, Ethan Barrett also knew that this was just a fantasy. From the beginning of the battle, the mercenaries had not caused any effective casualties to the Nyasalans. Ethan Barrett even suspected that the Nyasalans had
Maybe even now, no one has been injured.
"Okay!" Charles still gave him face. As long as Ethan Barrett didn't insist on his own way, Charles was still willing to cooperate.
If they weren't already on the brink of despair, who would want to escape? If they just fled back to Kinshasa, Charles and the others would never have a chance to be part of the mercenary industry, and would even become the laughing stock of the whole world.
In addition to being depressed, Charles was now madly complaining about Leopold II. It was all this bastard's fault. Why did he provoke the Nyasaland people when he had nothing to do?
Even if the people of the Antwerp Company were disobedient and provoked the Nyasaland people, why should they be dealt with in such an extreme way? Isn't it better to pay them and hand them over?
And the bastards from Antwerp Company, they all deserve to go to hell——
Complaints are complaints, the war is about to begin, the officers are not even in the mood to talk, they are all thinking about their own thoughts, or sorting out their equipment.
No matter what, I still have to play the game.
In the silent rain forest, a shrill wailing suddenly came out: "Enemies, we have enemies behind us, the Nyasalands are behind us-"
Behind!
Charles stood up suddenly and looked at the river behind him.
Sure enough, on the river about three to four hundred meters behind us, there were more than a dozen wooden boats.
It was too far away to see clearly who was on the boat, but their flag was very clear, it was the British Union Jack.
There is no doubt that they are Nyasaland!
"Why the hell did the Nyasalans appear behind us?!"
"It's over, we're done!"
"I want to go home——"
The mercenaries suddenly became chaotic. In the rivers of the tropical rainforest, they were blocked in front of them and pursued by soldiers behind them. No matter which direction they went, it was a dead end.
There is no need to think about escaping into the rainforest, which is almost certain to lead to death. On the contrary, there is still a chance of survival by continuing along the river or breaking through with all your strength.
It is impossible to attack. Nyasaland's sniper troops have proven with facts that their defenses are impregnable and continuing to attack will only lead to death.
It is impossible to break through with all the strength. In terrain like the river, two heavy machine guns are enough to block the entire river——