After taking over the mess left by Mitchell, Garcia did not rush to launch an attack on the Humeita Fortress. Instead, he ordered the troops to repair in place and stopped shelling the Humeita Fortress.
During the period of troop recuperation, Garcia personally explored the terrain surrounding the Humeta Fortress and observed the Paraguayan troop deployment in detail. After a month of observation and preparation,
A plan gradually formed in Garcia's mind.
The main defense direction of Humeita Fortress is on the Paraná River in the west, and relies on high mountains and dangerous ridges as a barrier to the east.
In previous offensive and defensive battles, the main attack direction of the coalition forces has been the river position in the west, while the east side only carried out a tentative attack. As a result, the attacking troops had not reached the position behind Humeita Fortress. Due to illness, they were trapped in the mountains and forests.
Returning halfway due to reasons such as getting lost.
After the roundabout attack from the east failed, the coalition forces gave up the flank attack plan and focused on attacking from the front.
Garcia asked several surviving soldiers who participated in the roundabout battle and found that the roundabout attack was not without the possibility of success.
The failure of the first exploratory attack was certainly due to factors such as steep mountains and harsh environment, but the coalition's lack of preparation for the offensive troops was also an important reason for the failure.
When deciding to carry out the roundabout operation plan, the coalition headquarters just drew a marching route on the map, and then sent a thousand soldiers to set off directly. The materials, logistics support and other work were arranged according to the standard configuration of the mountain march, and did not consider marching in the mountains of Asuncion.
The difficulty and danger caused the detouring troops to consume too much food and medicine after marching more than half the distance, and they had to withdraw.
After learning the information he wanted from the surviving soldiers, Garcia had enough confidence in encircling and annihilating the defenders of the Tiger Meta Fortress.
After a month of repairs and preparations, the morale of the coalition forces was restored to a certain extent. At the same time, Garcia began to formally deploy the encirclement and suppression of Humeita.
First, Garcia mobilized the most expensive iron-clad ships from the navy to deal with Paraguayan mines and shore artillery fire.
Secondly, the artillery troops resumed their shelling of the Humeta Fortress, and the coalition forces launched an attack on the Paraguayan defenders. The Humeta Fortress, which had been silent for a month, was once again filled with gunpowder smoke and flames of war.
The artillery fire on the frontal battlefield was fierce but not brutal, and in sharp contrast was the allied force attacking the coalition forces behind the Humeita Fortress from the flanks.
Shuqianren's coalition troops were transported by the naval fleet and landed on the shore two hundred miles away from the Humeita Fortress. There, they would climb over the rolling mountains and dense virgin forests to penetrate behind the Paraguayan defenders and cut off the Humeita Fortress defense.
The army established contact with the troops left behind in Asunción, thereby achieving the goal of annihilating the main force of Paraguay in World War I.
For this roundabout attack, Garcia mobilized all the naval forces on the Paraná River. In order to prevent the defenders of the Hume Tower Fortress from discovering the coalition's strategic purpose, Garcia mobilized the naval forces in Porto Alegre to attack the Hume Tower.
The waters around the tower fortress were blocked, temporarily cutting off the communication channels between the Humei tower defenders and other troops.
Porto Alegre is the capital and naval base of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is stationed with 5,000 guard troops. However, as the coalition forces advanced into the core of Paraguay, the state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the southernmost part of Brazil, escaped from the Paraguayan army.
A direct threat has become the security rear area. Therefore, the Brazilian troops originally stationed in Porto Alegre were gradually transferred to the Paraguay front line to supplement the missing coalition troops. When Garcia's order came, the last batch of offshore
The naval force moved to the front line, and the entire Rio Grande do Sul defense force was completely wiped out. There was still a regular guard regiment of about a thousand people, and a militia force of 800 people that could be assembled to respond to the enemy in emergencies. Plus the port
A few small gunboats and an armed force of 2,000 people are the entire defense force of Rio Grande do Sul.
Paraguay was beaten back to its hometown. Rio Grande do Sul is surrounded by the allied forces of Argentina and Uruguay on both sides, and behind it are the other four states in southern Brazil. Even if the main defensive force is transferred, Rio Grande do Sul will not face being attacked by Paraguay.
Danger. Based on this judgment, Garcia decisively transferred the remaining troops from Porto Alegre to implement his roundabout encirclement plan. However, the strategic deployment made by Garcia's precise plan missed the influence of the Chinese troops.
On February 15, 1868, before Mitchell was dismissed, the main force of the Chinese Independence Army departed from Sucre and marched toward Paraguay along the tributaries of the Mamore River. From the Sucre area to the plateau between Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay,
The geographical environment such as desert and sub-Asian forests changed successively. More than 100,000 Chinese troops walked on the uninhabited plateau. The desert areas encountered various difficulties.
In the first half month of the journey, thanks to the guidance of Bolivian guides, the Chinese troops did not encounter much setbacks in the Bolivian plateau. However, after crossing the city of Uyuni, the road ahead gradually became difficult. The Gobi Desert and hills divided the plateau.
It is very difficult for carriages, mules and horses to walk on the fragmented roads. Moreover, the weather in the southern plateau of Bolivia is unpredictable. Hail and heavy rain often fall on the heads of the marching troops without warning. Diseases caused by heavy rain and hail
More than a thousand Chinese died.
Across the Bolivia plateau where the weather was unpredictable, the Chinese troops entered the temporarily ownerless Chaco Wilderness. After trekking on the wilderness for a month, the main Chinese troops finally entered Paraguay. At this time, the Chinese troops lost a total of 3,500 people.
Most of the 3,500 people lost during the march were middle-aged workers with weak physical fitness. The number of young and strong Chinese workers who died did not exceed 1,000.
And this is the only place where Li Mingyuan feels lucky.
Moving thousands of miles over land is fraught with difficulties and suffers heavy casualties. Moving by sea is also not a pleasant journey.
The fleet was sailing along the coast of Chile when it encountered a hurricane. Three ships filled with Chinese workers were seriously damaged and had to stop in the coastal area of Patagonia for repairs.
Not long after the fleet docked, a Chinese team out hunting encountered the local Mapuche Indians.
The Mapuche people initially regarded the Chinese troops as intruders like the white people, and the two sides were about to fight as soon as they met. At this time, the leading Chinese detachment officer sent a soldier to actively negotiate, and no conflict broke out between the two sides.
Knowing that the Chinese troops were also enemies of the whites, the Mapuche people immediately became enthusiastic. They gave the collected animals to the Chinese troops as gifts, and the leading officer gave the Mapuche two muskets as a return gift.
The fleet stayed on the coast of Patagonia for a week, exchanging food with the Mapuche people using the backward muskets on the ship. After replenishing fresh water, the fleet set sail again. Until the Strait of Magellan, the fleet encountered no danger.
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However, after entering the Strait of Magellan, the fleet suffered a serious loss. Three cargo ships were seriously damaged. Two merchant ships carrying Chinese hit the rocks and sank. Only 200 of the 1,000 Chinese on board the two sank merchant ships were rescued. Three ships carried food supplies.
All 300 people on board the cargo ship were killed. Just crossing the Strait of Magellan, the Chinese troops lost 1,100 people. It has to be said to be a huge loss.
Enduring the risks of storms and reefs at sea, the fleet arrived off the coast of Rio Grande do Sul on April 25, 1868. The lighthouse of Porto Alegre also appeared in front of the fleet.