On June 11, 1868, a huge fleet of more than 40,000 people set sail, aiming directly at the main camp of the Brazilian coalition forces. During the voyage, the riverbank supply points and supply ships set up by the Brazilian coalition forces were occupied by the Chinese Independence Army one by one. They were originally occupied by the coalition forces.
All the ammunition and supplies prepared by the troops fell into the hands of the Chinese Independence Army. The fleet moved forward, and the captured ships were added to the fleet for use. The size of the fleet became larger and larger, and the originally tight transportation capacity became abundant.
At its peak, the number of Brazilian coalition forces reached 100,000. As the war dragged on, due to the loss of soldiers and the pressure of logistical supplies, the number of frontline soldiers of the coalition forces gradually declined. By June 1868, except for those who were successively eliminated by the Chinese Independence Army,
There are 8,000 Brazilian troops and there are about 60,000 coalition troops in Paraguay.
Among the 60,000 people, 50,000 were Brazilian troops, and another 10,000 were stationed in Formosa, led by Argentine Army General Miret, to guard the border area between Paraguay and Argentina.
More than ten days ago, when the Chinese Independence Army just fought with the detouring Brazilian army, 10,000 Argentine troops were still stationed on the front line to fight alongside the Brazilian army. However, following the instructions of some important officials of the Argentine domestic government, the Argentine troops on the front line
The troops began to make a fuss. They refused to accept the combat mission designated by Garcia on the pretext of dysentery and cholera in the army. Some soldiers even announced that they would withdraw from the war and return to Argentina.
With instructions from important officials of the Argentine government and encouragement from military officers, the vast majority of Argentine soldiers believed that the war was almost over and they could go home immediately. Under the influence of this atmosphere, it was impossible for Garcia to command Argentina.
The army, and the command of the 10,000 Argentine army is in the hands of Miret. Garcia is only the nominal commander. If he wants to truly command the Argentine army, he needs Miret's nod.
Of course there is a reason why the Argentinian troops caused trouble sooner rather than later. On the one hand, it is impossible for Garcia to send troops to outflank Humeta Fortress in a roundabout way without notifying the Argentines. In the past few days, the defenders of Humeta Fortress transferred troops to support the rear, which proved their roundabout way.
The plan has been successful, the garrison of Humeita Fortress has been completely surrounded, and surrender is only a matter of time.
On the other hand, it took ten months to conquer
The fortress of Curupaity caused heavy losses to the Argentine army, and the strategic supplies that Argentina had prepared for several years were exhausted. At this time, smallpox began to rage, and then cholera also began to spread. The two diseases caused a large number of non-combat casualties.
The number of troops was reduced, and the morale of the troops was also reduced to the lowest point.
The Paraguay War was originally nothing to do with Argentina. Later, Brazil used the unresolved territorial issues between Paraguay and Argentina to win over Argentina and join the war.
The war lasted for three years, and the land originally disputed with Paraguay had been occupied by Argentina. The war was continued just to fulfill the obligations of the original alliance.
The purpose of Argentina's participation in the war is to regain the disputed territory. The complete elimination of Paraguay is not in Argentina's national interest. Brazil has a large territory and a large population. If Paraguay, which has two large rivers, is destroyed, Brazil's strength will be even stronger.
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There is no permanent enemy in front of the country. For the sake of Argentina's interests, Argentina's domestic political bosses could not openly tear up the alliance agreement, so they adopted non-cooperation methods to hold back the Brazilians.
Argentina's lack of cooperation at the critical moment created a problem for Garcia. Let them stay on the front line. It would be useless to waste materials and not contribute to the war situation. Agreeing to withdraw them to Argentina was not something that Garcia could decide. After thinking about it again and again, Garcia came up with an idea.
A compromise approach was to move the Argentinian troops to the rear for repairs, and the Brazilian army would be solely responsible for the forward war.
Garcia was confident in making this decision. There were more than 20,000 defenders in Huneta Fortress, less than half of the Brazilian army. It was very difficult for them to break through the encirclement head-on. Therefore, without the Argentine troops who were unable to work hard, the additional troops
West Asia is also confident of surrounding the garrison of Humeita Fortress.
The agreement to renovate the Argentine troops was not unconditional, and the Argentine troops were not allowed to interfere with the capture and various gains from the subsequent occupation of Paraguay.
Miret received domestic instructions, so he naturally would not compete with Garcia for these interests, and quickly reached an agreement. Miret led the Argentine troops to leave the front line, set up a camp in Moresa, and only waited until the end of the war to lead the troops back to Argentina.
Formosa is located behind where the Chinese Independence Army captured the battleship. After seizing the battleship, in order to avoid exposing their whereabouts in advance, the Chinese Independence Army gave up attacking the Argentine army in Formosa and went straight upstream to the main force of Brazil.
After the Argentine army left the front line, Garcia was clean for a few days, but the good days did not last long. There was no news from the outflanking troops, which made him gradually anxious.
The five thousand troops were elites selected from the main force. There was no news in the past few days. He thought it might be because the war was going smoothly and the troops were attacking Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. However, nearly ten days later, not only was there no news about the five thousand roundabout troops,
The escort fleet that sent back the last message three days ago has also been unable to be contacted.
"Did something happen to both the roundabout troops and the fleet?" A bad thought flashed through Garcia's mind.
The main force of Paraguay was besieged in the Fortress of Humeta. Argentina and Uruguay were all allies of Brazil. Garcia really couldn't think of any other force that could pose a threat to the outflanking troops and fleet.
If he couldn't figure out the reason, he stopped thinking about it. Garcia once again sent a patrol team to check the news. If no news came back after a day, he would find out the truth personally.
The messenger sent by Garcia arrived at the naval station by the river and conveyed Garcia's order.
The Brazilian naval officer responsible for guarding the coast was a little confused: "Since yesterday, three patrol fleets have been dispatched to contact the response fleet, but none of the ships have returned to the base. Did something big happen there?"
"I don't know. I am only responsible for conveying the commander's orders. The officers will still act in accordance with the orders. As for other aspects, it is naturally the responsibility of the officers."
The captain who delivered the order shrugged, looking serious.
Normally, there is no need for a captain to go out in person to convey orders, but this time something was a little unusual, so Garcia sent a staff captain from the headquarters to board the ship in person to contact the fleet and outflanking troops.
"Sir, the commander doesn't give you much time. You'd better arrange the ship as soon as possible. I have to set out to complete the mission ordered by the commander."
"Brother, wait a moment, I will make arrangements immediately."
In recent years, Prussia has defeated Denmark and the Austrian Empire, and its national strength and influence have increased rapidly. The various systems implemented by Prussia have also been imitated by South American countries. The Brazilian Empire has set up a staff based on the Prussian army, and its staff officers are from domestic nobles and big capitalists.
Therefore, although the staff officer who passed the order was only a captain, the lieutenant colonel officer who was responsible for the management of naval ships on the river did not dare to slack off. He chatted with the staff officer in a friendly manner, and the lieutenant colonel officer quickly ordered his sailors to prepare the ships.
Because Garcia personally gave the order, the ship was quickly prepared. The staff officer got on the ship and was about to order the ship to move when he saw two ironclad ships belonging to the Brazilian Navy.
The Brazilian Empire has a total of five warships with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons. Three were sent to participate in the Paraguay battle, and the other two stayed at Brazil's coastal bases to guard the country's offshore security.
The staff officer of the three ironclad warships accompanying the Brazilian army was very familiar with them. At first glance, he recognized the two ironclad warships on the river as the Goiânia and Maceio, which had been lost.
"Sir, those are the Goiânia and the Maceio. Do we still want to go on a mission?"
The fleet that wanted to contact the ship appeared in front of him. The captain of the gunboat didn't know whether to continue sailing, so he turned around and asked for instructions.
"No, the escort fleet is not that big, there are too many ships behind it!"
Zhongxiao of the Navy knew the fleet better than anyone else. When he saw the densely packed large and small transport ships behind the ironclads, he immediately felt something was wrong.
The two ironclad ships sailed into the entrance where the Brazilian warships were berthed, and their huge black gun muzzles were slowly raised and aimed at the Brazilian warships on the shore.
"No, the people on the armored ship are not ours!"
The naval lieutenant colonel was the first to notice the enemy's situation. As soon as he spoke the words, he heard a huge roar, and then a sail warship next to him was immediately hit by a shot.
The hull of the sailing battleship has weak resistance to strikes, and a shell fired from a joint main gun is enough to cause huge damage to it.
The cannonball was fired from the front hull and passed right through the ammunition room of the sailing battleship. There were roars one after another, and the fire caused by gunpowder instantly covered the entire sailing battleship. With a click, the sailing battleship was broken into two halves after being subjected to the bombardment.
Sinking into the water under the burning flames, the armored battleship suddenly attacked, and a cannonball destroyed the sailing battleship. Hundreds of Brazilian navy soldiers on board the battleship became victims of the battleship before they had time to react.
"Damn it, what happened? Didn't I ask you to aim at that armored ship and fire? Why did you miss it!"
On the Dawn, Chen Sen, who was temporarily serving as the captain, loudly reprimanded the Brazilian sailor prisoners who were operating the main gun.
Chen Sen was discovered by Li Mingyuan when he was looking for gold treasures in Kara Lake. He then performed well during the training of the Navy's frogman troops, gradually surpassing other competitors, and gained the opportunity to command the frogman troops.
After capturing two armored warships, Li Mingyuan, who had no one to use, arranged for Chen Sen to be captain of a warship with a displacement of more than 6,000 tons on the Chaoyang warship. This opportunity was hard-won, and Chen Sen planned to use it to attack the Brazilian army.
Chen Sen had the opportunity to accumulate military exploits and occupy an important position in the newly established Chinese naval force. However, he clearly ordered an attack on the ironclad ship anchored by the river, but captured the sailors but hit the wrong target. Although others may not see the problem and think Chen Sen commanded it properly.
, killed one of the enemy's main battleships with one shot, but in Chen Sen's eyes it was a very serious problem. At the moment of battle, the gunner deliberately released the water, which was okay.
"Aim at the ironclad and shoot. If you make another mistake, I will shoot you in the head."
Chen Sen took out his short gun, put it on the captured gunner's head, and threatened.
The captured gunner could not understand Chen Sen's words, but his murderous look could easily convey the meaning of his words.
The Brazilian gunner did not want to be one of his comrades who was killed yesterday, so he operated the artillery cautiously and aimed at the Brazilian army.
