"What's going on with the naval force? The enemy attacked us several times in three days. How are they doing their security work?"
The Brazilian naval base on the river bank is about forty miles away from the main camp. Soon after the battle on the river bank broke out, Garcia immediately sent soldiers to the river bank to investigate the news. At the same time, part of the Brazilian army that besieged the Humeita Fortress withdrew from the position and gathered at
The large camp in front of the headquarters is preparing to reinforce the riverside troops.
Garcia made a mistake in his judgment. He habitually believed that it was Paraguay's guerrilla forces that attacked the navy on the river bank. These dispersed Paraguayan fleets often harassed Brazil's water transport forces and fired cold shots at coastal bases from time to time.
"Commander, there is no need to be angry. The Paraguayans are surrounded from the front and rear. This sneak attack may be their act of jumping over the wall in a hurry. They hope to use the behind-the-scenes attack on the river bank supply channel to force our army to withdraw from the frontline troops, thus creating conditions for the Humeita defenders to break out.
.”
"It's possible." Garcia nodded.
"The defenders of the key defensive positions on the front line will not move, and Colonel Grove's cavalry troops will be mobilized to the headquarters camp to follow orders to prevent emergencies."
Garcia felt uneasy after thinking about it, so he dispatched another troop to gather at the headquarters camp.
The river base did not have a limited telegraph line, which caused Garcia to misjudge the battle ahead. Two hours later, the soldier who inquired about the information returned to the camp and brought back a shocking news.
The troops attacking the river base were not Paraguayans, but a group of yellow-skinned people wearing black military uniforms who looked like Indians.
"How many are there in number, and what's the situation like on the river bank?"
Garcia did not bother to explore the identity of this sudden army, and immediately asked about the situation on the battlefield.
"Their number is unclear, but it seems that all their ships are on the river, and there are thousands of enemies on the land attacking the defensive positions on the river bank. When we came back, the Imperial Navy ships on the river had been divided and surrounded by enemies, and the defense lines on the land were also in danger.
.”
the soldier replied.
The total strength of the navy on the river bank has reached 5,000. Since the enemy can completely suppress the naval force from the river and land, the number of troops is at least 30,000. Such a force that exceeds the garrison of Humeita Fortress suddenly joins the battlefield, which will start the war.
to fundamental changes.
"Commander, the naval force is in crisis. The first thing to do now is to mobilize troops to support the river base, otherwise I am worried that the naval force may be completely annihilated!"
Although they did not witness the real scene of the battle on the river bank, the senior generals in the headquarters could also infer the seriousness of the situation from the news sent back by the soldiers. The enemy troops came in suddenly and had an absolute advantage in numbers. They also attacked the Brazilians on the river.
The naval fleet forms a siege. If there is a little delay, by the time the reinforcements arrive on the battlefield, the battle is likely to be over. The navy will be wiped out, the waterway will be cut off, and the senior generals who stay on land will also be in danger.
"I urgently ordered Grove to lead the colonel and the cavalry troops to immediately assist the navy, and ordered the first division and the second division to withdraw from the defensive positions and assemble. I personally led the troops of the first and second divisions to assist the navy. The remaining troops were handed over to the chief of staff to take over the command.
Prevent the defenders of Humeita Fortress from launching an attack."
Quickly issuing the order, Garcia said with a heavy face, "Since entering Paraguay, the imperial army has never faced such a severe situation. The responsibility of defending the camp will be left to the generals. I will lead the reinforcements to fight the enemy and strive to defeat the enemy on the river bank."
In the face of a formidable enemy, preparations for various units of the Brazilian army were quickly completed. The first batch of two thousand cavalry troops sent out for reinforcements was quickly assembled, and then rushed to the battlefield under the leadership of Grove.
The sounds of galloping war horses and the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground were mixed together and reached the ears of the Chinese soldiers who were digging their positions.
"The enemy is incoming!" A piercing siren sounded in front of the Chinese Independence Army's position. The soldiers who were still building their positions quickly put down their shovels and jumped into the unfinished crude fortifications.
The machine gunner held the machine gun and pointed it at the rapidly charging cavalry troops. Two auxiliary soldiers sat on either side, ready to help the machine gun change ammunition.
The twelve Napoleon cannons were loaded with ammunition, and the artillery observers stared at the road signs set in front of the position.
"Fifteen hundred meters, one thousand two hundred meters, one thousand meters." The accelerating Brazilian cavalry stepped into the one thousand meter attack range, the artillery signal flag fell, twelve artillery fired one after another, and a blasting bomb exploded
A killing area of more than ten square meters was formed. The Brazilian cavalry within the area covered by the fragments sprinted at a speed of one beat. Eight or nine cavalry hit by the fragments fell off their horses. The dense cavalry formation instantly appeared in more than ten empty areas.
Less than a hundred Brazilian cavalrymen were hit by the first round of shells, but the fallen horses became an obstacle to the advancement of the subsequent cavalry. The Brazilian cavalry who sprinted in a group lost the flexibility to maneuver their direction and crashed into the dead horse on the ground.
The huge inertia of the war horses threw the cavalry away. The war horses moving side by side on both sides were hit by the flying cavalry. Fifty or sixty Brazilian cavalry were knocked to the ground and became the burial objects of the first batch of hit cavalry.
The Brazilian cavalry is different from the Peruvian cavalry. The Peruvian cavalry is mainly light cavalry. When the cavalry charges, the formation is scattered, and the main purpose of combat is to gradually weaken the enemy. The main body of Brazilian rule is the royal nobles from Portugal, who are influenced by traditional Western cavalry combat.
Influenced by the influence of the cavalry, the Brazilian cavalry troops imitate France, the powerful cavalry country. The cavalry troops are mainly composed of heavy cavalry equipped with breastplates and lances. The purpose of combat is to use the excellent equipment of the cavalry to break through the enemy's formation and quickly resolve the battle.
Heavy cavalry equipped with lances and breastplates was an important combat force even in France. Grove did not think that his cavalry units were out of date. The cavalry casualties caused by the first round of shelling did not shake his determination to attack. The enemy's position
Right in front of you, sprint over and the elite heavy cavalry will mercilessly destroy the enemy in front of you.
"Each column maintains formation, rushes through the front positions, and kills the enemy!"
"We must win!" The Brazilian cavalry burst out with a burst of noise. The vacancies left by the fallen cavalry were filled by the cavalry behind them, and the scattered formation gradually returned to order.
"Seize the time, quickly clear the gun breech and load the shells." After the shelling, the artillerymen behind the position immediately got busy. Cleaning the gun breech and reloading the shells required three gunners to be responsible.
The Napoleon cannon has superior performance and great power, but the shortcomings of traditional bronze cannons also exist in it. After each firing, the cleaning and loading of the shells takes 9.1 times longer than that of iron artillery. Because of this shortcoming, Li Mingyuan mobilized
More soldiers were hired to perform auxiliary work, and more than ten people were responsible for one Napoleon cannon to minimize the time between the firing of two shells.
Taking advantage of the artillery's time to prepare shells, the Brazilian cavalry quickly advanced. After three rounds of shelling, the Brazilian cavalry had lost more than 700 people.
The remaining 1,300 Brazilian troops advanced to within 300 meters in front of the position. Napoleon's artillery lost its effective deterrent to the Brazilian cavalry. Grove, who suffered heavy losses, insisted on continuing the attack, pinning his hope of breaking through the Chinese Independence Army's position on the last three steps.
Within a hundred meters.
The Brazilian cavalry continued to advance. The injured cavalry was trampled to the ground by the horses of his companions. Before he could cry out in pain, he turned into a broken corpse. The tragic situation of his companions affected the emotions of the other cavalry. The hands holding the lances clenched because of fear of the unknown ahead.
The danger kept shaking, the distance quickly shortened, rows of dense bullets were fired at the charging cavalry,
The war horses whined, and the injured cavalry fell to the ground and twitched continuously. The charging cavalry fell like powerless wheat seedlings under the violent storm.
The gunfire stopped, and the last Brazilian cavalry fell in front of the position ten meters away. The last cavalry was terminated. No one from the Brazilian cavalry set foot on the position of the Chinese Independence Army.
The Brazilian cavalry is well-equipped, and the strong protective power of the breastplate can block the bullets of ordinary muskets. However, the ferocious artillery and machine guns destroyed the breastplate protecting the cavalry, destroying it and its user.
The charge of heavy cavalry is more cruel than that of infantry. The excessive explosive power and inertia make it impossible for the cavalry to stop. Facing the front position, the heavy cavalry will either trample through the enemy's defense and win, or they will go straight forward and die on the way to the charge.
Li Mingyuan admired the courage of the Brazilian cavalry, but he would not go far when the two armies were fighting. The best way to deal with such enemies was to eliminate them and make them a stepping stone on the road to the prosperity of the Chinese Independence Army.
