At 9 a.m. on September 20, 1889, the Republic of Brazil announced to the public that after nearly a week of fighting from September 14 to September 19, the Brazilian army successfully occupied Asunción, killing more than 10,000 enemy soldiers, and gained control.
Decisive victory in the Paraguay War.
The next day, in response to the diplomatic declaration made by the Republic of Brazil, the Chinese side solemnly responded. On the one hand, it condemned the shameful behavior of the Brazilian Republic's army of wanton abuse and killing of captured Paraguayan soldiers, and called on the remaining Paraguayan soldiers and the people to unite with the Han side.
Under the command, the policy of fighting against the Republic of Brazil remains unchanged.
On the other hand, it was emphasized that Han's determination to reinforce Paraguay would not be shaken by the fall of Asunción. Han would still accept the request of Mrs. Lynch and the fifth son of Lopez Jr. Leopoldo (born in 1862) and continue to send troops to Paraguay.
Send additional reinforcements to counter the aggressive behavior of the Brazilian Republic's army.
On September 22, after being ordered by the local authorities to speed up the rapid march and break through several water obstacles set up by the Brazilian Republic's troops along the way, more than 50,000 Han troops arrived in San Antonio, and the straight-line distance from Asuncion was shortened to 100 kilometers.
Within.
At 7 a.m. on September 23, adhering to the original combat plan, Chen Zongbai, commander of the 1st Division of the Han Army (Guard Division) and commander-in-chief of the Asuncion Front, issued the latest combat order in San Antonio, ordering Wu Fengdian's 5th Division to
Nearly 50,000 people from the Second Mixed Brigade under Chen Dechao and the Third Mixed Brigade under Li Yingzhang followed the front headquarters and disembarked to march along the coastal routes such as San Antonio, Elisa Town, Lambare, etc.
Attack the army of the Republic of Brazil in front of them, in order to cooperate with the navy's inland river fleet, attack from the front and back, and complete the strategic goal of annihilating the main force of the army of the Republic of Brazil.
At 8:00 a.m. on September 23, the Han army that was executing the Asunción direction operation plan was divided into two parts. A waterborne offensive force, mainly composed of the navy's river fleet and with a total strength of about 15,000 people, continued to move along the Paraguay River toward the Paraguay River.
The main force, which was headed towards the Asunción outer port of Porto Bié not far away, while another force of nearly 50,000 people, which served as the main force of the army's offensive spearhead, took action quickly after the march order was issued to each basic combat unit.
At 8:41 a.m., a mixed force of about 1,200 people, composed of cavalry, engineers, infantry, and artillery, under the guidance of a Paraguayan guide, was the first to leave the camp and head toward the town of Elisa.
At 4:27 p.m., the Fifth Division of the Han Army, the Second Independent Mixed Brigade, and the Third Independent Mixed Brigade completed preparations for departure.
At 5:20 pm, the mixed assault force responsible for reconnaissance and security sent back the first intelligence. After receiving the intelligence, Chen Zongbai immediately issued the first formal combat order, ordering Chen Dechao to lead the Second Mixed Brigade immediately.
Set off and speed up to the town of Elisa to join the mixed assault force...
Five hours ago, in central Paraguay, a long queue of more than a thousand troops suddenly appeared on the dirt road leading to the small town of Elisa.
The sun was blazing in the sky, surrounded by endless woods and shrubs, and the ground under my feet was hardened by the sun.
The narrow dirt road was covered with dust from the marching troops.
The troops at the front had just passed by, and at the back of the column, the soldiers' rubber-soled cloth shoes stepped on the ground, stirring up clouds of dust.
The trees on both sides of the dirt road obviously do not lack the moisture of rainwater. Their strong branches and dense leaves extend above the dirt road, completely covering the space above the entire path.
There is no wind in summer, and the sun shines through the layers of leaves.
Projects sparse light spots.
Although the soldiers were not directly exposed to direct sunlight,
However, the hot weather and the amount of exercise of several hours of rapid marching still caused sweat to break out on each of their faces.
Sweat kept flowing from the soldiers' bodies,
The fitted gray military uniform and the military cap were the first to be soaked with sweat.
The sweat mixed with the dust on the body was constantly thrown to the ground with the movement of the march, converging into patches of slightly wet mud.
The relatively closed natural environment, the surrounding air mixed with the stench of dust, sweat, dirt, and the fatigue caused by long-term rapid marching, made some soldiers gradually exhausted, and unknowingly slowed down their marching speed.
behind the whole army.
"Captain Cai, the troops have been marching for more than four hours. Should we choose a suitable place to let the brothers rest for a while?"
In front of the troops, an officer riding a tall horse asked another officer.
"How far are the troops from the town of Elisa?"
"According to our army's normal marching speed, we will be able to reach the town of Elisa before six o'clock in the evening."
"It's 12:04 now, there's still time."
Cai Jiu rode on the horse, checked the time, and then nodded: "When marching before a war, you need to control the time and maintain a certain amount of physical strength to deal with unexpected battlefield situations.
Battalion Commander Zhang, informed Battalion Commander Chen of the fourth battalion in front of the formation, and ordered them to stop and repair immediately."
"Yes, leader."
After the young officer responded, he added: "While the troops are undergoing repairs, do you want to notify the investigation troops to strengthen their vigilance?"
"The Second Company of the brigade's reconnaissance battalion is more than ten kilometers away from our army, and they are not equipped with new wireless telegraph machines (the first-generation telegraph machines of the Han Dynasty were large in size and had short communication distances, making them inconvenient to carry when a small reconnaissance unit performed reconnaissance missions).
It would be a waste of time to send someone directly to inform them."
Cai Jiu thought for a moment and ordered: "Don't bother the brothers of the Second Company of the Reconnaissance Battalion. We will shorten the rest time of the troops to twenty minutes and ask Battalion Commander Chen to send two platoons of troops to serve as security. After twenty minutes,
The troops continue on their way."
"Yes, Commander, I will send someone to notify Battalion Commander Chen right now."......
Orders to repair and rest midway were passed through the messengers to the grassroots combat units in front and behind the formation.
After receiving the rest order, the exhausted and overworked soldiers looked for as shady a place as possible to rest.
However, there are not many shady places for repairing in the woods, and due to military orders, soldiers cannot leave within 50 meters of the station. Therefore, most of the soldiers who cannot find a suitable shady spot to rest can only sit down
Under the big trees beside the dirt road, randomly broken branches were used as tools to cool down and eliminate heat.
Artillerymen carrying small mountain cannons, cavalry riding high-headed war horses, rifles on their backs, a full circle of grenades on their waists, infantry and other arms soldiers who march on two feet alone are classified according to the nature of their arms and their location.
The positions are different, and they sit together in small groups to rest.
Perhaps because they were too exhausted, in the first ten minutes when the troops stopped to rest, almost no one in the repair troops, which numbered more than 1,000 people and the queue length was more than 2 kilometers, was willing to speak.
Halfway through the break, after a short rest, the soldiers who slowly regained some of their energy gradually regained their original temperament. The cavalry sat beside their horses, chatting and laughing in low voices while sharing interesting things that happened around them.
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The infantrymen, who accounted for the largest proportion of soldiers and were the most arduous in marching, complained that their pack horses were separated by artillery, machine gun companies and other troops, and at the same time they were scrupulous and made fun of their superiors and the cavalry officers.
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Soldiers from the artillery battalion, machine gun company and other units who temporarily acted as Zi heavy troops took advantage of their breaks to look at the pack horses and weapons around them.
Military doctors were sent out to take care of soldiers injured and suffering from heatstroke due to the rush march, and two platoons of guard soldiers also established temporary hidden observation points hundreds of meters away from both sides of the dirt road to provide a reliable and safe environment for the troops to recuperate.
Cai Jiu, Chen Lu'er, Sun Yinglin, Zhang Shishan and other main commanders of the mixed force, who were repairing their positions at the front of the queue and leaving their horses, sat around and discussed with each other after taking a short rest for a few minutes.
"There is a river blocking our army's current position from the small town of Elisa. The area near the river is full of wetlands, and there are no transportation facilities such as railways and roads, making it difficult to march.
Therefore, before arriving at the town of Elisa, the engineer battalion headquarters needs to build simple pontoons on the river and surrounding wetland areas to allow the mixed troops and subsequent main forces to pass smoothly."
Cai Jiu opened the march map, pointed to a location in Chinese standards, and told Sun Yinglin, commander of the 5th Division Engineer Battalion: "Our army is expected to arrive in the town of Elisa this evening. Before tomorrow evening, is Battalion Commander Sun sure that we can
Completed the task of building the floating bridge?"
"Captain Cai, according to the information provided by the Paraguayan guide, there was originally a stone bridge and two wooden pontoons on the river south of the town of Elisa. If the Brazilian Republic's army did not completely destroy the underground foundation stone facilities of the bridge, the engineer battalion would be sure
We were able to build two simple pontoon bridges within twelve hours on the basis of the bridges destroyed by the Brazilian army."
“In the early morning of September 20, the Army of the Republic of Brazil initially eliminated the main force of the Paraguayan Army. Now it is only the 23rd, less than three days before the Army of the Republic of Brazil entered the city of Asuncion. Even if the Army of the Republic of Brazil occupied the town of Elisa,
There should be no time to completely destroy the bridge infrastructure over the river and in the wetlands."
After comparing with the previously obtained intelligence, Cai Jiu analyzed: "The frontline army of the Republic of Brazil is not yet stable, and after a great victory, it is inevitable to become careless and relaxed. Therefore, while the army of the Republic of Brazil is attacking the direction of the main force of our army,
If we don't understand the opportunity enough, if the two armies on water and land advance at the same time, we might be able to catch them off guard."
"It's very possible."
Chen Luer, who has followed Cai Jiu since he was a slave laborer in Peru, said: "The Brazilian Republic's army has insufficient training and poor military discipline. Relying on its numerical advantage, the Paraguayan army, which has lost the command of Lopez Jr., still has an advantage, but if it is against
The Imperial Army of God, even if the gap in weapons and equipment is not considered, they are no match for the Imperial Army."
"Everyone has a rough idea of the combat effectiveness of the Brazilian army. However, looking at the current situation of our army, I think our focus cannot be just on the Brazilian army. Some of the Paraguayan rebels who are flowing in our army's combat area are hostile to our army.
Hostile Paraguayan militias are also something to be wary of."
Zhang Shishan, commander of the Qiying Battalion of the Second Regiment of the Fifth Division, reminded: "While little Lopez was alive, although he maintained normal economic cooperation with the Empire, Paraguay has always been strongly wary of the Empire in terms of military and politics.
Under the influence of Lopez Jr. and Paraguay's senior officials, some Paraguayan soldiers and militiamen who were scattered in local areas were unwilling to accept the command and restraint of the empire. Instead, they made sneak attacks and ambushed small groups of our army's logistics troops and fallen soldiers on the marching route of our army.
Soldier Shan, for this group of people, under the current situation, I suggest that severe punishment be adopted, and once discovered, they should be immediately handed over to the military police for arrest and interrogation."
"Not all Paraguayans support the imperial rule. It is indeed necessary to take punitive measures against some die-hards who insist on undermining the imperial strategy."
Cai Jiu nodded in agreement with Zhang Shishan's suggestion, and then ordered: "Battle Commander Zhang, transfer a platoon of troops from your department to form a temporary reception unit with the artillery packhorse unit, specifically responsible for receiving and taking care of those who are injured, sick, etc.