Chapter 1243
It's Not That Simple
Chapter 1243 It's Not That Simple
As the general of the Johor Army, Bapong is not very satisfied with the arrangement of this division of labor. He believes that the main force of the two countries' coalition forces is the Johor Army, and the main battlefield is also on the territory of Johor. To serve as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, this command should not be in the hands of the British.However, the facts were not as he wished. The British officer Hogg finally won the command recognized by the Johor royal family, while Bapong could only take the second place in the coalition forces.
Although a bit aggrieved, Bapon finally put the overall situation first and accepted such an arrangement.He also expected that Hogg would definitely take credit for the battle in order to seek a greater voice for the East India Company, but the elite of the coalition forces were the [-] mercenaries under Hogg, and he couldn't take over the command on his behalf. For Hogg's people, the job of playing forward is naturally no match for Hogg.The opponent rushed towards the south with the elite of the coalition army, but he could only lead a large group of infantry, and followed slowly behind with food and supplies.
Of course, Ba Peng also understands that the key to winning this sneak attack lies in the speed of soldiers. There is nothing wrong with Hogg's tactic of leading the elite troops to take the lead in the assault, but it may be too much to think about rushing slowly with a large force. I can't even drink something hot, and I can't feel better.According to the British guy's domineering temperament, at most he would leave tasks such as cleaning the battlefield to himself, which is very embarrassing to think about.
Ba Peng wanted to lead the troops to march quickly, maybe he could go to the battlefield to fight, so that he could report to his superiors afterwards and ask for rewards.However, the distance from the north to the south of the island is long, and there are no decent roads. The transportation of luggage is extremely inconvenient. In many places, it is even necessary to carry large materials on the shoulders to pass through. This marching speed cannot be raised at all.As a last resort, he could only let the civilian men transporting artillery, grain and other supplies move forward slowly, and he brought a part of the main force to speed up the pace.
However, when he was still a few miles away from the vanguard, Bapon met the soldiers Hogg sent back to deliver orders, telling him to speed up his march and rush to the battle zone for reinforcements.
"Reinforcement?" Bapon couldn't help savoring the meaning of this order.He didn't believe that Hogg's urging of the marching speed was to share a piece of meat for himself. The only reason for doing so could only be that the battle was not going well, and the troops led by Hogg could not suppress the enemy army, so they needed support so urgently.
Ba Peng hurriedly asked a few more questions, and sure enough, the messenger said that Hogg's two offensives were blocked, and he had not yet entered Haihan Village.Bapon almost laughed out loud on horseback. The British guy rushed forward to grab the credit as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, but ended up with a bad nose. As a result, all his scheming plans came to nothing. He made a joke to see how he would have the face to show off in front of him in the future.
However, Bapon laughed at Hogg in his heart, but he did not underestimate this sudden situation, even ordering a quick march to the battlefield.He is very clear that his battle plan is to use sneak attack tactics to break through Haihan's defenses before he can react. Even if he can't conquer his stronghold temporarily, he must at least occupy the village where the immigrants live and capture a group of prisoners to intimidate him. Haihan officially submits.But Hogg commanded the elite coalition forces, and it was a bit unreasonable that they couldn't even attack the village.If it wasn't for a major mistake in Hogg's on-the-spot command, it would be because the strength of the Haihan army far exceeded their expectations, and it was simply impossible to implement the battle plan smoothly.
Hurry up, counting from the time of receiving the news, it still took nearly an hour for the troops led by Babon to join Hogg's troops.Before dismounting from his horse, Bapon noticed that Hogg's mercenaries were not in a high mood. Most of them looked gloomy, and it seemed that they had indeed suffered setbacks on the battlefield.Soon Hogg came to meet him, told him about the battle with the Haihan army, and the translator relayed it to Bapeng.
The more Bapon heard it, the more surprised he became. If it wasn't for Hogg's major mistakes deliberately concealed, then the biggest possibility is that the Haihan Army has already prepared for the arrival of the coalition forces, and there is no defensive loophole for a sneak attack.In other words, the coalition's offensive this time may have hit the iron plate, which is the last situation everyone wants to encounter before sending troops.
As for the actual combat effectiveness of the Haihan army, neither side of the coalition has any experience, and the information they have is all rumors from other countries.However, the Haihan army is known as the undefeated army in the South China Sea, and even the strong like Portugal and the Netherlands have experienced falling into its hands. Avoid its edge, attack its unprepared thinking to operate, and try to avoid the situation of head-to-head with the Haihan Army as much as possible.
Both Hogg and Bapon agreed to launch an offensive by land. One of the reasons is that Haihan's stronghold is closer to the south coast of the island, while the northern part is a populated area. It is obviously easier to attack the northern village first than the stronghold. If you squeeze this soft persimmon, you will be basically invincible.During the landing period, the coalition forces did not find any sign of Haihan's activities nearby, and thought that their actions had been concealed from the sky, and the Haihan people did not notice at all, but Hogg had already suffered a loss as soon as they fought here, which obviously wouldn't be the case. What a coincidence.
During the two brief confrontations, more than 40 troops under Hogg's command had lost more than 30 people, and more than [-] wounded people were withdrawn.This is almost a loss of one-tenth of the strength of the forward troops, but the result in exchange is that they didn't even touch the edge of the village, and the Haihan soldiers didn't even fight in formation, but just hid in the house and shot black guns. The coalition offensive has been repulsed.Hogg's face was livid, and it could be seen that he was also extremely annoyed by this, but there was nothing he could do.
After a simple communication through the translator, the two decided to launch another offensive before dark. If they still can't rush in this time, they can only withdraw their troops for the night and make plans tomorrow.Of course, they don't want the battle line to stay at the current position after today's battle. If they give the opponent one more night to deploy troops, then when they launch an offensive tomorrow, they may encounter a more intense attack than today. resistance.
In order to avoid a worse situation, even if they knew that the Haihan people had prepared before the war, they could only bite the bullet and launch an offensive.After a short rest, the large troops brought by Bapon began to assemble and line up, preparing to cooperate with Hogg's mercenaries to launch the last wave of offensive today.
This time the coalition forces dispatched thousands of people, and the direction of the attack was still the weak area between the two villages.Bapon also agreed with Hogg after inspecting the terrain of the battlefield. There seemed to be only one place on Haihan's defense line that looked easier to attack, and the place was too small to accommodate too many people.As for the silent villages on the east and west sides, who knows how many Haihan soldiers were ambushed in the village?
Bapon wanted to personally go out to supervise the battle, but Hogg stopped him after knowing his plan: "Let your lieutenant go, and you stay behind to observe the enemy's fighting methods."
Although Ba Peng was a little confused about Hogg's intentions, he thought it would do him no harm. He sent a deputy general to supervise the battle, and when the time came to break through the Haihan line of defense, the battle would still be credited to him, so he nodded and agreed immediately.
"Business is here again!" Roger heard the sound of drums from the field outside, and immediately jumped up from his chair, grabbed the binoculars and moved to the front viewing hole to look out.
The coalition forces in the distance have completed their assembly and are slowly advancing towards their side with the drumbeat.From the perspective of scale, it is obviously much more than the troops invested in the previous two tentative attacks.In addition to the three-color rice flag of the British, Roger also found the green flag representing Johor. There is no doubt that it is not only the mercenaries brought by the British who have just arrived on the battlefield. Johor Army.
"The formation is pretty decent, and this British guy is not a freelancer." The expert looked at the door, and the first thing Roger paid attention to was the marching queue of the Johor Army. Since the British provided military assistance to him, it must be It also includes helping Johor to train musketeers internally.At least from a distance, the formation looked neat, but they didn't know the combat capabilities of these Johor soldiers who had never used muskets on the battlefield.
"Cheer up! It's getting late. When this battle is over, the opponents will probably withdraw their troops. Repel them, and dinner will be enough for dinner!" Roger loudly cheered for the soldiers around him. .Although the defenders are waiting for work at leisure, these soldiers have been in a combat state since they received the news early in the morning. They have been in a state of high mental tension throughout the day, and they must feel tired.
Everyone responded in unison, and the soldiers who were still resting grabbed their rifles and stood up again, and walked quickly to their shooting positions to start preparing for battle.The officer in charge of commanding the artillery was a little anxious, and he took the initiative to come over and ask for a fight: "Chief, let us show our artillery this time, right?"
Roger patted him on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry, if you show your face today, I guess they will withdraw overnight, or wait until tomorrow, when the enemy's artillery arrives, and then you will extinguish their last hope !"
If you use artillery to deal with your opponent today, it will not be difficult to win a big victory, but the sky will be dark, and even if you can defeat the enemy, you will not be able to launch a pursuit for the time being.Moreover, the troops who went around from the sea have not yet sent any news. Before Roger confirms their progress, he does not want the enemy to leave the battlefield prematurely.Again, the result he wants is to wipe out his opponents, not just repel them.
The story is divided into two parts. Mu Xiabo, who came for reinforcements from the sea, has sailed into the eastern end of the Johor Strait, but there are still more than ten nautical miles away from the position where the Johor Army crosses the sea. Even if he ordered to advance at full speed, with the current sea wind and sea conditions Judging from it, it will take at least two hours or even more to reach the destination, and by then the sky should have already darkened. Even if Mu Xiabo had confidence in his subordinates, he did not dare to take the risk of launching a landing battle in the dark.
Mu Xiabo talked too much before, but now he can't arrive at the target location to launch an offensive according to the expected time, and he can't think of other remedies at the moment, so he can only send a telegram to the Xingdao base first, and report the current situation. Tell the truth.
After receiving the telegram on Roger's side, he was also a little dumbfounded. Fortunately, he held back his breath and didn't fully activate it. Otherwise, he would scare away the enemies who came to the door, and the reinforcements that outflanked the back road hadn't arrived yet. I can't continue acting.Immediately, he quickly sent an order to the two companies in ambush in the field not to do anything for the time being, and to choose an opportunity to enter the battlefield tomorrow.
Although the enemy's force has doubled in this offensive, Roger has no nervousness due to his previous experience.The opponent's offensive methods are very single and limited, and it is enough to suppress the indigenous troops in Southeast Asia. But if you want to use this to deal with the well-equipped, well-trained, and well-prepared Haihan army, the existing troops are indeed Is not enough to see.
Roger estimated that the opponent would have to invest at least three or four thousand troops on this battlefield at one time, and a large number of cavalry as the vanguard of the charge, in order to be able to crack the concave-shaped firepower net he had set up.But judging from the current battle situation and the information we know, the opponent obviously does not have so many troops to invest, and there is no effective means to crack the Haihan line of defense. It is nothing more than adding fuel to attack here. Casualties only.
Roger deliberately slowed down the pace of the battle. On the one hand, he waited for the reinforcements to outflank the enemy's rear in the morning, cutting off the possibility of them withdrawing to Johor. On the other hand, he also used this to give his troops more opportunities to exercise.He thinks that the combat effectiveness of this army is not bad, it just lacks this kind of actual combat experience to improve its combat ability. After finally having such a training partner who came to his door, Roger naturally didn't want to punch him to death, but let the opponent Make the best use of everything and play a good role as a punching bag for boxing.
Unsurprisingly, the coalition's third offensive fell into the dilemma of fire from three sides again, and their counterattack seemed extremely futile. Most of the bullets hit the impenetrable bunker, which could not hurt the enemy at all.
However, relying on the advantage of a large number of troops, the coalition forces finally advanced to the barbed wire area, but it was only then that they discovered that this was an obstacle far more terrifying than the rice field mud pit, and the iron net was full of sharp knives. , If one is not careful, he will be stabbed or cut a hole. Although the wound is not big, it is enough to deform people's movements.Moreover, these barbed wire nets were all wrapped around wooden stakes driven into the ground, densely packed and tightly stretched, like an indestructible human-eating net, blocking large troops here.Only the machetes and big axes in the hands of very few people can effectively destroy it, but often before cutting down a few iron nets, they have already attracted the opponent's concentrated fire, and they will be covered with honeycombs in an instant.After several people fell down in a row, no one dared to continue to take over this life-threatening errand.
(End of this chapter)
As the general of the Johor Army, Bapong is not very satisfied with the arrangement of this division of labor. He believes that the main force of the two countries' coalition forces is the Johor Army, and the main battlefield is also on the territory of Johor. To serve as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, this command should not be in the hands of the British.However, the facts were not as he wished. The British officer Hogg finally won the command recognized by the Johor royal family, while Bapong could only take the second place in the coalition forces.
Although a bit aggrieved, Bapon finally put the overall situation first and accepted such an arrangement.He also expected that Hogg would definitely take credit for the battle in order to seek a greater voice for the East India Company, but the elite of the coalition forces were the [-] mercenaries under Hogg, and he couldn't take over the command on his behalf. For Hogg's people, the job of playing forward is naturally no match for Hogg.The opponent rushed towards the south with the elite of the coalition army, but he could only lead a large group of infantry, and followed slowly behind with food and supplies.
Of course, Ba Peng also understands that the key to winning this sneak attack lies in the speed of soldiers. There is nothing wrong with Hogg's tactic of leading the elite troops to take the lead in the assault, but it may be too much to think about rushing slowly with a large force. I can't even drink something hot, and I can't feel better.According to the British guy's domineering temperament, at most he would leave tasks such as cleaning the battlefield to himself, which is very embarrassing to think about.
Ba Peng wanted to lead the troops to march quickly, maybe he could go to the battlefield to fight, so that he could report to his superiors afterwards and ask for rewards.However, the distance from the north to the south of the island is long, and there are no decent roads. The transportation of luggage is extremely inconvenient. In many places, it is even necessary to carry large materials on the shoulders to pass through. This marching speed cannot be raised at all.As a last resort, he could only let the civilian men transporting artillery, grain and other supplies move forward slowly, and he brought a part of the main force to speed up the pace.
However, when he was still a few miles away from the vanguard, Bapon met the soldiers Hogg sent back to deliver orders, telling him to speed up his march and rush to the battle zone for reinforcements.
"Reinforcement?" Bapon couldn't help savoring the meaning of this order.He didn't believe that Hogg's urging of the marching speed was to share a piece of meat for himself. The only reason for doing so could only be that the battle was not going well, and the troops led by Hogg could not suppress the enemy army, so they needed support so urgently.
Ba Peng hurriedly asked a few more questions, and sure enough, the messenger said that Hogg's two offensives were blocked, and he had not yet entered Haihan Village.Bapon almost laughed out loud on horseback. The British guy rushed forward to grab the credit as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, but ended up with a bad nose. As a result, all his scheming plans came to nothing. He made a joke to see how he would have the face to show off in front of him in the future.
However, Bapon laughed at Hogg in his heart, but he did not underestimate this sudden situation, even ordering a quick march to the battlefield.He is very clear that his battle plan is to use sneak attack tactics to break through Haihan's defenses before he can react. Even if he can't conquer his stronghold temporarily, he must at least occupy the village where the immigrants live and capture a group of prisoners to intimidate him. Haihan officially submits.But Hogg commanded the elite coalition forces, and it was a bit unreasonable that they couldn't even attack the village.If it wasn't for a major mistake in Hogg's on-the-spot command, it would be because the strength of the Haihan army far exceeded their expectations, and it was simply impossible to implement the battle plan smoothly.
Hurry up, counting from the time of receiving the news, it still took nearly an hour for the troops led by Babon to join Hogg's troops.Before dismounting from his horse, Bapon noticed that Hogg's mercenaries were not in a high mood. Most of them looked gloomy, and it seemed that they had indeed suffered setbacks on the battlefield.Soon Hogg came to meet him, told him about the battle with the Haihan army, and the translator relayed it to Bapeng.
The more Bapon heard it, the more surprised he became. If it wasn't for Hogg's major mistakes deliberately concealed, then the biggest possibility is that the Haihan Army has already prepared for the arrival of the coalition forces, and there is no defensive loophole for a sneak attack.In other words, the coalition's offensive this time may have hit the iron plate, which is the last situation everyone wants to encounter before sending troops.
As for the actual combat effectiveness of the Haihan army, neither side of the coalition has any experience, and the information they have is all rumors from other countries.However, the Haihan army is known as the undefeated army in the South China Sea, and even the strong like Portugal and the Netherlands have experienced falling into its hands. Avoid its edge, attack its unprepared thinking to operate, and try to avoid the situation of head-to-head with the Haihan Army as much as possible.
Both Hogg and Bapon agreed to launch an offensive by land. One of the reasons is that Haihan's stronghold is closer to the south coast of the island, while the northern part is a populated area. It is obviously easier to attack the northern village first than the stronghold. If you squeeze this soft persimmon, you will be basically invincible.During the landing period, the coalition forces did not find any sign of Haihan's activities nearby, and thought that their actions had been concealed from the sky, and the Haihan people did not notice at all, but Hogg had already suffered a loss as soon as they fought here, which obviously wouldn't be the case. What a coincidence.
During the two brief confrontations, more than 40 troops under Hogg's command had lost more than 30 people, and more than [-] wounded people were withdrawn.This is almost a loss of one-tenth of the strength of the forward troops, but the result in exchange is that they didn't even touch the edge of the village, and the Haihan soldiers didn't even fight in formation, but just hid in the house and shot black guns. The coalition offensive has been repulsed.Hogg's face was livid, and it could be seen that he was also extremely annoyed by this, but there was nothing he could do.
After a simple communication through the translator, the two decided to launch another offensive before dark. If they still can't rush in this time, they can only withdraw their troops for the night and make plans tomorrow.Of course, they don't want the battle line to stay at the current position after today's battle. If they give the opponent one more night to deploy troops, then when they launch an offensive tomorrow, they may encounter a more intense attack than today. resistance.
In order to avoid a worse situation, even if they knew that the Haihan people had prepared before the war, they could only bite the bullet and launch an offensive.After a short rest, the large troops brought by Bapon began to assemble and line up, preparing to cooperate with Hogg's mercenaries to launch the last wave of offensive today.
This time the coalition forces dispatched thousands of people, and the direction of the attack was still the weak area between the two villages.Bapon also agreed with Hogg after inspecting the terrain of the battlefield. There seemed to be only one place on Haihan's defense line that looked easier to attack, and the place was too small to accommodate too many people.As for the silent villages on the east and west sides, who knows how many Haihan soldiers were ambushed in the village?
Bapon wanted to personally go out to supervise the battle, but Hogg stopped him after knowing his plan: "Let your lieutenant go, and you stay behind to observe the enemy's fighting methods."
Although Ba Peng was a little confused about Hogg's intentions, he thought it would do him no harm. He sent a deputy general to supervise the battle, and when the time came to break through the Haihan line of defense, the battle would still be credited to him, so he nodded and agreed immediately.
"Business is here again!" Roger heard the sound of drums from the field outside, and immediately jumped up from his chair, grabbed the binoculars and moved to the front viewing hole to look out.
The coalition forces in the distance have completed their assembly and are slowly advancing towards their side with the drumbeat.From the perspective of scale, it is obviously much more than the troops invested in the previous two tentative attacks.In addition to the three-color rice flag of the British, Roger also found the green flag representing Johor. There is no doubt that it is not only the mercenaries brought by the British who have just arrived on the battlefield. Johor Army.
"The formation is pretty decent, and this British guy is not a freelancer." The expert looked at the door, and the first thing Roger paid attention to was the marching queue of the Johor Army. Since the British provided military assistance to him, it must be It also includes helping Johor to train musketeers internally.At least from a distance, the formation looked neat, but they didn't know the combat capabilities of these Johor soldiers who had never used muskets on the battlefield.
"Cheer up! It's getting late. When this battle is over, the opponents will probably withdraw their troops. Repel them, and dinner will be enough for dinner!" Roger loudly cheered for the soldiers around him. .Although the defenders are waiting for work at leisure, these soldiers have been in a combat state since they received the news early in the morning. They have been in a state of high mental tension throughout the day, and they must feel tired.
Everyone responded in unison, and the soldiers who were still resting grabbed their rifles and stood up again, and walked quickly to their shooting positions to start preparing for battle.The officer in charge of commanding the artillery was a little anxious, and he took the initiative to come over and ask for a fight: "Chief, let us show our artillery this time, right?"
Roger patted him on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry, if you show your face today, I guess they will withdraw overnight, or wait until tomorrow, when the enemy's artillery arrives, and then you will extinguish their last hope !"
If you use artillery to deal with your opponent today, it will not be difficult to win a big victory, but the sky will be dark, and even if you can defeat the enemy, you will not be able to launch a pursuit for the time being.Moreover, the troops who went around from the sea have not yet sent any news. Before Roger confirms their progress, he does not want the enemy to leave the battlefield prematurely.Again, the result he wants is to wipe out his opponents, not just repel them.
The story is divided into two parts. Mu Xiabo, who came for reinforcements from the sea, has sailed into the eastern end of the Johor Strait, but there are still more than ten nautical miles away from the position where the Johor Army crosses the sea. Even if he ordered to advance at full speed, with the current sea wind and sea conditions Judging from it, it will take at least two hours or even more to reach the destination, and by then the sky should have already darkened. Even if Mu Xiabo had confidence in his subordinates, he did not dare to take the risk of launching a landing battle in the dark.
Mu Xiabo talked too much before, but now he can't arrive at the target location to launch an offensive according to the expected time, and he can't think of other remedies at the moment, so he can only send a telegram to the Xingdao base first, and report the current situation. Tell the truth.
After receiving the telegram on Roger's side, he was also a little dumbfounded. Fortunately, he held back his breath and didn't fully activate it. Otherwise, he would scare away the enemies who came to the door, and the reinforcements that outflanked the back road hadn't arrived yet. I can't continue acting.Immediately, he quickly sent an order to the two companies in ambush in the field not to do anything for the time being, and to choose an opportunity to enter the battlefield tomorrow.
Although the enemy's force has doubled in this offensive, Roger has no nervousness due to his previous experience.The opponent's offensive methods are very single and limited, and it is enough to suppress the indigenous troops in Southeast Asia. But if you want to use this to deal with the well-equipped, well-trained, and well-prepared Haihan army, the existing troops are indeed Is not enough to see.
Roger estimated that the opponent would have to invest at least three or four thousand troops on this battlefield at one time, and a large number of cavalry as the vanguard of the charge, in order to be able to crack the concave-shaped firepower net he had set up.But judging from the current battle situation and the information we know, the opponent obviously does not have so many troops to invest, and there is no effective means to crack the Haihan line of defense. It is nothing more than adding fuel to attack here. Casualties only.
Roger deliberately slowed down the pace of the battle. On the one hand, he waited for the reinforcements to outflank the enemy's rear in the morning, cutting off the possibility of them withdrawing to Johor. On the other hand, he also used this to give his troops more opportunities to exercise.He thinks that the combat effectiveness of this army is not bad, it just lacks this kind of actual combat experience to improve its combat ability. After finally having such a training partner who came to his door, Roger naturally didn't want to punch him to death, but let the opponent Make the best use of everything and play a good role as a punching bag for boxing.
Unsurprisingly, the coalition's third offensive fell into the dilemma of fire from three sides again, and their counterattack seemed extremely futile. Most of the bullets hit the impenetrable bunker, which could not hurt the enemy at all.
However, relying on the advantage of a large number of troops, the coalition forces finally advanced to the barbed wire area, but it was only then that they discovered that this was an obstacle far more terrifying than the rice field mud pit, and the iron net was full of sharp knives. , If one is not careful, he will be stabbed or cut a hole. Although the wound is not big, it is enough to deform people's movements.Moreover, these barbed wire nets were all wrapped around wooden stakes driven into the ground, densely packed and tightly stretched, like an indestructible human-eating net, blocking large troops here.Only the machetes and big axes in the hands of very few people can effectively destroy it, but often before cutting down a few iron nets, they have already attracted the opponent's concentrated fire, and they will be covered with honeycombs in an instant.After several people fell down in a row, no one dared to continue to take over this life-threatening errand.
(End of this chapter)