Chapter 1651
Attacking Manila
Chapter 1651 Attack on Manila ([-])
Among the army troops that Haihan went to Manila this time, the Ministry of National Defense assembled several elite units such as the Independent Special War Battalion, Cavalry Battalion, Marine Corps, and South China Sea Special Warfare Brigade. From a certain point of view, this combat operation is also For the first time, these elite teams competed together in actual combat.In order to mobilize these troops from all over the world to participate in this operation, the Ministry of National Defense also spent a lot of effort. The mobilization of troops took several months, and the military expenditures invested reached millions. , and the purpose is to add a few more weights to the balance of the Battle of Manila, so that they can conquer the largest stronghold of the Spaniards in the Far East in one fell swoop.
For the commanders of the various units, this combat mission naturally has some different meanings.In the past, these troops were undoubtedly the most powerful in their own defense areas, and they were also the type of walking with wind in front of their colleagues, but this time they were mobilized to fight in Manila. It's just holding my breath to perform well, and strive to win the first place in this battle.
As the saying goes, Wen Wu is the first, and Wu Wu is the second. Which army has made the most military achievements in this operation, that is, it has truly established its position in the Haihan Army, which is much more than the past.After all, in the past, the enemies and combat environments that each army dealt with were different, and it was difficult to tell which was stronger and which was weaker. But this time when they came to attack Manila City, it was different. Everyone was dealing with the same enemy. It is better to fight, who is the real ace unit, you will know when you pull it on the battlefield.
Although everyone is gearing up and eager to try, it is inevitable that there will be commanders who are not so excited about it.As the commander of the cavalry battalion, Harukon was somewhat dissatisfied with the battle plan for attacking Manila.Of course, this is not what the command wants to put on its troops, but the usefulness of cavalry in siege warfare is indeed very limited.Although the weaponry and combat capabilities of the cavalry battalion are not inferior to those of other troops, the headquarters will certainly not arrange for the cavalry to dismount and fight on foot when there are sufficient infantry, so his troops probably can only fight on foot during the siege. The periphery is used as a security and mobile force.
Seeing the other troops receive their respective combat missions, but the cavalry battalion can only be used as peripheral support, and basically has no chance to perform, Harukon is naturally in a bad mood.Yan Chujie knew that his old friend was in a bad mood, so he also handed over the task of field contact to the cavalry battalion, barely as a consolation condition.
Among the other troops participating in the war, the one with the most experience in siege warfare is naturally the earliest special warfare battalion in the army.This troop has been in charge of fortified missions in the army since the Annan Civil War. It has attacked cities as small as a county town of 2000 people, as large as a strong city like Hue Prefecture, and in 1633 attacked two cities in the Taipei area. When the Spanish stronghold, it was also the special warfare battalion that acted as the main force on the battlefield, and knew the Spanish defense methods best.
So this time the special warfare battalion led by Qian Tiandun did its part and became the main force to attack Manila City.And Gao Qiaonan, who served as the battalion commander, was entrusted with an important task again as a matter of course.
Takahashi Minami himself has no special feelings about this mission. To be the main attacker on the battlefield is a natural arrangement for the special warfare battalion, not to mention that the opponent was a member of the special warfare battalion as early as four years ago. A defeated general, entrusting him to command the battle is considered familiar.
Of course, Gao Qiaonan will not take his opponents lightly because of this. In the past few days, he has sorted out the information on the deployment of the Manila city defense that he has so far, and conducted a battle deduction at the headquarters with senior officials of the Ministry of National Defense. , and tried his best to perfect the siege tactics.
In fact, to be serious, the combat environment that the special warfare battalion is really good at is mainly mountainous jungles, and siege warfare is not its specialty. In terms of tactical exercises and weapon equipment, the special warfare battalion is also more inclined to the needs of field warfare.However, in recent years, the special warfare battalion has also accumulated a lot of experience in siege warfare. In addition, the Ministry of National Defense has specially transferred two artillery companies, a team of snipers, a cavalry company and an engineer company to provide Takahashi Minami was the first to act, and there was nothing to be picky about this arrangement.
According to the battle plan, the Haihan army marched from south to north, and the south of Manila became the main attack direction of the Haihan army.The Spaniards originally wanted to make a big fuss on the west coastline, but the plan was not as fast as changing. The Haihan Army voluntarily gave up its plan to attack Manila Port from the sea, and instead advanced to Manila City from land.As a result, the heavy-fire coastal defense forts deployed by the Spaniards near the harbor basically lost their defensive functions.Although the Spaniards still have time to redeploy these coastal defense artillery to the south of the city, without a strong fort as a cover, it is difficult to predict how long these large-caliber artillery with obvious targets can last on the battlefield.
However, Takahashi Minami didn't expect the Spaniards to be really stupid enough to close the city for defense. Before Haihan launched a formal offensive, the Spaniards would definitely set up a position outside the city and fight Haihan in a decent manner first.Therefore, the speed of the special warfare battalion was not fast, and many outpost scouts were sent to confirm the enemy's deployment.
And just as Takahashi Minami predicted, the defenders of Manila City were not so conservative that they could stay behind closed doors. Colonel Francis, who was in charge of commanding the city defense, had already deployed a position outside the city, ready to attack the invaders.However, before the Haihan army arrived here, Colonel Francis received a letter sent back by the Haihan people through a Spanish prisoner released.
This letter, in the name of Haihan's Ministry of National Defense, warned the Manila authorities to voluntarily give up resistance and accept the Haihan army's occupation of Manila City.Otherwise, the Haihan army will not be able to guarantee the personal safety of the local Spanish immigrants.Finally, a list of officers captured in previous naval battles was listed, and a large package was offered for redemption.If the Manila authorities are willing to pay the money, then these captives can be released immediately and return to Manila, otherwise they will be transported overseas to work as coolies and lose their personal freedom forever.
After Francis received the letter, he did not dare to make decisions without authorization, so he ordered someone to send the letter back to the Governor's Mansion in the city, and let Aragones make a decision.Aragones understood this very well. If they still can't defend the city of Manila after redeeming these people, then everyone may become Haihan's prisoner, and the money is equivalent to being given for nothing; , That would not be the credit of the more than 30 naval officers, so why rush to redeem them, it is better to wait until Haihan is defeated, and then renegotiate the ransom, in theory, the price can be lowered.
"Respond to them, all negotiations, wait until the end of the war." Aragones quickly made up his mind.Although he once asked Juan to return to Manila as safely as possible, but since the navy and the gang have become prisoners of the enemy, there is no need to rush to get them back.
The reply from the Spaniards was quickly sent to Haihan, and the headquarters was not surprised by the result. If the Spaniards were so easy to compromise, then the previous work of persuading Juan would not have been so strenuous.
"Don't cry if you don't see the coffin, don't look back if you don't hit the south wall!" Qian Tiandun sighed: "It seems that this battle still has to be fought."
"Don't pretend, I think you are the one who wants to fight the most." Harukon immediately exposed Qian Tiandun's "hypocrisy" mask: "The main force is your army. But there is no chance for the special operations battalion to perform."
Qian Tiandun said sternly: "If the Spaniards surrender, then we will achieve the goal of our expedition to the west. Not only will we save a lot of military expenses, but we will also avoid casualties, and the reconstruction work after the war will be easier. Isn't that a good thing?"
"The awareness is so high now!" Haru Gong said, "You were not so kind when you were hunting wild boar skins in Liaodong two months ago."
"That's different." Qian Tiandun shook his head and said, "The post-Jin regime and the Han regime are irreconcilable existences. If they gain power, it will affect the development of society and culture, and it will not benefit our country in the long run. As for fighting Spain , This is purely the need for our country to expand outward, we just want to grab the Spanish colony in the Far East, and it is impossible to destroy this country, as long as we drive them out of this area."
"What's the difference?" Haru Gong still didn't quite understand what Qian Tiandun wanted to express.
"One is a relationship that cannot coexist, and the other is a relationship that can only coexist. Is it simple enough?" Qian Tiandun could only simplify the explanation: "What we want is the control of the Manila area, not the city. the lives of these Spaniards."
"They have been operating here for more than half a century, and it is impossible for them to give up lightly." Yan Chujie took over the conversation and said, "Think about it from a different standpoint. If you were the governor of Manila, what would you do, fight or surrender?"
"Of course it's a war!" Harukon didn't hesitate at this question, and immediately gave his choice: "Even if you can't fight, you should try your best to cause enough trouble for the intruder, so that the other party knows that you have to fight." This place has to pay a heavy price. If it is surrendered directly, wouldn't it be the only way to be beaten up in the future?"
"The Spaniards in the city should have similar thoughts." Yan Chujie nodded to Harugong's opinion, affirming: "They can't surrender without a fight, otherwise how will they return to China for business in the future? Whether they can win or not is one thing. , but whether you dare to fight is another matter. If you surrender without even hitting, the governor in the city will probably go to prison directly after returning to China."
That's right, for Aragones, even if the Haihan people expressed the possibility of a negotiated settlement, for him, there is actually no second option other than fighting.Spain can lose this battle, but it has to fight, otherwise it will not only lose the dignity of the Spanish Empire, but also his personal future.
If a certain number of Haihan people can be killed in the battle, even if the battle is defeated, there will be an explanation to the country after the war.If one is lucky enough to kill one or two senior Haihan generals, the hope of getting rid of the responsibility for the defeat will be even greater.
Since there are still large areas of settlements outside Manila, it is difficult for the Spanish army's musketeers to set up a formation here, so they had to deploy their positions to the south, where there are not many residential areas.But in this way, it was in line with Haihan's wishes. The military didn't want to accidentally injure too many civilians in the siege battle. The Spaniards were willing to pull the troops out to fight, which was naturally the best.
"They still have a very traditional configuration of spearmen and musketeers." Qian Tiandun confirmed the situation in the Spanish position two miles away through the telescope, and said to Takahashi Nan: "This is not difficult for us, be careful That's the artillery fire in their formation."
Gao Qiaonan paid a military salute to Qian Tiandun, then rode his horse forward and issued a combat order to the special warfare battalion.
The Spanish phalanx was the basic combat unit of the Spanish army in the 16th and 17th centuries, including two arms of spearmen and musketeers.A phalanx generally includes ten companies of spearmen and two companies of musketeers, each company has about 250 people.In addition, there are more than [-] personnel including phalanx chiefs, military chiefs, quartermasters, gendarmerie chiefs, military chaplains, supervisors, doctors, and drummers.
After entering the 17th century, with the development of military technology, the proportion of musketeers in the phalanx became larger and larger. By the middle of the 17th century, the proportion of pikemen dropped to a quarter, while the proportion of musketeers reached [-]/[-]. a three-quarters majority.The infantry phalanx outside Manila did not have such a high proportion of musketeers, mainly because the number of Hispanic soldiers was limited, and the authorities did not allow indigenous soldiers to be equipped with muskets, so the ratio of the two arms was about one to one.Almost all the spearmen in the phalanx were local indigenous soldiers who took orders from the Spaniards.
In addition to the infantry phalanx of up to 3000 people, the Spaniards also had an artillery unit with 2000 cannons and a cavalry team of [-] horses.In addition, the authorities also enlisted about [-] civilian husbands to provide logistics for the combat troops.Only in terms of the troops invested in the frontal battlefield, Spain still has a small advantage.But if you want to compare the actual combat effectiveness, the Haihant Battalion commanded by Takahashi Minami is far ahead.
At around [-]:[-] p.m. on January [-], the Haihan army fired a red flare into the sky, which was an order to attack the troops participating in the war.Gao Qiaonan raised his hand and raised his whip to point to the Spanish position in the north. The troops belonging to the Special Operations Battalion took the company as a unit, surrounded the artillery unit in the middle, and slowly moved forward.And the drums began to sound in the Spanish formation, and the soldiers assembled their formations, preparing for a head-on confrontation with opponents from afar.
(End of this chapter)
Among the army troops that Haihan went to Manila this time, the Ministry of National Defense assembled several elite units such as the Independent Special War Battalion, Cavalry Battalion, Marine Corps, and South China Sea Special Warfare Brigade. From a certain point of view, this combat operation is also For the first time, these elite teams competed together in actual combat.In order to mobilize these troops from all over the world to participate in this operation, the Ministry of National Defense also spent a lot of effort. The mobilization of troops took several months, and the military expenditures invested reached millions. , and the purpose is to add a few more weights to the balance of the Battle of Manila, so that they can conquer the largest stronghold of the Spaniards in the Far East in one fell swoop.
For the commanders of the various units, this combat mission naturally has some different meanings.In the past, these troops were undoubtedly the most powerful in their own defense areas, and they were also the type of walking with wind in front of their colleagues, but this time they were mobilized to fight in Manila. It's just holding my breath to perform well, and strive to win the first place in this battle.
As the saying goes, Wen Wu is the first, and Wu Wu is the second. Which army has made the most military achievements in this operation, that is, it has truly established its position in the Haihan Army, which is much more than the past.After all, in the past, the enemies and combat environments that each army dealt with were different, and it was difficult to tell which was stronger and which was weaker. But this time when they came to attack Manila City, it was different. Everyone was dealing with the same enemy. It is better to fight, who is the real ace unit, you will know when you pull it on the battlefield.
Although everyone is gearing up and eager to try, it is inevitable that there will be commanders who are not so excited about it.As the commander of the cavalry battalion, Harukon was somewhat dissatisfied with the battle plan for attacking Manila.Of course, this is not what the command wants to put on its troops, but the usefulness of cavalry in siege warfare is indeed very limited.Although the weaponry and combat capabilities of the cavalry battalion are not inferior to those of other troops, the headquarters will certainly not arrange for the cavalry to dismount and fight on foot when there are sufficient infantry, so his troops probably can only fight on foot during the siege. The periphery is used as a security and mobile force.
Seeing the other troops receive their respective combat missions, but the cavalry battalion can only be used as peripheral support, and basically has no chance to perform, Harukon is naturally in a bad mood.Yan Chujie knew that his old friend was in a bad mood, so he also handed over the task of field contact to the cavalry battalion, barely as a consolation condition.
Among the other troops participating in the war, the one with the most experience in siege warfare is naturally the earliest special warfare battalion in the army.This troop has been in charge of fortified missions in the army since the Annan Civil War. It has attacked cities as small as a county town of 2000 people, as large as a strong city like Hue Prefecture, and in 1633 attacked two cities in the Taipei area. When the Spanish stronghold, it was also the special warfare battalion that acted as the main force on the battlefield, and knew the Spanish defense methods best.
So this time the special warfare battalion led by Qian Tiandun did its part and became the main force to attack Manila City.And Gao Qiaonan, who served as the battalion commander, was entrusted with an important task again as a matter of course.
Takahashi Minami himself has no special feelings about this mission. To be the main attacker on the battlefield is a natural arrangement for the special warfare battalion, not to mention that the opponent was a member of the special warfare battalion as early as four years ago. A defeated general, entrusting him to command the battle is considered familiar.
Of course, Gao Qiaonan will not take his opponents lightly because of this. In the past few days, he has sorted out the information on the deployment of the Manila city defense that he has so far, and conducted a battle deduction at the headquarters with senior officials of the Ministry of National Defense. , and tried his best to perfect the siege tactics.
In fact, to be serious, the combat environment that the special warfare battalion is really good at is mainly mountainous jungles, and siege warfare is not its specialty. In terms of tactical exercises and weapon equipment, the special warfare battalion is also more inclined to the needs of field warfare.However, in recent years, the special warfare battalion has also accumulated a lot of experience in siege warfare. In addition, the Ministry of National Defense has specially transferred two artillery companies, a team of snipers, a cavalry company and an engineer company to provide Takahashi Minami was the first to act, and there was nothing to be picky about this arrangement.
According to the battle plan, the Haihan army marched from south to north, and the south of Manila became the main attack direction of the Haihan army.The Spaniards originally wanted to make a big fuss on the west coastline, but the plan was not as fast as changing. The Haihan Army voluntarily gave up its plan to attack Manila Port from the sea, and instead advanced to Manila City from land.As a result, the heavy-fire coastal defense forts deployed by the Spaniards near the harbor basically lost their defensive functions.Although the Spaniards still have time to redeploy these coastal defense artillery to the south of the city, without a strong fort as a cover, it is difficult to predict how long these large-caliber artillery with obvious targets can last on the battlefield.
However, Takahashi Minami didn't expect the Spaniards to be really stupid enough to close the city for defense. Before Haihan launched a formal offensive, the Spaniards would definitely set up a position outside the city and fight Haihan in a decent manner first.Therefore, the speed of the special warfare battalion was not fast, and many outpost scouts were sent to confirm the enemy's deployment.
And just as Takahashi Minami predicted, the defenders of Manila City were not so conservative that they could stay behind closed doors. Colonel Francis, who was in charge of commanding the city defense, had already deployed a position outside the city, ready to attack the invaders.However, before the Haihan army arrived here, Colonel Francis received a letter sent back by the Haihan people through a Spanish prisoner released.
This letter, in the name of Haihan's Ministry of National Defense, warned the Manila authorities to voluntarily give up resistance and accept the Haihan army's occupation of Manila City.Otherwise, the Haihan army will not be able to guarantee the personal safety of the local Spanish immigrants.Finally, a list of officers captured in previous naval battles was listed, and a large package was offered for redemption.If the Manila authorities are willing to pay the money, then these captives can be released immediately and return to Manila, otherwise they will be transported overseas to work as coolies and lose their personal freedom forever.
After Francis received the letter, he did not dare to make decisions without authorization, so he ordered someone to send the letter back to the Governor's Mansion in the city, and let Aragones make a decision.Aragones understood this very well. If they still can't defend the city of Manila after redeeming these people, then everyone may become Haihan's prisoner, and the money is equivalent to being given for nothing; , That would not be the credit of the more than 30 naval officers, so why rush to redeem them, it is better to wait until Haihan is defeated, and then renegotiate the ransom, in theory, the price can be lowered.
"Respond to them, all negotiations, wait until the end of the war." Aragones quickly made up his mind.Although he once asked Juan to return to Manila as safely as possible, but since the navy and the gang have become prisoners of the enemy, there is no need to rush to get them back.
The reply from the Spaniards was quickly sent to Haihan, and the headquarters was not surprised by the result. If the Spaniards were so easy to compromise, then the previous work of persuading Juan would not have been so strenuous.
"Don't cry if you don't see the coffin, don't look back if you don't hit the south wall!" Qian Tiandun sighed: "It seems that this battle still has to be fought."
"Don't pretend, I think you are the one who wants to fight the most." Harukon immediately exposed Qian Tiandun's "hypocrisy" mask: "The main force is your army. But there is no chance for the special operations battalion to perform."
Qian Tiandun said sternly: "If the Spaniards surrender, then we will achieve the goal of our expedition to the west. Not only will we save a lot of military expenses, but we will also avoid casualties, and the reconstruction work after the war will be easier. Isn't that a good thing?"
"The awareness is so high now!" Haru Gong said, "You were not so kind when you were hunting wild boar skins in Liaodong two months ago."
"That's different." Qian Tiandun shook his head and said, "The post-Jin regime and the Han regime are irreconcilable existences. If they gain power, it will affect the development of society and culture, and it will not benefit our country in the long run. As for fighting Spain , This is purely the need for our country to expand outward, we just want to grab the Spanish colony in the Far East, and it is impossible to destroy this country, as long as we drive them out of this area."
"What's the difference?" Haru Gong still didn't quite understand what Qian Tiandun wanted to express.
"One is a relationship that cannot coexist, and the other is a relationship that can only coexist. Is it simple enough?" Qian Tiandun could only simplify the explanation: "What we want is the control of the Manila area, not the city. the lives of these Spaniards."
"They have been operating here for more than half a century, and it is impossible for them to give up lightly." Yan Chujie took over the conversation and said, "Think about it from a different standpoint. If you were the governor of Manila, what would you do, fight or surrender?"
"Of course it's a war!" Harukon didn't hesitate at this question, and immediately gave his choice: "Even if you can't fight, you should try your best to cause enough trouble for the intruder, so that the other party knows that you have to fight." This place has to pay a heavy price. If it is surrendered directly, wouldn't it be the only way to be beaten up in the future?"
"The Spaniards in the city should have similar thoughts." Yan Chujie nodded to Harugong's opinion, affirming: "They can't surrender without a fight, otherwise how will they return to China for business in the future? Whether they can win or not is one thing. , but whether you dare to fight is another matter. If you surrender without even hitting, the governor in the city will probably go to prison directly after returning to China."
That's right, for Aragones, even if the Haihan people expressed the possibility of a negotiated settlement, for him, there is actually no second option other than fighting.Spain can lose this battle, but it has to fight, otherwise it will not only lose the dignity of the Spanish Empire, but also his personal future.
If a certain number of Haihan people can be killed in the battle, even if the battle is defeated, there will be an explanation to the country after the war.If one is lucky enough to kill one or two senior Haihan generals, the hope of getting rid of the responsibility for the defeat will be even greater.
Since there are still large areas of settlements outside Manila, it is difficult for the Spanish army's musketeers to set up a formation here, so they had to deploy their positions to the south, where there are not many residential areas.But in this way, it was in line with Haihan's wishes. The military didn't want to accidentally injure too many civilians in the siege battle. The Spaniards were willing to pull the troops out to fight, which was naturally the best.
"They still have a very traditional configuration of spearmen and musketeers." Qian Tiandun confirmed the situation in the Spanish position two miles away through the telescope, and said to Takahashi Nan: "This is not difficult for us, be careful That's the artillery fire in their formation."
Gao Qiaonan paid a military salute to Qian Tiandun, then rode his horse forward and issued a combat order to the special warfare battalion.
The Spanish phalanx was the basic combat unit of the Spanish army in the 16th and 17th centuries, including two arms of spearmen and musketeers.A phalanx generally includes ten companies of spearmen and two companies of musketeers, each company has about 250 people.In addition, there are more than [-] personnel including phalanx chiefs, military chiefs, quartermasters, gendarmerie chiefs, military chaplains, supervisors, doctors, and drummers.
After entering the 17th century, with the development of military technology, the proportion of musketeers in the phalanx became larger and larger. By the middle of the 17th century, the proportion of pikemen dropped to a quarter, while the proportion of musketeers reached [-]/[-]. a three-quarters majority.The infantry phalanx outside Manila did not have such a high proportion of musketeers, mainly because the number of Hispanic soldiers was limited, and the authorities did not allow indigenous soldiers to be equipped with muskets, so the ratio of the two arms was about one to one.Almost all the spearmen in the phalanx were local indigenous soldiers who took orders from the Spaniards.
In addition to the infantry phalanx of up to 3000 people, the Spaniards also had an artillery unit with 2000 cannons and a cavalry team of [-] horses.In addition, the authorities also enlisted about [-] civilian husbands to provide logistics for the combat troops.Only in terms of the troops invested in the frontal battlefield, Spain still has a small advantage.But if you want to compare the actual combat effectiveness, the Haihant Battalion commanded by Takahashi Minami is far ahead.
At around [-]:[-] p.m. on January [-], the Haihan army fired a red flare into the sky, which was an order to attack the troops participating in the war.Gao Qiaonan raised his hand and raised his whip to point to the Spanish position in the north. The troops belonging to the Special Operations Battalion took the company as a unit, surrounded the artillery unit in the middle, and slowly moved forward.And the drums began to sound in the Spanish formation, and the soldiers assembled their formations, preparing for a head-on confrontation with opponents from afar.
(End of this chapter)