Chapter 1657
Attacking Manila
Chapter 1657 Attacking Manila ([-])
Before the Ministry of National Defense set off to Manila, it conducted countless deduction on various situations that may arise during the siege process. Thanks to the effective intelligence collection work on the front line in Manila, the staff of the Ministry of National Defense almost made the sand table. The original appearance of the entire Manila area has been copied, and various combat plans have been carefully made for the residential area in the south of the city. The purpose is to thwart various tactics that the enemy may implement here, including cruel Street fighting included.
Naturally, there is no doubt about the combat effectiveness of the most elite units of the Haihan Army, but almost all of these units are good at field combat, and their actual combat experience in urban street combat environments is actually very limited, and the Ministry of National Defense does not want its own The trump card troops paid too much sacrifice in the flesh and blood mill of urban street fighting.Therefore, the staff department designed a special combat plan for the south of the city to cooperate with the overall plan to attack Manila.
In order to be able to deploy enough manpower in this area without arousing the suspicion of the Manila authorities, the Ministry of National Defense started planning a few months ago and dispatched nearly a hundred military elites to the local area in batches, lurking in the city of Manila in various identities Besides, wait for the time to come.The main task of these people is to act as a surprise soldier to disrupt the deployment of the defenders during the war, and the core part of this large net is the Chaosheng Trading Post located in this urban area.
Thanks to Ran Tianlu's painstaking management, Chaosheng Commercial Store not only became Haihan's intelligence center in Manila, but was also selected by the Ministry of National Defense as the command center for this secret operation.And the person in charge of directing this operation on the front line is naturally Fang Peng, the guard leader of Chaosheng Trading Post.
Different from Ran Tianlu, who had planned to retreat early, when Fang Peng and his group received this mission, they knew how risky the trip was. They were very likely to be wiped out by the Spanish defenders before the reinforcements arrived. But the income is also considerable. As long as the task can be completed and the army arrives, it will be a great contribution. After the war, receiving awards from the Ministry of Defense and even the Executive Committee is a certainty.
However, whether to implement the combat plan is actually a matter of Fang Peng's thoughts, because although the Haihan army has arrived here, only those who are in the middle can detect whether the Spaniards have deployed defenses in the urban area to prepare for street fighting.At this time, it is obviously impossible to send the information to the Haihan Barracks in the south, and then do it after receiving the order.Fang Peng can only assess the situation and decide whether to launch it or not.
Fang Peng can command a total of less than a hundred people, and they are scattered in different places in this city. It is basically impossible to do it after completing the assembly under the supervision of the Spanish army.Moreover, others have been in the store all the time, and they really don't know enough about the deployment of the Spaniards outside. Before there is no clear target to strike, it has no practical significance to launch rashly except to expose themselves.
However, at this juncture, a group of Spanish soldiers happened to be sent to Chaosheng Commercial Inn automatically. Fang Peng felt that this was an opportunity to do something, so he persuaded Ran Tianlu to attack this group of Spanish soldiers.As for the fact that more enemy troops will be attracted in the future, Fang Peng did not think of the consequences, but his original intention was to use this to attract firepower to gather the Spanish defenders, so that other hidden locations in the city would also launch attacks, in order to let the defenders The army was unable to complete the defensive deployment before dawn.In this way, when the Haihan army launches an offensive after dawn, the defense strength it needs to face will be correspondingly reduced.
And the actual situation is exactly the same. The part of the Spanish defenders stationed outside the city was almost busy in the second half of the night to quell the armed riots in this area.The battle that started at the Chaosheng Trading Post immediately activated several other latent teams waiting for orders in the city, and began to move closer to the location of the Trading Post while fighting guerrillas.When the Spaniards realized that the center of the chaos was the Chaosheng Trading Post next to Chengnan Avenue, the other teams of Haihan armed personnel who were operating in the city had already completed their assembly to the trading post. During this period, there were very few casualties. The expected battle losses when the Ministry of Defense and the Military Intelligence Division formulated the combat plan were much smaller.
The signal flare that Fang Peng fired in the storehouse was to inform the Haihan army on the distant plain that he had already launched it here.As for when the army will arrive, it is really up to fate.Fortunately, the reinforcements in the rear did not disappoint him. Fang Peng knew it was his own people who had killed him when the rumble of artillery came from the south.
But in fact, at this time, the Haihan Army hadn't yet reached the urban area. The purpose of firing the artillery was to destroy some roadblocks and fortifications deployed by the Spaniards on the main traffic road. The battle site was at least one mile away from the commercial warehouse.But the sound of the guns obviously stimulated the hearts of the Spaniards. They had to focus on the southern front first. After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Haihan armed men who appeared in the trading post and the city were just making a fuss. The real threat is the Haihan regular army coming from the south.
Originally, the muzzles of the cannons had been aimed at the several cannons at the Chaosheng Trading Post, but they were also hurriedly pushed away by the Spaniards, ready to be deployed to the front line to stop the Haihan army.Francis saw it very clearly, first blocked the Haihan army's offensive in the south, turned around and freed his hands, and then cleaned up Chaosheng's warehouse.And the group of people guarding the storehouse finally got a chance to breathe.
"Since our army has arrived, what should we do now?" Ran Tianlu asked Fang Peng.
"Stay here and wait for reinforcements." Fang Peng's answer was very concise.
Ran Tianlu was stunned for a moment, he asked this question because he was afraid that Fang Peng would get angry, and when he saw the army arrived, he wanted to lead the crowd to go out to fight again, but unexpectedly, the opponent was much calmer than he imagined, and he didn't faint because of the result of the battle just now Ran Tianlu was a little surprised by his mind.
Fang Peng took the initiative to explain: "When our army invades this place later, the situation will definitely be chaotic. Staying in the store can also avoid misjudgment and accidental injuries. Besides, the purpose of this operation has been achieved, and then we will risk our lives to fight the enemy army to the death. That would be unwise."
Today, the troops responsible for the frontal assault mission are still the special operations battalion commanded by Takahashi Minami. In order to achieve the best combat effect, Takahashi Minami invested artillery at the beginning of the battle to attack the roadblocks on the main road leading to Manila. The clearing was carried out, and then the infantry quickly pressed up and cut into the urban area from the main road.
The artillery of the Spanish defenders was almost useless at this stage. The two artillery positions deployed on the line of fire only fired three shots each, and they were destroyed by the artillery counterattack of the Haihan Army.The record of rifle shooting is even more miserable. The effective range of the arquebus and flintlock guns equipped by the defenders is less than [-] meters, and the accuracy is far inferior to the standard rifles of the special warfare battalion. Even if they can still rely on some bunkers and defenses The fortifications counterattacked, but they were almost always fighting and retreating. If they retreated slowly, they would be easily shot by the Haihan army because they were too prominent.
Due to the actions of Fang Peng and others in the urban area last night, the Spanish defenders failed to complete the due deployment at the first time. A slow step will lead to slow steps behind. The few artillery pieces that came to bombard the Chaosheng Trading Post were still on their way to the front line.
Francis has invested about [-] Spanish soldiers and [-] Confederates in the south of the city. If there are more, it will be difficult to conduct effective command and dispatch. After all, this is a battle in the city, and there are too many obstacles that block the line of sight. It is impossible to clearly convey combat orders by using flags, drums, and bugles like on the plain.Moreover, Francis received a report that the opponent had not only invested troops in this direction, but also had the presence of the Haihan army in the east and west directions. It seemed likely that they would launch an offensive in three directions.
Specifically, which side is a fake attack and which side is playing for real, it is difficult for Francis, who lacks pre-war reconnaissance information, to make a clear judgment.But judging from the battle examples he knows, the Haihan Army usually fights extremely flexibly in this kind of active situation, and will not focus on one direction and fight to the end, but will try repeatedly to see where the defense is the weakest. It will increase the offensive strength in this direction.So he didn't dare to ask the general to bet all his strength on the south side—even though it seemed that Haihan had assembled a lot of troops in this direction, he was still worried that the other two directions would be taken advantage of by Haihan's army. enter.
But after the war started, the ferocity shown by Haihan on the southern front made Francis doubt his previous judgment. He could feel that the enemy's attack in this direction was extremely powerful, far exceeding his own defense. After the artillery fire opened the way, the infantry quickly broke into the city, but there was no hand-to-hand combat scene he expected.The Haihan army is still making reasonable use of the advantages of weapon performance. In the street fighting, it still maintains the combat distance that makes the Spanish army a headache, and suppresses the performance of the defenders with rifle fire.
Francis originally estimated that he would have to block the opponent for at least three to five days outside the city. The longer the offensive and defensive battle is delayed, the more beneficial it will be to his own side. However, judging from the current battle situation, it may be a bit dangerous to survive today.Do you want to continue to invest in this urban area?Francis didn't dare to take this risk. Judging by the ratio of the battle losses between the two armies, even if he filled in all the defenders in the entire Manila area, it would be difficult to defeat the enemy's offensive here. Just some guns and ammunition.
But his opponent didn't hesitate any longer. Takahashi Minami's combat thinking was very clear, that is, to clear the city as soon as possible and clear the last obstacle for the army to reach the city of Manila.Of course, he did not forget the special task given to him by the Military Intelligence Department, to support his colleagues in this urban area to support the offensive, so he specially arranged a platoon for this purpose, and moved closer to the location of Chaosheng Commercial Store as soon as possible after breaking into the urban area. Save as many surviving colleagues as possible.
"I don't care how many Spanish troops are around, I'll transfer two more cannons to you, and clear this passage as soon as possible. Within half an hour, our people will enter the warehouse to confirm the situation there!" Gao Qiaonan leaned over On the map, a route leading directly to Chaosheng Trading Post was drawn, and missions were deployed to the officers under his command.
It is not an easy task to complete the clearing of this long-distance route within half an hour. There are still many defenders in this urban area who are scattered and ambushed in various places.What troubled the Haihan army was that these Spanish defenders were not all Spaniards who were easily recognizable in appearance, and there were even many descendants of Han Chinese. As long as these people did not wear military uniforms and hid their weapons, it was really difficult for them to launch a sneak attack. Therefore, the Haihan army had to be more careful when attacking.
Considering this actual situation, the headquarters also tacitly granted the special warfare battalion the authority during the war, that is, as long as the soldiers think it is suspicious, they can kill it directly without reporting to their superiors or issuing a warning.After all, compared with the people living here, the lives of Haihan soldiers are much more precious. Even if there is a manslaughter, the headquarters does not want its own family and horses to be attacked by the enemy because of their hands and feet.
Although siege and street warfare is not the strong point of the special warfare battalion, but with the internal response to disrupt the deployment of the defenders first, the obstacles for the special warfare battalion to enter the city will be much smaller. Visible speed rapidly advancing the front north.
The defenders showed obvious incompatibility in this combat environment. Although they were fighting at home, the Spanish infantry, who were only good at phalanx tactics, were seriously inexperienced in street fighting, and the entire command system almost quickly changed after the start of the battle. into paralysis.This is partly because the officers were killed by Haihan snipers in the distance, and partly because the complex environment of the city makes it difficult for the officers to use traditional command methods to deploy troops.Of course, even these officers themselves have no tactics to speak of, they are nothing more than doing their best.
The Haihan Army is more flexible in terms of command system. Officers at all levels in the squad, platoon, company and battalion have a clear division of labor, and each soldier can receive clear combat instructions, instead of scurrying around the city like a headless chicken.
After breaking up several defensive lines of the defenders, the special warfare battalion finally cleared the way to the Chaosheng Trading Post, and successfully joined the military personnel in the Trading Post.When Gao Qiaonan heard that most of the personnel were safe and the Chaosheng Trading Post was still under his control, he immediately ordered his headquarters to be moved forward to the Trading Post so that he could command the follow-up battle on the front line.
"Humble Fang Peng, thank you General Gao for leading the rescue!"
Seeing Gao Qiaonan coming to the store, Fang Peng hurried forward to greet him.Although Takahashi Minami's military rank is a colonel rather than a general, he is a leading general in his own right, and most of the military is called a general.
Gao Qiaonan raised his hand and said, "They are all our own people, so you don't need to be so polite. Tell me quickly, how the enemy's deployment is around here."
Immediately, someone stepped forward to set up a tripod and hung up a map, which depicted the topography of the area in the south of the city. Several important buildings were marked, including those specially marked in red and blue. Chaosheng store is included.
(End of this chapter)
Before the Ministry of National Defense set off to Manila, it conducted countless deduction on various situations that may arise during the siege process. Thanks to the effective intelligence collection work on the front line in Manila, the staff of the Ministry of National Defense almost made the sand table. The original appearance of the entire Manila area has been copied, and various combat plans have been carefully made for the residential area in the south of the city. The purpose is to thwart various tactics that the enemy may implement here, including cruel Street fighting included.
Naturally, there is no doubt about the combat effectiveness of the most elite units of the Haihan Army, but almost all of these units are good at field combat, and their actual combat experience in urban street combat environments is actually very limited, and the Ministry of National Defense does not want its own The trump card troops paid too much sacrifice in the flesh and blood mill of urban street fighting.Therefore, the staff department designed a special combat plan for the south of the city to cooperate with the overall plan to attack Manila.
In order to be able to deploy enough manpower in this area without arousing the suspicion of the Manila authorities, the Ministry of National Defense started planning a few months ago and dispatched nearly a hundred military elites to the local area in batches, lurking in the city of Manila in various identities Besides, wait for the time to come.The main task of these people is to act as a surprise soldier to disrupt the deployment of the defenders during the war, and the core part of this large net is the Chaosheng Trading Post located in this urban area.
Thanks to Ran Tianlu's painstaking management, Chaosheng Commercial Store not only became Haihan's intelligence center in Manila, but was also selected by the Ministry of National Defense as the command center for this secret operation.And the person in charge of directing this operation on the front line is naturally Fang Peng, the guard leader of Chaosheng Trading Post.
Different from Ran Tianlu, who had planned to retreat early, when Fang Peng and his group received this mission, they knew how risky the trip was. They were very likely to be wiped out by the Spanish defenders before the reinforcements arrived. But the income is also considerable. As long as the task can be completed and the army arrives, it will be a great contribution. After the war, receiving awards from the Ministry of Defense and even the Executive Committee is a certainty.
However, whether to implement the combat plan is actually a matter of Fang Peng's thoughts, because although the Haihan army has arrived here, only those who are in the middle can detect whether the Spaniards have deployed defenses in the urban area to prepare for street fighting.At this time, it is obviously impossible to send the information to the Haihan Barracks in the south, and then do it after receiving the order.Fang Peng can only assess the situation and decide whether to launch it or not.
Fang Peng can command a total of less than a hundred people, and they are scattered in different places in this city. It is basically impossible to do it after completing the assembly under the supervision of the Spanish army.Moreover, others have been in the store all the time, and they really don't know enough about the deployment of the Spaniards outside. Before there is no clear target to strike, it has no practical significance to launch rashly except to expose themselves.
However, at this juncture, a group of Spanish soldiers happened to be sent to Chaosheng Commercial Inn automatically. Fang Peng felt that this was an opportunity to do something, so he persuaded Ran Tianlu to attack this group of Spanish soldiers.As for the fact that more enemy troops will be attracted in the future, Fang Peng did not think of the consequences, but his original intention was to use this to attract firepower to gather the Spanish defenders, so that other hidden locations in the city would also launch attacks, in order to let the defenders The army was unable to complete the defensive deployment before dawn.In this way, when the Haihan army launches an offensive after dawn, the defense strength it needs to face will be correspondingly reduced.
And the actual situation is exactly the same. The part of the Spanish defenders stationed outside the city was almost busy in the second half of the night to quell the armed riots in this area.The battle that started at the Chaosheng Trading Post immediately activated several other latent teams waiting for orders in the city, and began to move closer to the location of the Trading Post while fighting guerrillas.When the Spaniards realized that the center of the chaos was the Chaosheng Trading Post next to Chengnan Avenue, the other teams of Haihan armed personnel who were operating in the city had already completed their assembly to the trading post. During this period, there were very few casualties. The expected battle losses when the Ministry of Defense and the Military Intelligence Division formulated the combat plan were much smaller.
The signal flare that Fang Peng fired in the storehouse was to inform the Haihan army on the distant plain that he had already launched it here.As for when the army will arrive, it is really up to fate.Fortunately, the reinforcements in the rear did not disappoint him. Fang Peng knew it was his own people who had killed him when the rumble of artillery came from the south.
But in fact, at this time, the Haihan Army hadn't yet reached the urban area. The purpose of firing the artillery was to destroy some roadblocks and fortifications deployed by the Spaniards on the main traffic road. The battle site was at least one mile away from the commercial warehouse.But the sound of the guns obviously stimulated the hearts of the Spaniards. They had to focus on the southern front first. After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Haihan armed men who appeared in the trading post and the city were just making a fuss. The real threat is the Haihan regular army coming from the south.
Originally, the muzzles of the cannons had been aimed at the several cannons at the Chaosheng Trading Post, but they were also hurriedly pushed away by the Spaniards, ready to be deployed to the front line to stop the Haihan army.Francis saw it very clearly, first blocked the Haihan army's offensive in the south, turned around and freed his hands, and then cleaned up Chaosheng's warehouse.And the group of people guarding the storehouse finally got a chance to breathe.
"Since our army has arrived, what should we do now?" Ran Tianlu asked Fang Peng.
"Stay here and wait for reinforcements." Fang Peng's answer was very concise.
Ran Tianlu was stunned for a moment, he asked this question because he was afraid that Fang Peng would get angry, and when he saw the army arrived, he wanted to lead the crowd to go out to fight again, but unexpectedly, the opponent was much calmer than he imagined, and he didn't faint because of the result of the battle just now Ran Tianlu was a little surprised by his mind.
Fang Peng took the initiative to explain: "When our army invades this place later, the situation will definitely be chaotic. Staying in the store can also avoid misjudgment and accidental injuries. Besides, the purpose of this operation has been achieved, and then we will risk our lives to fight the enemy army to the death. That would be unwise."
Today, the troops responsible for the frontal assault mission are still the special operations battalion commanded by Takahashi Minami. In order to achieve the best combat effect, Takahashi Minami invested artillery at the beginning of the battle to attack the roadblocks on the main road leading to Manila. The clearing was carried out, and then the infantry quickly pressed up and cut into the urban area from the main road.
The artillery of the Spanish defenders was almost useless at this stage. The two artillery positions deployed on the line of fire only fired three shots each, and they were destroyed by the artillery counterattack of the Haihan Army.The record of rifle shooting is even more miserable. The effective range of the arquebus and flintlock guns equipped by the defenders is less than [-] meters, and the accuracy is far inferior to the standard rifles of the special warfare battalion. Even if they can still rely on some bunkers and defenses The fortifications counterattacked, but they were almost always fighting and retreating. If they retreated slowly, they would be easily shot by the Haihan army because they were too prominent.
Due to the actions of Fang Peng and others in the urban area last night, the Spanish defenders failed to complete the due deployment at the first time. A slow step will lead to slow steps behind. The few artillery pieces that came to bombard the Chaosheng Trading Post were still on their way to the front line.
Francis has invested about [-] Spanish soldiers and [-] Confederates in the south of the city. If there are more, it will be difficult to conduct effective command and dispatch. After all, this is a battle in the city, and there are too many obstacles that block the line of sight. It is impossible to clearly convey combat orders by using flags, drums, and bugles like on the plain.Moreover, Francis received a report that the opponent had not only invested troops in this direction, but also had the presence of the Haihan army in the east and west directions. It seemed likely that they would launch an offensive in three directions.
Specifically, which side is a fake attack and which side is playing for real, it is difficult for Francis, who lacks pre-war reconnaissance information, to make a clear judgment.But judging from the battle examples he knows, the Haihan Army usually fights extremely flexibly in this kind of active situation, and will not focus on one direction and fight to the end, but will try repeatedly to see where the defense is the weakest. It will increase the offensive strength in this direction.So he didn't dare to ask the general to bet all his strength on the south side—even though it seemed that Haihan had assembled a lot of troops in this direction, he was still worried that the other two directions would be taken advantage of by Haihan's army. enter.
But after the war started, the ferocity shown by Haihan on the southern front made Francis doubt his previous judgment. He could feel that the enemy's attack in this direction was extremely powerful, far exceeding his own defense. After the artillery fire opened the way, the infantry quickly broke into the city, but there was no hand-to-hand combat scene he expected.The Haihan army is still making reasonable use of the advantages of weapon performance. In the street fighting, it still maintains the combat distance that makes the Spanish army a headache, and suppresses the performance of the defenders with rifle fire.
Francis originally estimated that he would have to block the opponent for at least three to five days outside the city. The longer the offensive and defensive battle is delayed, the more beneficial it will be to his own side. However, judging from the current battle situation, it may be a bit dangerous to survive today.Do you want to continue to invest in this urban area?Francis didn't dare to take this risk. Judging by the ratio of the battle losses between the two armies, even if he filled in all the defenders in the entire Manila area, it would be difficult to defeat the enemy's offensive here. Just some guns and ammunition.
But his opponent didn't hesitate any longer. Takahashi Minami's combat thinking was very clear, that is, to clear the city as soon as possible and clear the last obstacle for the army to reach the city of Manila.Of course, he did not forget the special task given to him by the Military Intelligence Department, to support his colleagues in this urban area to support the offensive, so he specially arranged a platoon for this purpose, and moved closer to the location of Chaosheng Commercial Store as soon as possible after breaking into the urban area. Save as many surviving colleagues as possible.
"I don't care how many Spanish troops are around, I'll transfer two more cannons to you, and clear this passage as soon as possible. Within half an hour, our people will enter the warehouse to confirm the situation there!" Gao Qiaonan leaned over On the map, a route leading directly to Chaosheng Trading Post was drawn, and missions were deployed to the officers under his command.
It is not an easy task to complete the clearing of this long-distance route within half an hour. There are still many defenders in this urban area who are scattered and ambushed in various places.What troubled the Haihan army was that these Spanish defenders were not all Spaniards who were easily recognizable in appearance, and there were even many descendants of Han Chinese. As long as these people did not wear military uniforms and hid their weapons, it was really difficult for them to launch a sneak attack. Therefore, the Haihan army had to be more careful when attacking.
Considering this actual situation, the headquarters also tacitly granted the special warfare battalion the authority during the war, that is, as long as the soldiers think it is suspicious, they can kill it directly without reporting to their superiors or issuing a warning.After all, compared with the people living here, the lives of Haihan soldiers are much more precious. Even if there is a manslaughter, the headquarters does not want its own family and horses to be attacked by the enemy because of their hands and feet.
Although siege and street warfare is not the strong point of the special warfare battalion, but with the internal response to disrupt the deployment of the defenders first, the obstacles for the special warfare battalion to enter the city will be much smaller. Visible speed rapidly advancing the front north.
The defenders showed obvious incompatibility in this combat environment. Although they were fighting at home, the Spanish infantry, who were only good at phalanx tactics, were seriously inexperienced in street fighting, and the entire command system almost quickly changed after the start of the battle. into paralysis.This is partly because the officers were killed by Haihan snipers in the distance, and partly because the complex environment of the city makes it difficult for the officers to use traditional command methods to deploy troops.Of course, even these officers themselves have no tactics to speak of, they are nothing more than doing their best.
The Haihan Army is more flexible in terms of command system. Officers at all levels in the squad, platoon, company and battalion have a clear division of labor, and each soldier can receive clear combat instructions, instead of scurrying around the city like a headless chicken.
After breaking up several defensive lines of the defenders, the special warfare battalion finally cleared the way to the Chaosheng Trading Post, and successfully joined the military personnel in the Trading Post.When Gao Qiaonan heard that most of the personnel were safe and the Chaosheng Trading Post was still under his control, he immediately ordered his headquarters to be moved forward to the Trading Post so that he could command the follow-up battle on the front line.
"Humble Fang Peng, thank you General Gao for leading the rescue!"
Seeing Gao Qiaonan coming to the store, Fang Peng hurried forward to greet him.Although Takahashi Minami's military rank is a colonel rather than a general, he is a leading general in his own right, and most of the military is called a general.
Gao Qiaonan raised his hand and said, "They are all our own people, so you don't need to be so polite. Tell me quickly, how the enemy's deployment is around here."
Immediately, someone stepped forward to set up a tripod and hung up a map, which depicted the topography of the area in the south of the city. Several important buildings were marked, including those specially marked in red and blue. Chaosheng store is included.
(End of this chapter)