Chapter 3528
Chapter 3528
Chapter 3528
Tokugawa Ietsugu's original plan was to make some adjustments to the original battle plan and focus the main attack direction on the enemy's relatively weak defense areas as much as possible.
Such adjustments would inevitably involve a series of reconnaissance operations and troop movements, which were basically impossible to complete in a short period of time. The Kyushu coalition forces continued to carry out harassment, making it difficult for the shogunate army to smoothly complete the plan adjustments.
Most importantly, the shogunate has already received intelligence that Hai Han’s support for the Kyushu coalition is becoming increasingly clear. If things continue to drag on, the situation is likely to develop rapidly in a direction that is unfavorable to the shogunate’s army.
Tokugawa Ietsugu didn't want to wait and didn't dare to wait, so he could only continue with the original plan.
The shogunate army divided its troops into five groups and launched a sea crossing and landing at several coasts near the Kanmon Strait. The entire battle area had a coastline of dozens of miles, and the shogunate army tried to make full use of its military advantage and make the opponent lose sight of one thing while focusing on another.
One of the original targets of the shogunate army's attack, Tanoura, had become the camp of a multinational expedition group. In desperation, they had to change their target to another coast twenty miles south of Tanoura.
At this time, on the decks of many Hai Han warships, in addition to the crowds eager to watch the battle, there were also specially made huge topographic maps of the Kanmon Strait hanging on the masts, with Hai Han officers explaining the battle situation in real time.
The Hai Han army had already deployed multiple observation points on the sea and on the shore of Kyushu in advance, and communicated with the warships carrying the expedition team via radio to update the battle situation in various places in real time.
The first battle to be fought was at the battlefield closest to the expedition team, the narrowest part of the entire Kanmon Strait.
The narrowest part of the sea here is only about two hundred feet, and even the artillery made by Japan can cover this distance.
However, the environment here is actually not suitable for sea crossing and landing. The coasts on both sides of the strait are hilly terrain with steep slopes. It is difficult for large troops to deploy formations after landing, and they will also be hit hard by enemy firepower from high above.
So both sides unanimously set up artillery batteries on the hills to block this section of the waterway.
Although this location itself is not suitable for large-scale landing of troops, as long as the commanding heights are controlled, a channel can be cleared for their own ships to cross the sea in the nearby area. Therefore, it was also one of the primary targets of the shogunate army.
Under the cover of naval and land artillery fire, several shogunate warships rushed to this location from north to south. The coalition artillery batteries set up on the hills were also not ambiguous, with more than 20 cannons firing in unison, smashing shells at the enemy ships in the strait.
The firepower of hitting high and low does have an absolute advantage, but the problem is that the artillery owned by the coalition forces are basically muzzle-loading guns provided by Hai Han. Although these guns are powerful, their shooting accuracy and firing frequency are not ideal, and their shortcomings can only be made up by firepower density.
In just one encounter, at least three shogunate warships were hit. It seems that the defensive firepower of the Kyushu coalition forces did have an excellent striking effect.
The inspection team watching the battle not far away saw this scene, and many of them shouted excitedly. Some knowledgeable officers and generals quickly saw the huge hidden dangers of the defenders.
Ximang said to Thomas who was standing beside him: "It is impossible for the Kyushu coalition forces to repel the offensive of the shogunate army with those artillery batteries."
Thomas was puzzled and asked, "But it seems that the Kyushu coalition has an advantage in firepower?" Simon said, "The firing interval of these muzzle-loading guns is too long, and the strait is too narrow. According to my calculations, during the time when the attackers rush to the other side, the defenders can only fire two or three rounds, which is not enough to repel the fleet that has already rushed into this sea area."
"Once the attackers successfully land, the defenders will have to allocate some of their firepower to deal with the enemies on the beach, which will make the artillery firepower blocking the waterway even more insufficient. As long as they show signs of weakness, the shogunate army on the other side will definitely concentrate its forces to attack this area."
Thomas said, “The battle plan of the Jiuzhou coalition was drawn up with the help of the Hai Han people. There shouldn’t be such an obvious loophole, right?”
Ximang nodded and said, "That's right, so I think the defenders should have a backup plan. Let's wait and see!"
Sure enough, the battle situation developed just as Ximang had expected. Although the shogunate army's warships were hit by a lot of shells, a few ships were lucky enough to avoid the artillery fire and successfully docked on the Kyushu side.
After some soldiers jumped off the boat, they had no time to regroup and, under the urging of their officers, quickly climbed to the top of the hill.
But at this time, gunshots were heard in the nearby woods. It turned out that the coalition forces had anticipated such a situation, so they deployed musketeers in the woods at the bottom of the hill, specifically to intercept the shogunate army that landed here.
The Kyushu coalition forces had built bunkers and were in a dominant position, which gave them a considerable advantage in dealing with the enemy infantry that had not yet established a firm foothold. They quickly wiped out the first wave of shogunate troops that landed.
However, at the same time, the commander on the other side has apparently discovered that the defensive firepower of this target is not as strong as imagined, and is mobilizing more troop transport ships to move closer to this area in an attempt to expand the results of the battle here.
This trend then attracted more Allied warships, and soon hundreds of ships gathered in this sea area, and a melee broke out.
In such a narrow channel, artillery bombardment was not the only way to engage in combat. In fact, due to cost issues, the number of firearms equipped on the warships of both sides was not too large. Even though the ships were purchased from Hai Han, the weapons they were equipped with were far from full.
To put it bluntly, both sides did not attach enough importance to naval warfare. They would rather suffer losses at sea and allocate more powerful artillery to the army. After all, in their view, the final decisive battle still has to be fought on land.
Even those warships equipped with artillery would decisively return to traditional combat methods after quickly exhausting the few ammunition on board, using boarding battles or even boarding battles to attack the enemy.
"It seems that the Jiuzhou coalition didn't learn any real skills from us. They still rely more on primitive tactics."
Seeing the scene of the two armies fighting in the strait, Ning Qi couldn't help but frown and sigh.
But spectators from other countries may not think so. As far as we can see, the number of warships deployed by the warring parties in the strait is already over a hundred, and this is just one of the battlefields where the two sides are fighting.
The sheer number of warships alone is enough to deter most countries. The naval forces that many countries possess are far less than what we see.
Of course, many people have noticed that both warring parties used a large number of Hai Han-style warships and weapons. This shows that the role played by Hai Han in this war was not just to uphold justice and mediate conflicts as it claimed, but was simply an arms dealer who provided weapons and equipment to both sides.