Chapter 3543
Chapter 3543
Chapter 3543
In order to keep the tactics to be used in this decisive battle secret, the Kyushu coalition did not calibrate the artillery before the battle to avoid being discovered by the enemy. Even the deployment of artillery positions was specially chosen in the early morning and evening when visibility was low.
The only things the artillery unit relied on were the firing tables provided with these Hai Han-made artillery pieces and the dozens of Hai Han instructors who were secretly stationed in the positions.
The firing table indicates the basic ballistic parameters, correction parameters, dispersion parameters, charge selection, etc. of the artillery. Under the guidance of Hai Han military advisers, the artillery units rely on these data to define the firing range on the plain in advance.
Since it was impossible to calibrate the firing, such a demarcation was definitely not accurate enough. Fortunately, the Kyushu coalition forces had gathered enough artillery here, and they could use the density of firepower to make up for the error in the firing range.
What's more, the Kyushu coalition's combat plan was to put the enemy in front of the formation and then open fire, shortening the engagement distance to ensure shooting accuracy.
When the shogunate army advanced its formation to about three miles away from the Kyushu coalition's defense line, it cautiously sent a cavalry unit of about a thousand people to conduct reconnaissance.
The ancestors of horses in the Japanese archipelago are almost all Mongolian horses, but due to backward concepts and management systems, Japan's horse breeding industry has not been taken seriously, and the quality of horses has seriously deteriorated. By the Tokugawa shogunate era, the average height of Japanese horses was less than three feet, and their size was smaller than that of donkeys in other countries.
This resulted in Japan's cavalry units not having the combat capabilities of heavy cavalry and assault cavalry, and could only be used to perform reconnaissance missions or be incorporated into logistics and baggage units.
The scene of short soldiers riding on short horses looked quite funny. Shi Diwen once bluntly described it as "a monkey riding a dog." The cavalry of a thousand people seemed to be a lot, but when the spectators saw the cavalry attack through the telescope, many of them laughed out loud.
This kind of cavalry unit is far inferior to the Hai Han cavalry riding tall horses, let alone the cavalry of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, or even the Korean cavalry.
Even the pack horses of the Hai Han army are many times stronger than these so-called war horses.
Of course, the shogunate army did not expect to use these light cavalry to break through the opponent's position. They just wanted to use them to lure the Kyushu coalition forces to open fire, thereby exposing the deployment on the position.
The cavalry unit circled cautiously in front of the Kyushu coalition forces, but did not provoke the other side to open fire, so they could only ride closer and closer.
When the distance was less than thirty feet, some impatient shogunate cavalrymen drew their bows and arrows on horseback and took the initiative to shoot at the Kyushu coalition positions.
However, these cavalrymen were armed with light bows with limited range, and would not pose a substantial threat to the coalition forces. The arrows they shot would not even reach the coalition positions before falling to the ground.
In the face of such a close-range provocation, the Allied forces' position remained silent, which made the Shogunate cavalry wonder whether their actions were ignored by the other side, or there was no one on the opposite position.
If the Kyushu coalition forces were deliberately setting up the empty city plan, then as long as we boldly rush in and expose this trick, we will certainly be credited with great achievement.
Until a fearless cavalryman rushed to a distance of about ten feet, he finally saw the expressionless faces behind the bunkers and the densely packed gun muzzles sticking out of the bunkers. After a burst of dense gunfire, more than 20 cavalrymen who rushed to the nearby area fell down, and the rest of the shogunate cavalry quickly pulled in the reins like frightened birds, turned around and distanced themselves, escaping from the enemy's shooting range.
Such firepower reconnaissance is actually of little significance. The Kyushu coalition forces had no intention of sending troops to fight. They just held their positions and waited for the shogunate army to attack.
The shogunate army's attempt to find out the artillery deployment situation was completely lost in this round of confrontation. Facing the cavalry's provocation, the Kyushu coalition army did not fire any artillery on its position, and simply let the musketeers drive them away.
After several rounds of attempts, the Shogunate army still failed to find out the artillery deployment of the Allied forces' positions, but they had no choice but to continue advancing.
Both sides were well aware of each other's combat intentions and had made targeted deployments. However, since the Jiuzhou coalition had Hai Han's support, with this variable, the side that seemed to be active on the battlefield was actually passive, while the side that seemed to be passive actually held the initiative.
The Shogunate army was well aware that the enemy army was also equipped with a large number of weapons and equipment from Hai Han, especially artillery with equally huge lethality and range. A rash attack would be like delivering food to the enemy artillery, so they tried to use cavalry for fire reconnaissance.
However, after this tactic failed, the shogunate army had only one means of response left, which was to use its own artillery to lead the charge.
The tactic of using artillery to clear the way was not invented by the shogunate army, nor was it stolen from Hai Han. It was a tactic previously taught by the Portuguese. However, although artillery tactics all have the same goal, the difference in the number and quality of artillery, as well as the difference in the quality of artillery, ultimately led to a huge difference in the effects achieved on the battlefield.
This was the situation the shogunate army was facing at the time. In terms of quantity and quality, the Kyushu coalition deployed as many as a hundred artillery pieces in this hill position, and also transported several large-caliber coastal defense guns, whose range was far beyond that of ordinary field guns.
In terms of artillery quality, the gunners of both armies were trained by Hai Han after they purchased their artillery. So there shouldn't be much difference between them. However, the Jiuzhou coalition forces have Hai Han's military advisers in command, and the artillery's firing range elements are also calculated by these military advisers on the spot. So the combat effectiveness that can be exerted is completely different.
If there was a choice, this would not be the best place for the shogunate army to launch a decisive battle. But the current situation forced them to not allow the war to be delayed any further, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and fight this battle.
Seeing that the shogunate army had launched more than 30 cannons one after another, the guests watching the battle in the distance were also talking about it.
After Shi Diwen and Yan Chujie, two military leaders, came forward to endorse the Jiuzhou Alliance, the guests' views on the trend of the war had basically converged. The focus of everyone's discussion also shifted from guessing who would win or lose to whether the Jiuzhou Alliance could decide the outcome of the battle.
When Su Keyi heard the discussions among people around him, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. When he had a secret meeting with the Portuguese the day before, they agreed to try to support the shogunate. However, he never expected that when the decisive battle came, Hai Han had already announced the defeat of the shogunate in advance.
He originally wanted to go over and find out the deployment status of the Kyushu Allied Forces, and then see if there was any way to pass the news to the shogunate. However, after the inspection team camp moved here, Hai Han did not arrange for guests from various countries to visit the Kyushu Allied Forces' positions, so there was no way to get any information.
Seeing the Shogunate army gradually entering the artillery attack range of the Kyushu coalition forces, Sukeyi could only pray that the Shogunate army would not lose too badly in this battle.