Chapter 3569
Chapter 3569
Chapter 3569
The three islands that the Bangui Battalion was responsible for clearing were once part of the Dutch East India Company's sphere of influence in the past few decades.
However, due to the constant armed conflicts between the Batavia authorities and neighboring countries, as well as the competition with Portugal in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean regions, the Batavia authorities relaxed their control over the region, which allowed the Spanish to take advantage of the situation.
But after clearing the Spanish colonial settlements in this area, the Bangui Camp would certainly not actively invite the Dutch back here. No matter which country it is, it cannot stand in the way between the Luzon region and the New World.
Of course, the natives of these islands might be an exception. Although some of the local states in some areas have already taken shape as countries, their strength is far from posing a threat to Hai Han. For remote islands like Sumba Island, which Hai Han has no intention of developing in the near future, the natives on the island are not included in the target.
The fleet continued to sail westward along the coast and found several settlements built at the mouths of rivers along the way. However, when Zheng Agui confirmed that the owners of these settlements were only natives and not Spaniards, he ordered to abandon the landing operations in the area.
At the same time, through the radio on the warship, Zheng Agui also learned about the current battle situation on a larger scale.
The area south of the Banda Sea, which is under the charge of the Beimen Port garrison, has been progressing relatively smoothly so far, and more than ten Spanish settlements have been found on various islands. However, the legendary Spanish armed fleet operating in this area has not been seen so far.
The fighting in the area north of the Banda Sea, which is under the charge of Admiral Jiao Fei, is relatively more intense. In particular, the offensive and defensive battles around Sulawesi Island are said to be of a rare intensity in the past two years. The Luzon headquarters has begun to recruit troops and prepare to send reinforcements to the area.
Xiao Zhengyang, who had come to Beimen Port to prove his ability, must have been a little disappointed with this situation. If there were only a few small shrimps in the southern waters, there would be no outstanding military achievements to report after the war.
Zheng Agui didn't have much thought about this. The company he led had limited manpower and was not equipped with much heavy firepower. It was just right to deal with these small, lightly armed, and unsupported settlements. If he really wanted to attack a town-level colony, his manpower was still a little insufficient.
However, thinking about how he had specifically asked Xiao Zhengyang for three more days of supplies before setting off from Beimen Port, Zheng Agui felt a headache every time he thought about it because he would have a hard time reporting to Xiao Zhengyang after the war if he failed to produce a decent battle record.
But within a few days, Zheng Agui got the opportunity to make merit that he had been hoping for before the war.
On the eighth day after the operation began, when two-thirds of the northern coast of Sumba Island had been cleared, Zheng Agui's troops discovered a settlement of at least a thousand people near the coast.
This settlement is located in a bay where many rivers converge into the sea. Although its hydrological conditions are far inferior to those of the major ports that Zheng Agui has visited, it is definitely a first-class place on Sumba Island.
With the port, it is more convenient to transport personnel and materials, so the scale of the settlement here is obviously much larger than the several places that Zheng Agui had previously swept through.
Most importantly, they discovered that there were several Spanish galleons docked in this hidden harbor. In those days, the Spanish galleons that could travel around the world were no longer pure merchant ships. Most of them were armed to a certain extent and could be deployed in battle at any time.
Zheng Agui's troops did not have many ships, and there were only two real warships. If they fought at sea, the force they had was obviously not enough. Zheng Agui did not dare to take credit for himself, and immediately ordered to notify Xiao Zhengyang via radio, requesting reinforcements to be sent to Songba Island as soon as possible, and at the same time ordered his fleet to leave the sea area immediately and monitor from a distance to avoid alerting the enemy.
Fortunately, it was already dark when the fleet arrived here. The visibility on the sea was not high, and without a telescope, one could not see too far away. Zheng Agui could only pray that the other party did not notice the arrival of the Hai Han army.
If there were no reinforcements available nearby, Zheng Agui could only settle for the next best thing and have the two warships keep an eye on the movements of the Spanish galleons, and have the troop ships and supply ships return to the south of the island for shelter, in order to avoid being attacked by the Spanish while chasing their logistics ships in the event of a battle at sea.
Fortunately, an armed fleet led by Xiao Zhengyang was on Sumbawa Island, less than 400 miles away. After receiving the telegram, they immediately set out overnight to Zheng Agui's location.
At dawn the next day, Xiao Zhengyang, who had arrived at full speed, met Zheng Agui on the sea forty miles north of the target harbor.
After listening to Zheng Agui's face-to-face report, Xiao Zhengyang believed that the fleet docked there was most likely the fleet he had been looking for.
This fleet would choose to dock in a remote place like Sumba Island, mostly for replenishment and repairs, but the conditions here are limited, and the fleet will definitely not stay here for too long and may leave again at any time.
Once they leave the harbor and enter the open sea, the Spanish can flee in too many directions, and even if they catch up, they may not be able to completely annihilate the enemy. The best way is to block the enemy in the harbor in time and fight this battle behind closed doors.
Xiao Zhengyang was afraid that the night would be too long and he made a simple task assignment for each ship. The largest Majestic-class warship was responsible for guarding the entrance and exit channels of the harbor and blocking the opponent's escape route. The other smaller warships were to rush directly to the harbor, trying to cause damage to the ships in the harbor in the shortest time and prevent them from leaving the port.
As for Zheng Agui's company, they waited for an opportunity to land on the east side of the harbor and outflank the settlement.
This landing site was also chosen by Zheng Agui himself. According to his observation, there were many small rivers flowing into the sea on the west side of the settlement, and land transportation must be difficult. On the other hand, the terrain on the east side was relatively flat, so combat could be immediately launched after landing.
After briefly agreeing on the battle plan, Xiao Zhengyang did not care about the fatigue of his troops from the all-night attack, and immediately ordered an attack on the target area.
It was not until the Hai Han fleet entered the sea only six or seven miles offshore that someone on the shore noticed the arrival of the uninvited guests. They then rang the alarm bell on the coast to warn the settlements in the harbor.
But it was obviously too late. When the vanguard rushed into the bay, several Spanish sailing ships docked in the harbor were still untying their cables and raising their sails, and had not yet left the dock.
The Hai Han fleet immediately opened fire, giving priority to attacking the sterns of these sailing ships. As long as their rudders were damaged, they would not be able to get far even if they could leave the harbor.
Hearing the rumbling of artillery fire, Zheng Agui's company immediately landed at the designated location. This place was still two or three miles away from the settlement, and the enemy obviously had no intention of setting up defenses in such a remote area, so they landed effortlessly.