A huge orange hot air balloon slowly rose into the sky from the front of the Qing army's position outside Standton, and the huge sphere was eye-catching orange, which was really eye-catching in the blue sky, even the German army more than ten kilometers away could clearly see.

Hasler looked up for a while, full of helplessness to hang down the telescope in his hand, the Qing army used hot air balloons for military reconnaissance, he had heard about it a long time ago, but he didn't expect it to become a conventional reconnaissance method, the hot air balloon was lifted into the air, in good weather, the situation within a radius of twenty or thirty kilometers was unobstructed, at least, their every move was under the surveillance of the other party.

Chief of Staff Frank said with a bitter face: "General, the scope of the sentry detective's reconnaissance is only afraid to be narrowed down a little ........ ”

It is indeed necessary, Hasler nodded, in this case, it is indeed very dangerous to scatter the lone sentinels, but fortunately the terrain here is flat, there is no need to worry, "Let them shrink to within five kilometers." ”

After a pause, he continued: "Order, immediately build an improvised position." "After all, it is a lone army, in this unsheltered place, without building a position, it is difficult to gain a foothold, and, as far as he knows, the Qing army is also good at night fighting, which he can't help but guard.

Hasler and Frank didn't realize that the hot air balloon was not only to monitor their movements, but also to encircle them!

As the hot air balloon lifted into the air, the headquarters was busy as soon as it boarded, and one after another orders were quickly conveyed to the troops who had entered the designated ambush site overnight along with the temporarily laid wired telephones.

Yi Zhengxing was a little nervous but more excited, although he didn't sleep all night, he was still in good spirits, although he was not actually commanding this annihilation war, but after all, he made the decision, and personally participated in the formulation of plans and sand table deductions, now that the battle is about to start, how can he not be nervous or excited, after all, it is the first time to command the operation, and it is such a large-scale operation.

In order to annihilate the 6,000 German forwards, the Qing army was almost the whole army dispatched, surrounded on all sides, but because the terrain was flat and the line of sight was open, the ambush distance was quite far, basically between 15 and 20 kilometers, otherwise it was difficult to avoid the reconnaissance of the German sentinels.

Feng Zicai is an old god sitting in front of the sand table, his face is not shocked, from a small soldier step by step to now sitting in South Africa as a member of the unified army, he has experienced countless battles large and small, and has rich experience in actual combat, the war of annihilation in front of him is nothing at all, it really occupies too many advantages - the advantage of troops, weapons, battlefield communications, and waiting for work, victory or defeat is no suspense, and it depends on the size of the results.

The small flags on the sand table moved slowly, the officers and men on the battlefield ran and broke their legs, the three regiments responsible for interspersing the broken troops ran all the way under the scorching sun, and the mules and horses dragging artillery, light and heavy machine guns and ammunition were also trotting forward under the drive of the horse whip.

At the headquarters of the 251st Brigade, brigade commander Wu Qingjiang put down the phone and ordered in a loud voice, "The direction remains the same, move forward at full speed!" As he spoke, he strode out of the command headquarters and turned over his horse, "The command quickly moves forward, don't fall behind!" ”

The rapid march of the brigade of men and horses naturally concealed the German sentinels, and after a short time, warning shots rang out one after another, and the sentinels who found out about the situation desperately beat their horses and rushed back to the camp to report.

Hearing the sporadic gunfire faintly coming from the distance, Hasler became alert, strode out of the military tent, listened carefully, and there were gunshots on the left and right sides of the waiting area, his face sank, and then he ordered in a loud voice: "Order all departments, assemble!" ”

Frank hurried in, "There were gunshots on the left and right, but there was no movement in front of ...... in front of him." ”

Hasler didn't say anything, he took out his pipe and slowly filled a pot of cigarettes, lit it and held the pipe, squinted his eyes slightly and muttered, the gunshots were not chaotic, obviously calling the police, there were left and right sides, could it be that the Qing army planned to surround them? How many Qing troops were there in Stedton? According to intelligence, the total strength of the Qing army stationed in Mozambique and the Transvaal is only three brigades, which is equivalent to 20,000 troops. Otherwise, how dare you surround them?

Frank knew what he was thinking, and hesitated, "Could it be a bluff?" ”

"Don't worry, wait for the sentry to return." Hasler said and subconsciously looked up at the hot air balloon hanging in the sky, at present, in this situation, he really did not dare to move, marching for days, the army was tired, and the possibility of the Qing army's bluff could not be ruled out.

It didn't take long for a short time for a sentry cavalry to come to report, and there were indeed large groups of soldiers and horses on the left and right sides approaching quickly, and it was estimated that the strength of the troops was at least 10,000 or more.

"Could the Qing army have increased the number of troops in Landesvaal?" Frank said in disbelief, if this is the case, Standton is a trap!

At this time, how could Hasler still have the heart to ponder whether the Qing army should increase the troops of the Transvaal, the top priority is to jump out of the encirclement of the Qing army as soon as possible, at the moment the people are tired and tired, once surrounded by the Qing army, the consequences are unimaginable, "Order, the army will rush forward." ”

Forward? Isn't this an early death? Frank's heart jumped, and he hurriedly said, "General——? ”

"How many troops can the Qing army have in Stedton? Surrounded on all sides, the forces in front of us are bound to be the weakest. Hasler said in a deep voice: "Forward, then left or right, and delay until dark, and then we can break out of the encirclement." ”

Qing army battalion, headquarters.

Hearing the news that the German army was moving forward, Feng Zicai said coldly: "Doing the opposite, disrupting our previous deployment, and leading us by the nose, the German forward general is not ....... simple." ”

Yi Zhengxing's heart tightened, he wouldn't let them escape, right? It is a trivial matter to work in vain, but it is a big thing to shake the morale of the army, and in this case, letting these 6,000 German troops escape and ascend to heaven must be a big blow to the morale of the army.

"Herald ——。" Feng Zicai unhurriedly picked up his hand and pointed at the sand table, and said confidently: "The east and west artillery battalions should move forward as much as possible, and we must ensure that the artillery fire is enough to block the gaps on both sides." The two regiments of the 253rd Brigade that remained behind advanced at full speed and went to the gaps on the east and west sides to blockade them. In addition, the troops on both sides were ordered to change the direction of the march ........ ”

Yi Zhengxing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thanks to the wired telephone, he could send orders to the regimental headquarters at any time, otherwise, this battle would be difficult to fight.

Although it was a breakthrough, the Germans showed no signs of dispersing, the cavalry of the brigade opened the way, the follow-up infantry marched in an orderly manner, and the whole team was filled with a tense atmosphere, but there was no panic, and the artillery battalion was slightly flustered, and the artillery dragged by the horses could not keep up with the pace of the march.

The artillery battalion was equipped with Germany's most advanced 77 mm rapid-fire gun, which could fire eight rounds of 6.85 kg shells per minute at a range of up to 7 km. Hasler dared to set up his battalion fifteen kilometers from Standton on the basis of this new rapid-fire gun.

During the Battle of Pretoria, the Qing army's 150 mm infantry guns, with a range of only 4 kilometers and a rate of fire of only three or four rounds per minute, were no match for their new rapid-fire guns.

Of course, after all, eight or nine years have passed, and the artillery technology of European countries has advanced by leaps and bounds, and it is impossible for the artillery technology of the Qing Dynasty to stagnate, but even if there is progress, it should be on a par and comparable.

Seeing that the speed of the artillery battalion could not keep up, Hasler couldn't help but be annoyed, in this case, slowing down the speed of the march is undoubtedly looking for death, but it is impossible to drop these new rapid-fire guns, and the breakthrough must also rely on artillery support.

Frank sighed lightly, "In this case, the artillery battalion is afraid that it will not be able to be saved, and it must make maximum use of the powerful artillery support of the artillery battalion to break through, and it can't continue to move forward, turn around." As he spoke, he pointed to the hot air balloon in the sky.

Every move was under the surveillance of the other party, Hasler's heart was unspeakable, his heart was full of helplessness, he knew that Standton's Qing army was trying its best to fill the gap left at this time, and if it continued to move forward, the space for breaking through would become smaller and smaller, so he immediately gave a decisive order, "Turn around, break through to the east." ”

"The Germans broke through to the east?" Feng Zicai looked at the sand table, his demeanor was no longer relaxed, but a little more dignified, so quickly turned to the east, although the encirclement he set up was large enough, but the possibility of the enemy jumping out of the encirclement is very high, I have to say that the enemy's generals have a very good vision, at this time to break through to the east, the timing is quite accurate.

Looking at the sand table and muttering for a while, he gave an order in a deep voice, "The East and West Artillery Battalions continue to move forward, looking for opportunities to destroy the enemy's artillery." As he spoke, he pointed at the small red flags on the sand table one by one with his hand stick, "The 251st Brigade keeps the direction unchanged, and the 252nd Brigade, the vertical line is rampant and interspersed to the east." After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "Tell them to be prepared for long-distance pursuit and night fighting." ”

The German sentry cavalry came out in all directions, and the movements of the Qing army were continuously reported to the headquarters, Hasler finally knew how dangerous the current situation was, and did not dare to have the slightest luck in his heart, and ordered the troops to advance at full speed, as for the artillery battalion that was dragging its feet, it was no longer possible to take care of it, and he was ready to give up, but before giving up, he still had to make good use of it, otherwise the breakthrough might pay a great price.

"All light machine guns are gathered together to form a light machine gun company!" After receiving the call, Chen Baicun, commander of the 252nd Brigade, ordered in a loud voice, "Cavalry battalion, lead the light machine gun company, advance at full speed, and be sure to block the enemy!" ”

An encirclement battle has turned into a pursuit war, this feeling of being led by the enemy's nose makes Chen Baicun very unhappy, he knows very well that the casualties this time will not be small, once the enemy is intercepted, he will inevitably face the enemy desperately breaking through, but if he lets the enemy go, he is afraid that the brigade commander will be the end.

The light machine gun is a machine gun newly developed by Yuan Qi, although the density of firepower, range, rate of fire and other aspects are not as good as the heavy machine gun, but it is lightweight, easy to carry, it is definitely more than enough to deal with the cavalry, the enemy breaks through, it must be the cavalry to explore the way first, must first suppress or severely damage the enemy's cavalry, otherwise his casualties will be greater.

Because it is a new weapon, there are not many light machine guns, a company is only equipped with a light machine gun as the pillar firepower of the infantry company, coupled with the long march team, only eight light machine guns are concentrated in a short period of time, and the cavalry battalion commander Hou Degui, who clearly knows the power of light machine guns, said with a smile: "Guarantee to complete the task!" Then he commanded in a loud voice: "Bring enough ammunition and go!" ”

The cavalry battalion galloped all the way, but in half an hour, Hou Degui found the enemy's brigade of cavalry, although he did not hesitate to rush all the way, after all, he was still a step late, and the German brigade cavalry had already rushed out of their encirclement.

Looking at the large puffs of smoke and dust rising in front of him, Hou Degui did not pursue, but ordered, "Machine gunner, prepare on the spot." Since they were a step too late, there was no need to pursue, and he believed that the enemy cavalry would never tolerate them intercepting the infantry behind the sniper halfway, and would inevitably turn their horses around and kill them back.

Sure enough, the German cavalry brigade, which had run a few miles away, quickly came back, and after confirming that the other side did not have heavy machine guns and mortars, the Germans relied on the superiority of their forces and directly charged them.

"Silly B, what era is it, still playing cavalry charge duel." Hou Degui looked disdainful, turned his head to glance at it, and said in a deep voice: "Listen to my order, put it at five hundred meters and then fight." ”

The effective range of the light machine gun is 800 meters, 150 rounds per minute, and it can fire 300 rounds of ammunition in a row, which cannot be compared with the heavy machine gun, but it is many times stronger than the rifle, which can be said to be a world of difference.

Nearly a thousand cavalry charged, the rumbling horses' hooves shook the ground slightly, the momentum was extremely terrifying, the other party was close to eight hundred meters, Hou Degui brushed out the cavalry knife, and moved forward, this posture was completely a charging posture, but the order was, "Left and right separate!" ”

With the order, the cavalry team that was in high standing quickly charged forward, and then turned the horse's head, separated from the left and right, and the eight light machine guns were exposed to the rapidly charging German cavalry, "Da Da..... The bullets sprayed by eight tongues of fire were intertwined into a barrage, and the oncoming German cavalry instantly turned on their backs.

The cavalry led by Hou Degui did not stand aside to watch the excitement, they raised their guns to shoot, in less than five minutes, an extremely unequal battle was declared over, in addition to more than 100 cavalry escaped, nearly 700 German cavalry to death did not understand, obviously not heavy machine guns, why there is still such dense and fierce firepower.

Hou Degui naturally did not easily let go of the more than 100 enemy cavalry that escaped, and led the team to chase closely, chasing and killing along the way, only to see the enemy's main force, then turned the horse's head and returned along the same road.

Hearing that the cavalry was almost lost, Hasler's eyes were black, and he was almost planted from his horse, there was no artillery, no cavalry, and he lost all his baggage, even if he could successfully break through, what could he do? Can you still hold on until the main force comes to the rescue? The Qing army clearly wanted to annihilate them.

Frank looked surprised and said, "You mean...... The Qing army invented a new machine gun again? ”

"Definitely a new machine gun." The cavalry officer who fled back gritted his teeth and said: "The sentry cavalry really saw it, the other side about a cavalry battalion galloped over, did not drag the heavy machine gun, and we really did not see the heavy machine gun." At this point, he paused, "The firepower and range of that machine gun are not as powerful as ....... heavy machine guns." ”

A new machine gun that can be carried lightly? Frank's face was a little ugly, if the heavy machine gun is good for defense, this kind of light machine gun is good for attack, his mood was suddenly a little gloomy, the Qing army has this kind of light machine gun, even if it can break through, the casualties will inevitably be great.

"Command, run forward!" Hasler shouted in a deep voice, no matter what the situation is, you must break out of this damn encirclement first! After a pause, he continued: "Order the artillery battalion to follow as soon as possible." ”

Hassler didn't know that his artillery battalion had been targeted by the Qing army, and as soon as the German artillery battalion lagged behind, it was easily captured by the hot air balloon in the sky, and the direction of movement of the artillery battalion, the speed, and the number of artillery pieces were continuously transmitted to the pursuing East Artillery Battalion through wired telephones.

The artillery of the new army of Yuanqi has long since abandoned the bulky and short-range 150-mm infantry guns, and is dominated by 75-mm infantry guns, which can fire twenty rounds of 7-kilogram shells per minute with a range of up to 8,000 meters, and 105-mm light howitzers, which can fire 7 rounds of 15-kilogram shells per minute with a range of up to 12,000 meters.

In order to improve the mobility of the artillery, both guns use wide-sided rubber pneumatic tires, which are far more maneuverable than steel gun wheels, even if the latter weighs two tons, six pack horses can easily pull, not only these two guns, but also large-caliber 120 mm mortars are also rubber tires, and in the absence of pack horses, two people can pull the transfer.

In less than an hour, the German artillery battalion was tired and tired, and the German artillery battalion that was struggling to move forward fell into the effective range of the Qing army's east artillery battalion, and after four 105 light howitzers bombarded indiscriminately with high-explosive shells, a cavalry battalion rushed forward and easily solved the remaining fish that slipped through the net.

Hearing the dense sound of shelling, explosions and gunfire coming from behind him, Hasler knew what was happening without asking, and it was clear that the artillery battalion, which was relying on strong artillery support in the event of a breakthrough, was knocked out by the Qing army.

Although his mood was heavy and he was extremely depressed, he still did not give up the idea of breaking through, without the artillery support of the artillery battalion, he still had heavy machine guns and mortars, and it was impossible for the artillery of the Qing army to catch up with them! As long as they can break out of the encirclement and delay until dark, they have a chance to escape.

Frank felt a little hopeless, the crushing defeat of the cavalry, the destruction of the artillery battalion, all the officers and soldiers had been cast a shadow on their hearts, especially the damn hot air balloon hanging in the sky that monitored the movement of their army all the time, which made the morale decline to the extreme.

He didn't think that they would be able to break out of the encirclement of the Qing army smoothly, and besides, even if they could break out of the encirclement, would they be able to hold out until dark under the pursuit of the Qing army? It's not yet four o'clock, and it's getting dark late in the summer, and it will take at least four hours to get dark, and they can hold out for four hours?

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Chapter 1036: Cornered (Page 1/1)

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