The Spaniards couldn't sit still at this time, they only had a total of 16 coastal defense guns, and they had already lost 3 in the night attack of the people on the east coast last night, and at this time they were knocked out from behind 2 guns, and the remaining 11 guns could block the fleet of the people on the east coast? I'm afraid it's hard!

Having come to this conclusion, the Spaniards, who were defending the fort on land, could no longer hide there in peace. The heavy artillery of the coastal fortifications could not all turn their heads and shoot at the people on the east coast for various reasons - in fact, even if they turned around, it was useless, the range was too far away - they were not willing to stand idly by, and after sending a small number of men to the city side to ask for help, the remaining two hundred or so Spanish soldiers came out of the fortifications and launched an assault on the artillery positions of the people on the east coast.

The result of this shock was naturally a failure. The East Coast Army, which was on guard, gave them no chance, and the Spaniards hurriedly retreated to their starting point after leaving behind more than two dozen corpses. During this time, another coastal defense heavy artillery emplacement was destroyed, which further demoralized them.

By the end of the morning, two siege guns of the East Coast had knocked out two more emplacements, and the army had taken advantage of the chaos to launch an assault, also destroying two Spanish naval defense guns. At this point, only 6 guns remained on the Spanish coastal defense batteries. After receiving the news from the army, the four battleships of the navy on the east bank anchored in the Río de la Plata began to heat up and pressurize the boilers, and the eight frigate gunboats docked in the rear also began to make preparations for the war. After all, this operation, both naval and army, was to eliminate the Spanish Navy's La Plata fleet as the first priority; As for the capture of towns such as Buenos Aires, it is a secondary goal.

Seeing that his amulet was not secured, the fleet of La Plata, anchored in the harbor, hurriedly raised its sails and anchored. Intended to escape the port. However, the narrow access to and from the port limited their movements. See the battleships of the people of the East Coast lying there. They were all a little hesitant. After all, except for the flagship "Cadiz Rock," which has 30 or 40 guns, the rest of the main warships, such as the "Bison," the "Inquisition," and the "Glory," all have a displacement of only four or five hundred tons, and there are generally only about 20 guns, and the caliber is generally not very large. How could these four battleships, together with four other small-tonnage coastal cruisers with only seven or eight guns, be able to fight a decisive battle with the main forces of the First Fleet of the Navy on the East Coast? That's not a minute!

The Spaniards were now in a dilemma, the coastal defense batteries were undefendable, and the passage of the fleet out of the port was blocked by the enemy's powerful fleet. This is to catch turtles in their urns. Just as the Spaniards hesitated, the 101st and 106th companies of the East Coast Army once again launched a large-scale assault under the cover of artillery and seized a gun position. After repelling a counter-attack by the Spaniards, they firmly occupied the gun position, and then notified the rear to immediately send artillery technicians to repair the guns that had been hastily destroyed by the Spaniards. Once repaired, the 12-pounder cannon could be used to bombard the Spanish fleet anchored in the harbor.

After two days of fighting, more than 100 Spanish Army soldiers guarding the fort had been killed or wounded, and last night about 70 or 80 Spanish peasants who had been forcibly recruited fled with arms, and the remaining 100 or so people in the fort were also demoralized, and they were now asking the navy for permission to retreat to the warship. But the La Plata fleet is now in danger of protecting itself. How can we rescue this army trapped in the battery? When disaster comes, everyone should take care of their own things. Our navy is now about to break through!

After the Spanish Army officers and men guarding the fort were denied a request to retreat to the warship, they decided to hold out until the evening, and if no reinforcements arrived by then, then try to surrender to the people on the east coast. Everyone is a member of the civilized world, and should not commit barbaric events such as the slaughter of prisoners.

However, the Spaniards did not resist until the moment the sun set, and after the fleet of La Plata anchored in the harbor began to prepare for a breakthrough and had no time to support them, they were soon bombarded by sixteen field guns of two artillery batteries of the army on the east coast, and hastily held out until four or five o'clock in the afternoon, and after the commander Captain Moreno was wounded and more than twenty soldiers were killed one after another, they raised the white flag and surrendered decisively.

However, their desperate resistance finally won a precious opportunity for the Spanish fleet of La Plata in the harbor to break through. In winter, it gets dark early in the southern hemisphere, and as long as they hold on for another hour, they can take advantage of the darkness to force their way through. Although the success rate is still not high, it is much more reliable than breaking out in broad daylight.

The East Coast Navy, of course, knew the wishful thinking of the Spaniards, so how could they let them get their way? As a result, under the order of Lieutenant Colonel Lu Ming, the commander of the fleet, the main force of the First Fleet on the east coast, four battleships and four frigate gunboats, began to march into the harbor to suppress the operating space of the Spanish fleet in La Plata. At the same time, four other gunboats cruised to prevent the Spaniards from escaping.

In short, the Spanish fleet of La Plata must be completely wiped out this time, otherwise if they escape, there will be great trouble in the future, and then the people on the east coast must leave a considerable number of warships in the home port to prevent the domestic coastal communication lines from being cut off, which they cannot afford. After all, the task of the navy is still quite heavy, but the number of warships is not enough, so it is necessary to destroy the Spanish fleet that is close at hand in order to liberate its own main naval force.

A total of 12 capital warships of both sides engaged in an artillery battle in the narrow port of Buenos Aires. The four battleships of the First Fleet on the east coast, powered by steam propellers, instantly seized the T-head at a speed that surprised the Spaniards, and then met the enemy with their broadside guns. The Spaniards naturally had no intention of engaging the people on the east coast at this time, and they rushed out in a group led by the flagship "Cadiz Rock", intending to force a breakthrough.

A fierce naval artillery battle began, and a total of 264 guns of the four battleships of the First Fleet on the east coast opened fire non-stop, defeating the Spaniards, who had no intention of fighting and only bent on breaking through. The bow mast of the "Cadiz Rock", which rushed to the front, was broken; Two bow guns were destroyed, one of which even overturned on its side into the sea; The foremast canvas was extensively damaged, and the sail cable compartment was burst; The gun deck on the third floor of the stern tower was also emphatically swept aside, and all eight guns were destroyed; Two shells were also fired on the second floor of the stern bridge, resulting in five casualties, two of whom were officers.

The "Cadiz Rock" was in such a tragic condition, and although the rest of the ships were a little better, they were all hit by multiple shells, and the losses were not light, and one of the small-tonnage offshore patrol ships was sunk on the spot. And more importantly, their breakout operation actually failed, and the fleet of La Plata was blocked back into the harbor.

After nightfall, the First Fleet of the East Coast Navy did not press any further, but continued to wait outside the harbor, closely monitoring the movements of the Spaniards. At the same time, the artillery technicians of the East Coast Army, who had already occupied the battery, had already repaired the artillery that had been slightly damaged by the Spaniards. They began to turn their guns and fire at the warships of the fleet of La Plata, which were still lit in the harbor.

The Spaniards were so depressed by the enemy's predicament that they had to find themselves in a second forced breakout after a few shells from the batteries. It's just that before it was the turn of the Spaniards to make any moves, the East Coast Army, which had already occupied the port area, had a new move. Some of the small fishing boats they collected in the Riachuero River were filled with firewood and other flammable materials, lit them and floated down the river into the harbor.

The fleet of La Plata, which was preparing to break out in the harbor, was in disarray and had to disperse its formation. In the panic, some ships accidentally ran aground in the shallow waters on the left and right sides in order to avoid the fireboats, and several ships rushed outward like headless flies, and they were naturally greeted by the deafening cannon sound of the capital ships of the First Fleet of the East Coast Navy.

The light artillery battle finally came to an end after a modest artillery battle that lasted in the middle of the night, and the Spaniards lost two more coastal cruisers and one capital ship, the Bison, both of which were beaten to death at close range by a group of 360 guns from eight capital ships of the First Fleet on the east coast. In addition, another capital ship, the Glory, was captured by the East Coasters, but it sank quickly because it was too badly damaged, which made people rejoice.

After the first rays of sunlight appeared on the eastern horizon on September 18, the main force of the First Fleet on the east coast began to move into the harbor. After a series of demonstrations, the Spaniards finally couldn't hold it anymore, and they sent a small boat with a white flag to negotiate surrender. At this time, only one of the main Spanish ships in the harbor remained, the damaged flagship "Cadiz Rock", and as for the "Prosecutor" and another offshore patrol ship, they strayed into the shallow waters during the panicked breakout operation last night and ran aground on the shallows, unable to move.

With a clear distinction between the strong and the weak, the two sides quickly negotiated the surrender and signed the Surrender Statute. The book stipulates that: the people of the East Coast shall guarantee the lives and personal property of the surrendered officers and men of the Spanish Navy's La Plata fleet, and give humane treatment to the wounded officers and men of the Spanish Navy; The two sides immediately handed over the landing ship and the port.

After the signing of the "Surrender Statute," three officers, including the commander of the Spanish fleet of La Plata and the captain of the ship, locked themselves in the captain's room and committed suicide by drinking bullets on the battered battleship "Cadiz Rocks." At this point, the battle for the port has finally come to an end.

After sending people to receive the captured Spanish ships, Lu Ming roughly counted the casualties and results of the naval and army forces in this battle. Among them, 17 soldiers were killed and 32 wounded, of which 8 were seriously wounded; The Navy lost 40 killed and 66 wounded, 15 of whom were seriously wounded; A total of 155 casualties were imposed. Their results were the killing and wounding of 209 Spanish army and 492 navy personnel, the capture of two enemy main warships and one auxiliary ship, and the complete capture of a large number of supplies of the Spanish fleet in La Plata in its port.

Win the first battle! After confirming the information gathered, Lieutenant Commander Lu Ming wrote a brief report in the captain's room, and then handed it to his men to return to the port of Vostochny on a captured Spanish ship, with the headline: "The enemy fleet is destroyed!" Forts, ports, three days down! (To be continued......)