A reinforced company of mixed Army and Marine Corps arrived at Antofagas, which was supposed to be captured by the presidential army and became an important barrier for the presidential army to face the north, and used it as a base to attack Iquique, which had only a small number of troops, and captured this naval fortress. To do this, Álvarez had to devote a large number of troops to try to retake Iquique. The two sides have been at a stalemate here for months.

However, because of the timely arrival of German ammunition, as soon as the two sides started fighting, the Parliamentarian troops rushed to Antofagas. Although the training level of these men is really not very good, with the German-made weapons in their hands, they can still block several attacks by the presidential army. Antofagaste was now the southern barrier of the Parliamentary Army, which could not be missed. Therefore, German reinforced companies were sent here to defend.

After entering the city and reporting to the Parliamentarian command in the city, the Germans left the city and began to set up defenses. Since Antofagast was mostly composed of nobles and merchants, the council feared that fighting in the city would endanger these nobles. Therefore, it was decided to stop the invading presidential army outside the city.

The Germans accepted this decision. Although it is easier to build bunkers and concealment in the city. However, the defense area in the city is too large, the environment is too complicated, and the number of people is small, once the enemy breaks through, it is very troublesome to clean up. And he has an absolute advantage in firepower, and it is not impossible to fight outside the city.

The Germans spared no expense this time, with 58 accurate shooters among the 26 marines, 8 mortar crews, and 4 machine gun crews. The Army reinforced 1 machine gun per squad, 2 mortars per platoon, plus a company fire team, 20 machine guns and 20 mortars in a 254-man unit, and as a company-sized unit, the firepower density was even higher than that of the Marines in Jochen's main care. But perhaps to sell the old goods in their own troops, the Germans brought all the MG88 this time, and the newer and lighter MG90 did not bring out.

Faced with the Germans, who were well equipped and armed to the teeth, the parliamentary army in Chile could only envy and hate. But what these Chileans couldn't understand was that when they arrived outside the city, these Germans neither rested nor set up camp, and dug holes there one by one. And soon the German officer who led the team communicated with his commander for a few words, and he was also kicked in the ass by the officer to help the Germans dig a pit together.

However, the Chilean officers were not stupid, and sent some soldiers who knew English to the German troops, which was called "fighting hands", but in fact they were stealing divisions. Since the Germans came to serve as a teaching team this time, every soldier was carefully selected, and everyone could speak English, so there was no problem for the two sides to communicate. The Germans don't hide their secrets, and they don't mind being helped with the heavy work and pointing them over.

Soon, a standard German Army company-level defensive position was erected on a small mound with a slight slope. The trenches were not built straight as a straight one, and after Jochen took out his shotgun and demonstrated how to clear the trenches, the German Army began to build the trenches into a bumpy shape.

And there is so much Chilean labor here, it's a shame not to take advantage of it. The Germans built two trenches, which were connected by diagonal communication trenches. Unlike Britain and France, which later liked to use machine guns as artillery, Germany preferred to subordinate and disperse machine guns, and 20 machine guns could be dispersed within 12 firing points to form crossfire. Five more mortar fortifications were built behind the two trenches, four in each fortification. Forward observation posts were set up and firing boundaries were demarcated for mortar and machine-gun firing points.

Although he complained about the hardships at work, when the Chileans really squatted in the trenches, they found that the earthen breastwork in front of them was very secure, and the Germans were really unaware of their digging skills, and said that they had learned a trick. It's just that they don't know that the Germans are only building simple bunkers, and if they can, they can build bunkers more complex and safer.

After leaving the Chileans in the first line of trenches and sending sentries to the observation post, the Germans all stayed in the second line of trenches and began to rest and eat, recuperating and waiting for the arrival of the presidential army.

The day after the Germans arrived in Antofagas, the presidential army, after the failure of the previous offensives, assembled an army of about 2,000 men and an equal number of armed militia to prepare for another attack. And this time, they decided to attack at night.

The night on the outskirts of Antofagaste is quiet. March is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and the hot and humid climate can be very uncomfortable. Although it is a seaside city, not much sea breeze can blow on this defensive position that is built on the offensive line of the presidential army.

The Germans and Chileans on the battlefield tossed and turned in their sleep because of the unbearable weather. It seems to be a good opportunity for a sneak attack. The presidential army of about 4,000 people slowly advanced here.

"Hey, hey, hey, wake up, there's movement." The German sentries at the observation post returned to the main position from the front and woke up the Chileans in the first line of defense, and then the Germans rushed in from the second line of defense. The bullets were loaded, the waterproof cover of the mortar muzzle was removed, and they waited for the presidential army to come to the door.

"Go and tell those Chileans not to rush to open fire, and put them in our suppression zone before fighting. If we don't fire, they don't fire. The commander of this German mixed unit, Second Lieutenant Heinz, commanded in a low voice.

"Yes, sir." The signal corps just ran out. A gunshot rang out outside. I don't know which idiot pulled the trigger. Then the guns of the presidential army rang out, and then the parliamentary army began to return fire. However, the Germans did not make any move, because they had not yet received orders.

"Oh shit, these Chileans." Obviously, Mr. Ensign heard that this was the voice of Gew.81: "Okay, it seems that we can't surprise the other side, let the machine guns not rush to return fire first, don't those guys in the Marine Corps say that they have good marksmanship?" Let them fire first. ”

"Yes, sir." The signal corpsman, who had just run out and came back not far away, ran out again. After a while, Mr. Ensign heard the firing of Gew.86. Unlike the continuous firing of the Chileans, the Marines did not have a short interval between the barrels. Obviously, unlike the parliamentarians who shoot indiscriminately, these guys are picking targets.

In a section of trenches on the left flank of the defensive line, Sergeant Schultz, an accurate shooter of the Marine Corps, was a little dumbfounded: "What are you kidding?" These Chileans actually straightened up and made a three-stage shot? "If you look at the uniforms of those guys in the parliamentary army, you can see that the Chileans don't know what concealment is, but you can get down and fight back. Standing there in a platoon of guns, do you think this is the Napoleonic era?

Countless thoughts crossed his mind, but that didn't prevent Sergeant Schultz from picking a worthy target among these guys. In the training regulations for precision shooters, the first target is the machine gunner, the second is the mortar gunner, and the third is the officer. It was a pity that there were no enemies on the other side of the first two things, so Schultz looked for officers among the brightly dressed guys.

Gently pulled the trigger, and with a crisp sound, the guy in the opposite queue who was covered with decorations for fear that others would not know that he was a target fell. When Schultz moved his gun to pick the next target, he found that he couldn't find the officer. His teammates were really not good either, and the officers in the Chileans' first-line offensive queue were all divided. Without officers, you can only shoot soldiers. Schultz took aim at an unlucky guy and pulled the trigger, and the guy fell in response.

Suddenly, he found that all the officers around him were dead, and the formation of the attacking presidential army began to be a little chaotic. When it became clear that there was no point in continuing to return fire in this way except to increase casualties, the presidential army began to charge. They tried to storm the trenches of the parliamentarian army opposite, and then engaged in a melee. But the machine guns of the Germans turned this wish into a delusion.

Within 100 meters of the presidential army's rush, the German mac rang out. Crossfire from 20 MG88 Maxim machine guns swept the charging Chileans to the ground like wheat harvesting. The continuous and crisp sound of "da-da" drowned out the sound of qiē on the battlefield. The 300-round long chain and water-cooled sleeve gave the Maxim machine gun excellent sustained firing capabilities.

The golden shells that were continuously thrown from the shell throwing mouth fell to the ground and collided together, making a crisp sound. Gradually, the sound of rifle fire on the defensive positions gradually stopped. It was as if all that remained in the world was the sound of machine-gun fire. The Germans stopped shooting because the rows of fallen enemies in front of them were no longer worth wasting their own bullets. The Chileans, on the other hand, were frightened by this terrifying sight, and could only watch in amazement at the shooting in front of them.

The German machine gunners' fire continued to harvest lives with great efficiency, and the chain of 300 rounds was emptied in an instant. Skillfully put on the new chain, and the short pause "click" continued to sound. The 20 machine-gun crews did not leave the slightest gap in fire and firing dead ends, and the open field in front of them was a slaughterhouse, constantly tearing apart every charging man.

When the crisp "click" finally stopped, the open field in front of the position was littered with the corpses of Chileans, and those who were not yet dead twisted, moved, and screamed terriblely. There was silence on both sides of the war, save for the screams and groans of the wounded. The groan echoed through the battlefield. The Parliamentarians looked at these Germans, who had not seemed to be special for the past two days, with strange and mixed eyes of horror and curiosity.

Even the Germans themselves were a little surprised, although they knew the ability of machine guns to fire continuously in their usual training, but when they actually shot the enemy on the battlefield, they did not expect that the effect would be so good.

A large part of the 2,000 men of the presidential attack fell at the guns of Maxim, while only a few on the defending side were slightly wounded by stray bullets.

The first performance of the Maxim machine gun in South America was perfect.