Chapter VI Military Ports on the Outer Islands
October 21, 58 B century, the second day of the war, the second day of the intercontinental war in the colonies of the B century. The competition between the two sides over the port of Curry Island on Kitayama www.biquge.info gradually entered a white heat. It is a small hill with an altitude of only 216 meters, overlooking the commanding height of the entire port. There is no doubt that this position was decisive for the victory or defeat of the battle, just like the 203 heights at Lushunkou that year.
After two successive failed attacks, the attackers threw in almost all their artillery and an entire regiment of infantry, in a desperate gamble, vowing to take Heights 216, the commanding heights of the port area, on October 21.
Under the cover of heavy artillery fire from 18 105 howitzers, the attacking side took positions in the third round of attacking units, all units of the 1st Brigade and 2nd Regiment and a divisional 75-mm field artillery battalion.
At 12:50 p.m., the attack began.
More than 20 75-mm field guns fired directly at the ridge, dozens of heavy machine guns fired at the enemy troops in the rear hills with a curved trajectory, and the infantry began to charge continuously in companies.
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The defenders had long suffered heavy losses under the fire of the attacking 105 howitzers, more than 20 75mm field guns were constantly firing, the defenders on the ridgeline were completely suppressed, and the rifle fire became disorderly; It turned out that the Gatling machine gun, which could still pick up the girder, had already been sent to the west by the 75 field guns; Rockets can't be counted on, and more of your own people are killed at this time. The defenders nested in their positions, each man with two grenades, ready. Seeing that the attackers were approaching, the defenders got up and wanted to throw grenades, but the attackers' machine guns and rifles opened fire frequently, sweeping many people. The defenders who did not die were completely suppressed, and they could only hide in the trenches and throw grenades blindly. The attackers finally rushed up. A large scrubbing grenade was thrown into the defenders' trenches, sending flesh and blood flying, shattering the remnants of the defenders hiding inside.
It's all on the job, what about the reserves?? What about reinforcements?? The dead defenders also asked this question.
Compared to the dead defenders, the reserve in the back mountains is not much better. Seeing the start of the fight, a part of the reserve rushed up to reinforce it, but the extension of the 105 howitzer fire caused them a lot of casualties. There was also warp heavy machine gun fire, and the reinforcements rushed forward and were shot inexplicably, and they even thought that the ridge had been captured by the enemy, so they hesitated to continue to rush up, and when the rest finally went up the mountain, it was too late, and they could only hide in the trenches when they went up.
The situation at the top of the hill was critical, a signal flare was fired for help, and another part of the reserve rushed up. They also suffered a few 105mm high-explosive shells, and there were many casualties, and on the way to reinforcements, they were shot in an unknown way. Could it be that the enemy hit a flare!!
In hesitation, I saw that the flag of the United Empire Army was really erected on the top of the hill of 216, followed by intensive fire from machine guns and rifles......
At 13:18, the 1st Regiment of the 1st Brigade of the 2nd Division of the United Imperial Army captured the 216th Heights, the offensive and defensive positions were shifted, and the initiative on the battlefield fell steadily into the hands of the United Imperial Army.
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"216 Heights lost?! Fight back now! Retake 216 Heights at all costs! "-- Commander of the garrison on Curry Island. His last sentence "recapture the 216 heights at all costs" was a little trembling, this commander is also the governor of this island, a local civil official, and later studied military affairs, he is not a soldier in the strict sense. At this time, he still had 12 infantry battalions and 3 rocket artillery battalions in his hands, of which 8 infantry battalions and 3 rocket artillery battalions could be mobilized, which was a quarter less than when the battle did not start, and he lost a quarter of his troops in only half a day.
"Is it worth it to take a small hill at such a big price?" The commander, who was a civilian governor, couldn't help but ask in his heart, he just read the tactical book sent by the Academy of Military Sciences, and he only had a general understanding of the war. Fortunately, this kind of literati who reads dead books admits the reason of death, and the book says that if you do this, you have to do it. "Fighting back is a must, because that's what the book says."
Almost at the same moment as the loss, the first counterattack began.
The defenders threw in a whole battalion of troops and the remnants of the retreating army to storm Heights 216. These soldiers braved the increasingly dense ammunition of the United Imperial Army to charge forward. The battalion commander tried to organize the infantry to cover the artillery advance to the range of the rocket attack and launch a fire strike, but then the heavy machine-gun fire that appeared on the top of the hill put an end to him and his efforts. The first counterattack failed.
In order to recapture this key point, the defenders planned to launch the next round of counterattacks at 14:30 p.m., real counterattacks, all-out counterattacks.
3 battalions of rocket artillery and 3 battalions of infantry began to attack. All the warships were mobilized and prepared to leave the military port, looking for a suitable angle for artillery fire and firing at the top of the 216 heights.
A counterattack by the defenders is being prepared in an orderly manner. At 14 o'clock, Shou encountered an emergency, and the expeditionary fleet of the Saint Roman Empire dispatched 8 Penguin-class battleships and more than 20 cruisers to appear in the sea off the port.
At 14:03, the first warship of the fleet to meet the enemy had just left the port, and the column of water that rushed to the sky exploded around it, and it was a 320-mm naval gun. Only this cannon has this range. The ship was hit by two near-arrow shells, the hull leaked, and it quickly reversed and fled back to the harbor in a hurry.
At 14:07, as soon as the injured warship entered the port, there was a loud explosion on the breakwater of the military port, with huge flames and explosions. This was a torpedo fired in advance by an enemy cruiser, aimed at the entrance and exit of the military port. The accuracy of the torpedo was a little poor, and it did not enter the entrance to the port, but it clearly told the fleet, "There is a risk of leaving the port, heavy artillery plus torpedoes." ”
At 14:08, the commander of the fleet informed the army commander that "the fleet could not go out, and the heavy artillery fire of the enemy fleet blocked the sea off the port." ”
The fleet commander and the army commander here belong to two branches of the armed forces and do not belong to each other, but the relationship between the two is quite harmonious. At the moment, the Saint-Roman expeditionary fleet used 320 mm heavy guns to impose a fire blockade on the port, the fleet could hardly go out, 216 heights were lost, and the entire port area could be exposed to enemy fire. It seems that the army can only be counted on to keep the fleet and ports. But how many times can the limited strength of the army come to the tug-of-war?
When the army commander was in trouble, the commander of the naval fleet told him that there was still hope, and the commander-in-chief of the colonial fleet sent a telegram saying, "The support fleet will arrive as early as tomorrow afternoon."
It was planned to launch a counterattack at 14:30, but the enemy, who had the advantage of the terrain, took the initiative to attack at 14:20.
Three battalions of 200-mm rocket artillery are being reloaded in front of the southern slope of the hill, ready for fire; The 75-mm field artillery of the Saint-Roman Imperial Army rang off, from the top of the hill. The high-explosive grenade fired by the 75mm field artillery exploded among the officers and men of the rocket artillery battalion at the foot of the mountain, and the scene was very lively. Not only howitzer shells are exploding, but 200-millimeter rockets are also exploding, and people are constantly being blown away in flames.
The counterattack of the Imperial Army of Marnerocco had to start early, and the infantry immediately launched a charge.
The Imperial Army of Marnerocco, which carried out a fire counterattack, sadly found that its rocket artillery could not hit the enemy on the top of the hill at all, and the shooting height was too low, so it could only provide barrage cover for the charging friendly troops.
At this time, the firepower on the hill had intensified to a degree that the Imperial Army of Marnerocco had never imagined, with more than 40 heavy machine guns and 18 75 field guns.
The heavy machine-gun fire was too strong for the infantry units that were rushing up the hill to move up at all, and the three artillery battalions that had moved forward were soon suppressed by the machine-gun fire and could not raise their heads, and were frequently shelled. Seeing that the comrades around him were shot one after another, the remaining soldiers of the attacking force began to flee backwards, and the too few officers were completely unable to contain the spread of the escape, and the escape of several soldiers was quickly interpreted into the rout of the entire attacking force. The attack of the Imperial Army of Marnerocco failed, leaving behind a large number of corpses.
At 15:25, the replenishment ammunition of the 75mm field guns of the Saint Roman Imperial Army was delivered, and the 75 field guns on the top of the hill had already selected the firing targets in the military port, and fired high-explosive grenades at the warships anchored in the harbor. Although the caliber of these guns is too small, hitting a warship is like scratching an itch in a boot, and the psychological effect is still quite large. The officers and men of the warships complained one after another about the incompetence of the army, and the officers of the army cursed that the navy did not dare to leave the port and that the cowards deserved to be shelled.
The Saint Roman Imperial Army on the hill knew that its Ono cannon could not sink the warship, so it was funny to have a shooting competition, specially hitting the front and rear deck flagpoles and mast flags of the garrison fleet, and occasionally fired a few shots at the bridge of the warship, so that the captains could experience the deafening effect.
The garrison naval fleet was enraged by this humiliating shelling, and they tried to fight back with all the weapons at their disposal, "the elevation angle of the artillery is too low, then try rockets"; At the suggestion of one of the captains, the fleet privately decided to use such naval weapons to attack ground targets.
At 15:55, the ships adjusted their firing angles according to the calculation results and launched their first rocket attack, which was very effective. The top of the hill was drowned in the flames of a huge explosion, and everyone in the harbor could see several 75 field guns blown up.
Immediately after that, the second rocket attack, we have rockets, this is our military port, and the ammunition stock is abundant. In the afternoon of the same day, the whole fleet fired a total of 168 700-mm rockets, 102 of which hit the summit.
The artillery fire of the counterattack was so fierce that the United Imperial Army of San Romain on the top of the hill was completely suppressed, and perhaps even completely wiped out by the artillery fire. In fact, the United Imperial Army, which had suffered heavy losses, still did not abandon this hill and continued to replenish its forces.
At 16:50, the harbor defenders launched another counterattack, and it was enough to throw in an infantry battalion. The Navy fired another round of rockets as a preparation for fire. Both the Commander of the Navy Fleet and the Army Commander felt that this counterattack should only be an occupation of an unmanned position, but they were wrong.
At 17:10, the counterattack force was about to rush to the top of the hill, when the machine guns rang out, and more than 30 Maxims sprayed flames, as well as high-powered grenades thrown one after another. The counterattack force lost more than half of its troops in an instant, and the fleet commanders and army commanders who were watching the battle were very angry. The commander of the fleet decided to immediately fire another round of rockets. He connected the ammunition depot and was told that "the stock of 700 mm rockets is depleted." ”
After this failed counterattack, the Marnerocco Imperial Army almost completely abandoned this point. They felt that it was going to be dark, and the enemy on the hill would not be able to shoot accurately, and tomorrow reinforcements would arrive, and the tide of the battle would be turned. However, the situation was much worse than they thought, and in the words of the commander of the fleet "it was simply terrible."
The attacking side was bombarded by rockets in the afternoon battle, destroying at least two entire battalions. At dusk, the division commander concluded that the enemy's 700-mm rockets were running out, and the next day's battle could only be that you were bombed. Before sunset, the cartographers of the Saint-Roman Imperial Army Command, who ventured up the mountain, completed the mapping of targets in the harbor. Those 105 grenades only need to calculate the parameters to accurately hit all targets in the harbor. That night, all the 105mm guns of the Saint-Roman Imperial Army were dragged up the hill, and all the guns were deployed in place. Eighteen 105 howitzers hung low with black holes, ready to bombard targets in the harbor. The battalion commander of these 18 105 howitzers was a very experienced artillery officer, and it was he who proposed to drag the artillery up the mountain. On top of that, there was much more for the defenders.
During the daytime offensive, the division suffered heavy losses, two of the four artillery battalions remained, almost all the regiments participating in the battle were beaten and lost their combat effectiveness, the number of casualties is not counted, but it is definitely quite a few. Such a loss was only a small hill. The United Empire has strict military laws, and in order to have an account, the division commander must have a corresponding result. However, the results of a small hill are not enough at all, and the division commander will definitely be dismissed from his post, and punishment or even death may be possible. There will be brave men under heavy rewards, and there will also be brave men under heavy punishments, brave men of gamblers.
According to the original battle plan, the capture of the port was the business of the other troops tomorrow, and the task of this division commander was only to make a tentative attack and clear the perimeter. However, there were almost no enemy troops on the periphery, so he not only attacked the port, but also captured key points, and was only one step away from capturing the port. The cooked duck could not fly, and he would never accept to give it away. The division commander only needed to take one step forward and it would be done, and he decided to attack the whole division and make a night attack.
At 23 o'clock on the night of October 21, the Saint-Roman Expeditionary Force launched a night attack on the port of Curry. The commander of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Expeditionary Force made a desperate bet, pressed the whole division, and strictly ordered his subordinates to launch an attack at all costs. The troops of the whole division attacked from the east and west, ignoring the fierce artillery fire of the opposing warships, bravely charged, and finally broke through the outer defense line. To support the infantry, all 105 howitzers and 75 field guns of the division were towed to the top of the northern slope of the harbor and bombarded in half the warships that opened fire in the harbor. The experienced howitzer battalion commander ordered each artillery company to concentrate its fire on one of the enemy's warships, using high-explosive grenades or flares to set the ships on fire.
Under the heavy artillery bombardment of the 105 grenades of the St. Norman Imperial Army, the warships of the Marnerocco Empire in the military port were on fire, and the fireships became excellent targets for artillery fire. The fleet stationed on the island was no longer able to support the army, so it first went out of the harbor to avoid the artillery fire on the hills; It is also necessary to extinguish the fire of the ship, otherwise the warship will burn and sink. The two warships ventured out of the harbor, but fortunately, the enemy fleet, fearing a night attack, had left, or they would have to be used as targets for naval guns, and then six warships that were on fire sailed out of the harbor. But it was only the battleships that left, a dozen cruisers were still in the shadows outside the harbor, their torpedoes were already on the way, and the shipboard torpedoes had all been emptied.
Only one torpedo hit the enemy ship during the night lightning strike, but the warship that had struck the mine ran aground at the entrance to the military port, and it was there that the entrance to the port was blocked. Whether this shipwreck closure operation was intentional or coincidental is impossible to verify. The garrison fleet could not go back, and likewise, the fleet of the Saint-Roman Empire could not use this military port.
The remnants of the Marnerocco Army in the harbor were completely unprepared for this sudden attack, and they relied entirely on the fleet's artillery to stabilize their position, although their own fleet was basically blind, but the sound of the artillery was enough to deter the enemy and motivate their own garrison to hold on. At about 23:40, the own fleet was gone, and the fire support of the blind fan was gone, and the defenders were in great confusion, and the outer defense area was quickly broken through by the enemy. At 0:30 a.m. on the 22nd, the defenders were completely at a disadvantage, and their loss was inevitable. The commander of the defenders, who knew that the defeat had been decided, ordered to use the explosives stored in the ammunition depot to blow up the loading and unloading facilities at the port and other facilities, and to blow up as many as they could. "Don't forget to blow up the ammunition depot as well."
This was the tactic adopted by the governor when he failed to carry it out, "The book says that if the defeat is decided, the brave warriors will be burned, and the military equipment must not be used against the enemy." ”
Seeing a series of self-detonation and sabotage in the port, at 1:19 a.m. on the 22nd, the coastal battery that was about to be lost chose to self-detonate, and the huge explosion could be seen on the other side of the island. The naval shore artillery units stationed here blew up their 280-mm shore defense guns. There were four of these cannons, none of which could rotate 360 degrees and could only be fired at the sea. Not wanting the artillery to fall into the hands of the enemy, the officers and men of the naval shore artillery unit chose to explode their own artillery with all the explosives they could find. The cannon was followed by the destruction of the battery, ammunition depot and all the ammunition in stock, the defenders of the shore battery of the Imperial Navy of the Marnerocco, the Imperial Army that rushed to reinforce it, and the Saint-Roman Imperial Army that attacked.
The massive explosion of the coastal battery announced the loss of the harbor, and the Curry garrison fleet left its military harbor and never returned.
At 1:37 a.m. on the 22nd, the Governor's Palace on Curry Island was captured. The governor and commander of the defense forces was killed in the battle. The commander of the naval garrison had sent a small boat to pick up the governor from leaving. The man replied, "According to the book, as a commander, you have to fight until the last moment and live and die with the position." The literati governor Chi Guoguo refused the kindness of the commander of the fleet and, according to what the book says, fought to the death.
At 2:19 a.m. on the 22nd, the last of the resisting Marne-Rocco Imperial soldiers here were killed, and the port of Curry Island completely fell into the hands of the Imperial Army of the Saint-Roman Empire.
The battle was over, and the Imperial Army of Marnerocco, which was guarding the port, was completely annihilated, and the Imperial Army of Saint-Romain, which captured the port, also suffered a lot of losses, or rather, many units of the Imperial Army participating in the battle were also almost completely annihilated by the defenders.
At about 4 o'clock in the morning of the same day, the Second Division of the Expeditionary Force gathered its troops, and a company commander called his subordinates, and a platoon commander and 16 privates shouted. This is not the worst, more than one battalion commander said that there was only about one platoon left in his battalion, and some battalions were really gone. The next morning, the division headquarters counted the results, not to know, but to be shocked, there were less than half of the people left in the division, and only 9,015 people were left in the division, including the lightly wounded.
There is no doubt that the brutal offensive of the 2nd Division of the Expeditionary Force was victorious, but the cost was simply too great.
The officers and men of the 2nd Division of the Expeditionary Force of the Saint-Roman Army fought valiantly to take the military port of Curry. It is a completely abandoned military port with a group of valiant defenders. These defenders had no actual combat experience, and fought with enthusiasm and a sense of honor only by virtue of the prestige of the army, the world's largest power. After the war, the corpses were counted and the prisoners were questioned, and the total number of defenders was about 10,000 (the department had a total of 16 infantry battalions and 4 rocket artillery battalions). Most of the officers at the company level of the defending army are graduates of military academies who come here for internship and training, and almost all of the soldiers are recruits who were recruited that year. Their commander, the nerdy governor, does everything according to the soldier's book. But such a rookie team of recruits and new officers led by such a stupid general, with the fire support of the navy and their own combat beliefs, actually made the Second Division of the Imperial Expeditionary Force composed of experienced veterans and veteran officers completely crippled.
After the war, the 2nd Division of the Expeditionary Force temporarily resided here to recuperate and replenish until October B58, when it was transported to the Janar colony to participate in the famous Sarmira Fortress.
Before dawn, the commander of the expeditionary forces, Count Gorman Konstantin, rushed here to celebrate the victory. As the sun rose, the mood of the United Army Admiral of the United Empire of Saint-Roman gradually fell. At this time, the port of Curry Island was almost a scrapped port. Even if it was a full rest, it would take at least two months to repair. Before this military port is put into normal use, it can only use the ant moving mode to unload materials.
Standing on the top of a hill on the northern slope of the port, looking at the sun-lit abandoned military port and at the scattered corpses of officers and soldiers on both sides in the port area, the admiral was so angry that he cursed. After scolding enough, he laughed and praised his subordinates in a special way......
Finally, in the words of Count Gorman Konstantin to sum up the battle.
"Those bastards here are such a tough bunch of guys, unbelievably tenacious, tenacious, and unrepentant; It's a pity that they are a group of fresh baby soldiers who have never fought before. You beat them to death, which means that you are better than them, and you will continue to fight like this in the future. Don't give them any opportunity to repent and gain experience. ”
For the Marne-Rocco Imperial Army, which has not accumulated war experience for hundreds of years, "do not give them any opportunity to repent and gain experience." ”
In almost all subsequent ground battles, the Saint-Roman Army has always resolutely implemented the operational principle of fighting only a war of annihilation, and has never left any troops tempered by war to the Marnerocco Imperial Army.
Military Science Popularization:
The curved fire tactics of heavy machine guns were invented in World War I, and the ammunition requirements for machine guns were relatively high, and it seemed that only heavy pointed bullets could be used to form a better curved firing state. The distance of the warp is often relatively long, because the bullet is silent when it flies, directly causing damage and causing a terrifying effect similar to that caused by a sniper rifle.
In the Battle of Verdun in World War I, the Germans used dense Maxim machine gun positions to fire a wide range of curved fire on the British and French forces. That is, a large number of Maxim machine guns were adjusted to a certain angle to the air, and then a salvo was fired, forming a rain of bullets. The Anglo-French troops hiding in the trenches were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses (they thought it was safe to hide in the trenches and could not shoot anything but artillery, but the result was tragic).