January 31, 1863, south of Gettysburg, Necropolis Ridge. Pen&Fun&Pavilion www.biquge.info,ybdu,

Cemetery Ridge, as the name suggests, is a cemetery. Before Mao Zhongmin arrived here with more than 4,000 yellow-skinned or dark-skinned officers and soldiers, it was the resting place of the deceased residents of Gettysburg. And after he left with less than 1,500 exhausted officers and soldiers, it was the United States of America that was buried.

Mao Zhongmin has now been promoted to lieutenant colonel in the firing line, and as a veteran who has not studied at a military school, he has been given the most difficult mission. The army commander, General Huang Zhisheng, had already given him an order with a straight face: "If the people are in the position, the position of the dead will also be there!" After the battle, I will personally report to the emperor, and ask you for an earl no matter what! ”

Mao Zhongmin replied at that time: "Grandpa, it doesn't matter if you are not an earl's subordinate, your subordinate has a request, the subordinate kid is called Mao Yicheng, and he will graduate from Huangcheng Public School this year. ”

Mao Zhongmin is a nobleman and is qualified to send his children to the Imperial City Public School. Although the tuition fee is not cheap, those who can get the knighthood will not be unable to pay those tuition fees, and what it means to be a classmate with the future Ming Emperor, who will not know?

"Alright, your son's business is on me. Let's fight well! Playing a good count will not be missing you. Huang Zhisheng smiled and patted the veteran's shoulder. For Mao Zhongmin, a veteran, he is still very relieved, and it will definitely not be possible to let this kind of veteran make a battle plan and draw a battlefield map. But to fight a tough battle, it couldn't be more reliable. That's why he promoted Mao Zhongmin to the position of regiment commander. He also handed over the most important cemetery ridge to Mao Zhongmin to guard.

Cemetery Ridge is said to be a ridge. In fact, it is a large mound of earth that rises slightly. The highest point is only twenty or thirty meters, and the terrain is very gentle. But the terrain of the eastern United States is such that the Appalachian Mountains are unusually gentle, and there are coal mines that can be mined in open pit to produce the best coking coal. It's not an exaggeration to say that it's boursy!

And this low and unseemly cemetery ridge is not a bustling coal mine, but it is a unique place in the United States of America that can be buried!

Together with the adjacent cemetery ridge and Komp Ridge, it forms a natural barrier south of Gettysburg and an excellent anticline. The Besemai 5-pound breech-loading gun equipped by the expeditionary force is actually a howitzer. As long as it is placed on the north side of Cemetery Ridge, Cemetery Ridge, and Kopp Ridge, it is possible to bombard the attacking Union Army with warp fire. The Union artillery, on the other hand, was unable to counterattack because it could not observe the artillery positions of the expeditionary forces -- the technique of locating enemy artillery positions by sound measurement had not yet appeared. Therefore, this high ground, which is not high at all, became the focus of the Battle of Gettysburg.

On the afternoon of 29 January, the cavalry of the Union Army appeared near Gettysburg and engaged in a brief exchange of fire with the cavalry of the expeditionary force. The fighting was not very fierce, and the main force of the cavalry of the Second Army of the Chinese Expeditionary Force remained in the Kingdom of California, where they were now fighting the Indians. The small number of cavalry brought to the eastern battlefield could only be responsible for reconnaissance and alert missions.

Therefore, in the opinion of the Potomac Regiment of the Union Army, it should be the troops of the Union Army who are in charge of the rear of the palace who are now staying in Gettysburg. Their main forces have already gone to attack Harrisburg and Chambersburg. Otherwise, the powerful cavalry of the Union army would not have been driven back so easily.

After driving back the cavalry of the expeditionary force. The Union cavalry quickly took control of a very open starting position. Because the east side of Gettysburg was a large forest, it was not suitable for a large army. Moreover, it was also controlled by a small force sent by the expeditionary force, and it was difficult to eliminate it in a short time. Therefore, the position chosen by the Potomac Corps was directly south of Gettysburg, and Cemetery Ridge was one of their main attack directions.

On the morning of January 30, a large number of Union infantry had already arrived on the battlefield. Ulysses. Lieutenant General Grant personally took the staff officers and began to observe the positions, and the artillery also entered the firing positions. According to the recollections of Lieutenant General Grant after the war, at that time they did not find a strong defensive system, because the weather was cold, and the ground was already very hard to excavate. Therefore, the defending Chinese and blacks only dug trenches and some foxholes shallowly, and did not arrange barbed wire and deer fences. It doesn't look like there's a solid defense.

In view of the fact that Harrisburg and Chambersburg have already received news that they have been heavily attacked by the Union army. The officers of the Potomac Regiment all agreed that it was necessary to use the maximum force of attack, with more than the density of the enemy's firepower, to achieve a breakthrough in one fell swoop in the shortest possible time, and then divide their forces to rescue Harrisburg and Chambersburg as soon as possible.

According to the plan made by Grant. In front of this mountain line, later known to historians as the "Commonwealth Graveyard", the Potomac Regiment of the Union Army will launch a series of assaults with five infantry corps and one cavalry corps! Including 600 cannons of various calibers, they are also concentrated here.

The Potomac Legion is about to go all out and prepare to break through the entire defense line of the South Heights of Gettysburg in one fell swoop!

Mao Zhongmin, who was stationed at the cemetery ridge, did not know that his location would become a sad place for the country. However, the steady stream of Federation troops clearly told him that there was a tough battle to be fought! On the night of January 30, Mao Zhongmin's ministry received an order to keep watch all night. After the early morning of the next day, with the observed movement of the federal army, the combat readiness level of the position was raised again, and most of the officers and men entered the reserve position located on the northern slope of the cemetery ridge to stand by, and Master Mao himself personally led a company into the other side of the hillside, facing the front-line position of the federal army, and looked at the dark and gloomy field in front of him with wide eyes. The artillery was also all in place, just behind the 12th Regiment of the Expeditionary Force commanded by Mao Zhongmin, and the four artillery regiments under the Second Army, a total of 144 5-pound rear-loading guns, were all in place. Shi Dakai and Huang Zhisheng also set up a former enemy command post behind the cemetery ridge, and personally watched here, guarding the passage of time minute by minute. A decisive battle awaits the first day!

The sky was bright, and the morning breeze was blowing. The cold winter sun sprinkled on the icy snow, giving rise to a little moisture, as if it were a thin layer of mist. But it makes this early morning seem more peaceful. But countless bayonets condensed with frost were already flashing on the battlefield around them!

One cannon after another has shown its muzzles, and the gunners skillfully fill the chambers with shells, either front-loading or rear-loading. With the command of the artillery commander, tongues of fire erupted from each muzzle!

The artillery of the Potomac Corps of the Union Army was divided into two parts, one was cannon, both armed with 12-pounder cast-iron smoothbore guns. The effective range of this cannon is 1,500 yards, barely out of the range of the enemy's rifle and machine gun fire. However, at such a distance, the accuracy of the smoothbore gun is really worrying.

The other part is howitzers, armed with six- and seven-pounder rear-loading howitzers. The range can reach three or four thousand yards, but the power is really small. A shell counts the shell and propellant in six or seven pounds, how much explosives can a real warhead be filled?

As for the large-caliber cast iron smoothbore gun, it was not carried to the battlefield because it was too heavy and extremely poorly maneuverable.

Although there are no sharp artillery, the number of 600 guns can still make a quite hot scene! On the position of the expeditionary force opposite, columns of smoke suddenly rose, and each posture was different and went straight to the sky. At first, the columns of smoke rose in rows almost at the same time, but then they were no longer distinguished, and clusters were rising in all directions. The cemetery ridge in the direction of the main attack of the Federation Army was shrouded in blue-black smoke, and the smell of gunpowder filled the battlefield, flowing slowly, choking the officers and soldiers on the defensive.

However, the Potomac Corps did not bring many shells, and the first artillery fire was prepared, but it took only 20 minutes and fired more than 20,000 shells. In the early morning of January 31, at 5:30 a.m., the shelling stopped abruptly. All the federal army officers who led the attack pulled out their command knives and pointed to the high ground ahead, and the blue infantry of the brigade suddenly surged!

The charge of the Federal Army has begun! (To be continued.) )