Vietnam is a mountainous country, because the latitude is relatively low, it belongs to the tropical monsoon climate, the precipitation is relatively abundant, the east is a plain area, there is a difference between the east and the west, which makes Vietnam a country with a dense network of rivers, to some extent similar to the situation in the southern part of China. The battlefield environment of pen & fun & pavilion www.biquge.info facilitated the activities of the gunboats of the Tang Army in this area. In this war, the Datang Frontline Command has a total of more than 40 gunboats, even if the Toad-class gunboats with a tonnage of less than 100 tons, their high-speed guns can also provide strong support capabilities in the near riverbank area, clear the battlefield for the troops, or provide battlefield blocking force.

Wang Tao and other marines and grassroots commanders and fighters of the Navy SEALs who accompanied the gunboats soon discovered a situation, that is, in the selected battlefield, the Xishan Army's defense of the water network was extremely weak, and the dense local water network provided great convenience for the activities of the gunboat formation.

After the situation at the scene was reported to the commander of the landing operation at sea, Senior Colonel Ling Zhuangfei of the Marine Corps, Ling Zhuangfei immediately realized that he could take advantage of the local terrain and the enemy's lack of defense, and fight a combat mode that the Tang Army had never fought before.

The plan has been decided, Ling Zhuangfei immediately ordered a large number of gunboats that can be mobilized in his hands to sail in from the estuary, these gunboats with small tonnage have a draft of between 1-3 meters, and can basically pass through almost all rivers freely, and even if there is a stranding situation, it can also be used as a fixed battery, and the rescue work is not difficult, plus the value itself is relatively low, the loss of the Tang army.

It is less than 3 kilometers away from Thang Long. The gunboat on which Wang Tao was located received new operational instructions. Wang Tao swept over the relevant orders. Immediately realized what the colonel, who was in the same Marine Corps, was trying to do.

Zhou Junbao has also fought a lot of battles with the Tang army, his brain is also flexible, and his judgment is excellent, he also said: "It is indeed a very good way, with the terrain and environment of the Thang Long area, our army will use gunboats to control the rivers, and the rivers are actually the best barriers, directly cutting the battlefield into several pieces." Help us cut the enemy troops in different positions, and the firepower of our gunboat formation is almost the firepower of a reinforced artillery regiment, coupled with the amazing mobility on the river, whether it is blocking the battlefield or bombarding the city wall of Shenglong, it is enough to do the job, even if the military strength of the Xishan Army is stronger than ours, but if we take the initiative to cut off in different positions, we can be annihilated one by one by the troops that come one after another after us. ”

The gunboat formations of the Tang Army could go directly along the Red River to Thang Long Province and assist the ground forces in launching an offensive. The western section of the Red River can cut off the reinforcements of the Xishan Army from the west, and the Lijiang River to the north can be used to block the Xishan Army from the north. The Taiping River can divide the main battlefield into two, so that the Xishan Army cannot take care of each other, and the tributaries of the Red River in the south can prevent the Xishan Army in the south from approaching, and block the defeated Xishan Army in the direction of Thang Long. It can be said that the river network, which originally extended in all directions and was rich in water, not only provided convenience for Vietnam's good agricultural production, but also became a deadly restoration of the legal net during the war.

In fact, not only did the Tang Army attach importance to the use of surface forces in the war, but almost every war in the history of Vietnam was indispensable to the role of the naval division, and the reason why Nguyen Phuc Anh was able to defeat the Tay Son Army in the later period was not only because of the internal rot of the Tay Son Army and the loss of popular support, but also because Nguyen Phuc Anh received help from the French, obtained European-style warships, invited the commander of the French Navy, and created a more powerful naval division. On the other hand, the Sailing Division, which was dominated by pirates from the South China Sea, could only be defeated in the face of the more regular Ruan Army's Naval Division.

Even if the Datang Navy sends small gunboats with a tonnage of tens to hundreds of tons, it is not comparable to the surface forces of any country in this era in terms of technical level and tactical capabilities. Dozens of Tang gunboats, like a group of fierce piranhas with sharp teeth, set out in groups, exerting a terrifying impact on the rivers.

Datang's tactical staff command system, which had been completely systematized, also allowed Ling Zhuangfei to quickly determine the important line of control and advance rate based on intelligence and maps after determining the strategy of cutting off the battlefield with gunboat power and firepower, and the landing operation of the Tang Army was also carried out six hours ahead of schedule.

Of course, in this tactic, the Tang Army is not without shortcomings, the only shortcoming is that the gunboats were originally engaged in combat with the goal of patrol reconnaissance and small-scale operations, and at this time, it is obvious that the gunboat formations have become the most critical node in the whole battle, and the firepower and combat intensity they have invested have been significantly improved. As a Marine Corps commander who was familiar with the situation of naval vessels, Ling Zhuangfei understood that even if the Tang Army had dozens of gunboats in use, their own ammunition carrying capacity was relatively limited, and if they faced a high-intensity attack from the Vietnamese in one direction, they were likely to run out of ammunition. Even if the gunboats themselves have a communication network, the speed is relatively fast, and the support can be extremely fast, but once there is a slight mistake, a gap in one direction, then the operation of the Don Army will be greatly affected. Of course, this effect may not be fatal, but it will cause more trouble for the Tang army.

If Ling Zhuangfei had determined this tactic before, then he would definitely have brought a part of the ammunition delivery ship in response to this situation to replenish the ammunition for the gunboats in time, but at this time, although the fleet carried a lot of ammunition, it was all on the supply ships of 10,000 tons and thousands of tons, and the gunboats had to withdraw from the river network and return to the sea for replenishment operations, which would delay time and create a gap in the enemy's operations, which Ling Zhuangfei did not want to see.

Therefore, Ling Zhuangfei could only count on the slow and insufficient momentum of the Xishan Army, and the Tang Army could only play ruthlessly, quickly solve the Xishan Army on different divided battlefields in a short period of time, and quickly occupy Thang Long, completely destroying the Xishan Army's will to resist. At this time, Ling Zhuangfei couldn't help but feel a little regretful, even if the gunboat's firepower was insufficient, if he had a certain number of seaplane fleets, he would be able to supplement the firepower on the battlefield, thus adding a double insurance to the battle, but this time he only had three seaplanes on reconnaissance missions, and he could only carry out limited machine gun fire, and he did not add any aerial bombs.

Of course, the Tang Army has so far not invested aviation forces in any regular battlefield for close fire support in the air. (To be continued.) )