Chapter 148 Miserable

On the afternoon of April 9, the Anglo-Indian troops arrived at Mount Volt. However, when they were in front of a highly defended position crisscrossed by trenches, everyone gasped. God knows how many casualties they would have to pay to attack such a defensive position!

"Your Excellency General, the preparations for coming to western Sichuan are very thorough, and it will be difficult for us to break through their positions!" 2nd Infantry Brigade Commander Allen? Brigadier General Fein said with a sigh.

"No matter how difficult it is, we must defeat them!" Henry? Wellesley said. His face was not good, originally, he was quite confident in defeating the Western Sichuan Army. But when he saw the complete fortifications of the Western Sichuan Army, he was a little uncertain in his heart. Could it be that these western Sichuan troops are all groundhogs? How did it take only two days to build such a complete fortification? He didn't know that this was the result of two days of hard work by more than 20,000 troops of the Western Sichuan Army. Wang Yuze knew that he was inferior in terms of troops, and he did not even have an advantage in artillery. However, the good thing is that they are on the defensive side and can close the gap with strong fortifications.

2nd Infantry Brigade Commander Allen? Brigadier General Fein shrugged his shoulders indifferently. Anyway, if he let his troops attack such a fortification, it would undoubtedly be sending him to death, so he won't do it!

"Order the troops to camp! Tomorrow morning the offensive begins! "Henry? Wellesley gave the order. Originally, in order to seize the time, he planned to start attacking now. But when it came to the fortifications of the Western Sichuan Army, he was also a little frightened. After thinking about it, it is better to let the soldiers who have been on the road for a day rest. Anyway, the cabinet also knew the news of his defeat, so there was no need to hide it anymore. He didn't have to rush anymore, the only thing he needed was a victory. Even if it's just a small victory.

The Anglo-Indian troops retreated to camp three kilometers from Mount Volt. In order to ensure that they would not be attacked by the Western Sichuan Army, they also began to build fortifications. It's just that compared with the Western Sichuan Army's, their fortifications are completely heaven and earth.

Regarding the arrival of the Anglo-Indian army, the western Sichuan army was extraordinarily calm. Although the British and Indian soldiers were outnumbered, after the previous victory, the soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army were full of fighting spirit. If they don't know how to be small with the British Army, those Indian A-3 are not taken seriously by them. Especially with strong fortifications, they were more confident that they would be able to withstand the attack of the Anglo-Indian army.

"Order the troops to enter positions and prepare for enemy shelling!" Wang Yuze ordered. His headquarters was deliberately located on a high ground behind the defensive line, so that he could overlook the entire battlefield.

"Yes, young marshal!" Signal corps sent telegrams to the 7th Brigade stationed in the valley area and to the 9th Brigade stationed at Mount Volt. The soldiers of the two brigades, according to Wang Yuze's order, entered the forward positions one after another. The trenches that are more than half a person deep can effectively protect them. At regular intervals, there were also anti-artillery holes reinforced with trees, enough to withstand the bombardment of light shells. As long as you are not particularly unlucky and are hit by a shell, there will be no big problem.

Unfortunately, however, the Anglo-Indian army retreated and did not immediately attack.

On the morning of April 20, the weather was clear. It's spring, and there isn't much rain that won't affect the war. In summer, the southern foothills of the Himalayas will enter the rainy season. When the time comes, the roads will be muddy, and if you want to march in large troops, it will be basically impossible.

The British and Indian troops had breakfast early, and today, the official offensive will begin. Last night, Henry? Wellesley had a discussion with the three brigade commanders. The defensive position of the Western Sichuan Army was clearly divided into two sides. One is the river valley area, and the other is the Volt Mountain. After discussion, Henry? Wellesley decided to target the river valley for today. As long as this place is breached, the British and Indian troops will be able to drive straight into the Shannan area.

"Fire!" At nine o'clock in the morning, more than 200 artillery pieces of the British and Indian troops began to roar. One after another, the shells smashed into the positions of the western Sichuan army, raising patches of dust and gunsmoke.

"Boom! Rumble! "Artillery shells continued to rage on the artillery positions of the Western Sichuan Army, trenches were constantly blown up, the wires in front of the positions were also blown up, and the entire position was shrouded in gunsmoke. However, the artillery bombardment of the British and Indian troops seemed to be very ferocious, but the threat to the western Sichuan army was not great.

Because of the road, most of the artillery of the British and Indian armies were small-caliber inch field guns, and the number of howitzers per inch was less than 40, so it did not put too much pressure on the western Sichuan army. In addition, when the British and Indian troops began shelling, most of the soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army had already taken refuge in the anti-artillery shelters that had been built long ago, leaving only a very small number of observers outside. Therefore, the shelling of the British and Indian troops did not cause too many casualties to the western Sichuan army.

The shelling by the British and Indian troops raged for more than 10 minutes before it ended. After the shelling was over and the smoke cleared, the positions of the Western Sichuan Army were already in shambles. However, the most important points of fire and trenches and the like, the damage is not very great.

After the artillery bombardment of the British and Indian troops ended, the western Sichuan army ran out of the anti-artillery holes and entered their respective battle positions, ready to resist the attack of the British and Indian troops. The artillery positions deployed by the Western Sichuan Army on Mount Volt are also ready to support. Forty-eight Type 2 infantry guns plus 24 05-mm light howitzers were already ready.

"Attack!" With an order, a large number of Indian Asan with white strips of cloth on their heads jumped out of the position and launched an attack on the position of the Western Sichuan Army two kilometers away. There were more than 3,000 people in this wave of attack. But there were very few British soldiers, except for a very small number of Britons who served as officers, the rest were Indian Asan.

These Indian asan had just been reinforced from the hinterland of India, and they had not seen the strength of the western Sichuan army. Therefore, under the orders of the officers, the attack was launched as soon as the brain was hot.

"Fire!" The artillery of the Western Sichuan Army fired. One after another fires came out of the cannons, and one after another shells smashed into the ranks of the attacking British and Indian troops. The shell exploded, and the Indian Ah San was blown up into the air, shrapnel shot everywhere, and the life was harvested lightly.

In just a few minutes, hundreds of British and Indian troops fell under the guns of the Western Sichuan Army. Subsequently, when they rushed to the front of the position of the Western Sichuan Army, they were blocked by wire. The forward positions of the Western Sichuan Army opened fire. The low roar of the heavy machine guns, the crisp "bang bang" of the rifles, and the dull sound of the mortars all converged to form a guide to hell. The British and Indian troops who rushed to the position of the Western Sichuan Army fell one by one like cutting wheat.

The killing continued, and the wire set up by the Western Sichuan Army a hundred meters in front of the forward position played a huge role. Although the barbed wires were blown up in many places during the shelling by the British and Indian troops, the main body was not damaged. The British and Indian troops either used bayonets to destroy the wires of the Western Sichuan Army, or they all squeezed towards those gaps, and became a live target for the Western Sichuan Army for no reason. Heavy machine guns were fired specifically at these places. Causing one of the Anglo-Indian troops to fall to the ground. In particular, the large-caliber bullets fired by heavy machine guns, when hit, often break the whole body in two, and the death is very miserable.

As casualties mounted, the courage of the attacking British and Indian troops also declined rapidly. Soon, some soldiers could not stand the tremendous pressure and turned and fled. The role of role models is endless, and after someone starts, there will naturally be someone who learns from it. Under the chain effect, the attacking Anglo-Indian army collapsed at once. No matter how the officers behind urged, these Indian Ah San had already been frightened and would not start attacking anyway.

The bullets of the Western Sichuan Army, one of which sent these British and Indian troops out of range before stopping firing. In front of the position of the Western Sichuan Army, hundreds of meters away, a thick layer of corpses had been laid. The more than 3,000 British and Indian troops who attacked just now paid at least more than 1,200 casualties.

"Come, the defensive firepower of western Sichuan is very strong, and the shelling just now did not have much impact on them. Order the artillery to open fire, and the defensive positions of the Western Sichuan Army must be destroyed! "Henry? Wellesley ignored the casualties and gave the latest order. Perhaps, in his eyes, these Indian Asan cannot be regarded as soldiers at all, but are just cannon fodder used to test the western Sichuan army.

"Boom! Rumble! "The artillery of the Anglo-Indian army opened fire again.

"Hidden! Fast, hidden! The officers of the Western Sichuan Army on the forward position ordered one after another. The soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army immediately bent their waists and ran towards the nearest anti-artillery hole. They were in the bomb holes, huddled up, with their hands over their ears and their mouths wide open. In order to minimize the damage caused by the shock wave caused by the Anglo-Indian artillery bombardment.

Perhaps because the previous attacks had not been effective, this time the Anglo-Indian artillery bombardment lasted longer. Half an hour later, the shelling stopped. The positions of the Western Sichuan Army were destroyed even more severely by the heavy shelling of the British and Indian troops. The trenches in quite a few sections have completely collapsed. Even during the shelling just now, several anti-artillery holes were directly hit and collapsed. When the shelling was over, the rest of the soldiers dug up these comrades, only to find that they had already died.

This made the soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army tearful. However, they did not have time to be sentimental, because the Anglo-Indian offensive had once again begun. And, even more fierce than the last one!

PS: The second update is here! (To be continued.)