Chapter 899

Henry didn't have much time to study the tactics, he was needed to command inside and outside the town, and the British army was not responsible for this part of the main point of the entire line, but at this moment, because of the early contraction of the Spanish army, the town where the British army was located turned into a salient. Or rather, it was the pivot that connected the entire front, a change that Henry did not expect, or that the Spaniards had this kind of bad intentions at the beginning, allowing the British army to be cannon fodder.

Yin Jie placed two infantry divisions on the front of the battle line, one on the left and one on the right, and the two divisions were prepared as the second echelon to expand the results. The remaining troops served as reserves. I thought that this battle would be relatively easy, but no one expected that the Spaniards and the British, behind the defensive line, would be able to resist a fierce attack for a whole morning.

The focus was on a morning of fighting, and in the face of the allied forces armed with smoothbore guns, the European Expeditionary Force suffered more than eight hundred casualties. This is something that has never been done before, and this is all set up in a battalion, and this is the power of trench warfare in this era. Europeans have a strong ability to learn the means of warfare, and as soon as they find something useful, they immediately learn it. This is also the reason why the equipment gap between the two sides is too large, otherwise this battle would have to be fought.

"Tell the 14th and 16th Divisions that they are all old units of the Afrika Korps, and the equipment is also first-class. Before dark, the defense line must be broken and the 51st and 52nd Divisions ready to launch a follow-up attack, and this time I will go directly to Madrid. After saying this order, Yin Jie glanced at the chief of staff who urged the troops to stop and repair. There is no doubt that this trimming is not a good suggestion. At least in terms of results.

The battle in the afternoon suddenly became extremely fierce, and when Yin Jie didn't plan to drag it on, the two infantry divisions in front of him went berserk. The small town attracted the concentrated fire of hundreds of artillery pieces, and 3,000 British troops struggled to support themselves in the positions in and around the town.

After ten minutes of artillery fire preparation. Thousands of shells turned the town into ruins, and the commandos launched a fierce attack. The 13th Division threw in two battalions at a time, launching a fierce assault from three directions, left, center, and right.

Henry soon could not command calmly, and in just half an hour, the British army lost five positions held by the British army. These positions. They were all relatively strong positions, and the troops put into the market were no less than the size of a company, but in the face of the fierce attack of the Ming army, these elites, who were not inferior to any opponent in the European theater, were collapsing at a very fast speed.

The tactics of the Ming army were very simple, heavy artillery bombardment, rapid impact, accurate and dense fire, and grenade attacks after crawling forward. As judged by Henry. The firepower dropped by a Ming soldier was able to withstand five British soldiers. The reason why this battle has survived until now is all due to the strong fortifications of the defending side.

But these fortifications did not change any results, and once the Ming army became regardless of casualties, these fortified positions were knocked out one by one in battle. As a general, Henry personally supervised the battle on the front line, carrying a command knife in his hand, and kept shouting. Let the soldiers fight bravely. Because of the breakthrough of the Ming army, the forces of both sides were staggered.

An infantry company commanded by Mitsui. During the battle, they were the first to storm the town, but were immediately bombarded by a shotgun. If he hadn't dodged in time, he would have hung on the spot. Because of this cannon, the fierce momentum was blocked, and everyone knew the power of the shotgun, and the solid bullet of the British army was for the soldiers of the Ming army. It's nothing at all, but shotguns are different, and at a distance of tens of meters, it's normal for this thing to come and sweep down a large area. The whole company because of this artillery. A dozen fell.

"It's a church!" The town's church was small, but it was the tallest building, with a wall outside, behind which the cannons were arranged, and a hole had been dug in the wall to keep the artillerymen out.

"Don't be afraid, they don't have a good sight. Down the hill, take your people, touch it from the right, walk against the fence, and greet with grenades. Others, find cover, shoot for cover. ”

The banging gunshots continued, and Mitsui couldn't find it, and there was a big fish hidden behind the wall. His company had suffered more than fifty casualties in the fierce battle, and there was nothing more important to him now than to kill the British. The group of Japanese officers is interesting, and their loyalty to the Ming is extremely high, even surpassing that of most Ming officers. The bravest group of people in the battle were these Japanese officers.

The platoon commander led a squad under the mountain, undulating quickly in the ruins, bending over and trotting, sometimes lying down, sometimes standing up. Mitsui commanded the rest of his men to surround the perimeter of the church, constantly firing to attract the attention of the British army. There was even a squad that crawled forward from the front, pretending to touch it.

Sure enough, the attraction of the British army was seduced, and although the people on the high side of the church noticed their actions down the hill, they were too fierce to take care of that side at all. The effect of firing from the firing holes of no less than a hundred British troops behind the walls of the church was simply not comparable to the firepower of less than a hundred men on the opposite side.

The fuse was pulled, and it was deliberately stopped for three seconds before a group of veterans threw the grenade over the wall. This move is extremely effective, the grenades are all exploded in the air, and the damage of the fragments is amazing. Dozens of grenades were thrown in a row, and when there were screams behind the wall, Mitsui led people to rush up, and smoothly rushed to the edge of the wall, and also greeted him with grenades.

Dozens of British soldiers at the gate were overwhelmed by the dense fire, and the approaching soldiers, without the threat of artillery, attacked with grenades, and after a burst of explosion smoke, the soldiers with bayonets rushed forward. The 13th Division is all some Japanese veterans, and some volunteers who have served for 10 years would have been promoted to officers long ago if it weren't for their lack of education. These people have fought all their lives, and they are as good as ghosts. When rushing to the door, the first reaction is not to rush in, but to find cover first. Sure enough, there was a commotion in the church, and another shotgun crackled like a torrential rain.

Two soldiers, who were a little slower, were hit, and the others waited for the gap, and got up and fired a heavy shot, throwing grenades at each other before rushing inside. The cannon arranged in one of the windows opened fire again at this time, but this time it had no effect, and instead a few bullets hit three soldiers. The rest of the soldiers quickly pressed against the wall, and the grenade was thrown into the window, and with a loud bang, the soldiers fell to their stomachs, and the gunpowder was detonated.

Henry barely reacted and collapsed in the explosion, and as far as the injuries were concerned, he was not too serious, but he was stunned by the explosion. When he woke up, he found himself lying in a group of British soldiers, everyone with bare hands, this is captured? What happened to the other soldiers inside the church? Henry hurried to ask his men, and was told that only three of them survived, and he was one of them. Or because his own soldiers wanted to run away on his back, but they were blocked by the Ming army and forced to surrender.

There was still the sound of gunfire in his ears, but it was far away, looking at his pocket watch, Henry shook his head in frustration, the notebook on his chest was still there, patted it gently, stood up, tidied up his clothes, and reached out to hold his hat when he felt empty.

Henry walked up to a Ming soldier and held his chin high: "Hello soldier, I am Viscount Henry of the British Empire, Major General of the Army." I want to be treated as a captive in accordance with my status. The soldier with the rifle was a little nervous at first, but after listening to him, he smiled: "What are you talking about?" I don't understand, wait. ”

An officer with a small notebook was called, looked at Henry and said, "What do you have to say?" "The attitude is not bad, at first glance he is much taller than the soldier, and Henry finds it difficult to distinguish between the two just by his face.

After repeating what he meant, the person who came laughed: "Okay, okay, come with me, your identity, you can bring a guard as an entourage." Henry hurried back and found his own soldier with one arm wounded and a bandage. With him, he followed the officer out of the barbed wire fence and saw a huge tent area in the field outside the town.

The officer who led the way seemed to say something to the guard at the door, and when he came back, he smiled and said: "Wait a minute, this is the first time we have captured a British general, and to be honest, you have taken a big advantage." Scarcity is expensive, and if you're lucky, you might be released and bring back the Ming Empire's demands on Britain. ”

Henry's heart was beating violently, and there was such a good thing? Soon an officer came out, looked Henry up and down, and beckoned, "Follow me." "I kept going inside, turned a few tents, and saw a table under a big tree, and a man who looked like a senior officer, lying on the table and reading a map.

"Report, Major General Henry brought." The officer made a report, and the senior officer lying on the table stood up, turned to look at it, and took the initiative to stretch out his hand and said, "Welcome, Major General Henry." I am Yin Jie, commander of the Spanish Theater of the European Expeditionary Force of the Ming Empire. ”

Hearing this, Henry's first reaction was to be stunned, how could he speak Spanish? This guy actually speaks Spanish? This is a high-ranking officer of the Ming Dynasty. I don't need a translator to speak Spanish. This shows a problem, these high-ranking officers of the Ming Dynasty have specialized in foreign languages.

"It's a pity that we have to meet on the battlefield, and as a nobleman, I want to be treated accordingly. I'm willing to pay the ransom if I can. Henry once again clarified his point of view, and Yin Jie smiled: "There is no need for ransom, we don't have much contact with the British Empire, and we didn't take the initiative to enter a state of war." Now I can release you, but you have to bring a message back to England. ”

"What's the news?" Henry asked, and Yin Jie said: "Britain withdrew from the war, withdrew from North America, and paid 10 million Chinese dollars to the Ming Empire." Listen, this is a notice, not a negotiating condition. The time we gave to Britain was half a month, and beyond that, the fleet of the Ming Empire would come to visit. (To be continued......)