The English army maintained a basic horizontal front, but the spearmen in the center concentrated their superior forces and advanced into the gap in the Spanish phalanx. Due to the limitations of their own formation mobility and troop deployment, the musketeers in the Spanish phalanx were far less effective than their opponents. The English musketeers, on the other hand, continued to stretch out to the flanks, firing volleys from the flanks under the cover of the cavalry, knocking down the Spanish troops that could not be used one by one.

The crowded battlefield can no longer see any rhythm that can be commanded, and this classic mode of hand-to-hand combat with cold weapons that is infinitely close to thousands of years makes most people's blood boil and at the same time makes a small number of people feel at a loss.

From half an hour ago, the main force of the entire Spanish army coincidentally pressed the front line, and even the Chinese and American Marine detachments led by Hu Huan, who were in the rear, had to move forward closely with the general headquarters of the Marquis de Santa Cruz, and provided simple fire support for the front line with two 75mm naval guns to block the offensive of the English troops.

Behind the left flank of the Spanish Legion, on the outermost flank of the rear headquarters, the Huamei 75-mm naval guns set up a makeshift firing position, and continued to fire high-explosive shells at a low rate of fire, and the black and red smoke bursts continued to disperse the English troops who tried to detour from the flank. At a distance of more than 600 yards, the Navy's 75-mm naval guns spread very little over land, and almost every shell was able to clear a fragmented and red-stained clearing from the English formation.

Throughout the battlefield, the unique and violent explosion after the Huamei artillery opened fire became the most prominent weapon of destruction. Although the frequency of firing was not high, and the number of shells was small, it stood out in the course of the battle between the two armies.

"Lieutenant, are we going to continue the shelling? The chamber is overheated. ”

A few hundred yards away, a squad of English spearmen was torn apart by the explosion of high-explosive shells, and the European second lieutenant gunners asked with difficulty, holding back the vomiting sensation in his stomach. Looking at the others, there are not many people who are better than his cousin, not even the organ machine gunner, who has always claimed to be murderous. I was also frightened by the high casualty rate of hand-to-hand combat.

"The English got the advantage as soon as they came, the Spaniards were so angry that they had very little reserves. We must pay attention to the cavalry of the English! ”

Hu Huan put down the binoculars and gave the order to stop firing, which also made the sailors who were carrying the shells back and forth finally breathe a sigh of relief, and sat on the ground one by one to breathe.

To the west of the battlefield, the last few hundred musketeers on standby in England's rear began to move forward, and they would continue to flank the battlefield and make a detour to the already broken Spanish formation. But several of the detachments that had been sent out before had been continuously defeated by the opponent's terrible explosive shells. There was hardly even a chance to expand.

"It's the Americans...... With the Spanish backs. ”

Cromwell, holding the binoculars, sneered, and in his sight, in that simple circular small position, less than a hundred officers and men in gorgeous blue-black naval winter uniforms were surrounding two strange long-barreled cannons. The shells that had previously inflicted heavy casualties on the English troops were fired from that direction.

"It's only 600 yards from the forefront, maybe our cavalry can get around! As long as there is confusion in the back of the Spaniards, we can turn the advantage into a complete victory! "A high-ranking English officer couldn't wait to come forward and ask for battle.

"You mean the Marquis de Santa Cruz? That stubborn old Spanish man is counting on the Americans to continue to bombard every one of our ports. Cromwell put away his binoculars and finally gave the order, "The cavalry attacked." Attack the outside of their left flank, knock out the American artillery, and, if possible, assault the Spanish rear. Delay their transfer! ”

Cromwell's intentions were obvious, he had seen that the Marquis de Santa Cruz had almost no reserves left, and that if he could go back in time, it would probably repeat the incident at the Battle of Lützen in which King Gustav of Sweden was killed by an unexpected surprise attack by the cavalry of the Holy Roman Empire.

……

"Lieutenant. Look, the cavalry of the English is out, O God. They're coming at us! ”

A European non-commissioned officer shouted in horror at this time, and everyone looked fixedly, only to see a few hundred meters away, about 300 English light cavalry with swords and flintlock pistols rushing towards them from the side of the battlefield.

"Damn, they chose us! We can't let them break through here, or the Spanish artillery will be doomed and we will lose this battle! Assemble and get ready for battle! ”

Turning his head to look at the Marquis de Santa Cruz's general headquarters, which was slowly moving, there were only about two hundred Spanish cavalry around him. Hu Huan knew that he had no way to retreat, and while giving the battle order in a trembling voice, he also regretted his impulsive behavior of insisting on leading the team to participate in the land battle.

"Fire! Machine gun ready! Hu Huan shrank back into the queue from the front of the formation and raised his hand.

A team of more than 80 Chinese sailors formed a semi-circular defensive formation, two organ machine guns were safed, and dozens of old 22A rifles mixed with a few 30A rifles were aimed at the English cavalry group a few hundred meters away.

Two 75-mm naval guns fired shells almost at a straight angle, and in just over a second they exploded two towering balls of fire in the charging English cavalry group. The scorching storm of shock, bursting shrapnel and iron balls enveloped a radius of more than ten meters, tearing apart a dozen English cavalrymen and horses, but more cavalry broke through the smoke and dust of the explosion and continued to accelerate their charge.

The awkward engagement distance was only enough for the cannon to fire three rounds, and the English cavalry approached less than two hundred meters from Hu Huan's Huamei Marine detachment.

Dozens of rifles and two organ machine guns roared, and hundreds of rounds were fired in a matter of seconds, and the English cavalry in formation was flying like broken water bags, and many horses were knocked off more than half of their heads by the 15mm heavy bullets of the high-speed organ machine guns, and the cavalry on their backs rolled to the ground.

"Click!" A few seconds later, the English cavalry was only more than 100 meters away from Hu Huan and the others, and the organ machine guns were loaded with a second batch of magazines in the race against time.

"The formation can't be messed up, prepare for melee combat!"

No matter how fast the rifle and organ machine guns fired, it seemed that they could not stop the English light cavalry advancing with high speed and decisive spirit. Hu Huan pulled out his revolver in horror and gave his final order to his chaotic subordinates.

After another round of concentrated fire from organ guns, at least twenty English cavalrymen fell again, but at the same time more than two hundred English cavalrymen, after firing their flintlock pistols in their hands, drew their swords and crashed into the defensive line of the American sailors.

Rifle bayonets burrowed into the belly of the warhorse. But at the same time, his body was split by the swords of the English cavalry, and a gorgeous Indian sailor burst out of his chest with a stream of blood, and his body fell to the ground in a whirling under the impact of kinetic energy. Human collisions and screams erupted, and many gorgeous sailors were knocked out by their horses, or simply crushed by horses' hooves.

Raising his hand was a few shots, and the English cavalry who fell from the horse did not stand up, and was killed with a pistol by Hu Huan, who was close at hand, but more English cavalry continued to rush towards Hu Huan and the others.

The gorgeous sailors surrounding Hu Huan fired another volley from their rifles, and the English cavalry suffered a great increase in casualties at close range after losing the speed of their charge. But one of the English cavalrymen rang off a flintlock pistol before falling off his horse and hit Hu Huan in the left shoulder impartially.

The tearing pain in his shoulder made Hu Huan almost lose his footing. After gritting his teeth and draining the revolver bullets in his hand, Hu Huan found that there were not many people standing around him, and many sailors even dragged their weapons and fled directly in the direction of the Spanish artillery position.

", I'm going to be reimbursed today......" Instead of blaming his subordinates who were not good at land warfare, Hu Huan retreated to the 75mm naval gun and leaned against his body, his military hat fell to the ground, and he muttered softly.

The English cavalry, which had broken through the defensive positions of the Chinese sailors, was excitedly slashing and slashing to expand the victory, when they were suddenly stopped by another wave of cavalry flying the Spanish flag. More than 200 sturdy Spanish cavalrymen wielded their weapons and scattered their outnumbered opponents. Hu Huan's despair was remedied by the Spanish cavalry who arrived last.

Presumably thinking that these gorgeous sailors had bought time for the defense of their rear headquarters and the transfer of artillery, the Marquis de Santa Cruz sent cavalry to finally reciprocate by driving away the English cavalry that had made a roundabout advance.

The Huamei Temporary Marine Detachment, which had more than 80 people before the start of the war, had already suffered more than 40 casualties by this time. More than 20 of them were killed, and the worst was the young European second lieutenant gunner, who commanded the organ machine gun, whose body was cut in two directly from the abdomen, and the blood and internal organs covered the entire machine gun position.

Although the cavalry units did not achieve the expected results. But it also affected the movement of Spanish troops. On the front, the English formation had pressed into the center of the Spanish phalanx, and the English army, seeing the hope of victory, had pressed all its rear teams this time as well. The flag symbolizing the royal family slowly marches through the England back. It instilled new confidence in the English officers and soldiers who fought hard.

On the central front, thousands of English musketeers took advantage of the gap between the retreat of their spearmen to reorganize their formation, and fired another beautiful approaching volley, and more than 200 Spaniards fell to the ground in unison.

The Spanish officers and soldiers, who were not strong in the will to fight the decisive battle, finally showed signs of cowardice and collapse, the Spanish formation at the front had collapsed, and the entire English army was striding forward in high morale.

"Damn, what are you stunned?! Those who are not dead crawl over, fire the cannons, fire the cannons there! The English must be stopped! Hu Huan, who reacted from the pain, covered his wounds and yelled at his dejected subordinates, while personally pulling away the corpse of a gorgeous sailor who died on the gun carriage, and began to shake the high and low machine, "Quick, cannonball!" Rapid-fire! ”

More than a dozen gorgeous sailors who had survived the catastrophe ran up, and the two 75-mm naval guns, which were held in place by sandbags, roared again.

The 75-mm high-explosive shells fired by the interdiction tactics flew into the rear of the English army, and the smoke and dust of the explosion rose into the sky.

……

"Your Excellency! We won the battle! His Majesty the King will give you a knighthood! The adjutant who accompanied the team could not hide his joy.

"Well, it's almost like the valiant cavalrymen will solve those little troubles." Cromwell put down his monoculars in a dashing manner and gently kicked his mount in the belly, intending to get a little closer to the front, so that all the officers and men could see his lead.

The explosion occurred near the rear team, and the soldiers were constantly being torn apart in the shock wave, but Cromwell felt that he had won the game at this point, and did not care too much about the catharsis of his opponent's defeat.

Another gorgeous 75-millimeter high-explosive artillery shell flew in, and the shrill sound of the whistling sound seemed to be about to put a megaphone on the head, which made people's heads foggy.

"Get out of the way!"

Before the English officer's voice fell, smoke and dust and blast waves enveloped Cromwell's command horse, pouring cold water on the heads of the Englishmen, who had been full of confidence before......

The rising flames and the splatters of shrapnel caused staggering casualties among the English soldiers. As if to avenge the death of the gorgeous sailors, the battle flag, which symbolizes the royal family of England, also broke in the explosion of the cannonball.

"Your Excellency! The English rear team began to retreat! God forbid, they all seem to be retreating! ”

Behind the Spanish legion array, which was almost overwhelmed, the Spanish general who had withdrawn from the front was unkempt, but at this time let out a strange shout of joy.

After raising the monocular and observing it carefully for more than ten seconds, the Marquis of Santa Cruz finally breathed a sigh of relief. While he didn't know why the English would give up on the attack when victory was within reach, it was certain that the Spanish Legion had at least not lost in today's decisive battle.

The exhausted officers and men of both sides gradually distanced themselves, and at this point neither side had the spare strength to charge. Where the soldiers evacuated, patches of bloody corpses were revealed. Only then can people really see how high the bloody Cheng dù was before.

……

It wasn't until three days later that the Marquis de Santa Cruz and the Spanish generals learned the truth: Cromwell was badly wounded by the gorgeous cannon, and more senior English officers were killed in the explosion of that lucky 75-mm shell. The battle ended dramatically because of such a coincidence.

The desperate Battle of Dublin was ultimately defeated by the evacuation of the Supreme Commander with heavy wounds, and the remaining troops retreated to Dublin. It's just a pity that the Spanish legion has also lost the ability to organize the pursuit, and there are not many fully formed Spanish troops on the battlefield.

In the Battle of Ireland, which had a total strength of more than 15,000 troops, the Spanish legions led by the Marquis of Santa Cruz suffered more than 3,500 casualties. And the English army, including Cromwell himself, also suffered more than 2,000 casualties. Tactically, the English won the undoubted victory, judging by the final result. It's basically a tie. But for the Chinese and American Temporary Marines led by Hu Huan, it was an out-and-out crushing victory.

Major General Zhang Chunrui, who learned the results of the battle, finally breathed a sigh of relief, because once the main force of the Spanish Army was defeated in Ireland. The early advantage at sea will be greatly weakened, and the whole situation will become more confusing, and the Chinese and American armies will also be forced to enter the Irish battlefield. For this last point. It is precisely what the Congress and the Cabinet of the United States in China are trying to avoid.

As for the extremely amateur land combat performance of the Temporary Marine Corps led by Hu Huan, Zhang Chunrui was basically satisfied, but he felt deep regret for Hu Huan's wounds and the casualties of 42 sailors.

The battered Spanish army was no longer capable of attacking Dublin on its own initiative, and England's organized defensive operations in Ireland were over, and strictly speaking, the main battlefield that decided the outcome of the war seemed to have nothing to do with Ireland itself.

……

On the evening of December 15, 1635, before the battlefield south of Dublin had been cleared, a detachment of five magnificent light cruisers had sailed to the mouth of the Thames in London.

In the diplomatic talks with Emden, the English, under the "mediation" of the Dutch and the French, were still full of confidence, and it seemed that they did not regard the almost complete destruction of the main naval force a few months ago as a great event, and even cobbled together a number of armed merchant ships to guard the mouth of the Thames. In order to add enough imaginative talking points to the negotiating table, the U.S. Naval Command finally ordered the European Expeditionary Fleet to blockade the mouth of the Thames and destroy all military targets inside and outside the shipping lane.

The last remnants of the English navy, which scattered like frightened birds, were blocked by Sun Yang without any advance warning. As darkness approached, the crossfire of 120-mm heavy naval guns and 90-mm rapid-fire guns lit up half of the Thames estuary, and the wooden sailing ships that had burst into flames collided with each other, and the English sailors who had not had time to jump into the sea were burned to charcoal. The smoke and dust obscured the lighthouse at the mouth of the river, and countless pieces of wood dust and corpses flowed slowly down the river to the open sea.

"Sir, maybe we can go in!" The adjutant smugly pointed to the depths of the Thames to the west, his eyes full of belligerence, "There are English shipyards there, and many merchant ships, which we can easily destroy, and maybe shell London!" ”

"Only against military targets." Sun Yang threw away the binoculars and seemed interested in such a "victory without force", "Captain, the real protagonists of this war are politicians and diplomats, not cannons. ”

"But we can easily win the war with artillery." The captain's adjutant looked puzzled.

"Then we may not be able to achieve victory 'after the war'...... The Spaniards are bleeding in Ireland to 'help' us there, so we have to act as one. Sun Yang glanced at the younger juniors, smiled and shook his head slowly, "Okay, I heard that the largest warship in England is still on the slipway, let's leave them plenty of memories!" ”

The order was given, and the large light cruiser Princess Relief entered the Thames channel, followed by two Republic-class light cruisers, while the other two Jewel-class light cruisers were responsible for guarding the entrance to the sea.

On both sides of the wide river, the graceful hull of the Princess Relief was illuminated by the flames of the destroyed English warships, and at the end of the sight, in the dim darkness of the night, a shipyard loomed, and on the slipway on land was a huge hull of the King Charles, the largest wooden sail battleship ever built by the Kingdom of England. (To be continued......)