While the British were struggling, the new government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was in tatters, and they vowed to resist the East Indies to the end, because there was no way out.

The victory of the South African Boers was like a shot in the arm, giving the Dutch fantasies about replicating the miracle of South Africa in the East Indies, and the confidence of the people at home was at an all-time high.

The call for a tough confrontation to the end overwhelmed the capitulation faction, and they vowed to hold out on Java for 25 years or more until the Tang Empire army was crushed.

Since the beginning of the 20th century

In March, the Tang Empire officially decided on a new strategy to capture the island of Java, in the words of Emperor Richard;

"The opportunity for peace was in the hands of the Dutch, and the opportunity had been given to them, but these white colonists did not cherish it.

Well now

The Empire will launch a thunderous military campaign that will break the backbone of these white colonists and bring them back to their original form. ”

At the sound of an order, the army gathered.

The launch of the Java Island Campaign will be carried out by the Sumatra Corps, the Kalimantan Corps and the Bali Occupation Army, which will carry out a three-way attack on the Java Islands.

Among them.

After the replenishment, the Sumatra Corps has increased from the original 116,000 to 153,000, and in addition to some of the remaining defense of Sumatra, a total of 121,000 Western Front Attack Corps will be formed, and the spearhead will be directly aimed at the western region of Java Island with Batavia (Jakarta) as the core.

After the Kalimantan Corps was replenished, the strength of the army increased from more than 55,000 to 77,200, except for some of the remaining Kalimantan Islands, the total number of troops participating in the Battle of Java Island was 58,900, forming a powerful Central Army Corps.

The target of the attack was the central part of Java between Yogyakarta and Surabaya, cutting off the entire island from which it could not be connected from end to end.

The original strength of the Bali occupation army was more than 13,000 troops, with the Royal Praetorian Guard's Fourth Division of Heaven as the main force, and three independent regiments, which was the weakest of the three routes.

In order to strengthen the Eastern Route Army, the Imperial East Indies Expeditionary Force strengthened it with a Cebu Second Division, an artillery regiment and a cavalry wing, bringing the total strength to 23,200.

The Eastern Route Corps was responsible for attacking and occupying the towns in the eastern part of Java, sweeping from east to west, and finally joining up with the Central Corps in the Surabaya area to complete the eastern assault attempt.

The former commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, Marshal Don Li Xin, Prince of Pingxi, has stepped down, and the new commander-in-chief has been replaced by Lieutenant General Fan Pengfei, deputy chief of staff of the Royal Army, and has been promoted to the rank of general, still leading the Kalimantan Corps to attack and occupy the central part of Java Island.

Early in the morning of March 11

Off the coast of Batavia (Jakarta).

A dense fleet of ships covered the entire surface of the sea, and on a large troop carrier, Brigadier General Don Li Yi, commander of the Imperial Panzer Division, stood on the side of the ship with his hands on his back, looking out at a gray-green coastline far away.

There, is where the port of Batavia (Jakarta) is located.

Now

The artillery of the fleet of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, which had absolute superiority, was rumbling, and it was covering the Dutch defensive positions along the coast with fierce artillery fire, and carrying out a devastating blow on them.

This was already the third shelling of the port by the Royal Navy fleet since the Tang-Dutch War, and it was more intense and deadly than the previous two artillery bombardments.

Within range of the Royal Navy's guns, all the fortifications built by the Dutch army were blown to pieces, and the fleet was able to vent its firepower.

Of the five main Duke-class ironclads of the Royal Navy fleet, there are now only two in the naval formation, and the main forces in the bombardment of the port of Batavia are six ironclad cruisers and smaller tonnage ocean-going destroyers.

Other warships of the Royal Navy are now more than 470 kilometers away from the port of Surabaya, cooperating with the Central Army to occupy the port area and cover the landing of the main force of the 58,900 corps in the port.

Because of its absolute maritime superiority, the three major armies of the Tang Empire, which launched the Battle of Java Island, adopted the tactics of going straight to the core.

At the beginning of the war

It used the cover of the powerful royal navy to land on important coastal ports such as Batavia, Surabaya, and Yogyakarta, and launched a powerful frontal offensive.

This is purely to overwhelm people, bullying the Dutch no longer has decent naval strength, bullying the Dutch artillery is not advanced enough, and logistics support is cut off.

Open the way with absolute firepower superiority, destroy the city all the way and storm it, take the lead in occupying and controlling the important large and medium-sized cities on Java Island, and the enemy will be saved.

As the sharpest attack blade of the Western Route Corps, the Imperial Panzer Division belongs to the first wave of the landing force, and will break into the city under the cover of artillery and engage in a fierce face-to-face battle with the Dutch army.

Brigadier General Don Li Yi's serious face showed a look of anticipation, and he couldn't wait for the upcoming white-hot battle.

In the same mood as him, there are several senior officers around him.

"Master Shizao, God treats us well, how can people not be happy in their hearts to send this precious opportunity to establish a great meritorious service in front of us?"

Colonel Pan Zhixin and Lieutenant Colonel Tan Fusheng walked over, unable to hide the frenzy of longing for battle on their faces.

According to the merits accumulated over the years, Colonel Pan Zhixin can already be awarded the hereditary title of Imperial Baron, and is about to be promoted to brigadier general of the Royal Praetorian Guard.

However, due to the delay of the war, he was not yet able to return to the Imperial Royal Military University for further studies and complete the final transformation from a middle-level officer to a senior officer.

If he is once again honored in the Java War, the desired noble title may be upgraded by one level and become the title of Imperial Viscount, which will be hereditary and replaceable.

This is Colonel Pan Zhixin's long-cherished wish in the army for more than 20 years, and it also means that he, a member of the Pan clan, has become a real imperial nobleman, and his descendants will continue to pass it on.

At this moment, with great glory and extreme longing filling my chest, how can I not be eager to try?

Brigadier General Tang Li Yi understood his mood very well, and after turning his head to look at him, he said with a smile on the corner of his mouth; "The Dutch are not easy to deal with, they are real stubble.

Those Boers fought very well in South Africa, causing great trouble to the British, and the losses were quite large, and one careless could be killed.

These Dutch people on the island of Java are in the same vein as the Boers, and they must not be underestimated. ”

"Master Shizuo, please rest assured, my first armored regiment is ready to deal with all kinds of difficulties, and the morale of the officers and men of the whole regiment is high, and the meritorious deeds are coming today." Colonel Pan Zhixin's face was flushed, and his gaze in the distance revealed an eager expression.

He is the deputy division commander and the commander of the 1st Armored Regiment, and he has the only 36 armored assault guns in the division, and these 36 short-barreled assault guns are mobile and flexible, and have powerful assault capabilities.

"It is a good thing that the brothers have faith, and it is estimated that they will be able to land ashore ahead of schedule." Brigadier General Don Li Yi saw the flotilla signal flag waving keenly.

Sure enough, the fleet of the armored division moved significantly faster, detached from the huge mass of ships on the sea, and drew a clear track, aiming directly at the port of Batavia.

Half an hour later

At about 10:00 a.m., more than a dozen large ships of the armored division's fleet approached the pier filled with gunsmoke one after another, and a large number of heavily armed soldiers swarmed out, and armored vehicles and artillery were also unloaded one after another.

"Quick, second battalion commander, take your men to move forward quickly, cooperate with the infantry units to establish a circular defensive position, and stop the Dutch counterattack."

"Unload the trucks and horses, I'm going to organize a mobile strike force now, all move faster." Colonel Pan Zhixin commanded loudly on the dock, and the expression on his face was a little anxious.

At this time, the gunfire of the outer defensive positions was loud, and the soldiers of the Tang Empire had already engaged the Dutch army, and the battle was white-hot from the beginning.

The Dutch know;

Taking advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold, counterattacking was the only hope of pushing him back into the sea, so he invested his troops regardless of the sacrifice, and the will to attack was very resolute.

After the landing, the Western Front Corps quickly dispatched troops to establish a forward defensive position at a position of 8~10 kilometers along the wharf to provide protection for the landing ship regiment in the rear.

It was this semi-circular line of defense that the Dutch attacked, and they invested a large number of troops, taking advantage of the ruins of residential buildings and warehouses, and repeatedly launched forced attacks.

The gunfire outside the dock was like a burst of gunfire, and Colonel Pan Zhixin was anxious and ordered the troops to unload urgently.

Freighters carrying armored divisions are special ships carrying cranes capable of lifting heavy equipment down in the event of destruction of loading and unloading equipment at the dock.

In just over 40 minutes, 13 armored vehicles had already been hoisted down, and Colonel Pan Zhixin immediately ordered the vehicles to be started and divided into two armored formations to support the front line.

Among them, Major Pan Zhicheng led an armored formation, which galloped to the southeast according to the order, and soon arrived at the front line of fierce fighting.

It was a land of architectural ruins, large swaths of buildings that had been destroyed by the fire of the fleet, and the landed Imperial soldiers built defensive lines along the ruins.

From a distance, a large number of soldiers dressed in Dutch uniforms were expelling the straggler line and attacking the defensive line in waves like a tide, and the battle between the two sides was very fierce.

On the battlefield

The corpses of the enemy were everywhere, in the ruins, on the side of small ditches, on empty dirt roads, lying on all sides, all kinds of appearances, once again showing the fierceness of the battle.

Major Pan Zhicheng waved the flag in his hand on the leading command vehicle and signaled his seven armored vehicles to disperse and enter the front-line defensive position.

The timely arrival of these tracked armored vehicles won a cheer from the officers and soldiers of the empire on the defensive line.

It seems to have strengthened 7 defensive fortresses on the precarious defensive line, and with these 7 defensive fortresses as the core, the entire defensive line has a solid support point in the blink of an eye and becomes stronger.

The arrival of these gray wolf armored vehicles stopped in the middle of the relatively empty road, connecting the entire defensive line.

The armored car was not idle, and as soon as the vehicle stopped, it began to frantically vent its fire on the enemy with short-barreled guns and heavy machine guns, which brutally interrupted the offensive momentum of the Dutch army.

Amid the cheers of the soldiers, the Dutch army left behind a piece of corpses and retreated in disarray.