Chapter 1241 Strong Defense Line

Seeing Roger's solemn expression, Tan Juren knew that a critical moment had come, so he immediately stood up and left. Roger sent him out the door, and when saying goodbye, he specifically warned: "In case... I mean, in case something goes wrong here."

, when the time comes, you will take over the command first, and the specific command will be done by my subordinates, and then notify Lao Mu to come over and take charge of the overall situation."

Tan Juren waved his hand and said: "Don't say these unlucky words, be careful yourself, I don't want to be on the front line of the battle! I will keep an eye on the logistics 24 hours a day, so you can just deal with the Johor people with peace of mind."

Although Roger was very confident in this battle, the battlefield situation was changing rapidly, and he could not guarantee that there would be no mistakes. Moreover, he took the initiative to place the headquarters on the line of fire. This measure entailed risks.

He was already relatively big, so Tan Juren would not have dared to work so hard. Roger first explained how to deal with emergencies, and he was also responsible for the entire team. Tan Juren naturally understood his intentions, but at this juncture he still had to give Luo some advice.

Jie just needs to cheer him up, he can't be too enthusiastic about this kind of emergency arrangement.

After seeing off Tan Juren, Roger did not return to the office, but went directly to the firing line. It would be some time before the enemy troops arrived here, and Roger wanted to make full use of this time to inspect the positions he had arranged, and by the way, give the soldiers

Cheer up. Especially those soldiers who have never experienced war since joining the army. This may be a big test in their careers. Roger must ensure that they can at least perform at least half of their usual training standards, so that the war can go smoothly.

It is beneficial to Haihan.

To Roger's satisfaction, the morale of the soldiers was quite good. Although many soldiers had not really experienced war, they may not fully understand why their superiors arranged their positions in the immigrant villages instead of taking the initiative to leave more troops.

They had to carry out the intersecting operations they had learned in strategic depth, but their trust in Roger was indeed unreserved, and they were convinced that this combat plan would be able to destroy the invading enemy. The local reserves of materials, weapons and ammunition were sufficient, and they added

There were already reinforcements on their way to Star Island, so the soldiers didn't have much to worry about.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the scouts reported that the enemy was less than five miles away from Haihan's position, and that the enemy should have known the location of Haihan's base and was stopping to rest. It was estimated that they would launch an offensive soon. Haihan was deployed at

The two companies in the field also adjusted their ambush positions, waiting for the enemy's main force to launch an attack, and then outflanking its retreat from the outside.

Hogg was actually more anxious than Roger at this time. The spies who went out reported that no one came in or out of Haihan's immigrant village, and the surrounding farmland was completely deserted. It was very likely that he had noticed something and had all the people come back.

A safe area. Hogg knew that the more time Haihan was left to prepare, the harder it would be to attack the stronghold later. Moreover, if Haihan transferred all the people and abandoned the immigrant village, then what he envisioned was to attack the immigrant village and then blackmail them.

The battle plan of people attacking the Haihan stronghold will not work. If it becomes a protracted confrontation, the coalition forces in the field will have no advantage against the Haihan army guarding the stronghold. Instead, they will suffer from logistical supply problems.

It is difficult to sustain long-term operations.

However, the coalition forces were dispatched early this morning. After crossing the strait, they landed and marched for dozens of miles. The physical exertion was also huge. If they were to launch an offensive immediately in this state, the combat effectiveness that the soldiers could exert would undoubtedly be huge.

At a discount, this was a situation that he was never willing to see. Although he was not willing to do so, in order to ensure that the soldiers could go into battle at full strength, he could only order them to stop and rest for a while until their physical strength improved.

He recovered and launched the offensive again. Although he rode all the way, he was also very tired after walking bumpyly for dozens of miles. When he dismounted, the orderlies held his arms to prevent his legs from weakening and falling.

The vanguard force led by Hogg has a size of about 800 people, including almost all mercenaries and hundreds of Johor New Army soldiers. It can be regarded as the most elite force among the coalition forces that invaded Star Island this time. Hogg hopes

If you can concentrate the main force to break through the opponent's defense in one fell swoop, it would be best to defeat the opponent before the follow-up troops led by Ba Pong catch up, so that these ignorant natives can see the power of British combat.

"It's almost time to rest, let's assemble the whole team!" Facing the sketch that showed the general distribution of the buildings in Haihan's stronghold, Hogg pondered silently for a long time. It wasn't until the adjutant came to ask for instructions that he stood up and issued the combat order.

The East India Company and the State of Johor put a lot of effort into this sketch, spent a lot of time to find out the information, and took several months to sort it out. It is also the most detailed map currently in the hands of the coalition forces. According to the map

As shown, the immigrant village that the coalition forces are about to attack is divided into two parts, east and west, with some resident civil affairs agencies in the middle. There is a small river behind it. To the south of the river are military strongholds and ports. As long as the immigrant village is captured, at least

You can use this to establish a position to continue fighting with the Haihan army. If you are lucky, you can push across the river and drive the Haihan army directly into the sea.

But if the immigrant village cannot be captured, the coalition forces will have to build positions in the wild to deal with their opponents. This is not an easy task, and Hogg is not optimistic about the field combat capabilities of the Johor New Army. If such a situation develops, it can be regarded as

Quite passive. Of course, Hogg doesn't think that the coalition forces can't even defeat an immigrant village. Even if the Haihan people realize something is wrong now and start to dispatch troops, they will not be able to turn a village into a military fortress in a short time.

The coalition forces had conducted many targeted drills long in advance. If they couldn't defeat even an immigrant village, then he and Ba Pong wouldn't have to go back for business.

After the coalition forces stepped out of the jungle, a large area of ​​farmland appeared in front of them, at least over a thousand acres by visual inspection. Most of it was planted with rice, and the remaining farmland was planted with various fruits and vegetables. However, the rice at this season is still

Qingmiao, it is impossible to obtain food supplies from the farmland here. However, there are still some free-range ducks and geese, still wandering in the fields. And within the scope of the eyes, not even a single person can be seen.

When I arrived, there was silence in the wilderness, and there was not even a trace of smoke in the villages in the distance. The tranquility was a bit unsettling and weird.

But Hogg would not be intimidated by this scene. After confirming the location of the village in the distance, he immediately ordered an offensive. The drummers in the queue beat the war drums, and the soldiers maintained their battle formation and began to move toward the distance.

The goal is slowly advancing.

Although there were no traces of enemy troops as far as the eye could see, the journey was not smooth either. The rice fields everywhere turned into roadblocks in an instant, standing between the coalition forces and the target. In order to ensure that the battle formation would not be scattered, the soldiers

They could only keep their formation and step through the rice fields. Mud and water splashed everywhere, and the shoes on many people's feet got stuck directly in the mud. A small chaos immediately occurred.

Of course Hogg also sees this, but at the moment he has no better way to solve this problem. It is obviously not feasible to let the soldiers break up their formation and march from the field ridge. Haihan's village is a mile away.

, should we just let the soldiers rush in as skirmishers? Even if Hogg had confidence in his men, he would not dare to be so confident. The Haihan people are not indigenous people who can only use cold weapons. I heard that their musketeers are also quite capable.

What's awesome is that if there is an ambush hidden in the village, rushing in in a skirmish formation will undoubtedly be suicide. The safest way is to form a neat attack formation and push forward, using muskets to destroy the enemy's defense line.

It has to be said that there are no obvious mistakes in Hogg's combat thinking. The mainstream tactics of the musketeers in this era are still that the gunmen complete the volley under the cover of the spearmen, while the pure musketeers form a line formation and line up to shoot.

Tactics can only be used freely by a very small number of elite troops. The coalition forces formed by the East India Company and Johor are obviously not within the category of "elite", so the attack methods that can be used on the battlefield are traditional tactics, which are already considered hot and cold.

It was the best tactic in the era of combined weapons, not to mention that Hogg also thoughtfully added a bunker of large shields at the front for the infantry. Hogg believed that even if the coalition forces under his command ran into Portuguese or Dutch armed forces with comparable strength,

The troops will not suffer at all.

Hogg lacked understanding of Haihan's fighting methods. Apart from knowing that Haihan's army was equipped with a large number of muskets, he had almost no other information. This also led him to believe that Haihan's tactics should also be consistent with his own when formulating tactics.

Similarly, it was completely unexpected that the superiority of weapon performance made Haihan's army's combat methods far ahead of this era, and there would not be a battle scene like the two sides facing off in formation as he imagined. In the silent village, Haihan

The army is patiently waiting for the coalition forces to step into range, and then a massacre will begin.

Although the drumbeats commanding the troops to move forward were not disrupted at all, the coalition troops staggering forward in the rice fields began to scatter. Some even stopped and squatted in the mud to look for their shoes. Hogg looked at the map in his hand again.

, such a large rice field was not marked on it. He suddenly felt a little regretful. Perhaps he should not rush to launch an attack, but let the scouts explore the edges of the farmland to see if there was a more suitable route to advance to avoid these damn rice fields.

mud pit.

However, the troops have already pressed forward. Terminating the offensive at this time and letting the soldiers turn back will inevitably dampen their morale. And after all, Hogg still holds a bit of luck in his heart - how will you know if you don't try? Maybe the Haihan people are too late to organize the army because of the rush of time.

, choose to avoid fighting, the coalition forces will probably attack the village directly.

But the coalition soldiers who were the vanguard were not as optimistic as Hogg. When they finally approached the village, they found that all the entrances to the village were blocked by tree trunks, rocks and earth bags.

However, on the walls of the houses facing the outside of the village, there are many holes the size of bowls. The heights are almost the same, which makes people confused - they are said to be used for lighting, but the positions are too short.

Some of them are said to be used for ventilation, but there are clearly windows next to them.

Just when everyone was puzzled, many muzzles suddenly emerged from these holes and obstacles at the intersection. The leading British officer reacted quickly and immediately ordered the shield bearers to cover, and the musketeers entered the fighting position. And in

At the same time as he gave the order, the guns on the opposite side spurted out flames.

"Did the Haihan people attack first?" Hogg, who was watching the battle from behind, was a little surprised by this unexpected situation. He thought that the undefended village actually had the Haihan army ambushing it. However, he did not panic because of this. The two sides were far away from each other.

There is still a distance. According to his experience, the hit rate of a musket at this distance basically depends on character. Such scattered firepower output, and there is shield protection on his side, can of course greatly reduce the risk of being hit by projectiles.

Odds. Although the Haihan people fired first, they may not have any advantage.

But the actual situation was somewhat different from Hogg's expectation. The bullets fired from the village all shot straight at the coalition soldiers standing in the farmland. Although the shield bearers tried their best to form a shield wall as quickly as possible, they still

Several soldiers had blood blooming on their bodies, and then fell straight into the mud.

"Shoot!" the officer commanding them loudly issued combat instructions. After a burst of gunfire, smoke from burning gunpowder filled the front of the formation, making it impossible for the soldiers to see the target in front. But the bullets shot through the smoke.

But it didn't stop for a moment, and even the thick shields erected in front couldn't stop it. There were already several shield bearers holding their own bunkers and falling down in the rice fields.

After Roger confirmed the opponent's shield formation during the reconnaissance a few days ago, he was considering a way to crack it. Using artillery is naturally the simplest and crudest method, but Roger did not want to play out all the cards in his hand as soon as he started.

Naturally, the killing weapon should be reserved for critical moments. After discussing with his officers after returning home, Roger made the decision to let snipers take on this critical task.

The range and power of sniper rifles are far greater than that of standard rifles. The penetration depth at the same distance also has obvious advantages. Ordinary rifle bullets may not be able to penetrate shields, but sniper rifles can easily punish them. Moreover, the shield is a huge target, so sniper rifles

Players don't even need a scope at all, they can hit the target just by using the scale that comes with the gun.

The coalition soldiers only knew that their rifles could not penetrate such a large protective shield at a certain distance, but they never imagined that their opponents had powerful armor-piercing weapons. After penetrating the shield, they would still have enough lethality. Almost every shot would hit the coalition front.

A gap was created in the top, revealing the unprotected soldiers behind. As long as the Haihan soldiers' shots were aimed at this continuously exposed gap, they could ensure a very high kill rate.

The vanguard force sent by Hogg to test out only had more than a hundred people, and the shields in front were only twenty or thirty pieces. Half of them fell down after a short exchange of fire. Naturally, the function of covering the musketeers was greatly reduced, and there were also several musketeers.

He was killed and wounded and fell to the ground. The officer in charge was blocked by the smoke from his own shooting and could not see the situation on the other side at all. However, he saw that his own formation was already in chaos and quickly gave the order to retreat.
Chapter completed!