2977. Chapter 2977
Chapter 2977
In November 1656, the massive Haihan armed fleet arrived at Cebu Port.
Cebu Port is located in the middle of the east coast of Cebu Island, in a narrow strait between the adjacent Mactan Island. The sea width at the narrowest point of this strait is less than a hundred feet, and the widest point is less than five miles. Most of the
The area is all within the range of shore defense firepower. It can be said that the terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
However, this problem is certainly not a problem for the Haihan Army, which is not attacking here for the first time. Luzon Navy Commander Jiao Fei is personally on the front line to command. He has never been absent from previous attacks on Cebu Port, and this time is certainly no exception.
He first divided the fleet into two, approaching Cebu Port from the north and south respectively, while clearing enemy ships in the nearby waters, and finally blocked the entry and exit channels of the strait.
Spain was once the world's maritime hegemon, but that was before it met Haihan, and now it no longer dares to claim such a status.
Whether it was shipbuilding, military industry, or naval tactics, Spain could not match Haihan in any field. This directly led to the fact that in the past head-to-head confrontations at sea, Spanish warships had almost no victory, and every time it was a one-sided defeat.
The Spanish have learned a lesson and gained wisdom. Today's Spaniards have obviously become much more pragmatic. Instead of making unnecessary attempts, they have arranged a limited number of armed warships in advance outside the strike range of the Haihan naval fleet.
Under the premise of ensuring your own safety, look for opportunities to harass Haihan's troop transports and supply ships.
Therefore, in the process of blocking the strait, the Haihan Army encountered almost no decent resistance, and it was even smoother than the previous attacks here.
However, Jiao Fei was still very cautious and did not let the warship rush into the strait to verify whether the Spanish shore defense firepower was strong. Instead, he ordered the cover troop ship to dock at Mactan Island on the other side of the strait and let part of the army land first.
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The reason for doing this is to prevent the Spaniards from setting up an ambush on Mactan Island. It would not be good if the fleet sailed into the strait to attack Cebu Port and was attacked by coastal defense artillery fire from both sides.
And after clearing Mactan Island, the Army Artillery Force can set up artillery positions on the island shore, with a range sufficient to cover the nearshore targets on the other side of the strait, and cover the fleet's landing operations in Cebu Port.
The Bangui Battalion where Zheng Agui was located was arranged to land on the north shore of Mactan Island. Prior to this, the Bangui Battalion had completed several landing operations on Masbate Island and other places. Now it is quite familiar with the landing process and is no longer like the original attack.
He was so panicked in Masbate Town.
After Zheng Agui's group landed, they marched southward with the company. Their goal was Mactan Port, ten miles away, to clear a safe area in the port area for the subsequent artillery troops stationed there.
"I'll say it again, if we encounter any resistance here, we can fire, but make sure your gun is aimed at the enemy, not friendly forces!"
In previous battles, there have been more than one situation where soldiers opened fire hastily in chaotic situations, resulting in accidental injuries to friendly forces. The command headquarters specially notified all units and asked officers to emphasize this point before starting operations. Especially for recruits with little combat experience.
The troops must implement this as part of military orders.
Although there has been no such chaos in the Bangui camp for the time being, Zheng Agui still carried out the order very seriously. His men have not yet suffered from combat attrition. If they remain cautious at all times, perhaps this luck can last until the end of the war.
As a colony operated by the Spanish for nearly a century, the people here have long regarded themselves as members of the Kingdom of Spain, and their hostility towards the Haihan Army has become even more intense. Almost all the villages and towns they passed through during the march encountered
Organized resistance.
Of course, the Haihan Army would not show mercy to the resisters just because they were civilians. After experiencing several previous battles, the soldiers already knew how to deal with these self-armed resisters.
These resisters often do not have professional military skills and can only carry out sneak attacks from a relatively long distance. However, such sneak attacks are often extremely inefficient. They can only fight at close range at the risk of exposure, but once they enter a front-on battle
state, the strength gap between the resisters will inevitably be exposed immediately.
Zheng Agui knelt down on one leg and raised his gun to aim at a resister running towards him in the distance. This guy had a musket in his hand, but the effective range of this flintlock gun was only twenty feet, and he had to stop first to stabilize himself.
You have to keep your body in position to fire, so Zheng Agui is not worried that the other party can hurt him.
Zheng Agui pulled the trigger, and the opponent fell down. Although he was not sure whether the shot hit the vital point, Zheng Agui silently added to his record.
They encountered a wave of resistance outside this fishing village, but the opponents were just some armed fishermen. Zheng Agui's company not only had superior weapons, but also had more troops than the opponent, so they quickly eliminated this group of resisters.
The resistance encountered after landing was almost all civilians like this. There seemed to be no regular army here, but the civilians were not afraid of death and seemed to lack an objective understanding of the force of the Haihan Army.
"Squad leader, these civilians are not Spanish, why are they working so hard?" Qiu Yong asked Zheng Agui while he was cleaning the battlefield.
Zheng Agui actually didn't quite understand the thoughts of these natives, so he could only respond vaguely: "It is said that these natives have always been very resistant to outsiders. The Spanish captain who first arrived here seemed to have been killed by them. But after a few
They must have regarded the Spaniards as their own, so they helped the Spaniards fight against us!"
The rumors Zheng Agui heard were partly true. In 1521, the Spanish navigator Magellan arrived in Cebu during his voyage around the world, and this was also his last stop. Just twenty days later, Magellan was killed by Chief Pula on Mactan Island.
Common killings.
The real reason why Magellan was killed has not been verified, but there is no doubt that the indigenous people on Mactan Island were ferocious and warlike. They obviously did not welcome the arrival of the Haihan people, and decided to use all means to expel the outsiders.
However, the combat power of Haihan's army was far superior to that of the Spaniards who originally colonized Cebu. The resistance of these indigenous people could not stop Haihan and would only cause unnecessary casualties.
Zheng Agui's company took only half a day to clear out the resisters along the way and arrived at the predetermined target location.
Standing on the coast, you can see the situation on the other side of the strait with your naked eyes without using a telescope. As the largest trading port in the region, Cebu Port is silent at this time, with not a single big ship in the port.
News of Haihan's attacks on various Spanish colonies had obviously reached here, and all the ships that could escape had left before the arrival of Haihan's fleet.
Chapter completed!