Chapter 2979

After conducting reconnaissance on this large block, the Haihan Army discovered that there were about a dozen forts disguised as private houses. Moreover, these small fortresses were very close to each other and could provide fire cover for each other. If the Haihan Army wanted to attack a certain

If a fort is surrounded, it will inevitably be exposed to the firepower of other nearby forts.

After a brief exchange of fire, the Haihan Army noticed that the firepower points of these fortresses were generally set up high on the second and third floors, giving them a commanding advantage. To conquer these fortresses, the firepower of infantry alone was far from enough, and it would cost a huge amount of money.

casualties.

So the command headquarters mobilized warships to the nearby coast and used naval guns to carry out fire strikes on offshore fortresses. At the same time, it ordered the artillery and engineering troops to move closer to the warring area.

Facing such a group of strong fortresses, the most reliable method of warfare is to use heavy artillery bombardment and blasting.

After hearing the news, Commander Yu Tiezhu of the Fourth Army Division personally came to the front line to deploy the next round of attack. This was also a new test for him, because in the previous attacks on Cebu, the Haihan Army also

I have never encountered such strong resistance.

They quietly built these fortresses, practiced corresponding tactics, and sent a large number of dead soldiers to garrison them. This shows that the Spaniards' will to resist has not been worn away in recent years, but has become increasingly determined. This is certainly not a problem for Haihan.

Good thing.

Yu Tiezhu couldn't understand why the Spaniards suddenly changed their attitude and wanted to fight the Haihan Army on the frontal battlefield. However, if we could take this opportunity to annihilate their elite in these fortresses in the city, it would be better than letting them escape.

Into the mountains and forests.

The attack on this group of fortresses began in the afternoon and lasted until dusk.

Fort San Pedro, which is close to the coast, became the first target. This castle was also attacked when the Haihan Army attacked Cebu before. However, after reinforcement and renovation by the Spanish, its ability to withstand artillery strikes has been significantly improved.

The artillery fire coverage from the naval fleet destroyed almost all the upper open-air forts of Fort San Pedro, but the lower level of the castle was protected by thick fortifications, and there were still several artillery pieces and hundreds of musket firing holes that continued to output firepower.

The Manila Battalion and the Guards Battalion took turns to launch multiple rounds of offensives, but they still failed to break through their defense lines. Instead, they suffered many casualties.

As dusk approaches, the sounds of gunfire and artillery fire gradually become sparse, and it seems that today's war is coming to an end.

"Squad leader, that should be the end of the day, right?"

Hearing the subordinate's question, Zheng Agui nodded subconsciously and said: "There shouldn't be any more fighting after nightfall. Let's go and get started!"

Although the Haihan Army has a certain ability to fight at night, it also depends on the strength of the opponent. In a critical battle like the current one, if an offensive is launched all night, the Haihan Army will not gain the upper hand, but will weaken its own advantage.

Everyone patted their butts and got up. After watching the excitement for a long time, although they didn't move much, they were really hungry and it was time to go have dinner.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw a fire light up in the direction of San Pedro Castle, followed by a loud bang and smoke that enveloped the entire castle.

"What was that? The armory inside exploded?"

"It's not the armory!" Zheng Agui, who came back to his senses, shook his head and said with certainty: "The explosion happened near the city gate. It should have been blown up by us with explosives!"

Zheng Agui expected it to be true. During the continuous offensive in the afternoon, it took the engineers a long time to use manpower to transport a large amount of explosives to the gate of Fort San Pedro under the cover of artillery and snipers.

The burial was completed before the sun set.

The big explosion that occurred previously was the effect of detonating explosives.

In order to achieve a fatal blow, the amount of explosives planted by the engineers has far exceeded the need to blow open the city gate or collapse a section of the city wall.

After the explosion, only two corners of the triangular Fort San Pedro were left. The corner near the city gate was reduced to ruins along with the city wall, gate tower and turret.

The blown earth and rock fragments, together with the remains of the defenders' corpses, even fell to a place a mile away, which shows the power of this explosion.

Not to mention a small fortress, even the walls of a real big city may not be able to withstand such an explosion.

This is no wonder why the fighting gradually stopped before the explosion. It turned out that the nearby Haihan troops had received orders and evacuated the dangerous area in advance.

Before the dust and smoke raised by the explosion had completely dissipated, the Haihan army rushed into the castle through the gap in the city wall. Without the protection of the fortifications, it would be difficult for the Spaniards inside to organize effective resistance.

Zheng Agui and others were greatly surprised by this sudden change in the battle situation. They originally thought that the offensive and defensive battle around this castle would continue until the next day, but they did not expect that the earth would collapse in just a moment.

This symbolic castle was captured by the Haihan army in such a simple and crude way, which may have dealt a serious blow to the confidence of the Spaniards.

During dinner time, all the soldiers on Mactan Island were excitedly talking about the previous big explosion. Especially for the recruits in Bangui Camp, this was like opening the door to a new world, and they knew what had happened.

There is such a brutal and unreasonable way to attack the enemy, which seems to be much more satisfying than using artillery bombardment.

If we encounter similar tough battles in the future, wouldn’t we be able to resolve them in this way?

Zheng Agui poured cold water on them: "The blasting operation is not as simple as it seems. The explosion just now required at least several hundred kilograms of explosives. In the current battlefield environment, so much explosives must be transported outside the castle.

Well laid, do you think this job is easy?"

Everyone was silent for a moment. The Spaniards in the castle were not blind. To complete such a task, they had to brave a hail of bullets. Even with their own fire cover, this was no easy task.

Zheng Agui did not continue talking. Although he was not an engineer, he could still imagine how dangerous this mission was. Perhaps when the battle report comes out tomorrow, we will know the price that the participating troops paid for this.

Before dinner was finished, the company commander announced the latest order to them. The Bangui Battalion would board a ship and cross the channel early tomorrow morning, heading to Cebu City to replace the Manila Battalion, which had been fighting all day.

After breaking through Fort San Pedro, the Haihan Army did not continue to launch night battles, and the two sides temporarily stopped fighting with a tacit understanding.

There was nothing going on that night, and as the sky dimmed the next day, the Bangui Camp set off from its base. More than a dozen troop transport ships had arrived at the nearby dock in advance, waiting to load the Bangui Camp's men and horses to cross the sea.

Not long after boarding the ship and setting off, Zheng Agui became nervous. He discovered that the direction the fleet was going was exactly where Fort San Pedro was. This meant that the Bangui Battalion was likely to push to the front line and continue to attack this area.

The fortress group launched an attack.
Chapter completed!