Chapter 387 South Vietnam’s defense methods

During the Han Dynasty, Hue was once under the jurisdiction of Rinan County, Jiaozhou, and its ancient name was Lu Rong County. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was no longer owned by China and was taken over by the Linyi Kingdom in the south, later the Champa Kingdom. In the 14th century, Champa City was

The king presented Hue as a betrothal gift to Chen Yingzong, the emperor of the Chen Dynasty whose country was named "Dai Viet" at that time. Then the Chen Dynasty renamed Huezhou and Huazhou. In the early 15th century, the Ming Dynasty occupied Vietnam and merged Shunzhou and Huazhou.

It is Hue Prefecture and is subordinate to the Chief Secretary of Cochin. This is how Hue got its name.

As the largest city in the central region of Indochina, Hue has been designated as the capital by the Nguyen Dynasty that occupied the south during the decades of Annan civil strife. It is also the political, economic, and cultural center of the entire South Vietnam region, and its importance cannot be overstated.

And Yu. Since this city is less than twenty miles away from the coast, the Hai Han militia, aiming for a quick victory, naturally made Hue the first target for annihilating the South Vietnamese regime.

Of course, Hue is not completely defenseless. As the capital of the southern small court, there are nearly 30,000 garrison troops stationed inside and outside Hue City. It originates from the Truong Son Mountains and flows into the sea from south to north of Hue City.

On the Xiangjiang River, the last organized unit of the South Vietnamese Navy still remains. Although this navy basically no longer has the ability to fight at sea, it can still play a certain role in patrolling and warning in coastal waters and inland rivers.

Deterrence effect.

The 34-year-old Wu Sen is a staff general of this naval force. Although his position is not low, he can currently directly command less than a hundred combat personnel. This is because the South Vietnamese Navy force lost control of the navy last year.

suffered heavy losses in the battle and have not been able to recover until now. Although the establishment of this army has shrunk by at least three or four times compared to its heyday, the original military attache positions have not been reduced because of this. They were originally stationed in four

The ten general officers in the seaport city now have to divide the command of the navy on the Hong Kong River like beggars.

Wu Sen had been stationed at Hoi An Port before. When the Hai Han militia attacked Hoi An at the end of summer last year, he lost 70% of his men and almost all the ships on the Thu Bon River. Although Wu Sen did not suffer from the defeat after the war

Although he was demoted, it is already difficult to restore his former glory. For the time being, he can only serve as a patrol leader on the Xiangjiang River. In the past, such matters were handled by lower-level officers such as generals, and there was no need to participate at all.

Will experience it personally.

Of course, the officers hope that the Ministry of War can restore the establishment of the navy as soon as possible. After all, Annan is a country on the sea. If the long coastline is not guarded by the navy, it will be no different from opening the door to robbers. Moreover, the South Vietnamese navy was there the previous year.

The repeated setbacks in the battle with the Haihan militia made the officers hold back a fire in their hearts, hoping to rebuild the navy as soon as possible before they could compete with the hateful Haihan people.

However, although the wish is good, the reality is very cruel. The shipyards in Dong Hoi and Hoi An, where the warships of the South Vietnamese navy were manufactured, were destroyed by the offensive of the Hai Han militia last year, and the city of Hoi An was even turned into an abandoned city.

, some shipbuilders were also kidnapped by the Hai Han militia. It would take at least a year to rebuild the shipyard. In addition, the Portuguese who originally promised to help reneged on their promise before the end of last year, and the economic situation under South Vietnam's rule also deteriorated.

As the situation continues to deteriorate, the Ministry of War's plan to rebuild the naval force has become far out of reach.

Having great ambition but no way to serve the country is Wu Sen’s biggest feeling right now. All the ships belonging to the navy on the Xiangjiang River add up to only about fifty or sixty ships, and more than half of them are inland rivers that cannot go to sea.

Flat-bottomed cargo ship. For example, Wu Sen's current ship is a river cargo ship that was fortunately saved after the Battle of Hoi An. At that time, the owner of the ship saw that the situation was not good and sailed the ship to the upper reaches of the Thu Bon River early, and then escaped. However,

After the war, the Ministry of War ordered the collection of civilian ships to rebuild the navy, so the ships were naturally requisitioned by the government.

But just such a cargo ship, which is three feet long and seven feet long, is now regarded as one of the largest ships on the Xiangjiang River. Wu Sen looked at the surrounding river, and most of them were small fishing boats about two feet long. They still need to pass

It travels with human oars. This kind of ship is fine for patrolling. It is a joke to try to compete with the Hai Han warship with its huge hull and powerful firepower. Wu Sen couldn't help but think of the warship of the Hai Han militia that was crushed on the Thu Bon River last year.

The scene when one's own warship was at sea made me close my eyes in pain.

In the past month or so, no large ship that had previously gone out in the waters near Xiangjiang has returned. It seems that it is most likely to be in danger and was intercepted by the Haihan warship in the outer sea. Recently, the watercraft patrolling outside the Xiangjiang estuary has

Military boats have discovered traces of the Haihan warships one after another, which gave Wu Sen an ominous premonition.

As a naval general, Wu Sen knew very well how far away the Qiongzhou Island where the Hai Han people were from Hue. A long-term naval blockade of the Hai Han warships at the entrance of the Xiangjiang River would inevitably require the dispatch of a large number of warships, which meant that they were stationed there.

There may be more ships in the nearby waters than currently known, and to achieve such a blockade effect, it is impossible to rely entirely on real-time supplies from Qiongzhou Island. Wu Sen speculated that most of the Haihan people have established temporary docking points in the nearby waters. As for the sea

Why did the Han people bother to blockade the sea outside Hue Prefecture? Wu Sen only thought of one possibility, which was to pave the way for the next large-scale attack on Hue Prefecture. After all, the entrance to the Xiang River is only a dozen miles away from Hue City.

, if you go upstream by water, the voyage is only about thirty miles. The Hai Han people will definitely have enough ability to launch an attack on Hue City from the sea, but the existing South Vietnamese naval forces do not have enough combat power to prevent the Hai Han people from launching an attack.

Such an offensive.

Wu Sen dutifully wrote a document and reported his judgment and speculation to his superiors, but it had no effect. This is not because the commander-in-chief of Xiangjiang water defense does not pay enough attention to possible crises, but that under the current situation

There is no feasible solution at all.

Knowing that the enemy was on the sea not far from Hue City, the South Vietnamese military did not drive the Hai Han warship away from the sea. Even the small boats sent to monitor the opponent had to keep a relatively safe distance to avoid

They were easily wiped out by the enemy. As for setting up a defense line on the Xiangjiang River, there is no need to hope too much. If these existing boats can prevent the Haihan people from going deep into the Xiangjiang River, then officers like Wu Sen will not need to be guarded by Hue City.

The crisis we faced was frightening.

What the South Vietnamese Ministry of War can do now is to mobilize as many troops as possible in the ruled area to the vicinity of Hue City to strengthen the city defense. As for the relatively weak water defense, they basically have to leave it to fate. This arrangement allows Wu Sen and his

Colleagues have fallen into a deep sense of powerlessness. As soldiers, they are not afraid to fight for the country and even die on the battlefield. But if resistance has become completely useless, is there really any meaning in dying like this?

"Your Majesty, the patrol ship outside the river mouth has sent out an early warning signal. It is suspected that an enemy ship is incoming!"

The urgent military information reported by his subordinates awakened Wu Sen from his sad mood, and he immediately issued an order: "Send a ship to explore again! Raise the flag and put everyone on combat readiness! In addition, immediately send someone to send the news back to Hue City!"

The soldiers raised a red flag on the mast of Wusen's ship to warn their companions on the surrounding river. Half an hour later, further news finally came back - two fleets appeared on the sea near the mouth of the Xiangjiang River.

, with a lineup of more than ten ships, coming from the north and south directions respectively. Although these two fleets did not fly flags, some people have identified from the ship shape that they were the ones that attacked Hoi An City in August last year.

Haihan Navy, but the size of the fleet is much larger than last year's attack.

"This day has finally come!" Of course Wu Sen understood that the Haihan people sent so many warships not just to show off their power to the court. Since the envoy sent to Victory Port for peace talks last year brought back the ultimatum of the Haihan Executive Committee,

Everyone in the government and the public knew that there would inevitably be a war with the Haihan people in the end. Although Haihan did not immediately launch a military attack on South Vietnam after the 30-day time limit, everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before this day came, and the Haihan people

Now that Hoi An has been destroyed, there is no reason to spare other places.

The only way to avoid war is to abdicate the "pseudo emperor" and dissolve the small court of Hue Prefecture in accordance with Hai Han's request. However, this is an impossible compromise for those in power in Hue Prefecture. Regardless of whether it is for the sake of

Whether it is the desire for power or the pride that cannot be let go, this battle must be fought to the end. Although the opponent is very powerful, Hue Prefecture does not think that it has even the slightest chance of victory.

Based on the situation of many battles, the South Vietnamese Ministry of War can determine that the scale of the Haihan Militia is not large. Based on the information collected through various channels, it can be inferred that the size of its combat troops is only three to four thousand people at best. The Ministry of War believes that the scale of the Haihan Militia is not large.

The reason why the Hai Han Militia is so powerful in combat is that it relies entirely on firearms with huge destructive power. The South Vietnamese troops, which still use a large number of cold weapons, almost have no choice but to face the Hai Han Militia with long-range weapons and high killing efficiency in field battles.

There is an ending of defeat, but if the battle took place near Hue City and a turtle-style defense strategy was implemented, the situation might be different.

The South Vietnamese Ministry of War has also formed a firearms unit, and is very clear about the pros and cons of this new type of army. Although its combat effectiveness is indeed much stronger than that of traditional troops, its disadvantages are also very obvious, that is, it is very dependent on logistical equipment. If

If the supply of ammunition cannot keep up, then the new army armed with fire sticks is not even as useful as the traditional army using cold weapons. When the Haihan people cross the sea to attack Hue, material supplies need to go from land to sea, and then from sea to land.

The transportation and supplies needed for thousands of people to fight will undoubtedly be an important factor restricting their combat effectiveness. The South Vietnamese Ministry of War believes that as long as they can hold Hue City and delay the war, the huge logistical pressure will be enough to directly affect the combat effectiveness of the Hai Han Militia.

Influence.

Another favorable condition for the South Vietnamese Military Department is the defensive advantage of Hue City itself. Hue City is located on the north bank of the Xiangjiang River, with a radius of 16 miles. This ancient city with a history of thousands of years has been continuously repaired and managed by dozens of generations.

It is one of the most fortified cities on the Indochina Peninsula, with a moat three feet wide surrounding the city. There are two inner and outer moats in the east, north and west directions. The city wall is more than two feet high, and the wall made of bluestone is solid and thick.

All kinds of defense facilities are available on the city wall. In the past two years, with the help of the Portuguese, a total of 24 bastion-style forts were built throughout the city wall, which can be said to be both offensive and defensive. Not only that, there is also a replica of the Ming Dynasty Forbidden City in the city.

The inner city has a radius of five miles. The city wall regulations are exactly the same as those of the outer city. There is even a slightly smaller moat that goes around the city. If necessary, the defenders can abandon the outer city and stick to the inner city to reduce the defense area. Compared with

Except for the slightly shorter walls of Thang Long and Hue in the north, their defense conditions in all other aspects are much better than theirs.

The two southeast directions of Hue City are close to the Xiang River. Large troops cannot be assembled on the narrow river beach outside the city. It is impossible for the attacker to launch an attack from these two directions. The defender can concentrate its defense forces on the northwest two directions. If the attacker

If the party transports troops and supplies through the Xiangjiang Waterway, then the west side of Hue City will have to go around a large circle of more than ten miles than the north side. As long as the attacking commander's brain is not broken, then the north side of Hue City will be chosen as the main attack

Direction has almost become the only choice.

The last substantive help the Portuguese left to the Ministry of War before leaving Hue was to design a defensive position system outside the city for the Ministry of War. This consisted of dense trenches, small fortresses and prismatic defense lines.

The defensive position will undoubtedly cause a lot of trouble for any invading army. Before the Portuguese evacuated South Vietnam, they could have predicted that Hai Han would arrive at Hue sooner or later, and of course they had no good intentions in doing so.

——No matter who wins or loses in this offensive and defensive battle, this defensive position will definitely greatly increase the consumption of both warring parties.

Portuguese military advisers even expressed optimism to the South Vietnamese Ministry of War that if the Ministry of War could build defenses of a corresponding scale outside the city in full accordance with the plan, even if troops were not mobilized from other areas to return to defense, there would be great hope for the local garrison alone.

It could keep the Haihan militia out. So after the Portuguese withdrew, the Ministry of War had a mentality of treating a dead horse as a living horse, and immediately mobilized tens of thousands of civilians to build defensive positions on the plains north of the city.

After more than three months of non-stop construction, a defensive position seven miles wide and three miles deep appeared in the north of the city. This position was filled with criss-crossing ravines, brick and stone bunkers, horse traps, and wooden walls.

There are a variety of dazzling defense facilities such as permanent or movable roadblocks, and 7,000 elite officers and soldiers loyal to the South Vietnamese court are stationed. Even though the weapons of the Haihan Militia are superior, they want to clear this area purely with weapons.

Region, that is not something that can be achieved overnight.

In addition, large-scale land clearing was carried out in the northwest two directions outside the city of Hue. All residents within ten miles outside the city were relocated. Even the houses were demolished and all the wells were filled up. The water was more than the thickness of an arm.

All the trees have been cut down to prevent the enemy from using them to make siege equipment. If the enemy arrives in this area and wants to obtain supplies on the spot, they may have to dig up grass roots and dig for earthworms.

Regarding the current actual situation of Hue City, not only the Hai Han people don't know, but the North Vietnamese don't know, and even the Portuguese who proposed the reconstruction plan don't know - of course, even if they knew, they wouldn't be kind enough to tell Hai Han about it.

, the more these parties fight each other, the more in line with their interests.

However, compared to the city defense system inside and outside Hue City, which the Ministry of War has high hopes for, the naval troops deployed near the estuary of the Xiang River are almost equivalent to cannon fodder. The main purpose of the Ministry of War to put them here is, in addition to early warning,

That is to create as much trouble as possible for the enemies coming from the sea and delay them for a while, so that the city of Hue can have more time to prepare for the battle.

After a long wait, Wu Sen finally saw the small mountain-like Haihan warship appearing on the water at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River. Compared with the Haihan warship, which was nearly twenty feet long, these small naval boats on the river were ready to fight.

It was just like a toy. But Wu Sen did not retreat. He knew that he had no way to retreat. If Xiangjiang was lost, he, the navy general, would have no reason to continue to exist, so he was prepared early in the morning.

, to perish together with the abominable Haihan warship.

All the ships deployed by the South Vietnamese navy here were equipped with dry firewood, tung oil and other fire starters, and large one-foot-long iron nails were installed on the bows. The purpose was to rush into the Xiangjiang River when the Haihan fleet attacked.

Use it to ignite the fire. Even if the Haihan warship has powerful gunfire, it is not easy to deal with a small boat like a maggot attached to the bone in the inland river. Wu Sen does not expect to defeat the powerful with this trick.

Haihan people, but as long as one or two Haihan warships are burned, the lives of himself and his sailors will be worth it.

Wu Sen stood on the bow of the ship, staring at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River a few miles away. He would only wait for the Haihan warship to sail into the river, then he would raise the flag and lead his brothers to launch a suicide charge. God is also kind today

, the northeast wind is blowing, and when the wind helps the fire, the Haihan people will surely remember this unforgettable lesson... But why did the Haihan warship not sail into the river, but instead docked at the shore?

When Wu Sen was at a loss, he didn't know that on the Haihan battleship in the distance, his opponent was observing his fleet with high-power military binoculars.

"The formations are all arranged. It seems that they are planning to launch a long-lived charge for us!" Qiao Zhiya sneered disdainfully: "You want to wait for our ship to enter the inland river before launching an attack. Do you think we are fools?"

"The Banzai Charge is a little Japanese trick, so don't show off." Wang Tom corrected Qiao Zhiya with a smile: "Their boats are small and they don't have any other means of combat, so they probably can only play with fire boats."

"However, the wise Lieutenant Commander has already seen through everything." Qiao Zhiya laughed and said, "These monkeys should be dumbfounded by now, right?"
Chapter completed!