Chapter 393 Attack and Defense in the City

As the attack order was issued, dozens of prepared wooden platoons were thrown into the moat by the engineering troops, and the simple pontoon bridge that had been broken by the collapse of the city wall was quickly reconnected, and the bridge deck was also widened a lot.

People who knew water skills jumped down one after another, and more than a dozen people helped stabilize the raft. Fortunately, the flow rate of the inland river was extremely slow, and it could be maintained with manpower. Another engineer rushed onto the bridge deck and quickly used double-headed nails to pull down a raft.

The wooden rafts are connected and fixed together.

The soldiers of the Black Earth Port Special Operations Battalion had already stepped onto the bridge deck before the pontoon bridge was erected. A dozen specially selected strong men were holding large shields with a height of more than two meters and a width of 1.3 meters to clear the way ahead.

This kind of wooden shield, which is more than one inch thick, is also covered with a layer of iron. It weighs more than 60 kilograms and is strong enough to withstand arrow fire at close range. The matchlock gun used by the South Vietnamese army can fire at fifty paces.

It is impossible to shoot through this shield at a distance. This kind of shield is erected like an insurmountable high wall, covering the people behind it tightly. When turned sideways, it can also be used as a parapet to cover the infantry's firing formation. From the front,

The protective ability is very strong.

On such occasions when a desperate charge was needed, Takahashi Nan always rushed to the front regardless of his life, but this time under Qian Tiandun's strict order, he could only huddle behind the big shield and cooperate with other soldiers.

Operation. Qian Tiandun clearly explained the purpose of the operation to his officers before the war. This city-breaking battle was a rare opportunity to practice siege tactics. All participants must strictly implement the prepared tactical arrangements.

, are not allowed to act without permission in the name of killing the enemy. Qian Tiandun also specifically named Gao Qiaonan, who likes to advance rashly, and asked him to "be more honest" in performing tasks and lead his company to control the target area he is responsible for.

The advance team quickly rushed across the pontoon bridge under the cover of a large shield and stepped onto the ruins of the city wall. Although the previous earth-shattering explosion wiped out the defenders on this section of the city wall, other troops were quickly added after the city wall collapsed.

They came over, and arrows, lead bullets, and even hurled guns rained down on the advance team who had just rushed to the gap in the city wall. Although the shielding effect of the large shield was quite good, several militiamen still groaned and fell to the ground injured.

Sorry.

"Line up!"

The advance team that was blocked did not panic. Takahashi Minami immediately directed the remaining people to quickly form four rows behind the shield wall.

"Release the shield!"

Takahashi Minami gave an order, and the strong man carrying the shield in the front row immediately lowered the shield from vertical to horizontal, revealing the volleyball team behind who had already raised their guns. The advance team, which had already practiced the volleyball formation to perfection, immediately moved forward.

Shoot, retreat, the people in the back row take up their positions, shoot, and so on. In just over ten seconds, the four rows of militiamen completed a round of rapid fire. As soon as the gunfire stopped, the large shields in the front row immediately stood up again.

Give the militiamen a break to reload their bullets.

This tactic is very simple. The main test is whether the advance team can bring their daily training level to the battlefield. If they are new recruits, they will probably be flustered and unable to keep up when faced with such a scene.

The rhythm required by the gun formation may cause chaos in the formation. However, the group of people selected by Qian Tiandun are already veterans of Black Earth Port, having participated in all military operations conducted in the North Vietnam region last year, and their combat experience is among the militia troops.

It is quite rich, and it is quite handy for dealing with such battle scenes.

After three consecutive rounds of shooting, hundreds of South Vietnamese defenders who hurriedly rushed to the gap for reinforcements were knocked down by a dense volley of guns. The remaining lucky ones hurriedly withdrew from the firing range of this team. Compared with

The long-range weapons used by the Haihan militia now feel like the defenders are holding fire sticks in their hands. Even if they want to use them to scratch their opponents, they still can't deliver them.

After occupying the gap in the city wall, the advance team did not advance rashly. Instead, they climbed onto the city walls on both sides from the collapsed site and set up a defensive line to resist the defenders coming from the city wall. The subsequent militia troops quickly entered

They used local materials to build defensive positions using the collapsed city walls.

It must be said that the chaos caused by the previous blasting of the city wall in the city brought great convenience to the militia group's siege battle. The defense forces in the city actually noticed this main attack direction and originally deployed several defenders near the battle area.

But almost all of these troops fell out of control after the city wall collapsed. Not only were the soldiers in disarray, but many officers also lost their self-control and failed to organize teams to defend the collapsed city wall at the first time.

The Haihan Militia left time for a solid breakthrough.

If the defenders in the city launch a counterattack in time, then relying only on the vanguard of more than a hundred people and a simple pontoon bridge built by a few wooden platoons is actually not enough to support the militia to form a large-scale breakthrough here. However, every step is slow and step by step.

Slowly, the Haihan Militia took advantage of the chaos within the city's defenders to quickly establish a small position in the northeast corner, and began to build a more stable and wider pontoon bridge on the nearby inner moat.

By the time the defenders in the city organized a team of a thousand people to launch a counterattack, a full hour had passed since the city wall collapsed. Although the defenders had launched several offensives from both sides of the city walls and inside the city before, there were no exceptions.

The ground was repulsed by the sharp guns and artillery of the Haihan Militia. Especially the defenders who launched a counterattack from the city wall. Due to the narrow terrain, rushing towards the gun formation of the Haihan Militia was almost equal to death. After several offensives, the bodies had already been

Blocked the passage on the city wall.

As of two o'clock in the afternoon, thousands of combatants from the vanguard of the militia had entered the city, but they had not yet launched an offensive in depth. They were still gathering at the gaps in the city wall to organize defenses, waiting for a new wave of counterattacks from the defenders. The city

A new pontoon bridge has been erected on the outer moat. Thigh-thick wooden piles are driven deeply into the river bottom, and wooden planks are fixed on top to build the bridge deck.

"The engineering troops are really well trained!" Qian Tiandun gave a rare compliment to the troops affiliated with the base camp.

"This is a team that Mr. Tao personally organized and trained, so the quality is definitely guaranteed." Yan Chujie responded with a smile.

In terms of the capabilities of combat troops alone, the Black Tu Port Special Operations Battalion led by Qian Tiandun is undoubtedly the best. Especially in today's critical battles, the Special Operations Battalion is accustomed to close combat with its opponents.

It is more suitable for the base camp troops controlled at the edge of the range, so they were selected as the advance team for the siege. As the founder of the Black Earth Port Force, Qian Tiandun is also very proud of his team and rarely praises it in public.

Other teams, but the performance of the engineering troops today is indeed remarkable, and they have made great contributions during the siege. Although the siege troops have only occupied a corner of Hue City, with the defensive capabilities of the Hai Han Militia,

I'm afraid it will be difficult for the defenders to pull out this nail driven into the city.

That afternoon and before dark, the South Vietnamese defenders dispatched about 4,000 people to besiege the Haihan militia that entered the city, but they did not achieve the results they expected. The defenders even unloaded several cannons from the city wall and pushed them to

Nearby, I wanted to have a close-range artillery battle with the militia, but after only firing two rounds, the militia's artillery fire focused on me because my position was exposed. In an instant, I was sent into the sky by a wave of artillery shells. I was surrounded by

The detonated barrels of gunpowder also took the lives of more than thirty defenders.

After nightfall, the defenders also organized two groups of death squads to launch an attack. However, the troops entering the city demolished the surrounding houses and lit many fires outside the positions, making it impossible for the invading enemies to hide their whereabouts and leaving nearly a hundred people behind in vain.

With a corpse.

The intensity of the battle became very fierce in the following day. Starting from dawn, the defenders launched an attack at all costs. Nearly ten thousand defenders attacked the position in the northeast corner of Hue City like a tide, even if

It was the Haihan militia that once again resorted to the deadly weapon of shotguns, but failed to completely repel the continuous offensive of the defenders. At the most dangerous time, the defenders had even rushed to the militia's position, fighting with the bullets that had been shot and had no time to reload.

The militia soldiers launched small-scale hand-to-hand combat. However, the strong militiamen did not suffer in close combat. After all, they had learned standard bayonet fighting techniques that were summarized through actual combat in later generations. They had an advantage in fighting.

Very obvious.

At the critical moment, the sniper team led by Old Morgan arrived in time for reinforcements and shot more than a dozen South Vietnamese officers from their sniper positions on the city wall, causing chaos in the command of the attacking troops and thus saving the battle.

This day's battle continued until the sky was getting dark. Even the soldiers of the Black Earth Port Special Operations Battalion, which is known for its powerful combat effectiveness, most of them fell to the ground from exhaustion. If there were not replacement troops outside the city, the headquarters would probably

All we could do was order a retreat.

After nightfall, when the soldiers were taking a break for their shifts, the senior leaders of the command headquarters had to seize the time to hold a meeting to summarize today's battle situation and discuss next-step tactics.

"In today's battle, a total of twenty-seven people were killed, and one hundred and seventy-three people were seriously injured and needed to be removed from the firing line for treatment. In addition, fifty-seven rifles had problems and needed to be replaced. Three artillery had reached the design life and could not be used.

Let’s continue using it.” Yan Chujie first reported today’s battle damage to the officers present.

"The casualties are still within an acceptable range. What I am more concerned about now is whether our ammunition supply can keep up?" Qian Tiandun's face was expressionless. For him, the results of the battle are far more important than these numbers.

Achieving the set combat goals is the only thing he cares about.

"There is no problem with the logistics supply." Wang Tom responded: "I am personally watching this matter. You can rest assured to fight. If the ammunition cannot keep up, I will take the blame!"

After the city of Hue was captured, Admiral Wang Tom basically had no combat missions. Of course he hoped to continue fighting side by side with the siege troops, but the headquarters gave him the task of logistics and transportation - now

Combat supplies are transported from the sea to the front line through Xiangjiang, which happens to be the field he is good at. Whether he is willing or not, he can only shoulder this responsibility.

"Let's talk about the opponent's situation. According to our rough statistics, as of the end of today's battle, we should have killed more than 4,000 enemy troops after breaking the city. Although this number is still far from the 30,000 defenders we estimated.

It's a very large distance, but judging from the enemy's offensive today, I think they are ready to make a last-ditch effort." Qian Tiandun took the initiative to bring the topic to today's results.

"It would be good if it was a last-ditch effort, but if not, with the intensity of combat like today, it would be difficult for our troops to hold on. I estimate that in two days at most, our troops would be unable to hold on." Yan Chujie said about the battle situation.

His views were not as optimistic as Qian Tiandun's, but instead he was a little worried.

Although the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Militia is quite strong, its shortcomings are also very obvious. The combat method is highly dependent on weapons, and the number of troops is too small. In a high-intensity combat environment, weapons wear out very quickly, and the lack of troops will

The mental and physical strength of the combatants were greatly tested. Although the combat level of the South Vietnamese defenders could not be compared with that of the militia, they were better at fighting at home. They were familiar with the environment and had a strength advantage, and they were in a situation with no way to retreat.

, the combat effectiveness unleashed is also very astonishing. If this intensity of attrition war continues, it is really a question whether the Haihan militia can hold on to the final victory.

"Should we bring in the North Vietnamese guards to coordinate operations?" Qiao Zhiya suggested.

"This is not appropriate. It is best not to use the North Vietnamese army unless it is absolutely necessary. This will have a negative impact on our plan to control Hue City after the war." Yan Chujie rejected Qiao Zhiya's proposal, but did not go too far.

Straightforward.

North Vietnam still has more than 4,000 new troops in Han Dynasty. If necessary, Hai Han can indeed ask North Vietnam to send this army into the city to assist in the operation. But when the Military Commission formulated the battle plan, it had no intention of doing so.

Let the North Vietnamese army have a chance to get a share of the pie when the city is broken. Moreover, the North Vietnamese army needs to tie up pockets on the west side of Hue City to prevent the South Vietnamese forces in the city from escaping westward. Without the new army, the tens of thousands left

The combat effectiveness of the troops is really worrying. However, the militia want to rely entirely on their own strength to survive alone. Judging from the current trend of the war situation, it seems that they are a bit unable to do so.

While several senior officers were discussing the next battle plan, someone came in and reported that they had caught an envoy sent by North Vietnam. When the militiamen escorted the envoy to the headquarters tent, most of the officers present were surprised.

Know this person.

This envoy was none other than Ruan Ching Gui, who went to Victory Port on behalf of the South Vietnamese court last year to hold peace talks with the Hai Han side. Although he was already at war, Ruan Ching Gui did not look panicked. He met several officers he knew one by one.

After greeting him, he sat down on the stool brought by the militiamen.

Yan Chujie asked with a hint of mockery: "Isn't it a little too late for Mr. Ruan to come to my camp to negotiate peace at this time? If I remember correctly, we had made our words very clear about five months ago, and you

The small court also made its attitude very clear, which is why today's war happened. To be honest, I think it is too late to negotiate peace at this time."

Ruan Jinggui responded calmly: "General Yan's words are reasonable. Although I have tried my best to avoid this war, I am weak and unable to influence the government. I can only sit on the sidelines and watch. Now even if I am the emperor,

It probably won’t work if I personally come forward to beg you to withdraw your troops, right?”

"It really doesn't work." Yan Chujie did not leave any room for change for the other party: "The Hue small court will not be destroyed. Even if we agree, the court in the north will not agree. This battle will definitely be divided into winners and losers.

, judging from the current war situation, I think your little court has no chance to make a comeback. I know you are a smart man. At this time, you should stop working for something that is hopeless. Think about how you can win in this situation.

Survive the war!"

"Thank you for the compliment, General Yan. In fact, I also think that I am a smart man." Ruan Chenggui actually smiled and said: "I have the same view as General Yan. At this point in the war, the Hue court probably has no chance to turn around."
To be continued...