Chapter 731 Tactical changes

Since the Netherlands entered the Far East, it has rarely been so passively suppressed on the frontal battlefield. Even in the first two times when the horses and blue troops besieged the city for a long time, the defenders were able to respond relatively calmly and resist the enemy outside the city walls.

In the end, the opponent returned without success. The last time the Dutch were beaten like dogs on the battlefield probably dates back to the time when they were massively attacked by the Ming army in Penghu.

Although many soldiers were killed and injured by the opponent's trebuchets in previous battles with the Ma Da Blue Army, they were not as passive as today. Although the artillery deployed by the defenders on the city wall could hit from time to time.

He can hit the opponent's trebuchet, but the low hit rate is not enough to change the current situation of being passively beaten.

As time passed little by little, the damage to the protective walls of the fortress outside the city also increased little by little. Bart had to order most of the soldiers in the fortress to withdraw into the city, leaving only a small number of soldiers to continue in the city.

Stay in the stronger positions in the fortress. Although this still cannot change the disadvantage of being passively beaten, it can at least effectively reduce the unnecessary losses of troops outside the city.

The patience of the Ma Da Blue Army was indeed very sufficient. They should have been able to observe that some of the garrison troops in the fortress outside the city had withdrawn from the city gate, but they did not send infantry to attack. They continued to use trebuchets to attack the city outside.

Stones were thrown from several forts.

At this time, Van Diemen also came to the northern front where the enemy deployed the most trebuchets to supervise the battle. Looking at the rain of rocks outside the city, Van Diemen's face was exactly the same as Bart's, both were ashen.

As a soldier, Van Diemen was indeed intolerable to such a passive situation, but as a commander responsible for the safety of the city, he could not easily order the defenders to go out to fight.

After Van Diemen clenched his fist for a long time, he slowly loosened it and said, "It seems that the fortresses we have spent so much time and effort building over the past few years have had the greatest effect on consuming the service life of the opponent's trebuchets."

Bart smiled bitterly and said: "I don't know whether their trebuchet will be scrapped first or our fortress will collapse first."

Van Diemen shook his head and said: "Even if their trebuchets are scrapped first, our fortress has basically lost its due function."

Van Diemen's words are not an exaggeration. Under the constant projection of the enemy troops, the fortresses outside the city are gradually collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The part that the civilians were sent out to repair overnight was obviously not strong enough to speak of. A piece of stone

If it is hit, it will collapse immediately. The speed of destruction is much faster than the restoration project.

Van Diemen turned his head to Bart thoughtfully and asked: "What is the approximate hit rate when we use artillery to bombard trebuchets now?"

"About 30 to 40 artillery shells will hit once." Bart said about this hit rate, and he felt a little ashamed. From yesterday's attack to now, only twenty or thirty trebuchets have been destroyed, and the artillery shells are estimated to have hit nearly a thousand

Even if the number of enemy trebuchets no longer increases, if the attack continues at this speed, it is very likely that it will take three to four thousand rounds to completely destroy the enemy's trebuchets - and this is just the northern front.

"It's too low." After hearing Bart's report, Van Diemen couldn't help but lamented the low hit rate: "Every time we fire three hundred rounds of artillery shells, one of the cannons will be useless.

Before the official battle, almost a quarter of the artillery deployed here will have to be lost."

"Perhaps we should save the life of our artillery and stop shooting at the opponent's trebuchet positions." Bart hesitated and expressed his opinion.

"Stop shooting?" Van Diemen frowned: "Isn't that just letting them attack our fortress outside the city?"

"General, it is difficult for the enemy's trebuchets to be manufactured outside the city. If one of them breaks down, there will be one missing. The same goes for our artillery. Under the current situation, I think we should use the life of our artillery to exchange for their trebuchets.

Lifespan is actually a very uneconomical deal." Bart boldly expressed his thoughts.

"Go on," Van Diemen replied thoughtfully.

Bart was encouraged and continued: "General, you must remember the last time they invaded, right? The most lethal part we caused at that time was actually after they stopped using trebuchets. During the siege, they had to stop

Use the trebuchet."

What Bart is talking about is that during the confrontation between the two sides in 1629, the Ma Da Blue Army did not have much advantage in the duel due to the limited range of the trebuchet. Instead, they were severely beaten by the condescending city defense artillery fire. When the trebuchet was about to

When all the damage was done, the Ma Da Blue Army switched tactics and gave up stone-throwing, and instead used infantry to scale the city wall to attack the city.

Of course, due to the limitations of the weapon performance gap between the two sides, the Ma's siege troops did not take any advantage against the Blue Army. Due to the lack of long-range fire cover, they suffered extremely serious casualties under the city. A large number of wounded soldiers caused the Ma's

The logistics of the Blue Army were overwhelmed, which was one of the main reasons why they later retreated voluntarily.

As for the current way of fighting, the Dutch army cannot make full use of its advantages in weapon performance and fortifications. Instead, as Bart described it, it is competing with its opponent's low-cost trebuchets over the service life of its artillery and its combat effectiveness.

Not only is it very low, but the loss of the life of the artillery cannot be ignored. Bart believes that instead of doing this, it is better to simply give up the efforts at the current combat distance and fight the enemy closer. At least in the first confrontation the day before, the Dutch army

The battle loss ratio still has a very obvious advantage compared to the opponent.

Van Diemen is also a senior officer with considerable command experience. He immediately understood Bart's intention after hearing it. Van Diemen looked at the battle situation outside the city and pondered for a moment before expressing his position: "I will go to the council immediately.

Indicates the need to change tactics. Just watch here and wait for my news."

Due to the importance of the matter, even though Van Diemen has command authority, tactical changes like this must first be submitted to the council for approval. But Van Diemen made this statement, it can be said that he actually agreed with Bart's proposal, but

There is still one last procedure that needs to be completed. Of course, based on the style of the white shirts in the council, Bart can imagine that Van Diemen will probably be hard-pressed. After all, those people have always been proud to oppose the military, even if it is

Having been killed by the enemy, they had to use various means to prove that they were the principals in Batavia. If it weren't for the fact that the company's major shareholders were standing behind these people, Van Diemen probably would have been there on the day that old Cohen was buried.

They had already ordered that all the white shirts who were specifically trying to cause trouble with the military should be hanged in the square in the center of the city.

Although the military situation was urgent, Bart did not dare to act recklessly, and he did not dare to order a ceasefire before receiving news from Van Diemen. However, he still thought of a compromise method, so that the forts that were originally divided into two groups to fight in turn became

Making three batches will reduce the number of artillery pieces participating in the battle at the same time, thus reducing the consumption of ammunition.

The stubbornness of the council was obviously beyond Bart's imagination. Until that afternoon when the enemy troops returned to camp, no news of Van Diemen came back. He even wanted to send someone to the council to see if it was General Van Diemen.

Already murdered by those damn white shirts.

Cheng Dapeng's timely appearance saved Bart from about to collapse. To be precise, it was the delicacies he brought that saved Bart. After supervising the battle at the city head for a day, Bart only gnawed two slices of dry bread and a hard piece of bread.

They had kielbasa that was as good as stone for lunch, and by the time of the afternoon truce, they were already hungry. Seeing Cheng Dapeng appear was like seeing a savior, so he took him back to his station under the city wall. There was no need for Cheng Dapeng to do anything today.

Bart took the food box himself and took out several plates of food. Of course, he didn't forget the small bottle of aperitif placed at the bottom of the food box.

"Boss Cheng, you are really a trustworthy good friend! I really like people like you who keep your promises!" Bart praised vaguely as he tore off half of a roast chicken and put it into his mouth to chew.

Although Cheng Dapeng has always shown himself to be wealthy and wealthy, seeing Bart eating at this time made him feel a little inexplicably distressed. It wasn't that he couldn't afford a chicken, but that the city of Batavia was now under siege.

Not only have the prices of various foods skyrocketed, but there was also a serious shortage of resources. There were still more than a dozen chickens being fed in the rice row, but with the way Bart was eating, they could only last for half a month at most. And half a month later, Bada

If the siege of Via City hasn't been lifted yet, let alone live chickens, I'm afraid even feather dusters will be hard to find.

If Bart had a meal here, Cheng Dapeng and his colleagues would lose a piece of food. However, Cheng Dapeng felt distressed, so he still had to squeeze out a smile to deal with Bart: "As long as the adults like it, that's fine."

After Bart ate for a while, Cheng Dapeng cautiously asked, "I wonder how the battle with the enemy is going today? Do you have any good news, sir?"

When Bart heard this, he spit out the bones in his mouth and lowered his voice and said: "These hateful Nanyang monkeys! They have been hiding far outside the city all day long, attacking our fortifications with trebuchets!

"

Cheng Dapeng responded: "Isn't that similar to yesterday's battle situation?"

"That's pretty much what it means." Bart said with some discouragement: "These guys have learned to be smart. They probably won't use infantry to attack the city before destroying the fortress we deployed outside the city."

Cheng Dapeng asked: "Can the fortress outside the city still hold on?"

Bart smiled bitterly and shook his head and said: "If we go by the current situation, in about two or three days, the fortress outside will be completely reduced to ruins. But this may not be entirely a bad thing. After they finish cleaning up the fortress outside the city, it will probably

You have to join the infantry."

Cheng Dapeng asked in confusion: "What if they continue to use trebuchets to attack the city wall?"

Bart responded: "The city wall is much stronger than the fortress wall outside. It is impossible to capture the city wall with trebuchets alone. And their reserve of stone bullets is obviously very limited. Today they have begun to demolish the buildings outside the city. Besides, they have a very limited reserve of stone bullets.

When the infantry attacked the city, they could no longer use the trebuchets."

Cheng Dapeng suddenly realized: "Yes, when the infantry is advancing, if we use this trebuchet to attack the city, wouldn't there be a risk of accidental damage! Lord Bart, please let the opponent's infantry attack the city, and the danger of the trebuchet will be alleviated."

"

There was no joy on Bart's face, and he shook his head and said: "Even if we knew, we would not dare to make adjustments easily. General Van Diemen has asked the council for orders, but there is no news yet."

"Don't the adults in this council know about the war situation outside the city?" Cheng Dapeng asked in confusion.

Bart sneered and said: "These people don't even dare to go up the city wall. How would they know what the battle is like. They hide in the city council every day and point fingers at the army, lest we ignore their existence!"

When Cheng Dapeng heard Bart criticizing the council, he didn't find it easy to talk to him. Bart could say it, but as a Chinese, he couldn't agree with it at will, otherwise it would arouse Bart's suspicion and all the previous efforts would be wasted.

Cheng Dapeng recalled what he knew about the Haihan system. It seemed that the Executive Committee also had absolute authority over the Military Commission. However, several of the Executive Committee members were from the military or were leaders who were obviously leaning towards the military. Therefore, it seemed that there had never been any

I have heard of conflicts between the Executive Committee and the Military Commission similar to Batavia.

Bart sighed a few words. Seeing that Cheng Dapeng didn't answer, he also guessed that he was worried about his status and did not dare to talk about this topic easily. He immediately changed the subject and said: "Boss Cheng, don't worry, the horses will beat the Blues."

It is not that easy to attack the city of Batavia. If this war is delayed until August, it is not certain who will win and who will lose."

When Cheng Dapeng heard that there was something in Bart's words, he immediately asked subconsciously: "Is it possible that after August, reinforcements will come to relieve the siege of Batavia?"

Bart nodded, but did not elaborate on the details. He just said vaguely: "Even if the horses want to withdraw when the time comes, they won't be able to just leave."

Cheng Dapeng quickly filtered some of the information he had in his mind and thought that Bart's words were not bragging. Before the Mata Blue Army landed, all the merchant ships and warships anchored in Batavia Port broke through. These

The destination of the ship must be other Dutch colonies in the Southeast Asia. Although these colonies are scattered all over the place, if there is time to slowly gather their forces, they will still be a maritime armed force with strong strength, and it is possible to come back to rescue the siege.

.It’s hard to say how much combat effectiveness the Mavericks can retain if their offensive against the Blues continues until next month. After all, they are fighting away from home and have many logistical problems that need to be solved. If not handled properly, it may affect the situation.

to the actual performance of this army on the battlefield.

With a lot of harvest, Cheng Dapeng returned to Dacheng Rice Shop. Just like the previous day, he hurried back to the study to record everything he saw and heard. Although he didn’t know when the information would be sent back to Sanya, Cheng Dapeng

Peng is convinced that this information must have very important reference value for the military.
Chapter completed!