Chapter 417: The fierce battle at the gate of the city
The Indian soldiers guarding the city gate were still thinking about how to blackmail these Bengalis.
This group of people gradually got closer.
The shadows cast by the setting sun made the faces of this group of Bangladeshi soldiers look blurry.
Moreover, the Indian soldiers guarding the gate were chatting and laughing together and did not observe these people carefully at all.
If they look carefully, they will find that most of the Bengali soldiers have their heads lowered.
They pretended to push the bullock cart. The things on the bullock cart were indeed piled high.
It was really hard for the oxen to pull the cart. You can imagine how heavy the things on the cart were.
However, these bullock carts are covered with canvas, perhaps because they are afraid that the harvested grain will get damp, but this makes sense anyway.
The soldiers had to bend their backs when pushing the cart, so in this team, only a few people were standing and walking. Those people seemed to be officers.
These few people were selected from the entire brigade, and only a few of them looked somewhat similar to Bangladeshi soldiers.
This time the commando team was selected from the best of each battalion.
To be honest, Li Yupu was reluctant to lose these people. But he had to withstand the attack of thousands of enemies in the city gate cave, and he had to hold on for half an hour.
The difficulty of this task is very high.
If these people are wiped out before the main force arrives, then their deaths in battle will have no value.
Carrying out this mission can be described as a narrow escape from death, and everyone participating in the mission understands this.
But as long as you can survive the mission, it is a huge achievement.
When seeking wealth insurance, risks and returns are always directly proportional.
Everyone understands this truth, but few people have the courage to take a chance.
So the people around us are always divided into ordinary people and successful people. Ordinary people are worried about taking risks, so they can only be ordinary people throughout their lives.
Successful people dare to take risks and are unwilling to be mediocre. Although many of them fail when they take risks, there are always some who succeed.
Zhang Luer was born in the southwestern part of Guangxi. Maybe his ancestor married a Bengali woman, but anyway, his nose bridge is straighter than others.
His eyes are larger, his double eyelids are deeper, and his skin is darker than others.
So he pretended to be a Bengali officer without hesitation.
As he marched, he pretended to point at his soldiers.
It seems to be calling them to work harder.
The Burmese and Assamese people who met them along the way could actually tell some clues.
But these people did not mind their own business because it was already evening and all the Bengalis and Indians outside the city had returned to the city.
There is no one to manage the area outside the city. Li Yupu had discovered this situation yesterday.
The British seemed to be worried that these servants living outside at night would be assassinated by the local natives.
They know what they are doing there, so deep down, the British are always on guard against these locals.
Zhang Luer is not a top fighter, he was only recruited because of his looks.
Therefore, at this time, Zhang Luer's palms were already sweaty.
He was a little nervous, but the camp commander leading the team was beside him.
The battalion commander pretended to be an ordinary soldier and was pushing carts on the sold land. These carts were reinforced and loaded with the commando's own weapons.
Two bullock carts were even equipped with two small cannons, which helped the commandos increase their firepower.
There are also some ammunition, thunder and so on.
In addition, there are only sandbags left on the oxcarts. After entering the city gate, these oxcarts will become the bunkers of the commandos.
The team is getting closer and closer to the city gate.
As the distance increased, the Indian soldiers inside the city gate could gradually see the face of the visitor clearly.
One of the officers guarding the gate finally realized that something was wrong with the person coming.
Although the Indians and Bengalis did not deal with each other, they were relatively familiar with each other.
It's impossible not to recognize the face.
Before the Indian officer could ask questions, the "Bengali" soldier who was pushing the cart suddenly pulled out his rifled gun from under the canvas of the bullock cart.
"Bang bang bang..." intensive gunshots rang out. The entire fortress was alarmed.
The Indian officer who was about to speak was shot in the chest. A sharpshooter had already targeted him.
The officer was killed, and all the Indian soldiers at the city gate were shot dead in panic.
But this is not all the soldiers guarding the gate. There are also some gate-keeping soldiers on the inside of the city gate.
The Taiping soldiers, who had been walking slowly and leisurely just now, suddenly accelerated when the gunshots were fired. They whipped the cows on the buttocks.
A distance of more than a hundred yards, sprinting at full strength, only takes about ten seconds.
The sound of gunfire also attracted the attention of the Indian soldiers on duty on the city wall.
They shouted loudly, stretched out their rifles and fired downwards.
At this time, the commando team below the city had no energy to control the enemies on the city wall.
They rushed towards the city gate with all their strength.
Several Indian soldiers tried to close the gate of the castle from the inside.
"Throw thunder!" Seeing that the city gate was about to close, the soldiers could not catch up.
The battalion commander leading the team shouted quickly. The soldiers running at the front had already lit the Thunderbolt.
Unlike hand grenades, the fuse of Zhentian Lei is exposed outside and needs to be ignited with fire.
Therefore, the grenadier usually carries fire on his body.
With a grunt, several thunderbolts flew in through the gap between the two doors.
Then there was a "bang", and the castle door bounced twice.
By this time, the commando soldiers had already rushed in. They pushed the door open.
Several Indian soldiers who were still struggling on the ground were stabbed several times and then thrown to the inside of the city gate.
The commandos that followed all entered the city gate. In this way, the soldiers at the top of the city could not shoot them.
The charge of just ten seconds had already caused the commando team to lose more than a dozen members.
"Hurry up and block the ox cart inside the city gate!" the battalion commander leading the commando team ordered loudly.
The efficiency of having one person commanding the soldiers at critical moments will be much higher.
The British soldiers stationed in the city are an infantry battalion, led by a major battalion commander.
The British battalion commander named Omer Fair was also the city's top military commander. In addition to this man, there was also a British administrator in the city.
At dusk, the British army was hiding in the luxurious barracks in the middle of the castle, preparing dinner.
There was only one captain of the Indian servant army on duty on the city wall.
The division of labor in the city is very clear. Bangladeshis are generally responsible for collecting taxes when going out because they are familiar with the local area.
The Indian servant army is responsible for guarding the castle and maintaining law and order in the indigenous settlements outside the city.
As for the British, they naturally enjoy their happy colonial time. They are the upper class people here, so naturally they don't have to do hard work.
However, Major Fell's reaction was not unpleasant. When the gunshots at the city gate were heard, he immediately assembled his troops. Within five minutes, the British infantry battalion had been assembled.
However, the city gate had been lost at this time, and the Indian officers on the city wall were organizing soldiers to come down from the city wall.
They have to return to the streets before they can attack the enemies in the city gate.
"Mount the small cannon to the side and pile the sandbags at the muzzle thicker. There is also a layer of sandbags in front. Otherwise, where will the gunner hide to reload?" The commando battalion commander took advantage of the rare air raid to arrange the sandbags in the city gate cave.
position.
They had just repelled a wave of enemy attacks when they entered the city gate.
It was a group of Indian soldiers stationed inside the city gate with only a few dozen people.
The distance between the two sides was too close, and a hand-to-hand combat broke out.
"Commander of the Camp, these Indians look quite big. It turns out they are all cowards in hand-to-hand combat."
In the hand-to-hand battle just now, the commando team had zero casualties.
The fighting skills and fighting will of these Indian soldiers are not on the same level as the Taiping Army.
The previous teams of the Taiping Army were basically still in the transition stage between hot and cold weapons. Therefore, the soldiers' fighting ability had not dropped.
As for these British servants, they usually rely on the advanced firearms given by their British father to show off their power in front of the local natives.
No one has ever helped these people catch their hand-to-hand combat skills.
"I'm a little timid in close combat, but there are so many of them! If we can't stop them later, don't let the enemies get closer."
"Our guns now are much stronger than theirs, so we have to use our strengths," the camp commander said.
"Everyone, please remember that there must be no damage to the city gate before Brigade Commander Li arrives."
"If I die in battle, Jiang Dongsheng will take over my command. After the subsequent commanders take over, they must first designate a person to succeed them. We can't give up even if we are the last person left," the camp commander explained.
Everyone nodded silently, but no one who came over was a coward.
Zhang Luer was just an ordinary rifleman. His record was average, so the camp commander arranged for him to help transport ammunition and help build defensive barricades.
The sound of intensive running came from the city wall.
The commando team knew that the enemy on top of the city must have come down. The inside of the city gate faced the ramp where the enemy descended from the city wall.
The commandos divided into two parts and fired at the Indian soldiers coming down the ramps on both sides.
After being attacked, these Indian soldiers became timid. Those behind wanted to continue moving forward, while the Indian soldiers in front wanted to retreat.
The rifle guns of the Tianping Army fired at the ramp of the city wall in sections, causing huge damage to the Indian servants.
In just a short while, a large number of corpses were lying on the slope.
If the Indian soldiers had rushed down in one fell swoop, they would not have suffered such heavy casualties. Their hesitation in patrolling created good conditions for the commandos to kill and injure these Indian servants.
"Fight, fight hard, we have enough bullets, kill a few more enemies now, and the pressure will be less in a while." The camp commander shouted loudly.
These Indian servants are like hounds. When their master is behind them, they appear extremely ferocious, but when their master is away, they tuck their tails and become cowardly. This is what the so-called dog fights against human power means.
"Hurry up and take cover!" the camp commander shouted, and then led his men back to the doorway.
I don't know who threw a grenade from the city gate tower. The British naturally have grenades here, and many European armies still retain the grenadiers.
Of course, this unit is now just an honor in many cases. There are very few real grenadier units left.
However, as a city defense force, the British still equipped their servants with a certain number of grenades.
"Boom!" As soon as everyone threw themselves down in the doorway, the grenade thrown from the city wall exploded on the street inside the city gate, splashing up a pile of rubble.
"Damn, these Indian bumpkins are here to do something dirty." Therefore, any enemy cannot be underestimated.
When the Indian soldiers discovered that they could throw grenades down from the city wall, the commandos could only huddle inside the city gate.
Fortunately, the walls of this castle are thick enough, so its gate opening is also very long.
There is room for the entire commando team here.
From this city gate, we can also see how necessary it was for Li Yupu to decide to outsmart the city gate. It would take who knows how long it would take for such a castle to be blown up with artillery.
Moreover, the White Tiger Brigade does not have many artillery. Even if it had artillery, facing such a castle, the artillery would have been knocked out by the firepower from the city before the castle exploded.
While the commando team was struggling to hold on inside the city gate, Li Yupu and his men were also running with all their strength in the mountains and forests outside the city.
Although the commando team was told to hold on for half an hour, this time should not be taken for granted. The enemy would definitely try their best to regain the city gate.
There was no way they could leave the White Tiger Brigade such a long time.
Half an hour is only the longest time. Li Yupu must hope that the main force can fight through as soon as possible.
He always felt a little uneasy in his heart. He believed that the veterans of the commando team would persevere, but what if all the commando teams were killed?
By then, won’t the city gate still be lost?
Because of the barrier of the Imphal Plain, Li Yupu could not let his men get too close to the Imphal Castle. He could only lurk in the mountains and forests in the distance.
"Hurry up, the brothers in the commando team are trying their best to help us hold on to the time. Please hurry up. Let's see which battalion reaches Imphal Castle first."
"Whoever arrives first will be credited with their merits." Li Yupu started to talk again.
However, this trick worked very well, and each battalion began to speed up under the leadership of their respective battalion commanders.
This time they were no longer afraid of being discovered, so they took the high road.
Suddenly there was light in front of them, and the soldiers of the White Tiger Brigade felt that their eyes suddenly opened up. They entered the plain area. This also meant that they could be discovered by the opponent.
A castle stands in front of everyone. Although we can see the castle, it is actually still some distance away.
There is nothing left to say at this time, just rush, go ahead and do it!
Several phalanxes of Bengali soldiers came over the street, followed by a British infantry battalion.
Seeing their master coming, the Indian soldiers on the city wall threw grenades into the inside of the city gate as if they were free of charge. The blast made the commandos guarding the city gate unable to see the scene in front of them.
Some Indian soldiers continued to come down from the city wall and tried to reach from both sides of the city gate.
However, they were all beaten back by the commandos.
The commando team also learned a lesson and hired people to observe the tops of the towers and report if any grenades came down.
Because there was no shooting angle, the Indian soldiers on the city wall had no way of hitting the commandos with their guns.
The oncoming Bengal infantry should be a regiment, with 500 people in the servant army. Because the streets are narrow, these Bengal infantry can only form an extremely thick line formation.
"Gunner, get ready!" At this time, there were two six-pound cannons in the city gate cave.
Following the battalion commander's order, the two cannons opened fire at the same time. The shells directly hit the square formation of the Bengal infantry, plowing two bloody roads.
On such a straight stone street, the power of solid bullets is greatly amplified.
ps: Keep asking for votes! There are still three days left, it would be great if I could add another hundred or two hundred votes.