Regardless of offense or defense, it is a complex system project.
The attacker has to face more than just a city wall, and the defender has to rely on more than just a city wall.
Once the battle begins on the city wall, it means it has reached the final stage.
For the New Army and the Eight Banners Army, what they competed for at the beginning of the war was the area in front of the city wall.
This place was originally a plain, completely empty and unobstructed.
If the Eight Banners Army wanted to attack the city wall, they would undoubtedly become a living target if they rushed straight through.
For the New Army, if no corresponding fortifications were established in such an open area, then the city wall would mean that it was completely undefended.
Since the emergence of thermal weapons, trenches have become one of the main means of warfare.
No matter how powerful the firearms of this era are or what their hit rate is, as long as you are a human being, you will not want to die.
If you don't want to die, you can only dig trenches to avoid firearm strikes.
After the Eight Banners Army formed its formation, it sent countless civilians and slaves to dig in the plains.
Within a hundred meters in front of the New Army's city wall, there are also ravines and bunkers scattered everywhere.
When the Eight Banners Army's trenches approached, the battle between the two sides began.
The New Army had already prepared mortars behind the city wall.
After receiving the command from the observation post on the city wall, the cannonballs were thrown high into the sky and then fell vertically.
Ten of the fifteen shells accurately fell into the tunnel.
Because the mortar shells flew very slowly, the Jurchens witnessed the entire process.
Seeing the iron lumps falling from the sky, many people were baffled and didn't know what they were.
But then the metal storm that swept through the tunnel made them understand the horror of these little bumps.
In the trench closest to the new army fortifications, the Jurchens suffered heavy losses, and many people howled and fled back.
In the rear, Dorgon couldn't help but stand up straight on his horse, trying his best to see what was happening.
"What is this?"
The surrounding Houjin generals looked at each other, and no one could answer.
None of them had ever seen such a strange weapon.
The image of falling mortar shells was repeated in their minds, making them realize that the trenches seemed to have no defense against this thing.
While the mortars were clearing the frontmost trenches, the New Army soldiers at the rear of the fortifications began to move forward.
They moved very slowly, advancing cautiously with their muskets in hand.
Every three or four steps, he would quickly look for a bunker, then aim his gun at Hou Jin's trench, covering his companions from behind.
They advanced alternately like this, and it took about thirty seconds for the New Army soldiers to reach the front of the Houjin trench.
Less than thirty steps away, a human head suddenly emerged from Houjin's trench, followed by sharp iron arrows.
Soldiers with sharp eyesight and quick hands quickly rolled away and hid behind the bunker without showing their faces.
Some reacted slower and were hit by arrows on the spot and fell to the ground.
The Jurchen archers were so accurate that several soldiers were shot in the throat and died on the spot.
Although the rest were not hit in vital parts, they also lost the ability to move.
But after these soldiers fell to the ground, they quickly curled up into a ball and tried to expose their backs to the Jurchens.
The Jurchen archers did not understand why and continued to shoot arrows at these people.
What they didn't know was that in addition to backpacks, the New Army soldiers also wore cotton armor on their backs. Coupled with the material of the military uniforms, Hou Jin's bow and arrows shot over them, only turning them into hedgehogs, but they did not suffer any damage.
harm.
The companions behind the injured soldier quickly threw the rope.
After the injured soldier grabbed it, he pulled it all the way back against the ground.
When the Jurchens started shooting arrows, the new army's counterattack was equally sharp.
The distance was less than two hundred meters, and the snipers on the city wall were always staring at the trench.
Once a Jurchen is exposed under the scope, the sniper will fire immediately.
Compared with bows and arrows, specially made sniper rifles are much more accurate.
A distance of more than two hundred meters is easier than target shooting for a carefully trained sniper.
Amidst the patter of gunfire, the Jurchen casualties were terrible.
Seeing their companions being killed by gunshots from nowhere, none of the remaining Jurchens dared to raise their heads.
Under the cover of snipers, the New Army soldiers advanced again.
When they were within twenty steps, they took out grenades and threw them into the trench.
Another wave of explosions prevented Houjin's archers from gaining a foothold and had to retreat.
"Don't go in hastily, check carefully and be careful of ambush."
An experienced company commander shouted loudly, reminding the soldiers not to enter the enemy's trench easily.
The New Army themselves will build various mechanisms in the trenches, and I believe the Jurchens will do the same.
The officers' reminder was very timely.
The Jurchens' trenches are indeed full of institutions.
Although they have no landmines or trip mines, they have dug many traps. If you fall into them, you will definitely die.
But if the New Army soldiers don't go in, they will still be attacked by the Eight Banners Army.
Because the Eight Banners Army has already set up its cannons.
Seeing the New Army soldiers in the wilderness, Shi Tingzhu immediately ordered to open fire.
More than a dozen cannons roared, and iron balls hit the New Army soldiers one after another.
In this situation, the only thing the New Army soldiers could do was to lie down tightly on the ground and try to reduce their area as much as possible.
Whether you can survive such a bombardment depends entirely on luck.
Fortunately, Houjin's artillery fired only solid shells, and the damage area was limited.
The hot iron balls flew randomly after falling to the ground. Only two New Army soldiers were killed. Three others had their hands and feet broken and were dragged down.
As soon as Houjin's artillery fired, it was immediately locked by the New Army's observation post.
"367.7, 43.5, high and low, fire!"
The New Army's heavy artillery positions that had been set up behind the city wall immediately roared.
Precisely calculated shooting is far from comparable to Hou Jin's method of firing that relies on eyes and experience.
Moreover, the ultra-long range of the New Army's heavy artillery gave the Eight Banners Army's artillery a taste of its power for the first time.
A sharp roar crashed into the artillery position of the Eight Banners Army. In an instant, fireworks rolled, and the shock wave swept across and brought about the explosion of gunpowder.
The earth shook rapidly, and the wild sand flew with it, like an earth dragon rolling, which was extremely shocking.
When the dust and smoke slowly dissipated, looking at the messy artillery position, Dorgon, Azig and others were stunned and felt cold all over.
Tang Gudai had repeatedly emphasized that the artillery of the New Army was terrifying, but they did not quite believe it and felt that Tang Gudai was exaggerating to absolve himself of guilt.
But now it seems that the artillery of the New Army is far more terrifying than what Tang Gudai described.
How do they know?
This time the New Army's counter-artillery used heavy artillery. How could it be as powerful as the infantry artillery under Qingshui Pass at that time?
After blowing up the Eight Banners Army's artillery positions, the New Army infantry was no longer hindered and began to approach the trench.
They work step by step, carefully clean up all agencies, and never rush into anything greedy for success.
Seeing the New Army soldiers starting to enter the trench, the Eight Banners Army who retreated quickly turned around and fought back.
Everyone was in the trenches, and the terrifying artillery of the New Army could not support them. The Eight Banners Army became more courageous and decided to drive the New Army out.