The merchant army first attacked Pipa Mountain and Zhenwu Mountain. The merchant army had a lot of experience in attacking cities, but not much experience in attacking mountains. Although it had once attacked Xianxia Ridge in Fujian, the scale of that attack was not large.
Moreover, the Qing army did not have many defenders.////When they attacked Nanjing,
Hao Jiaozhong, who was guarding Qibao Mountain, gave up his position, so he did not conduct a mountain attack. He did attack Qingliang Mountain and Xiaowutai Mountain in Nanjing City, but those were hills within the city. In fact, they were just a small slope.
This is actually the first time for a real large-scale mountain attack battle.
At the same time, the Qing army would send some soldiers to guard each hilltop, ranging from a thousand to two to three hundred soldiers. Although this would cause the Qing army to disperse its troops, because there were too many hills, there were twenty soldiers, large and small.
There are multiple merchant armies, and it is impossible for the merchant army to attack slowly one by one.
If we attack only one hilltop, the Qing troops from other hills will attack the merchant army from all directions. Since they are unfamiliar with the terrain, the merchant army cannot ambush the Qing army, so they can only disperse their troops into battalions.
, launch an attack on four or five hills at the same time.
Although they were mentally prepared to attack the hilltop where the fortifications had been repaired, when the battle actually started, the soldiers of the Merchant Army discovered that the difficulty was far greater than they imagined. Although the mountain was not as vertical as the city wall, it was possible to climb up.
But it is much higher than the city wall, and the mountain road is very steep. Heavy and medium-sized artillery cannot be transported up at all. Thunderbolt rockets are also used to attack from below, and the hiding range is greatly reduced. Therefore, the fire support is much smaller, and the soldiers can only rely on the soldiers to move up.
Launch an attack.
The Qing army guarding the mountain prepared a large number of stones and rolling logs. When the soldiers of the Merchant Army attacked them, they were thrown down like raindrops. The soldiers of the Merchant Army were also smashed with bloody heads and broken bones.
Therefore, almost every hilltop of the attack will encounter setbacks, even if it is close to the Qing army's
However, because the Qing army had the advantage of occupying a commanding position, they could use the momentum of the mountains to repel the merchant army's attack during hand-to-hand combat. As a result, after a day of attacking, not even a single hilltop was captured.
And he lost nearly 2,000 troops, and more than 1,000 people were injured.
The next day, various merchant armies also changed their attack methods. Instead of just attacking by force, some brought small artillery and shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. After rushing to the Qing army's position, they braved the stones thrown by the Qing army.
They used blocks and rolled logs to launch an attack on the Qin army's position; some also pretended to attack, but actually
It is to lure the Qing army to throw rocks and logs downwards, and wait until the Qing army has almost thrown them before launching a real attack; or to take advantage of the Qing army's unpreparedness, suddenly launch a fierce attack, forcing the Qing army to break out of their positions and engage in hand-to-hand combat.
Subsequent troops also quickly followed up, using their numerical superiority to surround and annihilate the Qing army.
After improving their tactics, the Ji's army's attack indeed achieved some results, and they finally attacked several hills. However, despite this, the battle was still very difficult. Almost every hilltop required two or three attacks before it could be conquered.
The Qing army even launched several counterattacks on local battlefields. One hilltop changed hands three or four times before it was finally occupied by the merchant army.
In Li Dingguo's camp, on the sand table where the battle process was rehearsed, the surface of some hilltop models was densely packed with small eyes, shaped like a honeycomb due to repeated changes of flag markings.
The battle lasted until the third day before the merchant army captured the positions of Pipa Mountain and Zhenwu Mountain. At this time, there were several other mountains including Fenghuang Mountain, Yanghu Mountain, Hutou Mountain, Tiemao Mountain, and Wenbi Peak.
military control
However, the Merchant Army was injured and killed, and the combat attrition had exceeded 5,000. At the same time, Luck Dehun, who was stationed in Xiangyang, also sent another 3,000 reinforcements to the Nanshan battlefield to further strengthen the defense of the remaining hills.
At this time, in the camp of the Merchant Army, several generals were also having urgent discussions on whether to reconsider the battle plan to attack Xiangyang.
He Chong, the commander of the Seventh Army, believed that the Qing army was too tightly defended in the mountains outside the city, and the merchant army lacked experience in attacking mountains. Fighting with the Qing army one by one for the outer mountains would not only consume time but also waste ammunition and ammunition.
However, without seizing the mountains south of the city, it would be difficult to approach Xiangyang City.
However, after capturing the mountain, if the ammunition and troops are consumed too much, the siege will not be enough. Therefore, it is recommended that the Zhongzhen Battalion attack the mountain, which will consume the strength of the Qing army and allow the current attacking troops to rest. Zhongzhen
After the battalion surrendered to the Merchant Army, it was time for them to show off.
However, Li Mou did not object to letting the Zhongzhen Battalion go into battle, but he opposed using the Zhongzhen Battalion as a consumable, because the combat effectiveness and experience of the Zhongzhen Battalion were not as good as those of the Merchant Army. Allowing them to attack the mountain would only increase casualties, and it would not be conducive to the early stage.
The work done to capture the Zhongzhen camp. No
Li Mou proposed another plan. He still dispatched the Loyalty Battalion, but launched a detailed attack on the mountains south of the city, and changed the direction of the main attack to Fancheng on the north bank of the Han River. After Fancheng was captured, he would cross the Han River from the north to attack.
Xiangyang, this way you can bypass the mountains south of the city.
Li Dingguo was somewhat tempted by Li Mou's suggestion. Under the current situation, this could be regarded as a workaround.
But Huang Qingwen, commander of the Eighth Army, believes that no matter how difficult the battle is, can it be as good as that in Huangzhou, Hubei? After enduring such a difficult situation, do you still care about what is in front of you? Besides, difficulties are for both sides. Now this
At this time, it depends on the fighting will of both sides, whether you should continue to attack without worrying about casualties, in order to achieve a complete victory.
While several people were still discussing undecidedly, the guard at the gate came in and reported that it was Li Guo from the Zhongzhen Camp and Gao Yigong asked to see him.
Everyone felt a little surprised and didn't understand what happened to Li Guo and Gao Yigong coming at this time. However, Li Dingguo still ordered them to come in.
After Li Guo and Gao Yigong entered the tent and greeted everyone, Li Guocai said: "Commander Li, Chief of Staff, I see that our merchant army is fighting a very difficult battle to attack Xiangyang."
Li Dingguo also nodded and did not hide anything. After all, we can all see how the battle was going, so he briefly explained the dilemma he was facing, and also gave Li Mou's suggestions.
After Li Guo and Gao Yigong listened, Gao Yigong stepped forward and said: "Commander, chief of staff, and military commanders, I know there is a path that can bypass the current Fenghuang Mountain, Yanghu Mountain, and Hutou Mountain.
Waiting for the mountainous area, it will lead directly to the west gate of Xiangyang. I don’t know if this will be of any use to you.”
It turned out that in the 16th year of Chongzhen (1643), when Li Zicheng established an official position in Xiangyang, Gao Yigong was appointed to garrison Xiangyang. He stayed here for nearly a year and was very familiar with the terrain in this area, so he also knew that there were
The existence of such a small road.
Li Dingguo couldn't help but feel refreshed after hearing this. He pointed to the sand table and said, "General Gao, where is the path you mentioned."
Gao Yigong came to the sand table and pointed out the location of this path. It was located in the area between the edge of the southwest mountainous area and the Han River. However, it could indeed bypass the mountain top guarded by the Qing army, and Li Mou couldn't help but feel a little worried. He complained and said, "Brother Yigong, why didn't you tell me earlier that there was such a small road?"
Gao Yigong was also a little embarrassed and said: "This path is very rugged and difficult to navigate. If the Qing army ambush men and horses on both sides, there may be a risk of the entire army being annihilated. I'm afraid..."
Li Dingguo patted Gao Yigong on the shoulder and said: "General Gao, it's not too late to speak out now, but if you have anything to say in the future, feel free to say it boldly without any worries. We will all decide whether it works or not. "
Then Li Dingguo inquired about the situation of this trail in detail and believed that under the current circumstances, it was unlikely that the Qing army would set up heavy troops to guard this trail. If only a small number of troops were stationed, the merchant army could make a breakthrough from here. , to open up the situation and change the old practice of attacking Xiangyang first by attacking the mountains, and instead use the tactic of tigers tearing out the heart to directly attack the vital points of the Xiangyang defenders.
Therefore, Li Dingguo also started to make arrangements again, and the Zhongzhen Battalion still went out to fight, conducting feint attacks on the Qing army's positions in the mountains, to contain the Qing army's forces outside the city, and then ordered a special forces regiment to be dispatched as an outpost to attack from the path pointed by Gao Yigong. At the west gate of Xiangyang City, the third brigade followed closely, bringing enough explosives and trying their best to open a breakthrough from the west gate. At the same time, the 15th Division was ordered to detour back to the east side of Xiangyang and directly attack Xiangyang City from the east, attracting The attention of the Qing army. Once they successfully achieved a breakthrough in the west, they could immediately change the feint attack into a strong attack, open a gap from the east, and form a pincer-like encirclement of Xiangyang.
Sure enough, the next day, the left and right groups of the Merchant Army also attacked separately. The 15th Division first detoured back to the northeast of Xiangyang and launched an attack on Xiangyang City. Lek Dehun had also been prepared for this move against the Merchant Army. , after all, the Dongmen of Xiangyang is the most vulnerable place to attack, so sufficient defenders were prepared here. But just when the Qing army's attention was attracted to Dongcheng, the Special Forces Regiment and the Third Brigade came to Gao Yigong's Under his leadership, they attacked from the southwest path and reached the big stone bridge in the west gate of Xiangyang City. After passing the big stone bridge, they could directly attack the west gate of Xiangyang.
At this time, Luck Dehun couldn't help but be surprised, because at this time, there were only more than 5,000 defenders in Xiangyang City, and most of them were concentrated in the defense of Dongmen. The merchant army's attack on Dongmen also gradually intensified, and it was really difficult to defeat them. How many troops have been sent to supplement the defense of Ximen?
In desperation, Luck Dehun made a wrong decision. In order to strengthen the city's defense forces, he ordered Shang Shan to withdraw all the Qin troops stationed on the hills outside the city back to Xiangyang City.
And it was this decision that, although the Qing army stabilized Ximen's defense in time, it caused all the positions outside Nancheng to be lost. Although Luck Dehun quickly woke up and rushed to make emergency repairs. , Ming Shangshan immediately led his army back, still staying to guard the two positions outside the city, Yanghu Mountain and Hutou Mountain, but it was too late. The merchant army would never miss this opportunity and occupied these two mountains first. of 伡地.