The Dutch were in a disadvantageous position in terms of terrain; the beach to Mazu Palace was a gentle slope, and rocks and ravines made the already narrow terrain more complicated. The "Morris Line" of 200 people lined up in three rows was split into several small pieces by the terrain.
The Chinese Company had already spent half a month occupying favorable terrain, building fortifications at the commanding heights, and stockpiling ammunition; the defenders had undergone long-term and repeated training and were able to operate matchlocks very skillfully.
The Dutch launched two charges, but they were repelled by the continuous bullets in the Mazu Palace camp. More than ten people were killed and more than twenty people were injured. Those killed were all the spearmen who were at the forefront. Those who landed.
There are only 50 spearmen in the Dutch army, and now there are not many left. Moreover, sharpshooters such as Loa Quan also caused a lot of trouble to the Dutch. The officers of the Dutch army who were responsible for shouting commands were killed one after another within 100 steps of the wooden wall.
The accurate killing caused the entire army to fall into chaos and had to retreat temporarily.
The Dutch retreated to the beach, reorganized, and launched another attack. This time Captain Bont adjusted his deployment and placed the musketeers in front of the entire battle line, with the spearmen behind the musketeers in the center of the battle line, intending to use the musketeers to suppress them.
Shoot at the opponent, and then after approaching the outer wall of the camp, charge with spearmen.
This time the Dutch were approaching the wooden wall. Amidst the hail of bullets flying in all directions, several sailors used large iron pots as shields, pushed small cannons to the top of the wall, and aimed at the oncoming Dutch captain.
The spearman lit the fire: "Boom!" Hundreds of iron sand hit the Dutch spearmen head-on and face-to-face. The lethality of the shotguns against dense crowds at close range was terrifying. The smoke and shotguns engulfed the front of the camp at once; wait until the smoke dissipated.
Finally, the bodies of dozens of Dutch spearmen lay under the wooden wall of the camp, and in the distance was the chaotic retreat of the Dutch. They did not expect that the Chinese actually had artillery. In yesterday's battle, Lin Xiao
I hid this little 3-pound cannon, and now it is really a blockbuster.
Captain Bunt's legs and feet were injured by the iron sand, and he limped back to the beach. Captain Van Leyden helped him retreat together, and met a non-commissioned officer who was staying at the camp.
The noncommissioned officer said anxiously: "Captain, the Chinese infantry has landed half a league west of the beach!"
Captain Bunt and Captain Leighton looked at each other and quickly looked towards the sea: they saw the huge hull of the Orange surrounded by countless small sailing ships, clashing from left to right, and the entire hull was surrounded by gunfire and smoke;
On one side, one of the two auxiliary ships was still floating half-dead on the sea, and the other ship was completely invisible. Only the blond hair of a few Dutch sailors could be seen swaying on the sea. There were two ships flying the Chinese flag on a blue background.
The large ship was cruising near the coastline, firing at the Dutch landing site and camp from time to time.
The two of them took a breath at the same time, but what they thought in their minds was: "It's over! Failed!"
Captain Layton looked hesitantly at the beach in the distance: "Captain Bunt, have you seen those Chinese? Their formation is very orderly! Should we retreat to the camp first?"
Captain Bunt shook his head: "No, there are so many of them, and there are their warships on the sea. Their cannons can bombard our uncovered camp! We must rush up and fight them in close combat, otherwise we have no chance."
The Dutch resisted the Spanish and fought a war of independence for half a century. Therefore, the Dutch in this era were determined to fight, and in their eyes, the Chinese were not Christians. God knew what misfortune would befall them as captives, so they would rather fight to the death.
Give it a try.
All the Dutch who were still able to move on Penghu Island were gathered together, and there were about 130 people capable of fighting.
Yin Feng stood on the beach, with several Portuguese mercenary officers behind him; in front of him, two Chinese United Company escort soldiers were lining up; a total of 400 people formed a 5X80 horizontal team, facing the Dutch camp to the east. Horizontal team
The 50 men in the middle were equipped with the latest flintlock muskets, paper-packed fixed ammunition, and bayonets with bayonets. They were the latest infantry weapons and equipment in the world at that time. The 350 men on both sides still used matchlocks, but they all used
Paper-loaded ammunition: the paper package contains just enough gunpowder and bullets for one shot; during battle, soldiers only need to bite open the paper package with their teeth to pour gunpowder and bullets into the gun chamber, which not only speeds up the
The speed of loading ammunition, and no longer using horns to load gunpowder like in the past, the amount of gunpowder is controlled by feel and experience when loading.
There are 5 rows in horizontal formation, and there is an officer at the head of each row who shouts the command; the 80 people in each row are exactly the number of two teams, and the two captains pass the orders of the leading officer in the middle of the team.
"Let's move together, target the red-haired camp ahead!"
Chen Zhongji blew the conch horn, and the escort marched in unison toward the Dutch camp.
Yin Feng turned around and asked an old Portuguese mercenary in his 40s: "Andre, what do you think of my army?"
The old mercenary was Cutre's friend, but he had a cheerful personality and didn't look like a soldier everywhere like Cutre. At this time, he grinned and said, "Do you want me to tell the truth?"
"Nonsense, of course!"
Andre said seriously: "I participated in the war in the Netherlands and fought in many places in Europe; in Asia, I fought in India, Java, and Malacca. In my opinion, your troops are
There are enough enemies in Asia, whether they are the Japanese or the Siamese. However, although they have trained hard and are very skilled in technology, they have too little actual combat experience and cannot fight against the best European armies or the new Ottoman Turkish army.
...Oh, the weapons in the hands of your warriors are indeed good."
The old mercenaries were very interested in Yin Feng's improvements and "inventions" in some small details, and they didn't expect that ammunition could be packed together like this.
Yin Feng nodded and said: "Yes, you are right. Now, my army will experience what actual combat is!" He is still very confident in his army; this army starts with recruitment, training and
Weapons, establishment, military discipline, logistics and reward and punishment system, every aspect has Yin Feng's painstaking efforts. Yin Feng has taught him everything he knows;
These warriors who have been training hard for half a year have perfected themselves in actual combat.
...At this time on the sea, the Orange was already surrounded by Chinese sailing ships surrounding it like flies.
Admiral Wei Malang estimated that his ship had sunk at least and smashed more than ten ships. However, the Chinese still surrounded him, biting him with the bow cannon from time to time, and then flew away again.
"Turn the helm! Go back to the coast!" Wei Malang took a telescope and looked in the direction of the beach. Over there, the Dutch were lining up to prepare for battle; 200 meters away from them, a neatly arranged Chinese army was approaching.
"Fire ship!" a sailor screamed.
Wei Malang jumped to the bow of the ship and was surprised to see a large number of blazing fireships appearing on the three sides of the ship, front, rear, left and right. They were being towed by other ships and concentrating in the direction of the Orange. It happened to be now.
At high tide, the current pushed more than a dozen fireships towards the Orange. Smoke filled the sky, heat waves emptied out, and everyone in the Netherlands turned pale. Many fishermen in Yin Feng's fleet traveled between the mainland and Penghu, and they were familiar with Penghu.
The time of every sea route and every high tide in the archipelago was very accurately timed. It happened to be when a large amount of tide poured into Magong Port.
During naval battles in various European countries, there were also situations where fireships were used as auxiliary weapons to attack the opponent, but it was rare that dozens of fireships were lit at once to attack.
Wei Malang's warship actually didn't suffer much damage in the battle just now. It just took a few shots. But once it is entangled by the fire ship, it will be the end of the ship being destroyed and everyone will be destroyed!
The first mate of the Orange ran over sweating profusely and reported loudly: "Your Excellency, the enemy's warship is coming!"
Sure enough, the Feilong had already approached within 500 steps of the Orange. In front of the Orange were countless fireships, on the left and right were densely packed Chinese sailing ships, and behind were the coastline and the Feilong battleship.
The Dutch are worthy of being sea coachmen. At this time, they can still turn around the warship urgently. The Orange suddenly dropped an anchor at the stern. The anchor entered the sea and grabbed the bottom of the sea, pulling the entire ship. The huge
The inertia caused the Orange to spin in a circle with the stern as the center. The huge hull turned 180 degrees, then the anchor was suddenly cut off, the hull returned to balance, and rushed in a new direction.
Go. At this time, the Orange changed from being chased to being almost parallel to the Hiryu, and also threw the fire ship to the stern.
Mai Dahai on the Feilong was shocked to see the huge Orange doing such incredible maneuvers, and his mouth was open for a long time.
"Damn it! The red-haired barbarians are so evil, they can turn around like this!" Mai Dahai shook his head and said to the orderer beside him: "Commander, gunner, prepare to fire a salvo! The array line bombardment mentioned by the captain, we will do it right away.
It’s time to experience it!”
"Attention! Load ammunition! Aim! Steady, steady! The distance is not enough!" the gunner shouted loudly.
The air in the gun cabin below the deck was seriously polluted, and most of what everyone breathed was gunpowder smoke and dust. There were three people per gun, and since only one side of the ship could fire the gun, there were only 45 people in the gun cabin. Everyone was very busy and full.
His head was sweating profusely, and his whole body, including his face, was all black—it was caused by gunpowder smoke.
Gunner Ye Haizi was one of the first batch of sailors who received professional training from Portuguese gunners. He was senior and experienced. He was small but had a loud voice. As the Feilong and Orange gradually approached, he observed from the gun window while
Continuously issued orders; "For No. 1 to No. 5 guns, raise the muzzle half an inch and point it at their upper deck; do not move the rest and hold steady! Check the ignition rope! It's close! Get ready!"
Suddenly, he turned to the gunners and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fire!" By the way, he immediately stuffed two cotton balls into his ears...
"Boom boom boom!"
The Feilong's 15 cannons fired one after another, and the ship's hull shuddered and tilted.
The Orange's artillery fire was also fired almost at the same time. 30 shells quickly swept across the sea towards the Feilong. Two shells hit the rear of the Feilong's gun cabin. Gunner Ye Haizi immediately lost three members of the entire No. 15 gun crew.
.Another shell hit the side of the deck, killing two sailors. A shell passed over the bow of the ship and broke several cables. Fortunately, the crew of the Hiryu caught the severed end in time, and the foremast was freed.
There was no problem with the sail.
Only one of Hiryu's shells hit Orange, punching a large hole in the middle of the upper deck, and two Dutch sailors were beaten to a pulp.
The two ships staggered past each other at a distance of 300 steps, turned to each other's rudders, and once again formed a parallel situation. The two warships were like knights dueling each other on the sea, and they must fight to the death.
Yin Feng watched from a distance on the beach and said helplessly to Chen Zhongji: "Blow the conch horn to inform Mai Dahai to act as planned and stop entangled with Hongmao Yi. He is addicted to fighting!"
At this time, bursts of fierce gunfire suddenly erupted in front of the beach, and the infantry of the escort and the Dutch infantry also began to exchange fire.