"Kakkakkakkak." This is the sound made by the mechanism of a manual repeating gun.
"Bang bang bang, bang bang." A series of bullets were fired by mercury-charged gunpowder and then rushed forward, knocking all the oncoming Eight Banners cavalry to the ground, regardless of whether they were men or horses.
The artillery positions on the north and south wings concentrated their firepower to shoot at the white flag and white flag troops rushing towards the center line. The position was divided into two rows of large artillery. The front row was a densely arranged medium-sized field artillery, used to fire solid shells and shotshells; the rear row was the muzzle. A slightly raised howitzer. Five heavy mortars were also arranged behind the parapet fortifications and on the wall of Hetuala.
Yan Siqi, Cao Tai, Zhang Pan and other Chinese military officers all underestimated the scale of the Eight Banners attack. Nurhaci immediately unleashed all his strength and relied on his numerical advantage to attack in an all-out manner. This frustrated Yan Siqi's plan of firing sequentially with various firearms. Do not use rapid-fire firearms in advance.
Although the sudden fire of rapid-fire guns blocked the Eight Banners soldiers who were attacking on the center line, the Eight Banners soldiers on the north and south wings quickly circled around and outflanked them. So far, the Eight Banners soldiers have not retreated from the battle. Strict military discipline and years of combat experience have made the Eight Banners soldiers The soldiers faced bullets and artillery shells and were killed in piles. But basically no one flinched. However, many war horses were frightened by the sound of cannons and explosions. Groups of horses and their masters ran wildly in chaos. formed his own charge formation.
From north to south, the several-mile-long Chinese Army parapet position has been completely obscured by gunpowder smoke. Countless firelights flashed in the slowly rolling gunpowder smoke. Countless bullets flew out of the gunpowder smoke, indiscriminately attacking people or animals blocking the road in front. Puncture.
The inlaid blue flag and the true blue flag were pierced diagonally in front of the enemy's hollow phalanx on the southern flank. Mang Gurtai personally led more than 10,000 cavalry back to the flank and rear of the 1st Regiment of the Fifth Division. The Chinese army's hollow phalanx was spitting fire from all sides. Guns and artillery fired in unison, like hedgehogs with long thorns all over their bodies. On the south wing, Zhang Pan, who had been on guard for a long time, commanded the temporary fort of the south fort to open fire. He greeted Mang Gurtai's cavalry with a hail of shotgun shells. The artillery position on the south wing turned back in time. The muzzle of the artillery bombarded Mang Gurtai's brigade.
Zhenglan Banner passed through the phalanx of the 5th Division. It endured countless bullets and artillery shells and suffered heavy casualties. However, it crashed into the reserve defense line of the South Fortress.
Zhang Pan persuaded German Rod Ebel, the deputy commander of the cavalry brigade, and Andre, the commander of the heavy cavalry battalion, who actively requested the battle, to leave. He turned over and ordered the troops to keep firing continuously on the fortress. He followed the cavalry of the West Route Army to the East Road. Zheng Zhihu of the Army has been a liaison officer during this period. He kept running between the cavalry reinforcements of the West Route Army and Yan Siqi's camp. With his forthright and generous character, he got along well with all the officers of the East Route Army. Ripe.
At this moment, he was also shooting behind the parapet. But he was holding a rifled gun specially used by the special battalion.
While shooting him, he asked Zhang Pan loudly: "Brother Zhang, aren't the cavalry going to attack yet?"
Zhang Pan stood there and stared at the battlefield. He replied loudly: "It's not yet time."
The narrow stretch of more than 200 steps between the hollow phalanx on the south wing and the south fortress has now become a hell. Under attack from two sides by shotgun shells, explosive shells, and musket bullets, Mang Gurtai's Zhenglan Banner Soldiers Like the wheat in the fields during the autumn harvest. It fell down in rows.
Mang Gurtai was cruel, warlike, brave and bloodthirsty. But he did not want all of his Zhenglan Banner troops to die meaninglessly in this corridor of blood and fire. He realized his stupidity. He attacked Zheng in a roundabout way. The blue flag soldiers and horses were massacred by firepower from both sides in this corridor. The Manchurian cavalry's proud riding and shooting skills had no room to display here. It was meaningless to carry iron and fire with flesh and blood. He He quickly ordered the front team to withdraw and the entire army to turn south. The problem was that the sound of gunfire was loud at this moment. The order could not be transmitted to all Niulu combat units.
In the end, Mang Gurtai had no choice but to abandon the front team's four Niulu, with more than a thousand men, and retreat with the rear team. The four Zhenglan Banner's Niulu, who rushed too far forward, broke into the parapet fortifications and were attacked by the Chinese Army regiments on the central front. The reserve team attacked head-on. Almost all of them were killed.
The Eight Banners soldiers started from Mang Gurtai. The wave of charges began to recede. The center line forward was holding a white flag, and the troops with white flags were really unable to withstand the hot firepower of rapid-fire repeaters. They were killed in vain, but they were unable to hurt the opponent. Not a hair. The Eight Banners soldiers have never fought such a battle.
Almost no one can rush to the fifty steps in front of the parapet fortifications. The Eight Banners Cavalry's bows should be fired at a distance of 100 steps to have the greatest effect. But in such an environment where the smoke is filled and the opponent's target cannot be clearly seen, the Eight Banners soldiers can only They can aimlessly shoot forward and upward in the air. They hope that the parabolic principle can help them kill the enemy.
The Chinese army was arranged in four rows behind the parapet. The first two rows lined up guns, and the back two rows loaded ammunition. They cooperated with each other and handed the loaded guns to the brothers at the front. Then they fired forward. The musketeers in the front row could reach almost every minute. The rate of fire of 10 rounds, combined with the shell bombardment of each regiment's light artillery and the continuous fire of lightning honeycomb guns, caused the first few rows of charging Eight Banners soldiers to be knocked to the ground in a short period of time. The Chinese army infantry soldiers were This was the first time for most of them to see such a large-scale cavalry group charging. They were frightened at first. Driven by strict military discipline, they stood behind the parapet and kept shooting. As the battle gradually unfolded, they began to have great confidence in the combat effectiveness of their troops. The combat skills formed through long-term training were brought into full play. Some Liaodong recruits fought very actively. Several Liaodong sentries, eager for revenge, took the initiative to attack from behind the parapet. They were finally pulled back by frontline officers of the Chinese Army.
After all the casualties in the forward line of the Eight Banners soldiers were exhausted, the piled-up corpses of men and horses became the biggest obstacle to the follow-up troops, causing them to slow down their advance. As a result, they were more likely to be hit by bullets.
Huang Taiji and Du Du were both commanding the follow-up troops. Seeing this, they directly commanded the troops to retreat regardless of Nurhachi's lack of orders.
On the north wing, Daishan, Yue Tuo and his son encountered even greater troubles. Attacking the city wall of Hetuala under intensive firepower was a complete suicide charge. A single bombardment from a huge cannon at the top of the city could kill more than a hundred Eight Banners soldiers. The explosive shells of the heavy mortar can often create big craters of blood and flesh in dense crowds. The Chahar Mongolian cavalry took the lead in fleeing. They did not have much fighting spirit. Then, the red flag and red flag troops had to retreat, all the way back to Suzhou. In the woods on the south bank of the Zi River.
…
The Chinese army brothers who were injured by random arrows were sent to the South Fortress one after another. Zhang Pan was busy arranging troops at this moment. He moved the heavy cavalry battalion of the reserve team out of the fortress. As the reserve team, the Second Regiment of the 5th Division and the Marine Corps began to move in. They formed a formation outside the fortress. Yan Siqi came with his Nanyang guards on horseback and found Zhang Pan.
"Brother Zhang, the first line of Tatar soldiers was repulsed. The fighting will be more intense later on. They will definitely make a detour to the rear of our army. Our army's retreat depends entirely on you."
Yan Siqi pointed behind him: "Did you see that? Twenty lightning-strike honeycomb guns are at your command. Pay attention. The cavalry is not allowed to move out without orders."
Zhang Pan stood up and saluted and said loudly: "Manager Yan, give me full authority to command the cavalry. Nu chieftains have always been cunning and changeable in their battles. Frontal attacks are unfavorable. The Tatar soldiers' next attack focus must be on my southern fortress. Our army will counterattack. The opportunity is also here.”
Among the infantry units of the Chinese Army, the cavalry units were originally directly subordinate to the old battalion. Zhang Pan's suggestion was asking for ultra vires command.
Yan Siqi looked at Zhang Pan. His eyes were full of murderous intent.
"Okay. When to fight back, I decide. When to use cavalry, you decide."
Yan Siqi actually did not trust Zhang Pan to decide the moment of counterattack. Yan Siqi has always had a good sense of the battlefield. He is good at seizing the opportunity to make unique moves. He also has a reason for such confidence: in all previous Chinese military battles, he has never missed a chance to turn the tide of the battle. opportunity.
Zhang Pan immediately stood at attention and saluted without saying a word.
When Yan Siqi returned to the Central Front, he laughed and said: "What a Liaodong nerd. Let's see how you behave."
…
The first general attack by the Eight Banners soldiers. More than 10,000 men and horses were killed or injured in front of the battle. Nurhaci looked at the bloody battlefield, and his heart ached like a knife. These Eight Banners disciples who died in the battle around Hetuala City were all by his own hands. The warriors he brought out were the greatest achievement in his more than 40 years of military career. These Eight Banners disciples were the pillars of the Later Jin Kingdom. But now they were senselessly killed with firearms at the door of their own homes.
Nurhachi could still maintain his rationality at this moment. He did not blame Mang Gurtai, Huang Taiji and others who were the first to retreat.
"Everyone rest for a while. Then the white flag is raised, the white flag is raised, and the frontal force is feinted. The blue flag is raised, and the red flag is the main force. The north and south wings circle back to the rear of the Long Snake Formation. The rest of the troops cooperate with the battle to contain the main force of the pirate army in front. The enemy's firearms are powerful. "Don't attack head-on, adopt a roundabout attack strategy." Nurhaci simply said. Seeing everyone silently obeying the order and leaving. There was no longer the usual performance of competing to express their merits and making bold words. He couldn't help but sigh. Then he He sneered and said: "With the straight yellow flag and the red flag, the whole army is on horseback. Prepare to follow me and charge towards the southern flank of the pirate army."
Abatai, who is 31 years old this year, suddenly stood up from behind Nurhachi: "Father, let me charge for you.
Abatai is the seventh son of Nurhachi. His mother is the low-status concubine of Nurhaci, Irgenjueluo family. He was first accepted by Taiji and served in the war. He has outstanding military achievements and thinks very highly of himself. But because he was born from the concubine of Nurhachi, he is among the brothers. His status was relatively humble. He was often not treated fairly when he was rewarded for his merits. He was often full of complaints. At this time, he was the commander-in-chief of Nurhaci's "Bayal" personal guards.
During the first general attack, the Zhenghuang Banner and the Xianghuang Banner remained as general reserves and did not attack. Nurhaci's 4,000 most elite Baya soldiers did not dispatch either. Now Nurhachi is going to attack in person. The Baya soldiers must follow Nurhachi. Looking at this son whom he usually didn't like very much, his loving eyes flashed past. He said sternly: "This battle will determine whether I love the Xinjieluo family's life or death. We, the men who love the Xinjieluo family, can't back down. Come with me." Bar."
…
In the busy rear position of the Chinese army, Zheng Zhihu escorted a group of ragged people to the South Fortress. He cursed loudly and used whips to drive these people to transport ammunition. Some injured people were also forced to push carts to transport a large number of people from Door panels and other wood dismantled from the city of Hetuala.
Zhang Pan is nervously arranging the rear guard position. He is using all the wood and bricks he can get on hand to build parapet fortifications along the corner of the south fortress.
"Brother Zheng, these people are Han people from Liaodong. They are all old, young, women and children. And these are injured people. They can't do the work."
Zhang Pan saw that Zheng Zhihu was driving those people to work, and immediately stepped forward to stop them. These Han people who were driven out of the camp by Zheng Zhihu to work were Han serfs from the banner villages under the Eight Banners. They farmed exclusively for the Eight Banners. Most of them were The Eight Banners captured prisoners from all over Liaodong. Others were Han people who had defected to Nurhaci very early. Those injured were the former Han people who resisted with the Eight Banners soldiers in the battle of Gule Village. They were included in the Eight Banners Niulu. of Han Chinese men.