Splashes of water rushed onto the ship from the bow from time to time, and the boat was crowded with soldiers from the Marine Corps and Marine Corps. They sat silently on the deck at the bottom of the ship, holding rifles in their arms - according to the
It was stipulated that all boats were covered with disposable protective bags made of oil paper. The steam engine made a loud vibration. Shi Zhiqi stood on the stern of a large boat. Looking at the upper rail island getting closer and closer, he felt nervous and licked his lips.
Lips - I thought it would be nice to have something like chewing gum for this time.
Several small boats serving as fire support walked at the front of the queue, belching black smoke. These small boats were equipped with typewriters with shields, and their bodies were covered with iron sheets. They were specially used to approach the coast and strafe and cover the troops.
The shooter on the ship wore a helmet and
Wearing protective clothing with front and rear steel chest plates, everyone nervously held the balance bar of the typewriter waiting for the order to fire.
The small boat approached the coastline, and the loud roar of the typewriter immediately filled the air. In fact, this was unnecessary. There was no one on the unfinished west fort position. The lead bullets fired by the typewriter only broke many vegetation
branches.
Shi Zhiqi took the lead and was the first to jump off the boat. The water was very shallow. He waved his command knife forward and shouted: "Attack!"
A trumpeter blew the charge in the sea water. Boat after boat of marines and armed sailors quickly jumped into the knee-deep water and waded ashore. Soon, Shi Zhiqi brought 2 companies and 2 12-pound mountain guns.
Howitzers were sent to the west coast of Shanghengdang Island, clearing out all the remaining Ming troops and capturing about 50 people. Shi Zhiqi ordered the troops to immediately advance to the east of the island.
According to the intelligence, there are 800 officers and soldiers on Shanghengdang Island. The east fort on Shanghengdang Island has 12 new Hongyi cannons. The fort was also built during the Wanli Dynasty and is relatively strong. There are five soldiers guarding the fort.
Hundreds of people. If attacking from the front, not only would they have to withstand the artillery fire from the East Fort, but they would also be bombarded by side fire from the Ya Niang Shoe Fort.
Since all the muzzles of this fort were pointed to the east, the back of the fort had no defense capability at all. Therefore, when Shi Zhiqi commanded two naval companies to appear from the side and the shells fired by the two mountain howitzers fell into the fort, the entire
The morale of the fort collapsed. The heavy Hongyi cannon could not be easily moved, and the enemy came from behind. Relying on swords, spears, and three-eyed blunderbuss, the soldiers were of course unable and unintentional to resist. They could only guard the fort.
The general soldiers conducted a brave hand-to-hand battle, resulting in the death of one sailor and the injury of three others. This was also the only casualty of the navy in the entire battle on Shanghengdang Island.
The marines quickly defeated the officers and soldiers who were twice their size. The repeated bombardment by volley guns and mountain grenades turned the battle into a one-sided massacre. A few people took small boats and fled to the other side of Ya Niang Shoe Island.
The remaining officers and soldiers were scattered in all directions, and soon they surrendered in large numbers and became prisoners.
Surrounded by guards, orderlies and communications soldiers, Shi Zhiqi entered the fort that was filled with gunpowder smoke and covered with corpses. He climbed to the highest point. The fort itself did not suffer any damage and seemed to be quite solid. 12 Hongyi cannons fired one
The unfired ones were placed on the gun positions and aimed at the sea where the enemy ships were supposed to arrive.
Shi Zhiqi observed it and found that the design of this fort was very strange. The so-called fort was just a circular pier made of earth and stone. The outside was covered with bricks and stones, and 12 Hongyi cannons were placed on the platform, all facing the sea.
The side and rear of the pier is only surrounded by a simple brick wall, without any defensive facilities, not even a trench. It seems that the defenders did not consider the possibility of the enemy landing and attacking from the side and rear.
Even if the attack is launched from the front, since there are no auxiliary defenses around the pier, as long as the attacker reaches the close range of the pier, he will enter the blind spot of the pier's firepower and can calmly climb up the pier to fight. Shi Zhiqi estimated that a
The Marine Company launched an attack from the front and was able to capture the fort in less than half an hour - of course there would be some casualties.
"Generate electricity!" Shi Zhiqizhi proudly stepped on the crenel of the fort, looked at Wushan across the East Waterway, and slashed his command knife, "The key to Humen is already in the hands of our Marine Corps!"
While fighting to seize Dahengdang Island, another force landed at the Luwan Fort position on the river bank to the west of Shanghengdang Island. All the 100 local soldiers guarding the fort fled without engaging in combat, leaving behind the buildings.
Half of the forts and many building materials were taken away. At this point, Humen's second line of defense, which was also the main line of defense, had been breached. Even if we did not attack Ya Niang Xie Mountain and destroy the forts above, the Pearl River would have been opened wide.
However, Chen Haiyang wanted to completely seize Humen, so he immediately ordered the artillery boat to be towed by the Dafa boat into the Humen East Waterway and prepare to bombard the Ya Niang Shoe Fort. The shallow-draft Dafa boat and the artillery boat sailed along the coast of Shanghengdang Island, because
Beyond the range, the forts on the opposite Ya Niang Shoe Island could only watch the ships and sigh.
The camp on Wushan Mountain was already in a panic. No one expected that the defense system they had put so much effort into building would be so vulnerable. Fan Wencai trembled and said, "Fort, how could the fort be lost so quickly..."
"The thieves actually landed from the other side and attacked from behind. It's really despicable!" Li Xijue, who came from Zhaoqing to Humen to inspect the defense of Humen, was "lucky" to meet him. At this time, his face was pale, although his mouth
Although he said it was despicable, he finally understood in his heart what kind of mood Lu Yizhong was in when he wrote that letter.
"It doesn't matter. Not many people came to the island, only two to three hundred people." Xu Tingfa forced himself to calm down. In fact, when the red and blue and white flags of the Australians were fluttering on Shanghengdang Island, Xu Tingfa's heart had sunk to the bottom.
Once Shanghengge is lost, the entire Humen Pass has lost its attack effect. If you want to rebuild the defense, you must recapture Shanghengge Island.
He called a side general: "Immediately recruit 300 dead soldiers! Each person will be rewarded with five taels of silver, and prepare to cross the sea to counterattack Hengdang Island! After the completion of the task, each person will be rewarded with ten taels! The injured will be rewarded with five taels! The dead will be rewarded with five taels of silver.
Reward twenty taels!"
"I understand!" The general left immediately. Here he also ordered people to prepare sampans and boats to prepare for a counterattack across the East Waterway.
Just as he was mobilizing his troops to prepare for a counterattack, 10 artillery boats that had anchored at the east fort of Shanghengdang Island began to bombard him.
As the 280mm mortar made a thunderous bombardment, black iron balls rose into the sky from the thick smoke. They landed on the fort with burning tails. Xu Tingfa, Fan Wencai and others worked hard and spent a lot of time.
With thousands of people and tens of thousands of dollars spent to expand and renovate, the Ya Niang Shoe Fort trembled and collapsed under the fire of the 280mm mortar. Broken bricks and rocks were thrown into the sky, and dull explosions came one after another. The entire fort seemed to
Completely shrouded in smoke.
The counterattack plan planned by Xu Tingfa was completely disrupted. Under such fierce artillery, no fool would run to the beach to "counterattack" for five taels of silver.
Li Xijue saw that the fort was being fired by the Kun bandits, causing smoke and fire everywhere, and the walls collapsing, but there was no sign of a single cannon being fired. He asked anxiously: "Why didn't our army's Hongyi cannon fire?"
"You can't hit it!" Xu Tingfa said impatiently, "It's so far away and it can only fall into the water!"
"What?! The Hongyi Cannon..." Li Xijue's face turned pale - he had always regarded the Hongyi Cannon as an unprecedented military weapon, but now there is a cannon that can hit farther and more powerfully than it. In addition,
Since watching the battle, the officers and soldiers have only been beaten, without a single effective counterattack. The more they watched, the more they were holding their breath. At this time, their vision went dark and they actually fainted.
Xu Tingfa could no longer take care of Mr. Li from the Governor's Yamen. Not only was it difficult to launch his counterattack plan, but at this time, the bandit's fleet had actually entered the East Waterway.
If Shanghengdang Island had not been lost, the Australian ships could have been "severely wiped out"! Xu Tingfa thought with regret. He also held on to a little hope: the forts suppressed by artillery fire were still there.
After seeing an enemy ship within range, it will open fire under gunfire.
Shi Shishi's Fifth Squadron was ordered to use the suppression and smoke effects produced by the grenades fired by the artillery boat. The Fifth Squadron approached until it was 380 meters away from the front of the fort and dropped an anchor to fix the ship's position, and then joined the bombardment with broadside artillery.
The Hongyi cannon on the fort at a distance of 380 meters was powerful enough to inflict heavy damage on these spy boats. However, after being bombarded by the mortar for thirty minutes, all the soldiers on the fort were either dead or able to escape. The open gun positions
There were no soldiers firing cannons anymore. The fort fortifications were seen collapsing in pieces under the gunfire, like a castle in the sand. Sometimes the gunpowder magazine on the fort was detonated, setting off a ball of black fire that shot straight into the sky.
Then two more squadrons entered the East Channel and approached for bombardment. After one hour and twenty-five minutes of bombardment, all the forts on Ya Niang Shoe Island lost their combat effectiveness. 300 sailors and marines landed on sampans, and the land was already covered with rubble.
The walls entered the fort. At 1707 in the afternoon, all the forts fell. In addition to the 200 corpses left behind by the officers and soldiers guarding the fort, about 400 people were taken as prisoners.
Xu Tingfa and others' faces turned pale. Seeing the fort fall, not to mention counterattack, if they continue to stay in Wushan, they might not even be able to protect themselves. The only option now is to return to Humen Village and defend to the death. Xu Tingfa was about to dispatch his troops to arrange the retreat.
, I just heard someone shouting in my ear: "Oh no! The bandits are attacking the mountain!"
Suddenly, the entire Chinese army camp on the top of Wushan Mountain exploded. The officers and soldiers who had been watching the battle all afternoon had no fighting spirit and fled in all directions like birds and animals. Except for a few soldiers of Xu Tingfa who remained calm and protected the Chinese army.
, the entire Chinese army camp was in chaos.
"Sir, let's go quickly!" Several generals couldn't help but rush Xu Tingfa and others onto their horses and fled down the mountain.