Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 620 The water is too deep

Xueshan Town is a railway town with less than 5,000 people. It was originally used as an important forward base and material storage place for railway construction. It is usually used to protect the food, clothing, housing and transportation of road construction Chinese workers. Therefore, most of the residents living in are railway workers and those engaged in the service industry. Chinese immigrants.

  The highest peak of the town’s residents reached more than 6,200, and service industries such as clothing, food, housing, transportation and other services flourished everywhere. When on vacation, many railway workers were willing to go to the town for a few drinks, buy some daily necessities, and then find a white girl to go to the fire.

After the tense situation in the north and the south, some Chinese immigrants engaged in the service industry left Xueshan Town for safety reasons, and the population dropped to more than 3,000. Added some trained basic militias, the total strength is about 4000, almost all the people are soldiers.

  For a small town, such a defensive force is a bit exaggerated.

But looking at the geographical location of Snow Mountain Town, you can understand the intention of the Army Staff Headquarters of the Kingdom of Oceans. This is an iron nail deeply pierced into the back of Sydney. It is composed of Rock Town, Illawarra Town, and Canberra. With the sword that pierced the soft abdomen of New South Wales, the railway is now paralyzed by the destruction of enemy forces and has not been able to play a real role.

  So this sharp sword inserted into the soft abdomen of the south has not yet opened its front, revealing its hidden true face.

  If the northern army conceals and rushes through the coastal railway line, it will be like a sharp sword out of its sheath, which will definitely cut the road link between New South Wales and Victoria, forming two separate war zones that do not interfere with each other.

   Strategically speaking, this is the advantage of taking the initiative.

Among the four towns of Xueshan Town, Panshi Town, Illawarra Town and Canberra Town, Panshi Town’s geographical location is particularly important, serving as a bridge between the previous and the next, and the defensive geographical conditions are better than those of Snow Mountain Town, which is a must The core fortress was built vigorously.

The main force of the    Railway Cavalry Division is also in Panshi Town, where more than 11,000 combat personnel have gathered to stand by, and more than half of the strength of the Wisconsin Militia Division is used in Panshi Town.

  Once Snow Mountain Town is lost, the way to retreat is to enter the deep mountains and retreat to Panshi Town.

Duan Qirui doesn't want to go. He is a lieutenant colonel in the fortress of tens of thousands of people. He has not only the colonel on his head, but also the brigadier general commander. How can he get a small lieutenant colonel to give orders?

  I just stay here and don’t go anywhere. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go up the mountain to fight guerrillas.

  He made up his mind, Duan Qirui let out a long sigh of relief. With the 4000 troops in his hand and sufficient preparation, he is confident to fight 16,000 enemy troops, which is almost the limit.

  If we reinforce another 20,000 enemy troops...

  Duan Qirui knows that no matter how arrogant he is, he can't hold it, it's a whole army.

He walked cautiously along the position delineated by the lime line, and without much effort, he turned half a town. Duan Qirui was very satisfied with the defensive positions he saw. The big rock in his heart was put down.

  In a moment

  Duan Qirui came to a dark fort on the lower corner of the street, and squatted down to take a closer look.

Even standing in front of this stone wall, there is nothing unusual. The heavy machine gunner hiding inside saw the officer coming through the peephole, and quickly removed the blocked stone, revealing a small rectangular hole, and greeted with a shy face. Said; "Sir Duan, you have to come to us for a stroll?"

   "Walk around, I'm checking the defensive deployment. The battle has broken out last night. You must be on guard here, and you must not take it lightly." Duan Qirui replied angry and funny.

   "Don't worry, sir, so many machine guns were seized last night, and all the heavy machine guns in the bright bunker are fully equipped. Those ghosts must dare to come and keep them as delicious as they are."

   "It's good to have such confidence. Keep on guard. Remember that you have not seen the enemy and cannot reveal the location of the bunker. Only a sudden crit can give the enemy the most lethal power."

   "Understood, sir."

   gave a few words, Duan Qirui stood up and saw that his adjutant was walking hurriedly, so he stood down and waited for him to come.

  "Report to the division seat, the Southern Army has begun to send engineers to erect two bridges. Will the highland artillery request shelling?"

   "No hurry, wait until they build it, is there anything else?"

"Master, one of the captured white officers strongly requested to see you, saying that there was an important intelligence report, and he would not say anything about the situation. He must see the master of the division who is willing to speak clearly, and his subordinates dare not be good at it. Special, hereby come to report."

   "Oh, let's go check it out."

   Duan Qirui's interest suddenly came, and led the adjutant to leave the central street of the town in a hurry, and headed away.

  Since Snow Mountain Town is a forward position deep in the south, many reinforced concrete structures were used when it was first constructed. Generally, the two-story house was built and the house was extremely strong and difficult to be destroyed.

  The whole town presents a semicircular radioactive structure, similar in shape to a compass ruler.

  The three main roads all lead to the town center. The town center is a four-story tall reinforced concrete building, which is extraordinarily thick and strong, and has small windows. It is like a fortress that is difficult to conquer.

  This is the commanding height of the whole town. Occupying this place can control several main roads, thus controlling the whole town.

Duan Qirui's headquarters is located here, and all the prisoners of the Southern Army are also detained here. There is a heavy machine gun sandbag bunker on the left and right of the building's entrance. Fully armed soldiers are on duty here and are heavily guarded.

  In the office

  The adjutant brought in a thin white major officer who was about thirty-five years old. His uniform was neatly arranged, and he looked like a well-trained gentleman.

   "Okay, you can go out and do something." Duan Qirui sent away the adjutant, and looked at the white major officer with interest, only to see the officer folded his feet into a military salute and said loudly;

  "Reporting sir, Major Robert Jenric, deputy commander of the First Regiment of the Sixth Division of the Confederate Army, reports to you."

   "I know your identity, Mr. Major, I didn't take the time to meet you in your busy schedule to listen to this. I hope you don't waste your little kindness and tell me something I would like to hear."

"No, you don't know who I am. My real identity is the southern lurking member of the Political Affairs Office, codenamed "Raven". Please forgive me for bluntly. The white army is not as weak as you think. The battle last night, if not I took the initiative to let the soldiers lay down their weapons and surrender. Your losses will be much greater."

   Damn!

   Duan Qirui immediately became full of black lines after hearing this. He really didn't expect the political affairs office to stretch out so long?

  90% of what the white-skinned and yellow-hearted egg man Major Robert Jenric said should be true, because Snow Mountain Town has a way to verify his identity, and there is no way to impersonate him.

  But now that people have been caught, how can I put it back?

   "Well... may I ask, how many years have you joined the Political Affairs Office?"

"It was originally confidential information that could not be disclosed, but now it is an extraordinary situation. I can answer your question. I joined the Political Affairs Office in 1879. I was still called the Black Guard at the time. I was ordered to carry out a long-term incubation. ."

  Ok, I can’t ask anymore.

  Duan Qirui is a wise man who knows the truth about curiosity killing cats. He doesn't want to know the inside story of this mysterious and dangerous department at all. It is the secret institution of His Majesty the King, a shadow walking in the dark.

  "I will arrange to identify you as soon as possible, Mr. Major, and sincerely pay tribute to your persistence for more than 10 years. The question now is that many people know that you are captured, so how do you go back?"

   "Sir, are you still going to keep these prisoners?" Major Robert Jenric asked abruptly.

  These words shocked Duan Qirui and said in his heart; I’m a big fuck, this wall is also a ruthless character, the more than 900 soldiers in the army actually want to kill all of them?

"Excuse me, sir, it's not that I am cruel. From your point of view, Snow Mountain Town has a total of more than 4,000 defenders, and they are also separated in the town and on the top of the mountain. It is impossible to fight against ten thousand enemy troops and treat them well. With more than 900 prisoners, you don't have so many manpower to squander. At a critical time, one more squad of soldiers may affect the final direction of the battle and the destiny of all the defenders."

Well, Duan Qirui admits that what he said is reasonable, anyway, before the identification is clear, this major Robert Jenric will definitely not be able to leave his sight, so I might as well talk frankly; "I do have plans. After a simple mobilization of these white soldiers, they were given guns to be sent to the front line for cannon fodder."

   "Sorry sir, please allow me to ask is this appropriate?"

"No problem, these captured white soldiers will form a team of two to three hundred people, and they will be dispatched to positions along the railway line one after another. There are several heavy machine guns aimed at them..." At this point, Duan Qirui showed kindness on his face. "It's a pity that our manpower is tight, so every manpower must be used to the extreme, and the captives are no exception."

  Major Robert Janrick listened to a long sigh of relief, and shrugged and said; “Then it’s okay. I hope I can leave here as soon as possible after the screening. After all, I’ve been lurking for so many years, and I don’t want to fall short.”

   "Oh...is it really okay?"

   "Don't worry, sir, the Southern Army is not as tightly managed as you think. I can put a shot on my leg, so that I can explain why I didn't return to the barracks twelve kilometers away, and at the same time I can get the opportunity to go back to the rear to recuperate."

  Well, you are ruthless!

Duan Qirui had nothing to say so far, he opened the drawer, took out two iron boxes and asked; "Coffee or tea?"

  "Coffee, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Duan Qirui took the iron box in his hand and walked to the next table, where he ground some coffee beans, put them in a pot and put them on the stove to heat them, and asked in passing; "Major Robert, do you have a lot of situations like yours?" "

  "Please forgive me for having no comment, but I am not the first, and I will never be the last."

   "It makes sense, do you need to add milk and sugar to your coffee?"

   "Two spoons of milk, one spoon of sugar, thank you."

  Duan Qirui walked over with a kettle, poured hot coffee into the cups of the two of them, then added milk and sugar, took out a silver spoon and pushed it in the coffee cup.

   "Thank you sir, I admire your command art very much."

"Ha ha……"

Duan Qirui smiled dryly and did not answer. He noticed that Major Robert Jenric used a silver spoon to rotate clockwise to stir the coffee and milk. The spoon did not touch the wall of the cup. When he picked it up, his index finger hooked the handle of the cup. Son, the posture looks elegant and calm.

  This is the etiquette of the British aristocracy, which is not seen in the rude Australian cowboy.

  Political Situation...This pond is really deep!

  Three days later, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon

  Amidst the rumble of artillery and fierce gunfire, the attacking Southern Army soldiers were once again defeated, leaving behind large corpses and charred craters, showing that the battle was fierce and bloody.

  In the rear front command, Colonel Alan Keynes, the commander of the Third Infantry Division, no longer has the grace and calmness of the past. His uniform collar is open, his eyes are bloodshot, and his face is covered with traces of gunpowder after another.

   two days ago

  In addition to building a bridge on the Lime River for a day, the Southern Federal Army launched a large-scale storm after crossing the river, successively conquering the railway line positions and rear trenches, and advancing the front line to the foot of Xueshan Town and Sanling Highland.

  It is especially annoying...It was the captured white soldiers who stubbornly resisted on the railway line, causing thousands of deaths and injuries to the offensive troops.

In order to get rid of the two machine gun fortresses running back and forth along the railway line, uh...the railway manpower maintenance vehicle. In the shelling of each other, the artillery regiment lost four 105mm field guns, seven Hatch Kais m1875 type. The 1.65-inch mountain artillery was destroyed by an artillery battalion.

  The southern military uses old-fashioned retreat guns, which not only have a slow rate of fire, but also recalculate the trajectory of each shot, and the firepower density is far from insufficient.

On the other hand, the 95mm Miss Australia artillery mounted by the Orientals on the top of the mountain not only has a wide range of fire, but also has great firepower. It can fire 15 to 16 shells per minute. Two guns can match the ammunition of an artillery battalion, and the shooting accuracy is high. It is far better than the former.

  So in the shelling, the Southern Army suffered a big loss.

  The remaining two battalions of artillery, Lieutenant General Julian Smith, are reluctant to use them. He has finished the artillery before he starts attacking Snow Mountain Town. How can the next battle be fought?

  That can only be filled with infantry, so this tough battle was both **** and suffocated, and suffered heavy losses after being counterattacked again and again.

  "The third regiment and the seventh battalion will organize again, and attack again after fifteen minutes. I still don't believe it. Can't I eat this hill?" Colonel Alan Keynes gave the order loudly.

   "Yes, sir, can you ask for artillery to bomb the enemy's position again?"

  "The division tried its best to increase the firepower of the offensive troops, and sent a few more heavy machine guns to suppress the enemy. The others can only pray to God. Good luck."

"okay then."

  The major battalion commander who led the attack went out with his head bowed and his face was full of despair.

Assaulting the hilltop high ground is simply a mission to die. On the slightly flatter side, it is covered with trenches, bunkers and barbed wire. Every step forward has to pay the price of blood. In the past two days, there are more than a dozen charges. Going back in defeat, apart from dropping a large corpse, the offensive made no progress at all.

  The Orientals have absolute artillery superiority. Not only the 95mm Miss Australia artillery is extremely fierce, but the 60mm field gun is also ferocious, causing great damage to the offensive forces.

   is often when the enemy’s line of defense is about to be breached, a blast of artillery fire smashes it down, causing heavy casualties, and has to withdraw hatefully.

  This stubborn battle is really maddening!

  (End of this chapter)