Wild North America 1846

Chapter 370 Previous Lesson

a few days later

One gloomy afternoon, the cold wind howled across the wilderness.

Black smoke was billowing on the front lines outside Pittsburgh. In the winter wheat fields where young green shoots had just emerged, corpses lay everywhere as far as the eye could see. There were white soldiers and many black soldiers. Among the white soldiers, there were gray-haired old men and childish-looking teenagers.

Now they are all turned into cold corpses.

On the defensive front that had been pocked and blackened by artillery fire, the heavily armed officers and soldiers of the Tang Empire were waiting with guns in hand. Many soldiers in the front row were wearing breastplates and cotton coats.

Although it is slightly bloated, it reveals an unspeakable murderous aura.

This kind of cuirass heavy infantry is a newly equipped unit of the Tang Empire. On the Pittsburgh front, only two ace infantry divisions are equipped with cuirassier heavy infantry, namely the 205th "Fire Division" and the Royal Chang'an Iron-Blooded Grenadier Division.

This type of cuirass heavy infantry is specifically designed to target the imitation British Minie rifles that are now widely equipped by American Yankees. Judging from the pitted bullet marks on the soldiers' chests, the protective effect is quite good.

In the battle of lining up to be shot

The King-style rifle equipped by the Tang Kingdom can cause serious damage to the US military within a range of 700~800 meters, and can guarantee accurate hits within a range of 650 meters.

On the other hand, although the imitation British Mini rifle commonly equipped by the US military is slightly less accurate, it can still cause fatal damage at a distance of 700 meters, and accurate hits can be guaranteed within a range of 500 meters.

At first glance, the lethality of the rifles on both sides is about the same.

However, since the imitation British Mini rifle uses lead cylindrical bullets, it can be easily pushed into the gun bore with the ejector rod.

This greatly increases the rate of fire.

The bullet is threaded around the projectile to match the rifling, and the middle of the thread is filled with animal oil.

The bottom of the bullet uses cork material.

When shooting, the gunpowder gas impacts the cork, and the cork suddenly expands the bullet after the instant impact.

Because the bullet is stretched, the bullet itself can be relied upon to complete the sealing of the chamber at the moment of launch without leaking gunpowder gas, resulting in a loss of kinetic energy of the bullet.

This solves the chamber sealing problem of the old muzzle-loading gun and greatly enhances the gun's rate of fire, range and safety.

There are only two disadvantages;

The first is that mini bullets made of lead cast and cork are soft in texture and have insufficient penetrating power. Relying on breastplate defense can ensure the safety of soldiers and greatly reduce casualties.

The second is that the Mini rifle is slow to load bullets. Compared with the King-style rifle, which is ready to fire once you fire the gun and pull the bolt.

The preparation for shooting a Minie rifle is much more complicated. After firing a shot, you must turn the rifle upside down, use the ejector rod to push the next Minie bullet from the muzzle to compact it, and then pick up the rifle.

, open the medicine tank to load gunpowder, close the medicine door, aim at the enemy, and fire...

And doing so many actions in front of the enemy is simply courting death.

Practical proof

In the brutal battle, after withstanding 1 or 2 rounds of volley fire from the American soldiers, the bolt-action King's rifles equipped by the soldiers of the Tang Empire unleashed their fierce firepower and high accuracy, killing the soldiers of the Northern Army in a one-sided manner.

Recently

After the Colorado Corps occupied the U.S. Pittsburgh Defense Line, they ushered in a wave of crazy counterattacks from the Northern Army, one after another, never-ending.

The soldiers of the Tang Empire who stood firm on the defensive line were like a solid reef. They allowed the Northern Army soldiers to hit them like waves and smash them to pieces.

The battle of about a week caused more than 110,000 casualties to the US military, while the Tang Empire suffered only about 13,000 casualties, of which about 8,200 were killed. This included losses from the initial attack on the enemy's defense line, giving a battle loss ratio of 9:1.

to this day

The strength of Pittsburgh's U.S. military counterattack was also greatly weakened, showing that it was unable to follow up.

To be honest, the Yankees were afraid of being killed, and no matter how hard-headed they were, they didn't dare to charge forward and die.

General Fan Pengfei personally inspected the officers and soldiers of the 205th Division equipped with heavy infantry breastplates. He couldn't help but be very satisfied when he saw the numerous bullet marks on the breastplates. Many lead bullets were completely embedded in them, like smashed persimmons.

These breastplates are made of the world's cutting-edge Harvey bulletproof steel, which is very rigid and has a high hardness through surface carburization process, but it is not tough enough and is easily broken.

About 1/3 of the breastplates he had seen had large and small cracks, but they still maintained a certain degree of defense.

"Are there sufficient reserves to replace these damaged breastplates?" Admiral Fan Pengfei asked.

Major General Lin Feng, commander of the 205th Division, saluted solemnly and replied: "I am reporting to you, Commander-in-Chief, that our division still has 2,200 pairs of breastplates, which can barely replace half of the damaged ones. The remaining ones need to be replenished from the rear."

"As the first priority, the Corps Logistics Department needs to make arrangements as soon as possible." General Fan Pengfei immediately ordered. Then he pointed to the broken breastplate and said, "Every bullet mark on it may mean the precious life of a soldier. The rupture

If the breastplate cannot be replaced in time, can blacksmiths be organized to repair it immediately on the front line? The regiment needs to recruit more than 200 blacksmiths immediately to ensure the defense of the front-line breastplate heavy infantry."

"I understand, I will immediately arrange for manpower to do it."

"Based on battlefield experience, at what distance can a Mini rifle break armor?"

"Report to the Commander: According to actual combat experience, the strong impact caused by the Mini rifle within a range of 150 meters may cause the chest armor to break. If it is within a range of 100 meters, there is an 80% chance that the Mini bullet will penetrate the chest armor and attack the soldiers.

Causes damage. But due to the loss of kinetic energy of the bullet, the probability of death is low."

"Well, now it seems that due to the advantages of our rifles, it is difficult for US soldiers to attack within a 150-meter range. It is more likely that the cumulative damage will cause the chest armor to rupture. This must be reported back to the factory in time to ask them to make further improvements to the product.

Improve."

"I understand and immediately collect first-hand data to provide feedback to the manufacturer."

"Um……"

General Fan Pengfei looked up at the battlefield littered with corpses, and then looked back at His Highness Tang Li Xin with concern.

I saw the childish Highness Tang Li Xin with a stern look on his face. He stretched out his white fingers and tapped the soldier's breastplate, and touched several bullet marks on it. He raised his head and said to the soldier; "

I understand, you are all warriors who protect the Tang Empire, and I would like to express my highest respect to you."

"I am willing to die for Your Majesty, long live the Tang Empire, long live the Tang Dynasty!" The soldier hammered the iron armor hard with his fist, and answered with a sonorous and powerful answer, full of passionate passion.

"Thank you!" His Highness Tang Li Xin was young after all. Looking at these slightly bloated and dust-covered soldiers, his nose felt sore and a layer of mist appeared in his eyes...

He turned his head covertly, and Second Lieutenant Liu Daqing beside him immediately helped His Highness aside, and under the cover of several young men, he took out a pure white silk handkerchief and wiped the young His Highness's tears.

In the days since they came to the front line, these aristocratic young men have matured to some extent and understood the meaning of honor and responsibility.

General Fan Pengfei looked at the watch on his wrist. It was already close to 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It was difficult to say whether the US military would launch a new round of counterattack. He hesitated and prepared to wait.

More than a week of fighting

He could clearly feel that the combat effectiveness of the U.S. Army was declining rapidly. At first, when attacking the first and second line positions in Pittsburgh, the Northern Army's combat effectiveness seemed to be okay, but who knew that it would become increasingly weak later on.

It’s normal to think about it

Nowadays, a large number of black slaves fleeing from the north have been dragged onto the battlefield. More than half of those who died in this wilderness were black soldiers with incomplete weapons, and there were also some northern troops mixed with white-haired old men and teenagers. Can such a combat capability be enough?

Overwhelmed?

This also shows that the federal government of the United States (North) has reached the end of its strength.

he looked up

In the wilderness, the cold air is mixed with the thick smell of gunpowder smoke and blood. This is the smell of war that is close to death.

Crows of black crows flew down in the sky, circling and croaking noisily. They were all fat and strong, bringing a hellish atmosphere to the howling battlefield, making people tremble involuntarily.

General Fan Pengfei shook his head, driving away these temporary negative emotions, his eyes became firm again, and he casually asked the staff officer beside him: "The Pittsburgh defense line has been torn apart, and our army will divide its troops and go north tomorrow to expand this tear."

Hey, when will the Chang'an Cavalry Corps prepare to attack? Is there any definite news?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, the Chang'an Cavalry Corps just received a call and is preparing to pass through the Pittsburgh defense line at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. They sent a congratulatory message along the way, congratulating our corps on successfully tearing through the defense line and making new achievements."

"Well, order the cavalry regiments of each division to use the cavalry brigade as a unit to sweep 30 kilometers northeast and southeast to clarify the enemy situation in the area. Remember, this is just reconnaissance and not attack."

"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander."

not long after

Another dark army appeared in the distance. It turned out to be the Northern Army who still refused to give up and organized another counterattack.

General Fan Pengfei's expression became even colder. He was fully mentally prepared to tangle with the stubborn Yankees for a long time in the huge flesh and blood mill of Pittsburgh.

The field artillery unit has moved forward again, and after a few days of rest, it will begin its official attack on downtown Pittsburgh, kicking off an even more brutal and bloody battle.

Arms patents from the rear brought a large number of artillery shells in order to reduce the entire city to rubble. All factories, buildings, bridges and infrastructure would be destroyed, including the towns and villages surrounding Pittsburgh, all implementing a "scorched earth policy."

The Empire's intentions were obvious; cities were destroyed, crops were burned, and young men were lost in the war. What could the Yankees do to continue the war?

"Give me the order and prepare to fight."

Give an order

The shrill horn sounded again. The heavy infantrymen of the Tang Kingdom, who had just eaten something and had just recovered some strength, began to regroup, inspect weapons and ammunition, and prepare to teach the cannon fodder sent by the Yankees a lesson.

Victory in war cannot be achieved by sheer bravery.

(End of chapter)