Chapter 242: Do not attack high hills, do not go against hills, do not follow those who pretend to r
Chapter 242: Do not attack high hills, do not go against hills, do not follow those who pretend to retreat, do not eat bait, do not stop the returning army
In terms of long-distance running ability, the guards of the long-legged general Bai Yanhu can only rank second, and Shao Quanzhong's guard platoon is the fastest running team in the world.
Since the Huai Army was formed, Shao Quanzhong had sent urgent messages of 800 miles countless times. The guards around him took turns to go on business trips, and almost every guard had the experience of having scabs on the lining of their thighs and then rubbing them off.
But the guards were still eager to accept the emergency reporting mission. According to their experience, every guard who came back from the run would be promoted to the rank of captain and transferred to the company commander.
The competition among Shao Quanzhong's fellow villagers from Jiangyan for Shao Quanzhong's qualification as a guard was quite fierce.
Another lucky guard rode away with two telegrams drafted by Hu Liuniang in the envious eyes of his companions. Shao Quanzhong looked at the trench-covered Kokand positions across the river and smiled contemptuously.
In terms of planning for large-scale wars, he was not as good as Grant. It was Grant who planned to conquer Ili Province, first attack Dihua, obtain the autumn harvest grain from the grain-producing areas in northern Xinjiang, and then make a detour to attack Turpan.
But when it comes to a specific battle, his extreme cleverness is ready to be used again.
The trenches and artillery positions on the opposite side were arranged in a very standard manner, obviously the work of a Turkish military adviser who graduated from a regular military academy. It seemed that the Kokand people fought in a much more formal manner this time.
But, you only know how to stick to what you learned in school. Just looking at your performance in the Crimean War, you are a bunch of nerds with no inspiration in fighting.
You and the two top powers, Britain and France, joined forces to attack the Russians. The Russians lost 520,000 people, and the coalition forces lost 517,000 people, most of whom were locals. How can you call this a victory? There is no technical content at all.
Let’s face off today and see how I kill you bunch of stupid idiots.
Shao Quanzhong whispered a few words to Dong Fuxiang, then turned around and left with his men.
Dong Fuxiang became the temporary commander-in-chief of the front line and issued orders, ordering his two battalions to go to the upstream and downstream of the Weigan River, one on the left and one on the right.
Shao Quanzhong had 16,000 men under his command, but the opponents did not know this because they had seen Dong Fuxiang's four battalions and the Xibe, Solon and Tibetan soldiers before.
This time, the Huai Army made full preparations for battlefield concealment and started a scout battle first, beating the Kokand scouts so hard that they cried for their parents.
Then, what appeared before the Kokand people on the other side of the river were four infantry battalions plus three thousand Qing troops and three thousand Tibetan soldiers, a total of twelve thousand people.
The four infantry battalions were also replaced secretly. Two of them were soldiers from the Guards Brigade led by Song Lao San. They stayed in place and looked heavily guarded. However, they didn't even dig trenches, and it was obvious that they were not fighting professionally.
Going upstream and downstream were two battalions of the Gansu Army, testing the depth of the Weigan River as they went, seemingly preparing to cross the river and attack the enemy's position from both flanks.
The Bai Yanhu troops and the Berkhurii reinforcements on the opposite side formed two square formations. Seeing the enemy troops on the other side of the river split up, Bai Yanhu quickly reminded Tuji Taijun, who was in charge of the battle command, "The enemy is cunning, and we must pay attention to guard against their splitting up."
The Tuji military advisers scoffed. They had participated in the world's largest-scale national war in recent times and won it. They thought highly of themselves and thought that coming to Yili Province to guide the war between backward armies would be a piece of cake.
We are top students of the military academy, and our abilities have been proven in the Crimean War, okay? In this backward country, we are high-dimensional beings.
What about the Eastern art of war, cunning strategies, too childish, okay? Modern warfare is fought on logistics, firepower equipment and the quality of soldiers... Forget it, why should I tell you this?
Of the 12,000 men on the opposite side, only 6,000 had equipment similar to ours, and the other 6,000 were a ragtag group of soldiers that could not withstand a single blow.
These 6,000 regular troops didn't even know how to dig trenches, and they just stood there.
If you concentrate your superior firepower, you can still fight us. Now you are dividing your forces without knowing the consequences. Aren't you seeking death?
Do you think the trenches here are dug randomly? You won’t understand even if I tell you too much about the civil engineering courses in regular military academies.
Ali Kamz, the head of the military advisers, patted Bai Yanhu on the shoulder.
"Bai, I respect your judgment, so I decided to leave 3,000 men to defend the position. With the same number of troops, defense is much easier than attack. The enemy's clever split-and-coordinated attack will not have any effect."
Another military advisor, Mohammed Yusup, curled his lips. Ali was too cautious. "There are only 3,000 regular troops left on the other side. The combat effectiveness of the 6,000 servants can be ignored. Therefore, I order: 17,000 troops to cross the river and attack the enemy without defense positions. Execute immediately!"
Bai Yanhu was not sure. But after thinking about it, those Tibetans were indeed poorly equipped, and the Qing army was definitely not comparable to the Huai Army. The ratio of regular troops on both sides was more than five to one, so this battle should be no problem anyway.
Seeing that the two enemy battalions were still moving upstream and downstream respectively and getting farther and farther away, the Kokand people began to cross the river on a large scale and attack to the south.
As soon as the Kokand's artillery fired, the effect was immediate and remarkable. Three thousand Qing troops and three thousand Tibetans turned and ran.
The Qing army was still able to maintain its organization, but the Tibetans showed their true colors, running around in a disorderly manner without any formation, and it was good enough that they did not run away in disarray.
Even the temporary commander Dong Fuxiang ran away. Well, the two battalions left behind were from the Guards Brigade, so there was no use for Dong Fuxiang to keep them.
Song Laosan led his troops to lie down immediately to avoid the shells. When the enemy entered the range, they began to shoot and resist.
Bai Yanhu was very clever, wearing the uniform of an ordinary soldier and blending in with the Kokand people, so it was hard to tell where he was. The four stupid country chicken advisers were dressed in Ottoman Empire uniforms, shining like candles in the dark night.
After Song Laosan observed through the telescope and aimed for a long time, he finally resisted the urge to shoot.
The Tuji military adviser was outside the effective shooting range of the rifle, and others had to rely entirely on faith to hit people from such a distance. He was 40% sure that he could kill the Tuji military adviser.
But Brother Shao has instructed that the native chicken consultant should be kept and must not be sniped. If we kill these idiots, who will deliver food to us?
The Kokand people waded across the shallow Weigan River under the continuous fire of 3,000 men from two battalions of the Guards Brigade. The skirmishers bent over and led the way with carbines, followed by line infantry with long rifles.
This was the standard fighting method of the era. Even after the advent of breech-loading rifles, all countries, including Britain and France, still had backward military theories that emphasized the separation of skirmishers and line infantry, and concentrating the superior firepower of the line infantry to repel the enemy.
Only the Prussians, under the correct theoretical guidance of the military saint, began to try to apply the skirmish line on a large scale, but it has not yet been recognized by the mainstream. In this world, apart from the Prussians themselves, only Shao Quanzhong recognizes Clausewitz as the military saint.
Song Laosan's two battalions seemed to be in disarray, with sparse lines of skirmishers. The enemy's artillery bombardment had little effect. In fact, more than 2,000 people were killed in the process of crossing the river.
A mere 10% or more casualties were tolerable. A large group of Kokand soldiers charged forward under the bullets, and when they crossed the river, the enemy was indeed frightened and turned around and ran all over the mountains and plains.
The main force of the enemy was easily defeated. Ali was overjoyed and shouted, "Blow the charge and chase!"
How can the Qing Dynasty, a stupid and backward Asian country, compare with our powerful European country?
They think they are a European country, mixing with Britain and France...
The Kokand people charged with bayonets in hand, and the two guards battalions ran for their lives, looking panic-stricken and at a loss as to where to go.
Song Laosan was very depressed. They asked us to lure the enemy outside Jinjibao, and now we are defeated again. Does that mean our Guards are destined to lose battles?
That’s right, the existence of the Guards’ combat goal is really to defeat the battle.
Just like paratroopers are born to be surrounded, the Guards are useless under normal circumstances, and their main task is to protect the commander-in-chief when the wind is unfavorable.
Therefore, combat capability is secondary. The key is to be able to run. In situations where the Guards are needed, it is usually when the enemy is strong and we are weak...
The Kokand people were chasing very vigorously, and with the help of the local chicken consultant, the battle was indeed easy to win.
The two guards battalions ran up a gentle slope, and the Kokand followed closely. Hey, where did the enemy go?
The Guards ran up the gentle slope, turned around and entered the trenches dug in advance by the engineers, and aimed their rifles at the rushing enemy troops.
Without firing a shot, he reached out and picked up the grenade at his waist, put his index finger on the fuse, and prepared to pull the string.
Behind the gentle slope, an artillery observation hot air balloon suddenly rose up, and two battalions of the Gansu Army also emerged from the ambush trenches.
Along with them appeared the black muzzles of machine guns and rapid-fire cannons.
(End of this chapter)