At 6:10, an infantry company, the leading French army, fought with the Black Flag Army outside Anjue Village. The battle officially began!

At this time, the French army had just stepped onto the paper bridge.

As soon as he left the city, he was attacked by fierce firepower from the Black Flag Army, which seemed to be an ominous sign, but Major Puxi, who led the team, did not realize this. General Bohua in the distance was still waiting for rescue. He must break through the Black Flag Army's blockade as soon as possible and join forces with Bohua.

Not far away, the well-trained French army immediately dispersed in combat formation under the command of Lieutenant Betan. Then, the main force quickly sent Lieutenant Mai Shang's infantry company to reinforce. At the same time, the large army quickly passed through the paper bridge.

This time, the French army sent a total of six infantry companies and an artillery company. After passing through the paper bridge, French soldiers quickly entered the battle.

It is not unreasonable for the Black Flag Army to place the blocking positions near the paper bridge every time. There are paddy fields, river embankments, dense trees, and bamboo bushes that block the view everywhere. The Black Flag Army has successfully ambushed here twice and is very familiar with the environment in this area. Huang Shouzhong cleverly used the terrain and directed the soldiers in the front battalion to shoot at the French army in the bamboo forest.

Huang Shouzhong's two battalions had more than 900 people, and in terms of number, they were more than the French army. In terms of weapons, the Lei Mingden Cyber-spiked gun equipped by Huang Shouzhong's troops was also better, and it was only stronger than that of the French Army's "Glass" 1874 breeched single-shot rifle.

Puxi had served in Africa. During the Franco-Prussian War, he also participated in that war as a platoon leader, but it was his first time to come to Tonkin. The dense firepower and fierce battles in front of him even made him feel the illusion of returning to Europe.

This is by no means a battle that the colony should have. In his impression, the mobs in the colony only knew that they were rushing towards the muzzle, even if they had some rifles in their hands, they would not use them, and they would shoot precious bullets into the sky.

In front of him, he could not see a charge of the Black Flag Army soldiers. Those who were supposed to be bandits were all hiding in the woods, in the bamboo bushes, behind the earth piles, and even behind the corpses, shooting precise bullets at his soldiers.

The enemy's firepower was so fierce that they even had 37mm machine guns equipped by the French army! Captain Santi, the commander of the advance force, was shot in the right rib and was seriously injured; Lieutenant Mai Shang of the 24th Company, was also broken, and corpses in dark blue uniforms and wounded people groaning everywhere on the ground.

The French soldiers were completely frightened by the strong combat effectiveness and strong fighting spirit of the Black Flag Army. They didn't know what kind of troops they were facing. You must know that when they used the same force to attack 5,000 Vietnamese officers and 98 cannons - many of which were made in France - only 5 were injured when they defended Nanding City.

But now, in the villages and rice fields, comrades around you are shot and killed from time to time. You are constantly hearing the wailings of your own people when they are injured, but the enemy still refuses to give in. This blow to the morale of the French army can be imagined.

"Architecture! Order our artillery to shoot quickly!"

Without Puxi's order, Captain Bissel, the artillery commander, had already ordered his soldiers to launch the artillery position.

The Hachicais 1.65-inch mountain cannon fired 2 pounds of shells, with a range of 3,200 meters and a rate of fire that can reach 20 rounds per minute. Under the suppression of the fierce artillery fire of the French army, Huang Shouzhong's two Hatchkas machine cannons were silenced first.

Without the support of rapid-fire machine guns, the Black Flag Army's firepower suddenly became weak. At the same time, the French Hatchcas rapid-fire gun began to show its power, and the casualties of the Black Flag Army increased rapidly!

"Grandma, I don't have any cannons to bully me!" Huang Shouzhong smashed his fist to the ground. "Yongzi!"

Huang Chengyong ran over quickly, "Father..."

"Go and see what the turtle grandchildren of the Yunnan Army are doing, why haven't they fired the cannons!"

'boom!'

As soon as Huang Shouzhong finished speaking, a huge ball of black smoke rose from the French position, and the Yunnan Army's 75mm Krupp steel cannon opened fire. Then, shells kept exploding on the French position.

The Black Flag Army seized three 65mm naval artillery in the Second Paper Bridge Battle, and also seized two Hachikas 1.65-inch mountain artillery in yesterday's battle. In terms of artillery battle, the Black Flag Army's firepower was only stronger than that of the French army in front of us.

The topographic surveyor Lieutenant Blis ran to Bissel, "Report to the sir, the enemy's artillery caliber is larger than ours, and we cannot effectively suppress the opponent. If we continue to fight like this, we will sooner or later become the targets of the enemy's artillery!"

"Don't worry, the enemy's artillery fire seems fierce, but their shooting accuracy is very poor. As long as you let our gunners disperse as much as possible, the enemy will not be able to hit us!"

Bissel had a lot of combat experience, and he soon discovered the fatal injuries of the Qing army.

The artillery of the Yunnan Army had no observers. They only knew how to shoot in the approximate direction, but they did not know what firepower suppression was, and they had never learned how to aim at artillery. Therefore, the Qing army's firepower seemed to be strong, but it was difficult for them to threaten the French artillery.

When the first shell exploded in the French position, Huang Shouzhong smiled and almost grinned at the ear. "Grandma, let you turtle grandchildren also taste the taste of being bombed!"

However, his smile froze on his face without lasting long.

The Yunnan Army's artillery went down short of fire before it was fired.

"Yongzi, go and see what's going on with his grandma!"

Soon, Huang Chengyong came back, "Father, it's not good. Our cannons were blown up by foreigners!"

The gunners of the Yunnan Army did not understand firepower suppression, which does not mean that the French army did not understand either. Under Bissel's command, the French artillery first adjusted its firepower. With just two shootings, they positioned the Yunnan Army's artillery array that was not covered by artillery at all. Then, in one round of rapid fire, they sent five small-caliber rapid-fire cannons to the sky.

If the Yunnan Army had not been arranged in a more backward position because of its large caliber of 75mm mountain gun, it would have exceeded the range of French artillery fire, and even the Krupp steel cannon would not have escaped the bad luck.

The Black Flag Army now has only one artillery left to provide fire support, and the French army has four two-pound rapid-fire cannons and three 37mm machine cannons. The battle situation has begun to become unfavorable to the Black Flag Army.

Liu Yongfu was careless. He thought the Black Flag Army could recreate the glory of the Second Paper Bridge Victory, because this time he invested twice as much as last time, and there were six new artillery types of various calibers, but he ignored that the last ambush was Liu Shaoqing arranged an ambush team at the bridgehead in advance, restraining the French artillery in advance, causing Li Weiye to fail to effectively exert the power of artillery fire. This time, there was no.

Liu Yongfu, who had no experience in modern warfare, could not estimate the role that artillery soldiers could play on the battlefield. Now, he needs to taste this bitter fruit.

The French army fought more and more smoothly. With the support of rapid fire, they began to counterattack. The 27th and 31st companies attacked Nakamura and Tiantong Village respectively. Here, because of the concealment of the houses, the French army's artillery fire was worried that it would hurt their own people, so the battle situation was temporarily stalemate.

But Huang Shouzhong's troops suffered heavy losses and could not support them any longer.

Puxi breathed a sigh of relief, and he finally regained his feeling in the North African colony. It was like fighting in the colony.

"Order the 3rd Infantry Battalion to press forward and open the position as soon as possible!"

After controlling the situation in front of him, he began to worry about the wave slip that had been besieged for a night. He was preparing to invest all his combat forces at one time and open up the front line as soon as possible so that he could meet with the wave slip as soon as possible.

Under Puxi's order, three French infantry companies quickly entered the attack, and now only the 17th Infantry Company remained in the rear as a reserve.

At this moment, dense gunfire came from the back.

Before the battle began, Lian American's Wuwei Battalion was moving towards the rear of the French army. In order to ensure the suddenness of the attack and minimize casualties as much as possible, Lian American and his troops set up a large circle and only approached the flank of the French army at this time.

Just as the French army was pressing forward under Puxi's order, only Puxi's command, an artillery company, and the 17th Infantry Company, which was guarding them, were left in front of Wuwei's camp.

The French army was caught off guard again. Lieutenant Kra's arm was broken; Quartermaster Du Ge was shot three times in both legs and left hand; Ganier, who was commanding the rapid-fire cannon, was shot in his left chest and died immediately; as for those artillery soldiers, they were even more casualties.

The French military's firepower was quickly dumbfounded.

"good!"

Through the telescope, Liu Yongfu finally saw the turning point of the battle. "Pang Zhenyun, take your battalion immediately to support Huang Shouzhong!"

Liu Yongfu pressed onto the final reserve team in time.

The arrival of reinforcements rekindled the fighting spirit of the officers and soldiers of Huang Shouzhong's army. In addition, the artillery fire of the French army had been suppressed, and the counterattack of the Black Flag Army broke out instantly.

Even though he was severely injured in the previous battle, Huang Shouzhong's troops still had more than 500 people, plus Pang Zhenyun's Wulie Battalion, with thousands of troops. The French army's five infantry companies were only 600, and the previous battle losses were less than half of the Black Flag Army.

The battle situation turned around instantly!

"No, Mr. Major, there are too many enemies, we can't rush over. If we continue to fight, we will all be surrounded here!"

The enemy's firepower was fierce, and there was no idea how many troops were. His only advantage, the artillery, suffered huge losses, and the French army had lost the determination to continue fighting. Captain Cabrou, the company commander of the 31st Company, found Puxi and requested a retreat!

"Okay..." The situation in front of you was unable to hesitate. "You will immediately retreat to the east embankment of the bridge to establish a defensive position, and prepare to cover the troops' retreat!"

Cabrou took the order and then Puxi found Lieutenant Lebery and asked him to recall the infantry company of Captain Dubok, Captain Leberetti, and Captain Marol. As for the two infantry companies that were already in Nakamura and Tiantong Village, they were already surrounded by the Black Flag Army. Now sending people to rescue is tantamount to snatching food from the tiger's mouth. Maybe even the troops sent to rescue will not be able to come back.

The Black Flag Army on the front was constantly oppressing, and the battle on the flank continued. Bullets flew past each second, and comrades fell down by their side at every moment. The retreat of the French army inevitably became panic.

The soldiers were in chaos. The gunners had long since ran away. The infantry either hid on both sides of the road or left the seriously injured who could not be taken away and retreated to the bridge alone.

In the panic, Lieutenant Blis and Warrant Officer of the Maullong were also shot and killed one after another.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, the battle had lasted for nearly an hour. Captain Dubok led the last evacuated soldiers to assist Bissel in firing a shrapnel gun at the Black Flag Army, which was only 50 meters away, hoping to stop the Black Flag Army from approaching, but it was a dense rain of bullets. Dubok was shot in the chest and died.

The Black Flag Army was chasing closer and closer, and the gunshots in the village behind him gradually became sparse. Puxi, who had already escaped from the paper bridge, knew that the two companies that were left behind were finished, and what he needed to worry about now was how to bring the remaining soldiers home.

Cabro, who established a cover position in advance, played a key role. Under his command, the soldiers of the 17th Company used a Hatchacas machine gun to temporarily suppress the Black Flag Army soldiers who were rushing towards the paper bridge.

But Puxi knew that Capro would not support it for long.

This small river is not wide, and the defensive positions that Cabroulo urgently established are only one hundred meters away from the bridgehead. They are completely within the range of the Black Flag Army's rifle fire. Now Puxi dares not have any luck anymore. He cannot place the lives of the soldiers on the enemy's gunshots.

"Captain Marol, Captain Leberetti, immediately gather the soldiers you can gather and build a second echelon to cover the retreat."

"Abide by the order!"

The two officers didn't care that the soldiers around them originally belonged to the company, but as long as they could be caught by them, they were organized.

Fortunately, although many of these French soldiers threw their boots in the paddy fields when they ran away, they did not forget to bring their rifles and equipment. So even though these soldiers came from various companies and had a chaotic structure, they finally played a role.

The 34th Infantry Company was the best organized. The soldiers retreated in batches under the command of Captain Leberetti, repelled several attacks of the Black Flag Army with volleys, and finally arranged a scattered line against the wall of the Barni Temple. At the same time, they also controlled a small hill on the left side of the main road.

The French army's retreating position quickly stabilized, and the Black Flag Army that was trying to approach were suppressed by the firepower of the French defenders and could not get close. However, the first echelon of Cabro, who was standing on the embankment, was trapped in the siege of the Black Flag Army, and no one survived.

At 9:30, the French army, which were fighting and retreating, finally returned to Hanoi.

After the Paper Bridge battle started, more than 2,000 other four battalions surrounded by Boswad, and more than 2,000 people also launched an attack on the French army in the encirclement.

At first, Bohua could still inspire the remnants of the French army to resist. When the sound of cannons in the distance came, they saw hope and thought they were about to receive rescue. However, the reinforcements they were looking forward to did not arrive, and the sound of cannons in the distance could no longer be heard.

Bohua has experienced many battles after all, and he understood that when the Black Flag Army completed the blockade of Hanoi reinforcements, his next target would be himself.

Now he only has a thousand tired soldiers in his hands, and he has no idea how many of the enemy troops are. In this case, no general is sure to win.

"It is impossible to return to Hanoi from land. We only have one road left now, that is, to go to the Four Pillar Temple, meet with the right wing column, and then return from the water route!"

Bo Hua made a quick decision, and no longer entangled with the Black Flag Army in front of him, and broke north with all his might! The four battalions of the Black Flag Army followed and killed them under Wu Fengdian, and rushed to the Four Pillar Temple.

At the Sizhu Temple, the waves merged with the 500 infantrymen of the right wing column, and Wu Fengdian also merged with more than 800 people from the two battalions of the Huai Army. In the evening, Liu Yongfu led a large army to come, and the Black Flag Army had a strength of 5,000, which was an absolute advantage. He only waited for the morning tomorrow to launch a strong attack on the French army.

Who would have thought that there was an unexpected storm. That night, heavy rain fell from the sky and the water level of the Honghe River rose, flooding the Sizhu Temple.

The surging flood turned the Sizhu Temple into a marsh country, blocking the Black Flag Army's offensive route. The French army trapped at the Sizhu Temple fortress took advantage of the flood and ran away by gunboats.

Looking at the French army moving far away from the river, Liu Yongfu said helplessly: "Damn, the cooked duck can fly!"

On August 17, the Battle of Huaide, which Bo Wai rashly launched, ended randomly.

In this battle, which was less than three days, the French army suffered nearly a thousand casualties, and more than 300 officers and soldiers were captured. The French army in Hanoi was reduced by 30% and their vitality was severely damaged. The Black Flag Army suffered as many as 1,500 casualties. After all, the combat effectiveness of the wave-sliding army was not comparable to that of the sailors that Li Weiye temporarily pieced together.

Because of the flood, the Black Flag Army had to retreat to Danfeng after the war. But no matter where they retreated, the French army in Hanoi City did not dare to leave the city again.
Chapter completed!