Chapter 1646 Tactical Choice

The Spaniards' adoption of this huddled defense tactic actually reflects that they have a relatively clear understanding of the strength comparison between the two sides, and have no intention of adopting layers of defenses on the periphery to resist Haihan's offensive. If they really want to make a move

The state of fighting for every inch of land actually served Haihan's purpose, because then the Spaniards would not be able to gather heavy troops in one place, but Haihan could use the main force to attack these garrison strongholds.

Wipe out the Spanish armed forces bit by bit.

Although fortifying layers of defenses may create more trouble for Haihan and prolong the time it takes for Haihan to attack the city of Manila, this tactic will have a fatal flaw, that is, when Haihan’s army eliminates the surrounding

When the stronghold reaches the city, the Spaniards will not have many troops left to defend the city. With the combat effectiveness of the Haihan army, they may be able to defeat the city in one fell swoop.

The bottom line of the Spaniards is to protect the city of Manila, and naturally they will not allow this situation to happen. If they deploy layers of defenses in a scattered manner, they will eventually be wiped out by Haihan. But if they take the initiative to withdraw the defense circle to the city of Manila,

Concentrating superior forces to fight Haihan, the outcome is not certain. At least there will be a chance to fight, and maybe Haihan's army will be dragged to death in the city.

But no matter which tactic it is, it is taking great risks for the Manila authorities to implement. Once it fails, the city may be destroyed and people will die. But Haihan now only needs to work step by step and not be greedy for credit.

It was basically only a matter of time before the battle line advanced to the city of Manila. So although it seemed that Spain still had the home advantage, it was the Haihan Army fighting away from home that took the initiative in the battle.

Roger's troops did not find any large enemy forces near the town of Pasay and successfully captured the intermediate station leading to Manila. However, the size and facilities of the fishing port's docks here were extremely limited and were not suitable for the fleet.

This station can only be used as a temporary cargo terminal. Therefore, we must seize the time to expand the terminal and lengthen and strengthen the trestle originally used to dock ships, so that cargo ships carrying materials can dock and unload smoothly.

However, Roger would definitely not let his troops lay down their weapons to do such hard work. Fortunately, before the war, the Ministry of National Defense considered that the Spaniards might adopt the tactic of fortifying the wall and clearing the field, so they specially brought two troops with them on this expedition.

Engineer company. The task of expanding the dock will naturally be handed over to more professional troops.

On the eighth day after entering Manila Bay, the Haihan Army finally advanced to a place less than ten kilometers away from Manila City. Of course, if it hadn't been for the bad weather in the previous days, perhaps the army would have already arrived at the city by this time.

The Haihan Army's landing near Pasay Town created quite a momentum, and naturally it could not be concealed from the enemy's surveillance. However, the Spaniards seemed to be very patient and did not rush to send troops to expel them.

They adopted a cold-looking attitude. The scouts also spotted Spanish riders on the periphery, but these riders who were responsible for inquiring about the military situation of Haihan kept a very far distance. It seemed that ensuring their own safety was their first priority.

But the Spanish warships of the Manila fleet were not idle. They tried to send a few ships south from Manila Port to see if there was a chance to attack the Haihan cargo ship and troop carrier. But this plan was destined to be disappointed. Every time

The cargo ships traveling between Cavite Port and Pasay are all escorted by armed warships. If Spanish warships appear at sea, more Haihan warships will soon be attracted to this area. If you don't want to

If you are surrounded and suppressed, you can only choose to retreat proactively.

Although the Spanish took the initiative to reduce the scope of defense, Haihan did not intend to settle down. In the early hours of two days later, the Haihan fleet raided the mouth of the Pasig River on the west side of Manila and attacked the Manila fleet temporarily stationed here.

A round of artillery fire was launched.

The main reason why the Haihan fleet did not choose to rush in and open fire was because the dock where the Manila fleet docked was under the fire cover of the coastal defense batteries. If it stayed near the coast for too long, it would probably attract the coastal defense.

The firepower of the cannon. Even an ironclad ship like the "Black Shark" dare not guarantee that its hull can withstand the large solid shells of the coastal defense artillery. It can only fire a round of artillery before the defenders can react.

Just run.

Since it was early in the morning when the Haihan fleet launched its attack, the sky had not yet lightened up, and the Spanish were obviously not well prepared for such a sea raid, although they had already discovered the attack from the sea before the Haihan fleet formed an attack formation.

The attackers, but the counterattack measures came too slowly. When the coastal defense artillery fired the first shell, one-third of the ships of the Haihan fleet had completed a round of shelling and began to evacuate to the southern sea.

In fact, neither the attacker nor the defender can complete accurate shooting under such limited visibility, and the firing time is extremely tight. Basically, they aim in a general direction and then fire. It is purely a lucky game.

. However, Haihan launched this offensive as a harassment operation, and he did not really intend to defeat the enemy fleet through such artillery bombardment. The Spanish counterattack on the fort was also similar to a warning. Just watch it with your eyes closed.

Cannon, hoping to scare away the Haihan people.

So the two sides fought you, and I fought mine. After each was busy, the battle was declared over before the battle was formally engaged. The limited number of shells fired by the Spanish coastal defense batteries did not hit the mark, and all fell into the sea.

On Haihan's side, several shells hit the target, but the damage was not too severe. Two ships were hit by bullets and caught fire, but the crews put out them in time, without causing a major disaster.

Juan rushed to the pier with a livid face, and after checking the damage status of the ships that had been shot, he felt a little relieved. In fact, the place where he lived last night was not far from the pier, and he didn't care about it at this juncture.

He dared to go back to the city to spend the night to avoid being caught and said that he was afraid of fighting. Juan was actually prepared for the sudden attack that Haihan might launch, but he didn't expect that the Haihan people would actually play such a trick in the early morning. From Hai

After the Han fleet succeeded, it immediately retreated. Judging from its unwillingness to fight, the opponent obviously had no peace of mind to achieve any decisive results through this battle. To put it bluntly, it was just a harassment. Attacking the Manila fleet is famous, and it only affects the morale of the Spanish side.

It's true.

Governor Aragones had begun to urge him to implement the so-called battle plan and deal with the difficult black warship as soon as possible as a signal to launch a counterattack. But Juan kept delaying because he had to

He waited until enough chain bombs were available before he dared to take the risk. But Haihan seemed to be a step ahead of him. Seeing that the number of chain bombs produced overtime was almost enough, he was plotted by the opponent.

Yishou. Although he knew that the other party was deliberately harassing and provoking him to go to sea for a decisive battle, Juan also knew that after the matter was reported to the Governor's Mansion, the Governor would definitely have to urge him to take action.

"Go ahead and tell all ships and personnel to prepare for battle today. We will go south for a circle tomorrow." Juan tried his best to give the order to the officers surrounding him in a calm tone. He deliberately did not use the word "decisive battle"

"" and other words, because he didn't want to put too much mental pressure on the combatants.

Everyone knows that the incoming Haihan fleet is stronger than the Manila fleet. If there is a head-on battle at sea, the Manila fleet's chance of winning is estimated to be less than 30%. However, Juan only issued this order in the form of an ordinary task.

The purpose is to avoid pessimism and panic among the fleet.

After Juan gave the order, he left the dock. Repairing the ship and preparing ammunition were left to the officers below, and there was no need for him to personally inquire about everything. Juan returned to the city by carriage, and first went to the Governor's Palace to pay his respects.

Aragones informed about the brief exchange of fire and fighting at the port, and then explained his battle plan.

"I will have the fleet's roster be sent to the Governor's Mansion later. Then many people will cross their names from it, perhaps including me. Lord Governor, if the Manila fleet fails in this battle

I hope you can forgive those who came back alive." Juan expressed his attitude to Aragones very seriously: "I guarantee that everyone in the Manila fleet will do their best in the next battle, but

I don’t want all these warriors to die on the sea. If we cannot defeat our opponents, then I will arrange for them to withdraw. Perhaps on land, our disadvantage will be smaller."

"Dear Juan, I don't mean to force you to fight for your life. You must know that your role is greater than those ordinary sailors, and you must live well, understand?" Aragones looked at him as if he was not joking.

, was really planning to die, and immediately persuaded him: "You have to lead the fleet to fight with all your strength, but you must also protect your own safety. If you really can't support it, then retreat, we still have Manila City to defend!"

"

Juan thought that without harassment from the sea, Manila would be an isolated city. The Haihan people could safely and boldly besiege the city. How long could this last? Although he was a Spaniard, he was not optimistic about the possibility of defeating the Haihan people on land.

The opponent has already completed the landing on the coast of Pasay Town, and is obviously going to advance from land to Manila City. By then, the coastal defense artillery fortifications that Aragones relies on will be almost useless.

Without the heavy fire support of coastal defense artillery, how many days can the city of Manila survive under Haihan's artillery fire? Juan did not want to think deeply about this issue. He had previously met with Francis, who was in charge of city defense. Although the other party said that he wanted to

They taught the Haihan people a bloody lesson, but they could not tell any specific tactics. They obviously hoped that the coastal defense artillery could prevent Haihan from landing in Manila Port. Now the Haihan people plan to bypass the coast defense artillery from the land. This must be

My brother must have had a headache after getting the news.

Of course, Juan would not really intend to die to serve his country, but he must have such an attitude in front of the governor to show his determination, otherwise he would not have the honor to return to the city after losing the battle. But can this battle be possible?

Saving his life is actually not something he can decide on his own. After all, anything can happen on the battlefield.

In the early morning of the next day, Juan issued a departure order on the "San Diego", and the twenty-two sailing ships of the Manila fleet that were still capable of combat came out and sailed south along the coastline.

Juan's first target is the fishing port in Pasay Town. He knows very well that the size of the local dock is not suitable for the docking of the Haihan warship with a large tonnage, so it is likely to be a weak point in Haihan's defense. If the local docking has

Haihan cargo ship, then we should just pick this weak persimmon and attack it. At the worst, we should try our best to destroy the local port terminal to slow down Haihan's delivery of materials and personnel to the local area.

There was nothing wrong with Juan's idea, and it was a very reasonable battle plan, but the opponent he encountered was Haihan. When the Manila fleet set off from the port, on a scout sailing ship a few nautical miles away, Haihan sailors

This trend has been noticed. Although the sailing ship did not carry advanced equipment such as radios, but with the advantage of high speed, the reconnaissance ship returned to the fishing port of Pasay Town ahead of the Spanish and reported to the defenders the incoming enemy fleet.

news.

As Juan expected, there was no Haihan battleship stationed here, but Roger's troops had already set up several twenty-four-pound artillery pieces on the pier for coastal defense firepower. The warning was received here

Immediately after that, the Port of Cavite was notified through the radio, and then the main force of the Haihan Fleet immediately set off from Cavite and rushed to the fishing port of Pasay Town. The two places are too close to each other. If the Spanish fleet wants to have something to do at the fishing port of Pasay Town,

As such, they would definitely not be able to escape the Haihan fleet that was rushing to rescue them.

Juan may have known this, or he may not have thought of it at all, but after the fleet arrived at the target area, he immediately issued an order to attack. The Spanish galleons of the Manila fleet formed a battle column and swept across the sea near the fishing port at a tangential angle.

Shooting at the pier.

There were several cargo ships docked at the fishing port pier, but after receiving the warning, they all sailed out of the pier and headed south in time. However, this also made it easier for the army artillery on the pier to respond to the offensive of the Spanish warships. Eight guns were fired in sequence.

Sounded, and the cannonballs hit the Spanish galleon that was sailing near the pier.

The range and accuracy of the army's artillery were far superior to those of the naval guns on the ship. Haihan had a clear advantage in knocking down the cannons. Almost every shell hit the target easily. This caused the Spanish sailing ship to move closer to the shore in order to let the ship go.

When the dock enters the range of naval guns, it must sail against the artillery fire of the Haihan Army. This kind of pressure is no joke. The artillery emplacements deployed by Haihan are all defended with thick earthen bags.

Even if one or two hits from fortifications and naval guns are unlikely to pose a real threat.
Chapter completed!