Chapter 1657 Attacking Manila (7)

Before the Ministry of National Defense set out to conquer Manila, it had conducted countless simulations of various situations that might arise during the siege. Thanks to the effective intelligence collection work on the front lines of Manila, the staff of the Ministry of National Defense had almost no experience in making the sandbox.

The original appearance of the entire Manila area was copied, and various combat plans were made in great detail for the residential area in the south of the city. The purpose was to defeat various tactics that the enemy might implement here, including of course cruel

Street fighting included.

There is no doubt about the combat effectiveness of the most elite units in the Haihan Army, but almost all of these units are good at field combat, and their actual combat experience in urban street fighting environments is actually very limited, and the Ministry of National Defense does not want its own

The ace troops made too many sacrifices in the bloody millstone of urban street fighting. Therefore, the staff designed a special combat plan for the southern area to coordinate with the overall plan to attack Manila.

In order to be able to deploy enough manpower in this area without arousing the suspicion of the Manila authorities, the Ministry of National Defense began to make arrangements a few months ago, dispatching nearly a hundred military elites to the local area in batches, lurking in the city of Manila in various capacities.

Outside, wait for the opportunity to come. The main task of these personnel is to serve as surprise troops to disrupt the deployment of the defenders during war, and the core part of this large network is the Chaosheng Store located in this urban area.

Thanks to Ran Tianlu's hard work, Chaosheng Commercial Store not only became Haihan's intelligence center in Manila, but was also selected by the Ministry of National Defense as the command center for this covert operation. The person in charge of the operation was commanded on the front line

, naturally it is Fang Peng, the head guard of Chaosheng Merchant Store.

Unlike Ran Tianlu, who had already thought about his retreat, when Fang Peng and his group received this mission, they knew how risky this trip was. They would most likely be wiped out by the Spanish defenders before reinforcements arrived.

But the benefits are also considerable. As long as they can complete the mission and hold on until the army arrives, it will be a huge achievement. After the war, it is a certainty to receive awards from the Ministry of Defense and even the Executive Committee.

However, whether to implement the combat plan is actually a matter of Fang Peng's thoughts, because although the Haihan Army has arrived here, only those who are there can detect whether the Spaniards have set up defenses in the city to prepare for street fighting. And this is

It is obviously impossible to send the information to the Haihan Military Camp in the south at this time and then take action after getting the order. Fang Peng can only assess the situation and decide whether to launch it.

Fang Peng can command less than a hundred people in total, and they are scattered in different places in the city. It is basically impossible to complete the assembly under the supervision of the Spanish army before taking action. And others have been there all the time.

In the business building, the Spanish deployment situation outside was indeed not well understood. Before there was a clear target for attack, rashly launching an attack would not only expose oneself, but it would not have much practical significance.

However, at this juncture, a group of Spanish soldiers happened to be sent to Chaosheng Trading Post. Fang Peng felt that this was an opportunity to take action, so he persuaded Ran Tianlu to attack this group of Spanish soldiers. As for the follow-up, it will attract more people.

Fang Peng was not unaware of the consequences for the enemy, but his original intention was to use this to attract firepower to gather the Spanish defenders, so that other lurking locations in the city could also launch attacks, so that the defenders would not be able to complete their defensive deployment before dawn.

In this way, when the Haihan Army launches an offensive after dawn, the defense intensity it needs to face will be correspondingly reduced.

The actual situation is exactly like this. The Spanish garrison stationed outside the city was busy almost all the rest of the night quelling the armed riots in this area. The battle that started at Chaosheng Commercial Store caused several other lurking groups in the city to wait for orders.

The team also started immediately, and began to fight guerrillas while moving closer to the location of the store. When the Spaniards realized that the center of the chaos was the Chaosheng Store next to Chengnan Avenue, several other groups of Haihan armed personnel were operating in the city.

The assembly to the store has been completed, with very few casualties during the process, which is much smaller than the battle losses expected when the General Staff and the Military Intelligence Department formulated the combat plan.

The signal flare that Fang Peng fired in the store was to notify the Haihan Army on the plain in the distance that he had launched an attack here. As for when the army will arrive, it is really up to God. Fortunately, at the rear

The reinforcements did not disappoint him. The rumble of cannons came from the south, and Fang Peng knew that his own people had arrived.

However, in fact, the Haihan Army had not yet reached this urban area at this time. The purpose of firing the artillery was to destroy some roadblocks and fortifications deployed by the Spaniards on the main traffic roads. The battle site was at least one mile away from the merchant house.

But the sound of the artillery obviously greatly stimulated the Spaniards' hearts. They had to turn their attention to the southern front first. After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Haihan armed personnel who appeared in the business inn and the city were just making a small fuss.

Action, the real threat is the Haihan regular army coming from the south.

Several cannons that were originally aimed at Chaosheng Trading Post were hurriedly pushed away by the Spaniards, preparing to be deployed to the front line to block the Haihan Army. Francis saw clearly and first blocked the Haihan Army's offensive in the south.

, it’s not too late to turn back and free up your hands to clean up Chaosheng Trading Store. And the group of people guarding the trading store finally got a chance to breathe.

"Now that our army is approaching, what should we do now?" Ran Tianlu asked Fang Peng.

"Stick here and wait for reinforcements." Fang Peng's answer was very concise and clear.

Ran Tianlu was stunned. He asked this question because he was afraid that Fang Peng would get excited to fight. When the army arrived, he would lead his troops to rush out to fight again. Unexpectedly, the opponent was much calmer than he thought, and did not get carried away because of the victory just now.

Mind, Ran Tianlu was a little surprised.

Fang Peng took the initiative to explain: "When our army invades this place later, the situation will definitely be chaotic. Staying in the store can also avoid miscalculation and accidental injuries. Besides, the purpose of this operation has been achieved, and we will risk our lives to fight with the enemy."

That would be extremely unwise.”

The troops responsible for the frontal attack today are still the special operations battalion commanded by Takahashi Minami. In order to achieve the best combat effect, Takahashi Minami deployed artillery at the beginning of the battle to attack the roadblocks on the main road leading to Manila.

A cleanup was carried out, and then the infantry quickly pressed forward and entered the city from the main road.

The artillery of the Spanish defenders was almost useless at this stage. The two artillery positions deployed on the firing line only fired three shots each before they were defeated by the artillery counterattack of the Haihan Army. The record of rifle shooting

What's even more miserable is that the matchlocks and flintlocks equipped by the defenders have an effective range of less than 100 meters, and their accuracy is far inferior to the standard rifles of the special operations battalion. Even if they can rely on some bunkers and fortifications to fight back, they still can't.

They are almost always fighting and retreating. If you retreat slowly, you will easily be shot by the Haihan army because you stand out too much.

Due to the actions of Fang Peng and others in the city last night, the Spanish defenders failed to complete their deployment at the first time. A slow step led to a slow step behind. When the forwards of the special operations battalion entered the city, they were originally planning to use

Several of the artillery pieces that came to bombard Chaosheng Commercial Inn were still on their way to the firing line.

Francis invested about 300 Spanish soldiers and 1,000 auxiliary troops in the south of the city. If there were more, it would be difficult to conduct effective command and dispatch. After all, this was a battle in the city, and there were too many obstacles that blocked the line of sight.

Unlike the use of flags or drums on the plains, bugles can clearly convey combat orders. Moreover, Francis received reports that the opponent not only invested troops in this direction, but also had Haihan troops in the east and west directions.

Infested, it seems likely to launch an offensive in three directions.

It is difficult for Francis, who lacks pre-war reconnaissance information, to make a clear judgment on which side is a feint and which is a real attack. But judging from the battle examples he knows, the Haihan Army usually takes the initiative in this situation.

He will fight extremely flexibly, and will not fight in one direction to the end. Instead, he will increase the intensity of the attack in this direction through repeated testing to see where the defense is weakest. Therefore, he does not dare to rely on the general's strength at hand.

Detained in the south - although it seemed that Haihan had indeed gathered a larger number of troops in this direction, he was still worried that Haihan's army would take advantage of the situation in the other two directions.

But after the war started, the ferocious momentum displayed by Haihan on the southern front made Francis somewhat doubt his previous judgment. He could feel that the enemy's blow in this direction was extremely powerful, far exceeding his own defense.

After the artillery fire opened the way, the infantry quickly broke into the city, but there was no hand-to-hand combat scene as he expected. The Haihan Army still made reasonable use of the advantages of weapon performance, and still maintained the engagement distance that gave the Spanish Army a headache in street fights, using rifles

The firepower suppressed the defenders' performance.

Francis originally estimated that he would have to block the opponent outside the city for at least three to five days. The longer the offensive and defensive battle was delayed, the more beneficial it would be to his side. However, judging from the current battle situation, it may be a bit dangerous to survive today. Continue to move towards this urban area.

Is it necessary to invest manpower? Francis does not dare to take this risk. Judging from the battle loss ratio between the two armies, even if he fills in all the defenders in the Manila area, it will be difficult to defeat the enemy's offensive here. At most,

Just let the opponent consume more guns and ammunition.

But his opponent was not so hesitant. Takahashi Minami's operational thinking was very clear, which was to clear this urban area as soon as possible and clear the final obstacle for the army to reach the city of Manila. Of course, he did not forget the instructions given to him by the Military Intelligence Agency

A special mission was to meet his colleagues who were coordinating the offensive in this area of ​​the city, so he specially arranged a platoon to move closer to the location of Chaosheng Trading Store as soon as possible after breaking into the city, and try to rescue as many surviving colleagues as possible.

"I don't care how many Spanish troops are around. I will send you two more cannons to clear this passage as soon as possible. Within half an hour, our people will enter the merchant house to determine the situation there!" Takahashi Nan leaned over.

He drew a route directly to Chaosheng Trading Post on the map and assigned tasks to his officers.

It is not a simple task to clear this mile-long route within half an hour. There are still many defenders in this urban area lying in ambush in various places. This gives the Haihan Army some headaches.

What is surprising is that these Spanish defenders are not all Spaniards with easily identifiable appearances. There are even many of Han descent among them. As long as these people do not wear military uniforms and hide their weapons, it is really difficult to prevent them from launching sneak attacks. Therefore, the Haihan Army

You have to be extra careful when attacking.

Taking into account this actual situation, the headquarters also tacitly granted the special operations battalion wartime authority, that is, as long as the soldiers think they are suspicious objects, they can be killed directly without reporting to their superiors or giving warnings. After all, compared with life,

For the people here, the life of the Haihan soldiers is much more precious. Even if there is a manslaughter, the command headquarters does not want its own troops to be attacked by the enemy because of their tied hands and feet.

Although siege and street fighting is not the special operations battalion's strong point, but with the internal response to disrupt the defenders' deployment first, the special operations battalion's attack into the city will be much less hindered. Coupled with the blessing of superior weapons, it can almost be seen with the naked eye.

Visible speed rapidly advanced the front to the north.

The defenders showed obvious discomfort in this combat environment. Although they were fighting at home, the Spanish infantry, which was only good at square formation tactics, was seriously inexperienced in street fighting, and the entire command system quickly fell into disarray almost immediately after the war started.

fell into paralysis. Part of the reason was that the officers were killed by Haihan snipers in the distance, and part of the reason was that the complex environment in the city made it difficult for the officers to use traditional command methods to deploy the army. Of course,

Even these officers themselves have no good tactics to speak of, they are just doing their best to do their best.

The Haihan Army is more flexible in its command system. Officers at all levels in squads, platoons, companies and battalions have a clear division of labor. Every soldier can receive clear combat instructions, instead of running around like headless flies in the city.

After breaking up several lines of defense of the defenders, the special operations battalion finally cleared the road to Chaosheng Trading Store and successfully reunited with the military personnel inside the store. When Gao Qiaonan heard that most of the personnel

They were all safe and sound, and the Chaosheng Trading Post was still under their control, so they immediately ordered their headquarters to be moved forward to the trading stack so that they could direct the subsequent battle from the front line.

"Fang Peng, a humble official, thank you General Gao for leading the rescue!"

Seeing Gao Qiaonan arriving at the business inn, Fang Peng hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. Although Gao Qiaonan's military rank was that of a colonel rather than a general, he was a leading general in his own right, and was often referred to as a general within the military.

Gao Qiaonan raised his hand for support and said: "We are all our own people, so there is no need to be so polite. Please tell me quickly how the enemy's troops are deployed around here."

Immediately, someone stepped forward to set up a tripod and hung up a map. It depicted the terrain of the area south of the city. Several important buildings were marked on it, including some specially marked with red and blue marks.

Chaosheng Store is included.
Chapter completed!