Chapter 1659 Attacking Manila (9)

There is a farm that originally belonged to the Spaniards about three miles south of the battle zone. However, when the Haihan army attacked this place, the owner's family had already fled into the city, and the farm's servants and long-term workers also fled separately.

An empty manor was left. The owner's house was spacious enough, so the Haihan Army requisitioned it as the location of the frontline headquarters.

These two days have probably been the busiest time since this manor was built. There is an endless stream of soldiers coming in and out, many of them riding horses and coming and going in a hurry. News from various front lines is constantly transmitted back and collected here.

Then countless military orders were quickly sent from here to various participating troops. Generals such as Yan Chujie, Qian Tiandun, and Wang Tom were all here to discuss the next tactical arrangements.

"This is unfair!" Wang Tom spread his hands and said: "Does the attack on Manila only require the army, and our navy can't participate?"

"No one wants the navy to participate. The Marine Corps maintains military pressure on the west route, which also plays a role in containing the Spanish. Besides, the navy's blockade of the sea channel of Manila Port is also part of the attack on Manila. Lao Wang, you just

Stop making excuses and command your troops well to complete the orders issued by the headquarters." Yan Chujie did not buy Wang Tom's complaints and immediately exposed his "trick".

Tom Wang smiled bitterly and said: "It seems that my troops can only act as spectators in the next battle."

"Tom, don't do too many scenes. The first half of this attack on Manila is all performed by your navy. You have to leave some scenes for our army." Roger and Tom Wang have been friends for many years, and they talk very well.

Even more merciless.

Tom Wang wanted to gain some playing opportunities for his navy and marines in the battle against Manila, but only the battle against Cavite Port allowed him to grab the jackpot. Later, when he attacked the fishing port of Pasay Town, he won the first prize.

It was Roger's troops who took the lead, but the Spaniards did not set up defenses at the fishing port, so Roger did not win any military glory. Afterwards, when they advanced towards Manila from the land route, Wang Tom's Marines had no advantage at all.

, because this force was under the Navy's establishment, the command assigned the west path along the coastline of the three-way offensive to the Marine Corps in order to respond side by side with the fleet at sea.

However, Spain has already deployed coastal defenses centered on heavy artillery at the Port of Manila. If the Marines want to attack the city from this route, they must first capture the Port of Manila. However, this is what the Haihan military intends to take the initiative to bypass.

An obstacle to overcome. So the Marine Corps could only stop outside the Port of Manila and watch the other two army brothers advance all the way. Wang Tom was naturally not satisfied with this. But in fact, he also understood that the Ministry of National Defense must seek to

A balance cannot give the Marine Corps too many opportunities to perform. After all, the Navy has already dominated the limelight in previous battles. If it steals the meat from the Army's bowl, it will inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of the Army generals.

If the Port of Manila does not have such strong defense means, then Tom Wang will have something to do. He can let the fleet approach the coast and use ship-based artillery fire to cover the advance of the Marines. By then, the first to attack the city of Manila may not be able to do so.

They are the other two armies of the army.

It's a pity that this is just Tom Wang's imagination. The actual situation does not leave any opportunity for the Navy to perform, and he is indeed reluctant to let his elites try to attack the fortifications of Manila Port. The Marines are all Tom Wang

Over the years, we have been carefully selected from the navy, and then asked the Ministry of National Defense and the Executive Committee for military expenditures. The energy and financial resources spent in establishing this force are very huge. How can it be easily lost in such unnecessary battles?

. Wang Tom couldn't bear to think about it, so it was inevitable to complain to the headquarters. However, the army generals didn't give him any face, and after a few words, Wang Tom was speechless.

In the current war surrounding Manila City, the Haihan Army has taken the obvious initiative. Large areas to the south and east of the city have been controlled by Haihan. In order to avoid greater losses, the Spanish defenders have taken the initiative to shrink the defense line to the city wall.

On the front line, they hope to rely on the strong city to resist the offensive of the Haihan army. The only place where the Spaniards can see a glimmer of hope is at sea. At present, the Haihan fleet is only monitoring the periphery a few nautical miles away from the Manila port, and has no intention of attacking.

There are plans to launch an offensive at the port. However, there are very few truly intact sailing ships left in Manila Port. It is certainly impossible to break through the encirclement of the outer waters of the port during the day.

Of course, there will be some wealthy Spanish businessmen in the city who are not willing to sit back and wait for death, and each of them is looking for a way to escape. Those who have no way can only escape to Caloocan, Ballywage and other inland towns on the northern plains, and the bold and capable

If you have enough money, you can try to buy a sailboat in the port that can still go to sea, sneak out of the port at night, and then go north in a large circle along the coastline of Manila Bay to escape Haihan's naval blockade.

Wire.

As long as you can leave Manila Bay, it means you are temporarily safe. You can take refuge in Batangas Port at the southern tip of Luzon Island. There are also Spanish colonial towns there. Of course, the scale of operations cannot be compared with the areas around Manila.

In response to the panic flight of the local people, Governor Aragones could not come up with any better idea besides ordering to tighten the city defense and prohibiting non-military personnel from entering and exiting the city at will. Although he looked down on these timid juniors in his heart, he had no choice but to

Many of them are the spokespersons of the domestic nobles in the Far East. They are probably related to this lord or that prince, and these big figures behind the scenes are all unstoppable, whether they can handle it or not.

Those who are willing to offend. Even if these so-called backers do not necessarily have much power in the country, but the so-called failure is more than success, Aragones is not willing to make enemies in the country for nothing.

So even if he knew that the city defenders would accept bribes and let some people escape from the city, he could only pretend not to know, and at the same time secretly prayed in his heart that these damn cowards would be better off running into the Shanghai and Han troops when they went out, so that they would be punished for their shameful behavior of escaping from the battle.

Pay the price.

"Your Majesty the Governor, Colonel Francis is here."

The attendant's report brought Aragones back to his senses from his angry mood, and he quickly asked the attendant to bring him in. Aragones urgently needed to know the situation on the front line, and he very much hoped that Francis could bring back some good news, even if it was just

It's also good for mental comfort.

But when Aragones saw Francis walking into the room with a defeated and tired face, he knew that his expectations were probably going to be disappointed. As expected, Francis' report made him feel a faint pain in his head: the defenders fought fiercely in the morning

More than 500 people have been lost in the city, and the results of the battle are not ideal. They have failed to stop the advancement of the Haihan Army in both directions in the east and south, and can only retreat to the city to defend. At present, the main force of the Haihan Army has advanced to

Less than two miles away from the city wall, maybe in the afternoon or tomorrow, they will launch the next wave of offensive.

"Colonel, isn't there any good news?" Aragones asked feebly: "Isn't there any news that is good for us?"

Francis was silent for a moment before responding: "Your Majesty Governor, if I brag to you again about how many Haihan people I killed on the battlefield, it won't actually have any impact on the war situation. At most, it will make you feel better. Do you think

Is this necessary?"

"Okay, let's talk about something practical." Aragones could only settle for the next best thing: "If you have any other ways to defeat the enemy, you might as well put it forward quickly, while we still have a little room to struggle.

Do something useful!"

Francis responded with a gloomy face: "My Lord Governor, I think it is necessary for you to realize that if we want to defeat the Haihan army outside the city with our current strength, this is almost an impossible goal. Our only chance

, just to drag the war on until they can no longer continue the war. It’s a pity that Mr. Juan’s fleet was not able to cut off their maritime supply lines, otherwise it might be less difficult to achieve this goal.”

Aragones responded: "Should we have any other options? This is our place, there is no reason for the Haihan people to take the initiative on the battlefield!"

"Sir, they are really strong. You have to know that before us, they have defeated the Portuguese, Dutch and British. What we are facing is probably the most powerful armed force in the entire Far East, and its strength is also the same as ours.

Quite, it can be said that except for the city wall outside that can temporarily provide us with shelter, we have no other conditions that can be used as advantages." Francis' tone became more and more depressed, and there was no sense of victory over Haihan from his words.

The military's confidence increased.

Aragones was very disappointed with the statement of his general. He shook his head and said: "Colonel, if you plan to give up resistance and beg for surrender to the Haihan people, then I advise you to give up this idea. If the news of our surrender spreads back to the country, it will not be possible at all.

Without a trial, you and I will be treated by the royal family as the criminals who lost the Manila Colony. Perhaps the King will send a special envoy to the Far East for this purpose so that he can pronounce the hanging sentence in front of us. I think it is better to fight to the death.

Fight, if we die in Manila, at least we will have a chance to fight for a stable life for our family."

Francis shook his head and said: "Sir, I have no intention of surrendering. I just say these words in the hope that you can be mentally prepared for the possible defeat. Maybe we will die here, or maybe we will become prisoners of the Haihan people, but this

It’s all God’s arrangement, isn’t it?”

"The Lord will bless us." Aragones raised his hand and made the sign of the cross on his chest, agreeing with Francis's statement. Since manpower is likely to be beyond his capabilities, he can only listen to the arrangements of fate.

On the afternoon of January 25, the Haihan Army began to demolish houses in the south of the city. This kind of demolition was not a random demolition of houses, but a targeted demolition of an open space near the south gate so that it could be demolished later.

The artillery units deployed here provide good shooting visibility.

Of course, Haihan did not forget to seize this opportunity to persuade the Spanish authorities in the city to surrender again. The headquarters asked the Portuguese to ghostwrite a letter, drew a lucky Spanish prisoner, and asked him to return to the city with the letter.

It was handed over to Governor Aragones for his inspection.

However, this move did not have much effect. Aragones asked people to use bows and arrows to shoot the reply out of the city. His reply was very clear. He would not surrender to Haihan. See you on the battlefield.

In response to this statement, the Haihan Army later responded with a round of artillery fire. The target of the artillery position's concentrated fire was the South Gate of Manila City. Although this gate is about five meters high and three meters wide, it is made of very thick materials.

, but it was still quickly declared damaged under the artillery attack. However, the Spaniards obviously anticipated Haihan's tactics in advance, so after they withdrew into the city, they quickly blocked the city gate with stones from the inside. Artillery shells

Although the city gate was destroyed, it could not destroy the thick stone wall behind the city gate that was almost integrated with the city wall.

"I remember somewhere I encountered this kind of trick before?" Yan Chujie, who was watching the battle from a distance, put down the telescope in his hand and said to himself.

"This is not a new tactic. When we were fighting in Annan, we had encountered this kind of thing before." Qian Tiandun added with a smile: "If you can't penetrate the city gate, then blow up the city tower and wall together."

Already."

Over the years, the Haihan Army has used blasting methods more than once or twice when attacking city fortifications. Although it is simple and crude, it is indeed very effective. However, Haihan's opponents often only realize that Haihan's artillery fire is powerful and needs to be passed through.

This method was used to strengthen the defense line, but they did not know that the Haihan Army also had special skills in explosives, so the precautions against this were not so strict.

Almost every ace army has an engineer unit specifically responsible for blasting operations, just like every army is equipped with several snipers. Naturally, this expedition to Manila brought enough tools for blasting. It was already

Someone started calculating how much explosives would be needed to completely blow up the city gate and create a passage.

Of course, this kind of special operation cannot be carried out during the day. You can only wait until nightfall, and then try to sneak in to plant explosives nearby. During this period, you will inevitably have to fight with the Spanish soldiers on the wall. Maybe you will

It’s hard to say how many days it will take.

Takahashi Nan originally wanted to volunteer to take charge of this task, but Qian Tiandun was unwilling to put his subordinate Ai Jiang in danger, so he handed over the task to the engineering unit specializing in demolition.

In order not to make the Spaniards suspicious, the shelling of the south gate and nearby city walls continued intermittently throughout the afternoon. Although the Spaniards on the top of the city also launched a symbolic counterattack, when the position of the artillery on the top of the city was exposed, they immediately

It attracted intensive attacks, and the Spaniards had to give up the idea of ​​​​relying on the cannons on the top of the city to turn the situation around.
Chapter completed!