Chapter 732 Siege War

On July 16, the Batavia garrison, which had been struggling for several days, finally got a chance to breathe. The enemy's slinging tactics used in recent days caused a lot of damage to the trebuchets. On this day, the losses to the east, north, and west broke out.

Almost all the trebuchets on the three battlefields suffered extensive damage on this day. From this, it can be inferred that these batches of trebuchets were indeed manufactured uniformly, so the speed of their service life loss also tended to be consistent.

Seeing the few trebuchets still persisting in throwing stone bombs on the enemy's position, the defenders on the city wall cheered, as if they had won a great victory. Although the meeting two days ago finally agreed to Fan

Diemen's proposal abandoned the tactic of using artillery to destroy the opponent's trebuchets at long distances, and approved the military's temporary abandonment of the fortress outside the city to retain its effective forces. However, it was continuously suppressed by this group of opponents who had always been regarded as barbarians.

After several days, the frustration in the hearts of the defenders never found a suitable outlet. The enemy's trebuchets began to be damaged, which also indicated that the two sides were finally entering the stage of hand-to-hand combat.

For the defenders who had been waiting for several days, it didn't seem to be bad news.

But for commanders like Van Diemen and Bart, they did not dare to relax at all. They knew very well that the enemy's main goal in the previous confrontation was only to destroy the fortifications outside the city, not to kill people. The war was still

It has not entered the truly cruel stage. In the subsequent close combat, the defenders' weapons and equipment may have a certain advantage in terms of lethality, but the close combat will inevitably greatly increase the casualties of the participants. The Dutch army's personnel

Compared with the previous few days, the damage will only increase, not decrease.

As the cowhide drums of the Ma Da Blue Army were beating, the military formation outside the city began to slowly advance towards the city wall. And this time the advance was no longer a small-scale invasion at the beginning of the battle. Viewed from the top of the city

There were at least a dozen phalanxes advancing simultaneously, and there were thousands of soldiers in each phalanx. Interspersed between the phalanxes were a large number of engineers carrying ladders and planks. It seemed that the horse-attacking blue army was the general.

They continued to use the ladder bridge tactic that had achieved good results before to conquer the trenches outside the city. This simple tool was much easier to make than the trebuchet. Using horses to defeat the manpower of the Blue Army, hundreds of ladder bridges could be built every day.

But it was not easy for the defenders to destroy it.

When the Ma Da Blue Army entered the city defense artillery fire range, the rumble of cannons began to ring out from the city wall. At this time, the drums of the Ma Da Blue Army became more urgent, and the soldiers also gave up their slow advance and began to

Start trotting.

After the engineers running in front arrived at the defensive trench, they quickly used the tools at hand to start building ladder bridges. The speed was even faster than the offensive a few days ago. On the offensive line with a width of more than one mile, there were actually many people at the same time.

More than thirty ladder bridges are being built. This combat strategy makes it difficult for the defenders on the city to concentrate their firepower to attack them. The fortress outside the city has been reduced to ruins, and the musketeers cannot be expected to snipe these horses at close range.

Construction of Blue Engineers.

Just a few minutes later, a group of horse and blue infantrymen brandished scimitars and rushed across a ladder bridge that had just been built and rushed to the bottom of the city wall. Behind them were several soldiers carrying long ladders.

There is also a long iron hook on the front. Once it is set up on the city head, it may hook onto the city wall, making it difficult for the defenders to push it away from the city wall.

"Musketeers, listen to my orders and prepare to shoot!" Bart loudly issued the combat order.

The musketeer team he personally commanded was composed of 130 people, of which 125 were combat personnel. They were divided into five horizontal lines, with 25 people in each row. They used the rotational shooting method during combat. With an order, the musketeers in the first row would

The rifle stretched out from the top of the city wall, and the muzzle was pointed at the horse-fighting blue army outside the city like a dense swarm of ants.

"Fire!" As Bart waved his saber, the first row of musketeers pulled the trigger. Driven by the mechanical structure, the burning match rope was pushed into the fire door, igniting the black powder in it and pushing the projectiles out of the gun chamber.

As for whether the bullet can accurately hit a distant target, it largely depends on luck.

The musketeers who finished shooting quickly left the firing position and retreated to the back to reload ammunition. Another row of musketeers behind them immediately came up and aimed their guns at the outside of the city. The musketeers under Bart's team were all veterans who had participated in many battles.

, he is also quite proficient in using matchlocks. With five rows of rotating fire, he can basically fire a volley every 20 seconds, which is considered to be a relatively good level among the defenders in the city.

Since the enemy troops outside the city had to pass through the moat to attack the city, a large number of soldiers gathered in front of the moat. The musketeers on the city head shot these targets with little need to aim. The 25 rounds of lead bullets fired each time were at least 100%.

Seventy percent of the time they were able to hit someone. Among the horses and blue troops under the city, people kept being shot and fell to the ground, and screams and screams could be heard one after another.

However, the Ma Da Blue Army did not intend to use human lives to consume the ammunition of the defenders. Soon, under the command of the officers, they launched a counterattack at the top of the city with bows, arrows and short spears. Of course, those who stood at a low place and fired from high places

The difficulty is much greater than shooting from a high position. But it is undeniable that such counterattacks still cause interference to the defenders' operations that cannot be ignored, and even though they are wearing armor, the defenders still inevitably

Casualties began to appear.

The first siege ladder climbed up the city wall faster than Bart expected, but before the Materan soldiers below the city could climb up, a log tied with iron chains at both ends was pushed out from the city wall, and the ladder was pulled up.

The siege ladder was blocked and broken.

The second siege ladder that was put up on the city wall also suffered similar treatment. The difference was that what was smashed from the top of the city was a square stone. This stone slid down the middle of the ladder. In the future, there would be no space in the middle of the ladder to avoid three people.

The soldiers and the people on the escalator were smashed to the ground together. The first person who bore the brunt died on the spot, and the person on the back below could not escape the fate of having his hands and feet broken. However, the offensive of the siege troops did not slow down because of the resistance of the defenders.

More and more siege ladders are being delivered to the city.

"Move all the trebuchets in the city and don't let these monkeys get close to the city wall easily!" Bart grabbed a subordinate and yelled an order to him. The frightened subordinate held up his helmet and hurried down the city wall.

The order was sent.

The defenders also deployed a small number of trebuchets in the city. The shooting routes of these trebuchets were carefully calculated to ensure that the highest point of their projections would pass through the city wall, and then fall to a point not far from the city wall under the combined effect of air resistance and gravity.

Outside the city, its attack area is to the north of the defensive trench, which is where the Mata Blue Army is currently gathering and waiting to pass the ladder bridge.

The troops in the city did not disappoint Bart. Soon there was a roar and a row of stone bullets flew over the city wall and hit the Ma Da Blue Army outside the city.

"You wild monkeys! Let you also have a taste of the power of the trebuchet!" Bart, who had been suppressed by Ma DaLan's trebuchets for many days, finally had a chance to vent. He stuck his head out from the crenellations of the city wall and yelled, while Ma DaLan

The army responded with a volley of dozens of bows and arrows. If the adjutant hadn't pulled him back quickly, Bart would probably have to pay the price of several more holes in his head for his yelling.

However, the psychological deterrence effect of this kind of projection is far greater than the actual damage. A dozen stone bullets can't stop the Mada Blue Army from continuing to attack the city wall through the moat. Only one of the stone bullets was impartial.

The ground hit a ladder bridge on the trench, causing the bridge deck to collapse. As a result, seven or eight soldiers fell into the water, which slightly slowed down the enemy's offensive.

Three minutes later, the trebuchet in the city fired another round. This time it was no longer stone bullets, but burning oil cans. This thing shattered after it hit the ground, and the fire spread four or five meters around the impact point.

It burned, causing the enemy troops outside the city to become chaotic.

"Well done! Burn these damn infidels!" Bart shouted to encourage the soldiers on the city wall, while directing the musketry team to continue firing volleys at the enemy troops outside the city.

The offensive of the Ma Da Blue Army lasted from early morning to the afternoon. After paying thousands of casualties, the Ma Da Blue Army saw that they still could not attack the city, so they angrily chose to withdraw their troops.

After Bart saw the horses under the city beating the blue army in retreat, he didn't even have the strength to take off the heavy armor on his body, so he sat down on the ground. He had shouted hoarse during the morning's command, and now his voice was hoarse, so he could only let go

The adjutant temporarily exercises command authority on his behalf.

Although they repelled the offensive of the Ma Da Blue Army and caused a certain amount of damage to the enemy, the price paid by the defenders was not low at all. Only the musketeers commanded by Bart himself were still in the formation at the end of the battle.

There are only ninety-seven people among them.

Of course, compared to the defenders, the loss of personnel of the Ma Da Blue Army was undoubtedly much more serious. The corpses outside the city alone were shocking enough. Although a careful inventory has not been carried out, Bart estimated that the casualties occurred on the northern city wall alone.

In the battle, the number of casualties suffered by the Ma Da Blue Army was probably around 1,000 to 1,300 people. This number was almost twice that of the first day of the battle. This also shows the intensity of today's battle.

The only section of the entire northern city wall in better condition is probably outside the north gate. The two forts guarding the north gate and the only passage on the moat are still standing, although they have been stoned by the enemy in the days since the war began.

The machine dropped thousands of stone bullets and cracked the protective walls in many places, but the efforts put into the construction of these two forts still played a significant role. When other forts were already crumbling, these two forts

He was still able to stand outside the North Gate. In today's battle, the Dutch soldiers stationed at the two forts also used artillery and muskets to deal heavy blows to the attackers at close range, so much so that the Dutch army did not even attack the North Gate.

As the focus of the attack, other areas with weaker defenses were chosen to build ladder bridges and cross the moat trenches to attack the city.

Of course, this may also have something to do with Van Diemen personally taking command at the North Gate. Almost all the most elite Dutch troops in the city are concentrated here. The musketeers on the top of the city are even equipped with flints shipped from Europe.

The combat capability is more than one level better than that of Bart's musketeers. Moreover, there are many artillery pieces in the fortress outside the north city gate. If the enemy tries to pass through the passage in the moat, these artillery pieces will kill people.

The speed must be faster than their charging speed. The horse and blue army only gave up the idea of ​​attacking this area after a brief attempt in the morning.

But neither Bart nor Van Diemen will take the retreat of the Malta Blue Army lightly. Especially the North Gate, which is the most critical part of the northern city wall. To say that the Malta Blue Army has completely given up coveting this place, Van Diemen

Men would never believe it. He was convinced that as long as the Ma Da Blue Army thought of a suitable attack method, they would definitely come back and attack the North Gate area again.

Since they didn't know whether the Ma Da Blue Army would launch another offensive after taking a short rest, the defenders in the city did not dare to be careless. The soldiers were not even allowed to take off their protective armor and could only rest with their armor on. Fortunately for now

There is no problem with the food supply in the city, and the soldiers can eat hot food in time to replenish their exhausted energy.

Of course, Bart, who has been eating Xiaozao for several days, is a little different. He now has a very clear attitude towards military food, which is dissatisfaction in capital letters. The Dutch catering culture has always been lackluster, but he was born in this environment.

There seemed to be no difference when he grew up in middle school, but after trying the small stove specially provided by a Chinese businessman, Bart seemed to have opened a window to a new world - it turns out that the food in the world is not only toast, cheese,

Just pea soup and kielbasa, and there are so many good things that I have never tried.

After many days of constant routines, the personal relationship between Bart and Cheng Dapeng also improved by leaps and bounds. To put it more seriously, in terms of personal life, Bart and Cheng Dapeng may be closer than he and Su Keyi.

There are many common topics to talk about. After all, one is prepared and deliberately flatters, while the other is outspoken and unprepared. After going back and forth, the two of them can be regarded as friends.

After successfully finding Bart, the first-hand intelligence source, Cheng Dapeng's work became much easier. He no longer needed to search for intelligence fragments through various relationships every day, and then carry out complicated identification and pieced together work.

As long as you prepare a dinner, you can get a lot of the latest battle situations from Bart, as well as detailed descriptions of the battles between the two armies. Although Cheng Dapeng is not from the military, after dealing with Bart for so many days,

He also gained a lot of understanding of military knowledge. After listening to Bart's story, he returned to Mihang and, together with his colleagues with a military background, slowly restored the battlefield conditions of the battle between the two armies.
Chapter completed!