Chapter 120: Artillery Battle, Plan Failed
But soon, the British fleet on the Pearl River realized something was wrong.
Because the Restoration Army's blocking troops were deployed along the Pearl River, ready to block the British army.
However, there was still a long distance between their position and the Pearl River.
It’s about two thousand meters.
This distance, coupled with the wind and waves on the river, will cause the ship to sway constantly, and when the ship sways, errors are inevitable when the artillery fires.
Under such circumstances, even if the British gunners were of high quality, it would be extremely difficult to achieve an accurate hit at this distance.
To put it simply, even the British cannons can’t reach it…
Under such circumstances, it is difficult for the fleet's naval guns to provide effective fire cover for the infantry.
The British fleet commander, Olsen, put down the telescope in his hand, turned around and said to the messenger beside him.
"Send a flag signal to tell Colonel Ho that the rebels are far from the river bank and the fleet can't provide fire support."
……
Soon, Uncle He received a response from Olsen. After thinking for a while, he spoke.
"In that case, we can only rely on ourselves."
"Let our army's 6-pound and 12-pound field artillery be ready to fire, and let the rocket launcher company be ready to calibrate and fire..."
Although the infantry led by He Bo did not have any large-caliber artillery, they carried a lot of small-caliber field artillery and rockets.
In his opinion, all he had to deal with was a group of rebels.
Their main equipment is probably similar to that of the Qing army, mainly old matchlock guns and old smoothbore cannons produced in the last century.
Maybe even worse than the Qing army.
Facing such an enemy, it would be best to have the cover of the fleet's naval guns. Even without that, He Bo did not believe that he would lose.
So, after just a brief thought, he ordered his soldiers to continue pushing forward.
……
"Captain, the British are coming up."
A communications soldier rode his horse up to Feng Zicai and began to report.
Feng Zicai was captured when Li Yisan attacked Xunzhou, and later joined the Restoration Army and became a member of the Restoration Army.
During this period of time, he fought bravely and made many military achievements. He has been promoted from a prisoner to a regiment commander.
In today's Restoration Army, he can be considered as a middle or senior level, and his status is definitely not low.
When Feng Zicai heard this, his eyes widened and he spoke immediately.
"Okay, tell the soldiers to check their weapons and prepare to meet the enemy!"
"Aren't they just the British? I'll beat them up hard later and let them see how powerful my Restoration Army is."
On the battlefield, a whistle sounded, and the Restoration Army hiding in the trenches were all startled and prepared to meet the enemy.
Holding loaded muskets, they climbed on the half-meter-high sandbags piled in front of the trench, with only their heads exposed, and aimed their guns forward.
Feng Zicai also held his sword in his hand and inspected the trench.
After a round of inspection, Feng Zicai stuck his head out and looked through a telescope at the British troops on the battlefield who were getting closer and closer to the Restoration Army's formation.
After looking at it for a while, he couldn't help but exclaimed.
"The British uniforms are so ugly, red and white, with those weird hats that look like lobsters."
Upon hearing this, several soldiers around him couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the pressure in their hearts was instantly reduced.
At the same time, an Indian battalion sent by Uncle Ho to test the situation was advancing forward.
Soon, they came within the firing range of the Restoration Army's artillery.
"Fire!"
On the battlefield, command flags were waving.
The next moment, the roar of artillery resounded throughout the battlefield.
boom! Boom boom!
Clouds of smoke rose from the Restoration Army's positions, and artillery shells whizzed towards the British lobster soldiers advancing in formation.
The reason why there was no need for calibration shooting was because the battlefield was chosen by the Restoration Army.
Yesterday, while the Restoration Army was digging trenches and building positions, they had already calculated all the parameters for the artillery firing and conducted test firings several times.
A cannonball flew across, landed on the ground, then bounced forward and swept into the British formation.
The shell flew past and hit a British soldier in the chest. The shell went through his chest and tore the British soldier's body into pieces, leaving only broken limbs.
Then, the shell cut off the thigh of a British soldier behind him, exposing the white bone stump to the air.
A shrill scream followed!
A round of artillery fire caused some casualties to the lobster soldiers.
However, this was not enough to force the lobster soldiers to retreat.
Because after the Restoration Army's artillery opened fire, the British artillery immediately began to return fire.
The British artillery opened fire late because they underestimated the range of the Restoration Army's artillery.
The British army originally thought that the artillery of the Restoration Army was the same as that of the Qing Army, with limited range and accuracy, and that they had to get close to a certain distance to fire in order to hit the target, so they were not in a hurry to open fire.
Unexpectedly, the Restoration Army’s artillery had such a long range and a good hit rate.
One round of shelling caused considerable casualties to the British army.
boom! Boom boom!
Amidst a few gunshots, the British artillery began test firing.
The shells flew through the air and shot towards the positions of the Restoration Army.
The shell rolled forward and hit the sandbag, and its kinetic energy was absorbed by the soft sand in the sandbag.
Apart from splashing sand and dirt all over the heads and faces of the Restoration Army soldiers hiding in the trenches, it had no other effect.
A solid cannonball is a cannonball in a nice way, but in reality it is just a big iron ball.
It kills the enemy entirely by the kinetic energy carried when the bullet leaves the barrel.
However, soft sandbags have a very obvious effect in absorbing and dissolving kinetic energy.
Therefore, the artillery shells fired by the British army had limited damage to the Restoration Army hiding in the trenches.
However, the artillery bombardment of the Restoration Army was able to cause considerable casualties to the British attacking forces exposed in the field.
boom! Boom boom!
On the battlefield, the artillery battle between the two sides became more and more intense.
The British gunners raised their guns, trying to directly hit the artillery of the Restoration Army, but to little effect.
The shells fired could not reach the artillery positions of the Restoration Army at all.
The artillery used by the Restoration Army and the British Army are essentially typical muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons.
It was not until the outbreak of the Crimean War that the British Army began to develop and equip rifled artillery.
Historically, the famous Armstrong rifled cannon was first used on the battlefield during the Second Opium War.
Well, I, the Qing Dynasty, have finally had the chance to enjoy the benefits.
Nowadays, both sides are still equipped with muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons, so naturally, the range and power are almost the same.
Under such circumstances, it was difficult for the British army to gain an advantage in the artillery battle.
There was even a tendency for the British Army to be suppressed because the Restoration Army had fortifications while the British Army did not.
At the very least, the Restoration Army's artillery could cause casualties to British infantry.
But the British artillery could only hit sandbags.
British commander Ho Bo looked at the situation on the battlefield and couldn't help frowning.
"The rebels' artillery seems to be no worse than ours."
"Also, their fortifications are quite interesting." "It's a pity that our naval guns can't hit the rebel positions. Otherwise, their fortifications would be useless even if they built them beautifully."
Hearing this, Edson asked.
"Sir, what should we do next?"
Uncle He pondered for a while, then said.
"Let the 10th Battalion retreat temporarily, and then send a message to the rocket company, asking them to aim at the rebel defense line and fire a few rounds to see the effect."
In this era, rockets are the British army's trump card.
Whether in the two Opium Wars or in the Crimean War, the British Army's rockets have played a very good killing effect.
Every time it is used, it can have a decisive effect.
As Uncle He's order was given, soon a sharp sound like a devil's scream was heard on the battlefield.
One rocket after another rose into the air, trailing long flames, and shot towards the positions of the Restoration Army.
"The British are launching rockets. Take cover, everyone take cover!"
Feng Zicai looked at the rockets streaking across the sky and shouted at the top of his voice.
When the soldiers of the Restoration Army heard the shout, they responded quickly and hid in the trenches.
Soon, rockets landed one after another, with tail flames flying and explosions rumbling.
The Restoration Army soldiers hiding in the trenches were suppressed and unable to raise their heads.
A rocket happened to land in the trench and exploded with a bang. Several soldiers of the Restoration Army hiding in the trench were instantly blown away by the shock wave and turned into broken limbs.
Another rocket landed on the Restoration Army's artillery position. The next moment, the gunpowder was ignited by the rocket's tail flame, causing a violent explosion.
Amid the rumbling explosion, the heavy artillery was also blown into the sky.
After several rounds of rocket fire, Feng Zicai, who was hiding in the trench, could only feel his eardrums buzzing and his vision went dark.
Of course, the Restoration Army also has rockets.
And its performance is no worse than the rockets equipped by the British army.
However, the rockets of the Restoration Army were intended to be used against the British fleet.
In order to prevent the British fleet from becoming alert to the rockets of the Restoration Army, Li Yi issued a special order to the front line that the Restoration Army was not allowed to use any rockets without permission.
Soon, the British rocket salvos stopped and the infantry began to rush forward again.
"The rockets have stopped. The British may be coming up."
"Everyone, prepare for battle! Prepare for battle now!"
Amid shouts, the soldiers of the Restoration Army once again poked their heads out of the trenches, lay on the sandbags, and aimed their guns at the battlefield ahead.
Sure enough, British soldiers pressed forward again.
Feng Zicai shouted loudly.
"The British infantry is coming, let them get close and fight them!"
"No one is allowed to shoot without orders."
"Those who disobey orders will be beheaded!"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers of the Restoration Army felt their hearts tighten and they couldn't help but cheer up.
Because they knew that Feng Zicai's words about beheading those who disobeyed his orders were not just talk.
That can really kill people!
……
At the same time, the navy of the Restoration Army also took the initiative to attack the British navy on the Pearl River.
Looking at the huge British warships as big as hills on the river in the distance, Fang Haiyang couldn't help but breathe faster.
"It is said that the British have strong ships and powerful guns. I didn't have any idea of what they are like before, but now that I see them, they are indeed as good as they say."
Fang Haiyang couldn't help but sigh.
After sighing, he waved his hand and gave an order.
"Pass the order down, the whole army will attack and fight against the British."
The commander of the British fleet, Olson, looked at the Restoration Navy coming downstream towards his fleet and said with a disdainful sneer.
"Look, gentlemen, the stupid Eastern monkeys are coming to their deaths in their little sampans again."
"What a barbaric and ignorant bunch of guys! Do they think the tactic of setting fire to ships hundreds of years ago can still pose any threat to the current Royal Navy?"
After the taunt, Olsen waved his hand.
"Send the order, let the rocket boats attack, let these Eastern monkeys taste the power of our Great Britain's rockets."
Soon, as the command flag was waved, the British army responded.
A row of small sampans equipped with rocket launchers sailed out to meet the Restoration Army Navy sailing downstream.
Soon, the distance between the two sides narrowed.
The sound of rockets breaking through the air was heard again.
Rockets were fired at the Restoration Army Navy.
Amid the explosion, the Restoration Army Navy suffered heavy losses, and then began to retreat towards Changzhou Island as planned.
The Restoration Army had ambushed a large number of rockets in the Changzhou Island area in advance.
They were prepared to wait until the British fleet pursued the defeated Restoration Army navy to the Changzhou Island area, and then fire thousands of rockets to destroy it in one fell swoop.
However, what Fang Haiyang did not expect was that the British had no intention of pursuing the Restoration Navy, which had pretended to be defeated.
Well, it’s not accurate to say that they didn’t pursue.
The British army chased, but the main fleet of sailing battleships and those armed merchant ships did not move.
Instead, it was the sampans equipped with rockets that launched a pursuit of the Restoration Army Navy!
This is not good news for the Restoration Army.
Because the main target of the Restoration Army's ambush was the British sailing battleships, not these small boats.
In the Battle of Guangzhou, the Restoration Army could only win a complete victory if they destroyed all of the British sailing battleships, or at least severely damaged them.
It would be meaningless to just shoot down these small boats carrying these rockets!
Looking at the situation on the battlefield, Fang Haiyang's expression changed from gloomy to bright, but in the end he did not dare to act rashly.
He turned around and said.
"Quick, send a fast horse to ask for an audience with the Grand Commander and ask him what to do about the war here."
……
On land, as the British offensive forces continued to advance, the atmosphere on the battlefield became increasingly heavy.
boom! Boom boom!
The shelling continued, and the Restoration Army's field artillery began to use shotgun shells.
Amid the dull sound of artillery fire, the British infantry who continued to advance were swept down one after another.
On the battlefield, a large number of British lobster soldiers fell.
Blood flowed everywhere!
Finally, the distance between the two sides was shortened to less than fifty meters.
The British musketeers finally couldn't hold back any longer and started shooting, pulling the trigger one after another.
"Fire!"
Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
Amid the crisp sounds of musket fire, gun smoke filled the battlefield.
Dense bullets were fired towards the Restoration Army.
But this could hardly cause any substantial casualties to the Restoration Army who were hiding behind sandbag fortifications, with only their heads exposed and their guns aimed.
Only a few unlucky ones were hit by the British army's volleys and shot in the head.
(End of this chapter)