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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 581: Allied Forces Landing

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    After spending a week in anxiety and suffering, in the middle of the night on February 18, several people dressed as ordinary Tatar herdsmen, led by Lieutenant Colonel Wu Shili, the British intelligence staff officer, quietly entered the British Weihai Guard.  military camp.

    After daybreak, the British Army High Command sent a letter of emergency meeting to the French army. General Montauban and a group of senior French naval and land generals came to Weihaiwei again.  At this military meeting, British intelligence officer Wu Shili reported the Qing military deployment information to the French army. The landing site was chosen to be Beitang, which was slightly north of the left bank of the Baihe River. Although there were 5,000 Qing troops there,  Elite firearms battalion soldiers are stationed, but people within the Qing state guarantee that once a war breaks out, the Qing army can completely retreat to allow the British and French forces to land smoothly. On the south bank of the Baihe River, there are 10,000 elite cavalry and 20,000 elite cavalry of the Mongolian prince Seng Gelinqin of the Qing state.  The infantry held firm and the defense was extremely tight, and it was confirmed that no landing could be made here.

    After listening to Wu Shili¡¯s intelligence, Colonel Dupin of the French Army pointed out that reconnaissance and confirmation of the obtained intelligence was necessary. The French Army still could not fully believe the so-called internal intelligence of the Qing Dynasty obtained by the British Army.

    Du Pan's words were very simple and clear: "Gentlemen, we suffered a defeat at the Dagukou Fort last time. We must be cautious in this operation and ensure victory. Since the Qing people were able to suddenly strengthen Beitang and Dagukou  The defense at other places shows that they are waiting for us there, so we must be cautious.¡±

    General Montauban naturally supported Dupin, but General Grant thought the French were too cautious, but Grant decided to respect the French.  A joint investigation was organized the next night.

    The reconnaissance went smoothly the next day. As expected, there were heavy Qing troops stationed on the south bank of Baihe River, while there were also Qing troops on the north bank.  But the intelligence obtained by the British army showed that it was the same, so the question arose. Once the coalition forces chose to land here, would the Qing army take the initiative to retreat and make way for the passage as agreed?

    After an anxious debate, the two commanders of the coalition decided to conduct a tentative landing first and gave up their plan of splitting operations on both sides of the White River.  result.  The British and French forces decided to land on the north bank of Beitang at the same time.

    The coalition ships are scheduled to sail on February 26, as the British said.  Join forces at Beitang Fortress.  The ships and troops dispatched by the British and French armies varied greatly. There were a total of 300 ships, including 100 warships and 200 transport ships.  Most of them were British ships.  According to statistics from the French naval department, the number of participants in the war was about 8,800, including 296 officers and 925 auxiliary personnel or coolies. However, the British claimed that only 6,500 French troops participated in the war, and there were more than a thousand horses and mules.

    , Indian coolies, divided into 73 warships and more than 100 merchant ships used for transportation.  According to Grow's estimate, the British Navy has a total of 223 ships and merchant ships, excluding crews.  , although the number is high, it does include the 3,500 Indian servants and Chinese Nanyang coolies brought by the British army.  It seems to make sense.

    ¡°In this way, the British and French forces began this war, a distant and mysterious battle with an unpredictable outcome, because in the eyes of the British and French forces, everything was strange, this coast that they knew nothing about in the past.  This vast empire that no European army has ever set foot on, the Beitang River just marked on the map

    At this time, Guangzhou was under the control of the Taiping Army.  Speculators bet on the success of the British-French coalition's campaign against China.  Chinese businessmen followed the progress of the war with suspicion. Members of the Guangzhou Cotton Guild offered $50,000 to bet that the coalition forces could not capture the Daku Fort. British businessmen did not dare to accept this bet.  Only one American industrial group bet $10,000 on the victory of the British and French allied forces, but the Cotton Guild actually refused this small bet.

    The boarding operation began on February 25. It took two days for the French artillery and baggage to be loaded onto the ship, and two days each for horses and soldiers.  On the night of the 26th, General Montauban and his staff first boarded the "Forban" ship.  According to Dr. Castano, "Our soldiers left this temporary place without nostalgia." However, there were only about 200 French infantry left in Zhifu.

    At dawn on the 27th, the French fleet weighed anchor and sailed in three columns.  The three columns were commanded by Brigadiers Bage and Brod and Colonel Brzeva. They took the lead ship "Nemesis", "Nemesis" and "Taiko" respectively.  Each ship is separated by two chains (400 meters) of distance.  General Montauban was on the "Forbain", General Chanet was on the large ship "Nemesis", while the French envoy Baron Gros and the French Minister Bourblon were on the "Duchela".  The sea is so beautiful!  Goodbye, Zhifu!

    On the morning of February 28, the fleets of the two armies met. The French fleet anchored south of the British fleet, with the British fleet in two formations and the French fleet in one formation.  After the fleets of the two armies sailed along the same route, they stopped together 20 nautical miles away from Beitang Fortress.  250 warships and ships anchored in rows. The scene was so spectacular that General Colino was amazed.  Zhu Ya, the priest who accompanied the army, also wrote excitedly: "There are many masts and masts, like a church bell tower towering into the sky. The colorful flags flying high on the mast masts are a majestic scene."

    Regarding the scene and the mood of the troops at that time, Bulbulon said:He wrote deeply: "Being so far away from the motherland and the prospect of war is uncertain has a mysterious psychological impact on the soldiers, and the strength and confidence given by the magnificent sight of the sea are intertwined with this sense of mystery. More than two hundred ships  Battleships and transport ships, the lights at night are reflected on the water, and the waves seem to show the scene of a big city."

    In addition, not far from the British and French allied fleets, there are 4 Russian warships and 2 American warships parked. The national flags hanging on the masts indicate that there are Russian and American ministers Ignatius Yefu and Hua Hua on board.  John.  Towards the Americans, Britain and France remained friendly, but towards the Russians, Britain and France remained vigilant. The Russians just planned to take advantage of the situation. The Russians claimed that in order to retake Sakhalin Island and Temple Street, they would massively increase their troops in the Far East to deal with these two entrenched countries.  The Taiping Army.  But the British also knew that the Russian fleet in the Far East was not as strong as the Taiping Army. At least after the British took the initiative to let the six warships ordered by the Taiping Army return home, the Russian fleet in the Far East was not as strong as the Taiping Army.  The Russian troop increases were almost always increased army forces.  The British believed that the Russians wanted to take advantage of the situation and get a piece of the pie while the Manchus were weak.

    In the next two days, we mainly arranged for the troops to land.  French Colonel Dupin took this opportunity to conduct one last reconnaissance of the White River terrain.  Sure enough, he found that the opponent had no defense. The Qing troops stationed on the north bank of the Baihe River took the initiative to retreat. There were no signs of Qing army activities on the bank. Only the Qing troops of the Senggelinqin tribe on the south bank of the Baihe River often patrolled and investigated on the river bank, but very soon.  It was quickly dispersed by the artillery fire of the coalition fleet.

    On March 1st, the British and French fleets approached Beitang for about ten nautical miles.  Crossed the sandbar at the mouth of the river and prepared to land the next day.  But the southeast wind was blowing hard.  The sea was rough and the landing failed on the 1st.

    In the early morning of March 2, despite the first spring rain.  But the weather has improved.  According to Navy Captain Baru, at about 6 o'clock, Generals Hebu and Chanet ordered the troops to get off the boats and sailing boats.  Each soldier is given rations for seven days.  Two portions of cooked meat, wine and schnapps, roasted and ground coffee, etc., and the horses were given fodder for five days.

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? away off the "Dushela" ship.  On board the ship, everyone was ecstatic, and every warship docked with barges, boats, and boats.  There was a long queue of soldiers.  Down the gangway was crowded with landing ships.  I saw everyone driving the horses to the end of the beam, and then slowly putting them into the barge.  The anchorage was all boiling.  Presenting extremely exciting scenes.

    Small steam gunboats, with a draft of less than 9 feet, towed ships carrying 2,000 soldiers, 2 artillery squadrons, 1 platoon of engineers, 1 platoon of ambulance personnel and 200 Nanyang coolies to the shore one by one.  Speaking of the recruitment of coolies, both the British and French armies complained. Originally, during the first Battle of Dagukou, they recruited a lot of Guangdong coolies.  But since the Taiping Army captured Guangdong, the Taiping Army used diplomatic means to get the British and French forces to abandon the use of Guangdong coolies.  These coolies turned into civilian servants of the Taiping Army, while the British and French allied forces had to use Nanyang coolies.

    In order to prevent dissatisfaction, the French military headquarters decided that some of all arms, including their commanders, would go ashore, so that all senior officers would disembark and go ashore, while the main force would remain at sea.  This deployment was inevitably criticized by Colonel Dupin: "In wartime, trying to please everyone will be detrimental to the overall interests."

    According to the agreement reached by the commanders of the two parties, the British army took out the same number of soldiers from the 1st Brigade and landed under the command of Major General Michael.  At high tide, the two small fleets crossed the White River sandbar without difficulty and docked at the anchorage.  Generals Montauban and Chanet went to the ship to meet General Grant and Admiral Herb.  It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon.  Montauban was impatient to disembark, but Grant advocated waiting until the tide went out.  Montauban still insisted on disembarking because he discovered that there were more than a hundred Qing army cavalry on the river embankment not far away. According to the investigation, although the Qing troops originally stationed on the north bank withdrew, there were several Qing troops of the Senggelinqin tribe on the south bank.  Montauban was worried that they would cut off the Beitang Bridge and cause the landing operation to fail.

    Montauban's persistence allowed him to win. Although the strange retreat of the Qing army on the north bank allowed the coalition forces to land without bloodshed, the large number of Mongolian cavalry in Senggelinqin on the south bank of the Baihe River was still eyeing whether the coalition forces could expand the landing site and quickly deploy their troops.  The battle for Beitang Bridge has become the key.

    At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon that day, the French commander got on the boat, accompanied by Colonel Dupin, his son Captain Montauban, his adjutant Ellison and several North African cavalry.  The boat approached the river bank, encountered a patch of mud, and ran aground. General Montauban was the first to jump off and set foot on Chinese soil. He jumped into the muddy water, which was knee-deep and seeped into his leather boots.  Immediately, 500 French light infantry followed him and quickly surpassed him.

    General Montauban did not stay on the coast for too long. Soon he moved his headquarters forward and ordered the French infantry and artillery to move forward quickly to control the Beitang Bridge.  The Qing army monk Gelinqin seemed to have made a mistake. Although he learned about the inexplicable collapse of the Qing army on the north bank,They also quickly made arrangements and ordered their troops to cross the river in the upper reaches of the Baihe River to prevent the British and French forces from breaking through Beitang. However, the Qing army was slow to move after crossing the river and did not quickly control the Beitang Bridge. As a result, the French army gained the upper hand.

    In the following day, more than a thousand French infantry and two artillery squadrons launched a fierce battle with the Qing army at Beitang Bridge. Although the Qing army charged to the death, they were never able to recapture Beitang Bridge.  The British and French forces crossed the Beitang Bridge and deployed at the other end. Only then did Seng Gelinqin realize that the successful landing of the British and French forces on Beitang was unstoppable.  (To be continued)
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