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Volume One: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 593: Thank God

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    A total of nine companies of British Marines quickly rushed through the reeds and rushed towards the first trench. When they emerged from the reeds, they saw fire coming from behind the sharp wooden stakes two hundred paces away.  Fighting the smoke of gunpowder, the Qing soldiers began to use primitive shotguns, blunderbuss, and rifles to shoot at the British troops emerging from the reeds.  After a few unexpected hits, the British army lost more than a dozen people. In fact, the only things that could threaten the British army were rifles and a few relatively new muskets. The rest of the shotguns and blunderbuss did not pose a threat at all because of their insufficient range.

    The British soldiers screamed and crawled forward in the muddy swamp. No one wanted to be the unlucky guy killed by the enemy's outdated weapons. The bright red uniforms on their bodies could no longer see the bright colors, and the tall round hats on their heads were also stained.  It was full of mud, sand and grass, and everyone looked miserable.

    The Qing army planted bamboo sticks and pointed branches in the first trench, which was three meters wide and four meters deep. More than ten British soldiers jumped down from the trench and used bayonets and shovels to clear a place for people to stay.  The army put up the long ladder that was carried up with the soldiers, and climbed over the first trench with difficulty.

    As the distance got closer, the Qing army's bows, arrows and muskets began to exert their power. In front of the second trench, the British army began to concentrate firepower to attack the Qing army behind the sharp wooden stakes.  At this time, the British army was equipped with advanced Mini rifles, which fired extremely fast and accurately because of their rifling. The Qing army's firepower behind the sharp wooden stakes was gradually suppressed.  Fortunately, the Qing army had artillery support from the fort, and the British army was blocked in the second trench attack.

    Colonel LeMont observed for a while before arriving at the first trench and shouted loudly: "Captain Jonathan! You lead ten men to rush up into the second trench and clear out the foothold. We need to enter the second trench to hide!"  The British officer took the order and rushed up with ten suicide squads dragging a long ladder.

    After a while, Colonel Lemon saw that three of the eleven people who went up were dead and eight were seriously injured. His adjutant shouted urgently: "Colonel. This is a massacre, not a war. Our terrain is at an absolute disadvantage.  The artillery fire from the high ground covered every inch of the land here."

    Lemon roared angrily: "I know! Either charge up! Or we all die on the beach! There are fifty people going up this time. Damn the shooters, drive away the enemies behind the sharp stakes!"

    Continuous death-defying charges.  The British army's long ladder was erected, the second trench was breached, and the British army's firepower began to increase fiercely. Behind the sharp wooden stakes were a thousand Qing army green battalion soldiers. The weapons in their hands were too primitive and they began to be unable to support them.

    In front of the third trench, the British troops set up ladders after killing and wounding more than a dozen people, and the British troops who rushed up fixed their bayonets.  While firing and charging, several demolition engineers blasted several gaps in the rows of overturned and tilted sharp wooden piles. The British troops cheered together and charged towards the gaps.

    The Green Camp soldiers behind the sharp wooden posts retreated one after another. The first British soldier to break through the sharp wooden posts rushed to the earthen barrier where the Green Battalion soldiers were hiding, and found an open space in front of them. A dirt road extended to the back of the Dagu Fort.  Several turrets for repeating guns are also on one side of the dirt road.  On the dirt road, a group of Qing soldiers in blue uniforms were crowded there, carrying broadswords and spears. They didn't know whether to advance or retreat. They were really a good target.  The British soldier was half kneeling on the ground, ready to take aim.

    During the crisis, the earth trembled.  The British soldiers who broke through the sharp wooden stakes looked up and saw more than a thousand cavalry not far away, waving sabers and charging towards them with bows and arrows.  More than a dozen Qing troops from the south bank fort also rushed down. They shouted loudly and drove the Qing soldiers on the dirt road who didn't know how to advance or retreat and rushed over again.

    The cavalry came very quickly, and their locust-like arrows instantly killed more than a dozen British soldiers.  Since hot weapons gradually began to replace cold weapons, the great powers have been pursuing the perfection of firepower, and many of their enemies are cold weapon troops. Although there is a generational difference in weapons, in fact, in the war.  Weapons are not the absolute winning factor. The person who uses the weapon is the key to victory or defeat.  If the troops with cold weapons have a terrain advantage, they can also cause unexpected damage to the troops with hot weapons.  There are many examples of this kind of warfare in history.

    Facing the arrows of the Qing cavalry, the British soldiers were worthy of being battle-hardened veterans.  They also began to fire back, but soon the artillery fire from the south bank fort was adjusted and began to bombard the sharp stakes line. The firepower of the British soldiers behind the sharp stakes was suppressed.  The infantrymen who followed the Qing army were also driven back. A Qing general was very fierce. He fought on foot with a machete. He was the first to rush into the crowd of British soldiers and hacked two of them to death.  British soldier.

    A private in the British Marine Corps with the rank of private first class climbed up the third trench while panting heavily. His comrades beside him shouted: "David! Be careful, there are enemy cavalry behind the pointed stakes!"  Wei hurriedly fixed his bayonet and trudged forward in the mud, trying to quickly run to his teammates who were crouching behind the pointed stakes. Unexpectedly, he had only taken two steps, and suddenly,Suddenly, he felt that a figure jumped down from the tall pointed wooden stake in front of him. He was an officer of the Qing army. David had seen his military uniform before.  I saw a heavy sword in the hand of the Qing army officer with blood on it. With a sudden swing, Simmons, who was talking to him just now, was cut in half with his gun.

    David was so frightened that his legs went weak and he sat on the ground. He saw the Qing army officer, who was like a ghost and a fierce tiger, slashing three British soldiers in front of him one after another. David trembled and raised the musket in his hand.  Regardless of the other comrades in front of him, he pulled the trigger hard, and the gunfire rang out. The Qing army officer seemed to be hit. The big knife fell to the ground, and he stared at himself with wide eyes, and then slowly slowed down.  It went down slowly.

    David was stunned. When the Qing army came back from the charge, they saw the officer coming to the ground and roared and shouted. David didn't know what they were shouting. A veteran next to him pulled him hard.  David was dragged and rolled back. After a gust of wind, he took a closer look. The place where he was sitting was covered with arrows and flying spears. If the veteran hadn't been quick, he would have been nailed to the ground. Could it be that  What high-ranking official of the Qing army did you kill?  Before David could think clearly, he was hit by the overcoming British soldiers and rolled down the trench.

    The Qing infantry who rushed back, with the cooperation of the cavalry who rushed over to support and the artillery fire from the fort, drove the British army back into the third trench.  David rolled down the ditch and fell unconscious. He finally regained consciousness. The veteran with muddy and bloody faces next to him shouted at him: "Well done, London boy. You may have killed an important person. Now up there."  The Qing soldiers went crazy and drove us back."

    As soon as he finished speaking, the artillery fire from the south bank fort began to bombard the third trench like crazy. The British soldiers inside screamed and retreated towards the second trench.  David had not yet come to his senses. He was frightened, and he followed everyone back with difficulty under the pull of his comrades.

    After the artillery fire, the Qing infantry burst out with rare courage and rushed into the third trench with strange screams. The advantage in numbers offset the lack of firearms. They used both swords and guns to brutally clean up the third trench before they could evacuate in time.  Many of the British soldiers who went down hit the first Qing soldier who rushed over with their guns, but soon he would be beheaded by another Qing soldier who rushed over.

    Colonel LeMont saw his soldiers being driven back by a group of primitive people with broadswords and spears. He opened his mouth and was speechless. At this time, it seemed that enemy reinforcements were arriving behind the sharp wooden stakes, and the rain of bullets and cannonballs began to increase.  The British and French marines were suppressed and unable to move in the second and first trenches. Fortunately, the firepower of the British and French marines was also very fierce, and the Qing troops in the third trench could not rush over.

    It was getting dark, and the messenger ran to Colonel Lemon and shouted: "Colonel! The flagship sent out a flag and told us to hide on the spot. When it gets dark, everyone will evacuate to the beach, and the navy will have a ship to take us back!"  Colonel Meng breathed a sigh of relief and once again thanked God for giving them a chance of survival. He quickly issued the order.  This is also the difference between foreigners and Chinese people. When faced with adversity, foreigners will not curse God, but will thank God for letting them live.

    The sky finally got dark. Fortunately, the moonlight was not very bright, but the Qing army on the opposite side seemed to have no intention of letting go of the British and French soldiers on the beach.  When the British soldiers in the second trench began to retreat under the cover of night, the Qing troops in the third trench threw out dozens of wine jars. The cloth strips on the mouths of the wine jars burned with flames and fell into the second trench.  After the bottle broke, the spirit inside instantly caught fire. Under the light of these homemade incendiary bombs, the fort's artillery fired again.

    The British and French troops braved artillery fire and retreated to the beach screaming. The ships on the beach did not dare to raise their lights. In this way, the British and French marines retreated in embarrassment overnight.  The coalition naval fleet also began to fire back according to the fire on the fort. Another artillery battle began under the originally silent night. This artillery battle lasted all night.

    The artillery battle continued until the afternoon of the next day. Both sides were exhausted from two days and one night of fierce fighting. The British and French navies took the initiative to disengage.  Rigo de Genouiri counted losses. Six shallow-water gunboats were sunk by the British and French forces, five were seriously injured, and one was captured. The entire leading squadron was wiped out. The British commander He Bo was seriously injured. The British and French forces totaled  There were 378 killed, 1,073 wounded, 123 captured or missing, a total of nearly 1,500 casualties.

    After listening to the losses reported by his subordinates, Rigo De Genuili looked at the monster-like Taku Fort and fell into deep thought. Could it be that the Taku Fort in the Far East is more powerful than the Russian Sevastopol?  Is Boer Fortress still difficult to defeat?  Rigo De Genuili couldn't help but shudder when he thought of the meat grinder of Sevastopol Fortress. For the first time, he felt that the strength of the coalition forces seemed too thin, but it might also be due to the narrow area.  Limiting the deployment of the coalition forces, the cunning Qing people took advantage of the terrain to restrict the coalition forces.?? advantages.  Rigo de Genouili ??believed that as long as they could break through the Dagukou Fortress, the coalition forces would not be afraid of the primitive weapons and tactics of the Qing people in the field battle.  (To be continued)
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