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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 595: Death Is Not a Pity

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    The British and French allied forces were stationed in Xinhe Village and nearby vegetable orchards where all the villagers had been evacuated. After the hellish life in Beitang, Xinhe seemed like a small paradise.  $().(w)(x).()There is plenty of food here, as well as horse feed.  Unfortunately, as Captain Dunn, who didn't like the French at all, said, the French soldiers were robbing wildly everywhere again, leading a very bad head.  A large number of local women, children and the elderly took refuge on wooden boats and were protected by the British Navy.

    What surprised Captain Dunn was the Qing rebel cavalry who stayed in the coalition. They encouraged and even led the French to rob. Aren't the soldiers of a country supposed to protect the civilians of their own country?  Later, Captain Dunn realized that these rebel cavalry were descendants of Manchu and Mongolian nobles. In the eyes of these people, they only needed to rule other tribesmen and people, not protect them.

    Throughout the day, the coalition forces were scouting the road leading to the Army Food City and determined their marching plan. The British Army was on the right wing, and the French Army was responsible for the center and left wing.  The coalition engineering troops, with the participation of Nanyang coolies and others, stepped up the construction of bridges across canals and waterways. Many bridges were destroyed by the Qing army, and the engineers had to re-erect bridges that could carry heavy artillery.

    At the same time, General Colino also led his troops to gather in Xinhe.

    The engineers were very efficient. They built two new bridges in one day. The reconnaissance team also returned. Consistent with the information provided by Ronglu, the Qing army built several military camps outside Junliang City. There were complete deep trenches and  Battlement wall.

    Everything was ready, and the French army, which had received sufficient food supplies, was in high spirits and ready to go.  Captain Beziah discovered a problem.  What about the ladder?  Where is the ladder?  The French army suddenly realized that they had forgotten to bring these wall-climbing tools essential for capturing the fort.  In fact, the engineering team had already prepared these wooden ladders.  It is said that he reported it to the commander-in-chief, but he unexpectedly left the ladder in Beitang.  So, on the night of the 13th to 14th, 60 coolies were hurriedly sent back to fetch the ladder.  Captain Bezia related the story and wondered why he had been so careless.

    Early the next morning, the British and French forces marched towards the heavily defended Military Food City.  Right wing.  The British army took a new route along the river; in the center and left wing, the French army took the main road leading to Junliangcheng.

    Soon the Qing army discovered the mobilization of the coalition forces, and the British soldiers were attacked by artillery fire from the other side of the river.  The Qing army tried to block the coalition's actions or attract them back to Tanggu Town.  But soon, those cannons were silenced, and a coalition of 36 cannons followed the British army.  Among them are the French army's rifle mountain artillery drawn by 4 Japanese horses and the British Army's Armstrong heavy artillery drawn by 8 horses.

    The artillery team spent half an hour unloading the artillery.  After half an hour of intensive shelling, and then half an hour of loading, the coalition artillery covered the British advance well, but the speed slowed down.

    The French army arrived three kilometers away from the Army Food City at noon. After lunch, the British army had not followed up, and the French army felt the emptiness on the right wing.  Undaunted, General Montauban ordered several infantry phalanxes on the right flank to be reinforced.  They formed a hollow square formation to guard against the Tatar cavalry of the Qing army, and then ordered the remaining infantry to attack the Qing army outside Junliang City first.

    After the artillery commanded by Colonel Benzmann bombarded the enemy camp.  It was the turn of the commandos led by Lieutenant Colonel Schmitz to take action.  The chief of staff had been ill with fever for several days and had originally stayed in Beitang. General Montauban was very surprised to see him coming on horseback.  The military merits deserved, and it was time for Lieutenant Colonel Schmitz to command the assault troops to charge.

    Lieutenant Colonel Schmitz took the lead and rushed forward, but accidentally fell into the ditch and almost drowned. Fortunately, he was rescued by two non-commissioned officers. However, after he changed horses, he continued to rush forward in a hail of bullets.  He ordered the light infantry and marines to charge towards the city gate and set up ladders to climb over the deep trenches; he urged the engineers and tunnel soldiers to smash open the gate of the Qing army's camp with axes.  Suddenly, Lieutenant Colonel Schmitz flew up and stood on the battlement wall, waving the French tricolor flag, and the coalition troops cheered.  French infantry stormed into the camp.  They stood on the battlement wall, watching the Qing army's infantry and cavalry flee, and hid in another fort. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the battle ended.

    In the Qing army camp, the tragic killings caused by coalition artillery fire can be seen everywhere.  The head of an officer wearing a gold-threaded sash had been moved; and under the beautiful military tent, lay the corpses of two high-ranking officials, who had obviously committed suicide.

    Ronglu, who came to identify the body, looked at the body and sneered: "The commander-in-chief, staff general, and deputy general of Tianjin Town are all here. These people don't know the current affairs, and they will die without regret." Du Pan didn't understand the meaning of death without regret.  , but he felt that they should be given the dignity of soldiers. Colonel Dupan asked several captured Qing soldiers to take the bodies of several Qing generals back to another Qing army camp.

    The coalition forces captured 24 iron-moulded cannons. The French suffered very few casualties. Only about 30 people were injured. Some of them were seriously injured, including Lieutenant Colonel Schmitz. Later, a military camp inspection found that he fell into a trench and broke two ribs.  .  Only one French soldier was killed. The unlucky man was hit in the face by a lead bullet and died on the spot.

      The British army arrived in a hurry after four o'clock in the afternoon. Only three of them were injured. However, General Napier's mount was hit by a cannonball and fell to the ground, and his troops were sent to stay at Xinhezhuang.  Even Commander Grant admitted that the hero of that day was Lieutenant Colonel Schmitz.

    There was no movement in the other two camps of the Qing army. General Montauban's right wing was not attacked by the Qing cavalry throughout the battle. Perhaps the Qing army did not expect the coalition forces to arrive so suddenly, or perhaps they were waiting for the monks.  Gretchen's order.

    After seeing this, Ronglu smiled and said: "They are still debating whether to fight or retreat. Seng Gelinqin's general can't order those Chahar cavalry." It turned out that the Qing troops monitoring the periphery of Junliang City were mobilized from Chahar.  A mixed cavalry and infantry force came over.

    In fact, the Qing soldiers were also very good at fighting. General Montauban said after the war: "I don't know what else we will encounter in this war. But I think how they will fight if they are well-armed. And we  While beating them, I am also teaching them how to fight. In other words, if they hold the same weapons as the Taiping Army, I don¡¯t know what the war will turn into.¡±

    Captain Bezia agreed with this view and refuted the common European argument that the Chinese were contemptible cowards, weak and vulnerable.  On the contrary, Beziah paid tribute to China's loyal and brave soldiers, praising the Chinese people as being very resourceful, resolute, not afraid of suffering, and willing to accept death as home.  He believes: "From a military perspective, this army only lacks good leaders and needs to be scientific. Their long-term rival, the Taiping Army, has done a better job than them. The Taiping Army has good leaders and is also scientific."

    The next day, General Montauban wanted to continue fighting. He completely destroyed the remaining two Qing army camps outside General Liangcheng and drove away the enemies in front of him.  The weather was clear, the ground was solid, the soldiers were not tired, and their morale was high, making it very suitable to continue fighting.  He suggested that the two Qing armies should be defeated before the Qing army received assistance.  However, Grant refused. He followed Ronglu's suggestion and planned to first contact the troops loyal to the Eastern Queen Mother in Junliang City, and then attract the main force of Seng Gelinqin to rescue Junliang City. Finally, the coalition forces completely annihilated Seng Gelinqin's Qing army under Junliang City.

    This is a very bold plan. Currently, the total number of coalition soldiers in Junliang City is only more than 10,000. The remaining soldiers are still in Beitang, Xinhezhuang and other places, and the farthest ones are still floating on the sea. In addition, there are more than 5,000 soldiers in Junliang City.  Empress Dowager Mingdong's army wanted to completely annihilate at least 50,000 to 60,000 Qing troops from Seng Gelinqin's tribe. This was indeed very bold.

    General Montauban did not agree with this plan at first. He hoped to deal with the main force of the Qing army separately, so that the losses of the coalition forces would not be too great. In addition to the Chahar cavalry, Senggelinqin also had at least 20,000 elite Tatars.  Cavalry, no matter which army it is, does not feel good when facing tens of thousands of cavalry charges.

    In the end, it was Ronglu who persuaded General Montauban. Colonel Dupin didn't know how Ronglu persuaded General Montauban that night. This Qing nobleman not only had extraordinary courage and strategy, but also had a clever card that could convince others.  Mouth.

    As a result, the French army opened the passage to the Military Food City, and to their surprise, the food and materials stored in the Army Food City were really piled up. In addition to various kinds of rice and wheat noodles, there were also a lot of dried meat and liqueur.  Liquor, and a large number of sheepskin jackets and other fur clothing were stored in several warehouses. The Military Logistics Department decided to seize these precious furs.

    Since the "Queen of Clipper" sank on rocks off the coast of Shandong and lost its military uniforms, the French army finally has winter clothes. Although it is already March, the weather is still relatively cold in many cases.

    In addition, the packhorse station in the military food city was also unceremoniously occupied by the coalition forces. The coalition forces obtained nearly 3,000 short-legged packhorses and mules, and also obtained a batch of gunpowder, but the ratio was wrong and could only be used for blasting or propellant.  .

    The day after entering the city, General Montauban promoted Lieutenant Colonel Schmitz and Lieutenant Colonel Levy to the first rank within the scope of his authority. He also awarded a medal to the Marine Corps soldier whose leg was blown off by a shell.  Ellison once described the scene when this "poor devil" was injured:

    "Ah! Oh God! Oh God!" The poor man's left leg was taken away by a Qing army artillery shell, and then he fell to the ground and shouted in pain.

    General Montauban stopped just in front of him, leaned over and touched his holster despite the gunfire, and said with concern: "Look, my friend, be brave! The Cross will make you forget this."

    "Damn it! I don't care about this medal, give me back my legs!" He replied discouragedly.

    The general said nothing and quickly walked away, continuing to direct the battle.

    Ellison added with a bitter sense of humour: "Having only seen fighting in the circus or racetrack, I had expected that in such a situation the people would stand up on their good legs and shout Long Live the Emperor  !¡±

    However, General Montauban fulfilled his promise, and the soldier continuedAfter another amputation surgery, he received the French Medal of Valor on a stretcher. The poor guy didn't complain anymore. He knew that no matter how much he complained, his legs would never come back (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature for more novels.  Good update faster!
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