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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 635: Fierce Battle at the Pier

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    Half an hour after Lieutenant Colonel Compton led the British army to leave, Colonel Vassone began to regret it. Marching in the dark, unclear enemy situation, and rash dispatches were all factors that gave off a strong sense of failure. He felt that he  We should have been more resolute and let Lieutenant Colonel Compton stay.  Tianjin City is important, but Hexiwu Town is equally important. The troops of Major General Michel and General Colino who came from Tongzhou after dawn will rush here for reinforcements. If Hexiwu Town is lost, the coalition forces will  They would lose the best attacking fulcrum on the canal and end up having to fight the Taiping Army in the wild.

    Are the coalition forces afraid of engaging in field battles with the Taiping Army?  After Colonel Vassone thought for a moment, he began to laugh at his timidity and caution, but at least he believed that he should not let Compton take risks.

    While he was still thinking, the sound of intensive gunfire suddenly came from the canal dock not far outside Hexiwu Town. Vassonia was startled. He only heard the lookout soldiers on the wooden tower in the town shouting down: "The enemy is here."  Attack! The enemy is attacking the dock!"

    Vassone hurriedly asked loudly: "How many people are there?" "It's too dark and too far to see clearly, but there are a lot of gunfire! The enemy's target seems to be the gunboats docked at the pier on guard!"

    Vassone couldn't help but become very anxious after hearing this. Like Tianjin City, the coalition forces did not leave any specialized artillery troops here. There were only more than 20 Qing artillery pieces shipped from Tianjin. This was the same trouble that General Sutton encountered in Tianjin.  , French soldiers are very reluctant to use this kind of highly dangerous ¡Ö, w¨Jww. artillery, so the most powerful artillery support in Hexiwu Town can only be the gunboats on the canal.

    The coalition forces had a total of twelve steam shallow-water gunboats on the canal, including ten British and two French.  In peacetime, these gunboats mainly provide escort for coalition transport ships traveling to and from the canal, although the coalition controls most of the important strongholds on the canal from Tanggu to Tongzhou.  But there were too many sorghum fields and woods along the way to provide cover for the enemy, and the coalition feared that the transport fleet would be attacked.  Therefore, necessary escort is still needed, and these gunboats can also provide firepower for battles taking place along the canal.

    At this moment, docked in Hexiwu Town to be on guard are the British Navy's mosquito and fly submersible steam gunboats. The two gunboats are sister ships with the same model, with a tonnage of only 320 tons, and are equipped with three six-pound guns.  With a total crew of 47 people, it is only slightly larger than the 295-ton Skiven, the smallest ship in the coalition fleet.  Originally, the two gunboats were going to return to Tianjin City tonight, but due to the declaration of war.  Vassone asked them to stay to provide protection for Hexiwu Town, so the two gunboats stayed.  Six of the other ten gunboats stayed in Tongzhou, and the other four were still cruising on the Baihe River in the Tanggu area.

    "Lieutenant Bernard! You immediately lead your company to reinforce the dock! Rescue the British!" Vassone did not want to hear the British's accusations after the war. The two British gunboats had to go to the rescue.

    Lieutenant Bernard led a company of French marine battalion soldiers to set off. They moved very quickly and appeared to be experienced.  Speaking of the French Marine Battalion, it can be regarded as the originator of all Marine Corps in the modern army. Even the British Navy, which dominates the world with its navy, drew on the experience of the French Marine Corps when it established its own Marine Corps.  .

    As early as 1622.  The French Cardinal Richelieu ordered the formation of the French Naval Company.  During the Napoleonic period, marine battalions were established in the Royal Guards.  During the expedition to Great Britain in December 1804, Napoleon personally awarded a flag to the Marine Battalion.  The front of the flag reads: "The French Emperor personally awarded the Guards Marine Battalion", and the back is the battalion emblem.  On both sides of the battalion emblem is the Marine Battalion's motto: "Brave and Disciplined."  It was this force that made the final resistance when the anti-Napoleonic coalition invaded Paris in 1815.

    Unlike other French troops.  The French Marine Battalion is an experienced force that is active in France's overseas colonies all year round.  They participate in several wars in France's overseas colonies every year. The long-term war has allowed this unit to be tempered.

    Lieutenant Bernard led his company to the dock.  Several French non-commissioned officers led the soldiers to occupy several nearby commanding heights, such as the top of the dock warehouse, the hill at the dock exit, etc. Bernard personally led more than fifty soldiers to continue to advance quietly.

    In the sorghum field on the other side of the dock, hundreds of musket light spots shone from time to time. The enemy should be firing at the British gunboats.  Judging from the enemy's firepower and the sophistication of their muskets, they should be the strongest yellow troops in the Far East, the Taiping Army!

    After the French army quietly entered what they thought was the best shooting point, no soldier was eager to open fire. When Lieutenant Bernard also entered the dock and the soldiers were ready, Lieutenant Bernard fired the first shot, and then the soldiers of the French Marine Battalion  They all opened fire, each pulling the trigger on the target they aimed at.

    There was a scream from the sorghum field, and the French army's sudden volley of fire had a miraculous effect. Almost half of the firelight was highlighted.They were lost, but it was unclear how many enemies were killed in the darkness.  The French soldiers did not wait for the sergeant's order, and then loaded their weapons and opened fire, suppressing the enemy's firepower on the other side.

    As expected, the suppressive firepower of more than a hundred French troops caused chaos on the enemy's side on the other side. Sorghum could be seen faintly falling down in the sorghum field. It was obvious that the enemy was moving their positions to escape the attack of the rain of bullets.

    Lieutenant Bernard took this opportunity and led a few soldiers to quickly run up the wooden bridge of the pier. After approaching the gunboat, he shouted to the gunboat: "British boys, hurry up and fight back. Are there any wounded? Let them  Leave first! Damn it, why don¡¯t you fight back with artillery fire?¡±

    After arriving at the dock, Lieutenant Bernard found that the counterattack firepower on the gunboats was very weak. Could it be that all the British naval soldiers on the two gunboats were almost killed or injured?  This was obviously unreasonable, but in the chaos, Lieutenant Bernard didn't think much about it.

    But now, when Bernard approached the gunboat and shouted, more than ten black shadows suddenly appeared on the side of the gunboat, and a volley of muskets was fired at Bernard and the others.  Lieutenant Bernard was very lucky. He only suffered a scratch on his left arm. He quickly rolled behind a pile of cargo next to the dock. The six soldiers who followed him were not so lucky. Three of them were shot and fell and stopped moving.  Three people were injured and fell to the ground screaming.

    Bernard reluctantly pulled a wounded French soldier closest to him to avoid the bullets, and then saw the six-pounder gun on the gunboat starting to fire at the French soldiers on the dock!

    "God, why did the British fire at us? Ah! My leg!" the injured French soldier screamed. Bernard tied the wound on his leg with emergency gauze and smiled bitterly: "We were fooled.  The enemy has long occupied the British gunboat and opened fire to attract us to come for rescue. This is a trap!"

    "Cunning natives! Damn yellow-skinned pigs!" The soldier kept cursing. Bernard peeked out for a moment and saw two gunboats bursting with flames. Dozens of muskets and cannons on board kept hiding towards the French army.  He opened fire at a certain place. He gritted his teeth and tied gauze on the wound on his arm before saying in a deep voice: "They are not indigenous people, they are very powerful enemies. I guess they lurked under the water and then touched the British gunboat."  . They are probably like us, marines who are proficient in landing operations! The British on board were either killed by them or made prisoners."

    "Lieutenant, do the Taiping Army also have Marine Corps?" Facing the soldier's question, Bernard said with a somewhat bitter expression: "Yes, I set out with the naval fleet a few years ago, at Temple Street and Kuaishou in the far northeast.  Ye Dao has seen their landing operations, they are very brave and have defeated the Russians."

    "Lieutenant, what should we do? Look, Basile is dead!" Two injured French soldiers not far away were dying because of excessive bleeding. Bernard gritted his teeth and said: "Stay here, don't open fire and expose me.  Go get them back.¡±

    Bernard saw the opportunity for the shooters on the gunboat to reload their ammunition and rushed out, dragging a French soldier back. Finally, he pulled the soldier who was shot in the abdomen back, but soon the people on the gunboat  He was also discovered. A burst of bullets came over, and the pile of goods was beaten into pieces.  Debris fell on Bernard's head and face. It turned out that the pile of goods was more than a dozen bags of corn, rations collected by the coalition forces.

    After bandaging the soldier, Bernard knew that he would not last long without first aid, and the last injured soldier was completely motionless.  The Taiping Army seemed to have discovered that there were enemies behind the pile of goods. They kept firing in this direction, leaving Bernard and the two injured soldiers in danger.

    The French soldiers near the pier were helpless. They were suppressed by gunboat fire. More firepower points appeared on the other side to suppress them. At the same time, there were enemies ashore on the left and right sides of the pier. They opened fire on the French troops.  , while launching a charge.

    When the French army at the dock was in a bitter fight, they hoped that Colonel Vanisuo in Hexiwu Town could send people to support them, but they found that there was also very dense gunfire from Hexiwu Town. It seemed that Hexiwu Town was also now  Was raided.

    Colonel Vanisuo was in dire straits now, being attacked by enemy surprise attacks from three sides. Judging from the enemy's firepower, at least one regiment of Taiping troops was attacking them, and he only had three companies of soldiers on hand, and the reinforcements at the dock were  It seems that Bernard's company can't come back, and the gunfire over there is also very intensive.

    "Lieutenant, Fran?ois is dead!" The French soldier who was wounded in the leg said while holding the soldier who was shot in the abdomen. Bernard also found Fran?ois's hand hanging down weakly, but there was nothing he could do.

    Amidst the sound of gunfire, the enemy's footsteps sounded on the dock bridge. More than a dozen Taiping troops got off the gunboat and slowly approached this side, "Lieutenant, please run away quickly. I can't leave."  You run toward that way!" The injured French soldier pointed to a cargo accumulation area on the left side of the dock and said, indeed go there.Maybe you can get back by running.

    Bernard shook his head and refused, "We are finished, the enemy has occupied the pier!" Sure enough, the French troops near the pier began to retreat under the enemy's charge, and the pier was almost occupied by the enemy.

    When several bayonets appeared behind the pile of corn bales, Bernard handed over the weapons and said in half-baked Chinese: "My soldier was shot in the leg and is still bleeding. Please save him"
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