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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 640: Begin the Attack

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    After the first probing attack ended, it was already 5:14 in the afternoon. Major General Michel looked at the sun that was gradually turning westward and knew that it was impossible to launch another attack, so he discussed with General Colino.  At that time, the two decided to strengthen the coalition's field camp, rest for one night, send the battle report back to Tongzhou, and then resume the attack tomorrow.  ¡×¨J

    For fear of a Taiping attack at night, both Michel and Colino were very cautious and deployed one-third of their troops on guard duty, and then divided them into three shifts to rest. Michel and Colino divided the work, and one guard was on duty.  In the middle of the night, one of them would stay overnight.

    Fortunately, the first half of the night was spent in silence. At twelve o'clock, General Colino came to the headquarters camp, preparing to take over from Major General Michel and let him rest for a few hours.

    Just after the two of them said a few words, the messenger who rushed back from Tongzhou arrived and delivered urgent military information. The two of them hurriedly opened the letter under the candle and read it.  At first glance, both of them took a breath. It turned out that this morning, shortly after Major General Michel and Colino led more than 8,000 people to leave, at 10:45 in the morning, the Taiping Army opposite Tongzhou  Then they began to attack the Tongzhou coalition forces

    Time goes back to an earlier time, under the scorching sun in the early morning, after Montauban and Grant watched the troops of Michel and Collino go away, they immediately held a military meeting.  At the meeting, General Grant said seriously: "Gentlemen, we are in great danger now. The enemy has launched a long-planned attack on us. The strength of the Taiping Army is more than double ours. Judging from the intelligence we have received,  , the enemy used one division of troops to attack Tianjin in several detours. The remaining troops are still facing us opposite us. I believe it will not be long before they launch attacks on Tongzhou, Baliqiao and other places we occupy. "

    General Montauban agreed: "The enemy is expected to have 40,000 to 50,000 people, as well as elite cavalry troops. Our troops are scattered at various key points along the route of more than 100 kilometers from Tanggu to Tongzhou. The Taiping Army  The commander must have seen the weakness of our one-line front, so he launched a targeted attack on the key point of Tianjin."

    Grant continued: "So, we must clench our stretched out fingers into a fist, so that we can turn the crisis around. Michel and Colino have already led a group of officers and soldiers to set off, and then we must leave Tongzhou as soon as possible  , but if all our troops in Tongzhou evacuate, the Taiping Army troops on the opposite side will pursue them unscrupulously. Therefore, we need a rear force to guard Bali Bridge and Tongzhou to cover the retreat of the large troops to Tianjin. "

    At this time, the coalition forces still have over 10,000 troops in Tongzhou, and the number of troops left behind is unlikely to be too many. If they are exhausted, only about 3,000 people will be left, while the Taiping Army on the opposite side still has at least 20,000 people.  Even 30,000 people have to hold back nearly ten times the enemy with a weak force. No coalition general dares to take on this important task.  The conference room fell silent for a while.

    After a while, French General Ranman stood up calmly and said majestically and solemnly: "Gentlemen, I am willing to lead the young men of the French First Brigade to stay." The French First Brigade includes the 101st  The infantry regiment consists of four infantry battalions (including two battalions of light infantry), two engineering companies of 320 people, and an engineering platoon.  The total strength is close to 3,000.

    Montauban looked at Grant with a tense face. His meaning was very clear. It was impossible for the British to watch the French army stay alone to stop the enemy.  Grant hesitated.  Fortunately, someone got up and helped him out at this time.  Brigadier General Croton of the British Army stood up slowly and said: "I am willing to lead the artillery squadron to stay to support General Ranman." Croton commanded three artillery squadrons of the British Army, including two field artillery squadrons and a siege artillery squadron.  .  They were equipped with the latest Armstrong cannons.

    Grant breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately said: "The three artillery squadrons will divide half of the artillery and troops to follow the main force back to the division. Leave half of the artillery and troops to guard here." Montauban also nodded in agreement. He still hoped that the British army's elite artillery  Some of them can follow the main force, and the main force also needs artillery cover.

    Therefore, the meeting decided that General Ranman and Brigadier General Croton would stay to block the Taiping Army at Baliqiao and Tongzhou and cover the retreat of the main force.  The meeting ended at nine forty-two, and the coalition forces immediately began preparations for retreat. They had too much loot and baggage to pack and take back, and the troops of General Ranman and Brigadier Croton began to take over.  The defensive position on the front line of Baliqiao.

    The organizational efficiency of the coalition forces was reflected at this time. Each soldier was immersed in carrying out his assigned tasks and orders, but time was still very rushed. Time passed quickly, and it soon arrived at 10:45.

    In more than an hour of preparation time, only the 2nd Battalion of the British Royal Scots Regiment among the coalition forces was ready to set off. Romke, who commanded the battalion,While the colonel was still waiting for the order to set off, a burst of intensive artillery fire came from the forward position of Bali Bridge a few miles away.  Watching the smoke from the explosion rising into the sky from a distance, Major Romke stared blankly and then said: "Oh my God, they have begun to attack. I wonder if General Ran Man and the others have changed their defenses and entered the position?"

    General Ranman's troops did not fully enter the position. The two light infantry battalions of the 101st Regiment first took over the central position of Bali Bridge. The British 70th Bengal Regiment at the front had not yet switched defenses with the French army. The position was full of  It was a chaotic scene. The Bengali soldiers were preparing to withdraw from the position with their baggage, while the French army was preparing to enter the position. At this moment, artillery fire from the Taiping Army fell.

    "Anti-artillery! Enemy artillery fire!" The French soldiers and the soldiers of the Bengal Corps began to hide on the spot in confusion. The Taiping Army concentrated almost all the artillery and poured shells on them. The simple defenses of the coalition were quickly blown to pieces.  fell, and the soldiers suffered heavy losses in the shelling.

    When General Ranman rode across the Bali Bridge and rushed to the position, what he saw was devastation. The messenger quickly rushed over and loudly said: "General, Brigadier General Croton's artillery position has been constructed. He is ready to  Fire back!" As soon as he finished speaking, the British artillery position in the rear began to fire artillery shells forward, and the shells whizzed past General Ranman's head.

    "Let the British give up suppressing the enemy's artillery. Their infantry will come up soon!" General Ran Man's judgment was extremely accurate. After the Taiping Army's artillery destroyed the simple fortifications of the coalition's front-line positions, amidst the loud bugles,  The infantry group charge began immediately.

    After the messenger left quickly, General Ran Man shouted to the adjutant: "Send the order to the first and second battalions and the remaining engineering troops to build positions along the south side of the Baliqiao Canal. They will soon be unable to defend there.  Come on, we need a bridgehead to cover the retreat of the troops in front!"

    The position opposite Bali Bridge was indeed undefendable. General Ran Man judged from the intensity of enemy artillery fire that they wanted to overwhelm the coalition's front-line guarding troops in one go. At this time, General Ran Man began to regret that the coalition forces were delayed in Tongzhou for ten years.  After a few days, why didn't they take this time to strengthen their position?  In fact, General Ran Man also knew the reason. The coalition forces had always been in an offensive posture, and in their opinion, there seemed to be no need to consider defensive warfare.

    The French light infantry has always been a model for the French infantry, especially the chasseurs in the light infantry. As early as the Napoleonic period, in order to fight against the entire Europe, the French army had to arm a large number of ordinary people for combat, and these simply armed  The infantry and trained infantry are an important part of the French light infantry. Although they are enthusiastic, they lack the discipline and will of the elite infantry, but their skirmishing tactics are still very successful and unique.  When the time came to the era of Napoleon III, the light infantry was heavily cut. In 1854, the 25 light infantry regiments were canceled and replaced by streamlined basic troops. The remaining French light infantry basically belonged to the category of elite hunters.

    After the two French light infantry battalions were hit by Taiping artillery fire, they quickly dispersed to avoid the artillery fire. Then they dispersed and hid behind the damaged simple fortifications, preparing to rely on these simple fortifications to block the attack.  Compared with the calmness and discipline of the French light infantry battalion, the soldiers of the Bengal Corps were a little at a loss. Some were prepared to stay and fight alongside the French army, while some were prepared to escape across the canal. They were disturbed by previous orders and a group of soldiers.  The artillery fire lost its direction.

    Fortunately, General Ranman's order came quickly. He asked the Bengal Corps to withdraw across the canal as soon as possible and join the position building on the bank of the canal. The two French light infantry battalions stayed in place to resist.  This order was correct. It allowed the panicked Bengali soldiers to withdraw and regroup. With the support of French infantry and British artillery, they should be able to withstand it for a while.

    When the Taiping infantry began to charge the French army with a skirmish formation that was different from the French skirmisher offensive tactics, the French light infantry began to fight back. After receiving General Ranman's order, the British artillery began to abandon the attack.  Suppressed by the Taiping Army's artillery fire, they concentrated on bombarding the Taiping Army's skirmishing charge front.

    The Taiping Army's skirmisher charge line consists of groups of 5 to 6 people, each forming a straight line. The distance between soldiers is about five steps, and the distance between each group is about five steps, up to ten steps. The sergeant is located 10 steps behind the squad;  Each officer is followed by 4 soldiers and 1 bugler, located 20-30 steps behind the skirmisher line.  If only a portion of the company's strength is deployed, the company commander's position is between the skirmisher line and the supporting troops.

    Such a skirmishing charge line can minimize the impact surface of soldiers from artillery shells and bullets, and can form an endless charge front to maintain the width of the horizontal array pressure on the enemy's inferior forces.  During the charge, the soldiers can also use various evasive tactical actions, coupled with the use of camouflage uniforms, this army was regarded by the British and French troops in the past as a beggar force with no sense of military honor.The troops lacking in aesthetics brought great pressure and shock to the French army after the charge was launched.

    The French light infantry battalion's standard round military cap, dark blue jacket, and red trousers look so eye-catching at any time. The French army chose the latter between the lives of soldiers and beauty, while the Taiping Army was very pragmatic.  They chose the lives of soldiers, so the French light infantry kept screaming and falling down during the blockade. For the Taiping Army, the target was very obvious (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster  !
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