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Text Chapter 148 Tragic

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    On the afternoon of April 19, the British and Indian troops arrived at Volta Mountain.  However, when they saw in front of them a crisscrossed trench and a highly defensive defensive position, everyone took a breath of cold air.  God knows how many casualties they would have to pay to attack such a defensive position!

    "Your Excellency, General, it seems that Western Sichuan is very well prepared. It will be difficult for us to break through their positions!" Allen, commander of the 21st Infantry Brigade?  Brigadier General Finn said with a sigh.

    "No matter how difficult it is, we must defeat them!" Henry?  Wellesley said.  His face didn't look good either. Originally, he was quite confident in defeating the Western Sichuan Army.  But when he saw the complete defenses of the Western Sichuan Army, he was a little unsure.  Could it be that these Western Sichuan troops are all groundhogs?  How come such perfect fortifications were built in just two days?  He didn't know that this was the result of two days of hard work by more than 20,000 soldiers from the Western Sichuan Army.  Wang Yuze knew that he was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength and even did not have an advantage in artillery.  However, fortunately they are on the defensive side and can use solid defenses to narrow the gap between the two sides.

    21st Infantry Brigade Commander Allen?  Brigadier General Finn shrugged indifferently.  Anyway, if his troops were to attack such fortifications, they would undoubtedly be risking their lives, and he wouldn't do it!

    "Order the troops to camp! Start the attack tomorrow morning!" Henry?  Wellesley gave the order.  Originally, in order to seize the time, he planned to attack now.  But seeing the fortifications of the Western Sichuan Army, he also felt a little scared.  After thinking about it, I decided to let the soldiers who had been traveling all day take a rest.  Anyway, the cabinet also knew about his defeat, so there was no need to hide it anymore.  He no longer has to rush for time, the only thing he needs is a victory.  Even if it's just a small victory.

    The British and Indian troops retreated to camp three kilometers away from Volta Mountain.  In order to ensure that they would not be attacked by the Western Sichuan Army, they also began to build fortifications.  However, compared with the Western Sichuan Army's defenses, their defenses were completely out of place.

    Facing the arrival of the British and Indian troops, the Western Sichuan Army seemed particularly calm.  Although the British and Indian soldiers were outnumbered, the soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army were full of fighting spirit after the previous victory.  If they still don't underestimate the British Army, those Indian Asans are not taken seriously by them.  Especially with strong defenses, they were even more confident that they could withstand the attack of the British and Indian troops.

    "Order the troops to enter the position and prepare to defend against enemy bombardment!" Wang Yuze ordered.  His headquarters was deliberately located on a high ground behind the defense line, so that he could overlook the entire battlefield.

    "Yes, Marshal!" The signal corps sent telegrams to the 7th Brigade stationed in the river valley and the 9th Brigade stationed in the Volta Mountains.  Soldiers from the two brigades entered the forward positions one after another according to Wang Yuze's order.  Trenches that are more than half a man deep can effectively protect them.  At regular intervals, there are gun-proof holes reinforced with trees, which are enough to withstand the bombardment of light artillery shells.  As long as you're not particularly unlucky and get hit by a cannonball, there won't be much of a problem.

    However, it is a pity that the British and Indian troops retreated and did not launch an attack immediately.

    On the morning of April 20, the weather was sunny.  It is spring now, there is not much rain, and it will not affect the war.  If summer comes, the southern foothills of the Himalayas will enter the rainy season.  By then, the roads will be so muddy that it will be basically impossible to march in large numbers.

    The British and Indian troops had breakfast early, and today, the official attack will begin.  Last night, Henry?  Wellesley held discussions with three brigade commanders.  The defensive position of the Western Sichuan Army is obviously divided into two aspects.  One is the river valley area, and the other is the Volta Mountains.  After discussion, Henry?  Wellesley decided to target today's attack in the river valley.  As long as this is broken, the British and Indian troops will be able to march straight into the Shannan area.

    "Fire!" At nine o'clock in the morning, more than two hundred cannons of the British and Indian troops began to roar.  The shells hit the Western Sichuan Army's position hard, sending up pieces of dust and smoke.

    "Boom! Boom!" Artillery shells continued to wreak havoc on the artillery positions of the Western Sichuan Army. Trenches were constantly blown down. The barbed wire fence in front of the position was also blown to pieces. The entire position was shrouded in gunpowder smoke.  .  However, the British and Indian army's artillery fire seemed very fierce, but it did not pose a great threat to the Western Sichuan Army.

    Because of the roads, most of the artillery of the British and Indian troops were small-caliber 3-inch field guns, and the number of 4.5-inch howitzers was less than forty. Therefore, they did not put too much pressure on the Western Sichuan Army.  In addition, when the British and Indian troops began their shelling, most of the soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army had already hid in the shell-proof caves that had been built, leaving only a handful of observers outside.  Therefore, the shelling by the British and Indian troops did not cause too many casualties to the Western Sichuan Army.

     The shelling by the British and Indian troops raged for more than ten minutes before it ended.  After the shelling ended and the smoke cleared, the Western Sichuan Army's position was in a mess.  However, the damage to the most important firepower points and trenches was not very great.

    After the shelling by the British and Indian troops ended, the Western Sichuan Army ran out of the artillery holes and entered their respective fighting positions, preparing to resist the attack by the British and Indian troops.  The artillery positions deployed by the Western Sichuan Army on Volta Mountain are also ready for support.  Forty-eight Type 82 infantry guns and 24 105mm light howitzers have been prepared.

    "Attack!" Following the order, a large number of Indian Asans with white cloth strips on their heads jumped out of the position and launched an attack on the Western Sichuan Army position two kilometers away.  There are more than 3,000 Indian Asan attacking in this wave.  But there were very few British soldiers. Except for a very few British officers who served as officers, the rest were Indian Asans.

    "These Indian Asan have just come from the hinterland of India for reinforcements. They have not seen the power of the Western Sichuan Army.  Therefore, under the order of the officer, the attack was launched as soon as the brain was hot.

    "Fire!" The artillery of the Western Sichuan Army fired.  Streams of fire shot out from the guns, and the shells slammed into the attacking British and Indian troops.  The shell exploded, and Indian Asan was blown up into the air. Shrapnel was scattered in all directions, easily harvesting lives.

    In just a few minutes, hundreds of British and Indian troops fell under the guns of the Western Sichuan Army.  Later, when they rushed to the front of the Western Sichuan Army position, they were blocked by the barbed wire fence.  The Western Sichuan Army's forward positions opened fire.  The low "tap-tat-tat" roar of the heavy machine gun, the crisp "bang-bang-bang" sound of the rifle, as well as the dull sound of shelling from the mortar, converged to form a path leading to  The guiding voice of hell.  The British and Indian troops who rushed towards the Western Sichuan Army's position fell one by one like wheat.

    The killing continued, and the barbed wire fence set up by the Western Sichuan Army hundreds of meters in front of the forward position played a huge role.  Although the barbed wire fences in many places were blown to pieces during the shelling by the British and Indian troops, the main body was not damaged.  The British and Indian troops either used bayonets to destroy the barbed wire fence of the Western Sichuan Army, or they squeezed towards the gaps, becoming the living targets of the Western Sichuan Army for no reason.  Heavy machine guns specifically fired at these places.  This caused the British and Indian troops to fall to the ground one by one.  Especially when hit by large-caliber bullets fired from heavy machine guns, the entire body is often broken into two pieces, and the death is very miserable.

    As casualties increased, the courage of the attacking British and Indian troops also declined rapidly.  Soon, some soldiers could not bear the tremendous pressure and turned around and ran away.  The role of role models is endless. Once someone starts, others will naturally learn from it.  Under the chain effect, the attacking British and Indian troops suddenly collapsed.  No matter how much the officers behind them urged, these Indian Asans were already frightened and would not start attacking anyway.

    The bullets of the Western Sichuan Army only stopped shooting after sending these British and Indian troops out of range.  In front of the Western Sichuan Army's position, a thick layer of corpses was already spread hundreds of meters away.  The more than 3,000 British Indian troops who had just attacked suffered at least 1,000 to 2,000 casualties.

    "It seems that the defensive firepower of Western Sichuan is very strong. The shelling just now did not have much impact on them. Order the artillery to fire and destroy the defensive positions of the Western Sichuan Army!" Henry?  Wellesley ignored the casualties and issued the latest order.  Perhaps, in his eyes, these Indian Asans cannot be regarded as soldiers at all, but are just cannon fodder used to test the Western Sichuan Army.

    "Boom! Boom!" The British and Indian artillery fired again.

    "Hide! Hurry, hide!" The officers of the Western Sichuan Army on the forward position ordered one after another.  The soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army immediately hunched over and ran towards the nearest artillery hole.  They were in the shell-proof hole, huddled up, covering their ears with their hands, and their mouths wide open.  In order to minimize the damage caused by the shock wave caused by the British and Indian army's shelling.

    ¡°Perhaps because the previous attack was not effective, the British and Indian army¡¯s artillery fire lasted longer this time.  After half an hour, the shelling stopped.  The positions of the Western Sichuan Army were further damaged by the fierce shelling by the British and Indian troops.  The trenches in many areas have completely collapsed.  Even in the previous shelling, several anti-gun holes were directly hit and collapsed.  After the shelling ended, when the remaining soldiers dug out these comrades, they found that these comrades had already died.

    This made the soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army burst into tears.  However, they had no extra time to be sentimental, because the British and Indian army's attack began again.  Moreover, the attack was more violent than the last time!

    PS: The second update is here!  (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe and reward (this site). Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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