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Volume Three: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 133: Gunboats and Mines

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    Alexander did not answer immediately. He just continued to observe the river bank with his binoculars. Through the binoculars, he could clearly see clouds of smoke rising from several forts on the river bank, but no human figure appeared, let alone a counterattack.  The artillery fire started.  After a moment, he put down the telescope and replied: "Answer Captain George, continue to maintain speed and distance, pause the bombardment, and let the Kaiming and Serenity get closer to test it out!" "Yes, Colonel!" The young officer asked Alexander  After giving a military salute, he turned around and ran under the bridge. A moment later, two much smaller clippers passed from behind the Repulse. These were the "Enlightenment" and "Tranquility" that Alexander just mentioned.  Both are old wooden-hulled iron-clad ships, but they are much faster. They are equipped with six large-caliber mortars on their decks. If the Chinese don't fire yet, they can use the six mortars here.  Bombarded the fortifications and forts on the shore at close range, killing and wounding the defenders in large numbers.  Alexander looked at the four shallow water heavy gunboats under his feet and behind him, and sighed softly. These four boats have a common feature, low freeboard, and a displacement of nearly 4,000 tons, but the lowest one is above the water.  It is less than one meter, and the highest is only two meters. The speed and seaworthiness of such a ship are naturally very poor. It can only sail along the coast or inland rivers. It is not so much a warship as a mobile fort.  Compared with his own "Southampton", these four ships are simply four piles of waste that should have been thrown into the trash can long ago.  Of course, he also knew that this kind of shallow-water gunboat was more suitable than the "Southampton" on the Irrawaddy River, but no matter what, he still instinctively felt a sense of disgust.  "Colonel, the Chinese are fighting back!" A voice woke Alexander up from his thoughts. He saw fire shooting out from two places on the shore that had not been discovered in advance, splashing with waves around the "Kaiming" and "Tranquility".  Tall and thick water columns, it is obvious that the Chinese hid their real forts and waited until the enemy got closer before launching a sudden attack.  "Cunning fellow! Quickly order the firing of artillery to suppress the enemy's fort, and let the 'Kaiming' and 'Tranquility' come back!" Alexander ordered loudly, and the four shallow-water heavy gunboats on the river also turned their guns and opened fire on the shore.  The fort opened fire.  The two clippers also quickly turned around and accelerated away from the distance.  At this moment, a fire broke out on the rear deck of the Kaiming in front, and a shell hit there. From the bridge of the Counterattack, the rear deck of the Kaiming could be clearly seen.  The two mortars weighing hundreds of kilograms flew up like toys.  "Damn it, the Kaiming was hit!" Alexander cursed in a low voice. As an experienced senior naval officer, he could even tell by the firelight rising from the point of impact that the Chinese shells had also triggered the mortar.  The explosion of the opponent's propellant next to the cannon was a very fatal damage to the wooden-hulled iron-clad warships.  Without urging from the officer, the British sailors on the warship increased the frequency of shooting, trying their best to pull their companions out of the grasp of death.  But fate was cruel. Like most warships at that time, in order to save tonnage, the armor of the "Kaiming" was not laid evenly. The 3.5-inch-thick wrought iron armor belt only protected the sides above the waterline, and below.  The shells flew parallel to the water, and the shells hit the rear deck. The violent explosion tore through the fragile oak deck, and the hot air and air waves tore the steam engine pipes and sailors below the deck into pieces. "  Kaiming's speed suddenly slowed down and she became a target for the cannons on the shore fort.  Less than a minute after the first hit, the second shell hit the building on the deck. The air waves and shrapnel generated by the explosion swept across the deck and easily wiped out the sailors who were still working hard to extinguish the flames on the deck. Now  Even the most optimistic British sailors had to admit that the Kaiming was doomed, and no effort could save it from the Chinese fire.  Colonel Alexander had a sullen face and whispered: "Show the flag and ask Captain William to abandon the Kaiming!" "Yes, Colonel!" After receiving the order, the British sailors on the Kaiming began to scramble amid the flames and shrapnel.  After lowering the lifeboat on the side of the ship, a series of Chinese shells hit the ship, and the flames quickly devoured anything that could be burned on the ship.  In less than five minutes, the fast gunboat "Kaiming" with a displacement of 1,200 tons had turned into a pile of burning torches on the river. The surviving sailors were struggling on the river, begging for help from their companions.  "Stop the bombardment and send out boats to rescue the sailors!" Alexander ordered.  As the British stopped shelling, several small boats with red cross flags rowed towards the sailors on the river. The Chinese on the shore also stopped shelling. At this distance, their artillery fire hit the four British heavily armored gunboats.  The threat is not great.  Just nowThe rumbling river surface finally calmed down.  "Retreat to the anchorage!" Alexander ordered the officers on the side, and turned back to the bridge. The officers around him looked at each other and dispersed.  In the cabin, Alexander was frowning at the map on the table, which marked the fortifications of the Shun Army in detail. The squares of different colors represented the forts, trenches, various fortifications and troops of the Shun Army.  Alexander frowned and thought for a long time. As a naval officer, he could only be said to be unfamiliar with land warfare, if not unfamiliar. The governor-general, Earl Dufferin, appointed him as the commander of the highest military operations. Of course, he was a local  The reason for being the highest-ranking officer, and the more important reason is that the invasion of Myanmar cannot be separated from the support of the squadron. A commander who is proficient in naval business is more conducive to the coordination of the army, but the problem before him now is that the Chinese  They occupied a favorable position and blocked the water with forts. What's different this time is that they received a large amount of reinforcements from the mainland, and the generals' actions will not be as conservative as in Bagan.  Alexander rang the bell and ordered the orderly who came in: "Have Major Duncan come to me immediately!" "Yes, Colonel!" Two minutes later, Duncan walked into Alexander's cabin and gave him a military salute: "  "Colonel, I'm here!" "Major, please sit down!" Alexander pointed to the chair opposite him and began to look at the man in front of him carefully. This time Duncan was not appointed as the commander of the unit, but as Alexander.  A staff officer from the headquarters came to Piaomi. More than an hour ago, he was watching the sinking of the "Enlightenment" on the lower floor of the bridge.  "Major, you have been in Pyay for fifteen days. As an experienced army officer, can you give me some advice? Defeat our enemies!" Duncan licked his lips to relieve  He was always a little nervous when facing an unfamiliar commander.  Alexander saw his nervousness and smiled slightly: "Major, there are only two of us here. Please treat this as an intimate conversation between two friends in private? You have served here for more than fifteen years, and you have met with the Chinese  "Colonel, thank you very much for your trust in me!" Duncan replied in a low voice: "If you want to ask my personal opinion, I think it is difficult to defeat the Chinese now. They have occupied the country.  They have obtained favorable terrain and built good fortifications, and according to my observation, they have also learned lessons from the last battle and made improvements to our artillery. I carefully observed the shooting effect of the artillery.  The damage they caused was minimal. Without more and larger caliber heavy artillery, it would be very difficult to break through the Chinese defense line!" After hearing Duncan's answer, Alexander felt a little disappointed, but this was consistent with his opinion.  , and in several conversations with Kitchener, Kitchener also spoke highly of the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Army and believed that the right choice was to make full preparations before launching an invasion.  Alexander admired Kitchener's military talents very much.  "Major, is there any way to bypass the Chinese defense line? Since they have deployed so many troops here, the rear must be empty. If we can bypass their defense line and cut off their supply line, then there is no need to fight.  "Victory!" "Colonel, this is very difficult!" Duncan stood up and pointed at the map and said: "Although Myanmar has a large land area, the most important part is in the Irrawaddy River Valley.  Located at the junction of this valley and the Irrawaddy River Delta, if we want to bypass Pyay, our army must cross the Arakan Mountains or the Bago Mountains. This is very difficult militarily. Before we cut off the Chinese supply line, we  The army will starve by itself!" "No, there is a third way!" Alexander's eyes were bright, his fingertips fell on a green line on the map, and Duncan's eyes followed the other person's pointing.  Jian looked over and whispered: "Irrawaddy River?" "|Yes, Irrawaddy River!" Alexander said proudly: "If we break through the Chinese defense line, go upstream, and use the Marine Corps to directly occupy Bagan or even Mandalay  "What will happen to the Chinese defenders here?" "They will collapse without a fight!" Duncan instinctively replied, but then his expression changed: "But the Chinese have deployed mines and forts on the river.  It¡¯s not so easy to pass!¡± ¡°That¡¯s my business!¡± Alexander showed a confident look on his face: ¡°This is not an insurmountable difficulty in front of the Royal Navy!¡±  The activities of the British squadron suddenly became much rarer. The four shallow-water heavy gunboats that were the core of the squadron almost never appeared in front of the Shun Army.Only a few faster light ships appeared within the river line, and these light ships no longer approached the shore as they did in the past, trying to use mortars and other weapons to destroy the forts. Instead, they only moved near the channel in the center of the river. Once encountered,  When they encountered artillery fire from the Shun Army, they quickly broke away. Even when they encountered the poor gunboats of the Shun Army, they did not dare to fight.  On the contrary, the activities of the army on the shore became more frequent, and several tentative attacks were launched against the Shun army's defense line. It was obvious that the British army was looking for weak links in the enemy's defense line and preparing for the upcoming onslaught.
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