There are two main routes from Nanjing to Nanchang. One is by water, along the Yangtze River to Jiujiang, and then from Jiujiang to Nanchang; the second is by land, from Huangshan to Jingdezhen and then to Nanchang.
If you take the waterway, you don't need to go over mountains and ridges, and it's direct. Canals are a very important resource there.
Therefore, the seven-nation coalition will definitely take the water route and attack Jiujiang first.
Blue Star On October 20, 1858, the Seven-Nation Allied Forces arrived in Anqing.
The Seven-Nation Allied Forces were so proud of having easily captured Nanjing that they completely forgot what it meant to go deep alone.
Facing these guys who bully others and fear others, Shi Dakai must beat him so hard this time that no one can escape.
Faced with a situation where the enemy is strong and we are weak, Shi Dakai decided to use the Tianlu tactics created by General Xue Yue during the Anti-Japanese War.
Blue Star October 21, 1858, Nanchang General Staff.
"It's really an idiot's dream to dare to attack Nanchang with a mere 100,000 troops." Shi Dakai said coldly while looking at the map.
Although Shi Dakai has used troops like a god in the past few years, this time he faced 100,000 troops from the Western powers. The Chinese mainland had never tried to fight such a large-scale war with the powers.
In addition, Nanchang currently has insufficient troops, with only two divisions, while Jiujiang has one division.
The generals around him were still dubious.
Some generals even proposed to abandon Nanchang.
"Nanchang is our important base. Our arsenal and our military academy are all here. If we run away, all our previous efforts will be in vain."
"The biggest fear is fear itself. It's useless for us to be afraid. The Seven-Nation Alliance should be afraid."
"Come, let's listen to my Heavenly Furnace tactics..."
Shi Dakai began to point at the sand table and analyze.
The morale of the army was stabilized, and all the generals were amazed by Shi Dakai's commanding skills.
The magical Heavenly Furnace strategy begins.
Blue Star On October 25, 1858, the Seven-Nation Allied Forces began to attack Jiujiang. The defenders of Jiujiang stubbornly resisted at first and took advantage of the terrain to fight.
"Report, the first line of defense has been lost."
The communications soldier hurriedly took the telegram and ran into the staff conference room.
However, everyone who heard the news looked very relaxed, as if everything was expected.
"Signal Corps, order, let the Jiujiang garrison find an opportunity to retreat to De'an, and some troops will retreat to the flanks."
Shi Dakai wrote the telegram and handed it to the communications soldier.
Blue Star On October 27, 1858, the Jiujiang garrison acted as ordered, fought and retreated, and retained their strength. Some of them retreated to the flanks, and some retreated to De'an to start the second line of defense.
At the same time, the troops retreating to the flanks used the terrain on the mountains to constantly harass the Seven Nations Allied Forces, slowly weakening the opponent's strength.
The defenders of Wuchang began to move down the river, recapture Jiujiang, and make dumplings of the Seven-Nation Allied Forces.
Jingdezhen's troops also moved to Poyang Lake to prepare for crossing the lake.
Blue Star On October 30, 1858, the De'an Blockade began. The defenders also retreated after firing artillery. Part of them continued to retreat to the flanks, and part of it went to Yongxiu to start the defense of the third line of defense.
The successive victories made the Seven-Nation Allied Forces start to feel restless. They felt that the Chinese army was still so vulnerable. Although the number of troops continued to decrease along the way, the advance was still relatively smooth.
Blue Star On November 1, 1858, the Yongxiu blocking battle began. It was still the same routine. The defenders ran away and retreated to the flanks. Nanchang was close at hand, and at this time there were only 70,000 soldiers and horses left in the Seven-Nation Allied Forces.
Blue Star On the evening of November 5, 1858, the Seven-Nation Allied Forces arrived at the gates of Nanchang City. At this time, the lights in the Nanchang General Staff Headquarters were brightly lit.
However, everyone still looked not nervous at all, which confuses the communication soldiers who frequently relayed orders.
"The enemy has already arrived at the city. We can close our net. Notify all departments and kill the enemy to your heart's content!"
Shi Dakai patted the table.
All the generals in the audience began to applaud.
The Seven-Nation Allied Forces outside the city have begun to dream about planting the national flag in Nanchang Mansion, imagining another wave of robberies. Nanchang has an arsenal, but it is very fat.
Just when they were still considering whether to rob the weapons depot or the government warehouse when entering Nanchang, the Tianlu strategy was launched.
The soldiers who retreated to the flanks began to outflank them from the rear and both wings, and the defenders of Nanchang City were also ready to open fire, completely wrapping up the dumplings of the Seven-Nation Allied Forces.
With the sound of cannons, gunfire struck the Seven-Nation Alliance forces from all directions, causing heavy casualties immediately. In addition, it was also night, so it was difficult to judge the number of enemies.
The Allied Forces of the Seven Nations were suddenly in chaos. Although they had already collected intelligence, Nanchang City did not have many troops at this time. Moreover, they had defeated the Taiping Army in all directions along the way. They could not figure out where the firepower came from.
Meiling is to the west and Poyang Lake is to the east. At this time, they can only break through from the flanks and retreat to Poyang Lake.
However, the Jingdezhen garrison crossing the river had already laid an ambush. When the enemy came, they fired artillery and machine guns with bursts of "bang", leaving corpses on the ground.
Blue Star On November 9, 1858, less than 10,000 of the 70,000 troops were able to break through. When they came to Jiujiang City and prepared to retreat, Wuchang's army had already recaptured Jiujiang.
The Seven-Nation Alliance completely collapsed and suffered another severe beating. Only 2,000 people remained when they surrendered.
After this battle, the Western powers were completely beaten and suffered heavy losses. Future wars with the Chinese army would be shadowed.
Blue Star In December 1858, the Jiujiang and Wuchang armies moved down the river to recapture Nanjing.
