Chapter 426 The decisive battle of Dingding
"Transport all the headquarters' Tiger Crouching Artillery to the forward positions and tell everyone that the 8th Division's positions are at their feet and no one can take a step back..."
Yan Chun looked at the Qing troops who had begun to charge. The handle of the knife he held in his left hand unconsciously tightened a lot. Just the defensive position of his 8th Division alone had to face a large number of Qing troops. Thirty thousand people, in addition to a mixture of foot and cavalry, the front line composed of Wuhan Iron and Steel Chariots and Zhen Chariots was enough to give him a headache.
Two miles away from the 8th Division's position was the 2nd Division's position. Cao Shixiu's mood at this moment was not much better than that of Yan Chun. Outside the car formation, he could clearly see that the Qing army was equipped with a lot of return artillery.
Huihui artillery is a product of the Yuan Dynasty. When the Mongolian army attacked the Southern Song Dynasty, the tall and solid Xiangyang City, an important thing in destroying Xiangyang, was destroyed by this Huihui artillery.
This cannon is simple to cast and is made entirely of wood. It is the most primitive and most lethal thrower. The homemade cannonballs that can be filled in the pocket are much larger than the five thousand kilogram Hongyi cannon. Its range It can be as far as one and a half miles.
"Brothers of the 2nd Division, His Majesty is right behind us. We cannot retreat even a step. Commanders of all brigades, regiments, battalions, and companies, please listen carefully. I will kill anyone who dares to retreat. If I retreat, you You can take my head and go to His Majesty to ask for credit. Remember, my Ming Dynasty...will definitely win..."
"Must win...must win...must win..."
The first to launch the charge was the troops composed of Sun Degong and Delin. The direct opponent was Yan Chun's troops. The Han army had 15,000 white flag soldiers, 10,000 green camp troops, and 5,000 cavalrymen with blue flags.
The green battalion soldiers pushed the Wugang carts forward, and under the dense flow of artillery fire and bullets, they advanced to the first trench position of the 8th Division. The Qing army, which had already planned, moved the Wugang carts and the carriages sideways under the arrangement of the commanding general. Standing in front of the trench, after passing through the cover, the first wave of archers following the car formation set up their bows and arrows, and attacked together with throwing weapons.
In addition, ignited oil tanks were thrown into the trench like raindrops. For a while, the battle suddenly became fierce.
The Qing army's offensive was so swift and violent that the soldiers of the 8th Division were unable to parry for a while. The soldiers in the first trench could not escape the blow of the fierce fire oil, and no less than two to three hundred of them were burned alive. This had a great impact on the morale of the Qing army. The blow was quite severe.
After the integration of the 8th Division, the six regiments were scattered on a front two miles wide. After Sun Degong observed it, he discussed with Delin to concentrate his forces to attack one area. If the Ming army concentrated on rescue, they could use blue flag cavalry to roam the battlefield. Block those Ming army troops who want to concentrate on rescue.
Yan Chun put down his telescope and frowned tightly. At this moment, the sound of artillery shells could no longer disturb him. After thinking for a long time, he looked at the staff officer beside him and said: "Send a message to the headquarters immediately. Our position needs support."
Obviously, Yan Chun had seen the Qing army's plan, especially when the thousands of cavalry began to scatter on the battlefield, he could already verify his own idea: the Qing army wanted to concentrate its forces to encircle the point for reinforcements.
However, what put him in an embarrassing situation was that the six regiments of the 8th Division were relatively scattered now. If they transferred one force, the Qing army would probably take advantage of it. Therefore, it was urgent to ask for help from the headquarters.
Sun Youguang commanded in front of the formation. After seeing the first section of the trench being cleared by fierce fire oil, he ordered the Green Battalion soldiers to attack immediately. After crossing the vehicle formation, before the Green Battalion soldiers could cross the trench, heads popped out of the second trench. Suddenly there was a loud sound of gunfire, and the dense rain of bullets caught the charging Green Camp soldiers by surprise, but a fierce exchange of fire broke out between the two sides in a short period of time.
The battlefield ahead was not far from Yan Chun's command post. After the battle officially started, Yan Chun immediately observed the battle situation from the observation deck of the command post. At this moment, the two sides were fighting for the second trench. However, the Qing army did not The soldiers of the 8th Division, who did not occupy much of an advantage and relied on trenches to protect themselves, fought with ease. The hand-to-hand combat that broke out from time to time also illustrates the intensity of the battle.
'Dong dong dong...'
The explosive canister fired by the Huihui artillery fell on the 2nd Division's position. The explosion caused a lot of damage. After the first round of attacks, a large part of the 2nd Division's forward position was lost. Fortunately, Cao Shixiu had been prepared. , immediately mobilized the prepared troops of the two regiments, and the two sides fought randomly in the forward position. In the end, it was the soldiers of the 2nd Division who relied on well-equipped weapons to drive the Qing army out of the forward position.
As a result, the Qing army's artillery continued to play its role, bombarding the defensive positions of the 2nd Division.
Chen Cao sat in the center and received a steady stream of battle reports from all directions.
"Abatai hasn't launched a general offensive on the front yet?"
"Return to Your Majesty, Abate has not taken action yet."
Chen Cao frowned: "What is he waiting for? Could it be Hauge's cavalry?"
Huang Chunyao shook his head slightly: "It is impossible for Hauge to abandon Xiao County. If he goes straight east, our troops in Xiao County can entangle them. If we want to support the central battlefield, the chance will be much smaller."
"Don't be careless," Chen Cao's brows were already knitted into the Chinese character "Sichuan": "The battle between the front and the left wing battlefield is particularly fierce now. Yan Chun's request for reinforcements has been arranged for Song Che to handle directly. We can't be timid at all in this battle. Lu, Abatai is going to fight tooth and nail, and we have to follow them. As long as Pang Zhifan's troops start bombarding Xuzhou City, our army will directly charge regardless of whether Abatai has a trap or not."
"Your Majesty..." the messenger stood outside the tent and shouted: "The flanks of the 8th Division were broken through by the Qing cavalry. There are loopholes on all fronts. Division Commander Yan Chun and his guard regiment have already launched a charge."
"What do you mean Song Che?"
"Commander Song is currently mobilizing troops to block the 8th Division's defense line."
"Yan Chun's troops are not full of soldiers, and the left-wing front is very long. His six regiments cannot defend." Huang Chunyao looked at Chen Cao: "Your Majesty, I think the Lou Xingye Division should be dispatched to support Yan Chun."
At present, Chen Cao can mobilize only one unit, Lou Xingye, and Lou Xingye's unit is to be used as the main force when the whole army launches a charge. Although the war is tight at the moment, dispatching Lou Xingye is not among Chen Cao's considerations. Inside.
"Go and tell Song Che. Let Liang Huanming take people to support Yan Chun first. Tell Song Che that no matter what method he uses, he must hold all fronts before chaos breaks out in Xuzhou City and our army does not launch a charge."
"yes..."
'boom...'
After the sound of gunfire, Yan Chun immediately stabbed a Qing soldier who was rushing towards the left with his bayonet-mounted gun. After taking care of the two people in front of him, the soldiers of the guard regiment behind him were already attacking the incoming Qing troops from all directions. Driven out of the second trench position.
"Hit me hard..."
Yan Chun gave a loud shout, then dropped the rifle in his hand, picked up a long knife from the ground, and shouted loudly: "Brothers of the 8th Division, charge with me..."
When the division commander took the lead in the charge, it only proved that there were not many soldiers left in this unit. The gap in the main position had been blocked after Yan Chun led the soldiers of the guard regiment to charge. However, according to his order, the defense line could only be closed to all units. Support each other to prevent the front from being stretched too far and causing the entire line to collapse.
"Master, the reinforcements sent by the army are here."
Yan Chun ignored the pursuit and immediately handed over the defense line to the troops who had gathered. He led his people back to the command post. Just before arriving at the camp, Liang Huanming had already appeared in Yan Chun's sight.
"Master Yan, our department has been ordered to come to support."
"Commander Liang came just in time. The forward position was almost lost before. Our position is stretched for two miles and our troops are scattered. We don't know where the Tatars will attack specifically. I also ask Commander Liang to quickly allocate troops for support."
Liang Huanming nodded: "Now we will divide our troops to support Commander Yan's ministries. Someone is coming..."
'Woo...Woo...Woo...'
The long horn sounded from far to near. Even amidst the sound of gunfire, Yan Chun heard it clearly. He frowned and looked at Liang Huanming, then turned to look at the staff adjutant behind him: "Go to the forward position to see what happened. .”
As soon as he finished speaking, he could clearly feel the trembling of the earth, but it was not that obvious. Just when he was confused, the returning staff officer shouted: "Master, a large number of cavalry appeared in the northwest of our position, and they seemed to be fighting." '
Yan Chun didn't care much, and immediately turned around and ran towards the forward position, and Liang Huanming also followed suit. When the two arrived at the forward observation post, what they saw was that two groups of cavalry were fighting fiercely. It was not You Shiwei's troops. who is it?
"No, the Tatar cavalry is out."
After Yan Chun finished speaking, he turned to look at the staff officer beside him: "Report to the headquarters immediately, the Tatars are about to launch a general attack."
After receiving Yan Chun's report, Chen Cao immediately mounted his horse and rushed to the forward position, followed by a large number of retinues. When he could see the situation on the battlefield with his telescope, Chen Cao put down his telescope and said without looking back: "Send the order, Huang Degonglou's Xingye Division immediately rushed to the 2nd Division's position, and the remaining Shenwu Army personnel at all levels took their weapons and prepared to fight;
In addition, he sent an order to Yang Lian Maha and Yang Lian Zhengong. The moment the battle started, his troops launched an attack on the Qing army from the left flank of the battlefield, telling the two brothers that no one could take a step back. "
"yes..."
Chen Cao looked at the civil servants beside him, and then ordered Zhao Xindao: "Protect these civil servants. If the war goes wrong, evacuate them to Shuanggou first."
Xin Zhao nodded: "Your Majesty, don't worry."
Chen Cao took the spear from a Jin Yiwei: "I had a duel with You Shiwei when we were fighting in Hangzhou a few years ago. If I don't move, it may be difficult for me to kill people. Fire the signal flare...
Since Abate chooses not to move, then we will take the initiative to attack. "
No one around him dared to dissuade him. It was already the moment of decisive battle and no one could back down.
"Da Ming... Wansheng..."
"Wan Sheng...Wan Sheng...Wan Sheng..."
"Your Majesty has given an order to fire the artillery array and use up all the shells..."
"fire..."
