The war has entered a stage where bayonets are red. Siege warfare has always been a war that military strategists try to avoid. In the original plan, the news of the victory at Osaka Oasis will definitely frighten the defenders of Iquique City. The quality of the soldiers in the Peruvian army means that they will not last long alone.
Take advantage of the great victory, use the power of the navy, apply the pressure of the army, and release the life of the north!
With a four-pronged approach, it will be damned if the Peruvian garrison does not collapse. After storming one or two forts, Sirapizo can use the banner of negotiation to let these garrison survive and ensure the safety of their property and lives. They withdrew their troops from the north and returned home.
What a brilliant plan, but unfortunately it was disrupted by the sudden fleet. Chile's intelligence agency is simply a representative of incompetence.
The burning Esmedale on the sea boosted the morale of the Peruvian army. All commanders rushed to the front line and shouted ordering the soldiers to fight back, "The situation of the naval battle has been determined! The balance of victory is ours, and the naval artillery fire will soon If you can support us... hold on! We will soon be able to wait for the support of large-caliber artillery!"
Boom boom boom... Before the Peruvian navy could fire its guns, some of the coastal defense cannons on the coastline had already begun to turn their muzzles and fire inland.
Generally speaking, coastal defense guns rarely have 360-degree rotation, especially giant guns with a caliber of more than 200 mm, and even fewer can shoot at all angles, because that requires special design of the fortress and the process is very complicated.
However, some small-caliber coastal defense artillery is much lighter. Generally, most 120-mm-caliber artillery can shoot at all angles. When the threat of the Chilean army on the sea disappeared, these small-caliber artillery turned their muzzles to the charging enemy. Chilean Army opens fire.
The so-called caliber size is also relative. Compared with field guns with a caliber of 60 or 70 mm, a 120 mm caliber is also considered a giant cannon. Such shells exploded in the crowd, and the fragmented shrapnel was enough to cause a death area of more than 100 square meters.
Boom boom boom... The explosion died out in the dense crowd. The thick smoke rose into the sky and the remains of the corpses were scattered everywhere along with the soil. The soldiers who were deafened screamed, and the soldiers with seven holes bleeding lay limp on the ground. Their internal organs had long been injured by the shock. .
The defenders in the fortress were also fighting crazy at this moment. Everyone forgot about time and life and death, loading and aiming and firing like war machines, and then repeated the cycle endlessly.
The barrels of the field guns placed high up in the fortress had all been red-fired, and the soldiers were still loading ammunition into them at the risk of exploding the barrels. The choking smell of gunpowder smoke made all throats sting.
The soldiers rushing towards the city surged forward like a tide, and then retreated again. Dead bodies covered the ground. Many Chilean soldiers could not even withstand such pressure. They screamed on the battlefield and clearly had a mental breakdown.
"Back off again! Can your Chilean army still fight? How many times has this abandoned friendly forces and fled? Three or four times..." Tang Lei rushed to Sirapizzo and roared crazily, even spitting on his face. face.
Sirapizzo's face turned dark, and the situation on the battlefield made him anxious. "What can I do? The enemy's firepower is so fierce, and flesh and blood are fighting against large-caliber artillery. What else do you want us to do? These brave young men can already carry Entered into history!”
"Damn! What nonsense are you talking about? Going down in the annals of history! Damn it, the soldiers who retreated just after the battle damage reached 40%, you actually said something about going down in the annals of history!" Tang Lei grabbed the ammunition next to him and used it as a table. The box was kicked over.
Silapizzo blushed and shouted, "I know you can fight, and I also know that even if your entire army is wiped out, there will be no deserters... But this is Chile, and these are the highest-quality troops I can command. They can stand by and watch. It’s already a miracle that you can watch 40% of your brothers die in front of you without breaking down!”
"Didn't you notice that after they retreated, they didn't run away, but gathered more troops to charge again. Some soldiers have charged three times in a row. They are brave young men! I won't allow you to insult them!"
Tang Lei was already mad. "Brave? Tell me how brave you are! What we want is victory. What we want is to pull out the enemy's fortress in one go, not to play tricks! Are you all mentally ill..."
The other Chilean officers were not happy. In their eyes, the Chilean soldiers who had fought to this point were really excellent. No matter how good they were, they couldn't be any better.
They rushed up and quarreled with Tang Lei. The fiery veteran behind Tang Lei stretched out his hand and pushed the nearest officer aside.
"Bold! How dare a soldier attack an officer! I'll shoot you..."
"Fuck, I think you dare! I rushed back and forth four times in the enemy's bullets without dying. Do you dare to shoot me? If you dare, try shooting..."
The two groups of people stretched out their hands to use force, and there was a chaos of pushing and shoving. At this moment, a guard soldier on the periphery suddenly shouted, "Look at the sea... Peruvian naval warships are outflanking them, and they are rushing towards the coast!"
The group of people subconsciously let go of their hands to stop the fight, grabbed their binoculars and looked towards the sea. Sure enough, on the southern edge of the naval battle, there were a total of six sailing wooden warships bypassing the main battlefield and heading straight to the offshore.
"It's broken! The enemy's warships are going to be bombarded! I can't worry about that anymore and continue the attack! We have no time to waste!"
At this moment, the battle situation on the sea has been decided. The Esmedale has not sunk, but all the weapon systems capable of fighting have been blown up. He is floating helplessly on the sea like a coffin.
Perhaps for humiliation, perhaps because there was no threat, the Peruvian warships behind did not fire on the disabled Esmeralda. Instead, they attacked the remaining Chilean warships and began to divide and surround the small ironclads.
Due to the outnumbered enemy and the decapitated command system, these warships had no hope of victory. The Chilean warships on the edge of the battle formation had chosen to flee south while their injuries were not too serious.
Just when the situation was good, the sail warships that supplemented the battlefield gave up the sea battle under the command of the commander and began to approach the offshore.
The Peruvian troops in the fortress were in jubilation. Watching the sailing warships spraying gunfire, the roar of victory resounded in all the fortresses. At that moment, the defenders' firepower increased by 30%.
Weng Derong watched the siege becoming more and more useless. He was so angry that he suddenly kicked away the guard flag bearer beside him, grabbed the triangular flag embroidered with the word "Taiping" and rushed into the attacking crowd.
"Life or death depends on this moment! We have no way out... The President of Chile has agreed to lease Iquique to us for 150 years! This is our home, and from now on this is our homeland!"
"Brothers! For our own home! Fight... to defeat Iquique!"
