From ancient times to the present, landing on beaches has been an arduous task. Landing troops from ships has never been a simple matter, which is completely different from ordinary people getting on and off ships.
In this era, cruise ships across the ocean can carry thousands of passengers at a time, and the time it takes to get off the ship and queue up at the destination is two to three hours.
Ordinary people can only carry one or two packages when getting on and off the ship, which is so difficult, let alone the landing of 30,000 troops!
This is not the French mainland, this is the Prussian coastline. God knows when the enemy's main force will appear, so there must be rules when the army lands!
First, the light infantry landed to sweep the beach. They had to carefully search the dark Speke Island for any ambush and whether the surrounding environment was dangerous.
When everything is determined to be safe, large troops will land, and these troops will not have no mission after landing. They must temporarily set up a defensive position to be careful and alert to enemy attacks.
The defensive position is gradually taking shape. At this time, various heavy weapons, ammunition, and munitions must be unloaded... Army operations are not about conquering the world with just one gun.
Large force operations must be supported by artillery firepower, and these night battle artillery are transported down from the transport ship, as well as the weapons, ammunition, food and medicine, all of which require manpower to be delivered to the shore bit by bit.
In more than three hours, only half of the entire French expeditionary force landed ashore, and only one-third of the heavy weapons and supplies were unloaded!
At this rate, it will take at least dawn for the French to successfully land!
The Zhiyuan's attack took advantage of this juncture, and started the attack at the most chaotic moment of your landing troops!
There were continuous explosions, and waves of fire and light swept across the entire landing beach. The French ammunition was ignited by the fire and exploded, and even heavy field artillery was blown into the sky.
The French troops on the shore were howling like ghosts and wolves. Faced with the bombardment of large-caliber weapons from the warships, these French troops had no power to fight back!
At the moment, the Zhiyuan is almost wiping the mud and moving forward. Just now, the left rudder is full and it is slowly driving north along the coastline. The rotating propeller has already hit the mud on the shore. The sailors in the bottom cabin can even hear it. There was a loud sound as the steel plate on the bottom of the hull rubbed against the coast.
Fortunately, this beach has many tidal flats and sandy areas but few rocks. Otherwise, if the Zhiyuan was traveling so dangerously, it would probably run aground within a hundred meters.
Even so, the terrifying sound of the bottom of the ship scraping against the coast still frightens the crew. The heavy propeller hits the mud and rubs violently against the scattered stones. The dull impact sound is even more terrifying than the sound of the cannon.
The Zhiyuan has been fighting like crazy, and all the officers and soldiers have entered a state of madness. They are desperately tilting their firepower towards the shore, because they know that this is the swan song of the Zhiyuan, and his life has come to an end.
Xiang Ying no longer needed to command the battle at this moment. He stood silently on the armored conning tower of the mainmast, watching the massacre with tears in his eyes!
"I did it! I did it! This massacre will be remembered by Europeans for at least a hundred years!"
"At least let them know that we, the Chinese, are not easy to bully! In this world that fears power but does not harbor morality, if the Chinese don't show their fangs, there will be no real peace!"
"Hahaha... Napoleon III, haven't you always wanted to destroy our Chinese race? Now let's see who is destroying whom!"
Hot tears rolled down from his eyes. Xiang Ying stroked the Zhiyuan's armor as if touching his lover's skin. He knew that today was the day of farewell.
At present, the port side of the Zhiyuan is struggling to withstand the crazy bombardment of French warships. No one can tell how long the four and a half inches of armor can last.
The starboard side of Ziyunhao turned into a fire-breathing iron hedgehog, and the trajectory of the shells flew in the air, just like the spikes of a hedgehog's demonstration!
The armed merchant ships simply could not withstand the firepower of the Zhiyuan. One warship after another ignited fire, especially the burst fire of the 210-caliber cannon. Basically, one shell could completely destroy a wooden-hulled merchant ship.
In just fifteen minutes, six merchant ships were destroyed, and the sea was full of French soldiers fleeing for their lives!
In the fire on the deck, the screaming French soldiers were covered in flames. They ran around like headless flies until they fell on the deck and could not move.
There were even countless soldiers who turned over in fear from the railings and jumped into the sea water. The popping sound was like dropping dumplings!
This hell-like scene shocked everyone present. The British were completely dumbfounded. Only then did they truly realize that this Chinese nation was completely different from the Qing Dynasty.
The one who is horizontal is afraid of being stunned, and the one who is stunned is afraid of losing his life! All the tactics used by the Zhiyuan today are completely contrary to all the navy's textbooks. This is a strategy of holding a bag and trying to die with the enemy!
No rational commander would issue such an order, but no one present dared or could blame Xiang Ying's order.
Because this tragic massacre has shocked their hearts. This kind of hysterical madness is too bad for the temper of hot-blooded soldiers!
"It's not a waste of time to be able to command such a bloody battle in my life!" Countless British officers said this silently in their hearts.
Compared with the emotion of the British, Hough and other French naval officers and soldiers were wailing heartbroken!
This expedition was a complete failure. The Zhiyuan's tactics hit their weakness. If the Zhiyuan did not take action against the army, then even if it seriously damaged the French fleet at sea, the thirty thousand army could still threaten Hamburg.
At this moment, all the Prussian army was pressed into France. There were only two or three armies on the coastline as the last defensive force. The 30,000 elite French Praetorian Guards had no hope of victory.
By then the army had captured Hamburg and helped the French Emperor break the siege. Even if the navy suffered more casualties, it would still be able to get through!
But I never expected that the Chinese would fight for their own lives and attack the army. This massacre would completely disrupt the French army's overall strategic layout!
Look at the burning merchant ships. How many soldiers were burned to death before they could even get off the ship, as well as the heavy weapons and ammunition supplies that were taken care of...
Without artillery and ammunition supplies, there is no way to fight even if there are only soldiers! Do we have to rely on the army to fight with bayonets all the way to Hamburg?
"It's over, it's all over! This expedition is a complete failure..." Hoff burst into anxious tears. He knew that he was done. What awaited him when he returned to France must be a military trial!
"Sink this damn battleship... Wuwuwu... Sink him... God bless me... Please God bless me and sink this damn battleship... Wuwuwu..."
Hof was so anxious that he burst into tears, "How come you have such a perverted defense ability? Why can't you penetrate it...Why can't you penetrate it..."
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