On the afternoon of September 10, 1683, in the Aztec Republic, south of Don Carmen's estate.
"Kill the Western Demon! Go to heaven! Kill the Western Demon! Go to heaven."
"God bless the king, God bless Spain."
A decisive battle that will determine the rise and fall of the Aztec Republic and the Spanish World Empire is about to begin. A total of 16,000 Aztec "berserkers" and 10,000 soldiers from the Spanish Expeditionary Force from Germany are already facing each other. The drums roared in an open battlefield!
If you look down from the air, you will find that the Don Carmen estate where this battlefield is located is located in the middle of two fast-flowing creeks rushing down from the Sierra Madre del Sur. There are large forests on the west and east sides of the two small rivers. The road from Acapulco to Chilpanzinger Fortress passes through the middle of the manor. The main building of the manor is located next to the road, just in front of the road. It's blocked.
The passage from Acapulco in the south to this estate, which is surrounded by rivers and forests, is relatively narrow - the forest in that area is relatively less cut, and there are dense forests between the two rivers, with only about 20 rivers. A passage a few steps wide.
After the Duke of Villahermosa led his troops to attack south, he set the battlefield south of the main building of Don Carmen Manor and north of the narrow entrance to the south of the manor. In this way, if the Spaniards are unsuccessful in fighting, they can retreat north into the main building of the manor and rely on the walls and houses there to stand firm and wait for reinforcements. Once the Aztec army failed, they would have to retreat through the dense forest. Or they can only flee.
If they chose to escape through the forest, they would have to abandon their cannons and disperse their troops, and their speed through the forest would certainly not be as fast as the Spanish army with large cavalry marching along the road, and then they would be outflanked by the Spaniards.
If the Aztecs chose to retreat along the main road, they would be jammed at that narrow passage, and the Spaniards could take the opportunity to harvest the Aztec officers and soldiers who fell behind and were unable to pass in time.
In short, the Duke of Villahermosa, who has been defeated for a long time and became a good general, chose a quite favorable terrain this time. It seems that it is very possible to see her son succeed after failure!
And Geng Juyi's military skills didn't seem to have improved much. After the army left the city of Acapulco, they sang the military song "Kill the Western Devil and Go to Heaven" all the way, marching quickly towards Don Carmen Manor. I'm afraid the Spaniards there will run away.
On the afternoon of the 10th, he finally got his wish and saw his enemy - 10,000 Spanish people who looked energetic and well-organized, but they didn't speak Spanish very well, and they weren't as good as Geng Juyi, and they didn't know. How did this Spaniard become a person?
Both armies were relatively "honest" and did not use deceit. The Duke of Villahermosa did not think of setting up ambushes on both sides of the narrow passage, and Geng Juyi did not think of dividing any troops. Wandering through the woods. As if they had made an appointment, the two pairs of people wandered into an open area and set up.
"President, that's not right. It seems like there is fraud."
Wu Shijue, who was riding a tall ocean horse next to Geng Juyi, was not so sincere. He felt that there was an ambush when he passed through the narrow passage just now, and suggested that Geng Juyi send someone to search. However, Geng Juyi didn't listen to him at all. He just asked a fusilier battalion composed of Japanese Aztecs to disperse and go ahead to "weather the thunder". In the end, nothing happened!
Afterwards, Geng Juyi also lectured his "Wu Xian Nephew", saying that although the Spaniards had bad intentions, they were more honest on the battlefield and did not like to lure the enemy into ambushes, let alone encirclement. They just opened up and attacked!
But Wu Shijue still couldn't change his mind. No one looked like a good enemy.
At this moment, he hadn't officially handed over the fire yet, and he discovered that there was a scam again!
"Where is the fraud? Isn't it a normal two-character long snake formation?" Geng Juyi didn't even need to look carefully to know the Spanish formation - when he first came to the New World, the Spaniards were all Spanish square formations, with spears in the middle and muskets in the middle. There were two large rows standing around, one in front and one behind, with cavalry on both wings and cannons in front of the formation.
However, starting from the third siege, the Spaniards changed to a two-character long snake formation, and all the muskets were changed to flintlock muskets. The number of long guns was greatly reduced, and the formation was no longer "square", but became a four-row horizontal formation plus eight rows. , Sixteen rows of vertical formation, usually the vertical formation is on one of the two wings. Whichever wing the vertical formation is on is the main attack (because at the same length, there are more people in the column).
When attacking, the method of play is also simple. Generally, it is to fire a burst of artillery to suppress the shock, and then the first row in the "two-character long snake formation" pushes forward together. It depends on who can't withstand the opponent's fierce attack on the flank first?
In addition, the cavalry on both sides will outflank, you cover me, I cover you, and usually there will be cavalry hedging.
As for more troublesome tactics such as diagonal tactics and outflanking by large groups of infantry, few people in the New World have engaged in them.
The main theme here is a battlefield where the brave will win!
Just open up and fight, it's over!
Of course, the Aztec Republic is still more flexible than its opponents, and will occasionally lay ambushes and carry out night attacks. But that can only be done with the cooperation of internal agents. If you let Geng Juyi and his group deliberately set up traps to lure the enemy into a trap, and then intersperse, encircle, divide and so on, it would be too difficult for people.
There is no such art of conducting!
"President," Wu Shijue had been looking around with his telescope to observe the situation on the opposite side since the two armies started to set up their formations. "The Spaniards on the opposite side have a very high level of formation! They are not inferior to the elite of the Ming army, and all They are all Westerners, there are no natives of the New World, and they have many cavalry, all with breastplates and helmets!”
"Really?" After listening to Wu Shijue's analysis, Geng Juyi also felt that something was wrong, but he was full of confidence in his Aztec "Berserker". After laughing, he raised his arms and shouted: "Heavenly Father, God bless us! "
The soldiers following Geng Juyi immediately shouted in Spanish: "God the Father, God bless us!"
Immediately afterwards, 16,000 Aztec "berserkers" shouted in unison: "God the Father, God bless us, Amen!"
As soon as this "Amen" came out, the cannon roared immediately!
The 18 6-pound cannons from the 3 artillery brigades (batteries) brought by Geng Juyi started!
This time was stuck well - the first time Geng Juyi shouted "Father, God bless us" was when he gave the order for bombardment. When 16,000 people shouted together, the firing lines of the 18 cannons were lit, "Amen "As soon as it came out, the cannon just fired.
These 18 "God bless" artillery shells roared towards the Spanish Devil's position. In the blink of an eye, a bunch of artillery shells fell on the Spanish left-wing position. The shots were not very accurate, but there were still two artillery shells. It hit the Spanish formation and immediately knocked down five or six German-speaking Spaniards. Three of them were not completely dead. They fell to the ground screaming and rolling around. They refused to go to hell. They walked uneasily. There was a commotion on the Spanish front.
"Long live!" When the Aztecs who did not speak Ztec saw this scene, they immediately shouted "Long live" in Chinese - the language of the Aztec Republic was relatively "mixed", with some Chinese and some Japanese, Spanish, but not Aztec. Moreover, these three languages are also spoken together, which is quite a bit of a fusion.
Of course, Geng Juyi definitely wants to promote Chinese, but there is a process. There is no compulsory education in the Aztec Republic, and there are not enough teachers who can speak Chinese.
So, right now, it’s mainly Spanish, with Chinese and Japanese mixed in!
For example, for "Long Live", everyone speaks Chinese, while for "God bless", they are all in Spanish, and the main focus is one stitch.
"Boom boom boom"
As soon as the Aztecs finished shouting "Long live", the cannons of the German-speaking Spaniards also fired! They brought 12 6-pound cannons, all aimed at the Aztecs' left wing!
This shows that the Spanish's main attack direction is on the right wing. By the way, the same goes for the Aztecs! Both sides put their "heavy punch" on the right wing, and both wanted to attack the opponent's left wing. It’s like everything has been discussed!
Geng Juyi saw Spanish artillery shells hitting the head of the "Aztec Dwarf Battalion" on his left wing. He immediately determined the opponent's main attack direction, and immediately said to Wu Shijue next to him: "Shuangyu, this president is going to the left wing." War Supervisor, how are you? Do you want to come with us?"
Wu Shijue was stunned: "President, are you sure they are attacking our left wing?"
Geng Juyi nodded: "Of course, where the artillery fires fiercely, it must be the direction of the main force's attack! This is common sense!"
Is this really true?
Although Wu Shijue had doubts in his heart, he still nodded: "President, I will follow you!"
When Geng Juyi led the guards to his "glorious left wing" (on the New World battlefield, the enemy's left wing was always the direction of the enemy's fierce attack, and the pressure was particularly high, so it was called the "glorious left wing"), Villahermo The Duke of Savoy went to take over his cuirassiers - he was going to lead the cuirassiers in a charge himself! This was also a scene that often appeared on European battlefields in the 17th century. During the Franco-Dutch War, the Duke of Villahermosa led his cavalry more than once to attack the flanks of the French army or to bypass their rear. In most cases, he would be severely defeated by the French cavalry, thus Achieve a series of classics!
But this time he is confident!
Because all the intelligence shows that the Aztec cavalry is much worse than the European cavalry. Even the cavalry of the Ming Empire, the backstage of the Aztecs, is far inferior to the European cavalry.
Moreover, he also discovered that the Aztec infantry seemed to have eliminated long guns, and all of them were flintlocks. Such a configuration is very rare in Europe! And their cavalry is weak. If they are attacked by cuirassiers, how can they withstand it without enough spears?
Therefore, today's roundabout assault will definitely be successful. As long as his two brigades can withstand the attack of the Aztec's three brigades, he will be able to seal the victory.
"Boom boom boom"
The artillery battle between the two sides continued, and the fighting was quite lively, but at the same time there was not much accuracy. The main function of artillery bombardment is probably to create diffuse smoke to cover infantry attacks, right?
Suddenly, the Aztecs started shouting again: "God the Father, bless us, Amen!"
This is the signal to launch an attack!
The first time he shouted "God bless us, God bless us", the cannon was fired, and the second time he shouted "God bless us, God bless us", the attack started! And it's not a "slash tactic" with first and last, but all the infantry studing together!
Three brigades, with almost 13,000 combat infantry, beat the military drums, shouted the slogan "Kill the Western Demons and go to heaven", and pressed forward with relatively neat steps.
This momentum is so strong!
Seeing the Aztecs coming up, Duke Villahermosa smiled slightly and waved his hand, and then a loud bugle sounded.
When the Spanish officers who spoke German heard the bugle, they drew out their command swords and pointed forward: "For the king, move forward!"
About 7,000 German infantrymen also advanced forward carrying flintlocks and pikes - about a quarter of these German infantrymen still retained their pikes, which means that they were only equipped with more than 5,000 flintlocks, while the opposite side The Aztecs had 13,000 flintlock muskets and had a clear advantage in firepower. Moreover, some of the Aztec fusiliers were equipped with cavity shells and grenades, which could serve as skirmishers.
However, the German mercenaries of the King of Spain are stronger, have participated in brutal battles on the European battlefield, and have stronger hand-to-hand combat capabilities. As long as they can rush forward to fight with bayonets, there is a high probability that they can outnumber the enemy and win for the cavalry behind them. Chance!
According to the report later submitted by Wu Shijue and Wu Yushuai, an observer of the battle, to Ming Dynasty General Li Zhongshan, the infantry firefight known as the "Battle of Don Carmen Manor" began at approximately 3:15 pm local time.
The first to attack were the Aztec skirmishers - elite soldiers who combined snipers and grenadiers. They were equipped with high-precision flintlocks and hollow-cavity ammunition, which could Hit the advancing enemy infantry from 100 steps away!
Since the grass on the battlefield was very high, it could cover the movements of these elite infantrymen, so they all spread out and advanced. When they advanced to about 100 steps away from the enemy's line, they began to reload in a kneeling position, and then stood up. Aim and shoot to disrupt the enemy's front line.
Before the Spaniards got close enough to them, each elite infantryman fired three rounds of fire, knocking down at least 200 "Spaniards". However, the remaining "Spaniards" did not fall into chaos as before, and were still confused. They were not in a hurry and marched forward at a neat pace, as if the ones who fell were not their comrades at all!
Then, the Aztec skirmishers began to throw wooden-handled grenades. Each of them carried 3 wooden-handled grenades, and they could withdraw after throwing them all. But this mission is very dangerous, because at this time they are already very close to the enemy. As long as they show up, they may be shot by "Spanish" snipers!
But except for those who were killed and wounded, all the Aztec skirmishers still persisted until the last grenade was thrown! Moreover, these grenades were thrown very accurately. From time to time, a cloud of smoke would rise from the "Spanish" position. Every time it exploded, it could knock down several "Spanish infantry"!
However, these "Spaniards" remained unwavering and continued to move forward!
As the distance between the infantry lines of both sides narrowed to less than 30 steps, the Aztecs' drums stopped abruptly, and then came the commands from the officers to direct the shooting!
Although the "Spaniards" on the opposite side also stopped advancing, they also began to organize their formation and prepare to shoot.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded on the battlefield, rumbling like rolling thunder.
The "Spanish" cavalry takes action!
"President, the Spanish cavalry has detoured towards us!"
Wu Shijue immediately realized the danger and loudly said to Geng Juyi: "We have too few cavalry and cannot resist it!"
Geng Juyi's cavalry only had 1,000, scattered on the left and right wings, while the Spanish cavalry concentrated on the Aztec army's left wing!
Geng Juyi was also a little panicked. In his five years in the New World, he had never seen such a tenacious Spaniard!
Aren’t these Spaniards afraid of death?
Before he could react, the "crackling" sound of musket shooting rang out on the front lines of the two armies! The "queuing to kill" between both sides has begun!
Geng Juyi finally felt relieved and said to Wu Shijue: "Shuangyu, don't panic, as long as we start firing volleys, we will win soon. The Spanish cavalry has no chance!"
Since the Spaniards had significantly fewer muskets than the Aztecs, the "line up and shoot" style of play was definitely not good for them. But something unexpected happened soon after. The Spaniards' right wing fired two or three rounds of volleys. Finally, he actually inserted his bayonet and started to charge!
Pounced towards the left wing of the Aztec front where Geng Juyi was!
At the same time, the Spanish cavalry was rapidly approaching!
(End of chapter)
