Carrying out night artillery battles is a severe test for the gunners on both sides of the attack and defense. Since the target is relatively vague, it can only be determined with a telescope, and most gunners can only use their naked eyes to aim, so the shooting results The accuracy is greatly reduced compared to daytime.
The Dutch defenders were equipped with heavy artillery, which could fire 18-pound shells, and were used to block the nearby Taipei Waterway to prevent the enemy fleet from directly penetrating into Taipei Bay.
However, the defense of the target they hit is also quite high. Unless they hit the Guangzhou ship, which is the weakest in the opponent's fleet, Fengzhou, Wuwei ship, and Big Bird ship will not be immediately affected by the shot. Loss of combat effectiveness.
Colonel Jansen wanted to sink an enemy ship with a single cannonball, but this was obviously impossible. Basically, he could hit whatever he could. If he couldn't hit it, he had no choice but to hope that he could fire it next time. Hit the target.
More importantly, due to the dark sky and the long cooling time required for the artillery, the target has already moved a considerable distance during this period. Each time it fires, it needs to be re-aimed, making it difficult for the artillery to continue shooting at a target.
Even if a large and medium-sized warship of the Ming Empire is inferior to a Dutch warship in terms of anti-sinkability, if it is hit by just one shell, it will be difficult to sink directly, which will only cause casualties of a few or even a dozen sailors.
Facing hundreds of Zheng army warships rampaging on the sea, the defenders could only use less than twenty artillery pieces to resist. It sounded ridiculous to the soldiers in Relanjia Castle, but this was what was happening. .
The extremely cunning Zheng Yiguan ordered his fleet to attack the Castle of Geranze from only one direction, which meant that the defensive firepower on the other side of the castle was completely a display. If the artillery carts were not pushed over, they would all be destroyed. Will be a spectator of this battle.
Fortunately, Colonel Jansen was experienced and commanded well. At the beginning of the war, he ordered the soldiers to move all the artillery carts that could be pushed from the other side to the north side to increase the firepower output.
However, he never expected that this method would not work against Zheng Yiguan's fleet. Not only did the opponent have absolute firepower superiority, but they also adopted a post-emptive tactic, which allowed the defenders to fire first and then counterattack.
This has two advantages. First, it allows the Zheng army's gunners to use the firelight from the Dutch army's artillery at the city head for secondary aiming. Second, it can quickly attack the Dutch army's gunners.
Because except when firing, in order to prevent being bombarded, the defenders' artillery and gunners were not at the gun position, but were loading at a rear position. Only before firing, the artillery was pushed to the gun position to prepare for firing.
Whether it is a half-moon fort or a bastion, each fort has only three gun positions. If you want to let the artillery pushed from the south fire, you must wait for the artillery on the original gun position to finish firing, and then push the artillery cart. Enter the gun position.
However, the Zheng army launched a counterattack after the defenders fired for the first time, which directly caused the defenders' gunners who were preparing to fire a second time to be hit head-on.
In particular, the Half-Moon Fort between Fort Mitte and Fort Gamberfield in the inner city was most easily targeted by the Zheng army due to its location in the middle. As a result, during the third confrontation, the fort was hit by four artillery shells in succession.
The parapet of the Half-Moon Fort and half of the gunner's body were knocked into the air. The blown bricks fell like snowflakes. With just one salvo, Zheng Jun almost destroyed the parapet of the Half-Moon Fort.
But it is not easy to use this to shake the Half-Moon Castle. The entire Jelanja Castle is built very solidly. The serious threat from the sea was taken into consideration at the beginning of the design and construction, so it is natural to withstand the attack of the enemy's heavy artillery. things.
The purpose of the rammed earth foundation is to increase the defense height of the castle and at the same time absorb most of the kinetic energy of the artillery shells to prevent the main force of the castle from being directly destroyed by enemy naval guns, causing the city wall to collapse and allowing enemy soldiers to pour in from the gap.
"Report to Mr. Colonel, ten of our troops were killed and twenty-one were injured!"
As the artillery battle continued, Zheng Jun's firepower output became very sharp. The damage caused to the defenders by the third artillery bombardment was almost equal to the sum of the previous two.
Combined with the three shellings, 17 defenders were killed in the shelling, and another 45 suffered varying degrees of trauma.
After fighting for less than an hour, Zheng Jun caused Colonel Jansen to lose more than one company of soldiers, which made him extremely annoyed, but he was helpless.
His troops were not used for a head-on confrontation with the huge Zheng Army fleet, but were simply sent by the East India Company to suppress the natives in the Dayuan area.
Jansen believed that even Prince Maurice, who was brave and skilled in fighting across the European continent and had defeated the Spanish Imperial troops several times, would be unable to do anything here if he commanded less than a thousand garrison troops and a thousand minions to defend here.
The Zheng army on the opposite side brought more than a thousand artillery pieces, and its troops were more than ten times theirs. What's worse is that the defenders are unlikely to receive help from reinforcements in the near future. They are almost a forgotten army in the corner. Alone.
The Dutch army may have been able to achieve brilliant victories one after another on the mainland by relying on the bastions and new tactics built all over the country, but in the east, all the prerequisites for victory were not met, and they could only rely on perseverance and endurance to delay time, nothing more.
Jansen believed that as time went by, the defenders would have doubts about their ability to hold on, and in the end, under the long-term siege of the enemy, they would only be left with helplessness and despair.
The reason why such an imagination is possible is because the enemy the defenders face is extraordinary. They are the kings and overlords of the entire Eastern Sea.
Zheng Yiguan's fleet was inferior to the Spanish Armada in terms of combat effectiveness, but they were fighting on the mainland. The distance from Kinmen to Dayuan was less than 300 kilometers, and they could receive a steady stream of troops and supplies at any time.
As long as the count is willing, his fleet can come to Damian Bay to "walk around" every day and "say hello" to the defenders in the Castle of Geranze with thousands of cannonballs.
There is no need to doubt whether Zheng Yiguan has the ability and financial resources to do this. The Zheng family is originally an armed group integrating trade and military, and the number of weapons it holds is more than that of the army of a country in Europe.
It is even more unimaginable to hoard danyao. A war involving tens of thousands of people could be launched at any time. On the European continent, it would be the target of all parties vying to win over.
Even if there is a danyao gap, you can still buy sulfur from Ryukyu and saltpeter from the Spaniards in Luzon. With these two things, do you still think that Zheng Jun will lack enough huoyao?
Yang Sen believes that after years of accumulation, the Zheng Group can use at least 10 million taels of silver for military expenditures. As long as Zheng Yiguan is willing, he can spend 2 million taels of silver to purchase weapons from the West. danyao.
As long as the price is right and the purchase scale is huge, then the Portuguese are willing to sell, the Spanish are willing to sell, and the British are even more willing to sell. They can even deliver it to your door, and help Zheng Yiguan train his soldiers for free in one step.
The garrison was simply fighting a giant, replaying the story of David and Goliath. However, it was difficult for the weaker side to launch a fatal attack unless Zheng Yiguan's flagship could be sunk and killed. Just fine.
The immediate problem is that in an artillery battle at night, it is impossible to identify which ship is the opponent's flagship. In fact, even Yang Sen does not know whether Zheng Yiguan is personally commanding the battle in the opposite fleet.
The defenders' counterattack was not to repel the enemy, but to desperately protect themselves. If the enemy thought that the Castle of Geranze could not be breached and retreated, then they would be satisfied.
"Mr. Colonel, Chief Bolger, please come over here!"
Just when Jansen was still thinking about how to respond to the battle, Bolger suddenly sent someone over to ask him. If there was nothing important, the other party should not interfere with his command of the battle at such a critical moment.
At this time, Berg was studying the map of Taiyuan Island in the office of the official residence. There was a written letter placed next to the candlestick, as if it was ready to be sent, but a small part of it was covered by the dust that fell from the ceiling.
"Vincent, do you think they're going to land tonight?"
Bolger didn't want to beat around the bush and asked directly what he was most concerned about. This time Zheng Yiguan transferred the entire fleet to Damuan Bay, which really scared Bolger.
He didn't know much about military matters, but he was by no means ignorant. Generally speaking, after the fleet bombardment, there would be an army landing operation. Bolger believed that this was generally the process.
"I have just observed that they have no intention of landing at the moment. We have not obtained any intelligence in this regard, so we cannot judge the other party's true intentions for the time being. Even if they land, we cannot stop them!"
The firepower of Relanjia Castle can only be used to block the Dayuan waterway, and is far from a match for Zheng Yiguan's fleet. The count has so many troops that he can afford to lose even if he launches a full-scale attack on the entire Dayuan Island.
In contrast, our own side saves as much as possible and hides when it can. If it is a head-on confrontation, it will be a dead end. Yang Sen does not intend to surrender to Zheng Yiguan before he can hold on for a month.
Yang Sen didn't know much about Zheng Yiguan. From what he learned about his personal characteristics, he really couldn't guess what he was thinking or doing. It would be okay to just knock him down with a cannon. He would just survive tonight. What if? During the landing operation, our own side will suffer endlessly.
Two companies were lost in one night. According to this calculation, the twenty-two companies in Jansen's hands can only hold on for eleven days. This is still an optimistic estimate. As the war drags on and casualties increase day by day, the defenders may not be able to hold on for even ten days. I'll have a nervous breakdown soon.
"Then do you think the Castle of Geranze can be defended?"
Burg really wanted to answer this question for Jansen while asking the question, because he wanted to get the answer he wanted so much. If this castle was lost, it would mean that the Dutch army in the entire Dayuan area had suffered a complete defeat.
When this news reaches Batavia, the Council will be furious, and he will be the scapegoat for this failure and will either be imprisoned forever or hanged.
"I will try my best to lead my troops and hold on for three months!"
Janssen knew the answer his colleague wanted, but it was obvious that he couldn't tell the truth at this time, otherwise it would cause a huge blow to Bolger's confidence.
He had previously thought that the Castle of Relanje was indestructible, but it was not until the actual battle that he discovered that this was not the case at all. As long as the enemy fleet inflicted enough damage on his side, the castle would be undefendable.
The minimum troop allocation to defend the Castle of Geranze is 300 people. In other words, our side can withstand about 700 casualties, but we may lose two companies of soldiers in one night. 700 people is equivalent to 14 companies. Just seven days.
It may be possible to withstand it for a period of time with the help of minions, but it will definitely not last three months. Before the reinforcement fleet from Batavia arrives here, the Castle of Geranzea will most likely have changed owners.
"Okay! Okay! That's good! Whatever you need, just ask! As long as the castle is not lost, I can give each officer and soldier three times the usual salary!"
Jansen was the life-saving straw in Berg's eyes. At this time, even if there was only a glimmer of hope left, he had to hold on tightly. This castle was his life. If the castle was captured, his life would be in danger.
"I have sent a messenger to transfer a company and all the soldiers guarding the town to the castle. With all due respect, we must prepare for the worst at this time!"
Since Da Yuan Town is not a fortified town and does not even have a city wall, it is completely unable to withstand the bombardment of the enemy fleet. If you continue to stand there, it will be equivalent to giving a thousand Min soldiers to Zheng Yiguan as his victory.
Jansen was worried that after the bombardment, the enemy would directly choose to land at Damuan Town and use it as an advance base to launch a siege on the Castle of Geranje. Therefore, he must shrink the defense area as soon as possible and gather the remaining active forces to strengthen the castle. Defensive strength.
"...worst case scenario? Okay!"
Bolger didn't want to hear the word at all, but Jansen had already said it, so he had no choice but to accept it. I'm afraid this is also the case in reality.
Damuan Town has become ablaze under the bombardment of the enemy fleet. Although you can still see flashing figures with a telescope, most of them are calling for help and fleeing. Min soldiers have absolutely no way to fight against the enemy's warships with fire cannons. Confrontational.
There was no need to go to inspect the position in person. Bolger could imagine the miserable situation at the scene while sitting in his office. Because the situation at the Castle of Geranze was the same, the situation at Dajuan Town could only be even worse.
Berg neither wanted to leave the town of Damian nor the Castle of Geranze.
But the current situation is that he doesn't want to give it, but Zheng Yiguan takes the initiative to grab it!
What a hateful and hateful pirate!
It seems that the Spaniards are justified in hating Drake. A guy who wants to eat ready-made is not welcome in any corner of the world.
In Bolger's eyes, Officer Nicholas's bad behavior was comparable to that of the famous pirate leader and Vice Admiral Francis Drake.
Drake may still be secretive about his robbery, but Zheng Yiguan came to attack the city with open fire, and he believed that he was the righteous party.
However, his own side was still unable to repel the enemy, which made Bolger even more angry and frustrated. He could only watch the Zheng army fleet gradually destroy the town of Dajuan not far away.
This war was not what he wanted, and the people who started the war came uninvited. Faced with such powerful uninvited guests, Bolger really felt a headache, and he almost lost the right to see guests off.
"It seems that our hope of repelling the invading enemy can really be pinned on that storm!"
Yang Sen's tone of voice was a little joking, but our side was about to lose Dajuan Town, and had nothing to do in the face of the enemy's crazy attack, so we could only pray for God's blessing.
The Black Prince in the late Ming Dynasty
The Black Prince in the Late Ming Dynasty 9... Friends who are reading, you can search "Blue Chinese Network" and you will find this website as soon as possible.
