After a series of victories against the Spanish Empire's forces, the northern provinces of the Netherlands formed an alliance in Utrecht in 1579, and two years later the "United Provinces of the Netherlands" was established.
The Dutch named the fortress on the top of the mountain after "Utrecht" in the hope of bringing them new glory. Before Zheng Yiguan led his pirate fleet to attack the Danyuan area, the area of the Dutch territory was constantly expanding.
After consolidating their local rule, the Dutch can also name cities on Formosa such as "New Amsterdam" and "New Rotterdam".
At present, Utrecht Fort seems to have no halo of glory that can avoid suffering from shelling. Zheng Yiguan also has no favorable impression of the name of this fortress. It seems that he feels the opposite.
This year happens to be the 60th anniversary of the signing of the "Treaty of Utrecht Alliance", and then a fortress named "Utrecht" on Damian Island was attacked by the enemy's crazy shelling. It can't but be said to be a kind of fate... …
As the majestic Earl of Zhenhai in the Ming Empire, Zheng Zhilong sat on his flagship, observing the shelling outside with a telescope, and checking the tactical plan given to him by the Crown Prince.
In this plan, the prince wrote a way to conquer the Castle of Relande, which was to send the land army ashore from the south side of Damuan Island, along the ridge, or the top of the sand dune, and first conquer Utrecht on the top of the mountain. fort.
First of all, this is the commanding heights of the entire island. Our side must seize this fort at all costs. The same is true for the Dutch Red Barbarians. They will definitely devote everything they have to defending this fort.
Secondly, as long as the fort is captured, the defenders in the Castle of Geranze must take back the fort if they do not want to be continuously bombarded by their own side. In this way, troops will be sent out to fight in the field.
Therefore, the importance of Utrecht Castle is self-evident. Not only is it the key to conquering the Castle of Geranze, it can also attract the red barbarian defenders in the castle so that they have to rush out to die.
The soldier Zheng Zhilong did not want to inflict heavy casualties on his troops in order to capture the fortress on the top of the mountain, because except for Hu Dawei's 1,800 men, all those participating in the battle were Zheng's troops.
Even if he really won the battle and regained the Dayuan area occupied by the red barbarians in one fell swoop, the court would only give him a small reward or two, and he would have to pay for the pensions of the soldiers out of his own pocket.
The prince used a mountain of gold to pay for the Zheng family's war expenses. However, as a businessman, even though he was already extremely wealthy, Zheng Zhilong also wanted to save money when he could.
No matter what, he first used naval guns to blast the fortress on the top of the mountain into a pile of ruins. He didn't believe that no matter how ferocious Hongyi was, he could still fight against his own soldiers and horses in the ruins...
Originally, the sand dunes were covered with a layer of low shrubs and weeds, but after the rain of bullets that plowed the ground, they were completely covered with bullet craters one after another, almost turning into a piece of scorched earth.
Utrecht Fort is not tall. Due to the limited accuracy of Zheng Jun's artillery, the gunners were still perfunctory at the beginning, causing all the shells fired to fall on the sand dunes.
This caused the sand dunes near the fort to be cut down by half a meter or even more than one meter. The front was thinned by one layer, exposing the cross-section. It also made Utrecht Fort completely isolated and appeared extremely prominent. It became easier for the Zheng army's gunners to aim and fire.
"Damn pirates!"
Captain Victor Gazi, commander of the infantry company, peered through the perforations on the fortress to see what was happening on the sea, and saw hundreds of artillery pieces continuously firing at his position.
This small fortress was almost crumbled, and debris kept falling from the top of their heads. The defenders had completely lost their pre-war arrogance, and now they all looked lonely and dejected.
Most people have never seen pirates with such a large number, such a large scale, and such powerful firepower. They are simply an army. Only by mobilizing the main fleet and a large number of troops from the mainland can they be wiped out.
Colonel Jansen said that the pirates were vulnerable, and the attack on the pirates only meant shelling the buildings on the island. But that was last time, and this time it was very different. They actually stormed the beach and landed.
These pirates who came ashore were heavily armed and obviously not for sightseeing. If nothing else happened, they would inevitably encounter a fierce battle of unprecedented scale, and it was difficult to predict life or death.
The pirates' bombardment goal was very clear, which was to destroy Utrecht Fort with a hail of bullets. The trees near the fort, especially on the outer sea side, had all been blown down. If the bombardment continues for a while, I'm afraid not even a single weed will be left.
The situation of their shelter is not optimistic, or extremely pessimistic. After being shot two to three hundred times, the fortress has long become incomplete and leaky. The side facing the sea looks like it has been gnawed by dogs, and is worse than a beggar. The shacks built were no better.
Even so, no one would go out to vent their anger. As long as they took a step, even if they just stretched out a leg, there was a possibility of being amputated instantly. Once you are shot, you will not die immediately, but you will be hurt to death.
"what should we do?"
Another company commander, Captain Frank DeBoer, frowned and couldn't help complaining about his superior's stupidity. With such a small fortress, he wanted to stop the attack of thousands of pirates, unless the opponent was weak enough to compete with the locals. The indigenous people are almost the same.
"We'll wait until the bombardment is over. If they don't rush over right away, we can get help from reinforcements in the castle!"
Captain Victor Gazi felt that the other party wanted to retreat from here and abandon this fortress that could not be defended at all. In fact, he thought so too, but he could not say it out loud as a last resort.
The firepower of Geranze Castle can provide certain support for Utrecht Castle, especially the side facing the inland sea. As long as the pirates dare to outflank and attack Utrecht Castle from the rear, they will encounter devastation. blow.
But now the enemy doesn't need to do that at all. If they can destroy Utrecht Fort with naval guns and launch a frontal attack, their strength is dozens of times that of our own.
"We must ask the colonel to send someone over, otherwise the wounded soldiers will not be able to walk back. We must ensure that we always have two companies of healthy soldiers here so that we can continue to hold on!"
Frank de Boer believed that only by maintaining enough troops could we continue to stand in such a dangerous place. Otherwise, even if there is no threat of bombardment by the enemy fleet, facing thousands of pirates, it will be difficult for the defenders to effectively block it.
Utrecht Fort and the two nearby bunkers were originally a battleground for the enemy. If there were not at least three companies of soldiers responsible for defense, the fall of this place would be inevitable.
If Colonel Janssen wants to keep this place, he must send one or two more companies. Without enough soldiers, neither he nor Berg can hope to continue to control Utrecht Fort.
But this is an annoying paradox. Sending troops to strengthen the defense means sacrificing more effective forces, which is detrimental to the defense of the Castle of Geranze.
If you don't do this, Utrecht Castle will be captured by pirates again, and then Geranze Castle will suffer from shelling from pirates on the top of the mountain.
"I think this is already within the scope of the colonel's consideration, but we have to wait until the pirates' bombardment is over!"
Captain Ghazi also agreed with his colleague. If that guy Jansen didn't send anyone over, he would consider retreating from here, lest he and his men would be buried alive.
The Spanish Imperial troops who had burned, killed and looted on the mainland did not have such powerful firepower. This was not an attack that Utrecht Castle could defend.
The Castle of Relanja should have been built here in the first place, and it could have been expanded to the top of the mountain. But building such a small fortress on the top of the mountain is undoubtedly a big mistake.
Assuming that the enemy captures this place, the Castle of Geranje located at the foot of the mountain will face a disaster, somewhat like the ancient city of Pompeii at the foot of the volcano.
"……I hope so!"
Captain DeBoer could only resign himself to his fate. If he went out now, he would die. Although he would be waiting for death if he stayed in the fortress, he could still live for a while. He hoped that after the bombardment, reinforcements would arrive in time, and he would pray for this fortress. Will not collapse.
However, even if Zheng Yiguan and his pirate fleet could not directly destroy Utrecht Fort, they would still bury them alive with thousands of cannonballs. Moreover, if this place could barely survive today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, it would not be able to survive the day after tomorrow. .
If you get 500 bullets in one day, it will be 1,500 bullets in three days. By then, even if Utrecht Castle does not collapse, there will probably be nothing left. At most, there is only a frame supporting it, which is not much different from a wooden frame.
If you get more than a thousand bullets in one day, you don't have to wait until the day after tomorrow. Even if the reinforcements arrive here, they can still collect the corpses for everyone. Maybe none of them are dead. Thinking of this, Captain DeBoer's mood became even worse.
If the pirates continued the bombardment until evening, they might not have to send infantry to attack Utrecht Fort. The fortress would completely collapse, and the defenders would either retreat early or be buried alive. These were the only two options.
"……Stopped!"
"real!"
"what happened?"
"They're not shelling anymore!"
Many defenders were so bombarded that their ears were ringing and they even experienced auditory hallucinations. They could only rely on the ground beneath them to judge the pirates' shelling.
Normally, it happens every quarter of an hour, and the firing time is very precise, but now there is no movement after the set time, which may mean that the pirates are tired and ready to have lunch.
Both Ghazi and Captain DeBoer were also aware of this situation. They saw that the warships on the sea did not roar again. They were all floating quietly, not knowing what they were doing.
"Sure! Pirates are rushing over along the ridge!"
Some soldiers suddenly discovered an abnormal situation heading south. A team of a thousand people was advancing towards Utrecht Fort. The visual distance was three to four hundred meters away.
"Cannon ready to fire!"
Of the twelve light artillery originally deployed here, only four were still usable. However, there was only one gun position left on the upper level that could shoot southward. Although there were many gun positions below, they were not high enough, resulting in an attack angle. Not very good.
The artillery on the first floor can take care of the enemy troops rushing up from the beach, but it is not enough to attack the pirates coming along the ridge.
But now there are only thirty-five soldiers who can still fight in the fortress, and the rest have become wounded. Some have already died, and some are about to die. The situation is really terrible.
What’s even more disappointing is that there seems to be no movement on the other side of the Castle of Geranze, not even the shadow of reinforcements. If Mr. Colonel does not send reinforcements to help, Utrecht Castle will soon be lost.
"What are they doing stopping there?"
Captain DeBoer stopped when he saw that the pirates had only advanced a few hundred meters, as if deliberately keeping a safe distance from the fortress.
"Who knows? Maybe he's afraid of our artillery!"
Captain Ghazi also felt that something was wrong with the situation. Logically speaking, the opponent was on the back slope where the direct firepower of the Relanja Castle could not reach, so it should be safer.
Even if they were hit by fire from Utrecht Fort on the way to attack, in order to capture this fortress, they would have to attack forcefully.
But if they look at each other like this, if the defenders don't surrender, they won't be able to capture the fortress by staring, no matter how many people stare at the same time!
I don’t know what this group of vicious pirates planned. Do you think the defenders should be afraid of them and must retreat proactively?
"Then let's take a look! No need to fire yet!"
Captain DeBoer felt that it was better not to provoke the pirates first. There were so few troops left in this fortress. Instead of actively seducing the pirates to rush over, it would be better to waste time like this, at least without killing anyone.
"I'm coming!"
"What's coming?"
"Reinforcements!"
"real?"
When the two commanders heard the shouts of their men, they hurriedly turned back and looked in the direction of the Castle of Geranze in the north. In a moment, a team of no less than 200 people came out from the castle, apparently to reinforce the forward position.
This is great, and it shows that Colonel Jansen also knows the importance of Utrecht Castle. If it is thrown away here, Geranze Castle will be exposed to the pirates' guns, and it will definitely be in danger.
With the help of reinforcements, Utrecht Castle can at least hold on for a while longer and will not fall easily. As long as this place is not lost, the Castle of Relanja can rest assured.
"Master! Look! Hongyi's reinforcements have arrived from the castle and are climbing the mountain!"
"I saw it! Brother, you are really good at predicting things! After the bombardment, as long as the Lu division approaches the small fort on the hill, the Hongyi in the big fort will not be able to sit still!"
Zheng Zhi'ao, who led the army division to attack Utrecht Fort, could see clearly from the top of the mountain. This method of attracting snakes out of the cave had a miraculous effect. At least there were a lot of these red barbarians, enough for the little ones to eat once.
Zheng Zhi'ao was not in a hurry to attack Fort Utrecht, because Zhen Haibo had told him in advance that he would use this fort to disembowel the red barbarians and bleed them. As long as the fort was not lost, the defenders in Geranze Castle would do their best to advance. Come for reinforcements.
The fortress on the top of the mountain is the bait, and it is impossible for the main force of the red barbarians in the castle of Relanja not to take the bait.
Zheng's fleet couldn't do anything against the iron-walled Relanja Castle, but if they put a big blunderbuss on the top of the mountain, they could get twice the result with half the effort.
It is necessary to take down all the fortresses on the top of the mountain, but before taking them, they must be used to lure out the defenders in the castle of Geranze as much as possible.
No matter how powerful the Red Yi soldiers are, they will be unable to withstand the onslaught of ten or even twenty times the Zheng Army soldiers, and will eventually be killed on the spot. Those who can choose to surrender immediately are considered smart people. …
