On Guanaja Island, north of Honduras, it took less than four hours for the weather to go from sunny and sunny to lightning and thunder to torrential rain and strong winds blowing against the sea.
The sky was covered with dark clouds and the visibility on the sea dropped to less than one mile. The reassembled expedition fleet could only wait at this temporary anchorage for the weather to improve before setting off.
For the sailors, it is a rare rest time for everyone. They read newspapers, smoke, play cards, sleep, and even take a bath in the heavy rain.
Fighting in tropical waters is extremely painful. Even if the fleet has accompanying supply ships, the amount of fresh water available to each person is very pitiful.
A new piece of clothing will stick to the body due to constant sweating in less than half an hour, making the sailor feel even more uncomfortable, not to mention the rancid smell...
Now, not only can everyone take a shower and scrub, but they can also wash clothes afterwards!
The hot and humid weather of 30 degrees was swept away by the sudden storm.
As long as the wind is not too strong, a group of people will gather on the deck, and there is no need to rub it!
Everyone moved everything that could be washed out of the cabin, and took advantage of the storm to weaken, including people and clothes, to do it all at once.
It is very easy to dry clothes, two or three hours is enough.
Usually the fleet will not set sail immediately after the rain has passed and the weather has cleared.
Captains will send people to collect water from nearby rivers and streams. It will be much easier to obtain fresh water after rain.
Except for the sailors who are engaged in weapons and equipment maintenance, most others will take this opportunity to catch seafood nearby.
On board and off the fleet, eating canned food, dried noodles, and compressed biscuits is really a last resort.
When there is enough time, everyone still likes to do it themselves and have enough food and clothing.
From top to bottom, it is assumed that battleships are the best fishing boats, but no one dares to do so.
Jiexuan's management in this area is not strict. After all, fresh ingredients are the source of ensuring the fleet's combat effectiveness.
The sailors shot them with guns, blew them up with grenades, fished them out with fishing nets, or used forks to skewer them.
The only thing is that if you come back empty-handed after a lot of trouble, you will become a joke to the whole ship...
The specific stipulation is that seafood less than one pound does not need to be handed over, but seafood larger than one pound must be handed over to the cooks.
If you can catch a big fish of ten kilograms, or even twenty or thirty kilograms, you can also get canned fruit as a reward.
As the highest officer of the fleet, grouper, lobster, and even freshly picked coconuts appeared on Jiexuan’s dining table!
Regarding the next combat plan, Jiexuan decided to temporarily abandon the raid on the French Caribbean and instead focus on attacking the Yucatan Peninsula.
The peninsula is Spain's largest maritime strategic fulcrum, with military ports built in Cancun, Merida, Campeche and other places. It is the bridgehead for the Spanish navy to attack Panama southward.
Jiexuan plans to first pull out these nails on the Yucatan Peninsula, and then attack ports such as Veracruz on the west coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and ultimately achieve the goal of sweeping the Gulf of Mexico.
After destroying the ports that the Spanish ships relied on for a living, they turned around and carried out a dragnet-like sweep of the French Caribbean.
Do these mice dare to play hide and seek with the cat?
Easy to say!
I'll destroy your rat's nest first!
Another important reason for making such a decision was that Jiexuan speculated that the expeditionary force responsible for attacking from the land channel had already made some gains.
After all, in just two days, under the cover of naval guns, the expeditionary force captured Acapulco de Juarez, the most important port on the west coast of Mexico.
Without big rivers blocking the road, the expeditionary force could rely on the advantages of steam tanks to push towards the city of New Madrid...
The actual battle situation was similar to Jiexuan's expectation. However, due to the large area of New Madrid, the scale of the expeditionary force was temporarily unable to launch a siege.
After the fall of Acapulco de Juarez, Carlos III, who learned the news, hurriedly ordered the fortification of Iguala, which was the only way for the enemy to pass.
However, in a hurry, only 5,000 soldiers could be gathered for temporary defense.
I never thought that the enemy would attack Acapulco de Juarez, let alone that this strategic town would be lost in such a short period of time.
Plus Iguala itself is not a big city, so...
Wang Yong commanded 5,000 Ming troops and 20,000 Japanese troops to bypass the city and attack New Madrid.
Capturing this place is just a waste of time. After getting enough spoils, especially food, from Acapulco de Juarez, Wang Yong is not that interested in capturing the city.
The reason why Jiexuan could safely hand over the Japanese army to Wang Yong's command and leave him 200 steam tanks, a heavy artillery battalion, and a missile battalion was that this man had sufficient practical combat experience.
In particular, he had commanded the garrison stationed in Panama to fight the Spanish for a long time, and was very familiar with the enemy's combat power, weapons, combat units, strategies and tactics.
Therefore, Wang Yong is a very suitable commander, and Jiexuan also plans to let his marines go to the Gulf of Mexico to show off their skills. This arrangement is a good way to get the best of both worlds.
The reason why Wang Yong had the confidence to take the city of New Madrid directly was the two hundred steam tanks in his hand. They were all brand-new equipment, all equipped with new breech guns and a machine gun.
Jiexuan also left 500 machine guns for Wang Yong for use by his troops. This meant that each squad could get one machine gun on average, but the soldiers were very happy.
The Japanese troops who fought in coordination also received a huge increase in firepower. There was one machine gun for every fifty people, and four hundred machine guns for every twenty thousand people.
The infantry were also replaced with revolvers, and each received five grenades. With helmets and breastplates, they were fully armed.
The fundamental reason for transporting so many machine guns was to suppress the crazy assault of Spanish cavalry groups in the field.
If the expeditionary force cannot win the field battle, then there is no need to worry about capturing the city of New Madrid.
Even if they can advance to the city, they will still face the siege of the Western Army rushing to help from all directions.
Seeing that the enemy was strong and we were weak, the defenders of Iguala did not dare to attack rashly. They could only watch the opponent fly away.
The commander of the Japanese army is Abe Shinichi, the son of Lao Naka Abe Shigeji, and he also obeys the words of Wang Yong, the new boss.
Jiexuan has already warned Wang Yong about the relevant precautions. Of course, the latter will not regard the Japanese army as cheap consumables.
If this reaches the ears of Emperor Haojing, I am afraid that the pension for the Japanese soldiers killed in battle will be deducted from his salary...
The specific tactic is to advance to the gates of New Madrid as quickly as possible, and then encircle the city for reinforcements.
If the advancement is not smooth, you can have a decisive battle with the enemy in the wild.
Our own side has a large number of steam tanks and is completely unafraid of the opponent's cavalry assault.
Carlos III did not intend to leave the capital directly yet, and had already issued orders to the garrison commanders in Puebla, Guadalajara, Leon, San Luis Posito and other places to come as soon as possible to relieve him.
Even the defenders of Monterey, Durango, and Culiacan further away will receive orders from King Qin. In short, the generals who appear outside the capital in a short period of time are all loyal and can be learned.
After repelling the hateful yellow-skinned monkeys, Carlos III will promote the titles of these generals who came to escort them.
The capital itself has 20,000 garrison troops, and with the addition of King Qin's divisions, the total strength will reach about 50,000.
If we adopt the strategy of combining inside and outside, we should be able to repel the yellow-skinned monkeys, which are said to be only 20,000.
Reinforcements from Puebla were the first to arrive in New Madrid. Although there were only two thousand troops, they were all cavalry, which gave Carlos III great confidence to hold on.
After Wang Yong advanced to the city, he did not adopt the strategy of digging a trench around the city because his own troops were insufficient and could not hold on to such a long trench.
It is enough to dig a circle around the formation so that the enemy can enter and exit freely. This will facilitate the long-awaited decisive battle between the two armies!
Wang Yong's strategy was to expose his tactical intentions first and plan to take the capital directly.
When the other party realized that the situation was not good, they gathered surrounding reinforcements.
When the other side gathers enough troops, the two sides can engage in a decisive battle under the city of New Madrid.
But this is just Wang Yong's wishful thinking. If the opponent's dog emperor escapes from the battle, or the prince does not have enough troops, then he will not be polite and can let his men attack the city directly.
After waiting for about a week, the surrounding princes' divisions arrived one after another, bringing the number of troops under Carlos III to about 55,000.
In addition, he also ordered the mobilization of 50,000 soldiers in the city, which means that an army of more than 100,000 can be put into the battle!
The number of cavalry in the Western Army reached about 30,000, while the number of cavalry in the Ming Army was almost zero. Except for those in cars, they were on foot. This was a considerable advantage.
It was precisely after seeing this that Carlos III felt that he had a chance to annihilate this group of yellow-skinned monkeys who did not know whether to live or die.
What the emperor didn't know was that the thousands of machine guns on the opposite side were already hungry...
Leopold's troops had already had a taste of machine guns before the Western soldiers showed up to taste them!
On the morning of July 15th, as the yellow-skinned monkeys showed no sign of retreating, Carlos III finally couldn't hold it any longer.
New Madrid is the capital of the Spanish Empire. As the emperor of North America, he is not an animal that yellow-skinned monkeys can just watch!
Carlos III decided to leave 5,000 minions to defend the city in addition to his own guards, and put the remaining 55,000 troops and 45,000 minions into the battlefield.
Investing 100,000 people at a time, including 30,000 cavalry, as well as more than 500 artillery pieces and 300 chariots as support, the powerful Spanish army has absolutely no reason to lose.
The heavy weapons of the Ming army are two hundred third-generation steam tanks equipped with 65mm breech-loaded guns, thirty-six 171mm breech-loaded heavy guns, and two hundred "Scud" VII type tactical missiles. and hundreds of mortars.
The real trump card is the eleven hundred machine guns. Although this thing is very heavy and inconvenient to carry, and requires four people to lift it, it is really useful in battle.
The machine guns were deployed on trucks on the periphery that were used as bunkers, so that the machine gunners would have a wider range of fire.
Each machine gun is equipped with 5,000 rounds of ammunition as standard. If it is fired before the chamber is exploded, it can also fire rifle bullets. The sizes of the two are exactly the same and they are the same type of ammunition, which reduces the logistical burden.
Carlos III authorized Marquis Martinez to be the commander-in-chief of the battle. The latter deployed 30,000 cavalry in the other three directions and placed 300 chariots in frontal positions.
Under the cover of artillery and chariots, 70,000 infantrymen launched a frontal attack on the Yellow-skinned Monkey.
The cavalry attacked the yellow-skinned monkeys from other directions. This tactical deployment was approved by Carlos III.
Given that our own troops are four to five times that of the enemy, this means that no matter which direction we succeed in, we will deal a fatal blow to the yellow-skinned monkey.
Moreover, Marquis Martinez also made corresponding preparations and ordered his men to continuously fire smoke grenades with mortars.
Create a large amount of thick smoke on the battlefield to obscure the sight of the yellow-skinned monkey, thereby indirectly shortening the attack distance of your own troops.
This trick can also reduce one's own casualties to a certain extent, and has been practiced on the European battlefield for a long time. It is said to be very effective.
When the Western Army launched a full-scale offensive, the expeditionary force did face the problem of battlefield smoke.
This obstacle can actually be overcome. Heavy artillery and mortars are actually direct-fire weapons.
The machine gun is a close-combat weapon, and its shooting characteristic is to use bullet rain to harvest firepower.
The thing most affected by smoke is the tank gun. Fortunately, with a large number of machine guns, the shortcomings can be made up for.
After receiving the impact of the European war, the Spanish generals also learned to disband the infantry phalanx and instead use skirmish formations to attack.
Without adequate training, a skirmish formation with a large number of infantrymen would look like herding sheep...
Spreading 70,000 people in the main direction of attack made the generals on both sides look spectacular.
Although they were forced to abandon their homeland on the Iberian Peninsula, most Spain believed that was the reason for France's dispatch of troops.
If the powerful Spanish army only fights against yellow-skinned monkeys, it is impossible to lose. Now the Spanish soldiers also hold this view.
Now that the yellow-skinned monkeys have arrived, we have no reason not to defeat them and even capture some yellow-skinned monkeys as slaves!
Especially the crimes committed by the yellow-skinned monkeys in many local cities back then must be avenged this time.
Let them know that the Spanish Empire is the master of the world, and they can only survive as slaves!
"For Your Majesty! Charge!"
"Kill all the yellow-skinned monkeys!"
"Long live your Majesty!"
"Victory belongs to Spain!"
After shouting loudly, encouraged by the generals and officers, the upright infantry and soldiers became extremely excited and began to advance towards each other along with the chariot.
This time, the rumored Eastern Devil did not appear in mid-air, which made everyone think that the yellow-skinned monkey was dead and could not even build such a powerful weapon, which naturally doubled their confidence.
Using the cover of smoke, the infantry quickly advanced to a position half a mile away. It can be said that the whole process was quite smooth, and the number of casualties was almost negligible.
"Order the troops to speed up the attack!"
Marquis Martinez was also encouraged and realized that the enemy's firepower was not strong, which was tantamount to giving victory to himself.
As soon as the drums and trumpets sounded, which meant accelerating advancement, the Spanish infantry and soldiers obeyed the order and began to run.
The last five hundred feet are the most critical. Everyone feels that as long as they run faster, they can rush over and kill the yellow-skinned monkey.
