At the same time that the British loyalists in Brisbane Fortress began to be destroyed, there was a different scene at the front of Tabletop Mountain, almost 90 kilometers away.
As expected, the British army's offensive only lasted seven days. Starting from this evening, the regiment led by Hugh Gough began to dig trenches at the front of Tabletop Mountain and prepared to hold on. It was not that they were going to hold on to the end, but that they were preparing to hold on for several days. Wait for the subsequent supplies and ammunition to be delivered, and then launch the attack again.
Of course, Hugh Gough also knew the shortcomings of this "worship offensive" - "Selected Works of King Wu Zhong" is a must-read book in army officers' schools around the world. He joined the British Army at the age of 13 and was later admitted to the military academy. How could Hugh Gough, who aspired to be an excellent military officer, not be familiar with this book? If he hadn't worked hard to learn military knowledge and impressed his father who was a militia captain, he scraped together a sum of money for him to donate to become a major (Hugh Gough was born in the donation class, but he was still an excellent officer) , how did he achieve what he has today?
However, in Hugh Gough's decades-long military career, he had never encountered a "worship offensive" situation. There were certainly supply shortages, but before the Battle of Adrianople, it was rare for two armies to engage in high-intensity and high-cost engagements in the field for seven consecutive days. Even during the highly intense Napoleonic Wars, high-intensity, continuous field battles could hardly last that long. The battle to siege a fortress can take a long time, but the ammunition consumption of a siege battle is actually not large.
Therefore, although Hugh Gough had read about the theory of "Seven Days Offensive" in books, he had never used it until this time. However, a military theory that originated in the fusilier era more than a hundred years ago could actually be used. It's incredible to be able to function in this completely different era now.
While finding it incredible, Hugh Gough also took some measures, such as stopping the attack before ammunition ran out and allowing the entire army to go on the defensive in preparation for the enemy's counterattack. For example, urging the rear to quickly send artillery shells and bullets to themselves. Another example is to order the troops digging trenches on the front line to prepare cluster grenades and 2.75-inch cannons that can deal with the Ming army's armored vehicles. Although the thieves' troops guarding several "criminal beaches" have suffered from the armored vehicles, Hugh Gough didn't think this armored vehicle was very powerful. In his opinion, the main reason for the collapse of the garrison on several criminal beaches was those "gorgeous" ironclads. Those ironclad ships are equipped with 60mm rapid-fire guns and 120mm howitzers, and they have a certain amount of armor that can withstand bombardment from small and medium-caliber howitzers. When this kind of armored ship lands, how can the thieves guarding the beach not collapse?
And the front of Taibultop Mountain is dozens of miles away from the coastline. Even if the ironclad ships of the Ming Navy really become "mastery", they can't go that far, right? So Hugh Gough is still relatively confident. So I went to bed after dark on the 20th and fell asleep quickly. I really dreamed that I was leading thousands of British troops wearing old-fashioned red uniforms before the Napoleonic Wars to invade the Kingdom of Jin on a sailing battleship. I suddenly felt There was a shaking, and then his chief of staff, Brigadier General Clinton, shouted: "Admiral, wake up, Admiral, wake up. The Brisbane Fortress is under heavy bombardment, and there may be battleships on the surface of Brisbane Bay. We are bombarding the fortress with naval guns. The fortress may not be able to hold it!”…
When Hugh Gough heard that the Brisbane Fortress could no longer be defended, he woke up suddenly and got up from his cot. Only then did he realize that an oil lamp had been lit in his tent. Brigadier General Clinton and several A division commander has already squeezed in.
"What's going on?" Hugh Gough asked loudly, "What's going on at Brisbane Fortress?"
"Admiral, all our observation posts on the highlands of Tabletop Mountain reported seeing the sky in the direction of Brisbane Fortress turned red by the fire of exploding artillery shells, and heard the sound of dense explosions of artillery shells. "
"How did Brisbane Fortress report it?" Hugh Gough asked quickly.
"No, no contact!" Brigadier General Clinton replied, "Fortress Brisbane has lost contact."
"Loss of contact? Could it be that the radio station was bombarded by a battleship?"
"General, what should we do now?" Brigadier General Clinton asked.
Yeah, what to do?
Hugh Gough didn't know what to do for a moment? He sent his troops just to understand the siege of Brisbane Fortress. Now his army is still dozens of miles away from the fortress, and it looks like the fortress will be broken! But there was nothing he could do.
If the fortress is captured by the Ming army, will they concentrate their forces on the front line of Taibultop Mountain?
At this time, all Hugh Gough could think of was the possibility of the Ming army uniting to deal with him after the fall of Brisbane Fortress, but the changes in the battle situation were far beyond his expectations.
Because, the Ming army on the front line of Taibultop Mountain will soon launch a general attack!
At this moment, behind the Ming army's position on the relatively peaceful Tibertop Mountain, on Route 1, which has been fought over repeatedly and is still firmly controlled by the Ming army, there is the roar of artillery in the direction of the Brisbane Fortress. Under the cover of the enemy, the behemoths of steel swayed through the night. The road has been sprinkled with white ash, and every ten meters there is a Ming military policeman wearing a white helmet directing traffic. The turret hatch or top hatch of the A-11 series tanks is wide open, and the cockpit door is also open. The heads of the captain and the driver poked their heads out, moving forward slowly with the guidance of the weak headlights. Armored infantrymen carrying assault rifles are sitting on the body of the armored vehicle, ready to jump off the vehicle and join the battle at any time!
A huge armored force, in the darkest early morning before dawn, secretly moved towards the starting position amidst the roar of artillery!
Accompanying these armored vehicles were trucks one after another filled with infantry or supplies and towing 75mm infantry guns, 120mm short-barreled howitzers and artillery ammunition trailers.
In addition, in other places on the Tibertop Mountain front, heavy artillery pieces were also silently shifting their positions. In this summer dawn, the artillerymen and draft horses (most of these horses were captured) were covered in sweat. In areas where draft horses were difficult to pass, dozens and hundreds of people pushed the cannon forward.
The assault infantry and combat engineers who had already entered the starting position were taking the time to rest, and ammunition was distributed. Everyone was also given a day's worth of wartime rations, and the water bottles were filled to the brim. The infantrymen, who were preparing to attack immediately after the bombardment, took the time to enjoy breakfast, which was probably their last meal. After breakfast, each officer and soldier also received a small pot of white wine to cheer up!
The Ming Army's 1st Mixed Brigade, 2nd Mixed Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, and 38th Infantry Division are all moving towards the starting position in front of the British front on Taibultop Mountain!
The ongoing offensive and defensive battle at Brisbane Fortress covered their progress to a certain extent! In order to arrange this "magnet offensive", Mu Zhongjun had put in a lot of effort and had already arranged everything he could.
Now everything is ready, all we need is the east wind!
