West of Tabletop Mountain, on both sides of Highway 1, is Tara Prairie.
January 21, dusk.
When the setting sun shines on the Tara grassland at the western foot of Taibultop Mountain, reflecting the open grassland in a golden color, the moment to decide the rise and fall of Tu'ao and the ownership of the southern continent has arrived.
Two armies, each consisting of tens of thousands of troops, have launched an offensive formation on the Tara grassland under the sunset. A decisive battle is about to begin.
Different from the more common positional offensive and defensive battles in the past two years, this time the two armies facing each other on the prairie did not have a solid position to rely on. The cavalry, infantry, artillery, and chariot troops of both sides just laid out on the grassland. They came out of the horizontal formation...and they all looked like an attacking formation!
The reason why the formation is arranged like this is because both sides of the war are eager for a decisive battle!
The Ming army had the upper hand in the battle during the day on the 21st!
First of all, the battle at Brisbane Fortress has been basically resolved. With the support of hundreds of battleship main guns, the most determined human sea offensive launched by two Japanese divisions in the early morning of the 21st quickly achieved a breakthrough! Although the stubborn Tu'ao bandit troops relied on the buildings inside the fortress to resist, it was in vain in the face of the fierce attack of the Japanese who had overwhelming advantages in numbers and firepower regardless of casualties. By noon on the 21st, the sun and moon flag of the Ming Dynasty and the shamrock flag of Japan had been raised on the headquarters fortress of Brisbane Fortress!
Although there are still some troops from Tu'ao who are carrying out desperate resistance, the main force of the two Japanese divisions has completed their mission.
So at noon on the 21st, Lieutenant General Zheng Guoxian, the commander of the army in charge of the siege of Brisbane Fortress, had already begun to combine his reserve team (a Japanese division) and the third Ming army that had been withdrawn from the battle to siege Brisbane. The mixed brigade and the 20th Infantry Division were transferred to the Tabletop Mountain front together. Later, the main forces of the two Japanese divisions used to attack Brisbane will also be put into the Tabletop Mountain front, plus the original two Ming army mixed brigades and three Ming troops on the Tabletop Mountain front. Ming Army Infantry Division, the Ming Army's strength on this front will reach 3 mixed brigades, 4 infantry divisions, 3 Japanese divisions... plus some artillery regiments and truck regiments directly under the Southern Continental Army , engineering regiment, and 3 independent infantry regiments reinforced for each mixed brigade, etc. The total strength is probably no less than 180,000!
This is an army of 180,000 mechanized (mixed brigade) plus motorized (Ming Army infantry division) plus semi-motorized (Japanese division) army, and it has a large number of towed artillery and self-propelled artillery (mainly self-propelled 120 mortars), and There are also more than 300 fighter planes providing air support!
By then, Hugh Gough's 200,000 cavalry and mounted infantry would have no choice but to be completely wiped out... So after being unable to get in touch with the Brisbane Fortress, Hugh Gough finally made his final determination!
While making up his mind, General Hugh Gough also issued orders to 14 of the 16 divisions that had been stuck by the Ming army to stand firm on the spot - there were also 2 divisions that were originally standing on both sides of Highway 1. Now it was defeated and most of them were lost. A group of Asan and thieves running down were stopped by Hugh Gough's deployed reserve force, and they pieced together a temporary division.
Therefore, Hugh Goff gathered the strength of 6 divisions, plus some miscellaneous directly affiliated troops, the total strength was more than 70,000!
By the morning of the 21st, the front line stationed by the remaining 14 divisions had been cut into two sections by the Ming Army's three armored mixed brigades (each reinforced with an elite independent infantry regiment) along Highway 1, and It was also "glued" to the three infantry divisions of the Ming Army. It was impossible to escape intact. If you were not careful, it would be a huge rout.
Although the British army has 14 divisions on its books, which is much more than the Ming army, most of Hugh Gough's divisions are composed of Indian Asan and thieves... and they are all lightly-armed cavalry. The Ming army was the most elite motorized infantry, and each division had much more people than the British cavalry divisions in Australia. Therefore, the three Ming Army motorized infantry divisions could not only "stick" to the 14 British divisions, but could even suppress the 14 British divisions.
However, compared with these three Ming Army motorized infantry divisions, their three mixed brigades, each reinforced by an independent infantry regiment, are not generally strong!
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, it was getting dark, and the 3rd Mixed Brigade, which was transferred from the front of Brisbane Fortress, arrived at Tara Grassland. Li Tiehu, the headquarter of the Armored Cluster of the Southern Continental Corps, was responsible for the unified command of the 3 mixed brigades. Lieutenant General, decisively issued the order to start the attack!
Well, with 3 brigades fighting 6 divisions, I have the advantage, and it’s huge!
...
"what is that?"
He immediately rested on a hilltop behind his formation. Goff felt a little bad at this time... Seven to eight hundred various wheeled armored vehicles equipped by three mixed brigades of the Ming Army were on the prairie. Once opened, the momentum of this chariot formation... is really strong!
To deal with these chariot formations, it is probably impossible to use the cavalry's sabers and spears... It seems that the only option is to let the cavalry rush forward and throw cluster grenades.
In addition, in addition to tanks, they seem to have other strange weapons!
"Admiral, that's a tank!" Brigadier General Clinton replied.
"No, no, no, I'm talking about those little tube things they put in front of the chariot array?"
Hugh Goff raised his hand and pointed at the long row of cheap and high-quality "Little Dongfeng" in front of the armored vehicle.
"That's...I don't know." Clinton shook his head, "It should be some kind of artillery, right?"
"Artillery? Is that a gun barrel? There are too many, right?"
As soon as Hugh Gough finished speaking, he saw the row of "Little Dongfeng" tubes begin to emit flames, and then he saw countless "lightning bolts" spurting out from those tubes, hitting his cavalry and cavalry at a high speed that was barely visible to the naked eye. The artillery position flew over. At the same time, the harsh and strange cry of "Hugh, Hugh, Hugh" also reached Hugh Goff's ears.
Seeing these countless "lightnings" and hearing this scream, which was like a demon from hell, Hugh Goff was so shocked that his mouth opened wide. Before he could even cry out, the horse under his crotch let out a "squeaky" startle. Yelled, and jumped restlessly a few times. Hugh Gough quickly tightened the reins and firmly controlled his horse. But at this moment, the front edge of his battle formation was covered by a sea of fire, and the roar of the explosion came like a roaring wave.
This scene directly made all the British officers and soldiers, including Hugh Gough, feel terrified!
Before they could react from the shock, the "buzzing" roar of the motor came from the ground and the sky at the same time! Hugh Goff looked up and took another breath. I only saw densely packed small bi-wing planes appearing in the sky at some point... they were coming to cover up the sky and the sun!
"Admiral, the enemy's chariot is moving!"
"Boom boom boom..."
Just as Brigadier General Clinton's exclamation rang out, the roar of barrel artillery began again. This was the 155mm, 120mm, and 75mm cannons deployed behind the Ming army's formations firing!
Hearing the intensity of the roar of artillery fire, Hugh Gough's face was already ashen!
If the Ming army's artillery was pulled by draft horses, in this short time, it would only be able to pull up a 75mm gun at most. Hugh Goff also has a large number of 6-inch guns and 3.7-inch guns here, which can still give him a firepower advantage.
But Hugh Gough never expected that the Ming army's artillery was pulled up along Highway 1 by trucks. Not only were there 155mm howitzers, but also thirty or forty 155mm cannons!
Therefore, the artillery firepower of the Ming army far exceeded Hugh Gough's expectations...and under the overwhelming firepower of the Ming army's artillery, rocket launchers and aircraft bombings, the Tara grassland was already frightened. The timid British army, Indian army, and traitor army no longer had a trace of fighting spirit, and they were almost on the verge of collapse!
And it was a complete collapse!
