The Chu people increased their troops in East Africa, and fleets arrived at Pemba Port one after another. Naturally, the Portuguese could not hide this situation.
In fact, the Chu people had no intention of hiding this from the Portuguese.
Chu State's series of actions to increase troops and transport supplies in East Africa are all obvious, that is, they want to attack your Portuguese colonies.
To a certain extent, this is actually a military threat. They are afraid that the Portuguese will give up voluntarily, and if it doesn't work, they will tell the ordinary local Portuguese to get out and shake the morale of the Portuguese defenders.
Those who know better should get out quickly and save their lives, otherwise the army will kill them all!
Under such circumstances, many ordinary Portuguese have begun to evacuate East Africa to avoid the coming war.
At the same time, the Portuguese did not sit still. On the one hand, they strengthened the defense forces in East Africa, and on the other hand, they tried to negotiate with the Chu people, and even expressed their willingness to give up some of their interests in East Africa.
However, the Portuguese's negotiations were of no use. Chu's policy in Africa has always been simple and clear, which is to control the coastal areas of Africa, drive away European colonists, and then control the entire Indian Ocean rim. area.
The Chu Empire wanted to turn the Indian Ocean into its own inland sea.
Under such circumstances, no European colonists were allowed to stay on the coast of Africa and engage in colonization.
This is a money grab with the Chu people.
The governor's offices of the African governors of the Great Chu Empire have already formulated the next economic expansion plan in Africa. They are preparing to rely on the coastal colonies in Africa to launch large-scale economic colonization in Africa and dump the local areas as industrial products. It also serves as a supplier of some raw materials, such as gold, agricultural products, etc.
However, due to the harsh local natural environment, Chu State did not plan to carry out large-scale immigration and reclamation in these places.
When it comes to immigration and reclamation, the Chu State currently prefers to conduct immigration and reclamation in the closer Southeast Asian regions, as well as in the Americas and parts of India.
As for the African region, I have little interest for the time being, so the local expansion policy focuses on controlling port routes, promoting commerce, and economic plunder.
Under such circumstances, the Chu people naturally did not allow other European colonists to compete with the Chu people for the market in this area.
In the autumn and October of the 31st year of Chengshun, the Chu army, which had completed various military preparations, officially began operations, and directly attacked the most important Portuguese territory in East Africa: Mozambique Island.
This is the earliest colony established by the Portuguese in East Africa, and it is also the current administrative, military, and commercial center of the Portuguese in East Africa.
Taking over this place is basically the same as taking over half of East Africa.
In order to seize Mozambique Island, the Da Chu Empire Navy's reorganized African Fleet dispatched most of its main force, including a battleship Taiyuan of more than 4,000 tons, and two old battleships Gaizhou and Jiaozhou with a load of more than 3,000 tons.
In addition to these three main battleships, there are also five cruisers and thirteen frigates.
There are a total of twenty-one warships mentioned above, all of which are iron-ribbed wooden hull ships that have been in service in the past ten years. There is not a single wooden warship.
At the same time, steam engines were installed during construction, which were sail-powered.
In terms of firepower configuration, they are also equipped with front-loading rifled artillery.
Since the Navy discovered that front-loading rifled guns are powerful, long-range, and highly accurate during the Indian Campaign, there has been a wave of large-scale equipment of front-loading rifled guns.
Not only are the newly equipped warships in service using front-loading rifled guns, but many old warships that have been in service have also been modified with front-loading rifled guns, especially some warships serving overseas, because they are always facing threats and combat missions. They were quite nervous, so they gave priority to installing front-loading rifled guns.
However, it is more troublesome to modify many old hulls, so although most of them have been replaced with front-mounted rifled guns, they still use the shipside cannon method, which has relatively large limits on the range of fire.
At the same time, because the cost of front-loaded rifled guns is relatively high and the output is currently not too large, it is impossible for the Navy to replace all the smoothbore guns on hundreds of warships in just a few years.
Therefore, we can only give priority to the replacement of some relatively new ships that happen to be stationed, maintained, and overhauled in the country. When the replacement is done, it does not mean to replace all the ships, but to replace some of the naval guns.
After changing the equipment, they will be sent overseas to perform combat missions.
Therefore, you can also see many old battleships, which have both traditional front-loading smoothbore cannons and new front-loading rifled cannons, both old and new.
These warships were transferred to the African waters and incorporated into the African Fleet. Due to the expected combat, the warships transferred were basically some relatively new warships equipped with front-mounted rifled guns.
There appear to be only twenty-one of these battleships, but their actual combat capabilities are significantly higher than those of previous battleships.
And it can also use the huge firepower and long range brought by the front-loaded rifled gun to provide more powerful and more accurate fire support for ground troops.
Under the cover of the African Fleet, a large number of sail-powered transport ships loaded with soldiers, large quantities of weapons and ammunition, as well as various ordinary logistics materials such as food and even water left Pemba Port and headed for the not far away Mozambique Island.
After the huge Chu fleet was dispatched, it didn't take long for the vanguard fleet to arrive near the waters of Mozambique Island.
When the Portuguese discovered a Chu warship on the sea, they were horrified!
They were so scared that they did not even dare to sail out of the harbor to fight, even though they had more than twenty warships or more armed merchant ships parked in the port, as well as some small ships.
But they did not have the courage to go out and fight.
In other words, they were right to do so.
The past Indian wars and a series of battles in West Asia and Northeast Africa have proven that in the face of the Chu people's steamships and advanced rifled guns, their purely wooden sails and warships with smoothbore guns could only become targets, and even No warship close to the enemy can do this.
The performance of the warships of the Da Chu Empire Navy has been significantly different from the pure wooden sailing smoothbore gun warships of the European colonists...
This kind of performance difference cannot be made up for by tactics and courage!
They can't run as fast as others, they can't fight as far as others, and they don't have as many battleships as others... That's just a joke.
The Portuguese's choice was to retreat the ships to the port and conduct defensive operations under the cover of coastal defense batteries.
Just because a battleship can't defeat it doesn't mean that a fort can't defeat it either.
Even if the Chu warships use rifled guns with a longer range, they will still suffer a lot when bombarded by coastal defense batteries.
Although the Portuguese forts are equipped with smoothbore cannons, they are also large-caliber cannons. The power of large-caliber cannons is quite good.
In addition, land-based artillery does not have to worry about the shaking of ships on the sea. If it is fired, it will be like some 32-pound heavy cannons, with an effective range of 1,780 meters. There is no problem at all, even at this distance. The accuracy is pretty good.
If you lower the accuracy requirements, you can actually hit more than two thousand meters. Even if you don't consider accuracy at all, you can hit three or four thousand meters.
After all, the maximum range of the thirty-two-pound heavy cannon is generally more than four or five thousand meters.
Some particularly abnormal thirty-two-pound cannons can have a barrel diameter of about thirty times. In this case, the maximum range can even reach about six thousand meters... Well, the Chu army has done this before and equipped it with a A 170mm smoothbore gun with thirty times the caliber was first batched, but later it was no longer equipped because it was useless just to have a maximum range... and it was particularly troublesome to load.
For naval guns, there is no use in shooting far and inaccurately. It is better to equip medium-caliber large-caliber artillery and then project a large amount of ammunition to the enemy.
However, in the front-mounted rifled guns used by the Chu army later, the barrel diameter was generally larger, and there was a trend of getting larger and larger. This is because of the rifling, the accuracy became higher, so that a longer range could be achieved. Practical significance.
Among the front-loading rifled guns of the Chu army, the one currently equipped with the largest number of battleships is the Dangtu-3 170mm front-loading rifled gun developed and produced by the Dangtu Heavy Artillery Factory. To be precise, the caliber is 30 mm larger than the European one. The two-pounder gun was a few millimeters smaller.
But the gun weighs 6.5 tons and has a maximum range of 5,000 meters.
This, this is the theoretical maximum effective range used on land!
If it is used on a battleship, it will suffer from the problem of rocking of the ship and the insufficient progress in ballistics of the Da Chu Empire Navy.
If you want to achieve a certain degree of accuracy in a naval battle, the effective range is very low, basically only two thousand meters. Beyond this distance, you basically can't expect to be able to hit a moving enemy ship.
In actual naval battles, when the Da Chu Empire Navy used front-loaded rifled guns, the actual combat distance was often closer, basically around one thousand meters. In order to obtain a higher hit rate, it would even risk being six or seven hundred meters away. shelling at a distance.
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However, even so, the effective range is much higher than those of smoothbore cannons.
Smoothbore cannons of the same period, in actual naval battles, generally fired at a distance of two to three hundred meters...any further away, the hit rate would be too low, and it would have no practical significance.
In naval battles, the front-mounted rifled guns of the Chu Navy had a huge advantage in effective range and power. Coupled with the maneuverability advantages brought by steam engines, since the Battle of India, the enemy's guns have been severely damaged and even annihilated many times without injury. fleet.
However, there are relatively large restrictions on land bombardment. The main reason is that the large-caliber smoothbore cannons in the enemy's coastal defense batteries can also hit warships that threaten the Chu State from two to three kilometers.
This is also one of the reasons why the Chu Navy has developed and tried to build iron-clad shallow-water heavy gunships in the past two years. For no other reason than to get close to the shore or even enter the inland river, and rely on the protection of the iron armor to bombard the enemy's forts nearby. Provide fire support to ground forces.
It's just that the first test ship hasn't been built yet, so when the Chu Navy now deals with these coastal defense forts, it often adopts long-range bombardment. If the distance is farther, if it reaches two or three thousand meters, the enemy will be attacked. Coast defense guns are basically not accurate, and even if they are hit by enemy solid shells at this distance, the kinetic energy of their spherical solid shells is not very good, and it is basically difficult to pose any threat to the thick wooden hull of the battleship. .
To take a step back, even if it is penetrated, it will only leave a small hole, which will not pose any actual threat to the huge warship of several thousand tons. Even if it is penetrated below the waterline, the carpenters on the ship will casually The gap can be filled.
On the other hand, our own front-loaded rifled cannon is able to maintain a relatively high hit rate at a distance of two to three thousand meters, and thanks to the cylindrical shells of the rifled cannon, it has more charges and extremely powerful explosions. Large, it can often bring fatal threats to the enemy.
The details of these battles and the use of weapons and equipment are all the experiences gained by the Chu Empire Navy through live-fire drills and many actual combats in recent years.
This is how the current African fleet fights. After the first few frigates arrived in the waters near Mozambique Island, they did not approach immediately, but blocked the port from a distance.
Subsequently, more capital ships arrived, especially after the arrival of three battleships equipped with a large number of 170mm front-mounted rifled guns, and then they began to conduct long-range bombardment of the forts on the island.
As the Chu army began to bombard the land, the rumble of artillery began to sound on the sea. After the Portuguese defenders on the island discovered that the Chu army had started shelling from such a long distance, although they knew that fighting back at this distance would not be effective, they He had to bite the bullet and fight back.
After all, you can't just take a beating without fighting back.
If the battleships of Chu were to continue fighting like this, the fort would be destroyed sooner or later.
You must know that the Portuguese fort is still an open-air fort. It is not a tight bunker, but a fortress fort with a roof.
The large-size explosive grenades launched by the Chu army will cause a lot of damage to the garrisoned artillery crew members due to the shock waves and fragments generated after the explosion. Some of them will also hit the ammunition and then introduce the ammunition to die.
While the navy's warships were bombarding the Portuguese forts, several frigates were covering more than a dozen transport ships approaching from the other side and preparing to land. It didn't take long for these transport ships to launch a large number of landing boats.
The soldiers were relatively safe when they landed and were not subjected to large-scale enemy shelling.
After all, Mozambique Island looks small on the map, but it is actually quite big. It is impossible for the Portuguese to deploy a large number of coastal defense artillery in every place. They can only build coastal defense artillery in some areas to focus on protecting ports, cities, etc. area.
As for other places, it can only be left to fate.
The first wave of Chu troops to land was the third regiment of the Indian Army, which has become famous or infamous in Africa in recent times.
As the main force in the East African Campaign, the regiment undertook the important task of capturing Mozambique.
Of the more than 4,000 landing troops, more than 3,000 were from the Third Regiment of the Indian Army, and the rest were from a battalion of the Marine Corps.
There are many uncertainties and risks in the early landing, so the third regiment of the Indian Army is naturally responsible.
There were more than 600 Indian Legion soldiers who landed in the first wave, belonging to the 7th Infantry Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of the Indian Legion, which was also the infantry battalion where Hallel was located.
Lieutenant Haller was currently riding in a landing boat. The landing boat carried more than 30 soldiers. Except for a few people, they were all paddling hard.
The small boat moved up and down on the sea and slowly moved forward, while Hale squatted on the bow of the boat, paying close attention to the situation on the beach ahead.
Although the distance was still quite far, Hallel still saw the enemy's figure in the woods behind the beach in front of him, and he also saw many obstacles on the beach.
It seems that the enemy is prepared!
But Haller had no worries about this. Even if these European barbarians were prepared, so long as he and his people could land ashore and rely on their own powerful infantry firepower, they would be able to crush all stubborn enemies.
Time gradually passed, and the landing boats were gradually approaching the landing beach. When they were still two or three hundred meters away from the beach, they saw a cloud of white mist rising behind the beach in front of them, and then a burst of gunfire came.
Then several more cannon shots were fired in succession.
These Portuguese defenders conducted a beachhead blockade and attempted to attack the landing boats with the army field guns they carried.
It is a pity that the accuracy is too poor and the number of artillery is too small to pose any actual threat to the landing boats.
Just as the Portuguese defenders opened fire, the four frigates covering the rear also opened fire. The shells fired by the 130mm and 100mm front-loaded rifled guns directly covered the beachhead area, hiding the The Portuguese defenders here were blown away. Soon, Hallel saw a group of Portuguese people in front of them fleeing toward the rear in embarrassment, even throwing down the artillery on the position.
The defensive operations organized by the Portuguese on the beachhead only resulted in one round of artillery fire. To be precise, they fired six six-pound spherical solid artillery shells. Without any results, they were defeated by the powerful supporting firepower of the Chu army frigates. .
Their infantry, before they even had time to contact and engage the Chu army, were forced to flee in embarrassment with the artillery.
This is why the Dachu Imperial Navy is so keen on equipping rifled artillery!
One of the reasons why the gun must be forcibly equipped even if the technology is immature, the cost is high, and the service life of the gun barrel is low: the explosion is powerful enough!
The explosive power of the cylindrical grenade of a 130mm rifled gun, if replaced by a smoothbore gun that fires spherical grenades, would be equivalent to a siege mortar of more than 200mm.
Hallel saw dense explosion smoke rising from the beach in front of him, and then saw the survivors of the Portuguese defenders running away in panic. He couldn't help laughing, and spoke in Chinese with a strange accent: "This is what happens when you barbarians fight against our great Chu, haha!"
However, the group of Indian soldiers behind did not understand what Laihar was talking about.
After all, most of the soldiers in the Indian Army cannot speak Chinese, let alone read and write.
Even when he came to Harbin, although he had learned Chinese in the past few years, his accent was still not very good, and his reading and writing were also average.
But even so, Laihar's Chinese proficiency is considered to be first-rate among the Indian soldiers of the Indian Legion. It is precisely because of this that he was able to successfully become one of the indigenous officers in his early years.
The indigenous officers in the Indian Army are to assist the Chu officers in managing and commanding Indian soldiers who do not understand the language. Knowing Chinese is a must, otherwise they will not be able to manage and command even though they cannot speak the same language.
As the landing boat approached the shore where the smoke had not dissipated, Laihar quickly disembarked and jumped directly into the water that was still tens of centimeters deep. At the same time, he shouted in the indigenous language: "Get off the boat quickly, and pay attention to waterproof ammunition." !”
The 21-year-old flash cap percussion gun still uses lard paper-wrapped bullets. It can be protected from moisture on weekdays, but it will never be able to remain intact after being soaked in water.
As for whether the lard paper-wrapped bullets will cause resistance from Indian indigenous soldiers due to religious issues, the Dachu Empire said: The soldiers in the Indian Army of the Dachu Empire do not have any religious problems. There are a few religious believers, and they are generally Taoist or Taoist believers. Buddhism.
As for other religions, when recruiting troops, those indigenous people who say they believe in illegal religions and are unwilling to change their beliefs are eliminated in advance.
The Dachu Empire implemented a very strict management system for religions, allowing only government-run Taoism and Buddhism that had been reviewed and approved by the Religious Affairs Department of the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs to carry out missionary activities in officially approved religious sites.
All Taoist and Buddhist scriptures need to be reviewed before they are allowed to be published and circulated. Many of these scriptures have been modified by various demons...
All Taoist priests and monks also need to pass special examinations before becoming a monk.
In addition to the knowledge of Taoism and Buddhism, most of the content of the examination is actually the content of the imperial examination... because the examination for recruiting religious personnel is itself a subcategory of the current imperial examination system of the Great Chu Empire, called religious subjects.
Only after passing the exam and obtaining an official status can you become a monk or become a Taoist priest or monk.
Because all religious sites in the Great Chu Empire were official sites and fell under the jurisdiction of the Religious Department of the Sacrifice Department of the Ministry of Rites and Education.
The so-called temple properties are also national assets, and the income from incense is directly classified as general administrative revenue and included in financial management.
The people who manage these temples and Taoist temples are naturally officials.
In other words... In fact, all the regular Taoist priests and monks in the Great Chu Empire are officials with official establishments and eat royal food, starting from the ninth rank.
As for wild monks and Taoists, that is illegal...
Both Taoism and Buddhism are so strictly managed, not to mention other messy religions, which are all prohibited.
Therefore, there are no other messy religions in the Great Chu Empire, whether it is in the mainland or overseas directly administered territories.
In the Indian Army, which is a servant army, not to mention, as long as you have any religious beliefs, you will basically fail to pass the primary election.
Therefore, soldiers in the Indian Army have no problem using lard paper-wrapped bullets.
Hallel and his soldiers held their guns high and hung the bullet bags directly on their chests to avoid getting wet.
After wading staggeringly onto the beach, Hallel received an order from his immediate superior, a young lieutenant of Chu State.
Let him lead the third platoon, immediately launch a battle formation, advance towards the beach, and occupy a sparse bush at the end of the beach a hundred meters away.
That place was also the place where the Portuguese intercepted them just now. There are still several six-pound field guns dropped by the Portuguese, and there are also some remaining Portuguese soldiers resisting.
After receiving the order, Hallel immediately conveyed the order to each platoon and the surrounding soldiers in the indigenous language.
Soon, Lieutenant Haller led more than 30 soldiers in the third row to form a formation and headed towards the sparse bushes more than 100 meters ahead.
On the way, they were shot at by sporadic Portuguese defenders. One unlucky guy was hit by a lead bullet flying from the front and fell to the ground on the spot, wailing.
But this did not affect the actions of others. Hallel did not even glance at the fallen soldiers, but steadily led his team forward.
He has seen too many similar situations. In war, there will always be casualties. Hallel has seen countless Indian Legion soldiers die on the battlefield.
Until now, he can even ignore the wails of the wounded soldiers!
After steadily advancing for a certain distance, Hallel estimated that the distance was almost there. He immediately pulled out his command knife and shouted in Aboriginal language: "Stop, aim for the first row!"
"First row fire!"
After a burst of crisp gunfire, a burst of white mist floated on the small front, and Hallel continued to order the second platoon to aim and fire.
After two rounds of volley fire, Hallel saw a few Portuguese soldiers in front of him falling down and twenty more Portuguese soldiers turning around to run away. He immediately waved his sword in the direction: "Charge with bayonet! "
As for reloading and firing the second shot...it's not necessary.
The enemy on the other side had been stunned by the naval gunfire before, and now he was hit by two rounds of volley fire from himself. The last remaining people had also fled. What else was there to reload? They could just rush up and use the bayonet and that would be it.
