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"The British really have some tricks up their sleeves!" The staff officers of the General Staff Headquarters had ugly expressions on their faces.
In the latest news at around eight o 'clock in the morning on December 20th, the British did not advance blindly when they arrived near Foshan. Their land forces and steam ships cooperated with each other to set up an anchorage in a wide area of the water. The British Army set up a defensive system at the key points near the anchorage. The anchorage became the rear position of the British. Although nearly 4,000 British attacking troops were advancing, it was obvious that they were not completely separated from the rear. If it were the Manchurian Qing, they wouldn't be able to use their own forces to complete this kind of formation that could be used to attack and defend at the same time.
The First Brigade of the Third Division of the Second Army of the Liberation Army had 5,000 troops in front of the British. The numbers of both sides were almost the same. Behind the First Brigade, the Second Brigade acted as a reserve force. In addition to being ready to reinforce the First Brigade at any time, the Second Brigade also took on the task of defending Foshan, especially the steel center of Foshan.
In an attempt to wipe out the British army, the First Division and the Second Division of the Second Army each sent a brigade to the rear of the British army. They were prepared to attack the British army when they arrived near the battlefield. However, everyone was worried that the British scouts would be sent too far away, so according to the plan, the troops would arrive near the battlefield at around two o 'clock in the afternoon. In the six hours from eight o 'clock in the morning to two o' clock in the afternoon, the Third Division of the Second Army could only rely on themselves and a regiment of the First Army, which was originally responsible for defending the steel center of Foshan, to face the British attack. Of course, a division and a regiment had a total of 13,000 troops. The British only had over 4,000 troops, and the troops were very confident of victory.
As the defensive side, the Liberation Army had already set up a defensive position. The British obviously did not want to crash into the defensive position. They tried to bypass the line of defense and attack from the west side of the battlefield. The Second Regiment of the First Brigade was responsible for guarding this direction. The commander of the Second Regiment, Wu Liao, suggested to the brigade headquarters that the Second Regiment was prepared to fight the British head-on. The First Regiment could cross the line of defense while the two sides were fighting and attack from the right flank of the British army. The British had about 4,000 troops, and the First Brigade of the Liberation Army had 5,000 troops. In terms of strength, they had a certain advantage.
A head-on attack and defeating the enemy in one fell swoop was the battle that the Liberation Army looked forward to the most when they faced the Qing Army. As long as the Qing Army dared to give the Liberation Army a chance, this kind of battle was always won easily. No matter how Vézé described the "lobster soldiers" of the British army in red shirts and white trousers, they were very powerful. With such a chance to fight them head-on, the Liberation Army did not feel any fear.
Brigade Commander Li Yingfei agreed with this very much. The neat formation of the British did indeed reveal the aura that a strong army should have. The Liberation Army did not see themselves as a weak army. The First Brigade agreed to Wu Liao's suggestion. The First Brigade even conveyed their judgment and decision to the division headquarters so that the Second Brigade could be prepared in case the First Brigade could not stop the British. At this time, the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Brigade was already facing the British army.
The battlefield had always been tacitly agreed upon by both sides. Neither side was a fool, and there was no reason to fight in a place where the enemy's advantage could be fully displayed. The battlefield was a piece of flat land. At this time, the rice fields had already been harvested. There was nothing that could stop the attacks of the two sides. The battle line of the Liberation Army was most suitable for such a battlefield.
The first to engage in battle was undoubtedly the artillery of both sides. Whether it was the British artillery or the Liberation Army artillery, both sides used exploding shells without reservation. The shells exploded when they landed on the ground, but this was, after all, the wet soil of Guangdong. The power of exploding shells was obviously not as effective as when used on the city walls, which had hard ground. Of course, this was also one of the reasons why the Liberation Army did not want to rely on the city walls to defend.
The artillery battle was obviously a situation where both sides were evenly matched. Be it the Liberation Army or the British army, both suffered a lot of casualties in an instant. It was the first time that Wu Liao, the commander of the 2nd Regiment, had seen such a situation. When a shell landed, as long as there was an enemy nearby, there would immediately be a lot of casualties. He originally wanted to see how much damage the British had suffered. But after a few glances, he had to retract his gaze and look back at his own troops.
The Liberation Army had also never experienced such a battle. There were thirty to forty thousand troops who followed Vézé south. Although a considerable number of them were forced to fill in the administrative department, there were still nearly twenty thousand people left in the army. Among the hundred thousand troops, these twenty thousand people naturally served as officers of various levels. Most of the basic commanders, such as squad leaders and deputy squad leaders, were also undertaken by the old Liberation Army. They were all fearless soldiers who had been fighting in the north and south. But in such a tragic artillery battle, as long as one shell came, an entire squad of troops would be wiped out before they could even fire a single shot.
In the blink of an eye, the Liberation Army had lost one to two hundred people. This was an unimaginable loss. Even when facing the Qing Army's tens of thousands of troops, there might not be such a loss after a battle.
"Advance! Attack! " Although Wu Liao had suffered a huge shock, he was not scared silly. At this time, instead of letting the troops suffer losses for nothing, it was better to get as close to the enemy as possible. Once the two sides fought, firing shells at both sides would greatly increase the chances of accidentally injuring their own people. Second Commander Wu Liao firmly believed that without the possibility of meaningless deaths at any time, the Liberation Army would be able to fully display its infantry's combat advantage.
As soon as the order was given, a part of the troops had already begun to attack. Judging from the time, Wu Liao could conclude that the commanders at the front did not attack after receiving the order to attack. Instead, they could not stand the British's artillery bombardment, so they bravely chose to attack.
He did not know whether to praise the troops for their bravery or to reprimand them for acting recklessly. Moreover, Wu Liao had no other thoughts at this time. Wu Liao had never imagined such a cruel battlefield. The Liberation Army had once used such advanced weapons and fierce firepower to pile up the Qing Army's corpses like a mountain. Although the Liberation Army had also conducted some exercises, during the exercises, everyone had more of an act in mind. Everyone believed that as long as they followed Vézé, the Liberation Army would always be the one slaughtering, not the one being slaughtered.
Almost at the same time as the Liberation Army's troops began to advance, the British troops, who were under the fierce bombardment of the Liberation Army's 12-pound mountain howitzers, also began to advance. Not only did the Liberation Army have to face the fierce damage from the explosive shells, but the British troops were also suffering from the explosive shells of the Liberation Army. For the commander, the best choice at this time was to advance or retreat. Continuing to stand in place and be hit by the enemy as a target was the most undesirable choice.
Both armies tried to maintain their lines, but they were unable to do so. Wherever the explosive shells went, the infantry of both sides were knocked down in rows. It was already rare for the low-ranking officers and soldiers to not panic and run away like rats. It was simply a fantasy to expect them to immediately adjust their formation and maintain their lines.
The lines of both sides began to close. There was no doubt that the British could better maintain their line of battle, while the Liberation Army's line of battle had clearly shown a situation of inconsistency. The troops at the front were the troops who began to advance without orders, and they were also the troops who were relatively concentrated under the British shelling. It was the First Battalion of the Second Regiment, a unit with outstanding military exploits. Like most of Vézé's troops, this unit had once followed Vézé to sweep through Anhui, crossed the Yellow River, and went north to Shandong and Hebei. They had also made considerable contributions when they attacked the Jiangnan and Jiangbei Barracks.
Now, the full force of more than six hundred people was reduced to less than half of its original number. The formation of these two to three hundred people was close to being broken, and the formation was divided into two relatively large sections. Seeing that the British troops on the opposite side were within range, the troops in front had already stopped and began to organize their shooting.
Of course, Wu Liao knew that this choice could not be considered wrong, but as the regiment commander, Wu Liao had to admit that it was still a little too early to shoot. If they could walk twenty more steps! No, if they could walk fifteen more steps, then they would be able to have a better shooting effect.
Although Wu Liao's mind was still relatively clear to make such a judgment, his body had already begun to tremble uncontrollably. On the battlefield where bombs were flying everywhere, one more step could mean death on the spot. If they could shoot earlier, they might be able to kill an enemy earlier. On such a battlefield where artillery fire was flying everywhere, if they really wanted to put their lives on the line, kill one to break even, kill two to make a profit, it would all be up to God's will.
"Order the artillery to prepare for the advance position. When the cannons cool down, push the cannons forward as much as possible and fire as close to the British as possible!" Wu Liao ordered.
After giving this order, Wu Liao immediately turned his gaze back to the battlefield. It was obvious that the British troops had also entered shooting range, but the British troops did not immediately open fire like the Liberation Army. Wu Liao could clearly see that even though some of the British troops were shot and fell to the ground by the First Battalion, the British troops endured such losses and continued to approach the Liberation Army.
The Liberation Army did not withstand the pressure and took twenty more steps, but the British troops, which Vézé called the lobster soldiers, not only took twenty more steps, they even braved the rain of bullets and took twenty-five more steps. Then, the British troops began to shoot.
At this time, the difference between the experience and training of the two sides was obvious. Not only did the British troops maintain their formation better, but the distance of the troops was also better. This was only when the British stopped in their tracks that Wu Liao realized the trick. At this time, the Liberation Army's formation was not complete, and there was a bit of a disconnect between the front and the back. Although the British troops had the same problem, they were able to use their advance to stabilize the troops that were shooting at the Liberation Army. Moreover, with this as an important point, more troops had the advantage of being the first to shoot at each other.
Commander Wu Liao could clearly see that a small number of Liberation Army troops were more forward. Although they were the first to open fire, their numbers were too small to make a fatal impression on the British troops. Compared to this small number of troops, more Liberation Army troops continued to advance. When they tried to flatten the front line, they were directly faced with the dense rain of bullets from the British. These troops had no choice but to stop temporarily and then exchange fire with the British.
A split second earlier or a split second later could make a world of difference on the battlefield. In the past, it was the Liberation Army that could withstand the Qing army's random shooting, get close to the Qing army "regardless of casualties", and open fire calmly at a suitable shooting distance. Now, unexpectedly, the British troops performed better. Compared to the British, the Liberation Army at this time was more like the Qing Army.
"Commander, we can't wait anymore! Continue to send troops to attack and stabilize the front line! "Chief of Staff Wei Bosheng shouted anxiously in Wu Liao's ear.
Wu Liao did not speak immediately, nor did he give the order immediately. At this time, a thought was rolling in his mind. 'Military Governor Vaize is speaking the truth! The foreign devils are really able to maintain their calm commanding ability in such a tragic situation! "
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