At 20: 00 on October 17th, 1875, the chief instructor of the Hakodate Defense Force, Gao Yubao, said to the Japanese troops who had regained their composure, "Prepare to break out!"
The two division commanders were stunned, but the regimental commanders were delighted. Under the fierce bombardment of the British naval cannons, the days became more and more difficult. The division commanders had their own considerations, and the regimental commanders did not want to be shot at by the sea.
"Break out from the northwest, and there will be reinforcements." Gao Yubao pointed to the map and explained the route.
"Why do we need to break out from here?" Division commander Shimizu asked.
Gao Yubao replied, "We have a few cannons in the fortress that can fire in this direction. Let's use the cannons to attack this place first. The reinforcements outside will attack according to the location of the cannons. There is a high chance that we can break out from here! "
Division Commander Shimizu did not object to this battle plan. He hesitated for a moment before asking what he was most worried about. "What about the fortress?"
"Blow it up! Let's burn the fortress! "Gao Yubao answered without hesitation.
Division Commander Shimizu was shocked by this order. He quickly shouted, "There are still many things that can be taken away."
"Everyone, only carry rifles, bullets, and Gatling guns. Leave everything else behind. When we start to retreat, blow up the cannons and pour gasoline on everything else. Do not leave anything behind! "Gao Yubao gave a clear order. Then he said," Take the wounded with you! Make stretchers now! "
Hearing Gao Yubao's order in a fierce tone, these regiment commanders and battalion commanders all shut up. In fact, they were more supportive of this decision. They could not run fast while carrying heavy supplies, and breaking out of the encirclement required the fastest speed.
"But …" Division Commander Takahashi was terrified. It would be fine if the fortress was taken and all the soldiers died in battle. Gao Yubao's order was to destroy the precious equipment of the Shrimp Nation Defense Force before the troops broke out. Now that resources and equipment were scarce, what would happen if they abandoned so many things in order to escape?
Gao Yubao was originally a deputy regiment commander. After serving in the Dispatch Army, he commanded two divisions. When he was in the Liberation Army, there were many principles that were taught in military academies. Like most commanders, he just listened. There was no harm in listening to these principles twice. After commanding the army in the Republic of Prawn, Gao Yubao realized that principles were not universal. The simpler and more basic a principle was, the less universal it was.
"We are here to fight, and the purpose of fighting is to win the war. According to the current situation, if they continued to fight, the result would definitely be defeat. If we lose our weapons, we can make more. What's the point of having a bunch of weapons? Retreat is not to escape. It is to retreat so that we can fight again. Now, I order you to prepare to break out. Now! " Gao Yubao explained the logic that would be considered nonsense in the Restoration Army. The more he spoke, the angrier he became. In the end, he almost roared.
This roar was quite effective. The Japanese regimental commander immediately obeyed the order and went back to make preparations. Qingshui (Taker,) Takahashi (Qing) and Takahashi watched silently. The Division's Yu, Division, and Takashi, Division, and Division, and Gao,
"…. (), Two (,",), "(" Army, "" (,), "" (","), and "," (") "," "(", "," ("(", "" (("" "" "" "" "" "(" "" "(" "" "" "" "" "" "(") was. were. "Division. were." (").," "," This was not in line with the basic rules of war.
Behind Hakodate was a mountainous area. If the enemy occupied Hakodate, the Shrimp National Defense Army would use the mountainous terrain to defend and exchange space for time. They would also use the mountainous terrain to send a small unit to infiltrate the enemy's rear to carry out mobile warfare. Whether or not they could carry out this kind of tactic depended on the ability of the commander and the combat training of the troops. If they didn't adopt the tactics suitable for the battlefield, it meant that the concept of war of this army was too low.
Everyone was an officer. Gao Yubao also knew the worries of Qingshui and Takahashi at this time. He softened his tone and said to the two division commanders, "I will take all the responsibility for this retreat, and both of you performed very well in the battle. I will never push the responsibility of this failure to you."
This was what Qingshui and Takahashi wanted to hear. Gao Yubao and the others were just instructors. If they really pushed the responsibility to the Japanese commander, the Japanese commander would not be able to do anything. From past experience, the China instructors were very responsible people. They had not done such a thing. Qingshui and Takahashi could only pray in their hearts that the China instructors could be consistent.
The preparation went on for more than an hour. Except for the important documents, all the other documents were burned. The troops made ammunition clips, and other things like bedding were all piled up in the fortress. More than 50 barrels of gasoline as fuel were also ready to be poured at any time. The cooks rushed to cook so that everyone could eat hot food before they set off.
The troops of the Republic of Prawn had basic military training after several years of training. At this time, they only asked everyone to continue to carry out the things that were carried out during the peace days.
The cable telegraph was dismantled and thrown to the place to be blown up. These things could not be taken away, and there was no need to give them to the Meiji government army. Although the Liberation Army was distressed, they also did the same thing to the wireless telegrams in Hakodate. The parts were completely dismantled and smashed with iron hammers. The pieces were thrown on a large area of the ground. This kind of secret must not be obtained by foreign countries.
At 22 o 'clock in the evening, the troops began to eat. Try not to do strenuous exercise within half an hour after eating. This was also the basic combat knowledge.
At 23 o 'clock sharp, the troops continued to make the final preparations. The artillery on the battery began to fire fiercely. Not only in the direction of the breakout, but also in the direction of the dark sea. The purpose of this was to make the enemy not know the movements of the Shrimp National Defense Force.
Not long after the sound of the artillery, the Meiji government army that surrounded Hakodate was suddenly attacked from the east. A troop came along the coast and carried out a night attack.
At first, the Hakodate garrison did not realize that friendly forces had appeared. The reason was very realistic and also very nonsensical. Whether it was the Mishima Islands controlled by the Meiji government, or the Hokkaido controlled by the Republic of Prawn, the main weapons of both sides were China rifles. To be more precise, they were China's old rifles. Just by listening to the sound of the rifle, there was no way to determine which side was fighting.
The old arms trade had always been a very large business in the world. The Franco-Prussian War brought great progress in the world's military. The German rifles and the China rifles, which were copied by Germany, were widely praised as the weapons used by the victors. The production time of the German rifles was short, and it was far from being eliminated. After seeing the new rifles, there was no market for the old rifles of other countries. As a result, China's old arms became popular in those countries that wanted to improve their equipment.
In the middle of 1873, China first reached an agreement with Turkey. They sold 400,000 refurbished rifles to Turkey at an absolutely reasonable price. The Japanese Meiji government also took a fancy to China's second-hand rifles, but China refused to sell them to the Japanese government. The United Kingdom became a three-way dealer. They let Turkey buy the goods, and the United Kingdom paid. Then the United Kingdom sold the rifles to the Japanese government.
It wasn't until two red and one green signal flares rose from the east that the Hakodate garrison realized that the Shrimp National Defense Force did not abandon them. The two division commanders, Shimizu and Takahashi, were energized again. They immediately suggested that the garrison break out of the encirclement to the east and join the troops that were attacking.
Of course, Gao Yubao could not tell the two division commanders that this was not what was said in the telegram. He said firmly: "We still maintain the original plan. Now that the battle has started, do you think that the Tobaku will not gather their forces in the east? In a war, we must attack when the enemy is unprepared, and take them by surprise! "
At 24 o 'clock in the morning, when the battle in the east was getting more and more intense, two red and one green signal flares were fired from the Hakodate Fortress. The Shrimp National Defense Force stationed in Hakodate immediately began to break out of the encirclement to the northwest. Just as they pounced on the position of the Meiji government army, two red and one green signal flares were also fired two kilometers away from them. The Shrimp National Defense Force that broke out of the encirclement was overjoyed. They never thought that there would be troops in front of them ready to attack the enemy.
Under the attack from the front and back, the defense line of the Meiji government army was instantly broken through. The Hakodate Defense Force rushed out of the breach. Before the rear troops set off, the engineers ignited the guide cable. After a while, the fortress's cannon emitted a loud explosion, followed by the fortress's walls. The pile of flammable materials was immediately ignited, and the entire fortress area was quickly set on fire.
When the fortress began to explode, the two division commanders had already rushed out of the encirclement. Hearing the dull explosion, the two couldn't help but stop and look back. The huge fire illuminated the desperately retreating Hakodate Defense Force. The personnel in the middle of the team carried stretchers, and the lightly wounded were supported by their comrades. They passed through the fierce battlefield at the fastest speed. On both sides of the passage, the Shrimp National Defense Force set up Gatling guns and used fierce firepower to shoot at the Meiji government army in the darkness.
In order to save the besieged troops, the Shrimp National Defense Force also spent a lot of money. The Gatling gun itself was not cheap, and the Gatling gun's bullets were even more expensive. It wasn't the bullets that were poured out, but the money. The abandoned fortress cost a lot of money, and the supplies and cannons inside the fortress were even more expensive. And all of this was abandoned, just to save the besieged troops. If they didn't see this with their own eyes, the two division commanders would never believe it was true.
They brought such a big loss, what kind of fate would they face when they go back? The two division commanders, Qingshui and Takahashi, were uneasy. But they didn't stop because of this. No matter what, the 5,000 troops still broke out of the encirclement. The Chinese instructor Gao Yubao was right. As long as they could survive, they would have the opportunity to continue fighting. If the war ended with the victory of the Republic of Prawn, then the temporary setback was only one of the twists and turns in this victory.
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