SFS Chapter 637 Armored Torrent
Chapter 637 Armored Torrent
Chapter 637 Armored Torrent
Wang Wenzhou stood majestically on the hot air balloon, one arm around Chen Yuanyuan and the other around Daenerys. A gust of wind blew by, and his long hair danced in the wind.
Baby Chen Yuanyuan quickly helped Wang Wenzhou fix his hair. Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly, hugged Baby Chen Yuanyuan, and kissed her.
Because the sails in front of the battle lines not only obstructed the Dutch's view but also affected their own. In order to observe the enemy's movements, Wang Wenzhou raised a hot air balloon in the middle of the formation and directed the battle from there.
Chen Yuanyuan looked down at the dozens of elephants in front of the formation and asked doubtfully, "Husband, can these elephants really be used for fighting?"
Wang Wenzhou reached inside Chen Yuanyuan's clothes and said with a smile, "What elephant? This is my armored division!"
Because the elite cavalry, composed of two dog-like creatures and two giant pandas, had previously defeated the Dutch, Wang Wenzhou became even more convinced of the combat effectiveness of "biological weapons." Therefore, Wang Wenzhou recruited and trained another 100 war elephants to form an armored division. However, due to limited transport capacity, only 50 war elephants were transported for this attack on Penghu Port.
The military uses of elephants were actually developed very early on. Records of the use of war elephants in China date back to ancient times, yet they were rarely used. This was because using war elephants had too many drawbacks. For example, logistics; the food required for a single elephant is considerable.
Ancient war elephants were like modern tanks, requiring significant logistical support and incurring high maintenance costs.
Wang Wenzhou commanded, "Maintain formation and move forward."
The messenger immediately gave the order, and the soldiers, upon receiving it, immediately took action.
At the very front of the battle formation was a "column" detachment consisting of more than a hundred carriages. The sails were all fixed to the carriages, and as the carriages moved forward, the sails moved forward with them.
Following closely behind were fifty heavily armored elephants, lined up in a row, advancing under the command of their respective "drivers".
Behind each war elephant followed two rows of soldiers, who marched in neat formations, each with their hands on the shoulders of their comrade in front of them.
Van der Sie stared at the approaching sails, utterly bewildered. He couldn't understand what the Ming commander was up to.
With the two armies only 500 meters apart, Van der Sie could no longer sit still. As the commander-in-chief, he was completely unsure of the enemy's movements.
Van der Si immediately dispatched a small force to burn the sails that were obstructing the view.
However, as this force of nearly a hundred men approached the sails, the musketeers in the "Iron Curtain" convoy immediately opened fire through their firing ports.
"Bang bang bang..." After a burst of gunfire, the hundred men were either killed or fled.
Van der Si frowned. He sensed danger. The two armies were now less than 400 meters apart, within artillery range. If the Ming army had cannons, they would suffer heavy casualties if they opened fire now.
Upon realizing this, Van der Si broke out in a cold sweat. However, they had already set up their formation, and even if they wanted to retreat now, if the Ming army took the opportunity to launch a charge, they would likely be defeated without a fight.
At this point, all Van der Sie could do was pray that the Ming army had no cannons and that the Ming commander's display of force was just a bluff.
Perhaps it was divine intervention, but even when the two armies were 200 meters apart, no cannon fire came from the Ming army's ranks. Van der Si finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the Ming army did have cannons, and even if they opened fire now, he only needed to order a charge and engage the Ming army in close combat, and the Ming army's cannons would be unable to fire, because if they did, it would easily injure their own men.
When the two armies were 100 meters apart, Van der Si ordered his soldiers to open fire. In that era, the maximum range of a musket was only 100 meters, but its effective killing range was only about 50 meters.
Van der Si ordered the firing in order to destroy the sails of the Ming army.
On the hot air balloon, Wang Wenzhou took a sip of wine from Chen Yuanyuan's baby mouth, smiled slightly, and said, "White pigs, by the time you see my armored division, it will be too late."
Wang Wenzhou ordered, "Pass down the order: when the enemy is 80 meters away, the entire army shall charge!"
"Yes, sir!" The messenger immediately relayed the order using flag signals.
On an elephant, Armored Division Commander Zheng Zhibao received the order. He nodded, straightened his armor, and lowered the mask from his helmet. He instructed, "Pass down the order: the entire division will attack with me. No one is to retreat without my command!"
Zheng Zhibao is now guilty, but there's nothing he can do. He has to take the blame for Zheng Zhilong's mistake, since his nephew made a fool of himself.
"Bang bang bang..." Dutch bullets kept hitting the sails, and in no time the sails were riddled with holes.
The war elephants behind the sails came into Van der Ce's view.
"Pfft..." Van der Sie was completely dumbfounded. He shook his head with a wry smile. He thought the Ming army commander had some brilliant plan. It turned out to be just a few war elephants. What was there to hide?
The Dutch did encounter resistance during their conquest of Southeast Asian colonies. The local indigenous peoples' main fighting force was war elephants. However, these behemoths were utterly useless against the Dutch muskets.
"Phew..." Van der Si let out a long breath. It seemed that today's battle could be won easily. As long as the Ming army commander was captured, the Ming army's fleet would become his own.
Zheng Zhibao glanced around and saw that they had reached the charging distance, so he immediately ordered the charge.
In an instant, 50 heavily armored war elephants charged toward the Dutch like a torrent of steel.
The Dutch were not afraid. They continued to adjust their equipment, and when the war elephants were within 50 meters, the Dutch gun corps began to fire.
"Bang bang bang..." After a burst of gunfire, the rising smoke temporarily obscured Van der Sie's vision.
Van der Sie was confident. Elephant hides were thick; even swords couldn't cut through them. However, muskets had strong penetrating power and could effectively kill elephants. He estimated that these war elephants wouldn't withstand a single volley of fire.
A gust of wind blew by, the smoke cleared, and Van der Si was completely stunned. The war elephants on the other side were not injured; instead, they accelerated and charged forward.
"Fire! Fire! Fire, all hands on deck!" Van der Sie was terrified and hurriedly ordered to continue firing. If these terrifying behemoths broke into their formation, the casualties would be devastating.
"Bang bang bang..." Bullets kept hitting the armor of Zheng Zhibao and his war elephant, but all the bullets were deflected.
Wang Wenzhou spared no expense; all the armored division's armor was made of the finest steel. In this era, smelting technology was underdeveloped, and producing steel required a vast amount of manpower and resources. But Wang Wenzhou didn't care about small sums of money; he had plenty of silver.
In the blink of an eye, the armored division charged into the enemy lines. A war elephant weighs 4-8 tons, and elephants are quite fast runners. When such a behemoth crashes into a person, it's like a car hitting a pedestrian.
In no time, the Dutch formation became a scene of car crash, with Dutch soldiers dead or wounded, and cries of agony filling the air.
One unlucky Dutch soldier was tripped by his comrade and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, a war elephant stepped on his abdomen, causing his intestines to spill out and killing him instantly.
"Defeated! Defeated just like that!" Van der Si could hardly believe his eyes. Nearly ten thousand musketeers had been defeated by a few dozen elephants.