Chapter 470: Asuncion 2

At 9 a.m. on September 20, 1889, the Brazilian Republic announced to the public that from September 14 to September 19, after nearly a week of war, the Brazilian army successfully captured Asuncion and killed more than 10,000 enemy troops. The decisive victory of the Paraguayan war.
The following day, in response to the diplomatic declaration made by the Republic of Brazil, the Han side responded solemnly. On the one hand, it condemned the shameful acts of the Brazilian Republic ’s army to abuse and kill the captured Paraguayan soldiers, and called on the remaining Paraguayan soldiers and people to unite in the Hans. Under command, the policy of fighting against the Brazilian Republic remains unchanged,
On the other hand, it emphasized that Han ’s determination to increase aid to Paraguay will not be shaken by the fall of Asuncion. The Chinese side will still accept the requests of Mrs. Lynch and Leopold Jr. (born 1862) and continue to submit to Paraguay. Increase reinforcements to counter the aggressive behavior of the Brazilian Republic ’s army.
On September 22, after being ordered by the local side to speed up the rapid march, after breaking through several water obstacles set up by the Brazilian Republic, more than 50,000 Chinese troops arrived in San Antonio, and the straight-line distance from Asuncion was shortened to less than 100 kilometers. .
At 7 a.m. on September 23, adhering to the original combat plan, the commander of the 1st Division (Imperial Guard Division) of the Han Army and Chen Zongbai, the commander of the Asuncion Front, issued the latest combat command in San Antonio and ordered the fifth division of the Wu Fengdian Department , The second mixed brigade of the Chen Dechao Department, the third mixed brigade of the Li Ying Department, and the third mixed brigade, followed the general headquarters of the front, disembarked, and marched along the coastal routes of San Antonio, Elissa Town, Lambare, etc. In front of the army of the Republic of Brazil attacked with the aim of cooperating with the naval inland fleet and attacked back and forth to complete the strategic goal of eliminating the main force of the army of the Republic of Brazil.
At 8 a.m. on September 23, the Han army carrying out the plan for Asuncion ’s direction was divided into one. A naval inland fleet with a total strength of about 15,000 men continued to follow the Paraguay River towards North Korea. Not far away, the Asuncion Outer Port Bier moved forward, and another close to more than 50,000 people, serving as the main force of the Army's offensive spearhead, after the marching order was issued to each basic combat unit, it quickly moved.
At 8:41 am, a mixed force of ca. 1,200, composed of cavalry, engineers, infantry, and artillery, under the guidance of the Paraguayan guide, first left the camp and headed for the town of Elissa.
At 4:27 pm, the 5th Division of the Chinese Army, the Independent Second Mixed Brigade, and the Independent Third Mixed Brigade successively completed preparations for advancement.
At 5:20 pm, the assault mixed force with reconnaissance and security missions returned the first intelligence. After receiving the intelligence, Chen Zongbo immediately issued the first formal combat command and ordered Chen Dechao to lead the second mixed brigade department immediately. Departure, speed up to the town of Elissa and meet the mixed assault troops. …………
Five hours ago, in the central part of Paraguay, a force of more than a thousand people was lined up in a long queue, and it suddenly appeared on the dirt road leading to the small town of Elisa.
The sun was empty, surrounded by endless woods and shrubs, and the ground was stiff because of the sun.
The narrow dirt road is full of dust from the army march,
The front troops had just walked by, and behind the line, the soldiers' rubber-soled shoes stepped on the ground, stirring up dust after dust.
The trees on both sides of the dirt road are obviously not lacking in moisture from the rain. The vigorous branches and dense foliage extend above the dirt road, completely covering the space above the whole trail.
There is no wind in summer, the sunlight is blocked by the leaves,
Projects a sparse light spot.
Although the soldiers were not directly exposed to direct sunlight,
However, the hot weather and the amount of exercise for a few hours of rapid march still made their faces sweat out.
Sweat keeps flowing out of the soldiers' bodies,
The fitted gray military uniform and military cap were first soaked in sweat,
The sweat from was mixed with the dust contaminated by his body, and was swayed with the movement of the march, and was constantly thrown to the ground, converging into a piece of wet muddy ground.
In a relatively closed natural environment, the surrounding air is mixed with the foul smell of dust, sweat, dirt and the fatigue caused by a long-term march, which has made some soldiers gradually weaken their physical strength and unconsciously reduced the speed of the march. Behind the entire army.
"Chairman Cai, the army marched for more than four hours. Did you choose a suitable place for the brothers to rest for a while?"
In front of the queue, an officer riding a tall horse asked about another officer.
"How far is the troops from the town of Elissa?"
"According to the normal marching speed of our army, we can rush to the town of Elisa before six in the evening."
"It is twelve four o'clock noon, time is too late."
Cai Jiuqi was on the horse, correcting the time, and then nodded: "Before marching, you need to control the time and maintain a certain amount of physical strength to deal with unexpected battlefield conditions.
Camp Zhang, notified Camp Chen of the fourth battalion in front of the queue, and ordered them to stop and repair immediately. "
"Yes, head."
After the young officer responded, he added: "During the reparation of the troops, do you want to inform the investigative troops to strengthen vigilance?"
"The second company of the brigade reconnaissance battalion is more than ten kilometers away from our army. They are not equipped with a new type of radiotelegraph (the first-generation telegraph in Han Dynasty has a large body and a short communication distance, and it is not convenient for small-unit reconnaissance troops to carry out reconnaissance missions).
Send someone directly to inform them that it is a waste of time. "
Cai Jiusi thought for a moment and commanded: "There is no trouble in investigating the brothers of the second company of the battalion. We shortened the rest time of the troops to 20 minutes, and let Commander Chen send two platoons of troops to guard. After 20 minutes, The troops continued on the road. "
"Yes, head, I will send someone to inform President Chen." ............
The order of trimming and rest in the middle is transmitted to each grass-roots combat unit before and after the queue through the commander,
After receiving the rest order, the tired and exhausted soldiers looked for a place as cool as possible to rest.
However, after all, there are not many shady places in the woods that can be repaired, and it is limited to military orders. Soldiers cannot leave the station within 50 meters. Therefore, most soldiers who cannot find a suitable shade to rest can only sit. Under the big tree next to the dirt road, use the broken branches as a tool for cooling and heat dissipation.
Artillery soldiers carrying small mountain artillery, cavalry riding high-headed horses, carrying rifles on their backs, infantry soldiers with a circle of grenades around their waists, and walking on two feet, according to the nature and location of the arms Different positions, each sitting in groups of three to five to rest,
Xu was so exhausted that the troops had just stopped and rested for the first ten minutes of rest. The number of repair troops was more than 1,000 and the queue length was more than 2 kilometers. Few people were willing to speak.
Half of the rest time passed, and after a short rest, the soldiers who slowly recovered part of their energy gradually recovered their original nature. The cavalrymen sat beside the horses, whispered and laughed, and shared the interesting things that happened around them. ,
While occupying the largest proportion of soldiers, the march is the most difficult infantry, while complaining that their replacement pack horses were separated by artillery, machine gun companies and other troops, while having scruples, holding their superiors and those cavalry officers joking .
The soldiers of the artillery battalion, machine gun company, etc. who temporarily played the role of Zi heavy soldiers used the rest of the time to watch the pack horses and weapons around them.
Military doctors were sent to take care of soldiers who were injured due to the emergency march and suffered heatstroke. The two rows of guard soldiers also set up temporary hidden observation points hundreds of meters away from both sides of the dirt road to provide a reliable and safe environment for army repair.
The front row of the trimming queue left Cai Jiu, Chen Luer, Sun Yinglin, Zhang Shishan and other main commanders of the mixed troops. After a few minutes of rest, they sat around and discussed with each other.
"There is a river between our current location and the town of Elissa. Wetlands around the river are full, and there are no transportation facilities such as railways and roads. It is difficult to march.
Therefore, before arriving in the small town of Elissa, the engineering battalion needed to build a simple pontoon on the river and the surrounding wetland area for the mixed troops and subsequent main forces to pass smoothly. "
Cai Jiu opened the march map, pointed to a place in Chinese standard, and commanded Sun Yinglin, the commander of the 5th Division Engineer Battalion: "Our army is expected to arrive in the small town of Elissa this evening. Complete the pontoon construction task? "
"Chief Cai, according to information provided by the Paraguayan guide, there was originally a stone bridge and two wooden pontoons on the river in the south of the town of Elissa. If the army of the Republic of Brazil did not completely destroy the underground foundation facilities of the bridge, the engineering battalion was sure Able to build two simple pontoons on the basis of the destruction of the bridge by the Brazilian army in twelve hours. "
"In the early morning of September 20, the Brazilian Republic ’s army initially eliminated the main force of the Paraguayan Army. It is now only the 23rd. It is less than three days before the Brazilian Republic ’s army enters the city of Asunción. Even if the Brazilian Republic ’s army occupied the small town of Elissa, There should be no time to completely destroy the bridge facilities on the river and in the wetlands. "
Compared with the information obtained before, Cai Jiu analyzed: "The frontline army of the Republic of Brazil is not stable, and after the victory, it is inevitable to produce a sense of carelessness and slackness. Therefore, taking advantage of the current army of the Republic of Brazil to the main direction of our army Understanding the lack of opportunities, both the water and land forces advanced at the same time, maybe they could beat them by surprise. "
"It's very possible."
When working as a slave in Peru ~ EbookFREE.me ~ followed Cai Jiu's Chen Luer: "The Brazilian Republic's army is under-trained and its military discipline is corrupted. By virtue of its quantitative advantage, it has been bullied to lose the Paraguayan army under the command of Little Lopez. It has an advantage, but if it is against the Imperial Army, even if it does not consider the gap in weapons and equipment, they are not opponents of the Imperial Army. "
"Everyone knows about the combat effectiveness of the Brazilian army, but focusing on the current situation of our ministry, I think our focus should not be solely on the Brazilian army. Those Paraguayan chaos who are running in our military's combat area, some The hostile Paraguayan militia also deserves vigilance. "
Zhang Shishan, the commander of the Seventh British Battalion of the Second Division of the Fifth Division, reminded: "When Little Lopez was alive, although he maintained normal economic cooperation with the empire, Paraguay has always maintained a strong vigilance against the empire in the military and political aspects. Affected by the seniors of Lopez Jr. and Paraguay, some Paraguayan soldiers and militia who were scattered in the local area were reluctant to accept the command and restraint of the empire. Single soldiers, for this group of people, under the current situation, I suggest to take serious punishment, and once found, immediately submit to the military police for arrest and questioning. "
"The Paraguayans do not all support the rule of the empire. For some diehards who insist on destroying the empire's strategy, it is indeed necessary to take punitive measures against them."
Cai Jiu nodded in agreement with Zhang Shishan's suggestion, and then commanded: "Zhang Yingchang, dispatch a platoon of troops from your ministry and artillery pack horse troops to form a temporary reception unit, which is responsible for receiving, accommodating due to injury, illness and other reasons. Soldiers who do n’t march in the army. "
"Yes, leader." ............