Chapter 478 General attack, the beginning of destruction! (Please subscribe, please vote)

January 21, 1833, Brisbane Fortress.

It is now the darkest time before dawn, and the Brisbane Fortress, which has been besieged by the Ming army for many days, has long been a scene of hell. The foundation of this fortress is actually a bastion built forty years ago.

By then it was already an outdated defense system.

The reason why it was built at that time was not to defend against opponents of the Ming level. The purpose of building this bastion was mainly to defend against the legendary indigenous kingdom of the Southern Continent - because the Southern Continent is an extremely vast continent, so at the beginning

The British who colonized here did not know the details of this southern continental kingdom. They always felt that since it was a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, it might be a bit powerful.

In addition, the exiles transported from the British mainland in boatloads are also the targets of Brisbane Fortress' defense. This group of "thieves" are the dregs of British society. Who dares to believe that they will be like this after arriving in the wild continent of Australia?

Serving as thieves and armies honestly? And these thieves and armies are all armed! How can we do the work of genocide without arms?

In fact, the British did not send them to Australia to reform through labor, but to do dirty work. Of course, gentlemen should not be allowed to do the dirty work, and it is best not to let the marginalized religious heretics do it. These people are extremely powerful in fighting, and

Having too many ideas can easily lead to second thoughts. This is how the United Kingdom and the United States came to be.

In contrast, the thieves and soldiers who commit crimes in the local area are the most suitable for doing dirty work. They are really bad and loyal, so bad that people can be reassured, and they can be used satisfactorily.

But we still have to be on guard.

For the indigenous kingdoms and thieves, bastions are of course the most suitable. But against the Ming army with a large number of new artillery, the bastions, which were already lagging behind on the battlefield at the end of the 18th century, certainly did not have much defensive capabilities. Good.

The trenches, parapets, and traffic trenches outside the bastion are not too outdated. After a little modification, they can be combined with a few barbed wire fences and some bunker firepower points. It can be defended for a while. However, the original plan was to start from a few "

"Convict Beach" fought and retreated back to the bastion to defend the several military camps. When the Ming army landed, they were smashed and crushed. Even the field artillery battalion of the Brisbane Fortress Headquarters was destroyed. In the end, there were only a few

The troops retreated into the fortress before Ming army armored vehicles surrounded the Brisbane Fortress.

Fortunately, at this time, there are already many "old thieves with the army" and some "female thieves with the army" and "little thieves with the army" gathered in the fortress. In the face of the threat of extinction, these people really have no reason to love Great Britain and William's Britain.

The dregs of society all bravely turned into "loyal British thieves" and took up arms to join the battle.

Although these "loyal British thieves" risked their lives to fight, their equipment, training, and organization were too weak compared to the attacking Ming army. If the Ming army did not deliberately let go and held back their strength and did not attack fiercely, they would have

They used artillery fire to clear the ground over and over again, deliberately creating the illusion that the attack was weak. They had already explained everything.

But despite this, after seven or eight days of fierce fighting, 50% to 60% of Brisbane's British loyalists have been "milled down", leaving only 5,000 to 6,000 old and weak soldiers and a small number of serious British soldiers (mainly operating long-range artillery)

) huddled behind the bastion wall, which had been cut in half by artillery and was still collapsing everywhere. If they had not known that they were guilty and the Ming army did not persuade them to surrender, this group of people would have betrayed the British motherland long ago!

But even if he was on the verge of collapse, he still had some luck. Urgent telegrams flew to Hugh Gough like snowflakes, and he kept shouting: "For the sake of the empire, please help our brothers!"

And Hugh Gough kept sending telegrams to the defenders of Brisbane Fortress, telling them: "If you hold on firmly, there will be hope."

I hope that no matter what happens, the defenders of Brisbane Fortress can still survive for a while. They have now been compressed into a small area, and their forces are quite concentrated. Moreover, this area is not only protected by city walls, but also inside the city walls.

A large number of trenches and anti-cannon holes have been dug, and every building inside has been transformed into a fortress.

Judging from the Ming army's fighting style of sparing lives and shells, it is estimated that they will not attack with all their strength.

Starting from last night, the Ming army's artillery bombardment that had lasted for many days suddenly stopped. I don't know if it was because there were not enough shells? Or maybe Hugh Gough's main force finally broke through the Ming army's defense line on Tabletop Mountain?

However, for the ordinary thieves who were guarding this dangerous nest-like castle and were already exhausted, haggard, and extremely frightened, they would not think so much now. It would allow them to take a breather when the Ming army stopped attacking.

Take a breather, eat a warm meal, and find a place where you can sleep peacefully for a few hours. Then you have to thank God.

It's a pity that God doesn't seem to understand English now.

Just when the British soldiers in the Brisbane Fortress fell asleep one by one, a fire burst out in the silence of Brisbane Bay, more than 20 kilometers away from them, and then there was a roar like rolling thunder.

——The hundreds of main guns of the ten battleships belonging to the Nanyang Fleet of the Ming Navy parked in the bay suddenly opened fire.

The main guns of the battleship! The smallest ones are 240 mm caliber cannons, and the largest caliber ones are 360 ​​mm! Hundreds of large-caliber shells roared across the darkness, turning into streams of fire and heading towards Bliss at lightning speed.

Where had the Brisbane defenders, who had been bombarded by 155mm, 120mm, and 75mm artillery shells before the Fortress fell, ever seen ammunition of this caliber? This was almost as powerful as the earth shattering, and it suddenly destroyed the defenders of the Brisbane Fortress.

The army was bombarded. A 360mm caliber artillery shell smashed down, and the explosive power of the "boom" could cover a football field! Although the power of the 240mm, 280mm, 305mm and 330mm main guns is not comparable to

A 360mm cannon, but it is not comparable to those "toothpick cannons" of the Army.

Hundreds of shells from the battleship's main guns smashed down, instantly turning the Brisbane Fortress into a sea of ​​flames! The strong command post of the fortress was also bombed immediately, and one of the heaviest 360mm shells hit the target.

Hitting the target, it directly smashed through the reinforced concrete roof. More than 700 kilograms of artillery shells exploded in the headquarters fortress. The detonation of nearly 40 kilograms of picric acid explosives tore apart the thick shell of the 360 ​​mm artillery shell.

It was turned into countless fragments, and the shock wave swept through every corner of the fortress. No one could survive such a powerful shell explosion.

The radio station of the fortress was also hit by a 305mm artillery shell. Although it was not a direct hit, it still destroyed the antenna of the long-wave radio station and cut off the communication between the fortress and Hugh Gough's headquarters.

At the same time, the Ming army's mortars, infantry artillery, and 155mm howitzers and 120mm howitzers that had moved as close to the frontline as possible also fired at the same time. The shells were fired at the British thieves who had been stunned as if they were free.

The troops fell down on their heads.

The soldiers in the artillery fire were already in a mess. Everyone noticed the power of the battleship's main gun shells, which was beyond the limit of their endurance. Everyone screamed in panic, looking for holes to get into.

Even if you just bury your head in it, it’s good!

The British army's artillery counterattack was impossible, because the fortress artillery protected by solid fortifications also suffered. Although these fortifications could block the shells fired by the 155mm cannon, they were not enough to be smashed by the shells fired by the battleships.

This round of artillery bombardment came and went quickly. It took less than half an hour and ended abruptly after firing 20,000 to 30,000 shells. But for the defenders of Brisbane Fortress, this was just

It is the beginning of destruction.

The thieves who were stunned by the shells but survived finally heard the different shouts from the enemy assault troops amid the "buzzing" echoes: "Tuzi. Give it to me."

!”
Chapter completed!