lcionline Chapter 715 New Tactics Show Their Prowess
Chapter 715 New Tactics Show Their Prowess
"Bang bang bang," the sound of gunfire echoed over Lushunbao.
Thanks to the superior range of rifled muskets, the breech-loading cannons and breech-loading guns on the walls of Lushun Fortress, even from their elevated position, did not gain much advantage. Following the tactics taught by Liu Ye and Liang Xiaoming, the Marines abandoned the tight formations of firing in rows and instead used natural cover such as reefs and sand dunes to fire freely in small groups while on the move. Inadvertently, they achieved the earliest skirmish line tactics in this timeline—in the original history, true skirmish line tactics did not appear until the Franco-Prussian War in the 19th century.
Even without aiming devices and unable to guarantee accuracy, the dense barrage of bullets still kept the gunners at Lushun Fortress from raising their heads. After firing a few shots, the old, worn-out guns fell silent. The Marines easily approached the city wall. Apart from a few men who cut their feet on sharp rocks in the seawater while landing, no one was injured or killed in the battle.
Seeing this, Degel was enraged and beheaded a Han Chinese gunner with a single stroke, shouting, "A bunch of useless trash! Warriors of the Bordered Yellow Banner, follow me to the city wall and drive the enemy into the sea with your bows!"
Several hundred soldiers of the Bordered Yellow Banner, armed with bows, ascended the city wall and took their positions between the battlements. They had great confidence in their powerful bows and arrows. Compared to the muskets and arquebuses, which had limited range and power, they trusted the bow and arrow more. With this weapon, which they had used since childhood, they had killed countless Ming soldiers and Han civilians. Under the cover of the battlements, these musketeers would inevitably meet their end under the arrows.
An unusual clash between nomadic peoples and agricultural civilizations has begun. Both sides are using their most trusted weapons. Unlike before, the former have become the defenders and the latter the attackers, and they have swapped their preferred fighting styles.
The soldiers drew their bows and launched their light arrows from between the battlements. With the added height of the city wall, they easily doubled their range. Arrows rained down, and the marines began to suffer sporadic casualties.
Contrary to the soldiers' expectations, the sparse skirmish lines minimized the lethality of the arrow rain. Tactics that had previously proven effective against dense Ming army formations suddenly became less effective. Even with relentless firing of over ten arrows in a row, they still couldn't suppress their opponents. The enemy continued to advance nimbly, utilizing the undulating terrain, and would suddenly fire a shot. The bullets, with their treacherous trajectories, seemed to have eyes, piercing through the gaps between the walls, occasionally striking the archers. Those hit would fall backward, and even if not killed instantly, they would immediately lose their fighting ability. These bullets had strong penetrating power; after passing through the shoulders and arms of the archers, they could still travel a distance before ricocheting off the bricks behind them, causing secondary damage.
After a period of exchange between archers and muskets, the difference in skill between the two sides became increasingly apparent. The archers' volleys were inherently inaccurate, relying on the density of arrows and the opponent's tight formation. Faced with an unpredictable, monkey-like agility, the armored soldiers gradually became overwhelmed, their accuracy plummeted, and their arms began to ache and numb, causing the rain of arrows to thin out. Meanwhile, the marines didn't expend any arm strength firing their guns; the gunfire grew increasingly dense, and as the distance closed, their accuracy improved. Any armored soldier who peeked out was met with simultaneous attacks from several guns.
Once most of the Marines had moved to a distance of over 100 meters, they had completely suppressed the defenders on the city wall. The once arrogant soldiers were beaten so badly that they couldn't even lift their heads, let alone shoot arrows.
Degel hid behind the battlements, the bricks in front of him crackling from bullets, pebbles occasionally ricocheting into his face. Corpses lay scattered everywhere. He was frantic with worry, but utterly helpless. The surrounding soldiers, like him, hid behind the battlements, too afraid to show themselves, resignedly awaiting their fate. Such an asymmetrical battle, if not for the Qing army's strict discipline, would have long since ended in chaos and disarray.
Seeing that his forces had completely suppressed the defenders, Borchu waved his hand and ordered, "Load the explosives and blow open the city gate!" The marines were lightly armed and lacked heavy weapons, so the only way to capture the fortress was to blow up the city gate. This method was generally ineffective against large cities with high walls and moats, but it was a devastating weapon against a relatively simple fortress like Lushun Fort.
Several soldiers, carrying heavy explosive packs, ran towards the city gate under the cover of fire. After placing the explosive packs, they lit the long fuses and quickly retreated to a safe distance.
A moment later, a deafening roar erupted as a violent explosion occurred at the city gate. The blast wave hurled debris dozens of meters away, and the gate itself shattered into pieces before collapsing with a crash. As the smoke and dust cleared, the empty gate was revealed—the Qing soldiers were not, after all, skilled Han Chinese at defending cities; there were neither sandbags nor any guards behind the gate.
Degeli was standing on the city tower, directly above the city gate, when the sudden explosion caused him to bleed from all seven orifices and fall to the ground, his fate unknown. The other soldiers had never experienced anything like this before and panicked, running around like headless flies, causing the city's defenses to completely collapse.
Nearly a thousand Marines surged into the city, armed themselves with pistols, and began street fighting. The battle commenced within the city.
The remaining soldiers descended the city walls and spontaneously joined the battle. The city defenses had been easily breached, the commander's fate was unknown, and the defenders were outnumbered after suffering casualties. From any perspective, this was extremely disadvantageous for the defenders. What kept them going was their fighting spirit—a psychological advantage formed over many years of repeated victories against the Ming army. Many firmly believed that in close-quarters street fighting, where muskets were less effective, bows and arrows, swords, short axes, and maces would allow them to turn the tide.
But they soon realized they were wrong. Their opponents had switched to short guns, which were more agile than long-barreled muskets. Whether loading or firing, they were not much inferior to bows and arrows. In local battles, facing the opponent's denser firepower and numerical advantage, the armored soldiers were often defeated in a single encounter.
The last straw that broke the camel's back was a hand grenade.
These bulky iron grenades, though not very appealing, were quite practical in urban warfare. In the stalemate of both sides firing back and forth from the corners of walls, soldiers threw a dozen or so grenades into the alley opposite. After a series of muffled booms and screams, the world fell silent.