Australian Storm 1876

   Chapter 643

  Yarra River is a large river that crosses Melbourne. The total length of the basin is 242 kilometers and the annual runoff is 718 billion cubic meters. What is this concept?

   is 11 times that of the Huai River, 14 times that of the Yellow River, and three-quarters of the water volume of the Yangtze River.

  The large Chinese rivers above are thousands of kilometers long, while the Yala River is only 242 kilometers long. This results in a wide surface and extremely large water volume. It is difficult to cross the river without ships and can only be connected by bridges.

  The stone bridge on the Yala River is very strong. The 170-meter-long bridge can pass three carriages side by side. The railings on both sides of the bridge are decorated with simple patterns. In this sunny morning, the swords are tense and **** battles are on the horizon.

  A large number of Confederate soldiers gathered on the east side of Stone Bridge. The commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, Admiral Gavin Williamson, came to the front line murderously, and gloomily swept over a dozen officers who had fled from West Melbourne.

  These people were all controlled by the five-flower team. The lowest rank was also a captain, and the highest was three colonels. They were all commanders who were responsible for defending the land. They were scared by the enemy's surprise attack and fled back.

Exhaling a long sigh of breath, Admiral Gavin Williamson said without emotion; "In less than three hours from Foxiao to now, you have lost the West Melbourne area for me, lost it. With more than 20,000 militiamen and more than a dozen blocks in hand, your commander, Major General Jason, still led the rest to fight in the dock area, but you greedy people who are afraid of death, but lost everything and fled back. You scumbags are not worthy of being called. He is a soldier, and I now use the sacred right granted to me by the Freedom of South Australia to sentence you to death and execute them immediately."

  The gendarmes like wolves and tigers immediately stepped forward and held down the officers, and they dragged them out one by one.

The execution site was by the river. These earth-colored officers were already speechless. After only listening to a burst of random guns, they were all shot to death on the bank of the river. Blood gurgled out and stained the nearby grass. Blockbuster.

  Since the defeat in the Battle of the Consby Plateau, the Northern Army quickly launched a tragic siege of Sydney. The two sides fought in darkness and blood and blood. This once beautiful coastal city was reduced to a huge flesh-and-blood mill.

under these circumstances

  The political circles of the South Australian Free Federal Army knew that the lonely city could not be defended. Of course, they were unwilling to die with the enemy. So they packed up and followed the British merchant ship to evacuate the dead place of Sydney and returned to Melbourne, the stronghold of the white conservatives.

  The commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, General Gavin Williamson, was naturally among them. After he returned to Melbourne, he was gearing up to do a big job and blocked the northern forces from Melbourne.

  Therefore, two strong defensive lines were laid out with great effort, and numerous barbed wire fences, bunkers and trenches were arranged, forming a reasonable layout of firepower supporting each other and covering each other, and deliberately let the northern B Corps hit their heads.

  Who ever thought...slapped her face so quickly.

  "Major-General Allen Keynes, can I trust you?" After the murder and Liwei, Admiral Gavin Williamson's words were full of irrepressible murderous intent.

  Major General Allen Keynes stroked his chest with one hand in a knightly manner; "Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, but you have orders. Nothing is wrong."

"Very well, I will give you 6 hours to regain the bridgehead on the West Bank, insert the enemy like a sharp sword, and quickly seize Warehouse Street and Flinders Street when the enemy is not stable, and lay a solid foundation for the next comprehensive counterattack. Base."

   "Yes, your commander-in-chief."

Major General Alan Keynes replied simply that the occupation of the opposite bank was at best the strength of two regiments, which killed more than 3,000 people, and he could use two National Self-Defense Force divisions plus one artillery regiment, totaling 2.2. A strong force of ten thousand people.

  The strength of the two sides is not equal at all, and victory is only a matter of time.

Major General Allen Keynes was originally the commander of the Third Infantry Division of the Southern Federal Army, the rank of colonel, and one of the main infantry divisions of the Smith Corps. Now most of the officers and soldiers have died in the **** sea of ​​Sydney. It was also lighted up, and only two or three big cats and kittens were withdrawn to Melbourne.

  In view of the shortage of officers with rich combat experience on the front line, Colonel Alan Keynes was promoted to the second level in situ, surpassing the rank of brigadier general and directly wearing the rank of major general.

  At this moment, he didn’t know that his old friend Colonel Duan Qirui was on the west bank of Shiqiao.

There was nothing to say about the offensive battle. It was a burst of bombardment of soil and rock cracking, shaking the ground and shaking the mountains, and then, amidst the stern sound of the Scottish bagpipes, the offensive soldiers lined up on the stone bridge and set foot on it. The road to death.

These southern soldiers passed the stone bridge smoothly all the way. Just stepping on the land of Xi'an, they ushered in violent platoon gun shooting and heavy machine gun shooting. The hot bullets came like rain, hitting the flesh and blood and setting off a **** fog. .

The poor soldiers couldn’t hide from the narrow bridge. The bodies quickly piled up. Seeing that there was only a dead end on the bridge, many people jumped directly into the turbulent Yarra River from both sides in desperation. The scene is spectacular.

  To stay in place is a dead end. Jumping into the river may be very likely to come back.

  Hundreds of people in an infantry battalion were maimed in just one attack. Except for the soldiers killed and wounded by the opponent, more than half of the casualties were caused by jumping into the river. Only more than a hundred people were able to retreat.

  In this situation, Major General Allen Keynes couldn't help but twitched his eyelids a few times, and then indifferently continued to give orders; "Order the artillery regiment to cover the artillery for three minutes, replace the 6th Battalion to continue the attack, and the 2nd Battalion on standby."

   "Yes, sir."

"Order the supervising team to put a heavy machine gun on the river bank. Anyone who retreats without heeding the order will be killed." Major General Alan Keynes is also a ruthless character. He copied the Northerners' approach to the white captives. Came over and forced the soldiers to die.

   "Yes, sir."

  The officers under their hands had no choice. No one dared to touch the leader's mold at this time and execute the orders separately.

After the    order was conveyed, there was a commotion among the neatly arranged teams. Many clever soldiers began to rush into the room on the side of the street, search for everything that could float on the water, and then desperately stuffed them into the military uniforms.

   Mainly wood chips that can increase buoyancy, tables, doors, cabinets, benches, all smashed and stuffed into military uniforms, they are ready to jump into the river.

  There is no way, I always have to increase my chances of survival.

  The officers also learned everything after seeing them, not to mention stopping the soldiers under them. Everyone on the battlefield is a grasshopper tied to a rope with a destiny of death.

  Six hours have passed

The Confederate Army was still blocked on the east bank of the river, and the Independence Regiment remained on the west bank of the river, but the buildings on the west bank were destroyed by gunfire and turned into rubble. The east bank of the river was also not easy. Collapsed, died and injured.

  The 16-inch large-caliber mortar gun that the Independence Regiment longed for was brought up, and a few fierce shots came across the river bank. At least one platoon of soldiers was reimbursed for each shot down. The ground was really shaken and everyone changed color.

  Major General Allen Keynes now dare not blatantly gather heavy soldiers on the east bank of the river. If a gunshot comes over, maybe a company of soldiers will be reimbursed.

The supervising team in his hand was dropped by a large-caliber heavy artillery shell. Not only did he lose two heavy machine gun groups, but also his lieutenant colonel was killed by Huang Quan. He couldn’t even find one arm. They were all in. It turned into powder in the violent explosion.

  The six-hour offensive took in more than 3,000 officers and soldiers, half of which were losses caused by jumping into the river. Whether these people survived or not, all were counted as killed.

  Such a large loss, Major General Allen Keynes can no longer calm down; "Captain Robert, is there any way you can break the current deadlock?"

  "Your Excellency General, I think we should first find out who the opponent is?"

   "Do you have any unique insights... Mr. Colonel?"

"We cannot capture enemy soldiers, we can only guess." Colonel Robert Jenric spread his hands and said with a wry smile; "Throughout the hours of battle, the Easterners' platoon tactics did not cause much damage to us. , The key is that the mysterious heavy machine guns are a headache. Every attack will be interrupted by the fierce fire web intertwined with three or four heavy machine guns. The stone bridge is completely dead, forcing the officers and soldiers to jump into the river to survive.

  Every time the artillery fire covers, it should be able to knock down some of the heavy machine gun positions.

  Rough calculations

  The enemy's heavy machine guns destroyed by our artillery fire are no less than a dozen, but the enemy can still take out heavy machine guns continuously. This strange situation reminds me of "Sad Ridge", so I suspect..."

  "Do you suspect that what we are encountering is the part of the defense against "Sad Ridge"?" Major General Allen Keynes almost blurted out, and then fell into deep thought.

  The trauma left to him by the other party is too great, so deep that he can never forget it.

In the battle of Sadness Ridge, the Sixth Division was crippled, and the Third Division was also crippled. The Smith Corps once occupied Snow Mountain Town, but it was still unable to conquer "Sad Heart Ridge." The most unforgettable scene in life.

  If you think about it carefully, the enemy's style of play on the other side of the bridge really has the style of a lieutenant colonel;

  That is ~ The use of troops is accurate to the horrendous level, and the most damage is caused by the smallest cost. The war has evolved into an art of command in his hands, which is awe-inspiring.

   "Damn it, are we so unlucky?" Major General Alan Keynes believed in his heart, but still had a hint of fantasy.

   "It's a pity that the General, I very much hope that my intuition is false, but reason tells me...this is the truth."

   "Oh, it's really...the worst news!" Major General Alan Keynes was really beaten out of his psychological shadow. At this moment, he sat down in despair, as if lost his soul.

  At this moment, when Colonel Robert Jenric saw that his words had an effect, he completely dispelled the fighting spirit of the general, he smiled triumphantly in his heart, but he didn't show any signs on his face.

  Those who are interested will know;

Colonel Robert Jenric was the deputy commander of the First Regiment of the Sixth Division of the Southern Federal Army. He was captured during the night attack in Snow Mountain Town. Fortunately, he escaped the terrible Consby Plateau battle, and finally returned to Melbourne with the retreating military and political leaders.

   is also due to the shortage of experienced officers. He now serves as the commander of the colonel and has the 17th Division of the militia with nearly 10,000 people.

  Although one regiment was lost in the battle today, it was nothing.

  There are too many idle refugees in Melbourne, and you can make up for them by forcing some. Now this year of turmoil and chaos, who cares about this?

   "Your Excellency General, I have some good news that cannot be considered good. I wonder if you mind to listen."

  "Please say, Robert, what I need most now is good news."

"I have arranged for people to catch some refugees and enlist in the army in the afternoon. The news they brought was that of the five bridges on the Yarra River, only the southernmost bridge was taken down by us, but afterwards, the foothold was not stable, and the Red Division 1 counterattacked it. After coming out, Master Enriquez of the Fourteenth Division also died in this battle. Now everyone is looking at each other. There is a way and the law does not blame everyone..."

"Oh... This is really good news, which is not good news. Poor Enriques died too unworthy. I am still the godfather of his child. I must comfort Linda if I have a chance. The loss of a loved one is the most important thing. When you are fragile, you need the company of your friends." Major General Alan Keynes showed a sad expression, but the corners of his eyes were obviously lightened.

   Colonel Robert Jenrico doesn’t care if the general will go to assault his colleague’s widow. He considers the battle in front of him, so he reminds; "Your Excellency, will the current battle continue?"

   "Oh... Dear Robert, I have a dilapidated headache and can't make any decisions at all. Would you please direct me for me?"

  "Of course it’s okay. Your body must recover well. I think the corpses on the stone bridge have been piled up for several layers. Can you temporarily stop the attack and sweep the battlefield and bring back the corpses of the warriors?"

   "You decide, Robert."

   "Then I understand."

  So a strange scene appeared on the tragic battlefield before. It was just after three o'clock in the afternoon, when the sun was shining brightly, the attacking Confederate Army raised the white flag and demanded that the battlefield be cleaned.

  The independent group under heavy pressure on the other side was of course happy to see this, so it hurriedly sent soldiers to collect guns and ammunition from the fallen enemy, preparing to deal with more intense battles.

  The two sides tacitly maintained the situation of grinding foreign workers, each cleaned up the mess, repaired the defensive positions, dealt with the wounded and dead soldiers, and slowly began to polish the foreign workers.

  The situation here in Shiqiao quickly went away. There has never been a shortage of smart people in this world, and soon other positions started to learn from foreigners.

Everyone was hiding the truth from the commander-in-chief, General Gavin Williamson. After patrolling along the banks of the Yarra River in the morning, the general deployed a resolute counterattack policy, and then walked to the rear base camp, facing the front line. Nothing is known about what happened.

   is the commander-in-chief after all, so he can't go to the front line to fight, right?

  (End of this chapter)