1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 387 The Defense Means of South Vietnam

Hue used to be under the jurisdiction of Rinan County in Jiaozhou during the Han Dynasty. It was named Lurong County in ancient times. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was no longer owned by China. In the 14th century, the king of Champa presented Hue as a dowry gift to Chen Yingzong, the emperor of the Chen Dynasty who was named "Dayue" at that time, and then the Chen Dynasty changed its name to Shunzhou and Huazhou. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Ming Dynasty occupied Vietnam and merged Shunzhou and Huazhou into Hue Prefecture, which belonged to the Chief Secretary of Jiaozhi. This is the origin of Hue's name.

As the largest city in the central part of the Indochina Peninsula, Hue Province has been designated as the capital by the Nguyen Dynasty, which occupied the south during the decades of civil strife in Annan. It is also the political, economic and cultural center of the entire South Vietnam region. Its importance cannot be overstated. And metaphor.Since this city is less than [-] miles away from the coast, the Haihan Militia, which intends to make a quick victory, naturally took Hue Prefecture as the primary target for destroying the South Vietnamese regime.

Of course, the Hue government is not completely defenseless. As the capital of the small southern court, there are nearly 3 garrison troops stationed inside and outside the city of Hue.On the surface of the Xiangjiang River, which originated from the Changshan Mountains and flows into the sea from the south of Hue City to the north, there is still the last formed unit of the South Vietnam Navy.Although this naval force basically does not have the ability to go to sea to fight, it can also play a certain deterrent effect when it is deployed in coastal waters and inland rivers for patrol and early warning.

The 34-year-old Wu Sen is a member of this naval force. Although his position is not low, the number of combatants he can directly command currently is less than a hundred.This is because the South Vietnamese navy suffered heavy losses in the battle last year and has not been able to recover until now. Although the establishment of this army has shrunk by at least three or four times compared to its heyday, the original military attache position has not. And the reduction, the ten officers who were originally stationed in the four seaport cities, now have to divide up the command of the water army on the Xiangjiang River like beggars.

Wu Sen had been stationed in Hoi An Port before that. When the Haihan militia attacked Hoi An at the end of last summer, he lost [-]% of his men and almost all of his ships on the Thu Bon River.Although Wu Sen was not demoted because of the defeat after the war, it is very difficult to restore the glory of the past. For the time being, he can only be a soldier patrolling the Xiangjiang River. It is not necessary for the generals to personally do what the subordinate officers are in charge of.

The military officers certainly hope that the Ministry of War can restore the establishment of the navy as soon as possible. After all, Annan is a country facing the sea. If the long coastline is not guarded by the navy, it will be no different from opening the door to a thief.Moreover, the South Vietnamese navy suffered repeated setbacks in the fight with the Haihan militia the year before, which made the officers hold back a fire in their hearts, hoping to rebuild the navy as soon as possible before competing with the hateful Haihan people.

However, although the wish is good, the reality is cruel. The shipyards of Dong Hoi and Hoi An are the manufacturing sites of the warships of the South Vietnam Navy. They were destroyed by the Hai Han militia last year, and the city of Hoi An was even turned into an abandoned city. , some shipbuilders were also taken away by the Haihan militia.It will take at least a year to rebuild the shipyard. In addition, the Portuguese, who had promised to help, backtracked before the end of last year. The economic situation under South Vietnam continued to deteriorate. nowhere in sight.

Kong has great ambitions but has no way to serve the country. This is Wu Sen's greatest feeling at present.Now all the ships belonging to the navy on the Xiangjiang River add up to about fifty or sixty ships, and more than half of them are inland river flat-bottomed cargo ships that cannot go to sea.For example, Wu Sen's current ship is a river cargo ship that survived the Hoi An battle. At that time, the owner of the ship sailed to the upper reaches of the Thu Bon River when he saw that the situation was not good.However, after the war, the Ministry of War ordered the collection of civilian ships to rebuild the navy, and this ship was naturally requisitioned by the government.

But such a three-foot-to-seven-foot-long cargo ship is now considered one of the largest ships on the Xiangjiang River.Wu Sen looked at the surrounding river. Most of them were small fishing boats about two feet long, and they needed to be paddled by manpower. This kind of boat was fine for patrolling. He wanted to compete with Haihan, who had a huge hull and strong firepower. Battleships are a joke.Wu Sen couldn't help but think of the scene when the warships of the Haihan Militia crushed his own warships on the Qiupen River last year, and he closed his eyes in pain.

In the past month or so, none of the large ships that had gone out before returned to the waters near the Xiangjiang River.Recently, the navy boats in charge of patrolling outside the estuary of the Xiangjiang River have found traces of the Haihan warships one after another, which made Wu Sen have an ominous premonition in his heart.

As a general of the navy, Wu Sen knew very well how far Qiongzhou Island, where the Haihan people were located, was from Hue. There may be more ships in the nearby waters than we know now, and to achieve such a blockade effect, it is impossible to rely entirely on the real-time supply of Qiongzhou Island. Wu Sen speculates that most of the Haihan people have already established temporary stops in the nearby waters.As for why the Haihan people took pains to block the sea off Hue Prefecture, Wu Sen only thought of one possibility, that is to pave the way for the next large-scale attack on Hue Prefecture.After all, the estuary of the Xiangjiang River is only a dozen miles away from Hue City. If you go upstream by water, the voyage is only about [-] miles. The Haihan people must have enough ability to attack Hue City from the sea, but the existing However, the South Vietnamese naval forces did not have enough combat power to prevent the Haihan people from launching such an offensive.

Wu Sen dutifully wrote down his judgments and conjectures and reported them to his superiors, but it didn't help.It's not that the commander-in-chief in charge of Xiangjiang water defense doesn't pay enough attention to the possible crisis, but that under the current situation, there is simply no feasible solution.

Knowing that the enemy was in the sea not far from Hue City, the South Vietnamese military did not drive the Haihan warship away from this sea area, and even the small boats sent to monitor the opponent had to keep at a relatively safe distance to avoid It was easily destroyed by the enemy.As for setting up a defense line on the Xiangjiang River, there is no extravagant hope. If these small boats can prevent the Haihan people from entering the Xiangjiang River, then officers like Wu Sen will not have to worry about the crisis facing Hue City.

What the South Vietnamese military department can do now is to mobilize as much troops as possible in the ruled area to strengthen the city defense near Hue City. As for the relatively weak water defense, basically it can only be resigned to fate.This arrangement made Wusen and his colleagues feel a deep sense of powerlessness. As soldiers, they are not afraid to fight for the country, and even die on the battlefield. But if resistance has become useless, then this Does death really have meaning?
"My lord, the patrol boat outside Jiangkou has issued an early warning signal, and it seems that an enemy ship is coming!"

The urgent military situation reported by his subordinates awakened Wu Sen from his sorrowful emotions, and he immediately issued an order: "Send a boat to investigate again! Raise the flag, and everyone is ready for battle! In addition, immediately send someone to send the news back to Hue City!"

The soldiers hoisted a red flag on the mast of Wusen's ship to warn their companions on the surrounding river.Half an hour later, further news finally came back—two fleets appeared in the sea near Xiangjiang Estuary, each with more than ten ships, coming from north and south.Although the two fleets did not display their flags, some people have recognized from the shape of the ship that this is the Haihan Navy that attacked Hoi An in August last year, but the size of the fleet is larger than last year. a lot.

"This day has finally come!" Of course, Wu Sen understands that the Haihan people sent so many warships not just to show off to the court. Both the government and the opposition have already understood that there will inevitably be a battle with the Haihan people in the end.Although Hai Han did not immediately launch a military attack on South Vietnam after the 30-day time limit, everyone knew that this day was only a matter of time. Since the Hai Han people had already destroyed the city of Hoi An, there was no reason to let others go The place.

The only way to avoid war is to let the "false emperor" abdicate and disband the small court of Hue Prefecture according to Hai Han's request, but this is impossible for those in power in Hue Prefecture to compromise.Whether it is due to the desire for power or self-esteem that cannot be let go, this battle must be fought to the end. Although the opponent is very strong, Hue Prefecture does not think that it has even the slightest chance of winning.

According to the situation of many battles, the South Vietnam Military Department can determine that the scale of the Haihan militia is not large. Combined with the information collected through various channels at hand, it can be inferred that the size of its combat troops is at most three to 4000 people.The Ministry of War believes that the reason why the Haihan militia is so powerful is that it relies entirely on the firearms with huge lethality.The South Vietnamese troops, which are still using a large number of cold weapons, will almost only end in defeat if they face the Haihan militia with long-range weapons and high killing efficiency in field battles. Defensive strategy, then maybe the situation will be different again.

The Ministry of War of South Vietnam has also formed a firearms unit. It is very clear about the advantages and disadvantages of this new type of army. Although its combat effectiveness is indeed much stronger than that of traditional troops, its disadvantages are also very obvious, that is, it is very dependent on logistics. The supply of ammunition can't keep up, so the new army with fire sticks is not even as easy to use as the traditional army with cold weapons.However, when the Haihan people attacked Hue across the sea, supplies needed to be transported from land to sea, and then from sea to land. The supplies needed for thousands of people fighting will undoubtedly be an important factor restricting their combat effectiveness. The South Vietnam Military Department believes that as long as they can Defending the city of Hue and delaying the war, the huge logistical pressure is enough to directly affect the combat effectiveness of the Haihan militia.

Another favorable condition of the South Vietnamese Ministry of War is the defensive advantage of Hue City itself.Hue City is located on the north bank of the Xiangjiang River, with a radius of 16 miles. This ancient city with a thousand-year history has been continuously repaired and operated by dozens of generations. It can be regarded as one of the best strong cities on the Indochina Peninsula. There are two moats inside and outside in the three directions of north, south and west.The city wall is more than two feet high, and the bluestone wall is solid and thick. All kinds of city defense facilities are available on the city wall. In the past two years, with the help of the Portuguese, a total of 24 bastion-style forts were built around the city wall. Both offensive and defensive.Not only that, but there is also an inner city imitating the Imperial Palace of the Ming Dynasty. The inner city has a radius of five miles, and the city wall regulations are exactly the same as the outer city. There is even a smaller moat around the city. When necessary, the city guards can completely abandon the outer city Inner city to reduce the defensive area.Compared with Thang Long Mansion City in the north, Hue City is much better than the opponent in all aspects of defense except that the city wall is a little shorter.

The two directions southeast and southeast of Hue City are close to the Xiangjiang River. Large troops cannot be gathered on the narrow river beach outside the city, and it is impossible for the attacker to launch an attack from these two directions.If the attacker transports troops and supplies through the Xiangjiang waterway, the west side of Hue City will have to circle a large circle with a voyage of more than ten miles than the north side. As the main direction of attack, it has almost become the only choice.

The last substantial assistance left by the Portuguese to the Ministry of War before leaving Hue was to design the defensive position system outside the city for the Ministry of War.This defensive position composed of densely packed trenches, small fortresses, and a series of ribbed lines of defense will undoubtedly create a lot of trouble for any incoming army.Before the Portuguese withdrew from South Vietnam, they had been able to predict that Haihan would come to Hue sooner or later. Of course, there was no good intention in doing so—no matter who wins or loses in this offensive and defensive battle, this defensive position will definitely be greatly increased. Expenditure on both sides.

The Portuguese military adviser even expressed optimism to the Ministry of War of South Vietnam that if the Ministry of War could build fortifications of a corresponding scale outside the city in full accordance with the plan, even if troops were not transferred back to the defense from other areas, the local garrison alone would still have great hope. It can keep the Haihan militia out.So after the Portuguese withdrew, the Ministry of War was more or less holding the mentality of a dead horse as a living horse doctor, and immediately mobilized tens of thousands of civilians to rush to build defensive positions on the plain north of the city.

After more than three months of non-stop construction, a defensive position with a width of seven miles and a depth of three miles appeared in the north of the city.This position is full of criss-cross ravines, masonry bunkers, horse traps, wooden walls, various permanent or movable roadblocks and other dazzling defensive facilities, and [-] soldiers loyal to South Vietnam are stationed. The elite officers and soldiers of the imperial court.Even if the weapons of the Haihan militia are superior, it is not something that can be accomplished overnight if they want to level this area simply with weapons.

In addition, large-scale land clearing was carried out in the northwest and northwest directions of Hue City. All the residents within ten miles outside the city were relocated, even the houses were completely demolished, and all the wells were buried.Trees thicker than an arm were cut down to prevent the enemy from using them to make siege tools.At that time, if the enemy who arrives in this area wants to obtain supplies on the spot in this area, I am afraid they can only dig earthworms by digging grass roots.

Regarding the current actual situation of Hue City, not only the Haihan people don’t know, the North Vietnamese don’t know, even the Portuguese who proposed this reconstruction plan don’t know—of course, even if they knew, they wouldn’t take the initiative to tell Haihan about it. , the more these parties get into a fight, the more it is in their interest.

However, compared with the city defense system inside and outside Hue City, which the Ministry of War has placed high hopes on, the navy troops deployed near the estuary of the Xiangjiang River are almost equivalent to cannon fodder.The main function of the Ministry of War to put them here is to create as much trouble as possible for the enemies coming from the sea, and to delay their time, so that Hue City can have more Time to prepare for battle.

After a long wait, Wu Sen finally saw the hill-like Haihan warship appearing on the water of Xiangjiang Estuary.Compared with the nearly [-]-foot-long Haihan warship, these navy boats on the river are just like toys.But Wu Sen did not retreat, he knew that he had no way out, if he lost Xiangjiang, he would have no reason to continue to exist as a naval officer, so he made preparations early in the morning to fight against the hateful Hai The Han warships perished together.

All the ships deployed by the Nanyue Navy here are equipped with dry firewood, tung oil and other firelighters, and a foot-long iron nail is added to the bows of the ships. Light the fire in the past.Even if the Haihan warships are powerful, it is not easy to deal with the small boats like maggots attached to the bones in the inland river.Wu Sen didn't expect to be able to defeat the powerful Haihan people with this trick, but as long as one or two Haihan warships were burned, the lives of himself and the sailors under him would be worth it.

Standing at the bow of the boat, Wu Sen stared intently at the mouth of the Xiangjiang River a few miles away, waiting for the Haihan warship to sail into the river, then he would raise the flag, and then lead the brothers to launch a suicide charge.God is also beautiful today, and the northeast wind is blowing. When the wind will help the fire, the Haihan people will definitely remember this unforgettable lesson... But why didn't the Haihan warship sail into the river, but stopped at the shore instead?
When Wu Sen was at a loss, he didn't know that on the Haihan warship in the distance, his opponent was observing his fleet with high-powered military binoculars.

"The formation is all lined up. It looks like they are going to give us a long live charge!" Qiao Zhiya sneered disdainfully: "Want to wait for our boat to enter the inland river before launching an attack, and think we are fools?"

"Long live charge is a little Japanese trick, don't make a fuss about it." Tom Wang corrected Qiao Zhiya's statement with a smile: "Their boats are small and they don't have any other means of combat. They can only play with fire boats."

"However, the wise lieutenant commander has already seen through everything." Qiao Zhiya laughed and said, "These monkeys should be dumbfounded by now, right?"

(End of this chapter)