1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3899

Ding and Zhao believed that although the Nanchang defenders were in a very passive situation, they were far from being at their wits' end. As long as they held the city's defenses at all costs, there was still a chance for the battle to turn around.

But if they knew the true intentions of the Haihan Army, they probably wouldn't have such expectations anymore.

While Ding and Zhao were discussing countermeasures, the three siege forces of the Haihan Army were also tallying their results and losses for the day, and assessing the effectiveness of this tactic.

While the exact casualties inflicted on the Ming troops within the city by the offensive are currently unknown, the damage to the city's fortifications caused by the concentrated artillery bombardment is readily observable. In particular, the collapse of several city towers could be clearly observed from outside the city without even needing binoculars.

This artillery tactic is not new. Since the establishment of the artillery unit, bombarding city defenses has been one of the main siege tactics of the Haihan Army.

However, artillery tactics are generally concentrated on a single main direction of attack to ensure the intensity of the offensive while conserving ammunition. It's extremely rare to see a situation like this, with encirclement from all four sides and a primary offensive force deployed in each direction.

As Ding Baoguo judged, this tactic consumed a considerable amount of ammunition, and the corresponding logistical pressure was much greater than that of the conventional siege-and-leave-one tactic.

However, the three forces besieging Nanchang City were each supported by an administrative region, and the commanders were all second-generation generals with deep backgrounds. Their respective forces attached great importance to their performance in the battle in Jiangxi, and therefore spared no effort to provide them with support.

Not only were a large number of new weapons deployed to the combat troops, but they were also provided with sufficient logistical support in order to ensure that their battlefield performance would not be inferior to that of the other two friendly forces.

Of course, it would be best if one could win the first merit in capturing the city and thus receive a reward from the executive committee.

Of the three forces, Shi Chengwu, who was in charge of the attacks from the west and north, naturally faced considerable pressure, as the sieges from these two directions were far more difficult than those from the other two forces. His 7th Army Division and the East China Sea Fleet had to cross the Gan River outside the city before they could launch their attack.

After conducting an on-site survey of Nanchang's defenses using a hot air balloon, Shi Chengwu was able to confirm that the defenders' deployment was indeed focused on the relatively riskier east and south directions, while the number of troops and fortifications deployed on the west and north sides, which had natural moats, was much smaller.

However, the defenders' deployment did not mean they had completely abandoned defense in these two directions. With their strong city walls, a relatively small number of defensive artillery pieces, and other defensive measures, the defenders were well-equipped to handle a conventional river-crossing landing operation.

However, this prediction only applies to opponents of similar strength to the defending forces. Shi Chengwu not only has armed warships from the East China Sea Fleet at his disposal, but also possesses the revolutionary and unique tool of hot air balloons.

Although hot air balloons have limited carrying capacity and cannot transport troops to airdrop into the city, nor can they carry out large-scale bombing missions, their ability to conduct high-altitude reconnaissance and carry out targeted bombing and destruction of high-value targets within the city can provide considerable assistance to siege warfare.

The only thing that Shi Chengwu was not entirely satisfied with was that there were indeed too few hot air balloons in service. With only two hot air balloons at his disposal, in order to maintain long-term high-altitude surveillance, they could only be launched in batches, which inevitably reduced the deterrent effect and destructive power.

As for sharing the reconnaissance results with the other two allied forces, Shi Chengwu had no intention of keeping them to himself. Rather than vying for the title of the first to breach the city, he hoped to accumulate more experience in joint land, sea, and air operations through this siege operation, which was also one of the tasks his father, Shi Diwen, had entrusted to him. Currently, there are quite a few units in the entire Haihan Army with amphibious warfare capabilities, but very few have begun to equip themselves with aerial equipment such as hot air balloons. If the East China Sea Region could become a pioneer in this area and be the first to explore and summarize an effective set of tactics and methods, it would greatly increase its influence within the military.

Shi Chengwu asked, "Jianyi, what are your thoughts on today's results?"

Ha Jianyi said, "If the bombardment intensity continues as it is today, the city will surely be breached within five days, but the number of shells consumed will be enormous."

Shi Chengwu continued, "If we intensify our bombing efforts, especially targeting Deshengmen in the north of the city and Zhangjiangmen in the west, and supplement it with artillery fire from the river, could we shorten the time it takes to breach the city?"

Ha Jianyi pondered, "But considering the carrying capacity of the hot air balloon, it can only carry two bombs into the sky each time, so its destructive power is still limited. Unless we concentrate our attacks in one place and abandon the idea of ​​attacking two directions at the same time, we might be able to compress the time to three days."

Shi Chengwu said, "There are many government offices near Zhangjiang Gate. If we can take Zhangjiang Gate and quickly occupy these government offices, it may be twice as effective with half the effort."

Shi Chengwu's words implied that he agreed with Ha Jianyi's idea to concentrate the offensive near Zhangjiang Gate.

Through this day's attack, Shi Chengwu realized that breaching the defenses of Nanchang was not as easy as he had anticipated. The Ming army was now confident in their ability to hold the city and would not collapse and surrender after the first day's bombardment. The Haihan army had no choice but to abandon any thoughts of taking shortcuts and treat this battle as a genuine siege.

The two then discussed the detailed battle plan and summoned their officers to make new arrangements.

The next morning, while many of the garrison troops in Nanchang were still asleep, alarm gongs suddenly sounded on the city walls everywhere. It turned out that the Haihan army outside the city had begun a new day's offensive.

The offensive from the east and south began with artillery bombardment, and the defending troops skillfully retreated to the city walls, leaving only a few observation posts on the walls to monitor whether the Haihan army outside the city was making any moves to advance.

The offensives from the west and north were still launched from the Gan River. The difference was that there seemed to be more warships on the Gan River today, and troop transport ships were also seen among them.

This is not a good sign. If you are familiar with the Haihan Army's combat methods, you will know that this is a precursor to launching an amphibious landing operation.

Both Deshengmen to the north and Zhangjiangmen to the west are very close to the riverbank, so once they successfully land, they will have reached the foot of the city wall.

Following yesterday's attack, the commanders of both locations had to send another distress signal to the military command, requesting immediate reinforcements. However, the support the military command could provide was very limited, as it wasn't just these two city gates that were under heavy bombardment; all four sides of the city were at risk of falling.