1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 639 Post-War Summary
The infantry were not the only ones who chased the Dutchman all the way to the pier. The few mules and horses in the town were also temporarily recruited to pull the light artillery of the militia.Although the speed of the animal-powered self-propelled artillery was relatively slow, it still caught up with the last wave and blasted a few rounds at the Dutch sailboat that was hurriedly leaving the dock.However, the damage that small-caliber artillery can cause to the hull of a sailing ship is extremely limited, and the deterrent effect is far greater than the actual combat results.

However, the pursuit was not in vain. Most of the various materials and equipment unloaded by the Dutch from the ship the day before had not been able to take them away when they fled in a panic, and piled up a hill on the shore.In addition, dozens of Dutch mercenaries and sailors failed to evacuate to the ship in time at the last moment, and became captives helplessly under the siege of the militia.

Since there were no large sea ships that could be used for combat in Abunna Island, Mu Xiabo could only watch helplessly as the Dutch fleet left the port at a very slow speed.Fortunately, regardless of whether the fleet chooses to go south and return or go north to Taiwan's Dayuan Port, Mu Xiabo can be sure that they will not come back here in a short time, and the garrison on the island can also have a period of time. Rest time, and make some adjustments to the local defense strategy according to the fighting situation.

Due to the relatively large area of ​​battle in this battle, the counting of the battle results after the battle was also more troublesome. Mu Xiabo mobilized hundreds of people and spent a day and a night to complete it.

Although the battle lasted only two days and one night, the intensity of the battle was indeed rare in recent times. The artillery alone fired more than 600 rounds, and the amount of gunpowder used exceeded [-] catties.Including the temporarily recruited militiamen, Haihan's side actually had more than [-] combatants--this number has actually greatly surpassed that of the Dutch, but the opponent always thought that the disadvantage of the weapon performance caused the unfavorable situation of the battle, and they realized that they were at the last moment. It is also at a disadvantage in terms of strength.

In this battle, Haihan sacrificed 18 people and injured 22. It was the heaviest casualty in Haihan's foreign military operations in the past two years.Among them, 16 people were sacrificed in the battle for the port fort on the first day. In fact, a large part of this responsibility was attributed to the defense strategy formulated by the military in the early stage.But fortunately, Mu Xiabo's ability to adapt on the spot is not bad, he adjusted the combat strategy in time, let all the fighters on the front line of the port retreat, and chose a more favorable defensive position to confront the opponent head-on.And this change also made Haihan turn from passive to active in one fell swoop, and he reaped good results in the next battle.

According to post-war statistics, a total of 170 and seven people were killed on the Dutch side in this two-day encounter. Including the missing persons who were sunk into the sea by the damaged sailboat, and the bodies like Browar who were also transported away, the actual number of deaths must be more than this statistic.Mu Xiabo believes that the actual loss of the Dutch is at least 200 people. In addition to the many wounded who could not receive timely and effective treatment, it is very likely that some people will lose their lives at sea.

In addition, a total of 68 people were captured alive in this battle, but only three of them were genuine Dutchmen, and the others all joined the multinational troops of the East India Company in various forms of employment.After a simple screening, after confirming that there were no valuable targets among this group of people, Mu Xiabai ordered them all to be taken into custody, and they will be taken back to the mainland by the next ship that comes to deliver supplies.

The Dutch came with nine large ships, but when they retreated, only five ships escaped safely.The two troop carriers were severely damaged during the battle and had lost their ability to sail, while the other two merchant ships sank near the shore due to serious water ingress because they served as shields during the landing battle.

The materials seized did not disappoint Mu Xiabo. The most valuable thing was not the weapons and ammunition reserves that the Dutch didn't have time to take away, but nearly two tons of finished spices.This batch of goods was supposed to be transported to Dayuan Port, Taiwan, and then distributed and sold to Daming, Japan, North Korea and other places, but because Van Longen’s merchant ship was injured as a cover during the first day of the battle, they rushed to transport it from the ship. These non-wet goods can only be temporarily stored on the pier. I didn't expect that the evacuation was too hasty, and these goods directly benefited the Haihan people on the island.

Mu Xiabo carefully inspected this batch of goods, many of them were in high demand in the Northeast Asian market, and the most expensive varieties even sold for hundreds of taels of silver per catty.According to the current market price of spices in the Far East, Mu Xiabo estimates that the market value of this batch of goods is at least 8000 to [-] taels of silver, which can be regarded as subsidizing the military expenditure for this battle.

In addition, a lot of weapons and ammunition were seized in this battle. There were more than 100 matchlock guns, 40 artillery pieces unloaded from Dutch sailing ships that had not yet been put into use, more than 700 barrels of gunpowder totaling more than 25 kilograms, and iron armor 73 pairs, 8000 pairs of cowhide armor, more than [-] pieces of spears, swords and other weapons.Of course, these things can't be seen by Mu Xiabo, but they can be sold to Champa and Siam through middlemen who run errands for Haihan. It shouldn't be a big problem to get seven to eight thousand taels of silver.

Calculated in this way, the value of the loot captured must have exceeded the consumption of this battle, but it is a small gain. When the military reports the results of the battle to the Executive Committee, the number of casualties will no longer be the most conspicuous column. up.

The battle that took place on the small island in the South China Sea may be a turning point that changed the destiny of many people involved, but for Sanya, which is three thousand miles away, this fierce battle is just a telegram written on paper Just news.Since Haihan did not disclose the fact of occupying Ambuna Island to the outside world, this victory cannot be publicized and rewarded for the time being, and even its spread is limited to the crossing people and a very small number of senior naturalized cadres.

The Military Commission got the news of the end of the battle on Abunna Island immediately, and immediately notified it to the Executive Committee.Although the results this time were far less than last month's mission's battle against Nanri Island in Fujian, this was the first time that Haihan had fought against a formidable enemy like the Netherlands. The meaning is still more important. For this reason, the Executive Committee held a special meeting to listen to the report of the military personnel.

Yan Chujie had just completed his first half of the overseas combat rotation, and temporarily handed over Qiongbei's affairs to Wang Tom, and returned to Sanya to report on his work and rest for a few days. However, after receiving the alarm from Annbuna Island on June 22 , his vacation has been interrupted.Although the scale of the garrison on Anbuna Island is not large, it is very important to Haihan's South China Sea strategy. The military sent troops to take the place in April in order to control the South China Sea waterway as soon as possible, and to control the traffic between Taiwan Island and Badawi. Interfering with the Dutch ships between Asia, the influence of the Netherlands in the waters of Fujian was further reduced-this was a move that was complementary to Haihan's strategic adjustment in Fujian.

The East India Company, known for its simultaneous expansion of trade and military affairs, will definitely not sit back and watch someone occupy their main supply point on the route from Southeast Asia to Northeast Asia. They had made some preparations for the fight, but they didn't expect the Dutch to strike back so quickly, and launched an attack on Abunna Island without any tentativeness.In the alarm telegram sent back by Mu Xiabo, the situation that the first coastal artillery fortification was breached by the opponent was already explained, and this situation also greatly exceeded the expectations of the high-level military.

When designing the defense system for Abunna Island, the top military officials almost agreed that coastal defense forts are the best way to prevent the enemy from attacking from the sea. This has been well verified in many ports in Haihan. As long as the colonial fortifications have been built, the enemy has never breached the defense line from the sea. In the naval battle of Wanshan Port at the end of 1628, the local garrison used coastal defense fortifications to severely damage the Liuxiang pirate fleet, which was several times stronger than itself. It is also regarded as a standard in the curriculum of the Victory Harbor Military Academy.

But the unfavorable situation on Abunna Island obviously broke this mindset. The Dutch took it unreasonably and directly, but the forts on the island failed to effectively block the opponent's landing before the enemy fleet docked. .Of course, this is inseparable from the rudimentary fortifications on the island, the number of garrisons, and combat strategies, etc., but a failure is a failure, and the military did not shirk it. Tom Wang also made it clear in his report that "this lesson is worthwhile for the military Make a good summary."

However, the temporary defeat did not cause panic, because according to the telegram sent back by Mu Xiabo, the other party only had nine sailboats in total, most of them were merchant ships, and there were only a thousand men available.Haihan started preparing for war on the island two months in advance, and built a few lines of defense. If Mu Xiabo can't even support this force, then he should stop leading troops outside and call them back to do internal work.

Sure enough, the battle ended with Haihan's victory on the second day. The Dutch threw away their armor and fled Abunna Island, and they can be sure that they are unlikely to launch a new offensive in a short time. The defenders on the island were given time to rest.However, the military did not relax because of this news. How to strengthen the island's defenses to prevent the Dutch from making a comeback next time became the central topic of the meeting.

"Our military strength on Abunna Island is sufficient for the time being, but it is clear that the defensive means are far from meeting the operational requirements for resisting the attack from the sea." Wang Tom finished talking about the battle situation and began to introduce the topic to the post-war situation. Summary of experience: "If the Dutch attack the island with twice as many troops next time, it will be even more impossible for us to stop their landing in the first place."

"Even with doubled forces, our troops stationed on the island are still capable of defeating them, aren't they? I remember the military's plan before attacking Abunna Island in April. Resist an enemy army of 2000 people." Gu Kai responded, "But now does it mean that the island of Annbuna is almost unstoppable?"

"There was nothing wrong with what we said at the time. The troops stationed on the island are capable of defeating the incoming enemy." Wang Tom explained: "But defeating the opponent does not mean that there is no problem with our island defense. As we all know, An There are no special local products on Buna Island, and none of them can be used for military purposes. All combat supplies for the troops stationed on the island have to be transported from outside the island, that is, from the port of Annan. The Dutch in the South China Sea The maritime superiority of the region is obvious, if they want to impose a blockade on the waters near Abunna Island, it will be difficult for our troops stationed on the island to maintain their due combat effectiveness for a long time.”

"But the cost of sealing off a sea area is quite high, isn't it? Besides, we also have a navy. If they want to blockade Anbuna Island, then we can send a fleet to repel them at that time." Gu Kai retorted.

"You are right, but you forgot one thing." Wang Tom reminded: "The straight-line distance from Batavia to Ambuna Island is about 600 nautical miles, and the main force of our navy is on Hainan Island. The distance from Sanya to Abuna Island is half as far as the opponent, and the local port environment of Abuna Island is limited, and there is no way to station a large fleet for a long time. This is why we only arranged two naval combat ships to be stationed there. And once the ship is damaged, it is likely to have to return to Cam Ranh Bay in Annan like this time, or even return to the base camp for repairs. Although the Dutch will face similar problems, their solution It is easier than us, because they have many more ships than us, which is a short-term disadvantage for us. We can fight them, but it is difficult to be decisive in naval battles like we are fighting Liu Xiang victory."

"Then what is the military's approach to solving this problem?" Tao Donglai did not let Gu Kai continue to entangle Wang Tom, and took the initiative to bring the topic back to the right path.

"The military's opinion is that the strength of local armaments should be appropriately strengthened on the existing basis. In addition to the reserves of ammunition and combat materials, it is hoped that the Ministry of Construction can assist in sending engineering and technical personnel to the local area to assist in the construction and strengthening of fortifications. Wang Tom paused, and then continued: "In other words, we have to change our previous thinking and make preparations to turn Ambuna Island into a frontier for a long-term confrontation with the Netherlands."

In the military's original predictions, it was believed that the Dutch would not attach too much importance to Abunna Island. Even if they found that it was occupied by a group of armed forces suspected of pirates, they would not take large-scale actions. At most, they would fight once or twice. If you don't come down, you will naturally give up this place with little strategic value temporarily, but the actual situation is obviously different from the forecast.

(End of this chapter)