1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 811 The Battle of Suez ([-])

April 1666, 4, Egypt, Port of Suez.

As early as the first 16 years of the 20th century, the Mamluks of Egypt and Portugal had been at war in the Red Sea for more than ten years, competing for the land route from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.Because of the existence of a large number of Mediterranean merchants waiting to be fed, the Mamluk dynasty at that time needed to continuously obtain sufficient quantities of oriental high-net-worth commodities through its own eastern coast.To this end, they do not hesitate to spend money regularly to maintain control of western Arab ports such as Mecca and Aden, and must also support the Aljuran Sultanate allies in Somalia, and even the Gujarat Indians far north of the Bay of Cambay.

At this time, the Port of Suez, which had been seldom cared about before, became their first choice.Not only because such a choice has historical basis, but also because the location of the port itself is not far from the Mediterranean Sea, making it easy to obtain technical support from those European allies.Suez was an important port in BC, and it was the starting point of Eastern trade that was continuously maintained by many empires.Even after the Arab conquest, it continued to be used intermittently for about 5 centuries before being abandoned due to the abandonment of ancient canals and raids by desert tribes.

In 1507, the first Mamluk troops arrived in the Sinai Peninsula, starting the slow revival of the port of Suez.In addition to the necessary port facilities, they also moved the equipment such as the ordnance assembly plant and the coastal defense fortress to the local area.Even though the Mamluk dynasty was defeated by the Ottoman Empire 10 years later, the new conquerors still retained and inherited these infrastructure constructions, as well as the Indian Ocean naval power that had begun to take shape.

Although the importance of this port is unquestionable, it has long been shrouded in a severely lagging imperial bureaucratic management model.Therefore, after successively becoming the Indian Ocean fleet base of the Mamluk Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire, the local demilitarized population still remained at a pitiful scale of more than [-] people.

More than a hundred years ago, the Portuguese launched a superficial offensive here, which was easily repelled by the local Mamluks.But this still did not attract the attention of the Ottoman Empire and the local Pasha in Egypt, and the defense facilities have not been strengthened in any way.

A few months ago, the local Pasha Ahmed Fathi of Suez learned from the visiting English merchants that the Han Chinese in the southern New World would organize a large expeditionary fleet to attack the port of Suez and serve the More than a dozen diplomatic envoys who were killed here last year carried out military revenge.

Ahmed Fathi Pasha specially recruited some Arab and Persian businessmen to learn about this southern New World country.To his surprise, he discovered that the opponent turned out to be a regional hegemony-like country with strong maritime power.In addition to defeating the Dutch East India Company twice, they also defeated Spain, Britain, Portugal, Annan, Japan, Banten, Mataram and other Western colonial forces and Nanyang kingdoms.Moreover, they had extensive influence in southern India and the Mughal Empire, as well as the Safavid Empire.

Alas, it’s no wonder that the governor of the Ottoman Empire in Egypt was so annoyed when he heard about the murder of the Qi mission last year. He not only sent an envoy to reprimand him severely, but also issued an ultimatum to him, demanding that the assailant be handed over and take Pay a large amount of property and make an apology and compensation to the Qi State, otherwise, you will bear the wrath of His Majesty the Sultan and Da Weiqi.

At that time, Ahmed Fathi ignored the warning of the Egyptian governor. A nobleman who lost his power in Istanbul, who had just taken office as the governor not long ago, wanted soldiers and money. Why did he treat us? These "local tyrants" point fingers.Even if it is the grand vizier of the empire, as long as our local pashas pay the required taxes in full, they will not interfere too much with our internal affairs management.

If more than 100 years ago, the Ottoman Empire stationed more than 3000 elite Janissaries in Egypt, and pashas from all over the world would be afraid of them, then now, with less than [-] old and weak people in Cairo, they can barely Act as the facade of the Ottoman Empire in Egypt, and this facade has not been carefully decorated, and it is leaking everywhere.

Just when Ahmed Fathi left this insignificant "little matter" behind him, he did not expect that the country in the southern New World actually sent a huge army to kill a dozen envoys. The fleet, not far away, crossed the vast Indian Ocean, and hit the door.

It was originally expected that more than 40 Ottoman navy ships and pirate ships belonging to the Barbary pirates stationed at the port, after being attacked by the Qi fleet, could assist the port fortress to defend for some time and inflict powerful damage on the opponent.

But what is surprising is that these maritime armed forces, which were originally allies, only resisted for a while, and then surrendered with a white flag very simply and neatly.In the eyes of Ahmed Fathi Pasha, this is a very shameful behavior, and they are not worthy of being called fighters at all. The true god will punish them.

However, Ahmed Fathi did not despair because he also had a strong army waiting on the shore.There are more than [-] coalition forces of various ministries, more than half of which are brave and skilled Mamluk cavalry.

No matter how powerful the enemy fleet is, no matter how powerful the artillery is, can you still sail to the shore?You will eventually attack our well-defended ports and send landing forces to fight us on land.In this flat desert area, the prestigious Mamluk cavalry will surely kill all the incoming enemies with their sharp scimitars.

God bless us!
-
On April 4, at around 19:[-] am, the first formation of the Qi State Expeditionary Fleet, consisting of four small galleys and six professional warships, took the lead in action.

While measuring the water depth, the small galley carefully scouted the firepower of the coastal defense batteries in the port. Under the guidance of the pilots in front, six large warships slowly approached the port.

The fortress left by the Mamluks in the Port of Suez has now become a large fort for them to block the waters of the harbor.When the ships of the State of Qi gradually approached the port, dozens of artillery pieces fired immediately, and the water column splashed by the large iron bullets soon enveloped several small galleys of the State of Qi near the beach.

The galleys of the State of Qi responded immediately with the artillery mounted on the bow, and bravely continued to go deep into the harbor despite the rain of bullets.Seeing this, the large warships supporting the rear turned their hulls sideways one after another, and began to violently bombard the port fort with dense side artillery.

The defenders of the Suez Port Fort had never seen such a battle. The shells all over the sky roared like a torrential rain, as if they regarded the whole earth as their own object of pouring.When the shell hit the stone wall fiercely, gravel and mud splashed in the radiation area on that fan, not even a fly could survive.A puff of thick black smoke rose from each crater, and these rising clouds of smoke looked like devils showing hideous faces.

Half an hour later, more Qi warships approached the port one after another, throwing countless shells at the fort.The entire port of Suez was suddenly enveloped in thick smoke.The strength of the counterattack from the fort on the pier became weaker and weaker with the passage of time. More than [-] Mamluk cavalry gathered on the shore were unable to dodge, and were smashed into the formation by dozens of shells, causing a huge chaos, and then scattered away. Hide far to the north of the port.

When the flowering bombs and rockets fired by the Qi fleet fell into the vicinity of the fort and the port city, it caused a violent combustion. Everything that could be ignited had already risen into a raging fire. The fire was getting bigger and bigger, but no one dared Go to the rescue.Amidst the countless roaring explosions, the entire coastline was shocked, and the ground was constantly shaking and panting.

Because they didn't know the specific location of the channel, the two large warships stranded in a key position.But the officers and soldiers on the ship were not afraid, and did not spend any time trying to discard the loading method and let the ship float again.All the officers and soldiers desperately accelerated the loading speed of the artillery and continued to violently bombard the port and the fort.

Fleet Commander Luo Shouxun gave full play to his own advantage of having more ships and more guns. While attacking the outer port of Suez, he also ordered five warships and four galleys to break into the defense line of the Western Waterway of the defenders, attack the inner port of Suez, and destroy all ships along the way. The fort positions were cleared.

The fort defense line of the entire Port of Suez is full of craters blasted by Qi army shells, and there is smoke everywhere. The battle for nearly two hours left behind a piece of destroyed fortifications and fortresses, shocking dead bodies, and the wailing of wounded soldiers. Mixed with the whistling sound of shells.

The scene in front of them stunned all the defenders of Suez Port. They had never seen such a powerful firepower, and they had never seen such a powerful enemy.After bouts of panic, the last courage was gone, and they had no choice but to throw away their armor and flee.

Before the war, the defenders of the Suez port had thought about the strength of the Qi army's ships and guns, and also thought about ways to deal with the cannons. In fact, what they did in the Suez port had done their best.They thought they had a strong line of defense and such a huge army, but they only got resistance for more than two hours. All the facilities were destroyed, and all their efforts were in vain.

As for how many battles they have achieved, the defenders of Suez Port naturally do not know. When countless small boats of the Qi army rushed to the beach and landed on the shore, all the defenders in the port were in a panic after discarding more than [-] corpses. Fleeing back to the city of Suez, those brave Mamluk cavalry didn't even dare to turn their heads to look at the danger of naval bombardment, and fled back to the city early.

"The Seventh Battalion occupied the hill on the right side of the port, and covered the artillery to set up the artillery; the first battalion led the Anfeng Fort guards out of the port, and set up a defensive position!" Li Fade, the commander-in-chief of the army, boarded the pier with the officers and soldiers of the first battalion. Immediately begin to control the port, establish a corresponding defensive front, and cover the subsequent landing troops ashore.

"Next wave, send the Maratha cavalry ashore!"

"The pier is too crowded. Send a signal to the navy to let those small galleys rush to the beach on both sides of the pier, and speed up the landing of personnel and supplies!"

"..."

Qi's landing operation lasted for two days. During this period, a Mamluk cavalry of hundreds of people tried to launch a surprise attack on the Qi army that was landing, but was violently bombarded by army field artillery and shore ship artillery. After discarding dozens of corpses, they fled back to Suez in embarrassment.

The army was busy consolidating the landing site, setting up various defensive facilities, and setting up temporary camps. On the battleship "Red Sun" parked outside the port of Suez, Luo Shouxun was drinking tea with several Ottomans and Barbary pirate leaders. They chatted harmoniously about the upcoming offensive and defensive battle at the Port of Suez and the arrangements for post-war affairs.

"General, I am still a little worried about whether your army can defeat Fathi Pasha's troops." Hassan Emre, the representative sent by the Ottoman Governor in Cairo, said with some concern: "They invited Ismailia Pasha's more than 8000 cavalry came to help in the battle, increasing the number of troops in Suez City to more than 500. However, I found that the cavalry you carried was only more than [-]. In this case, how can you wipe out the opponent? "

"After a landing operation yesterday morning, our Qi State Navy used a saturation attack, which greatly deterred the Suez defenders." Luo Shouxun said with a smile: "So, as you have seen, our army did not suffer any damage when it landed. To any counterattack by the defenders. At dawn today, a cavalry raid they launched was also repelled by our artillery. I believe that after this battle, the Suez defenders must have been frightened by our fierce artillery bombardment Don't dare to launch a counterattack rashly."

"In this case, our army will advance step by step to the city of Suez, and eventually launch an attack on the city. As far as I know, Suez city is the only city within a hundred miles nearby, which has gathered a lot of wealth and supplies Well, that Fathi Pasha may not easily abandon this precious city, but chooses to flee to the desert area with his troops, which creates an opportunity for us to wipe them out. If he escapes, his Pasha Will those armies follow his orders after losing their source of wealth?"

"They also have the option to evacuate the city with their belongings."

"Then we will completely destroy the city of Suez!" Luo Shouxun's eyes flashed with a hint of sternness, "If they flee without fighting, we will wipe the city they depended on from this land, look How much it will cost them to rebuild later."

"Are you so sure you can conquer Suez?"

"That's natural."

Hassan Emre looked at Luo Shouxun with a confident face, and couldn't help but curse in his heart. The expedition spanned tens of thousands of miles, and the number of troops was more than half that of others. Could it be that with their sharp firearms and fierce artillery, they would surely be able to Capture Suez?

The Governor of Egypt has already received a message from the Ottoman representative in Qi State that Qi State will form an expeditionary fleet to retaliate against the killing of the Qi State envoy by local Pasha armed personnel in Suez.In order to weaken the influence of the local Mamluks, the Egyptian governor adopted an attitude of acquiescence.

According to the agreement, after the Qi State captures the city of Suez and defeats Fathi Pasha there, the Ottoman governor in Cairo will lead his troops to "recover" the city, and start armistice negotiations with the Qi State, and then restart the agreement a year ago. of the Red Sea-Mediterranean trade.

"In the future, as long as you can ensure the safety of the Port of Suez and establish a safe transportation channel to the Mediterranean Sea, we, Qi, can promise to invest corresponding funds and materials after the war to rebuild the port for a better future." Communicate and facilitate trade between us. As for the maritime security of the Red Sea and even the coast of the Indian Ocean, we suggest that your Ottoman Navy deploy some warships with considerable combat effectiveness and form a joint fleet with our Qi Navy to jointly maintain the area order at sea."

(End of this chapter)