1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 705: Machine Gun Debut

After much anticipation, Liang Yao finally waited for the decisive battle on the Omaha battlefield.

As long as this battle can annihilate the main force of the Union Army on the Western Front, the Great Plains region will be in his pocket.

Once the Great Plains region was under control, the American Republic would have the capital to compete in North America and would no longer be a local regime confined to a corner of the West.

Thinking of this, Liang Yao couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

The Northern Army soldiers formed into long snake-like lines and slowly advanced towards the Western Army's eastern suburbs defense line.

The commanders rode on horseback, wearing the classic blue cloaks of the Union Army, and raised their sabers and pointed them forward, just as they had done in previous wars.

They thought this battle would be no different from any other battles before—cannons roared, muskets fired, and then hand-to-hand combat determined the outcome.

This is how most soldiers of this era understand war.

At the beginning, just as the federal officers of the Omaha Corps had expected, both sides started firing artillery fire. For a while, the sky over Omaha was filled with rumbling sounds and flying shells.

The training of the Western Army's artillery was already strict, and over the past two months, in battles with the Union Army's artillery, most of the Western Army's artillery crews had accumulated considerable combat experience.

The Western Army's artillery was already familiar with how to suppress the Union Army's artillery.

Soon, relying on the advantage in artillery performance, the Western Army quickly overwhelmed the Northern Army artillery, which was mainly equipped with old Napoleon smoothbore cannons that fired solid bullets.

“In just two months, McClellan trained a group of citizens in the east and small farmers in the central frontier area into qualified soldiers who could line up and go to the battlefield. It must be said that McClellan was really good at training soldiers.

It is a pity that this Omaha Army, which cost the federal government 6 or 7 million US dollars and McClellan worked hard to train, will eventually become the souls of our guns. "

When Kruger saw that the Union Army of the Omaha Corps was able to maintain its formation and advance toward its own position in an orderly manner under artillery fire, he gave a positive evaluation of McClellan's ability.

It is indeed not something that ordinary people can do to train 70,000 ordinary citizens and small farmers into qualified cannon fodder who can withstand artillery fire and attack in just over two months.

"Forward! Forward! All the brave warriors of New York State! Keep moving forward to the beat of the drums! Let these Westerners know that we New Yorkers are not afraid of threats!"

A colonel of the New York Infantry Regiment rode on a tall chestnut warhorse, holding a sword and giving a loud morale-boosting speech.

"For General McClellan! For President Lincoln! For the Union! Forward!"

The Union soldiers of the New York Infantry Regiment shouted back to their officers to give themselves courage.

They marched forward with firm steps, making the withered grass and branches under their feet crackle. The bayonets gleamed coldly in the sun, and the smell of black gunpowder had not yet spread across the battlefield, but the air in the battlefield was filled with an indescribable sense of tension and oppression.

Brigadier General Joseph Hooker of the Northern Union Army, who led the charge, rode on a tall chestnut warhorse, holding his saber tightly. He took a deep breath to suppress his inner uneasy emotions.

He looked at the Western Army's defense line that was getting closer and closer. It was a simple and thin trench with just a circle of sandbags around the cannon to protect the "cannon".

This was no different from the artillery positions of their federal army and looked nothing special.

Although the Omaha Corps had never engaged in a large-scale battle with the Western Army, there had been many sporadic exchanges of fire between the two sides.

According to the combat reports of the artillery of Mason's Brigade and the artillery of the Omaha Corps, the effective range of the Western Army's artillery was estimated to be around 1.25 miles (about 2 kilometers), and the artillery skills of the Western Army's artillery were generally good, with a very high hit rate.

But now they were only about 1 mile away from the Western Army's "artillery position", but the gunners on the Western Army's "artillery position" still showed no signs of firing.

This is really too abnormal!

The Union Army's offensive formation was very dense, and if the Western Army's artillery opened fire at this time, it would definitely cause heavy casualties to the Union Army.

Did the Western artillery wait for them to rush in front of them and then fire directly at them with shotgun shells? Trying to repel their attack with one or two rounds of shotgun shells?

Not right either!

Putting aside the fact that at a distance of one mile, the Western artillery had enough time to fire several rounds of explosive shells and then reload with shotgun shells, it was unrealistic to expect to repel their attack with just one or two rounds of shotgun shells.

In the Battle of Northern Kansas, the artillery unit of the Mexican Militia Brigade was able to repel the attack of the Maine Brigade and the First Mercenary Regiment with one or two rounds of shotgun shells. That was because the president only deployed two or three regiments of troops in the Maine Brigade and the First Mercenary Regiment!

And the troops they deployed in this attack totaled 3.4 men! 34 fully staffed infantry regiments!

It is extremely unrealistic to try to repel the attack of an army of 3.4 people with just one or two rounds of shotgun shells! Is the commander of the Western Army not so naive and stupid?

Joseph Hooker's intuition on the battlefield told him that this attack might not be so simple, and the Western Army must be plotting something!

However, they had already rushed to a place less than a mile away from the Western Army's position. It was impossible to call off the troops at this time, so they could only charge forward.

"Colonel Cook, I always feel that this matter is not that simple." Joseph expressed his concerns to Colonel Cook of the Cavalry Regiment who was not far away from him.

"General Joseph, you worry too much. This is just an ordinary assault." Cook was much more relaxed than Joseph.

Cook was the commander of the cavalry regiment. He had long wanted to leave Omaha, a place of trouble, and was one of the senior commanders who most supported this breakout.

His team was composed of cavalry, and he didn't even need to run faster than the cavalry of the Westerners. He only needed to run faster than his own infantry to get away from the team and reach the safer city of Des Moines in the rear. On the Western Army's "artillery position", Colonel Washington Vanderbilt, the commander of the machine gun regiment, stood on the front line like a mountain with a telescope in his hand. He watched the Union Army approaching, his brows furrowed, and his heartbeat faster than ever.

The palms of the machine gun crew soldiers next to Washington were soaked with sweat and their throats were dry. Although they had practiced this countless times, this was the first time they were actually engaged in combat on the battlefield.

The human wave of 3.4 Northern Army soldiers was spectacular, and the sense of oppression they brought was difficult to describe in words.

Although the soldiers in the machine gun crew were all carefully selected elites, it was the first time for them to face the attack of tens of thousands of modern troops, so tension was inevitable.

"Keep calm! Hold on! Fire again after my command!"

Noticing that his soldiers were becoming increasingly nervous, Washington roared the loudest he had ever roared in his life to calm them.

The enemy was still about a mile away from their position and had not yet entered the optimal range of the machine guns. Opening fire at this time would only alarm the Union Army and would not cause effective casualties to them.

Washington's plan was to wait until the front row of Union troops stopped and prepared to raise their guns for a volley of fire before opening fire.

Based on their understanding of the Union Army, the Union Army generally tended to stop advancing within a range of 150 to 300 yards (about 137 to 274 meters) and organize the troops to conduct volley fire.

As for the specific distance to stop, it depends on the training level of the troops and the tactical needs of the Northern Army commander.

Generally speaking, most Union troops conducted volley fire at a distance of about 200 yards (about 183 meters). This distance allowed the rifle firepower to achieve the best effect, while also ensuring that the soldiers had enough reaction time to defend or move under intensive firepower.

200 yards is also the best shooting distance for the Thunder machine gun!

The soldiers of the machine gun crew did not disappoint Washington. Although many machine gunners were so nervous that their hands were shaking and their heartbeats were accelerating as they watched the Union Army getting closer and closer to their positions, they still suppressed the urge to fire and patiently waited for Washington's order to fire.

"Distance 200 yards! Line up!"

Just as Washington expected, the Northern Army chose to fire volleys in formation at a distance of about 200 yards!

At this distance, Washington could clearly hear the New York officers in the front row giving orders in a thick New York accent.

"Fire!" Without waiting for the federal troops in the front row to organize their formation, Washington gave the order to fire.

As the flag signalmen beside Washington kept waving the command flags, 114 Thunder machine guns spewed out angry flames at the blue sea of ​​​​people formed by the Northern Army!

Da da da da da da da da

The continuous sound of machine gun fire, like thunder tearing through the sky, was like a punishment from the gods, instantly tearing the Northern Army's lines into pieces.

It was not a volley like a rifle, nor a deafening roar like a cannon, but a continuous roar, like thousands of saws cutting the air madly, tearing apart all living things blocking the way!

The Union soldiers in the first row didn't even have time to react. Their chests, heads, and limbs were torn apart by dense bullets. Blood mist exploded in the air, and broken limbs were scattered everywhere by the high-speed bullets.

Some people were knocked to the ground by the dense bullets, and the faces of the Union soldiers behind him were splattered with blood. They mistakenly thought that they were also shot and screamed in fear.

With such an open terrain and such a dense formation, the panicked Union soldiers had no chance to turn around and dodge. They were hit by the dense rain of bullets in an instant, like wheat harvested by a sickle, and fell dead in large numbers in the fertile fields outside Omaha.

The Northern cavalry on both sides tried to rush into the Western Army's position and tear apart the Western Army's thin defense line. However, before they could take a few steps, a torrential rain of lead bullets swept through the cavalry ranks.

All the Northern cavalrymen who tried to attack the Western Army's position were shattered in an instant, and the blood mist splashed by humans and animals mixed with the afterglow of the setting sun to show a strange blood-red rainbow.

The frightened war horses ran around uncontrollably, even disrupting the formation of their own infantry.

The machine gun fire continued, like a bloodthirsty monster, biting every Union soldier who tried to advance.

The team that was very neat a minute ago suddenly became fragmented and chaotic in the face of the metal jet.

The Union soldiers fled desperately like frightened horses. Their oath to defend the Northern Union and their oath to be loyal to Lincoln and McClellan seemed so pale and powerless in the face of this nightmarish firepower.

The Union soldiers who fell to the ground struggled to get up in the muddy blood swamp, but they could only hear the screams of their comrades beside them. It was like hell on earth.

In just one minute, the Northern Army in the front row was almost wiped out!

As the sound of machine gun fire rang out, the artillery brigade in the rear, which had been ready for a long time, increased the intensity of the bombardment. Hundreds of Sacramento cannons made a deafening roar, and together with the 114 Thunder machine guns in the front, they efficiently harvested the lives of Union soldiers!

Soon, the second and third rows of Union soldiers were also engulfed by the merciless rain of metal bullets. The Union soldiers dropped their weapons in horror and turned to flee, but countless bullets and shells were still chasing them from behind, piercing their backs and tearing their lungs. Blood flowed like the juice of crushed grapes in the fields in the fertile soil on the outskirts of Kansas City.

Joseph staggered to his feet, his eyes wide open like bells. He had lived for forty-seven years and served in the army for eighteen years, but he had never seen such a tragic scene!

"So this is the conspiracy of the Western Army! What kind of devilish weapon is this?"

murmured the distraught Joseph Hooker.

(End of this chapter)