Wild North America 1846

Chapter 690 Antofagasta
1887. 7, 12

Port of Antofagasta, South America
This is Bolivia's largest port on the Pacific coast. The city of Antofagasta has a population of 23.5. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and is located on the shores of Moreno Bay.

This is a port city that emerged due to the mining of mineral resources such as saltpeter, copper and silver. In the Chuquicamata area, more than 40 kilometers away from Antofagasta Port, a world-class large copper mine has been discovered in recent years. mines, which intensified the competition among the three South American countries for the region.

In the blue bay of Moreno
Seven Chilean warships were fiercely bombarding the targets on the shore. The buildings in the port were bombarded and collapsed. The blue and black gunpowder smoke filled the air, and the crisp gunfire sounded like a burst.

Of the three South American nations, the Chilean navy, backed by Britain, was twice as powerful as the combined forces of Peru and Bolivia.

Using one's own naval superiority to attack the enemy's ports first and block the coastlines of Bolivia and Peru is a typical British naval strategy, which has been tried and tested.

Inside the command tower of the flagship "Esmeralda"

General Williams, the commander of the Chilean Navy, and Colonel George Graham, the head of the British military delegation, stood side by side, watching the effect of the shelling outside the porthole, talking in a low voice from time to time.

The combat plan of attacking the port and blocking the coastline was proposed by the British military delegation, which can maximize the intelligence and naval advantages and inflict heavy damage on the enemy.

Cannons are rumbling

Colonel George Graham observed the collapse of the port house and the casualties of the Bolivian defenders. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "You fought well, Commander, you can let your soldiers land. It is difficult to organize an effective resistance, and now is the time."

"Thank God, I think the same as you, Mr. Colonel." General Williams turned his head after speaking, nodded to his officers, and ordered; "Now let the landing force launch an attack and fully occupy this port."

"Obey, sir." The officer who received the order gave a standard military salute, then turned around and ran away quickly.

not long
The freighter hovering in the bay braved artillery fire and docked at the pier, and a large number of Chilean soldiers wearing blue jackets and red trousers poured out of the freighter.

Their arrival quickly triggered a counterattack from Bolivian soldiers.

Compared with the well-dressed Chilean soldiers equipped with smooth-bore rifles, the Bolivian soldiers, mainly Indians, are poorly equipped and dressed in various styles. Many soldiers are wearing cheap plastic sandals, and rushing with bows and arrows, crossbows, knives and guns in their hands. come out.

In the ruins of the building in the port, a fierce battle soon broke out between the two sides...

After the Chilean soldiers regrouped slightly, they formed large and small battle formations. They took up their smoothbore rifles and launched volleys of guns against the enemy.

During the impact, many Indian soldiers were covered in blood holes by the hot bullets, blood spurted out, and they fell powerlessly to death on the ruined streets.

There are also some Indian soldiers who shot the crossbows in their hands, causing damage to a small number of Chilean soldiers.But in the face of a volley of guns, it is obvious that his own losses are even heavier.

The fierce fighting lasted for more than ten minutes, and the Bolivian soldiers left a large number of corpses and fled in a hurry.

After the Chilean landing force consolidated the dock area, with the arrival of thousands of follow-up reinforcements, they marched towards the inland city.

It is not that the Bolivian army is not equipped with muskets, but the number is small, and most of them are equipped with relatively elite troops.

Relying on their numerical superiority, they launched a fierce counterattack against the Chilean army that had invaded the city.

At this moment

The Chilean fleet moored in the harbor completed the cover mission and stopped shelling one after another.

You must know that shells are very expensive. These two hours of shelling cost millions of Tang Yuan, which is enough for the Chilean navy to feel distressed for a long time.

Chile is the country with the highest proportion of whites in the entire Americas, and the country with the least proportion of Chinese. Among them, whites and Indo-European mixed blood account for 85.6% of the population, Chinese immigrants account for 5.3%, and Indians account for 9.1%.

Most of the white residents in the country believe in Catholicism and have close ties with Britain and Germany. The Navy imported two 2950-ton cruisers from the United Kingdom, which are the well-deserved main armored cruisers of the Chilean Navy.

The flagship "Esmeralda" is one of them. The ship has a displacement of 2950 tons, a length of 82.3 meters, a width of 12.8 meters, a draft of 5.64 meters, a main engine power of 6803 horsepower, and a speed of about 18.3 knots.

Its 2.5-inch thick dome deck extends from the bow to the stern, firmly protecting the vital facilities such as the engine room and ammunition compartment below.

这艘军舰的主炮是2门10寸30倍径阿姆斯特朗大炮，一前一后配属在舰艏和舰艉的炮台内，此外还装备有6门6寸26倍口径副炮，2门6磅小速射炮，以及3具14寸鱼雷发射管，火力在南美洲三国中首屈一指。

The ship joined the Chilean Navy on July 1884, 7. It was the flagship of the fleet and was named "Esmeralda".

At this moment

The "Esmeralda" was filled with the heavy smell of gunpowder smoke after the shelling. General Williams and several officers of the British military delegation walked to the bow deck.

He watched the busy soldiers wiping the gunpowder residue in the gun barrel and pushing the ammunition carts back and forth, looking orderly, and felt complacent for a while.

"Honorable Sir, on behalf of the Chilean government, I would like to express my gratitude to you for your sincere help and your valuable advice, which keeps us on the right path.

The Tang State will only chatter about asking us to bridge our differences, but they have invaded large areas of South American territory, from Tierra del Fuego to Colombia, all of which have become the back garden of the Tang State.

Americans are right;
We are too far from God, but too close to these Orientals.

Every country on this continent lives in the shadow of the cruel and cold-blooded Tang State, maintaining peace and prosperity on the surface, but trembling in private, for fear of becoming the next target of sacrifice.

Everyone knows
Horrible things are happening in Colombia and Cuba, where millions of indigenous populations are disappearing and replaced by oriental influxes.

History, culture and beliefs have all disappeared, and this kind of tragic drama is staged again and again, while the whole world seems to turn a blind eye. This is really a terrible reality! "

The words of General Williams express the true thoughts of the white upper-class elites in some American countries. They are afraid of the Tang Dynasty and resist the erosion of Eastern culture from the bottom of their hearts, but they dare not express their true thoughts too much.

Colonel George Graham was keenly aware of the hint of resentment and dissatisfaction hidden in the words. He stood proudly on the deck with his hands in his pockets, and looked away...

There is an armored cruiser "Black Wind" from the Pacific Fleet of Panama, with a full load displacement of more than 5200 tons. The tall ship is covered with cold luster of steel and thick rivets, quietly moored in the bay.

The strength of such a huge ship, the entire Chilean navy piled up for nothing.

And this powerful ironclad cruiser is just an observation ship sent by the Tang Empire, it seems to remind the three South American countries participating in the war;

Don't forget the existence of the entire American hegemony.

There are many officers and soldiers on the stern deck of the "Black Wind" ironclad cruiser. It seems that they are holding an open-air barbecue party. While enjoying delicious barbecue and beer, they are watching the bloody port battle between Chile and Bolivia.

This leisurely and arrogant attitude almost made Chilean's nose crooked, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Colonel George Graham smiled indifferently, and said;
"My Honorable General
As a friend, I suggest not to mention Tang Guo in the topic.That will be a huge existence that Chile will not be able to touch for hundreds of years in the future, and it is not a good idea to anger him.

You have also seen that this is an era of frequent wars, an era where the strong can bully the weak, and it is a somewhat bad era.

If Chile can win this war, it will monopolize this resource-rich area. What kind of reward will it be?

This is the right that the powerful can enjoy. From your point of view, I am afraid that you cannot understand the true meaning that world-class powers should not be blamed.

The strong themselves should enjoy transcendental treatment.

The demise of some weak and backward nations may be the essence of the world's replacement. No one will feel sorry for them, let alone have any sincere condolences.

I suggest that you come out of this sad mood and face the reality bravely, even if this reality is a bit cruel, we must accept it. "

Colonel George Graham's remarks are not only talking about the Tang Dynasty, but also about the United Kingdom. No one can blame the rule-makers, and the rules will even be changed according to the needs of the great powers.

Following his gaze, General Williams also looked at the armored cruiser "Black Wind" parked in the distance. On the tall steel triangular mast of "Black Wind", the flag of the Royal Navy of the Great Tang Empire fluttered in the wind.

As if being pricked by a needle, General Williams' complexion changed and he quickly looked away, responding with a slightly ugly face;

"Your Excellency, thank you for your reminder, which made me face up to the reality that I have always wanted to avoid.

Perhaps this is the fate of Chile, but we have always felt a strong connection with Europe, from traditional lifestyles to religious beliefs.

Chile has always attached great importance to developing relations with European countries, especially London, and sincerely hopes that London can pay more attention to South American issues..."

"Oh...the soldiers fought well." Colonel George Graham suddenly interrupted the general, and pointed to the vaguely waving flags and cheers in front of him. It was that the Chilean soldiers had conquered another important Target.

He didn't want to listen to the general's nagging. Every country in the world hoped to get the attention of Britain, but where did London get so much energy?

The dispatch of a miniature military delegation headed by Colonel George Graham is itself a sign of London's importance.

The battle situation here will not appear in British newspapers a few days later. Ninety-nine percent of the British people don’t know about Chile, a South American country, and they don’t care whether he is dead or alive, whether he won the war?

Colonel George Graham didn't want to respond positively to the general's expectations, but it was also out of good intentions, which would deeply hit General Williams' self-esteem.

The source of whites in Chile is mainly descendants of Spanish colonists, as well as descendants of immigrants from Portugal, Italy, Ireland, France, Greece, and Germany. Of course, there are also mixed blood and descendants of Arabs among these European nations, which have nothing to do with the British.

The British believe in Protestantism, while the majority of Chileans believe in Catholicism. The so-called traditional lifestyle and beliefs are even more nonsense, and they are not the same thing at all.

(End of this chapter)