Slaying the Qing: My Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

North of Jinshanwei, two infantry regiments of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Eastern Expeditionary Army, along with a cavalry battalion and an artillery battalion, had completed their assembly. The total strength was nearly nine thousand men.

In terms of troop strength, it is already equivalent to three times the ground forces of the coalition landing.

Given the Taiping Army's absolute advantage in weaponry and equipment, it's fair to say that the Taiping Army should not have lost this battle.

However, Generals Li Xiucheng and Li Shixian were considering how to wipe out all the foreign devils who had landed.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Heavenly King Hong Tian had already given instructions to annihilate all the foreign devils who had landed.

Only then will the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom have enough leverage to negotiate with the foreigners, and only then will they be able to force the foreigners to bow down and pay a price that satisfies the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Not only in this battle, but also if the foreigners send more reinforcements to attack the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, then the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom must also try its best to annihilate the foreigners.

"Commander, the foreigners have already departed from Jinshanwei, their target being Jinshan County. They are expected to arrive at Zhangyan Town this afternoon. We can then set up defenses in Zhangyan Town and wipe out these foreign devils in one fell swoop!" General Li Shixian suggested.

"We can deploy an infantry regiment in Zhangyan Town to fight the foreign devils head-on. The artillery battalion can concentrate its firepower to provide fire support for the troops. Another infantry regiment and cavalry battalion can flank from the side to ensure that all the foreign devils are left behind!" General Li Xiucheng said.

"Yes, Commander!" General Li Shixian replied.

General Li Shixian immediately went to issue orders, and the various units of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Eastern Expeditionary Army quickly began to mobilize.

On the afternoon of November 16, the coalition ground forces arrived outside Zhangyan Town.

General Grant, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, personally directed this operation.

Commander Montauban of the Gallic expeditionary force remained on the ship, only sending his deputy, General Colino, to participate in the battle.

The coalition's ground forces were ultimately too few in number.

Generals were all crowding into the front lines, but it didn't make much of a difference.

"General, our cavalry have spotted the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's army in the town ahead. They have set up a defensive line outside the town," reported an officer of the British Empire's army.

"Very good. I originally thought the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom army would be scared and flee in a sorry state like other enemies we have encountered. But now it seems they are much braver than I imagined. However, this is of no use at all in resisting the Imperial Army's attack."

Next, we'll show those damned infidels how the world's best army fights!

General Grant looked proud.

Although the British Empire's army was not as world-renowned as the Royal Navy, it was still considered a world-class army.

In particular, the combined forces of the British Empire's army and the Gallo-British army, which utterly humiliated the Russian Empire in Crimea, further enhanced their prestige.

Almost all the soldiers of the British Empire's army and the Gallo-British army did not take the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom seriously.

Even in yesterday's battle, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's fortress artillery had already demonstrated extremely formidable combat power.

However, the Allied ground forces still believed they could easily defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's army.

Even if they are outnumbered.

But winning with fewer troops should have been commonplace for them.

"General Collino, the Gallic Army is responsible for flank security. The Imperial Army is responsible for the frontal breakthrough. Any questions?" General Grant asked.

"No problem, Your Excellency!" General Colino replied.

"Very good! Then, assemble the troops immediately and launch the attack!" General Grant gave the order.

"Yes, Your Excellency General!" the officers replied in unison.

More than two thousand soldiers of the British Empire's army were lined up in neat square formations.

The melodious sound of Scottish bagpipes began to play.

The drummers also began to play the snare drum.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of the British Empire's army began to march step by step toward the Taiping Army's defensive line, their steps keeping time to the rhythm of drums.

This scene left the Taiping soldiers looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What are these foreign devils up to? Are they really here to fight a war?"

"Are these foreign devils here to perform opera, playing drums and flutes?"

Both General Li Xiucheng and General Li Shixian were dumbfounded.

Although they had already annihilated the foreign-trained troops, only a small number of them were foreigners; the rest were mercenaries from the Luzon Islands.

This tactic of the foreigners was completely unexpected by them.

"Commander, the foreigners are attacking in such a formation. And it's not even a charge, their speed is so slow. Are they here to die?" General Li Shixian was very surprised.

You have to understand, this kind of formation of foreigners was practically suicidal in the face of the Taiping Army's overwhelming firepower!

"Who knows what's going on with these foreigners? But if they're looking for death, we can't stop them! Order the frontline troops to let them get closer before attacking!" General Li Xiucheng said.

General Li Shixian nodded.

The melodious sound of Scottish bagpipes echoed across the battlefield.

With the rhythmic beat of drums, accompanied by the orderly footsteps of the British Empire's army soldiers, they gradually approached the Taiping Army's defensive line.

Their majestic and heroic bearing stirs the heart.

General Grant was very satisfied with this.

In his view, the British Empire's army was definitely one of the most powerful armies in the world.

The tactics used by the British Empire's army were called volley fire tactics, also known as volley firing tactics.

This dense formation allows them to fully utilize their firepower advantage.

The tactics that enabled the British Empire to conquer the world and establish the largest colonies were undoubtedly greatly influenced by this strategy.

None of the enemies the British Empire faced were their match.

Under such tactics, each soldier is a standard firepower unit, responsible for providing firepower.

However, maintaining such a dense formation on the battlefield also makes one very vulnerable to being hit by the enemy.

Therefore, for ordinary soldiers, all they could do was make the sign of the cross and pray to God for protection.

Or rather, in battle, it's a gamble of luck and a contest of faith!

"Boom! Boom!"

The cannons began to roar, and the British Empire's army, carrying more than a dozen cannons, began to fire on the Taiping Army's defenses.

Scattered shells fell and exploded.

But for the Taiping soldiers in the trenches, as long as the cannonballs didn't fall directly into the trenches, it was fine.

The bombardment from the British Empire posed almost no threat to them.

"General, those guys are all hiding in the trenches. Perhaps that's their tactic!" an officer said.

"Hmph! A cowardly, inferior race. They have completely disgraced the title of soldier," General Grant sneered.

In his view, such a cowardly and timid army was a disgrace to soldiers.

How could such an army possibly be a match for the British Empire's army?

Soon, their valiant army will be able to chase the Taiping Army away like rabbits, scattering them in all directions.

"Order the artillery to prepare to suppress enemy artillery. Mortars and heavy machine guns, attack enemy infantry. If the British are courting death, we'll grant them their wish!" General Li Xiucheng commanded.

"Yes, Commander!" General Li Shixian nodded repeatedly.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The artillery battalion's 24 75mm field guns were the first to fire.

Shells rained down on the artillery positions of the British Empire's army.

The Taiping army's artillery not only had a longer range but also a faster rate of fire.

After several rounds of shelling, the British artillery fell completely silent.

This caused General Grant and the others to frown deeply.

"Those guys have powerful artillery firepower, we have to admit that," General Grant said.

The other officers all nodded in agreement.

However, while artillery plays a significant role on the battlefield, it is not the decisive factor.

Even though Napoleon the Great pioneered the centralized use of artillery, infantry formations remained the most important element on the battlefield.