Chapter 2936

Zheng Agui had met the officer sent by the headquarters to explain the combat plan to Bangui Camp, and it turned out to be the young major who came to inspect the camp yesterday.

Among the troops dispatched from the Banji Camp this time, there were about fifty or sixty officers of all levels, and they were all crowded in this big tent at this time. The senior officers in the front row could still have a small pony to sit on, while junior officers like Zheng Agui

The officers could only stand in the back row and listen to the lecture.

Feng Xingbang confirmed to the battalion commander that all the participants had arrived, and then began to explain: "Everyone, the two maps you are seeing now, the one on the left is a chart of the Philippine Islands, which you must be familiar with. The one on the right is familiar to you.

This picture is the target of your operation, Masbate Island, located between Luzon Island and the Visayan Sea."

Masbate Island is one of the seven largest islands in the Visayas in the central Philippines. It covers an area of ​​more than 3,000 square kilometers and has a hot and humid climate. Fortunately, the terrain is relatively flat, and more than 70% of the island's area is plain land suitable for agricultural development.

.

The Spanish colonists had a large settlement on Masbate Island that had been in operation for many years. However, because of its location close to Haihan's ruling area, it was relatively vulnerable to military attacks. In recent years, the local area has been moving from the coast to inland development. In this way,

When a war breaks out, local residents can choose the opportunity to retreat inland to avoid Haihan's attack.

"This is your attack target, Masbate Town." Feng Xingbang pointed to a location marked with a red triangle on the map: "As you can see, it is located on a peninsula, with a bay on the left and right, and a bay on the north side.

It’s Tikao Island, and its location happens to guard the waterway from Luzon Island to Samar Island and Leyte Island. It is an important supply line for our follow-up operations, so this place must be captured as soon as possible in the early stage of the operation.”

"According to the information we have, there are about two to three thousand residents in the local area. There are no regular troops stationed there. A full dozen to five hundred armed personnel can be organized. In addition, there are a few armed merchant ships in the local area, and the navy will launch a landing campaign.

Come forward to solve them before."

“Our operational plan is to, after clearing the sea obstacles, attack the peninsula from the east and west sides, first cut off the retreat route from Masbate town to the interior, trap the Spaniards on the peninsula, and then clear out the settlements.

"

The battalion commander asked: "What kind of fortifications do the Spaniards have locally? Do they have castles or coastal forts?"

Feng Xingbang said: "Both, but that place has been raided three times by us in the past. Most of the coastal defense forts have been destroyed by artillery fire. They should not be able to rebuild it for the fourth time. Although most of the castle is still preserved, it is also

There are no heavy weapons. If we want to fight now, I think the Spaniards will have to use private houses as fortifications."

The battalion commander still did not dare to be careless and continued to ask: "If we want to fight a tough battle against the castle, we must have large-caliber artillery, right? We only brought a few field guns, and I'm afraid they won't be very useful by then."

Feng Xingbang said: "It is inconvenient to mobilize artillery units across the sea, and the number of large-caliber siege guns is limited, so they need to be arranged according to the combat needs of the entire battle. I can only try my best to help you fight for it, but there is no guarantee that the headquarters will meet your requirements.

.”

The battalion commander asked: "How much time can the headquarters give us?"

"Forty-eight hours, two days." Feng Xingbang raised two fingers and said: "Within this time limit, you must complete the control of the local area. Even if it is not completely occupied, the local Spaniards cannot be allowed to threaten the waterway.

Chance."

"If you can complete the mission in advance, you can get a night's rest. The headquarters will arrange for you to go to the next combat location depending on the specific situation. As for the local defense, the militia forces that will follow up will take over."

The battalion commander frowned, but still expressed his determination to complete the mission to Feng Xingbang.

Although the strength of the Banji Battalion is not considered strong among the Haihan Army, it should not be a big problem to attack a colonial port with only two to three thousand people. It's just that the headquarters has stipulated a time limit for the operation.

This greatly increases the difficulty.

Feng Xingbang only gave the Banji Battalion basic intelligence and combat objectives, and the specific combat plan after arriving at the destination had to be formulated by the Banji Battalion itself.

After Feng Xingbang left, the battalion commander had the South China Sea map taken down and replaced with a standard combat map. The space in this tent was too small, and it was impossible to include the detailed map of Masbate Town provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Hang it out, but to formulate a specific battle plan, this battle map with a more detailed scale is indispensable.

It can be seen on the map that the peninsula where Masbate Town is located is actually much smaller than the Cavite peninsula where the troops are currently located. The peninsula is irregular in oval shape, and the part connected to the main island is only a mile wide. If you can

According to the battle plan drawn up by the staff, by launching a pincer offensive from the left and right sides to capture the narrow area, it would indeed be easy to block the escape route for the residents of the town.

However, if the Spaniards dared to choose such a dangerous location to build a port, they would certainly consider the need for defense.

As can be seen from the picture, the buildings on the peninsula are centered on a castle and radiate to the surroundings. Although no city walls are built in the residential areas, the layout of the entire town is still designed according to the bastion. It only needs to be blocked with brick and wood roadblocks

At several major intersections, the houses surrounding the castle will turn into layers of fortifications.

Even though there may be only a few hundred civilian armed personnel on the island, if organized and directed properly, they can still cause a lot of trouble for the attackers.

Zheng Agui looked at the drawing but was thinking about another thing. The Military Intelligence Bureau was so good at being able to describe the layout of this place in detail. He thought there must be spies from the Military Intelligence Bureau lurking there for a long time. But he didn't know before the Haihan Army launched

During the offensive, can the insiders in the town help?

The battalion commander could not afford to think about these unresolved matters. His three companies were divided into three teams. The first company and the second company launched landing offensives on both sides of the peninsula. The third company served as a mobile force and waited for the other two companies to land first.

, and then choose an opportunity to land at a location where the enemy's defenses are weak.

As for how to clean up the town, it is still difficult to formulate a detailed combat plan based on this map. We can only adapt to the actual situation when the time comes.

What worries everyone the most is actually the issue the battalion commander mentioned earlier.

The heavy firepower of Bangui Camp is only a few small-caliber field guns. In this kind of urban assault environment, it is okay to break down barricades, but if you want to demolish houses and walls and attack strong castles, your firepower will be exposed.

The problem is insufficient.

Once the opponent's resistance is relatively tenacious and one's own side is unable to break through the defense line with firepower, the time limit for combat is set. At that time, one can only attack with manpower, and casualties will be difficult to avoid.
Chapter completed!