The straight-line distance from Semarang to Batavia is only over 300 kilometers. However, in Indonesia with complex terrain, even in the gentle northern area, the construction road connecting the two places is 450 kilometers long. The two sides are traveling at a speed of 50 kilometers per day.

They are approaching quickly. If nothing goes wrong, the scouts from both sides will not notice each other until the eighth day, but the battlefield is a place where accidents happen frequently.

On November 12, the renovated second and third detachments followed the trajectory of the first detachment and approached Batavia.

On November 13, the scouts who had been riding wildly for two days encountered the advancing first detachment and immediately reported to Wang Yang the large-scale departure of the Dutch from the city.

Wang Yang estimated the time and thought that the two sides would meet around the 16th, and immediately ordered to continue moving forward. Wang Yang calculated this based on the fact that the Chinese could march thirty kilometers per day.

In fact, this was achieved due to the strong patience of the Chinese soldiers and the high coverage of mules and horses. Although the Dutch soldiers were a European 'power', they were not as wealthy as the South Chinese soldiers.

(This data is also my imagination. The calculation took into account the difficulty of marching in the rainforest, as well as the overall mobility.)

During this process, Wang Yanglu successively received intelligence from subsequent spy battalions and learned about the number of Dutch people and their marching speed, overturning the previous judgment of the 16th day.

On the other side, on the 15th, when the two sides were only 170 kilometers apart, Hertz also received information about the dispatch of the South China Army.

"What do they want to do?"

Hertz looked at the map and couldn't figure out the intentions of the South China Army. With only two thousand people, they dared to march toward Batavia alone?

"Could it be a bait?" said the staff officer on the side.

"Do your best to conduct reconnaissance, send more scouts, and keep moving forward. Just because there are two thousand people, we can't be frightened!" said Hertz, who was confused about the South China Army's intentions.

"Find out if there are reinforcements behind them!"

On November 17, the two armies were only 70 kilometers apart, and the scouts who came forward had already encountered each other, and even had a brief exchange of fire.

"It's too different from the plan!" Wang Yang said while holding the map.

"What should we do? Should we continue to implement it?" Zhao Dabao, deputy captain of the first detachment, also knew the original plan, but the deviation was too far.

"Stop the execution of the plan temporarily, build fortifications on the spot, and wait for reinforcements." Wang Yang thought about it and finally decided.

On the other side, Hertz, who knew that the distance between the two sides was not far, accelerated the march and even conducted a forced march. Unfortunately, the two thousand colonial army was too stretched and could not be strong.

On the 17th, the Dutch marched an unprecedented 35 kilometers, but received no news from the South China Army. So on the 18th, Hertz only sent a large number of additional scouts instead of continuing to advance.

In two days, the soldiers of the South China Army had laid out trenches and a large number of obstacles, mainly barbed wire.

"The Dutch stopped? What kind of plane are they doing?" Wang Yang asked doubtfully.

"Do you know when the second and third detachments will arrive?"

"The infantry is almost here. Let's wait tomorrow morning. The artillery will be a little later. After all, there is more baggage to be transported." Zhao Dabao replied.

On the 19th, Hertz learned that the South China Army was building fortifications and preparing for defense. He also learned that the South China Army only had a follow-up force of 2,000 people. Apart from this, the entire Semarang did not continue to move outward.

Send troops and let go of your worries.

"Go forward, today's destination is ten kilometers away from the South China Army..." Hertz gave various orders.

The Dutch army continued to move until they reached a small town twelve kilometers away from the Nanhua military fortifications, and then stopped.

"Start a trial attack tomorrow to see how Nanhua's combat effectiveness is!" Hertz thought.

On November 20th, when the sun had just peeked out, more than 2,000 Dutch soldiers from four battalions were dispatched. It took two hours to complete the 12 kilometers. At this time, the sun was hanging high above our heads!

"What are they doing? Why are they digging so many holes in the ground like rats!" The staff officer next to Hertz looked at the South China Army's trenches through a telescope and said doubtfully.

"This is a trench, which serves as a parapet. It was used by the United States during the Civil War. The anti-cannon effect was quite good?" Hertz curled his lips and said.

"But just relying on this to stop us? It is undoubtedly a foolish dream."

"Are we still going to carry out the exploratory attack?" the staff officer asked.

"The original test plan remains unchanged. We will first assemble two companies and charge, and the artillery will pay attention to cover." Hertz did not intend to change the plan. At this time, two weeks and two days had passed before the five-week deadline. Hertz

Time is running out, so it’s inevitable to be anxious.

At the same time, Wang Yang, Zhao Dabao, Xie Hui, Yang Tao and others gathered in the command room, holding monocular binoculars and nervously observing the front line.

The atmosphere in the headquarters was very serious. No one spoke, they just stared at the Dutch's movements.

After all, this was the first time this tactic had appeared, and everyone was unsure. It was also the first time they faced off against the Dutch. This was an experience the South China Army had never had before, and everyone was afraid of an accident.

Wang Yang had already organized the arriving mortars into a fire support force, and had already positioned Zhu Yuan. Once the front line could no longer withstand it, artillery would clear the ground.

Soon, the first two companies used for testing slowly advanced towards the Nanhua Army's position without encountering too many obstacles in the way.

Bang bang bang.

Scattered gunshots came one after another, mainly from the attacking Dutch soldiers and the surrounding scouts.

Five hundred meters, four hundred meters, three hundred meters, two hundred meters.

The Dutch soldiers had already advanced to a position 200 meters away from the South China Army's defensive position, but it was not time yet. Wang Yang, who had experienced the difficulty of barbed wire, still ordered not to show his head and waited for orders to counterattack.

The two companies of Dutch soldiers were quite spread out. This was mainly due to the guerrilla warfare in the Kingdom of Aceh, which allowed the Dutch to learn skirmish lines.

It was not until 150 meters later that the Dutch, who encountered various obstacles, slowly walked towards the position reserved for the barbed wire fence.

The reserved entrance to the barbed wire fence is about a hundred meters away from the position, which not only ensures safety, but also ensures that Nanhua soldiers have enough time to grow.

"It's unexpectedly smooth. Is there any trap?" Hertz said. "Even the natives know that they should send out troops at this time and have a shootout with me!"

"Perhaps they have no military qualities?" the staff officer guessed.

Then as soon as the staff officer finished speaking, the Dutch soldiers stepped on the mines.

boom!

With the huge noise, two Dutchmen died, and there were several wounded cries.

"Fire!" The moment the landmine sounded, the explosion from the landmine was used as a signal flare...

Bang bang bang!

Intensive gunfire covered the entrance and exit of the test, and the Dutch soldiers fell like rice. Seeing this, Herz ordered the troops to withdraw.

"It seems this is a very serious issue. Call the artillery to fire and clear the obstacles!"

Boom boom boom…
Chapter completed!