Chapter 67 This is not a battle, it's a massacre

  The 16th Regiment of the Qinghai Army marched through Dongqiu Gorge one after another, and deployed at the exit of the gorge, facing off against the Sichuan Army. When the entire 16,000-strong Qinghai Army had passed through Dongqiu Gorge, it was already 10:00 on April 12th.

  Ma Haiyan, Zhou He and Gu Hongyun also came to the outside of the canyon. They stood in a place with higher terrain, observing the formation of the Chuanxi army.

  "Governor, it seems that the Chuanxi army has been well-prepared! Although their fortifications are simple, their firepower is extremely comprehensive. It's going to be difficult for us to break through their defenses!" Gu Hongyun put down his binoculars and said with some concern. It had already been proven countless times before that cavalry was hard-pressed to win in a narrow terrain against the Chuanxi army's formidable firepower.

  "Your Excellency, why don't we take a detour? Let's wait until the Hezhou Ma and Ningma armies arrive, and then discuss our next move!" Zhou He also advised. Seeing that the Chuanxi army was already arrayed in battle formation, his heart grew increasingly uneasy.

  "Hum! We've already come this far, how can we retreat now? Have you all been intimidated by the Sichuan Army for so many years?" Ma Haiyan said discontentedly. The long march had made him somewhat tired, and his face was also a bit pale. However, his eyes were bright and spirited, looking extremely excited.

  "Yes, Admiral!" Gu Hongyun and Zhou He had no choice but to give up their own views.

  "Come, order the 13th, 14th, 16th and 18th battalions to launch an attack in ten minutes. I want to see them trample the Sichuan army's defense line with their horses' hooves and behead the Sichuan army with their sabers!" Ma Haiyan commanded loudly.

  "Yes, General!" The orderly immediately went down to pass on the order. Soon, there were changes in the personnel and horses of the Qingma Army, with four battalions separating from the main force and advancing slowly for a distance of one or two hundred meters before waiting for the final attack order.

  "All units prepare, the Green Horse Army is about to attack!" The officers of the 10th Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army shouted one after another as they discovered the abnormality of the Green Horse Army. The soldiers in the simple trenches loaded their bullets, each with five hand grenades in front of them, and the heavy machine guns were aimed at the front. The bullet belts made of canvas had already been prepared. Behind them were dozens of mortars, which had also made preparations for firing. Further behind was the artillery position of 8 82-style infantry cannons. The soldiers' war horses were all left in the rear under the care of special personnel. When fighting a positional defensive battle, war horses cannot be placed on the battlefield, as it would cause unnecessary losses and if the war horses are frightened, they would have an adverse impact on the defense.

  "Charge!" Just ten minutes had passed, and the cavalry of the Green Horse Army launched a charge. The warhorses started with a slow trot, gradually accelerating, getting faster and faster. A distance of three kilometers was nothing for warhorses charging at high speed, taking only about eight minutes.

  "Fire!" At this time, the artillery position of the Western Sichuan Army also opened fire. 8 82-style infantry guns began to bombard at the fastest speed. In the battle, the maximum firing rate of the 82-style infantry gun was four rounds per minute. The shells hit the marching column of the Qing Ma Army, causing intense explosions. Amidst the flames and flying shrapnel, many Qing Ma soldiers were knocked off their horses, and even if they weren't killed by the blast, they were trampled to death by the warhorses behind them.

  The bombardment of the Chongqing Army by the Sichuan Army caused some confusion, but the impact was very limited. Even after someone and war horses were blown to death, the Chongqing Army moved forward in an orderly manner, filling up the vacancies again, and continued to charge at the Sichuan Army with a neat cavalry formation. It must be said that the massive cavalry charge was indeed spectacular, and the momentum of overwhelming the enemy was unmatched by other troops before the appearance of armored forces.

  Wang Yuezhe and Cai Yun, under the protection of a group of guards, were watching the dynamics of the battlefield from a high place far away from the scene. Or, more precisely, they were waiting for the Chuanxi Army to slaughter the Qingma Army. Both of them believed that the powerful firepower of the Chuanxi Army was like a copper wall and iron bastion, which would definitely make the Qingma Army crash and bleed. Cavalry had already begun to decline gradually!

  "Kill!" The cavalrymen of the Qing Ma Army, under the artillery fire of the Sichuan Western Army, shouted slogans to kill the enemy and charged towards the position of the Sichuan Western Army. The distance was being shortened bit by bit.

  When the Qing army rushed to within one kilometer of the Sichuan Army, the Sichuan Army's mortars also opened fire. Dozens of mortars fired at the Qing army with maximum speed, pouring shells into the Qing army's charging formation. The shells exploded in the midst of the Qing army's charge, taking lives, whether human or horse. Although the power of the mortars was not as great as that of infantry guns, the Sichuan Army had more mortars and a faster firing rate. The mortars currently equipped by the Sichuan Army had a maximum firing rate of 10 rounds per minute. Hundreds of shells fell on the Qing army every minute, causing severe casualties.

  Under the intense bombardment of the Sichuan Army, the vanguard formation of the Qing army fell into chaos. Many soldiers were frightened by the intense artillery fire and wanted to retreat, but they were knocked down by the cavalry rushing up from behind, making the scene extremely chaotic. This gave the Sichuan Army more opportunities to shell them.

  "Attack! Attack!" Ma Haiyan saw this situation and was furious.

  "Wooo!" A long bugle call sounded, conveying the command to the Blue Wolf soldiers in front. The Blue Wolf soldiers who heard the command once again launched a charge. However, the formation of the charge had already become completely disordered. Moreover, casualties were heavy. Over two kilometers, they had paid the price of more than a thousand men. For the remaining one kilometer, it was clear that they would suffer an even greater blow.

  Every step of the charge by the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty army was almost at the cost of their lives. After they paid a heavy price and continued to advance for 500 meters, they were not far from the position of the Sichuan Army. Victory seemed just ahead!

  "Yes, charge! Use your battle knives to cut off the heads of the Sichuan Army!" Ma Haiyan yelled crazily.

  "Fire!" At this moment, all the heavy machine guns on the Chuanxi army's position opened fire. Dozens of heavy machine guns spewed out tongues of flame, sweeping towards the Qingma army, and the bullets shot out formed a metal storm. Those Qingma troops who were charging at high speed were easily mowed down like wheat, row by row. The last 500 meters seemed extremely close, but undoubtedly led to the road of death.

  The heavy machine guns currently equipped by the Chuanxi Army have a high firing rate of up to 600 rounds per minute, with an effective range of up to 700 meters. Within this distance, human flesh is simply unable to withstand it. The soldiers of the Qingma Army were extremely brave and launched an attack against the hail of bullets from the Chuanxi Army. However, no matter how hard they tried, they were ultimately unable to charge onto the Chuanxi Army's position. Especially after the cavalry guns in the hands of the Chuanxi Army soldiers opened fire, the dense bullets completely blocked all roads forward. Even if some lucky ones managed to dodge the artillery, machine gun and cavalry triple attack and broke through to a place just tens of meters away from the Chuanxi Army's position. At this time, what often greeted them was a barrage of hand grenades, thoroughly crushing their idea of charging into the Chuanxi Army's position.

  Under the intense firepower of the Sichuan Army, the Qinghai Army collapsed. The heavy casualties had consumed their courage completely. At this time, no one expected to break through the Sichuan Army's defense anymore, but rather to preserve their lives as the top priority. As they turned their backs on the Sichuan Army and fled, the Sichuan Army once again reaped countless lives.

  Ma Haiyan's face turned iron-green as he watched all of this, these soldiers were his many years' painstaking effort! Every time a soldier was killed by the Sichuan Army, it felt like his heart was bleeding.

  Gu Hongqiang and Zhou He were also pale. The charge of the Qing Ma Army was not weak, but in front of the Sichuan Ximilitary's position, it was like a wave crashing against the shore, shattering on the rocks. This wasn't a battle, it was a massacre!

  When the remnants of the four battalions returned, after counting the number of people, it was found that out of the 4,000 who set out, only a little over 1,000 were left. Upon hearing this report on casualties, Ma Haiyan's vision went dark and he almost fell to the ground.

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