1890 King of Southeast Asia

The straight-line distance from Semarang to Batavia is only more than 300 kilometers, but in Indonesia, where the terrain is complex, even in the flat northern area, the construction road connecting the two places is 450 kilometers long. The two sides are approaching each other at a speed of 50 kilometers per day. If nothing unexpected happens, it will not be until the eighth day that the scouts of both sides will find each other, but the battlefield is a place where accidents happen frequently.

On November 12, the second and third detachments, which had been rested, followed the trajectory of the first detachment and approached Batavia.

On November 13, the scouts who had been riding for two days ran into the first detachment that was advancing, and immediately reported to Wang Yang that the Dutch had left the city on a large scale.

Wang Yang estimated the time and thought that the two sides would meet around the 16th, and then ordered to continue to move forward. This was calculated by Wang Yang based on the Chinese being able to march 30 kilometers a day.

In fact, this was based on the strong patience of Chinese soldiers and the high coverage rate of mules and horses. Although Dutch soldiers are European "powers", they are not as rich as South Chinese soldiers.

(This data is also my imagination. The calculation takes into account the difficulty of marching in the rainforest and the overall mobility.)

During this process, Wang Yang received intelligence from the follow-up special forces battalion one after another, and learned the number of Dutch people and the marching speed, which overturned the judgment on the 16th.

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

"What are they trying to do?"

Hertz looked at the map and couldn't figure out the intentions of the South China Army. With only 2,000 people, they dared to march alone to Batavia?

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

"Make every effort to investigate, send more scouts, and keep moving forward. We can't be scared by 2,000 people!" said Hertz, who couldn't figure out the intentions of the South China Army.

"Find out if there are reinforcements behind them!"

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

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

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

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

On the other side, Hertz, who knew that the two sides were not far away, accelerated the march and even carried out a forced march. Unfortunately, the two thousand colonial army was too weak to be strong.

On the 17th, the Dutch marched 35 kilometers for the first time, but did not get any news from the South China Army, so on the 18th, Hertz only sent a large number of scouts instead of continuing to advance.

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

"The Dutch stopped? What kind of planes?" Wang Yang asked in confusion.

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

"The infantry is almost here, tomorrow morning, and the artillery will be a little later, after all, there are more supplies to be transported." Zhao Dabao replied.

On the 19th, Hertz learned that the South China Army was preparing to build fortifications and prepare for defense. He also learned that the South China Army only had a 2,000-man force in the future. Apart from that, the entire Semarang did not continue to send troops out, so he put down his hanging heart.

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

The Dutch army continued to move until it reached a small town twelve kilometers away from the South China Army fortifications, and then stopped.

"Tomorrow we will start a test attack to see how strong the South China is!" Hertz thought.

On November 20th, the sun just came out, and four battalions of more than 2,000 Dutch soldiers were dispatched. It took two hours to walk twelve kilometers. At this time, the sun was overhead, hanging high!

"What are they doing? Why are they digging so many holes on the ground like mice!" The staff officer next to Hertz observed the trenches of the South China Army with a telescope and said puzzledly.

"This is a trench, which serves as a breastwork. During the Civil War, the United States used it. The anti-artillery effect is not bad?" Hertz said with a pout.

"But relying on this alone, you want to stop us? It's undoubtedly a foolish dream."

"Then will we still make a tentative attack?" the staff officer asked.

"The original tentative plan remains unchanged. First, assemble two companies and charge. 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 since the five-week deadline. Hertz was running out of time and was inevitably anxious.

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

The atmosphere in the command center was very serious. No one spoke, but just stared at the Dutch's actions.

After all, this was the first time this tactic appeared. Everyone was unsure. It was also the first time to confront the Dutch head-on. This was an experience that the South China Army had never had before, and several people were afraid of accidents.

Wang Yang had already organized the mortars that arrived into a fire support unit and had marked Zhu Yuan. Once the front line could not hold up, it would be the artillery that washed the ground.

Soon, the first two companies used for the trial slowly advanced to the South China Army's position without too much obstruction in the middle.

Bang, bang, bang.

Sporadic gunfire 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 advanced to a position 200 meters away from the South China Army's defensive position, but it was not the right time. Wang Yang, who had experienced the difficulty of barbed wire, still ordered not to show his head and wait for the order to counterattack.

The Dutch soldiers of the two companies were quite scattered, which was mainly due to the guerrilla warfare of the Kingdom of Aceh, which taught the Dutch to use skirmish lines.

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

The reserved entrance of the barbed wire was about 100 meters away from the position, which not only ensured safety, but also ensured that there was enough time for the South China soldiers to grow.

"Unexpectedly smooth, will there be any traps?" Hertz said. "Even the natives know that they should send troops at this time and have a shootout with me!"

"Maybe they have no military qualities?" The staff officer guessed.

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

Boom!

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

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

Bang, bang, bang!

The dense gunfire covered the entrances and exits of the test, and the Dutch soldiers fell down like rice being cut. Seeing this, Hertz ordered the troops to withdraw.

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

Bang, boom, boom...

The various artillery carried by the Dutch began to fire mercilessly at the obstacles, and still sent out several entrances and exits of the barbed wire...