Alien Arms Empire

Chapter 465 Battle of Copper City

Different from the expedition to Dongwan Island, in this war against Zheng, Tang Mo’s troops were all hoarded on Dongwan Island, so they were sent to the front line to join the battle faster.

The advance deployment in Zheng State, secretly hoarding supplies, local people volunteering to serve as guides, and roads extending in all directions made the Tang army's advance more convenient and faster.

Through the route between Dongwan Port and Linshui Port, Tiger easily transported his 1st Motorized Infantry Division and 1st Infantry Division across the strait, and then more troops also completed the transfer.

　　Counting the 1st Marine Division and the 4th Army Infantry Division, Tiger had already sent four divisions to the coast of Zheng without basically breaking out in battle.

The combat effectiveness of these troops is not comparable to that of ordinary troops. These main forces are basically integrated divisions with nearly 20,000 people. The number of artillery equipped by a division may be more than the number of artillery equipped by a country in the past.

Tiger, the 1st Marine Division responsible for the amphibious landing, did not want to be easily sent to the front line to be consumed, so he held this naval unit in his hands and did not allow it to participate in subsequent battles.

Most of the troops of this division are now stationed around Linshui Port, because there is no way to equip a large number of vehicles, and this amphibious landing force does not have the ability to travel long distances on the road.

Tiger arranged the remaining three divisions in three main directions. The southernmost one is the 4th Division, which has the weakest combat effectiveness. They will go all the way south to the border between Zheng and Chu. superior.

Attacking northward was the relatively fast Motorized 1st Division. This unit had the most cars and the fastest advancement. Their mission was to advance to the north of Zheng as quickly as possible and stabilize the border between Zheng and Qi.

 What remains is the old unit originally commanded by Tiger, the 1st Infantry Division with the strongest combat effectiveness. Tiger ordered them to advance westward, and the attack direction was exactly in the direction of Zheng's royal city.

Tiger also made arrangements for the follow-up troops. The 5th and 6th Divisions, which also had relatively stronger combat capabilities, were regarded as reserves and followed the 1st Division to the west, the 7th Division to the north, and the 8th Division. Division to the south, serving as reserves for the 1st Motorized Infantry Division and the 4th Division respectively.

From north to south, Tiger’s formation is 232, a total of 7 divisions of combat troops. If necessary, there are two divisions being formed on Dongwan Island that can be reinforced at any time, namely the 9th and 10th divisions.

  The main force of the Zheng army standing in front of these troops was about 200,000, of which 50,000 were deployed on the border between Zheng and Chu, and about 70,000 were stationed on the northern border of Qi.

In other words, the number of Zheng troops that can really be deployed to join the battle immediately is only about 80,000, which means they have no advantage at all in terms of military strength.

 Zheng Guo's general Li Jun now only has 40,000 troops in his hands, and most of these troops are not ready for battle.

 Compared to the Tang Dynasty, Zheng's industrialization level was too low. Most of the weapons and equipment that were originally planned to be produced by themselves were not fully deployed due to production capacity issues.

 Coupled with delays in corruption and corruption, Zheng’s army’s weapons and equipment replacement was less than one-third complete.

 In fact, Li Jun, the main force, only had about half of his troops, equipped with Cyric Type 1 rifles purchased from Cyric, and a small number of breech-loading cannons.

In addition, Zheng also had a relatively powerful force, the Guards of Zheng Tong stationed in the royal city. This force had more advanced weapons and a higher level of training.

Other than these two troops, most of Zheng's army was only equipped with flintlock muskets and muzzleloader cannons, and their combat effectiveness was really child's play.

As the general of the Zheng State, Li Jun can still hold the pass and stabilize the defense line. Rather than saying that he used his troops like a god, it is more accurate to say that the troops of the Tang Dynasty took the initiative to stop the attack.

Tiger was worried that his troops would encounter a sudden counterattack, so he steadily ordered his troops to stop advancing and wait for the follow-up troops.

Li Jun reported his great victory to Zheng Tong: he successfully stopped the Tang army's advance and stabilized his defense line.

 Subsequently, the first real battle of this war broke out, with the two sides competing around Copper City, the center of the Zheng Army's defense line.

Copper City is located approximately in the center of Zheng State and was named because of the copper mines surrounding it. There are many mines here, so there are also many factories. Naturally, Zheng Guo also attaches great importance to it.

 Li Jun deployed 10,000 elite troops here, equipped with Cyric 1 bolt-action rifles and supported by 30 breech-loaded field guns. The defenders strengthened the city walls and deployed fortifications on the outside.

The Tang troops attacking here were the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the 1st Infantry Division, with a total strength of more than 7,000 people. They also strengthened their artillery and completely overwhelmed the Zheng Guo defenders in terms of firepower.

The two sides launched a fierce artillery battle here. Li Jun's elite resisted desperately. The two sides fought fiercely for a whole day. In the end, the Tang army annihilated the Zheng army at the cost of 17 people killed and more than 110 injured, and captured Tongcheng.

This was almost a one-sided massacre, and the Zheng army was completely crushed during the artillery battle.

The performance of Cyric's 130mm field howitzer is completely inferior to the Datang Group's 105mm caliber howitzer. The performance gap between the two sides determines that in this artillery battle, Datang Group's artillery can always suppress Zheng Jun's artillery. What's more, the artillerymen of the Datang Group also have a more powerful 155 mm caliber howitzer. The power of this thing is really enough to be described as shocking.

 General Zheng army positions only need to be hit by one 155mm caliber howitzer shell, and they will almost collapse.

If they don't give up their position and retreat immediately, they will be hit by a second artillery shell. Not everyone can bear the horror of the entire position being shaken by the explosion.

There is also a gap in the infantry firepower between the two sides. The Zheng army has almost no machine guns, let alone submachine guns. In trench warfare, their bolt-action rifles are no match for the automatic weapons in the hands of Datang Group troops.

The most tragic thing is that most of the Zheng army did not even have the opportunity to hide in the trenches and have a close encounter with the Tang army. They were covered by artillery fire before the Tang army charged.

Tang Jun gave full play to his equipment advantages and made Zheng Jun's deployment a joke. The city wall reinforced by Zheng Jun was vulnerable to artillery fire, and the fortifications set up outside the city were also very amateurish.

Zheng Jun, who had no experience in modern warfare at all, suffered heavy losses from the Tang army. They finally realized how huge the firepower gap between the two sides was in the face of casualties.

Not only large-caliber howitzers, the Tang Army also equipped a large number of mortars as supplementary firepower. These artillery can be deployed flexibly, but their firepower is very powerful, which is simply a nightmare for Zheng's army.

Although Li Jun deployed heavy troops in Tongcheng and defended the area, these troops quickly collapsed under the fierce firepower of the Datang Group's troops.

Li Jun's close confidant, Zheng Guo's powerful general Lu Fang, was killed on the city wall, and the 3,000 "Li Jiajun" who were Li Jun's closest relatives were completely wiped out.

Zheng's troops who lost Copper City were at a comprehensive disadvantage. The originally relatively complete defense line suddenly had a gap in the middle, and they immediately began to retreat across the board.

The biggest problem is that all the arms accumulated in Tongcheng have become trophies for the Tang army. The tens of thousands of troops have also lost 7788% of their food, grass and baggage. The nearby Zheng army is no longer able to fight anymore.

At the same time, the mines, ore processing plants, and metal smelting plants around Tongcheng have also been occupied by the Tang army. The arsenals including the Tongcheng bullet factory have also been controlled by the Tang army.

 Li Jun did not believe that the remaining troops in his hands were capable of counterattacking the Tang army and recapturing the crucial Tongcheng Arsenal.

General Li, who knew how much he weighed, immediately led his troops to retreat towards the royal city, even leaving behind the troops at the rear.

 Subsequently, the Tang army captured and defeated more than 10,000 enemy troops and achieved a great victory in Tongcheng. The surrounding Zheng army immediately showed its true nature after Li Jun's troops retreated, and dispersed under the Tang army's offensive.

The central battlefield, which was originally 80,000 vs. 60,000, instantly became 30,000 vs. 60,000. Zheng Jun's almost negligible strength advantage was completely wiped out.

Even with the more than 20,000 forbidden troops stationed in Zheng's royal city, the strength of the central region of Zheng was only about 50,000. At this moment, the Tang Army, which was waiting for the follow-up 5th and 6th Divisions, was in the central region. The deployed troops have exceeded 60,000.

According to Tiger, he has never fought such a rich battle! For the first time, the Tang Army had a numerical advantage in the main direction of attack!

Tiger, who had obtained the copper city, did not rush to advance towards the royal city. He focused on the south and north.

 Due to the victory of the Tang army in the Battle of Tongcheng, the Zheng army stationed on the border was shaken. For their own future, the generals of the border army carefully considered the price offered to them by Datang Group.

On the seventh day when the war broke out, 50,000 Zheng troops stationed at the southern border surrendered to the Tang Kingdom. As agreed, they did not give up their defense zone and continued to guard the border until the end of the war.

Two days later, after receiving security guarantees, the 70,000 troops stationed by the Zheng State on the northern border announced their surrender to the Tang Kingdom. Tang Mo got his wish and took control of the border area, completely holding the Zheng State in his hands.

 To this day, the only area where Zheng Guo still resists is near the royal city. The 1st, 5th and 6th Divisions have already begun to advance towards the vicinity of Zheng Wangcheng.

It only took less than 13 days to completely encircle the royal city of Zheng and occupy almost the entire territory of Taige, but there was no rush.

He slowed down the advance of the troops, fought steadily and without greed for credit, and finally advanced to the vicinity of the King's City of Zheng on the 22nd day when the war broke out.

Compared to Redman’s destruction of the Gemelin Kingdom, it was indeed much slower, but this speed of advancement still made the world remember another name: “Tiger”.

—

 I have a physical problem, so I’m going to update my mind recently. I’m sorry for all the readers.

 (End of this chapter)