“General, the Mongol cavalry has moved out. Are the Qing forces making a last stand?”
Major General Dong Shi Yan, Chief of Staff of the Beiyang Army’s 1st Infantry Division, looked grave.
“The strength of the Mongol cavalry is undeniable. But times are changing, and technology is advancing. War has also changed. I want to see if the Mongol cavalry can break through our defenses, composed of Maxim heavy machine guns and mortars.”
Major General Wang Shi Zhen, the commander of the Beiyang Army’s 1st Infantry Division, still seemed confident.
Major General Dong Shi Yan nodded. The strength of the Beiyang Army was undeniable as well.
“Order the artillery, stop hiding their strength and open fire. This time, we must hold off the Mongol cavalry attack. And, we must do our best to inflict the greatest possible damage on them!” Major General Wang Shi Zhen commanded.
“Yes, General!” Major General Dong Shi Yan responded.
On the position of the 1st Artillery Battalion of the 1st Artillery Regiment of the Beiyang Army’s 1st Infantry Division.
The four artillery companies were ready to open fire.
Each company was equipped with six 105-millimeter light howitzers.
“Fire!”
Following the commander’s order, the 24 105-millimeter light howitzers opened fire.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Accompanied by the deafening roar, each shell, weighing over ten kilograms, roared out of the barrel.
The shells landed in the Mongol cavalry formations, exploding violently.
The immense force tossed many Mongol cavalrymen into the air.
Shrapnel flew, reaping the lives of the Mongol cavalrymen and their horses.
Countless horses fell, taking their riders down with them.
Some Mongol cavalrymen were even crushed into paste by the horses charging from behind.
But even so, the vast number of Mongol cavalry continued their rapid charge, quickly approaching the city wall.
“Fire!”
When the Mongol cavalry charged to within a hundred meters of the city wall, the Beiyang Army soldiers on the wall began to unleash their full firepower.
Maxim heavy machine guns roared furiously, mortars fired at maximum rate, and soldiers’ rifles also fired rapidly.
Because the Mongol cavalry charged in a dense formation, the Beiyang Army soldiers didn’t even need to aim, they could just fire into the crowd.
“Da-da-da!”
The dense bullets were like a storm, and even these fearless Mongol cavalrymen could not break through.
Large numbers of Mongol cavalrymen and their horses were riddled with bullets and fell to the ground.
But more Mongol cavalrymen stepped over the corpses of their comrades and continued charging, until they were shot dead.
The short distance of a hundred meters seemed like a chasm to these Mongol cavalrymen.
The number of Mongol cavalrymen shot dead increased, and their corpses piled up layer upon layer, even hindering the advance of the Mongol cavalrymen behind.
However, the Mongol cavalry’s bravery was also on full display at this moment.
Many Mongol cavalrymen dismounted and charged with their curved swords.
The city wall of Dongguang was not high, barely reaching two meters.
These tall and strong Mongol cavalrymen could reach the top of the wall with a simple jump.
But for them, first, they had to get to the base of the wall.
Facing the powerful firepower of the Beiyang Army, these Mongol cavalrymen could not achieve this goal even at a great cost, let alone break through Dongguang City.
“Grenade ready, throw!”
The Beiyang Army soldiers had another weapon, the grenade.
This wooden-handled grenade could be thrown dozens of meters.
Especially since the soldiers were standing on the city wall, looking down, they could throw even further.
Although the grenades were not as powerful as artillery shells, they were plentiful.
When the Mongol cavalry approached the city wall, the Beiyang Army soldiers rained down a hail of grenades, causing the Mongol cavalrymen to tumble and fall.
Under such circumstances, the Mongol cavalry’s repeated attacks ultimately ended in failure.
Bayan, riding on a tall horse, watched the battlefield through binoculars.
He naturally expected the Mongol cavalry to be invincible, to break through like a thunderbolt, to easily capture Dongguang City, and to defeat the Beiyang Army.
But everything on the battlefield made his heart bleed.
The elite Mongol cavalry were simply no match for the powerful firepower of the Beiyang Army, and many of them were easily killed.
Even though a large number of Mongol cavalry attacked from three directions at once.
Besides causing great casualties to themselves, they had no effect whatsoever.
This result was simply unacceptable to Bayan.
And the other Qing generals couldn’t help but look scared.
If even the elite Mongol cavalry were beaten like this, what hope was there for the other Qing troops?
Their desire to take Dongguang City and defeat the Beiyang Army was a complete delusion!