Chapter 570 Siege (Twenty-Two)

Kneeling on one knee on a rowboat made of three boards, Tamas used a paddle to push the rowboat away from the temporary dock and headed for Margit Island first.

More than 40 soldiers took 23 small boats and followed the battalion commander to leave the west bank one after another.

Before the battle started, the Tiefeng County Regiment had a total of 60 small boats, not counting the specially built large boats, so all the members of the company were transported to the island at one time.

But it was easy to go, but difficult to return.

Some small boats ran aground at the landing site and were trapped between the "horse blocking pile" and the river beach, unable to move;

On some small boats, the soldiers responsible for bringing the boats back were unfortunately killed by the federal province people, and the uncontrolled boats were swept far downstream by the river and were difficult to recover for a while.

There were also some canoe-style small boats that were originally disposable.

So when they set out for the first time, there were clearly 60 small boats. Before the second departure, Tamas counted them over and over again, but never counted to 25.

Boats were in short supply, and manpower was also in short supply.

Not every soldier in the Tiefeng County Regiment is a good swimmer. Soldiers who can swim in each battalion have long been drawn out, either to strengthen the company or to be assigned to various large and small boats to serve as temporary "sailors".

Major Mason originally retained some soldiers who are good at swimming as a reserve.

But when the federal province climbed out of the horse-blocking pile and attacked the large boat just now, the reserve was also sent out.

So the more than 40 soldiers who crossed the river this time were probably the last batch of reinforcements that the west bank could provide before the completion of the pontoon bridge.

Tamas knew this, and he made sure that the soldiers who followed him knew this.

But he knew very well that this kind of "risk notification" was meaningless - no soldier would retreat in the face of battle.

What he should do is not to tell his subordinates the risks they are about to face, but to ensure that his subordinates will not take unnecessary risks.

But he is not sure if he can do this.

So before departure, when the last roll call was taken, Tamas' chest felt like a stone was pressing on him, and the guilt made him dare not look directly into the eyes of the soldiers.

Fortunately, after setting off, he didn't think about these things anymore.

From the moment he climbed onto the rowboat, there was only one thing on his mind - getting ashore.

As the bow of the boat continued to part the river, Tamas gradually approached the center line of the river.

The fire on the island was already clearly visible, and the same was true in reverse.

So Tamas lowered his body, paddled lightly, and delayed the exposure time as much as possible.

Behind the initial blasting site, a garrison point was ignited by the alchemical fire.

The wooden roof of the garrison point was burning brightly, like a big torch, illuminating the nearby river surface clearly.

Therefore, the initial landing point could not be used this time.

Fortunately, before the counterattack of the federals arrived, the winch built by Woods Frank showed its power and easily pulled out a large number of "horse blocking stakes", tearing a big hole in the federals' water defense line.

But there was a problem:

In the battle plan formulated by Major Mason, using a longboat and a capstan to destroy the horse-blocking piles was a preparatory work for building a pontoon bridge;

Both the longboat and the capstan performed their tasks well, so the gap in the federal defense line was right opposite the pontoon bridge.

Although the pontoon bridge was still a long way from the other side, the federals were likely to add more people at this location.

So, should we go ashore through the new gap? Or go to the landing point that was blown up? Or drag the cable over again and break another gap?

Will there be enough time to drag the cable over again?

When he was in a dilemma, Tamas couldn't help thinking: If you were here, you would definitely make a decision in a second, and then I just need to obey.

But now, Tamas can only make his own decision.

He decided to go ashore through the new gap opened by the capstan.

He was not sure whether this judgment was right or wrong.

So he decided to set off first, ahead of all his subordinates.

Everything seemed to be going well, the water flow was slowing down, and the river beach was already in front of him.

But Tamas still dared not let down his guard. The closer he got to Margit Island, the more nervous he became.

Suddenly, a short but bright red flame burst out on the high slope behind the river beach.

Tamas turned over and jumped into the water without hesitation, and the simple rowboat capsized.

While Tamas was still in the air, a series of red flames burst out on the positions of the federalists, one next to the other, almost forming a line.

The short flames illuminated the gushing gunpowder smoke, and the sound of gunfire like popping beans spread in all directions.

Almost at the same time, the lead bullets also flew to Tamas.

Tamas hid under the water and could not see anything. He could only hear the continuous "plop, plop" sound of lead bullets entering the water.

Tamas was not worried about his own safety. The lead bullets would run out of power after sliding in the water for a short time.

What he was worried about was the wooden barrel tied to the back of the rowboat. It could contain something deadly. If it leaked, it would be all over.

So as soon as the sound of the lead bullet entering the water stopped, Tamas immediately floated to the surface, pulled out the dagger tied to his calf, and cut the rope between the rowboat and the barrel. Then he bit the rope and swam hard to the river beach.

"Boom!"

Thunderous sound ten times louder than the gunfire of the federalists came from behind Tamas.

The new army's cannons responded to the chorus of the federal musketeers with a deafening roar.

Hail-like shotgun shells flew over Tamas' head and hit the federalist's position.

Tamas could even hear the sound of "swoosh, swoosh, swoosh" breaking through the air, right next to his ears.

After about five breaths, the second roar.

After another five breaths, the third roar.

Tamas understood that it was the artillery brothers who were covering the infantry brothers to land on the island.

He gritted his teeth and swam even harder to the other side.

At the same time, sparse gunshots were heard in the trenches on the river bank.

And smoke rose from the trenches, which was very thin at first, but soon became thick.

The soldiers of the Tiefeng County Regiment on the island were also doing their best to cover their comrades to land on the island.

Tonight the wind was northwest, and most of the smoke released by the soldiers in the trenches was pushed into the island, spreading between the trenches of the new army and the breastworks of the federal province.

Although it was not perfect, it still hindered the sight of the federal province to a certain extent.

With the cover of smoke and artillery, Tamas swam to the shallow water area.

As soon as his feet touched the soft riverbed, Tamas rushed forward a few steps, then grabbed the rope in his mouth and dragged the barrel behind him to the river bank.

He was out of the water and the barrel was "stranded" after a few steps.

Without the help of buoyancy, the watertight barrel filled with deadly things suddenly became extremely heavy, almost killing Tamas.

Fortunately, two figures climbed out of the trench on the river bank and ran to Tamas.

Without speaking, the three of them worked together, wading through the mud and water, crossing the river beach, and lead bullets fell around them from time to time, but the three of them still carried the barrel into the trench without any danger.

Finally arriving at the "front line", Tamas collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath and coughing uncontrollably.

It was at this time that the soldier who helped him carry the barrel recognized who it was.

"Battalion commander?"

"Is it the battalion commander?"

"Battalion commander Tamas is here!"

The shouts rang out in the trenches.

"Why are you here?" Peter Bunnier, who rushed over at the first moment, asked in a crying voice, and then sobbed, "You are finally here."

"There are people behind," Tamas did not bother to say some comforting words to his best company commander, and naturally took over the command and quickly issued orders, "They also carry ammunition barrels, help them get ashore."

"Yes!" The soldiers around Tamas raised their hands and saluted.

At this moment, a shrill warning came from the end of the trench.

"Here they come!" The sentry shouted hoarsely, "The federal guys are coming up with the smoke!"

"Oh no!" Peter Bunnier shouted anxiously, "Wind direction! The smoke helped them! It's all my fault! I..."

"Axe!" Tamas interrupted Peter's words sharply and struggled to support his body.

A short axe was quickly handed to the battalion commander.

Tamas raised his axe and chopped a hole in the sealed barrel with a few strokes, and then broke the wooden boards at both ends of the hole with his bare hands.

The soldiers then discovered that the barrel was full of "horsetail grenades".

[I am very sorry that I have taken a lot of leave recently, and the updates are not good enough. I am very sorry, Orz]

[Thank you readers for your patience and tolerance, thank you very much, Orz]

[Loyalty! ]

[Thank you book friends for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you everyone]