Chapter 395: Operation Fulcrum

In February 1854, the assembled fleet and the selected armed forces set out from San Francisco. After replenishing coal in Hawaii, they went directly to Xiangshan Port in Guangdong.

It was obviously impossible to complete this military operation with only 500 mercenaries of Umbrella Company.

Therefore, most of the armed forces of the Western Brigade went with the fleet to participate in this military operation.

The regular land military forces participating in this expedition called the Fulcrum Expedition included all the California Infantry Regiment, all the Arizona Infantry Regiment, two battalions of the Oregon Infantry Regiment, one engineer battalion, two artillery companies, and one cavalry company, totaling 3,800 people.

In addition to the land forces, there were also civilian armed forces organized and recruited by the upper class of California, totaling 1,300 people. These civilian armed forces were organized into a militia to assist in combat, and Fremont was responsible for commanding.

Since this time the troops were sent out in the name of Umbrella Company, the regular troops were prohibited from carrying the military flag of their headquarters.

Therefore, each unit was equipped with the flag of the umbrella logo of Umbrella Company, but different symbols were painted on the flag to distinguish them.

For example, the flag of the California Infantry Regiment was painted with a dragon, the flag of the Arizona Infantry Regiment was painted with a cactus, and the flag of the Oregon Infantry Regiment was painted with a beaver.

In terms of maritime forces, 4 modified warships were deployed in full force, 8 loach-class ships of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau were requisitioned, and 16 clippers were requisitioned and modified from the civilian sector, with displacements ranging from 700 tons to 1,200 tons.

These clippers were equipped with 22 to 30 6-pound Sacramento guns as support ships according to specific circumstances.

Global Shipping Company also deployed 7 steam paddle steamers as transport ships to ensure the logistics transportation of the troops.

The number of crew members participating in this military operation reached 3,400, of which 2,800 were combat personnel.

This was the largest armed force ever mobilized by Liang Yao.

In order to capture the island of Borneo, Liang Yao basically took out all his belongings.

Liang Yao hoped to end the war on Borneo in a short period of time, rather than getting bogged down in the quagmire of war, so he spent a lot of money to mobilize 9,000 to participate in this military operation.

"It's a lot of money. The war hasn't started yet. Last month, the salary alone cost 250,000 US dollars, and the test ammunition cost a full 120,000 US dollars."

On the Bold, Liang Yao stared at the list of expenses since the personnel were assembled last month and cried out that it hurt.

Counting the purchase of materials for transportation to Xiangshan, the cost of the clipper ship modification, the fuel money for the steamship, and the money for bribery of Southeast Asian pirates and Hong Mingxiang, Liang Yao has spent 860,000 US dollars before the war even started.

I really don't know how much more money will be spent after the war starts.

When the cannon is fired, gold is worth a thousand taels. The ancients were not deceiving me.

"Are you heartbroken?" Fremont teased.

"This is $860,000!" Liang Yao said, covering his chest, "I hope this money is not wasted. It will not even make a sound when thrown out."

Fremont stared at the operation called Fulcrum on the table and said, "As long as we can land on Borneo Island, the operation plan will be half successful, and the money will be worth spending. Land operations are our strengths."

"After landing, the troops also need a steady supply of logistical supplies. Only with sufficient ammunition can our troops exert their combat effectiveness." Liang Yao stood up and drew two lines on the map.

"The Dutch supply line from Batavia (Jakarta) to West Borneo is only more than 700 kilometers, while our supply line from Xiangshan to West Borneo is more than 2,500 kilometers in a straight line.

If you want to defeat the Dutch-Indonesian authorities, even if you don't annihilate their naval forces, you have to hurt their main naval forces!"

In island warfare, whoever has the strongest supply capacity is the boss. If you can't get control of the sea, the officers and soldiers who land on the island will not be in a better situation than the soldiers of the Chinese resistance organization on the island.

If you want to win, especially quickly, you must take control of the sea, or at least a part of it.

Maritime power requires a long period of accumulation, and the gap in this area cannot be caught up in a year or two.

The two daring-class ships being built by the San Francisco Shipyard will not be launched until July at the earliest. Before the two daring-class ships are launched, Liang Yao only has four proper warships available.

Although the Netherlands was severely damaged after the Anglo-Dutch War and has never recovered since then, its maritime power has accumulated for more than 200 years and should not be underestimated.

Liang Yao is fully confident that he can defeat the colonial army of the Dutch-Indonesian authorities in land combat, but he is not sure whether he can defeat the Dutch-Indonesian authorities in naval combat and gain a part of the sea control.

On February 25, 1854, Colonel Elvis of the Arizona Infantry Regiment boarded a merchant ship flying the British flag and sailed into the Kapuas River and entered the port of Pontianak with a nervous mood.

Although this merchant ship was leased by the American Group from the British Steamship Company in Hong Kong, the crew on it were all English, Scottish and Irish crew members of the Global Shipping Company.

The control areas of the Dagang Company and other Chinese resistance companies have been squeezed out of the coast and cannot provide Liang Yao with a port for mooring. Liang Yao can only take a port by himself.

The number of Liang Yao's troops in this expedition is as high as 9,000. In order to meet the needs of 9,000 people, he must take a port, a port that can berth large ships.

There are two ports suitable for landing in the West Borneo region.

One is Sarawak in the north, and the other is Pontianak in the west.

From a purely geographical perspective, Sarawak in the north seems to be a more ideal landing site.

Compared to Pontianak, Sarawak is farther away from Batavia, and the Dutch-Indonesian authorities' ships patrol the waters near Sarawak less frequently.

But from a political perspective, Sarawak is not so suitable as a landing site.

In 1842, after the British James Brooke announced that Sarawak had separated from Brunei to become an independent kingdom, the Brooke Dynasty, the British authorities immediately declared the Brooke Dynasty its protectorate, and Sarawak was actually a British protectorate.

The United States also recognized the legitimacy of the Brooke Dynasty in Sarawak, and Liang Yao was not stupid enough to offend the British and create another strong enemy for himself.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Liang Yao only had the option of Pontianak.

At this time, although Pontianak barely maintained its independence in name, it was controlled by Sultan Alkadri of the Pontianak Sultanate.

But in fact, the Pontianak area was already the back garden of the Dutch-Indonesian authorities. Sultan Alkadri was just a puppet supported by the Dutch Indies.

The Dutch Indies also attached great importance to Pontianak. Colonel Andersson, the general of the Dutch East Indies Army who was responsible for destroying the Dagang Company and other Chinese resistance companies, was stationed in Pontianak.

The composition of the garrison guarding Pontianak was very complex. There were not only the Dutch East Indies Army, but also the troops of the Pontianak Chiefdom and the troops of the Lan Fang Company wearing the Qing Dynasty Green Camp style military uniforms.

However, due to the poor combat effectiveness of the chiefdom troops, the core garrison force of Pontianak was actually a regiment of the Dutch East Indies Army's colonial army and a Lan Fang Company's armed forces responsible for assisting defense.

A lieutenant of the Dutch East Indies Army on duty at the Pontianak dock saw a foreign ship entering Pontianak and ordered Elvis to stop the ship for inspection.