Chapter 958: New Uses of Naval Guns

The waves rolled and hit the hull of the warship.

After four days of sailing, the outline of New South Wales gradually became clear.

On the deck, Zhao Xu put down the telescope and narrowed his eyes.

Through the mouths of captured British officers, they learned that the coalition forces provided 30,000 muzzle-loading rifled guns to Oliver, the governor of the Australian continent.

Oliver kept 22,000 for himself, and the rest were distributed to Hedland and Queensland.

In this way, in this final decisive battle, they need to focus on solving the British regular army and militia equipped with rifled guns.

"Directly occupy the port, and after stationing in the port, let the troop transport ship go back and transport the Marines from Queensland." Zhao Xu pondered for a moment and issued an order.

This time, his fleet only has the ability to transport 8,000 soldiers, and Gong Ying's fleet has the ability to transport 12,000 people.

In other words, their first batch of troops arriving in New South Wales is as many as 20,000.

Therefore, he thought that only 12,000 people from Queensland would be transported.

There is no need for Hedland's soldiers.

Because this trip will delay too much time.

Most importantly, he believes that these more than 30,000 troops are enough to take New South Wales.

After all, through the war between Hedland and Queensland, soldiers and generals have realized one thing.

Although British soldiers are more difficult to deal with than the tribe army, they have a higher will to fight.

But in terms of individual ability, they do not have an advantage, and even because the training of the Marines is more standardized and strict, they are slightly inferior.

Moreover, due to the breech-loading rifles such as the Qin-style rifle, the Marines' combat methods are more flexible, which makes their way of fighting very clumsy.

At the same time, there is another reason for him to make this choice.

In the war between Hedland and Queensland, only light weapons such as Qin-style rifles and grenades were used.

In the war of New South Wales, he decided to invest in artillery.

This time, they did not carry field artillery, so the source of artillery was the naval guns of the battleships.

This is a very common situation in contemporary wars in the 19th century.

The red-coated cannons of the Qing Dynasty were actually naval guns.

After occupying the port, while the troop transports were returning to Queensland, the soldiers could dismantle some naval guns during this time to bombard the enemy's trench positions.

"Yes, Your Highness." Zhou Yi responded.

The fleet continued to move south, and then west.

Not long after, a huge bay appeared in front of them.

This bay was similar in shape to the bay outside Manila.

But the area was much larger.

This was the port of New South Wales.

Through a narrow entrance of only six kilometers, they could enter the bay.

...

At the same time.

The huge fleet sailing along the coastline had been discovered by British soldiers responsible for reconnaissance.

The news soon reached the city of New South Wales.

"Ding ding ding." The alarm bells rang throughout New South Wales.

"Hedland and Queensland fell so quickly, how could this be possible!"

In the Governor's Mansion, Oliver's face was ashen.

In his plan, Hedland and Queensland could at least stop the army of Dasong for two or three months, and cause certain damage to the army of Dasong.

However, now, in just half a month, the Dasong fleet has reached New South Wales.

"Although it is surprising, it is a fact." Joseph also frowned.

Oliver was silent for a while, and the surprise in his eyes gradually turned into cruelty. He said: "They should not think that they can occupy New South Wales by taking Hedland and Queensland. I want them to pay the price of blood here."

Turning to Joseph, he said: "Let the soldiers and prisoners gather, it's time for them to taste blood."

"Yes, Governor." Joseph looked calm.

It is this kind of calm character that makes him deeply trusted by Oliver.

Oliver nodded and emphasized, "Remember, those death row prisoners should have died, no need to sympathize with them."

Joseph pursed his lips, "I will use them at the right time."

Due to the existence of vast colonies.

Britain's serious criminals were fortunate to escape the death penalty and were exiled to the Australian continent to play their remaining heat.

The place where these serious criminals gathered the most was naturally New South Wales, which was personally managed by Oliver.

Faced with the threat of the Dasong army, Oliver gathered these serious criminals according to his idea and issued them flintlock rifles.

And these prisoner soldiers will be responsible for charging on the battlefield as a death squad.

"Come on, let me see your skills." Oliver lit a cigar and narrowed his eyes.

He had made up his mind that he would fight this battle beautifully no matter what.

This was to prove his ability to the parliament and Her Majesty the Queen.

Then, he issued another order.

For a time, the whole New South Wales was in a mess.

A large number of British soldiers rushed from the city to the trench fortifications outside the city.

There were also soldiers who dragged out 36 field guns and arranged them on the side facing the port.

The townspeople and prisoners were also mobilized and entered the designated positions under the orders of the officers.

At this moment, on the warship three miles away from the port, Zhao Xu observed the scene of New South Wales through a telescope.

Perhaps they were worried about being bombarded by warships and artillery.

The other side did not set up defenses in the port.

After all, since Britain did not pay enough attention to the Australian continent, it was impossible for it to invest too much armaments here.

The muskets and cannons of the Australian mainland colonies were delivered temporarily.

It can be said that there was no time to build artillery batteries.

At the same time, the trenches of New South Wales were also arranged eight miles away from the port to avoid being bombarded by naval guns.

The British were very clear about the firepower of the warships, and they obviously did not want to get into trouble.

"It's just the large-sized Hedland and Queensland." Zhao Xu concluded.

This Australian battle was really not difficult for him.

Although the other party tried every means to stop him.

But in the end they would find that everything would be in vain.

"Since they threw the port to us for nothing, we will accept it." Zhou Yi laughed and ordered a landing.

At this time, a small boat was lowered, and 500 marines boarded the boat.

After confirming the safety of the port, the remaining marines landed on a large scale and set up camp at the port.

After all the marines landed, the troop transport went to Queensland.

At this time, the generals began to let the marines board the warships and cooperate with the artillerymen on the warships to drag the naval guns off the ship.

The port suddenly became very busy.

While some marines were dismantling the naval guns.

The carpenters on the warships began to use the wood in the port to make simple gun mounts.

During naval battles, in order to repair the pierced hull, some soldiers were required to master carpentry skills.

Therefore, the warships not only had soldiers who mastered carpentry skills, but also had corresponding materials.

Now, they can be put to use.