Chapter 235 Goa Attack and Defense

After a brief adaptation training, the five airships currently owned by the Aviation Laboratory were dispatched to Portuguese Timor and Portuguese India respectively, becoming the trump cards for the defense of the two places.

Because the aircraft needs to be kept secret, it cannot be used in the next war. The airship can also play a role similar to that of an aircraft, with good performance in reconnaissance, bombing, etc., and can also be used in the transportation of materials.

If there is no war, these five airships will serve as transportation tools. Each airship can transport more than ten tons of materials, and the time spent is much less than that of a transport ship.

Fortunately, the three occupied colonies have a large indigenous population, so there is no shortage of labor when building defensive positions, and the construction speed of the defensive positions is also very fast.

After ensuring the cement and steel bars needed for the construction of the positions in Australasia, the three colonies quickly established defensive positions, among which the defensive positions of Portuguese India and Portuguese East Timor were more complete.

After September, the three regions began to prepare for war, and even Australasia itself sent a large number of fleets for patrols.

But what Arthur didn't expect was that September was almost over, and there was still no trace of the Portuguese.

If it weren't for the captured Portuguese soldiers still working in the mines of Australasia, Arthur almost thought that Australasia had entered a state of peace with Portugal.

Finally, at the end of September, a small fleet patrolling near the Indian Ocean finally found traces of the Portuguese fleet.

After layers of reporting, the news was also passed to the three colonies and Arthur.

The Australasian soldiers were not nervous about the upcoming war, but only expected the merits to be established.

Although Arthur did not go to Portuguese India in person, Arthur's speech in Portuguese Timor was still heard by the soldiers of the Second Division through various means.

With all the worries resolved, the soldiers naturally looked forward to the merits after the victory of the war. After all, who doesn't want to be a noble?

Even the commander of the Second Division, Fritz Reiner, was looking forward to it at this time, quietly waiting for the arrival of the Portuguese.

Of course, expectations are expectations, and various preparations and countermeasures are also indispensable. Commander Fitz wisely gave up the coastal defense and instead established two very solid defensive positions outside the city.

The reason is that if the battle is fought on the coast, the Portuguese fleet can cause large-scale casualties to the Australasian soldiers, which is what Commander Fitz does not want to see.

According to Arthur's character, even if Commander Fitz successfully resisted all the Portuguese attacks, if the army suffered a large number of casualties, the merits would be offset, not only would the merits be greatly reduced, but also would make Arthur dissatisfied.

Therefore, Fitz's defense plan was very simple, that is, to abandon the outer coast, and even to abandon the city if necessary, with the goal of weakening the Portuguese's vitality.

As long as the Portuguese reinforcements can be completely eliminated, then the war will be decided by Australasian.

Using a small Portuguese India in exchange for a large number of casualties of the Portuguese reinforcements is a sure win for Commander Fitz.

In order to prevent the Portuguese fleet from using the naval guns on the warships to support the Portuguese soldiers, Division Commander Firitz deliberately built the defensive positions close to the city, and some Portuguese would serve as laborers during the war.

As long as the Portuguese dared to bomb with naval guns, Australasia would immediately release photos of the scene and the tragic situation of the Portuguese being bombed.

The sensation caused by the country's own cannons bombing its own people in Portugal was spectacular to think about.

September 28, 1907, the coast of Portuguese India.

After nearly two months of preparation, the Portuguese fleet sent the first batch of troops to the vicinity of Portuguese India.

This was a reinforcement force consisting of 11,000 Portuguese soldiers and 9,000 native soldiers, and it was also an army urgently dispatched by Portugal from its homeland and African colonies.

Of course, this was only the first batch of reinforcements for the Portuguese. In order to calm the tension and panic in the country, Carlos I specifically ordered that on the basis of the original 40,000 troops, another 40,000 troops be drawn from the colonies to form an army of 80,000, not only to take back the three occupied colonies, but also to teach Australasia a lesson.

However, the transportation of such a large army is also a problem, and it must be transported at least three or four times.

After a long discussion by the Portuguese military, the first target of the army was finally set on Portuguese India.

In fact, it is also easy to understand. Portuguese Timor is too close to Australasia. The reinforcements from Australasia can arrive quickly at any time, and there is also a worry that the reinforcements from Australasia from Portuguese India will surround the Portuguese army.

The colonies in East Asia are almost the same, and the East Asian colonies have a small land area and a small population. Even if they are occupied, they cannot restore too much public and military morale.

On the other hand, Portuguese India is the largest and most populous colony among Portugal's Asian colonies, and Indians are more obedient than other colonial natives.

If they could recapture Portuguese India, they could also use it as a springboard to recover the other two colonies.

Arthur and the Australasian military had already anticipated this, not only giving the most resources to Portuguese India, but also drawing more than 3,000 troops from Portuguese Timor.

This resulted in the current Portuguese India having a total of nearly 10,000 troops, plus three airships and a large number of artillery and weapons reserves.

On the afternoon of September 28, the Portuguese fleet officially approached the coast of Portuguese India and launched the so-called beach assault.

Nine thousand native soldiers took the lead and unexpectedly found that there was no Australasian soldier on the coast, and there were not even any defensive positions and facilities.

The Portuguese were still not at ease, so they let these natives continue to expand outward for one kilometer. After still not finding any traces of the Australasians, the Portuguese soldiers landed with confidence. The commander of the reinforcements laughed and said: "The Australasians are already timid when they learned of the arrival of our reinforcements! You will all be heroes in retaking Goa!"

The Australasians did not resist at all, not even a single person, which made the Portuguese completely relaxed.

Previously, it took only a few days for Australasia to capture three Portuguese colonies, causing considerable panic among the Portuguese people and the government.

Now it seems that the Australasians are nothing special. Perhaps the conquest of these three colonies has already seriously damaged their vitality, and now they are regretting it.

Under the order of the Portuguese general, 9,000 native soldiers took the lead, and more than 10,000 Portuguese soldiers followed the army slowly advancing towards Goa.

No Australasians were found along the way, which inevitably accelerated the pace of the army. Many Portuguese soldiers were even happily communicating and discussing where to go for a drink after entering Goa.

It was not until they came to the vicinity of Goa that the native soldiers in front discovered the positions of the Australasians.

At the same time, Division Commander Firitz also discovered these Portuguese troops.

The native soldiers who took the lead were loosely disciplined, and their expressions were relaxed, and they obviously did not know that they were cannon fodder.

The Portuguese soldiers in the rear were also relaxed, and those who did not know the situation might think that they were here for fun.

Seeing this scene, Division Commander Firitz immediately asked the messenger to quietly notify the reserve troops in the rear and let them go around to the rear of this group of Portuguese soldiers.

Division Commander Felitz divided the 10,000-man army into three parts, with 4,000 men in the first position and 1,500 men in the second position. There were also 4,500 reserve troops ready to support the first and second positions at any time.

Seeing that the Portuguese army was so loose, Division Commander Felitz was confident that he could hold the two positions with more than 5,000 troops. He let the reserve troops of more than 4,000 people go around the enemy's rear and form an encirclement of the enemy. Eliminating all Portuguese soldiers was the final plan of Division Commander Felitz.

The reserve troops were behind Goa, about one kilometer away from the front defense position.

Coupled with the obstruction of vegetation and buildings around, the Portuguese army did not find that one person was missing in the position, nor did they find that an army disappeared quietly outside the position.

After layers of reporting, the Portuguese general also learned about the situation of the Australasian position.

However, the Portuguese military was well prepared. In order to deal with such a positional battle, these 9,000 indigenous soldiers were the best cannon fodder, and the large number of artillery mobilized from Portugal was the confidence of the Portuguese army not to fear such a positional battle.

After ordering the artillery to form their own positions and aim at the Australasian positions in front, the Portuguese general smiled and ordered: "Charge!"

With the order, 9,000 native soldiers quickly rushed to the front positions. It's not that they are so fearless, but the guns of the supervising team and the Portuguese soldiers behind them are pointing at them. If they don't charge, they will definitely die under the guns of the Portuguese soldiers.

Don't doubt the cruelty of Europeans to these natives now. There are not many Europeans who can really treat the natives as human beings. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are one in ten thousand or one in a hundred thousand.

For most Europeans, the population of these colonies is like livestock. When they can be used, they are squeezed as much as possible, and when they are not used, they don't care about life and death.

In order to prevent the Portuguese army from panicking and fleeing before the reserve troops successfully formed an encirclement, Division Commander Firitz specifically ordered the soldiers to conduct a small-scale defense, blocking the enemy 100 to 200 meters in front of the position, so that they would have hope of capturing the position, and only then could they be temporarily held in front of the position.

First update of 3,000 words, please support!