Turning the Tables (3)

The first supply depot was taken almost effortlessly. Even after the depot was captured, a supply corps entered it, but they were inexplicably taken prisoner by the Independence Army.

The soldiers captured a large amount of supplies at the supply depot, including food, clothing, weapons, ammunition, medicine, and so on—a dazzling array that overwhelmed their eyes. The original plan was to take what they could carry after capturing the depot, and burn what they couldn't. The standard for "what they could carry" was—"it must not hinder their march."

But after capturing the supply depot, everyone was reluctant to burn those things. Take food, for example. What did Ireland farmers eat in the past? Potatoes, of course! Basically, the Ireland people's three meals a day consisted of boiled potatoes, boiled potatoes, and boiled potatoes.

But in the supply depot's warehouse, there were sacks and sacks of flour! That's great for making bread! We absolutely have to take it! And those clothes, those blankets—look how sturdy the fabric is, how substantial the cotton is... Compared to this stuff, what were we using before? It's true what they say, comparisons are odious. We have to bring all this stuff, right? And the weapons, although they're not as good as what the France comrades sent, but wouldn't it be better to take them back to the county brigade and district squads? Of course, most importantly, there are these medicines—those are things you can't necessarily buy with money. We can't lose a single one of these; we have to have them all! "What did you say, Division Commander?" "I don't care, I want them, I want them..."

Fortunately, this short operation not only resulted in the capture of a large amount of supplies but also the taking of a large number of prisoners, especially the "black dogs" from the "security forces," who almost all knelt down at the first shot. The guerrillas' previous attacks on small strongholds had made them aware that the guerrillas' policy towards them was "surrender and you will not be killed."

So, apart from two or three slow-moving fools who didn't surrender in time, the two hundred or so black dogs were basically unharmed. Joyce called over squad leader Roy: "You take a squad and have these black dogs carry as much of this stuff as possible back to our supply point. We're short-handed; you only have ten men in your squad to keep an eye on these two hundred or so black dogs. Any problems?"

"Reporting to the commander, no problem, even doubling the number wouldn't be a problem!" Roy replied immediately.

After leaving Joyce's place, Roy went to the warehouse and found some long ropes. He used these ropes to tie a rope around the waist of each of the two hundred-plus black dogs, binding them together in a string. Then he made each of them carry a large pile of things and led them towards the swamp.

Besides the black dog, Joyce also used the captured wagons and other items, loading them up and slowly sending them back.

Of course, Joyce dared to do this because he knew that the British Army didn't have any large forces available nearby. So, for the time being, they were still quite safe.

Of course, this delay also had adverse effects, because so much time was spent at this outpost that when Joyce led his troops toward the second target, he found that the British Army was already prepared to defend.

"We lacked experience in handling spoils of war, wasting far too much time on such matters. Targets that could have been taken by surprise attack were instead captured by direct assault. This not only increased casualties but also gave the enemy the opportunity to destroy vital supplies in the warehouses..." -- Joyce, <Summary of the Second Counter-Sweep Operation>

Joyce's second target was Blackwater Pool Supply Station, which was defended with similar strength to their first target. However, by this time the Britain had raised the drawbridge, soldiers were on the high walls, and artillery was ready to fire.

The British Army commander stationed here was Captain Royde, the company commander. After receiving news of the attack on Yellow Poplar Ridge Depot, he sent a messenger to Dublin to report what he knew, and at the same time, he ordered the drawbridge to be raised and prepared for defense.

He was still somewhat confident about the defense. According to the previous estimate of the Governor of Norfolk, the rebels' ability to attack fortified positions was actually quite limited due to their lack of artillery. Therefore, although the enemy was numerous, they did not have many options for dealing with well-defended outposts.

When he saw these Ireland rebels, his confidence grew even stronger, because he could clearly see that those "rebels" really didn't have cannons.

"Don't panic, everyone! They don't have cannons! Without cannons, how can they possibly take our stronghold with such a small force? As long as we hold the stronghold, the Governor will reward us handsomely in the future!" Captain Royde shouted loudly, partly to boost the morale of his soldiers, and partly to address the "black dogs."

"Brothers, those peasants are nothing to be afraid of. We have cannons, don't be afraid!"

Upon hearing the weak voice, Royde knew it was the commander of the "Security Army" trying to boost the morale of his soldiers. Royde felt that the "Security Army" were mostly a burden. But at this moment, even if they could just fire a few random shots from the wall, it should be a small help.

The "rebels" stopped outside the artillery range; they did not rush to attack, but seemed to be waiting for something.

"Tommy, what are they doing? Why aren't they attacking?" a British Army soldier asked.

"How should I know? Maybe...maybe they saw our cannons and got a little scared?" the soldier named Tommy replied.

Royde, standing to one side, remained silent, but he knew what these "rebels" were waiting for. He immediately recalled the instructions the Governor of Norfolk had given them in the officers' training course:

"The rebels lack the ability to fortify strongholds, so when they have the upper hand, they will certainly hope to resolve the issue through open field battles. Similarly, due to a lack of artillery, they will primarily rely on ambushes rather than regular campaign battles. Therefore, we can deduce their likely tactics: to surround our key points, draw our reinforcements, and then ambush us on their pre-arranged battlefields... And if they are forced to attack our fortified strongholds, they will certainly employ night raids."

"So, these rebels are either waiting to ambush other armies, or they're waiting for nightfall to launch an attack under the cover of darkness," Royde thought.

Soon, darkness fell. In the afterglow of the setting sun, Royde noticed that the guys opposite him were starting to move.

The Britain had made some preparations for night raids. For example, Britain laid minefields and landmines near their strongholds. (The Ireland used landmines to kill many Britain, but some ended up in Britain hands, and the shameless Britain immediately began to infringe on their intellectual property rights and copy them.) In addition, they specifically set up some bonfires outside the walls for illumination. This way, even at night, the enemy would be in a brighter position.

Of course, the effectiveness of such a design remains to be seen in actual combat.

"If the rebels attack, they will always have to pass through the minefield first. This is both a way to kill them and a way to indicate the target." Royde inspected the artillery positions while quietly waiting for the mines to detonate. Once a mine detonates, the artillery will immediately fire grapeshot at that area to strike any "rebels" who might be following behind.

However, the landmines remained silent. This greatly worried Royde: "What are those rebels doing in the dark?"

What were the "rebels" doing in the dark? Need I say more? They were defusing landmines.

After discovering the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction, the Military-Industrial Consortium introduced a new gadget—the coil mine detector. Powered by a simple dry cell battery, this device could effectively detect metal mines buried underground. The Britain, however, were not short of money, so they had no intention of using stone mines. As a result, the mines planted by the Britain outside their strongholds were quickly and quietly cleared away.

Next up is the campfire. Actually, the campfire's illumination range is quite limited; as long as you're not afraid of sacrificing a few dozen steps, you can rush over in the blink of an eye. During this process, the enemy will at most fire a concentrated barrage once. And now, because the landmines in front haven't worked, the enemy's attention isn't actually on the campfire.

At that moment, the cannons on the stronghold suddenly opened fire, firing haphazardly towards the minefield. Clearly, the Britain hadn't noticed the soldiers who had advanced to the edge of the fire's illumination range.

"Sound the bugle!" Joyce gave the order when he saw that the troops were in position.

The bugler stood up, raised his little bugle, and the bugle sounded, "Drip-drip-drip-drip." At the sound of the bugle, the soldiers rushed out of the darkness, and in the blink of an eye, they had crossed the small area illuminated by the fire. Before them lay the trench.

The soldiers placed the ladders they were carrying on their shoulders across the trench and easily crossed it. At this moment, the defenders on the wall finally reacted and began throwing Little Melon down. The attacking force immediately suffered considerable casualties.

Despite the attack, the soldiers of the assault force placed explosive charges against the wall, pulled the fuses, and ran back.

The "rebels'" swift retreat relieved Royde, but then several large explosions occurred, and large sections of the wall collapsed.