Chapter 85: Forest Bloodbath Part :2
A massive army was making its way through the dense forest on the outskirts of Cochin Port. General Carel led his troops, navigating the terrain with difficulty. Among the soldiers, a group of indigenous men could be seen, struggling as they pulled a heavy cannon with them. These captives had been enslaved from Kochi Port and were now being forced to transport the artillery.
General Carel, visibly fatigued and covered in sweat, inquired, "Henry, how much farther do we need to go?"
Henry, his own face glistening with perspiration, quickly responded, "My lord, we are already halfway through. Just a few more hours, and we should emerge from this forest," He hadn't expected this expedition to be so challenging. He almost regretted suggesting to go through the forest, but he knew that all these troubles would go away in half a day. He suppressed his thoughts and continued the march
After an hour more of travel, they found a clean, empty clearing in the forest with a suitable water supply and convenient lookout areas. It was already evening, and the general, looking at the tired faces of his soldiers, ordered them to rest and set up a camp to spend the night there.
The soldiers were relieved by the general's words as they were also feeling tired. They had to carry a lot of supplies with them, and it was not easy to march in this forested land. They had a few horses, but unfortunately, they couldn't find enough horses to equip everyone in the army, so only the important leaders got to have them.
The soldiers quickly set up the tents, and the cooks started to prepare dinner. A bonfire was lit up to keep them warm. There was hustle and bustle in the military camp as various activities took place.
In the peaceful ambience of the forest, calmness soon returned. Some of the soldiers stayed up, while the rest went to sleep without any care in the world.
But no one could have imagined that all their actions were being monitored by multiple pairs of eyes around the forest, like a pack of wolves stalking their prey, waiting for the critical moment.
Five kilometres from the Dutch army camp was Vijay's encampment. Inside a tent, Vijay sat with Yogendra Singh, the general overseeing this operation, and the leaders of the artillery division. Roshan, standing beside Vijay, delivered the latest information to the group and commenced his explanation.
Before diving into the details, Roshan unfurled a map on the table, gathering the attention of the assembled generals and the king. He proceeded to convey the information that had been meticulously analyzed and gathered.
"My dear generals, based on our current intelligence, it appears that the Dutch have fallen right into our trap and have established their camp precisely where we had intended," Roshan announced. The smiles on everyone's faces, including Vijay's, attested to the success of their strategy.
Roshan continued, "As of now, their camp is situated 5 kilometres from our position. Their current path, leading them only a kilometre away from our kill spot, places them well within the effective range of all our sentry cannons. We estimate their force to consist of approximately 50,000 well-equipped troops, many of whom are clad in iron armour. Furthermore, we have confirmed the presence of at least two divisions equipped with flintlock guns and five cannons, although we are uncertain of the cannons' exact firepower. However, judging from their weight, it's reasonable to assume they can fire projectiles ranging from 10 to 20 kilograms."
Everyone in the meeting was taken aback by the Dutch forces' strength, but Vijay wasn't surprised since he had prior knowledge of this information. However, General Yogendra was astonished by the enemy's strength and the firepower of their cannons, which were capable of firing projectiles weighing 20 kilograms. He couldn't fully grasp the extent of damage that such heavy projectiles could inflict on their defences, especially when their own cannons were only of 10kg strength and could already breach decent-sized walls, let alone a cannon double that size.
Feeling the pressure and frowning faces in the room, Vijay tried to boost the morale, "Just looking at the numbers, they may seem stronger than us, but don't just look at those cold numbers. In reality, we've been preparing for this war for a long long time. We know the enemy's every move, and we've set up sentry towers in hidden locations along their path. Even if they're only 100 meters from the sentry towers, they won't recognize the artillery, camouflaged with paint and trees."
He continues, "Moreover, they won't be expecting our strike in the middle of the forest. Tonight, we'll have a good meal and rest. At daybreak, when the soldiers are at their least vigilant, they'll begin to march towards various designated points we've arranged. As soon as they reach these points, our cannons will target their cannons in the rear. Once we've destroyed their cannons, our Archer squads will clear out as many flintlock soldiers as possible. But that won't be enough to bring them down, as they'll soon mobilize and form a turtle shell formation."
Vijay states, "Unfortunately, we can't eliminate them with cannons alone, as cannons aren't very effective against individual people. If we allow them a chance to escape, they might split into various groups and scatter throughout the forest, which would be the worst-case scenario. We can't fight them all over the forest. What we'll do is use our numbers to our advantage and Storm our infantry divisions to Brawl with them."
Vijay continued, "Charging headlong into a line of gunfire would be akin to leaping into a blazing pit. However, the soldiers at the front will be equipped with heavy iron-reinforced wooden shields, which they'll use to advance. While this won't entirely negate the impact of the bullets, it will slow them down, affording us a chance to avoid fatal injuries. After a round of firing, the Dutch will require at least half a minute to reload their guns. It's during this interval that our infantry will engage them in close-quarters combat before they have the opportunity to reload."
He concluded, "Once we've eliminated the flintlock divisions, victory will be within reach. Afterwards, our various ranger squads will step in and neutralize any scattered enemy infantry."
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