Chapter 154: Blood-red Sunset

The flagship raised a signal flag: “All ships, begin full-speed bombardment!”
The shrill whistles pierced the hearts of every sailor. They turned the cannons with force, unleashing a torrent of fire toward Shanxi City. Various types of cannons, accompanied by massive shockwaves, created a thunderous impact on the shore.
“90-millimeter cannons, 1,500 meters—Black Flag Army’s multi-sided fort!”
“65-millimeter cannons, fire rapidly…”

The Black Flag Army also began firing, but they only had some bronze cannons, many of which used solid projectiles. The most powerful was a large cannon in the central square fort, its barrel engraved with the marks B!Q!F!W!CO (Company).
This bronze cannon fired four or five shells, two of which caused huge waves near the French gunboats, causing considerable panic among the crew. But the French immediately launched precise and intense fire, with dozens of cannons targeting that cannon at once. It was quickly destroyed. After that, the French could do as they pleased—other than aiming at the cannons and sending one or two men to the masts to observe the results, there was little else to do.

From the gunboats, the Black Flag Army seemed quiet, but their 60-millimeter mortars occasionally fired one or two shells. Though they missed their targets, they still caused tension among the sailors. They operated the Hotchkiss five-barreled machine guns vigorously: “Clear a path for the infantry! Clear a path for the infantry!”

The riverbanks became the main targets of the machine guns. Rain-like bursts of shells created countless shrapnel there, but the number of casualties was beyond the control of the navy.

Between these sandbars, the Black Flag Army had already built permanent fortifications using reinforced concrete and wooden covers. Even if a 90-millimeter shell hit the top, it couldn’t destroy them. Ye Chenglin picked up a telescope through the gun barrel. Ahead lay paddy fields and marshes, protecting the Black Flag Army’s positions from enemy detection.

Moreover, before launching an attack after landing, the enemy would have to cross along the riverbank, exposing themselves to the Black Flag Army’s fire.

Many small boats were lowered from the gunboats. Soldiers in red breeches grabbed the ladders and jumped into the boats, rowing frantically forward as gunfire continued to pass overhead, targeting the Black Flag Army’s positions and searching for any suspicious targets.

Many mangroves along the shore were knocked down by the intense artillery fire. French soldiers watched vigilantly in all directions, rowing hard. Some African indigenous infantry also jumped into the boats: “Legionnaires, hurry up!”

They rowed quickly, reaching the shore in less than two minutes. Some French soldiers jumped into the knee-deep water, bayonets in hand, ready to charge up the bank. Some boats turned around and headed back, attempting to make more pickups.

But gunshots rang out. Along with the sound of a Remington rifle, bullets came from all directions. Several French soldiers in the water were knocked down. The remaining French soldiers rushed upward desperately, while more boats rowed furiously. Some soldiers fired their rifles from the boats without much accuracy.

The Black Flag Army’s latest positions were about two to three hundred meters away from them, but soon mortars joined the battle as well. A small boat was hit by a mortar shell, turning it into a mess of flesh and blood, while other boats, in panic, spun wildly in agitation.
“Hatzikis! Fire!”
Amidst the rain of artillery fire, the situation improved slightly—the vanguard had reached the riverbank. But the French also saw that battle flag: “It’s the Crows!”
“The Crows, birds of ill omen!”
“Main enemy forces—request artillery support!”
The landing vanguard was pinned down on the riverbank, with more boats piled up along the water’s edge, becoming perfect targets for the Black Flag Army. Even intense artillery attacks couldn’t change this situation.
“All guns, fire at once!”
Some armed motorboats took advantage of their shallow draft to get closer and fire directly. They even used rifles to shoot at the Black Flag Army from their boats, but all of the Black Flag Army’s firing positions seemed to come back to life at that moment.
From various rifle bullets to mortar shells, and even some hidden firing positions using ancient cannons, the French landing forces were pinned down on the riverbank while shouting for artillery support. They had no other choice but to defend.
They engaged in mutual fire, with the Black Flag Army’s shooting never stopping. Many boats were damaged or sunk, forcing some soldiers to climb ashore barehanded. The narrow area became an ideal target for mortars.
“Legionnaires! Advance!” A few Legionnaires tried to open a path, but they faced even denser fire and were instantly torn to pieces. The remaining soldiers bent over, shouting, “Quick! Quick! Quick!”
Whether French, Algerians, or Legionnaires, everyone at that moment longed for artillery support. They clearly understood the importance of artillery, but they could only move forward step by step on their own strength.
“Boom… boom…”
The river turned blood-red. After half an hour of fierce fighting, the landing forces finally got a chance to catch their breath. They saw a French flag appear in the distance, followed by intense artillery fire: “It’s our ground forces!”
The ground forces drew the Black Flag Army’s attention, allowing the French to advance about a hundred meters. Then, some blood-stained boats risked their lives to bring in reinforcements, but both the riverbank and the river were already littered with French corpses.
“May we avenge our past humiliations today!”
Seeing the flag of the Crows’ Regiment, the French were filled with extreme anger. “The troops defend while attacking forward, striving to protect the landing!”
The battle was extremely brutal. The French faced three battalions of the Black Flag Army: the Crows’ Regiment, the Paper Bridge Regiment, and the Zhou Chu Regiment. Even the Zhou Chu Regiment, composed of the Yellow Flag Army rebels, performed admirably. The French could only advance slowly. Often, they had to use human lives to break through the defenses held by small units. A 40-mm cannon was brought in for bombardment, but most of the time, they had to use explosive charges for demolition.

The land forces also joined them, and the two forces shared the same landing site. The artillery never ceased its support, and a hot air balloon had risen again to provide direct support to the troops. Throughout the morning, the positions of both sides shifted by only a few hundred meters, with the deeper Shanxi City remaining under the control of the Black Flag Army. Guiba, however, having managed to establish a foothold in the Black Flag Army’s position, said to his staff officer, “We’ll launch the attack this afternoon!” “Yes… no, it’s the Black Flag Army!” the staff officer shouted. “It’s the Black Flag Army! Artillery… don’t fire!” He saw a unit of the Black Flag Army, and at that moment, the entire fleet stopped firing—no one could imagine the intelligence and bravery of this force. The Black Flag Army was advancing, yet the French artillery dared not fire. These were two battalions from Huang Shouzhong’s vanguard; they remained invisible amidst the intense artillery fire, hiding their flags. Starting from the east gate, they used the terrain skillfully to advance without being detected by the French. Their flanking maneuver had been rehearsed countless times—extremely clever. This force inserted itself directly between the French troops and the fleet, so every gunboat stopped firing. They slipped in like a sharp knife among the French landing forces. In front was a hastily built French position, with a river behind them. Yet the French cried out in shock, “God! Oh God!” From their ships, they could see clearly that if the Black Flag Army broke through the left flank, the entire landing force would be driven into a narrow funnel-shaped area, where they would be exposed to relentless artillery fire with no cover. The French were in panic; some officers shouted, “It’s all over! It’s all over!” Some Annamese laborers and locally recruited indigenous infantry turned and ran, fleeing in groups right along the front line. Many young officers turned pale, but Guiba remained calm. He raised his cane and said, “I’m going ashore to stand with my troops!” “Move all the artillery to my left!” Risking being cut off, Guiba, now on land, raised his cane and shouted, “Order the ship guns to prepare for fire!” The Black Flag Army had already closed within 200 meters, firing densely with explosive shells, and the French muskets also began to roar! But the Black Flag Army immediately lay down and continued firing relentlessly. The battle reached its most intense stage. Guiba raised his cane and said, “Order the fleet to fire at me! Fear no casualties!” The intense ship guns bombarded indiscriminately, forcing the vanguard to retreat. Yet it was the French who suffered the most casualties from the artillery fire—they too experienced the pain of being struck by their own guns. After this battle, the French became even more cautious. They reorganized their forces, preparing for the final attack. At exactly four o’clock in the afternoon, ground artillery and ship guns fired simultaneously as the French launched another attack. But disaster struck the Algerian soldiers. “Our comrades, we’ll avenge you!” “Soldiers, stay calm!” “Algerians, forward!” “You’ll face military court!”

“March forward bravely!”
“I order you to stop advancing!”
But the entire battalion of African guerrillas ignored the French officers’ threats, pleas, or orders, charging forward like mad straight at the positions of the Crow Camp. They waved their rifles wildly and shouted, but in front of them was a dense bamboo forest covering the entire riverbank. Taking advantage of the bamboo, the Crow Camp opened fire in unison, sending countless deadly bullets at these African indigenous soldiers. Within just a few minutes, hundreds of indigenous infantry were killed, and the remaining soldiers retreated at even faster speed than they had come.
The naval infantry, colonial troops, and Foreign Legion, on the other hand, were more cautious. They made use of the terrain as much as possible, using volley fire in each assault, and their artillery fire was outstanding, causing heavy losses to the Black Flag Army.
Yet no amount of intense artillery fire or bullets could break the Black Flag Army. One officer shouted, “They only have some rifles and small artillery, yet they still hold their positions.”
An older officer took over his words: “I participated in the war of 1870 and was seriously wounded at Metz, but in none of the battles I fought did I experience such intense fire as this!”
Within just one hour, hundreds were killed and many more wounded. Finally, with the strong cover of artillery fire, the French forces stormed a slope where fierce fighting ensued.
Many young French officers, whether lieutenants or captains, died there, while the Black Flag Army fought back tenaciously. One Black Flag Army officer had a bullet through his throat, but before falling, he smashed the enemy’s skull with the butt of his rifle.
It was only because the Black Flag Army was at a numerical disadvantage and the French forces had stricter discipline that they eventually captured the position. The Black Flag Army, retreating on their own initiative, fired while looking back, preventing the French from launching further attacks.
It was five in the afternoon. From four o’clock to now, the French forces had lost 600 soldiers and 73 officers in the battle.
“During the Great World War, I met a Chinese colonel. I was fortunate enough to know that he was the commander of the slope position. To my astonishment, he had only one company at his disposal—less than 120 rapid-fire rifles and two mortars. What a great officer! His heroism was truly remarkable.”
…Excerpt from Marshal Joffre’s *The French Army in the Great War*, French Empire Publishing House, Paris, 1910.
Goubet finally saw the sunset over Shanxi City, as blood-red as if scorched by fire.
The battle had lasted nine hours. The French forces immediately began building defensive fortifications, a task extremely difficult.
Large amounts of supplies were brought up, and sporadic shooting continued between the two sides. The French forces patrolled cautiously around, but the darkness was so thick that nothing could be seen.
Some French soldiers placed candles on wine crates, listening to a brave old major tell stories from the past: “I participated in the war of 1870, fighting against the Prussians. It was the most humiliating and yet the most glorious thing in my life. I fought at Bizancourt. Our barracks were on fire, and our soldiers…”

At that very moment he spoke, the thatched huts behind him suddenly lit up as the special shells of the Black Flag Army set fire to these huts, which had once served as their barracks. Many French soldiers were forced to run out naked, and battle broke out instantly. The fighting was as fierce as during the day, with continuous gunfire from both sides. It was clear that the Black Flag Army had already learned the French military tactics, firing in volleys only upon command, with both sides opening fire at the moment the enemy’s guns fired.