Chapter 155: The Final Battle

The unit that participated in the night attack was Wu Wei Battalion, a new battalion under Liu Yongfu. Their equipment was not as complete as that of the Xi Liu Battalion. Thus, when an infantry company rushed to the French positions, they too had to use sabers and pickaxes to cut through bamboo. Yet the Algerians panicked once again and fled in haste, not even bothering to inform their comrades on the positions.
“Run fast!”
Wu Wei Battalion surged into the position like a tide. Twenty remaining African guerrillas and five Marines were captured. But the gunfire ahead grew even intenser. Two Annamese infantry companies were sent to reinforce and drove the already struggling defenders back. As the soldiers retreated, they loudly asked their company commander, “What about the prisoners?”
“Behead them all!”
The French field artillery also faced serious trouble. Two senior officers were killed by rifle bullets. A young lieutenant, still somewhat immature, cried out and pleaded to a captain of an African indigenous unit, “Captain, tell me what to do! I don’t know!”
The indigenous captain replied cruelly in French, “Fire your gun until you’re killed yourself!”
The battle lasted four hours. The French were utterly exhausted. It was only then that the Black Flag Army’s bugler sounded the retreat signal. The exhausted French watched helplessly as the Black Flag Army retreated through a paddy field to the second line!
That day was a time for a break. Both the Black Flag Army and the French were taking care of those wounded or killed in the previous day’s battle. Although the French suffered heavy losses, Wu Wei Battalion had suffered even more. This small infantry battalion lost 140 men, with half of them leaving the front lines.
Soldiers on both sides were burying the dead and treating the wounded. Liu Yu was making final battle plans in the headquarters inside the city. “Our losses are significant, but please trust us—we still have enough strength.”
Liu Yongfu interjected, “Wu Wei Battalion has suffered too many casualties. How many have we lost so far?”
Liu Yu replied, “The full tally isn’t out yet, but so far, the casualties are around two thousand—this should be an accurate figure.”
The French’s intense artillery fire indeed caused heavy losses to the Black Flag Army. Liu Yongfu turned to Tang Jingsong and said, “I beg Brother Tang to send troops from Beining to reinforce us. We need support—more support.”
Tang Jingsong nodded. “Shanxi is in crisis. Beining must send troops to help. If Shanxi falls, Beining will be in danger too.”
……
Meanwhile, in Beining, Xu Yanxu glanced at Huang Guilan and Zhao Wo. “What do you think should be done regarding Shanxi?”
Before they could respond, Xu Yanxu spoke first, “General Liu can hold out for two days. The French will surely become disheartened. If we send guerrillas to harass their rear, it can also divide their forces.”
He had heard too much about Liu Yu lately. In his opinion, the Black Flag Army’s several victories were not really their own achievements but relied entirely on his help. Besides, Liu Yu and Liu Yongfu were originally fugitive bandits. Failing to punish them now while they achieved success through his help was nothing short of unexpected good fortune.

Yet the imperial edict revealed that Liu Yu and Liu Yongfu were not the pitiful figures they had imagined, but true heroes in the fight against France. A few months earlier, an edict ordered that 100,000 taels of silver be given to the Black Flag Army. However, Xu Yanzhu found that the 1,000 taels he had promised to the Black Flag Army was utterly insignificant compared to that amount, highlighting the ignorance of the military and civil officials outside the Great Wall. What angered them even more was that Tang Jingsong received imperial praise within less than a year of entering Vietnam, while the Guangxi army, despite being there for four or five years, never received such honor, so they tried every means to create obstacles.

Xu Yanzhu had held back those 100,000 taels for months, not distributing a single tael to the Black Flag Army—just as in history. It wasn’t until May of the following year that 28,000 taels were distributed sporadically. As for firearms and ammunition, they were also withheld at every turn, and not a single battalion was dispatched to reinforce Shanxi. Tang Jingsong only had his original troops and two small battalions under his command, and they refused to send a single soldier to assist Shanxi—this had been their preplanned strategy.

“With these two tigers fighting each other, we shouldn’t interfere too much,” Zhao Wo said directly. “We can send Commander Chen Chaode to station troops in a suitable area between Beining and Shanxi to patrol.”

Huang Guilan, aware that he might bear responsibility for losing Shanxi, thought for a moment before saying, “I can personally oversee the troops to attack Xinhe and Cishan.”

Governor Xu nodded. “Both of you have sensible views. That’s excellent.”

……

The front line remained calm, but the French army was making final preparations. Large amounts of supplies were transported from Hanoi, with dozens of ships piled up along the rivers. Many of these ships carried infantry responsible for mobility, and the ammunition used yesterday was replenished today. Although Hanoi was in crisis due to attacks by the Flower Sect, Guoba still dispatched a large number of local infantry there as a reserve force.

Every cannon was stocked with enough ammunition, ready for battle the next day.

……

Early morning.

As the sun rose, the French army launched a tidal attack. They concentrated all their cannons, including the five-barreled Hotchkiss machine guns, to bombard the exposed positions of the Black Flag Army. The ground shook. The entire city of Shanxi was covered in a thin layer of white smoke, blocking out the morning sun. Reports came in from various positions of the Black Flag Army: “Heavy casualties…” “Our troops were bombarded while moving!” “Partial damage to positions.”

Although the positions were built by engineers to be strong, after intense bombardment, some secondary positions were severely damaged, resulting in significant casualties. The French army continued to use their traditional tactics, combining various units to launch attacks under heavy artillery fire. They brought 40-mm cannons close to the Black Flag Army’s positions, spreading their troops in a fan formation like arrows.

Such battles were extremely brutal. The Black Flag Army suffered heavy losses and was gradually pushed back. Even the Crow Battalion, one of the older units, lost over a hundred men and was forced to abandon two secondary positions.

The French army’s tactics relied entirely on their powerful artillery. Under intense bombardment, especially from several heavy guns brought from the homeland and naval guns over 100 millimeters in caliber, the Black Flag Army’s firepower was greatly suppressed. Although the Black Flag Army’s mortars were active everywhere, they could only adopt a hit-and-run strategy under such firepower, unable to counter the enemy’s artillery fire. Moreover, due to the reconnaissance balloons, they lost four 82-mm mortars. The French advanced patiently; they even learned from the Black Flag Army’s tactics, using engineers combined with infantry in their attacks, and also employed mining explosives to blow up fortifications. Gunfire and artillery blasts echoed throughout the entire front line. Tang Jingsong stared intently toward Beining but saw not a single soldier. Liu Yu said to him, “Today is the most critical day—we must be determined!” Yet Tang Jingsong was restless, muttering, “Reinforcements should have arrived by now; they must have arrived!” Meanwhile, Liu Suiyun reported his discovery: “There’s a large gap on the enemy’s left side; we can send troops in to counterattack!” Liu Yu quickly located the gap through his telescope—it was the junction between two battalions, but there were no enemies within 300 meters. “Order Zhiqiao Battalion and Menghu Battalion to attack together!” The French were unaware of this and continued to advance in an orderly manner according to their original plan, until some Vietnamese native infantry saw the Black Flag Army appear before them and dropped their flags, fleeing back. Two Tokyo native infantry companies fled without firing a single shot, leaving the French still in place. But the French remained calm, maintaining order while communicating via signal flags: “Request artillery support!” Bullets from the two infantry battalions soon struck their ranks, causing heavy casualties. People fell to the ground with thuds, but soon the two battalions realized they couldn’t advance. The French fired many shells, causing significant casualties among them. Even though they had formed a skirmish line, they were forced to lie down. Then the fleet also opened fire—this time with their Hotchkiss guns mounted on the deck. The machine guns blasted the two infantry battalions, killing and wounding many in the hail of bullets. They were forced to retreat to their starting point, even abandoning some of their wounded. This seemed to be a turning point in the battle; from then on, the French took control of the entire situation. The Black Flag Army suffered increasing casualties. Many of their positions were breached by the French using various tactics. With many new recruits in some units, there were even instances of collapse. An even bigger problem was that their repeated counterattacks failed utterly under the French artillery fire. It wasn’t until the French reached the city walls that they encountered a real enemy. “It’s the Xiliu Battalion—rumored to be an undefeated force.” Here, the Black Flag Army deployed their only 65-mm gun and dozens of small and medium-sized mortars. The French found the fortifications here exceptionally strong, as most of the fleet’s guns couldn’t reach them.

The artillery never ceased its bombardment, and the infantry charged almost immediately, but this infantry battalion and the defenders on its flanks were exceptionally strong. Complete core fortifications were in place here, with some of the Black Flag Army’s best infantry battalions deployed. The French’s combined infantry and artillery attacks seemed utterly ineffective. In fact, this was also the core stronghold of the Xiliu Camp—three infantry battalions were positioned in the front line, with one as a reserve. Dozens of large and small cannons along with countless rounds of ammunition had already been brought to the battlefield. In front of these exceptionally strong positions lay a wide expanse of a thousand meters, with the entire defensive line stretching four kilometers. If the French lost this area, they could easily fire shells into Shanxi City, leaving it without any protection. “Charge!” Just 100 meters into their attack, the three infantry companies were halted by the intense fire from the defenders. The French then launched multiple attacks. Yet their assaults were always repelled. Although the French twice launched attacks with infantry battalions, supported by artillery, and briefly penetrated the Black Flag Army’s positions, they were quickly driven back using grenades and explosive charges. “This will be the toughest battle!” The French officers looked grave—they knew the final decisive battle would take place here. However, some good news came from other fronts: the Black Flag Army was in full retreat. There was also good news—the Black Flag Army only lost one 65-mm cannon in the battle, which could no longer pose a significant threat to the French. Many mortars were also destroyed under the guidance of hot air balloons. “Great God!” Many artillery officers made the sign of the cross in awe at these results. Goubert made final arrangements: “Order all ship’s cannons to be brought ashore, unless mobility is impossible!” A hundred cannons lay before him—this would be one of the few decisive bombardments in French history. “This is a decisive bombardment; history will change at this moment!” “Just like Napoleon’s bombardment of Toulon! I pray for a second Marshal Napoleon among you!” Major General Goubert raised his cane: “We will wash away the humiliation we suffered in 1870 with a glorious victory!” He said to his soldiers, “At Zhiqiao, in Hanoi, at Huaid, at Danfeng, our troops suffered unprecedented defeats and humiliation. But soldiers, I hope you will bring an glorious victory to end this war.” “Victory belongs to France!” Major General Goubert threw his cane aside and then shouted, “Give me a rifle—any model, whether Remington or the 1874 type!” “I will stand among the infantry ranks, shoulder to shoulder with you, and advance together!” He turned to the artillery again: “Our fate lies in your hands.” “After the fierce bombardment, we will concentrate two corps, with infantry companies forming squares, shoulder to shoulder, bayonets fixed, and launch a heroic attack on the enemy’s last stronghold.” “But I entrust our fate entirely to you!”

He stepped over the abandoned cane: “I hope your artillery can shatter the Black Flag bandits’ positions, destroy their artillery, kill their officers and soldiers, and damage their supplies. I believe you, just like Napoleon, can accomplish all of this.”
“Our Napoleons, I believe you can create miracles.”
The hot air balloons rose into the sky, staying close to the Black Flag army’s positions to observe everything. One hundred and two cannons were already positioned in place.
An officer turned, kissed the barrel of his cannon, then said to his subordinates, “For France!”
“For France!”
“For France!”
After shouting these slogans, all the artillerymen held their breath as they watched the chief of staff wave a red flag vigorously.
“French artillery, fire—now! Full speed!!!”