Chapter 179: The Battle Begins (Part 2)

Gunfire echoed throughout the night until dawn, when a thick fog covered the entire battlefield. Both sides’ reconnaissance units tried to locate the enemy’s main forces in the fog, but with little success. The French launched their attack in silence; their two brigades advanced from left and right. Veteran Major General Nigri served as the battlefield commander, while Colonel Erminga was in charge of the left-flank attack.

Nigri frowned at the unexpected fog, which posed a huge obstacle to all troops’ movements. “Colonel, take your men and flank them. Take advantage of the dense fog to cross the ridge and strike their defensive positions before they notice us.”
“I’m ready to follow your orders!”

Nigri’s main force was tasked with breaking through the Black Flag Army’s defenses head-on. A few minutes later, Erminga led his troops away from the main column, shouting, “Follow me! We’ll appear suddenly above them before the Black Flag Army realizes what’s happening!”

Nigri was satisfied with his performance. “A great colonel.”

…

“Has the enemy appeared yet?”
A squad from the Black Flag Army watched anxiously ahead, but nothing could be seen through the fog. The sudden arrival of the fog was unusual, and everyone had to stay vigilant. Usually, they would chat or even shout among themselves, but now they were fully focused, trying to spot the enemy’s vanguard at any moment.

“Be careful! Be careful!”
The deputy company commander, stationed at the outpost, patted the soldiers’ shoulders, worried they might make a mistake. But his soldiers remained unmoved, staring into the distance in search of something. Yet nothing seemed to be there—only a white haze. After staring for a while, they finally relaxed their fingers on the triggers. “Is there any extra rations?”
“They’ll be sent soon… Huh!”
The deputy commander grew tense. He faintly saw several moving dark dots, though they were unclear. The entire position held its breath. After half a minute, he concluded, “The enemy!”
“The enemy!”
As soon as he spoke, French bullets began flying their way. The Black Flag Army soldiers skillfully used fortifications to fire back, targeting any suspicious movement. But in such weather, both sides had terrible accuracy.

Soon, more and more dark dots appeared in the fog, along with the sound of artillery. “The battle has begun!”

Liu Suiyun grabbed the phone and asked, “Who’s the enemy in front? Nigri’s brigade! Good, I understand.”
Calls kept coming in. The Black Flag Army’s outposts were engaged in fierce combat with Nigri’s brigade’s vanguard. But Liu Suiyun reported news that Liu Yu never expected: “Erminga’s brigade has gone missing.”

According to the original battle plan, the Erminga Brigade was supposed to be the main target of the Black Flag Army’s attacks. But now, something unexpected has happened that Liu Yu and everyone else didn’t anticipate—the Erminga Brigade has disappeared! In the thick fog, an entire French brigade seems to have vanished without a trace, creating a fatal flaw in Liu Yu’s plan. Where is the Erminga Brigade? Where will they appear? “Order all reconnaissance units to immediately investigate the enemy’s movements!” It’s impossible for such a large force to vanish completely, but the sudden disappearance of the Erminga Brigade forces Liu Yu to be cautious: “Order the reserve forces to be ready to deploy at any moment.” “What’s become of Erminga?” Nigri is also waiting for news: “Why don’t I hear any gunfire from them?” The battlefield between the two sides is relatively small, covering only a few hundred square kilometers. The distance the Erminga Brigade needs to maneuver is just twelve kilometers. Yet so far, not a single gunshot has been heard from them. Although Erminga left some units behind, he still commands a powerful force of nearly six thousand men—a force large enough to overwhelm an entire Black Flag Army infantry battalion in an instant. Yet such a strong force has produced no gunfire or any news. It’s unlikely they’ve suffered losses, but what exactly happened to them? Nigri looks at the thick white fog and then at the intense gunfire ahead, and finally understands: “Erminga must have successfully maneuvered! They’ve taken control of the Black Flag Army’s positions—they must be fighting with bayonets.” Nigri quickly finds a plausible explanation; otherwise, it’s impossible to account for such a powerful force not yet engaging in battle: “Erminga has already won. They’ve rushed in and captured the Chinese fortresses. Now it’s our turn!” “Frenchmen, begin the attack!” The artillery opens fire, with the French using imitation light mortars for the first time, along with various types of heavy and light artillery. The roar of all these guns forms a symphony, raining shells on the Black Flag Army’s positions. But the synchronized firing in the fog doesn’t achieve the desired effect. The bad weather makes observation extremely difficult. Nigri only sees a few shells hitting the Black Flag Army’s positions and causing some damage. Most shells miss their targets, and the full layout of the Black Flag Army’s defensive positions remains unclear. Moreover, the French artillery positions are in an unfavorable terrain, preventing them from launching powerful overhead attacks. All of this means the artillery attack doesn’t achieve the desired results and can’t even stop the Black Flag Army’s movements. “Damn it!” Nigri thinks the attack should wait until the fog clears, but then he quickly spots something: “It’s Erminga’s troops!” Behind the Black Flag Army’s positions, he finally sees a large infantry force. Though he can’t see exactly how large it is, it must be at least a reinforced battalion. They’re approaching the Black Flag Army’s positions outside the effective range of the French artillery.

From a distance, it wasn’t clear, but Nigri quickly determined that there were at least two infantry battalions, likely an entire infantry regiment. It seemed to him that they were wearing the French red breeches and dark blue uniforms. He soon found a plausible explanation: “It’s Erminga! It’s Erminga!” Victory was so close to him that he quickly realized he was in a favorable position. Erminga’s infantry brigade had already dealt with the Black Flag troops on the second line and was now flanking those on the first line. To support them, Nigri resolved to take decisive action: “Order Regiment 111 to launch an immediate attack, to support Erminga’s flanking maneuver.” Regiment 111 was an infantry regiment that had been severely battered by the Black Flag troops many times. The entire regiment was not well-strengthed, and one battalion had been assigned as the brigade’s reserve, so Colonel Foul had few troops at his disposal. Yet the Black Flag troops ahead seemed indestructible. “I know this is a difficult task. Behind the fortifications are numerous enemies, whose morale has risen because they see our artillery failing to hit them. Aside from one reserve company, we have only 520 Frenchmen and 500 Tokyosians participating in the direct attack. We must break through an 800-meter-long defensive line and confront thousands of Black Flag bandits. The enemy also holds the high ground on the left, allowing them to attack us from the flank. Only one reserve company holds them off in the rear. Our attack is difficult, but there’s no time for hesitation now, as we must aid Colonel Erminga!” He shouted these last words at his officers: “May God bless us!” Despite the many difficulties, they launched the attack immediately. The troops used the terrain to advance, spreading out skillfully and making use of every advantage. They didn’t even wait for the company sent by Nigri to arrive before attacking. They fought their way to a rocky outcrop in front of the Black Flag troops’ positions before taking a brief rest. There, they could use the terrain to avoid being shot at by the Black Flag troops. The gunfire wasn’t intense, and a company from the rear was on its way to reinforce them—the situation looked promising. “Erminga’s brigade has been spotted!” After more than an hour of waiting, Liu Yu finally received the news he wanted: “Where are they? Order Ye Chenglin to prepare for battle immediately!” But Liu Suiyun looked worried: “Their position is wrong; we can’t engage in battle directly!” Nigri, on the other hand, watched the battle at the front with excitement. The Black Flag troops’ fierce attacks weren’t very intense. More importantly, he saw that Erminga’s brigade’s flanking maneuver was going smoothly—they hadn’t been detected by the enemy at all, and Regiment 111’s attack was also progressing well. “Great!” If not for being on the battlefield, he would have enjoyed a glass of champagne at this moment. He turned to his adjutant and said, “When we win, let’s celebrate our…” But as he turned, he saw something terrifying—a scene he couldn’t believe. He saw Erminga and his troops, emerging tiredly from the white mist.

No, then which force was flanking the Black Flag Army?
He widened his eyes and finally realized it was his vision that was faulty—those weren’t French troops at all, but merely Black Flag soldiers dressed somewhat like the French.
“Colonel… where have you been?”
Ahead, the infantry of the 111th Regiment was bravely launching their attack, pouring in all the strength of the regiment, even including their reserve company and another unit that rushed in to reinforce them.
There was no way their attack could be stopped!
God!
Erminga asked awkwardly, “Haven’t you received any messages from the messengers I sent?”
The morning’s events were a painful memory. As a commander in the desert, Erminga had acted boldly based on the map’s indications.
He hadn’t attacked the Black Flag Army along the main road but instead took a detour eastward, hoping to find a shortcut. But failing to locate one, he reached a rapid river. To reach his destination, he had to cross it, yet the current was too strong to cross, let alone with the troops’ heavy equipment. Several attempts failed.
Forced to stop, he found that the thick fog made it impossible to see much. All attempts to find a path ended in failure. The paddy fields and swamps made it nearly impossible for the troops to move forward, leaving them almost trapped in place.
So he sent a messenger to report this to Nigeri. But in the thick fog, something seemed to go wrong with the messenger, and he could only return his troops to their original position in vain.
“The Erminga Brigade hasn’t moved?”
“Yes, they’ve returned to where they started. Now they’re gathered together with Nigeri’s Brigade—it’s extremely difficult to deal with them!”
“No! This might be an easy solution. This is our chance.”
Nigeri understood the truth in just a few words, but his expression was even worse than if his mother had died—dammit!
He saw the 111th Regiment attacking the Black Flag Army’s strong positions. He also saw those Black Flag soldiers he had initially thought were French.
It was easy to misjudge the size of troops in the fog. Now he could clearly see that this reinforcement force wasn’t as large as he had thought—only about the size of one infantry battalion. They were advancing toward the Black Flag Army’s front lines.
Meanwhile, the 111th Regiment was charging forward under artillery fire, thinking those Black Flag soldiers were their reinforcements, unaware of the actual situation of the battle.
Communicating in foggy conditions was extremely difficult; otherwise, Nigeri wouldn’t have mistakenly thought the Erminga Brigade had successfully flanked them. He shouted loudly, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the sound of machine gun fire. Now, the 111th Regiment had no way to turn back.
“Erminga… this!”

Nigeri almost gritted his teeth, but he knew it wasn’t Elminga’s fault—anyone could make such a mistake in foggy conditions. “I need your help. Immediately send your troops to take control of that large fortress on the enemy’s left side. It’s our only chance to save our forces.”
“I’ll order my troops to attack right away!”
At this point, Elminga’s troops hadn’t fired a single shot yet, but Nigeri still reinforced him: “I’m sending you one artillery battalion—no, two more. You must capture those fortifications on the left. They think your troops are attacking that fortress from behind. Damn! How could I make such a mistake?”
The 111th Regiment remained unaware of anything. With two additional French companies, they now had around 700 French troops and 500 Vietnamese troops—a considerable force. They also had artillery support from behind, and they knew Elminga’s entire infantry brigade was attacking that large fortress on the left, likely already having taken it.
All they had to deal with was the defensive line ahead, so they prepared for their final assault.
So far, there had been minimal casualties, and everything was under control. They had no idea that the anxious Nigeri had sent all his troops to support them, deploying numerous reinforcements along their retreat route.
Nigeri knew full well that the 111th Regiment, which was participating in the attack, accounted for nearly 10% of the total combat forces. If they failed, this ambitious battle might end in disaster.
Moreover, there were 700 French troops among the attacking forces. If no rescue operation was carried out, he would surely face military court.
“God, have mercy on me!”
Nigeri could only pray for God’s forgiveness. He watched the 111th Regiment bravely charging forward, shouting loudly, but the infantrymen a kilometer away couldn’t hear anything—they knew nothing about what was happening.
“What?”
“The enemy is using an infantry regiment to launch a reckless attack, and another regiment is trying to attack the fortress on the left to support them?”
“Great! I’ll go there right away!”
No one expected the French to make such a mistake at this critical moment. Liu Yu knew well that making a mistake under these circumstances could deal a devastating blow to their own side.
“We need to give the French a thorough beating!”
On the battlefield, Elminga’s brigade, which had rushed into action, failed to capture the fortress on the left. Although they sent an infantry battalion to attack immediately, the defenders on the high ground there were Black Flag Army troops with strengthened fortifications—two entire infantry companies, plus a valuable 40-mm cannon. Elminga’s attack was stopped right away. Though his subsequent actions weren’t flawed, they weren’t particularly impressive either.
The Black Flag Army’s position was practically impregnable—nothing could break through it.
Meanwhile, the 111th Regiment’s attack had reached its final stage.
“Get ready! Explosives, grenades—get everything ready!”

The defenders of the Black Flag Army at each position were fully prepared. They had three infantry battalions on the battlefield, and another battalion had just arrived to reinforce them. Thus, they watched curiously as the French troops charged forward with great courage. Although the thick fog prevented them from expanding their gains and could only lure the French in, seeing the French launching wave-like attacks in companies and platoons excited all the soldiers. Some native infantry from Tokyo had been deliberately or intentionally left behind; many of these natives lacked such extraordinary courage. However, they had their own opinions about the French soldiers of the 111th Regiment. “Prepare for the final attack! Infantry, you must charge in skirmish formation!” They laid down their rucksacks, fixed bayonets, and prepared for the final assault: “Bayonets fixed! We must seize the enemy’s positions now—this requires exceptional skill. Besides bayonets, we’ll use our light mortars and grenades. Ready! Charge!” They rushed toward the Black Flag Army’s trenches under heavy gunfire.