Chapter 236: The Formation of the Encirclement
Under the command of General Fritz Lainer, the firepower of the Australasia army was restrained, with most of the artillery and machine guns in standby mode, and only the rifles in the hands of the soldiers being used for counterattacks.
However, the Lee-Enfield rifle remained one of the most powerful rifles at this stage, and combined with the well-trained Australasia soldiers, it inflicted significant casualties on the indigenous soldiers with a single encounter.
Of course, the Portuguese army was not without its successes, as the front lines had advanced to within 100 meters of the Australasia positions, and even the indigenous soldiers at the front could now see the calm expressions of the Australasians.
Yet, since the Portuguese army approached the Australasia positions, they had been stuck at this point.
No matter how valiantly the indigenous soldiers charged, they could not move the front line even by a meter.
Seeing that they were so close to capturing the Australasia positions, the Portuguese general became a little anxious, as this victory would mean great glory.
Without hesitation, the Portuguese general ordered all Portuguese soldiers to follow, as the war had reached a critical stage, and conserving strength would be a foolish move.
As the pressure on the front lines continued to increase, General Fritz Lainer only grew more satisfied.
Only by drawing most of the Portuguese army's attention to the front lines could his flanking encirclement tactic succeed.
Now that the Portuguese army had fully committed to the battle, Fritz ordered the soldiers to stop holding back and show the Portuguese what the Australasia machine guns and artillery were capable of.
Of course, the main purpose of this was still to suppress the threat posed by Portuguese artillery.
Even within the positions, Portuguese artillery could still pose a significant threat to the Australasia forces.
At the same time, Fritz ordered the three airships to take flight, loaded with large amounts of shells and weaponry, hovering in the sky.
Once the encirclement was fully formed, this would be when the Portuguese would witness the true power of the Australasia military.
The sounds of artillery and gunfire on the battlefield completely drowned out the sound of the airships taking off, and the Portuguese soldiers and generals had their attention entirely focused on the battle, unaware of the three small white dots soaring into the sky far behind them in Goa.
Although the Portuguese army outnumbered the Australasia soldiers nearly two to one, their weaponry and artillery were far inferior to those of Australasia.
Under General Fritz's orders, the purpose of the artillery was simply to suppress the Portuguese artillery positions, not to target the Portuguese army directly at the moment.
Moreover, the Second Division was still in a holding pattern, maintaining a delicate balance with the Portuguese forces.
The Portuguese general watched as the line, which had advanced a few meters thanks to the inclusion of Portuguese soldiers, still remained at a standstill, failing to push forward any further, and said impatiently, "Find the enemy's artillery and machine gun positions and neutralize their heavy weapons. Once we do that, the Australasians will be lambs to the slaughter."
Unfortunately, while that may have seemed logical, the number and technological superiority of Portugal's artillery were no match for the Australasia army.
By the time the Portuguese found the Australasia artillery positions, their own artillery had already been bombarded.
Moreover, Australasia's use of many semi-automatic artillery pieces meant that their firepower and coverage far surpassed that of Portugal's artillery.
The Portuguese artillery, under the suppression of the Second Division's artillery, couldn't even raise its head, and with the front lines lacking artillery support, they were pushed back a little.
Seeing that artillery suppression was not working, the Portuguese general grew frustrated and turned his attention to the frontline assault.
But the Australasia army's weapons and ammunition reserves were ample, and since they were still holding back, they were not afraid of ammunition consumption.
On the other hand, transporting a 20,000-strong army had already stretched the Portuguese government's transport fleet, leaving little room to transport weapons and ammunition.
This resulted in the Portuguese reinforcements having limited weapons and ammunition. They had hoped to patiently wait for resources to arrive after capturing Portuguese India, but their initial push had already been stalled.
After a period of deadlock, the Portuguese general's face darkened as thoughts of retreat began to form.
Looking at the current situation, the Australasian army in Portuguese India was not something a single Portuguese army could defeat; at least, they would have to wait for the arrival of the next batch of reinforcements before they could try to retake Goa.
But General Fritz would not allow them to have their way. When he saw the Portuguese offensive faltering, he immediately ordered his soldiers to reduce the frequency of their fire, pretending that ammunition was running low.
The Portuguese, noticing the change, immediately suspected something was wrong.
The Portuguese general's mood was fluctuating, but he decided to continue for a little longer, using the indigenous soldiers to probe the Australasia positions.
Seeing that the tactic was effective, General Fritz ordered his soldiers to continue holding back, even more so than before, with only a few machine guns still firing, and scattered rifle shots here and there.
This level of firepower could no longer fully suppress the Portuguese army's advance. The indigenous soldiers, whose faces were numb with exhaustion, once again saw the cold expressions of the Australasia soldiers, which looked as though they were staring at a group of dead men.
The indigenous soldiers did not understand, but the supervising soldiers behind them would not let them think too much, so they could only continue charging towards the enemy positions.
Amid the heavy casualties of the indigenous soldiers, the Portuguese line advanced to within 100 meters of the Australasia defense positions.
Seeing that his suspicions might be confirmed, the Portuguese general immediately dismissed his idea of retreating and ordered the frontline troops to intensify their charge, while the rear troops joined the frontline.
By this time, over an hour had passed since the fighting began, and the land around the area had been completely altered by the war.
General Fritz had patiently waited for the response from the reserve troops, knowing that if gunfire came from the Portuguese rear, it would signal the final moment of the war.
To keep the Portuguese troops engaged on the front lines, the Australasia army had kept their firepower consistent.
This resulted in the Portuguese soldiers advancing closer and closer to the positions, with the distance now just over 60 meters.
General Fritz could even see the excitement in the faces of the Portuguese soldiers and the relief of the indigenous soldiers, and if the distance got any closer, he feared their shouts would reach him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As a series of familiar gunshots rang out from the rear of the Portuguese forces, General Fritz's face lit up with joy. He immediately commanded, "No more holding back, unleash everything and take down these damn enemies!"
The roar of Australasia's artillery and machine guns filled the air as they opened fire, their strength now several times greater than during the previous exchanges.
The sound was a beautiful melody to the ears of the Australasia soldiers, but to the Portuguese soldiers, it was the sound of doom.
The Portuguese general, panicking as the gunfire from the rear increased, realized that the enemy's counterattack had intensified several times over.
The powerful firepower was something they had never seen before; it was no longer the feeble, ammunition-deprived assault they had experienced earlier.
The Portuguese general immediately understood that everything had been a trap set by the Australasia army, but it was now too late to realize that.
"Retreat! All units, retreat! Everyone, head back to the coast, where our fleet is waiting to protect us," the Portuguese general urgently commanded.
Fortunately, the Portuguese fleet had not yet departed, and if the soldiers could retreat to the coast, they would receive support from the navy's artillery.
However, General Fritz had been waiting patiently for this moment and had no intention of letting any Portuguese soldier escape.
As the Portuguese army began its hasty retreat, they were shocked to find that no matter which direction they ran, they were surrounded by an endless supply of enemies.
With heavy casualties on the front lines and the rear now encircled, the Portuguese army was thrown into chaos. Large numbers of Portuguese and indigenous soldiers scattered in all directions, only to be gunned down by the surrounding Australasia forces.
"Don't panic! Don't scatter! The Australasians in the rear are unarmed, so break through to the rear! As long as we reach the coast, we'll be safe! Supervising soldiers, anyone who tries to escape without orders, shoot them on the spot!" the Portuguese general attempted to steady his troops, searching for a chance to survive in the chaotic scene.
This was indeed the best option. Because the reserve forces had to hurry to encircle, they were not carrying heavy weapons, with only a few machine guns and grenades.
Compared to the large numbers of artillery and machine guns in the front lines of the Australasia army, the rear forces lacked heavy weapons and were thus somewhat easier to break through.
But the Portuguese general overlooked one thing: he had no prior connection to the army before the war and had little influence among his troops.
His ability to command the troops came solely from his general rank and the orders of King Carlos I.
But now, with so many casualties, the morale of the troops had greatly dwindled, especially among the indigenous soldiers. If it weren't for the supervising soldiers shooting some of the indigenous soldiers who tried to flee, most of the remaining indigenous soldiers would have already disbanded.
Of the 20,000 Portuguese soldiers, only about 3,000 were still under the general's command. In this chaotic situation, it was difficult to ensure that the military orders were properly communicated to every Portuguese soldier.
(End of Chapter)
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