Wearing British clothes as a second-generation aristocrat

36. Encirclement and annihilation of the guerrilla force 4

"Quickly, drag it over here and ram it!" a guerrilla leader shouted, urging the guerrillas who were carrying logs to move them.

A dozen or so burly guerrillas rushed up carrying a log as thick as a person's embrace, and then shouted in unison as they used the log to ram the already flimsy section of the wall.

boom

Minutes later, the already flimsy wall collapsed under the continuous and enormous impact of the logs. When the dust settled, a gap about seven or eight meters wide was revealed in the wall.

At this moment, all the guerrillas involved in the attack no longer concealed their positions. They sang victory songs and charged into the town as a whole.

"Kill all the British!"

"Execute the traitor!"

The guerrillas' shouts and battle cries were deafening.

"Major, they...they broke in." Megava's voice trembled as he spoke.

"I saw it, what's the panic?" Dugan calmly picked at his ear with his little finger.

Dugan took out his pocket watch and looked at it. "10:50..."

Major Dugan, who had already devised the combat mission, was now merely an observer.

Specific operational command authority had already been assigned to officers at all levels on the front lines, and unless there was an unexpected enemy situation or an important decision, Dugan would never interfere with the actions of his officers.

Micro-management skills are not something everyone can master.

After all, I am neither Napoleon nor a teacher.

With such haphazard micro-management, he might end up being just as bad as the principal.

Looking east from the window at the top of the Ganesha Temple, the once pitch-black streets were now ablaze with countless torches. The wildly flickering flames, winding like fire dragons, were guiding at least a thousand guerrillas, who were charging menacingly toward their side.

This wasn't the first time the guerrillas had been to Omarazi, and they were very familiar with the town's streets.

But as the guerrillas rushed in, they soon realized that the streets seemed to have changed.

The dozen or so alleyways that originally led to the town center, except for the two main roads, were almost completely blocked by bricks, dismantled doors and wooden planks, and all sorts of random sandbags, making them impossible to pass through.

Moreover, they were piled up very high, almost as high as the roof, making them impossible to climb.

As for the two remaining streets, they seem to have been deliberately preserved, and several barricades over 2 meters high have been erected there.

Before the guerrillas with torches could get close, someone shouted in English from the other side of the barricade, which was quiet all day.

Subsequently, more than a dozen incendiary bombs were thrown out, landing on the bricks and stones, scattering countless sparks, and quickly igniting the prepared pile of firewood.

Instantly, the firelight illuminated the street, leaving the guerrillas nowhere to hide.

Meanwhile, on the barricades and rooftops on both sides of the street, countless British men emerged, raising their loaded flintlock muskets and aiming them at the guerrillas dozens of meters away, waiting for the officer to give the order to fire.

"Stop..." Gupta shouted.

However, at this time, guerrillas from outside the town continued to pour in.

The guerrillas at the front stopped in their tracks. They crowded around each other, and each could see the surprise, resentment, and fear on their comrades' faces.

Now even the most foolish person realizes that they have fallen into a trap set by the British.

To continue the attack or to retreat—that is a matter of life and death.

"Charge! Charge! They outnumber us and have no artillery. If we get over the barricades, we'll win!" Gupta shouted hysterically, urging the guerrillas to charge forward.

Although Gupta was just a hunter by trade, not a professional soldier like Raj, he knew that in the current situation, if he stood still or retreated, there would only be one outcome.

That would mean the morale of the army would collapse, and the British would be chasing after them relentlessly.

Since retreating means certain death, and advancing also means certain death, it's better to muster our courage and charge forward. Taking advantage of the British forces being small and lacking reinforcements and artillery support, we might be able to fight our way out.

"Kill all the British!"

Led by their leaders, the guerrillas regained their courage and began to charge with shouts.

Upon seeing this situation, officers including Horn and Silva, positioned above the two barricades, immediately gave orders.

"shooting!"

At a command, British soldiers pulled the triggers, and sparks and white smoke billowed from the barrels of more than a hundred guns. The bullets fired instantly knocked dozens of rebels to the ground 50 meters away.

呯呯

Similarly, under the command of enemy officers, the guerrillas also fired volleys that were not very well coordinated.

Because the two sides were so close together, more than a dozen British soldiers were shot and fell.

"Fire! Keep firing! Don't stop!"

Taking advantage of the steepness of the barricades and the difficulty of climbing them, British soldiers who stood and fired from the barricades usually changed guns but not themselves, unless they were killed or wounded. Behind them, there were two comrades helping them reload ammunition.

A few seconds later, gunfire erupted again at one end of the barricade, and the guerrillas at the forefront suffered heavy casualties.

Starting from 50 meters away, the guerrillas began their charge and took a full five minutes to complete the entire distance.

During this period, British soldiers had completed 10 volleys of gunfire, while the guerrillas could only fire from the first few rank.

Moreover, as at least 300 people fell in pools of blood, the gunfire from the guerrillas' side became increasingly sparse.

The guerrillas who were hit either died instantly or struggled in agony, and they inflicted fewer than 30 casualties on the British forces.

However, Gupta was gratified that, after suffering heavy casualties of nearly 500 dead, his soldiers successfully approached the two barricades.

At this point, the "cowardly" British finally retreated, withdrawing from the barricades and leaving them to the guerrillas.

The guerrillas' fervor, which had been suppressed by the British's fierce firepower, was reignited after they captured the barricades.

Countless guerrillas stood on the high barricades cheering and jumping for joy. Even if they were accidentally pushed to the ground by their comrades, they would still get up and continue to shout wildly, as if they had won a great victory.

"Yes, that's it! Charge forward, keep attacking, follow me and keep attacking!"

The guerrilla leaders were the first to jump off the barricades. It was too early to be happy. Victory would only be achieved after all the British had been wiped out and the feinting forces on the northwest front had successfully joined up.

Just as the guerrillas were celebrating their capture of two barricades, the retreating British soldiers mostly slipped into the residential areas on both sides of the street and quickly hid on the balconies or windowsills of the second and third floors.

At the same time, they used large stones, wooden stakes, sandbags, or similar items that they had prepared to completely block the doorway connecting the first-floor lobby to the street.

Another group of British soldiers retreated to the next barricade 120 meters away, loaded their bullets, picked up their rifles, and prepared for the next attack.

Because Omarachi town currently only has two main roads, and the width of the streets on both sides is eight or nine meters, which is just enough for 10 people to walk side by side without feeling crowded.

Since the British had blocked all the passageways leading to the residential areas on both sides, the guerrillas who entered the town had no choice but to continue advancing.

"That's about enough. It's time to let the enemies from the west and north in." Dugan remained standing atop the tower of the Elephant Temple, still as calm as ever.

Megawa was so nervous that his palms were sweating. He could now see that Major Dugan was luring the enemy in deep.

However, if you manage to lure the enemy in too deep and things go wrong, it will be a disaster!

Minutes later, Raj's forces, who were attacking Omarachi from the front, also broke through the British defenses on the city walls. A tidal wave of guerrillas began to pour into the town. In front of the barricades leading to another main road held by the British, the deliberately left passageways were densely packed with guerrillas.

Raj, who was walking in the front row, felt uneasy because the end of the street and both sides were too strange. Apart from the noise of his own people, there was no other sound.

Raj instinctively stopped in his tracks. He raised his torch, wanting to carefully observe his surroundings, but was surrounded by soldiers behind him and forced to continue forward against his will.