Chapter 256: Chapter 235: The Encirclement Forms

Under the command of Major Fritz, the firepower of the Australasian Army had been greatly restrained. Most cannons and machine guns were on standby, with only the rifles in the soldiers’ hands being used to counterattack.

However, the Lee-Enfield rifle was one of the most powerful at this stage. Coupled with the well-trained Australasian soldiers, they caused significant casualties to the native soldiers in the first encounter.

Of course, the Portuguese army wasn’t without achievements, as their front line had advanced to within a hundred meters of the Australasian positions. The native soldiers at the forefront could even see the calm expressions of the Australasians.

However, since they had approached the positions of the Australasians, the Portuguese army had been stopped in their tracks.

No matter how bravely the native soldiers charged, they couldn’t push the front line forward even by a meter.

Seeing that they were just one step away from seizing the Australasian positions, the Portuguese general grew anxious, as this was a great merit.

Without any hesitation, the Portuguese general ordered all Portuguese soldiers to keep up. The war had entered a fierce stage, and holding back would be foolish.

As the pressure on the frontline increased, Major Fritz became more satisfied.

Only by dragging most of the Portuguese army’s attention to the positions could Major Fritz’s strategy of diversion and encirclement truly succeed.

Since the Portuguese army had been fully committed to the war, General Fritz also ordered his soldiers not to be too conservative. It was time to show the Portuguese what the Australasian machine guns and cannons were capable of.

Of course, the main purpose of doing so was to suppress the threat of Portuguese artillery.

After all, even when they were in positions, the Portuguese cannons could still pose a considerable threat to the Australasian Army.

Simultaneously, General Fritz ordered the three airships with a large amount of shells and weapons to take action, soaring into the sky.

When the encirclement was fully formed, it would be time to show these Portuguese the true strength of the Australasian Army.

The sounds of gunfire and battles on the battlefield completely drowned out the noise of the airships taking off. The attention of the Portuguese soldiers and generals was all on the battlefield, oblivious to the fact that three barely visible white dots had quietly flown into the sky behind Goa.

The Portuguese Army was almost twice the size of the Australasian soldiers, but their weapons and artillery were far less than that of the Australasians.

Under Major Fritz’s command, the cannons’ main purpose was to suppress the positions of Portuguese artillery and not directly target the Portuguese army, for now.

Furthermore, Division Two was still holding back, maintaining a delicate balance with the Portuguese Army.

The Portuguese General, seeing that the front line had advanced a few meters thanks to the involvement of the Portuguese soldiers but was still unable to progress further, became anxious and said, “First, locate the enemy’s artillery and machine gun positions. Once we remove their heavy weapons, the Australasians will be sitting ducks.”

Unfortunately, although the logic seemed sound, the number and advanced state of the Portuguese cannons were no match for the Australasian Army. Just as the Portuguese discovered the positions of the Australasian artillery, their own positions were bombarded.

Moreover, the Australasians had many semi-automatic cannons that had superior coverage and firepower, which ordinary cannons couldn’t compete with.

Under the suppression of the artillery unit of Division Two, the Portuguese artillery troops couldn’t even raise their heads. The front line, lacking the support of artillery, was pushed back even further.

Seeing that the suppression of the cannons wasn’t working, the Portuguese General became irritated, with no choice but to place his hopes on the front line of the battle.

However, the Australasian Army had plenty of weapon and ammunition reserves and wasn’t afraid of exhausting them since they were on the defensive.

On the other hand, the Portuguese Army had mobilized a large transport fleet to transport 20,000 soldiers, leaving little room for the transportation of weapons, equipment, and ammunition, which was in short supply.

Originally, they had planned to capture Portuguese India first and then patiently wait for domestic resources to be transported. However, they had been stuck at step one.

After an additional stalemate for some time, the Portuguese General’s expression darkened as he began considering a retreat.

Given the current situation, the Australasian Army in Portuguese India couldn’t be defeated by just one of their armies; they’d have to wait for the arrival of the next batch of Portuguese reinforcements before attempting to recapture Goa again.

However, General Fritz couldn’t allow their wishes to be fulfilled. Seeing that the Portuguese army’s offensive had temporarily stalled, Major Fritz immediately ordered his soldiers to reduce the frequency of their gunfire, pretending to have insufficient ammunition.

At this point, the Portuguese army’s offensive had not stopped, which led them to notice the abnormality of the Australasian Army.

The Portuguese General’s expression changed, but he eventually decided to persist for a while longer, using the native soldiers to probe the situation of the Australasians.

Seeing his plan working, Brigadier General Fritz instructed his soldiers to hold their fire again, even more frequently than before. Apart from a few machine guns still firing, only sporadic rifle shots could be heard on the battlefield.

Although the machine guns provided suppression, their firepower was no longer as consistent, making them appear short on ammunition.

This level of firepower was not enough to completely suppress the Portuguese army’s counterattacks. The numb-faced native soldiers once again saw the expressions of the Australasian soldiers, a subtle look that seemed to be staring at a group of the dead.

The native soldiers did not understand, but the supervising team behind them would not let them think too much, so they could only continue to charge towards the enemy’s position.

With a large number of native soldiers injured and killed, the Portuguese soldiers pushed the front line to within 100 meters of the Australasian defensive position.

Seeing his conjecture coming true, General Portugal Lewis withdrew his idea to retreat, intensifying the charge of the front line troops and adding reinforcements from the rear to the front line.

By this time, more than an hour had passed since the start of the battle, and the war had completely changed the face of the nearby land.

Brigadier General Fritz patiently awaited a response from the reserve forces. If gunfire erupted from the rear of the Portuguese army, it would signal the final moments of this war.

In order to keep the Portuguese engaged, the firepower of the Australasian Army never increased.

This also led the Portuguese soldiers to advance closer to their position, the shortest distance being only a little over sixty meters.

Brigadier General Fritz worriedly observed the excitement of the Portuguese soldiers and the relief of the native soldiers. If they got any closer, he feared their shouts and spit might reach him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With the familiar sound of gunfire echoing from behind the Portuguese army, Brigadier General Fritz rejoiced and quickly ordered, “No more holding back! Kill all these damn enemies with everything you’ve got!”

Ratatatat! Boom!

In an instant, all Australasian firearms and machine guns opened fire, the intensity even greater than what it had been during the previous exchanges.

This sound was a sweet symphony to the ears of the Australasian soldiers, but to the Portuguese soldiers, it was a death knell.

At this moment, General Portugal Lewis was in turmoil. He hadn’t figured out what was happening with the gunfire from their rear, and the force of the Australasian counterattack had increased several times.

Such a powerful force was unprecedented. Where was the previously weak and ammunition-starved appearance?

General Portugal Lewis realized that everything had been a plot by the Australasian Army, but it seemed too late to grasp this understanding.

“All troops retreat! All troops retreat! Evacuate to the coastline, where our fleet will protect us!” General Portugal Lewis quickly ordered.

Fortunately, the Portuguese fleet had not yet left. If these soldiers could successfully retreat to the coast, they could receive support from the navy’s cannons.

However, Brigadier General Fritz had patiently endured so much for the sake of capturing as many Portuguese soldiers as possible.

The Portuguese army, who had received orders to retreat, were astonished to find that whichever direction they attempted to retreat in, they were facing endless enemies.

With heavy casualties at the front and enemies surrounding them from behind, the Portuguese army panicked. Many Portuguese and native soldiers disbanded, attempting to escape in all directions, only to be killed by the surrounding Australasian forces.

“Don’t panic! Don’t be disorganized! The Australasians behind us don’t have heavy weapons, just concentrate on breaking through their ranks! Once we reach the coast, we’re safe. Supervising Team, listen up! If anyone tries to break rank and disobey orders, kill them on the spot!” General Portugal Lewis tried to stabilize his forces, looking for any chance of survival.

Indeed, this was the most suitable path. The reserve forces were mostly without heavy weapons as they needed to move quickly, bringing only a few machine guns and hand grenades.

Compared to the massive artillery and machine guns of the front-line Australasian forces, the rear forces really did not have any heavy weapons and were relatively easier to break through.

However, General Portugal Lewis overlooked a crucial fact. He had no connection to the army he was leading prior to the outbreak of war, and therefore had no prestige in the military.

It was only due to his status as a general and Carlos I’s command that he was able to lead this force smoothly.

Nevertheless, the heavy casualties had already disheartened many soldiers, especially the native soldiers. Without supervising teams shooting several escaping native soldiers, the remaining few might have already fled.

Out of the 20,000-strong Portuguese army, General Portugal Lewis only managed to gather just over 3,000. In such a chaotic situation, it was not easy to relay orders accurately to every Portuguese soldier.