After the first tentative attack ended, it was already 5:14 pm. Major General Michele looked at the sun that was gradually westward and knew that it was impossible to launch another attack. So when discussing with General Colino, the two decided to strengthen the coalition's field camp, rest for one night, report the battle back to Tongzhou, and then continue the attack tomorrow. ∽↗

Fearing that the Taiping Army would launch an attack at night, Michiel and Colino were very cautious and arranged one-third of the troops to be on duty, and then took three shifts to rest. Michiel and Colino divided the work, one guarding the first half of the night and the other guarding the second half of the night.

Fortunately, the first half of the night was spent in peace. At twelve o'clock, General Colino came to the command center's tent and prepared to replace Major General Michele and let him rest for a few hours.

It happened that after the two of them said a few words, the messenger who had rushed back from Tongzhou arrived and sent emergency military information. The two hurriedly opened the letter under the candle and started to read it. After seeing it, both of them took a breath. It turned out that this morning, shortly after Major General Michele and Colino led more than 8,000 people away, at 10:45 in the morning, the Taiping Army opposite Tongzhou began to attack the Tongzhou coalition forces...

Time went back to an earlier time. In the scorching sun in the morning, Montauban and Grant watched Michiel and Collino's troops left, and immediately held a military meeting. At the meeting, General Grant said seriously: "Gentlemen, we are already in danger now. The enemy has launched a long-planned attack on us. The Taiping Army's troops are more than twice ours. According to the intelligence we have obtained, the enemy uses a division's troops to make several detours to attack Tianjin. The remaining troops are still confronting us opposite us. I believe that it will not take long. They will launch attacks on Tongzhou, Baliqiao and other places we occupy."

General Montauban agreed with this: "The enemy is expected to have 40,000 to 50,000 people, and elite cavalry units. Our troops are scattered at key points over 100 kilometers along the way from Tanggu to Tongzhou. The commander of the Taiping Army must have seen the weakness of our Yizi Front, so he launched a targeted attack on this key point in Tianjin."

Grant continued: "So, we must clench our extended fingers and clench them into a fist, so that we can turn danger into safety. Miqier and Collino have led a group of officers and soldiers first, and we must leave Tongzhou as soon as possible. But if all our Tongzhou forces evacuate, the Taiping Army troops on the opposite side will be chased unscrupulously. Therefore, we need a rear-end force to guard Bali Bridge, Tongzhou, and cover the large army for the retreat of the large army to Tianjin."

At this time, the coalition forces still had more than 10,000 troops in Tongzhou, and the troops behind the palace could not be too much. If they were to survive, they could only leave about 3,000 people. The Taiping Army opposite had at least 20,000 people, or even 30,000 people. They had to use their weak forces to block nearly ten times the enemy. No coalition general dared to take on this heavy responsibility. For a moment, the conference room was quiet.

After a while, General Ran Man of the French Army stood up calmly and said majestic and solemnly: "Gentlemen, I am willing to lead the young men of the First Brigade of the French Army to stay." The French Army's First Brigade's troops included four infantry battalions of the 101st Infantry Regiment (including two battalions of light infantry), 2 engineer companies and 1 engineering platoon. The total force was close to 3,000.

Montubang looked at Grant with a tense face, and the meaning was very clear. The British could not see the French army staying alone to block the enemy. Grant hesitated a little. Fortunately, someone got up at this time to relieve the siege. British Brigadier General Croton slowly stood up and said, "I am willing to lead the artillery squadron to stay and support General Ranman." Croton commanded three British artillery squadrons, two of which were field artillery squadrons and one siege artillery squadrons. They were all equipped with the latest Armstrong cannons.

Grant breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately said: "The three artillery squadrons divided half of the artillery and troops to follow the main force back to the army. Leave half of the artillery and troops to guard here." Montauban also nodded in agreement. He still hoped that some of the elite British artillery could follow the main force's actions, and the main force also needed the cover of artillery.

Therefore, the meeting decided that General Ran Man and Brigadier General Croton would stay, block the Taiping Army in Baliqiao and Tongzhou line, and cover the retreat of the main force. At 9:42 at the end of the meeting, the coalition forces of various units immediately began to prepare for retreat. They had too many spoils and supplies to be prepared to pack and take them back, while General Ran Man and Brigadier General Croton's troops began to take over the defensive positions on the Baliqiao line.

The organizational efficiency of the coalition forces was reflected at this time. Each soldier was busy executing according to his assigned tasks and orders, but time was still in a hurry. Time passed quickly and soon reached 10:45.

In more than an hour of preparation, only the 2nd Battalion of the British Royal Scottish Corps of the coalition was ready to set off. While Major Romke, who was commanding the battalion, was still waiting for the order to set off, a dense sound of artillery fire came from the front position of Bali Bridge several miles away. Looking at the smoke from the explosion soaring into the sky from afar, Major Romke looked at it in a daze and said, "God, they have started attacking. I wonder if General Ranman and others have changed their defenses and entered the position?"

General Ranman's troops did not fully enter the position. The two light infantry battalions of the 101st Regiment took over the central position of Baliqiao. The 70th Bangladesh Corps, which was heading in the front, had not yet exchanged defenses with the French army. The positions were full of chaos. The Bangladesh soldiers were preparing to withdraw from the position with their baggage, while the French were preparing to go to the position. At this moment, the artillery fire of the Taiping Army fell.

"Anti-air artillery! Enemy artillery fire!" French soldiers and soldiers of the Bangladesh Corps began to hide on the spot in chaos. The Taiping Army concentrated almost all artillery to pour shells at them. The coalition's simple fortifications were quickly blown up, and the soldiers suffered great losses from the artillery attack.

When General Ran Man rode his horse across the Bali Bridge to the position, he saw a scar. The messenger rushed over and said loudly: "General, Brigadier General Croton's artillery position has been built, and he is ready to fire a gun and fight back!" As soon as he finished speaking, the British artillery position in the rear began to fire shells forward, and the shells flew over General Ran Man's head.

"Let the British give up the suppression of enemy artillery, and their infantry will come up soon!" General Ran Man's judgment was extremely accurate. After the Taiping Army's artillery fire destroyed the simple fortifications of the coalition's front-line positions, the infantry group charge immediately began amid the loud military horns.

After the commander left quickly, General Ran Man shouted to the adjutant: "Send the command to the first and second battalions and the remaining engineers to build positions along the south side of the Baliqiao Canal. It will soon be impossible to defend there. We need a bridgehead to cover the army in front to withdraw!"

The position opposite Bali Bridge was indeed uncontrollable. General Ran Man judged from the intensity of the enemy's artillery fire. They wanted to destroy the troops guarding the coalition forces in one breath. At this time, General Ran Man began to regret it. The coalition had been delayed in Tongzhou for more than ten days, so why didn't he take this time to strengthen their positions? In fact, General Ran Man also knew that the coalition forces had always been on an offensive posture, and in their eyes, there seemed to be no need to consider defensive war.

French light infantry has always been a model model of French infantry, especially hunters among light infantry. As early as the Napoleon period, in order to fight against the entire Europe, the French army had to arm a large number of ordinary people for combat. These infantry that had been simply armed and trained were an important part of the French light infantry. Although they were enthusiastic, they lacked the discipline and will of elite infantry, but their straggler tactics were still very successful and unique. At that time, when Napoleon III era, light infantry was cut in large numbers. In 1854, 25 light infantry regiment numbers were abolished, and replaced by the streamlined basic cadre troops. The remaining French light infantry basically belonged to the category of elite hunters.

After the two light infantry battalions of the French army were attacked by the Taiping Army artillery fire, they quickly dispersed to avoid the artillery fire. Then they were scattered behind simple fortifications that were destroyed, preparing to rely on these simple fortifications to block. Compared with the calmness and discipline of the French light infantry battalion, the soldiers of the Bangladesh Corps were at a loss. Some were preparing to stay and fight side by side with the French army, while some were preparing to escape the canal. They were lost by previous orders and a blow of artillery fire.

Fortunately, General Ranman's order came soon, and he asked the Bangladesh Corps to retreat across the canal as soon as possible and join the position construction on the canal bank. The two French light infantry battalions remained on the spot to resist. This order was very correct, allowing the panicked Bangladesh soldiers to withdraw and regroup. The French infantry and British artillery support should be able to withstand a while.

When the Taiping infantry began to charge against the French army with a scattered scattered scattered attack tactics that distinguished the French scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered straits. After receiving the order from General Ran Man, the British artillery began to give up the suppression of the Taiping artillery fire. They concentrated on bombarding the Taiping army's scattered scattered scattered straits.

The Taiping Army's strait charge line consists of 5 to 6 people, each forming a straight line, with soldiers being about five steps away, each group being about five steps apart, with up to ten steps, and the straits are located 10 steps behind the strait; each officer has 4 soldiers and 1 strait soldier followed, located 20-30 steps behind the strait line. If only part of the company's strength is deployed, the company commander's position is between the strait line and the support force.

Such a scattered charge line can minimize the attack surface of soldiers being exposed to artillery shells and bullets, and can form an endless charge line to maintain the pressure on the horizontal width of the enemy's disadvantaged forces. During the charge, soldiers can also use various evasive tactics, coupled with the use of camouflage uniforms. This unit, which was once considered a beggar unit by the British and French troops, had no sense of military honor and lacked beauty, brought great pressure and shock to the French army after the charge was launched.

The French light infantry battalion's standard round military cap, dark blue tops, and red trousers look so eye-catching at any time. The French army chose the latter between the life and beauty of the soldiers, while the Taiping Army chose the life of the soldiers very pragmatically. Therefore, the French light infantry kept screaming and falling down during the blocking. For the Taiping Army, the goal is very obvious... (To be continued, please search Piaotianwen, the novel is better and faster!
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