Chapter 635 The counterattack of the rebels (recommended, please give everything)

Chapter 636 The rebel army’s counterattack (recommended above, please ask for everything)

Brand's trip to the Caribbean seems destined to not go smoothly.

He was not even able to achieve a great victory like that in Jamaica in Nassau. Before his troops could land, the abolitionist rebels who attacked Nassau quickly retreated.

In fact, he was able to block Auriol's army before just because of good luck. Previously, the British Expeditionary Force fleet made a temporary decision to carry out an additional supply in Dominica and thus did not take the regular shipping route, causing the "Special Trade Association" ship to fail to detect them in time.

But this time, Brand's soldiers were still busy boarding the transport ship at the dock in Jamaica, notifying the Bahamas rebel army that the ship was already on the way.

Moreover, the people here in Nassau are extremely repulsive to the British army - not only the blacks or Mulatto people, but also the white colonists hate the British army.

The main crops grown in the Bahamas are cotton and corn, and the returns are not as great as sugar cane. Therefore, in order to ensure the profits of the colony, the British government set heavier taxes here.

The "trolley tax" and the "wild fruit collection tax" are all used to the extreme. Especially the latter. For the lower class people in the Caribbean, wild pineapples, coconuts and the like provide a large part of the daily diet. However, since more than 30 years ago, picking these ubiquitous things has also required paying taxes to the Governor. .

In addition, the Bahamas Abolitionist Rebel Army has adopted the slogan "Bahamas Independence" from the beginning, which has earned them widespread support. Many plantation owners even wanted to lose their slaves and get rid of British colonial rule.

This allowed the abolitionist rebels to obtain supplies from anywhere, while the movements of the British army were kept secret - Bahamian people informed the rebels of the situation of the British army almost every day.

Brand cast a net and searched the island for more than half a month. Only once by chance did he encounter the main force of the rebel army. However, there was only a small-scale battle. The latter escaped from the encirclement at night with the help of locals.

Not surprisingly, another incident happened in Barbados a month later.

The abolitionist rebels in Barbados and Dominica announced that they would join forces to form a parliament and establish the Republic of the West Indies. The British governor there was no match for the black rebels, so he huddled in Bridgeton and asked Brand for help.

This time Brand learned wisely and left 1,000 soldiers under the command of his subordinate Lieutenant Colonel Straw, while he led the main force to Barbados.

There are only more than 2,400 rebels in the Bahamas, and their combat effectiveness is very weak. 1,000 British troops are enough to deal with them.

However, as soon as he left the Bahamas, Auger, who received the news, organized the Saint-Domingue Rebel Army, took a small boat to evade the patrolling British fleet, and landed on Nassau Island at night.

It's not that the British fleet is useless, it's that the distance between Santo Domingo and the Bahamas is too close - the closest point is less than 60 nautical miles - if you set off in the morning, you can arrive before dark.

At the same time, the width of this water area is very large, more than 350 nautical miles, which leaves a large gap between the warships responsible for the blockade.

After about a week of transportation, nearly 800 Saint-Domingue rebel soldiers, led by the young black officer Toussaint Louverture, successfully arrived southeast of Nassau.

Yes, at Joseph's request, this black officer who had organized a small-scale slave uprising would later be reused by Auger as the leading general of the Haitian independence movement.

Louverture's outstanding military talent was quickly revealed, and he has now been promoted to major.

In a cotton plantation on the outskirts of Nassau, Kenneth Liddington, commander of the Bahamas Rebel Army, bowed to Louverture and said in broken French:

"Thank you, great freedom fighter. Your supplies give us hope. Freedom and equality will prevail!"

Today, Saint-Domingue is the base camp of the abolitionist movement in the Caribbean, so French has naturally become the "official language" of major abolitionist organizations. The rebel commanders in the British colonies were desperately trying to improve their French.

"Freedom and equality will surely win!" Louverture and Lidington hugged each other, turned to look coldly at Nassau in the night, and said in a hoarse voice, "Lieutenant Colonel Liddington, this time I I came not just to transport weapons, but to give the British a little 'return gift'!"

"Return gift?"

"Yes, I brought 800 soldiers. They are all good soldiers who have been on the battlefield." Louverture patted his sword, "We can't just wait for the British to attack us. And Nassau is just the place. There are 1,000 British troops. Santo Domingo was the first to launch an uprising and fought many battles with government troops. The quality and combat experience of the soldiers were much higher than those in places such as Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Lidington's eyes immediately lit up, but he hesitated and said:

"But the British are very powerful. Last time we were accidentally overtaken by them. In just one battle, we lost more than 200 soldiers."

There was no expression on Louverture's face:

"So, they will definitely despise us."

Noon the next day.

The Bahamian Abolitionist Rebel Army suddenly launched a fierce attack on the city of Nassau.

More than 2,000 black soldiers, accompanied by the sound of military drums, approached the British positions stationed outside the city from two directions, stopping from time to time to fire a shot.

The British commander, Lieutenant Colonel Straw, put away his telescope and smiled at his staff:

"Haha! These niggas must think that General Brand has taken away the expeditionary force. It seems that the credit for quelling the riots in the Bahamas will fall into my hands."

It was not until the Bahamian rebels had reached 150 steps in front of the British position that Straw ordered the artillery fire.

Three six-pounder shells cut through the ranks of the rebels with a roar, and immediately raised a large piece of minced meat.

These black soldiers, who had never fought at all, were immediately stunned, and then backed away in fear.

Those soldiers who were far away from the shelling position continued to move forward, and the rebel army's queue instantly became messy.

After several more rounds of firing from British artillery, the Bahamian rebels on the south side showed signs of collapse.

Straw saw this scene in the telescope and turned to his staff with contempt: "Let the infantry line begin the attack."

"Yes, sir!"

Not surprisingly, the Bahamian rebels collapsed as soon as they came into contact with the British infantry line.

A large group of black soldiers dropped their weapons, turned around and fled, screaming. From time to time, someone was killed by bullets fired from behind.

Straw soon noticed that the rebels were running towards a plantation on the east side.

He frowned slightly. If these niggas were allowed to get into the cotton field, it would be extremely difficult for his soldiers to search.

He decisively ordered: "The 7th and 11th infantry companies remain in line, and the other companies change to pursue in columns."

The column formation can advance quickly, but is not suitable for frontal combat and is usually used to assault enemy positions.

But those black men have lost their will to fight, so they just need to rush up and strangle them casually, without worrying about the formation.

Straw's order was quickly implemented, and nine infantry columns quickly caught up behind the rebels and raised their flintlocks one after another.

At this moment, the roar of cannons suddenly came from the cotton field in front. Two black iron balls jumped over the heads of the black soldiers and penetrated into the ranks of the British troops behind them.