October 8, 1890

9 a.m

More than a dozen kilometers on the outskirts of Sydney

Scottish General Julian Smith, wearing a blue-gray general's uniform, riding on a tall horse, with two gold stars on his shoulders representing the rank of lieutenant general, was appointed by the new government as commander of the Smith Regiment of the Confederate Army, with more than 35,000 troops, responsible for commanding the purge campaign in New South Wales.

He watched the army march with a cold gaze, and there was a hint of pride on his face.

The infantry queue of the Confederate Army marching in the direction of Snow Mountain Town was not in sight, and the soldiers marched silently, and the formation was well maintained, which made Lieutenant General Julian Smith feel very satisfied, and the military training for several months had achieved remarkable results.

This is a fateful battle, and it is inevitable.

Since the Sydney Incident on June 26, the Northern Ocean Kingdom has been recruiting troops on a large scale, and the Southern Federation has not been idle, training soldiers, forming an armed army, and intensively preparing for war, having armed nearly 175,000 soldiers, and still recruiting new troops.

Among them

With 110,000 soldiers trained in New South Wales, 65,000 in Victoria and a company in Tasmania, the Confederation is ready for war.

The arrow is on the string and has to be sent.

At present, a cavalry division is advancing from Melbourne and storming the town of Canberra, 310 kilometers away, with the intention of pulling out the nail that has penetrated deep into the hinterland in one fell swoop and completely eliminating the trouble.

Two other Victorian infantry divisions are heading north to reinforce the Sydney frontline, while three more infantry divisions and four separate artillery regiments are being assembled and will arrive at the front line.

Looking at the powerful army rolling forward in front of him, Lieutenant General Julian Smith was full of ambition and was very confident that he would lead the Smith Corps to a beautiful start.

His first goal was the town of Snow Mountain, just 44 kilometres from Sydney, which could be reached by the legion on a day's march.

Located in the Penrith area, due west of Sydney, the town of Snow Mountain continues to be a continuous mountain range, the mountain system here belongs to the branch of the Great Dividing Range, and the snow often falls heavily in the cold season, hence the name Snow Mountain Town.

From then on, more than 100 kilometers to the south can reach Balgoland Bay, the coastal railway south extension project passes through Snow Mountain Town, all the way south through Panshi Town to Ballegoland Bay, and then continues to extend south......

It should be pointed out that;

The southern extension of the coastal railway is not always built along the coast, after crossing the Kongsby Plateau (near the city of Beilun), it gradually extends inland, 44 kilometers from Sydney Bay, and is connected by a railway branch line (not built), and the railway line continues south into the inland area, and is hundreds of kilometers away from the east coast.

By about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the vanguard had arrived in a hilly area about 8 kilometers east of Snow Mountain Town, where they set up camp, set up rows of neat tents, buried pots for cooking, and prepared a steaming dinner for the hungry and thirsty soldiers.

Lieutenant General Julian Smith led his officers to the top of the hills, raised their binoculars, and took a closer look at this Chinese-built snow-capped mountain town, and after a long time, put down the binoculars and thought deeply.

The town in front of you does not go deep into the mountains, but is in the valley area at the front end of the mountain, a long railway line passes through the town, and there is a river called the Limer River nearby, the water depth is about half a person's height, and the water flow is clear and turbulent.

It's October now, the cold season in the southern hemisphere has just passed, the ice and snow in the mountains are melting and the stream is flowing out, and the night temperature is probably less than 10 degrees, and the climate is still relatively cold.

During the day, the temperature rises to about 20 degrees Celsius, and because the snow and ice melt, the river water remains at a low temperature, which is cold to the bone.

This is not a big problem, the key is that there is a high ground next to Snow Mountain Town, about 360~400 meters by sight, and a solid artillery position can be seen through the telescope, which is a great threat to attack Snow Mountain Town and must be cleared.

With barbed wire and trenches laid along the railway line and the only bridge over the Limer River blown up, the town is ready to resist to the end.

Relevant intelligence shows;

The town is mainly composed of Chinese immigrants who are railway workers, and some residents who have migrated from the north, mainly young and strong men, with a total of about 3,700 people, and a railway cavalry team of nearly 400 people, most of whom have received military training, and are ready to resist to the end.

In the face of such a strong defensive fortress, Lieutenant General Julian Smith frowned slightly, judging from his rich military experience, it is probably impossible to conquer such a fortress without paying the price of blood.

"These abominable Orientals, like maggots in the tunnels, have piled up everything they can defend against and turned them into a thick, hard carapace, and I propose to smash their shells with artillery fire and rush in to destroy them all."

It was Colonel Antonio, a colonel and division commander of the Sixth Division of the Confederate Army, an American, a veteran of the American Civil War, who retired as a lieutenant and an authentic white supremacist.

Lieutenant Colonel Henry, the commander of the artillery regiment, frowned, stretched out his hand and gestured a few distances, and said; "I'm afraid that artillery bombardment will not work, the visual inspection of the mountain heights is about 370 meters, and our 105-mm field guns must be fired at increased elevation angles.

Due to the straight trajectory of the field plus howitzer, the fired shells were able to cover the high ground in front of the slope, but could not do anything against the artillery positions in the rear.

The enemy's geographical advantage is too obvious, it is possible to shoot at our artillery positions from a height, and the firing range is greatly extended, almost 13 more on the 370-meter height.

It is unrealistic to use artillery to take the lead in attacking, we cannot hit the other side, and the opponent is condescending but can easily destroy all our artillery regiments, and we must defeat this high ground so that the artillery regiment can give full play to its firepower superiority.

The existing campsite is not safe, and it is necessary to retreat another 4~5 kilometers to avoid heavy losses caused by local artillery raids. ”

"What a bunch of cunning Orientals, and I'm starting to find it more interesting." Colonel Alan Keynes, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, looked ahead with a faint sneer on his lips.

Lieutenant General Julian Smith considered it and said; "Colonel Antonio, I need you to organize no less than one regiment of soldiers to attack at night, take the mountains and heights at dawn, and cover the army's breakthrough into Snow Mountain Town."

"As you wish, Your Excellency, the Sixth Division will resolutely complete its mission."

"The night is very cold across the river, send some whiskey to the soldiers to warm up, I need you to send elite troops to raid the mountains and highlands, try to stealthily meet the enemy and catch them off guard, waiting for the good news of your victory."

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency, I will arrange for Deputy Division Commander Fletcher to personally lead a regiment to carry out this mission, he is my best helper in the Civil War, a veteran with rich combat experience."

"That's great."

After deciding on the battle plan, the officers of the Smith Corps looked much more relaxed, whispered and walked down the hill, and then rode back to the barracks on their horses.

According to the warning of Lieutenant Colonel Henry, the commander of the artillery regiment, the forward camp must retreat 4~5 kilometers away from the coverage of enemy artillery fire, and this important thing must be done immediately, so as not to cause unnecessary losses.

On the high ground of the mountains

Lieutenant Colonel Duan Qirui clearly saw through the binoculars that a group of high-ranking officials of the Southern Coalition Army were doing pre-battle reconnaissance, and he resisted the urge to concentrate fire to cover them and watched them leave.

It's not that I don't want to fight, but the chance of hitting is too small, less than 30%.

Rash action will reveal the deployment of firepower on the side, and it will not be able to surprise the enemy greatly.

For the sake of prudence, Duan Qirui restrained the impulse in his heart, he is now the deputy commander of the railway cavalry division, the commander-in-chief of the defense of Snow Mountain Town, and was ordered to be responsible for blocking the enemy army for three days, and after three days, he could abandon his position and retreat into the deep mountains, and follow the mountain path to Panshi Town, which is dozens of kilometers away.

If the enemy forces block the road, they can also retreat into the mountains to fight guerrillas, and several material reserve points have been prepared in the mountains, enough to support two months.

But Duan Qirui was not ready to do this, he had already made up his mind to fight the enemy in Snow Mountain Town, hold on as long as he could, and give the enemy as much damage as he could, and do his best to support it to the end.

It's not that he wants to die, but the current situation forces him to do it.

Duan Qirui is a very ambitious and intelligent person, he knows that now that the Ocean Kingdom has been established, whether it is a mule or a horse depends on this hammer deal, if the south is pacified, there will be no large-scale war in Australia in the future.

At most, it is a small fight to suppress bandits and quell chaos, which will not make any great contributions.

If you want to get ahead, you have to fight, and you have to come up with eye-catching achievements, so that you can enter the eyes of His Majesty the King, and only then can you soar, stand out, and earn a hereditary noble title for the Duan family.

Don't miss the opportunity, and never miss it.

As for how many people will die for such a great feat, it is not for Duan Yurui to consider, what he has to think about is how to make the Southern Federal Army shed more blood.

A small lieutenant colonel rarely has the opportunity to lead alone, Duan Qirui knows how precious such an opportunity is?

More than three months

In addition to the 8 95mm Miss Australia guns, 12 60mm field guns, and 12 Maxine heavy machine guns allocated by the superiors, Lieutenant Colonel Duan Qirui poured all his family wealth and squandered the connections he had accumulated in peacetime to get more than double the number of shells, more heavy machine gun bullets and grenades, a lot of gasoline, and a large amount of barbed wire and other scarce materials, and ten more heavy machine guns, ready to do a big job.

At the same time, he trained the militia strictly day and night, and had already run Snow Mountain Town like an iron bucket.

In particular, this mountain highland contains a big surprise, which can definitely make the Southern Coalition Army drink a pot.

To put it mildly, Duan Qirui was so ruthless that he was even afraid of himself.