Empire Rising: Spain

The news of the Spanish Army’s massive northward invasion finally reached the capital of the Bam Kingdom, Fuban.

When the Bam Sultan learned of the Spanish Army’s incursion, he hastily organized his troops and decided to personally lead his army southward to resist the Spaniards’ advance.

As the Sultan of the Kingdom, Bam Sultan possessed some military acumen. Under his command were about 20,000 of his own troops, and there were also approximately 10,000 soldiers from other subordinate tribal armies.

Of the 20,000 in his own army, over 5,000 bore firearms. Although most were muskets, there were also about 500 breech-loading rifles equipped in the units.

In addition, the army was equipped with several cannons covered in rust, seemingly products of at least three or four decades ago.

Nonetheless, these indigenous people were quite adept at maintaining their artillery. Despite their age, the cannons were functional enough to be taken out and used.

Upon Bam Sultan’s completion of gathering his forces, the Spanish Army had already advanced their frontline by a dozen or so kilometers.

The local indigenous people were dispersed into various tribes over lands not far apart, which delayed the Spanish Army’s advance.

Each tribe held its own defense forces, which were controlled by the tribal chiefs. The scale of military power varied according to the size of each tribe.

The capital of the Bam Kingdom was located in the north, with larger tribes also spread over more northern territories.

The south, due to its proximity to the Spanish Guinea Colony, lacked significant tribal presences.

This was favorable news for the Spanish Army. Along the path of their advance northwards from Guinea, the Colonial Division encountered no formidable resistance.

The various indigenous tribes fled in panic at the sight of the Spanish Army, unable to muster any organized counterattack against the Spanish forces.

On the second day of the Spanish assault, the Spanish Army finally clashed with the Bam Army.

The encounter took place at the foot of a mountain, with the Spanish Army positioned below and the Bam Kingdom’s army situated on the mountainside.

Generally, the Bam Army, occupying the higher ground, held the advantage. If their firepower was sufficient, they could easily suppress the Spanish Army at the base and effortlessly reap Spanish lives.

Leading the Colonial Division, Giotto naturally observed the enemy. He scrutinized the situation on the mountainside through his telescope, then lowered it, his face grave as he said, ”Damn it, where did the enemy get those cannons?”

”Prepare the artillery, we must eliminate the enemy’s firepower immediately, or we will suffer losses.”

In Giotto’s view, the enemy could only pose a threat with those few cannons. No matter when the cannons were manufactured, if they were usable, they had the potential to inflict large casualties on the Spanish Army.

The messenger nodded promptly and relayed Giotto’s orders to the artillery.

The Bam Kingdom’s forces, due to their elevated position, detected the Spanish Army somewhat earlier.

However, as it was an encounter battle, they could only swiftly adjust their formations and reposition the limited number of cannons, consuming much of their available time.

At this point, the Spanish Army had also reacted, and both sides opened fire with their artillery almost simultaneously.

”Hey! Their cannons are there! Artillery, knock them out!” As soon as the Bam Kingdom’s cannons fired, the artillery immediately identified the opposing cannons’ positions.

Having received prior orders, the Spanish Army’s artillery showed no hesitation, prioritizing their fire on the enemy’s cannons.

While the Bam Kingdom had acquired cannons through various means, they had not received any proper military training.

This resulted in the Bam Army deploying all their artillery at a single location, believing this benefited the loading and transportation of ammunition.

In contrast, the Spanish Army had their artillery positioned at different locations, preventing the enemy from destroying all cannon positions in one strike.

Clearly, the enemy had no such strategic awareness, as their cannons were aimed primarily at inflicting Spanish soldier casualties, with shells targeting clusters of troops.

Bang! Bang bang!

Amidst successive artillery bombardments, smoke engulfed the battlefield, obscuring the sight of the opposing sides.

To be cautious, Giotto did not command a ceasefire; instead, he instructed the artillery to continue shelling the mountainside based on their memorized positions.

This war saw Spain invest substantial funds, and thanks to prior preparations, conserving ammunition was unnecessary.

Nearly every fortnight, Spain dispatched ample supplies of weapons and ammunition to the African Colony, sufficiently sustaining the war’s demands.

Giotto had previously commanded the Spanish Guard, participating in battles even more affluent than this, hence he had no intention of conserving ammunition.

Bang! Bang bang!

The Spanish Army’s artillery fired incessantly, unrelenting even as smoke blanketed the battlefield. There was no concern about friendly fire, as there were no Spanish troops on the mountainside.

Initially, cannon fire could be heard from the mountainside, but a few minutes later, it fell silent.

However, the sound of explosions and the piercing cries of the indigenous could still be heard from the mountainside, evidence of the significant casualties inflicted by the Spanish Army’s bombardment.