Port Cork, Ireland

The gunshots at night were like rain in autumn, sometimes falling and sometimes dense. People waited tremblingly for dawn. When they opened the windows, they found that the streets and alleys were covered with three-color flags of the Irish independence movement, and there were people carrying guns everywhere. They obviously did not have a unified uniform, but were dressed in ordinary civilians. They could mingle with the crowd after throwing their guns. At this moment, they took over the port city instead of the police and security team.

"Ireland is Ireland for Ireland! Ireland is free Ireland! Let the British get out of Ireland! We do not accept the rule of the British!" A group of women shouted slogans and distributed flyers along the street. When they encountered those who responded positively and were angry, they would guide them to the recruitment station. Some people looked indifferent, while others avoided it. In this case, the women did not act extremistly, and they put the flyers and quickly turned to the next person.

In the square where public events are often held, the Irish Republican Brotherhood people set up horns and constantly "bomb" people's ears with passionate speeches. They also drove a truck to distribute rifles and bullets to those who voluntarily register and swore to fight for Irish independence. Although the Irish Independence Movement faced a well-equipped and well-trained British team, hundreds of men took up weapons in just one morning, including both passionate young people and many middle-aged people with beards and belly.

At noon, the voice in the speaker was still full of emotion: "Irish compatriots, brothers and sisters, we are fighting for Ireland's independence. Don't be deceived by the autonomy promised by the British government. Such freedom is far away. Only by using force to fight against force can I truly achieve Ireland's independence! No matter what style you are in, even if you just stand behind us and shout for us, please support us! Support the Irish Republican Brotherhood! Support the Irish Volunteer Army!"

Sudden gunfire and explosions came from the north of the city. The gloating man was fortunate to say to himself behind the window: "Look, these ignorant guys are about to be cleaned up. How could they beat the British team? This stupid behavior gave the British an excellent excuse to use force!"

On the road north of Cork, the battle to block the British army had begun.

One of the two leading armored vehicles was igniting with raging fire. There were many soldiers' bodies lying next to it. The tires on the left side of the other armored vehicle were completely flat. The machine guns on the vehicle kept spitting out flames, and a series of bullets swept into the woods not far away.

The several trucks following the armored vehicles were obviously only attacked by bullets. Most of the drivers and crew members on the vehicles survived. The British soldiers in the yellow khaki uniforms scattered to the side of the road. After roughly understanding the enemy situation, they used continuous and rapid shooting to make profits and suppress them, and began to launch an attack in an orderly manner.

In the woods, under the leadership of a man wearing a baseball cap and overalls, thirty or forty Irish volunteer soldiers shot against the enemy based on the pre-digged shooting bunker.

It has great power, high accuracy, and durability. These characteristics make the Mauser G1898 a classic military rifle, but even in the hands of qualified German soldiers, this rifle is difficult to fight against the British Enfield MK-i, because the shooting speeds of the two are too different. If it weren't for this group of Irish Volunteers and also have a Maxim water-cooled heavy machine gun, it would be difficult to hold on for a few rounds at the guns of the British soldiers three times their number. Moreover, the simple fortifications built by these non-professional soldiers are far from comparable to the trenches on the battlefield on the Western Front. As time goes by, while the ambushers continue to cause casualties to their opponents, more and more companions on their side are knocked down by the opponent's bullets.

Seeing a small group of British soldiers relying on the cover of superior firepower to advance to the edge of the woods, the man in the cap shouted: "The first group throws grenades... pull the fuse first and then throw it!"

Under his reminder, several Irish volunteer soldiers took off the wooden grenades with their belts or boots and threw them out in a decent throwing posture. Only a few bangs sounded, and several British soldiers near the woods were instantly blown out, and the rest crawled on the ground. The power of the grenade explosion made the ambushers' momentum slightly boosted, but the overall situation of the two sides of the warring sides had not changed much. The only Maxim machine gun arranged in the woods was "careful" by the British firepower. The soldiers operating the machine guns were shot one after another, resulting in the firepower being intermittent, which was difficult to effectively suppress. However, the man in the baseball cap was unwilling to retreat. He continued to mobilize the personnel in the battle to replace the shooting shooter. After a while, his second group of troops threw the grenades.

The momentum of several grenades exploded one after another, but the British soldiers were wary of it. They scattered their formations and attacked the woods from several directions. The side of the ambushers' relatively weak defense quickly became the breakthrough for the British army. These trained professional soldiers quietly entered the woods and found a position where they could see the enemy's figure clearly. Suddenly, the four Irish volunteer soldiers who were operating the Maxim heavy machine gun were attacked first. In a blink of an eye, they all fell in a pool of blood, none of them were spared.

In the individual bunker built on trees and mounds, most Irish volunteer soldiers were confused by gunfire from all directions, but they did not realize the approaching of the danger at the moment. At a distance of fifty or sixty meters, the British soldiers who broke into the woods could easily shoot these ambushers who were determined to fire in front from the side and back. By the time the man in the baseball cap discovered this situation, his soldiers had been reduced by nearly half!

"Note on the right...there are British people!" The man in the baseball cap loudly reminded the soldiers, and moved to the right. The British soldiers discovered his intention and fired at him. The man in the baseball cap quickly passed between the splashed wood chips and soil, and was lucky to be shot. Compared with the British soldiers in front of him, the grenade was the only advantage of him and his Irish Volunteer Army soldiers in terms of weapons and equipment. With the leap of the range of the rifle and the power of the cannon and the appearance of the machine gun, the ancient army of grenades gradually withdrew from all over the world.

* The team was active in 1914. Only Germany and Russia produced and equipped grenades in large quantities before the outbreak of the war. Although Britain and France did not lack technology in this area, they realized the importance of grenades until trench defense replaced bayonet attacks. The weapons from research and development to production and then to equipment must require a process. For the frontline soldiers, this was destined to be a long and painful process. Even if temporary substitutes appeared, the British troops stationed in Ireland were in the rear position of equipment priority because they were far away from the frontline.

Judging from his behavior, the man in the baseball cap received preliminary military training, was bold, careful, brave and decisive, but he was still 108,000 miles away from the standard of a qualified officer. He leaned against the root of a big tree, took out two wooden grenades from the back belt, and pointed to the position of the British soldiers and threw one. Then, taking advantage of the explosion that the British soldiers were suspending their shooting, the second grenade was blown down three or four British soldiers as if helping him. The nearby Irish Volunteer Army soldiers took advantage of the situation and took advantage of the explosion.

, a small-scale counterattack was solved cleanly and neatly. However, British soldiers continued to break into the woods in other directions, and the combat distance was compressed to an extremely unfavorable level for the ambushers. Seeing that this was not good, many Irish Volunteer soldiers rushed to throw grenades, or retreated privately without the order of a man in the baseball cap. This temporary front was on the verge of collapse. If they did not retreat in time, being eliminated by British soldiers would probably be the only end for these Irish Volunteer soldiers.

"Everyone hold on! The reinforcements will arrive soon! Hold on for another five minutes!"

The man in the cap shouted at the top of his throat. Before he could shout it again, a round of machine gun bullets swept over, forcing him to press his head against the ground.

The Maxim machine gun that shot many British soldiers had been controlled by British soldiers. It is now falling through the muzzle and firing Irish Volunteer soldiers. The situation is even worse for them.

Between the gunshots, the British man across the street shouted: "Surrender! Irish! There may be a way to survive in surrender!"

The man in the cape shouted loudly: "It is better to fight to the end instead of putting down his weapons and being hanged by you!"

Responding to him was another round of machine gun bullets.

Gradually, British soldiers who controlled the situation forced the ambush back to a corner of the woods. There have been many uprisings in Ireland in history, the most recent in the 19th century. The failed uprisings ended up as hopeless as the man in the baseball cap said. It is precisely because of the cruel methods of the British rulers that, except for those seriously injured who were dying, the living Irish Volunteer Army soldiers were fighting for the final struggle, but the cold bayonets of British soldiers step by step still cast a layer of sadness in everyone's heart. The war for freedom has just begun, and the external situation is unprecedentedly beneficial to the Irish independence movement. Maybe in a few weeks, the independence that the Irish people longed for for hundreds of years will become a reality, but their first battle was the result of this...

Suddenly, there were dense gunfires outside the woods. After a while, only the British officer shouted tactical orders, and the British soldiers in the woods retreated in the direction of the road.

"Reinforcements are here! Our reinforcements are here!"

The surviving Irish Volunteer soldiers were so excited that they hugged each other. Under the lead of the man in the baseball cap, they tried to chase the retreating British soldiers, but were shot by the other party in an orderly manner, and several of the last batch of valuable combat power were lost.

Outside the woods, a group of armed men in civilian dress came along the way from the Cork Harbor. After entering the range of British guns and bullets, they did not blindly charge with the momentum of new attacks, but instead moved forward one by one in a loud voice. The shooting accuracy of these people was not satisfactory, but they won because they had the confidence to fight with British soldiers.
Chapter completed!