Chapter 19: The End of Winter
Bruno spent the next month identifying and mapping out the exact locations where the Boxer remnants would hide when he and General Frey were plotting the French punitive expedition. Through repeated skirmishes with the enemy, he had discovered their precise whereabouts, and the locations they were most likely to set up ambushes.
Unfortunately for him, despite the fact that his presence was requested by the French Colonial Army in an advisory capacity, General Frey had largely neglected his suggestions. And repeatedly walked into enemy attacks without a regard for the advice Bruno had given him. Whether it was because the French General was testing him, and his knowledge of the enemy tactics. Or simply because he thought having a German advisor was a mere novelty. The initial pleasantries which General Frey greeted Bruno with had become nothing short of tiresome at this point.
Today was no different, with the French General yet again ignoring Bruno's advice, and in doing so, marched his troops directly into an ambush that Bruno had predicted with absolute precision. The Boxers who took part in the attack were not of the normal variety which Bruno had come into contact with during his time in the German-occupied Zone.
These men, for the most part, did not wield firearms and explosives to a degree of proficiency that was worthy of being called an insurgency. Rather, these were the more common variety of Boxers, those that Bruno honestly had no idea how they survived this long when considering their delusional take on warfare.
For whatever reason, the Boxer Movement, or at least those in charge had convinced thousands of men that with their qigong powers they could render bullets useless against their flesh, as well as perform other feats that simply were not possible if one were living in objective reality.
Perhaps if the world functioned off of the tropes that were commonly found in Eastern Fantasy novels, then these things could be true. But in the real world, such ideas were delusional. There was no such thing as magic in this world, and because of this no matter how hard you tried to "channel your Qi" you were not going to stop a bullet from taking your life.
These Boxers however had a damn near religious faith in their alleged qigong powers, and charged at the French colonial soldiers wildly from beneath a nearby ridge where they had waited for the enemy to approach. It took some time for the French to adjust their weapons so that they were properly aligned with the enemy's assault.
Bayonets had not been affixed, and because of this the French soldiers fired off a single and shaky volley at the enemy. Using the same tactics with their Lebel 1886 bolt actions rifles that they would have used if this battle was taking place 50 years earlier when muskets ruled the land.
This only made it easier for the Boxers, armed with swords and spears to inflict casualties on the French soldiers. With the first line falling quickly by the wayside. They had walked right into an ambush yet again. This was despite Bruno's previously warning that there was a high likelihood the enemy would be lying in wait at ridge.
Bruno sighed heavily and shook his head as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit a smoke. Meanwhile, General Frey who looked through his binoculars was honestly surprised that Bruno's hunch had proven correct, and rather haphazardly responded as if the injuries his men were currently sustaining were not a big deal at all.
"Well, I'll be damned. It would appear that you were correct in your assumption Captain. I suppose it would have been wise to follow your advice to proceed with caution and fix bayonets before marching past the ridge."
Despite the fervor in which the Boxer remnants fought, they were ultimately outnumbered by the French Army, who managed to fix their bayonets and fight in the melee together with the enemy. Ultimately winning the skirmish, albeit while suffering minor casualties. More than two dozen men were wounded in the ambush, and another six had been killed outright.