The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 426: Chapter 348: Endless Conflicts on the Borders_3

There was no significant difference in the combat capabilities between the Argentine and Chilean armies. However, due to the excellent performance of the Chilean Lee-Enfield Rifles, even though the Chilean troops were fewer in number, both sides were in a stalemate for a time.

About ten minutes into the battle, hundreds of bullets had been consumed. Edward Montalvo and his comrades-in-arms looked at the Argentine army at the bottom of the mountain, which had not suffered many casualties, and were momentarily taken aback.

In fact, the Argentine army at the bottom of the mountain was also somewhat taken aback. While the Argentine's standard Rifle did not shoot as fast, due to the advantage of having more troops, the bullet consumption was even higher than the Chilean army's.

Looking at the current firepower of the Chilean army, however, their casualties did not seem to be high. The only possibility was that they had a large number of soldiers, and once casualties occurred, reserve forces would immediately fill in.

However, this possibility was quite low. After all, the Argentine army on this side only had several dozen troops; if the Chilean army had a significant number of troops, they would not choose to hunker down on the mountain summit and fire from cover.

For the first time, both parties experienced the true nature of war, with massive consumption of life and weapons and equipment.

If there were satellites to count the casualties of both parties, the Argentine and Chilean soldiers would find a somewhat exaggerated data.

Together, they consumed thousands of bullets, but the actual casualties caused were relatively small, even less than ten.

In a strict sense, other than the Chilean patrol squad leader who was unlucky enough to be killed by a direct bullet hit in the beginning, the other soldiers were more or less hit by stray bullets.

Together, Argentina and Chile averaged one casualty for every 500 rounds of bullets.

If only considering death statistics, it would even take an average of 1,000 rounds of bullets to kill each enemy.

This was because the distance between both armies was not too far away, and coupled with the Chilean side's advantage of overlooking aerial positions, the Argentine army with no camouflage appeared more conspicuous, creating a small number of casualties.

If someone was attentive enough, they could even notice that their comrades-in-arms might be pointing their gun barrels at the sky when firing back.

No one is not afraid of death, especially the armies of Argentina and Chile, who have not undergone much training and ideological education.

To ensure that they would not be the most unfortunate ones, some people would just stretch out their hands to shoot, while the other parts of their bodies remained hidden in the nearby cover of their positions.

Concerning this situation, both parties had some feelings. It was estimated that it would not be long before both sides' reinforcements might arrive. This was not good news for the Argentine army because this was Chilean territory, closer to the Chilean border troops.

To break this situation, the Argentine army's only choice was to cause a large-scale casualty to the Chilean army in front of them, forcing them to withdraw or even kill them off.

Without the Chilean patrol teams as a hindrance, the Argentine army could return to hiding in the long range of border mountains, ambushing the Chilean troops as before.

At this point, the Argentine commander somewhat regretted that no heavy weapons had been carried during the operation to facilitate movement, leaving the Argentine army without a good solution against the Chilean army on the mountain.

Even though they knew the number of Chilean troops was far less than their own, the long hill had no shelter, and launching an attack on the Chilean troops on the mountain would be sending the Argentine army to their deaths.

If they had one firearm, even just a small-caliber one, it could pose a threat to the Chilean troops on the mountain and even annihilate them quickly.

Moreover, with the cover of the firearm, the Argentine army could find an opportunity to sneak up the mountain and deal with the cunning and annoying Chilean troops.

However, now was not the time for the Argentine commander to regret his decisions. Seeing the troops already being dragged by the Chileans into the mountain brook, the Argentine commander realized that he had to make a decisive choice to save the lives of himself and his soldiers.