Colonel Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment, gave his men a pre-war mobilization, saying that he must stick to XiaoyuanShan, and if this place was broken by the Confederate Army, the entire Flank of the Northern Army would be exposed to the muzzle of the Confederate Army.
Anticipating that this would be a vicious battle, Chamberlain wanted to do his best to recruit as many men as possible, and some of the deserters guarded by the 20th Regiment volunteered to participate in the battle, but because there were no rifles, the regimental commander asked them to wait a little longer, "because there would be rifles soon" (as long as there were casualties they could have rifles available.
For the nineteenth-century breech rifle, keeping the barrel unobstructed and clean was a top priority, so wiping the inner chamber of the barrel with a through-the-barrel was not only a technical task, but also a technical job to save lives on the battlefield.
This was the first Confederate army to rush to the defense line of the 20 Maine Infantry Regiment, also due to the low efficiency of the rifle, in the process of charging to advance, shoot and reload, it was very troublesome and cumbersome, so they only had one or two chances to fire during the charge, otherwise they would stop firing because of the stop to load, which was a very unfavorable factor for the attacking side.
"Benefiting" from inefficient rifles, in the 19th century war had to use dense formations of platoon tactics to achieve the best shooting results, so more emphasis was placed on the discipline of the army, and uniform gun shooting and reloading were the essence of winning the opportunity in brutal shooting.
The commanding terrain coupled with the dense firing of the platoon made the first charge of the Confederate army fruitless, and the irresistible Confederate soldiers began to withdraw to the starting point of the charge despite the officers' obstruction.
The first charge was soon repelled by Chamberlain, and with the arrival of a new regiment, the Confederates soon organized a second charge, accompanied by the indian-toned shouts characteristic of the Yankees' charge.
The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment repelled the second Confederate charge, of course, its own casualties also began to increase, because of the restrictions of the gun shooting process, so that they could not shoot in a lying position like the current soldiers, they could only stand or crouch, and when reloading, they had to stand or kneel, resulting in an increase in the surface of the bullet, and most of the soldiers were hit by the bullets of the Confederate army in the process of reloading.
Seeing that the frontal attack was ineffective, the Confederate Army moved a regimental movement to the left flank of the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment, preparing for a roundabout attack, but was recognized by Colonel Chamberlain.
The colonel quickly adjusted the deployment, moving a battalion to the left flank to establish a new defensive line, ready to guard against attacks from the flanks.
Due to gunpowder, the nineteenth-century smoothbore guns produced a relatively strong flame when fired, which was very unfavorable to the concealment of the shooter.
The veteran Buster's right hand was hit by a bullet from the Confederate Army, bleeding profusely, and with the sanitary and medical conditions at that time, if he did not get timely treatment, he would lose his entire arm at the slightest, or lose his life because of the wound infection.
The first three charges of the Southern Army all stopped at a distance of about 100 meters in front of the Northern Army, and then fell into a confrontation with the Northern Army, but because it was a back attack, it could not be sustained, and it could only return in vain, and staying in the unobstructed place could only become the dead target of the Northern Army's practice of shooting.
As the third Confederate Corps assembled in place, the Confederates launched a fourth attack, and the pressure on the positions of the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment, which had already suffered more than half of the casualties, increased sharply (the Texas 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments and the 13th Alabama Infantry Regiment).
At his feet lay the corpses of his companions, but they also had to shoot at the enemy in a neat formation like no one else, which was the characteristic of nineteenth-century warfare: "queuing up and shooting".
The Confederates' forces on the flanks of the Roundabout Army were finally in place, so the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment of the Fourth Charge was attacked by Confederates from both directions.
Colonel Chamberlain's pre-arrangement played a decisive role in the stability of the regiment's positions and effectively suppressed the roundabout attack of the Confederate army.
Rounds of gunfire formed a dense barrage of bullets, enough to bring down an entire row of attacking Confederate soldiers.
The Southern Army that killed the red-eyed was also a successor, after all, they also understood the importance of breaking through the Xiaoyuanshan Defense Line, so it was not appropriate to launch round after round of attacks at all costs.
The confederates of the three regiments seemed to be launching waves of attacks on Xiaoyuanshan endlessly, but teams of Confederate soldiers climbed up the hill and got only a corpse rolling down the hill, and the position of the 20 Maine Infantry Regiment was piled up in front of the mountain.
The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment was once precarious because of heavy casualties, and some of the Southern Army rushed into the positions of the Northern Army, and fierce hand-to-hand combat between the two sides occurred, but because the Southern Army that broke into the Northern Army's position was also the end of the crossbow, it was quickly eliminated by the Northern Army.
In a thrilling scene in the film, Colonel Chamberlain shoots a Confederate officer dead with two shots in a row with a revolver.
After repelling the fourth charge of the Confederates, Chamberlain was reported that the bullets had been exhausted, and if the Yankees attacked again, they would never be able to hold it.
Colonel Chamberlain refused to retreat and decided to lead the remnants in a bayonet charge against the Confederates, and the soldiers, who had run out of bullets, were ordered to load their rifles with bayonets.
"We have run out of ammunition and half of our brothers have fallen with it. But you and I both understand that we cannot retreat, and that for the sake of our country and our ideals, we must fight to the end, and we can only fight to the end. This may be my last command to you, all with bayonets! Get ready to charge!"
The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment had suffered two-thirds of the casualties before launching the charge, and there were almost no places to stay on the ground, and if the bayonet charge was not launched, the position would certainly not be secured.
After Colonel Chamberlain gave the order to "combat posture", the Soldiers of the Northern Army, who were originally standing, posed as murderous and ready to fight bayonets at any time, looking still fierce and vicious.
The charge trumpet of the Northern Army was blown, of course, compared with the charge of the People's Liberation Army, the momentum was still far worse.
The charge horn sounded, and Colonel Chamberlain shouted with all his strength: "Rush", and the morale of the soldiers was greatly boosted.
The Northern Army, which had run out of bullets in more than three hundred gun chambers, began to launch an insurrectionary and desperate counter-charge against the Southern Army, and the famous "Chamberlain Charge" officially began. The soldiers of the 20th Maine Regiment rushed down the hill with bayonets in their eyes.
Colonel Chamberlain was the first soldier, followed by the soldiers of the 20th Maine Regiment, and the "Chamberlain Charge" was unstoppable.
The Confederate army was unprepared in the face of the counter-charge of the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment, not to mention that there were no bullets in their guns, and they were completely frightened by the momentum of the Northern Army, and many people chose to raise their hands and surrender at the first time.
The Southern Army, which was preparing to charge later, had already rushed to the front without even figuring out what was going on, but the gang was really unambiguous in surrendering, and did not even resist it. The Confederates, who had been attacking for a long time and were equally tired, were frightened by this sudden charge, and they did not expect that this group of Northern troops would rush down the mountain like crazy. Almost no one in the panicked Confederate army had time to put on the bayonet, and was driven down the hill by Chamberlain's charge and rolling belt.
Colonel Chamberlain personally handed over the weapons of a senior officer of the Confederate Army, and the armband was also a colonel, which should also be a regimental commander, and belonged to one of the three southern regiments that attacked.
The charge ended in triumph, and the soldiers of the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment happily carried the Confederate captives back to their positions. This charge also completely repelled the Confederate attack on Xiaoyuanshan. This was a turning point in the entire Battle of Gettysburg, and the plans of The Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee were ruined. The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment, which had more than a thousand men before the war, had less than two hundred men left after the battle.
At the end of the victory of the defense of Xiaoyuanshan, the officers who came to take over the defense showed great admiration for Chamberlain and solemnly requested to shake hands with Chamberlain. Because of Colonel Chamberlain's outstanding performance, he was awarded the National Assembly Medal of Honor by Congress after the war and promoted to brigadier general.