The Rise of Australasia

Although the conflict between Argentina and Chile had not yet spread to the saltpeter mining area, the British Empire had already paid close attention to it.

However, the situation had not yet escalated to the point of requiring intervention from the British Empire, and the Allies and the Covenant Nations merely issued statements urging both parties to exercise restraint.

Unfortunately, such a conflict was already beyond the control of both governments. The previous conflict had resulted in nearly a hundred casualties on both sides, causing Argentine and Chilean border forces to harbor deep animosity towards each other.

Under the tense atmosphere between both parties, on June 21, 1913, the second conflict took place.

Since the previous conflict, both sides had urgently deployed some weapons and equipment to the border areas to defend against potential attacks from the other side.

At the same time, the number of Argentine and Chilean border defense and patrol forces increased significantly.

Although this effectively ensured the security of the national borders, it also increased the possibility of conflicts between the two armies.

After all, the patrol forces of both sides might have only encountered each other once every one or two weeks before.

But now, with the increase of border defense forces, the patrol forces of both sides almost met every day, making it impossible not to have conflicts.

Edward Montalvo was an ordinary Chilean border soldier, belonging to a patrol squad of the border garrison forces.

As it was almost winter in the Southern Hemisphere, Edward Montalvo's patrol squad had also put on thicker cotton-padded clothes.

Before the conflict broke out, Edward Montalvo and his comrades thought it was just a simple patrol.

Although only a few days had passed since the last conflict, both Argentina and Chile knew that the other side had deployed more troops at the border, and that breaking out a conflict now could trigger an even bigger war.

For several days in a row, the two armies remained relatively calm, easing the soldiers' tensions and making them feel that the conflict was unlikely to happen again.

But the accident happened all of a sudden.

The squad leader of Edward Montalvo's patrol was the first to cross the snow-covered hill from the previous day and saw to his surprise an Argentine army of several dozen men.

"Enem..." The squad leader couldn't even finish his sentence before being hit by an oncoming bullet and falling instantly into the white snow.

Within a few seconds, a large amount of blood gushed out, staining the pure white snow bright red. The snow mixed with the blood quietly flowed down to Edward Montalvo and his comrades' feet.

"The enemy has crossed the border! Quick, fire the signal gun!" Edward Montalvo was the first to react, taking out his Lee-Enfield rifle from his back and speaking to his comrade beside him.

Although the gunfire would quickly attract the attention of both armies, it was not easy to determine the exact direction in such a forest hill.

If a signal gun was used, the location of the conflict could be quickly identified, which would be conducive to the arrival of their reinforcements.

Of course, there was a drawback to this: the enemy could also see the signal gun, and it was very likely to attract their support as well.

At this point, it would be a matter of whose support arrived faster. This not only determined the outcome of the conflict but also might decide who would have the upper hand in the conflict between Argentina and Chile.

After instructing his teammates to use the signal gun, Edward Montalvo carefully climbed to the top of the hill and counterattacked with his rifle.

Edward Montalvo knew that if he didn't suppress the enemy's attack with firepower, the enemy would climb the hill, and their entire patrol squad would become live targets for the enemy, facing only death.

Fortunately, the British Lee-Enfield rifle's quality and firepower were sufficient to be trusted.

As the fastest firing rifle currently available, the Lee-Enfield rifle had excellent firepower suppression. Edward Montalvo successfully forced the Argentine army to cower in the mountain brook, unable to advance any further.

Bang!

Accompanied by a slightly dull gunshot, a red smoke shot straight into the sky, eventually exploding high in the air, leaving behind a conspicuous cloud of red smoke and exhaust.

Every Chilean border patrol squad was equipped with one or two signal guns to deal with possible emergencies.

As soon as the troops stationed at the border saw this red smoke, they would immediately rush to the location of the smoke to rescue the soldiers who might be in danger or trapped by the enemy.

"Oh, shit! Damn it, come and help!" Seeing the teammate who fired the signal gun was still standing there dumbfounded, staring at the corpse of their squad leader, Edward Montalvo couldn't help but curse under his breath and shout a reprimand.

However, it wasn't entirely the fault of Edward Montalvo's comrades. Chile, a small country with little war experience, had naturally less active military training than powerful nations.

Especially for border patrol soldiers like Edward Montalvo, they had only undergone simple training, armed themselves with weapons and equipment, and joined the patrol squad.

They were unaware of the cruelty of a real war. Seeing their squad leader, who had just laughed and talked, fall in front of them, blood flowing everywhere, made them feel helpless and confused.

Upon hearing Edward Montalvo's curses and scolding, the others finally came to their senses and quickly picked up their weapons, quietly climbed to the top of the hill, and began to counterattack the Argentine army at the foot of the mountain.

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