Republic of China game

Page 345

February 03th, 30:[-] am.

"Cannonball!"

The soldiers at the observation post on the top of the bunker frowned, making An Sihua frowned. The staff behind him subconsciously wanted to hide in the bunker, but the commander of the theater was still standing upright, holding up his binoculars and looking at the guns of the Japanese ship in the distance. The blasted balls of fire did not change color.They had no choice but to pretend not to be afraid, and continued to stay outside the bunker.

A few seconds later, waves of shells fell on the surroundings of the Huludao Fortress with orange-red rays of light. Along with huge mushroom clouds, the fortress had already been hit by a meteorite, and shocking scenes appeared one after another. Big pit!

Suddenly, a 356mm giant artillery shell flew over with the sound of dragging a train, and landed on a glasses fort. The steel and concrete fortress was like paper under such shells, and it was instantly destroyed Completely erased from this world!The dozens of soldiers inside hardly even uttered a cry, their bodies were torn apart by the explosion, turned into pieces of broken flesh and blood, and thrown high into the sky.

This scene almost frightened the staff behind An Sihua to turn pale.

The huge cannon of the Japanese ship is too powerful. Although the defenders of Huludao have been working for two months with the assistance of an engineering brigade, they are faced with such a huge 356 mm caliber shell that pours down as if they don’t want money. A hastily built fortress like Huludao is obviously no different from paper!The only thing to be thankful for now is that due to the freezing of the sea off Huludao and the deployment of thousands of mines by the navy, the Japanese battleships cannot get too close to the fortress, so the accuracy of the shelling is not too high.

However, as the dense shells fell in waves, An Sihua looked around, and the entire southeastern area of ​​the Huludao Fortress seemed to be shrouded in gunpowder smoke, with rising black smoke and flames everywhere, and the Japanese artillery shelled the most The violent Huludao Airport area and the theater headquarters have turned into ruins at this moment. If the headquarters and the Second Aviation Division had not been transferred away in time, maybe at this moment, I would have become like the soldiers in the glasses fort. It rained blood.

The shells were still falling, and the heavy artillery in the fortress also began to fight back. The cannons dominated the entire battlefield, and countless shells shuttled across the low mountain and the frozen sea.However, An Sihua did not have any hope for the artillery of the fortress. He knew in his heart that the possibility of hitting a Japanese battleship more than ten kilometers away with four 280mm coastal defense guns and one 380mm train gun was almost zero.Moreover, the power of the 280mm coastal defense gun is not enough to cause fatal damage to the battleship. Only the 380mm cannon can sink the Japanese warship... But with the slow rate of fire of the train gun and the hit rate of at most 5.00% , I'm afraid I won't hit a single shot even if I hit it for a day!In fact, the function of these five cannons was not to sink the Japanese warships, but to attract their firepower while keeping them from getting too close to the fortress.

In fact, An Sihua was not very worried about the Japanese bombardment of the fortress. The materials stored in the fortress had either been transferred to Qinhuangdao, or they had also been moved to several valleys north of the fortress.As for the infantry, they are all hiding in well-established and solid fortifications. Unless they are directly hit by heavy artillery shells over 200 mm, they will not encounter casualties... It is impossible to hit them like this indiscriminately on the distant sea A few rounds.What troubled him most was the attack that the Japanese army was about to launch. Was this kind of sea-land coordinated operation a nightmare for every fortress defender!The naval guns of the Japanese army can be used to suppress their own artillery, while the artillery of the Japanese army can accurately shoot the fortifications on the Tashan defense line outside the fortress under the guidance of infantry!

It would be great if the submarine could rush to the waters off Huludao to launch another attack on the Japanese fleet when the Japanese army began to attack.

An Sihua raised his binoculars, widened his eyes and took a closer look at the Japanese fleet sailing slowly in artillery formation.Looking at their orderly formation, you can tell that they have not been attacked... Why haven't the remaining [-] submarines with torpedoes arrived yet!

……

With a loud "boom", a huge 380mm artillery shell landed 50 meters away from the starboard side of the battleship "Hyuga". A ten-meter-high water column rose into the air, and huge waves even spread to the deck!

Whether it was the commander of the fleet Koichi Shiozawa, the captain of the "Hyuga" Captain Keitaro Hara, or even all the officers and soldiers of the Japanese First Expeditionary Fleet, they were all taken aback by the shell that almost hit the "Hyuga" .If this shell hits the "Hyuga", at least it will be a serious injury, and it may even directly sink this huge ship of more than 3 tons!

Koichi Shiozawa saw the huge explosion of landslides and ground cracks, and knew that this was not something that could be fired by a 280mm caliber shell, and even the 356mm shell of the "Hyuga" did not have such power. According to public information, this should be It was a huge gun that was the same as the 380mm main gun of the "Karl Marx" class battleship firing at his fleet!And this giant cannon must be a train cannon, transported to Huludao through the areas controlled by the Communist Party of China!

"Bage! The conscience of the Communist Party of China is greatly ruined!" Yanze cursed in a low voice, raised the binoculars in his hand and carefully observed the opposite Mount Tai.

"Your Excellency, the cannons of the Chinese Army should be placed in the shade of Taishan Mountain, relying on the cover of Taishan Mountain to avoid the attack of the naval guns." A staff officer analyzed the position of the Kuomintang army cannons in the first place.

"Shiozawa-kun, order the fleet to concentrate fire on the artillery position of the Chinese Army behind Taishan!" Chief of Staff Yoshida Zengo looked at the faintly visible mountain in the distance, his eyes were burning red. The 380mm cannon is no joke!If one inadvertently hits the "Hyuga" with a shot, it may be sunk... In this way, two battleships will be lost in two days!How will I explain to the country when I go back?

Hearing the suggestion of the fleet chief of staff, Shiozawa Koichi gritted his teeth, slowly raised a hand, paused in the air for a while, and finally waved it lightly: "Order the fleet to prepare to bombard Tashan! As for the door of the Chinese people 380mm cannons, let him go!"

What?Casually bombard expensive battleships with enemy heavy artillery? !Yoshida Zengo and several staff officers on the bridge were taken aback when they heard the words, and just about to speak out to dissuade them, Yantian sighed and explained: "Compared with that cannon, the Chinese submarines are more dangerous! They will attack you at any time. Arriving, we don't have much time... I can't believe that it was all their submarines that attacked us three hours ago. Well, let's do this, and start diverting firepower to bombard Tower Mountain according to the original plan. Shelling for half an hour After that, the fleet turned to retreat to Yingkou."

Koichi Shiozawa's judgment is undoubtedly accurate. Right now, [-] submarines of the Kuomintang army are driving towards the sea off Huludao at full power!The number is three times that of the six submarines of the first unit commanded by Zhang Yiming himself!If Yanze's fleet stays off Huludao before then, the consequences will be disastrous!

The sound of the artillery gradually faded away, and Lieutenant General Liu Fei, the chief of staff of the war zone who was originally sitting in the Taishan shelter, did not know when he walked behind An Sihua who was still watching the battle.

"Mr. An, the Japanese ships seem to have stopped shelling. Has our submarine arrived yet?" Liu Fei also raised his binoculars and began to look at the sea, only to see more than [-] Japanese warships lined up in two rows, as if they were on the surface of the sea. Turn up.

An Sihua's eyebrows were tightly frowned. Four 280mm coastal defense guns and a 380mm train gun were still firing at a leisurely pace. The Japanese fleet that was turning around was constantly being bombarded with shells, and water jets It was raised high again and again, but the Japanese ship ignored it and just turned the bow so that the side was facing the direction of Tashan.

"They are going to bombard the Tashan defense line! These Japanese navy are really ruthless, and they don't care about our shore artillery. God bless, it would be great if they can hit one..."

……

"Rumble..."

A 280mm artillery shell rushed from the sea like lightning, and hit the top of the No. [-] turret on the bow of the battleship "Hyuga".Koichi Shiozawa, who was watching the battle on the bridge, happened to be lucky enough to witness this terrifying scene. Shiozawa only saw the top of the twin turret explode, bulging up like an inflated balloon, and then turning into a dazzling ball of fire. The fireball, the whole battleship seemed to be kicked hard by someone, the violent vibration almost threw Yanze off the bridge, but fortunately a strong hand grabbed him.But at this moment, Yanze didn't have the heart to see who saved his old life.The only thing he cares about now is the second turret.

At a distance of 15000 meters, fully using Krupp's most advanced technology, the 280mm SKC/30 naval gun manufactured by Krupp Ma'anshan Iron and Steel Company can penetrate 320mm thick armor!Not to mention the relatively thin top of the "Hyuga" turret, even the front of the turret with a thickness of 305 mm cannot withstand such a blow!The 320 kg artillery shell drilled in from the top of the turret, and there was a big explosion inside, reducing all the gun crew members to ashes.

After the gunpowder smoke cleared, Yanze's heart seemed to be pierced by something, only to see a huge hole opened at the top of the huge No. The violent fire is probably spreading to the ammunition depot under the turret...

Shiozawa shook his hands and reached into the pocket of his coat, and pulled out a neat silk handkerchief. With trembling hands, he swept the handkerchief over his forehead, wiping away a few drops of cold sweat that had just gushed out, and was panicked again. stuffed it back.

"Your Excellency, Captain Hara Keitaro of the 'Hyuga' reported that the fire in the No. [-] turret was so violent that it was difficult to extinguish it. In order to prevent the fire from spreading to the ammunition compartment, he has ordered the injection of seawater into the ammunition compartment." Chief of Staff Yoshida Zengo said in a slightly trembling voice. Said to Shiozawa.

"Fire, fire! We need to fight back!"

I don't know whether he was frightened or irritated by the five cannons firing non-stop behind Taishan, Koichi Shiozawa suddenly pointed to the distant ridge and shouted: "Let the 'King Kong' and 'Kirishima' The "Hyuga", "Kago", "Aoba", and "Kinagasa" were responsible for bombarding the Chinese army's Tashan defense line!"

Seeing that the Japanese fleet was divided into two teams on the sea, An Sihua put down the binoculars in his hand and let out a sigh of relief: "Thank God, those big guys finally have some effect, the two 'King Kong' class He was attracted to him. There are only ten 356mm cannons and eighteen 200mm cannons left on Tashan.” Then he threw the binoculars to the adjutant and smiled at Liu Fei: “Let’s go down and hide Shells, I don't want to be killed by a 356mm shell that doesn't have eyes."

……

When the Japanese army began shelling the Tashan defense line, General Li Zongren, the commander of the First Group Army in charge of operations in the western Liaoning Corridor, was looking out from the artillery observation post on the top of Gelazi Mountain, which was about six kilometers behind the Tashan defense line.In the dark night sky, suddenly a burst of yellow light flashed.Like lightning, the western sky suddenly lit up, and then there was a sound like thunder, and finally the earth trembled violently!Amidst the shrill screams, thousands of rounds of large and small artillery shells exploded almost simultaneously everywhere in the solid fortifications.The orange-yellow explosions that erupted in the night sparkled and connected together on the plain of Tashan Township, where there were no mountains at all.The shells were so dense that there were no counts. Occasionally, there were giant 356mm shells flying from the distant sea, dragging waves of landslides in the air, and falling to the ground, causing the whole earth to shake violently!

Li Zongren roughly estimated that this time the Japanese army dispatched at least a thousand cannons to violently bombard the Tashan defense line that was stationed by the Reorganized 24th Division, which was only ten kilometers wide!The density of this kind of firepower should have exceeded the density of shelling by the French and German armies in the Battle of Versailles, right?And I also have a powerful artillery in my hands, including an independent artillery brigade belonging to the National Revolutionary Army, six division artillery regiments, twelve brigade artillery battalions and 130 regiment artillery companies, a total of [-] artillery pieces In addition, there are two Jin Army artillery regiments and a Youth Army artillery regiment. They have a total of [-] cannons, which are only slightly less than the Japanese army in number, but they have an advantage over large-caliber artillery.

However, the Kuomintang's artillery counterattack is very weak at the moment. The 36 cannons dare not fire at the same time, but the 150 heavy artillery companies equipped with 3 mm are divided into six batches to fire back at the Japanese artillery positions in turn. Each batch has six artillery pieces. Even if they could only fire continuously for [-] minutes, they had to move their positions immediately... Facing the Japanese army with a battleship and three heavy cruisers to help in the battle, the Kuomintang army finally tasted what it was like to be suppressed in firepower!

However, Li Zongren is not too worried about the infantry who stick to the fortifications. For more than two months, the No.11 Division has been rushing to repair the fortifications all the time, and the entire Tashan defense line has been managed as solid as gold.The infantry should be hiding in the strong anti-aircraft fortifications at this moment. Even if these fortifications are directly hit by 150mm shells, they will not be too seriously damaged.The only thing he cares about now is the focus of Japanese shelling, so as to judge their attack focus.His biggest headache is actually the lack of troops. Now he only has four Kuomintang reorganized divisions and three miscellaneous divisions (Jin Army/Youth Army). From the analysis of the firepower of the Japanese artillery bombardment, they have at least eight on the front of Huludao. division!Moreover, according to intelligence, the Japanese army has also concentrated a powerful tank wing on the front of Huludao, and they are very likely to use tanks to cooperate with infantry to break through!In order to deal with these "powerful Japanese tanks", Li Zongren ordered the anti-tank artillery battalions of the three Kuomintang divisions deployed on the second line and the northern mountainous defense line to be concentrated. There are a total of 54 37mm anti-tank guns. Strength is to be used in a decisive direction!It gave the Japanese tanks a head-on blow.

The information about the "powerful Japanese tank" was obtained by Bai Siwen, the Kuomintang spy chief lurking in Shenyang, from Yoshiko Kawashima. It is said that this tank is called "Type 89 Medium Tank" and trial production began in April 1929. of.Its combat weight is as high as 37 tons, which is 20 tons heavier than the No. [-] tank currently used by the Kuomintang army!The artillery uses a [-]mm tank gun, which is more powerful than the [-]mm machine gun of the No. [-] tank!

At this moment, behind the Japanese front on the opposite side of the Tashan defense line, next to a hidden grove, there are 120 Type 89 medium tanks neatly arranged in fours!and the same number of armored cars.In addition, there are 100 fully prepared Japanese officers and soldiers in the starting position in front of these tanks, chewing what may be the last meal in their lives.I don't know whether it was the unprecedented violent shelling or the more than 16 tanks behind them that boosted the morale of the elite infantry drawn from the [-]th Sendai Regiment of the Infantry and the No.[-] Shibata Regiment.The lower-ranking Japanese officers standing in front of their respective queues all looked very satisfied and greeted each other loudly: "See you at Kuduanzaka!" "Lucky for a long time!"

These guys belong to the elite of the Japanese Army—the Second Division. Their task this time is to protect the tanks behind from breaking into the strong defense line of the Chinese army!Even if you sacrifice your life, you must protect the safety of the chariot!Because the above told them that as long as these chariots break into the positions of the Chinese army, the Great Japanese Empire will be able to win this great battle related to the fate of the country.

Captain Maeda Toshimi of Japan's First Tank Squadron was wearing a tank soldier's leather jacket and a fur hat on his head. He was holding a treasured sword that was said to have belonged to Maeda Toshiki's family. He was looking straight at the tank squadrons. The squadron leader gave the final order before the attack.Whether they can break through the strong defense line of the Kuomintang army, open the way forward for the follow-up troops, and restore the declining national fortune of the Great Japanese Empire depends on their chariot formation that has been established after spending a lot of money and money!In this regard, Maeda Toshiro is full of confidence in the No. 16 Maeda family head, who holds the title of Marquis.

Chapter 0563 Steel Storm ([-]) Tank Assault

On the thirteenth, in the early morning, at four thirty.

The field airport in Qinhuangdao is already crowded with people. Eight towering lighthouses illuminate the entire apron like daylight. Soldiers trot all the way pushing the 130kg and [-]kg aerial bombs just taken out of the warehouse. They walked under the belly of the aircraft, carried them up and fixed them on the pylon, and finally pulled out the safety latch on it and installed the fuze.

In mid-February, the Northeast is still in late winter, with short days and long nights. It is already 04:30 in the morning, and the sky is still pitch black!Originally, the plane should not be allowed to take off at risk, but the news from Huludao made Liu Yongyao, the commander of the Second Aviation Division, gritted his teeth and gave the order to take off.Fortunately, as long as they fly eastward for an hour, the sky will gradually increase in volume, and the dive bomber can complete its positioning visually.

However, for the sake of safety, the Second Aviation Division still adopted the method of flying at a large interval, which is to separate a group of planes in the air for 3 minutes. After the dive bombers take off, the fighter jets will take off immediately, and then arrive at Huludao. Redo the air formation.

Since Qinhuangdao Airport is not as large as Huludao Airport, the Second Aviation Division has only one fighter brigade, two dive bomber brigades, and one reconnaissance aircraft squadron.It has a total of 1 F41B fighter jets, 1 A82B light dive bombers, and 1 A1C reconnaissance bombers.In fact, these three aircrafts are all developed on the basis of Me-[-]. The appearance of fighter jets and dive bombers is basically the same, but the dive bombers are stronger, can mount more bombs, and have a fixed dive angle. Instruments such as those used for dive bombing.

Considering that the current Japanese Army Air Force is far inferior to the Chinese Air Force in terms of weaponry and pilot technology, all 82 dive bombers will be used for this attack, while the escort fighters will only dispatch two squadrons with a total of 26 aircraft , and a small bomb weighing 26 kilograms was also mounted on these 1 F[-]Bs.

Zhang Zhizhong, Commander of Qinhuangdao Fortress, is also at this airport at the moment, seeing off the pilots with Liu Yongyao, his student in Whampoa and currently the commander of the Second Aviation Division.

"When will these planes arrive?" Zhang Zhizhong looked at an A1B bomber that had already started taxiing on the runway and asked.

"It's more than 150 kilometers, and it takes about an hour to fly. The first bomb can be dropped on the Japanese at 05:30! It's a pity that this airport is a little small, and it can only accommodate more than 100 planes. The one in Huludao has now been taken over. The Japanese naval gun was destroyed, and it will not be repaired in a few weeks." Liu Yongyao shook his head: "By the way, teacher, have the Chinese Communists retreated? I heard from my classmates in the army that one of the Chinese Communists The legion has already arrived in Funing, and there are also their red guards in the mountains to the north. It seems that they are threatening to take back Qinhuangdao... Could it be for real?"

Zhang Zhizhong gave a wry smile. Luo Yaoguo's sudden order to seize Shanhaiguan and Qinhuangdao, although they had obtained new ports and military airports for the Kuomintang army in western Liaoning, brought the already tense relationship between the two parties to the brink of final rupture.Although the CCP has agreed in principle to send Zhang Xueliang to Xi'an to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the "Shanhaiguan Incident" with Chiang Kai-shek, it has not given up on putting pressure on the military. Zhang Zhizhong's [-]th Division is currently stranded in Qinhuangdao and Shanhaiguan to defend against the Red Army. possible offense.

At such a critical moment, there is an elite infantry division that is held back by "our own people" and is useless in the rear!This is really dumbfounding.

But without its own No.20 division, the Kuomintang army in western Liaoning is fighting against the twelve divisions of the Japanese army with nine divisions. The strength is obviously at a disadvantage, and the opponent has a huge main fleet. Bohai Bay!This battle is indeed a bit dangerous, I hope Chairman Jiang and Zhang Xueliang can negotiate in Xi'an, so that the main force of the Kuomintang army can go north as soon as possible...

However, before the army arrives in large numbers, it can only rely on air superiority to make up for it. This time, the air support task undertaken by the Second Aviation Division is very arduous.The threat from the Japanese army's aviation and ground artillery fire is not too great, but it is a big test for the pilot's physical strength. According to the plan, the Second Aviation Division will dispatch at least 30 sorties today to provide air support for the defenders on the front line of Huludao. This amount of bombing was not worth mentioning in World War II, but it was still a relatively appalling amount in the early [-]s.

According to calculations, it means that every pilot has to fly at least five sorties for nearly ten hours today, which is also a great test for the fighter itself.