Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Hero of 1911

Text Chapter 515 The eve of the war

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    No matter how exciting and fierce the diplomatic battles are, it can never replace the head-on battle of blood and fire.

    While the navy was busy laying mines and the South was scrambling for time to land, the renovated Anfeng Railway line witnessed a battle against time.  All civilian trains were ordered to suspend operations. If you could look down from the sky, you would find military trains filled with soldiers, tanks, gasoline, artillery and ammunition running back and forth at ten-minute intervals on two parallel railway tracks.

    Time, time, time!

    The conflict broke out, landing in Taiwan, and the Japanese combined fleet dispatched The first element of any military operation is to race against time!  Five years ago, the powerful German Empire took the lead. With its powerful railway network, it sent millions of troops to the border in a short period of time. In a short period of time, it defeated Belgium and entered France. In the following four years, it stubbornly kept the war on the border.  within enemy territory.  Although it ultimately failed due to reasons such as strength, disease, and food, its military's short-term burst capability eclipsed those countries that consider themselves to be the world's strongest militaries.  Therefore, for the National Defense Forces, how much military power can be mobilized in a short period of time is the key to this war.  Although the railway network is not as good as the European War, thanks to the fact that the European War has just ended, many veterans who were supposed to recover have not yet had the chance to leave. In just a few days, several divisions of troops were assembled in Anton City.

    When Liu Mingzhao arrived by plane, this small town, which was first occupied by the Japanese army in 1894 but had no choice but to give up, and was used as a bridgehead to attack the Russian army in 1904, had become a sea of ??sand and yellow, with people speaking with various accents.  After the soldiers assembled here, they took military trains along the Andong Bridge of the Yalu River and entered North Korea's Sinuiju and North Pyongan Provinces.

    In the headquarters, Liu Mingzhao met Major General Qin Zhangshu, the commander-in-chief of this operation, and Major General Zhang Tingfu, chief of staff. He saluted with both feet and said: "Report, the intern staff officer of the Army's Second Division, Army Captain Liu Mingzhao has been ordered to report."

    Strange to say, when things have developed to this point, Cai E, Yue Peng, Feng Guozhang, Zhang Xiaozhun and other famous army officers have hardly moved.  Instead, Qin Zhangshu, former commander of the 4th Brigade and commander of the 202nd Division of the Western Expeditionary Force, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the campaign, and Major General Zhang Tingfu was appointed as the chief of staff.  In fact, they are also the oldest generals in the National Defense Force. Qin Zhangshu was also the biggest contributor to the battle of Beiyang in Xiaocangshan.  But there is still a big gap compared with the now famous Yue Peng and Cai E. However, after two years of fighting on the Western Front, his experience has gradually become richer, and he has become the mainstay of the new generation of the army.

    "Mingzhao, hahaI finally expected you to come."

    Qin Zhangshu and Zhang Tingfu are both familiar with this army second lieutenant who personally escorted "important supplies" around the earth, was received by Yang Qiu and awarded a first-class medal.  So I asked politely: "Have you had a hard time along the way? How are the preparations in Shandong?"

    After Liu Mingzhao returned to China, he was temporarily placed in the Shandong 2nd Division as an intern staff officer of the Operations Department. The mission of the 2nd Division in this operation is still to ensure the security of Shandong's coastal areas.  Said: "Report. The navy has strengthened the defenses of Qingdao, Laoshan and other places. Qingdao Port has been temporarily blocked, and Yantai and Weihai have also been deployed. The 11th Air Force Brigade arrived in Qingdao when they arrived. Their assistance in investigation can ensure that they are not suddenly landed by the Japanese army.  "Although the military restructuring has been interrupted and the Air Force has not actually been formally established, the National Defense Force has already called the Air Force the Air Force.  Those who have experienced the Western Front all know what it means to have a pair of eyes in the sky. As long as coastal aircraft and submarines can detect the enemy in advance, the army will have enough time to mobilize to prevent the Japanese from landing.

    The two were about to ask about the situation in Jiangsu.  He was interrupted by Zhu Depei coming from outside.  This beloved disciple of Jiang Fangzhen is now also a captain and has been transferred to serve as combat staff.  Zhang Tingfu introduced the two of them: "Mingzhao, this is Zhu Peide. Named Yizhi, the first in the second phase of the National Defense University, and the former combat staff officer of the 43rd Brigade and 433rd Regiment. You two are about the same age. You should know each other."

    Zhu Peide heard about Liu Mingzhao and other cadets who went to Germany to fight in the German army. He had also gone to the Eastern Front for training. He was hoping to get to know more officers on the Western Front and absorb the combat theories and knowledge of Germany, France, Britain and other countries, so he hurriedly  Shake hands and say a few words.  After they got to know each other, Qin Zhangshu asked, "Yizhi, what's the matter?"

    Zhu Peide saluted and said: "Report, Mr. Zhang Zongchang, the supervisor in the DPRK, is here."

    Zhang Zongchang walked in.  The soldiers of the past are gone, wearing suits and leather shoes with oily hair and pink faces.  Rather, he looks like a big businessman who dominates the business world.  It¡¯s no wonder that he has enjoyed success in North Korea in recent years, especially after the National Socialist Party gradually became international. He took advantage of the establishment of the North Korean National Socialist Party to enjoy the taste of the Supreme Emperor. Not only did he help the country acquire several important mines in the northern mountainous area,  market, and also took over all the former Japanese assets in the Sinuiju Pyongyang Road area to his name.  But he didn't dare to take more.  After all, Yang Qiu still had those three bullets hidden close to his body back then, and he knew the rules of slow water, so most of his income was donated to the country's construction.  But even a little bit leaking out from between my fingers makes me feelShe made a lot of money, and the North Korean concubine alone had six wives.

    Qin Zhangshu, who has been stationed in the Northeast all year round, knew that Yang Qiu deliberately put the scourge in Korea, but the war was urgent and he had no time to discuss Korean women and Korean ginseng. He walked to the map and asked: "Master Zhang, is there any latest deployment of the Japanese Army?"  ?¡±

    Zhang Zongchang is great at making money, and he is also good at intelligence. He has established his own intelligence network in just a few years.  Knowing that the situation was urgent, he did not dare to neglect. He pointed to Turtle City not far from Sinuiju and said: "This is the salient point of the Japanese and Korean troops. After learning about the start of the war, Seoul is also actively reinforcing to the north. Kim Gu and others were dispatched before.  The railway in Anzhou was blown up, but Japan was very good at building roads, so it only took one night to repair it. Now the railway line is well protected, and those North Korean kids are less courageous than mice. They didn't dare to fight after they were killed and wounded several times.  ¡±

    "How many troops are there in the North Korean army now?" Zhang Tingfu asked.

    "More than 60,000, divided into five divisions, with Jin Jiu personally serving as commander-in-chief." Zhang Zongchang took out American cigarettes and handed them to Qin Zhangshu and Zhang Tingfu. When they arrived in front of Liu Mingzhao, he shook his head.  Finally, he clicked on it before continuing: "It's hard to control too many. Besides, they are all active in the northern mountainous area now. There are too many people without the land and they are wasting our food."

    Because Liu Mingzhao left the country early, he didn¡¯t know much about the events during the Sino-Japanese War, so Zhu Peide took the initiative to introduce it to him.  Through explanation, I found out that the Korean Revolutionary Army was originally supported by Yang Qiu, and over the years, the Northeast Theater Command has been keeping this force in its hands by sending officers, food aid, and equipment.  In terms of equipment, this unit is similar to the National Guard, but because it has been active in the northern mountainous areas all year round, it is very familiar with the terrain.  So it will be the key to deciding this battle.

    Zhang Zongchang babbled in front of the map: "Everything is good in Korea, except for the lack of food. The railways in Sinuiju and Pyongan Road have been restructured, but after passing Seoncheon, it becomes narrow gauge. Japan originally wanted to change it, but  They are also afraid that we will use the railway, so they have not started construction for a long time. After Sinuiju, it is all mountainous, and it is not level until the North Hwanghae Province. Now the road is blocked by heavy snow. If we take the railway earlier, it may be difficult to supply and materials.  But don¡¯t worry, Commander, I have hidden several narrow-gauge trains in Sinuiju for use, and I have also recruited 50,000 Korean civilians. In fact, there are many Koreans in the north of us. Now that we are helping them fight the war, we might as well let them take on the transportation tasks.  , these people have no other abilities, and they are not slow at all when walking on mountain roads."

    Qin Zhangshu didn't know that the environment was unfavorable, and defense in mountainous areas was a hundred times easier than on plains. The Japanese army would definitely fight tooth and nail in this battle, so he was very satisfied with Zhang Zongchang's suggestion. He turned to Zhu Peide and told Zhu Peide: "It's beneficial. Call the logistics department and ask them to contact the guard.  Recruit civilian husband and horse teams from North Korean refugees from various places and be sure to send them to me within half a month." After finishing speaking, he was about to ask about the situation again.  The staff officer came to report: "Report, telegram from the General Staff Headquarters. The Japanese Combined Fleet separated its forces an hour ago, and its main force began to move south to the Taiwan Strait. It is expected to arrive tomorrow morning. The declaration of war is likely to be at that time, so our army chooses the opportunity to fight with  Attack tomorrow morning."

    "The main force went to the Taiwan Strait?" Qin Zhangshu frowned.  The Japanese Navy is really sophisticated. Knowing that the last two Anhais were in the Bohai Sea, the remaining main force of the First Fleet also hid, and simply headed south Now the pressure on the Second Fleet and Taiwan was great.  But it was not his turn to worry about this. He raised his wrist to look at his watch and issued an order: "Order the 26th Brigade to advance to Turtle City. The 28th Brigade to advance to Yichuan. Remind all troops to be careful of shelling from the sea, and let the Air Force cooperate to maintain vigilance."

    Qin Zhangshu didn¡¯t know that the battle in the Taiwan Strait had already started in the evening.

    After two Isokaze-class destroyers arrived in Keelung from Ryukyu to escort the transport ship, they braved the night and split two white waves from their bows to slowly approach the strait.  Since the mine-laying operations of the Second Fleet were not kept secret, the Japanese Navy already knew that there were a large number of mines in this area.  The mission of the destroyers was to find the channel as quickly as possible and sink those ships that were still laying mines.  So when they were not far from the mine array and saw a minelaying fleet composed of more than a dozen fishing boats, they launched an attack without hesitation.

    The sound of gunfire broke the silence of the strait, and the escorting four Paulding-class destroyers bought from the United States at half price in 1917 rushed up from the oblique bayonet. The sailors were required to be prepared as early as the first conflict in the strait.  .  Although their five 76-meter naval guns are not as good as their opponents' four 120-meter naval guns, the Second Fleet destroyer detachment, which has experienced two years of Atlantic escort missions, is not at a disadvantage. Instead, it uses its speed to repeatedly attack the enemy.  High-speed navigation in the dark resulted in large-caliber naval guns not performing well. Instead, the twin 37mm rapid-fire cannons added after the modification of the Paulding class were the best. The beads of fire formed a red meteor and rushed towards the enemy in the darkness.  After the Japanese captain found that the large-caliber naval gun was not suitable, he simply used the secondary gun to fight, while the main gun was aimed at the minelayers that lacked protection.  Booma huge fireball ignited the sea surface, and a fishing boat loaded with 12 mines was hit.??The explosion sent debris and bodies hundreds of meters into the air, and the entire ship was scattered into wreckage.

    The explosion of the fishing boat made the destroyer escort detachment red-eyed. The captain of destroyer No. 17 simply played a clear signal and asked the other three ships to cover and accelerate to 32 knots and rush towards the Japanese destroyer.  Seeing this, the two Japanese destroyers threw almost all their firepower at it. Explosions and flames instantly spread from the deck of destroyer No. 17.  But this did not stop the crazy captain's attack. When the distance approached 2,000 meters, the captain decisively turned the rudder and launched four 600mm heavy-duty Tusker armor in the two twin launchers amidships.  All the torpedoes hit each other.  At a distance of 2000 meters and at 45 knots, it was difficult for even a destroyer to dodge. The leading Japanese destroyer quickly evaded but still failed to avoid the fate of being hit. However, at the same time as the big explosion occurred, the second Japanese destroyer also  No. 17 was given a fatal shelling, and a series of shells penetrated the ammunition compartment.

    Two groups of black and red smoke rising into the sky almost simultaneously heralded the beginning of a brutal maritime guerrilla war.

    ¡°In the Zhoushan Islands Second Fleet Submarine Detachment Base, not far from the war zone, three submarines that were obviously much larger than the first generation were parked beside the river ship as quietly as whales.  Bai Yutang, who had made great achievements in the Qingdao War, was directing the sailors to move boxes of goods sealed with oilcloth from the river ship and load them onto the ship.

    After Yang Qiu put forward the goal of regularizing the navy, the naming rules for various types of warships were also determined. All submarine units began with the word "òÔ" (meaning the dragon hidden in the deep sea). Each ship was arranged by serial number, and internally it was  Broken down by model.  Bai Yutang is currently commanding the Jiao 47 submarine, which was launched and delivered only last year.  Compared with previous submarines, the tonnage on the water has been enlarged to 821 tons, and the tonnage underwater has been enlarged to 785 tons. The surface speed is 13 knots, the snorkel is 10 knots, and the underwater tonnage is 7 knots. The endurance reaches 3,300 nautical miles at 6 knots. The self-sustaining capacity of the underwater battery has also been increased.  3 hours.  A 76mm short-barreled gun is installed on the deck, using a 550mm Tusk B torpedo specially developed for submarines. There are 4 launch tubes on the bow and 1 on the stern.

    After purchasing pressure-resistant steel, batteries, periscopes and other technologies from Germany in 1912, and sending workers there to learn manufacturing techniques in the name of supervising production, Yang Qiu and the navy attached great importance to submarines. After seven years of digestion and hard work, they finally completed the project last year.  At the beginning, we got rid of imitations and designed and built our own domestically produced ocean-going submarines. Overall, the performance has reached the level of Germany in the late European War. Unfortunately, the engine is not as good as that of Germany, so the endurance and tonnage are still a bit behind.

    "Captain, we received a telegram from the destroyer detachment and a Japanese destroyer was spotted outside us."

    The reconnaissance officer relayed the news of the destroyer battle. When they heard that a minelayer had been sunk, a destroyer had perished with the enemy, and hundreds of people had been killed or injured, the sailors' eyes were red.  But Bai Yutang knew that he had a heavy responsibility this time, so he just watched quietly.  When the last box of mysterious cargo, which no one knew what it was, was filled up in the cabin, he waved his hand and gave the order to set off.

    The three submarines quietly left the Zhoushan Islands and disappeared into the vast sea

    (To be continued)

    {Piaotia Literature www.piaotia.com thanks all book friends for their support, your support is our greatest motivation}
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report