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

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Rebirth of the war years

Volume 1 On the Songhua River Chapter 1311 Breaking into Malacca at Night (Part 2)

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    There was no wind that night, and thick clouds blocked the starry sky and accumulated over the Strait of Malacca. The navigation lights on both sides of the Strait that originally guided ships coming and going were not lit up anywhere, including the side controlled by the Americans.

    Tang Qiuquan sneered and said to Xin Xiguo, chief of staff of the fleet: "It seems that the Americans are destined to make small moves. They ordered the fleet to implement light control, turn on the navigation radar, and there were no navigation lights. We still passed Malacca. This situation,  Report to division headquarters.¡±

    Tang Qiuquan, who was very angry, didn't know that MacArthur was going crazy. Two equally threatening telegrams were spread out on the table. The Japanese and Tang Qiuli were forcing the palace at the same time. No matter how you asked MacArthur to make a decision, he would not be offended.  The god of plague he had raised, whose fists were harder than his own, held MacArthur's head, which was about to explode, thinking about how to strike a balance again without offending the Japanese, Tang Qiuli, and even Chief of Staff Stilwell.  The general came in without noticing.

    As soon as Stilwell saw the commander's posture, he knew he had encountered a problem. After reading the two telegrams, the two sat together and studied for a long time, but they didn't come up with a good idea. Before he saw it, they arrived at the First Division fleet.  When entering Singapore waters, MacArthur finally made up his mind to choose the lesser of two evils. The Japanese were a greater threat than Tang Qiuli.

    After all, Tang Qiuli was a force in China, and Japan was a country. At this moment, the balance in MacArthur's heart was leaning towards the Japanese. He would rather offend Tang Qiuli than the Japanese. He could only order to turn off the navigation lights.  In addition, the specific time when the Japanese division fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca was also revealed to the Japanese through secret channels.

    After completing these deeds, MacArthur was completely exhausted and had no strength at all. He knew that the risk of doing so would be harmful to the Japanese.  He thinks that he has done enough, and he will reveal the specific time to you, so that he can't fight again.  That's not MacArthur's problem, it's that you Japanese are too incompetent. Even a bird can't fly through such a wide channel with shore guns.

    As for Tang Qiuli, he also thought of an excuse. The navigation light was being inspected.  Although it's far-fetched, it's still an excuse, isn't it? That Chinese guy wouldn't beat himself up because of such a trivial matter?

    As for the passage time, it is easier to explain. It would be strange for such a huge fleet to pass without being discovered by the Japanese.  It can only show that you Chinese people have not taken good confidentiality measures. What does it have to do with us Americans?  As long as the Japanese don't spill the beans.  Tang Qiuli was kept in the dark and would never know the truth.

    Stilwell watched MacArthur jump up and down and give orders one after another. He didn't say a word. What could he say?  What's more, what the old guy said was what he didn't want to hear. The commander's actions were obviously playing with fire. The Japanese would not be satisfied with this little thing sent over. From Prince Zairen's telegram, Steve  Wei can see it.  The Japanese asked the US military to take action and intercept the Chinese fleet with force.

    As for which side Tang Qiuli was on, all his actions could not be hidden from the shrewd Chinese. From the fact that the beacon light happened to be turned off, he could deduce a lot of things behind the scenes.  In Stilwell's view, Tang Qiuli was more terrifying than the Japanese. If he had made the decision himself, he would never be as stupid as MacArthur.

    This is indeed the case. After Emperor Hirohito received MacArthur's telegram, a sneer appeared on his gloomy face, "That old and cunning American, thinks this can handle the matter? The passage time of the China ship, such rubbish information, is also  You used it to fool me. The eyes of the imperial soldiers stationed in the Malacca Strait were wide open, and they also used you, MacArthur, to provide intelligence. It seems that the Americans are unreliable. "

    At this moment, Emperor Hirohito had murderous intentions against the Americans. After Tang Qiuli received Tang Qiuquan's telegram, there was no obvious anger. Everything was as expected. If he didn't do this, it wouldn't be MacArthur, but  , the contemptuous smile on his lips became thicker, "Okay, MacArthur is starting to have fun, but the price is something you Americans can't afford."

    The fleet entered the waterway in Singapore waters. Captain Song Fei, the captain of the "Longxiang" aircraft carrier, stared closely at the navigation radar. For an aircraft carrier with a huge body and deep draft, there is no navigation light to indicate, and it is difficult to sail in such a narrow area at night.  The waterway is very dangerous, and I cursed in my mind: "The Yankees are really useless. Fortunately, there is navigation radar, otherwise, we might have hit the rocks just now."

    There was a flash of fire on the right bank, and then there was the roar of artillery shells piercing the air. A large-caliber artillery shell landed less than 500 meters away from the aircraft carrier and exploded, causing a column of water to rise into the sky. Sein Fei was stunned and thought to himself.  , "Damn it, why is this little devil's nose so sharp? The fleet just entered the channel and started shelling?"

    He immediately picked up the intercom and said, "Headquarters, this is Sein Fei. The Japanese army has begun to bombard. However, the accuracy is a bit off. Please tell me, should the carrier-based aircraft take off to fight back? Will the kid?Is your son's shore artillery shot at a dumb person?  "

    Tang Qiuquan was also surprised. The fleet has not yet entered the narrowest channel, and light control has been implemented. According to normal conditions, sailing at night, without moonlight and starlight, the Japanese shore artillery cannot visually detect the position of the fleet. How come it seems like it was in advance?  Like you know?

    He immediately ordered: "Seinfei, the carrier-based aircraft are ready to attack. Don't fight back yet. The Japanese army is conducting a reconnaissance test launch." Then he issued an order, "The fleet enters combat status and waits for orders from the headquarters."  Order."

    Qiuquan had to take a lot of risks by doing this. As long as the carrier-based aircraft took off, other warships could turn off all the lights. But the aircraft carrier could not do it. Taking off and landing at night was inherently very dangerous. It would be dangerous to do so without turning on the deck runway indicator lights.  Landing the aircraft would only result in a crash and fatalities, but once the lights were turned on, the two aircraft carriers would be exposed to the Japanese artillery fire and become living targets. The naval guns and shore guns would not take advantage.

    In addition, he also wanted to see if the Japanese artillery fire was blind shooting, but he thought wrongly. Not long after the first artillery shell fell, countless artillery shells flew like fireworks from the direction of Singapore on the right bank, and the dark night sky  , was scratched by the trajectory of the artillery shells trailing flames, one after another. Although it did not pose a substantial threat to the fleet, the water column on the sea was soaring into the sky, and the formation was scary enough.

    Tang Qiuquan understood that this was a purposeful bombardment from the Japanese shore artillery position. The problem was not big yet. The range of the Japanese shore artillery could not reach the position of the fleet. In another hour or so, it would enter the narrowest area.  In the channel area, artillery shells would fall like raindrops on every warship. Judging from the intensity of the Japanese bombardment, there were no less than a thousand artillery pieces.

    Unable to pass, Qiuquan had a question in his mind. Why did the Japanese army grasp the passage time of the fleet so accurately that they could enter the range of shore artillery before they started bombarding them? Could it be that they had received the news in advance?

    Qiuquan is not an impulsive person. The current situation is very unfavorable to the fleet. If he continues to sail, it will be equivalent to sending the fleet under the muzzle of the Japanese army. From his current position, he can still retreat back the same way. "Order, all ships are on the spot."  Anchor, maintain combat status, and do not fire back without orders!"

    One by one, the warships stopped moving forward, like dark giant beasts, parked quietly on the sea. The front and rear main guns and starboard guns of all the warships raised their thick muzzles, and the shells were loaded, silently pointing at the right bank.  The gunners sat at the gun positions, waiting for an order to fire the shells onto the little Japanese's position.

    Just relying on the 240 mm caliber naval gun, one shell can blow up a large piece of rock. If you shoot at it, you are not afraid of killing the little devil. On the "Longxiang" aircraft carrier, Tang Yun Feijing  Sitting quietly in the fighter plane, watching the cannonballs flying in like fireballs all over the sky, watching the artillery fire reflecting half of the sky red in the city of Singapore.

    Tang Yunfei had practiced taking off and landing without indicator lights on the aircraft carrier's flight deck at night. It can be said that he was very skilled. Not only did he master this highly dangerous technology, he also mastered it on all six fighter-bombers in the squadron when he served as squadron leader.  This technique was originally going to be promoted throughout the entire brigade after he became the captain.

    Later, the fleet commander Lieutenant General Tang Qiuquan discovered it and immediately stopped it and gave Yunfei a severe scolding. Qiuquan was scared, these guys were risking their lives!  The fleet already has a weak foundation. How can he bear the loss of another pilot?

    Qiuquan was very anxious. The fleet was blocked in the Strait of Malacca. The delay of time would affect the final plan to capture the Japanese Navy's Third Fleet. But in the current situation, he could only anchor in place. If he forced his way through, relying on the fleet's firepower,  We can get through, but the subsequent losses will be immeasurable. Even if all the Japanese shore batteries are wiped out, what will happen?

    The goal of the fleet is the Third Fleet. Apart from this goal, everything else is unimportant. It is less than seven hours before dawn. After dawn, the fleet will be completely exposed to the sight of the Japanese army, and the difficulties will be even greater. In the fleet headquarters,  The atmosphere was so solemn that one could hardly breathe.

    Qiuquan thought for a while and said to Chief of Staff Xin Xiguo: "Chief of Staff, immediately report the situation to the division commander. At 21:50, when our fleet entered Singapore waters, it was blocked by the Japanese shore artillery unit.  , the coincidence is suspicious! In addition, all navigation lights in the US-controlled area on the left bank of the Malacca Strait have been turned off. I have ordered the fleet to anchor on the spot and wait for the next order from the division headquarters. "

    Northwest of Yangon, in the small town of Yangdong, at the Yangon Front Headquarters of the Army Division, after receiving the telegram from the fleet, Tang Qiuli's face turned livid and he growled "Despicable!" A cold light flashed in his eyes, he punched the table and commanded  Everyone in the department looked up in surprise at the division commander who was on the verge of going berserk. This was the first time he had seen such a rage since he entered the war zone in Indochina.

    (To be continued)
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