The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 345: Fierce Naval Guns 2
Compared with the rapid advance of the Japanese Navy's 11th Squadron, the Japanese Army troops attacking on land suffered much more setbacks.

The Hata Detachment, the main force of the Japanese Army advancing towards Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain, had just suffered a heavy blow. Its vanguard troops were attacked and wiped out by the Chinese army on their way to attack and search in the direction of Banbi Mountain. Only a few people escaped. After suffering such a sudden and huge loss, not only was the Hata Detachment, which was advancing rapidly, frightened, but even the Central China Expeditionary Force, the senior command unit of the Japanese Army that was attacking Wuhan, was shocked.

A battalion-level vanguard unit was completely wiped out. This had never happened before in the Wuhan attack, and it was also a rare example since the war between China and Japan.

After the Hata Detachment suffered heavy losses, the Central China Expeditionary Army decided to slow down its advance towards Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain by land out of caution. The Hata Detachment, which had suffered a head-on attack, also slowed down its advance, changed its marching method, and began to advance cautiously towards Banbi Mountain in an extremely cautious combat readiness marching and searching manner.

The Hata Detachment, a new Japanese army unit nicknamed the land torpedo because of its fierce combat and swift action, was completely destroyed by the blow of the vanguard unit, and thus it went from being a "torpedo" to a "turtle."

The land torpedo unit of the Hata Detachment was no longer in its heyday because it had suffered heavy losses at the hands of the advance column sent by He Wei. However, unlike the complex enemy situation on land, the Japanese Navy had an absolute advantage on waterways. Except for the mines and artillery batteries along the river, there was no worry at all about being attacked.

Therefore, the Japanese Navy's 11th Squadron, which was responsible for water attacks, took on the task of serving as the vanguard of the attack after the army adjusted its tactics.

The Japanese navy and army, which had originally prepared to attack Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain with a combined land and sea attack, quickly adjusted their tactics to one with the navy as the vanguard and the army following behind.

The commander of the 11th Fleet of the Japanese Navy, Kondo Eijiro, who received such an honor, was very proud of himself. The recent tactical adjustments not only allowed the Navy to step on the Army, but also gave him the opportunity to get the first credit. Kondo Eijiro was of course full of "lofty ambitions."

Not only had Kondo Eijiro made up his mind to command his 11th Squadron to capture Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain, he even dreamed of being the first to enter Hankou and win the honor of being the first to capture Wuhan!
Looking at the mountains and rice fields on both sides of the river, Kondo Eijiro, who was standing on the bridge of the gunboat Ataka, smiled very strangely.

At this time, a lieutenant colonel officer walked up to Kondo Eijiro and said, "Commander, the minesweeper fleet reported that they found mines laid by the Chinese army in the channel ahead and are now conducting mine clearance operations."

"Tell them to sweep the mines carefully and not miss any mines. They must be careful."

Kondo Eijiro said.

Kondo Eijiro has always been disdainful of the Chinese Navy. In Kondo's view, this navy composed of old ships cannot even be called a navy.

Compared with the few remaining ships of the Chinese Navy, the Chinese Navy's mine warfare team posed a greater threat. During this period, although the Japanese Navy's 11th Squadron attacked along the Yangtze River and won battles one after another, it was also damaged and sunk by mines laid by the Chinese Navy's mine-laying forces in the river, and several small transport ships and landing craft were sunk.

Therefore, Kondo Eijiro was indeed somewhat wary of the Chinese Navy's mines.

"Yes!"

The lieutenant colonel was about to leave to pass the message when he was stopped by Kondo Eijiro.

"Wait, where is the minesweeper fleet now?"

The lieutenant colonel immediately replied: "Reporting to the commander, my fleet is about to arrive at the Fuchikou area, which is a fortress of the Chinese army. The mines encountered by the minesweeper fleet should also be laid by the Chinese army to defend the Fuchikou fortress. After the minesweeper fleet clears the channel, it should come into contact with the Chinese army in Fuchikou."

Kondo Eijiro nodded, and gave another order to the lieutenant colonel officer: "Order the four destroyers in the main battle fleet to move forward and join the minesweeping fleet. They will be under the command of the minesweeping fleet. After clearing the mines in the channel, they will clear the way ahead, suppress, and destroy the Chinese army's fortress artillery at the Fuchikou Fortress!"

"Yes!"

The lieutenant colonel immediately ran to pass the order, and at this time several muffled explosions were heard from the front. Kondo Eijiro looked in the direction of the minesweeper fleet in the direction of the explosion, and a strange smile appeared on his face again.

The fleet formation of the 11th Squadron changed quickly. After receiving the order from Kondo Eijiro, the four destroyers in the main battle fleet of the 11th Squadron quickly left the array of the main battle fleet and accelerated towards the direction of the minesweeping fleet.

The four Peach-class destroyers of the 11th Fleet's main battle fleet were small destroyers manufactured by Japan's Maizuru Naval Arsenal and Sasebo Naval Arsenal in 1915. They could reach a speed of 31.5 knots when launched. Although they were old warships that had been in service for more than 11 years, they still had an incomparable speed advantage compared to most of the inland gunboats of the 11th Fleet. After the four destroyers left the ranks of the 11th Fleet's main battle fleet, they quickly caught up with the th Fleet's minesweeping fleet that was leading the way in front.

By the time the four destroyers caught up with the minesweeping fleet, the 11th Squadron's minesweeping fleet, which had also received the order, had already stopped advancing and was waiting on the spot. After intensive and meticulous minesweeping operations, the minesweeping fleet had completed the minesweeping operations on the nearby river surface. The river surface was filled with billowing smoke, burning fireballs, and flying mine fragments.

Immediately afterwards, after the five minesweepers joined forces with the four destroyers, they quickly joined together to form a mixed fleet. They accelerated in the thick smoke on the river, deployed a battle formation, and sailed aggressively towards Fuchikou ahead.

If Tianjiazhen and Banbishan are the last gateways guarding Wuhan along the Yangtze River, then Fuchikou, which is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River together with Banbishan, is the forward position of the fortresses of Tianjiazhen and Banbishan. The three key passes of Fuchikou, Tianjiazhen and Banbishan support each other, making the nearby passes the keys to the surface of the Yangtze River. The overall defense of Fuchikou for Tianjiazhen can be seen.

Fuchikou is also named after the rich water. The name "Fushui" comes from Shui Jing Zhu, also known as "Fuchuan", which collects the five major rivers of Tongshan and flows through the entire Tongshan. The Fushui River originates from the northern foot of Mufu Mountain, flows through Tongshan and Yangxin counties from west to east, and flows into the Yangtze River to form a centripetal water system, and then flows into the Yangtze River from Fuchikou.

Fuchikou can connect the inner river with the Yangtze River, and its military significance is also very important. If a breakthrough is achieved from the Yangtze River, it is possible to break into the flank and rear of the Banbishan Fortress along the Fushui inner river. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Gan Ning, a general of the Eastern Wu, died in Fuchikou. In the Qing-Shun War in the late Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng and Li Zicheng were also stationed in Fuchikou. As a result, they were attacked by two thousand elite cavalrymen of Ajige's vanguard Haningga of the Qing army at night and almost wiped out. Li Zicheng only led a small number of troops to break through to Jiugong Mountain, and then he suddenly died under the siege of the militia, and the Dashun regime was also defeated.

It can be said that the gains and losses of Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain are related to the success or failure of Wuhan’s river defense, and the gains and losses of Fuchikou are also extremely critical to the defense of Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain.

The National Government was also well aware of the importance of Fuchikou. In order to strengthen the defense of Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain, the Military Commission not only reinforced the original fortress artillery of Fuchikou and deployed a powerful artillery force in the eyes of the Military Commission, but also deployed the 18th Division of the 54th Army of Chen Cheng's Civil Engineering Department on the Fuchikou line to increase the defense of the Fuchikou fortress.

Just as the five minesweepers and four destroyers of the Japanese Navy's 11th Squadron attacked Fuchiguchi in battle formation, the garrison of Fuchiguchi Fortress was also in a state of high tension.

At the Fuchikou Fortress, the sharp sounds of battle alarm buzzers and whistles resounded through the sky. Just like He Wei who suddenly received the alarm notification of the incoming Japanese fleet, the defenders of the Fuchikou Fortress also received an early warning of the impending Japanese attack.

On the main battery of Fuchikou Fortress, the officers and soldiers of the naval artillery and army artillery units responsible for defending the battery were all standing by at their respective gun positions with nervous expressions, ready to meet the approaching Japanese fleet.

The defenders of the Fuchikou Fortress were divided into two forces. One was the 18th Division of the 54th Army. The garrison area of ​​this infantry division was the water network plain areas on both wings centered on the Fuchikou Fortress.

The other is the artillery unit guarding the fortress battery. This artillery unit is stationed at the Fuchikou fortress battery and directly controls Fuchikou with artillery fire. This artillery unit is composed of the Chinese Navy's naval artillery team and army artillery units.

Among them, the naval artillery was equipped with four old 1903mm naval guns dismantled from warships, while the artillery units from the army were equipped with twelve German Krupp model mm field guns, four Japanese-made Type field guns and four Japanese-made Taisho -year model mm mountain guns.

The artillery firepower of the Fuchikou Fortress was composed of these 24 large and small artillery pieces. Although these 24 150mm and 75mm caliber naval guns, field guns, and mountain guns could not be compared with the powerful artillery firepower of He Wei's troops guarding Banbi Mountain, they were barely considered a powerful artillery force in the Chinese army with a lack of artillery firepower.

In the concrete command room of the fort's artillery battery, an army lieutenant colonel stood confidently behind the artillery telescope, staring at the surface of the Yangtze River near Fuchikou, his face full of excitement and anticipation. The officers and soldiers operating the artillery observation equipment in the command post were also ready to go at their respective combat positions.

The army artillery units deployed by the National Government in the fortresses along the river were mostly second-line units of the army artillery. These second-line artillery units were characterized by poor equipment, outdated artillery types, backward shooting techniques and artillery tactics, and most of them were artillery units from the original warlord units incorporated during the Northern Expedition.

Most of these troops were equipped with artillery left over from the Qing Dynasty and the Beiyang Army period, and most of their officers were artillery officers from the old Beiyang Army.

Therefore, the firepower of the artillery units guarding the Fuchikou Fortress can indeed be barely considered strong in the Chinese army, but these fortress artillery units formed by the merger of second-line artillery units and naval artillery teams can only be considered strong in the Chinese army.

The four 150mm naval guns of the naval artillery team are all old guns left over from the navy of the late Qing Dynasty in the last century. They are old guns from the Sino-Japanese War period and have a service life of more than 40 years.

The Japanese-made Type 31 field gun of the Army Artillery is also an old-style recoil-type gun developed by Japan. It was an old gun of Japan during the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance. This gun was designed before the era of barrel recoil guns. It was a recoil-type gun without a recoil-return mechanism. It only relied on the recoil rope and the spring telescopic mechanism on the gun carriage to offset the recoil and return the gun to its original position. Its combat performance was very backward. After the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese Army immediately replaced it with a more advanced barrel recoil field gun, and this backward Type 31 gun was dumped in large quantities to the Beiyang Army in the late Qing Dynasty.

The only acceptable ones were the twelve German-made Krupp 1903 model mm field guns and the four Japanese-made Taisho -year model mountain guns, but both types of guns were outdated.

These guns, which were still acceptable in the Chinese army, were actually far inferior to the artillery of the Japanese Army, and were even more incomparable to the nine Japanese warships that were rapidly attacking Fuchikou along the river.

日军的五艘扫雷舰，每艘都配备有2座单装十年式120mm45倍径高平炮与2挺7.7mm机枪，仅这五艘扫雷舰就配备有十门120mm口径的高平两用炮，四艘驱逐舰每艘都配备有3座单装四一式120毫米四十倍口径火炮、2挺7.7毫米机枪四艘驱逐舰合计配备有十二门120毫米火炮。

These nine minesweepers and destroyers are equipped with a total of twenty-two 120mm naval guns, all of which are large-caliber naval guns. Both their range and power are far stronger than the Chinese army's fortress artillery at the Fuchikou Fortress.

But just like the commander of the artillery unit of the Fuchikou Fortress, the artillery officers and soldiers of the Fuchikou Fortress were also ready to engage the Japanese army in gun positions, ammunition storages, concealed areas and observation positions, with the expectation of defending their country and killing the enemy.

The officers and soldiers of the army artillery corps, which occupied the main force of this fortress artillery force, were second-line artillery corps with poor equipment and poor quality. Since the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, they had not fought with the Japanese army on the front line like those well-equipped artillery units. Instead, they had been performing river defense duties on the second line and had never been involved in the battle with the Japanese army.

Although most of the artillery officers and soldiers of these second-line troops came from the old Beiyang and warlord artillery, they also had simple patriotic feelings.

When they learned that they were going to engage in battle with Japanese warships and have a real fight with the Japanese, these veteran artillerymen were all overjoyed and ready to use their cannons to teach the Japanese a severe lesson.

Only the officers and men of the naval artillery who were also defending their gun positions had worried looks on their faces, because all of these naval officers and men came from the sunken Chinese naval warships and had a practical understanding of the powerful naval and air firepower of the Japanese army. Of course, although these naval officers and men who had experienced bloody battles had a very intuitive understanding of the strength of the Japanese navy, they were all prepared for a fight to the death, and all greeted the upcoming bloody battle with high morale and a mentality of being ready to die.

In the command post of the Fuchikou Battery, the lieutenant colonel commander of the battery stared at the battery telescope intently. Suddenly, a captain observation officer suddenly shouted: "Enemy warships have been spotted on the river in the southwest!"

(End of this chapter)