Age of Rebirth

Tang Qiuquan put down the binoculars in his hand, laughed heartily, and said to the deputy commander, Major General Amosiyev: "Deputy commander, have you seen the siege at sea?"

Amosiyev shrugged, blinked his blue-gray eyes, and replied: "Commander, I have to admit that our division commander is a tactical genius, a master of tactics, and has an extremely precise grasp of the battle situation." The extent of encirclement at sea is unheard of by me. It is a pity for the British to encounter such an opponent! Of course, there are also Japanese, and perhaps there will be Americans in the future!"

Tang Qiuquan nodded with a smile, and said to Chief of Staff Xin Xiguo: "Xiguo, order the fleet to stop attacking, let the communication officer send a signal, order the British to surrender, and drop anchor immediately, only give them 10 minutes to think about it, don't take any chances Psychology, otherwise, sink them all!"

The signal was sent out immediately, and the sound of gunfire on the sea also subsided. The remaining thirty or so warships of the task force stationed in India did not break down, but they reduced their speed to a minimum. Dangling in the encirclement.

Amosiyev, observing the situation, said to Tang Qiuquan: "Commander, I am from the Navy. A fleet will only choose to surrender unless it is blocked in a port, facing a desperate situation, and there is no room for resistance. Otherwise , the possibility of surrender is extremely slight, let's order the fleet and make preparations to prevent the British from breaking out!" [

Tang Qiuquan said confidently: "Deputy Commander, if you don't believe me, let's make a bet. If the British refuse to surrender and resist stubbornly, I will give you my captured Japanese general's command knife. If it is the opposite, we will Seeing the white flag, I want your silver flagon and tableware, how about it?"

Amosiyev has seen the command knife with the Japanese imperial emblem on the handle, and he has asked Qiu Quan for it several times, but.Qiu Quan was reluctant to give it to him. As soon as he heard that he wanted to bet, he immediately became energetic and replied with great interest: "I like to gamble. Let's wait and see, Commander, your Japanese general wields the sword, and I will definitely win!" When the time comes, don't go back on your word, I know, you're hiding like a baby!"

As if to verify what Amosiyev said.There were three British ships that suddenly accelerated, rushed towards the encirclement, and fired continuously, hitting the water column on the sea surface, revealing a frenzy of despair, but the warships of the Independent Division.They are all outside the range of the British ship's naval guns, so such bombardment poses no threat at all.

Tang Qiuquan sneered.I applauded secretly in my heart, "I just wanted to kill chickens and scare monkeys, kill a few British warships to stand up, and force the British to choose to surrender. This is a good opportunity!"

He immediately ordered: "All ships in that direction, concentrate their firepower, and sink these three British ships immediately, quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The three British ships were immediately shrouded in rain.Twenty minutes later, the shelling stopped, and the British ship burst into flames, with thick smoke billowing, nearly a thousand rounds of cannon, like a live target.The three British ships were smashed into balls of fire, and then they rolled and sank into the sea.

Qiuquan's warning played an obvious role. A British ship that was still emitting heavy smoke was the first to raise the white flag. Since there is a leader, there will be more imitators in the next three to ten minutes. It has arrived, and the remaining 10 warships of the British Task Force in India have hoisted the white flag.

The brilliant sunset glow reflected the sea surface of the East Indian Ocean, and the white flags were extremely eye-catching in the golden glow. At this point, the entire British task force stationed in India was wiped out. Maybe it was the British Mi Ziqi, the beginning of the sad fall in the Asian continent!

Lasted more than five hours, the first official naval battle of the Independent Division Fleet ended in victory with seven warships slightly damaged and two seriously damaged. 31 British ships were sunk, 32 were captured, and the first battle was won Great victory.

Tang Qiuquan looked at Amosiyev and said jokingly, "Deputy Commander, it's beyond your judgment again. You lost this bet. After returning to the base, I don't need to remind you, Your Excellency Deputy Commander!"

Amosiyev rubbed his forehead, moaned in pain, and said with a bitter face: "Damn British, let me lose my most beloved baby, they don't deserve to be called navy!"

Xin Xiguo, the chief of staff at the side, couldn't help laughing as he watched the two big bosses of the fleet bet like children.

Tang Qiuquan glanced at Xin Xiguo and said, "Chief of Staff, have you laughed enough? Immediately report the results of the battle to the division headquarters, send a telegram, and ask Commander Hantie, how is the battle situation of the Marine Corps going?"

In the Zhenhati headquarters on the front line of China and India, Tang Qiuli looked at the telegram sent by the fleet, slapped the table with excitement, and shouted repeatedly: "Okay, brother Qiuquan is really a master, wipe out the special forces stationed in India!" The mixed fleet came second, captured more than [-] warships, and made a huge sum of money. Okay, Yuhe, immediately convey my order to reward the fleet with an order throughout the army. Report it!"

Zhao Yuhe said in disbelief: "Master, it's unheard of to be able to capture warships at sea! Commander Tang created a miracle. The fleet of our independent division couldn't be bigger. The warship was built with our own money, so we have to do this kind of business a few more times!"

Tang Qiuli and Zhao Yuhe laughed at each other, and the laughter infected every officer in the headquarters. Everyone knows that the fleet won a big victory in the East Indian Ocean, and captured more than 30 warships alone. .

At the same time, Tang Qiuquan, who was commanding the fleet and boarding the surrendered British ship, received a telegram from Han Tie, the commander of the Marine Corps. This telegram made Qiuquan feel relieved.

"Commander Tang, after our Marine Corps landed on Sri Lanka, the progress of the troops is very smooth. The resistance of the British and Indian garrison is extremely weak. The Central Army has advanced hundreds of kilometers in depth. Now, it is approaching the suburbs of Colombo. The progress of the troops on the North Route is equally smooth, and they have occupied the intended target."

"Commander, I have a suggestion. According to the intelligence we have detected, most of the garrison troops of the British and Indian troops have shrunk into Colombo, where the headquarters of the British and Indian garrison troops are located. Because the retreat speed of the British and Indian troops exceeded my expectations. Colombo has become a heavily defended place, and if the troops storm Colombo, there will inevitably be heavy casualties. I plan to focus on siege, and the specific combat plan will be reported later!" [

Tang Qiuquan approved Hantie's plan without hesitation. The Battle of Sri Lanka Island was an independent battlefield. Sooner or later, it had little to do with the overall deployment of the division headquarters' East India campaign. Hantie's plan was very feasible. There is no need to cause too many casualties to the troops when victory is inevitable.

And Han Tie's suggestion made Tang Qiuquan quite gratified. With nearly 2 elite marines, it can be said that it was an extremely easy battle against more than [-] British and Indian defenders. No fever, get carried away, commendable.

Qiu Quan quickly reported Han Tie's suggestion to the division headquarters, and Tang Qiuli called back, "The fleet can independently decide the course of the battle and the combat method on the eastern Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka islands. Han Tie's suggestion is really a mature move. I am very relieved that the retreat of the British and Indian defenders to Colombo will help our marines encircle and annihilate them, or force them to surrender. After comprehensive consideration, forced surrender is the best policy, and the fleet can handle it at its discretion!"

On the island of Sri Lanka, Han Tie, who was commanding troops to sweep across the island, was not as calm as in the telegram. He was cursing people, not his own troops, but the British and Indian soldiers.

"Damn it, what is this fight called? I have seven brigades out of the Marine Corps. I thought it would be a great fight, but look at these bastards, they are faster than rabbits , We have seen a few resisting British and Indian soldiers along the way, no, they have long since disappeared when they heard the sound of guns and guns, but we are lucky, nearly 10 people, only marching is left!"

"No, after I surrounded Colombo, I sent a telegram to the division commander, requesting to participate in the battle on the front line of China and India. What's the point of guarding this gang of mobs? Can't you cheer up?" Han Tie's words were correct. Wang Dongshan, Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps, couldn't help laughing.

Wang Dongshan was so happy that he couldn't straighten his waist, he gasped and said with difficulty: "My commander, don't complain any more, it's fine, our own troops will attack an island, which is called being in charge of an independent attack direction." , if transferred to the China-India battlefield, can you guarantee that our marines will be able to take the main offensive? The brigade commanders of the directly subordinate corps and the Sulu mobile corps are all like hungry wolves. Life!"

Han Tie was overjoyed, and the anger in his heart was extinguished by Wang Dongshan's words. Thinking about it carefully, Wang Dongshan's words made sense. He just didn't fight a decent battle. Panicked, well, let's not go to the Sino-Indian battlefield to join in the fun, let's use our energy on the British and Indian soldiers in Colombo!

All day on May 23, from Sri Lanka in the south to Saifpur in the north, there was a naval battle in the East Indian Ocean in the middle. The independent division, army and navy gained decisive advantages on various battlefields.

The second-line troops of the Eastward Regiment of the Indian Army, who did not know whether to live or die, were hit head-on by more than a dozen brigades of the Independent Division in Dhaka, Khulna, Pokaro, Saifpur, and Zhenhati. As expected, the British Governor in India put together a second-line army of 10,000+ people with great effort, and was defeated by a slight defeat and retreated hundreds of kilometers.

In Zhenhati, an important town in central India, at the headquarters of the Independent Division, the division commander Tang Qiuli was holding a ruler and carefully drawing on the map of the South Asian subcontinent. He could see that all the officers, including Chief of Staff Zhao Yuhe, baffling?

(to be continued) (to be continued...)