Huangpu River in the early morning.
This is the most important water system in the south of the Yangtze River.
The prosperity of the past will never be seen again.
The fishing boats and cargo ships that used to come and go have long since disappeared.
On the wide river surface, there are only slowly rising mist and undercurrents blocked by white mist.
Three black figures appeared in the fog.
From far to near, you can see that it is no ordinary ship. The high muzzle on the bow proves their identity, a warship!
Warship flying the sun flag.
Or to be more precise, it was a gunboat rather than a warship.
Three gunboats belonging to the 11th Division of the Japanese Navy's Third Fleet.
However, don’t think that gunboats are just scumbag boats. The reason why the Japanese Navy is equipped with more than a dozen gunboats even though it has aircraft carriers, heavy cruisers, destroyers, minelayers and other large ships is because it considers the inland rivers in China.
combat needs.
Because of the shallow draft in China's inland rivers, the freeboard of these gunboats is very low, so they are commonly known as "clog boats". Therefore, the Japanese Navy's inland river gunboat fleet is also named the "clog fleet". Its hull structure is large, its endurance is long, and
Because there are many places in China's inland rivers with fast currents, the engine power is large enough to maintain a high speed of more than 10 knots even when the flow is countercurrent.
These three Toba-class gunboats, which came from the intersection of the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River, are the best among the inland river gunboats equipped by the Japanese Navy.
The design blueprint of the Toba-class gunboat was basically copied from similar ships of the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets, but the Japanese developed it and made it have a larger size and a more powerful engine set.
The total length of the ship's hull is meters, its width is 8.23 meters, its normal displacement is 250 tons, and its draft is 0.79 meters.
The power system is two ship-based coal-fired boilers pushing two reciprocating engines for three-axis drive, with an output power of 1,400 horsepower and a top speed of 15 knots.
The weapon system is configured with a double-caliber artillery and six 6.5 mm machine guns, with a crew of more than 60 people, and the commander on the ship is also a major.
Such a gunboat can maneuver freely in the center of the river and launch artillery strikes on enemies within 3,000 meters on both sides of the river. Throughout the Great Patriotic War, this kind of gunboat has been the main force of the Japanese army's ships controlling large inland rivers such as the Yangtze River in China.
Even in the future, after the Japanese army was forced to surrender, these gunboats abandoned by the Japanese army continued to be in service with the Chinese army until the end of the war for more than ten years.
Not to mention three such big guys, even one is intimidating.
Otherwise, Yanagawa Heisuke knew that he was about to kneel down, and the navy only sent three small gunboats, and they wouldn't be able to spread banners with the words "Navy and Malu" all over the world!
The Japanese Navy Vice Admiral was actually very considerate. The reason why he did not send out a thousand-ton destroyer was mainly because he was not familiar with the waterways of the Huangpu River. After all, if a fully loaded destroyer with a draft of three and a few meters ran aground, it would be difficult to rescue him.
A troublesome thing.
However, the Japanese army underestimated the Chinese, just as the Chinese did not expect the Japanese to be so stingy.
Three big men gradually emerged from the mist. Tang Dao, who was hiding in a forest 300 meters away from the river, was also slightly stunned.
This was quite different from his imagination that the Japanese army should send a fleet led by at least light destroyers!
Three small gunboats, wasn't it in vain that he spent most of the night persuading two lieutenant generals, and leading six cavalry companies and an artillery battalion to find the ambush site?
In order to impress the Japanese, Tang Dao persuaded Lieutenant General Wu to allow him to bring four 37mm rapid-fire cannons, ten 150mm large-caliber mortars, and six Oerlikon 20mm single-barreled machine guns.
.
Moreover, he decided to personally serve as the commander of the Big Stick Plan.
The two lieutenant generals probably also wanted to see how the world-famous Si Xing Battalion Commander was conducting in the field, and they agreed without even a symbolic obstruction.
This is how it is in the army. You can tell whether it is a mule or a horse by pulling it out. No matter how sharp your words are, you have to have work. The Battle of the Four Elements has an excellent geographical location and a brave enough heart.
, tactics actually took a back seat.
Of course, Lieutenant General Wu has no intention of testing Tang Dao. Isn’t this a military training moment?
He hoped to give the Japanese army a first blow as Tang Dao said, and directly gave Tang Dao the highest command authority. Six cavalry companies and a mixed artillery battalion were all required to obey his orders.
The result, is this?
"Damn it, Yanagawa Heisuke is not heroic at all! Are you just using this scrap of metal to fool people?" Tang Dao said to himself with a frown on his face.
He remembered that in the past, the Japanese proudly dispatched two light destroyers and five or six gunboats. Otherwise, the theater headquarters, which received a request from the 67th Army Headquarters to bomb enemy ships, would not have requested the Air Force, which suffered heavy losses, to come to assist.
.
The 127mm main guns on the bows of the two Fubuki-class destroyers were really terrifying. With one shot, a house and the people inside were reduced to powder. The 67th Army, which went into a defensive battle without any preparation, could not stand by and watch.
Thirty thousand people were consumed in the artillery battle, and two infantry brigades were forced to go into the field to fight with the Japanese army. As a result, two major general brigade commanders were killed on the spot, and the two infantry brigades lost more than two-thirds.
But why did Mao come with three small gunboats now? What made Tang Dao temporarily depressed was not that he failed to catch the so-called big fish, but that the current battlefield situation seemed to be deviating from the original historical trajectory.
Tang Dao was muttering to himself depressedly, but the two majors beside him, who were also observing the river with telescopes, made each other look at him in confusion at his words.
This guy just proposed to use cavalry and artillery to attack the Japanese naval ambush by the river. There is always no shortage of brave men in the army.
But where did this scrap of copper and iron come from? I didn’t see it being a gunboat? The 80mm cannon raised high is much more powerful than the 75mm mountain cannon. The 50-meter-long hull is covered with steel plates. We,
Let alone whether mortars and machine guns can hit others accurately, even if they hit others, their effectiveness depends on the actual combat effect.
The 67th Army had fought a battle with the Japanese in North China, but that was on land. It was the first time that they used cannons to hit warships that were running extremely fast in the middle of the river like they were doing now.
The cavalry major and artillery major who accompanied Tang Dao to observe the battlefield looked at the three gunboats cruising in the river with great power, and they felt completely unsure.
In the end, Tang Dao was not good at it, and he directly disliked the warships sent by the Japanese for not being strong enough.
If the military chief of staff had not specially introduced Tang Dao to several of their school officers before coming here, they would have felt that Tang Dao was a rookie.
But no matter what they thought, no matter whether the three Japanese gunboats were powerful enough, Tang Dao had already raised the big stick that he had prepared for a long time, and there was no reason to put it down again.
"Ten minutes later, all the artillery in the artillery battalion attacked the Japanese ships according to the previously formulated battle plan; the cavalry battalion, except for leaving one cavalry company on guard eight kilometers away, the remaining five cavalry companies were arranged according to the previous arrangement, and each company
Establish a blocking position at the selected location to prevent the Japanese infantry from landing. Is there any problem?" Tang Dao ordered as he watched the Japanese gunboat formation becoming slower and slower, seemingly looking for a landing site.
"No problem!" the artillery major nodded and accepted the order.
The main attacker was the artillery. Naturally, their position was the first to be selected. It was located behind the hills. According to Deputy Director Tang, it was a natural anti-slope fortification.
The artillery major didn't quite understand what anti-slope fortification was, but he knew that no matter how powerful the Japanese naval guns were, it was really not easy to hit behind the hills, unless they could turn the cannons into mortars and attack them behind the hills.
Cannonballs rained down from the sky.
"That's fine with me, that's right." The cavalry major hesitated slightly.
"If you have any questions, just ask, Commander Gong, you have wasted thirty seconds." Tang Dao frowned.
Failure to stop the execution of orders will undoubtedly reduce efficiency. As a commander, he must curb this momentum.
"That's it, Commander Tang, do you have a specific time to stop the enemy? Otherwise, when the Japanese fighter planes come, no one here will be able to leave."
The cavalry major and battalion commander was obviously a little suffocated, so he simply called Tang Dao Si Xing Battalion's official position, which meant that they were all battalion commanders, so you don't need to be so condescending.
"Japanese plane?" Tang Dao seemed not to hear the small thoughts of the major cavalry battalion commander. He looked at the mist that was still rising in the river and said with a faint smile. "I'm sure they will be there at least an hour and a half away."
I won't come. However, since Battalion Commander Gong is worried, I will give you a time. Within an hour, no matter what the outcome of the battle is, we will pack up and leave."
"yes!"
Although I don’t understand how Tang Dao calculated the one and a half hour time, since Tang Dao gave him a time limit, it at least gave him face as the commander of the cavalry battalion of the special agent regiment directly under the 67th Army Military Headquarters.
The cavalry major stopped competing.
Of course Tang Dao is not just talking about time calculations.
The aircraft carrier of the Japanese Navy is still on the sea 90 kilometers away from Songjiang. When it receives a request for help, it will fly here. At the speed of a propeller fighter, it will take 15 minutes to fly.
Furthermore, why are the Japanese gunboats so shameless? They asked for reinforcements from their own fleet headquarters as soon as the war started, but they didn't want to be beaten up when they got back! By the time they were beaten to the point of being bruised and swollen, it would probably be at least half an hour before they asked for reinforcements.
Of course, the more important thing is that it is now seven o'clock in the morning, there is heavy fog on the river, and the sky is extremely gloomy. Is it possible that the sea is calm and the sky is clear? When Japan and Hainan Airlines are all-weather pilots!
Tang Dao remembered that during the Jinshanwei Landing Battle and the later stage of the Songjiang Battle, Japanese navy fighter planes arrived at around 10 o'clock to participate in the battle. This already showed that the weather in the early mornings these days was not suitable for aircraft to take off.
As for the Army Airlines, haha, let’s not mention that their airport is further away. Based on the coordination ability of the Japanese navy and army, once they coordinate and communicate well, they will probably have lunch!
"Boom!" A 37mm rapid-fire cannon hidden in the hilly woods fired.
The first battle of the Songjiang Defense War officially started.
But it's not in Songjiang City, but on the banks of the Huangpu River.
This chapter has been completed!