On the morning of the 23rd, the weather was clear and cloudless. The sun rose as usual. There were seagulls feeding on the sea outside the port as usual. It looked the same as usual.
There is still a difference. If we follow the normal rules, eight o'clock in the morning is the meal time. The dock is extremely busy at that time, and there are all kinds of Eastern and Western breakfasts. The sweet smell of breakfast permeates the entire dock, and my ears are filled with excitement.
It’s the cries of vendors and the noisy laughter that gives everyone an exciting and prosperous atmosphere.
The pier was particularly deserted today, with almost no people in sight. The only ones that occasionally flashed by were soldiers wearing military uniforms and fully armed. They were walking in a hurry and had a clear purpose, making the atmosphere on the pier even more tense.
The news that the Paz Expeditionary Force is about to arrive spread throughout Port Hedland last night. Everyone knows that a war is coming. Although the combat mission has been assigned to the team level, everyone knows what they should do, but when the war comes,
Nervousness is inevitable.
Facing the cruiser of the Perth Expeditionary Force, Chen Zhaoqiang had no intention of letting the Perth people into Port Hedland without any resistance. On the outer harbor breakwater of Port Hedland, four forts were ready, and 12 guns were ready.
The 150mm caliber artillery purchased by Lanfang has been carefully maintained by the gunners and is in optimal condition, ready to welcome the arrival of the Pas Expeditionary Force.
In Fort No. 3, gunner Hou Xing'an of the Ninth Artillery Detachment was comforting his youngest subordinate, Qian Lixin, an 18-year-old Annan native.
Now these are all small battles. I think back when we were in France, every war involved tens of thousands of artillery and hundreds of thousands of people participating. That was the real big scene. Compared with that, this is all childish.
, we only have a total of 12 artillery pieces. Do you know what 12 pieces of artillery means? In our artillery division, it is just one battalion, and each of our artillery divisions has 8 such artillery battalions, so it’s nothing to worry about.
Hou Xing'an held an artillery rangefinder newly produced by Lanfang Optical Research Institute in his hand and patiently guided Qian Lixin, who was hard at work wiping artillery shells.
Hou Xing'an is a veteran artilleryman from the Foreign Legion period and is considered a veteran in the entire Port Hedland.
The Chinese performed very well in the World War, and the artillerymen were the most outstanding group. It must be said that the Chinese are very talented in mathematics. Even a semi-literate person like Hou Xing'an, who had only attended public school for two years, also studied in French.
Under the guidance of the instructor, I quickly mastered the knowledge of distance measurement.
Of course, now that we have artillery rangefinders, it is easier to become an artilleryman. As long as you learn to play with this little guy, you will be an excellent artilleryman.
Lanfang's Optical Research Institute originated from the Zeiss factory in Germany. When Germany was defeated, Lanfang people almost moved the entire Zeiss factory to Lanfang. Now more than two years have passed, and Lanfang's Optical Research Institute has begun to
Zeiss has launched its own new products based on the technology, whether it is gun sights, telescopes, or even optical rangefinders, Lanfang Optical Research Institute has launched new products, which has effectively promoted the application of new equipment.
Hearing Hou Xing'an's words, before Qian Lixin could express his words, Jason, a member of the artillery crew, began to hum, and the sarcasm was still obvious.
Jason is a German, and it was the Germans that the Foreign Legion faced in the World War. The tens of thousands of artillery pieces that Hou Xingan mentioned left a deep impression on Jason. Jason also suffered a lot at the beginning, but he was just luckier, so
Just survived.
Only two years have passed since the World War, and the scene at that time is still vivid in his mind. Jason still often dreams about scenes from the World War, about those war-torn battlefields, and about his companions who have died in the war.
Now hearing Hou Xing'an say it so openly, Jason was obviously not very happy.
To be honest, Hou Xing'an and Jason have a good relationship. They cooperate with each other tacitly, and both of them are sincere and kind to others, so Jason doesn't have much scruples when talking to Hou Xing'an.
Why are you not convinced by what you mean? Hou Xing'an immediately changed his target, which was full of provocation.
Jason was so convinced that he had no intention of arguing with Hou Xing'an, and directly choked Hou Xing'an back.
I was really a little choked. It took Hou Xingan a long time to breathe again before he felt his breathing was even again. Just as he was about to continue to enlighten Qian Lixin, he suddenly heard someone shouting at the door of the fort: The Parsi people are still 15 nautical miles away and are ready to fight.
15 nautical miles, if converted into meters in the customary sense, is probably less than 28,000. In other words, in about half an hour, the Paz Expeditionary Force fleet will enter the range of the fort.
The 150mm caliber artillery equipped in Port Hedland is the latest product produced by Lanfang Arsenal. Its firing range can reach 14,000 meters beyond the visual range. This distance is longer than the range of the main gun of the flagship Paz in the Paz Expeditionary Force Fleet.
It's much farther. Of course, at a distance of 14,000 meters, this hit rate cannot be guaranteed.
Prepare to fight, cheer up, hold your rangefinder, don't knock it, otherwise you can only use your thumbs to gesture, and prepare your shells and fuses, don't make an mistake by not installing the fuse.
, otherwise you will just stuff yourself into the barrel and shoot it out. Calm down, don't think wildly, recall the knowledge you learned in class, and show all the steps perfectly, you will achieve an extremely perfect victory. No. 3 Fort
Commander Tang Shengli patrolled back and forth in the fort, reminding everyone in a loud voice.
The most indispensable thing in Port Hedland is iron ore, so these forts are built extremely solidly. During the construction, the construction workers used a large amount of reinforced concrete. Including the roof, all the walls are more than 1 meter thick.
rice.
After the artillerymen entered the fort, they reinforced the fort. They first used sandbags to build a layer outside the fort, and then reinforced it on the top. Steel plates were added in the middle of the sandbags. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to describe the current fort as impregnable.
.
Little guy, be prepared, the time has come to test you. If you survive this test, don't you want to join Lanfang as a nationality? I will be your introducer. Hou Xing'an made a promise to Qian Lixin.
Is it true? Qian Lixin's voice was full of surprise, and his excitement could overflow.
Of course it's true. When did I lie to you and Hou Xing'an took over everything?
Lanfang is currently a vast area with a sparse population. In order to increase the population, Lanfang encourages immigrants, especially Chinese and Annanese. As long as they apply for naturalization, they will basically be approved.
Of course, this naturalization is also conditional. For example, a young person like Qian Lixin who has just reached adulthood must find a referrer if he wants to join Lanfang nationality. This referrer must also serve as a guarantor. If this person's
If there is any problem with the identity certificate, or if someone commits adultery and criminal behavior after becoming a Lanfang nationality, the guarantor will have to bear certain responsibilities.
Therefore, it is not easy to find a guarantor in Lanfang, especially for a young person with no background like Qian Lixin.
Don't worry, I promise there won't be any mistakes. Qian Lixin swears by it.
Hmm, you'd better remember what you said, I will keep an eye on you. Hou Xing'an felt a little relieved, smiled at each other with Jason, turned around and started to observe the sea.
Jason is also a veteran, so Hou Xing'an doesn't need to worry about it. Because of Jason's presence, Hou Xing'an can focus more on the sea without worrying about the cooperation of the gun crew.
At 8:45, sirens sounded throughout Port Hedland. This was a signal that the enemy had entered the ten nautical miles range of Port Hedland. From this moment on, Port Hedland entered a combat state.
Ten nautical miles away, the Paz Expeditionary Force also began to enter combat mode.
With many orders sent out, the battle of the Paz Expeditionary Force was destined to not go smoothly. Even though the battle was imminent, there was still a dispute in the bridge of the Paz.
We need to conduct a tentative attack to test the defensive capabilities of the port forts, and at the same time look for new landing points. We cannot just rush in, otherwise we will suffer heavy losses. James Jerome is wearing a life jacket.
This time he was very determined. Even if Derek Champlin had laid out the battle plan, James Jerome still fought hard according to reason.
To be honest, by now, James Jerome no longer fantasizes about winning this war at the least cost. James Jerome also doesn't think about whether this battle can be won or how much he will get after winning.
Praise, as long as he can save the life of one more naval brother, James Jerome feels that his fight is worthwhile.
It doesn't matter if you suffer heavy losses, at least it has nothing to do with you. You have already put on a life jacket. Even if those damn bumpkin's artillery fire is fierce, you can jump into the sea to escape. The disdainful sarcasm at the corner of Derek Champion's mouth is very rich, and it doesn't matter at all.
Add cover up.
If Derek Champion still had a little respect for James Jerome before, that little bit of respect has been gone since Derek Champion saw James Jerome put on this life jacket.
Disappeared without a trace.
During the World War, the ANZAC did perform very well. The Australian army may not be as capable as the French Foreign Legion, but the ANZAC did not lack the will to fight. The Australians never lost their courage. This is Derek Chap
A reason for Lin to be proud of.
Whether I wear a life jacket or not is my business. If you can understand the difference between the Navy and the Army, this life jacket was not originally worn. James Jerome didn't have much respect for Derek Champion.
James Jerome is a pure British man. Facing an Australian, the British have a psychological advantage. What's more, in the British military sequence, the importance of the army has never surpassed that of the navy, so naval officers have a psychological advantage when facing an Australian.
There is another layer of pride for army officers, so overall, the psychological advantage of a British naval officer when facing an Australian army officer can be imagined.
In terms of military rank, Derek Champlin is higher than James Jerome. James Jerome should give Derek Champlin the respect he deserves, but now James Jerome faces Derek
But he couldn't respect Derek Champlin no matter what. If it weren't for the fact that there was still a trace of reason in his heart, James Jerome would have taken off the brochure on his shoulder and smashed it into Derek Champlin's face.
