I am Jiang Weiguo in World War II

On the banks of the river in Qingshan Town, Yizheng County (Yizheng City), the Japanese army, like a swarm of ants, began to race against time to cross the river amidst the sound of waves.

The Japanese army did not lack ships, because the Japanese army marched all the way to Nanjing after landing in Qidong County, they all advanced along the bank of the Yangtze River at an extremely fast speed, and they paid great attention to "collecting" (synonym is looting) Chinese boatmen and fishermen on the riverside on the way. Ships, so I have four or five hundred ships, large and small.

For a time, there was a lot of Japanese on the river, and hundreds of boats competed for the flow.

A Chinese Navy patrol ship (that is, a torpedo boat) that discovered that the Japanese army was crossing the river hurriedly reported to its superiors. After receiving the report, the commander of the Yangtze River Fleet once commanded the fleet to intercept it.

On the turbulent river, the five ships Ninghai, Pinghai, Yixian, Ziqiang, and Datong burst into flames together, and violently bombarded the Japanese fleet across the river. Amidst the sound and the sound of water waves, waves of naval artillery shells smashed away, blowing up the Japanese fleet. The larger tonnage ship was hit by the shell and was smashed to pieces. The ship was overturned abruptly by the violent waves of water blasted by shells, and the Japanese soldiers on it rolled into the Yangtze River like dumplings.

The night sky over the entire Yangtze River was as bright as day, with artillery shells criss-crossing and water waves like torrents. The Yangtze River Fleet of the National Army was overwhelmingly slaughtering the Japanese fleet across the river.

The battle scenes made all the officers and soldiers of the national army who participated in the battle exclaim happily: "Damn! It has always been the devil's naval guns that bully our army brothers, and now it is our turn to 'bully' the devils with naval guns!"

Zeng Yiding wasn't too excited, but he felt even more heartbroken, because the ships of the Japanese army were civilian ships and fishing boats that were looted. A few tons, it is obviously not cost-effective for the national army warships to bombard these ships with expensive shells (it is even more impossible to use torpedoes), and most of the ships are small, and it is difficult for naval guns to bombard accurately, so a considerable part of the shells hit In the Yangtze River, dead fish floating all over the water were blown up, further increasing the waste of shells.

"Try not to fire! Hit it! Sink the devil's ship!" Zeng Yiding ordered, "Use secondary or machine guns when you have to, and don't use the main gun lightly!" He had to give this order, but there was no other way. Ammunition is too expensive, the Chinese army is too poor, and the navy is the poorest among the three armed forces. Submarines and torpedo boats are the "favorites" of the navy, while surface warships are the lowest.

The five warships on the river slammed into the Japanese crossing boats running around like iron-clad bulls.

But this pleasing and beautiful scene did not last long. Suddenly, more than a dozen searchlights were shot from the land on the north bank of the river, firmly locking and covering the warships of the national army, and then lightning flashed and thunder, and dozens of flames came together. Rushing up into the night sky in the thunderbolt flames, meteors swept towards the Chinese naval warships on the river like a storm. In an instant, four of the five warships were hit by bullets. The No. 150 was hit by multiple bullets, and the two warships trembled violently amidst the fireballs that exploded on the ship. The crew members and sailors who were caught off guard were flying with flesh and blood, and the shattered mechanical parts roared and danced in the flames. One of the main guns of the ship was completely blown up, and the other main gun was blown into steel twists. The starboard side of the warship was shot, causing water to flood the front cabin. The wound was bleeding profusely, and the surrounding guards hurriedly carried it down for first aid. The Ninghai was even more seriously injured. The ship was hit by four 140mm caliber howitzer shells at the same time, and half of the ship was blown to pieces. , three main guns were severely blown up, and the captain Gao Xianshen was also seriously injured in the explosion; the other two warships that were hit were the Yixian and the Ziqiang, and the Yixian was blown away with a [-]mm main gun. Thick smoke was billowing, blood was splattered three feet on the deck, and Ziqiang was the most seriously injured. The ship was rebuilt from a waste ship in the late Qing Dynasty. , Captain Zhang Rizhang died on the spot.

Among the five ships, only the Datong was not hit by a single bomb and was safe and sound.

"Heavy artillery group!" Zeng Yiding immediately came back to his senses, he understood that the Japanese military first dispatched a batch of large-caliber heavy artillery to lie in ambush on the shore, and waited for his own fleet to come and be beaten.

According to common sense, naval guns and land guns launch a confrontation, and land guns are by no means the opponents of naval guns, but the current situation is not the case. The caliber of the main guns of the five Chinese warships is not large, even inferior to the Japanese army's land guns, and the number There are not many, and if the confrontation is really launched, the Chinese side will not have the advantage and will inevitably suffer a big loss.

Lieutenant General Okamura had expected this. At this time, the Japanese troops crossing the river on the river were just bait, and the boats used were all small-tonnage civilian fishing boats in the hands of the Japanese army, and there were very few people on board. For example, a boat that could carry 100 people There were actually only a dozen or so Japanese soldiers on the ship, so although the onslaught of the national army fleet just now seemed to be full of fun, it actually did not achieve much results. Hundreds of Japanese ships were sunk. Only 500 Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded.

The focus of the battle is that Lieutenant General Okamura successfully lured the National Army's Yangtze River Fleet over, and then used dozens of large-caliber heavy artillery gathered by the 2nd, 6th, and 16th Divisions to give a head-on blow.

Facts have proved that the tactic of "leading the snake out of the hole" played by Lieutenant General Okamura has indeed achieved great success.

Zeng Yiding watched this scene with his lips tightly pursed. His fleet fought back angrily while trying to support, but the second wave of Japanese shells pierced through the air again, blowing up the Yangtze River again, and the water column and fireball flew into the air together, causing the most serious injuries. And the gunboat Ziqiang, which lost its power, was hit by three shells again. The whole ship fell apart in the explosion, broke into more than a dozen pieces and quickly sank into the Yangtze River. The Ninghai, Pinghai, and Yixian were also shot again. Still miraculously unscathed, several shells blasted a seething turbulent spray around it, and one of the shells hit it, but it was a dud.

"Jun Zuo! The chairman's telegram!" On the Ninghai, which trembled violently like an earthquake and was shrouded in flames, thick smoke, roars, and gunfire, a signal soldier with blood on his forehead came panting to send a telegram. Pass it to Zeng Yiding.

When the battle broke out, Zeng Yiding quickly sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek: A large number of enemy troops were crossing the river at the Qingshan Zhenjiang section, and the army was requested to immediately mobilize troops to Longtan Town on the opposite bank of the Qingshan Zhenjiang River to strengthen defense and prepare for an anti-landing war.

Chiang Kai-shek replied: A reinforced battalion of the Sichuan Army has arrived in Longtan Town.

Zeng Yiding couldn't believe his eyes. The Japanese troops crossing the river consisted of a reinforced regiment, a brigade, and even follow-up troops. Chiang Kai-shek actually sent only a reinforced battalion across the river to prepare for a counterattack?

In a hurry, Zeng Yiding called Chiang Kai-shek back: There are a large number of enemy troops crossing the river, and the army should mobilize at least one division.

Chiang Kai-shek quickly called back: It is the responsibility of your fleet to intercept the Japanese army in Jiangbei and inflict heavy damage on the Japanese army.

After reading this telegram, Zeng Yiding was so angry that he was almost speechless. He tried his best to calm down and replied: Report to Chairman, the Yangtze River Fleet has few ships and insufficient firepower. The Japanese army counterattacked us with dozens of large-caliber heavy artillery. The fleet caused great losses to our fleet. The Ziqiang has sunk, and the Ninghai, Pinghai, and Yixian are all seriously injured and unable to fight again. Our fleet alone is unable to stop the Japanese army from crossing the river. I request the army to quickly deploy capable troops to Longtan Town Prepare to resist the Japanese army crossing the river and landing.

Chiang Kai-shek quickly replied again: The main force of the troops is fighting in Jiangbei, and most of the Japanese invaders are in Pukou District, so there must not be many Japanese troops crossing the river, and the army has no spare troops to go to Longtan Town.

Zeng Yiding's face turned blue. Chiang Kai-shek's self-righteousness and self-righteousness almost made him want to yell. He suppressed the anger and pain in his heart. He replied: The Yangtze River Fleet was severely damaged and was unable to fight any more. It must retreat and asked for approval.

Chiang Kai-shek replied: No withdrawal is allowed!

Zeng Yiding was furious: the navy's surface fleet is running low, and the Yangtze River Fleet is the last remaining branch of our navy's surface fleet. If it is completely destroyed in the Yangtze River, it will be heartbreaking. I implore the chairman to agree to retreat and save some seeds for the navy's surface fleet.

Chiang Kai-shek replied: Resolutely not allowed to withdraw!

"Damn it!" Zeng Yiding tore up Chiang Kai-shek's telegram, and then shouted the order, "Retreat!"

"Jun Zuo!" The fleet chief of staff Liu Huangan next to him hastily grabbed Zeng Yiding, "We retreated without authorization, and the old man will investigate after the incident. You will go to a military court and even have to be shot! And Ouyangge and his gang will also make use of the issue, It's worse!"

"It's not like I'm going to retreat without a fight! The mission can't be completed! The Yangtze River is only 1000 meters wide, and it's completely within the range of the Japanese artillery! If you shoot a gun, eat it!" The last seed of our surface fleet! As long as I can keep the seed, my life is worth it!"

Liu Huanqian understood what Zeng Yiding meant. These four warships on the Yangtze River were the last four surface warships of the Chinese navy. If they were all fired, the navy's surface fleet would completely cease to exist. Besides, the navy The surface fleet has always been the core of the "Fujian faction"'s power foundation, and it is gone. From now on, the navy will be covered by Ouyang Ge's "Dianlei faction".

Zeng Yiding wanted to retreat even if he wanted to die. One was for the public, and the other was for the faction he belonged to.

How can five warships, which are essentially gunboats, be able to defend against them?The task assigned by Chiang Kai-shek to the Yangtze River Fleet is indeed difficult to complete.

Not only that, Lieutenant General Okamura did not put all his troops here to cross the river in Qingshan Town. After all, the Yangtze River is so long, so he only sent a reinforced brigade to serve as a bait here in Qingshan Town, and the rest of the troops were located a few kilometers downstream of Qingshan Town. Maocaozhou launched a mighty formal crossing of the river. Thousands of Japanese soldiers had already crossed the Yangtze River when the Yangtze River Fleet "killed".

The Ninghai, Pinghai, Yixian, and the basically uninjured Datong began to evacuate upstream. Before leaving, Yu Shihang, the deputy captain and acting captain of the Datong, sent a telegram to Zeng Yiding: "Junzuo, our ship hopes to stay and play guerrilla warfare with the Japanese army on the river. In this way, the chairman will pursue it afterwards, and we still have some room for recovery!" A dud bomb was sent, and after the dud bomb hit the captain's cabin, it knocked down an iron frame and knocked out Luo Zhitong (there was no casualty on the Datong, but Luo Zhitong passed out), so the deputy captain Yu Shihang assumed command responsibility .

Zeng Yiding pondered for a while: "This is too dangerous!"

Yu Shihang replied: "How can there be a war that is not dangerous? In fact, the four ships of the Ninghai were all caught off guard and injured by the Japanese army's deliberate bombardment. In fact, we actually took advantage of the upper reaches of the river!"

Zeng Yiding agreed: "Then take care of yourself and be careful!"

The Datong immediately launched a Zhao Yun-style upstream strike on the river.

Yu Shihang was as careful as dust, and he had a faint feeling that the Japanese soldiers crossing the Yangtze River in front of him were probably just small shrimps acting as bait and confusing themselves, and the real big fish of the Japanese army was likely to be downstream, so he ordered the Datong to pass through the Japanese soldiers in front of him The fleet, all the way down the river.

The Japanese artillery on the shore kept bombarding the Datong. Under Yu Shihang's calm command, the Datong kept walking on the Yangtze River in "z" and "s" evasive routes. The river around the ship was rained by Japanese artillery shells. The explosion made the water column like a forest and the waves rose, and the Datong moved steadily forward among the waves. More than ten minutes later, the main Japanese fleet crossing the river in Maocaozhou, a few kilometers downstream of Qingshan Town, was exposed to the attack of the Datong. in front of you.

"Aha! It really is here!" Yu Shihang was overjoyed.

"Damn! The main force of the devils is here! Beat them hard! Send them all to the bottom of the river!" The officers were extremely excited.

"Fart!" Yu Shihang was not overwhelmed by the joy, "Remember, don't hit the boats with devil soldiers, but those with supplies!" He met the slightly puzzled eyes of the officers and explained, "Our The gunship had only two 2mm main guns, limited shells, and sank the Japanese troop carrier. Only a small number of Japanese soldiers on board were killed or injured by the shells, and most of them fell into the water. The Yangtze River is only 120 meters wide, and the devils can swim ashore. We have no time, no time The condition is to kill all the devils swimming on the surface of the river, so, beat their boats carrying supplies! Send their boats carrying guns and ammunition to the bottom of the river! In this way, even if those devils go ashore, they will be unarmed, and What combat power?"

"The acting captain is right!" The officers suddenly realized and their eyes were bright.

Therefore, the Datong became the Chinese warship that the Japanese army hated the most after the U-1075 submarine, because this gunboat in the late Qing Dynasty was in the Japanese fleet crossing the river just like Zhao Zilong was in Cao Cao's army in Changbanpo, seven in and seven out , Invincible in all directions, the ship almost calmly and unhurriedly fired one shot at a time, constantly blasting the ships used by the 2nd Division to carry ordnance and luggage into fireballs.

The scene on the Yangtze River near Maocaozhou is as follows: more than 200 large and small Japanese ships of all kinds are desperately crossing the Yangtze River, and an antique Chinese naval gunboat is in the Japanese fleet like Japanese eating sushi. They calmly selected targets worthy of shell consumption, and the Japanese ships that were "fancy" were immediately hit by shells, either torn apart or exploded. Not many Japanese troops were blown to pieces, but there were tons and tons of them. The weapons and ammunition were detonated in the explosion or sank into the Yangtze River together with the broken ships.

The Japanese soldiers on the ships of the Japanese army desperately used rifles, machine guns, even grenades, and mortars to pour ammunition on the arrogant and domineering Datong. Its countless shells and fire ripples, but the Datong remained calm, as if nothing had happened, and continued to turn valuable Japanese ships into fireballs on the Yangtze River or scrap iron at the bottom of the Yangtze River one after another.

When Lieutenant General Okamura received the report and hurriedly ordered the artillery wing to rush from the shore of Qingshan Town to the shore of Maocaozhou to destroy the "outrageously brazen" Chinese warship, the Datong had been sunk, destroyed, It sank and overturned 38 Japanese ships, killed, wounded, killed and drowned only 500 Japanese soldiers, but let half of the 2nd Division's ordnance and ammunition sink into the Yangtze River, and also let the 2nd Division's artillery unit (Including the 6th and 16th Divisions supporting the 2nd Division's artillery units) Most of them were blocked on the north bank of the Yangtze River and could not be sent to the south bank to participate in the war.

The logic is ready-made: the heavy artillery of the Japanese army can still fire on the Datong when they are placed on the north bank of the river.

Lieutenant General Okamura had to order the artillery unit to build artillery positions in the north of the river and not cross the river for the time being.

The Datong, which created the "miracle" of a gunboat blocking a division of the Japanese army, suffered more than 20 crew members and sailors were injured in the battle, but no one was killed.

Afterwards, Chiang Kai-shek awarded Yu Shihang a first-class Baoding Medal, and did not pursue Zeng Yiding.

Although the Navy's Yangtze River Fleet tried its best to stop the 2nd Division, it was impossible to stop the 2nd Division from crossing the Yangtze River.

After severely injuring the Yangtze River Fleet of the Chinese Navy, Lieutenant General Okamura immediately withdrew the 6rd Brigade, which was reinforcing the 3th Division, back to Qingshan Town and Maocaozhou area, and crossed the river with the 15th Brigade.

Although the 2nd Division's cross-river operation was "harassed" by the Datong, it was miserable and suffered heavy losses, especially the supplies. Half of the ordnance and ammunition sank into the Yangtze River, and most of the artillery was forced by the "excessive power" of the Datong. crossed the river, but by early morning, after deducting casualties, about 2 troops of the [-]nd Division crossed the Yangtze River, and about [-] troops (mainly artillery and some infantry protecting the artillery, and more than [-] wounded soldiers) ) stay in Jiangbei.

There is no doubt about what it means for eighteen thousand elite Japanese soldiers to set foot on the south bank of the Yangtze River.

As far as the national army is concerned, the Jiangnan area between Nanjing and Shanghai is already defenseless, not to mention that a division of the Yunnan Army and three main regiments of the Sichuan Army were transferred to Jiangbei at night, which made the situation in Jiangnan even worse.

When Chiang Kai-shek received the report, he was already in a depressed mood, because the night counterattack in Jiangbei was not very successful. More than 2000 people were killed and injured in the mountains and forests, and about 6 were killed and injured on the front line of Jiangpu Town), but their own casualties were as high as more than 2. It was costly and did not deal a fatal blow to the [-]th or [-]nd Divisions.

After a day and night of fierce fighting, the 6th Division still has about 2 troops, and the 16nd Division still has about [-] troops. They are still two very strong forces. More than that, these two divisions The [-]th Division behind is basically intact and fully staffed, with more than [-] troops.

Chiang Kai-shek had to start feeling nervous.

"Jiansheng..." Seeing He Yingqin, Cheng Qian and others who did not dare to "speech" easily for different reasons, Chiang Kai-shek had to turn to Bai Chongxi, who was outspoken because he had no scruples in speaking, "What should I do now?" ?”

Bai Chongxi looked at Chiang Kai-shek disdainfully: "In one night, the national army lost more than 1 vital forces! Commissioners, commissioners, we have not enough troops in the first place! Now we have reduced more than [-] troops at once! The harm is great, you can imagine I know!" He was completely angry.

Soldiers are the courage of a general, without soldiers, even if Bai Chongxi and others have a lot of strategic strategies, it is useless.

Chiang Kai-shek was full of embarrassment and shyness: "Seizing the opportunity to inflict maximum damage on the enemy is not without merit! It's just that the Japanese are cunning..." He had to continue to ask Bai Chongxi for help, "Jiansheng, the matter has come to an end, What should I do?"

Bai Chongxi sullenly said: "Immediately let the 182nd Division of the Dian Army and the three main regiments of the Sichuan Army withdraw to the south of the Yangtze River and join the defense line in the north and east of the city. If there is a change in the regiment, it will immediately carry out a local attack. On the one hand, it will delay the 918th Division and on the other hand consume the vitality of the 6th Division. If the 6th Division also crosses the river, the 6th Regiment must abandon Jiangbei Pukou and withdraw to Jiangnan.

. . . " He expounded his train of thought angrily.

Chiang Kai-shek nodded again and again: "Okay, okay..."

"The most troublesome thing at the moment is..." Bai Chongxi tried hard not to get angry with Chiang Kai-shek, and turned all his thoughts to the war, "We still don't know whether the 2nd Division crossing the river will attack Nanjing from the west or Zhenjiang from the east (Zhenjiang) Located on the south bank of the river about 2 kilometers east of Nanjing in a straight line), if the 2nd Division attacks Nanjing, the situation is bad, but it is the best of the bad situations. If the [-]nd Division attacks Zhenjiang, it will be completely bad The Ninghu communication line will be cut off by the Japanese army!"

"Neiji Okamura will attack Nanjing, right?" He Yingqin said in a low-pitched voice, lacking in confidence, "After all, Nanjing is very empty, and taking Nanjing has unparalleled significance in all aspects. He should be moved..."

"I also hope that he will attack Nanjing!" Bai Chongxi glanced sideways at He Yingqin, "At any rate, we still have city defense fortifications and Zijinshan artillery groups! But Zhenjiang's defense is a piece of paper! If I were Neiji Okamura, I would attack Zhenjiang !because…"

"Appointment!" Liu Fei trotted over with a telegram, exhausted and restless, "The Second Division is marching towards Zhenjiang!"

Chapter 230 Defending Nanjing (10)

At 10 noon on October 15th, the Battle of Zhenjiang broke out.

After some twists and turns, the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army finally crossed the river smoothly. First, they rested in the area of ​​Qiaotou Town (the town between Nanjing and Zhenjiang) for a whole morning, and then calmly headed east all the way, pointing directly at Zhenjiang.

Lieutenant General Neiji Okamura, the commander of the division, was also on the south bank of the river, and he was in command in person. When crossing the river, he was sitting in a small fishing boat. The safer it is, the facts proved his judgment. The gunboat Datong was more than 300 meters away from the fishing boat where Lieutenant Admiral Okamura was at the nearest time. He didn't pay attention to the small fishing boat hiding the big fish, and only focused on attacking the larger tonnage ships, thus missing a great opportunity to kill Lieutenant General Okamura in one fell swoop, but this is also inevitable.

After the 2nd Division set foot on the south bank of the river, Lieutenant General Okamura ordered all officers and soldiers of the troops to rest on the spot. His order had two purposes. It takes a while to recharge your batteries and go into battle. The second is to carry out a very subtle "waiting".

In addition, it should be explained that the exposure of the 2nd Division of the Japanese Army to the wild land in the suburbs of the south of the Yangtze River is not dangerous. First, the Chinese Air Force is very short of bombers. Second, there is Baohua Mountain with a forest coverage rate of more than 95% near the Japanese landing site. In fact, it is a small hill in the south of the Yangtze River), and the Japanese army hid in the mountains to rest, so that the bombers dispatched by the Chinese Air Force basically returned without success.

After resting all morning, the 2 elite soldiers of the [-]nd Division rushed towards Zhenjiang like a dragon dancing its body.

In this morning, both Nanjing and Zhenjiang seized the extremely precious time and hurriedly prepared for battle.

Zhenjiang has the national army, but its combat effectiveness is not optimistic. The Zhenjiang national army consists of two parts. One is the Zhenjiang local security regiment. There are more than [-] people. Basically, they are recruits who have never been on the battlefield. Although they have received certain military training , but the weapons and equipment are very poor, most of the guns are made in Hanyang, a small part of the guns are made in China, there are very few machine guns, mortars, and grenades, and there are basically no heavy weapons; the other part is the National Army troops withdrawn from Shanghai .