Republic of China: German-equipped divisions massacred as warlords guarded the nation's borders

Fire!

Ninety-six Maxim machine guns in forty-eight bunkers pulled their triggers in the same second!

Flames erupted from the concrete firing ports, weaving into an impenetrable net of fire. Each Maxim gun could unleash six hundred rounds per minute. With ninety-six Maxim guns firing simultaneously, fifty-seven thousand six hundred rounds rained down on the three-kilometer stretch of mudflats in just one minute.

Meanwhile, the artillery battalion behind the mudflats also went mad.

Twenty-four 75mm infantry guns bombarded the beachhead directly in a horizontal firing position. Each shell that landed in the crowd created a three-meter-wide crater.

The twelve 105mm howitzers were responsible for covering the sea surface further out. The shells struck the middle of the landing craft formation, capsizing an entire row of small boats.

Three kilometers of mudflats were turned into hell.

Rows of Japanese soldiers fell as they charged through the water. Bullets struck the water, creating dense sprays, and exploded into bloody mists upon hitting the soldiers.

Those proud veterans of the "Steel Army" found themselves facing bullets from all directions. They dodged to the left, only to find machine guns to their left. They dodged to the right, only to find machine guns to their right as well. They charged forward, only to be met with an even denser barrage of fire. They retreated, only to find themselves back in the sea, where artillery shells awaited.

There is nowhere to escape.

The first wave of 1,800 vanguard soldiers lost more than half of their men within three minutes.

Corpses were everywhere on the mudflats. Some lay face down on the sand, others lay face up in waist-deep water. The seawater had turned red. The little Rising Sun flags fluttered on the blood-soaked water like red flowers.

Yoshinori Shirakawa, aboard the flagship, saw all of this through his telescope.

His face was ashen.

"What's going on?! How come fifteen minutes of naval gunfire didn't destroy their position?!"

Major General Kinoshita's voice was trembling.

"Sir... those positions are reinforced concrete. 127mm shells can't penetrate them at all. Their bunkers are extremely well camouflaged; none of them were exposed when the naval guns bombarded them. We only opened fire simultaneously after our men had landed on the beach..."

Yoshinori Shirakawa punched the porthole.

"Second wave! Send the second wave! All main forces of the 6th Division, move in! 11th Division, stand by!"

"But sir, what about the firepower on the beachhead...?"

"I don't care!" Yoshinori Shirakawa roared. "Even if it costs lives, we must create an opening! At the same time, order all destroyers to approach the coastline and fire at close range! Bomb those bunkers flat, one by one!"

The order has been issued.

The second wave of landing craft was launched from the troop transport ships. This time, there were three thousand men.

At the same time, six destroyers accelerated forward, rushing from the open sea toward the near shore.

Their objective was clear: to approach within two kilometers of the beachhead and fire directly at the bunkers with their 127mm naval guns.

Destroyers have a shallow draft, allowing them to get very close to water.

At a distance of two kilometers, the accuracy and penetration power of a 127mm naval gun are sufficient to pose a threat to concrete fortifications.

The first destroyer rushed to a position 1,800 meters from the shore.

The gun barrel turned towards the beachhead.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A 127mm shell struck the bunker with a horizontal trajectory. The first shot missed. The second grazed the top cover. The third hit the firing port squarely, sending concrete fragments flying.

The machine gun in the bunker went silent for a moment.

The second wave of Japanese landing craft took the opportunity to rush towards the beachhead.

Yoshinori Shirakawa clenched his fists.

"Okay! That's it! Press it down! Press it down!"

But he didn't notice that in the deepest part of Wusongkou, in a semi-underground bunker, a man was watching his destroyer charge toward him.

Chen Zijun stood in front of the command platform.

A design drawing is spread out on the table in front of me.

The drawing on the blueprints did not depict a bunker, a machine gun emplacement, or an artillery formation.

It is a fortress.

A massive, unprecedented coastal defense fortress.

The golden system interface appeared before his eyes.

[Large Coastal Defense Fortress Area Module]

Status: Redeemable

包含：要塞级380毫米双联装岸防炮×4/240毫米加农炮群×8/鱼雷发射管阵列×4/声吶探测系统/电气化弹药输送链

Exchange rate: £18,000,000

Current funds: £50,815,000

Eighteen million pounds.

He closed his eyes.

three seconds.

Then he opened his eyes.

"exchange."

The system interface flashed briefly.

[Deducted: £18,000,000]

[Remaining funds: £32,815,000]

[Resources are being generated and are expected to be deployed within 12 hours...]

Chen Zijun looked out the window at the destroyers that were approaching the coast.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

Twelve hours.

He can wait.

He picked up the phone.

"Uncle Yang Yanzhao..."

"exist!"

"The 280mm coastal artillery can be moved now."

"But, young marshal, their battleship Hiei is still behind us. Isn't it a bit premature to deploy it now?"

Yang Yanzhao's words made sense. If he hadn't received the large coastal defense fortress area module, he would have endured it as a trump card.

But now, his trump card has changed!

"It's getting late. We can't let our soldiers risk their lives when we have weapons to retaliate! It's unnecessary. Leave it to me..."

"clear!"

Yang Yanzhao hung up the phone and rushed to the shore artillery position.

Deep within the Wusongkou fortress, four massive 280mm Krupp coastal defense cannons slowly turned their muzzles toward the approaching destroyers.

The gunner pulled back the breechblock.

A 300-kilogram armor-piercing shell was pushed into the gun barrel.

"Target: Leader of enemy destroyer squadron. 1,800 meters away."

"Loading complete!"

"put!"

boom!!!

The entire Wusongkou Fort was trembling.

A column of fire erupted from the massive 280mm barrel. The 300kg armor-piercing shell tore through the air at an initial velocity of 800 meters per second, covering a distance of 1,800 meters almost instantly.

The captain of the destroyer at the very front didn't even have time to react.

The armor-piercing shell cut into the ship from the waterline at the bow, penetrated the entire forward compartment, and then exploded in the ammunition magazine!

The front half of the entire destroyer looked like a soda can that had been crushed by a giant hand, bursting open to both sides.

Flames soared into the sky.

Steel plate fragments flew hundreds of meters away.

The destroyer broke in two. The front half capsized and sank. The rear half was still floating on the surface, its propellers still spinning in the air.

A perfectly intact destroyer was reduced to scrap metal by a single shell.

The second 280mm coastal gun then opened fire.

Another destroyer had its smokestack pierced by a single shot.

The boiler exploded. Steam gushed out. The entire warship, like a gutted iron fish, capsized on the sea with a sharp, metallic wail.

Two shots.

Both destroyers sank.

The remaining four destroyers frantically steered and turned around.

I dare not take another step closer.

On the flagship.

Yoshinori Shirakawa stared at the rising flames and black smoke through his binoculars, his hands gripping the command platform tightly.

The veins on the back of his hand bulged out one by one.

"280mm..." His voice forced out from deep in his throat, hissing like a snake whose tail had been stepped on. "Why didn't you tell me they also had 280mm coastal defense guns?!"

No one dared to answer.

The entire operations room was completely silent.

Yoshinori Shirakawa slowly straightened up.

His eyes were bloodshot.

"Order the entire army to halt the landing. The fleet must withdraw to a safe distance."

He spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Wait for reinforcements."