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Seabirds fluttered around like white dust in the sun, and beneath them were the blue waters that made some waves under the action of the wind, and the fleet, which had been sailing for an hour in the ice floe, would have been ready again, the artillery jackets had been removed, the iron ammunition boxes had been opened, and the loaders quickly twisted the fuses on the shells, and the fuses were most of them screwed to the moment. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

While the fleet was preparing for battle, the soldiers on the hired transport ships were also preparing for battle, and for them, this was the first landing operation, or more precisely, the first ocean-going landing operation of the Chinese Army.

Today, everything here is new to everyone in the fleet - after all, the fleet has never attacked a fortress in the past, nor has it covered an army attack.

"It's finally here!"

Zhang Di's voice seemed a little excited, he looked at Avaqin Bay from the telescope, she was quietly "lying" in front of his eyes, waiting for them to conquer her, she gave people a way to the world and a sheltered harbor. And the city he was going to attack was under the protection of the bay, and it was said that it was a city, but in fact it was inferior to a village—the defenders, including civilians, numbered no more than 500, of whom there were almost two hundred, had just been reinforced, and the population of the whole "city" was less than a thousand, among whom were more than a hundred natives.

At the mouth of the narrow bay, the three brothers of the whaling ship sailors stand like guards, guarding the Avachen Bay and the Russians living on the shores of the bay. The younger brother of the three brothers in the bay looked like a wall of stones, standing improperly in the middle of the sea. Like any other island, it has always been a world of seabirds.

A large number of seagulls make this home, seagulls fly on the sea, and those puffins make loud calls, if it is in normal times, maybe Zhang Di will go to enjoy this beautiful scenery, but now his target is the battery on the coast, the coast is white - heavy snow covers everything, including the battery out of the cover is hidden in it, as an assault ship "Yuefeng" is captured from the US Navy "Suskehana cruiser", repaired at the Whampoa shipyard, although it is the second largest warship in the fleet, but because it is a paddle wheel warship, And failed to become the flagship of the fleet.

Now, under the command of Zhang Di, this paddle ship is heading towards the mouth of the bay at the fastest speed of ten knots. The reason why it became an assault ship is because its keel is strong, and in the process of restoration, in order to enhance the protection of the warship, the shipyard engineer Shi Si reduced the 35 cm thick oak to 25 cm, and then added 1 cm thick iron armor to it, without increasing the tonnage, to maximize its protection, so that the "Yuefeng" became the most powerful warship in the fleet.

However, his biggest weakness is the paddle wheel, while the speed of the ship is increasing, the sailors on the ship can hear the sea water raised by the paddle wheel hitting the hull, in the sound of the paddle wheel, Zhang Di loudly ordered to the first mate.

"Keep course!"

Putting down the telescope in his hand, Zhang Di's eyes stared at the narrow bay, his task was simple, it was to test the firepower......

"Test firepower, it's a trap."

On the "Chu Feng", the flagship of the fleet, Shen Ming explained his tactical ideas to several midshipmen beside him in a calm tone.

"The reason for this is that the number of artillery of the Russian army is limited, and it is impossible for them to cause much damage to the ironclad ship...... And these are all things that we have not mastered, if the Russian army does not attack, then the "Yuefeng" can rely on its own powerful firepower to destroy the target and cover the landing of the marines. ”

Because the tonnage is as high as more than 2,400 tons, the "Yuefeng" is equipped with four extremely powerful 150-millimeter naval guns, and there are only six in total in China, except for two that are deployed in the Humen Fort, the others are on the "Yuefeng", and on the warship, there is also an 80-man naval company, which can be put into land combat at any time.

"Sir, then, can this battle be considered unprepared?"

Fang Guotao's question made Shen Ming silent for a moment, and then said.

"In a way, there is not enough intelligence, and even the location of the enemy is not clear there, indeed, it was an unprepared battle, but ......"

Staring at the "Yuefeng" that was breaking into the bay at full speed, Shen Ming added.

"Now we have no choice, if we miss this fighter, then we will never be able to take this place......"

Before Shen Ming finished speaking, a cannon sound came from the mountain in the distance, and the Russians opened fire!

"Discover the Russian artillery position!"

When the shouts of the lookout on the mast light came, Zhang Di said calmly.

"Leave him alone, our goal is the Gulf! The fleet will pick them up ......"

When the words fell, Zhang Di still looked towards the sky, and could see spherical cannonballs flying in that bright sky...... The shells did not fly fast, at least as they looked.

In the end, three shells landed around the "Yuefeng", hitting several water columns.

Two kilometers, although the 36-pounder cannon can hit so far, but the accuracy is very average, which is also the reason why Zhang Di asked to keep the course, in order to keep a distance from the shore defense guns at both ends of the bay and gorge.

The first shelling missed, and Peter was not discouraged, and this was only the beginning. At such a distance, it is difficult to hit the target.

"Cunning...... Fox. ”

Looking at the lone warship trying to break into the bay, Peter muttered to himself. He could guess the enemy's intentions, and the enemy was testing the fire.

"Put!"

Again, as Peter's shout fell, the heavy artillery roared in his ears, and through the white smoke of gunpowder enveloped the entire battery, through the smoke, Peter saw clouds of smoke spewing out from the side of the warship at sea, and the white smoke seemed to cover the side of the warship.

Seconds later, he heard a sharp whistling sound in the air, the whistling of cannonballs, very different from the cannonball whistling he was used to, it was more high-pitched than the dull one he was used to.

He was not worried about the shelling at all, in fact, the gunners of the battery were not worried either, at least 3 versts away, the coastal defense artillery could not hit that far, let alone hit the target, as for the naval guns on the warship, this was just a demonstration, covering the warship's breakthrough into Avachen Bay.

Just as the gunners continued to reload the artillery, the sharp whistling sound came from far and near, overhead, just when Alyosha and the others looked up, the whistling sound of the cannonballs stopped abruptly, and the next moment was a violent explosion around the battery, a huge column of smoke was raised in the explosion, steel fragments, and gravel whistled in the air, although the cannonballs did not fall directly on the battery, but the shells that fell around the battery still swallowed the entire battery.

In the smoke that covered the sky and the sun, Peter felt like a boat in the waves, was pushed to the ground with a slam thud, it was the shock wave of the explosion, in the horror, he saw Alyosha standing next to the gun position, and when he tried to dodge, his head was hit by something, and his head was instantly shattered, and when he fell, Peter was horrified to see a stone stained with blood and brains, which fell in front of him less than a large power (about 0.9 meters of Russian-made single).

The shelling did not stop, the shelling continued, and within a few minutes, the fleet accurately dumped hundreds of shells on the batteries on both sides of the bay, and covered the batteries with a rain of steel shells, which had played a role in the invasion of the British and French fleets, and at this time completely lost their combat effectiveness.

For the people on the battery, everything that followed was like a nightmare, the deafening explosion constantly stimulated Peter's eardrums, shocked his brain, in the choking smoke, Peter only felt as if he was in hell, the shell was like the scythe of death, in the explosion of the shell, many soldiers' bodies were shattered, surrounded by a piece of stumps and broken arms, and even together with the heavy cannon, were blown out of the battery in the explosion.

"My God......"

In the smoke of the gunfire, Peter muttered to himself, and in horror he even took the cross out of his coat and prayed there, and as he prayed for God's blessing, he saw the young gunners running in the smoke like madmen, crying and crying.

"Sersha, Sersha......"

In the shouts of another gunner, Peter saw the young, fifteen or sixteen-year-old gunner, suddenly disappear, and where he had stood, there was a huge crater about the size of two weights. In the vicinity of the crater, it seems that several pieces of blood-stained rags can be seen.

"It's hell! This is the wrath of Satan the Devil......"

Alexey, the oldest gunner on the battery, muttered there, hiding behind the breastwork, with a cross in his hand, praying and praying for God's blessing.

He had been through wars, but there had never been any wars like now, as an old gunner, he knew about shells, but he had never seen shells so powerful, and the explosion of those shells was like a huge powder keg exploding, and even the explosive power of the powder keg that was detonated could not be compared to it.

God can't bless everyone, with a sharp whistle, Alexei only felt a sharp heat in his chest, as if he had been hit by something, and then his breathing became difficult, blood flowed from his chest, a small fragment, easily took his life, as his life slowly passed, his eyes were fixed on the fort, as if he wanted to see his comrades around him through the smoke.

Alexander, Ivan, Paul, Alyosha...... Many people died, people's limbs were blown up into the sky in the explosion, and then they were shattered in the air and disappeared as if they had never come to this world, this is hell, because only Satan in hell can do all this...... (To be continued.) )