The "Soryu Maru" suddenly stopped floating, the hull shook, but it was still rapidly retreating, Ito Yu couldn't go up to wipe the blood on his face, rushed to the periscope, raised the periscope, and quickly turned it, observing the surrounding situation.

Ito first saw the "Hiei" and "Kongo" rushing towards this side one after another, and he immediately aimed his periscope at the "Fuso".

In the periscope, the "Fuso" was obviously tilted, and Ito could see the whirlpool created by the underwater water inflow of the ship's hull sucking a government sailor who had fallen into the water, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He knew that the "Fuso" would definitely be finished.

"Did you sink the enemy ship? Sir? Someone asked excitedly.

"The enemy ship has been heavily damaged, and it won't be long before it floats!" Ito replied excitedly.

"Hooray!" Hearing the commander's answer, the sailors in the submarine all shouted excitedly.

Ito suppressed the excitement in his heart, calmed down, and began to determine the route of retreat to prevent collision with the approaching battleship.

Under the command of Ito Yunao, the "Soryu Maru" reversed and retreated for a while, and Ito ordered to stop reversing, and readjusted the course to a forward state.

After determining the course, the "Soryumaru" began to move forward rapidly, and then Ito Yuzhi felt some flowers in front of him, as if there was a Venus flashing around, he thought it was the result of the impact on the head just now, and he didn't care, but when he saw a sailor operating the propeller stick suddenly fall headlong, he realized that something was wrong.

"Tanaka, how are you?" Ito asked aloud.

"I ...... Out of breath! Sir......" replied in a weak voice from the sailor called Tanaka.

Only then did Ito realize that the air inside the submarine had become extremely dirty. He realized that it was because of the victory in the battle that he and everyone were overly excited, forgetting that there was not enough air, and he remembered Lin Yiqing's warning during training (Lin Yiqing actually learned the lesson of the "Henry", of course Ito Yunao would not know), and couldn't help but secretly rejoice in his heart.

"Raise the snorkel!" Ito Yu looked directly at the gauge indicating the depth of the submarine and ordered loudly.

The two sailors stepped forward and shook the crossbar with all their might, raising the snorkel. Suddenly, a cool salty air rushed into the submarine, which lifted the spirits of all the crew.

And at this very moment. There was the rumbling sound of cannon on the sea.

Ito turned the periscope. Immediately, I saw the flames spewing out of the muzzle of the "Hiei".

At this time, on the "Hiei", Izuwa Shigeto saw one shell after another explode on the surface of the "Fuso", and his heart was excited.

This is the most powerful capital ship of the government army, for many days. It has always been a big problem for him and Heihachiro Togo. Right now. At last, it is about to be destroyed.

At this time, due to the continuous intrusion of this seawater, the "Fuso" lost its ability to sail. The ensuing scene was difficult for the people inside the "Soryu Maru" to imagine. The two main turrets of the "Fuso" could not fire back at all because of the tilt of the hull, and only the 75-mm sampan and the Nordenfeld machine guns were struggling to fight back, but the resistance was soon crushed by the powerful artillery fire of the "Hiei" and "King Kong" Due to the continuous tilting of the hull of the "Fuso", the "King Kong" easily hit the canopy of the two Coles turrets with a cannonball, making the two turrets useless, and then the ammunition compartment of the "Fuso" exploded, the hull was further tilted, and the deck was deadly silent, only the Japanese flag on the top of the mast was still fluttering sadly.

On the flybridge of the "King Kong", Saigo Takamori looked at the "Fuso" surrounded by smoke and flames, and his eyes flashed with unbearable color.

"The enemy ships have no resistance left, stop attacking!" Saigo Takamori sighed and said to Togo Heihachiro, "Tell the 'Hiei' to stop attacking and send someone up to take a look." ”

Heihachiro Togo understood Takamori Saigo's intentions and immediately ordered a ceasefire and raised the signal flag, and soon the "Hiei" saw the signal and also stopped shelling.

Soon, a steam sampan of the "Hiei" approached the "Fuso" that was on fire everywhere, and Second Lieutenant Yamazaki, a naval officer of the Satsuma Navy, climbed the bulwark of the "Fuso" with several sailors, and then went up the rope ladder to the top of the mast, tore off the Japanese chapter flag, and raised a "cross maru" military flag.

"The damn ship burned so badly that we couldn't get past it, and it was smoking, and we were choked and coughed in smoke...... However, there was a time when we finally got on board. What a scene that was! Truly, at this very moment, in spite of their despicable behavior, I felt sorry for these poor enemies...... The deck was littered with corpses, some of them were scorched by shells, some were scorched by fire, and some were scalded by the steam coming out of the boiler cracking......" said Second Lieutenant Yamazaki of what he saw.

Just as the officers and men of the Satsuma Navy boarded the "Fuso," the submarine "Soryu Maru" had already approached the shore, and after it surfaced, it was getting late, the sun had completely set, and the sky was gray.

The "Soryu Maru" approached the dock, and Ito and his crew got out of the submarine and breathed in the fresh air outside.

"Look! That's an enemy ship! One of the crew members said, pointing to the fire in the distant sea.

"Yes." Ito nodded calmly.

Ito Yunao and the crew went up to the pier, and when they walked to the shore, they found that Lin Yiqing was standing there waiting for them.

"Everyone is back safely! That's great! Lin Yiqing stepped forward and happily patted Ito Youzhi and the crew on the shoulders in turn, "The enemy ship is finished!" All of you have done a great job! ”

"We've ushered in an era, haven't we? Checkmate? Ito shook his bandaged head. Asked with a happy smile.

"Yes! Ito-kun! Lin Yiqing nodded vigorously and said, "You have created a new era of underwater offensive operations!" You have done wonders! Will go down in history forever! ”

Hearing Lin Yiqing's words of encouragement and praise, Ito Younao and several crew members were so excited that they burst into tears.

For them, such words are better than any reward.

The Battle of Osaka Bay on June 13, 9079 (the 5th year of the Great Dry Mitsui, the 12th year of the Meiji era of Japan) finally ended with the complete destruction of the "Fuso".

In this fierce naval battle, which lasted for a whole day, the Meiji government navy lost its last main ironclad ship, the Fuso, which killed 121 officers and 52 wounded. A total of 117 people, including Rear Admiral Yoshishin Inoue and Captain Tsuboi Kosansa, were captured. The Satsuma Navy, on the other hand, won this crucial naval battle at the cost of losing three pole mineboats, seriously wounding one pole mineboat, damaging one ironclad ship, and killing 105 officers and men and wounding 79 others.

The Battle of Osaka Bay was a crucial battle for both warring parties. Because if this battle the Satsuma army loses. then the sea route will inevitably be cut off. Not only will the navy lose its previous dominant position, but the army's actions will also be greatly restricted; For the government forces, the defeat of the naval battle meant that the Meiji government was in a desperate counterattack. The army lost naval support and cover, laying the groundwork for a total rout that followed.

In this naval battle, both warring sides performed well, the Satsuma army, in order to sink the "Fuso", adopted a variety of tactics, while dispatching the main ironclad ships, new weapons such as pole mineboats and submarines took turns to go into battle, and used fishing nets to entangle the propellers of the "Fuso", and finally won, showing that the Satsuma army has novel tactics and is good at using new tactics to fight; On the part of the government forces, the "Fuso" not only cleared the coastal batteries of the Satsuma Army with the strength of a single ship, but also engaged two ironclad ships, four pole mineboats, and one submarine of the Satsuma Navy, and sank three enemy pole mineboats one after another.

The destruction of the "Fuso" meant that the Meiji government navy completely lost its sea supremacy, and the initiative in the war was in the hands of the Satsuma army, and the defeat in the naval battle of Osaka Bay directly led to the rout of the Meiji government army on the battlefield.

The day after the destruction of the "Fuso", the news of the defeat had already been transmitted back to the headquarters of the landed government forces (the "Rushing Army" because the battle was carried out behind the enemy's flank). When Gentaro Kodama learned of this, the chief of staff of the "Okika Army" ordered a blockade of news, and in order to stabilize the morale of the army, he suggested continuing the offensive, and on June 14, the 5th and 6th Brigades of the "Okika Army" stepped up their advance, and the Tosa Samurai unit in the Satsuma Army detected that the government's brigade reinforcements were heading north, so they reported to the staff headquarters, which attracted great attention from the staff headquarters. After discussion, Lin Yiqing decided to set up a defensive line in the area of Inaku-Aoyama Town to block the government army. Aoyama Town is a difficult terrain and is the only way to enter Osaka westward (it is also called "Jigokucho" because of the fierce fighting that broke out here during the Southwest War), Sasa Yubo, who joined the first team of the Osaka team at that time, said in the "Battle Shirt Diary": "Gu Aoyama Town is the choke point of Nishiyama, and if you win, you will win, and if you lose, you will lose." The so-called battleground of the soldiers is also. As in the past, the Tenwang Mountain of the Battle of Yamazaki was destroyed. ”

The plan of the Satsuma army was to first occupy Aoyama Town, use it as an advance position, advance to the south bank of the West River on the 14th, and cross the river into Aoyama on the 15th. However, what they did not expect was that the government troops entered Qingshan first at dawn on the 15th and built a breastwork on the riverbank. At 4 p.m., fighting broke out between the two sides. Three squadrons of the Satsuma Army attacked from upstream, while Sasa Tomobo's unit crossed the river from nearby and attacked the government forces in front of them. The battle didn't last long before it was suspended as night fell. During the night, the Satsuma Army abandoned its makeshift position and retreated to Bito. On that day, government forces killed 325 and wounded 92; The Satsuma Army suffered nearly 300 casualties.

The next day, fighting first broke out in the area of Kabayashi. This was due to the fact that the 5th and 6th brigades of the government army advanced one after another, one of them marched towards Kabayashi, and the remaining troops were divided into two groups, the first group was commanded by Tanabe Daisa, and the second group was commanded by Hasegawa Daisa, which marched in the direction of Kashiwagi and Aoyama respectively. And relatively. The Satsuma Army engaged three squadrons under the command of Koshiyama Shuzo in the front, as well as the Sasa, Fukano, and Sugino teams of the Osaka defenders. In addition, three squadrons led by Kodama Qiangnosuke set up positions between Nishi-Aoyama. The main forces of the Satsuma army began to assemble near Inako.

Tanabe Daisa's First Group began its operations at 4 a.m., and Hasegawa Osa's Second Group began its sortie at 5:30 a.m. They crossed the West River, and the First Group spread out in the fields, facing the three squadrons that crossed the mountains and hid in Tibet; The second group faced the Osaka forces on the plains to the west. At noon, the 1st Guards Infantry Wing under the 5th Brigade joined the 1st Group on the left flank. The three squads that crossed the mountain did not support and retreated towards Kashiwagi. Government forces blazed their horns in pursuit, and the two squadrons of Tsumori and Takai even pursued them to the area around Isezaka. On the right flank, the Osaka team was also under the pressure of Hasegawa Shosa's second group. Abandonment of positions. Flee to Isezaka. However, at 3 p.m., Major General Miura Gokaku, commander of the 6th Brigade, unexpectedly ordered a retreat, which made the officers and men of the 14th Wing, who had finally tasted victory, very dissatisfied. And promised that tomorrow the 14th Wing would be the vanguard. This caused the 14th Wing to retreat.

During the battle of the day. The 14th Wing suffered 249 killed, 155 wounded, and 72 missing; The 1st Guards Wing suffered a total of 304 casualties; The 5th Brigade lost 122 people. 564 people were injured. It wasn't easy to win.

So why did Major General Miura Gokaku order a retreat when the situation was favorable? This was probably due to a telegram from a friend in the county at 4:30 a.m. that morning. It is mentioned that it is rumored that the Satsuma army is good at copying from the back, so he asked Major General Miura Gokaku to strictly defend it, especially to beware of the night attack of the Satsuma army.

The Satsuma army was very dissatisfied with the battle on the 16th, so they decided to attack on the 17th and capture Aoyama in one fell swoop. To this end, a total of 14 squadrons of the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th and 7th Combined Brigades, about 7,800 people, were put into operation. It was divided into three clusters: on the right flank were three squadrons led by Shiro Ikegami, which moved south along the Izumo River from Kashiwagi and attacked the flank of Aoyama; The central breakthrough team was 6 squadrons of Nomura Shinosuke, attacking government forces from the Shiroyama side; On the left flank, Murata Shinhachi's five squadrons departed from Ise and split into two routes after passing through Meikura, one advancing from Ogawa downstream of the Izumo River to Kai Plain, and the other attacking Aoyama from the south from Tokushoji Temple and Hiranotsu. "History of the Southwest War" once wrote: "In the Battle of Castle Peak on the 17th, the three famous generals of the Satsuma Army, each with their own elite, fought in one fell swoop. ”

The government reconnaissance team detected the movements of the Satsuma army, so according to intelligence, the government army sent two brigades, one to garrison Aoyama, and the other to the right flank of the Satsuma army, to flank the Satsuma army. The Satsuma army, which had no idea what was happening, fell into a trap carefully arranged by the government forces, and was attacked by a fierce flank while crossing the river, and immediately fell into confusion, and the soldiers could only find shelter and fight back on their own. The government army launched several counter-attacks, which were also broken by the Satsuma army. The battle was fierce, and the "Diary of the Battleshirt" recorded: "The next day, the enemy (government army) was also good at fighting. The shouts of the two armies were mixed with the sound of artillery, which shook the heavens and the earth, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the sky, covering the sky, and the sun was dark. "The fighting continued into the afternoon, and the situation gradually turned against the government forces. At this time, Major General Kurokawa of the 5th Brigade arrived from the north, and he reinforced the 14th Wing with 3 mountain guns, and the 14th Wing took advantage of the situation to launch an attack from the mountains of Chiba Village, and attacked from three sides with the 2nd and 3rd Brigades, and the 6th Brigade also sent a brigade to go around to the left side of the Satsuma Army and cut off its retreat. At six o'clock, Lin Yiqing led 6 squadrons of Satsuma troops to help, and the government army finally lost its support and retreated on all fronts, and the battle of Qingshan finally ended with the defeat of the government army. The government army lost nearly 2,000 troops, and Major General Miura Gokaku was killed in the battle that day, which was a heavy blow to the government army. However, the Satsuma army also paid a considerable price for this, with more than 3,000 casualties that day, and Shiro Ikegami and Shinosuke Nomura were both wounded in the battle.

The significance of the Battle of Aoyama lies in the fact that it reversed the offensive and defensive posture of the entire battle. Although the Satsuma Army's previous counterattack against the attack on Osaka by the Okika Army was ineffective, the government forces maintained an offensive until the Battle of Aoyama. After the Battle of Castle Peak, due to the defeat of the government navy, it lost its sea control and could not reach the rear, so the "rushing back army" turned to the defensive, and from then on it defended again and again, and could no longer reverse the situation of passive defense until it failed. However, at this time, the Satsuma army was still far from complete victory, and what awaited them in front was the bloody battle of Isezaka.

After the defeat in the First Battle of Aoyama, the "Rushing Army" retreated to the line of Isezaka, Kada, and Yamakawa, and ceded the right to attack to the Satsuma Army. And the Satsuma army also rested for a while and did not rush to attack. In this way, the two warring sides have spent the past few days in relative peace. On June 22, Major General Kurokawa (both brigades were temporarily under his command because of Major General Miura's death) decided to "divide the 5th and 6th brigades in Aoyama Tun into two main branches, and attack in a big way tomorrow." ”

On June 23, it was stormy. The government army was still resting, and the Satsuma army had already advanced in two directions in the rain and rushed to the front of the government army. (To be continued......)

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