February 13, 3:30 a.m.

"Cannonballs!"

The mournful shouts of the soldiers on the observation post at the top of the pillbox made An Sihua frown, and the staff officers behind him subconsciously wanted to hide back in the bunker, but they could see that the commander of the theater was still standing upright, holding a telescope and looking at the flames that exploded in the guns of the Japanese ships in the distance.

They had no choice but to pretend not to be afraid and continue to stay outside the bunker.

A few seconds later, wave after wave of cannonballs dragged orange-red light to fall around the Huludao fortress, accompanied by huge mushroom clouds, and the fortress position was already as if it had been hit by a meteorite, and a shocking crater appeared!

Suddenly, a huge 356-mm cannonball flew over with the sound of a train dragging in, and landed right on a spectacle fort, and the steel and concrete fortress was completely erased from this world like paper paste under such shells! The dozen or so soldiers inside barely could even shout, and their bodies were torn apart by the explosion, turning into pieces of broken flesh and being thrown high into the sky.

This scene almost frightened the staff officers behind An Sihua.

The huge guns of the Japanese ships were so powerful that although the defenders of Huludao had been working for two months with the assistance of an engineer brigade, in the face of this kind of huge shells of millimeter caliber pouring down as if they didn't want money, this hastily built fortress in Huludao was obviously no different from paper paste! The only thing to be thankful for now is that due to the freezing off Huludao and the deployment of thousands of mines by the navy, the Japanese battleships could not get too close to the fortress, so the accuracy of the shelling was not too high.

However, as soon as the dense shells fell, An Sihua looked around, and the southeast area of the entire Huludao fortress seemed to be shrouded in gunsmoke, with black smoke and fire rising everywhere, and the Huludao airport area and the theater headquarters where the Japanese shelled the most fiercely had turned into ruins at this time, if the headquarters and the 2nd Aviation Division were not transferred in time, maybe he would have turned into a rain of blood like the soldiers in the glasses fort at this moment.

The cannonballs continued to fall, and the heavy artillery began to return fire, and the cannons dominated the entire battlefield, and countless shells pierced each other over the low mountains and frozen seas. However, An Sihua did not have much hope for the fortress artillery, and he knew in his heart that the possibility of hitting the Japanese battleship more than ten kilometers away with four 280-mm shore defense guns and a 380-mm train shell was almost zero. Moreover, the power of the 280-mm shore defense guns was not enough to cause fatal damage to the battleship, only the 380-mm cannon could sink the Japanese battleship, but with the slow rate of fire of the train guns, plus a hit rate of at most five out of a day, I am afraid that it will not hit one in a day! In fact, the purpose of these five cannons was not to sink the Japanese warships, but to attract their firepower while not getting too close to the fortress.

In fact, An Sihua was not too worried about the Japanese bombardment of the fortress, and the materials stored in the fortress have now either been transferred to Qinhuangdao or moved to several valleys north of the fortress. The infantry, on the other hand, were well fortified and would not suffer casualties unless they were directly hit by heavy shells of 200 mm or more...... It is impossible to hit a few shots at such an indiscriminate fire on the distant sea. His biggest headache is the offensive that the Japanese Army is about to start, and this kind of coordinated naval and land operations is the nightmare of every fortress defender! Japanese naval guns could be used to suppress their own artillery, while Japanese army artillery could accurately fire at the fortifications on the defensive line of Tower Hill on the periphery of the fortress under the guidance of infantry!

It would be nice if the submarines could rush to the sea off Huludao to attack the Japanese fleet again when the Japanese army began to attack.

An Sihua raised his binoculars, widened his eyes, and took a closer look at the Japanese fleet that was slowly sailing in an artillery formation. Looking at their orderly formation, you can see how the eighteen submarines that have not been attacked and still have torpedoes have not yet arrived!

With a loud "boom", a 380-mm giant shell fell fifty meters away on the starboard side of the battleship "Hyuga", and a ten-meter-high column of water rose into the air, and a huge wave even spread to the deck!

Whether it was the commander of the fleet, Koichi Shiozawa, the captain of the "Hyuga", Keitaro Hara, and even all the officers and men of the first foreign fleet of the Japanese army, they were all hit by this "Hyuga"

The shells were startled. If this shell hits the "Hyuga", it will at least be a heavy damage, and it may even sink this giant ship of more than 30,000 tons directly!

As soon as Shiozawa saw the huge explosion of this landslide, he knew that this was not a 280-mm caliber shell, and even the 356-mm shell of the "Hyuga" did not have such a power, according to public information, this should be a 380 of the "Karl Marx" class battleship

Millimeter-like cannons are firing at their own fleet! And this giant cannon must have been transported to Huludao by a train cannon through the area controlled by the G7 of China!

"Eight squares! These China o. The conscience is greatly broken! Shiozawa cursed in a low voice, raised the telescope in his hand and carefully observed the Taishan Mountain opposite.

"Your Excellency, the huge artillery of the Chinese army should be placed in Taishan Shanyin, and rely on the cover of Taishan to avoid the blow of the naval artillery." A staff officer immediately analyzed the location of the Kuomintang canine artillery.

"Shiozawa-kun, order the fleet to concentrate its firepower to bombard the artillery positions of the Shina Army behind Taishan!" Chief of Staff Yoshida Zengo looked at the mountain peaks looming in the distance, and his eyes burned red. 380

The millimeter cannon is no joke! If one is not careful, let the "Hyuga" next to each other, maybe it will be sunk, so that two battleships will be lost in two days! How will I explain to China after I go back?

Hearing the advice of the chief of staff of the fleet, Shiozawa Yuichi gritted his teeth, slowly raised a hand, paused in the air for a long time, and finally waved slightly: "Order the fleet to prepare to shell Tower Hill!"

As for the 380-mm cannon of the China, let him go! ”

What the? Casual enemy heavy artillery bombardment of expensive battleships ?! Yoshida Zengo and several staff officers on the bridge were stunned when they heard this, and just wanted to open their mouths to dissuade them, but Shiota sighed lightly and explained: "Compared with that cannon, the submarine of the Shina people is more dangerous!" They're coming at any moment, we don't have much time, and I can't believe it was all their submarines that attacked us three hours ago. Well, that's it, according to the original plan, began to transfer fire to bombard Tower Hill.

After half an hour of shelling, the fleet turned and withdrew to Yingkou. ”

Shiozawa Koichi's judgment is undoubtedly accurate, and at present, there are eighteen submarines of the Kuomintang army heading towards the sea off Huludao at full speed! The number is three times that of the six submarines of the first detachment personally commanded by Zhang Yiming! If Shiozawa's fleet had stayed off Huludao before then, the consequences would have been catastrophic!

The sound of artillery gradually thinned out, and Lieutenant General Liu Fei, chief of staff of the theater, who was originally sitting in the Taishan shelter, did not know when he walked behind An Sihua, who was still watching the battle.

"Sir An, it seems that the Japanese ships have stopped shelling, has our submarine arrived?"

Liu Fei also raised his binoculars and began to look at the sea, only to see more than 20 Japanese warships lined up in two columns, as if they were turning a corner on the sea.

An Sihua's eyebrows were furrowed tightly, four 280 mm shore defense guns and one 380 mm train gun were still firing unhurriedly, and the Japanese fleet that was turning around kept shells falling, and the water injection was raised high again and again, but the Japanese ships ignored it, just turned the bow of the ship, so as to turn the side side in the direction of Tower Hill.

"They're going to get ready to shell the Tower Hill line! These Japanese navy are really ruthless characters, and they actually ignore our shore artillery. God promises, if only I could hit one."

"Boom ......"

A 280-mm shell struck the sea like lightning and slammed into the top of the No. 2 turret in the bow of the battleship "Hyuga". Shiozawa, who was watching the battle from the bridge, happened to be fortunate enough to witness this terrible scene, Shiozawa only saw the top of the twin turret explode, like an inflated balloon, and then turned into a dazzling ball of fire, the entire battleship seemed to be kicked hard, and the violent vibration almost threw Shiozawa off the bridge, but fortunately a powerful hand grabbed him. However, Shiozawa didn't have the heart to see who saved his life at the moment. The only thing he was concerned about now was the second turret.

At a distance of 15,000 meters, using the most advanced Krupp technology, the 280 mm SKC/30 naval gun manufactured by Krupp Maanshan Iron and Steel Company can penetrate 320 mm thick armor! Don't be on top of the relatively thin turret "Hyuga", even the front of the turret with a thickness of 305 mm can't help but be hit like this! The 320-kilogram shell burrowed through the top of the turret and exploded inside, reducing the entire crew to ashes.

After the smoke cleared, Shiozawa's heart seemed to be pierced by something, only to see a huge hole open at the top of the huge No. 2 turret, orange flames were constantly pouring out from the hole, and the fierce Da Cangen may be spreading to the ammunition depot under the turret,........., Shiozawa shook his hand, stretched out to his jacket pocket, a neat silk handkerchief was pulled out, and his trembling hand swept this handkerchief across his forehead, wiping off a few drops of cold sweat that had just gushed out, was stuffed back in a panic again.

"Your Excellency" Hinata, captain of the ship, Keitaro Hara, reported that the fire in the second turret was fierce and difficult to extinguish, and in order to prevent the fire from spreading to the ammunition compartment, he had ordered the injection of seawater into the ammunition compartment. Chief of Staff Yoshida Zengo said to Shiozawa in a slightly trembling voice.

"Fire, fire! We need to fight back! I don't know if he was frightened or angry by the five guns that kept firing at the back of Taishan, Shiozawa Koichi suddenly pointed to the ridge in the distance and shouted: "Let the "Kongo" and "Kirishima be responsible for shelling the artillery positions of the Shina people"...... Hinata, "Kako,

"Aoba, number, "Kinugasa, responsible for bombarding the Tayama defense line of the Shina Army! Seeing that the Japanese ship formation was divided into two teams on the sea, An Sihua put down the telescope in his hand and sighed softly: "Thank God, those big guys have finally played a role, and the two "King Kong, class was attracted over." There were only ten 356 mm cannons and eighteen 200 mm cannons left on the tower hill side. Then he threw the telescope to the adjutant and smiled at Liu Fei: "Let's go down and dodge the shells, I don't want to be killed by a 356-mm shell that doesn't have long eyes." ”

When the Japanese began shelling the Tashan defensive line, Senior General Li Zongren, commander of the First Group Army, which was in charge of operations on the western Liaoning Corridor, looked out from the artillery observation post on the top of Gelizi Mountain, about six kilometers behind the Tashan defensive line.

In the dark night sky, a burst of yellow light suddenly flashed. The western sky suddenly lit up like lightning, and then there was a thunderous sound, and finally the earth shook violently! With a terrible scream, thousands of cannonballs exploded almost simultaneously all over the fortifications. One by one, the orange explosions that burst out in the night lit up and sparkled on the plains of Tashan Township, where there were no mountains at all. The cannonballs were so dense that there were no more than a few of them, and occasionally there were huge cannonballs flying from the sea in the distance, dragging out bursts of roars like landslides and cracks in the air, falling to the ground, and the whole earth was violently shaken!

Li Zongren made a rough estimate and felt that this time the Japanese army had dispatched at least 1,000 artillery pieces to violently bombard the Tashan defense line that was only ten kilometers wide and was garrisoned by the 11th Division! The density of this firepower should have exceeded the density of the shelling of the French and German armies in the Battle of Versailles? And he also has a powerful artillery in his hands, including an artillery brigade belonging to the National Revolutionary Army, six divisional artillery regiments, twelve brigade artillery battalions and twenty-four regimental artillery companies, a total of 132 artillery companies, in addition to two Jin Army artillery regiments and a youth army artillery regiment, with a total of nine cannons, which is only slightly less than the Japanese army in number, but it has an advantage over large-caliber artillery.

However, at present, the artillery counterattack of the Kuomintang side was very weak, and the nine artillery pieces did not dare to fire at the same time, but the 36 heavy artillery batteries equipped with 150 mm were divided into six groups and took turns firing to counterattack the Japanese artillery positions...... In the face of the Japanese army, which had one battleship and three heavy cruisers to help in the battle, the Kuomintang army finally tasted what it was like to have suppressed firepower!

However, Li Zongren was not too worried about the infantry who were sticking to the fortifications, and the 11th Division had been rushing to repair the fortifications all the time for more than two months, and the entire Tashan defense line had been impregnable. The infantry should now take refuge in strong anti-artillery fortifications, which will not be too damaging if they are directly hit by 150 mm shells. His only concern now was the focus of the Japanese artillery bombardment, by which he could judge the focus of their attack. His biggest headache is actually the lack of troops, now he only has four Kuomintang integrated divisions and three miscellaneous divisions (Jin Army, Youth Army) on hand, from the analysis of the fire of the Japanese artillery bombardment, they have at least eight divisions in front of Huludao! And according to intelligence, the Japanese army also concentrated a powerful tank wing in front of Huludao, and it is very likely that they will use tanks to cooperate with infantry to carry out a breakthrough! In order to deal with these "powerful Japanese tanks", Li Zongren ordered the anti-tank artillery battalions of the three Kuomintang divisions deployed on the mountainous defense line of the second line and the northern front to be concentrated, with a total of 54 37-mm anti-tank guns, and this force was to be used in a decisive direction! Give the Japanese tanks a head-on attack.

The information about the "powerful Japanese tank" was obtained from Yoshiko 11 Island by Bai Siwen, the head of the Kuomintang spy who was lurking in Shenyang, and the tank, named the "Type 89 Medium Tank," was put into trial production in April 1929. Its total combat weight is as high as 11.5 tons, which is 1.5 tons heavier than the No. 1 tank used by the Kuomintang army now! The artillery even used a 37

A millimeter caliber tank gun is more powerful than the 20 mm cannon of Tank No. 1!

At this moment, behind the Japanese battle line opposite the Tashan defense line, next to a hidden wood, there were 124 taels of Type 89 medium tanks arranged neatly! And the same number of armored vehicles.

In addition, there were 4,000 Japanese officers and soldiers who were fully prepared to go out in front of these tanks, munching on what might be the last meal of their lives.

I don't know if it was the unprecedented heavy shelling, or the more than a dozen tanks behind them that boosted the morale of these elite infantry drawn from the 4th Sendai Infantry Wing and the 16th Nitta Wing. The Japanese junior officers standing in front of their respective queues all looked satisfied, and greeted each other loudly: "Kudansakami! "Martial arts are long!" These guys all belong to the elite 1st and 2nd Divisions of the Japanese Army, and their mission this time is to protect the tanks behind them that break through the strong defense line of the Chinese army! Even if it is at the cost of your life, you must protect the safety of the tank! Because they were told that as long as these chariots broke into the positions of the Shina Army, the Empire of Japan would be able to win this great war that would affect the fortunes of the country.

Wing Commander Toshimi Maeda of the 1st Tank Wing of Japan was wearing a tank soldier's fur jacket, a fur hat on his head, and a sword belonging to Maeda's family, and was giving the final order to the squadron leaders of each tank squadron before attacking with a straight face. Whether they can break through the strong defense line of the Kuomintang army, open the way for the follow-up troops to advance, and save the declining national fortunes of the Great Japanese Empire depends on their chariot wing, which has spent a huge amount of money on the people's fat and people's anointment! In this regard, Maeda is full of confidence in the sixteenth generation of the Maeda family, who has the title of marquis