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"Boom! Rumble! "Two shells exploded in the crowd, and a group of British troops who were rushing to the front line positions failed, and were blown into the air. Shrapnel was everywhere, wantonly harvesting the defeated lives of the British troops around them. The four 'Xia-class' cruisers on the sea were firing at the maximum rate of fire at the moment, intercepting the British* troops as much as possible, so that the Chinese marines could land smoothly. As long as the Chinese marines can land on the beach safely, with the powerful firepower of the Chinese* army, it will not be difficult to gain a foothold on the beach. When the time comes, the follow-up Marines will be able to go ashore in a steady stream. If the British wanted to drive the Chinese* troops into the sea, it would be impossible.

"Damn, those guys in the navy, why can't they win sea supremacy for us, otherwise, it won't be like this!" Major General Donald, commander of the 42nd Division of the British Army, said angrily. The British Navy's Indian fleet took the initiative to force it back, and lightly ceded the sea control in the Burma Sea and the eastern Bay of Bengal to the Chinese Navy. You know, in the British* army system, it has always been the navy that suppresses the army. The navy also takes the lion's share of military spending every year. However, in recent years, especially in the face of the Chinese* army, the navy's repeated fiascos have made the army generals complain a lot about this unfair phenomenon.

In order for the British troops to rush to the positions of the front, they had to pass through the blockade of the naval guns of the Chinese Navy. And this process has to pay a huge price. The power of the ship's guns is strong. It can tear the human body to pieces lightly. Many British soldiers fell on the way to attack. On the beach, there are bomb craters of all sizes. and severed limbs scattered around.

Even so, quite a few British soldiers passed through the artillery blockade of the Chinese Navy and entered the front line. They set up mortars and began shelling the landing craft of the Chinese marines on the sea. The shells exploded on the surface of the sea, splashing columns of water. This is actually the most dangerous time before the Marines go ashore. Wooden landing craft with little defense. Once hit by artillery fire. There is only one consequence, and that is the ship's wreckage and death.

The four 'Xia-class' warships of the Chinese Navy hurriedly divided two and began shelling the front-line positions of the British army again. Suppress the fire of the British troops. The other two 'Xia-class' battleships continued to fire at the depth of the British defenses.

At 1:56 p.m., the first landing craft washed up on the beach. It's just that the soldiers above haven't had time to jump off the boat yet. A mortar shell hit the landing craft alone. Shells exploded. The landing craft was blown to pieces, and the soldiers of a squad on it also suffered heavy casualties.

"Dada, dada!" Chinese marines, each company is armed with a heavy machine gun. These heavy machine guns, all mounted on the bow of the landing craft, began to fire fiercely at the British positions after entering the firing range. Dense bullets hit through. Bring the British soldiers out of the trenches, ready to fire. Beat into a honeycomb. After the war in Japan, the performance of the heavy machine gun has been tested, and the Chinese army and marines plan to further equip their units with this new weapon. Equip at least to the platoon level. In addition, the arsenal has also begun to develop light machine guns. It is expected that it will not be long before the troops can be assembled. At that time, each squad will be equipped with a light machine gun, which will make the firepower of the Chinese army and marines more powerful.

As more and more landing craft landed, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the Chinese Marine Corps began to launch a counterattack. Mortars were erected and began to fire at the British. Although the landed force was only one battalion, the firepower was stronger than that of a regiment of the British army. The British army did not have heavy machine guns, the rifles were also single-shot rifles, and the mortars were also imitations of the mortars of the Chinese * army, although they were similar in performance, but in terms of rate of fire, they could not be compared with the standard equipment of the Chinese * army.

There were not many marines in a battalion, but the British had to go through the artillery blockade of the Chinese Navy to reinforce the front line. In the process, the British army will pay a heavy price. So much so that the troops that arrived at the front line simply could not suppress the Chinese marines.

After the successful landing of the 1st Battalion, Major General Peng Mingqiang, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the Chinese Marine Corps, ordered the remaining 4 battalions of the 2nd Brigade to land in turn. Now is the time to expand the gains and establish a beachhead.

Of course, the British army will not sit still. Major General Donald, commander of the 42nd Division of the British Army, saw that the troops could not suppress the Chinese marines, so he hurriedly sent a regiment of troops up again to reinforce them. The artillery of the 42nd Division had already been lost in the previous days. However, the military department temporarily transferred an artillery battalion from the direct unit to support, and this artillery battalion was equipped with 18 3.7-inch cannons.

Originally, Major General Donald intended to use these artillery again at the most critical time, but now the situation on the beach is more critical, and it will not be so easy to repel the attack of the Chinese * army if it is not possible to repel the landing of the Chinese marines and let them gain a foothold. Therefore, Major General Donald decisively ordered, and the artillery battalion opened fire, shelling the beach with all its might, as well as those landing craft of the Chinese marines on the sea. Of course, there is also a lot of risk in doing so. This artillery battalion is the last family in the hands of Major General Donald, and once it is exhausted, his division will no longer receive artillery support.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The British artillery battalion deployed behind a sand dune opened fire, and 18 3.7-inch cannons began to fire at the beach and the sea according to the previously marked firing elements.

"Whew! Shout! Shout! "One cannonball after another, piercing the air, making that sound that almost punctures people's eardrums.

"Shelling, lie down!" The officers and men of the Chinese Marine Corps, who were firing at the British troops, immediately lay down on the beach.

"Boom! Rumble! "The shells exploded around them, and the mountains shook for a while. Those who were slightly unlucky had already been killed by enemy shelling. In addition, some shells fell on the surface of the sea, splashing columns of water.

The sudden appearance of artillery by the British army startled the Chinese* army. In particular, Rear Admiral Lu Haipeng, commander of the 5th Fleet of the Chinese Navy, was even more red-faced, as he said before, the British artillery had been destroyed by them. But what about the cannons that are popping up now?

"The British guy of the dog day, how dare you ambush Lao Tzu? Turn the muzzle and take out the British artillery first! Major General Lu Haipeng ordered viciously. The British are slapping him in the face, and Major General Lu Haipeng, who has always valued face, of course quit.

The watchman on the mast quickly found the position of the British artilleryman and informed the gunners below in guò flag.

The naval guns on the cruiser 'Xia Qi' immediately began to adjust. Two minutes later, the two 155-mm guns in the bow of the cruiser 'Xia Qi' opened fire first, followed by other naval guns. Three other 'Xia-class' cruisers soon joined in. Dense shells fell around the artillery positions of the British troops, blowing up sand and rocks.

Even the British artillery positions were deployed behind a sand dune, but under the heavy shelling of the four 'Xia-class' cruisers of the Chinese Navy, it paid a considerable price. In less than 10 minutes of heavy shelling, more than five artillery pieces were destroyed, and many more artillery pieces were killed and wounded. After receiving this report of battle damage, Major General Donald had to order the artillery to withdraw from the battle in order to preserve his strength, so as not to lose the last of his family's wealth.

At this time, the battalions of the 2nd Marine Brigade of the Chinese Marine Corps had already landed on the beach one after another. As more and more troops landed, the superiority of the firepower of the Chinese* army was fully exploited. Even if the 42nd Division of the British Army committed two regiments of troops, it could not suppress the Chinese marines. On the contrary, under the heavy fire of the Chinese marines, the losses were heavy.

After gaining a foothold on the beach, the Chinese marines, supported by the artillery fire of the battleships on the sea, began to attack the British positions. In order to occupy a solid beachhead, the British troops had to be driven out of this stretch of beach. After the British artillery retreated, the four 'Xia-class' cruisers of the Chinese Navy once again vented all their firepower on the British infantry, which made the British even more miserable.

The battle was very fierce, and both sides fought to the death in order to control the beach, and both paid a heavy price for this. I have to admit that before the rise of the Chinese Empire, the British Navy was the first in the world, and although the British Army was not as famous as the Navy, it was not bad. This battle was undoubtedly the most difficult battle since the formation of the Chinese Marine Corps.

Fierce fighting continued until 4 p.m., when the 2nd Brigade of the Chinese Marine Corps broke through the British lines. Seeing that the defensive line was broken, in order not to be completely annihilated by the Chinese marines, Major General Donald, commander of the 42nd Division of the British Army, had to order the front-line troops to retreat. The two regiments that were put into the warship before, more than 6,000 people, but only half of them were left after retreating. The rest of the people have already died on the beach. Similarly, although the 2nd Marine Brigade of the Chinese Army defeated the British and took control of the beach, it also paid a heavy price for it. The casualties reached thousands of people. In particular, the 1st Battalion, which landed first, lost more than half. (To be continued......)