The shelling of the Imperial Navy lasted only half an hour. However, in this half hour, the battleships of the Imperial Navy fired 1,500 343-mm main gun shells alone. Combined with the other secondary shells, at least 20,000 shells were fired in total. This inflicted unimaginable heavy losses on the 29th Division of the Japanese Army. For them, that half an hour was like a year.

After the end of the shelling, the place where the Japanese 29th Division was assembled was full of large and small craters. The large crater was shot by the 343 mm gun. The small crater was made by an 88mm rapid-fire gun. Although the 88-mm rapid-fire gun is not very powerful, for the fragile human body, the 88-mm shell can still tear it to pieces.

The officers and men of the 29th Division of the Japanese Army suffered extremely heavy losses, and there were stumps and broken arms everywhere, and even human body debris. The Japanese officers and soldiers who were lucky not to be killed, but were seriously injured by the bombing, fell to the ground and howled miserably.

The baggage of the Japanese army was destroyed a lot. Many guns and artillery were destroyed in the shelling. It can be said that the fierce shelling of the 29th Division in the first half hour directly caused extremely heavy losses to the 29th Division.

Lieutenant General An Manqin walked out of his hiding place and looked at the troops ravaged by the Chinese Navy's artillery fire, and could not help but feel very sad and indignant. The Chinese* army is so despicable that it is simply unscrupulous to use the navy to fight the Japanese army. If it were to fight hard with the Chinese army, Lieutenant General An Manqin believed that they would never pay such a big loss.

The current Lieutenant General An Manqin no longer mentions the slogan of attacking the city of Tokoname and driving the Chinese* army into the sea. He knew that this was simply impossible. Next, the Chinese* army did not take the opportunity to attack them, and it was all a blessing.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander. Are we going to attack Tokoname? Wing Commander of the 50th Infantry Wing, Yoshihiko Hirose, asked.

"Yaga! It was you, an idiot, who lost Tokoname City, that caused us to be bombarded by the Shina people. Now, you still have the face to say cool things. Lieutenant General An Manqin was furious. He thinks that this is Hirose Jihiko Nakasa taking the opportunity to mock him, which naturally makes him angry.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander. I don't dare to do it. Hirose Jihiko Nakasa was startled and hurriedly apologized. He was very aggrieved, he didn't dare to mock Lieutenant General An Manqin at all! The army was originally a place with a high hierarchy. Subordinates must be absolutely obedient to their superiors. This is especially true in the Japanese Army. Superiors can arbitrarily punish subordinates, and subordinates have no other way than to endure them. Hirose Jihiko Nakasa's previous words definitely did not mock Yasamsu Qinichi, he was just asking. After all. Before the shelling of the Chinese Navy, Lieutenant General Yamitsu Chinichi asked the 50th Infantry Wing and the 58th Infantry Wing to attack Tokoname City together. However, he did not notice that the Japanese 29th Division suffered heavy losses under the heavy shelling of the Chinese Navy, which made Lieutenant General An Manqin angry. And Hirose Jihiko Nakasa bumped into it himself, and it undoubtedly became the best target for Lieutenant General An Manqin to vent his anger.

"Yaga!" The anger in Lieutenant General Yamanqin's heart has not yet been vented, and he directly slapped Hirose Ji Hiko Nakasa. A few slaps down. The corners of Hirose Yoshihiko Nakasa's mouth were bloodied, and even two teeth were knocked out. A face is even more swollen like a pig's head. But even so, Hirose Jihiko Nakasa didn't dare to have the slightest dissatisfaction, so he could only grit his teeth and bear it.

"Get out! Go back and prepare your troops, ready to defend at any time. After a while, Lieutenant General An Manqin finished venting the anger in his heart.

"Hi. Your Excellency Division Commander. Hirose Jihiko Osa hurriedly saluted, and then fled without looking back.

"Send a telegram to the Command, tell the Command what happened to us now, and ask for instructions on what to do next." Lieutenant General An Manqin 1 ordered. Obviously, they still want to attack Tokoname. That's undoubtedly unrealistic.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander." The communications officer immediately went to send a telegram.

The Japanese 29th Division was crippled, depriving it of the ability to attack Tokoname, which also allowed the Imperial Army to land calmly. The 4th Army, the 1st Infantry Division and the 19th Infantry Division of the Imperial Army were the first to disembark, followed by the 4th Armored Brigade, the 4th Artillery Brigade, the 4th Cavalry Brigade, and the headquarters of the Imperial Army. Finally, there were the other three infantry divisions and other direct units of the army group.

Thanks to the protection of the navy, the Imperial Army's 4th Army was able to disembark overnight, and the entire port area of Tokoname City was brightly lit, so there was no need to worry about being attacked by the Japanese army. As long as the main forces of the 4th Army can disembark, then the next step is to advance along the coastal plain of Ise Bay to Nagoya. If the Japanese want to resist the attack of the Imperial Army, they will not only need to contend with the elite troops of the Imperial Army, but also need to face the powerful artillery attack of the Imperial Navy.

It can be said that in the decisive battle near Ise Bay, the Imperial Army, with the support of the navy, was undoubtedly strengthened. The heavy artillery bombardment of the Imperial Navy was enough to clear any obstacle for the Imperial Army. Unless the Japanese Army withdrew from the range of the Imperial Navy's naval guns. But, is this possible? Most of Japan's coastal plains are located within 20 kilometers of the coast. The naval guns of the Imperial Navy can completely cover this area.

After the Imperial Navy inflicted heavy losses on the 29th Division of the Japanese Army, the Japanese army no longer dared to launch an attack on Tokoname. And the Imperial Army did not take advantage of the victory to pursue. After all, it's still night. If the attack is rash, the Imperial Army will pay a great price. What's more, the units of the 4th Army of the Imperial Army were still disembarking. Wait until the main forces of the 4th Army disembark before attacking.

When the Imperial Army officially landed in Ise Bay and gained a foothold. The Imperial Army's offensive on Kyushu Island has also entered a critical moment. The 1st Army of the Imperial Army concentrated a large number of artillery pieces and launched a heavy artillery bombardment on Kurume. Kurume was almost ploughed with cannonballs. A large number of Japanese fortifications were destroyed in the shelling, making the efforts of the Japanese army for this period in vain. In addition, the casualties of the Japanese Army were also very large.

Another aspect of the losses was that the Japanese artillery suffered heavy losses. The second brigade of the independent heavy artillery has already lost more than half of its casualties. Of the 108 155-mm heavy howitzers of the brigade, only about 30 remained, and the rest were destroyed in the artillery battle. Artillery of other calibers, the losses were not small. The losses of the Imperial Army, on the other hand, were much smaller. The 1st Heavy Artillery Brigade of the Imperial Army only lost more than 20 heavy guns. The losses of other artillery were also about a quarter of the losses of the Japanese artillery.

In the artillery battle, the Imperial Army had completely gained the upper hand. This allowed the Imperial Army to bombard Japanese fortifications with impunity.

Of course, the Reichs' artillery bombardment was so fierce that a lot of shells were consumed. In order to replenish the artillery shells, the Imperial Navy specially escorted transport ships into the Ariake Sea to supply the enemy 1st Army with artillery shells. Otherwise, once the shells run out, those cannons of the Imperial Army will become scrap metal, and they will no longer have any effect.

"Damn the China, their shelling is endless? Do they want to wipe us all out with artillery? That's whimsical. General Uchiyama Kojiro said aggrievedly.

After the heavy losses of the Japanese artillery, they had already given up the act of seeking death in artillery battles with the Chinese* army. They hid the remaining artillery and prepared to wait until the Chinese* army launched a river-crossing operation. However, the Chinese* army shelled all day and night, and there was no sign of forcing the Chikugo River at all, which made the Japanese army very strange.

"Perhaps, the Shina people will wait for their follow-up troops to arrive before attacking." Admiral Kamio Mitsutomi said. He couldn't think of anything other than that.

"Even if their follow-up troops arrive, they will definitely not be able to cross the Chikugo River easily." Admiral Uchiyama Kojiro said with great certainty. How could they have painstakingly prepared a defense for so long, so that the Chinese* army could easily get through? They still want to make the water of Chikugo River red with the blood of the Chinese* army.

"Now, we can only respond to all changes with the same." General Kamio Mitsutomi said, this is also a way out of the way.

On the west bank of the Chikugo River, the headquarters of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army. Admiral Shi Qingshan is making pre-war deployments.

"The 3rd Division of the Imperial Marines has finished the assault on Sasebo, and they have kept a regiment in Sasebo to defend there. The rest of the army will enter the Ariake Sea tomorrow morning and land at the Chikugo River. The 1st Infantry Division rushed to the Ariake Sea overnight, and after the 3rd Marine Division landed, the transport ships would transport you to the east bank of the Chikugo River. Your mission is to cooperate with the 3rd Marine Division to attack northward and find suitable areas to build pontoon bridges. The 1st Engineer Brigade of the Group Army will go all out to build pontoon bridges. Admiral Shi Qingshan said.

"Yes, Commander." Major General Li Zhenwu, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, nodded.

After a few days of artillery battles, the follow-up units of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army had arrived. Plus the main forces of the 3rd Marine Division can participate in this battle plan. Therefore, the possibility of success of the 1st Army's battle plan this time is undoubtedly greatly increased. The whole plan, which is clearly known as the right hook plan, means to bypass the coast of the Chikugo River, which is the key defense of the Japanese army, and with the help of the navy, directly land on the east bank of the Chikugo River, just like a fierce right hook. (To be continued.) )

PS: The fourteenth update is here, ask for a monthly pass and a reward!