Chapter 235: The Power of Naval Guns

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"Commander, HQ is in an emergency!" On the evening of May 6, the defenders of Shanhaiguan in western Sichuan received a telegram from the General Staff Headquarters. After Zhao Bowen, commander of the Shanhaiguan Theater Command, received the telegram, his face immediately showed joy. Although reinforcements were still four days away, they still had to resist the Japanese attack during these four days. But, four days later, it was time to strike back. And if the Japanese army wants to break through the Shanhaiguan defense line, it is simply impossible.

"Send a telegram to the 3rd Division and the units of the front, telling them to endure for another four days. After four days, reinforcements will be available, and then it's time for us to strike back! Zhao Bowen said with a smile on his face.

"Yes, Commander!" The signal corps immediately went to deliver the message.

The soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army, who knew the time of the counterattack, were also highly motivated, although they were very tired physically and mentally. It made it even more difficult for the attacking Japanese soldiers to conquer the positions of the Western Sichuan Army.

On 7 May, the Japanese launched another fierce attack. Several divisions of the Japanese army, except for the two divisions of the cavalry corps guarding against the western Sichuan army, the rest of the divisions and regiments once again took turns to attack the defense line of the western Sichuan army, and even the second and thirteenth divisions of the Japanese army, which only had only a few thousand men left, once again went to the battlefield.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Da Da Da!" On the battlefield, the sound of artillery shelling and the low roar of heavy machine guns rang out, and the Japanese army left behind corpses in the process of attacking Shanhaiguan and Jiaoshan, but more people stepped on the corpses of their comrades and continued to advance. The Japanese artillery also launched a fierce bombardment, and Jiaoshan was even completely shrouded in gunsmoke, if it were not for the strong fortifications of the Western Sichuan Army, I am afraid that it would have been destroyed by the Japanese army. At the head of the city of Shanhaiguan, there was also gunsmoke, and in the shelling of the Japanese army, stone chips flew everywhere, and it was not that any soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army were killed or were shot.

"Your Excellency, Commander, this is the fifth day, our army has suffered heavy casualties, and the line of defense of the people of China is still impregnable. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to break through the defense line of the Western Sichuan Army! On a high ground outside the battlefield, Lieutenant General Motoji Yamagi, commander of the 1st Division of the Japanese Army, said with a sad and indignant face. These soldiers are all hot-blooded men of the Yamato nation! Now it's a corpse.

"I know, but we have no choice. Both the Cabinet and His Majesty the Emperor regard us as the last hope. If we don't win, not only Japan will be finished, but we will also be finished! Shan County Youpeng said. As one of Japan's elders, he knows that the current situation in the country is no longer optimistic. The navy of the Kawanishi Army is said to have destroyed the entire city along the Seto Inland Sea, and Japan has already paid the price of 100,000 dead and millions homeless. Japan's heavy industry has also been hit by devastation. Not only did the navy lose all its warships, but the Etajima Naval Academy was destroyed in one fell swoop, and even the thousands of elite cadets of the Japanese Navy with it were basically lost. In this war, Japan lost completely.

"Your Excellency, Commander, since we have already lost, then we will simply surrender. Preserve the seeds of revival for the Great Japanese Empire, not send them to their deaths! Lieutenant General Genji Yamagi said. His first division has already lost 40 percent of its strength in the past few days of fighting, and if it continues like this, I am afraid that it will not be long before all of them will be killed.

"Surrender now, how could the guys on the cabinet side agree? They are counting on us to win and end the war with dignity! If we fail, the people of China will be prescribed extremely harsh conditions. Don't forget, after the end of the Sino-Japanese War last year, what kind of conditions did we set for the Qing Kingdom? Ceded a large area of territory, but also to pay compensation of 200 million taels of silver. Those people in western Sichuan are much more ruthless than Qing Guoke, and their asking price is definitely above this. When the time comes, what will the empire pay them for? Therefore, the only way to do this is for the brave soldiers, who will use their lives to fight for the victory of the Empire. Only in this way can the losses be reduced, and the empire will have a chance to rise again! Yama Youpeng closed his eyes in pain. Sending these Japanese soldiers to the battlefield to die with his own hands, how could he, the commander, feel good? However, there is no way around it. The orders of the cabinet and the emperor, he can only go and carry out. Although he knew that as time went on, victory was getting farther and farther away from them.

Over the next few days, the Japanese attacks became more and more frenzied, and they seemed to have sensed that the end was getting closer and closer to them. Whether it was attacking Jiaoshan or attacking Shanhaiguan, the Japanese troops were completely desperate and did not estimate their lives at all. Compared with the Shanhaiguan defensive line, the fortifications of Kakuyama were slightly weaker, and the Japanese army adjusted the attack strategy from May onwards, making Kakuyama a key target. Suddenly, the 3rd Division of the Western Sichuan Army, which was defending here, was under tremendous pressure. The Hardship Horn Mountain is not far from Shanhaiguan, only a kilometer, and it can be fully supported by the artillery of the Western Sichuan Army, otherwise, the Third Division will not be able to hold out at all.

By May 20, a thick layer of corpses had piled up under Horn Mountain, and the defense line of Horn Mountain had been broken by the Japanese army several times. Many positions on the periphery have been occupied by the Japanese army, and only the main position at the top of Jiaoshan is still under the control of the Third Division of the Western Sichuan Army. If the Japanese were able to storm for two more days, the Hornhill position might be in real danger of falling. It's just that there's no time left. Reinforcements from four divisions of the Western Sichuan Army all arrived on the battlefield by the evening of May 20. The two cavalry corps were also already ready, and they were waiting for the final order to attack. Although the artillery was insufficient, now, the artillery formation formed by the western Sichuan Navy has reached the open sea of Shanhaiguan. It can move into the coastal area at any time to provide fire support to the army.

In the evening of the same day, Zhao Bowen held a military meeting at the improvised command post in Shanhaiguan to discuss the plan for tomorrow's counteroffensive. This time the counterattack will be led by two cavalry corps, and after the artillery of the Western Sichuan Army clears the obstacles, they will launch a rapid attack on the Japanese army, with strong mobility and impact power, break the Japanese defense line, and at the same time divide and surround the Japanese army. The reinforcements of the four divisions that arrived later will launch a final attack on the divided and surrounded Japanese troops until they are completely destroyed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Shanhaiguan Defense has now entered its sixth day, and in these six days, we have paid a heavy price to the Japanese army. Now that reinforcements have arrived, tomorrow will be the time for us to strike back. The warships of the navy are already in the open sea, and tomorrow at 7 o'clock in the morning, they will launch an artillery bombardment of the Japanese according to the coordinates provided by us. Priority was given to the shelling of the 7th and 8th divisions of the Japanese army. Our artillery will also join in and strive to destroy the Japanese defense system as soon as possible. After that, both the battleships of the Navy and our artillery began to extend the shelling, and the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Corps began to sortie, breaking through the Japanese lines as fast as they could, dividing them. The 1st, 2nd, 14th, and 15th Divisions went into battle after the cavalry attack to wipe out the Japanese as much as possible. The commander has an order, these Japanese soldiers are the elite of the Japanese army, and if they are all wiped out, the Japanese army will suffer heavy losses, which will be extremely beneficial to the future war! Zhao Bowen said.

"That's the specific battle plan, do you have any objections?" After Zhao Bowen finished speaking, he asked.

"So, where is the end of this battle plan? Was it just to defeat the Japanese army outside Shanhaiguan? What about the Japanese army in Liaodong and the Korean Peninsula? Major General Zhou Shun, commander of the First Division, asked.

"The commander's order was to attack until the Japanese army was destroyed or surrounded. During this period, the Navy will stay in the Bohai Sea and provide us with artillery support throughout the process. For the Japanese troops on the Liaodong Peninsula, the navy will also blockade them from the sea. When the time comes, we will destroy it! Zhao Bowen said.

Everyone nodded, the Japanese army poured out this time, and there were still more than 200,000 people on the Liaodong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula. If these Japanese troops are also wiped out, in a few years, the Japanese army will not be able to recover at all, and it will be difficult to pose a threat to China again.

"If there is no objection, then dismiss the meeting! Let's go back and get ready, and tomorrow morning we will start a counterattack with all our might! Zhao Bowen said.

Many generals of the Western Sichuan Army rushed out and left the command post. Everyone was excited. The Navy has won a big victory, and the rest is theirs. As the boss of the western Sichuan military, they can't let the navy flatten.

On the morning of May 2, General Youpeng of Shan County got up early. Last night, he was a little upset and couldn't sleep. So I got up early today.

His headquarters, only two kilometers from the sea, felt the clear sea breeze, which made people feel refreshed.

Suddenly, columns of smoke appeared on the surface of the sea. The dark pillars of smoke covered the sky and the sun, reaching up into the sky.

"What's that?" Shan County Youpeng frowned, and then checked it with a telescope. However, in an instant, his face turned pale. What appeared in his eyes was a huge battleship like a hill. Behind this huge battleship were two slightly smaller warships. At this moment, he understood it all.

"Someone, order the troops to retreat immediately!" Yama County Youpeng ordered loudly. Although he had not personally experienced the power of naval guns, he knew it. The huge caliber naval guns on the battleship are simply not something that manpower can compete with. If it was bombarded by naval guns in western Sichuan, the Japanese army would inevitably suffer heavy losses and even collapse.

"Boom!" An orange-red fireball flashed over the battleship in the distance. Half a minute later, Youpeng in Shanxian felt that the mountains were shaking for a while, and his ears were buzzing. And on the position where the Japanese Seventh Division was stationed, a large crater with a diameter of more than 100 meters had already appeared. The Japanese soldiers who were hit were already gone!

PS: The third update is here! Tomorrow's fourth watch, there is an update in the early morning! Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass! (To be continued.)