Accompanied by the cannon fire of the attack group in the center, the attack groups on the left and right also began to bombard fiercely, and the attack on the whole line was staged in an instant. Such a grand attack scene, not to mention the Qing army's fear, even their own officers and soldiers were shocked by such a shocking scene. Looking at the river surface for dozens of kilometers, the smoke of gunpowder is filled, and it is magnificent. Then I saw that the fortifications on the bank of the Qing Army were instantly shrouded in smoke.

For the first time, so many artillery salvos were concentrated, and the scene was incredible. In the Forward General Command, everyone was a little unable to adapt. Chen Jinji held a telescope to check the shelling scene, and his heart was equally shocked. Despite his inner agitation, as the Supreme Commander, his expression must remain calm. But the hand holding the telescope trembled slightly, such a grand war scene could not be imagined even in a dream. And being the commander who personally commanded this grand scene is simply intoxicating.

The positions of the heavy artillery battalion were hectic and orderly, "Shoot!" Shoot! Fire! The shouts of "open fire" came and went. The soldiers were sweating profusely, and many of the loaders actually took off their shirts and went bare. In front of a cannon, a large black entity was as strong as an ox, covered in pimple flesh and shining with black oil. At this time, the big black man didn't feel good, and actually picked up two cannonballs to transport. "Good black guy!" The artillery commander exclaimed.

At this time, the soldier who checked the impact point of the bullet held his hand in the telescope and constantly corrected it, and the aiming hand constantly adjusted the upper and lower height of the muzzle of the gun. At the shouts of the commander, the gunner struggled to pull the rope of the running bolt. With the guns being discharged, the smoke and dust flying, the soldiers were silent in a certain frenzy.

Every time the cannon was discharged, the hull of the Northern Expedition shook violently. The roar of naval guns gives the illusion of ear drums. At this time, Fan Tao held a telescope in his hand to check the effect of the shelling, and kept issuing instructions in his mouth. The bombardment of naval artillery and heavy artillery battalions was very frightening, and the buildings on the opposite bank of the river were dancing wildly, and a large number of debris was blown to pieces, during which there were corpses of Qing troops and even the barrels of fortress cannons.

Most of the soldiers waiting for the attack on the boats on the riverbank were stunned when they saw this shocking shelling. They even forgot to clamor and fell silent. Especially with the roar of the naval guns behind them, the soldiers opened their mouths wide, and many soldiers forgot to cover their ears. After 20 minutes of shelling, the infantry artillery stopped firing, and the heavy artillery battalion and naval guns fired at fixed points and extended fire.

"All of you pay attention! Sortie! "The commander of the attacking force gave the order. Despite repeated drills beforehand, the attack fleet was still in disarray, with some wooden boats colliding together and others in the water in the wrong direction. The soldiers were too nervous after all. Despite the chaos, wooden boats swarmed out. The wooden boat reached the center of the river, and the artillery fire of the Qing army began to roar. Exploding columns of water rose over the river.

Suddenly, a Qing artillery shell hit a wooden boat, and in an instant the wooden boat was torn apart, the dead soldiers sank into the water, and the living soldiers struggled in the water. Nearby wooden boats rescued the soldiers who had fallen into the water. On a wooden boat, a soldier who had fallen into the water was dragged up with his hands and feet, and spat out the river water poured into his stomach. One soldier shuddered at the sight and began to vomit. "Bastards, bastards!" The platoon commander let out a scolding sound.

Wooden boats were hit by artillery fire from time to time, and perhaps after the initial fears, the soldiers seemed to come to their senses. Shortly after the departure of the first wave, the 2nd echelon of the first wave began to be launched, and the soldiers quickly pushed the wooden boats into the water and rowed towards the opposite bank. As far as the eye can see, the river is littered with the wreckage of wooden boats and the corpses of fallen soldiers. As the first division of the main attack, the first wave of attacks used the strength of a brigade.

Although the artillery fire of the Qing army was fierce, the Northern Expeditionary Army still advanced despite the artillery fire. At this time, the first echelon was attacked, and the 3rd and 4th batches were launched one after another, and dense wooden boats appeared on the river. The wooden boat broke the waves and rowed tenaciously to the opposite shore. Under the fire of naval guns and heavy artillery, the artillery fire of the Qing army began to weaken.

Some of the wooden boats finally approached the opposite bank, and the soldiers jumped into the river to attack without waiting for the boats to run aground. In the face of a dense rain of bullets, they rushed to the shore one after another. From time to time, soldiers fell into the water, and blood stained the river. At the forward headquarters, Chen Jinyu saw the soldiers on the opposite bank, and a hanging heart finally let go. As for the battle of crossing the river and the operation of the large corps, Chen Jinyu and the generals can be said to be very unfamiliar and have no experience, so losses are inevitable.

Since the Huai army has been integrated for a year, their combat effectiveness has improved, and coupled with the role of the warlord, they will not face collapse. In the past, the Qing army fought on a point-and-line defense, and the slightest breakthrough basically collapsed. Now, with the participation of foreign military advisers, the Qing army has adopted a large-scale in-depth defense system, which has virtually strengthened the stability of the defense and made up for the lack of combat effectiveness.

"Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, the Qing army's defense is very tenacious, and it actually counterattacked, repeatedly fighting for the position on the riverbank." An operational staff officer came in to give a report. "Tell the front-line commanders, let them figure it out for themselves, don't come and ask me!" Chen Jinhu said with a tiger face. In fact, Chen Jinyu didn't have any good way, he knew in his heart that the Qing army was heavily defended, and it was inevitable to fight to the death.

Due to the close encounter, the artillery fire on the shore could not be strongly supported, and could only be extended to fire. On an open riverbank beach, the Qing soldiers could not stand the bombardment of artillery fire, and actually jumped out of the fortifications to fight back, and hand-to-hand combat began to break out in an instant. The bayonet jishu of the soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army in hand-to-hand combat was brought into play, and it was completely naked to fight for their lives. A platoon commander finished firing a bullet and picked up a fallen soldier's rifle.

At this time, two tall Qing soldiers pounced on them like hungry wolves. I saw that the platoon commander made a false shot, and a stab was inserted into the body of the Qing soldier on the left, and then he used the butt of the gun to block the bayonet of the Qing soldier on the right, and when he turned around, he stabbed again, killing the Qing soldier on the right. With such a killing, the Qing soldiers quickly collapsed and retreated like a tide.

At dusk, at the headquarters of the corps, an operational staff officer reported: "Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, at present, our three major clusters have broken through on all fronts, and with the artillery units crossing the river, the riverbank positions have been consolidated. Chen Jinyu said with a sense of relief: "Order the main attack force to come down and rest, replace the troops and continue to attack, and can't give the Qing army a chance to breathe." The staff officer then began to report on the situation of the left and right assault clusters.

At night, the guns still roared. It can be said that after the Northern Expeditionary Army successfully crossed the river, the offensive was blocked. No one expected that fierce street fighting would break out. In fact, the Qing army, including our side, did not have the concept of street fighting, which was not Deng Zixuan's negligence, but was determined by the operational characteristics of this era. The key is the characteristics of Wuhan City, which is a cross-river city, and due to the in-depth defense system of the Qing army, a pattern of street battles has been virtually formed.

Due to the strength of the Qing army, it resisted desperately. At this time, Admiral Min's command had already withdrawn to the rear. Being broken through the defense line by the other party so quickly, Min and his entourage knew that their heads might not be safe. At this time, his eyes were red, and he cut off the head of a general soldier who was unfavorable in battle with a knife, and as his head rolled on the ground, blood sprayed his whole body and face, looking very hideous and terrifying.

The subordinates turned pale with fright, and they didn't dare to gasp. "For those who retreat, this is the end." Several guards stepped forward and dragged away the corpses. When military adviser McSon saw this horrific scene, the back of his neck was also cold. Min and his entourage asked, "The Northern Expeditionary Army is attacking fiercely, what do you think, Mr. Maxson?" Maxson quickly regained his arrogance and said: "The Northern Expeditionary Army's rapid breakthrough of the Yangtze River defense line was caused by the enemy's powerful artillery fire. Frankly, for the first time in my military career, I experienced such an artillery bombardment, which shows that the military theory of the Northern Expeditionary Army has far surpassed ours. ”

Isn't this nonsense? I need you to come up with an idea now, what's the use of talking about such nonsensical words, Min and his entourage are obviously dissatisfied. Jackson seemed unconcerned and continued: "Lord Min, you have a strong army, and you can fight to the death. Did you find that the Northern Expeditionary Army attacked very slowly after coming ashore, which shows that our in-depth defense system has worked, especially the geographical advantage has helped us, and I think that by pulling the reserves up, we can fight with the opponent. ”

Min and his entourage thought that what McSon said was reasonable, and said with a cheerful face: "Mr. McSon, you have a point. The order was passed on, and all officers and men should make full use of the favorable terrain to make every house, every wall, and every street a position and a cemetery for burying the Northern Expeditionary Army. Half of the reserves were ordered to go into battle. After Min and his entourage finished speaking, all the staff and subordinates seemed to be shocked.

The next day, the offensive advance was limited throughout the day. At this time, the battle line formed a state of staggered teeth, and although the Northern Expeditionary Army attacked strongly, it was unable to exert its strength. The officers and men did not have the concept of street fighting, nor did they have undergone targeted training for street fighting, so there were relatively large casualties. Another dusk is coming, and in the corps headquarters, Chen Jin's face is grimacing, and an operational staff officer is making a report.

"Report to the deputy commander-in-chief, the Qing army took advantage of the favorable terrain to defend stubbornly, and our army as a whole advanced slowly, and there were large casualties." Hearing the casualties, Chen Jin was shocked. He knew that Deng Zixuan was very concerned about the casualty figures, so he said: "The Qing army has a strong army, and orders all departments to launch attacks according to the situation, and must avoid large casualties." Ordering the Corps Headquarters to cross the river, I want to raise the confidence of all officers and men. ”

About an hour later, Chen Jinyu led his command to the deck of the Northern Expeditionary Army, the flagship of the Yangtze River Fleet. The dark surface of the river was often illuminated by the firelight of explosions on the opposite bank, and the battleships drove towards the opposite bank at full speed. "Deputy commander-in-chief, I didn't expect the Qing army to resist so stubbornly, it seems that Liu Mingchuan has two hits." Fan Tao said. "Liu Mingchuan is a fierce general of the Huai Army, and it seems that Li Hongzhang put him on the front line in Wuhan for a reason."