Episode 104 Artillery Battle Yuntai Mountain

The strait between Liandao and Yuntai Mountain is very small, and its widest point is only more than 3,000 meters. At such a close distance, the artillery of both sides was accurate by a dozen.

In the case of close distance and good visibility, the battleship and shore artillery are hard PK, which is a great loss. Especially this enclosed fully protected battery. Although the battleship has many advantages, such as large caliber, fast rate of fire, dense firepower, can move, etc., but compared with the permanent fortification battery, its own target is too large and too fragile. The target of the battery is very small, and the cement protection is thick, so it is generally not directly into the shooting window, and it is difficult to effectively kill and injure. However, the battleship is often one or two hundred meters long and tens of meters high, and no matter what part of it hits, it will bring real damage.

There are two forts on Yuntai Mountain, one is the Dalongding Fort at the eastern end of Yuntai Mountain, with an altitude of more than 400 meters, and four 210mm cannons, facing the open sea in the east; One is a two-masted fort at the northern end of Yuntai Mountain, with an altitude of more than 500 meters, with six 150mm cannons, facing the strait. The two batteries were about three kilometers apart.

Because even the island and the strait were in the north, it was difficult for the Ming warships to sail into the strait for a while. However, on the eastern side of Yuntai Mountain, there is an endless sea with open waters. The Ming warships were able to pull a distance, give full play to their movement and rate of fire, and bombard the Dalongding Fort from the sea.

Now, the Ming army's fleet has been divided into two groups according to the original plan, one of which will maneuver to the east and occupy its own firing position within a range of 5,000 meters to 10,000 meters. One group maneuvered to the west and waited in the open sea at the northwest mouth of the strait. Once the two-masted fort was removed, it immediately drove into the strait and bombarded other fortifications on Yuntai Mountain, clearing the way for the assault battalion to seize the beach.

At the same time, the South Fort of Liandao, which had been occupied by the Ming army, also began to fire shells at the two-masted fort on the opposite bank and began to test-fire.

The second round of artillery battles between the two sides kicked off.

……

The western strait theater is battery to battery. In the open ocean theater to the east, it is still warships against batteries.

To the west, the Yuntai Mountain two-masted fort is six 150mm cannons, and even the island south fort is also six 150mm cannons. The firepower of both sides is equal. Moreover, the specifications for the construction of the two batteries are also of the same level, and the protection is similar. Now the contest is the quality of the artillery of both sides.

than the quality of artillery, which is exactly what the Ming army is pursuing. The Qing army's coastal defense artillery has long been negligent in training and lax in military discipline, and in addition, this branch of the army is generally stationed in large port cities, and the living conditions and climate are very comfortable, and the duty is also very relaxed, and the treatment is good, so it has long been stuffed with door soldiers and related soldiers, and they are all out-and-out "child soldiers". Now, in the past two months, the Ming and Qing dynasties have started wars, especially after the Jianghuai Campaign, the Qing court really felt that the Ming army had the threat of landing, so it strictly ordered the entire coastal defense system to step up combat preparations. Really counted, these "soldiers" are temporarily cramming for less than a month.

On the contrary, the gunners of the Ming army in the south fort of Liandao on the opposite bank, which were the ace artillery groups in the fortress division of the Yangtze River defense line, were specially singled out to do this this time. The Yangtze River defense line, traditionally, that is the life of Nanming. The Yangtze River Defense Line troops, which are also a fortress elite soldiers built by the Southern Ming Dynasty with the strength of the country, are as good as the artillery of the Qing army on the opposite side for two years.

In this case, the two batteries bombarded each other at a distance of 3,500 meters.

However, they are all 150mm shells, and it is useless to hit the cement protective layer on the outside alone, and it must be directly entered into the shooting window. It's a matter of probability.

Both sides were manually loaded, but the rate of fire on the side of the Ming army was twice that of the Qing army. Although it was an unfamiliar fort, the rigorous training in peacetime and the baptism of actual combat in the defense of Nanjing, the entire artillery crew cooperated seamlessly. The cannonballs on the opposite side howled and pounced, fiercely smashing on the rocks above, below, left and right, and the fort vibrated violently from time to time, the dust on the top fell down with a bang, and the lights in the fort were also shaken and dimmed. However, the artillery crew of the Ming army showed the most skillful technical and psychological quality, and was not affected in the slightest, passing ammunition, loading, aiming, firing artillery, and returning ammunition...... Every movement is precise and in place, like a row of journeymen on the assembly line of a Ford car.

It was different on the side of the Qing army's battery. It was also a constant loud vibration, a lot of dust fell down, and the light bulbs flickered on and off, but these "children" of the Qing army, who were usually pampered, had never seen this formation, and their legs and stomachs had already weakened. Faced with the rate of fire twice as fast as himself on the Liandao side, "whooping" and screaming at the shells that kept flying over, the faces of the Qing artillerymen were either as white as paper or as yellow as earth. Their minds are either blank or constantly thinking:

…… It's over, they're much better than us...... Beat faster than us, better than us...... Someone must have hit us first...... Soon, a shell will come in...... I'm going to explain it here today...... There is no place to die...... Not even a whole corpse is gone......

Before the winner was decided, the artillery crew on the side of the Qing army had already completely lost mentally.

"When...... Dangdang......"

A cannonball fell out of the bombardier's arms, rolled on the ground, and leaned against the wall with a "dang".

The gunners in the entire battery froze, staring at the 150mm heavy shell, their faces as earthy as color. Several people with weak legs and extreme nervousness all sat on the ground, panting for breath.

This is already the second time that the shells have been dropped. Fortunately, it didn't blow up twice.

…… However, it doesn't make a difference. If it goes on like this, it's really a loser.

Sure enough, the air howled again, and it was clearly audible: a cannonball had penetrated through the firing window with great accuracy, from far and near.

It exploded in an instant.

The heat and shock wave engulfed the long firing chamber, and six guns and six artillery groups were shattered in the blink of an eye. Although it was far from the ammunition depot, one or two shells that had already been passed next to the six guns were also detonated at this time. More than a dozen 150mm shells exploded one after another, and the smoke of the fire pushed six cannons, pushed large cement blocks, and pushed the flesh and blood of the Qing soldiers out of the shooting window, jumped and rolled down the mountain, and fell into the sea.

The mutilated limbs of the six cannons were scattered on the hillside and on the reef, but most of them fell into the water. These hot steel parts flew into the seawater, and the surrounding sea water even boiled for a moment, and the white water vapor "zila" rose and dissipated.

Next to the twisted barrel of the cannon was the mutilated corpse of the Qing army, still bubbling with blood, pushed by the sea water and floating.

On the opposite shore, there was silence for a few seconds, and then a burst of cheers suddenly erupted, shaking the entire cave. All six artillery crews dropped their shells, rushed to the firing window, huddled together, and looked out at the cement firing ports, vying to witness the spectacular scene of smoke gushing out of the flames on the opposite side.

……

The two-masted fort of Yuntai Mountain was uprooted, and the Dalongding Fort at the eastern end could not reach the strait. More than a dozen torpedo boats on the wharf at the foot of Yuntai Mountain had already been burned in the air raid. There was nothing in the strait that threatened the Ming warships anymore.

At 9:45, the Ming fleet at the northwest entrance of the strait set out, and the minesweeper formation opened the way, and drove into the strait according to the original plan, officially shelling Yuntai Mountain.

Six destroyers and four light cruisers marched into the strait in a line formation, each stationed in a firing position, lowered anchor, and the turrets turned to starboard side together and raised their barrels. With the order of the commander of the detachment, the guns of the ten warships opened fire intensively.

Destroyers and light cruisers have a shallower draft and are more agile and are best suited for accurate shelling at close range in such narrow straits. Although the caliber of the main guns of light cruisers and destroyers is not very large as naval guns, they are more than enough to deal with secondary fortifications on the mountainside. Battleships and heavy cruisers with oversized calibers were to remain in the open ocean to the east and take advantage of the range advantage to engage in artillery battles with the Dalongding Battery.

With the howl of the air, in just a dozen seconds, the north side of Yuntai Mountain also boiled. Black smoke and fireballs rose in quick succession, and large boulders, tons of dirt, small trees, and shrubs were thrown into the sky. A number of "suspicious" locations with good views were bombarded with focus, and the vegetation there was quickly wiped out, as if it had been shaved all over again.

One by one, the machine-gun bunkers that had been hidden under the vegetation were exposed, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the dense explosions.

……

In the open sea to the east, an even more spectacular artillery battle is underway. The two battleships bravely drove to a distance of 6,000 meters, moving rapidly with black smoke, and from time to time a column of water rose nearby. Instead, several heavy cruisers hid farther away and opened fire.

The target of the battleship was too big, and the distance was really not far, and by now the two battleships had been hit by several bullets, but there was still no major problem. 210mm shells can't hurt them yet. On the contrary, if their 380mm caliber shells hit the battery, even if it only hit the cement protective layer, it would break its muscles and bones.

It has been 45 minutes since the shelling, and the Dalongding battery has already received one 380mm battleship shell, three 203mm heavy patrol shells, and fourteen 152mm secondary artillery shells. It had been blown up everywhere, large pieces of cement had fallen off, and the steel bars were bare-toothed and exposed, like lobsters.

Not only that, but the rate of fire of the battery gradually slowed down. It seems that not only the battery itself is almost unable to hold up, but the spirit of the artillery inside the battery is also almost unbearable.

……

Suddenly, the flagship radioed a ceasefire to the whole group. In an instant, the eastern sea calmed down, and only the smoke of gunpowder drifted quickly with the sea breeze.

In the broken firing window of the Dalongding Fort, a white flag was picked out.

The commander of the fleet held the binoculars, looked at the white flag, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Send a signal," he said slowly, "not only their batteries will surrender, but the entire Yuntai Mountain garrison will surrender together." Otherwise, we don't accept it. Give them five minutes. After five minutes, we will reopen fire. Signal to them. ”

The signal light "snapped" past.

Immediately, the signal light on the opposite side also sent back a signal, saying that they could not control the entire Yuntai Mountain garrison.

"Reply to the signal," the fleet commander said coldly, "don't come to this set, the highest rank in the entire Yuntai Mountain is in the two big forts." Now that the officer with the two masts is dead, the officer at the top of the dragon is the largest, and he can order the whole mountain to surrender. Remind them that there are two minutes left. ”

The signal passed again.

After a minute, the mountain battery signaled. They received the conditions and would order the entire Yuntai Mountain garrison to surrender en masse.

In the bridge command room of the flagship Hongwu, there was a round of applause. The first mate even poured champagne for everyone.