Episode 102 Landing on the island

A full moon hung high in the sky, and below, the sea was as black as a large piece of velvet, and countless points of silver shimmered on it, as if sprinkled with diamonds, announcing the calm of the sea.

However, at the end of this calm "velvet", at sea level, several black bumps faintly appeared. Gradually, a few bumps disappeared and melted into the whole black "velvet". Subsequently, more bumps appeared at sea level, and these bumps soon disappeared as well.

This is exactly the task force of the Ming army. Under the cover of night, these tall warships only briefly "appeared" on the sea antenna, and then melted into the pitch-black sea.

The fleet consisted of 2 battleships, 2 aircraft carriers, 6 heavy cruisers, 8 light cruisers, 24 destroyers, 18 minesweepers, 6 3,000-ton troop carriers, 26 transports, 55 large assault boats, 15 flat-bottomed diesel barges, and 28 other ships.

The fleet transports the strength of the Marine Corps for one division. It is equipped with a tank battalion and an infantry battalion of armored vehicles. According to the established plan, after the bombardment of Liandao, a battalion-level assault team should be dispatched to take the lead in landing in assault boats to annihilate the Qing defenders on Liandao, occupy the fort, and control the entire island.

Then, the fort on the southern slope of Liandao Mountain was used to bombard Yuntai Mountain on the other side of the strait, covering the fleet's entry into the strait, and officially launched the bombardment of Yuntai Mountain Fort. Finally, assault boats and flat-bottomed barges carried the vanguard assault team to occupy the port and control the Yuntaishan Fort, and finally, the troop transports officially sent a large force ashore in the port area.

The Daming Marine Corps is subordinate to the Navy and is the elite force of the All-Ming Army, and its combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the ordinary army, and even stronger than the mobile force of the People's Guard. This time, the General Staff of the Navy had high hopes for them.

……

At half past three o'clock in the morning, the fleet was bypassing Liandao from 25 kilometers east of the coastline and going around to the northeast of Liandao according to the predetermined plan. Then, from the northeast to the island, approach the island until it enters the firing position.

However, the General Staff of the Ming Army did not expect to be able to enter the firing position silently. With the Ming army forming a breakthrough in the southeast of the Central Plains Corps and pressing on Haizhou, the Ming army's intention to capture Haizhou is already "Sima Zhao's heart, and everyone knows it". Guangwu is certainly no exception. He must have strengthened his vigilance in Haizhou, and one of them must have been to order Haizhou's torpedo boats to increase their patrols. However, fortunately, the sea control was in the hands of the Ming army, and it was difficult for the Qing navy to even mobilize torpedo boats in large numbers. According to the daytime aerial reconnaissance, the number of torpedo boats in the Yuntai Mountain port area is about 15.

But unexpectedly, until a quarter past four in the morning, all the warships entered their firing positions, and the sonar still did not detect the sound of the torpedo boat's engine. It seems that the Qing army's torpedo boat formation has made up its mind, and if it doesn't see a rabbit, it won't scatter an eagle - if it doesn't see the Ming fleet appear, it will never let out the limited torpedo boats and let people eat them easily. The Qing army was probably going to send out more than a dozen torpedo boats at once, and strive to really destroy a "serious" Ming army ship.

Twenty-four destroyers were already cruising within 1,000 meters northeast of the island, using sonars to search for torpedo boats. The southernmost destroyer was already close to about 500 meters. At this point, the sonar still did not hear the engine of the torpedo boat.

I don't know if the Qing army heard the sound of the engine of the Ming fleet? Since there are no warships on the sea, did the Qing army have stationary sonars on the nearby seabed?

……

At 4:30, the time for the attack has arrived.

On the Hongwu, the general flagship of the task force, the fleet commander looked at the minute hand of the pocket watch and officially went to 30, looked at the endless black in the distance, and said lightly:

"As planned, let's go."

The staff officer next to him immediately spoke to the microphone and shouted loudly:

"As planned, start ——!!!"

On the flagship of the destroyer squadron at the forefront, the radio staff officer heard the radio command of the general flagship, raised his head and said loudly to the commander of the destroyer fleet:

"General Flagship Order: As originally planned, begin!"

The commander of the destroyer made a gesture, and the radio staff officer immediately shouted into the microphone again:

"Attention Destroyer Fleet - All Destroyers - Target - Island - Flares - Free Fire!"

……

"Bang! …… Bang bang!! …… Bang! …… Bang bang bang ......"

Flashes of light and muffled thunder came and went one after another on the vast sea, and one after another flashes of light quickly crossed the night sky, and instantly flew over the island, exploding, and becoming flares.

Dozens of flares sprayed magnesium light one after another, slowly drifting down, illuminating the entire island as if it were day.

"Attention all detachments—" On the flagship of the destroyer fleet, the radio staff officer listened to the microphone again, and while announcing the order of the commander of the general fleet in a loud voice, "the target - the artillery battery of the Qing army on the island - high-explosive shells - free fire!!

"Attention destroyer fleet - A-1 to A5, keep illuminating, A-6 to A-24, load high-explosive shells," the destroyer commander quickly ordered, "target - Liandao Qing army battery - free fire!! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, there were several bright spots in the black on the opposite side, and then the air roared, and several columns of water rose two or three hundred meters behind the destroyer fleet.

The Qing batteries on the island also opened fire. Every captain has a chill in his heart: the Qing army reacted fast enough this time!

……

The Ming fleet was also unceremonious, from the destroyer fleet to the battlefleet, all firing lines near and far opened fire. For a time, on a large area of sea in the northeast of Liandao, the muzzle fire of the naval guns flashed densely, and layers of muffled thunder resounded through the sky. In the night sky, orange lines of fire are as dense as combs, arcing in the black sky, flying towards the islands.

The shells of the first destroyers arrived. From 20-mm Erricorn shells to 150-mm main gun shells, dense explosions exploded on the slopes of the island. The flames were blazing, black smoke was billowing out, and half of the island was boiling.

Seconds later, a series of larger explosions appeared on the hillside. Small trees were thrown into the sky in patches, the mountains trembled, and large rocks rolled down into the sea. It was the heavy shells of the cruiser that arrived.

Finally, the battleship's super-heavy shells also howled "landing". For a time, the scene on Xiaoxiaolian Island was so spectacular that it almost became a volcano. It seems that on the flagship, which is 10,000 meters away, you can feel the vibration of Liandao.

At the same time as the shelling, in the convoy 20,000 meters away, the naval commandos of the first attack wave were eating breakfast in the cabin, listening to the speech of the fleet commander on the loudspeaker, and finally boosting morale.

“…… You are the elite of the elite of the ** team of Emperor Daming! You are the pride of the whole navy! Your combat effectiveness is in no way inferior to that of the Army Aviation Commandos! Not inferior to the Imperial Praetorian Guard! Not inferior to the People's Guard! …… On behalf of the Ming Navy, you will step on land from here to liberate tens of thousands of oppressed people in the north! Your combat boots will start from the time you set foot on the islands and continue to cover millions of square kilometers of land! …… I have full confidence in you, and I am proud to have you as my subordinates! Because, you are the marines of the Ming Empire! ”

The distant sound of artillery outside continued to reach the cabin of the troop carrier, and the soldiers, who had finished eating, began to receive their weapons and equipment, and then assembled on the deck. Around the troop carriers, dozens of assault boats have gathered. The assault boats roared their engines, undulating in the water, colliding with each other, trying to form a formation.

The pilots of each assault boat were shouting and shouting, waving their arms at the others, accusing them of disrupting the formation.

On the side of the tall troop carrier, rope nets were hung, and the assembled Marine Corps team was climbing down. The soldiers carried heavy equipment on their backs, clumsy like bears on rope nets, and when everyone finally jumped into the assault boat, the people on the boat were rejoicing—the assault boat was so small that it swayed violently, and everyone was afraid that the next man would overturn the whole boat.

The sound of artillery in the distance, the loudspeaker on the bridge of the troop carrier, the shrill sound of diesel motors of the assault boat, the sound of the sea lapping against the side of the ship, the shouts of the soldiers, the cursing of "fuck your mother, fuck your mother, shout karma" and so on...... The various sounds come together like a big band.

……

At six o'clock in the morning, the sunrise over the sea begins.

However, the sunrise over the sea, which was usually spectacular, was now completely stolen by the shelling of the Grande Fleet to the west, and no one on deck looked east at the sunrise, but all leaned on the railing to watch the shelling to the west. So much so that I found that it was already very bright around me, and I knew that the sun was out.

As visibility became better, the artillery on both sides became accurate. In just ten minutes, the destroyers bombed several pillboxes one after another, and the Ming fleet was also hit one after another, with 3 destroyers, 1 light cruiser and 1 heavy cruiser being shot. Both cruisers were fine, but all three destroyers were on fire on their decks and were still dragging smoke and insisting on participating in the shelling.

Now, according to the original plan, the destroyers and light cruisers of the first and second lines have withdrawn, and the heavy cruisers and battleships of the original third and fourth lines have now come forward with a suit of armor and are showing their skills.

In particular, the Sansou battleship had the largest target of its own, but it behaved quite "barely", driving straight to within 2,000 meters, and hundreds of guns and cannons on its body were like hedgehogs, spewing tongues of fire together. For a time, Lian Island seemed to have become a hell, and the earth-shattering explosion of the island, accompanied by sky-high flames and thick smoke, seemed to sink the entire island into the sea.

On the contrary, the hulls of the three battleships were also blackened in patches, as well as scratches and deep and shallow pits. These are all traces left by direct hits from various shells. However, not a single one was penetrated. The giant battleship was still in good spirits, like no one.

In the sky, the dive bombers of the Army Aviation also arrived. The fighters on the two aircraft carriers have already taken off in formation to escort them. Soon, aerial bombs, which were more powerful than naval guns, also fell on Liandao Mountain like meteorites.

……

At about seven o'clock in the morning, there were almost no batteries left on the north side of the island to return fire. Even if there were, there probably wouldn't be any Qing soldiers who still had the courage to open fire.

The destroyer formation again approached a few hundred meters of Liandao and approached to observe the cruise. After confirming that the shelling effect had been achieved, 55 assault boats carrying a battalion of assault teams and 15 flat-bottomed barges carrying an armored company drove towards the coast with piercing motors.

At 7:35, the Marine assault battalion landed on the beach northwest of the island. There was no resistance on the beachhead. Immediately, 15 tanks also drove up the board from the flat-bottomed barge onto the beach, covering the infantry to advance towards the island.