Madang Fortress is a permanent fortification designed by German consultants who spent a lot of time and money to build. It was an important fortress used to prevent the Japanese army from advancing west along the Yangtze River, and Chiang Kai-shek also had high hopes for the Madang fortress, hoping to use this fortress to prevent the Japanese fleet from advancing westward, so that Wuhan would not be threatened by Japanese ships on the Yangtze River.

Guarding the Madang Fortress was the Marine Brigade of the former Chinese Navy. The navy's warships were basically wiped out on the Yangtze River during the Battle of Songhu, and the remaining boats also sank in the Yangtze River in front of Madang Fortress, and the Chinese Navy now only has a few transport ships and minelayers.

There are six German-made Krupp cannons on the Madang Fortress, but they are old 105-caliber guns with a range of only eight thousand meters, and they are not powerful enough. There were also several small-caliber naval guns removed from warships. On the main position of Changshan, only two Makmi heavy machine guns and four Czech light machine guns are considered heavy weapons. Neither the number nor the equipment can be compared with the Japanese army.

Wang Haitao went to Qianshan County to rest and recuperate, and sent a telegram to the military headquarters of the 90th Army, telling Su Zuxin and others that he had arrived in Wangjiang County safely, and that after arranging the defense of Madang Fortress, he would move to Jiujiang and join the military headquarters. Li Yunheng, commander of the 16 th Army, heard that Wang Haitao, commander of the 90 th Group Army, had arrived in Wangjiang County, and hurriedly crossed the river to Wangjiang County.

The 16 th Army was originally subordinate to General Zhang Fakui's Second Corps, but now the Second Corps has withdrawn, and the defense of the Jiujiang area has been handed over to the 90 th Group Army, and the 16 th Army has also been changed to be controlled by the 90 th Group Army, so that Wang Haitao has become Li Yunheng's top boss. When Wang Haitao arrived in Wangjiang County, Yun Heng, who was across the river, naturally wanted to come to visit. Wang Haitao also met the commander of the 16th Army who had lost Madang Fortress in a few days after making a mistake in history in Wangjiang County.

After Wang Haitao and Li Yunheng made a lot of noise with each other, Wang Haitao first got to the point. After inquiring about the specific situation of the 16 th Army, Wang Haitao repeatedly told Li Yunheng to strengthen the defense along the north bank of the Yangtze River, as if it were the Xiangshan and Xiangkou positions. Li Yunheng agreed with his mouth. Wang Haitao also proposed to strengthen the defense force of Madang Fortress, and Li Yunheng had no opinion on this.

The next day, after occupying Huaining County, the Japanese army began to divide its troops to the west, the 101st Division launched an attack on Qianshan and Taihu Lake, and the 5th Division turned loose to occupy Anqing City. Knowing that the Japanese army had occupied Anqing City, Wang Haitao crossed the Yangtze River from Wangjiang County with his troops and went straight to Madang Fortress. The terrain of Madang Fortress is more favorable and stronger than that of Laoshan Fortress.

The river is narrow and not only is the channel blocked by shipwrecks, but also a large number of mines have been laid. On the ground, the main position of Changshan and the surrounding auxiliary positions have permanent defense fortifications, which were designed by German consultants to be strong and practical. According to Wang Haitao's opinion, there is a regiment here, and it will be difficult for the Japanese army to conquer this place from the ground.

As soon as Wang Haitao arrived at the position of Madang Fortress, someone reported to Colonel Bao Changyi, the chief of the Marine Corps stationed at Madang Fortress. The Marines had two brigades at Madang Fortress, totaling more than 3,000 people, a part of the artillery guarded the battery position, the second brigade guarded the main position of Changshan, and the rest of the sub-positions had more than 1 or 200 people, and a few dozen people less.

Bao Changyi heard the report of his subordinates that General Wang Haitao, commander of the 90th Group Army, arrived at Madang Fortress, did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly greeted him in person. After meeting with Bao Changyi, Wang Haitao did not have too much politeness, and after a few cold words, he asked Bao Changyi to lead himself to inspect the defense of the entire Madang Fortress.

After coming to the Madang Fort at the highest place, Wang Haitao found that the existing fort was a lot empty, and the only six German-style guns were still the old German 105-caliber howitzers during World War I, in addition to a few small-caliber naval guns. Wang Haitao asked Bao Changyi at that time why there were only these old-fashioned guns, and Bao Changyi replied to Wang Haitao that his Marine Brigade was like this when he took over the fortress of Madang, and those small-caliber naval guns were brought from the warships by his own marines.

Inspecting the entire Madang Fortress, Wang Haitao was still a little disappointed with the defense of the Madang Fortress. Wang Haitao, who was accustomed to the combined attacks of the Japanese army, land, and air, found it hard to believe that with such rudimentary weapons, Madang Fortress could stop the Japanese attack for a long time. Returning to Bao Changyi's command post, Wang Haitao bluntly put forward his own views on Bao Changyi.

Wang Haitao said: "Captain Bao, I am a little worried about Madang Fortress, although the fortress has strong national fortifications, but the weapons in your soldiers' hands are too simple. There were only two heavy machine guns and four light machine guns on the main position of Changshan, and there were not even light machine guns in several places on the surrounding secondary positions. The guns on the turret were also too old and their power was really limited. I don't think this kind of defensive strength is enough to ensure that the Madang Fortress will not be lost for a long time. ”

Wang Haitao's words made Bao Changyi smile bitterly, and Bao Changyi replied: "Commander Wang doesn't know, since our navy was heavily damaged by the Japanese army in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, we have become motherless children, and no one cares about us, and it is impossible to get some weapons and equipment. ”

Wang Haitao didn't know much about the situation of these marines, and he only understood it when he heard Bao Changyi say this. Wang Haitao nodded and continued: "Captain Bao, I want to change the defense of Madang Fortress, all the existing artillery on the fort will be withdrawn and strengthened to the main position of Changshan, as for the fort, I have a German-made 150 caliber heavy artillery, which is enough to block the Yangtze River."

As for the main position in Changshan, I will arrange for a regiment under my command to defend, and your marines, I will give you some heavy firepower, and then distribute them to the secondary positions around Changshan. What do you think?" Bao Changyi understood as soon as he heard it, Commander Wang asked his troops to undertake the main defense tasks, although Bao Changyi was a little uncomfortable about this, but he couldn't object, after all, Wang Haitao was his boss.

Seeing that Bao Changyi did not object, Wang Haitao ordered the 570th Regiment to take over the main position of Changshan. As soon as the 570th Regiment entered the position, Bao Changyi knew why Wang Haitao would let his subordinates directly take over the main position of Changshan. The number of people in a regiment of the 570th Regiment is not less than that of all its own marines, and there are even more light and heavy machine guns, large and small caliber mortars, to the point of exaggeration.

As soon as the 570th Regiment entered the position, it skillfully entered its respective posts at the company and battalion levels. The fortifications here do not need to be changed, only some auxiliary fortifications outside the permanent fortifications need to be changed. All the key places were captured by the 570th Regiment, either with heavy weapons or with a large number of men. After the 570th Regiment took over the position, Wang Haitao took Bao Changyi and a team of soldiers from the guard regiment to Madang Fort.

The original artillery of the Madang battery has left, and now the battery is empty. Wang Haitao's guards set up a cordon by the fort, and Wang Haitao said to Bao Changyi: "Captain Bao, there will be some things you don't understand below, I hope you can keep it secret!" Bao Changyi was stunned for a moment and nodded in response. Wang Haitao first put all the artillery and ammunition in the fort into the storage ring, and Bao Changyi was taken aback when all the artillery suddenly disappeared out of thin air.

What happened next made Bao Changyi even more surprised, Wang Haitao took out a large-caliber heavy cannon from the storage ring, and then put it into one gun position after another, and at the same time took out boxes of shells and supplies. Seeing Bao Changyi's surprised expression, Wang Haitao smiled and said, "A gadget handed down from my ancestors is now coming in handy." ”

Bao Changyi looked at Wang Haitao's indifferent expression, and said in his heart: "This is just a gadget? This is simply a god against the sky!" After putting down the heavy artillery, Wang Haitao chose another position and put down the artillery that had just been put in, which was used for supporting artillery fire in the direction of the main position in Changshan. At the same time, Wang Haitao also took out 10 Type 54 heavy machine guns, 20 Type 56 light machine guns, and 20 Type 82 mortars.

Wang Haitao said to Bao Changyi: "The artillery here is still operated by your artillery, and these German machine guns and mortars are for your marines." You let your men take it over, and I'll send someone to teach your men how to use these machine guns. Only then did Bao Changyi believe that Wang Haitao's words about strengthening himself with a batch of heavy weapons were true.

With this batch of heavy weapons, Bao Changyi knew that the strength of his subordinates would be greatly improved. And Wang Haitao's behavior of taking out so many heavy weapons and giving them away at once, without frowning, is also extremely admired. After arranging the position, Wang Haitao asked Liu Yuzhu, the head of the 570th Regiment, to serve as the chief officer of Madang Fortress, and Bao Changyi to serve as his deputy. Bao Changyi and his subordinates had no objection to Wang Haitao's appointment, and the strength of the 570th Regiment was there.

After arranging the affairs of Madang Fortress, Wang Haitao, Bao Changyi, Liu Yuzhu and others said goodbye, and left Madang Fortress with the guard regiment and headed for Jiujiang City. Speaking of the Japanese army, when the 101st Division was fighting hard in Huaining County without results, the defenders suddenly completely abandoned Huaining County and retreated, which made the division commander of the 101st Division, Ito Masaki, a little confused.

A day after Lieutenant General Masaki Ito sent a reconnaissance unit, he learned that the Shina army had fully retreated, and even the important city of Anqing had been abandoned. Lieutenant General Masaki Ito hurriedly reported to Commander Okamura Ninji. Although Commander Okamura Ninji did not understand why Wang Haitao's army suddenly retreated, he still did not hesitate to order his troops to advance in the direction of Jiujiang.

[Readers and friends who love the prince's works, today is the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, and the prince is here to greet everyone in advance! I wish you all good health, all the best, smooth sailing, and rolling wealth in the New Year! ] There are too many words of blessing, and the prince cannot finish it at once, but as long as it is a sincere blessing from the heart, a few words are enough. Here, the prince also thanked everyone for their love for the prince for so long, and I hope that everyone will continue to care for the prince's works next year. Thank you very much!]