Rise From Eight Hundred

Originally, the Huangpu River passing through Songjiang was not very wide, but because the river water made a turn here, the 2-kilometer-long river surface was 1,000 meters wide, and the water flow became gentle. Otherwise, the Japanese gunboat formation would not want to find a place to land here.

The hill where the artillery unit was located was more than 300 meters away from the riverside, and about 800 meters away from the three Japanese gunboats that had slowed down and approached the shore.

For all kinds of firearms, this distance is definitely a distance of confusion, but for artillery, it is definitely not far, especially for artillerymen who have been calibrated for five or six minutes.

But unfortunately, the accuracy of artillery fire is not what you want, especially if you want to aim at moving targets.

The first shell fired by the 37mm rapid-fire gun did not hit any gunboat. In Tang Dao's telescope, a splash of water was stirred up on the river surface about 20 meters away from the gunboat.

But soon after, the other three rapid-fire guns also fired in succession, all of which exploded around the Japanese gunboats.

The three Japanese gunboats were obviously stunned by the sudden "attack" and did not react for half a minute. They probably did not expect that there would be Chinese, and they did not expect that the Chinese would dare to fire at them in the middle of the river.

It is also sad to say that both China and Japan invested their elite forces in this Battle of Songhu. In addition to 200,000 elite ground forces, the Japanese side also invested in a naval fleet with two aircraft carriers, battleships and heavy cruisers. It was intended to destroy the weak Chinese navy in one fell swoop and completely block China's coastline.

However, the Japanese Navy failed to find the Chinese Navy for a decisive battle, and their strategy was realized.

The weak Chinese Navy had no aircraft carriers or heavy cruisers. The only few light cruisers were sunk by Japanese Navy aircraft on the Yangtze River. In order to prevent the Japanese Navy from entering the Yangtze River, the remaining frigates could only sink in tears in the Yangtze River waterway.

Since then, the Chinese Navy has been more air force than the Air Force.

It can be said that since the war began, the proud Japanese Navy has not suffered any threats from the water or the ground except for being attacked by the Chinese Air Force with machine guns and bombs.

Unexpectedly, they were bombarded by the Chinese here. Although the shells were not accurate, the waves splashed all over them, which was quite scary.

The proud Japanese Navy was confused at first, but after more than 30 seconds, they realized that the Chinese had deployed flat-fire guns on the shore to attack them.

Angry, the proud Japanese Navy was very angry.

The 80mm main gun turret on the bow quickly adjusted the angle and violently fired at the coordinate position where the commander roared.

Although it was a vast expanse of white there, the fog rising from the river and the dense woods and vegetation seriously obstructed their vision, which was not as clear as Tang Dao's view of them on the river bank.

Neither the machine guns nor the mortars spoke, and only four rapid-fire guns continued to bombard.

The shells of the Japanese ship's 80mm artillery exploded dozens of meters away from them.

Obviously, neither side was the legendary god gunner who hit accurately at the beginning.

This is actually the routine operation. At a distance of nearly a thousand meters, even a super sniper like Tang Dao has to use a high-precision sniper rifle and judge based on comprehensive factors such as temperature, humidity, and wind direction to ensure a hit.

If a big gun like artillery wants to accurately hit a range of five meters without test firing and continuous calibration by experienced gunners, it is impossible.

The Japanese Navy is certainly not stupid. It will not stay in the center of the river as a live target for Chinese artillery. The three gunboats are at least 150 meters apart and make snake-like maneuvers in the river.

The two sides come and go, three 80mm naval guns against four 37mm rapid-fire guns. On one side is a turret that can be constantly maneuvered, and on the other side is a hilly and dense forest that the Japanese army can't see clearly. Both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages.

There are constant splashes on the river, and the trees on the shore are constantly blown away by the rising fireballs.

This makes the cavalry major who has been accompanying Tang Dao anxious.

He probably knew what Tang Dao was thinking. The rapid-fire guns were just a cover to make the Japanese gunboats think that they only had these few guns. When they relaxed their vigilance, the machine guns and 150 mortars that had been hidden would attack them in groups and catch them off guard.

This tactic itself was fine, but the stalemate itself was fine for the Japanese, but it was a big problem for them.

The six cavalry companies had done their best to support Tang Dao's "big stick" plan, and brought out a total of 1,100 horses, including spare war horses, and were now hiding in the woods four miles away.

If Japanese planes flew over and dropped bombs all over the place, others would be fine, but the horses would be frightened, and then they would be completely finished.

No one, no matter the people, horses, or guns, could escape.

In his opinion, Tang Dao's action was actually a dance on the tip of a knife. Maybe the record would be brilliant, but if you were not careful, the ending would be tragic.

From the perspective of the cavalry battalion commander named Gong Shaoxun, he hoped to fight quickly and concentrate all firepower to attack a gunboat. Even if he only sank one, it would be a great achievement.

It would successfully strike a blow to the Japanese invaders' arrogance and ensure everyone's safety.

Cavalry! This kind of aggressive and swift tactics is necessary.

Several times, the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he saw that Tang Dao, who had been carefully observing the battlefield, still had no intention of letting the mortars and machine guns participate in the battle, so Gong Shaoxun had to endure it.

Not only was it clearly written on the military commander's order that the entire army was under Tang Dao's command, but an army lieutenant colonel who could lead more than 100 isolated soldiers to fight a Japanese infantry regiment for a day and night, and finally lead his subordinates to escape from the Japanese hinterland, would never be a simple person.

It's okay for him to express his own ideas occasionally, but if he keeps expressing different opinions, people will not indulge him.

This is a smart man.

Although Tang Dao did not look back to see the changes in his deputy's eyes, just by listening to the intense heartbeat that his chest was trying to suppress, he knew that the excitement in his heart was definitely not as calm as it was now without saying a word.

"Captain Gong, have you always wanted to persuade me to concentrate firepower and fight quickly, and kill as many ships as possible?" Tang Dao put down the telescope and looked back at the cavalry major who was biting a piece of stick in his mouth to relieve his inner anxiety.

"That's right, but it's not because I'm afraid of death, but if the three cavalry battalions of my 67th Army are not lost here, they can cause greater casualties to the Japanese army." The cavalry major nodded and answered directly.

"We went through so much trouble to only destroy a small gunboat. Isn't that too easy for them?" Tang Dao shook his head and sighed. "In Jiangyin, our Chinese navy suffered heavy losses in one battle. If we don't teach the Japanese navy a lesson, they will really think they are invincible.

I want to let them know that the land belongs to China, and the rivers also belong to China."

Gong Shaoxun certainly would not understand the heartache of the little butterfly from the future that the Chinese navy was forced to sink the Yangtze River section in Jiangyin at that time. Tang Dao had enough time to get back the ground for the failure of the army, but for the sea and rivers, Tang Dao might not have so many opportunities except today.

Tang Dao must leave the three Japanese gunboats here today to let the Japanese navy bleed.

Tang Dao said so, and as his deputy, Gong Shaoxun could only listen to him.

After more than ten minutes, the firing rate of the Chinese rapid-fire guns was still more powerful, and several consecutive shots hit the gunboats.

The 20-30mm steel plates on the hull of the Toba-class gunboats can block heavy machine guns, but they are still not enough in front of the rapid-fire guns that can penetrate 50mm steel plates.

Several balls of fire rose continuously on the deck of one of the gunboats, and a scream broke out on the river.

The flying steel fragments should have injured many Japanese soldiers.

There were not only Japanese naval crew members on the gunboats, but also the familiar shit-yellow Japanese infantry figures in Tang Dao's telescope.

The 80mm naval guns of the Japanese gunboats could not do much with the several rapid-fire guns hidden under the protection of natural fortifications on the flanks of the hills. Although the explosions were quite lively, the accuracy of the artillery fire was far from enough because of the obstruction of vision. The four rapid-fire guns were still outputting crazily, which proved the failure of the naval guns.

"Baga! Order the formation to approach the shore and let the army Malu deal with those Chinese." In the command room of the leading gunboat, a Japanese naval lieutenant colonel put down the telescope angrily and ordered in a cold tone. "Order all gunboats and heavy machine guns to cover the landing of those idiots!"

In the mist, the shadows of three gunboats approached the north bank of the Huangpu River.

The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, and the heavy machine guns on the side of the Japanese ships also began to fire, and the flames hit the branches and leaves of the artillery positions on the riverside.

"Order all machine guns and mortars in the artillery battalion to prepare!" Tang Dao narrowed his eyes.

"Uh! Japanese, what are you doing?" Gong Shaoxun, who should have been happy to finally wait for all the firepower to be concentrated, pointed at the movements of the three Japanese gunboats with an extremely strange expression.