The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 319 The sunken warship

After the assault team boarded the ship from Hankou, it drove at full speed toward the Tianjia Town fortress group.

In order to avoid gaps in the Japanese army, the fleet of the Assault Corps adopted the method of sailing at night and hiding during the day. They stopped moving during the day, and the ships docked at the nearby dock to hide. The officers and soldiers disembarked to evacuate and hide. When it got dark, Only then could the officers and soldiers reboard the ship, and the fleet could continue to move forward.

Faced with the absolute air superiority of the Japanese army, the Assault Corps had no choice but to adopt this stupid method. Although the safety of the Assault Corps was guaranteed during its march, the speed of its advance was also greatly reduced. It took more than two days for the fleet to approach its destination. land.

Early on the morning of the 7th, when it was still dark, the huge fleet carrying the assault team sailed into the waters of Guangji County, Hubei Province, under the cover of the remaining night, and gradually approached the river waters controlled by the Tianjia Town fortress group.

On the deck of the leading large river ship, eight mg34 machine guns equipped with anti-aircraft machine gun tripods pointed their black muzzles high into the sky, and the slender metal bullet chains made friction under the gusts of river wind. At the sound of the sound, the heavily armed machine gunners of the Assault Corps stood ready, vigilantly using their machine gun sights to look at the sky above the river.

In the center of the deck, He Wei, who had been on the boat for two days with his troops, was standing, looking into the distance with a solemn expression.

I saw the mighty Yangtze River flowing slowly, and the river surface where the fleet was located suddenly narrowed. The river flow was like a bunch, shaped like a throat, and the terrain on both sides of the river gradually became steeper, giving a sense of vitality.

And the hazy mist floating everywhere on the river adds a sense of mystery to this vigorous scenery.

With a creak, Chief of Staff Wang Yuanling opened the hatch under the command platform on the front deck, jogged to He Wei's side, and said with joy: "Captain, the fleet commander just informed us that we have arrived. The destination is Tianjia Town ahead. It is estimated that our team will be able to disembark in half an hour's journey. "

"We are finally here, brother Yuan Ling, how is the army?"

"There are still many officers and soldiers who are seasick and vomiting when they should, but the captain can rest assured that Major Ling of the health team has been taking care of them. Now that they are at the place, the brothers are able to survive."

He Wei nodded and asked, "Has the planned landing location been communicated to the responding troops?"

"We have communicated well. Our department has used the radio to establish contact with the troops on the south bank of Banbi Mountain. The one responsible for covering us is the 385th Brigade of the 193rd Division. I have communicated with the brigade commander through the radio. He has already dispatched a regiment of troops to stand by at our planned landing site."

He Wei then breathed a sigh of relief and said: "That's good, we finally got through it. It's not easy for our commando team to be the navy these two days. We have been on tenterhooks. Our army is still rolling on land." It’s solid.”

Wang Yuanling also smiled: "Yes, what the captain said is true. I have been on the boat for the past two days. As soon as the boat starts, I always feel that the Japanese planes are going to fly over and bomb us. I can't sleep well. Every battalion The soldiers of the company felt uncomfortable in the cabin, vomiting and cursing each other. Now it’s better. We’ll get to the place right away, and our brothers won’t have to suffer.”

During the two days of marching on the river, the officers of the Assault Corps were really on tenterhooks. When sailing at night, they were worried about something happening to the boat transporting troops in the middle of the night. When dawn came, they were worried about Japanese planes bombing, and there were no members of the Assault Corps. The young soldier had never been on a boat before, and he started to get seasick and vomited after boarding the ferry. In order to take care of these uncomfortable officers and soldiers, the commando team also spent a lot of energy.

Therefore, the officers were very nervous along the way.

After all, this is on the water and not on land. No matter what kind of enemy situation they encounter on land, the troops have the capital to fight to the death. But if something unexpected happens on the ship, they will not even be able to fight with all their might. Fortunately, they will all be buried in the belly of the fish.

Now that they were about to land on the shore, He Wei and Wang Yuanling were relieved.

Just when He Wei relaxed and was about to return to the cabin to organize the troops to prepare for landing, suddenly, a sound came from the left side of the ferry. Although the sound was not loud, it was particularly obvious in the quiet morning. It sounded like Something collided with the hull, startling the assault force soldiers and ferry sailors on the deck.

He Wei immediately shouted: "Everyone be alert, go and notify the sailors and fleet commander to see what is under the ship!"

A sharp whistle sounded on the deck. The machine gunners of the assault group on the deck leveled their mg34 machine guns. The ferry commander and sailors wearing life jackets also came to the left side of the hull where the noise was coming to investigate the situation.

Soon, He Wei heard a commanding officer shouting: "It's a dead man! Come on, get the hook and hook the dead man up!"

He Wei and Wang Yuanling immediately ran to check and saw that there was indeed a body at the bottom of the boat, rising and falling with the river.

The sailors immediately picked up hooks and wooden poles to hook up the body and dragged it to the deck. After everyone gathered around, they saw that the body lying on the ground was beyond recognition. Half of the face had been burnt, and the clothes and clothes on the lower body were charred. The body was also completely black, with several large bullet holes and cuts made by shrapnel.

Only the upper body is still intact, it is a milky white coat and a white hat on the head.

After seeing the tragic scene of the corpse, the sailors who were watching frowned in discomfort. However, He Wei looked at the corpse with a normal expression. He had been in war for a long time and had seen corpses and mutilations. There were countless broken limbs and arms, and now this half-burnt body could only be regarded as a trivial matter.

Secondly, He Wei had already determined the identity of the corpse from its hat.

The milky white hat worn by the corpse had the unique streamers of a navy cap, and the six characters "Navy of the Republic of China" were written on the brim.

Obviously, this is the body of a Chinese naval soldier who died in battle. It goes without saying how he died in battle.

Although the Chinese navy suffered heavy losses in the bloody battles in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the surviving ships and naval officers and soldiers still fought bloody battles with the Japanese on the Yangtze River. The condition of this naval soldier's body is enough to show that he experienced an extremely brutal bloody battle during his lifetime.

He Wei stood at attention solemnly, paid a military salute to the naval officer who died for his country, and then ordered the body to be temporarily placed on the Azi deck until the assault team landed before being buried.

But after the fleet continued sailing for more than ten minutes, something happened again on the river.

Due to the change in the direction of the river near the river where Tianjia Town is located, the channel suddenly turned, so the fleet also needed to turn. However, when the fleet gradually approached the turning point of the channel, they found bursts of fire and a plume of gray and black smoke. Rising from the bend in the channel, the river was also reflected in flames and firelight.

Seeing this, He Wei was immediately shocked. He had just fished out the body of a dead naval soldier, and now there was fire and smoke in front of him. Doesn't this mean that there is probably something going on ahead!
Although the specific situation is unknown, if we speculate based on the worst-case scenario, the Japanese navy is also attacking along the waterway up the river, which means that there are likely to be Japanese warships ahead!

Needless to say, there will be consequences for an unarmed civilian ferry to encounter a Japanese Navy warship.

Chief of Staff Wang Yuanling was also horrified. He pointed at the thick smoke and flames in front and said, "Captain, what should we do now?" "Damn it, we're here soon. Let me put this show together. Send someone to notify the ship first." The commander of the team reduced the speed and asked all the brothers in our team to get on the deck. He told the brothers to prepare for battle and bring up all the machine guns and mortars. No matter who is in front, we will have to support him even if we die! "

He Wei shouted with red eyes.

"Yes! I will give the order immediately!"

Wang Yuanling immediately went down to deliver the order with a desperate tone.

Not long after, whistles and battle commands from officers rang out over the ferries and the entire fleet. The fleet of twenty-five ferries began to adjust its formation under the command of the fleet commander and formed a line. The column moved forward, also reducing its speed.

The officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps got out of the cabin one after another and placed various automatic firearms on the deck of the ferry.

Czech light machine guns, ZB37 heavy machine guns, mg34 general machine guns, mm mortars, and mm mortars were all pulled up. The officers and soldiers of the artillery battalion were not to be outdone, and they also pulled up mountain cannons and tank defense guns. When we got to the deck, we spread out, with the muzzle of the gun pointed straight ahead.

Suddenly, the deck was crowded with officers and men of the assault force who were ready for battle. All the officers and men were red-eyed and ready for a fight to the death.

He Wei, who was prepared for the worst, also picked up a signal gun, his rapid breathing gradually stabilized, and he stared at the situation on the river ahead.

As long as he sees a Japanese warship appearing, he will trigger the signal gun.

As soon as the signal flares are fired and the battle-ready commandos are deployed on the ferry, they will fight to the death with the Japanese warships. It is not his style to sit back and wait for death. Even if his life is to be handed down in the rolling Yangtze River today, He Wei also wants to take away some enemies to be buried with him!
As the ferry gradually approached the bend in the channel ahead, the fire, smoke and flames became more and more obvious, and He Wei could even hear people shouting.

The ferry moved forward little by little. He Wei held his breath, raised the signal gun, and pulled the trigger, about to fire it.

However, when he saw the "true face of Lushan" with thick smoke and flames, he immediately put down the signal gun and looked at the scene on the river ahead with a look of amazement.

But he saw some Japanese warship on the river ahead. What caught He Wei's eyes was a burning ship with thick smoke. It was not an ordinary ship, but a ship with two masts and two sides. Chimney, Chinese Navy warship hanging with blue sky and white sun flag.

The rear half of the warship has sunk into the river. The front of the ship is raised high, and the entire ship is leaning to the left. A raging fire has been ignited in the center of the ship, and the main gun on the bow is also high. cocked.

He Wei made a rough estimate and found that the cannon on the bow of the warship was at least 120 mm. It was really a big naval gun. Behind the cannon, there was also a 20 mm caliber machine gun.

Streams of steam and gray soot spewed out from the chimney with a large hole exposed from time to time. The hot air waves mixed with soot and black smoke came straight towards He Wei's face.

There were many corpses of sailors floating in the nearby river, as well as broken limbs and fragments of bombed warship hulls. Several sampans and motorboats were cruising around on the river, and the sampans and motorboats were already full of sailors.

In the river, there were many Chinese sailors wearing life jackets and holding lifebuoys, waving and shouting at sampans and motorboats. There were also many wounded soldiers covered in blood, wailing in the river.

Seeing this tragic scene, He Wei immediately understood that this should be a Chinese navy warship that was sunk by the Japanese not long ago. The corpse of the sailor he just saw should be the dead officers and soldiers of this warship.

Looking at the large hole blasted in the center of the warship's hull, He Wei estimated that the warship was probably sunk by Japanese planes bombing along the river.

The officers and soldiers waving to the sampans and motorboats were obviously asking for help, but those sampans and motorboats were already crowded and there was no way to rescue the remaining sailors.

At this time, the fleet transporting the officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps suddenly appeared. The sailors in the river seemed to have seen a life-saving straw, waving and shouting desperately to the fleet of the Assault Corps.

"Save people, save people! I am the Chinese Navy!"

"Stop the boat quickly! Please save us, many of our brothers are injured and are dying!"

"The army and the people are fighting together. We are fighting the Japanese. Please help!"

Looking at the sailors filling the river and the river water dyed red with blood, Chief of Staff Wang Yuanling asked He Wei for instructions: "Captain, what should we do now?"

"How to deal with it? Save people quickly! Let the fleet stop and fish out these sailors first. They have many wounded soldiers. If we don't save them, they will all die in the river. Save people quickly!"

"Yes!"

After the combat order was lifted, the assault fleet also stopped and began the rescue operation.

The first few ferries put down their cables and sampans one after another, and the sailors began to set up the sampans in the river to rescue the wounded soldiers who fell into the water. The uninjured sailors also swam to the ferry, and with the help of the officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps, they swam to the ferry. Climb up.

Most of the ferries of the Transport Assault Corps are large ferries, carrying many small sampans and motorboats. Therefore, the rescue operation was very fast. In less than 20 minutes, the drowned sailors on the river were rescued on each ferry and floated on the river. The remains of the sailors were also recovered.

After rescuing all the sailors, He Wei saw that the sky was getting brighter. In order to prevent a long night, he immediately notified the commander of the transport fleet to continue heading towards the landing destination of the assault corps. He also ordered the captain of the health team of the assault corps to treat the injured sailors who had been rescued. The soldiers performed bandaging and first aid.

In this way, amidst the hustle and bustle, the fleet transporting the assault group continued to sail for twenty minutes and finally arrived at the landing site.

(End of this chapter)