The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 323 Crossing the River
"Dismantling the naval guns, you mean dismantling the guns on the warships?"

He Wei asked Hu Rizhen, commander of the heavy artillery battalion, suspiciously.

Hu Rizhen nodded and replied: "That's right. Although the navy warship was sunk, the guns on it can still be used by me. Captain He, you are new here, but we have been stationed along the Yangtze River for a long time." Many forts and fortresses along the river are equipped with artillery dismantled from sunken warships of our navy for artillery fire reinforcement. For example, the Tianjia Town fortress opposite is equipped with multiple 105mm naval guns of the navy. These The naval guns are all large-caliber artillery and are extremely powerful.”

"If my guess is correct, Captain He, the warship you saw is the Navy's Xianning gunboat. Although this warship is not big, its firepower is very fierce. If the artillery on this warship can be equipped on Banbi Mountain, , which will be a great help to the defense of Banbi Mountain.”

He Wei thought for a while and said to Hu Rizhen: "I understand, I will consider this matter."

Hu Rizhen's intention was to disassemble the artillery from the sunken warship and equip it on the fort.

He Wei is not unfamiliar with this. During the Battle of Jinling, the Xiaguan defensive position planned and constructed by He Wei was equipped with 203 mm and 105 mm naval guns disassembled from naval warships. , and played a great role in the final moments of the Battle of Jinling.

Thinking of the warship he saw on the river in the early morning and the huge main gun on the bow of the warship, He Wei was very moved by Hu Rizhen's proposal. If he could disassemble it and equip it on Banbi Mountain, then he could The firepower will be greatly increased. Whether it is on land or on the river, it will be a very powerful artillery firepower.

After keeping this matter in mind, He Wei took Ma Ji, Hu Rizhen and Huang Tiaoqi down the mountain to join the large forces of the assault corps. They met Wang Yuanling, the chief of staff who directed the assault corps' landing and advance. After everyone met, he In line with the principles of mutual communication and sincere unity, before Wang Yuanling could report the advance of the assault group, he gathered everyone together and greeted Ma Ji, commander of the 385th Brigade, and the 150mm heavy artillery battalion. Commander Hu Rizhen and company commander Huang Tiaoqi of the 75mm anti-aircraft gun company introduced each other to the chief of staff Wang Yuanling.

After Ma Ji's suggestion, He Wei finally gained a deeper understanding of the internal factional struggles and strife within the 11th Army Corps of Li Yannian's unit to which he belonged. Such struggles and strife were extremely harmful to the battle, and sometimes even More harmful than wrong decisions on the battlefield.

He Wei didn't want to overturn this, so it was extremely important to have a good relationship with his chief staff officer Wang Yuanling and Ma Ji, the chief officers of the friendly forces.

At least, in this relatively stable environment where the Japanese army has not yet attacked, it is very important to have a good relationship between the chief officers of each unit and the chief staff officers.

Under He Wei's mediation and introduction, everyone had a lively chat, and a good relationship was initially established, which made a good start for the subsequent coordinated operations.

After everyone communicated with each other and became familiar with each other in a harmonious manner, Wang Yuanling reported to He Weihui: "Captain, our regiment has moved to Banbi Mountain. The leading troops have arrived, and the baggage and ammunition are being transported at a fast pace. Another One hundred and fifty naval officers and soldiers rescued by our unit are also coming with us!"

He Wei asked: "Brother Yuan Ling, how were you on the road? Did you encounter any problems?"

"There is nothing going on. The Japanese are still far away from this for the time being. Everything is going well. Not a single person or a horse in my regiment has lost a gun or a bullet. It's just that the situation of the brothers in the Navy is not good. They have many injuries. Soldiers, but the medical conditions of our corps are limited and we can only perform simple bandaging and treatment. Some seriously injured soldiers need surgery. We have no choice. Captain Ling of the health team has done simple treatment, but said that they must be sent to the rear hospital as soon as possible. Only seriously wounded soldiers can be saved.”

As Wang Yuanling spoke, he looked at a naval officer not far away. He Wei quickly noticed this person and saw that the white officer uniform on this tired-looking naval officer was covered with dark red blood. There was gray-black smoke, and his face was covered with blood.

"Captain, the warship we encountered this morning was the Navy's Xianning gunboat. This person is the lieutenant commander of the Xianning ship. I asked him that they were patrolling the river early this morning, laying mines, but they were confused with the Japanese. The plane encountered a sudden encounter and was hit by a few bombs. The warship was sunk by the Japanese, killing many people, and their captain was also killed," Wang Yuanling said in a low voice.

He Wei nodded. For seriously injured navy sailors, the medical level of the assault force would definitely not be able to treat them. There are small towns and villages nearby, and there are no decent medical conditions. If you want to save the lives of seriously injured navy sailors, , the only option is to send them to Tianjia Town on the other side. The command post, headquarters and main force of the Eleventh Army are also located on the other side. I think the medical conditions will be much better.

Moreover, Ma Ji also told He Wei that Li Yannian, commander of the Eleventh Army Corps, had issued an order for He Wei to go to the other side for a meeting as soon as possible.

The lives of wounded navy soldiers were at stake, and Li Yannian's order to go to the meeting was a military order.

In this case, He Wei thought that he might as well set off to the south bank as soon as possible to report to the Eleventh Army Corps, and send the wounded soldiers of the navy there.

However, before leaving, in order to prevent long nights and possible Japanese attacks, He Wei planned to deploy the frontline defense of Banbi Mountain first.

So, He Wei immediately gathered everyone together, and first smiled and said to Ma Ji, the commander of the 385th Brigade, who was older than him in terms of military rank, seniority, and age: "Sir Ma, this time our unit was ordered to come to defend Banbi Mountain." , we have an equal relationship with your department. We can only fight the future battles well if we share our knowledge, love and sincerity. The junior was ordered to lead the department to guard Banbi Mountain. The land with Banbi Mountain as the center and the river banks on both sides, since It’s the defense area of ​​my assault team.”

"But you can't fight without caring about your back. Behind Banbi Mountain, there are a large number of lake network areas and mountain tops and other deep positions. These areas are also very important. They can be said to be the depth and retreat of the Banbi Mountain position. I want to Leave it to Senior Ma, please help me!"

He Wei's words were very sincere, and the look he looked at Ma Ji was also very sincere.

Regarding the defensive deployment at Banbi Mountain and its vicinity, He Wei already had an idea. The main force of the assault force would be deployed in the shallow, close-range and deep areas of Banbi Mountain and the river banks on both sides. However, the vast depth in the rear and the lake network area was also very important. The vast deep area of ​​​​the lake network behind Banbi Mountain can be said to be the rear shield of the main defense area of ​​the assault corps, and it must be strictly defended.

At the moment, the only unit that He Wei can count on to guard his retreat is Ma Ji's 385th Brigade.

Because of this, He Wei sent a request to Ma Ji, hoping that his 385th Brigade could take over the defense of the back road of the Banbishan position.

Of course, He Wei had no authority, let alone the command to ask Ma Ji's troops to guard the Assault Corps' retreat. After all, he was only the commander of the Banbishan position, and the only troops he could command were the Assault Corps and the heavy artillery assigned to him. The barracks and anti-aircraft artillery company were theoretically on the same level as Ma Ji's 385th Brigade. Moreover, in terms of military rank, Ma Ji was still a major general and brigade commander, while He was only a lieutenant colonel.

Regarding He Wei's humble attitude, Ma Ji, a battlefield veteran who was over 50 years old, smiled kindly and said: "This is the way it should be, and it is our duty to do so."

He Wei showed a grateful look and saluted Ma Ji with a standard military salute.

After solving the problem of the retreat of Banbishan's defense line, the next step was the defense deployment of Banbishan's main defense line. He Wei handed over his defense deployment plan and general troop and firepower deployment scenarios to Chief of Staff Wang Yuanling.

According to He Wei's plan, the 1st Infantry Battalion and Artillery Battalion of the Assault Corps, as well as the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Army Mechanized Heavy Artillery Regiment of Hu Rizhen's Department and the 75mm anti-aircraft gun company of Huang Diaoqi's Department were all stationed in half of the wall. Mountains, using the permanent fortifications on Banbi Mountain as a basis, to build artillery and infantry defensive positions to directly attack and control the river surface and nearby land depth areas.

The second and third battalions of the Assault Corps were respectively deployed at shallow depths and depths on the river banks on the left and right sides of Banbi Mountain to prevent Japanese troops from landing on both sides of Banbi Mountain. While establishing positions deep in the distance, it is also necessary to establish contact and coordination with the 385th Brigade, which is responsible for the side defense of Banbi Mountain.

The command post of the Assault Corps and the troops directly under the command are deployed with Banbi Mountain as the center.

This is He Wei's rough idea and plan for Banbishan's first-line defense. As for more detailed and specific arrangements, they are not within the scope of his consideration.

The greatest role of the chief of staff and the staff office is to liberate the commander-in-chief He Wei from the complicated and detailed deployment matters. The specific implementation of the combat plan is carried out by the officers and staff of the staff office based on He Wei's scenarios. deal with.

After the defense matters were handed over, He Wei began to prepare to cross the river.

The river water area where Banbi Mountain is located is almost the narrowest point on the entire Yangtze River. The distance from Banbi Mountain to Tianjia Town on the other bank is only 500 meters, so there is a saying that "a boat crosses the river with eighteen oars". It means that if you take a small boat to cross the river from Banbi Mountain, you only need to shake the oars eighteen times to cross the river and cross the bank.

Although this slang is an exaggeration, it also shows how narrow the river is near half the wall. At present, the warships of the Japanese Navy have not yet attacked the river between Banbi Mountain and Tianjia Town. Therefore, the Chinese army also has small steamboats at the foot of Banbi Mountain for surface mobile communication between the north and south sides.

Although these steamboats were not big, each boat could carry more than fifty people. So, with the help of Ma Ji, He Wei took the messenger Tao Heiwa and dozens of wounded naval troops aboard. A steamboat headed for Tianjia Town on the other side.

After boarding the ship, He Wei felt a strong smell of blood, but he saw that the simple cabin, which was not very large, was already filled with dozens of wounded soldiers from the navy. The deck of the cabin was scattered with deep and shallow layers of blood. Black blood stains, everyone's body is scarred and full of blood, and there are pale marks on their faces.

The lightly wounded soldiers who had been hit by shrapnel were squatting together in groups of three or two in the corner of the cabin, while the seriously wounded soldiers who had their hands and feet broken were all lying on stretchers, wailing in pain and despair.

Although He Wei, who had been in battle for a long time and was used to seeing tragic scenes, was already used to such scenes, but after hearing the painful wails of the wounded navy soldiers, He Wei still had mixed feelings in his heart.

Just as He Wei turned his attention to the rolling waves on the river, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Hello, sir!"

He Wei turned his head and saw that standing in front of him was the blood-covered naval lieutenant commander he had just seen at the foot of the mountain. Although this naval lieutenant commander was covered with traces of blood and gunpowder smoke, his figure was still in shape. He was upright, standing very stable on the constantly rocking steamboat, and he didn't look like he was seriously injured like those wailing wounded soldiers.

He Wei immediately returned the greeting and nodded.

The Navy Lieutenant Commander added: "Sir, I am Lieutenant Commander Lei Zhongwei, the first mate of the Xianning ship of the Navy. Our ship sank in the battle today. Fortunately, the commander's troops rescued us. On behalf of all the officers and soldiers of this ship, I thank you sir!"

"Thank you, thank you. They are all Chinese soldiers. How could I not save him? It's just a casual job. Brother, since you are injured, take a good rest. You navy brothers are all good people." He Wei said.

The naval lieutenant commander named Lei Zhongwei looked at He Wei very firmly, his eyes were a little red, and he said in a trembling voice: "Sir, if I hadn't run into you today, I and my brothers on the ship would have been Most of them will be buried in the rolling river, and if your troops had not provided preliminary treatment to the wounded brothers on our ship after being rescued, these brothers on the ship would not be able to survive now. "

"As I said before, we are all Chinese soldiers. This is what I should do. Brother, are you injured too?"

"Sir, I am not injured. I am crossing the river with some uninjured brothers to take care of and escort the injured brothers. I will also go to Tianjia Town on the other side to report to my superiors that our ship was sunk today."

He Wei nodded, stepped forward and patted the Marine Major on the shoulder, and said: "I know; ok, let's not talk about this anymore. My troops have just arrived at Banbi Mountain and are not familiar with the situation nearby. Tell me." Tell me about the situation of your warship and the attack, so that I can have a basic understanding of the situation."

Lei Zhongwei responded quickly, informing He Wei of the basic situation of the Xianning gunboat and the course of today's attack, as well as the current tactics and attack frequency of the Japanese army's harassment near Tianjia Town and Banbi Mountain.

The Xianning gunboat, with Lei Zhongwei as the first mate, is one of the few remaining warships in the Chinese Navy. It was built by Jiangnan Shipbuilding in Songhu. This gunboat has a displacement of 418 tons and a length of 54.86 meters, width 7.31 meters, draft 1.82 meters, speed 16 knots, equipped with a Japanese "Three-year-old" 120mm naval gun, a Japanese "Three-year-old" 1mm anti-aircraft gun, and an "Oerlikon" 76mm machine gun One, two "Hatchkiss" 1mm guns, and three "Maxin" 20mm machine guns. It is a Yangtze River gunboat specially designed for use in the inland rivers of the Yangtze River.

Since the battle plan to defend Greater Wuhan was put on the agenda, although the weak Chinese Navy has suffered heavy losses, it has also been very active and actively organized ships to lay emergency mines in the Yangtze River channel to prevent Japanese warships from intruding.

The main mine laying area of ​​the Xianning ship is the line between Tianjia Town and Banbishan. For more than a month, the Xianning ship has been frequently active in Hankou, Wuhan. As for the river waters between Tianjia Town and Banbishan, it may also lay down in the river waters where the Japanese army may appear. Set up a blockade line with mines, or go out for reconnaissance, or transport supplies.

But this morning, the Xianning ship, which had completed the task of laying mines on the front line of Tianjia Town in the dark night, was returning to Wuhan as usual. However, on the way back, it suddenly encountered several Japanese aircraft. The two sides immediately started a battle on the river. In the melee, the officers and soldiers of the Xianning ship launched a tenacious resistance although they were very heroic.

However, the Xianning ship had limited firepower, weak protection, and a large number of Japanese aircraft. Therefore, under the continuous attacks of Japanese aircraft, the Xianning ship quickly became overwhelmed and was hit in many places. The Xianning ship's hull was made of mild steel and had no Armor protection, after being hit by a Japanese bomb, the warship's hull quickly caught fire, and the river flooded back. As the fire gradually spread, the Xianning ship gradually lost power, and eventually sank in the river due to excessive damage. In a shallow water area beside the ship, dozens of officers and soldiers from the captain on down died heroically, while the remaining officers and soldiers abandoned the ship and escaped under the leadership of Chief Officer Lei Zhongwei.

Shortly after the officers and soldiers of the Xianning ship abandoned the ship, the assault fleet happened to pass through the channel where the Xianning ship sank in the battle. The officers and soldiers of the Xianning ship were saved from the tragic ending of freezing to death in the cold river water.

After He Wei learned from Lei Zhongwei the specific situation of the Xianning ship and the entire process of its sinking, he was both frightened and surprised.

The frightening thing is that the time when the Xianning ship was attacked by Japanese military planes was not far from the time when the assault group and the Xianning ship met. If the transport fleet transporting the assault group was faster, the assault group's fleet might not be able to move. He would have to be bombed along with the Xianning ship.

He Wei couldn't help but feel a chill in his back when he thought of the scene of more than 20 transport ships transporting the assault force being strafed and bombed by multiple Japanese aircraft on the river.

The good news is that the Xianning ship has powerful firepower. Just now on Banbi Mountain, the heavy artillery battalion commander Hu Rizhen proposed to He Wei that the artillery on the sunken warship should be disassembled and strengthened on Banbi Mountain. At that time, He Wei was somewhat moved.

Now He Wei learned that the Xianning, a small warship of only 400 tons, actually had such powerful firepower. As a result, He Wei had a stronger idea of ​​dismantling the naval guns and deploying them on the front line of Banbi Mountain.

The steamboat soon reached the other side and arrived at a small harbor near the Tianjia Town Fortress.

Said to be a harbor, it is actually just a concave water network area with a width of less than 100 meters. After the steamer docked, everyone on board immediately disembarked. The wounded soldiers of the Navy disembarked one after another under the command of Lieutenant Commander Lei Zhongwei. He Wei took the messenger Tao Heiwa one step ahead and walked quickly to the back of the harbor.

He Wei didn't go far when he was stopped by about a platoon of sentries. These soldiers all wore German steel helmets. The rifles were of the same color and medium-formal. The light machine gunners also held Czech-style guns. Each soldier wore a He was carrying two long-handled grenades and a bulging canvas bullet belt slung across his body.

Whether it is clothing, equipment, or weapons, they are all equipped by the standard Central Army field troops. Although the spirit and physique of the soldiers cannot be compared with those of the assault corps, they can still lag behind most of the national army troops.

Obviously, this is an elite force. Of course, what is more conspicuous is that these soldiers all wear yellow armbands with the word "Huangpu" written on their right arms.

Out of curiosity, He Wei glanced at the badges of these soldiers. After seeing clearly the units to which these soldiers belonged, he immediately understood why they wore badges with the word Huangpu on them.

It turned out that the units these soldiers belonged to were the 25th Brigade and the 51st Regiment of the 9th Division of the Second Army of the National Army. The predecessor of this regiment was the Second Teaching Regiment of Huangpu Military Academy. It was the National Revolutionary Army's Northern Expedition. It was the first field force to be trained, so the 51st Regiment of the 9th Division has always called itself the "ancestor of the revolution."

Now it seems that this ancestral group is indeed quite elite.

The officer leading this group of sentries was a very young second lieutenant platoon leader. After He Wei was stopped, he stepped forward, saluted He Wei and said: "Sir, please show your ID to indicate your identity and identity." Intention."

He Wei took out his officer ID card and handed it to the second lieutenant, and said: "I am He Wei, the lieutenant colonel of the Army Assault Corps. By order of the Military Commission, my headquarters was assigned to the 11th Army Corps' combat sequence and came to Tianjia Town for front-line support. I was ordered We are guarding the Banbishan position. Our troops have arrived and started to set up defenses. Your Corps Commander Li Yannian asked me to prepare the troops and cross the river to report. "

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, the face of the second lieutenant platoon leader changed. He respectfully returned the military ID to He Wei and said seriously, "Sir, please follow me!"

(End of this chapter)