The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 346: Fierce Naval Guns 3
"There are no less than five enemy warships on the southwest river!"

"Sir, the number of enemy ships has increased to six!"

"Seven! No, there are nine enemy ships in total!"

Hearing the observation officer's warning, the artillery lieutenant colonel commander in the command room immediately turned the artillery telescope to observe in the direction indicated by the observation officer.

Sure enough, several small black dots soon came into the sight of the lieutenant colonel commander. He immediately left the artillery telescope and turned to the high-power telescope in the center of the command room to observe carefully.

After careful observation and confirmation that the ships seen on the river were indeed Japanese warships sailing upstream, the lieutenant colonel commander immediately ordered the messenger officer: "Order all gun positions to prepare for battle, and organize firepower into echelons according to the range of each gun. The naval guns are the first echelon, the Japanese-made field guns are the second echelon, the Japanese-made Taisho 6-year type mountain guns are the third echelon, and the Japanese-made 31-type field guns are the fourth echelon. When the Japanese ships enter the effective direct firing range of each gun, each echelon of firepower will open fire and attack the enemy ships according to my order!"

The lieutenant colonel commander looked at the Japanese warships gradually approaching the Fuchiguchi Fortress and calmly issued combat orders. This lieutenant colonel was also a veteran artillery officer from the former Beiyang Army. He had never fought against the Japanese army before, but having worked in artillery for more than 20 years, this lieutenant colonel commander was confident in the firepower and shooting command techniques of his artillery, and was confident in inflicting heavy damage to the attacking Japanese warships.

The four artillery firing echelons compiled by the lieutenant colonel were divided based on range and power. The range of the 150mm naval gun and the Krupp mm field gun were both over meters.

The caliber and power of the 150mm naval gun are superior to the Krupp 75mm field gun, so it is classified in the first echelon. The Krupp 150mm field gun, which has a similar range to the 150mm naval gun but lower power than the 75mm naval gun, is naturally classified in the second firing echelon.

As for the Japanese-made Taisho 6-year type mountain gun with a range of only 6,000 meters and the Type 31 field gun with a range of only 4,000 meters, they can only be assigned to the third and fourth echelons.

The lieutenant colonel's orders were transmitted to each gun position of the fort by the communication officer in the command room of the Fuchikou Fort via telephone, and the four echelons of artillery firepower assigned by the lieutenant colonel were quickly prepared.

The first to take action were the four 35mm naval guns of the navy artillery team. These four naval guns were all old German Krupp shipbuilding guns left over from the late Qing Dynasty. The barrel length was 4800 times the caliber, the bore length was 4.5mm, the gun weighed 530 tons, the initial velocity was 1 meters per second, the rate of fire was 11000 round per minute, the maximum range was 51 meters, and the shell weight was kilograms. Although they were old guns that had been in use for decades, they still occupied a place in the Chinese military's riverside defense with their huge power and caliber.

On the naval artillery battery, the naval gunners have completed the first loading task of four guns. The 51mm explosive grenade warheads weighing 150 kilograms and several packs of powder bags weighing 72 kilograms each have been loaded into the gun barrels. The gunners at each gun position have also all taken their positions behind the steel shields of the ship's guns.

In the 150mm naval gun positions, ammunition depots and observation posts, hundreds of naval officers and soldiers, with nervous or resolute expressions, stared intently at the gradually clearing outlines of Japanese ships on the river.

"Distance: 18,000!"

"Distance: 17,000!"

"Distance: 16,000!"

The naval officers and soldiers operating the range-finding instruments nervously calculated the distance between the Japanese warships and the artillery batteries, and continuously reported the latest position of the leading Japanese warships.

As the distance parameters continued to change, the aimers of the four 150mm naval guns, under the supervision and command of the deputy gunner, constantly adjusted the gun's outdated Miller-type sights, moved the sight up and down to the required elevation scale value on the base according to the distance parameters, fixed the sight with fastening screws, and continuously turned the gun's elevation handwheel to adjust the muzzle elevation until the tip of the sight on the sight was aligned with the star sight and the target to complete the three-point-in-one aiming of the gun.

The gunners of each gun pulled the firing cord of the cannon, nervously waiting for the order to fire.

When the distance between the naval artillery and the Japanese fleet was transmitted to the four gun positions on the fort, it was also reported by the messenger officer by telephone to the fort's supreme commander who was in the command post of the Fuchikou Fort. The supreme commander of the naval artillery stood behind the messenger officer, tightly grasping his command knife, waiting for the fort commander's order to open the position.

"Distance: 13,000!"

"Distance: twelve thousand!"

"Distance: 11,000!"

"Distance: 10,000!"

When the range-finding sailor shouted out a distance of ten thousand, the order to open fire from the Lieutenant Colonel Commander of the Fuchikou Battery suddenly came from the telephone transmitter.

"Naval gunners, start firing!"

Hearing the order to fire, the commander of the naval artillery swung his saber and shouted "Open!" with all his strength.

On the Fuchikou Fort, a cloud of white smoke rose from the muzzle of a 150mm naval gun, accompanied by a loud noise that sounded like the collapse of the heavens and the earth.

Amid the huge vibration, the gun barrel was slowly pushed to the end of the lower gun mount by the huge recoil force, and the entire turret was shrouded in choking smoke. Then, the other three guns also began to fire. Amid the loud rumbling sound, four 150mm shells flew out of the gun barrel in a rotation, killing the Japanese warships that were speeding towards Fuchikou.

Boom
咣咣
The shells fired from four 150mm naval guns whizzed towards the battle formation of the Japanese warships. Although the four guns were old, the naval officers and soldiers' shooting skills were not bad at all. All four shells fell into the formation of the Japanese warships. One of the shells whizzed over the Japanese fleet and landed in the river just a few hundred meters away from the Yaeyama, the flagship of the Japanese temporary fleet. Amid the violent explosion, the river water suddenly rose several feet, and the fragments produced by the explosion of several shells also hit the hull of the Yaeyama.

When the four 150mm naval guns opened fire, the nine Japanese warships advancing at high speed had rushed to a distance of less than 10,000 meters from the Fuchikou Fortress.

At this time, the supreme commander of the Fuchikou Fort gave the order to the Army Krupp Field Artillery Battalion on the fort to open fire. Immediately afterwards, twelve Krupp 75mm field guns of an Army Field Artillery Battalion also roared at the Fuchikou Fort.

After the twelve 75mm field guns joined the firing, tracks of flying shells and bullets slid out in the sky above the Yangtze River southwest of Fuchikou. The 75mm shells whistled towards the Japanese fleet. The gunners of the field artillery unit were all loading and firing at the fastest speed, reloading and firing. The fast-firing barreled 75mm field guns continuously fired shells at the Japanese fleet.

The four 150mm naval guns that had just completed the first round of firing were old recoil guns and had not yet completed the firing range, so they were unable to carry out the next round of firing. However, the rapid firing of the twelve 75mm field guns had made the artillery battery of the Fuchikou Fortress extremely busy, with loading and firing going on one after another, and artillerymen carrying shells and cartridges running around the battery.

The 75mm shells that fell into the river continuously stirred up waves of water. Suddenly, a destroyer at the end of the Japanese fleet was hit by a 75mm grenade. The 75mm grenade equipped with an instantaneous fuse exploded instantly, emitting raging flames. The hull of the hit Japanese destroyer also shook a few times on the river.

Suddenly, the Chinese artillerymen on the battery burst into thunderous cheers and applause.

"well played!"

In the command post of the Fuchikou Battery, the Lieutenant Colonel artillery commander cheered loudly as he watched the Japanese warship being hit, and then shouted excitedly to the messenger officer: "Tell the Taisho 6-year type mountain artillery units and the 31-type field artillery units that have not opened fire to open fire when the Japanese warships enter the range!"

Just as he finished speaking, another violent explosion was heard on the river. Another Japanese warship was hit by a 75mm field artillery shell, and black smoke came out. Then, the four 150mm naval guns of the naval artillery team also sounded again.

Dense artillery shells landed on the surface of the river, stirring up columns of water that shot up into the sky.

However, facing the fierce artillery fire from the Fuchikou Fort, the nine Japanese warships that attacked did not fire a single shot in retaliation, but just sailed silently on the river under the fierce artillery fire. They soon approached the river about 6 kilometers away from the Fuchikou Fort. At this time, seeing the Japanese ships within the effective range, the six Taisho 6-year type 75mm mountain guns also joined the shooting.

The artillery fire of the Fuchikou Fort became more intense in an instant. The multiple hits of the German-made Krupp field gun obviously gave great confidence to the officers and soldiers operating the Taisho 6-year type 75mm mountain gun. The gunners of the mountain gun also fired fiercely at the Japanese warships that had entered the effective range in a rapid manner and soon achieved a hit.

A 75mm mountain artillery shell hit the side of a Japanese warship exactly. The mountain artillery shell equipped with an instantaneous fuse exploded quickly after hitting the side of the Japanese warship. Although it did not cause structural damage to the hull of the Japanese warship, it left a huge black bullet mark after the explosion.

The mountain artillery gunners' shouts and cheers were heard again from the battery.

The lieutenant colonel commander in the Fuchikou Fortress Command Post also cheered again in front of the artillery scope, but the lieutenant colonel commander soon discovered that something was wrong.

Faced with the fierce artillery attack, the nine Japanese warships did not move or react, and did not even fire back. They just continued to advance silently on the river under the rain of bullets, and even accelerated their progress.

Although this small fleet of nine Japanese warships was enveloped in dense artillery fire, there was a very strange silence.

Just as the lieutenant colonel commander was in doubt, the nine Japanese ships, which had increased their speed, had already entered the river less than 4,000 meters away from the Fuchikou Fortress Battery. The four Japanese-made Type 31 field guns on the battery also opened fire.

At this point, all the artillery on the Fuchikou Fort, namely four old Krupp 150mm naval guns, twelve Krupp 75mm field guns, four Japanese-made Taisho 6th year type 75mm mountain guns and four Japanese-made Type 31 75mm field guns were all used in firing at Japanese ships. The surface of the river was littered with falling shells of various calibers, and the river water seemed to be boiling.

However, the nine Japanese warships completely ignored the fierce bombardment and continued to advance without firing a single shot.

Such an abnormal situation immediately caused the lieutenant colonel commander of the artillery to break away from the joy of having just hit the Japanese ships with a few shells, and he began to carefully observe the movements of the Japanese warships.

At this moment, the nine Japanese warships that had been advancing at high speed on the river suddenly slowed down, and then began to change formation. The four destroyers with higher speeds overtook the five minesweepers that had slowed down and approached the Fuchikou Fort.

Then, the four destroyers that had advanced forward formed a single column and pointed their broadsides towards the Fuchikou Fort. While the four destroyers were adjusting their formation, the muzzles of the two Type 41 120mm naval guns on each ship also turned and pointed towards the direction of the Fuchikou Fort.

The Japanese fleet, which had been holding back under the intensive firepower of the Fuchikou Fort, finally showed its true colors.

When the lieutenant colonel commander used the gun telescope to observe that the Japanese destroyer, which had rushed into the 3,000-meter distance, was turning its guns, he immediately understood the tactical intentions of the Japanese warships and shouted in fear: "Oh no, the Japanese warships are about to approach and fire, let the brothers on the artillery position evacuate in secret."

As soon as he finished speaking, balls of orange-yellow flames emerged from the muzzles of the four Japanese destroyers, and the eight Type 41 120mm rapid-fire guns opened fire instantly.

Immediately, eight 120mm naval gun shells accurately landed on the artillery platform of the Fuchikou Fortress. The Chinese artillery officers and soldiers who were firing at the Japanese army on the platform had no time to dodge and were instantly covered by the unexpected intensive artillery fire.

The shrapnel and thick smoke produced by the explosion of the 120 mm gun quickly enveloped the officers and soldiers on the battery. The high explosives loaded in the naval gun exploded on the battery, producing a large amount of flames, thick smoke and shrapnel. However, the Chinese artillerymen on the Fuchikou Battery did not have all-round artillery fortifications as cover. All of them were semi-open-air fortress artillery positions, which could only provide a certain degree of protection for the artillery but could not provide a safe shooting environment for the gunners.

As a result, in the first round of shelling from the Japanese destroyers alone, dozens of Chinese officers and soldiers fell on the artillery platform.

The five Japanese minesweepers following behind the four destroyers also opened fire. Compared with the four destroyers that opened fire first, the firepower of these five Japanese minesweepers was more fierce. Each minesweeper was equipped with two single-mounted Type 2 120mm 45-caliber dual-purpose guns.

The weight and power of this artillery far exceed those of the Chinese fortress artillery on the Fuchikou Fort. Its maximum range is 20000 meters, its maximum altitude is 13500 meters, and its theoretical rate of fire is ten rounds per second.

Five Japanese minesweepers fired rounds of artillery fire at the Fuchikou Fortress Battery at the highest rate of fire. Amid the smoke, muzzle flames from Japanese naval guns could be seen everywhere on the river.

The dense firepower network composed of the ten Taisho Type 120 120mm naval guns on the minesweeper and the eight Type mm naval guns on the destroyer quickly suppressed the Chinese artillery on the Fuchiguchi Fortress Battery, making it unable to fight back. Amid the raging fire, the Chinese artillery on the battery kept falling under the fierce and accurate bombardment of the Japanese ships, and many of them were even blown to pieces.

The officers and soldiers on the fort were lucky enough to successfully hide in the shelters and concealments of the fort during the Japanese artillery attack, let alone continue to fire back. The artillery fire that had just been extremely hot and fierce was suddenly silenced, and almost all the artillery on the fort's artillery positions were destroyed. Several lighter mountain cannons were even blown into the air by high-powered shells fired by Japanese ships.

Some brave officers and soldiers, under the fierce artillery fire of the Japanese army, bravely ran to the artillery positions on the battery that were still able to fire in the hail of bullets and launched a counterattack against the Japanese warships.

However, after sporadic firing, the remaining artillery pieces on these batteries were quickly locked onto by the advanced fire control and aiming equipment on the Japanese warships, and were then annihilated by the accurate and fierce rounds of artillery fire from the Japanese warships.

The Japanese fleet's bombardment lasted only five minutes before the artillery positions of the Fuchiguchi Fortress were engulfed in flames, completely losing their ability to retaliate.

The defending officers and soldiers on the fort were brave enough, but the backward naval guns and 75mm army artillery on the fort could not compete with the 120mm large-caliber naval guns on the Japanese warships.

Faced with the absolute advantage in equipment, the bravery and fearlessness of the officers and men of the Fuchikou Fortress Battery were destined to bring only a tragic ending to this melee on the river.

Boom
咣咣
The fierce bombardment by the Japanese ships continued. After completely destroying the resistance of the Chinese army at the Fuchikou Fort, nine Japanese warships continued to advance unscrupulously towards the Fuchikou Fort, until they were within a distance of less than 1,500 meters from Fuchikou.

At the same time, armor-piercing explosive shells and armor-piercing shells with armor-piercing function were added to the types of shells used by warships to bombard the Fuchikou Fort. The naval guns that had been wreaking havoc on the fort's gun positions also adjusted their firing targets immediately, and turned their main targets to the reinforced concrete structures, observation posts, ammunition depots and fortress infrastructure on the fort with a firing rate of dozens of large-caliber shells per minute.

Even the 7.7mm and 6.5mm carrier-based machine guns on several Japanese ships provocatively fired at the Fuchiguchi Fortress.

Explosive shells, armor-piercing shells, armor-piercing explosive shells, machine gun shells, the dense artillery and machine gun fire of the nine Japanese warships completely covered the fortress battery at Fuchikou.
Suddenly, a huge fireball rose into the air in the center of the Fuchikou Fortress Battery. Under the continuous bombardment of the Japanese ship's armor-piercing shells and armor-piercing explosive shells, many temporary ammunition storage depots on the battery were hit and destroyed by the Japanese ship's shells, causing intensive and continuous explosions. Violent explosions occurred one after another on the battery.

In the command post of the Fuchikou Fortress Battery, the lieutenant colonel commander of the battery looked at the tragic scene on the battery with bloodshot eyes, his heart full of powerlessness and grief. Then, with a sharp whistle and violent explosion, the lieutenant colonel commander suddenly felt a violent impact.

Then the lieutenant colonel commander felt as if the entire command post had suffered a violent collision. He saw the inner wall next to the observation port of the command post being torn apart in the violent explosion, and broken rocks flying everywhere. Soon after, several more violent explosions were heard, and the command post was suddenly filled with scorching heat waves, gunpowder smoke, and a horrible burning sensation.

In the high temperature heat wave and blazing flames, the extreme tearing and burning sensation filled the lieutenant colonel commander's body. Then, the lieutenant colonel commander relaxed and fell into endless darkness.
(End of this chapter)