The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 356: Tsuchi Kitaro's Ambition
In the command tower of the gunboat Ataka, flagship of the Japanese Navy's 11th Fleet, Lieutenant Colonel Kitaro Tsuchiji, commander of the th Special Marine Battalion of the Japanese Navy's Kure Naval District, stood at attention.

The commander of the 11th Squadron, Kondo Eijiro, bowed his head and remained silent. After a while, he frowned and said, "Landing operation? Tsuchi-kun, are you going to launch an attack on the Banbishan Fortress in the form of a landing operation by the Marines?"

Tsuchi Kitaro said, "Yes, sir."

Kondo Eijiro did not speak, but raised his head and walked to the command platform thoughtfully, looking through the porthole of the command tower at the Yangtze River in the dark night.

He was not surprised, nor unfamiliar with the landing operation proposed by Kitaro Tsuchi.

After the plan to capture Wuhan was implemented, the 11th Fleet attacked along the Yangtze River and organized many landing operations in the attacks on Hukou, Madang and Jiujiang, all of which achieved excellent results.

However, the current situation of the 11th Squadron is different from all previous battles. The reason why the multiple landing operations successfully organized by the 11th Squadron were victorious was, firstly, because of their suddenness, and secondly, because of the strong landing force.

Needless to say, the 11th Fleet's landing operations in Madang and Jiujiang were both landing attacks launched when the Chinese army was unprepared or insufficiently prepared. Moreover, in these battles, the landing force of the 11th Fleet was also very strong, including not only the Marines, but also a large number of army field troops transported by transport ships.

But today, the 11th Squadron lost its first battle against the Banbi Mountain Fortress, and the attack was frustrated, which has lost the surprise of the operation. At present, the 11th Squadron does not have enough troops for landing operations. After taking Jiujiang, the army will no longer follow the navy to advance by water, but will instead march and attack on land.

Therefore, the only landing combat forces available to the 11th Fleet were the two reinforced battalion-level forces of the th Special Marine Corps and the th Special Marine Corps of the Japanese Navy's Kure Naval Base, which were carried on transport ships in the fleet.

Kondo Eijiro turned his back to Tsuchi Kitaro and said, "Tsuchi-kun, given the current state of our fleet, it seems that we are not in a position to organize a landing operation. Besides, you and Tsuboi-kun have already learned about the course of today's battle. The enemy's firepower on Banbi Mountain is really fierce. We only have two special marines. If we use this little force to organize a strong landing attack on Banbi Mountain, let alone whether we can successfully land under the fierce enemy fire, even if we successfully open a landing site, the attack will certainly be very difficult."

Kitaro Tsuchiji seemed to have anticipated Kondo Eijiro's concerns. He stood at attention again with a calm face, bowed slightly to Kondo Eijiro's back to show respect, and replied, "Commander, you are right. I have learned the details of the Battle of Banbi Mountain from Mr. Shoichi Tsuboi and the captains of the warships participating in the battle today. Judging from the situation of the sunken warships, I believe that the enemy must have deployed modern large-caliber artillery with a caliber of more than 150 mm on Banbi Mountain. It may be a large-caliber field howitzer used by the army, or it may be the latest fortress artillery. Although the model is unknown, it is definitely the latest modern artillery, and these heavy artillery are all equipped with armor-piercing shells or armor-piercing explosive shells with anti-ship attack capabilities."

"In addition to these large-caliber heavy artillery with anti-ship attack capabilities, the Chinese troops on Banbi Mountain should also be equipped with a number of small and medium-caliber artillery. These artillery have limited lethality to warships, but they are also extremely lethal in land combat."

"More importantly, the Chinese troops on the Banbi Mountain Fortress not only have artillery equipment and firepower far superior to the Chinese fortresses we have captured before, but also the shooting level of their artillery units, the artillery command level of their artillery officers, and the overall planning and tactical application capabilities of the commanders of the Chinese troops on the Banbi Mountain are all very strong. The four warships of our fleet that were sunk today were first the first ship in the fleet formation, and then the fourth ship in the fleet formation was sunk, which eventually led to the third and second ships in our fleet formation being blocked in the channel and sunk."

"According to the logbooks of the ships involved in today's battle, after our first ship was sunk, the Chinese army on Banbi Mountain had almost no time to fire, and immediately hit the fourth ship of our fleet with artillery fire, completing the fire transfer at an extremely fast speed. It can be seen that the commander of the Chinese army on Banbi Mountain is not an ordinary person, and his reaction speed and ability to command in response to emergencies are very strong."

Kondo Eijiro praised him: "Haha, Tsuchi-kun is indeed an excellent artillery officer of our Imperial Navy. He can make such a quick judgment on the artillery equipped by the Chinese army in the land fortress."

Then, Kondo Eijiro suddenly turned around and cast his eyes on Tsuchi Kitaro, and said, "Since Tsuchi-kun also saw the powerful firepower of the Chinese army on Banbi Mountain, why did he propose a landing operation?"

In response to Kondo Eijiro's praise, Tsuchi Kitaro just smiled slightly.

Indeed, Kitaro Tsuchi deserves the title of an excellent artillery officer. After graduating from the Japanese Naval Academy, he has been serving in the shipboard gunnery weapons departments of many Japanese Navy warships. He is a very professional artillery officer.

Before the Battle of Shanghai, he served as the chief gunnery officer on the Japanese Navy battleship Kirishima with a displacement of more than 36000 tons. He commanded the 356mm large battleship main guns, 152mm large-caliber ship-borne secondary guns and 127mm large-caliber anti-aircraft guns. He was a truly outstanding gunnery expert.

In the original history, Kitaro Tsuchi also ended his short but rich and glorious career as a Marine Corps officer after the Battle of Wuhan, returned to work on the warship, and was promoted to colonel gunnery chief of the Japanese Navy battleship Mutsu equipped with 406mm main guns. Judging from his work experience, his artillery level and understanding of artillery operations are needless to say.

However, this guy's ending was very absurd. In 1943, he went to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish along with the Mutsu battleship which suddenly exploded.

Then, Kitaro Tsuchi walked to the map table, picked up his baton and pointed to a spot on the map, saying, "Sir, we want to capture Banbi Mountain, but we don't have to open a landing site as close to Banbi Mountain as possible. This is actually a very good choice."

Kondo Eijiro looked towards the location where the baton in Tsuchi Kitaro's hand was pointing, which was the Tomiichiguchi Fortress that had been completely destroyed by Japanese naval artillery fire in today's battle.

"You mean we're going to land at Fuchiguchi?"

Tsuchi Kitaro nodded and continued, "Yes, sir. The enemy's artillery fire on Banbi Mountain is very fierce. We can never land under the eyes of the enemy on Banbi Mountain. The choice of landing site is also very simple. We just need to avoid the enemy's artillery fire range. According to the general artillery performance, the maximum range of 150mm caliber artillery will not exceed two kilometers. Even if the enemy relies on the mountains and fortifications to increase the range by artillery ballistics, it will never exceed too much."

"The Fuchikou Fortress is very far away from Banbi Mountain, and is outside the enemy's artillery coverage of Banbi Mountain. Moreover, although our army's attack fleet suffered heavy losses in the attack on Banbi Mountain today, it successfully destroyed the Fuchikou Fortress. After the attack of our fleet, the Fuchikou Fortress can even be said to have ceased to exist. The defense there must be very empty. If our Marines land near Fuchikou, I think it will be very effective." Kondo Eijiro is a complete naval shipboard officer. He knows nothing about land warfare!
However, Tsuchi Kitaro has extensive experience in land combat and can be considered a jack of all trades, being proficient in both naval gunnery and land combat.

Seeing that Kitaro Tsuchi was so confident, although Kondo Eijiro did not understand what he said, after seeing Kitaro Tsuchi's confidence, he felt that the landing operation plan he described seemed worth a try.

So, Kondo Eijiro, who was somewhat tempted, continued to ask: "Tsuchi-kun, are you sure this is possible?"

"Yes, sir!"

Tsuchi Kitaro bowed and nodded, then smiled contemptuously and continued, "Sir, forgive me for being so bold. You are a very outstanding soldier in the Imperial Navy, but you have never participated in land combat. I was fortunate to be ordered to take charge of the Songhu Operation and transferred from the position of gunnery chief of the battleship Kirishima to the position of captain of the Songhu Marine Corps' 10th Special Battalion. During the Songhu Operation, I led the men of my Marine Corps to fight against the Chinese army many times."

"I once led the men of the Marine Corps and the fleet sailors who took up arms and went ashore to participate in the land battle in the Songhu urban area. We resisted the continuous attacks of the so-called German-equipped divisions of the Chinese army for half a month and successfully defended the headquarters of our Navy's Third Fleet in the Songhu urban area. In the later period of the Songhu battle, I led the headquarters to attack the Chinese troops stationed in the Sihang Warehouse in Songhu. In my opinion, the combat effectiveness of the Chinese Army is just so-so. Although we cannot underestimate the enemy, as long as we fight with a normal attitude, I believe that the two special marines currently under my fleet are enough to successfully land at Fuchikou and defeat the nearby Chinese troops."

Kitaro Tsuchiji became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice became louder and louder.

"Sir, as long as we take Fuchikou, we can attack Banbishan Fortress from Fuchikou. At that time, we can make a flanking move, launch an attack by our Marines alone, or occupy the guard position first and wait for the main force of the army to arrive before launching a joint attack. All of these are feasible strategies. I hope you can make a decision as soon as possible!"

Kondo Eijiro, who knew nothing about land warfare, was quickly persuaded by the rapid-fire analysis, explanations and requests of Kitaro Tsuchi, an officer who had made great achievements in land warfare.

After making up his mind, Kondo Eijiro gave an order in a decisive tone: "In that case, the Marine Corps of our fleet will conduct a landing operation near Fuchiguchi. This battle will be commanded by Tsuchi-kun! The battle plan will also be determined by you, and our fleet will fully cooperate."

Tsuchi Kitaro immediately saluted excitedly, bowed and said, "Yes! Thank you, sir. I will fight this landing operation well and avenge the brave warriors whose fleet was shattered today!"

Just as the Japanese Navy's 11th Squadron, which had failed in its waterborne attack, was planning to seek a breakthrough through landing operations, in the brightly lit command post on Banbi Mountain, He Wei was holding the phone and listening to Li Yannian's enthusiastic "commendation and praise."

"Hahaha, you fought well, He Wei. I saw the whole process of your battle in Tianjia Town today. You fought beautifully and destroyed four Japanese warships in one go. He Wei, you are really a reliable person."

"Sir, we are only teaching the Japanese a small lesson. The victory of this battle is also thanks to your strong support in command authority and ammunition and material supply."

"Don't be modest. It's mainly because you command well. You command well. You are really a good general. Look at what a stinky shit the Fuchikou Fortress was. Not long after the Japanese engaged in battle, all the artillery on the fortress was shot down by the Japanese. The commander-in-chief of the Fuchikou Fortress, Li Fangbin, is really an absolute bastard. If it weren't for you to turn the tide, the defense lines of Banbi Mountain and Tianjia Town would be in danger today and could collapse at any time."

On the phone, the extremely enthusiastic tone of Li Yannian, commander of the 11th Corps, made He Wei feel that he would jump out of the phone's receiver in the next second, and Li Yannian's continuous compliments to He Wei were a true reflection of Li Yannian's mood at this moment.

Whether it is He Wei's assault corps or the Banbishan garrison headquarters with He Wei as the commander, they all belong to the battle sequence of Li Yannian's 11th Corps. He Wei fought a big battle and won a victory, so naturally, Li Yannian must be credited for it.

More importantly, with the defeat of the Fuchikou Fortress being quickly destroyed by the Japanese fleet as a backdrop, the weight of He Wei's victory was increased. The Banbishan Fortress was in the battle sequence of Li Yannian's 11th Corps, and the Fuchikou Fortress was the same. Therefore, the defeat of the Fuchikou Fortress being quickly destroyed by the Japanese fleet in today's battle was inevitably attributed to Li Yannian.

The victory won by He Wei in Banbi Mountain also helped Li Yannian to make up for the adverse impact of the destruction of Fuchikou Fortress. Therefore, Li Yannian's attitude towards He Wei became even better.

He Wei said: "The commander has said it before. The brothers in Fuchikou Fortress did their best. Almost all of them died on the fort. They did not bring shame to us Chinese soldiers."

Li Yannian's voice came from the other end of the phone again: "Well, you are right. The soldiers in Fuchikou Fortress are all good soldiers, and the troops are all good troops. It's a pity that the bastard Li Fangbin, the commander of the 18th Division, is in charge. It's really a pity. I think this guy will get into trouble sooner or later."

Although Li Yannian was full of regret for the Fuchikou Fortress and anger at the actions of Li Fangbin, commander of the 18th Division, He Wei always felt that there was a murderous intent hidden in his tone.

But it makes sense when you think about it. As the commander of the 11th Division and the commander-in-chief of the Fuchikou Fortress, Li Fangbin was included in the combat sequence of the th Corps. However, he always ignored Li Yannian's orders, which made Li Yannian very angry.

Now that the battle of Fuchikou Fortress, which Li Fangbin was in charge of, has failed, He Wei speculates that Li Yannian will most likely take advantage of Li Fangbin at some appropriate time and push him out to be stabbed in the name of unfavorable battle. On the one hand, it will be revenge on Li Fangbin, and on the other hand, he can also put all the responsibility for the destruction of Fuchikou Fortress on Li Fangbin, thus killing two birds with one stone.

(End of this chapter)