Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 233 The Lifeline of Asia (3)
Fortunately, the various types of artillery on the Pearl Mountain artillery position are mainly infantry artillery with a relatively short range. Therefore, Zhang Yu immediately ordered that the follow-up landing troops of the third and fourth formations should be transferred to the scorched earth. Changi Battery Beach Landing.The British troops stationed at Pearl Mountain did not know that the Chinese landing force had changed the landing point, and still followed the orders of their superiors to attack the Chinese Marine Corps officers and soldiers near the urban area with all their strength. During this period, the British 4th Brigade at Jurong Barracks also fought Set off at the beginning, enter the urban area, and prepare for street fighting with the Chinese army.

At 1:15 in the morning, about two regiments of the third fleet boarded the Changi Fortress Group and immediately launched an attack on Serangoon.The Serangoon barracks, which had only a small number of garrison troops left, had no resistance. It took only a few minutes for the marines to clear the scattered British troops in the barracks.

At 1:30 in the morning, the 2rd Brigade, which had landed earlier, had an encounter with the 20nd Brigade of the British Far East Army who had come to reinforce them on the outskirts of the city.At this time, the Mauser rifle, which has become the most basic equipment of the Chinese army, has played a great role. With the continuous firepower of the Maxim heavy machine gun, it is especially suitable for close combat.The battle lasted only 2 minutes, and the vanguard of the British 300nd Brigade was defeated. After leaving about [-] corpses, they fled in panic.The marines immediately used squads as combat units to pursue the fleeing British troops.On this battlefield, the individual firepower of the Chinese soldiers completely suppressed the British soldiers.

Yuan Jiuhow, who is capable of killing, has forgotten that his main duty is to attack the city of Singapore. The British army was divided into several small units by the unit-style offensive tactics of the Marine Corps. The Chinese navy's best tactics of dividing and annihilating, In this small-scale battle, it was miraculously effective again, making it impossible for the British army to organize effective resistance.Especially after receiving the news that Serangang had fallen, the British army temporarily gave up resistance and had to retreat westward strategically.Relying on their familiarity with the local geography, they finally found a high ground on the banks of the Kallang River, gathered troops on the spot, built trenches and other fortifications on the spot, and held the last line of defense leading to the city.Downey, the commander of the 2nd Brigade, made a rough count of the number of people, and found in frustration that the 2nd Brigade, which originally had more than 3500 people, now has less than [-] people left.

At 2:40 in the morning, the [-]rd, [-]th, and [-]th Brigades of the Chinese Marine Corps joined forces near the highlands where the British troops were located. They successfully crossed the Kallang River. The [-]rd Brigade established a position on the other side of the river. The brigade also began to concentrate on completing the encirclement of the British army.

Ten minutes later, the deployed Chinese army began to attack the outer positions of the British 2nd Brigade with mortars and howitzers.

For the British 2nd Brigade, which had discarded most of its heavy weapons, this blow was very fatal.At this time, Downey finally came to his senses and ordered an immediate breakout.However, when fleeing at night, the British 2nd Brigade had discarded almost all its heavy equipment. When facing the Imperial Marines, which had an absolute advantage in firepower, no assault force could open a gap.After dropping hundreds of corpses, Downey finally gave up and ordered the remaining troops under his command to raise the white flag against the Chinese for the first time. Under the command of Yuan Jiuhow, more than 1800 British soldiers came to the surrender position designated by the Chinese army and put down their weapons.The Chinese soldiers cheered.

The surrender of the 2nd Brigade of the British Army was the first organic unit to surrender to China since the beginning of the Battle of Malacca.After hearing the news, Vice Admiral Hamilton of the Royal Navy, who was huddled in the city of Singapore, fainted immediately. After being revived in a hurry, he immediately ordered to withdraw from Singapore and turn to Johor Bahru in Malaya.At the same time, the 4th Brigade was ordered to stick to the Singapore City and Pearl Hill artillery positions.At this time, the Chinese Marine Corps is rapidly approaching the city of Singapore.

In the southern naval port of Singapore, the eight damaged warships of the Far East Fleet are moored, as well as the HMS Intrepid, which symbolizes the honor of the Royal Navy.During the naval battle in Sihanoukville, the large-caliber main guns and thickened armor that the Intrepid is proud of were severely damaged by the Zhonghua-class battleship. Although it is already early in the morning, the dock workers on the bridge are still In the busy schedule, they have to temporarily repair the power plants of several warships in the shortest possible time, so that they can return to Portsmouth, England in two days.

The British were still immersed in the loss of the fiasco, and they never thought that at this time, under the cover of night, Liu Buchan led the second fleet formation and was quietly sailing to the offshore.

For the powerful Second Fleet, including Dingyuan, Jiyuan, Nutao, Yangwu, Haitian, Kaiji, and Huantai, the main battleships of the combined fleet, it is simply a sledgehammer for attacking the small Singapore port. Come kill the chicken.But for Liu Buchan, who has always been calm and experienced, winning is the most important thing, and everything else is irrelevant.

boom!The Dingyuan was the first to fire at a distance of 6300 meters from the British fleet. The shells drew a brilliant flame in the night sky and accurately sent them to the waterline of the Intrepid.

Boom Immediately afterwards, the other six warships all spewed tongues of flames, and shells were fired crazily at the British ships and the British positions on the shore. The small Singapore naval port was quickly plunged into a sea of ​​flames.

"General, we have been attacked by the Chinese. Our two cruisers docked at the port have been sunk by artillery fire." A sentry rushed to find Commander-in-Chief Hamilton.

"It's Chinese again!" Hamilton said in panic, "How many enemy ships have come?"

"Seven ships, all of which are the main warships of the Chinese Navy, as well as some gunboats and torpedo boats." The sentry's voice trembled.

Hamilton hurriedly called for several senior military officers, and asked them as soon as they came up: "How likely do you think the remaining Far East Fleet is to break out? The eight warships, including the Intrepid, have suffered varying degrees of heavy damage. I can’t fight back at all.” Hamilton was clearly in disarray. Since the last fiasco, he had been huddled in the Singapore naval port, looking forward to the rescue force of the Royal Navy on the one hand, and worried about the sneak attack of the Chinese Navy on the other hand. Days of fear.Now the terrifying Chinese warships appeared in front of them without anyone noticing, especially after learning that the coming warships were so powerful, they even gave up the idea of ​​resisting and watched the ships of the Far East Fleet being sunk by the enemy's artillery fire. This feeling is definitely not a good thing for Supreme Commander Hamilton.

Standing on the deck of the flagship Dingyuan, Liu Buchan watched through the binoculars that the huge Intrepid was slowly tilting under the artillery fire. His hands were shaking. Perhaps only he knew whether this feeling was nervous or excited.

"Zixiang, should we bring the warship closer." Yang Yonglin clenched his fists and said excitedly.

"No need, at this distance, the enemy's coastal defense artillery can't touch us at all, so that our warships will not be damaged at all."

"Zixiang, you are too ruthless, you want to kill all the huge Far East fleet!" Yang Yonglin said humorously.

"That's not what I mean, it's an order from Beijing, understand?"

Yang Yonglin immediately recovered his serious expression, and clasped his fists at Beibei: "The emperor is really wise!"

In less than an hour, the Far East Fleet, the most powerful sea force of the British Empire, was completely destroyed under Liu Buchan's merciless artillery fire.In front of the Chinese warships, several coast defense artillery scattered like pigeon eggs on the British position were blown into twist shapes.Hamilton and several senior naval officers quietly boarded a fast gunboat and fled to the English Channel in a panic.

Amid the sound of the rapid motor, Hamilton turned his head sadly, looking at the gradually sinking battleship Dreadnought, feeling unspeakably uncomfortable.

(End of this chapter)