Chapter 239: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 239 Land Battleship: 406mm Shore Defense Cannon!

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

"Full fleet, advance at full speed! Target, the beachhead at the front of Jiangyin Fortress!"

On the bridge of the Tianlong, Fleet Commander Major General Fujihara Koji waved his hand, and the entire Sui River Fleet advanced at full speed toward Jiangyin Fortress.

Looking at the fire reconnaissance report sent back by the forward reconnaissance ship, the last trace of doubt in his heart vanished like smoke.

The Chinese were indeed just bluffing; those medium and small-caliber guns firing noisily were useless. Without large-caliber fortress guns, everything was just a struggle before death.

As long as the main fleet presses forward and uses naval guns to plow through everything, then puts the army idiots on the ships and those few tanks ashore, the fall of Jiangyin Fortress will happen today!

The order was given, and the fleet's naval guns were not stingy with ammunition, madly pouring shells onto the batteries of Jiangyin Fortress. The firelight of explosions merged into one, as if to set the entire riverbank ablaze.

Behind the main fleet, those few reinforced, clumsy-looking transport ships and motorized barges, under the escort of a small squadron of gunboats, began to move forward with all their might.

On the ships, over a thousand soldiers from the army were already fully armed, checking their weapons and ammunition.

Several Type 95 light tanks were fixed on the deck, the tank crews were already in position, only waiting to dock and lower the gangways.

"Eight thousand meters!"

"Six thousand meters!"

"Enemy artillery fire continues, but has not increased! Still mainly medium and small caliber!"

The observer's report sounded on the bridge of the Tianlong, each one adding a bit more confidence to Major General Fujihara's face.

He even began to imagine what reward the Tokyo Imperial General Headquarters would give when Emperor Chuo's Sun Flag was planted on the commanding heights of Jiangyin Fortress.

Capturing Jiangyin Fortress would mean a breach had been torn in the Xicheng Line.

The Navy would finally write its most brilliant stroke in the campaign to capture this strong city!

Inside the underground command post of Jiangyin Fortress, however, the atmosphere was completely different.

In the periscope's view, the Japanese army columns advanced clearly.

"Commander Lu, the devils have all come up! The transport ships are following! Distance is less than five thousand meters!"

An Bang's voice came through the telephone, asking for instructions: "The heavy artillery group... can we...?"

Lv Muzhi did not answer immediately, his gaze still calmly fixed on the river surface.

If firepower was displayed too early and the Japanese fleet escaped, the Japanese ships might become turtles shrinking their heads; we must wait for the best timing.

The Yangtze River here is too narrow; the Japanese fleet was almost arranged in a single column, especially those transport ships, which were slower and located in the middle and rear of the fleet, now crowded in the relatively limited waterway.

Lv Muzhi finally spoke: "Bring them a little closer, each heavy gun lock onto the designated targets."

An Bang, the first salvo, hit the ships at the very back, block the enemy's retreat. I want to see that cruiser stop dead!"

"Understood!" An Bang's answer was short and forceful, then he assigned targets to each battery via telephone.

On the river surface, the Japanese fleet continued to approach.

Four thousand meters... three thousand five hundred meters... three thousand two hundred meters!

At this distance, for the artillery of both sides, it was already a nearly direct-fire lethal range.

Major General Fujihara could even see through binoculars that Jiangyin Fortress had been hollowed out into an empty shell; behind some of the blasted-open embrasures of the Huangshan Battery, figures of Xia Guo soldiers could be vaguely seen running about in a hurry.

"Hehe, the fortifications are not bad, only a pity the caliber of the cannons is not enough!"

"All ships aim and fire, blast the naval guns into the caves for me!"

"Army landing force prepare! The fleet will conduct a covering salvo, then cover your beach landing! For Emperor Tenghuang, assault!"

Several transport ships moved forward, while the warships had already begun to slow down, preparing to stop on the river surface and use naval guns for aimed fire.

However, before the army's transport ships had charged onto the riverbank, Fleet Commander Major General Fujihara Koji of the Sui River Fleet suddenly felt that the firepower of Jiangyin Fortress had increased by several orders of magnitude!

Fujihara Koji and all officers on the bridge, as well as the naval officers and men on every Japanese warship on the river surface, saw a scene they would never forget in their lives.

The mountain body before them suddenly burst with multiple points of light, a low, heavy, muffled rumble as if coming from deep within the earth, even the deck of the Tianlong beneath their feet seemed to tremble slightly with it.

This sound was completely different from the earlier 88mm gunfire; it sounded like it possessed the power to crush the withered and pull apart the rotten!

In the direction of the main peak of Huang Shan, two 288mm heavy cannons with astonishingly slender barrels fired first; the scorching gas and flames jetting from the muzzle formed a huge shockwave, sweeping away the surrounding smoke and dust!

The floating ash inside the entire battery shook three times.

The calibers of the shore defense cannons in each battery varied, and there were quite a number. Besides the new 88mm guns, some were old cannons left behind previously; for example, the Huangshan Battery had two 228mm howitzers, one 203mm howitzer, and two 150mm howitzers;

The Dongshan Battery had one British-made 317mm howitzer and two 205mm howitzers;

The Xishan Battery had one 377mm howitzer and two 305mm howitzers;

The Eshan Battery had one 228mm howitzer and one 303mm howitzer; the Xiaoshan Battery had two German-made 120mm howitzers.

In addition, Lv Muzhi had also installed eight American M1919-type 16-inch shore defense cannons in each battery within Jiangyin Fortress, with a caliber of 406mm!

This 406mm shore defense cannon developed by the Americans was originally used as naval guns on Lexington-class battleships, later converted into shore defense cannons to protect the Americans' own ports.

Now, this 406mm heavy cannon, through trade, appeared in Jiangyin Fortress, to deal with the Japanese Sui River Fleet.

It was equivalent to the little Japanese devils encountering an unsinkable battleship at Jiangyin!

"Target, the destroyer at the end of the enemy fleet. 406mm gun test fire one round, calibrate parameters." An Bang, inside the Huangshan Battery, personally commanded a 406mm giant cannon, preparing to knock out the last destroyer of the Japanese fleet.

Inside the Huangshan Battery, the massive 406mm giant cannon barrel adjusted slightly, the hydraulic system emitting a low hum.

The loaders had already, through machinery, pushed the heavy high-explosive shell weighing over a ton into the gun barrel, followed by the huge propellant charge.

At this distance, with this power, high-explosive shells are enough!

"Loading complete!"

"Parameters locked!"

"Open fire!"

The gun commander gave the order, and the gunner pressed down hard on the firing lever.

Boom————————！！！！！！！

A terrifying bang beyond words rang out, as if heaven and earth were splitting apart.

The flames and shock wave bursting from the cannon muzzle of the Type 406mm Gun swept clean the grass, trees, and dust within over a hundred meters of Fan Wei before the gun emplacement, and the tremendous recoil made Huang Shan itself seem to tremble.

Fujihara Koji only felt the vegetation on the opposite mountain shudder once, and then his fleet began exploding everywhere.

Clang!!!!!!!

Amidst the deafening metallic bang, a Type 406 High-Explosive Shell weighing over a ton flew toward the last destroyer of the Sui River Fleet with the force of thunder.

At such close range, a shell weighing a ton could pierce the warship's armor relying only on its own weight and the kinetic energy from leaving the barrel.

The high-explosive shell easily penetrated the pitifully thin hull armor of the destroyer, crushing everything in its path, penetrating several decks, and exploding with a bang deep within the hull!