Chapter 240: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 240: Within the Grasp, How Can One Escape!

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

A heaven-shaking explosion erupted from within the destroyer, the entire ship as if being viciously snapped in half by an invisible giant hand.

The Japanese destroyer's keel groaned under the unbearable strain, a huge fireball and thick smoke shot into the sky, countless steel fragments and human remains were thrown into the air, then rained down onto the river surface like rain.

The navy damage control team members on the destroyer were devastated; the destroyer could not be saved, the difficulty was comparable to Nuwa mending the sky!

With just one hit, this thousand-ton destroyer broke in two at a visible speed, then was slowly swallowed by the river water, and the surviving sailors on the warship jumped into the river one by one to escape for their lives.

"Amaterasu Oomikami..."

On the Tianlong cruiser's bridge, Major General Fujihara Koji was bloodless, and the binoculars in his hand clattered onto the deck.

The staff officers and officers behind him were also completely shaken by this terrifying firepower far beyond imagination.

If these shells had not been fired from within Jiangyin Fortress, these naval officers would have reason to suspect that a battleship was anchored before them. And an unsinkable battleship at that!

Fujihara Koji had no time to think further, because he himself was a mud Bodhisattva crossing the river, unable to protect himself.

"Not good, there's an ambush!"

"Turn! Retreat! Full speed retreat!" Fujihara Koji immediately issued the retreat order; he dared not dream of capturing Jiangyin anymore, now he only wanted to save the remaining warships.

However, the retreat route had already been partially blocked by the wreckage of the destroyer that sank instantly and the panicked friendly warships.

The narrow river surface became a death trap, as each warship scrambled to turn around, making maneuvering difficult.

The giant cannons of different calibers and eras from each battery of Jiangyin Fortress roared in succession.

The shells of the 288mm cannon precisely smashed toward the Tianlong cruiser; although they did not directly hit, the huge waves and shockwaves from the near misses caused this light cruiser of over three thousand tons to shake violently, with its superstructure damaged in multiple places.

The high-explosive shells fired by the 317mm and 305mm old howitzers fell like meteorites among the Japanese destroyers and gunboats; although the rate of fire was slower and accuracy had declined due to age, the destruction brought by each hit was catastrophic.

An unlucky gunboat was directly hit by a 305mm shell, almost blown into fragments.

A curtain of fire formed by various guns such as 228mm, 203mm, and 150mm covered the panicked Japanese vessels attempting to turn and escape.

On the river surface, the firelight of explosions rose continuously, thick smoke billowed, and the Japanese fleet completely fell into chaos and panic.

The narrow Yangtze River, the mad cannons, the doom of the eighteen warships of the Sui River Fleet has arrived!

Even more deadly, those army transport ships and barges originally placed with high hopes were now about to rush into the dock area of Jiangyin Fortress.

These small boats carrying infantry were naturally not distracted or suppressed by the heavy guns in the batteries; the defensive force within Jiangyin Fortress had its own way to teach them a lesson.

"Baka! Don't care about the army! Each ship break out on its own!" Fujihara Koji could no longer bother; now he only wanted the warships that could still move to quickly escape this deadly water area.

A transport ship fully loaded with army soldiers was hit consecutively by several 88mm guns, the hull caught fire and quickly tilted.

The soldiers on the ship jumped into the river like dropping dumplings, but the icy river water, heavy equipment, and burning fuel floating on the river surface made their path to survival extremely slim.

Some transport ships, relying on luck and the driver's madness, luckily rushed to the shallow beach not far from the riverbank and lowered the gangplanks.

The army had no way to retreat; capturing Jiangyin Fortress and turning it into a Japanese bridgehead gave both the navy and army a chance to survive; otherwise, according to Jiangyin Fortress's firepower, neither the navy nor the army would have any hope of living.

Hundreds of Japanese Xian Bing, soaked to the skin and still shaken, howled as they jumped off the ships, wading through knee-deep river water, rushing toward the beachhead.

Several Type 95 light tanks also roared off the barges, attempting to provide cover for the infantry.

However, what they faced was the Jiangyin Fortress Garrison, already fully prepared.

What the little devils faced after landing was 88mm guns, 37mm anti-tank cannons, Type 20 autocannons, 12.7mm heavy machine guns......

"The little devils have delivered themselves! Machine guns, open fire!"

"Anti-tank cannons, aim at the devil tanks!"

"Knock them all down on the beachhead for me!"

All kinds of firearms opened fire together, and Japanese infantry fell in patches on the beachhead without cover, blood dyeing the river water red.

Those several Type 95 light tanks became excellent targets for the 37mm anti-tank guns; their thin armor could not withstand close-range shooting, and they were knocked out one after another on the beachhead, becoming burning scrap iron.

The battle on the river surface continued.

The Japanese warships unable to escape fired madly at the already exposed gun positions, hoping to buy themselves a slim chance of survival.

The heavy guns of each battery within the fortress also spared no effort; the artillerists had long since put life and death aside, unless the little devils' naval guns blew up the batteries, otherwise the artillerists only cared about firing off the shells at hand.

The guns within each battery of Jiangyin Fortress were put into formal combat for the first time today.

Many old guns were about to retire, and finally played a role on the battlefield of fighting the devils today.

On the river surface, the Tianlong cruiser, relying on relatively thick armor and luck, as well as the protection of friendly ships, actually struggled to dodge several fatal direct hits from heavy guns, but was also hit multiple times by near misses and small-caliber shells, with the hull damaged in multiple places and taking in water, speed greatly reduced, thick smoke billowing.

The Tianlong cruiser had lost most of its combat power and could only stagger on the river surface like a live target.

The fate of the flagship of the devil Sui River Fleet being buried in the Yangtze River could no longer be rewritten.

The eight 406mm giant guns within the fortress kept firing at the devil warships within arm's reach; shells weighing over a ton flew everywhere on the river surface, extremely terrifying!

As the battle was about to enter its final stage, each battery within Jiangyin Fortress, after engaging the nineteen warships of the Sui River Fleet, also suffered damage of varying degrees.

In the direction of Huangshan Battery, a 228mm old howitzer, after continuous rapid fire, finally could not withstand the huge chamber pressure and recoil, the gun barrel appeared bent and deformed; fortunately, the gun commander had been paying attention to this old gun and thus ordered firing to stop, to avoid a barrel explosion accident.

Xishan Battery was even hit by a 140mm naval gun shell from the Japanese that fell near the gun emplacement opening, triggering a small-scale ammunition explosion inside, with no one in the battery surviving.

"Report! The gun at Huangshan No. 3 gun position is destroyed!"

"The gun at Dongshan No. 2 gun position is severely damaged, needs emergency repair!"

"Xishan Broadside damaged, core structure intact!"

As the news came, An Bang's expression turned grave; he had witnessed all of this with his own eyes just now.

Some old guns were aged, and the Japanese's mad counterattack was all within expectation.

Fortunately, the Japanese Sui River Fleet was now completely under the control of Jiangyin Fortress and could not escape anymore!

With a boom, a 406mm shell hit the Tianlong cruiser staggering on the river surface; this flagship of the Japanese Sui River Fleet and fleet commander Major General Fujihara Koji thus ended their lives.