The Beacon of Laiyang Metal

Chapter 59 Mixed Fleet

November 8, 19 AD

At this time, more than a month had passed since the "Qingshangou" battle. More than 6 people from Japan's 2th Division had landed at Luda Port by boat and had assembled with the 5th Artillery Regiment stationed at Luda. Heading towards the headquarters of the 26th Division of Antong.

The navy's three main warships "Izumo, Kaga, and Kawauchi" have led more than 20 large and small warships such as supply ships, troop carriers, and more than 3 Marines on board, and they have also entered the designated area of ​​​​the Bohai Sea. .

According to the orders from the base camp, after the army arrives at the attack position at dawn the next day, it will launch an attack by sea and land at the same time.

As the commander of this mixed fleet, Rear Admiral Tokuo Hirata, like many naval generals, despises the "Army Red Deer" from the bottom of his heart. In his perception, the Army "Red Deer" is almost synonymous with stupid pigs.

If His Majesty the Emperor had not personally ordered this joint land and sea attack on the Andong area, he would not have accepted the cooperation with the Army in launching an attack from the sea and providing artillery support.

"These idiots of the Army's "Malu" lost their troops and generals in a mere local area of ​​China. They suffered more than 5,000 casualties and failed to capture the small town of Andong. This is simply a shame for the imperial army and a waste of the precious resources of the empire." War resources, let these army fools see how the Imperial Japanese Navy fights today." Tokuo Hirata looked at the fleet outside the window and felt a bloodthirsty excitement.

From the very beginning when he received the order, Hirata Tokuo was not prepared to cooperate with the army in fighting. He had always been arrogant and believed that relying on the navy's strong ship cannon and the 3 marine warriors accompanying the battle would be enough to sweep the Andong and annihilate the Andongchina defenders. When the time comes, he will chop off Wei Yuan's head with a saber to let the world know that the dignity of the imperial army cannot be provoked.

In the bridge of the flagship "Izumo", Tokuo Hirata looked at the rising sun and took out his pocket watch to confirm the time, then asked Chief of Staff Kazuhiko Kishida beside him: "How long will it take to reach Andong Port? "

Colonel Kishida Kazuhiko immediately bowed and replied: "At full speed, we expect to arrive at the coastal periphery of Anton Port before 1 p.m.!"

"Xinxi, order all ships to move towards the Andong Port at full speed. Once they reach the port, they will immediately block the coast of the port and launch an attack. They must completely annihilate the Chinese defenders within 3 hours. I will station the fleet at the Andong Port overnight tonight."

"Your Excellency, with all due respect, the order issued by the base camp is to wait until the 6th Army Division reaches the attack position, and then launch an attack on the Andong defenders by sea and land at the same time. If our unit acts without authorization, we will be complained to the base camp by those army "red deer" You will be punished!"

Hirata Tokuo said very nonchalantly: "Punishment in war has always been only for the losing side, and the winner will only get honor. To deal with a mere local armed force in China, do you think that in front of the Imperial Navy with absolute strength? , does the Chinese army still have a chance to win this battle? I appreciate your caution, Kishida-kun, but what you need more is to have confidence in the Imperial Navy soldiers under your command!"

"Hai"

Seeing that the commander said this, Kazuhiko Kishida could no longer dissuade him. After agreeing, he summoned the messengers on the side and began to issue specific combat orders.

After receiving the news from Lushun intelligence personnel that the Japanese Sixth Division had landed at Ludag Port, Weiyuan immediately ordered the territory of Anton to enter a wartime state. A curfew was implemented in Anton to suspend all commercial activities, and people in the county were also evacuated. Take shelter temporarily in the mountains or countryside and wait until the battle is over before returning to the county.

During this period, shop goods and other fixed property that cannot be taken away will be handed over to the remaining troops in the county for unified custody. During the war, if anyone is found to be taking the opportunity to steal other people's property, he will be handed over to the Military Justice Department for direct execution.

The front-line troops responsible for the defense of Dandong, Luda and Bohai have already entered the fortifications built in advance to prepare for the arrival of the first wave of attacks. In addition to a tank battalion and an M-21 Hailstorm remaining at the station, In addition to the rocket artillery regiment serving as mobile support, the rest of the troops are sent to the front line to strengthen the defense of the front line troops. More than 1 newly recruited soldiers are also being trained under the leadership of the training camp. Once the battlefield is urgent, these newly recruited recruits will also be supplemented when necessary.

Since they had already received news before, the Japanese attack on Anton would be carried out by warships from the sea. When they received the news that the Japanese Sixth Division had landed in Ludagang, the staff officers of Weiyuan and the Seventh Division judged that the Japanese attack would be The fleet is likely to have appeared in the offshore area of ​​​​Anton Port.

In this regard, Gao Zhihang's Army Aviation Force dispatches a two-plane formation composed of "P5" every five hours to perform 39-hour sea reconnaissance missions. This batch of "P24" fighter jets perform sea reconnaissance missions. , in addition to installing the aerial cameras brought by Weiyuan from later generations, pilots flying fighter planes at night also need to wear night vision goggles, coupled with the runway lights that light up at night on the airport runway, so that the aviation force of the 39th Division basically has The ability to fight at night.

Yan Jinyun was one of the pilots who carried out the sea reconnaissance mission this time. After the last air battle, Yan Jinyun relied on his record of shooting down two Japanese military aircraft and capturing one Japanese military aircraft. In addition to the three more red stars on the fuselage painting, In addition to his achievements, he was also promoted to a squadron leader in the Army Aviation Regiment.

"I heard from the captain that the first pilot in the regiment who can shoot down 10 enemy planes can name his fighter plane after himself, and as long as this fighter plane is not shot down, it will be sealed in the hangar even after it is retired. To preserve our honor, squadron leader Qian must work hard."

Yao Haiping, who served as the wingman following Yan Jinyun's fighter plane, revealed a strong sense of envy in his words. During the "Qingshangou" air battle, Yao Haiping was ranked in the second wave of attack gradient. He originally wanted to show off his skills in the air. Unexpectedly, as soon as their second wave of supporting fighters took off, they received instructions to return to the base after the battle. This made him feel as if he had punched cotton and had nothing to do.

Finally, there is a new combat opportunity this time. Although it is just a simple sea reconnaissance mission, it is definitely a fresh experience for Yao Haiping who has long been tired of all kinds of simulated battles on weekdays. He will not wait for orders from above. After receiving the order, Yao Haiping himself took the initiative to request to participate in the reconnaissance mission against the enemy ship. Only then did he have the opportunity to become a wingman and follow the squadron leader to fly over the Bohai Sea.

The order Yan Jinyun and the others received was to search for traces of the enemy fleet within 500 kilometers southwest of Andong Port. Once a target was found, they would immediately report it to the rear headquarters through the airborne radio station.

At this time, it was just after 7:300 in the morning when the sun was rising. The sky showed a light pink color, which was in sharp contrast with the deep blue of the sea under the mist of the early morning sea. At this time, Yan Jinyun and Yao Haiping had already walked along the river. We flew repeatedly over the Bohai Sea south of Andong Port for more than 3 hours at a cruising speed of kilometers. Just like yesterday, except for the occasional merchant ships, cargo ships, and fishing boats that came into view, the entire sea level was still calm. This search method started from It has been three days since the Sixth Division landed at Luda, but still nothing has been found.

The flight continued for more than half an hour. At this time, the fuel gauge indicated that it was approaching the maximum flight radius of the aircraft. The long flight and high concentration also made the two of them feel a little bit tired. Even Yao Haiping did not feel tired. The two of them were in high spirits when the plane took off, and they chatted wordlessly through the microphone on the plane.

"Inform the station to prepare for the second wave of reconnaissance formations to take off!"

After saying this to his wingman, Yan Jinyun was about to turn around and return. Suddenly, a small black spot on the sea level in the distance caught his attention. If he hadn't accidentally glanced toward the southwest when he was turning around, this small black spot would have really turned around. Not easy to spot.

Yan Jinyun immediately picked up the telescope on the side and looked at the location where he found the small black dot. At this time, the sun was already high in the sky, and the sea water reflected the sunlight. The entire telescope looked white, although the small black dot looked like It is the outline of a ship, but it cannot be ruled out that it is a merchant ship or cargo ship.

I looked down at the fuel gauge again and found that the pointer was pressed in the middle of the fuel gauge. If I stayed in the air for a while, the remaining fuel might not be able to support my return to the Gushan Town Military Airport, but I just flew away and let go. Yan Jinyun was very unwilling. He had an intuition that what he discovered this time was probably the mixed fleet of the Japs.

(End of this chapter)