Chapter 122 Bombarding Sasebo

In the early morning, in the mist, a large group of soldiers, dressed in training uniforms, ran along the winding road around the base, shouting and making a neat call.

Sasebo Port is one of the most important seaports in modern times. It is located on the northwest coast of Kyushu Island. It is the transportation hub between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. It is the throat of the Korean Strait and the forward base of Japan to the Asian continent.

But it used to be just a deserted village. It was not until the Qing Zheng Axe began to build Lushunkou that the Japanese political axe, which regarded Beiyang as a big trouble, set up a naval garrison here. After several large-scale expansions, it has become one of the best naval bases comparable to that of Yokosuka Port, and has been built in my heart. It can face the Pacific Ocean and quickly support the most important base in the Far East Theater.

Looking down along the hillside path, the harbor is full of brand-new buildings and warehouses. Unfortunately, the dock is a little cold, mainly because the joint fleet has set out, leaving only a few patrol boats and cargo ships.

As the commander of the wing, Yamada ran to the front of the team, looking at the dock while running. Behind him, thousands of soldiers followed him, shouting neat slogans and listening to the loud shouts, his heart was full of pride!

After returning from studying in Germany, he became the commander of this team. Now the long-awaited day is finally coming. As long as the dock is full of warships, as long as the fleet defeats the China fleet and open up the sea, he will lead this army into North Korea and defeat the self-righteous Chinans. The country has captured the long-dreamed continent! Then you can go along the Yalu River!

The cold light flashed in the bean-like eyes. Yamada smiled and withdrew his eyes and was ready to take the team to the depths of the harbor. Suddenly, the neat team behind him suddenly became restless. Yamada quickly looked up and saw a large column of smoke faintly in the sky, and two small gunboats in the port also began to start, slowly sailing to the sea.

"Fleet! It's our fleet that's back!" The soldiers jumped and cheered, and even some people began to run high. Although the team was already a little confused, Yamada decided to let the soldiers cheer for the fleet to their heart's content.

"Two bugs are coming!" Long Guozhang went down to the telescope and curled his lips. This kind of small gunboat of more than 100 tons really didn't arouse his appetite as the commander of the fleet. He casually said, "Let's see who wants to go."

Long Guozhang obviously underestimated the excitement of his men all night. The guy who had just received supplies and rushed here overnight. As soon as the flagship order was issued, he saw the determination led by Liu Haitao patrol first and broke away from the formation to meet the two boats.

Although the patrol boat also saw that this was not this [***] ship at this moment, it did not notice the danger at all. It thought that it was a passing third-country fleet, and still kept playing the flag to ask about the intention.

But no matter how hard they tried to play the flag, the other party still didn't say a word. It was not until they were determined to run out of the array that they realized the danger and desperately turned the rudder to escape to the port.

"The left rudder is full, and the starboard guns are ready. Who can't hit within three shots? I asked him to burn the boiler!" Looking at the patrol boat ready to escape, Captain Liu jumped up and down and stamped his feet and waved his hand.

When the officers saw that the crazy captain was still so active in the task of bullying this small patrol boat, they sneered at it one after another, but they also came to the bridge one after another to check the situation. The two Japanese gunboats that came here were really small. Forget it, just take it as a snack before breakfast. .

With the order, the determination quickly turned to the left and drew a beautiful arc on the sea. At this time, the two patrol boat officers saw the barrel moving up and down of the other side. They were so scared that they dodged left and right on the sea, hoping to avoid the muzzle of the black hole, but how could the determined gunners who were already ready to make them do what they wanted?

"Rumble." As the main gun took the lead in firing, four other 152mm guns and four 76mm guns on the starboard also began to roar, and even the 37mm rapid-fire machine gun used at close range began to power. From afar, the determination is like a dragon that keeps spitting out its tongue.

The roaring firelight and smoke, the deafening sound of cannons, made Master Li, who just got up, sigh. This is not a war, it is simply a cannon mosquito! Use the main gun to hit the patrol boat of less than 100 tons. Even if the kitten meets a dead mouse, it is not worth the cannonball money!

Fortunately, Liu Haitao probably heard the young master's curse. After a round of fighting, he gave up the main gun and tried his best to use the secondary gun and rapid-fire fire on the ship. In less than a moment, the more accurate rapid-fire gun tore up the two gunboats.

The determination took the lead in robbing people's business, and the captains who cursed and shouted shamelessly behind them also began to turn the rudder one after another, lined up along the port, and the black holes were all aimed at the direction of Sasebo Port.

"The sound of gunfire? How can there be a gunfire?! The loud noise from the sea made Yamada tremble suddenly and hurriedly looked at the sea. Unfortunately, the distance was so far that he could only faintly see seven small black spots lined up on the sea.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from everywhere.

In the distance, the sailors rushed out of the camp crazily and ran in the direction of the fort. The warehouse gate was opened, and carts full of ammunition began to gather at the fort under the push of the soldiers.

Seeing this scene, even if Yamada was stupid, he knew that the enemy had invaded, but he couldn't figure out who would have the courage to attack the imperial naval base? Doesn't he understand that the imperial fleet is coming back soon?

Unfortunately, there was no time for him to think about it again. Suddenly, there were sharp roars in the sky. After training by a German instructor, he immediately reacted. It was the sound of shells flying.

"Rumble..."

"Rumble..."

A huge ball of fireballs first rushed up from the position of the fort. The explosion instantly drowned the sound of the alarm whistle. It was once known as an unbreakable fortification. In the overwhelming gunfire, it began to collapse in a few times.

The army soldiers behind Yamada have been stunned by the scene in front of them. They have never experienced a war and they don't understand what it is to cause so much damage.

"Fack! What are you doing? Go and get the weapon!" Seeing that the soldiers were still in a daze, Yamada shouted and took the lead in running to the camp.

On the sea, Long Guozhang stood in the command tower, holding a telescope, looking at the trembling harbor fortifications in front of him and the water column rising in front of the fleet from time to time. He smiled at Chen Ping next to him and said, "Wonshou, it seems that the little Japanese battery is not bad. It can be carried down."

"At the time of repairing Lushunkou, I said that I began to build Sasebo. After so many years of operation, I was naturally not weak. However, most of their money has been used to purchase warships over the years. They don't pay much attention to fortifications, but if we come a few years later, I'm afraid we won't have such a good opportunity!" Chen Ping said as he outlined it on the chart.

"So, our young master chose a good boy, hehe." Tan Xiaozeng smiled and pointed to the black smoke-rolling fort: "It's useless if the tortoise shell is hard, unless it can move."

After saying that, he immediately turned his head and ordered the gun barrel: "Order the ships to obey the unified command of the flagship and use the method of roll call shooting, from left to right to hit the most threatening target first!"

"Yes." The gun officer answered quickly and immediately picked up the phone and shouted.

The order was quickly conveyed to each ship and each gun. The gunners who had freely selected the target soon gave up free shooting under the unified command of the flagship and began to quickly adjust the shooting elements, concentrating on attacking the deep hidden shore guns that dared to fight back, and named one by one!

The most powerful is still the main gun of each ship, especially the 305mm main gun of the Polaris, which not only weighs more than 300 kilograms, but also uses TNT secretly produced by Honolulu. Even the strongest fort is a bottomless hole as soon as it is fired.

On the contrary, the shore gun follows the tradition of the Japanese fleet. It adopts the legal method of 150mm single-pipe rapid-fire gun, and there are only a few 240mm large-caliber shore guns. What's more, the biggest disadvantage of the large-caliber shore gun is that the speed of fire is slow. In the case of relying on manpower to fill it, even the 150mm gun can only reach every minute. It's just two or three shots, not much faster than the main gun of the determination level.

The naval guns are different. Most of the ships used by the Pacific Fleet are British 152mm rapid-fire guns. Although they mainly rely on human filling, there are already auxiliary machinery, and the efficiency has been greatly improved. A projected firepower can cover the whole fort, so in less than a moment, the shore guns that were still fighting back just now were dumb, and the whole gun The platform is full of holes, and the rubble is constantly rolling down from the cliff.

The shelling that lasted for 30 minutes finally tore a crack in the solid gate of Sasebo Port. All that was left was to tear the cracks until the fleet could be unimpeded! Therefore, seeing that the shore cannon was gradually hoarse and the position was also destroyed, Chen Ping took the lead in waving his hand and said with a smile, "Osage, Lao Long, the barrel of the port cannon is probably red. Let's change one side."

"Right full rudder, two cars into one."

"Maintain boiler pressure, measure water flow, and correct errors."

Three years of training, the teaching of Chilean teachers, Chen Ping's help, and a large number of precious materials and books specially obtained by Li Mo from European countries made this former Beiyang training ship tube belt gradually emit a brilliance comparable to anyone.

With his clear order, the whole fleet was running rapidly. After the seven warships turned a corner on the sea, the starboard gunners who were still helping the ships just now received the order and quickly rushed into their gun position and began to adjust the muzzle.

With the support of various data, the staff quickly calculated that as the warship moves, the water flow will drive the warship to bias the position, so before firing again on the starboard side, it must be recalculated and provided with new coordinates for each gun to ensure the accuracy of firepower.

Five minutes later, after the ships re-adjusted the shooting of Zhuyuan, the second round of shelling began, and the smoke that had not dissipated rose again in an instant. The sound of the gun thundered through the world. It was not until half an hour later that there was no fire on the fort, and Long Guozhang continued to order Long Xiao. No. Assault.

Shortly after the order was issued along the radio wave, Long Xiao took the lead in sailing to the waterway. For a fleet attacking the military port, in addition to the fort shore guns that can be seen with the naked eye, the most worrying thing is the mines all over the channel and the mobile firepower hidden in the depth. Therefore, after seeing that the fort has no power to fight back, Long Guozhangguo He sent Long Xiao as the striker, carefully exploring the channel while attracting the hidden firepower.

Sure enough, not long after the Longxiao reached the mouth of the waterway, the fire began to emerge from the depths, and the subsequent ships aimed at the hidden exposed fire points one after another.

Fortunately, in addition to those deep forts, I obviously did not realize the role of the mine, or did not expect that Sasebo would be attacked and did not deploy mines, so Long Xiao quickly entered the harbor and began to clean up some dangerous targets with its unique 240mm main gun.

When seeing the Longxiao disappearing at the mouth of the waterway, the fleet was relieved. The determination and the courage had been prepared for a long time, and the tenacity and tenacity immediately began to move along the channel just now.

At this moment, the military shore guns have been completely destroyed, and only some mobile cannons are still resisting. However, rather than attacking, they are more tickling. In a few strokes, the ships cleared these small threats and rushed into the harbor.

After passing through the waterway, Sasebo Military Port showed its fattest body like a woman who took off her clothes. The soldiers who were still resisting on the shore had no choice but to pick up their rifles, and the dense bullets jingled the hull.

Sasebo in 1894 is not as large as later generations. The main buildings are arranged within less than five kilometers from the harbor. For ships and guns with a range of about 10,000 meters, it is a piece of cake.

Just as the ships swarmed in their ears, a flame suddenly appeared at the dock, and a column of water suddenly surged around the ships. This sudden shelling shocked everyone, only to find that at some point, several 75mm mountain cannons were piled up at the dock, and they were constantly roaring.

Yamada is indeed a cutting-edge officer who returned from studying in Germany. With his soldiers, he soon built a defensive front made of sand and stone by the dock, and also used the mountain cannons in the warehouse to establish a temporary artillery position near the dock. However, he forgot that at this moment, he was facing not the enemy's army, but the Pacific Fleet of the driver of the steel beast.

"Fire!"

Looking at a few lonely mountain cannons, Dong Fei smiled contemptuously. Although he also admired the Japanese soldiers opposite him, they never understood how big the gap between the naval guns and the army mountain guns was!

With his order, the tenacious patrol, like an enraged beast, bursting out a series of roars. When the huge thing with a displacement of 6,000 tons and its partners were full of fire, mushroom clouds rose from all over the harbor.

The 37mm and 76mm rapid-fire guns that have been spectators when attacking the fort also added a roar. Compared with their big brothers, it is the real quick-fire gun. Fire snakes are like raging storms sweeping past the fortifications just built by the Japanese soldiers. With its roar, Yamada painstakingly built defense. The imperial fortifications were extinguished in an instant, and hundreds of soldiers were cut off by shells.

In front of the position, there are broken limbs and arms everywhere, and blood converges to the bay along the ditch, forming scarlet blood, which is particularly dazzling on the blue sea.

Extended shooting!

Dong Fei looked at the broken corpses that were torn by artillery nearby, looked at the red water flowing like a river like the sea, frowned slightly, and ordered: "Each cannon is free to choose the target, carpet-style extended shooting!"

Attacking seaport facilities does not mean that you can fire at will. The choice of each target is actually a strict procedure. First, there is a threatening target, then a high-value target, and finally a general target.

So whether it is the largest 305mm main gun or the smallest 37mm rapid-fire gun, like a sophisticated machine, shooting at the barracks in the harbor over and over again, the warehouse is like a plow, and the whole Sasebo base becomes messy in less than a moment.

The soldiers ran away with wolves in the rain with their heads in their arms. The barracks turned into ashes in the flames. The warehouse turned into a pile of rubble and rubble. The blazing fire covered most of the harbor. There were broken tiles everywhere, and the broken bodies even covered the whole harbor.

Yamada dragged his feet and leaned against the sandbag, looked at the soldiers who had been with him a few hours ago, and looked at the devil's shadows that were almost close to the dock. He couldn't figure out who were these people? Why do you want to shell Sasebo? Where is the combined fleet of the Empire?

He struggled and endured the pain of his lower body. He moved his body and raised the telescope tremblingly, hoping to see the other party's face clearly, but Tianzhao God no longer gave him a chance. A 76mm shell accurately hit the sandbag in front of him, and the explosion and raised sand completely wrapped his broken body.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

When several huge explosions sounded one after another, and the purple-black mushroom clouds rose to the sky, the naval arsenal that stored a large amount of ammunition was finally ignited, and the continuous explosions were as dense and beautiful as fried beans.

The rumble of explosion came faintly from the sky. In addition to the huge and beautiful mushroom clouds, the whole Sasebo Army Port was shrouded in a sea of fire. Large and valuable targets had been destroyed. The idle gunners had to practice shooting with the cabin.

There is no need to waste ammunition!

Chen Ping raised his telescope, nodded with satisfaction, and bombarded for three hours, turning the second largest military port, which used to be comparable to Lushun Port, turned into ashes. Even if I had the opportunity to rebuild it, I'm afraid it would cost unimaginable money!

"Let's go to the second stop!" Putting down the telescope, Chen Ping pointed to several cargo ships on the dock that were already empty and had not been completely destroyed. He smiled and said, "Take them all away. Don't let the young master scold us for being a loser again!"

"Haha."

(to be continued)