After taking control of several main streets on the north bank of the Suzhou River, the Second Infantry Regiment of the Little Japanese Guards immediately blew up all the bridges on the Suzhou River, leaving not even one behind! Waibaidu Bridge and Erbaidu Bridge escaped the Second Battle of Songhu, but failed to escape the Third Battle of Songhu. They were bombed to the point where only the wreckage at both ends remained.
However, the Izumo cruiser is huge, with a width of more than 20 meters. The Suzhou River, except for the slightly wider mouth where it meets Huangpu, the inner river channel is only 30 to 40 meters wide. Now it is squeezed into the Izumo cruiser. After that, it was almost immediately packed, and the ship's hull came into violent friction with the remains of the bridges on both sides.
Due to inertia, the Izumo cruiser continued to slide forward until the bow of the ship came into contact and friction with the Erbaidu Bridge, and then finally stopped. This is interesting. With its huge hull, the Izumo cruiser directly The entire river channel between Erbaidu Bridge and Waibaidu Bridge was filled up.
With only a few repairs, the officers and soldiers of the Songhu Independent Regiment can pass through the wreckage of the Waibaidu Bridge and the Erbaidu Bridge and the deck of the cruiser Izumo to restore traffic on both sides of the Suzhou River! And this is the only reason why Du Wanlin did this, he wanted to use the Izumo cruiser to restore cross-strait traffic!
However, the Japanese who had almost completely cut off the Suzhou River would not agree. The deputy captain of the Second Guards Infantry Regiment, Shigeru Imagawa, immediately led a Guards Infantry Brigade to launch a fierce attack on the Izumo cruiser. The Japanese wanted to get there first. Seize control of the wreckage of the Izumo cruiser before reinforcements from the Songhu Independent Regiment arrive.
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Almost at the same time, Xu Rui was already organizing troops to counterattack the positions on the north bank of the Suzhou River.
The position on the north bank of the Suzhou River must be recaptured, even if it cannot be recaptured in full, at least in part, because the channel of the Suzhou River must be opened, not only related to the deployment of troops and materials, but also because the rocket launcher transformation workshop is on the 16th. In the Puduan Warehouse District, if the traffic on the Suzhou River is not restored, more than a hundred modified rocket launcher vehicles will reach the north bank. And if the rocket launcher vehicles do not reach the north bank, it will be useless even if Wang Husheng transports 500 million rockets from Dameishan!
Recruiting ships to transport weapons, equipment, personnel and materials back and forth through the Huangpu River can only be a drop in the bucket!
At this time, Xu Rui will not care about any international influence, let alone the intimidation of the Italian government. He will definitely requisition all the merchant ships of the Italian Shipping Company without hesitation, but this will be of no use. The little devil will never sit idly by. Bombers will definitely be dispatched to blockade the Huangpu River. In fact, the little devils are already doing this.
On the way back to the regiment headquarters from Yangshupu, Xu Rui discovered that the Japanese bombers were already bombing non-military targets, including the docks on both sides of Huangpu, especially the ships parked on the docks. Thinking about it now, the Japs had already planned it. It had been planned long ago that the little devils would completely cut off the traffic on the north and south sides of the Suzhou River.
Therefore, part of the position on the north bank of the Suzhou River must be regained, and traffic on both sides of the Suzhou River must be restored!
For this reason, Xu Rui transferred back all the six battalions stationed in Hongkou, plus Ren Xu's special agent battalion, plus the Langya Brigade, plus five battalions of the militia, and temporarily formed an attack group. Xu Rui than Everyone knows better that the longer the time goes on, the more complete the fortifications built by the Japanese will be, and the harder it will be to recapture the position on the north bank of the Suzhou River!
Therefore, the noble soldiers must seize the opportunity to counterattack with lightning speed before the Japanese have time to build complete defense fortifications! This way you have a greater chance of success! However, even so, Xu Rui was not sure of victory, because it was daytime and the little devil had air support!
If given a choice, Xu Rui would of course choose to attack at night to have a greater chance of winning!
But unfortunately, Xu Rui has no chance to choose, and he absolutely cannot wait any longer!
Xu Rui summoned several battalion commanders and was about to give a lecture when Du Junjie suddenly stumbled in and shouted: "Captain, something happened to the Izumo!"
"Izumo?" Xu Rui's heart trembled when he heard this, and he asked urgently, "What happened to the Izumo?"
"The Izumo was sunk by a Japanese bomber!" Du Junjie said miserably, "But before it sank, the officers and soldiers on the ship, under the command of Captain Du Wanlin, drove the Izumo cruiser into the Suzhou River. Now it has been stranded. Between the Waibaidu Bridge and the Erbaidu Bridge, the brothers on the ship are fighting fiercely with the Japs!"
"What? The cruiser Izumo rushed into the Suzhou River?" Almost instantly, Xu Rui understood Du Wanlin's intention. Lao Du was going to take out the wreckage of the cruiser Yun and build a strong building on the Suzhou River. The steel bridge, the officers and soldiers on the ship wanted to use their blood to pave a life channel on the Suzhou River!
In an instant, Xu Rui's eyes became moist, he turned his head and howled at the top of his lungs: "Brothers, the navy brothers are willing to use their own blood and lives to pave the way. We must never let them sacrifice and bleed in vain! Everyone! Battalion, immediately launch a full-scale counterattack against the Japanese on the north bank of the Suzhou River, kill them!"
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At this time, the stranded cruiser Izumo was under fierce attack by the Japanese.
In the sky, after dropping their bombs, more than a dozen Japanese bombers began rounds of dive and strafing; above the water of the Suzhou River, three Japanese gunboats were lined up, firing 57mm-caliber main guns and bows. Heavy machine guns bombed and strafed the Izumo cruiser frantically; on the ground, groups of Japanese, guided by armored vehicles and tanks, also launched a fierce attack on the Izumo cruiser along several main streets.
This is a battle destined to go down in history!
The naval officers and soldiers led by Du Wanlin are not only the first real navy under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, but also very likely to become the first modern navy in the history of world military affairs to be attacked by enemy forces from three directions: sea, sea and air. ! For that alone they would go down in history.
The battle has reached this point, and the officers and soldiers on the ship have completely put aside life and death.
As the captain of the Izumo, Du Wanlin has already put his personal life and death aside.
At this moment, Du Wanlin held the saber in his hand and personally guided the bow main gun attack!
"One scale to the left, one degree of elevation angle! Fire, fire!" Following Du Wanlin's hoarse roar, the muzzle of the front main gun violently ejected a stream of flames, followed by a dull roar. The next moment, A 3o5mm caliber shell hit a Japanese gunboat in front almost instantly.
"Boom!" With a loud noise, the Japanese gunboat exploded into a sea of flames in an instant.
Although the Izumo cruiser has been stranded and only has one triple-mounted bow main gun left, it can still fight! In the hands of the Japanese invaders, it was a tool to aid the evil, but once it was in the hands of the Chinese people, it was a powerful weapon against the invaders. There is no distinction between justice and injustice in weapons.
"Good fight, beautiful!" Du Wanlin waved his fist vigorously.
"Captain, be careful!" At this time, a sailor shouted and rushed over, throwing Du Wanlin onto the deck.
Then there was a loud bang. Du Wanlin's ears were instantly deafened. His ears suddenly became deathly silent. He could no longer hear any sound. He struggled to sit up from the deck. When he turned his head, he saw the man who had just thrown him. The sailor had already fallen into a pool of blood and died. When he turned to look at the main gun on the bow of the ship, the remaining main gun was also bent.
The dog said it! Du Wanlin looked up angrily, and happened to see a Japanese bomber passing over the bridge. A bomb screamed from under the aircraft, fell down, and entered the Izumo's bridge. The next moment, on the bridge, A dazzling red light immediately bloomed. After the red light faded away, there was another big hole on the bridge. However, an anti-aircraft gun and the two sailors operating the anti-aircraft gun that were supposed to be there had disappeared. There is no shadow.
Turning around again, Du Wanlin saw that on the streets on the north bank of the Suzhou River, a dozen armored vehicles and tanks led hundreds of Japanese soldiers to rush towards him. There was still deathly silence in his ears, but his body suddenly regained strength, and Du Wanlin Without hesitation, he stood up and rushed towards an anti-aircraft gun on the starboard side of the ship as quickly as possible.
Entering the anti-aircraft gun position, Du Wanlin stretched out his hand to push away the body of the operator who had been sacrificed for a long time, then lowered the firing angle of the anti-aircraft gun and aimed it at the Japanese armored vehicles and Japanese armored vehicles swooping down the street on the north bank of the Suzhou River. There were also tanks, and then he pressed the firing button fiercely. In the next moment, the triple anti-aircraft cannon violently spit out firepower.
In Du Wanlin's field of vision, an extremely bloody scene immediately appeared. The firepower of the triple 25mm caliber anti-aircraft guns passed by, and the Japanese armored vehicles and tanks were instantly beaten into sieves. The thin armor could not withstand such a large force. The Japanese infantry hiding behind armored vehicles and tanks were even more devastated by anti-aircraft guns. After being hit by one, their whole bodies were directly beaten into pieces, and even their intact arms could no longer be put together.
"Ah, go to hell, you bastard little devil, go to hell, go to hell!" Du Wanlin pressed the firing button, and the triple anti-aircraft gun fired violently, pouring out 25mm shells like raindrops. When they arrived at the Japanese infantry advancing along Huangpu Beach Road, they fell piece by piece.
Du Wanlin was getting ready to fight when a dark shadow suddenly fell from the sky.
Suddenly he raised his head and saw the black shadow clearly. Du Wanlin's pupils shrank instantly. Damn it, it's an aerial bomb! Then before Du Wanlin could react, the 25-kilogram aerial bomb had already fallen and hit Du Wanlin's anti-aircraft gun emplacement very accurately. The next moment, the dazzling red light swallowed the entire anti-aircraft gun emplacement instantly.
In an instant, Du Wanlin felt himself flying.