Soon, the twelve 75mm caliber mountain guns of the artillery team directly under the Chongteng detachment began to adjust their firing range, pointing the black muzzles at the Nantong Pier, and the observation hot air balloon also began to inflate in preparation for liftoff.
On the Nantong Pier, the Chinese did not realize that the danger was coming.
Fortunately, it takes time to observe whether the balloon is inflated or to measure the shooting elements.
Oda Nobuyoshi said: "This can be regarded as a blessing among misfortunes. The Chinese army suddenly crossed the Yangtze River. Although it was beyond our expectation, they made a mistake while busy, but they also made a big mistake! The Chinese army should not have Those who carried torches created opportunities for the imperial artillery to calibrate and shoot at Zhu Yuan..."
However, before Oda Nobuyoshi could finish his words, a small commotion suddenly occurred on the pier ahead.
When Chiaki Shigeto and Nobuyoshi Oda hurriedly raised their binoculars to look, they saw a Chinese military officer already on the dock. Without any explanation, he grabbed a torch and threw it into the water with all his strength.
"Baga, this cunning Chinese!" Oda Nobuyoshi cursed and immediately realized something was wrong.
The next moment, on the Nantong Pier, dozens or hundreds of torches set up by the Chinese Communist Army were extinguished.
In less than a moment, the entire Nantong Pier was plunged into darkness and nothing could be seen. However, Shigeto Chiaki seemed to still be able to see groups of Chinese soldiers lining up to board the ship in the dark.
Although the torches were extinguished, the Chinese army's crossing of the river was not over.
Obviously, the Chinese military has realized that torches will bring convenience to the Japanese artillery.
"Baga, Baga Yalu!" Shigeto Chiaki gritted his teeth in anger, but there was nothing he could do. Without the guidance of the torch, the artillery team of Shigeto's detachment was completely blind. There was no way to calibrate and shoot Zhuyuan, and how to blockade the Nantong Pier. ? How to prevent the remnants of the temporary 79th Division from crossing the Yangtze River south
In an era without infrared measurement technology, night shelling was pure nonsense.
Of course, large-scale artillery fire coverage is another matter, because that is a range of damage.
Sure enough, Captain Yamada, the artillery commander, quickly came over with a dark face and reported: "Your Excellency, Commander, due to the lack of lighting equipment, the artillery cannot calibrate and shoot Zhuyuan."
Just now, the torches of the Chinese army were extinguished so quickly that the artillery team had not even had time to launch the observation hot air balloon. How could it be possible to calibrate and shoot Zhu Yuan
Shigeto Chiaki said viciously: "Are there no flares? Are there none?"
If there are flares, one flare should last for at least a few minutes. A dozen flares is almost enough.
"Hai." Captain Yamada paused and said helplessly, "The illumination bombs and brimstone bombs have been exhausted, and even the high-explosive bombs only have less than half the base left..."
"Baga, Baga, Baga!" Chiaki Shigeto became furious and slapped Captain Yamada in the face. Then he pointed at Yamada and cursed, "You don't know how to save money, you idiot, Rubbish, a bunch of rubbish, all rubbish, rubbish, all rubbish, rubbish..."
In his rage, Shigeto Chiaki no longer cared about his image.
"Hai." Captain Yamada could only admit his mistake with great pain.
After a long while, Shigeto Chiaki sighed and said, "If I had known better, I should have brought more flares!"
Captain Yamada had a bitter look on his face when he heard this. Before the Battle of Songhu, the Japanese artillery did not even have flares in their ammunition preparations. It was because they were attacked by the Nationalist Army at night during the Battle of Songhu and suffered heavy losses that the base camp was withdrawn from the battle. A batch of flares were urgently delivered from China, but there were too many and too little. These flares were simply not enough for the nine divisions, and the Chongteng detachment received even less. How could you bring more if you wanted
Shigeto Chiaki stared at the dark night sky in front of him, with a look of reluctance on his face.
Do you really want to watch the remnants of the temporary 79th Division cross the river and then escape
Do you really want to comment on the incompetence of the newly arrived Commander Shan Shanyuan
If Shan Shan Yuan receives an evaluation of incompetence, even if he catches up with the battle to capture Nanjing and achieves military exploits in the Battle of Nanjing, it will be difficult for him to be promoted.
No, absolutely not. Chiaki Shigeto waved his fist viciously and let out a silent roar.
Then, Shigeto Chiaki suddenly turned around and shouted at Oda Nobuyoshi: "Oda-san, I order you to attack Nantong Pier immediately. At any cost, you must cross the river before the remnants of the temporary 79th Division can do it. Before, intercept them, intercept them, intercept them..."
"Hai!" Oda Nobuyoshi bowed heavily and took the order.
Shigeto Chiaki turned his attention to another messenger and shouted: "Immediately report to the Fourth Fleet of the Navy and request tactical guidance from the Jiang Defense Team, tactical guidance, tactical guidance..."
"Hai." The messenger paused heavily and turned around.
(Dividing line)
Nantong Pier.
The torches went out, and the entire dock suddenly fell into darkness.
Although the little devil did not shoot flares and the entire dock was still dark, Xu Rui still did not take it lightly and decided to keep up the appearances.
Under the cover of darkness, small boats loaded with officers and soldiers of the independent battalion left the dock and slowly sailed into the river. Only after they reached the center of the river did the small boats quietly turn around and sail towards the lower reaches of Nantong. We went ashore at a river bay about five kilometers away from Nantong, and then hid the boat.
After hiding the boats, the officers and soldiers of the Independent Battalion rushed back to Nantong city via Route 6.
Time passed quietly in the suffocating waiting, and half an hour passed quickly.
Seeing one small boat after another leaving the dock and sailing towards the dark center of the river, the veteran looked back at Xu Rui and said in a deep voice: "It seems that the little devil's flares have been exhausted. Now, I don't know whether Shigeto Chiaki Will this old devil send troops? If he doesn't send troops, it means he has not been fooled. If he wants to send troops, then he has been fooled. "
"Don't worry." Xu Rui smiled and said confidently, "This old devil Shigeto Chiaki will definitely be fooled."
The veteran took a deep look at Xu Rui and said, "Sometimes I'm really confused. Where do you get your confidence?"
Xu Rui smiled and said to the veteran: "Because I am Xu Rui! As long as I, Xu, are the prey, no matter if he is the Jade Emperor, a god, or a monster, I can only catch them without mercy!"
The veteran was awe-inspiring when he heard this. He could feel Xu Rui's confidence radiating from his body.
The officers and soldiers of the Independent Battalion standing nearby were even more excited. They would definitely win this battle!
"Let's go." Xu Rui threw the cigarette he had just taken a puff on the ground and stamped it out, then picked up the 38 cap and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, this old devil Shigeto Chiaki is probably jumping around. In minutes, the Japanese infantry should launch a fierce attack on Nantong Pier. In order to make this scene more realistic, we may have to block it."
As soon as Xu Rui finished speaking, the shriek of cannonballs came from the dark night sky ahead. However, the shriek of the cannonballs seemed long and distant, indicating that the impact point of the cannonballs was still some distance from the dock. The Japanese artillery did not have clear guidance for the flares, so it was completely reasonable to be inaccurate.
Xu Rui chuckled and said, "The little devil's reaction seems to be a few minutes faster than I expected."
As he spoke, the first row of shells landed on the ruins far away from the dock, and then exploded.
Taking advantage of the gap where the Japanese were preparing for artillery fire, Xu Rui summoned all the officers above the platoon of the Independent Battalion, the Southern Jiangsu Guerrillas and the remnants of the 67th Army. He said in a deep voice: "I will review the discipline one last time. I don't care about you." What kind of party or army do you have? What kind of personal grievances have you had in the past? But here, you must listen to me! If I say go east, you are never allowed to go west. If I say stop shooting, even if the little devil’s bayonet points to your chest, Don’t shoot either!”
After finishing speaking, Xu Rui Lengjun's eyes swept across the faces of Deputy Wan Ying and Xiao Yanyue, and said in a deep voice: "You two, you have no objection to this, right?"
Deputy Wan Ying snorted as an answer.
Xiao Yanyue said readily: "No objection."
"Very good." Xu Rui said, "Then as previously agreed, the brothers of the 60th Army and the brothers of the Southern Jiangsu Guerrillas will temporarily be under the unified command of the Independent Battalion. Now I give the order."
The officers of the Independent Battalion all drew back their feet and stood at attention.
The officers of the 67th Army seemed careless.
Xiao Yanyue and the two captains of the guerrillas showed no reaction at all. The Communist Party was not interested in this.
Xu Rui didn't take it seriously, and then issued an order: "The Independent Battalion temporarily formed the 1st Company, the 1st Squadron of the Guerrilla Army, and the 67th Army temporarily formed the 1st Company to follow me to block the attack; the Independent Battalion temporarily formed the 2nd Company , the 2nd Squadron of the Guerrilla Force, the Fuxing Society Rangers and the 67th Army temporarily formed the 2nd Company into the second squadron. They were divided into three squadrons and were ambushed in three tunnels. They were commanded by Li Yi, Li Hai and Heipi. The independent battalion The machine gun company and the machine gun company of the 67th Army are the third team, guarding the heavy machine gun positions."
Xu Rui's eyes finally fell on Deputy Wan Ying, Xiao Yanyue, Jiang Nan, and Cui Jiu, and said: "As for the four of you, please move to Nishan and observe on the spot."
Xu Rui directly relieved the command of the four people, which is what the title means.
Deputy Wan Ying snorted and did not object. Xu Rui seemed domineering, but he was also sincere, because Xu Rui had promised that after winning this battle, they would be the first to pick out all the weapons and equipment seized! Therefore, Deputy Wan Ying hopes to win this battle more than anyone else. It will be beneficial for them to win.
Xiao Yanyue smiled slightly and didn't say much. Let's not talk about it. They were ordered by their superiors to help the temporary 79th Division break out. Even without the order from their superiors, they would never fight the Japanese. Vague, what's more, Battalion Commander Xu has given them enough benefits, isn't it
As for Jiang Nan and Cui Jiu, they have no reason to object. (To be continued.)