Munitions Empire
Chapter 1152: Command Post 1072 on Shore

Chapter 1152: Command Post 1072 on Shore

The pilots flying the Stuka Dive Bombers gradually found their rhythm, and the new round of bombing achieved better results.

Another Shen Army Cruiser was hit, this time a missile struck vertically through the deck of the cruiser and hit the ammunition depot inside directly.

This was entirely different from the effects of a torpedo hit: a torpedo hit resulted only in the explosion of the torpedo itself; in fact, there was almost no secondary explosion.

Because the sinking of warships by torpedoes relies mainly on the flooding that occurs after the explosion, the enemy’s ammunition and fuel depots would be instantly flooded with a large amount of seawater, essentially serving to suppress the subsequent explosions by filling with water.

A missile hit was different, as it exploded inside the warship after penetrating the deck armor, which essentially means causing structural damage and secondary explosions first, before leading to the ship’s hull rupturing and taking on water.

Therefore, when this Shen Army Cruiser was hit by a bomb, the secondary explosions in the ammunition depot turned the entire scene into one of ghastly destruction and terror.

The massive explosion even hurled parts of the cruiser into the air, falling onto the deck of another cruiser nearby.

The fierce fire from the explosion in the ammunition depot below the forward gun turret nearly ignited the bridge and the smokestacks behind it. All rescue efforts were in vain, as the fuel depot amidships also exploded and caught fire, and the whole warship disintegrated at sea before it even had a chance to sink.

In a sense, Mirage Country’s warship protection was average, and cruisers especially suffered due to insufficient tonnage, allocating most of their weight to the guns and the main armor belt.

Despite some reinforcement to the horizontal armor, the fact was that they still underestimated the damage naval aviation could inflict upon warships.

Before there was time to grieve for this warship, another cruiser was hit by a torpedo on the other side. Unlike the previous cruiser, this one was lifted high off the sea surface by the explosion and then slammed back into the water, almost breaking in half.

Compared to the previously capsized heavy cruiser, this one was clearly a light cruiser, and it seemed to be a converted one.

It had four smokestacks, and it only sported two main gun turrets at the bow and stern. Such cruisers actually weren’t very powerful in combat, fast but with very limited armor.

This type of light cruiser was generally used for patrolling and alerting, focused on economic efficiency. In wartime, they would follow the main fleet just to make up numbers, or act singly to escort cargo, or engage weaker destroyers.

Now hit by a torpedo, its inadequate protection and unstable structure were glaringly exposed. Normally, aerial torpedoes would not have such devastating power, but when it hit, it almost broke the cruiser in half.

The Shen Army fleet heading south, originally consisting of only seven cruisers and three destroyers, could now be said to have suffered heavy losses.

They watched three of their warships being sunk, while the rest struggled desperately, at risk of capsizing at any moment.

Seeing his own fleet nearing its limit, Shen Hai’ang meanwhile sent a telegram to the Main Fleet informing them of their plight and ordered an immediate retreat.

What a joke! Continuing to head south surely meant total annihilation here. The promised land support from their army… well, if that could also be considered support, it was totally useless!

Just when a few Zero Fighters finally arrived, they were beaten down by the enemy escorting crooked-wing aircraft, not a single one escaped, all were shot down!

What good was such cover? They were outnumbered and outclassed in combat power. Shen Hai’ang emphasized this point in the telegram sent to the Main Fleet: the land army’s air support was unreliable, and to ensure the Main Fleet’s absolute safety, at least two hundred Zero Fighters would be needed.

However, this telegram, once in the hands of the Main Fleet Commander Shen Haifeng, became a huge joke: Mirage Country had deployed a total of less than 200 aircraft on South Island. How could they all take off to support the Navy?

In fact, the Mirage Country army commander on South Island, Shengwu Zhong, in his desperation, had already ordered the Dragon Bombers to take off again and bomb Leping and Dongshan.

In an effort to retake these two positions, he had given the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions strict orders to break through Tang Army Paratroopers’ defense line by 1 p.m. no matter what.

Because, on the beach, the Shen Army commanders stationed there were nearly in tears. The eagerly awaited reinforcements had been delayed, and now they were squeezed into a corner, on the verge of annihilation by Tang Army landing forces.

…

On the beach, a landing craft came straight up to the shore. Its huge bow door had already been opened, and the gangway had been lowered, with a jeep rushing onto the beach first.

Then a Type 59 main battle tank rolled off; with such advanced landing equipment, the speed of the 9th Group Army’s landing was much faster than expected.

Riding in the jeep, General Feng Kezhi watched as artillery was already setting up positions on the beach, erecting towed 155mm caliber heavy cannons, and he felt confident about the success of the landing operation.

As a commander, he didn’t believe in the combat effectiveness of the Navy Marine Corps, but he had full confidence in the 9th Group Army that he had formed.

To support this naval landing operation, the weapon and equipment department above even gave priority to upgrading some Type 59 main battle tanks for the 9th Group Army. With these advanced main battle tanks, General Feng Kezhi did not believe his troops would be repelled back to the sea by the Shen Army.

“Commander!” The division commander of the 19th Infantry Division of the 9th Group Army, who had just been sent ashore, saluted General Feng Kezhi at attention: “The Marine Corps is clearing the landing site on the flank, and my 1st Battalion is breaking through in depth! A company from the 9th Armored Division that landed earlier has assembled; they will support us in breaking through the enemy’s second line of defense head-on.”

Sitting in the jeep, General Feng Kezhi returned a military salute to his subordinate: “Hurry and vacate the landing site for the troops! The follow-up troops can’t deploy!”

He pointed to various landing crafts and transport ships approaching the beach and shouted at his subordinates: “I give you 2 hours; your troops must cross the Shen Army’s second line of defense and make contact with the paratrooper positions!”

“Yes, sir! Commander!” The battalion commander of the 1st Battalion saluted at attention and then hurried to carry out the orders.

General Feng Kezhi wasn’t supposed to land at such a time, but he was eager to push his headquarters forward, which, in his view, was an attitude. A fallen general like him should stand in the most dangerous place and be loyal to the Empire.

Behind him, more Destroyers of the Great Tang Empire were raining down their shells on the Shen Army: countless cannons spewed flames, keeping the entire landing site still tumultuously noisy.

The follow-up troops were densely packed on the beach, mostly the logistical units of the 9th Group Army, and soldiers who had just been sent ashore.

Most of the Shen Army’s artillery positions arranged in-depth had been destroyed by Stuka Dive Bombers, with the surviving parts struggling to provide support for the front line, unable to spare the strength to fire at the beach anymore.

It was for this reason that Bernard allowed General Feng Kezhi to move the command post forward to the beach. After all, Bernard also believed that only when General Feng Kezhi was ashore would it signify that the landing operation was proceeding smoothly.

The recently landed Engineer Corps of the Great Tang Empire was clearing the minefields left by the Shen Army with simple and crude methods, directly detonating certain areas with explosive charges, and then moving on to the next.

The real mine-clearing equipment carried by the Tang Army was not much, and most of it had a lower priority, being on the transport ships with later numbers. At such a time, no one was afraid of wasting anything – they used whatever was available.

Along the trenches left by the Shen Army, the 1st Division of the Navy Marine Corps was attacking furiously to the west, while the main attack direction of the 2nd Division of the Marine Corps was on the east.

The two divisions’ troops were working hard to expand the landing site, and under their offensive, the width of the Tang Army’s landing site had already exceeded 5 kilometers.

When General Feng Kezhi landed, he could only hear gunfire in the distance. However, the gunfire behind him was still dense, so he had to shout at the top of his lungs when he spoke.

“Had I known, I should have waited a little longer back there!” He covered one ear with one hand, squinting his eyes as he jumped down from the off-road vehicle, complaining to his adjutant beside him.

Next to him, the Engineer Corps of the headquarters was setting up a tent beside a rock – this would be their temporary command post for the group army.

Meanwhile, communication troops were erecting antennas on the rocks; they were to set up at least ten radio sets, connect ten walkie-talkies… of course, they also needed generators and had to pull up anti-air camouflage nets and set up lookout areas further afield.

Actually, the command systems on the warships were somewhat more sophisticated, as it was safer and quieter there, with more comprehensive communication equipment.

However, a commander moving forward also had its advantages. At the very least, this kind of leading-by-example approach indeed served to motivate the soldiers, making the entire troop fight more bravely.

In fact, the 9th Group Army indeed felt inspired: the 1st Battalion of the 19th Infantry Division that had just landed was fiercely attacking northwards, and without tank cover, they had already pushed their line right under the enemy’s second main line of defense.

As the absolute main force within the Group Army, the 2nd Battalion of the 19th Infantry Division was landing, and the directly affiliated artillery of the Group Army was also establishing its artillery positions.

More tanks were also ready to join the battle, and before exhausting the fuel in their tanks, these Type 59 main battle tanks would not stop their advance.

“Get the follow-up troops to quickly relieve the first batch of Marines who landed… their trousers are all wet…” Personally overseeing the establishment of his headquarters, General Feng Kezhi felt the chilly sea breeze on his face.

He had landed directly from the ramp, and his boots were dry, but the soldiers who had opened the way for him had waded through the seawater to shore. Now they had been enduring the cold and fighting hard all morning; they indeed deserved some rest.

————

There will be two updates today, no need to wait for more. I’ll provide additional updates when I feel good.

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