Chapter 63

As the fishing boats on the river scattered upon discovering the large fleet of warships gathered there, Gao Yang picked up his telescope and looked towards the south of the river. A layer of morning mist enveloped the river at dawn, and the distant Jiangyin Fort was barely visible through the mist. Jiangyin, located at the "end of the river and the head of the sea," has been a strategic location for military contention since ancient times. The Yangtze River, after rushing for thousands of miles, suddenly narrows here, forming a huge funnel, a natural and perilous landscape. On the Huangshan Mountain by the river, the Huangshan Battery was built to control the Yangtze River, known as the "lock of the Yangtze."

The fog was very thick this morning, and the sentries in the fort could only vaguely see ships on the river, but they couldn't identify what kind of ships they were. The main reason the fort did not sound the alarm was that Gao Yang's military operation had not yet begun, and they did not want to alert the enemy prematurely!

The journey from Jiangyin to Shanghai is only about 100 kilometers, a distance that an army traveling by truck could cover in a day. When General Lu was still in command, he considered Jiangyin a top priority. Initially, it was to guard against Qi Xieyuan, but later it was to guard against Gao Yang.

One of the main forces of the Zhejiang Army, the 6th Mixed Brigade, was permanently stationed here. After Lu Xiaojia decided to take action against Gao Yang, he gradually moved the main forces of the Zhejiang Army to the Jiangyin front. By the time Gao Yang launched his attack, nearly 30,000 troops, including the 10th Division, the 1st Zhejiang Division, the 6th Mixed Brigade, and the 1st Zhejiang Mixed Brigade, had gathered around the Jiangyin Fort. Many more units were still on their way to the Jiangyin front. The plan formulated by Tōyama Kenji for Lu Xiaojia was to concentrate the main forces and advance along the Yangtze River's road and railway to Nanjing, aiming to break through Gao Yang's command center in Nanjing in one swift move.

Intelligence indicated that the Zhejiang Army units had not formed a unified front but were deployed along the Yangtze River, centered around the Jiangyin Fort. The 6th Mixed Brigade was stationed at the fort, the 10th Division was positioned at the front near the boundary with Gao Yang's forces, while the 1st Zhejiang Division and the 1st Zhejiang Mixed Brigade were stationed behind the fort. No one knew why the Zhejiang Army was deployed this way, but it gave Gao Yang's forces an opportunity, especially under the weather conditions this morning.

Weixi's plan was to first attack the connection point between the Jiangyin Fort and the 10th Division, isolating and surrounding the 10th Division, the main force of the Zhejiang Army. At the same time, the navy's heavy artillery would suppress the fort's firepower. As for the Zhejiang Army units behind the fort, they would be dealt with after they attempted to break through the artillery barrage to reach the 10th Division's position, by which time the first phase of the battle would already be over.

In the headquarters of the 10th Division in Xiagang Town, Jiangyin, Deputy Division Commander Zhu Shengguang, after having breakfast, stood in the courtyard, quietly watching the morning mist. The division commander had always been General Lu, and after his assassination, Lu Xiaojia took over. However, Lu Xiaojia had no interest in military life and only held the title of division commander, leaving all military affairs to Deputy Commander Zhu Shengguang.

Zhu Shengguang had been in the military for over 20 years and was a trusted confidant of General Lu. He did not support the attack on Gao Yang. As an experienced military man, he could judge from the limited intelligence that Gao Yang's forces were a highly combat-effective unit. Zhu Shengguang had no confidence in facing such a formidable opponent. Moreover, it was clear that General Lu's death was the work of the Japanese, yet Lu Xiaojia insisted on blaming Gao Yang and even collaborated with the Japanese! Zhu Shengguang was very dissatisfied with this, but as a soldier, he still followed the orders from above.

After breakfast, Zhu Shengguang felt uneasy, a feeling he had developed from years of military service. Although the front-line units reported everything was normal, Zhu Shengguang still ordered reconnaissance forces to be sent to the buffer zone between the two armies.

Nearly half an hour had passed, and the reconnaissance forces had not yet returned with any news. Zhu Shengguang, looking at the fog, muttered, "This damned weather!" His sense of unease grew stronger, and after a moment's thought, he decided to inspect the front-line positions.

Just as he arrived at the front-line regimental command post and was about to dismount, the sky suddenly filled with the whistling sound of shells! As an old soldier, Zhu Shengguang immediately recognized the sound of 105mm or larger caliber shells! Without warning the surrounding soldiers, he quickly dove to the ground.

A deafening explosion followed, and a wave of sound and air pressure surged like a tsunami. The ground where the shell landed erupted in flames, and chunks of earth and debris flew into the air. The shrapnel and the powerful blast instantly claimed the lives of many Zhejiang Army soldiers, many of whom died without understanding what had happened. Zhu Shengguang, lying on the ground with a bleeding lip and nose, was quickly helped to his feet by his guards and rushed into the command post.

Inside the command post, chaos reigned. Zhu Shengguang wiped the blood from his mouth and nose, drew his pistol, and fired three shots, restoring order.

Zhu Shengguang, with a stern face, shouted, "The communications section, immediately send a telegram to the Young Marshal, reporting that we have been suddenly attacked by Gao Yang! Also, immediately send telegrams to the 1st Zhejiang Division and the 1st Zhejiang Mixed Brigade, ordering them to move towards us immediately!" He took a breath and continued, "All non-staff personnel, go to the front lines to supervise the battle, all of you! Hurry!"

At the front-line positions of the 10th Division, countless shells rained down like a dense hailstorm, raising large clouds of earth and taking the lives of many Zhejiang Army soldiers. The 10th Division, originally planning to attack Gao Yang, had made no defensive preparations and had not dug any trenches. On this open plain with no protection, the casualties were severe. The Zhejiang Army had just finished breakfast and was completely caught off guard by the sudden and intense artillery barrage.

The Zhejiang Army's positions were shrouded in smoke and fire, the sky darkened by the smoke. Shells whistled through the air, landing on the Zhejiang Army's positions, causing massive explosions. Flames and smoke rose, and chunks of earth and torn bodies were thrown into the air. The air was filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder and burnt flesh.

The bodies of soldiers lay scattered around the shell craters, their clothes shredded by the shockwaves, their bodies exposed, their eyes wide with the horror of the bombardment.

A few defensive positions had been destroyed, and many Zhejiang Army soldiers were buried alive. The surface of the positions was covered with countless shell craters. Trees on the positions, severed by the bombardment, still smoked. Wounded soldiers, covered in blood and flesh, groaned in pain.

A regiment stationed at the front-line positions, after only a few minutes of bombardment, was on the verge of collapse. The surviving soldiers lay flat on the ground, hands covering their heads, awaiting their fate. Their only hope was to survive this round of bombardment and then retreat to the well-fortified Jiangyin Fort. The veterans knew that in the internal wars among warlords, artillery bombardments would not last long because shells were too expensive!

Unfortunately, they had encountered Gao Yang, who revered firepower. He had purchased over 200 heavy artillery pieces of 105mm or larger caliber from Germany. Most of these artillery pieces had been transported to the front by train overnight, and the artillerymen, with ample ammunition, were not sparing in their bombardment.

When the clock struck 8:00, the shrill sound of the artillery alarm rang out. The three 150mm quick-firing guns on the Hai Rong warship fired simultaneously, the massive recoil causing the entire ship to tremble. Smoke and flames spewed from the gun barrels, and the deafening sound made the eardrums throb. Immediately after, the four 105mm quick-firing guns on the port side also fired in sequence. Gao Yang, lowering his hands from his ears, raised his telescope and focused on the Jiangyin Fort.

Soon, several massive columns of smoke rose from the fort, flames visible within. Even from this distance, Gao Yang could feel the immense power of the explosions!

"Do we have enough shells?" Gao Yang asked Ou Yang Ji, lowering his telescope. "Report, Commander, all ships left the port fully loaded with standard combat supplies, and the ammunition is very sufficient," Ou Yang Ji replied immediately. Gao Yang nodded and said softly, "Use them all." At that moment, the other ships also began firing!

The distant Jiangyin Fort was immediately enveloped in a dense rain of shells. Blood, flesh, and debris mixed with earth and rocks were thrown into the air, only to be thrown up again by more powerful explosions. The areas hit by the shells were like areas hit by a typhoon of over 12 on the Beaufort scale, a scene of utter devastation.

After a few minutes of bombardment, the Jiangyin Fort's counterattack was slow to come, with scattered shells landing near the warships, raising huge water columns. The fort had not been reinforced, and its largest caliber guns were only 105mm, with a limited number. The heavy artillery supported by the Japanese had not been delivered here, and the fort's defenders could only rely on the sturdy defensive works. However, most of the fortifications, built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, could not withstand the bombardment from the warships' heavy artillery. As the gun positions were destroyed one by one, the fort's counterattack gradually weakened.

Gao Yang, watching the fort enveloped in smoke and flames, nodded and said, "We've won."

At the front-line positions of the Zhejiang Army, the brutal bombardment continued, with 105mm to 150mm heavy shells falling like rain in the plum rain season! How could a regiment of warlord forces withstand the continuous bombardment of over a hundred heavy artillery pieces!

The Zhejiang Army, already under continuous bombardment for nearly ten minutes, was on the verge of collapse, even though they were considered elite! The regimental command post, where Zhu Shengguang and the main commanders were, was hit by a 150mm howitzer shell weighing 52.5 kilograms. The explosion obliterated the command post, leaving only a massive crater.

Without command, the Zhejiang Army finally collapsed. The surviving soldiers cried and ran towards the rear, towards Xiagang Town. No one wanted to stay in this hell of flying steel for another second!

(PS: Thank you to the reader Xiao Xiao Hu Xian for the update votes and donations. I apologize for the busy work schedule, and I usually only double update on weekends. Thank you for the support of all the friends who like this book. Thank you.)

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