Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 234 The Eagle!

7 month 14 day.

Twenty miles west of Anqing, the Japanese Navy's Third Fleet.

On the deck, Captain Satoshi Imai of the Ataka leaned against the mast, looking at the calm river surface, holding a bottle of sake in his hand.

A sailor ran over: "Sir, breakfast is ready."

Satoshi Imai turned around: "Corporal Tanaka, you didn't report it."

Tanaka Yuta: "Reporting to Your Excellency!"

Satoshi Imai seemed somewhat dissatisfied, hiccuping as he said, "Speak louder, I can't hear you."

"You think you can operate a warship with such a low volume of sound?"

Tanaka Yuta shouted, "Captain, this is Corporal Tanaka reporting to you!"

Satoshi Imai: "This time is not bad, finally he looks like a soldier of the Imperial Navy!"

"Go tell First Mate Noda that he doesn't need to wait for me; I'll stay on deck a little longer."

Tanaka Yuta shouted loudly, "Hai!"

Satoshi Imai added, "Oh, and go to the restaurant and bring me another bottle of sake."

The Naval Regulations Manual clearly states that no one, whether an officer or a soldier, is allowed to drink alcohol during combat operations on a warship. However, while the regulations are regulations, how they are actually implemented is entirely up to the captain.

Drinking a little sake every morning has been a habit of Satoshi Imai for many years.

However, they are not usually this unrestrained as they are today.

This is Anqing, which is close to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The flagship of the Third Fleet, the Izumo, cannot sail to this place.

Of the several river gunboats that arrived, the Ataka had the strongest overall combat capability, so naturally, Satoshi Imai became the de facto commander of this squadron.

As for the Hata Detachment?

The army's idiots have no authority over the noble naval captains.

First mate Noda followed the sound and came over: "Imai-kun, why are you drinking again?"

"You forgot, we still have a combat mission later."

Satoshi Imai waved his hand: "Noda-kun, you're overthinking it. I only had a little bit to drink, it won't interfere with business. Don't you trust my drinking capacity?"

As he spoke, he shook the empty wine bottle.

First Mate Noda frowned: "But..."

Satoshi Imai: "What do you mean, 'but'!"
"Yesterday we routed the Chinese army and captured Anqing in just one day. They've already fled to who knows where. What are you afraid of?"

First Mate Noda sighed.

Having partnered with Satoshi Imai for nearly a year, I am well aware of his bad habits. This captain drinks a little sake on an empty stomach almost every morning before breakfast.

If we win a battle, we must get completely drunk.

But after so much time has passed, there really haven't been any major problems.

First Mate Noda: "The army has sent word that the fleet will set sail in an hour and a half, heading towards the Madang area."

Satoshi Imai: "One bottle won't be enough for an hour and a half! Go! Corporal Tanaka, get me another bottle!"

First Mate Noda was exasperated and had no desire to go back to his cabin for breakfast. He looked around and then squinted when he looked up at the sky.

"Look, what is that?"

Satoshi Imai looked up and said, "There are only a few."

He had barely finished speaking when his eyes widened in shock, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

"It's an enemy plane!"

"Air strike! Air strike!"

Imai Satoshi's drunkenness subsided instantly, and he immediately turned and rushed to the bridge: "Anti-aircraft machine guns, prepare! Enemy aircraft are attacking!"

In the blink of an eye, the piercing air raid siren sounded on the Ataka.

As a result, the Sumida, Toba, and two minesweepers nearby also sounded the alarm.

Satoshi Imai rushed into the bridge. Through the glass, he saw planes flying across the clear sky, growing larger and larger. Some of the fighter jets were even in a dive position.

"Fire! Fire now!"

"Bang bang bang-!"

The anti-aircraft firepower of the Ataka was quite fierce among river gunboats. Four Type 96 25mm cannons aimed at the target, and the gunner stepped on the pedal, firing fragmentation shells into the sky.

"1-2-1-2!"

The gunner silently counted down the firing rhythm in his mind.

The triple-mounted design of the Type 96 25mm anti-aircraft gun is extremely counterintuitive. Loading the middle gun during firing is very difficult, while the two on the sides are too far apart for the loader to keep up.

To increase the rate of fire, the only possible firing pattern is the 1-2-1-2 pattern.

In addition to anti-aircraft guns, the Atake was also equipped with three Type 93 twin 13mm machine guns. As soon as enemy planes swooped down, the machine gunners immediately pressed the fire button.

"Da da da--!"

Inside the bridge, Satoshi Imai's eyes were anxious. There were too many enemy planes. The Atake was not a professional air defense ship. His past experience told him that with such a weak firepower network, it was impossible to stop so many enemy planes.

"idiot!
"Who leaked our location?!"

Satoshi Imai cursed inwardly. For safety reasons, the fleet did not anchor in a port near Anqing, but instead found a natural harbor with deeper waters to anchor.

"It must be those army idiots!" Satoshi Imai kicked a bottle at his feet. "They must have leaked the coordinates!"

The observer pointed through the binoculars: "Sir, enemy aircraft have begun horizontal bombing!"

"boom--!"

An aerial bomb landed on the left side of the river on the Ataka ship. The explosion created a huge wave that shot into the sky, and the shockwave rippled through the water. Satoshi Imai could clearly feel the warship beneath his feet shaking violently.

"Order the anti-aircraft gun teams to shoot down those diving fighters first!"

Satoshi Imai steadied himself and shouted at the side.

There's a saying that's true: if you speak too softly, you really can't operate a warship.

His words were barely out of his mouth when they were immediately drowned out by bursts of machine gun fire and explosions.

------

heaven.

Soviet pilot Grigory flicked the control stick back and forth, causing the aircraft to tumble a few times, easily breaking through the Japanese anti-aircraft gun fire blockade.

对96式25毫米高射炮来说，1—2—1—2的射击规律，确实可以显著提高射速，但带来的弊端也很大。

During combat, only half of the anti-aircraft guns were firing, making them extremely ineffective when facing multiple aircraft simultaneously.

Grigory grinned and pressed the fire button on the control stick: "Stupid Japanese, die!"

"To avenge our comrades who sacrificed their lives on Zhanggufeng!"

"Da da da--!"

The machine guns on the I-15 aircraft opened fire fiercely, and large-caliber bullets densely covered the deck. Some of the Japanese soldiers carrying ammunition boxes and running back and forth on it were directly turned into "pieces of flesh".

The strafing lasted only a second or two. Grigory climbed up, twisted his fuselage a few times, and broke through the anti-aircraft gun's barrage.

"Absolutely utterly stupid!"

Grigory glanced at it sideways, his heart filled with disdain.

"A bunch of Japanese dwarfs!"

Over the sky.

Three SB-2 fast bombers were still dropping bombs when a 50-kilogram bomb landed squarely on the foredeck of a minesweeper.

The explosion rose suddenly, the water surface trembled violently, and thick smoke mixed with flying wood chips and metal fragments.

After the smoke cleared, the minesweeper was blown into two pieces and was slowly sinking to the bottom of the river.

The sailors on the ship fled in panic. With limited lifeboats, some desperate sailors jumped into the river, thrashed around in the water for a bit, and then swam toward the shore.

Grigory became interested and dove down again, his finger on the fire button, intending to mow down the soldiers who had fallen into the water.

But there was a plane that was faster than him.

Grigory looked over and recognized the aircraft by the serial number on it as Wang Yuanbo, the captain of the 22nd Squadron.

"You lowly Japanese dwarf, die!"

Grigory changed course and swooped down toward another river gunboat, the Sumida.

"Da da da--!"

The hum of the propellers, along with the sound of machine guns firing, drew closer, like a death knell from the King of Hell. The Japanese sailors on the deck dropped their ammunition boxes and scattered in all directions.

Inside the cockpit.

Grigory burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying the feeling. It didn't feel like a battle; it felt more like casually crushing a few ants.

"boom--!"

With an explosion, flames shot up from another minesweeper, and looking back, most of the ship had already sunk underwater.

------

Aboard the Anzhai.

Just as Satoshi Imai steadied himself and was about to check the sky, Corporal Yuta Tanaka rushed over, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Reporting to Your Excellency!"

Satoshi Imai: "What's wrong?"

Corporal Yuta Tanaka roared, "Sir, the aft deck is on fire!"

Imai Satoshi was shocked: "Nani?
"Quickly! Order the damage control team to extinguish the open flames immediately!"

Corporal Yuta Tanaka: "It's too late. The damage control team was shot down by enemy aircraft while putting out the fire!"

Satoshi Imai: "Then you go! Go put out the fire!"

Corporal Yuta Tanaka was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, and then saluted.
"Hai!"

------

Inside the forward command post.

Wang Feng switched to an overhead view, watching the battlefield ahead. When he saw the Atake ship on fire, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

For dealing with small surface ships, dive bombers and torpedo bombers are still the most effective.

The SB-2 fast bomber was adequate for dealing with land targets, but it fell short when used to attack warships.

Zhao Fangyuan strode over: "Reporting, sir! News from the 27th Army Group: they have launched a counter-offensive against Anqing after dawn."

"The 26th Army Group has also restored its basic combat capability and is launching a counterattack on the Qianshan area!"

"The 31st and 84th Armies have arrived at their designated areas and will send a telegram in five minutes inquiring about their specific combat missions."

Wang Feng switched back to a realistic perspective: "Order the 31st Army to fill the gap in the 44th Army's defense line, and have a part of the 84th Army prepare in the rear. With two divisions, we will outflank Qianshan and support the 26th Army Group."

Zhao Fangyuan: "Yes!"

Wang Feng: "The Japanese army is very cunning. After the Battle of Xuzhou, they learned a lot of lessons. I think that their purpose in attacking Wuhan this time is definitely not to control a city or a place."

"Instead, we must annihilate the main force of our army here and completely crush our will to resist. Fighting to the death is not advisable."

"After destroying the Anqing military airfield, immediately order the 27th Army Group to withdraw!"

Zhao Fangyuan: "Understood, but sir, the Japanese army only has so few troops, they can't possibly encircle us. Why don't we hold out a little longer?"

Wang Feng: "I'll say it again, the Japanese army moves faster than us. Holding out for a week is just right. But if it drags on, you never know when you'll find that two more divisions have suddenly appeared behind the Hata Detachment."

Fortunately, the Zhanggufeng Incident came in time, attracting the attention of the Japanese army's high command and delaying the Japanese army's offensive in central China at the strategic level.

Wang Feng: "How are the military supplies going?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "Wuhan has replied that they will be sending a batch of supplies soon, including approximately six million rounds of ammunition, 300,000 hand grenades, and 1,000 tons of grain."

Wang Feng frowned: "Why is there so little?"

Six million bullets sounds like a lot.

But now there are three army groups and two main armies fighting together on the front lines, with a total of 100,000 people.

If you spread out six million bullets, each person would only get sixty bullets.

That seems like quite a lot. After all, two of these three army groups are from the Sichuan Army, which usually leads a hard life. With an average of sixty bullets per person, it's quite generous.

However, these sixty bullets will last at least a week, and without considering casualties, that's less than ten bullets per day.
Zhao Fangyuan: "According to the reply from Wuhan, this is all we can gather right now."

Wang Feng sighed: "Industry, the Battle of Wuhan, a large-scale battle, is actually a test of comprehensive national strength. No matter how fancy the tactics and command skills are, they cannot make up for the objective gap."

"Any news from the northern battlefield?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "Chu Yunfei's Second Field Army has entered Zhengzhou. The People's Commissariat for National Defense Industry has temporarily taken over the administration. Before dawn, the First Field Army will depart from Changzhi. In another day, they will be able to join forces with the Second Field Army in Zhengzhou."

Wang Feng: "Hmm, that's pretty fast. After the First and Second Field Armies join forces, they will immediately head south in secret to prepare to cooperate with the various units of the Fifth War Zone to encircle and annihilate the Japanese troops invading from the north!"

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "Understood. By the way, sir, there is one more thing. Song Wenjie sent a telegram to inquire about matters related to the formation of the Fourth Field Army."

Wang Feng: "Let Zhang Zizhong take over the Fourth Field Army Headquarters. It will initially consist of three columns, all of which will be organized according to the standards of motorized units. Each column will also be equipped with an additional tank battalion."

Zhao Fangyuan: "Motorized troops?"

Wang Feng: "Yes, with our current industrial strength, forming three motorized columns is no more than that. I have high hopes for the Fourth Field Army. Apart from the First Column, we also need an elite force at the field army level!"

(End of this chapter)