50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 804 Cutting out the roots
Taking advantage of the darkness, Sun Zhiwei ascertained the defense situation of the Batam naval base, especially the locations of two coastal artillery positions and the land-based radar.

When he saw the two coastal defense guns, he broke out in a cold sweat.

The two coastal defense gun positions, one in the east and one in the west, sandwiched between the civilian port and the naval base port.

Each gun position is equipped with a battalion's 180mm coastal artillery weapon system, each with 18 coastal defense 180mm howitzers.

Each shore gun is equipped with a large amount of ammunition, including high-explosive fragmentation shells and armor-piercing high-explosive shells, and its range covers the entire Singapore Strait.

Its only drawback is that it takes time to prepare and has a low firing rate, but the number of 18 cannons is enough to make up for the slow rate of fire.

He didn't know why the two shore guns didn't fire when the escort fleet passed by last time.

There could be many reasons, but if the coastal defense guns had been activated in time, his two escort ships would definitely not have escaped the bombardment.

If a 180mm shore gun is equipped with armor-piercing high-explosive shells, it is capable of tearing through the armor of a frigate with a single shot.

He never expected that such a powerful weapon would be hidden here, and there were as many as 36 of them.

He couldn't even imagine the consequences if he hadn't come to inspect the site today and had rashly ordered the frigates to attack the port.

During naval training, a common-sense rule is that warships must never engage in a direct confrontation with shore artillery using their own cannons; the result will inevitably be disastrous.

In 1940, the 1.8-ton heavy cruiser of the Dodge family clashed with the 279.2 mm coastal defense guns of Fort Osker, and sank to the bottom of the sea two hours later.

In 1944, the coastal defense guns on Tinian Island used 28 shells to nearly destroy the 35,000-ton battleship USS Colorado.

Countless historical examples clearly demonstrate this principle.

Sun Zhiwei barely suppressed the excitement in his heart and secretly memorized the location of the shore guns; he had his eye on them.

Coastal artillery is not an ordinary artillery piece. Its performance is very different from that of mobile artillery. Coastal artillery of the same caliber is much more powerful than mobile artillery.

Most shore-based artillery pieces and their corresponding shells need to be custom-made; they are generally unavailable for purchase on the spot.

This thing is certainly terrifying when it's used as an enemy, but if it's installed on Subi Island, then the Subi Island base's future coastal defense security will be guaranteed.

That evening, after fully understanding the defensive deployment of Batam base, Sun Zhiwei returned to his hotel in Singapore to rest.

At 1:00 a.m. on the second night, Sun Zhiwei received a telegram informing him that the escort fleet had arrived at sea 50 kilometers west of Singapore.

The maximum range of a 180mm coastal defense gun is 50 kilometers. Any closer and the frigate would be in danger, which is why Sun Zhiwei ordered them to stop more than 50 kilometers away.

By this time, he had returned to Batam Island to prepare for the attack.

It was late at night, and most of the soldiers at Batam Naval Base were asleep. The two Javanese frigates and numerous missile boats and patrol boats in the harbor were also docked and resting.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sun Zhiwei began to act quickly. Starting from the easternmost coastal defense artillery position, he collected all the coastal artillery and shells on the position into his spatial storage.

He then headed west, placing time bombs in ammunition depots, fuel depots, and ship turbines at ports and military camps along the way.

Half an hour later, after he had also cleared the shore artillery positions on the west side, he sent a telegram to the escort fleet, instructing them to begin operations immediately. The 50-kilometer sea voyage, at a full speed of 28.5 knots, would only take one hour for the escort ship.

Sun Zhiwei hid on a high ground behind the port, looking at the brightly lit port in the distance.

Soon, twinkling lights appeared on the distant sea. Sun Zhiwei checked the time; it was exactly 3 a.m. Those lights must have been the muzzle flashes from the cannons on his frigate.

Almost at the same time the frigate opened fire, a time bomb in the harbor went off.

The ammunition depot began to detonate after a series of explosions, and the fuel depot burst into flames after being detonated.

The gas turbines on two frigates at the Java naval base were instantly destroyed in the explosion of a time bomb.

But the coastal artillery positions they had placed their hopes on remained completely silent.

A few dozen seconds later, the first wave of shells from the frigates landed in the port of Batam Naval Base, followed by a display of the frigates' ship guns and land-attack missiles.

A barrage of shells and missiles exploded at the Batam base, tearing the personnel and buildings inside to pieces.

The ships of all sizes moored in the naval port were like live targets, and were sunk one after another by artillery bombardment.

The bombing lasted for half an hour, and the naval base was razed to the ground. Except for a small number of Javanese soldiers who managed to escape the camp in time, the Batam naval base was completely destroyed.

The main military force on Batam Island has disappeared, but the escort fleet has not stopped its attack, and artillery fire has begun to target fixed facilities such as gantry cranes in the civilian port.

At this moment, the fleet suddenly sent a message that the warships and air force of the Singaporean Navy across the sea had been dispatched and were keeping watch on them not far away.

Sun Zhiwei replied to the fleet, instructing them to continue their attack and ignore the warships and aircraft on the opposite side, Xinjiang.

As long as we don't attack them first, they won't dare to fire first. Sun Zhiwei clearly understands what Singapore is thinking.

The other side may not necessarily be unwilling to destroy Batam Island's port and fleet.

Batam Port steals a lot of their business every year, and Batam's naval base seriously threatens the security of Singapore Port. The coastal defense artillery here can directly hit Singapore city. Aren't they afraid?

Therefore, when Sun Zhiwei and his men attacked Batam, the enemy might only send out fleets and aircraft to give them a warning, but they would definitely not come to Batam's aid.

Sure enough, the fleet and aircraft over there watched the spectacle from afar, observing Sun Zhiwei's frigate completely destroying the facilities in Batam Port, without uttering a single word.

After Batam Harbor was destroyed, the frigates also destroyed the two fixed gun emplacements at the coastal defense positions, finally ending today's attack.

At this point, there was no longer any force to resist on Batam Island. Reconstruction would take at least several years, but would Sun Zhiwei allow them to rebuild with peace of mind?
Impossible. As soon as the reconstruction here is even halfway complete, he will send another frigate to bomb it. He will absolutely not give Batam Island any chance to recover.

The battle was over, and the escort fleet began to line up before heading back to Subi Island.

Sun Zhiwei did something no one knew about: he extracted millions of cubic meters of earth and stone from the underground of Batam Island, raising the seabed of Batam Harbour by more than ten meters.

The original natural deep-water port no longer exists. Batam Port is now too deep to even accommodate 10,000-ton cargo ships. This is a fundamental solution.

(End of this chapter)