In Muscat, Major General Ito Shinji, who received the call back from the base camp, stood in the fortress behind the Yoreli Castle with a serious face, raised his telescope, and looked at the distant port from the lookout.
At this time, a new wave of aircraft flying from the sea from the north once again wreaked havoc on the Muscat port and surrounding areas. Huge explosions occurred one after another, smoke pillars shot straight into the sky, and there was a scene of destruction everywhere.
Shinji Ito put down his telescope and said to Chief of Staff Kazuo Sakai next to him with some confusion: "Why do I think these fighters are more like carrier-based aircraft?"
"Probably not!"
Kazuo Sakai answered with some uncertainty: "I guess it's just a similar model, but the essence is still a land-based fighter. After all, the base camp responded with a call saying that the South China Air Force is currently carrying out attacks on our air force base on Luzon Island. Since Anjiajun's land-based fighter can
Crossing the vast South China Sea, we can naturally also fight across the Gulf of Oman, so there shouldn’t be any problem!”
"Damn Chinese people!"
Shinji Ito raised the telescope again and observed carefully. He saw that the entire port was shrouded in fireworks, and the coastal defense positions several kilometers on both sides of the port were actually within the attack range of this wave of aircraft. He thought about it and felt a little uncomfortable.
Don't worry, I walked to the phone and rang the two garrison brigades guarding Minstan Beach in the west and Sidab Beach in the east, asking them to pay attention to anti-landing operations.
"Commander? Do you think... the Chinese bombing is really paving the way for the British fleet's counterattack, as the base camp said?"
Kazuo Sakai asked in surprise when he saw Ito Shinji's actions.
Ito Shinji nodded: "The situation analyzed by Chief of Staff Ishihara is very likely to occur! Now we have a serious shortage of troops. All the troops in Muscat and surrounding areas combined, there are only three garrison brigades to defend.
With tens of kilometers of beaches, we must be very cautious. Fortunately, we still have a Lanyin division in hand, which can coordinate the defense of the beaches on both sides at any time... I hope my guess is wrong this time...
."
Before Ito Shinji finished speaking, the communications staff sitting in front of the walkie-talkie stood up nervously: "Your Excellency, Commander, a huge fleet suddenly appeared outside Minstan Beach, four kilometers west of the port, with unknown intentions!"
Kazuo Sakai was shocked and secretly said that the British were indeed coming. Ito Shinji gave a loud order: "Pay close attention to the enemy's movements. At the same time, let the officers and men on the front line of Mingstein quickly withdraw the people from the position and hide in the defense behind."
Go to the fortress to avoid unnecessary losses!"
"yes!"
The communications staff officer had just conveyed Ito Shinji's order when the earth-shattering sound of artillery shelling came from the northwest of the fortress.
On the sea more than ten kilometers north of Mingstan Beach, following the orders from the gunnery commanders of each ship, countless dense flashes of light appeared. These flashes of light seemed to dim the sun in the sky. The aircraft carrier
The 203mm, 152mm, 140mm, and 130mm caliber main guns equipped by the light and heavy cruisers and destroyers of the task force roared together and launched a fierce bombardment towards the beach in the distance.
Countless artillery shells rushed through the air towards the beachhead. Almost instantly, Minstein Beach was surrounded by smoke and flames.
Compared with the main port of Muscat, the defense of Munstan Beach is weaker. The British once built a number of bunkers and forts here based on the breakwaters of the coastline. After the Japanese occupation, they built another three kilometers behind the coastline, with an altitude of one or two meters above sea level.
A coastal defense fortress was built on the 100-meter-high mountain and equipped with shore defense firepower.
Despite the huge disparity in strength, relying on the closed permanent artillery fortifications, the Japanese coastal artillery continued to fight back without showing any signs of weakness. The British-made coastal defense guns sprayed flames and fired grenades or armor-piercing projectiles at this place.
A sudden fleet.
Due to the overwhelming advantages in quantity and quality of the guns of the Nanhua Navy's aircraft carrier task force, as time went by, the Japanese counterattack was gradually suppressed. Many bunkers were overturned, and some fortresses suffered casualties.
Breakages began to appear one after another.
As the artillery fire suppression gradually took effect, the landing craft towed by the troop carriers attached to the fleet had untied their mooring steel cables, turned on full power, and rushed towards the beach ahead, loaded with Marine Corps officers and soldiers. Those specially modified landing craft
, the bow of the ship is equipped with steel plates, and the general-purpose machine gun accompanying the boat has been set up. The machine gunner hid behind the steel plates and launched fierce fire suppression on the beachhead position.
Marine Corps officers and soldiers, fully armed, wearing blue and white camouflage uniforms and camouflage helmets of the same color on their heads, were holding automatic rifles and squatting calmly in the cabin. The officers' faces were full of courage and perseverance. From time to time, they were shaking the steel plate on the bow of the ship.
Behind him, holding a telescope, he looked sideways to observe the movement on the beach.
At this time, the Japanese artillery positions hidden on the reverse slope behind the beach began to counterattack. Artillery shells fell into the sea water three or four kilometers away from the beach, and water columns, large or small, immediately rose on the sea surface.
.
Since they are only garrison troops and not soldiers of Class A or B divisions, the quality of these artillerymen varies greatly and their artillery skills cannot be complimented. However, at this time, Nanhua's landing ships have spread throughout the entire coastal area.
Cannonballs fired in the wrong direction have a chance of hitting the target.
Seeing the sudden artillery attack from the Japanese army, most of the naval officers and soldiers on the ships in the distance were sweating for the landing craft and the Marines inside. The threat of these shells to the landing craft was self-evident, and they could only get closer as soon as possible.
Only by destroying the enemy's resistance on land can you be truly safe.
At this time, Lieutenant General Zhao Lei, who was standing on the bridge of the "Huashan" aircraft carrier watching the battle, was surprisingly calm.
It is extremely normal for the Japanese army to counterattack with artillery fire. If the Marine Corps successfully landed on the beach in front without encountering any obstruction, it may be in danger - or it may be poison gas bombs, or it may be some kind of trap. In order to win, the Japanese army is so despicable.
All means were used, but this wave of artillery counterattack made those terrible worries become assumptions.
"It can be seen that most of the Japanese artillery equipment is old-fashioned artillery, with a very limited range. Judging from the splashing of water columns, it is not very powerful. Basically, it is in line with the information from the intelligence department that most of the Japanese garrison troops are equipped with captured weapons.
Rumors about the artillery that the British eliminated from the last European war!"
Lieutenant Colonel Wen Xuan, the intelligence staff officer standing next to Zhao Lei, explained while using a telescope to observe the battle situation carefully.
Zhao Lei held up the telescope and nodded slightly: "Indeed, the Japanese army's artillery fire was fierce in the first round, but it became sparse after that. I guess the rate of fire of those old-fashioned artillery is very problematic. Now let's look at our Marines.
Can we land quickly and quickly tear through the enemy's defense line?"
While Zhao Lei was speaking, a new round of salvo fire from the fleet began. According to the instruction data from the reconnaissance aircraft hovering over the beach, a large row of artillery shells fired during the bombardment of the fleet crossed the hills behind the beach and accurately flew to the Japanese artillery position.
All around, the Japanese artillery fire, which was already weak, suddenly became weaker.
After receiving a report from the combat staff and knowing that the first wave of returning aircraft had been fully fueled and loaded with ammunition, Zhao Lei immediately issued an order to attack.
On the aircraft carriers "Huashan", "Taishan" and "Hengshan", the crew and pilots began to make final preparations before taking off. On the flat and wide deck, the carrier-based aircraft were arranged in an orderly manner, and the propellers of many fighter planes had been started.
, the motor roared, just waiting for the order to take off.
Soon, carrier-based aircraft flew off the decks one after another and circled over the aircraft carriers. As fewer and fewer aircraft were left on the decks, the huge white fox logos painted on the decks of the three aircraft carriers gradually emerged. Speaking of which,
It is also strange that the Anjiajun Air Force and Navy both like this fox logo with a pair of wings very much. It represents the leader's expectations. For most pilots, this logo can be said to be the driving force that inspires and urges them to fight.
As more and more fighters and bombers gathered above the fleet, Munstein Beach was already within reach of the first group of landing ships.
If the soldiers staying in the cabin did not look sideways, they could only see the shells passing overhead and the water columns rising high nearby.
The landing craft shook violently under the impact of waves and shell explosions, and water splashes continued to fall. These Marine Corps officers and soldiers, who had participated in landing operations many times, no longer cared about safety. They picked up their own boats one after another.
Those in charge of rifles, mortars and machine guns carried their weapons on their shoulders, and everyone was silently waiting for the moment when the steel bow landing ladder was lowered.
A sharp whistle finally sounded on Mingstein Beach, and the sound of rifle shooting gradually became more intensive, proving that a large number of Japanese soldiers were gathering on the beach's defense line, followed by the Japanese's crooked machine guns and chicken-neck machine guns, as well as the captured Japanese soldiers.
The British Maxim machine guns began firing at the landing craft less than a kilometer away from the beach.
The thick steel plate in front of the Marine Corps officers and soldiers gradually made the sound of being hit by bullets. The general-purpose machine gun mounted on the bow of the landing craft fought back without showing any signs of weakness. The sound of tearing cloth came from all directions.
, causing this landing battle to gradually enter a climax.
The destroyer "Tuojiang" in the fleet is one of the "Utopia" class super destroyers of the former French Navy with a displacement of 2,610 tons. Its speed can reach 45.02 knots and is equipped with five model 1929 140mm/45 caliber guns.
, the largest artillery
The elevation angle can reach 30 degrees, the maximum range is 20,000 meters, and the maximum rate of fire can reach 6-8 rounds per minute. As the command ship of the Marine Corps of the task force, Colonel Gongsun Rong, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Marine Division, is
In the command cabin, he was concentrating on using his telescope to observe the situation on the beach ahead.
After the fleet's continuous heavy artillery bombardment, there was no longer any life on the flat beach. Most of the bullets were now shot from the breakwater. Many heads wearing steel helmets were shaking vaguely there, and there were more figures.
They are moving quickly from the fortress in the rear to the breakwater in the front along some of the remaining communication trenches.
Colonel Gongsun Rong's ship formation had already moved to a place only six kilometers away from the beach. Shells flying from behind the beach occasionally landed on the sea very close to the warship, stirring up high water columns. However, on the warship
The naval officers and soldiers were not afraid at all. In the semi-enclosed gun position, the gunners were busy stuffing 140mm high-explosive shells into the gun barrels, and then bombarded the beachhead.
Since the gun position was very close to the command room, Gongsun Rong could even clearly hear the crisp clang of the unloaded shell casings falling on the deck.
"not good!"
The young destroyer captain standing next to Gongsun Rong, Lieutenant Commander Duo Yize, cried out. In the sight of the Manchu naval officer, a landing craft was directly hit by a small-caliber shell. In the flames of the explosion,
In the smoke and gunfire, there were scattered body parts, damaged clothing and weapon parts everywhere.
The landing craft carrying about a squadron of Marine Corps officers and soldiers suddenly became a hell on earth. Although the entire boat did not fall apart immediately, it quickly stalled and began to sink due to water in the bilge.
Gongsun Rong felt sad in his heart, but his eyes were still as sharp as an eagle.
Suddenly, a heavy shell landed a few meters away from the bow of the "Tuojiang". Before the water column completely fell, several sailors on the deck suddenly fell into a pool of blood.
At this time, the landing ship in front had not yet completely sunk. More landing craft quickly passed by it without fear. On the front deck of the "Tuojiang", the sailors of the South China Navy quickly carried the dead and wounded back to the cabin. The destroyer
The front main gun was still firing at the beach with all its strength. The only traces left by the Japanese shells were a pool of blood on the deck and a few shattered portholes.
A few minutes passed quickly, and the carrier-based aircraft strike group once again visited the Mingstein Beach where the Japanese troops were stationed. Those exposed machine gun and artillery positions quickly became the targets of precision strikes by aerial bombs and aerial machine guns.
Near the beach, shouts came from the sea.
"Brothers, pay attention, the ship is approaching the shore soon——"
The crew in the control area at the rear of the landing craft shouted a warning. In just a few seconds, after a loud "boom", the landing craft had stopped. Fortunately, the landing craft was not very fast, and the Marines who had been prepared did not fail.
It fell due to the small inertia. After the hull shook a few times, the landing ladder on the bow of the ship suddenly fell forward, and Munstein Beach was suddenly revealed in front of the Marine Corps officers and soldiers.
The burning bare trees, the smoke-belching craters, the breakwater riddled with holes, the beach as pitted as a mine, those piercing screams were made by the shells that kept falling into the back of the beach, and the sound was slightly louder.
The lighter roar came from the shells fired from the Japanese coastal defense artillery hidden in the mountains behind the beach.
The strings of general-purpose machine gun bullets fired from the landing craft flew overhead and hit the breakwater. The sound of machine gun and rifle bullets fired from the breakwater guarded by the Japanese army increased from far to near.
Rows of water splashes were stirred up in the sea water, each one more than ten centimeters high, as thick as a ballpoint pen barrel, and some splashed on the baffle of the landing craft, making sparks and clanging sounds.
The loud sound of the charge horn sounded, and the Marine Corps officers and soldiers did not have time to think too much. They stepped on the landing platform with the front end in contact with the water bottom, jumped into the sea with meteoric strides, and then rushed towards the beachhead.
As more and more people landed, the infantry formed skirmishers and quickly advanced towards the breakwater in front. The machine gunners lay in the exploded craters and suppressed the Japanese troops on the breakwater who were stubbornly resisting.
.
At this time, the Japanese troops who were avoiding the naval bombardment basically rushed to the breakwater in front and entered the fortifications in the mountains behind. Two regiments of Lanyin Army reinforcements starting from the port area were on their way to the beach, but
, due to the intensive bombing by carrier-based aircraft, the native Lanyin soldiers were blown up until they were howling like ghosts. There was a question as to when they would be able to reach the forward position.
The specially-made landing ship that followed the landing craft stopped twenty meters away from the beach. The bow landing ladder suddenly lowered and fell heavily into the water half a meter deep. The cold water was beaten out.
Stirring up waves several meters high.
"assault--"
Amidst the rumbling diesel engine and sonorous tracks, a "Dolphin I" amphibious tank slowly drove up the landing ladder. The thick steel plate withstood the steel behemoth with a dense metallic luster and made a "squeak"
squeaking sound.
The "Dolphin I" tank is specially designed and manufactured for the navy. The entire vehicle is eight meters long with the gun barrel, three meters wide, two and a half meters high, and weighs 15 tons. The gun caliber is 75mm, and the auxiliary weapon is a 7.62mm parallel machine gun.
A 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun with an engine power of 400 horsepower, a maximum speed of 64 kilometers/hour, a water speed of 11 kilometers/hour, and a maximum range of 370 kilometers.
This kind of amphibious tank has good sealing at the joints, a rubber sealing device on the turret seat, and sufficient buoyancy when traveling in the water. The power device is a water-cooled diesel engine, the transmission device is mechanical, the suspension device is torsion bar type, and the water propulsion device
It is water jet propelled.
Soon, the lead "Dolphin I" tank set foot on the land, rolled over the slightly soft beach, and rumbled forward. The tank commander, Second Lieutenant Ma Yuan, who stuck his eyes above the turret, opened his eyes wide and looked at the gunfire.
The scene made his blood boil, but he did not get dizzy and continued to direct the direction of the tank's advance to avoid those standing rocks.
The bullets that kept flying over did not pose any threat to the hard armor of the tanks. The Japanese troops on the breakwater and in the fortress behind were obviously confused. They never expected that the enemy who launched the attack actually had tanks.
With the fighter planes constantly circling, the Japanese defense line was already in danger.
"Two hundred meters ahead, prepare to fire!"
Following Lieutenant Ma Yuan's order, the "Dolphin I" tank stopped advancing. The muzzle pointed at a reinforced concrete bunker on the breakwater. Several machine guns protruded from several holes.
, roaring desperately, and charging Marine officers and soldiers were constantly hit by its bullets.
A soldier with a rocket launcher on his shoulder was hit by a barrage of machine gun fire just as he aimed at the bunker. He lay on the ground unwillingly with his head tilted.
"You stupid little ***, go to hell!"
With a loud "boom", the tank, from the barrel to the tracks, shook suddenly as the shells were fired.
At a distance of fifty meters, it took less than 0.01 seconds for the shell of the 75mm tank gun to accurately hit one of the firing ports of the bunker. The shell that penetrated and exploded inside the bunker blew away all the people in the bunker.
The ammunition detonated, making a huge noise, and the entire bunker exploded from the inside, sending black smoke straight into the sky.
The shell shell fell on the tank floor, making a crisp and sweet sound. The gunner used the fastest speed to stuff the next armor-piercing shell into the gun bore. The tank where Second Lieutenant Ma Yuan was located did not restart, but turned the muzzle to the breakwater.
After going up to another bunker, there was a red explosion flame, and the shell penetrated directly from the surface of the bunker, penetrated into the inside of the bunker and exploded, causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere for a while.
After the powerful "Dolphin I" tank used its cannon to clear the Japanese fire points on the beach and breakwater at close range, the Marine Corps' offensive was like mercury pouring down the ground, rushing deep into the Japanese defense line. Rocket launchers and grenades destroyed the enemy's fire points.
Pried open one by one, coupled with the mortars and general-purpose machine guns that followed the troops to attack, the Japanese army was defeated.
...
"What!?"
Ito Shinji was stunned when he received a call from the front line. In just one hour, the beachhead was lost. The two regiments of the Lanyin Army that went to rescue were intercepted by the opponent's fighter planes and were still stranded two kilometers west of the port.
On the hill, the gap in the defense line has become wider and wider.
Chief of Staff Kazuo Sakai looked solemn: "Reports from the front line showed that all the landing troops were Chinese, and there was not a single white man. This means that the fleet that suddenly appeared must belong to the Chinese! The front-line artillery observer also reported a situation.
The fighter planes hovering over the port to suppress our rescue forces all took off from that fleet and were organized above the fleet. This means that there must be an aircraft carrier hidden in the enemy's fleet. In other words, this fleet is an aircraft carrier task force!
Ito Shinji muttered a few words in his mouth, and his face suddenly became extremely ugly: "Nanhua has hidden it so deeply... So far, we still know nothing about Nanhua's naval strength. We only know that they
A group of French warships were intercepted and used in the Siam War... Now the empire is carrying out its Pacific strategy. If Nanhua's navy comes out from behind at this time, the consequences will be disastrous...
No, I have to report this situation to the base camp immediately!"
After finishing speaking, Ito Shinji strode to the radio station and ordered communications staff Major Hide Morimoto to quickly send a report to the country.
The communications staff instructed several communications soldiers to be busy for a long time, but they were unable to contact the country. They also tried to contact the radio stations of the Front Army Headquarters and the Northern Route Army, but there was no response. Then he looked at Shinji Ito with a sad face: "Si.
.....Your Excellency, Commander, since the enemy's artillery fire started, our radio communication has been interrupted with the outside world. Now not only can we not contact the base camp, but we can also not contact the front army headquarters and the North Route Army headquarters...
...We...we have lost touch with the outside world..."
"Baga!"
Ito Shinji stretched out his hand and slapped him twice, then grabbed Major Hide Morimoto by the collar and twisted him up: "Morimoto, no matter what, you must contact the base camp. It is related to the fate of the empire, and you must do your best!
"
Morimoto Hide's face turned red from holding back, and several communication soldiers next to him were silent. Chief of Staff Kazuo Sakai saw that the situation was not good, and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over:
"Commander, you can't blame Morimoto-kun for this. Do you still remember what happened on the day the Anjia army launched an attack on Khuzestan and Iraq? We couldn't contact the two places at that time, but the army stationed in Syria could contact us. Now
, this scene appears again, which shows that the enemy has begun to interfere with radio communications in Oman. For now, we can only repel the landing enemies first, ensure the safety of Muscat Port, and then find a way to communicate with the country.
!”
Ito Shinji let go of Hide Morimoto with a miserable look on his face: "It's too late! The enemy not only has control of the sea and air, but now also has the advantage on land... When Commander Nakamura left, he took away
With all the tanks, armored vehicles and trucks, coupled with our lack of effective anti-tank weapons, and the fact that the opponent is most likely to be the Anjia Army, whose individual soldier quality is far superior to ours, this battle cannot be sustained at all..."
"Boom boom——"
A cannonball exploded next to the fortress, and the loud noise interrupted Ito Shinji's words.
At this time, the sound of gunfire from the west of Muscat Port was getting closer and closer, the shouts of killing could be clearly heard, and the Japanese command post was filled with an atmosphere of despair.