From March 5th to 11th, under the cover of the Indian Ocean Task Force of the Anjia Army Navy, the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions landed at Port Blair and controlled the entire Blair Peninsula and South Andaman Island in one week.
The environment ensures the safety of the airport and the radar base stations built by the Japanese in the four directions of the island, east, west, north and south.
The straits between South Andaman Island and Rutland Island in the south and Middle Andaman Island in the north are very small, with the narrowest point being only one kilometer.
In such a narrow water area, the Anjiajun task force did not dare to rush into the strait to bombard the Japanese coastal defenses.
You must know that at such a close distance, it is very disadvantageous for naval guns and shore guns to bombard each other, especially the closed fully protected forts adopted by the Japanese army from the British, which cannot be underestimated.
Although naval guns have great advantages, such as large caliber, fast rate of fire, dense firepower, and the ability to move freely, their targets are still too large and too fragile compared with permanent fortification turrets.
The target of the turret on the ship is very small, and the cement protective layer is thick. Generally, if it is not directly shot into the shooting hole, it is difficult to cause effective damage. However, the warship is often hundreds of meters long and tens of meters high. No matter where it hits, it will bring damage.
To cause real damage, the gain outweighs the loss.
Between the south and the north, Xia Jian chose to start with Rutland Island in the south.
Rutland Island is located in the north of Little Andaman Island, which straddles the Ten Degree Strait, and faces Little Andaman Island across the McPherson Strait. Generally speaking, if the fleet coming out of the Malacca Strait and Enron Canal does not want to take a long way around,
Directly across the Ten Degrees Strait and Macpherson Strait is the closest.
Therefore, in Xia Jian's series of battle plans to conquer the Indian Ocean islands, Rutland Island has special strategic significance and must be taken first.
Currently, various squadrons of the Indian Ocean Fleet have begun to assemble in Port Blair, including the "Triumph" (formerly the battleship "Richelieu"), the "West Sea" (the former super-dreadnought ship "Provence"), and the "East China Sea"
(former super-dreadnought ship "Lorraine"), "Zhong Hai" (former dreadnought ship "Guba") and four other battleships, "Taishan" (former French aircraft carrier "Joffre"), "Huashan"
(former French aircraft carrier "Jean Bart"), "Hengshan" (former French aircraft carrier "Béarne") and other three "Wuyue" class fleet aircraft carriers, as well as the "Qingcheng" class renamed "Xiaoshan" class
Eight escort aircraft carriers, as well as eight heavy cruisers, 20 light cruisers and 68 destroyers, all arrived in the predetermined sea area. To deter the Japanese Joint Wing Lanyin Detachment, the response will be in South China on the 19th
A naval review held in the Gulf.
There are two permanent forts on Cave Mountain in the north of Rutland Island. One is the Horf Fort in the northwest, which is more than 240 meters above sea level. It is equipped with four 356mm cannons and controls the Bay of Bengal in the northeast and the western part of the strait.
, one is the Leo Fort at the northeast end of Cave Mountain. It is 310 meters above sea level and has six 305mm cannons. It faces the eastern part of the strait and the Andaman Sea on the periphery. The distance between the two forts from east to west is about three kilometers.
At 7 o'clock in the morning on March 12, the Anjiajun Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet aircraft carrier task force was divided into two parts according to the original plan. One part detoured through McPherson Strait and maneuvered to the waters west of Rutland Island. Off the northwest entrance of the strait
Waiting, one unit sailed directly into the eastern bay, each occupying a shooting position at a distance of five to ten kilometers.
According to the plan, the fleet will destroy the Leo Fort on the sea surface. Once the nail is removed, the fleet will immediately move into the strait and bombard other defenses on Cave Mountain to clear the way for the assault force to seize the beach.
At the same time, the Strait West Fort in the southern part of South Andaman Island, which the Anjia Army had completely captured from the Japanese, also began to fire artillery shells at the Horf Fort on the other side for test firing, and the war began immediately.
Amidst the rumbling cannons, the battle of the forts in the western strait was the first to sound the gong. In the open bay to the east, the attack on the forts by warships also officially started five minutes later.
The main gun of the Strait West Fort in the southern part of South Andaman Island is a retired 305mm naval gun, but there are as many as six. Compared with the four 356mm cannons of the South Horf Fort, it can fire more shells per unit time.
The rate of fire is faster, so the fight is evenly matched for a while.
Both forts were specially built from 1938 to 1939 in response to the Japanese army's aggressive expansion in the Western Pacific. The protection is similar. Now it depends on luck and other help.
According to the plan, half an hour after the launch of the bombardment of the forts and surface ships, the Air Force will dispatch to carry out intensive bombing of the two forts. Then, depending on the severity of the attack, more than 200 helicopters will carry a regiment of Marine officers and soldiers to any location in the east and west.
Carry out a rope descent to control the Japanese fort in one fell swoop, and then the engineering troops will lay a pontoon bridge according to the situation to allow the army to cross the strait directly.
"Boom boom——"
The two forts were separated by a distance of nearly five kilometers and fired shells at each other and began to bombard each other. Since both forts used retired British battleship guns as their main guns, both sides were loaded by conveyors. Although they were in
It was an unfamiliar environment, but because the artillerymen of the Anjiajun Marine Corps had undergone extremely strict training, the cooperation between the artillery crew members in this actual combat was flawless.
The shells from the Japanese fortress guns on the other side of the strait roared toward us with a shrill scream, and they hit the rocks on the front, rear, left, and right of the West Fort. The inside of the fort shook violently, and the dust from the top fell down, and the lights in the fort were also blown away.
It shook brightly and darkly.
However, the artillerymen of the Anjiajun Marine Corps showed the most skilled skills and excellent psychological quality. They were not affected by external attacks at all. They delivered ammunition, loaded, aimed, launched, and retreated... every action was very precise.
The precision is just like the skilled workers on the production lines of major factories in China who work well together and only need to complete the processes they are responsible for step by step.
The situation in the Horf Fort on Rutland Island where the Japanese army is located is quite different. No one knows that among the troops stationed here, only the officers and soldiers of the Supervisory Team are Japanese, and the rest were taken away from the subcontinent by the Japanese army.
Compared with the artillerymen of the Anjia Army, the quality of Indian soldiers is far inferior.
As a result, there were also constant loud noises and vibrations, and a lot of dust fell down from the fortress. The light bulbs kept flickering on and off. How had the Indian soldiers who lacked training seen such a formation? Most of them were scared to death.
Weak and weak, facing the rate of fire from the other side of the strait that was almost twice as fast as his own, listening to the whistling sound of the shells that kept flying over, his dark face was so frightened that he was scorched yellow.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang..."
A giant 356mm artillery shell fell from the transfer platform due to the strong vibration and rolled continuously on the ground. It hit the root of the wall with a "dang".
Everyone in the entire fort almost stopped breathing. All eyes were fixed on this 356mm giant heavy artillery shell, and their faces were earth-colored. Many people's legs and feet were weak, and they were extremely nervous, and they fell to the ground.
, breathing heavily.
Due to the unreasonable design of the ammunition transport platform, this is the second time that shells have dropped. Fortunately, there was no explosion both times, but the question is, can such luck continue?
"Baga!"
The artillery commander, who was a Japanese, was so angry that he pulled out a long knife from his waist and shouted: "You pigs, be careful. If similar problems happen again, they will all die! The Japanese Empire does not want waste.
, think about your family in mainland Australia, think about the terrible consequences after failure, and tell me all honestly. We must suppress the arrogance of the Chinese army!"
All the Indian artillerymen lowered their heads, and then continued to work. Just hearing a "clang", another fortress shell flew out, but no one knew that this shell actually missed the target by four to five hundred meters and hit the target.
On the sea in the northwest, waves splashed into the sky.
The Japanese artillery commander saw this scene through the gun sight and was furious. He was about to teach the Indian main gunner who fired randomly. Before he could say it, a 305 mm caliber artillery shell flew over from the northern sky.
, from far to near, with a huge whistling sound, it actually got through the shooting window with great accuracy, and then suddenly exploded.
"boom--"
The scorching heat and violent shock waves quickly swallowed up the long firing chamber, four artillery pieces and four artillery batteries, as well as the officers and soldiers of the Japanese army's supervising team with live ammunition. They were shattered into pieces in the blink of an eye.
Although they were far away from the ammunition depot, there were one or two 356mm heavy artillery shells that had been uploaded from the conveyor belt next to the four artillery pieces. Under the scorching heat, they also exploded together.
Almost in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen 356mm artillery shells exploded one after another. The fire and thick smoke were swept by the violent shock wave, pushing four fortress guns, and large chunks of concrete burst out, as well as Japanese troops and
The stumps of the Indian artillerymen rushed out of the shooting window, almost jumped and rolled down the mountain, and fell into the sea water in the strait ahead.
The steel remains of the four fortress guns were scattered on the hillsides and rocks, but most of them fell into the sea water. These hot steel parts jumped into the sea water, and because of the high temperature, the surrounding sea water even briefly
It boiled for a moment, and with a "tingling" sound, white water vapor suddenly appeared, but it soon disappeared in the strong sea breeze.
Next to the twisted barrel, there were pieces of flesh and blood from the Japanese and Indian artillery soldiers. Many of them had been roasted in the high temperature. In the weird meaty smell, the flesh and blood floated together on the sea surface. The smell of blood quickly attracted large groups of fish to gather.
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At the Strait West Fort on the north shore, the artillerymen of the Anjia Army Marine Corps inside were silent for more than ten seconds, and then suddenly burst into a burst of earth-shaking cheers, which shook the entire fortress and the caves where ammunition was stored behind it.
The officers and soldiers of the six artillery groups all put down their work and rushed to the firing holes. They crowded together, holding on to the cement firing holes and looking out, vying to witness the spectacular sight of the Japanese fortress on the opposite side in flames and thick smoke pouring out.
After removing the Horf Fort that guarded the western strait, the Japanese army mainly used the Leo Fort to defend the east, and could no longer cause substantial damage to threats from the west.
The eight torpedo boats and six gunboats of the Japanese army located in the pier in the middle of the strait have long been destroyed in consecutive days of air strikes. In this way, there is one battleship, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and 12 waiting in the western waters of the strait.
The destroyer slowly approached the mouth of the strait.
At 7:25 in the morning, twelve destroyers and two light cruisers lined up in a straight formation and sailed into the strait from the Bay of Bengal. They each took up firing positions, dropped anchor, and turned their turrets to the south together, raising their guns one by one.
Tube.
Following the order from the squadron commander, French Rear Admiral Anduyu, fourteen warships opened fire intensively. Destroyers and light cruisers have shallow drafts and flexible rotations, and are most suitable for close-range precision bombardment in such narrow straits.
.Although as naval guns, the French main guns of light cruisers and destroyers are not large in caliber, their power is more than enough to deal with the secondary fortifications on the mountainside.
The super-large-caliber battleships and heavy cruisers stayed in the open ocean to the west, taking advantage of their range advantages and working with the western forts in the strait to eliminate the air defense and blocking positions deployed by the Japanese army one by one.
As dense explosions sounded, the air seemed to be ignited, intertwined with dazzling red light. In just one minute, tons of rocks, soil, trees and grass were thrown into the sky.
Some locations with good views that could block the sky and the strait were covered with great care. The woods and vegetation there were quickly cleared away, as if a barber had shaved his head with a razor. It was originally hidden in the trees and grass.
The air defense bunkers and machine gun bunkers were exposed one after another, and soon disappeared in the dense explosions.
Due to the unexpected opening of a gap in the west, in order to avoid unnecessary casualties, the originally planned shooting scene between naval guns and shore guns ended just over ten minutes after it started. The Japanese strongly felt the threat from the west.
However, the firing range of Leo Fort's fortress guns could not cover the west of the strait, so we could only act in a hurry.
At 7:30 in the morning, more than a hundred bombers taking off from Blair Airport in South Andaman Island carried out a fierce attack on the seaside side of Cave Mountain. Just when the Japanese army was stunned by the bombing, densely packed helicopters appeared in the north.
Sky, quickly arrived at the west of Cave Mountain, rappelled down and began to occupy the Japanese defensive positions that were destroyed by artillery and naval guns.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the pontoon bridge built by the Engineer Brigade directly under the Marine Corps Headquarters in the west of the strait was fully connected. More than 10,000 Marine officers and soldiers, under the cover of tanks and armored fighting vehicles, rushed across the strait, and then detoured back from the west side of Cave Mountain.
Behind the main peak position in the east, the Japanese army, coupled with the cooperation of nearly a hundred armed helicopters, captured the Leo Fort at about 10:30 in the morning, and the Japanese army's organized resistance ended.
In this battle, the Anjia Army annihilated 4,890 Japanese troops and their servants and captured 630 at the cost of 95 casualties, once again creating a miracle of landing operations.
With the fall of the northern fortress, the two Japanese coastal forts south of Rutland Island have actually lost their function. The dream of the Japanese Southern Army Command to rely on the solid fortress to gain time was completely shattered, and the battle plan had to be changed urgently.
, preparing to use the airport built on the Nicobar Islands and the support from the air force base on Sumatra Island, supplemented by the naval joint fleet to assist in defense, to compete with the Anjia army army and navy in the Little Andaman Islands.
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