The Huangpu River in the early morning.

This is the most important water system in Jiangnan.

No more prosperity in the past.

The fishing boats that once traveled and flew around had long disappeared.

On the wide river surface, there are only slowly rising fog and undercurrents blocked by white mist.

Three black shadows appeared in the fog.

Only from far to near can one see that it is not an ordinary ship. The high muzzle of the bow proves their identity, a warship!

Warship flying the sun flag.

Or to be more precise, it was a gunboat rather than a warship.

Three gunboats belonging to the 11th Team of the Japanese Navy's Third Fleet.

But don’t think that gunboats are slag boats. The reason why the Japanese Navy still has more than a dozen gunboats when it has large ships such as aircraft carriers, heavy cruisers, destroyers, minecraft ships, etc. is because it considers the combat needs in inland rivers in China.

Because of the shallow draft in the inland rivers in China, the freeboard of these gunboats is very low, so they are commonly known as "clog boats". Therefore, the Japanese Navy Inland River Gunboat Team is also named "clog fleet". Its hull structure is large and its endurance is long. Because there are many places in the inland rivers in China, the engine unit has a large horsepower, so it can maintain a high speed of more than 10 knots when countercurrent.

The three Tooba-class gunboats that run from the intersection of the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River into the sea estuary are the best among the inland gunboats equipped by the Japanese Navy.

The design of Toba-class gunboats is basically a copy of similar ships of the Sun-Don't Settling Empire, but the Japanese have carried forward it, giving them a larger size and stronger engine set.

The total length of the ship's hull is 54.86 meters, the width is 8.23 ​​meters, the normal displacement is 250 tons, and the draft is 0.79 meters.

The power system drives two reciprocating engines with three-axis drives for two ship-type coal-fired boilers, with an output power of 1,400 horsepower and a maximum speed of 15 knots per hour.

The weapon system is configured as an 80mm 28-caliber cannon and 6 6.5mm machine guns, with a crew of more than 60 people, and the commander on the ship is also the rank of Major.

Such a gunboat can maneuver at will in the center of the river and cause artillery fire to the enemies within 3,000 meters on both sides of the river. During the entire Patriotic War, this gunboat has always been the main force of the Japanese ships controlling large inland rivers such as China's Yangtze River.

Even in the future, after the Japanese army was forced to surrender, these abandoned gunboats were served by the Chinese army until more than ten years after the end of the war.

Such a big guy, let alone three, is also daunting.

Otherwise, Yanagawa Heisuke knew that he was about to kneel down, so the navy sent out three "small" gunboats, and he would not have to put banners around the world with a few big words "Navy Horse and Land"!

The Japanese lieutenant general was actually very proud of his face. The reason why he did not send out a thousand-ton destroyer was mainly because he was not familiar with the waterway of the Huangpu River. After all, if a destroyer with a full load of 3.00 meters was stranded, it would be a troublesome to rescue him.

However, the Japanese army underestimated the Chinese, just as the Chinese did not expect the Japanese to be so stingy.

The three "big guys" gradually showed their figures from the mist, and Tang Dao, who was hiding in a wooded 300 meters away from the river, was also slightly stunned.

This is a bit different from what he imagined that the Japanese army should send a fleet led by at least light destroyers!

The three small gunboats were useless for a waste of time, spending most of the night to persuade two lieutenant generals, and to take six cavalry companies and an artillery battalion to find the ambush location!

In order to be able to take the lead and make a record of the Japanese, Tang Dao persuaded General Wu to agree to bring four 37mm rapid-fire cannons, ten 150-caliber mortars, and six 20mm single-tube machine cannons.

And, he decided to personally serve as the commander of the 'Big Stick' program.

The two lieutenant generals may also want to see how the famous battalion commander of the Four Battalion Battalion was in the field. He didn't even have symbolic obstacles, so he agreed.

This is the case in the army. It is a mule or a horse. Just pull it out and you will know it. No matter how straight-talking your mouth is, you can only achieve it if you have a job. The Battle of Four Elements has an excellent geographical location, and with a brave enough heart, the tactics actually retreated to the second place.

Of course, General Wu has no intention of not testing Tang Dao. Isn’t this a critical moment to train troops?

He hoped to give the Japanese army a warning first as Tang Dao said, and directly give Tang Dao the highest command authority. The six cavalry companies and a mixed artillery battalion drawn must obey his orders.

The result is that?

"Damn it, why is this guy named Hirasuke Yanagawa not arrogant at all? Just use this little bit of ragged iron to fool people?" Tang Dao frowned and said to himself.

He remembered that in the time and space, the Japanese sent two light destroyers and five or six gunboats with great courage. Otherwise, the theater command, which received the request of the 67th Army to bomb the enemy ship, would not have asked the heavy losses of the Air Force to come to assist.

The 127mm main guns on the heads of the two snow-blown destroyers were really terrible. If they were shot, they would turn a house and the personnel in it into powder. The 67th Army, which was unprepared, could not watch the 30,000 people consumed in artillery battles and were forced to put two infantry brigades in the field to fight with the Japanese army, resulting in the death of two major generals and brigade commanders on the spot, and the losses of the two infantry brigades exceeded two-thirds.

But what about Mao coming to three small gunboats now? What made Tang Dao temporarily depressed was not that he did not catch the so-called big fish, but that the current battlefield situation seemed to be deviating from the original historical trajectory.

Tang Dao was talking to himself depressedly, and the two majors beside him who were also watching the river with telescopes were looked at each other by his words.

It would be fine if this person proposed to use cavalry to bring artillery to the riverside to fight the Japanese navy ambush, but there has always been no shortage of bold people in the army.

But where does this broken iron start? Didn’t you see that someone was a gunboat? The high-rise 80mm cannon is much more awesome than the 75mm mountain cannon. The hull that is more than 50 meters long is covered with steel plates. Let’s not talk about whether we can accurately hit others. Even if we hit it, the effect will depend on the actual combat effect.

The 67th Army fought with the Japanese army in North China, but it was on land, and it was like now, using cannons to hit Jiangxin's fast-moving warships. That was the first time.

The cavalry major and artillery major who accompanied Tang Dao to observe the battlefield were not at all confident when they looked at the three gunboats cruising in the river with their might.

As a result, Tang Dao was so angry that he looked disgusted with the warships sent by the Japanese that were not strong enough.

If it weren't for the fact that the Chief of Staff of the Army had specially introduced Tang Dao to several school officials before coming, they really felt that Tang Dao was a rookie.

But no matter what they thought, whether the three Japanese gunboats were strong enough, the "big stick" that Tang Dao had prepared for a long time had already been raised high, and there was no reason to let go.

"Ten minutes later, all artillery battalions will attack Japanese ships according to the combat plan previously formulated; except for one cavalry company left to guard at eight kilometers periphery, the other five cavalry companies will establish blocking positions according to the previously arranged positions and set up blocking positions according to the positions selected by each company to prevent Japanese infantry from landing on the shore. Is there any problem?" Tang Dao saw that the Japanese gunboat formation was getting slower and slower, and seemed to be looking for a docking landing location, so he ordered.

"No problem!" The artillery major nodded and received the order.

The main attacker was artillery, and of course their positions were the first to be selected, and they were located behind the hills. According to Deputy Director Tang, it was a natural back-sloping fortification.

The artillery major didn't know much about what the reverse slope fortification was, but he knew that no matter how powerful the Japanese naval guns were, they were not easy to hit the hills, unless they could turn cannons into mortars and smash shells down from the sky.

"I'm fine, it's just..." The cavalry major hesitated a little.

"If you have any questions, say, Captain Gong, you have wasted thirty seconds." Tang Dao frowned.

If orders are not implemented immediately, it will undoubtedly reduce efficiency. As a commander, he must curb this momentum.

"That's right, Battalion Commander Tang, have you had a specific time to block the enemy? Otherwise, when the Japanese fighter planes fly over, no one here will leave."

The cavalry major battalion commander was obviously a little suffocating, so he simply called him the official positions of Tang Dao Sixing Battalion, which means that they are all battalion commanders, so you don’t have to be so condescending.

"Is the Japanese plane?" Tang Dao seemed not to hear the major cavalry battalion commander's little thoughts. He looked at the mist rising in the river and smiled faintly. "I'm sure they won't come for at least an hour and a half. However, since Battalion Commander Gong is worried, I'll give me some time. Within an hour, no matter what the result of the battle, we pack up our things and leave."

"yes!"

Although I don’t understand how Tang Dao calculated the hour and a half, since Tang Dao gave him a time limit, he gave him face, the battalion commander of the Cavalry Battalion directly under the 67th Army Military Headquarters.

The cavalry major no longer competed.

Of course, Tang Dao is not a random time calculation.

The Japanese Navy's aircraft carrier was still on the sea 90 kilometers away from Songjiang. When it was received for help, it would take 15 minutes to fly here at the speed of a propeller fighter.

Furthermore, the Japanese gunboats were shameless? As soon as the war started, they asked for reinforcements from their fleet headquarters. They would not be beaten to the face when they returned! When they were beaten to the point of bruising and swollen, they would probably have passed at least half an hour.

Of course, more importantly, it is seven o'clock in the morning, with the river fog and the sky is extremely gloomy. Is the sea calm and clear sky? When Japan's HNA is an all-weather pilot!

Tang Dao remembers that in the late period of the Jinshanwei landing war and the Battle of Songjiang in time and space, the Japanese Navy fighter jets arrived at the war around 10 o'clock, which shows that the weather these days is not suitable for aircraft takeoff.

As for the Land Airlines, haha, let alone their airports are farther away. Just by the coordination ability of the Japanese navy and the army, when they coordinate and communicate well, they will probably have lunch!

"Boom!" A 37mm rapid-fire gun hiding in the hilly woods fired.

The first battle of the Songjiang defense battle officially began.
Chapter completed!