Chapter 1937 November 25th, Morning

On the morning of November 25, 1937, at the Henggang Wharf on the Jiangyin section of the Yangtze River:

Lin Fan led his special detachment of over a thousand men, arriving from Xiaoshan Fort in twenty minutes and setting up their artillery positions.

At his command, all eighteen cannons opened fire simultaneously.

Captain Tetsuya Kamitsu, aboard the destroyer "Shirakumo" and commanding the bombardment of the Jiangyin forts, was on the Yangtze River.

Suddenly, he heard the whistling of incoming shells, so close.

Immediately afterward, he felt the blast of the shells exploding on his warship.

The destroyer "Kokuryu" suffered the same fate.

Both warships were instantly hit by several mortar shells, immediately filling the ships with smoke. The crew members who had been watching their own artillery bombard the Jiangyin forts from the ship's rails,

were thrown into the Yangtze River by the sudden explosions.

The remaining crew members frantically searched for cover, some busily dragging out hoses to put out the fires.

Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya scrambled to his feet, surveying the chaos in the captain's cabin.

Ignoring his minor injuries, he shouted, "Hard to port! Hard to port!"

Just then, the second volley of shells came down.

Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya clearly felt his warship shudder beneath his feet.

A sense of panic began to creep into his heart: Could they not escape?

Lin Fan operated the eighty-eight-millimeter anti-aircraft gun in his hands, firing twenty armor-piercing rounds in quick succession at the destroyer "Shirakumo."

Watching the destroyer begin to list to one side, he finally turned his attention elsewhere.

Now it was time to open fire on the "Kokuryu" destroyer.

During this time, Wu Xiaobao had also fired eight shells at the "Shirakumo" destroyer.

He was not alone in the fight; a total of eight mortars were simultaneously bombarding the "Shirakumo" destroyer.

In two minutes, the Japanese warship had endured the bombardment of forty mortar shells plus twenty armor-piercing rounds.

At the same time, the "Kokuryu" destroyer was taking even more mortar fire, as nine mortars were targeting it.

Strike them while they're down!

The raging fires and the bombardment on the two destroyers on the Yangtze River were all seen by the National Revolutionary Army officers and soldiers on the forts, filling them with joy.

They did not relax their continued attacks. The "Kokuryu" destroyer was finally hit in the stern by a 150-millimeter cannon from the fortress.

Masa Yumu and Masa Yuta were brothers. They had originally been quiet fishermen in Yokosuka.

Five years ago, they were persuaded to join the Japanese Navy, and they had been together ever since.

They were truly brothers in arms.

When the "Shirakumo" was first launched for sea trials last year, the military sent people to test the ship, including the two brothers.

They knew this ship as intimately as a lover.

Masa Yuta was a mechanic who worked in the lowest levels of the ship.

Masa Yumu was a boatswain who worked on the deck.

Today, Masa Yumu was very excited when their destroyer opened fire.

Their destroyer had been sent here as soon as it was officially commissioned by the navy.

They were among the first to arrive when the Battle of Shanghai began.

Masa Yumu had personally witnessed the shells fired from his warship blasting the National Revolutionary Army's defenses, sending rubble flying.

He had also seen the National Revolutionary Army soldiers on the shore blown to pieces.

Today, he excitedly watched Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya command the ship's attack.

He had also been able to see the shells fired from the warship exploding, creating plumes of smoke one after another.

Masa Yumu thought: The scenes of the past will reappear. If we continue to fight like this, we will be able to see the National Revolutionary Army's defenses destroyed again.

He guessed the beginning, but not the end.

When the first shell exploded right in front of him, Masa Yumu was frightened.

In his haste, he saw the entire deck was a mess of explosions, and many soldiers and sailors had been blown to pieces.

Several fires had broken out on the deck.

He had never encountered such a thing since he joined the navy.

In the past few days, he had only seen other warships being shelled.

Boatswain Masa Yumu was really scared, and he quickly rushed into the cabin.

After only a few steps, he realized that as boatswain, he should be organizing the sailors and soldiers on the deck to put out the fire and rescue people.

The boatswain, who had temporarily turned back, just started shouting, ordering those who were still running around on the deck to put out the fire and rescue people.

His orders had just been issued, and along with his orders came another round of shells.

Those sailors and soldiers who had been ordered by him were now ignoring his orders.

Many more fell, and they also became personnel in need of rescue.

Boatswain Masa Yumu stood trembling on the deck, continuing to shout.

His prestige was finally shattered by the ensuing shells: round after round, continuous shells, as if they had found their home, fell directly on the deck.

They fell on various positions on the destroyer, just not into the Yangtze River.

Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya stumbled out of the captain's cabin. He saw that the entire warship was full of fire and explosions.

Just now, two more shells had fallen into his captain's cabin. Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya dared not stay inside any longer, and fled in a panic.

Standing on the bridge outside, he finally discovered the source of the attack: a line of artillery positions lined up on a wharf along the riverbank, visible to the naked eye.

Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya pointed at Henggang Wharf and roared hoarsely, "They're there! Artillery! Artillery! Return fire!"

At this time, all he could hear was the sound of shells exploding, and he had no idea where the sounds were coming from.

What Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya did not know was that the guns on his ship had long been silenced in the previous bombardment.

Those gunners had been the focus of attention and were now all dead!

Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya finally saw the reality: none of the guns under his command were firing.

All the loud noises were the explosions of shells fired by the National Revolutionary Army.

What made it even more desperate was that the entire destroyer was now unable to move, and the entire captain's cabin had been blown beyond recognition.

All the operating devices had failed.

They could only stay here and endure the beating.

And his destroyer could not even send out a distress signal.

Now, Captain Kamitsu Tetsuya could only hope that the small boats that were fleeing in panic could send out a distress signal.

The "Kokuryu" destroyer took a heavy blow to its stern, a shell weighing nearly a hundred pounds tearing it open.

The entire rear half exploded, and the raging river water poured in madly.

Seeing the state of the "Kokuryu," Lin Fan was relieved.

Now he began to reap the rest of the minesweepers, torpedo boats, and tugboats that were still operating on the river.

Lin Fan had his own plans for dealing with these ships: whoever ran the fastest would be hit first.

Today was the day the special detachment would deliver its report card: in recent days, he had been dragging this eighty-eight-millimeter anti-aircraft gun all over Jiangyin.

It wasn't like people weren't gossiping.

Although he had the merit of shooting down so many warplanes to shield him,

in the end, it was not the promise he made to Commander Xu Kang: I am training the team to move quickly, preparing to quietly attack when the Japanese warships come, and ambush them up close.

Now the time to deliver the report card had come.

This time, it was not just Commander Xu Kang who was watching, but many officers in different places were paying attention.

Commander Liu Xing, as the general commander of the entire Jiangyin defense, was the biggest boss here, and he was watching.

Vice Admiral Chen Jiliang, commander of the First Fleet of the Navy, was also watching.

Vice Admiral Zeng Yiding, commander of the Second Fleet, was also standing on a warship watching here.

He could not see the entire battlefield, but only saw that both of the Japanese destroyers were on fire.

He immediately ordered: "Send a torpedo boat to assist the attack.

Be sure to sink those two destroyers."

There were even more people watching this scene from the various hills on the land.

Brigadier General Ma Wanzhen, commander of the 334th Brigade, whose position was right on the riverbank, was watching nervously.

While watching, he said to the people around him: "This special company is really good at artillery.

Every shot hits the target!"

Lieutenant General Miao Zhengliu, commander of the 57th Army, had received news that a team was attacking the Japanese warships from his defense line.

And had already hit the Japanese warships.

He had rushed from the army headquarters to the high ground to see the battle situation after receiving this news.

Major General Chang Enduo, commander of the 111th Division on the opposite bank of the river, whose troops were stationed in Jingjiang, had been paying attention here since the Japanese fired the first shot.

He could clearly see every step of the development of the entire battle situation.

Lieutenant General Huo Shouyi, commander of the 112th Division, had rushed to Xiaoshan Fort to observe when Lin Fan set out.

The special detachment had only over a thousand men, but now there were no less than ten thousand people watching them fight this battle from various angles.

These people had now seen that the two main ships in the entire fleet that the Japanese had sent up were completely out of combat power and mobility.

The officers and soldiers standing on the south bank of the Yangtze River could see that both destroyers would sink into the river.

No one could save their fate!

Even so, the bombardment of the two destroyers from the fort did not stop.

Hit the big and let go of the small! This was the thinking of the commanders on the fort.

Lin Fan did not make such a choice: he wanted them all!

The special detachment's mortar squad continued to pour artillery fire on the two destroyers.

Lin Fan operated the German-imported eighty-eight-millimeter anti-aircraft gun in his hands.

It was really too good to use it to hit those torpedo boats that were fleeing in panic.

One shell could blow up a torpedo boat, and now they were the fastest on the entire river.

Five torpedo boats, the fastest of which had rushed out over a thousand meters.

But this was also its last madness. After Lin Fan blew the farthest torpedo boat into two pieces,

the boats following behind this torpedo boat panicked immediately.

Captain Sousei Chisaka was not panicked when the Jiangyin forts opened fire.

He knew that his small torpedo boat would not be the target of the enemy.

Anyone would first hit the two destroyers, after all, the destroyers had guns on them, and they were still firing fiercely.

Therefore, he calmly ordered his crew members to be vigilant on the river, guarding against the National Revolutionary Army's torpedo boats suddenly rushing out.

Captain Sousei Chisaka watched as shells exploded on the river, pointing to the water splashes that rose dozens of meters high and laughing: "Gentlemen! Don't worry, those shells won't hit us."

When he saw that the two destroyers were beaten until they had no power to fight back, he quickly turned around.

Fleeing downstream in a panic.

But his reaction was not the fastest, on the contrary, it was the slowest.

There were already four torpedo boats rushing downstream ahead of him.

Captain Sousei Chisaka was anxious, constantly wanting to run faster and faster.

But the power of this torpedo boat limited its speed, and it could not be faster no matter what.

Just as Captain Sousei Chisaka was anxious, he saw a fireball suddenly erupt from the torpedo boat rushing in front.

It suddenly split into two pieces, and the rear half visibly sank most of the way.

Captain Sousei Chisaka, who was so anxious that he was almost on fire, quickly turned the rudder in panic, his boat could not hit the wreckage in front.

Captain Sousei Chisaka, who was so anxious that he was about to burst into flames, had extraordinary strength in his hands, and his movements were very agile.

Under his operation, the high-speed torpedo boat suddenly turned sharply and rushed straight towards the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Chang Enduo, commander of the 111th Division, who was watching the battle on the north bank of the Yangtze River, never thought that: standing by the river, merits would be delivered to his door.

Looking at the torpedo boat that ran aground on the riverbank.

Commander Chang Enduo personally ordered: "The Japanese can live or die, but I want the torpedo boat intact."

Now he was also anxious: he was afraid that the ruthless person on the opposite bank would shatter the merits that were already in his pocket with a single shot.

Now he didn't even look at the battlefield, ran back to the command post, and called Xiaoshan Fort, requesting not to hit the torpedo boat that had run aground.

The news he received was not optimistic, the fort said: We can not hit it.

But we can't notify him now whether the special company firing artillery at Henggang Wharf will hit it or not.

We can't contact that team!

Captain Sousei Chisaka was very nervous after driving the torpedo boat to the north bank and running aground.

He knew that this was the control area of the National Revolutionary Army, and they would definitely become the target of the National Revolutionary Army.

Therefore, he ordered everyone to bring their weapons and prepare for a surprise attack.

Immediately commanded the forty-three people on his torpedo boat to rush ashore.

Trying to walk downstream from the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Captain Sousei Chisaka organized his soldiers and fled in a panic.

Now he only hoped that the imperial navy could come to rescue his team as soon as possible after learning about the situation here.

As for the torpedo boat that ran aground, he was not worried at all.

If the imperial navy could not drag this torpedo boat back, the imperial air force would also blow this torpedo boat into slag.

Commander Chang Enduo, who came out of the command post, was extremely happy to see that the Japanese crew had abandoned the ship.

The Japanese abandoned the ship, so the ship would not be the target of attack.

Captain Sousei Chisaka saw that the first torpedo boat that was hit by a shell in the river had sunk into the river, with only some black spots struggling on the surface of the river.

Those were the crew members and soldiers on the torpedo boat jumping into the water to survive.

The torpedo boats that were rushing in front of him just now were all broken, without a single intact one.

Captain Sousei Chisaka finally breathed a sigh of relief: Fortunately, I was smart and ran the torpedo boat aground to the north bank of the Yangtze River.

She didn't understand Lin Fan. Ji Wudi watched the Japanese abandon the ship and escape. She tried to bombard them with the mortar she was operating, but she couldn't hit them at all because the range was not enough.

She pointed nervously at the team of Japanese soldiers fleeing on the north bank of the Yangtze River: "Company Commander! Hit the Japanese! Hit the people!"

Lin Fan looked in the direction she was pointing and also saw the team of Japanese soldiers.

He nodded and comforted Ji Wudi: "Don't worry! Don't worry! Watch me."

Immediately adjusted the muzzle and fired two shells at the team of Japanese soldiers in quick succession.

Artillery Execution!