novelaction Chapter 228 The World Shocks, Landing Operation Begins
Chapter 228 The World Shocks, Landing Operation Begins
"God, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed my eyes."
At this moment, the eyes of the consuls of the three countries were all focused on the four huge battleships, which were like steel fortresses.
The ship's hull was long and broad, stretching for more than two hundred meters, like a giant steel dragon. Its huge and majestic body allowed them to see it more clearly under the sunlight.
These huge ships pouring out shells were like the roaring dragon of the East, telling them that the ancient country that allowed them to slaughter them was gone forever.
"Wells, you're a Royal Navy attaché. Do you know how big it is? Do you know the caliber of its main gun?"
Consul John Lancaster Field glanced at a consulate military attaché behind him who was also in shock and asked.
The curious eyes of the consuls from the other two countries also focused on Wells.
"I don't know exactly how big it is, but I'm sure that its size and tonnage are probably larger than any battleship I've ever seen."
Then he looked towards Chongxing Island.
When the main gun shells fell, the soil was blown high into the air, like surging sand and dust, mixing with the smoke and flames.
"I've seen the Nelson-class artillery fire. The caliber should be similar to our Nelson-class. They should both have 16-inch main guns."
After hearing what Wells said, the consuls of the three countries fell silent.
The Nelson-class battleship is a treaty-type battleship commissioned by the John Navy in 27, with a full load displacement of more than 4 tons.
It is not as large as the four battleships in the distance.
This means that the tonnage of these four battleships probably exceeds 50,000 tons.
At present, there are no battleships in the world that exceed 50,000 tons.
Of course, this does not mean that countries cannot produce it, but it is due to the restrictions of international naval treaties.
But even so, it's shocking enough.
Because these four battleships are not in the hands of civilized countries like theirs, but in the hands of the poor, backward and barbaric ancient people, or in the hands of the Renaissance Army.
The current Renaissance Army not only has two heavy aircraft carriers, but also four battleships, a total of six battleships.
And it is still unknown whether the Restoration Army Navy has any hidden warships.
Like these four battleships, they appeared suddenly.
It seems that it is not impossible for a few more battleships to suddenly appear tomorrow.
"Take pictures of them all, develop them, and then send them across the mainland via airplane as quickly as possible."
This explosive news must be transmitted back to the country as quickly as possible so that domestic politicians can feel the shock from the East.
Chongxing Island is not far from Shanghai, so the speed of information transmission is also very fast.
The busiest people in Shanghai today are the staff at the telephone bureau who are constantly changing the lines of the switches.
Jinling, Presidential Palace.
Wu Zhichang, Gu Ziqi, Lu Jianzhang, Ross Lewis and several senior generals gathered together.
"President, Chief Advisor, Shanghu now has three strategic strongholds: Chongxing, Wusong, and Nicheng. No matter where the Fuxing Army lands, they will be hit by coastal artillery.
Therefore, this time we will definitely give the Fuxing Army a bloody defeat in the fortress of Shanghu."
The person who said this was Gu Tongsheng, one of the Five Tiger Generals.
The Chongxing Fortress and Nicheng Fortress in Shanghu were designed by him, and he personally participated in the design drawings.
He was still very confident about his two fortresses.
Just when Gu Tongsheng was about to say something else, the director of the presidential palace's secretariat walked in anxiously, came to Wu Zhichang and whispered to him.
Wu Zhichang's face suddenly changed and he looked at the director of the attendant's office in disbelief.
"Are you sure they are four battleships? Are they the battleships of the Restoration Army?"
As soon as Wu Zhichang said this, Gu Ziqi, Lu Jianzhang and Gu Tongsheng were all stunned.
"Battleship?"
Gu Tongsheng couldn't believe the three words he heard.
"Mr. President, what do you mean? Are you saying that the Restoration Army still has four battleships?"
After hearing Lu Jianzhang's translation, the foreign military chief adviser Ross Lewis also stood up in surprise and asked Wu Zhichang in an anxious tone.
After Wu Zhichang recovered from the shock of hearing the news, he nodded absentmindedly and said, "Indeed, the four battleships of the Fuxing Army are bombarding the Chongxing Fortress. I'm afraid the Chongxing Fortress is in great danger."
In this era, battleships are synonymous with national strategic weapons.
If you don't have battleships, you will be bullied by the great powers and become a piece of cake that can be divided up in their hands.
The news that the Restoration Army not only has battleships, but also four of them at once is really too shocking.
Gu Tongsheng, who was over fifty years old, lost consciousness for a moment and sat down on the chair with an expression of disbelief on his face.
The arrival of this news immediately made it impossible for the military meeting to continue.
In the Upper Shanghai International Settlement, there is a large silk factory called Xingguang.
Yang Zhenhua, the owner of the Xingguang Silk Factory, also serves as the director of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and the director of the Shanghai Silk Industry Association.
But he hasn't been having a good time recently.
Because of his inclination towards the Renaissance Army, this political tendency was considered too dangerous by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and consuls of various countries.
So his business was suppressed, which made this industrialist with a strong patriotic heart very anxious.
"Master, Master, good news, great news!"
Yang Zhenhua became curious when he saw his housekeeper so excited and shouting great news.
"What good news?"
"The Renaissance Army, the Renaissance Army is coming, and there are four huge ships of the Renaissance Army on Chongxing Island. I think they are called battleships, battleships that only foreigners have."
After hearing this, Yang Zhenhua stood up suddenly with an excited look on his face.
"Are you sure this news is true?"
"It's absolutely true. The Renaissance Army's giant warships are now bombarding the Southern Alliance fortress on Chongxing Island. Many people are rushing to the beach, wanting to see the Renaissance Army's giant warships."
"Great!"
Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenhua pounded his fist on his palm and said excitedly, "I also want to go and see the giant ship that belongs to our ancient country. Quickly prepare the car!"
"Yes, sir!"
At this time, many vehicles were heading towards Beisha Port, including rickshaws.
Because the Chongxing Fortress is on the other side of Beisha Port.
Here they can clearly see the Chongxing Fortress and the huge fleet of the Renaissance Army.
After the appearance of these four battleships, the shock they caused throughout Shanghai and even at home and abroad is still continuing to spread.
Although the West was shrouded in darkness at this time, this urgent telegram from the East still alarmed Prime Minister John Carlsen.
"Battleship? Four?"
When Carlson saw the contents of the transoceanic telegram, his face was filled with shock, and he was even a little dazed at this moment.
This news is far more shocking than the aircraft carrier.
Although all countries have focused their development efforts on aircraft carriers, believing that they will inevitably replace battleships and change the future mode of naval warfare.
However, the strength of battleships has long been deeply rooted in people's minds, and it is difficult to change this for the time being.
In the minds of many people, battleships are still the most powerful weapons, no doubt about it.
At the same time, battleships are also a reflection of a country's comprehensive strength and the jewel in the crown of its industry.
Prime Minister Carlson directly called the Minister of the Navy to discuss how the sudden appearance of the four battleships would change the situation in the Far East.
After several hours of bombardment, the entire Chongxing Fortress was filled with smoke.
There are dense bomb craters and exposed underground fortifications everywhere.
There is not even a single intact fortification in the entire Chongxing Fortress.
The defenders in the fortress could only huddle in the underground fortifications, shivering and unable to move.
The tens of thousands of defenders in Chongxing Fortress had been demoralized by the bombing and had no will to fight at all.
The shelling resumed after an hour's pause.
As the commander-in-chief of Shanghu, Chen Rui was helpless in the face of this situation and could only watch helplessly.
He wanted to continue to send reinforcements to Chongxing Island, but who would dare to go up under such circumstances?
One artillery shell struck, and within a radius of hundreds of meters, all people and animals were wiped out, with no chance of survival.
The company and platoon-level organizations will be reimbursed as a whole.
Going up at this time would be no different from committing suicide.
As for the Wusong Fortress, it was unable to provide effective support to the Chongxing Fortress.
Because the Wusong Fortress is located at the confluence of the Huangpu River and the Chang River, it is more than 20 kilometers away from the Chongxing Fortress.
Only a few huge cannons were within range.
Chen Rui knew very well that as long as the Fuxing Army's fleet was there, Chongxing Island would definitely not be able to be defended.
In the second half of the night, the Fuxing Army's artillery bombardment finally stopped.
It was at this time that Chen Rui asked people to use a small boat to deliver some supplies to the fortress and confirm the current situation of the fortress.
However, the news brought back was not optimistic.
All the artillery batteries of Chongxing Fortress were destroyed, and only a few 105mm guns were preserved because they were dragged back to the underground fortifications in time.
Of the more than 20,000 defenders, only about 10,000 were left.
According to the report from the fortress commander, the army's morale was broken and they were unable to hold on.
However, Chen Rui's reply was to hold on and fight to the last soldier.
Chongxing Island could no longer be defended, but he could never order his troops to retreat.
Chongxing Island can be lost in his hands, but it must never be handed over to the Fuxing Army.
Otherwise, many people in Jinling will be unhappy.
In the early morning of the next day, the Restoration Army fleet made new moves.
Under escort, landing ships quickly approached the direction of Chongxing Island.
At the same time, the fleet also increased the intensity of the bombardment.
A massive landing operation began in full view of the public.