Chapter 401 7. The small cannon on the wooden boat knocked down the commander of the enemy warship

The Leizhou Peninsula was already very hot in March in Yangchun. Deng Hua, the commander of the Crossing the Sea Corps, was wandering by the sea under the scorching sun.The water vapor on the beach makes the scenery in the field of vision erratic.Everyone in the Corps is paying attention to one issue - the northeast wind!The winding coastline is full of hanging bamboo poles, which are the "weather vanes" for various ministries to test the wind. After the two batches of smuggling were successful, the leaders of the two armies successively suggested to the regiments to "stop small batches of smuggling and launch the final landing operation in advance."

On April 8, Deng Hua called Siye and the Military Commission: The second batch of landings was successful, which proves that as long as we have enough ships, are well prepared, and make good use of the wind and tide, with the support of the troops on the island, we can attack any enemy on the front. A forced login. ... The third batch decided to organize 6 to 7 regiments of troops to strive for a forced landing in Huachang and the area north of Lingao around Guyu. The next day, Lin Biao and Deng Zi resumed telegrams agreeing to the above proposal. On the 10th, Deng Hua presided over a military meeting in Chikan, Xuwen County, and decided to divide the main forces of the two armies into the first and second echelons to cross the sea at any time.The first echelon is divided into the East and West Route Army with a total of 25,000 people. The 6 regiments of the 40th Army are the West Route Army, and the 2 regiments of the 43rd Army are the East Route Army. It belongs to the 40th Army, and Edong belongs to the 43rd Army.Han Xianchu led the army command post to cross the sea with the first echelon.

The second echelon is composed of the main force of the 43rd Army, about 20,000 people, and follows up with the first echelon.Deng Hua led the Corps Command Post to cross the sea with the second echelon. At 4 pm on April 16, 20,000 soldiers finally waited for the northeast wind. At 17:40, 12 red flares flew into the sky, and more than 350 wooden sailboats pulled up their sails at the same time. The sound of anchoring and swaying accompanied by louder and louder singing made the scene of the warriors set off extraordinarily majestic.Han Xianchu stood on the No. 1 boat and stared at the rough sea. As the sun faded away, he obviously felt that the wind behind him began to weaken.The fleet traveled 20 miles, and the sea suddenly became calm. "Damn, after waiting for so many days of wind, it only blows a few times, God really knows how to play tricks on people!" Han Xianchu slammed the thick mast, and said sharply: "Order all the regiments to row their oars and move on!"

At 10 o'clock in the evening, just as the fleet sailed to the mainstream of the strait, there were two muffled sounds, and the flares hung in the air like sky lanterns, illuminating the sea brightly.Han Xianchu grabbed the wireless telegraph and said loudly to the artillery director Huang Yu: "An enemy ship is found in the front left, and the convoy will fight immediately to cover the passage of the main fleet." The convoy led by Huang Yu has 16 "earth gunboats". The "God of War" installed anti-war guns and mountain cannons on wooden ships. They had achieved brilliant results in land battles, and now they are going to write a strange chapter in the history of naval warfare.

The enemy fleet fired wildly at the fleet. With the flash of artillery fire, Huang Yu quickly discovered that there were 7 ships in front of the left.He ordered the convoy to speed up and face the enemy fleet head-on.For a while, the sound of gunfire on the sea surface was rumbling, and the ballistic trajectory was like weaving.The enemy ships learned the lessons of the previous naval battles and did not dare to engage in close combat. Seeing the "earth gunboats" rushing one after another, they were frightened and quickly avoided.A warship attempted to get rid of the convoy and attack the main fleet.After Huang Yu found out, he immediately ordered his command ship to meet him, and hit the middle of the enemy ship with anti-aircraft artillery at a distance of 100 meters.The enemy ship was shot and caught fire, and withdrew from the battle with billowing smoke.

After Han Xianchu led the main fleet away from the naval theater, Huang Yu's convoy stood between the enemy fleet and the main fleet, and continued to fight the enemy with infantry artillery.In the fierce artillery battle, the "earth gunboats" were injured one after another and kept withdrawing from the battle.At 5 a.m. on the 17th, Han Xianchu's voice came from the telephone: "All the main forces of the army have successfully landed, and the 'gunboat team' has completed the escort mission. You cover the empty ships and return as planned." At this time, there were only 5 escorts left. wooden sailboat.

At dawn, a large number of empty ships returning north sailed to the middle of the strait, and Huang Yu ordered five "earth gunboats" to drive out the enemy ships again.It was a clear morning with excellent visibility.A stunning scene appeared between the blue sky and the blue sea. The wooden sailboat riddled with bullets chased the huge warship happily. Huang Yu's command ship bit an enemy ship and chased and fought. The enemy ship was fast and quickly escaped out of the range of the anti-aircraft artillery.Huang Yu ordered to stop shooting and continued to pursue.At this time, a larger warship suddenly came up from behind. Huang Yu raised his binoculars to look at it, and couldn't help but gasp. The warship was like a building, with firearms of various calibers all over it. Such a huge warship appeared in Qiongzhou Strait is the first time.The giant ship didn't fire its guns, and the knife-sharp bow plowed through the sea water, causing the waves to splash high on both sides.

"The enemy wants to sink our wooden boat. It seems that our army has never tasted the power of close combat!" In order to confuse the enemy, Huang Yu ordered to cover the anti-aircraft artillery with a tarpaulin, and cut a slit in the tarpaulin with a bayonet for aiming . The name of this warship is "Taiping", which has just been transferred from Taiwan for reinforcements, and Lieutenant General Wang Enhua, commander of the 3rd Fleet, will use it as the flagship.The all-night naval battle kept Wang Enhua up all night. He was afraid of night battles and waited until dawn before going into battle himself.He stood on the bridge and held up the binoculars to search the sea, and soon found a wooden boat covered with tarpaulins haunting the crests and valleys.

"Let's go up and catch the live ones." Wang Enhua pointed to the wooden boat ahead and said to the captain beside him, wearing snow-white gloves, "It may be a transport ship full of military supplies." The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, and the enemy captain ordered the sailors to "catch alive".The sailors immediately rushed to the ship's side from the gun positions and cabins, holding ropes and hooked poles, ready to "catch" the wooden boat. Wang Enhua put down the binoculars and could see very clearly with the naked eye. The white sails of the wooden boat were riddled with holes, pieces of rags fluttered in the wind, and the hull was riddled with bullet holes.At a distance of 200 meters, the tarpaulin on the wooden boat was suddenly lifted, and Wang Enhua was surprised to find that what was covered under the tarpaulin was not any materials, but a cannon!

There was a loud bang, and the small 57mm cannon suddenly trembled. Wang Enhua's eyes suddenly went dark, and his body was suddenly pushed down by a wave of air.The captain got up from the ground and found Wang Enhua lying in a pool of blood through the yellow-green gunpowder smoke. The captain quickly picked him up and called out, "Commander Wang, wake up! Commander Wang..." Wang Enhua was hit by shells, seriously injured, and unconscious. The "Taiping" returned to the Haikou base in a hurry, but the fleet commander Wang Enhua never opened his eyes again, and became the highest-ranking general of the Kuomintang army killed in a naval battle.