Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 365: Qinzhou Port (Part 1)

Qinzhou Bay is now the lifeblood of the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army. Once something happens, the entire division may end there. Therefore, the Japanese army and navy have garrisoned heavy troops there. The defense is like a copper wall and an iron wall, at least the Japanese I think so.

The Fifth Division is now in an embarrassing situation. It cannot move forward and cannot retreat. It can only defend a large area of ​​wild mountains and ridges and Nanning City, which is gradually scarce of materials.

At this time, the Imperial Japanese Army had dispelled the idea of ​​the fake Dafagu annexing the northern part of French Indochina. The tricks played by the young men in the General Staff Headquarters were completely bankrupt after the arrival of the French fleet. French Indochina has been unable to become a rear base and an important springboard for the southward advancement plan. On the contrary, it has gradually become a serious obstacle to the Japanese advance to Southeast Asia.

At present, the number of French troops stationed in the colony has surpassed the total strength of the previous Japanese detachment to the south. If you want to open a breakthrough from here, both the timing and the strength of itself have become impossible.

The Army Staff Headquarters can only revise its strategy, so the existence of the Fifth Division in Nanning has become a tasteless one. It is a pity to discard it, but it is tasteless.

The location and environment of the Fifth Division is very harsh, but it is currently the largest city in French Indochina in the area controlled by the Japanese army. It is necessary for the Japanese army to hold this important place and turn it into a blockade. An important base for the connection between French Indochina and the southwest of the country.

The problem is that the Japanese military finally realized that this strategically purposeful task cannot be accomplished by a division alone. However, restricted by the harsh road system in Guangxi, the existing transportation capacity can barely maintain the basic supply of a division.

The Fifth Division needs to increase its troop strength to complete its mission, but with the addition of its troops, it will no longer be able to maintain basic supplies. At that time, let alone combat, survival will become a problem. With the current capabilities of the Japanese army, it is almost a short time. It is an unsolvable dilemma.

In order to reverse this embarrassing situation, the Japanese were forced to start building roads in the mountains of Guangxi. They transferred a large number of strong men and labor from the Chinese occupied areas and the areas controlled by the pseudo-government and transported them to Guangxi, which is full of grassy areas. In the jungle land, these people will build a high-grade military highway from Qinzhou Port to Nanning for the Japanese army, and the Japanese army also plans to use this main line as the basis to finally build a large-scale area with Nanning as the center and radiating the entire surrounding area. Transportation network.

At the same time as the highway, there are various large and small defensive strongholds along the road, including large masonry towers and rest and sailing stations. The Japanese army lacks modern construction equipment and engineering machinery. Workers can only rely on primitive picks, shovel, hammer and chisel, and manual operations.

Because of the dangerous construction environment and the lack of food and medical care, the Japanese army itself is almost out of food. How can it be possible to spend precious grain to feed these Chinese laborers who they regard as "human-type livestock and inferior animals". It is said that less than half a month after the start of work, the number of deaths and injuries among Chinese workers in the front has exceeded two thousand.

Qinzhou Port now not only has to undertake the logistical supply task of the Japanese army and navy garrison, but also assumes the responsibility of supporting the entire road network project. Every day, several transport ships sail from all over the coast of China and even Japan, unloading thousands of tons of various materials on the docks. After warehousing records and classification, they are finally scattered by transport vehicles dispatched from China to various demand units. .

At present, the infrastructure of this port is overloaded every day, and the order of the port area and the entire city is rapidly declining. Almost every hour there are several accidents. The casualties are not only caused by Chinese civil servants. , Also includes many Japanese soldiers, but in order to complete the scheduled plan, the military senior officials insisted on turning a blind eye to everything that happened here.

"Empty the deck and clear the bridge!" Captain Paul gave the dive command.

The sailors had already buckled the muzzle plugs of the deck guns and locked all the steering mechanisms at the same time. They climbed up to the towering command tower with the pedals on the enclosure, and then followed one by one, swiftly sliding down the vertical escalator into the submarine cabin.

"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up... all return to your respective positions! Where are you going, boy? To the bow cabin, that direction! Hurry up, all get up and running, so good, You are all good!" The chief officer shouted loudly while standing in the cabin.

"The deck is cleared!" The second-level officer on the control tower reported to Paul, and then he slid down the escalator.

According to the regulations of the German Navy's submarine force, if the captain is on the control tower, then he must be the last person to enter the cabin. If the captain is not present, then the other responsible officers are analogous. Captain Paul checked one last time, and after confirming that there were no people left outside, he climbed down the escalator and confirmed that the water ballast cover on the top of the control tower was locked and locked.

"Start diving!" Paul stepped steadily on the command deck and immediately issued a dive command to the officers and soldiers in the cabin.

"Yes, sir! Dive, dive, dive!" the deputy captain and the navigator replied loudly.

With the command of the captain, the power cabin shut down the roaring diesel engine and started the electric motor at the same time. Finally, the air inlet of the diesel engine was closed. At this time, the submarine was completely isolated from the outside world.

"The two cars are at full speed at two-thirds!" The captain ordered, and the pointer on the tower bell immediately responded.

At this time, all the relevant crew members started to get busy. The ballast tank began to fill with water, followed by the negative buoyancy tank, and the submarine's dive speed gradually increased. The submersible rudder at the front of the bow was slowly deployed to both sides under the drive of the hydraulic pump. The helmsman began to adjust the depression angle of the submarine according to the command of the captain. Driven by the two high-power electric motors, the submarine began to press down the bow and move towards Dive under the sea.

"Five meters...seven meters..." The deputy captain reported the reading on the depth gauge.

"The negative buoyancy cabin is blown out." The captain ordered.

"The negative buoyancy chamber has been blown off." The captain reported.

"13.7 meters, sir." The deputy captain turned his head and looked at the captain.

"Close the water inlet valve!" Paul ordered.

"The hull was flattened, two-thirds at medium speed. Mr. Hansen, raise the periscope." Captain Paul took off the white soft-top combat hat, and instead snapped the brim back on his head.

The periscope rose slowly along the vertical shaft, and Paul stepped forward to hold the control handle, his eyes closed to the eyepiece.

"The sea is calm." Paul turned his periscope around the shaft in a circle. Today, the weather is clear and the field of vision is very good. No abnormalities have been found for the time being.

"Take a look, Gao." Paul turned his head and said to Gao Rufeng who was standing in the corner.

"Yes, sir." Gao Rufeng hurriedly stepped forward, holding the periscope excitedly and began to observe the sea.

"It took us...three minutes to dive this time, which is a little bit short of what I originally expected, but I still have to admit that you all performed well, and now everyone is in combat positions." The button for broadcasting in the lower cabin notified all crew members with a microphone.

"Lower the periscope, Lieutenant Gao, Hansen, come here." Paul turned off the switch of the intercom and spoke to Gao Rufeng and the deputy captain.

"We can get close to this line at present, about ten nautical miles from the inner harbor. If we get closer, we will enter shallow water. The topography of this seabed is so complicated that even the French can't figure it out completely. They just draw We left a safe navigation area, with an average water depth of 18 meters, but within two nautical miles of the coast~IndoMTL.com~ there are many reefs and submarine trenches.” The deputy captain used a red crayon on the waterproof membrane of the map. Draw a circle.

"We will not enter the inner port. It is not necessary. Japanese ships cannot enter. There are too many shallows. The average water depth in this area is only five meters. Large Japanese transport ships can only dock in the outer port. Only small boats can enter the inner harbour to park on the dock." Paul explained.

"Captain, what is the purpose of this operation, sorry, I don't quite understand it." Gao Rufeng frowned as he looked at the chart.

"We want to test the Japanese Navy's anti-submarine defense capabilities and get first-hand information about their port anti-submarine deployment and common tactics." Paul replied with a smile.

"You mean, it will be convenient for raids on Japanese ports in the future?" Gao Rufeng showed a surprised expression on his face.

"Look at his expression, I know what he is thinking." Paul turned his face and smiled and said to the deputy captain.

"This is just a reconnaissance activity. Any country will conduct some intelligence collection on various imaginary or potential enemies. This is normal." Deputy Captain Hansen said to Gao Rufeng with a straight face.

"If we are unfortunately discovered by the Japanese, I will directly go up and reveal our identity." Paul took the compass and began to calculate the measurement route on the map.

"If they want to go on board for inspection, if my subordinates and I are exposed..." Gao Rufeng began to worry.

"This is just a hypothesis. First, they must be able to spot us, and second, they have the courage to challenge the dignity of the Greater German Empire again." The deputy captain replied solemnly.

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Thank you all. (To be continued.) ()