allonlinenovel Chapter 207: The Final Closing
Chapter 207: The Final Closing
At the headquarters of the SKULL Division, Deputy Division Commander Li Kaier said to Ike with a serious face: "Division Commander, all enemy troops have been netted. It is time to launch the net-closing operation."
Ike made a prompt decision: "Tell the communications battalion to cancel the jamming system and restore telegraph communication between the enemy troops at all levels. Didn't the reconnaissance battalion seize some of the enemy's radio stations? Have the communications battalion decipher the intercepted telegraph information and analyze the specific locations of their headquarters at all levels. I want detailed information on the enemy's troop deployment within three hours!"
"Understood, I'll arrange it!"
In fact, in the densely populated residential areas of Qingpu and Jinshan, the engineering battalion had already organized blasting teams to bury a large amount of explosives in every corner of the streets. The equivalent of this batch of high explosives is more than five tons. Once detonated, it would be enough to cause earth-shattering consequences and turn large areas of the two urban areas into ruins.
At the same time, in the coastal defense fortresses of the Giant Shield Legion, a large number of coastal defense guns and giant defensive heavy artillery were installed with tracks that allowed the turrets to rotate 360 degrees. While taking into account the port and near-shore defense, they could also cause devastating blows to enemy forces on land.
The information about the Giant Shield Legion's construction of the coastal defense fortress was kept completely confidential. Even within the Northwest Revolutionary Army, only a small number of senior officials including Su Zhengyang, Zhang Luanyu, and Ike knew the specific information.
A total of 12 406-caliber coastal defense main guns, 48 280MM Krupp coastal defense guns, and 72 203MM Thor's Hammers, plus a large amount of high explosives buried in advance, this was the surprise that Ike prepared for the Ninth Army of the Northern Expedition.
Of course, after this battle, the two major urban areas of Qingpu and Jinshan outside Shanghai will almost become ruins, and a lot of post-war reconstruction work will be required. The economic losses caused are difficult to estimate, but war always comes at a certain price.
In the Giant Shield Coastal Defense Corps Fortress, the shortest-range cannon, Thor's Hammer, has a range of 18 kilometers, which is enough to cover most of Qingpu District and Jinshan District.
At five o'clock in the morning, the SKULL Division had already made the final preparations. All the senior generals of the SKULL Division gathered together. Ike stood up and said solemnly: "Our army has basically grasped the deployment of the enemy's main forces and the locations of the enemy's headquarters above the master level, and has provided the coordinates to the Giant Shield Coastal Defense Corps! Next, let the enemy enjoy a grand fireworks show! Notify the engineering battalion to immediately detonate the large amount of explosives buried in the two major urban areas!"
Half an hour later, in Jinshan District, on Lishui Street, not far from the headquarters of the Ninth Army, a violent explosion occurred in a three-story street shop, and flames shot into the sky!
The huge explosion shook the earth, causing the entire shop to be reduced to ruins in an instant. Debris and gravel flew all over the sky. The flames that shot up into the sky ignited a large number of wooden structures nearby, and also caused certain casualties to a regiment-level force stationed less than 300 meters away.
Bai Qigang, who was sleeping, was awakened by a huge explosion. He opened his bloodshot eyes and sat up suddenly from the bed.
"What happened outside? There was an explosion somewhere!"
"Report to the commander-in-chief, there was a violent explosion near the headquarters. The specific cause has not been found yet, but I have asked someone to investigate. The explosion caused some casualties to the 69th Regiment..."
"Idiot! Such a violent explosion could happen near the headquarters! Did the enemy point a gun at my head and you remained indifferent?"
Bai Qigang suddenly had a very bad feeling in his heart.
"Change the location of the headquarters immediately! Organize the evacuation of personnel! Hurry and drive my command vehicle out!"
Bai Qigang, who had just put on his military uniform and got into the car leaving the original command center, suddenly heard a series of explosions in his ears. Explosions occurred one after another in every corner of the two major urban areas of Jinshan and Qingpu, and flames shot into the sky, causing a strong panic among the troops of the Ninth Corps.
While they were still looking for the cause of the explosion, flames began to emerge from a large number of huge cannons in the major fortress bunkers of the Giant Shield Coast Defense Corps, and the roar of huge artillery shells resounded throughout the sky above Shanghai.
When the 406MM caliber coastal defense main gun and the giant howitzer weighing 600 kilograms landed accurately in the urban area and the area where the troops of the several army groups were densely populated, it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as an earth-shaking and sky-shattering scene.
The effective killing radius of the 406 security main gun is 35 meters, and the effective killing area is 3847 square meters. After the explosion, a giant shell crater with a radius of dozens of meters and a depth of more than one meter will be left on the spot. People and buildings within the center of the explosion will be instantly blown to ashes!
The Giant Shield Coastal Defense Corps also used L2 heavy fragmentation grenades. After the explosion, the flying shrapnel caused extremely fatal damage to the nearby Southern Government soldiers. In this apocalyptic and earth-shaking situation, the soldiers of the Ninth Army had no fighting spirit at all. Each of them had an expression of extreme fear on their face. The situation became a mess, and they completely collapsed and fled in all directions.
Twelve main guns and a large number of coastal defense cannons continued to wreak havoc with clear targets in the urban areas of Qingpu District and Jinshan District. For the Ninth Army, what they faced tonight was a scene like the Asura Hell.
Bai Qigang looked at the original site of the general headquarters that he had just evacuated with lingering fear. Less than a quarter of an hour after the personnel of the headquarters evacuated, an extremely large coastal defense artillery shell fell near the tent of the general headquarters and hit the bull's eye. A large number of guard soldiers were blown away in an instant, and some were even directly blown into powder. The huge power like a punishment from heaven turned the entire original site of the general headquarters into ruins.
At the same time, near the SKULL Division's second line of defense, the frontline troop positions that were still launching assaults were also hit by the precision strikes of as many as seventy-two 203-caliber Thor's Hammers. In just less than twenty minutes, at least thousands of people were killed in the artillery fire, and countless heavy firepower points were indiscriminately eliminated.
In two hours, the Giant Shield Coastal Defense Corps had used up almost 30% of its artillery shells. As a result, large areas of the urban areas in Qingpu District and Jinshan District were almost razed to the ground, becoming a doomsday wasteland filled with shocking, charred and huge shell craters, the remains of the Ninth Army soldiers, and the charred wreckage of cars.
It can be said that Ike grasped the trend of the entire battlefield very accurately, and eventually led the Ninth Army step by step into the trap he had set in advance.
By daybreak, there was no sign of large numbers of Northern Expedition soldiers in the two major urban areas which were covered with ruins. A large number of soldiers even had their eardrums pierced by the continuous and loud roars, and lost their hearing for a short period of time.
Those who were still alive also had numb expressions on their faces, without any trace of joy from surviving the disaster.