Contrary to Japanese expectations, the night of Chinese New Year's Eve was peaceful, and the soldiers of the 33rd Division on the opposite side could seem to be heard drinking and noisy on the snowy night. Looking through the telescope at the illuminated county town of Kuandian a few kilometers away, imagining that the stupid Shina people were drinking and eating, the commander of the 33rd Wing, Okano Osa, suddenly had the idea of raiding overnight. However, this idea was rejected by himself for a while, the severe cold and frozen ground of winter, coupled with the dense iron wires and continuous trenches of the Chinese army, as well as those Maxim machine guns, if there was really a white-knuckle raid, it would definitely be himself who would suffer.

When Toshiaki Okano lost his mind, the adjutant next to him hurriedly pulled him down from the trench, and Shina sharpshooters were everywhere, even at night, so he had to be extremely careful.

Dazuo understood the adjutant's kindness, and after going down to the trench, he asked, "What time is it, is it almost dawn?" ”

"No, it's just past four o'clock." Adjutant Gang Shaosa said that he actually didn't believe the rumors that the Shina Army was going to attack, and how could an active officer of Shina tell the enemy the news of his army's attack?

"Let's go back!" Okano put down his binoculars and put up the collar of his fur coat, it was so cold that he felt like it was minus thirty degrees outside. The fine hair of the collar was against the skin, and the cold neck finally had some protection, but Da Zuo suddenly scolded the red deer in a low voice, he felt that compared with the hooded military uniform of the Chinese people, how could he wear this kind of coat and how cold he was; There is also a steel helmet, and it is unbelievable that every soldier of the Chinese people actually wears a steel helmet.

When Okano Osa muttered in his heart, a group of submarines were attacking on the surface of the Bohai Sea. Rear Admiral Kozaburo Oguri stands on the bridge of the Po-6 submarine. Looking ahead, he turned his head to look at the sky full of dark clouds, and the moon was not visible at all. The stars were also blocked by thick clouds, and the whole sea was pitch black. Only the undulation of the waves, the sound of the waves stirred up by the bow of the ship, and the sound of the motor of the gasoline engine when the submarine sailed made it clear that this was at sea, and it was above the Bohai Sea.

Rear Admiral Kozaburo Oguri was the first submarine commander of the Japanese Navy and was the captain of the 1st Submarine Squadron before the Russo-Japanese Battle of Tsushima. Because of the complete victory of the combined fleet and the limitations of the Holland submarine itself, the Japanese submarine force did not develop much after the war, and with the original seven Holland and Holland improved submarines, the entire navy could only buy or build six submarines after the war, which can be described as extremely bad. After the naval battle in the East China Sea last year, the power of submarines began to be valued by the upper echelons of the Navy again, but in the case of Germany's reluctance to sell submarines. In just over half a year, it is simply not enough to buy and train new submarines, and it is even more impossible to build them themselves, and now the most advanced submarine in the Navy is the Po-6 at the feet of the rear admiral, with a displacement of 300 tons and a range of 560 nautical miles.

More than half a month after the start of the war in Manchuria, the submarines of China infested the Bohai Sea and continuously sank their own transport ships, and while the navy sent additional destroyers to escort them, China also took out its own submarines to conduct confrontation training with surface ships. The results of actual combat and training are not optimistic, for submarines hidden deep in the sea. Escorts, mines, and guns cannot be effectively eliminated. For this reason, Kozaburo Oguri applied for a sneak attack plan, that is, to send six of his most advanced submarines to break into the Huludao Military Port of the China Navy at night. Sinking the Shina submarine with a torpedo - with the massive equipping of German submarines, even the British themselves wondered if China had purchased nearly a hundred German submarines, and the Japanese Navy, which did not believe this news at all, was not at all at first. It is believed that judging from the submarine activities in the Bohai Sea, there are only about 10 submarines in Huludao.

Because of backwardness in design. Japanese submarines could carry only two torpedoes each, for a total of twelve torpedoes on six submarines. Although it may not be possible to hit every bullet, it can always take out most of the submarines. With this in mind, at nine o'clock on Chinese New Year's Eve, Major General Kozaburo Kori set out from Bayuquan in Xiongyue Town and headed for the waters of Huludao. This is the northernmost point of the zhì controlled by the 2nd Army, only 61 nautical miles from Huludao. At the speed of ten knots per hour, the submarine arrived in six hours, and at dawn, the submarine that infiltrated the Huludao military port could just take advantage of the morning light to launch an attack.

"Your Excellency, we should have arrived." Yasuhei Yoshikawa, the current captain of the 1st submarine team, who came up from the boat, reported.

"Then why didn't you see the lights?" Kozaburo Oguri said suspiciously. "What time is it?"

"I don't know." Yoshikawa Osa shook his head, "It's just past four o'clock, maybe we're early." As he spoke, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound on the sea, and suddenly exclaimed, "Your Excellency, we are close to the shore, and this is the sound of ice." ”

Yes, the sound of the waves is still gone, and in the sound of the engine of the gasoline engine, there is the sound of steel hitting ice. Kozaburo Oguri said: "Yes, we are already very close to the coast, pass the order, all submarines stop, except for this ship, other submarines go down to the periscope depth, pay close attention to the western coast, someone will give us a light signal." ”

"Hay!" Yoshikawa Osa responded. In order to facilitate the attack and command, each submarine spent 10,000 yen to install a radio, and in the dark night it was impossible to read the flag, and for the sake of secrecy, the lights could not be transmitted, so the boats could only communicate with each other by radio.

With the telegram of the flagship, five more submarines sank into the icy sea. In fact, the space inside the submarine is only half of that of a surface ship of the same displacement, and it is indeed enough to crammed more than 30 people into a 150-ton gunboat, not to mention the squeeze, gasoline is volatile, and even if the snorkel is open, the smell in the boat is unbearable. At this time, only the flagship Bo-6 boat was still floating on the surface of the sea full of thin ice, and the lookouts transferred from other ships of the Navy kept looking to the west, and finally, half an hour later, there were faint fires in some places on the west side at the appointed time.

"Your Excellency, signal!" Yoshikawa Osa pointed over there and said excitedly.

"Immediately correct the course, send the course to the other submarines, and let them follow the movement of the flagship." As he spoke, the Rear Admiral glanced at the sky, where the clouds had thinned a bit, but visibility on the sea was still not high, and the temperature had dropped to its lowest. White water vapor continued to rise from the sea, and the entire sea surface was already white. If it weren't for the sound, your own people would have bumped into your own people.

"Hay!" Yoshikawa Osa said again. However, he did not go down to report at this time. Only let the adjutant next to him carry out this order. Ten minutes later, the sound of the gasoline engine sounded again, and under the guidance of the firelight, the five submarines finally came to the sea off Huludao.

A few years ago, Huludao was still an unknown location in western Liaoning, but since the navy began to plan and build three major bases three years ago, this place name began to appear frequently in the newspapers, and the outside world was still sarcastic about the Chinese navy having nowhere to settle down on the coast of North China, so it could only succumb to the small fish port, but did not want to become a thorn in the side of the Japanese navy. There is a Huludao military port to store zài. The base camp would not be able to increase the number of troops of the 2nd Army of the Manchurian Army, which was in the brigade, and even if it did increase the number of troops, it would not be able to guarantee the supply of war materials. And most importantly, the real defeat of the government of China is not by occupying Shenyang, but by capturing Jinxi and then fighting a decisive battle with the China army on the Zhili Plain, and only by entering Beijing and capturing the Emperor of China can this war be completely victorious.

As the submarine was once again hampered by ice, Rear Admiral Oguri's reverie was interrupted. Yoshikawa Daisa, who was standing beside him, said, "Your Excellency, we have arrived. However, no access to the harbor was found. Perhaps it was too cold, and the passage broken by the icebreaker during the day was frozen again. ”

"It's not. The ice is the best cover for the military port of China, and as long as there is this ice, we will not be able to land along the way. It is impossible to threaten them from land. I believe that the submarine does not go to the sea surface when entering and leaving the port. "The major general is confident." It's going to be dawn, and a report will be sent to all ships at once. They were ordered to dive down and head in the direction of 270 degrees, sailing to a place where there was no ice overhead. It is the military port of China. At dawn, you can go up to periscope depth to attack, but if you don't find an exit after dawn. Then go straight back, don't fall in love. ”

After the major general gave the order, he glanced at the dark sea nostalgically, and was the first to get off the bridge, and Yoshikawa Osa followed him, and ten minutes later, the 1st submarine force all dived and went west to attack the Huludao military port.

At the same moment, behind the position of Kuandian Qingyi Mountain, all the officers and men of the 33rd Division Artillery Regiment had already gotten up, and after the regular meeting, Wu Peifu rushed to the front-line observation post with several artillery observers. In fact, the target of this shelling had already been set and the parameters were known, but he still went to the front line to observe the shelling situation in accordance with the drill rules, so that he could adjust the angle of the shelling at any time to achieve the maximum damage effect.

When he arrived at the front-line command post, Wang Xueqian, the commander of the 3322 Regiment, had already gotten up and was energetically giving a lecture to the three battalion commanders and the captain of the machine gun team. Wang Xueqian, who had finished speaking, heard that he had arrived, and quickly greeted him, took his hand and said: "Ziyu, it depends on whether your cannon is accurate, if you can't break the barbed wire, my soldiers won't be able to rush in; If the infantry and artillery can't be coordinated, then don't say occupy the position, my people will have to ......."

The 3322nd Regiment is the main force of the attack, although it has practiced infantry artillery coordination before, but it is a solid bullet, although this time it is a more reliable grenade instead of a grenade shotgun, but the power of the instantaneous fuse is greater than that of the bump fuse, if the artillery does not operate the barrage well, those shrapnel flying around will fly to their heads if they are not careful.

"Don't worry!" Wu Peifu pressed Wang Xueqian's heart, "Any cannon in the artillery regiment has broken two barrels, if you can't hit it accurately, then you can kill me." ”

Wu Peifu said this, Wang Xueqian's uneasy heart was slightly settled, the fourth regiment is the best offensive tactical drill among the four regiments, which is also the reason why division commander Cao Kun sent the offensive task. This mission is a good thing and a bad thing for Wang Xueqian, the good thing is that things are really going to be done, the day when the 1st brigade commander Tang Tianxi steps down, that is when he is promoted, the bad thing is that the attack is not effective, the brother sacrifices, even if he is not removed, don't think about turning over within a few years.

At 6:15 a.m., with the order of regiment commander Wu Peifu, the 54 artillery pieces of the 33rd Division roared angrily in the wind and snow, leading the shells of wind and thunder to fly over Qingyi Mountain, and all fell to the Japanese trenches, command posts, and traffic stations on the opposite side of the mountain.

At the moment when the cannon sounded, the commander of the Japanese 33rd Wing, Toshiaki Okano, suddenly jumped up from the bed, and he had not slept soundly when he returned from the night patrol at four o'clock. The cannonballs of the Chinese people came at him, and his eyes were scarlet. Osa shouted, "Did the Shina people attack? Did the Shina attack? The people of China ......"

"Your Excellency, it's the Chinese army that is shelling. The offensive should be after the shelling is over! Hearing this, the adjutant Okashi Shaozuo replied.

"Is that so?" Osa still seems to be confused. Shaking his drowsy head, listening to the intensity of the artillery fire again, Dazuo said again: "Report to the army headquarters immediately, just say that the Chinese army has launched a division-level attack on me, and at this time, at least one division's artillery is bombarding our front-line trenches." Da Zuo said the contents of the report word by word, he was afraid that he had accidentally exaggerated the offensive of the Chinese people, and he was worried that he had underestimated, which would make the headquarters take it lightly. After considering this telegram, Dazuo looked at the adjutant who was still stunned on the spot and said, "Quick! Report the news to the command immediately. ”

"The Shina army has really attacked!" Chief of Staff Yusaku Uehara received reports from several divisions at the front. Even the sluggishest people know that this is a big attack.

"Let them fire, Your Excellency Chief of Staff. We can count the shells, and the day the shells of the Chinese army are finished is when they are defeated. "Although Anton is far away from the front line, the wind and snow still transmit the sound of artillery on the front line. The staff officers of the headquarters who heard the sound of artillery were very happy, they did not think that the Chinese could break through their positions, but that this was a waste of ammunition by the Chinese army.

"Uehara-kun, where did the enemy attack?" Commander-in-Chief Oyama also came out of the back room when he heard the sound of artillery, although he had been warned of the attack of the Shina army. But he was still a little uneasy.

"Your Excellency, from Kuandian to Saimaji, and then to Motianling, on these dozens of kilometers of front, there is the sound of artillery of the Zhina Army everywhere. According to the reports from the front, the main direction of attack should be Saimaji and Qingyi Mountain. Yusaku Uehara said. Our army is ready to teach them a hard lesson. ”

"What about the 4th Army?" Dashan asked again. With the sudden loss of the offensive. The offensive of the 4th Army was getting weaker and weaker, but the resistance of the Chinese Army was getting stronger and stronger. This one army was isolated there, and he thought about transferring it several times.

"Your Excellency. There was nothing unusual on the 4th Army's side. Uehara replied. There were no anomalies on the side of the 2nd Army. ”

"Oh, and the 2nd Army is not abnormal either?" Dashan Yan was a little surprised. In addition to the 4th Army, the 2nd Army was the most likely to attack in China, and although there were three divisions there, it was still not enough to prevent the China Army from advancing south to the periphery of Arthur. The Chinese really wanted to achieve results, except to eat the 4th Army, that is, to advance to Lushun to occupy the lost territory, but they did not do so.

"How strange! Uehara-kun. "Dashan Yandao, he is starting to get a little confused.

"Your Excellency, there is nothing strange about it. Now it was cold and snowy outside, and the temperature was minus 30 degrees Celsius even during the day, and it would be difficult to annihilate the troops of the 4th Army in any direction in such weather, after all, the Chinese Army could not build any effective fortifications on the frozen ground in a short time; As for the 2nd Army, although they can steadily advance south after concentrating their forces, once our army defeats the submarine force of the Zhina, lands from Yingkou or only threatens Yingkou, that Zhina Army is in danger of being surrounded on the Liaodong Peninsula. Commander of the Chinese Army, Chief of the General Staff, William. Duke Leo is a native of the Independence Country, and he is a rigorous and excellent Army officer of the Independence Country, and he will not do such a reckless thing. Uehara said.

"And what are they going to do?" Oyama Yan seemed to be persuaded by Uehara, but he still couldn't understand why the Shina Army was attacking on all fronts, "Is it really going to fight us in a decisive battle on the northern front?" ”

"Unlikely." Yusaku Uehara said. "Your Excellency, we don't need to worry too much, the Chinese army itself has the habit of wasting ammunition, in the past wars, before our army approached, they fired guns, and when we really attacked, they had no ammunition, this is simply a bunch of stupid pigs!"

The chief of staff actually laughed out loud after he said, in fact, in addition to wasting ammunition, he was still laughing at the pedantry of the man, in order to be able to meet his friends in the future, he actually leaked all the information about his own attack, and how lucky he was to fight with such an army!

"Uehara-kun, has the Zhina Army on the front line of Xiuyan in Huanghuadian moved?" Amid the laughter of the chief of staff, Oyama Yan stared at the map for a while, and finally turned his gaze to the west, which was the flank of the Shina defense line, and only two divisions were stationed on the entire front, while his own Guards Division and the 2nd Division were stationed. They were stationed near Dagu Mountain and Hat Helmet Mountain, and held them together.

Yusaku Uehara stopped laughing. "Your Excellency, there is no war on the Western Front. The front reported that the Chinese army actually invited an opera troupe to the front line to sing, and both divisions wanted to take the opportunity to raid, but the plan was rejected by me. ”

"Singing?" Although Dashanyan was unbelievable, he was finally relieved, shook his head and said, "Even if there is a different emperor, the branch is still rotten!" ”

Dashanyan really regarded the Fuxing Army as the Qing Army at this time, and singing was actually Li Shutong's move to confuse the enemy, and those opera troupes were scared half to death when they heard that they were going to the front line. In the end, it was easy to talk about it, and finally agreed not to sing the play but to play music, but when the troupe arrived at the front line and saw the soldiers who were looking forward to watching the play, the squad owner was so excited that he actually sang the play, and he sang it all day.

Just as the troupe was singing and singing, at nightfall, the 20th and 21st divisions began to move. They set out from the Whistle River. After passing through the chestnut ditch and getting out of the ditch, he did not go south, but first went east to the Dayang River. In this way, it not only avoided the outpost arranged by Japan in the east, but also was able to follow the ocean river flowing into the sea and go south to Dagushan, the winter in the northeast. There is no road wider than the river. When the sky was light, the 20th Division, which was walking behind, had already passed the wasteland village on the east bank of the Dayang River, which was fifteen kilometers northeast of Dagu Mountain. Begin to leave the river and enter the mountains - in order to make the attack sudden and keep the soldiers in shape, the plan of the staff was for the troops to go into the mountains and rest for a day. At dawn the next day, an attack on the Guards Division was launched. If the attack fails, the two divisions will divide part of their forces, one for land and one for sea, to besiege the city and send reinforcements.

The plan was sound, but as soon as the troops got out of Lizigou, there was an accident, and a mule loaded with cannonballs was suddenly mad and rushed down the mountain road, and when they fell off the cliff, they took several nearby mules down the mountain. One of the mountain cannons fell, and the wheels of the other also fell. It's really bad luck to go out of the mountain, but the next trip is smooth, the snow is very thick for several days, and the slide is very fast on it, if it weren't for the delay in finding the way, I'm afraid that the troops would have already entered the mountain.

Wu Rong, commander of the 20th Division, stood on a small hill at the entrance to the mountain with his skis on his skis and saw that the north was densely packed with his own soldiers, who were carrying bags on their backs, wearing skis on their feet, and walking very fast with ski poles. "It's almost dawn, isn't it?" He asked.

"Half an hour to go! At this rate, by the time dawn, all the troops were already in the mountains. Zhou Zunian, the political commissar next to him, looked at the sky and said, "Skiing is still very fast, and the devil must not have thought that there would be two divisions under their noses overnight." ”

"It would be nice if there was another snowfall, so that the traces of the plough would be hidden." The chief of staff also chimed in. After the mountain cannon comes out of the mountain, it is difficult to walk, so you can only use a climbing plow. Compared to the marks left by the skis, the two ditches left behind the plough were the most conspicuous, although they had already gone around in a circle, and it would not be good if the Japanese cavalry, who were not afraid of death, found these marks.

"Then God will have to help." Wu Rong said indifferently, then looked at the troops who were speeding forward on the snow, and sighed: "When the foreigners taught us to ski nine years ago, I always thought about today. Ha ha...... Good! Go, go into the mountains! ”

The first day of the new year was obviously a sunny day, which was seen by Wu Peifu in Kuandian and Wu Rong, who had already entered the mountain, but Rear Admiral Kozaburo, the commander of the Japanese submarine hiding at the bottom of the sea, could not see it. The Po-6 submarine and other Japanese submarines could sail 60 nautical miles underwater, which was shorter than that of German-made submarines, but it was enough for a sneak attack on Huludao. The range is enough, the Kebo-6 is strung back and forth under the water, and every time the snorkeling goggles are blocked by the ice overhead, according to the judgment of the major general, since there is ice overhead, it is not the military port of China, and the Bo-6 submarine has been potentially below the sea surface.

Gasoline is volatile, and the air in the gasoline submarine is worse than diesel, but fortunately, the oxygen in the boat can breathe for the submariners for twelve hours, otherwise the officers and men would really be in a hurry.

"Your Excellency, it's about to be dawn, if we can't find the military port of China, then after the other submarines find the military port of China and launch an attack on time, we can only return home." Under the faint electric light, Yoshikawa Osa was full of anxiety, as the current captain of the 1st Submarine Team, he withdrew without even launching an attack, which would only make people laugh.

Dazuo has such a mind, and the major general also has such worries in his heart, as the person who formulated the sneak attack plan, it is simply a shame to retreat without doing anything. "Okay!" The major general said firmly, "No matter what is up there, float up!" (To be continued......)