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Off the coast of Singapore, on the cruiser 'Xinhua', the flagship of the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy, there are now only 8 warships left in the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy, and the other four were sunk or heavily damaged in the naval battle on July 2. This cost the 1st Fleet almost a third of its combat power. However, the commander of the fleet, Rear Admiral Wei Yong, was not worried. He has already received Long Yufei's promise that after the 'Shang-class' cruiser is commissioned, the 12 warships of the 1st Fleet will be replaced by the 'Shang-class' cruiser, which will make the 1st Fleet undergo earth-shaking changes. The 'Shang-class' cruisers are even more powerful than the 'Xia-class' cruisers in terms of defense and firepower, and when the time comes, the 1st Fleet will replace the 5th Fleet and become the most powerful fleet of the Xinhua Navy.

"Haipeng, I will then lead the fleet out of the Strait of Malacca and go to the Burma Sea to set up defenses to prevent the British from transporting troops to the Straits Settlements by sea. Your mission is to blockade the Strait of Malacca and provide fire support for subsequent land forces. Major General Wei Yong said. It was a decision he made after thinking about it. After all, the British had a formidable coastal fortification in Singapore, which had to be dealt with by the more powerful 5th Fleet.

"Brother Wei, the Burma Sea and the Strait of Malacca are not small, I'm afraid it will be difficult to blockade them with the 1st Fleet alone, right?" Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said.

"It is naturally impossible to block completely, as long as you can block most of them. That's fine. The 2nd and 3rd fleets will soon come and join us. When the time comes, there will be no worries about not having enough troops. However, you need to note that the British have more than 200 large-caliber coastal defense guns in Singapore. When the time comes, you can't fight hard with the British. Our 'Xia-class' cruisers are too valuable to be compromised in the attack on Singapore. Major General Wei Yong admonished. He was worried that Commodore Lu Haipeng's temper was too stubborn, and if he was hot-headed and fought hard with the British coastal defense artillery, in that case, the 5th Fleet would definitely be damaged. Seeing that the final victory is about to be achieved, there is no need to pay unnecessary losses. After all. Before the subsequent 'Shang-class' cruisers were commissioned, the 5th Fleet was the trump card of the Xinhua Navy and could not afford to lose.

"Don't worry. Brother Wei, I'm not a child anymore, I will be measured. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said with a smile. After all these years of being the commander of the fleet, his temper has also changed. Won't be so impulsive anymore. He had to be responsible for the entire fleet.

"Hmm. I'm relieved. The country must already be preparing for an attack on Singapore. It won't be long before the follow-up army arrives. When the time comes, you can attack Singapore's coastal defense positions in advance to clear the way for the landing of the army. Major General Wei Yong said. It will take time for the army units to assemble and arrive in Singapore. In order to save time, the 5th Fleet can move first.

"I understand, wait until the convoy arrives and the supplies are done. I'm going to start attacking. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said.

After some advice, Major General Wei Yong let Brigadier General Lu Haipeng leave. In the afternoon of the same day. The 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy left the sea off Singapore and entered the Strait of Malacca, where they will enter the Burma Sea, blockade the western part of the Straits Settlements, prevent Britain from transporting troops and various war materials to the Straits Settlements through the Guò sea route, and do their best to weaken the combat strength of the Straits Settlements and create opportunities for the Xinhua Army to capture the Straits Settlements.

After the departure of the 1st Fleet, the 5th Fleet also seized the time to resupply and recuperate. More than ten consecutive days of sea voyages and battles made the soldiers physically and mentally exhausted. Before the complete defeat of the British Navy, everyone was in a high state of tension. In this case, it is especially easy to get tired. However, the good thing is that the British Navy has been defeated, which allows everyone to relax.

On the morning of July 11, before the arrival of the Xinhua Army, the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy began shelling Singapore. The main targets of the artillery bombardment were Singapore's coastal artillery positions and the army's defensive positions, as far as possible to clear the way for the infantry to land in the future. The British had strong defenses in Singapore, and it would take a lot of time for the 5th Fleet to destroy these fortifications.

At 6 o'clock in the morning, Commodore Lu Haipeng summoned the 12 captains of the fleet on the cruiser 'Xia Qi' and assigned them an artillery mission.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the British defense map of Singapore, which our intelligence officers took a great risk to get it. For this, even two intelligence officers died. We must destroy these coastal positions in order to be worthy of our fallen comrades. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said.

All the captains nodded. This defense map in exchange for life shows how precious it is.

Singapore's shore defense batteries are mainly concentrated on both sides of the port. There were 23 batteries of all sizes, with a total of 224 coastal defense guns, most of which were coastal defense guns with a caliber of more than 150 mm. However, less than half of these coastal defense guns really pose a threat to the Xinhua Navy. These shore defense guns are new breech guns, and the others are old breech guns. After the British developed a new type of artillery, they began to replace the cannons for Singapore's coastal defense positions. However, because of the time, it has not been completely changed yet.

Singapore's terrain is gently undulating, with its western and central areas consisting of hilly terrain mostly covered by woods, while the eastern and coastal strips are plains. These plain areas are suitable for landing. However, the Xinhua Army has a lot of heavy equipment in its troops, and if it can capture the port area, it will undoubtedly be of great benefit to the landing of the Xinhua Army. Of course, the port area was also a key area for the British to defend. The two coastal fortifications of the British were able to cover the port area. If Xinhua wants to land in the port area, it must first knock out these coastal defense batteries.

"Starting today, we are launching an attack on Singapore. The first thing to deal with is the coastal defense position on the east side of the port area. There are a total of 12 shore defense batteries. We must destroy at least one shore defense position before the arrival of the Marines and the Army. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said.

The captains did not raise any objections, although the British coastal defense positions were strong, but the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy was not vegetarian. The power of the 155-mm naval guns is amazing, and it should not be too difficult to destroy these coastal positions.

"When attacking these coastal positions, we must first protect our own safety. Therefore, at the time of shelling, it is not possible to get close to the coast within four thousand meters. In addition, the targets of the shelling were limited to the coastal positions in the port area, and the shells could not be fired into the city. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng advised. Most of the residents of Singapore are Chinese, and if there are Chinese casualties, it will not be easy to do. Although, the Xinhua Army's attack on Singapore will inevitably cause accidental injuries to the Chinese, which is inevitable, and bullets and shells do not have long eyes. But the army and navy of the new country need to avoid such a thing as much as possible.

"Yes, Commander!" The captains replied one after another.

"Alright, let's all go back and get ready! An hour later, the shelling officially began. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said.

By 7 a.m., the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy had sailed into the Singapore Strait, just over four kilometers from the coast. The battleship's guns had faded their armor, and their hideous muzzles pointed diagonally at the sky to the north.

The unusually close proximity of the Xinhua Navy to the coast attracted the attention of the British forces in Singapore. The officer on duty immediately informed the commander of the coastal defense artillery, Brigadier General Jonathan. Brigadier General Jonathan immediately ordered the shore defense positions to be put into a state of emergency combat readiness, and at the same time sent someone to inform the Governor's Palace and Major General Burleyton.

At 7:12 a.m., the cruiser Xia Qi, the flagship of the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy, had already crossed the hull and aimed at the British coastal defense positions on the coast with the port side. The battleship is in a vulgar state of navigation at the moment, so that the accuracy of the artillery will be higher.

Brigadier General Lu Haipeng looked at the time of his pocket watch, and after learning that all the battleships were ready, he immediately ordered to open fire.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Four 155-mm guns in the bow and stern of the cruiser 'Xia Qi', as well as six 105-mm guns and two 75-mm guns on the port side, opened fire at the same time. The huge recoil force made the hull of the ship shake suddenly. 12 shells, and whistling flew towards the British coastal positions.

The firing of the 'Xia Qi' was like a signal. The other 11 'Xia-class' cruisers of the 5th Fleet also began shelling. For a time, the sound of artillery on the sea was rumbling, and the smoke of gunpowder was filled. Dense shells flew towards the shore positions of the British troops.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Dense shells exploded on the British shore positions, and a puff of sand and rocks flew away. Shrapnel was everywhere, and from time to time British artillery was killed.

"Hell! Fight back! Fight back now! Brigadier General Jonathan immediately ordered a return fire.

The British coastal positions to the east did not begin to counterattack until five minutes after the Xinhua Army began shelling. More than 100 shore defense guns opened heavy fire on the warships of the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy on the sea. However, the shells of those breech guns could not reach the warships of the Xinhua Navy four thousand meters away. Those breech guns, they can be reached. However, the distance of 4,000 meters, coupled with the constant movement of the warships of the Xinhua Navy, made the hit rate of the British coastal defense artillery extremely low, and all the shells fell to the sea, splashing up columns of water, but they were not able to hit the warships of the Xinhua Navy.

From the very beginning, the confrontation between the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy and the coastal defense positions of the British army entered a white-hot stage. (To be continued......)