On April 28, the Tang Imperial Navy assembled in the southern waters of Xindao. The observation posts deployed by the Mirage Army on the beachfront saw the large Tang Army fleet.
A Mirage soldier hurriedly ran along the trench, waking up his own soldiers lying in the bunker. Then everyone saw that the Tang naval fleet almost filled the entire sea level.
"It's not good! It's not good! Tang Army Fleet! Tang Army Fleet!" He shouted loudly while running.
Those sleepy-eyed Mirage soldiers had just poked their heads out of the trenches, and were suddenly frightened by the sight in front of them and lost their sleepiness.
Countless warships were turning their turrets on the distant sea level, and the front ends of the artillery guns were pointed at the new island.
As soon as the genius was revealed, the deafening sound of cannons began. One shell after another landed on the already dilapidated positions built by the Mirage Kingdom, blowing all the barely repaired trenches to the ground.
The dark trees burned by the fire were now blown into the sky by artillery shells, and the bunkers hidden underground were also destroyed one by one with the explosion of large-caliber artillery shells.
No bunker built of wood and sand can withstand a blow from a naval gun! Those fortifications that seemed to have been reinforced repeatedly were as fragile as a piece of paper in front of the Tang army's artillery fire.
A large number of small-caliber artillery shells fell on the beach, blowing the warning signs on the beach that read minefields into pieces. The shock of the shells detonated surrounding mines, making the explosions on the beach even more lively.
Groups of flames soared into the sky from the Mirage's position, and explosions shook the ground. The Tang army seemed to have no intention of going ashore at all. They were just shelling, shelling non-stop, as if the shells were free of charge.
Countless cannonballs fell. At first, the soldiers of the Mirage Kingdom were still cursing, but later they rarely heard the curses.
Either the people who were cursing were dead, or the cannons were so loud that they couldn't be heard. Or they have become deaf and cannot hear clearly, or the remaining people no longer even have the courage to curse.
Suddenly, someone noticed that above their heads, a dense Tang Army bomber formation was flying past.
In the past few days, these aircraft have been carpet bombing nearby beaches and deep mirage artillery positions. This time the planes came again, still doing the same thing.
They opened the hatch in the belly of the plane and dropped the hanging bombs one after another. This time it was not napalm. This time in order to cooperate with the landing, they used ordinary aerial bombs.
Raindrops of 250 kilogram aerial bombs exploded in the deep positions of the Mirage Kingdom. The pitiful counterattack against the sea disappeared in an instant.
The entire Mirage position seemed to have fallen silent, as if there were no living soldiers here at all. There were only the explosions of Tang Army artillery shells and the cries of Mirage soldiers struggling in the artillery fire.
On the sea, Tang's transport ships were unloading the soldiers on them, and countless infantry were loaded onto landing craft. Accompanied by the bombardment of naval warships, these landing craft began to spread out on the sea.
The Huey helicopter that took off from the modified ship hovered on the beach, guiding the naval warships to accurately suppress every mirage position.
In full view of everyone, a Huey helicopter was shot down and fell to the beach dragging a long plume of black smoke. This may be the first loss of the Tang Army today.
On the beach, in a hidden machine gun bunker, a mirage goblin commander was irritably clasping his hands on the bark of the wood supported on the wall.
Next to him was a machine gunner, who was holding a Maxim heavy machine gun on his shoulder and pointing at the wide beach.
There are not many machine gun bunkers that are intact and undamaged like theirs. The Mirage troops deployed near the coastline have already been tortured for more than ten days, and there are not many left.
"Are there enemy paratroopers behind us?" A young Mirage soldier asked in a low voice.
"I don't know. I didn't hear the sound of artillery or gunfire last night, and there was no news that their paratroopers were coming..." The Mirage officer shook his head and spoke very coherently.
Normally he would scold his men, but now he wanted to talk. Talking would make him temporarily forget his nervous emotions.
Indeed, he was very nervous now. Because he had seen that the sea was covered with troops from the Tang Empire, which made him feel unprecedented pressure.
He couldn't imagine how ferocious those soldiers would be after they rushed to the beach, so he answered his men's questions and indirectly emboldened himself.
"As soon as they come ashore, open fire and aim at the crowded places!" After reminding the machine gunner beside him, the officer of this mirage raised his telescope and looked at the armored vehicles moving forward with the landing craft on the sea. and amphibious tanks.
The Tang Army was also learning lessons. In previous battles, due to the speed of navigation, armored vehicles and tanks came ashore later. This prevented the armored forces from providing effective protection in time and increased the casualties of the first wave of landing troops.
This time, the Tang Army's armored vehicles and tanks set off in advance, which can effectively ensure that our tanks and infantry land together, and the armored vehicles can provide better protection for the infantry in time.
"Yes! Sir!" The shooter with the machine gun had already aimed at a landing craft that was facing him ashore, and was only waiting for the moment the people on it came out to open fire.
But soon a sheet of white smoke blocked his sight, the air began to be filled with a choking smell, and the smoke bombs released by the Tang Army's warships began to obscure all nearby areas.
"Cough cough cough! Cough cough!" Although the Tang Army had used smoke bombs when they landed on the South Island, the Mirage still didn't have a good way to deal with it. The soldiers covered their mouths and coughed, but they could no longer see the situation on the beach.
"Asshole! Cough cough cough!" Covering his mouth, the Mirage officer cursed anxiously and kept coughing in the small bunker. He and the machine gunner couldn't see any target at all, and they couldn't carry out strafing suppression at all.
Blind firing had no effect, but the angry goblin officer still loudly issued the order to attack: "Fire! No need to aim! Keep firing!"
"Thud, tug, tug!" The bunker's perforations spurted out fiery tongues of flame, and the sound of machine guns echoed in the thick fog. The Mirage soldiers didn't know who they were attacking, but they really had no choice but to make this choice.
On the beach, the front hatch of the Tang Army's landing ship had been lowered. The Tang Army soldiers, who had been waiting for this moment for a long time, rushed onto the beach, stepping on the wet sea sand, and pushed forward with difficulty.
Countless craters ensured that the enemy minefields had been destroyed, but unlucky soldiers would still step on the remaining mines and be blown away. The engineers used detonators to clear the passage. Loud noises echoed in the thick fog, and the sand fell in the distance, causing many Tang Army soldiers to curse.
The naval bombardment was still going on, and the sharp sound of the cannonballs chopping up the air above made everyone extremely nervous.
There were constant explosions in the distance that could not be seen clearly, and there would be tracer bullets that suddenly penetrated the smoke and passed by, scaring everyone at a loss.
Whistle sounds were heard urging them to move forward. Occasionally, officers passing by would pick up the frightened people from the ground, point to the front and shout, ordering them to continue moving forward.
Compared with the last landing operation, the 9th Army was obviously much more professional this time. The Marine Corps' Type 63 amphibious tanks have come ashore, and together with the Type 77 amphibious armored vehicles, they formed a thick covering formation on both sides of the soldiers.
"Tell the navy! Extended shooting! Extended shooting! Coordinate parameter +5! Coordinate parameter +5!" The signal soldier knelt on one knee and was guiding the naval bombardment with the liaison officer.
The Tang Army on the beach is advancing. If the navy continues the bombardment, it may accidentally injure its own people: the smoke is too thick, and the observers of the navy fleet may not be able to see the situation clearly.
The organization level of the Tang Army, which had already had an experience, was significantly improved, and the soldiers were no longer crowded in a mess on the beach. They quickly used tanks and armored vehicles to break through the barbed wire fence and get close to the Mirage trenches.
Compared with the almost complete coastal defenses of the South Island, the coastal defenses of the New Island are too simple: they have been completely destroyed, with craters everywhere, and the machine gun bunkers are also made of wood and can be easily destroyed and suppressed.
In the trenches that had been intermittent for a long time, the soldiers of the Mirage Kingdom fought independently and could not form an effective blockade. The Tang Army only paid a slight price to crush the Mirage Army's first line of defense.
When the smoke thinned a little, the Mirage officer trapped in the bunker finally saw the situation clearly: directly in front of his bunker was a Tang Army tank, and on his two flanks, the Tang Army and the Mirage Army were already fighting in a melee.
"The ammunition is almost gone...Sir." Looking at the empty ammunition box around him, the machine gunner said desperately to his commander.
The trenches have been destroyed, and the ammunition that should be delivered later has no idea where it is. The Tang Army was already right in front of them. They hadn't even fought yet, but the defense seemed to be crumbling!
The imaginary scene of them firing continuously in the bunker and the enemy lying on their backs on the beach did not appear at all! The mine array they relied on didn't seem to have any big effect at all!
The opponent was not blocked on the beach waiting for a massacre. Instead, after a massacre of naval guns and bombers, they easily rushed in front of the Mirage defenders!
Desperately watching the 63 amphibious tank run over the trench next to his bunker, the Mirage officer could only draw his pistol and prepare to continue fighting.
A grenade rolled into the bunker, and everyone screamed in despair with their eyes widened. The next second the grenade exploded, and a plume of black smoke floated out of the bunker's perforation.
The lying soldiers of the Tang army got up from the ground. On the high ground in the distance, the dragon flag of the Tang Dynasty had been erected.
(End of chapter)
