Devil's Army

Chapter 1985 Annihilation of the Japanese Navy in Ningbo

Shortly after Commander Shimomura moved his headquarters to Ningbo, the Qingdao Fleet of the First Army sailed south and arrived in the East China Sea.

At the end of 1943, the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet was stationed at Truk Atoll (Central Pacific), where the Combined Fleet headquarters and main anchorage were located. It housed battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers and other main surface warships, making it the core stronghold of the Central Pacific.

His main task was to find every opportunity to engage the US fleet in a decisive battle.

Some of the main fleets, such as the Yamato and Musashi, were replenished in the Seto Inland Sea at Kure and Yokosuka (Japan mainland), while the mainland naval district was responsible for training and maintenance.

Rabaul (South Pacific) is the base of the Southeast Area Fleet and the main force of the 8th Fleet, responsible for operations in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea, mainly composed of cruisers, destroyers and shore-based air power.

The Southwest Area Fleet and the Southern Expeditionary Fleet were stationed in Singapore/Saigon (Southwest Pacific - Southeast Asia), controlling the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea shipping routes, and mainly consisting of heavy cruisers, destroyers and submarines.

In Truk/Saipan/Palau (Central Pacific islands): The 6th Fleet (submarine) and base garrison are responsible for anti-submarine warfare, commerce raiding, and island defense.

With the Nanjing government's navy suffering almost complete casualties, the Japanese navy did not take the Chinese navy seriously at all.

The Japanese forces anchored in the ports of Ningbo and Wenzhou in the East China Sea consisted of only two dilapidated cruisers, along with a number of old gunboats, patrolling ostentatiously.

The Qingdao fleet of the First Army sailed south and soon encountered the Japanese navy in Ningbo.

In Ningbo, the Japanese fleet, consisting of two old cruisers and 12 gunboats and motorboats, engaged in an unequal naval battle against the Qingdao fleet, which possessed a light aircraft carrier, eighteen cruisers, and destroyers.

This naval battle was purely a live-fire training exercise; the air force of the First Army did not even participate.

Qingdao Fleet Captain Ji Xiong'an ordered: This battle should be fought primarily by new recruits, with veterans providing coordination.

After more than half an hour of fierce fighting, the flagship of the Japanese Navy in Ningbo, the "Takashima Maru", was severely damaged. The ship took on water in many places and caught fire in many places.

He was also rendered combat-ineffective and powerless on another sister cruiser, which was anchored in the East China Sea, drifting with the current.

Most of the other gunboats and motorboats of the Japanese naval fleet in Ningbo were sunk or capsized.

After defeating the Japanese navy in Ningbo, the Qingdao fleet began a fierce bombing and strafing campaign against Japanese bases, forts, and strongholds in Ningbo Port.

Aircraft carriers from the Qingdao fleet also launched air raids on Japanese artillery batteries in Ningbo Port.

The Japanese anti-aircraft guns at the Ningbo Forts wove a web of fire in the air, engaging in fierce combat with the air force of the Qingdao naval fleet.

Because the Qingdao fleet's aircraft carrier is a light carrier, it only carries 18 fighter jets.

The bombardment of the Japanese artillery forts in Ningbo was not fierce enough.

Half an hour later, the Anhui air force, having received the intelligence, quickly arrived to provide support, continuously diving and bombing the Japanese artillery positions in Ningbo.

The Japanese anti-aircraft artillery positions in Ningbo were almost completely destroyed under the constant bombing by the First Army Air Force and the Qingdao Fleet Air Force.

After the Qinghai Fleet's air force destroyed the Japanese artillery batteries in Ningbo Port, it approached and launched a fierce bombardment of the Japanese strongholds, positions, and bases in Ningbo Port.

The Japanese troops in Ningbo suffered heavy casualties under the fierce bombardment of the large-caliber naval guns of the Qingdao warships.

Commander Shimomura had no choice but to order his troops to withdraw to the second line of defense to avoid direct artillery fire from the Qingdao naval guns.

At the same time, they requested assistance from the Army Department to send the Navy to provide support.