Steel Soviet Union

Kulbalov's order was executed quickly. A battalion of self-propelled artillery that had arrived with the vanguard immediately moved into the firing position, raised the barrel and took a high-angle trajectory in preparation for firing.

The artillery observation post located in a hidden position on the top of the high ground is also in place, waiting for the moment of roaring artillery fire.

At the same time, on the other side, in the port built on the seaside, on the destroyer Natsutsuki moored at the pier, a captain of the Japanese Navy was inspecting the mountains with a telescope on the bridge.

"Your Excellency, Commander, the City Defense Headquarters sent a telegram stating that no traces of large-scale enemy forces were found on the outskirts of the city. Please ask the Navy not to be suspicious and waste the Army's precious reconnaissance power."

"Suspicious? Baga! I clearly saw a lot of figures moving on the hilltop over there, just now! These Army Red Deers actually said that we were suspicious! Did they conduct careful reconnaissance and confirmation!?"

Colonel Nagano Koji, who was so angry that he ran away on the spot, cursed loudly. Then he thought that cursing would not help, would not solve the problem, and was meaningless. Then he gave orders to the correspondent who came to report.

"Tell the navy at the port to step up their guard immediately! Unrelated persons are not allowed to enter or leave the port. Since those army red deer are of no use at all, don't blame us for keeping useless waste away! From now on, all port defense will be provided by the navy. take over!"

"Hi!"

Seeing the signal trooper taking the order to convey the order, the captain, who had been listening by the side, took a step forward worriedly and took the initiative to speak.

"Your Excellency, Commander, if the enemies appearing on the highlands are really Russians, I am worried that it will be difficult to defend with our warships and naval forces alone. I have been paying attention to the Kwantung Army's battle situation recently, and almost all of it is bad news. and reports of defeat, and almost without exception the Russian artillery was very powerful.”

"Many of the defeated troops were even driven insane by the Russian artillery fire. They were so crazy and stupid that they completely lost their combat effectiveness. If they used superior artillery fire against us -"

"Calm down, Yoshimura-kun. We have a way to deal with the Russians and are executing on it, not stupid incompetents like those Army Red Deer."

Colonel Nagano Koji, who put down the telescope in his hand, looked strategizing and confident. He raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the suburban highlands outside the bridge window while explaining.

"Even if the Russians really appear there, and the figure I saw just now is indeed a Russian, then less than half an hour has passed so far."

"I judge that it is probably the Russian reconnaissance vanguard. Generally speaking, the scout troops are not close to the rear troops, and the artillery is usually located at the rear of the large troops and moves slowly."

"That is to say, from the time when the Russian scouts appeared in our field of vision, to when their large forces followed up, completed the deployment of artillery positions and opened fire on us, half an hour was obviously not enough, and even one hour was not necessarily enough. "

"And the boiler is already igniting now. We will soon be able to set sail and leave the port, and maneuver outside the port to conduct sea-to-ground artillery operations."

"By then, even if the Russian artillery positions are deployed, it will be too late. No matter how fierce the Russian ground artillery fire is, it cannot be an opponent of our mobile naval guns at sea. Our destroyers can easily throw off the Russians. The Army shelled and then put retaliatory fire on the Russians' heads."

"Just let those stupid and incompetent Army Red Deer see how we blew up all the Russian artillery into the sky, and then we can humiliate these Red Deer Yelangs! Let them convince themselves who is the stronger one. By."

Captain Lieutenant Colonel, who listened carefully with his ears pricked up, gradually changed from being worried about the situation at the beginning to being optimistic and cheerful now, and his whole expression was as happy as the sun had cleared from the clouds.

"Yo Xi! Your Excellency, Commander, is worthy of being the elite of Etajima. You are truly a role model for us! I didn't expect that Your Excellency, Commander, is so knowledgeable about ground warfare. It seems that I still need to learn more from Your Excellency, Commander."

"Hey, Yoshimura-kun, that's a great reward. Your air defense combat command is also famous, and it's worth learning from you."

"Your Excellency, the Commander, has said it, but my subordinates dare not take it seriously."

While joking, he and the captain of the destroyer Xia Yue beside him played the scene trick of "carrying each other in sedan chairs".

Nagano Koji, who is still in a good mood, still doesn't feel that those Russian turtles that can only crawl all over the ground will pose any threat to his energetic warships.

In fact, Nagano Koji didn't want to take this job at first, not least because it would come into contact with the Army Red Deer, whom he had always discriminated against and looked down upon.

Especially because in his opinion, this kind of "escort transport ship" job is a completely meaningless waste of time and life. A true Etajima naval man should drive a big and spirited warship and fight the raging seas and decisive battles with the broken ships that invade our empire.

But when his superiors told him that after the task of commanding and escorting the transport fleet was completed, his military rank could be changed and he could be escorted into the ranks of generals.

Nagano Koji, whose whole attitude changed 180 degrees in an instant, seemed to be a different person.

There was no longer any complaint, and he immediately took over the task with a nod and a bow, with a strong determination of "I will be in a hurry with whoever competes with me."

As a result, the entire fleet was fully equipped with 4 ships, 2 transport ships and 2 destroyers as a "special transport fleet".

Nagano Koji served as the commander of the fleet and set the headquarters on the bridge of the destroyer Natsuki.

Regarding this fleet configuration, Nagano Koji actually had some opinions at the beginning.

Do you think it’s too shabby to give me a destroyer as a command ship for a fleet commander like me? Why don't you give me a cruiser?

The idea is quite good, but when it comes to the actual level, where are there any cruisers in the Combined Fleet that are worthy of recognition? Can they be freed up for you, Nagano Koji, to serve as a command ship?

I know my own business, and it’s not like you don’t know what our combined fleet is like now. It would be nice to have a destroyer to drive, but also a bicycle.

A large number of various light and heavy cruisers were sunk by the Mizu Navy. The application for the cruiser No. Sake, which was almost intact, to serve as a command ship was unsurprisingly rejected ruthlessly on the grounds that it has now become an absolute The main cruisers should stay on the mainland to strengthen coastal defense.

The helpless Nagano Koji finally had no choice but to lead two destroyers out to work, but he never expected that this "journey for promotion" would eventually turn into his "road to death."