Chapter 781, Qingdao Fortress

Qingdao Fortress also did not sit idly by. The main turret began to adjust its direction, and the fixed turret in the northeast corner opened fire without hesitation. Although the battleship was parked at the farthest range, the excellent German cannons exerted great power, and the dense gun position sprayed out dense firepower. Even if it failed to hit the battleship itself, it happened to hit the light cruiser responsible for cover.

At the Central Fortress Observatory, Melwadek was listening to the immediate reports of each battalion. Japanese artillery shells continued to land on the outer shore platform of Qingdao Fortress. Although the soldiers were hiding behind the bunker, stray bullets and gravel were inevitably splashed in. From the beginning of the artillery battle to the present, obvious casualties have occurred.

"The guardrail of the No. 13th battery was completely damaged, the gun position was hit, and the gun body was shaken and malfunctioned."

"Seven people were injured in the second battalion, and one other was seriously injured."

"The side turret hits two enemy ships."

"The first battalion bunker caught fire, and the reserve team is putting out the fire."

Although Melwadek was in a serious mood when he listened to these continuous reports, he was not bad at the moment. With the strong and dense artillery positions of Qingdao Fortress, he could definitely delay the battle until any time. The eleven main ships of the Japanese Second Fleet dared not advance rashly, which is enough to show that Qingdao Fortress has a role in deterring the enemy's heart.

At this moment, an orderly soldier came to the observation deck from the bunker below. He found Governor Melwadek and saluted and said, "Governor General, the delegation of the Chinese *** Office requested to see you."

Although Melwadek was very dissatisfied with China's forced return to Qingdao, the governor could only be downgraded to the commander, and since China established the Shandong War Zone, the Shandong War Zone Command has pointed fingers at the Qingdao Command and completely reversed the role of the Far East strategic plan. However, no complaints are useful now. The war has begun. The survival of Qingdao now depends entirely on China's aid, so he can only be more polite.

"At this time? Okay, let them come up." He blew his "William Hu" and said majestic.

The orderly soldiers immediately retreated, and soon invited Li Genyuan, Luo Peijin, Hu Zongnan and Wu Xiangzhen.

Although the central fortress is located at the highest position of Qingdao Fortress, it is also the closest position to the inland of the entire fortress. As long as the light is good, you can see any situation on the sea surface clearly. At the same time, you don’t have to worry about being exposed to the range of enemy warships. The sound of cannons in the distance rumbling, and the observation deck can feel the ground trembling. The first time the four top officials faced such a naval battle scene, they couldn’t help but look a little curious.

Melwadek greeted Li Genyuan: "Sir Li, are you doing something?"

While watching the artillery fire battle in the northeast direction, Li Genyuan said: "I just received news from the Weifang Command that the 18th Japanese Division has launched an attack on Laiyang."

Melwadek raised his eyebrows and said solemnly: "Is that so? I don't know how far the battle is?"

Li Genyuan smiled, turned around and looked at Melwadek and said, "Don't worry, you are absolutely sure, I will hold the Japanese main force in Laiyang, so that they will not be able to advance in any of their land."

Melwadek was very suspicious of the combat effectiveness of the Chinese team, but even if he was suspicious, it was useless. He could only secretly pray that the Chinese could fulfill their promise. He nodded slowly and said seriously: "I hope so..." After a pause, he suddenly became serious again and said, "But, what's the use of dragging the main force of ***? This is completely inconsistent with our plan. Do you still expect our Qingdao Command to send troops to counterattack and attack?"

In his opinion, the main purpose of the Qingdao War was to restrain the Allies' forces in Asia. Since Wu Shaoting personally said that the core enemy of Germany's Far East strategy should be the best, then naturally, to defeat the enemy, how could he always passively surrender to the defensive state?

Regarding the strategic deployment of the Weifang Shandong Theater Command, the only instruction received by Qingdao is to defend Qingdao and hold the Second Fleet, and there is no idea about how to complete the offensive and defensive reversal. As the highest commander of the Qingdao Command, of course he had no clue and even had to complain more.

Li Genyuan said leisurely: "Please be careful not to be impatient. The theater command has already had a detailed combat plan. As for the moment, what we need to do in the first phase is to consume the Japanese army's supplies. When the time is ripe, you will soon see a counterattack."

Melwadek was obviously not satisfied with this answer. He snorted and said, "Okay. So, do you have other important things to explain? This is the battlefield, and I have more important things to do."

Li Genyuan said: "There is another thing to notify you. Regarding the logistics supply of Qingdao Fortress, the War Zone Command just issued an instruction that China will provide appropriate supply of shells, food and bullets. Of course, we can also provide repairs for ships and cannons when necessary."

Melwadek finally heard good news. As long as there is enough logistics guarantee, he will be confident to stick to it even if there is another fleet of ***. Taking a breath, he smiled happily and said, "This is really great. Our factory in Qingdao cannot supply ammunition consumption. I am very happy that you can help with the repairs. I will arrange for someone else to take charge of this later."

"I'm glad to help. I hope to leave a liaison officer by your side to coordinate the transportation of logistics supply. I am sending someone to sort out the specific details of the supply. After the sorting is completed, I will give it to you immediately for review." Li Genyuan said with a smile.

"Contact Officer? Oh, oh, OK, everything is mainly for everyone's convenience." Melwadek said with a smile.

So Li Genyuan asked Hu Zongnan to stay in the Central Fortress and then left with the others.

The logistics supply to Qingdao Fortress was originally the content of the Sino-German agreement, and the purpose of assisting in repairs and leaving liaison officers in the central fortress was to take the opportunity to absorb all aspects of German technology, from the command system to the equipment of ships and ports, and even the details of the construction of fortifications were not spared.

On the sea of ​​Qingdao, the Second Fleet was still persevering in artillery, but the main battleship was still parked outside the effective range. It was not until the evening when the sky was dark and dark that the artillery gradually stopped. The Second Fleet formed a defensive formation, and the three battleships retreated into the fleet group and were stationed outside the Qingdao sea area. Occasionally, several small sea sweepers passed quickly at the entrance of Jiaozhou Bay to monitor the German Far East Fleet in Jiaozhou Bay. The first day of the battle seemed to end in this situation.

On the flagship bridge of the Kojima, Kato Tadaki just received a radio from Qixia Town. It seemed that the 18th Division was blocked in Laiyang and might not be able to attack Qingdao according to the scheduled date. He sighed impatiently. The army was so disappointing that it was blocked by the Chinese army!
Chapter completed!