The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 246: The decisive battle against the Steel Army

Xiaguan, the naval gun position. In more than a dozen cement artillery shooting fortresses with reinforced concrete structures, more than a hundred Chinese naval officers and soldiers wearing white navy uniforms entered the artillery shooting position under the gun drill commands. Among the artillery firing positions, the two forts in the center are the most eye-catching.

"Every gun is in position and ready to load!"

In the central artillery fort, dozens of naval soldiers shouted slogans and turned the two large artillery pieces in the semi-underground artillery firing position. The two large milky-white artillery pieces emitted a dazzling light under the sun, and Only the inscription numbers on the cannons illustrate their long history.

The naval gun position in Shimonoseki is equipped with a total of two British-made Armstrong 203mm eight-inch large-caliber naval rapid-fire guns, four British-made Armstrong 152mm rapid-fire guns and four German Kremlin guns. Lupp builds 105mm rapid-fire cannon.

These two extremely large artillery pieces are exactly two British-made Armstrong 203mm large-caliber naval guns. These two artillery pieces come from the Chinese naval warship Haiqi that claimed to be on the river not long ago.

These two large-caliber guns manufactured in 8 are Armstrong 18.5-inch PatT rapid-fire guns. The gun body weighs 373.52 tons, has a total length of 45 inches, is 32 times the caliber, has riflings, and has a maximum range of . kilometers, and has an automatic latching device.

This artillery can fire 210-pound steel conventional grenades (warhead charge 24 pounds), cast iron conventional grenades (warhead charge 13 pounds), steel armor-piercing projectiles and hardened armor-piercing projectiles. Although it has experienced nearly years of ups and downs, These two naval guns, which were once the most advanced naval guns in the past, have long since lost their glory, but their old bodies are still there today, and for the first time, they are playing their value on the battlefield of defending the country.

The Haiqi ship is a Haitian-class large-scale fast protection cruiser ordered by the British government in the late Qing Dynasty in order to rebuild the navy after the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. A total of two ships, the Haitian and the Haiqi, were built.

When it was built, it was also the most advanced and fastest protected cruiser in the world at that time. The Qing court placed unlimited hopes on it, and it once opened a new era and era for the Chinese navy in the late Qing Dynasty.

This class of advanced warships has been given the hope of protecting the country and has been the main force of the Chinese Navy for decades after the Sino-Japanese War of 1888-1895 when the Chinese Navy stagnated.

It is a pity that this class of warships with high expectations has experienced numerous major events in Chinese history in the following decades, including the Gengzi Incident, the Russo-Japanese War, the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty, GM of 1911, the Second GM, the War to Protect the Country, and the Protector of the Law. Movement, the Guangdong-Guangxi War, the Second Dharma Protector Movement, Chen Jiongming's Rebellion, the Second Zhili-Fengtian War, the Northern Expedition, the September 18th Incident and a series of historical events.

However, this class of warships did not play its due role in protecting the country during this period. Instead, it became a tool for power struggles and intrigues between warlords and major factions. It became a stepping stone to seize power and became a group of groups. The birthplace of the maritime warlords eventually became old and aged amid civil war and betrayal, conspiracy, and internal strife of power.

Now, with the rise of the Anti-Japanese War Army across the country, this old warship, which had been wasted for decades in internal strife and civil war, has finally played its due role in its twilight years.

More than a month ago, the Haiqi ship sank in Jiangyin. It used its old body to delay the Japanese army's advance along the river, and defended its country in an extremely tragic and heroic way.

And its two main guns, once part of its body, also came to Xiaguan, after serving for nearly forty years.

Today, the first bomb will be fired at the invaders, officially fulfilling its duty to defend the country.

"Load!"

After summarizing the shooting distance and various combat parameters, a naval officer wielding a command knife gave the gunners a reloading order. A dozen naval gunners shook the shell-loading hinge and loaded a huge, weighing two hundred A ten-pound steel blasting grenade was loaded into the barrel, followed by a cotton pouch.

After the shell warhead and the gun's propellant are loaded, the gunners immediately close the gun breech, and then adjust the pitch and target direction of the gun based on the parameters and target direction measured by the front sight rod-a drum-type naval gun sight equipped with the gun. Raising and lowering the handwheel, the huge cannon began to rotate driven by the interspin motor.

"Good first shot!"

"Good for the second shot!"

The gunners of the two artillery pieces responded to the battle commands one after another. Two old sailors in their forties, who were almost the same age as the artillery pieces, stepped forward and took hold of the electric-controlled firing handles of the two eight-inch cannons. They quietly Waiting for orders from the firing commander.

Ten seconds later, a naval officer wielding a command sword fiercely slashed the sword down, seeming to vent the grievances of the Chinese Navy for decades, using the English combat shooting handed down from the Beiyang Navy period in the late Qing Dynasty. The command shouted: "Fire!"

Two sailors pulled the trigger of the electric shock trigger.

Immediately, two clouds of white smoke erupted from the muzzles of the two eight-inch naval guns. Amidst two thunderous blasts, two 203mm large-caliber steel blasting grenades flew out of the gun barrels, and At this moment, these two old cannons also completed their sublimation and fired their first bullets on the battlefield to defend China. The artillery that had been suppressed for decades and silent for decades let out a deafening roar and began. Their first blow!

Boom boom - boom boom boom

After the two 203 mm large-caliber naval guns opened fire, four other 152 mm Armstrong rapid-fire guns also disassembled from the late Qing Dynasty warship Haiqi and four German Krupp guns from the cruiser Hai Rong The 105mm rapid-fire cannon also opened fire.

"fire!"

"fire!"

Combat firing commands in English were heard one after another in the naval gun positions. Large-caliber artillery shells carrying the anger and ambition of the naval officers and soldiers flew across the sky and flew towards the Japanese army in front of the training corps position.

The shock and sound of the large-caliber naval gun firing was far beyond that of ground artillery. Ten large-caliber shells flew out of the air like thunder.

In front of the position of the fifth regiment of the teaching corps, the sentry of the fifth regiment was still fighting fiercely with the Japanese mixed infantry and cavalry troops. The Czech machine gunner of the sentry squad fired the last bullet in the magazine of the gun, and the light machine gun Hot heat and white smoke emitted from the flash cap of the barrel. The shooter removed the hot barrel of the Czech light machine gun, threw the barrel aside, and shouted: "Bring me the barrel, bring me the barrel." Barrel." A deputy shooter climbed over, took out the spare barrel and installed it on the machine gun. He also installed a new magazine for the machine gun. The shooting bunker was already filled with golden machine gun shells.

The platoon leader who was leading the command opened fire with a Mauser rifle. In front of the sentry position, the lingering Japanese cavalry was still launching attacks from time to time, and the firepower projected by the Japanese troops from all around was becoming more and more intensive. The Japanese infantry behind also started shooting. The intensive firepower composed of Taisho 11-year-old light machine guns and Type 38 rifles continued to suppress the dozen soldiers on the sentry.

Dense bullets were fired from all directions, making the sand and soil on the sentry position flutter. Occasionally, one or two 50mm grenades would hit and explode near the sentry position. Fortunately, the No. 1 teaching team on the main position The infantry grenade company directly under the fifth regiment has been firing to suppress the Japanese infantry and cavalry, so that the full firepower of the Japanese infantry is not used.

The sentries of these dozen people were able to withstand the joint attack of the Japanese infantry and cavalry, forming a confrontation. However, if they wanted to retreat quickly, it was impossible.

"Fight quickly, fight quickly, the cavalry is coming again."

The platoon sergeant loaded a row of bullets into the Mauser rifle in his hand, and two more Japanese cavalry rushed over. The platoon auxiliary immediately shouted to the machine gunner to fire, and the machine gunner immediately pulled the handle to load the machine gun. About to fire, suddenly, the machine gunner felt pain in his eardrums from being shaken, and there was a thunderous sound behind him.

And then, before he could pull the trigger, the Japanese cavalry rushing in front was swallowed up by the explosion and thick smoke amidst a loud noise and a scalding heat wave. The air pressure and air waves coming from the other side collided.

Two 203mm artillery shells, four 152mm artillery shells and four 105mm artillery shells accurately landed in the mixed formation of Japanese infantry and cavalry. The old ship-mounted aiming equipment was used to attack. These Japanese infantry and cavalry, which are almost fixed targets, are completely dimensionality reduction strikes.

The dense cluster of artillery shells exploded immediately after landing. The fierce artillery fire was like thunder, and the roar was deafening. It exploded with the momentum of razing everything to the ground, producing thick smoke that towered into the sky, especially the explosion of two 203mm artillery shells. Finally, a column of smoke similar to a mushroom cloud rose above the impact point of the shell, like a giant black dragon rolling and galloping across the sky.

After the explosion of the large-caliber naval gun, almost everyone nearby felt a sense of a landslide. The officers and soldiers of the outpost of the fifth regiment of the teaching corps who were firing had not yet realized what had happened. They were hit by the hot gas. Surrounded by waves.

Several riflemen who were half-kneeling and shooting were even knocked to the ground by the air waves after the explosion of the naval gun shells, and even lost consciousness accompanied by tinnitus and trance.

The firepower of the Japanese army also died out with the explosion of naval gun shells. A cavalry squad and a Japanese infantry squadron were completely shrouded in the dense shrapnel produced by the explosion of several naval gun shells. More than 800 kilograms of high explosives knocked out a Japanese cavalry squadron. The squad and dozens of Japanese infantrymen were blown to pieces, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

The power of the navy's large-caliber naval guns, when used on land, is a complete dimensionality reduction strike. Even the Krupp-made 105mm rapid-fire gun, which is the smallest and least powerful among this batch of naval guns, is placed on land. It can also be called a heavy artillery.

Even He Wei in the rear command post was stunned by the horrific effect after the explosion. Even in the command post, the mushroom cloud produced by the explosion of the large-caliber naval gun looked quite shocking.

And this is just the beginning.

Just after the first round of shells landed, the naval gun group in the defense circle started the second and third rounds of shooting. All these guns were rapid-fire guns, and the maximum rate of fire in one minute could reach at least three. Four rounds, so the sailors who used naval guns to attack the invaders for the first time fired shells at the Japanese infantry and cavalry round after round without hesitation.

Mushroom clouds rose one after another, and many Japanese soldiers were killed by shrapnel and violent explosions before they could even evade. The powerful naval gun shells not only took away the lives of all living creatures at the impact point, but also Huge craters exploded on the ground.

After the first round of naval gunfire, the artillery battalion of the teaching corps, which received the combat firing order, also started firing. Eight Bofors 75mm mountain guns joined the firing group like icing on the cake. Type 38 rifles, Taisho The Type 11 light machine gun, the war horse, and the human body were all swallowed up by the ruthless flames and explosions, and were torn into parts.

The sound of the artillery was like thunder, the roar was deafening, and in the rumbling explosions, the Japanese infantry and cavalry were devoured, torn to pieces, smashed, rolled up, and thrown away. The firepower of large-caliber naval guns and mountain cannons intertwined, and the Japanese infantry and cavalry were intertwined. The Japanese troops in front of the fifth regiment position of the Teaching Corps were involved in a death sonata consisting of a cloud of artillery shells.

When the shelling ended a few minutes later, the shocked sentries of the fifth regiment of the teaching corps could no longer see a single living Japanese soldier. Instead, there were stumps and weapon parts everywhere, as well as dense craters and sticky shells. Gooey, blood-red human body parts.

An encounter between the advanced search troops of the Kunisaki Detachment and the outpost of the Central Military Academy Teaching Corps ended. In this battle, a cavalry squad and an infantry squadron from the Kunisaki Detachment of the Fifth Division of the Japanese Steel Army ended. The mixed infantry and cavalry column encountered a combat outpost of more than a dozen people from the fifth regiment of the third brigade of the Central Military Academy Teaching Corps.

The two sides fought for nearly fifty minutes. In the end, the sentry of the teaching corps, supported by the firepower of ground and naval guns from behind, delayed the Japanese infantry and cavalry mixed column for nearly forty minutes at the cost of three people killed and four injured. This mixed column of infantry and cavalry was completely annihilated under the bombardment of naval guns from the Xiaguan defense circle.

The first collision between the Chinese and Japanese armies in Xiaguan ended in a disastrous defeat for the Japanese army. The fifth division, known as the Japanese Steel Army, was still defeated in the first round of the battle in front of the training corps, known as the benchmark of the Chinese Army. When the formation came, they were severely beaten by the Chinese army.

At this time, the tug-of-war and duel between the two sides had just begun.

As for the Japanese army, Major General Noboru Kunisaki, the leader of the Kunisaki detachment, was almost shocked and speechless after learning that the entire advancing search force had been destroyed. Then, he finally began to treat the Chinese troops near Shimonoseki with a serious and formal attitude.

The Kunisaki detachment had not participated in the battle since the beginning of the Jinling Defense War. It was only now that they had suffered a bloody blow, and Kunisaki Noboru realized that the opponent he faced was by no means a weakling.

Therefore, the Kunisaki Detachment quickly took up its stance, and with an attitude of facing the opponent squarely and the requirements of the field offensive and defensive tactics guidelines, it launched an all-out attack on the position of the frontal training corps. The first one to start the attack was the Third Regiment of the Independent Mountain Artillery assigned to the Kunisaki Detachment. , the two mountain artillery brigades under this artillery regiment are all equipped with the latest Type 94 75mm mountain guns.

The two artillery brigades, with a total of twenty-four Type 94 75mm mountain guns, set up a position at the front of the Xiaguan defense circle and began a fierce shelling of the position of the teaching corps.

The Kunisaki detachment contacted the Central China Front Army and the Navy at the same time. Almost at the same time that the bombardment began, the Japanese army's daily routine aerial bombing also came with the rising sun. The defensive positions of the teaching corps were about to be attacked by a new round of real attacks. Tested and tempered by blood and fire.

(End of this chapter)