The Beacon of Laiyang Metal

Chapter 44 Conflict Escalation
  "Te"

"If labor and management can have two tracked armored vehicles, none of the little devils in custody can escape," Yu Shaohu said regretfully, spitting out the sand thrown up by the explosion.

At this time, the remaining little Japs on the opposite side no longer had the threat of infantry artillery. In his opinion, they were like toothless tigers, and it was the right time to beat them.

Due to the factory's production capacity, the first batch of tracked combat vehicles, like tanks, were given priority to be added to the combat vehicle brigade. The current vehicles of these infantry units are mainly Willis jeeps and trucks, which can be regarded as basically realizing the "motorcycle" change".

Seeing a dozen Japanese scouts lying on the ground, and the armored car that had been affected by the extended artillery fire and became tattered, Kuroda Haruhiko took a breath and finally understood his commander, Kazuki Oura. Why in just a few hours, the enemy's intelligence was completely annihilated before the enemy's intelligence could be sent out.

After shouting angrily, he immediately issued an order to hold on and wait for the support of the Dandong Front. He did not think that the two teams with less than a hundred people left could break through the enemy's defensive position with large-caliber machine guns and artillery.

After receiving a report on the identity of the enemy in the direction of "Qingshangou", Nomura Shinji, the commander-in-chief of the Kwantung Army in Dandong, became acutely aware that this incident could completely become an excuse for the Kwantung Army to invade the Northeast. He had been facing the Kwantung Army's After repeated provocations, the response given by the Northeast Army was always to stick to it and ignore it. Even the occasional bloody incidents ended with compensation from the Northeast Marshal's Office and mediation from Western countries.

Judging from the report of Oura Squadron, the China force dispatched at least a company or more, as well as several artillery pieces, and caused nearly a hundred casualties of the Imperial Army, including the squadron leader.

This is the first time such a large-scale armed conflict has occurred since the imperial army stationed in Manchuria. It is no longer just a conflict. It is a war, a declaration of war by the Chinese government against the Empire of Japan. As a militant, Nomura Shinji, His hands trembled with excitement, and he immediately called the Kwantung Army headquarters in Lushun.

September 19, 19 AD
  On the day after the conflict broke out, Japan's largest news organization "Asahi Shimbun" used the entire newspaper page to report that the Chinese army launched a brazen attack on the Kwantung Army's troops stationed along the railway in Northeast China, killing nearly a hundred troops stationed along the route. Deaths and injuries, along with photos of dead soldiers at the scene and destroyed cars and armored vehicles.

On the same day, the Ambassador to the "Embassy of Manchukuo" Muto Nobuyoshi sent a note to the Northeast Marshal's Office and went to Fengtian in person to request the Northeast government to explain the armed conflict and attach a request for compensation from the Japanese cabinet:
  1. The Northeast region publicly apologized for this conflict, handed over the commander of the conflict unit to the Kwantung Army for handling, and guaranteed that this incident would not happen again in the future.

2. Compensation for fallen soldiers and damaged materials totaling 500 million pounds (approximately equivalent to 5000 million oceans);
  3. Abolish all Chinese garrison and local armed forces in Dandong. The Kwantung Army will take over the security issues in Dandong and allow free movement in Dandong.

4. The Japanese garrison in Northeast China will be increased from 1.3 to 5 to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals and property in Northeast China;

As soon as the compensation conditions came out, Japan's spying on the Northeast was revealed, revealing its ambition to encroach on the Northeast step by step. It was also at this time that Marshal Zhang knew that the "Dandong Independent Security Brigade" he had agreed to form on a whim would give him After making such a big fuss, they rushed to make inquiries and sent an investigation team headed by Yan Baohang to the Dandong area to thoroughly investigate the matter.

September 20, 19 AD
  Wei Yuan called back to the Marshal's Mansion and said that one person should do the work and the other should take responsibility. If he wanted to kill or cut him, he would let the little devils come at him. The two sides had seen the real tricks on the battlefield. He also called the whole country to explain in detail the whole process of the conflict and the Japanese government's response. In response to the unreasonable demands of this incident, Weiyuan issued four compensation demands to Japan in the name of the "Independent Security Brigade":
  1. Emperor Hirohito of Japan publicly apologized for this incident;

2. Repatriate all Japanese troops and overseas Chinese stationed in China, otherwise the subsequent escalation of conflicts will not guarantee their safety in China;
  3. Take back the ownership of "South Manchuria Railway" and "Anfeng Railway";

4. The Japanese military needs to compensate the Chinese soldiers and civilians who were killed and injured in this conflict, totaling 1000 million pounds (1 million yuan)

Once the news came out, the whole country was in an uproar. Dozens of large and small newspapers such as "Shen Shen", "Ta Kung Pao", and "Republic of China Daily" retweeted the contents of the telegram. Many Chinese were inspired by China's soldiers with such integrity and took to the streets one after another. They held petitions and marches and shouted: "The Northeast will not perish, China will not perish, the Japanese will get out of China," and organized speeches and other activities to raise military expenses and supplies for the "Independent Security Brigade" in the Northeast.

On Qianmen Street in Peking, a dozen university students had just finished their fundraising speech. While counting the amount of donations, they discussed their views on the conflict situation in Dandong.

One of the students wearing a school uniform and a school badge said: "Brother Weimin, are you really ready to go to the independent security brigade in Dandong? The Northeast is now covered with war clouds, and it looks like a big war is about to happen. Why do you have to put yourself in it?" In a dangerous place, raising money and supplies from the rear is not a form of support."

A young man who was also wearing a school uniform and was called Lin Weimin by his classmates said:

"Since the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, we have been fighting for decades and losing for decades. Over the decades, the courage of Chinese soldiers has been almost wiped out. Today, there is finally a general who can stand up and say no to the foreigners. Such a feat is so magnificent. At this moment, tens of thousands of soldiers from the Independent Security Brigade are preparing for a desperate fight with the Japanese army. Even though I am just a scholar, I, Lin Weimin, am willing to be one of them and spread my passion to awaken the bloody spirit of the Chinese people. "

While major newspapers were reporting on the situation in Northeast China, an unknown tabloid in Shanghai published the speech "I Have a Dream" given by Wei Yuan on the opening day of the industrial park. For this figure who has become the focus of the country, once As soon as it was released, it was reprinted by major newspapers, instantly igniting the patriotic enthusiasm of the people. I don’t know when the slogan "Go to Anton, go to the industrial park" spread.

Countless young people, like Lin Weimin, traveled to other places and traveled to the Northeast to support the Patriotic War against foreign enemies with their own actions.

September 21, 19 AD

That is to say, on the third day after the conflict broke out, after the Dandong Command dispatched a brigade to "Qingshangou", it also dispatched an infantry regiment from Lushun to rush to the rescue. At this time, the total strength of the Japanese army in "Qingshangou" had reached With a strength of more than 5000 people, Weiyuan not only dispatched a reinforced regiment for garrison, but also dispatched reconnaissance battalions, artillery brigade, and tank brigade. Internal aircraft at the Gushan Town Military Airport were also ready to take off at any time to attack the enemy. A battle involving tens of thousands of soldiers is about to break out.

At about 1 o'clock that afternoon, with the dull sound of artillery being ejected from the Japanese artillery position ahead, the war between China and Japan, involving tens of thousands of soldiers, finally started. “Boom!”

Taisho 70-year-old 105mm direct-firing infantry cannon, Type infantry cannon, and Type mm cannon. Shells one after another continued to explode violently in the forward positions of the regiment, especially those where Yang Erwa and his platoon were stationed. The nameless highland was hit even harder. The smoke and dust and gravel raised after the explosion made it impossible for Yang Erwa and his platoon to hide in the bomb-proof hole on the slope of the mountain. They could only hold their guns and secretly pray that they would not be attacked. The shells hit, and some soldiers who were affected by the mortar fire made painful groans, making the entire unknown highland feel like the end of the world.

Half an hour later, the Japanese artillery position that fired thousands of artillery shells gradually became less dense. Although artillery shells still exploded around the position from time to time, the trenches and anti-aircraft holes in the forward positions began to ring with the shouts of each platoon commander one after another. Whistle.

"Brothers, return to your respective positions and prepare to fight. The Japs are coming up. Wait until the order is given before firing. Don't scare the Japs away!" After Yang Erwa finished shouting, he took the lead carrying a 50-round drum Thompson submachine gun. Drill out of the anti-gun hole, run along the transportation trenches dug in advance, and run to the forward position.

The rising smoke still filled the position, but behind the black and gray smoke, Yu Shaohu vaguely saw the shadow of the Japanese starting to move out in the telescope, and the sound of the car engine became clearer and clearer. It was obvious that the Japanese began to send troops again. Armored vehicles were dispatched.

This time the Japanese dispatched five Vickers Crossley wheeled armored vehicles, which weighed 7.5 tons and were equipped with a 30-horsepower gasoline engine and a three-year-old heavy machine gun.

Probably because they knew that there was firepower to deal with the armor on the other side, the five armored vehicles dispatched this time had a special layer of steel plates installed in front of the body, and sandbags were stacked on the hood. Since the entire vehicle only had a 30-horsepower gasoline engine, The burden was really heavy, and black smoke was rising at the moment, covering the more than Japanese soldiers accompanying him as they swayed toward their position.

"Hey, the little devil has a better memory this time."

Seeing that the kid on the opposite side had specially modified the armored car to defend himself from heavy machine gun attacks, Yu Shaohu couldn't help but be happy. However, he was not in a hurry to let the machine gunners fire, nor did he call for artillery support from the rear. Yesterday In the evening, he took a few veterans and took advantage of the darkness to prepare a "big gift" for the little devil.

Five armored vehicles were lined up 30 meters apart, and the rumbling sound of the engines was getting closer and closer, giving the recruits who were on the battlefield a great sense of oppression for the first time. Many of the recruits were sweating as they clutched their guns tightly. Come.

When the Japanese armored vehicles traveled to a distance of about 200 meters from the position, they discovered that there were many densely packed deep pits on the ground. They were different from the craters from shelling. It seemed that someone had dug them out to block the advance of the tanks.

"You smart Chinese people, think you can stop the Imperial Army's chariots in this way?" The commander of the Japanese chariot team was a second lieutenant. He immediately ordered each group of chariots to find a suitable attack route, and there was no need to follow a one-line formation. attack.

The second lieutenant observed through the shooting hole that the road ahead on the right side had not been destroyed and was flat. There was no obstacle to the movement of the chariot. Although he was a little confused as to whether the Chinese were up to something, the commander had already given the order for the chariot to attack. Still directing the convoy towards the flat area as planned.

"click"

The first armored vehicle seemed to have crushed some metal object. It paused for a moment, and then there was a "boom". The 7.5-ton vehicle body seemed to be lifted up and dropped violently by a pair of giant hands. The car body was covered with raging flames after the explosion. The four crew members were scorched in the car body before they could react. Even the arc-shaped turret on the top fell more than ten meters away, creating a large crater.

What happened in the flash of lightning made several armored vehicles in the rear not sure what to do. They didn't know what kind of weapon could destroy a tank in an instant, so they had to spin in place, waiting for further orders from the rear. It is obvious that the enemy's access road must contain very dangerous weapons.

It turned out that during the confrontation, Yu Shaohu and his men took advantage of the cover of night to dig out anti-tank trenches at the front of the position where the terrain was flat and easy for vehicles to pass, and then left several areas to bury anti-tank mines newly developed by the arsenal. As long as the pressure of this kind of anti-tank mine exceeds one ton, it will instantly detonate its own 5 kilograms of TNT explosive through the detonator. With this charge, let alone the armored car of the Little Devil, even the "Tiger and Leopard" will have to fly the turret.

Seeing that the remaining armored vehicles began to reverse and prepare to retreat, Yu Shaohu immediately called the artillery phone and requested artillery coverage.

"Boom! Boom!"

In the artillery position behind the ninth company commander, eight mortars were lined up in a row. With the booming sound of the guns ejecting, the 8kg 1.38mm high-explosive shell was instantly launched, and the smoke was raised after the explosion. and prefabricated fragments of cast iron, barrages were created between the non-stop Japanese armored vehicles. The Japanese soldiers accompanying behind them continued to fall as each mortar shell landed, and the remaining four armored vehicles also Being beaten by a single piece made a clanging sound.

Finally, a shell fell from the sky. The power of the gunpowder ejected from the barrel and the impact of the high-speed fall directly impacted one of the armored vehicles. The shell tore through the weak top of the turret in an instant. With a "rumbling" sound, the car was only bigger than the armored vehicle. After the first armored vehicle hit a mine and exploded, the armored vehicle that survived for two more minutes also stopped moving after a ball of flames and smoke rose from inside the vehicle.

The remaining three armored vehicles did not care about the infantry accompanying them at this time. They stepped on the accelerator and backed up. The infantry who were originally covered by the armored vehicles were crushed under the wheels before they had time to escape. The remaining The infantrymen either hurriedly hid further back or spread out towards the side of the vehicle.

At this time, Yu Shaohu seized the opportunity. With an order, the heavy machine guns, submachine guns, and rifles on the position immediately rang out. The crossfire formed by the dense bullets instantly shot down the Japanese exposed on the side of the armored vehicle. On the ground, only one of the last five armored vehicles dispatched successfully returned to the Japanese position. However, judging from the bullet holes all over the car body, it cannot be reused without an overhaul. As for the more than 5 Japanese soldiers accompanying it, Bing has completely become a lonely ghost on this battlefield.

(End of this chapter)