Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 63: First Battle at Liujia Temple
Thick straw bags filled with mud and sand were piled up to form a semicircle, with only a one-foot-wide gap exposed in the middle of the front, forming a temporary artillery bunker. A slope was dug flat behind the gun position, so that when the position needed to be changed, the cannon could be quickly pulled out for transfer.
Eighteen Krupp field guns, seven of which were made in China, were lined up in a row, with a dozen artillerymen squatting behind each gun, some of them holding pens and paper. It was not that the gun positions needed so many people, but that the headquarters was going to use this rare actual combat opportunity to let the new gunners learn how to use the field guns more intuitively.
Jiang Tai held down his military cap and shuttled back and forth between the gun positions. No matter how strange the questions the new gunners asked, he would answer them and personally supervise the new gunners in actual combat shooting.
On the second day of the uprising, he was invited by Zhang Wenjing and Song Ziqing to join the Right Route Army. At first, he was just holding back because of the incident in the Third Battalion. In addition, the soldiers rioted on the night of the uprising and many officers like him were forced to take off their uniforms. After the success, they had to find a governor temporarily. Seeing that the Qing army was coming, they didn't think about clearing the surroundings immediately, but they were eager to assign power. He felt it was very boring. He was also present at the oath-taking ceremony just now. No matter what Yang Qiu was like, there was a saying that was right, soldiers didn't talk much nonsense, and the cannons were the ones who talked.
After crossing the river, he was immediately appointed as the battalion commander of the 1st Artillery Battalion. He was very happy to have eighteen German-made Krupp seven-gun and seven-gun field guns. You should know that most of the Hubei New Army were equipped with five-gun and seven-gun mountain guns, and there were only a few of these new field guns.
In just one day, he felt something different about this team that had been training in Hanyang for two months. They were disciplined and followed orders without compromise, especially when the other side was in constant internal strife and the people were unstable after the three towns were just recovered. When the commander said to attack Yangjia Temple, they rolled up their sleeves and marched without saying a word. They were so decisive and capable that it was amazing! Just this kind of military style of keeping one's word made him look forward to joining this group.
"fire!"
As he shouted, eighteen shells flew out. In the blink of an eye, several clouds of black and red smoke rose above the Liujiamiao railway station opposite, and large pieces of bricks and tiles flew up in the air under the explosion.
Due to the shortage of gunners, only the 1st Artillery Battalion was deployed in this operation. However, a whole artillery battalion was not enough for the hastily fleeing remnants of the opposing army to resist. In less than a few minutes, Liujia Temple was engulfed in thick black smoke.
In the temporary command post, Yue Peng put down the telescope: "Commander, is it time to let the infantry attack? If we keep bombing like this..." He glanced at Zhang Wenjing, who had a sour face beside him, and smiled: "I'm afraid Wenjing... will be even more angry!"
How could Zhang Wenjing not be upset? He is the chief of logistics! What he lacks most is shells. Most of the shells seized in the warehouse of the gun factory are five-shot seven-shot shells, and the total number of seven-shot five-shot shells in reserve is more than 3,000. This is great. Yang Qiu even asked for 20 minutes of fire coverage. Calculated at three rounds per minute, 720 shells will be consumed. If they fight like this, Kongbu will be in a dilemma of having artillery but no shells before fighting with Beiyang. I have to communicate with the gun factory later and ask how many shells can be made in a day at full speed. While thinking, Yue Peng bumped his shoulder: "By the way, Wenjing, how many did you get in the donation box just now?"
Thinking of the extra-large donation box, there was a chuckle all around. Apart from anything else, the 50,000 "donated" by Hu Ruilin alone could feed the right-wing army for half a month if they were frugal. Faced with this "unreasonable" question, Zhang Wenjing gave him a cold shoulder and turned around to ask, "Commander, do you think Li Du and the others will provide support? If not, it will be very difficult to rely on the gun factory."
"How could I not support it? Li Du is a man who knows military affairs. How could he not see that Hankou is the most dangerous?"
"That's hard to say. Li Du is not in charge now."
The question aroused everyone's discussion. Song Ziqing secretly glanced at Yang Qiu. Did he want support or not? With support, the two armies would naturally merge slowly. But what if they didn't? Letting the rolling meat cross the river is nothing more than borrowing his voice and temper, but the possibility of not getting it with such a person is greater than getting it! Could he not know? Maybe he just hopes that there will be some small cracks in the two armies. As long as the big mouth comes back disappointed and publicizes how he was troubled, the soldiers who just won the battle will feel resentful. This is better than propaganda with his mouth! Soldiers are like this. The more external pressure there is, the more united they are. After a long time... everyone will naturally twist together.
A careful look reveals this person's means. It seems that this person's mind is much deeper than before.
Yang Qiu seemed not to notice Song Ziqing's gaze. His mind was focused on this first battle. Although the opponent was weak and pitiful, there must be no mistakes, not even too many casualties! That's why he forced a 20-minute fire coverage. However , looking at the Liujia Temple with black smoke billowing, he was really "angry" about the artillery shells that only smoked but did not show their power in the early years of the Republic of China. If they were replaced with 155mm howitzers with RDX charge in later generations, let alone 18 guns, one gun would be enough to declare that Liujia Temple would be razed to the ground.
Explosives also need to be improved... After making a note in the notebook he carried with him, Yang Qiu turned around and ordered: "Heavy machine guns move into combat positions, fire obliquely to cover the infantry, and focus on suppressing the open area in front of the railway tracks. Light machine guns accompany the infantry in the charge. When charging, try to spread out, keep your body low, and cover each other."
After the order was issued, the attacking 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion, three machine gun squads each, totaling 9 Maxim machine guns, were quickly set up in front of the artillery, and canvas belts were quickly stuffed into the machine guns. The unique clicking sound of the Maxim machine guns sounded from three sides at the same time. From the direction of the command post, the three Maxims formed a corner with each other, aiming at the front of the central railway track and firing rapidly in an oblique manner. The dense fire points drew three lines of death in front of Liujiamiao Railway Station.
But... Damn it! All the machine gunners actually switched the speed selector to full automatic burst! The firepower was strong, but the bullets... Zhang Wenjing's face darkened, and even Yang Qiu scratched his head secretly. But he didn't stop it. After all, all the soldiers who could be pulled out here were half-baked people who were trained with two broken light machine guns. They needed to be fed with bullets continuously to mature. In order to seize this rare actual combat opportunity, he ruthlessly invested 9 heavy machine guns and 30 light machine guns.
"Marshal, it's... it's a German electric gun (the name of the early Maxim in China)!" Li Xianglin finally had some experience. When he saw the other party launch the Maxim, his scalp suddenly exploded. He never thought that Yang Qiu would have a German- made heavy machine gun that even the Eighth Regiment didn't have! But just after shouting, the bullets rained down on the locomotive that served as a shelter. The steel body couldn't withstand such fierce firepower, and it turned into a hornet's nest in the blink of an eye.
"Cannons, cannons aim at the machine guns!"
Zhang Biao's eyes were bleeding. He was also the "Baturu" appointed by the Qing Dynasty and was by no means a coward. On the night of the riot, his men were able to fight, but the Governor's Mansion was broken, and the troops lost their morale after Rui Cheng disappeared. He had no choice but to be surrounded by his confidants and fled here in a hurry. He thought that with more than a battalion of remnants and several machine guns, he could support until the arrival of reinforcements, but he did not expect that Yang Qiu had so many cannons and the German heavy machine guns that the Beiyang Army had just started to equip. If he had known that the 42nd Regiment had such strong firepower, he would have taken the train north to meet Yinchang.
It was too late to regret now. He was surrounded on three sides, with only the riverside left. It was obvious that they were going to annihilate him! So he ignored the bullets from the shuttle and ran behind the four-gun, five-life, seven-mountain cannon hidden in the house, drew his knife, pointed it at the machine gun squad opposite, and jumped and shouted.
"Boom." The four mountain cannons shook all over, and in the shaking smoke and dust, the shells fell directly in front of a machine gun squad not far away. The smoke cloud made Yue Peng tremble in his heart.
Fortunately, the shells were still far away, and the five-shot shells were not powerful, so the machine guns slowed down for a while and then began to roar again. At this time, Jiang Tai also caught the location of the fire and immediately ordered six guns to turn and aim at the two-story house. Zhang Biao's artillery was buried in just three rounds of the house. Seeing this, Yang Qiu immediately waved his hand: "The light machine gun squad of the third battalion of the first regiment will go up alternately to cover the infantry attack."
Hang Zhi, who was fighting in a real battle for the first time, could no longer hold back. After hearing the order, he immediately rushed out of the command post and shouted at the third battalion which was in reserve. Six Madsen light machine gun squads quickly ran forward under the cover of heavy machine guns.
The advantages of the light machine gun finally emerged. One machine gunner and one assistant machine gunner form a machine gun squad. Adding an extra assistant machine gunner is for the purpose of expanding the machine gunner team in the future. The light and fast-moving light machine gun quickly reached the position and took over the cover mission of the heavy machine gun squad.
While Yang Qiu was recording the installation of a tripod and wheelbarrow for the heavy machine gun, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment had already jumped out of the bunker and spread out to charge head-on. Judging from the soldiers' running postures, the Hubei New Army was a new-style force after all. In addition, they were all veterans who had received many years of training and two months of strengthening. Therefore, most of the soldiers were able to run in a zigzag manner skillfully with their bodies lowered. The infantry lines were also spread out relatively wide, and after running for a while, they would lie down to cover their comrades behind them.
At the beginning, they charged as a company, using the whistle as a signal. They ran about 400 meters and dispersed into squads, then quickly lay down and crawled forward, pushing their guns. At this distance, even Yang Qiu had difficulty hitting the crawling enemy without an optical sight. After crawling about 100 meters, the accompanying light machine guns first dispersed and leaned against piles of rocks or trees to fire, and the rest of the infantry continued to crawl. When the whistle suddenly sounded sharply after a distance of 120 meters, everyone jumped up and started the charge.
The soldiers who were charging in overlapping directions soon arrived in front of the station. Since Liujiamiao was a township with an open terrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack, even with the cover of machine guns, soldiers could still be seen being shot and falling from time to time.
The deployment of infantry meant that the battle had entered a fierce stage, and machine guns dared not fire at will to avoid accidental injuries.
Yang Qiu frowned. The overall strength of the new army was good and their tactical positioning was relatively in place, but there were still many problems. For example, the infantry line was still too tightly structured. The soldiers always paused during the charge because of nervousness. The combination of infantry and artillery was also not very good. The machine gunners were completely inexperienced and did not seize the opportunity to provide good cover for the infantry assault.
But these are not Yang Qiu's headaches. The most annoying thing is that most soldiers have a bad habit! That is, when reloading after firing a shot, they always habitually press down the muzzle, instead of leaning against the shoulder like the skilled European soldiers, while moving to find the next target. Don't underestimate this little gap of time, it is enough to kill several times in a second when facing elite soldiers!
"Hold on, hold on!"
Seeing the opposing infantry coming up, Zhang Biao became more anxious. He drew his saber and shouted again and again to hold the position. However, the threat from the mobile gun was too great. Torrential bullets swept past the position again and again, scaring many soldiers so much that they did not dare to look up.
"Whoever dares to run will be killed without mercy!" Seeing a soldier turning around and trying to escape, Zhang Biao got so angry that he grabbed his saber and chopped the soldier in half. This behavior was caused by the times. Even on the night of the first uprising, Li Yuanhong killed a man to boost his courage. The gushing blood and internal organs frightened the remaining soldiers so much that they could only bite the bullet and shoot.
"Enter the building!" Ke Shao, who was in the vanguard, led a company and finally rushed into the station. Seeing a large number of enemies hiding in the trenches in front of them, they immediately rushed into a house next to them. Before they rushed to the second floor, they saw several enemies rushing up with guns, so they quickly raised their guns and shot.
After a volley of gunfire, several of Zhang Biao's bodyguards fell in a pool of blood. He immediately led his soldiers to seize the commanding heights on the second floor, set up a Madsen light machine gun and swept the enemy positions from bottom to top. The power of the light machine gun was fully released from its high position, and enemy soldiers were hit by bullets fired from overhead from time to time.
Li Xianglin also knew that it was time to fight to the death. When he saw the rooftop was occupied, he immediately shouted "Follow me" and rushed towards the small building with a personal guard. At this time, Zhang Biao finally took out his trump card. A cavalry ambushed on the right suddenly rushed out and rushed straight towards the first battalion of the second regiment that was charging head-on. As the iron hooves rolled, more than 20 soldiers of the first battalion were caught off guard and their necks were directly cut by the sharp sabers.
"Machine gun? Where's the machine gun?"
The sight of blood spurting and heads falling to the ground made Zhang Wenjing's eyes red. You know, the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment was originally the 2nd Battalion he led, so he shouted regardless of Yang Qiu still being beside him. Song Ziqing, who was watching the battle next to him, quickly grabbed him and said, "They've already gone up."
Following Song Ziqing's finger, everyone saw that the two heavy machine gun squads of the first battalion had finally arrived at the designated cover point. After a slight adjustment, the two Maxim machine guns fired countless bullets. The baggage soldiers carrying ammunition boxes followed closely behind them, which further increased the power of the machine guns. At this time, light machine gun squad of the third battalion also saw the danger brought by the cavalry, and in a panic, all the muzzles of the six Madsen guns were turned around.
People who have not experienced war cannot imagine how terrifying it is to have two heavy machine guns that can fire 600 rounds per minute plus six light machine guns firing at full speed. The machine gunner only needs to hold the trigger tightly, hold down the trembling handle to keep it steady, and then shake the machine gun slightly to the left and right, and a dense rain of bullets will appear in front of him.
Especially for heavy machine guns, the loader does not need to repeatedly stuff bullets into the machine gun. As long as the buckles at the interface of the two canvas belts are locked, the belts will continue to extend. Moreover, with the water-cooling type, there is no need to worry about the barrel being too hot. Unless it is jammed or the bullets are gone, you can keep shooting.
Precisely because of this terrifying force, the oblique crossfire formed by the machine gun array was like a hurricane sweeping past. In just a few minutes, more than a hundred cavalrymen were beaten and fled in panic, leaving a carpet of blood and flesh on the ground.
The misery of the cavalry gave Li Xianglin a chance to catch his breath. Since more than half of the machine guns were missing, he led the team into the occupied small building smoothly.
"Stop them!"
Seeing many Qing soldiers coming down the stairs, Ke Shao organized everyone to block the way and waved his hand in the distance. After dealing with the heavy machine gunners of the cavalry, they saw the gesture on the roof and immediately sprayed bullets at the building. Although the thick blue bricks and slabs blocked most of the bullets, some still got in through the gate and windows. Zhang Biao's guards suffered heavy casualties, and finally Li Xianglin had to retreat from the back.
Zhang Biao's heart sank as he saw more and more opponents rushing towards him head-on. At this time, bad news came from the other two directions. The center and the left wing were also torn apart by the enemy's fierce firepower. In particular, the patrol battalion stationed in the center collapsed at the first touch, leaving the small Liujiamiao area full of defeated soldiers fleeing in a panic.
"Sir, Jiang Shang... Jiang Shang!"
After being reminded by his personal guards, Zhang Biao saw three navy gunboats flying dragon flags slowly approaching. He immediately jumped up with joy: "Heaven will not abandon me! Heaven will not abandon me!"
"Send a signal and tell the navy to bombard this place! Everyone else, follow me to the riverside!"
After receiving the order, the soldiers, who had already lost all their morale, immediately ran towards the riverside, hoping to hide within the range of the ship's guns as soon as possible. However, no one expected that behind the cold steel plate, Wang Guangxiong, who was leisurely stroking his beard, winked at the baby-faced Bingwen.
"Lower the muzzle three inches..."
