Volume 2: Famous Chapter 20 Night Raid

When Yang Qiu received Zhang Wenjing's telegram, he had already arrived at Weidian Town, which is close to the Huanshui River and has the Jinghan Railway running through it. Since ancient times, it has been the passage from Wusheng Pass to Xiaogan in the south. In terms of terrain, it is also the only commanding height nearby. Therefore, in addition to the two regiments of He Xifan's Second Brigade, the Second Regiment of the First Brigade was also deployed here. The position was spread out on both wings with the railway line as the central axis. In addition to the three infantry regiments, there was also an artillery battalion equipped with 12 five-gun and seven-mountain cannons, four heavy machine gun squads and a cavalry company to assist.
The cold wind blew across the battlefield, making people shiver. Because they were worried about the enemy's spies and artillery, the battlefield was dark and no light source could be seen. The soldiers huddled together and leaned on each other, but few spoke. Yang Qiu's arrival immediately caused a small commotion. No one expected that he would come to the front line to inspect in person. Many officers and soldiers saw the commander-in-chief for the first time. They only knew that he had fought a few beautiful battles before, but his overly young appearance made many people secretly worried. Many people simply showed their disbelief, which made the wrinkles on his forehead deeper.
The Xiaogan Incident, the burning of food and fodder, the change of commanders on the battlefield, the integration of the two armies, the reform and reorganization... the huge political fluctuations in the past few days have inevitably affected the soldiers on the front line. The unrest in the rear has made everyone confused and worried. Although food, fodder and ammunition were replenished in time and each soldier received 30 rounds of bullets, the rapid arrival of Beiyang increased the uneasiness and tension.
After inspecting the position under the cover of night, Yang Qiu returned to the command post, which was a cave house set up behind a mountain nest less than 30 meters high. The only artillery company was also deployed here, and only a kerosene lamp was still flickering. The map was spread out on the table. It seemed that the shelling during the day had affected this place, so traces of dust could be seen on the ground and the table.
He Xifan rushed here after receiving the news during the day. He was discussing the battle plan for tomorrow with several regiment leaders and was a little surprised to see Yang Qiu. The latter saluted and walked to the map without delay and asked: "Shaoyue, the battle started here first, tell us about the process during the day."
Upon hearing the question, He Xifan immediately pointed to the map and said, "The first shot was fired in the northwest of Weidian Town after breakfast. The first to encounter the enemy were the cavalry company. At that time, they were patrolling north along the Huanshui River and encountered a Beiyang cavalry. Later, I sent people to collect the bodies and saw the mark. It should be the mark of the Fourth Town."
"The Beiyang cavalry were all equipped with Xialiman muskets. After the patrol was defeated, they immediately retreated to our Weidian Town. The 3rd Regiment was the first to engage the enemy. The artillery company and machine gun squad quickly assisted them. They were unable to break through the machine gun fire and retreated to the north. At noon, they returned with a foot mark and six seven-guns and five-guns. The main battle began . The Beiyang artillery was very powerful and hit our bunkers and positions one after another. The infantry immediately launched a charge after the artillery opened fire. It took about an hour before retreating. Our army had a total of 177 casualties, including the loss of one five-gun and seven-gun, most of whom were killed by artillery shells. The Beiyang suffered 114 casualties, and no loss of ordnance was found."
"Hasn't the enemy machine gun team arrived yet?"
"There were two machine gun teams, but they withdrew after fighting for a while."
The introduction was simple, but it also revealed some information, such as the Beiyang vanguard was very fast, and artillery was still the most troublesome problem. Secondly, the destruction of the Beijing-Hankou Line at Wusheng Pass did cause great trouble for Feng Guozhang to mobilize troops, otherwise there would not be only one artillery company arriving. But war is like this, it is a game of containment and counter-containment intertwined with blood and life, so when the artillery advantage could not be brought into play for the time being, a tug-of-war with less than a few hundred casualties in two hours occurred.
"Where is the enemy now?"
“This location.”
Chu Nan, the commander of the Third Regiment of the Second Brigade, was also a graduate of Hubei Wugao School. He was often exposed to revolutionary ideas in school. He was previously the deputy company commander of the Eighth Regiment. After the uprising, he served as a battalion commander. After the reform, all battalion commanders became regiment commanders. In addition, his position became the main attack point today, so he knew the deployment of Beiyang the best. He immediately said, "In Chenjiaao, ten miles northwest of us, the spies I sent came back and said that no excavation work was found. There were only a few sentries outside the village, two machine gun teams were deployed at the entrance of the ancestral hall, and the artillery company was also in the open space next to it. This should be the headquarters."
Glancing at the short and thin officer who was about 25 or 26 years old, Yang Qiu continued to ask, "Any news about the Beiyang troops behind?"
"The First Town... Division sent someone to deliver a letter this afternoon." Like everyone else, He Xifan often made mistakes when it came to the names of the reformed units. "They said that a mixed brigade and two artillery battalions had already arrived in Guangshui and were heading south, about a hundred miles from us."
A hundred miles... that is about fifty kilometers. It would take the cavalry one and a half hours to reach the destination at full speed. Yang Qiu estimated the time silently in his heart. If he didn't fight tonight, the mixed-brigade vanguard would definitely arrive tomorrow morning at the latest. The two artillery battalions should also arrive at night. This means that Beiyang could launch a brigade-level attack at the earliest the day after tomorrow morning! It would be difficult to fight the Second Division in its current state.
But night raids are notoriously difficult and require a lot of troops. Moreover, the Beiyang Army stationed in Chenjiaao has a full regiment, a cavalry battalion and an artillery company, with a total of about 2,500 people. To win, at least two regiments must be dispatched. Two regiments can be responsible for night raids, unless you go to Beiyang to select talents. However, if it is to harass and force the opponent to retreat, it may not be impossible!
Yang Qiu looked at the map again and again, and asked Chu Nan about the terrain of Chenjiaao and the location of the Beiyang sentry post. He made up his mind: "Lei Meng, assemble the guard company! Captain Chu, I give you one hour to select two companies of veterans to cooperate with me in the night attack on Chenjiaao !"
"Commander, are you going to launch a night attack on Chenjiaao?!" Chu Nan jumped up immediately. Even He Xifan was shocked. From the previous orders and reforms, he knew that Yang Qiu was decisive, but he didn't expect that he would go to the extent of personally launching a night attack on an entire Beiyang target as soon as he arrived!
Yang Qiu didn't even give everyone a chance to persuade him: "Captain Chu! You should know what kind of soldiers are needed for a night attack, go and prepare!"
Chu Nan glanced at He Xifan , gritted his teeth and rushed out. For some reason, he liked this kind of military style of doing things as soon as they said they would. When the soldiers outside heard that the commander was going to lead the night attack on Chenjiaao, almost all of them rushed over, scrambling to join in, and the atmosphere suddenly became much more lively.
Night attacks are the most difficult of all operations. Soldiers must strictly follow orders. Since there are no communication equipment, they must attack along routes agreed upon in advance. This requires extremely high coordination skills. Fortunately, this was still 1911, otherwise he would not dare to lead a troop that had not received such training even if he had ten times the courage.
Most importantly, he has a guard company that he built himself!
Before the retreat from Wushengguan, the guard company was adjusted. According to the organization, it had reached the standard of two companies. In addition to being full of veterans who had fought against the Beiyang government, Chen Meng, a top student from the Nanjing Army Academy who came with Chen Guofu, was also transferred to the guard company as the commander of the second company because of his outstanding performance at Wushengguan and his calm command to repel the enemy when the platoon leader was sacrificed.
After the guard company quickly got ready, everyone finally understood why they dared to launch a night attack. The two companies were all equipped with German-made Mauser 98 and Han-Yuan pistols, 12 machine guns (6 of which were Han-1 type), each with 16 magazines, 200 rounds of pointed bullets per soldier, and four grenades filled with yellow explosives for the first time. This kind of equipment was not only unheard of, but also unheard of!
In addition to his own equipment, Lei Meng also quickly distributed the extra grenades he brought to the selected veterans of the two companies, and asked the guard company to teach them one-on-one how to use them. In order to enhance their firepower, Yang Qiu also allocated machine guns for cooperation. After everyone learned how to use them, Yang Qiu immediately gave the order to set off.
At 2:30 in the morning, after making a big circle, Yang Qiu led the team to the west of Chenjiaao.
Chenjiaao actually has no valley, the only barrier is a half-man-high earthen wall, about two kilometers long. It is said that this is a corner city built by King Xiang of Chu after he fled here at the end of the Warring States Period to protect the Yunmeng Chuwang City behind. As time flies, only the ruins of the former Chuwang City remain, and this corner city has also disappeared, leaving only an earthen wall.
It was Chu Nan's first real night raid. Looking at the faintly visible "black line" in the darkness, his breathing gradually became rapid. Yang Qiu was afraid of him, so he handed him a white towel and quickly tied it around his arm, then smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. People are the most sleepy at this time."
Yang Qiu likes to explain tactics on the battlefield, because this allows the listeners to have a deeper understanding of the use of tactics. In this regard, the guard company is much luckier, and even many soldiers have listened to his tactics lessons. Given that the troops have never received night combat training and come from two systems, his tactics this time are very simple. With Chenjiaao as the center, attack from three sides at the same time, without any complicated tactics, the company is a straight line assault, and the center of the assault is the village ancestral hall.
"Be careful with the heavy machine guns and don't act recklessly! Use the light machine guns to contain the enemy from the front, and the third team will go around from the back and use grenades to attack. After taking down the ancestral hall, immediately use the machine guns as a guide to spread out and clear out the surrounding areas." Yang Qiu gathered the officers and machine gunners together and said, "Tell every soldier that it doesn't matter if they get scattered and can't find their original unit, just follow the sound of the machine guns. Don't panic if you encounter organized enemy resistance, suppress it with machine guns first and then use grenades to deal with it immediately. Remember! Don't rush into residential areas, woods, or places with complex terrain unless it is necessary or you are not sure. It is better to trap them until dawn than to risk attacking. Do you understand?!"
It was already three o'clock after the deployment. During the most sleepy moment of the menstrual cycle, Yang Qiu issued the order to attack. All four companies were ordered to shut their mouths, crawl and push their guns little by little towards the center of Chenjiaao. After reaching the earth wall, Chu Nan personally led the selected death commandos holding swords and moved towards the sentry post.
They were called sentry posts, but in fact they were just some outposts in the windward area. As expected, the Beiyang sentries who had been on guard for most of the night finally couldn't bear it anymore when it was almost dawn. They huddled together and dozed off. Although the faint sound of footsteps woke up a few of them, it was too late.
In fact, Yang Qiu wanted to use a dagger or a bayonet, but it seemed that Chu Nan and others were not interested in knives, so he let them use machetes.
"Enemy attack..."
As blood splashed out from the necks of dozens of Beiyang sentinels, a shrill cry was heard. Yang Qiu did not hesitate and suddenly said, "Run! Run! Charge!"
The soldiers who had been waiting impatiently immediately jumped over the earth wall and ran towards the center of the village. The machine gunner led the team to quickly disperse and find a position. A moment later, several intertwined lines of fire appeared in the night. At this moment, everyone had only one thought, which was to rush to the door of the ancestral hall as soon as possible, otherwise they would all be doomed once the machine guns and cannons opened fire.
"Quick...block it!"
"Reload, the distance... is too close!"
The Beiyang machine gunners and artillerymen, awakened by the gunshots, immediately came out of the ancestral hall, along with several Beiyang officers. Their good training allowed them to rush into the position at the first opportunity, but when they pulled open the breech block and inserted the ammunition belt, they discovered that several dense tongues of fire had suddenly emerged from the darkness.
“Hoho…hoho…”
Hao Wenbao hid under the roots of a tree and quickly pulled the trigger. The unique two- and three-burst sound of the Han-1 machine gun was deeper than that of the Madsen. It was very smooth to shoot with the German-made pointed bullets, and the unique built-in buffer spring reduced the recoil to a minimum, making him love it.
The first target must be the two heavy machine guns and artillery positions guarding the door. The Beiyang heavy machine guns all used old-fashioned tripods, which were neither easy to move nor equipped with shields. So when Hao Wenbao and his men seized the initiative, they actually suppressed the heavy machine guns and artillery at once. The powerful kinetic energy of the machine gun bullets clanged on the steel, twisted and scattered, forming a more terrifying and irregular metal scattering flow. Krupp's Seventh Field Artillery also lacked a shield, so after being bounced off, it immediately pierced into the bodies of the Beiyang artillerymen who were caught off guard.
The Beiyang machine gun team and artillery, which had suffered heavy casualties, had not yet recovered from their shock when intensive shooting and explosions were heard behind the ancestral hall. A few brave commandos climbed onto the roof of the ancestral hall and threw grenades from above into the heavy machine gun position. In the shining fireball, the commandos who were not threatened by the machine guns jumped up and rushed forward with their heads down. A moment later, the artillery position next to the ancestral hall was already screaming in pain.
While the artillerymen were being massacred, the Beiyang infantry who rushed out of the houses also suffered heavy losses. When they rushed out of their homes in dishevel, they were immediately subjected to the most terrifying attack. Even without machine guns, they would definitely be met with dense volleys of gunfire. And this was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was those grenades flying in the air, often several or even dozens of them coming at the same time.
The whole village was filled with shouts, screams, and wails. Because of the chaos, soldiers on both sides often fired at each other with their guns pointed at each other! In the end, the Beiyang 13th Regiment, which was caught off guard, had to give up the shooting and prepared to use hand-to-hand combat to rely on the advantage of numbers to make up for the disadvantage. At this time, the light machine gun finally showed its advantage. Although it could not be compared with the Maxim, the flexibility of the light machine gun was fully reflected in the night attack. Whenever Beiyang soldiers were organized by officers to prepare, they would always attract a dense rain of bullets. The simple tactical orders before the war also played a good effect. The soldiers almost followed the machine guns, so as long as the machine guns fired at a certain place, they would definitely shoot a row of dense rain of bullets in the direction.
After experiencing Wushengguan, Yang Qiu has fully understood that the Beiyang, which was built on the German model, began to gradually change after the Russo-Japanese War, especially with the return of a large number of non-commissioned officers who studied in Japan, Japanese military elements began to be deeply integrated into this army. Therefore, their impression of the Japanese army is almost the same as that of a typical combination of infantry and artillery. When there is an artillery advantage, this is a terrible army, otherwise they are not much stronger than the Hubei New Army.
The 13th Regiment, now in chaos, had no artillery support and lacked heavy machine guns, so its fate was to be cut apart.
Yang Qiu rushed to the front carrying a Han-1 machine gun. The chaotic battlefield and the shouts of killing made him feel as if his heart was on fire. His desire to fight was completely released. At this moment, he completely forgot about the dark clouds that were gathering again in the rear and the pressure from the Beiyang government. He immersed himself in the fighting and killing.
No one was more accustomed to using automatic weapons than him. The Han-1 machine gun in his hand seemed to come alive, and bullets kept disrupting the Beiyang soldiers. Then the infantry behind him launched a grenade attack! Balls of flames tore through the darkness, and the explosions caused the broken selection to spin and cut the body into pieces. The splattered flesh and blood covered the small village. After the few remaining cavalrymen finally fought their way out, the 13th Battalion began to flee north with them. The hasty retreat made the battlefield even more chaotic.
The blood began to spread outside the village as they fled, and the east finally began to turn slightly white.
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