Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 238: Colonel, Retreat!
They attacked the east gate of Qingdao City from two sides in a roundabout way.

have to say,

This was a very good tactic, not only did it quickly enter the blind spot of Ximentang's artillery.

Simultaneously,

Use steel shields to block attacks from heavy machine guns.

Although the speed of detouring along the two sides is much slower than charging from the front.

but,

What happened next made Matsusaka Jio feel very uncomfortable.

On the outskirts of Qingdao City, near the city wall, there are many "chevaux-de-frise" defensive fortifications.

Originally, this type of "barricade" was used in the era of cold weapons to block cavalry raids.

Use three sharpened wooden stakes and drive them into the ground.

Three wooden stakes are crossed, and the tips are sharpened to extremely sharp edges.

This type of fortification is cheap and easy to make, using only wooden stakes.

On the battlefields of the cold weapon era, "barricades" could not only be used to defend cities, but also to limit cavalry charges.

If a warhorse charges too fast and suddenly hits the "barricades", it will be pierced directly by the spikes.

The soldiers of the Matsusaka Legion pushed the steel shields forward.

After the barricades blocked their way, they had to clear them, and their speed became slower and slower.

in addition,

Near the city wall, due to the heavy rain, there were many deep pits of water, and it was impossible to see the specific place on the ground.

At first, there seemed to be nothing unusual in front, but if you were not careful, you might step on air and fall into a deep pit of water.

Although there are no fortifications inside the deep pit.

However, as they approached the city wall, the Kwantung Army's marching speed became slower and slower, to the point where they could hardly move forward.

What was even more painful was that two trenches were dug near the city wall.

There was water in the ditch at this time.

If you can see the ditch during normal times, you can avoid it and pass through it by setting up a ladder.

For a good soldier, a ditch less than two meters wide can be easily crossed by using anything to gain leverage.

However, the accumulated water blocked the view and the specific location of the ditch could not be seen clearly.

There was no problem after the person fell, but the steel shield in front fell into the ditch.

Bang bang—bang bang—!
The heavy machine guns on the city wall opened fire fiercely, and a team of ten people would be completely defeated on the spot.

All of a sudden.

The elite troops of the Kwantung Army were blocked from advancing and looked extremely embarrassed.

Although the Matsusaka Corps was well-trained and had very high combat skills, they entered the blind spot of the artillery and limited the power of Ximen Tang's artillery.

but,

Their nightmare had just begun after they entered the fifty-meter area around the city wall.

Steel shields kept falling into the ditch and were blown up by heavy machine guns.

Many bodies of Japanese soldiers lay on the surface of the stagnant water in the ditch.

Blood continued to spread in the accumulated water, and more and more soldiers fell around.

Although Matsusaka Jiro knew that attacking Qingdao City on a rainy day would bring some obstacles to the legion.

but,

The current situation caught him off guard.

Although the Matsusaka Corps was well-trained and had experienced brutal bloody battles.

They were trained to march and fight in storms, but the situation on the battlefield was unpredictable.

For the Matsusaka Corps, attacking Qingdao in a storm was definitely not a wise choice.

in addition,

Although many of those charging head-on were "fake troops" of the Daqian Dynasty.

The purpose of these "fake troops" attacking from the front was to attract Ximen Tang's firepower and act as artillery fire. Even if they all died, Matsusaka Jiro would not be sad.

but,

If this continues, it will become increasingly difficult to capture Qingdao City.

The loss was so great before they even got close to the city gate, which made Matsusaka Jiro furious.

The Daqian "fake army" that attacked head-on attracted the firepower of Ximen Hall in the storm.

They held up their "steel shields" and continued to move forward under the heavy machine gun fire.

Although Matsusaka Jiro didn't care about the casualties of these "puppet soldiers" at all.

but,

When he saw that the Daqian "fake army" did not flee, he was still very satisfied.

Half an hour later.

The elite troops of the Kwantung Army finally arrived at the gate of Qingdao City.

Next,
As long as we break into the city gate, we can advance straight ahead.

The Matsusaka Corps will directly occupy Qingdao Prefecture and start the jungle law of killing, burning and looting.

Matsusaka Jiro ordered the remaining Daqian "fake troops" to be ready to support and assist in the frontal charge at any time.

Boom-boom-boom--!
The artillery of the Matsusaka Corps fired fiercely at the city gate.

The city gate was quickly blown down!
"attack--!"

There was a hint of excitement in Matsusaka Jiro's eyes. He swung the samurai sword in his hand and let out a fierce roar.

at this time,

Suddenly, many things with wooden handles that looked like hammers fell from the city wall.

Boom—boom—boom—!
Grenades began to fall madly and then exploded.

in a blink,
The entire area around the city wall was cleared, leaving only corpses on the ground.

The Kwantung Army, which had just rushed to the city gate, was caught off guard and thousands of people were killed by grenades.

Immediately afterwards, Ximen Tang threw down the second and third rounds of grenades!

Throwing a grenade is a technical job and it is definitely not something you can do randomly.

In order to throw far and accurately, professional training is required.

After the grenade was thrown out, it continued to spread outward from the city wall.

The first round was thrown five meters out of the city wall, the second round was ten meters away, and the third round was fifteen meters away—!
And so on, throwing it fifty meters is one cycle.

This round of grenade bombing completely stunned the Matsusaka Corps.

Originally, Matsusaka Jiro thought that by restricting Ximen Tang's artillery and heavy machine guns, he would have absolute confidence in taking Qingdao Prefecture.

Little did they know that they would suffer heavy damage just as they approached the city wall.

Wow——!
next moment,
The entire Matsusaka Army fell into chaos, and all the Japanese were stunned.

Matsusaka Jiro and Fujita Tsuyoshi were watching this scene from a distance and were deeply shocked.

They could clearly see through the telescope that what was thrown down from the city wall was a bomb!
That is,

As long as they were within the city walls, Ximen Tang could throw bombs with his hands and blow everyone away.

hiss--!
At this moment, even Matsusaka Jiro suddenly felt a trace of fear in his heart.

What kind of bomb is this?
Even the British Empire had never heard of this bomb. How could Ximen Hall of the Daqian Dynasty possess such a terrifying weapon?

Baka—how could this happen?
The power of a grenade is much smaller than that of a mortar.

Because it needs to be thrown by hand, the weight cannot be heavy.

Therefore, the killing radius of the grenade is only about five meters. Even if the shrapnel inside contains lead bullets, the killing radius will not exceed eight meters.

But their numbers are too large, and the fire suppression they form is almost invincible at close range.

in fact,

The hand grenades used by Simon Hall were just wooden-handled hand grenades used during World War II in the last century.

With Ximentang's current manufacturing technology, it is technically impossible to produce the most advanced high-explosive grenades.

In this era, even the British Empire in the West had not yet invented the wooden-handled grenade.

Therefore,
The close-range bomb that Ximen Tang possessed completely overturned Matsusaka Jiro's cognition.

Several consecutive rounds of grenade bombings left the Matsusaka Corps without any chance of fighting back.

Since we are now in a high position, with the help of gravity, the grenade can be thrown a long distance.

After a while,

The soldiers of the Matsusaka Corps were forced to retreat after being bombed.

There is no choice but to retreat. Once you get close, you will be bombed.

All of a sudden, the Kwantung Army's formation was completely disrupted.

Matsusaka Jiro and Fujita Tsuyoshi couldn't help but gasp.

They just felt their heads buzzing.

Who would have thought that Ximen Tang actually possessed this kind of hand-thrown bomb?

Major Fujita Tsuyoshi said in a trembling voice:

"Colonel, the Qingdao defender Ximen Tang has such a terrifying hand to throw bombs. Our soldiers can't even get close to the city gate!"

"It seems very difficult to take Qingdao Prefecture today during the heavy rain!"

"Let's withdraw! We will launch the attack after the storm stops. We won't have any advantage if we continue to fight like this."

Matsusaka Jiro shook his head, a fierce glint in his eyes.

He said harshly:

"No, we can't retreat, keep attacking!"

Next,
He shouted to the messenger behind him: "Let all the Daqian Dynasty soldiers reinforce the troops attacking from the front! Draw the firepower of the Ximen Hall defenders!"

"Also, have the artillery fire at the fortifications ahead and blow up all those 'barricades'!"

"All machine gunners, block the retreat of the Daqian Dynasty soldiers!"

"If anyone dares to retreat, just shoot them!"

Matsusaka Jio knew very well that the Matsusaka Army suffered a great loss in this attack.

If they didn't take Qingdao in one fell swoop, once they retreated, the fighting spirit of the soldiers of the Matsusaka Corps would plummet. To put it simply, if they retreated at this time, it would be more difficult to take Qingdao next time they launched an attack.

and so.

No matter how difficult it is, we must charge forward again.

As long as they blow up those "barricades", rush into the city gate and engage in hand-to-hand combat, the Matsusaka Army will be absolutely sure to capture Qingdao Prefecture.

in addition,

If we retreat now, it would mean that all the deaths before would be in vain!

Following Matsusaka Jiro's order.

The remaining "fake troops" of the Daqian Dynasty could only bite the bullet and charge towards the east gate.

They were pushing carts with steel shields in their hands, fearing they would be hit by heavy machine guns.

I can tell,

Matsusaka Jizo was using these "fake troops" of the Daqian Dynasty to consume the firepower of Ximen Hall.

Behind the Daqian Dynasty's "fake army", the Matsusaka Corps' heavy machine guns and muskets were pointed at everyone's backs.

Anyone who dares to turn around and run away.

Then,

These Kwantung troops will open fire without hesitation and execute those retreating "puppet troops" on the spot!

Because the "fake army" of the Daqian Dynasty hid behind the fine steel shields.

The Ximen Hall defenders on the city wall were considered to be the elite of the Matsusaka Legion.

Therefore,
The mortars were aimed at the main gate and once again provided fire coverage.

have to say,

Facing artillery attacks, whether it was the Kwantung Army or the "puppet army", their lethality was greatly reduced after they were prepared.

They held their shields together to protect against mortar shrapnel and lead bullets.

Just hide behind the shield and steady the shield cart to weaken the shock wave.

The key is,
When the shield formation dispersed, most of the shells fell into open areas.

They did not rush forward, but moved forward slowly.

As a result, Ximen Hall's artillery consumed a lot of energy, but the effect of the attack was very limited.

At this time,

The elite Kwantung Army, which had just endured the grenade attack, finally arrived at the city gate again after the Japanese artillery flattened the "barricade" fortifications.

They blasted open the city gates with artillery fire and placed ladders across the ditch.

wow-

The vanguard of the Kwantung Army crossed the last line of defense and rushed into the city gate.

The heavy rain had a great impact on Ximen Hall’s firepower.

Not only was the accuracy of the mortar much worse, but the line of sight was obstructed, making it difficult for other muskets to be used.

Fortunately, there were sufficient grenades prepared, and they were extremely lethal from a high position.

The brothers guarding Ximen Hall were not panicked when they saw the Japanese rushing into the city gate.

Everyone grabbed grenades and started bombing again, round after round.

Boom—boom—!
In an instant, the Kwantung Army that had just rushed into the city gate was blown to pieces, with people and horses falling to the ground and screaming in agony.

They raised their thickened shields directly to block the grenades falling from the city wall.

but.

The grenade fell from above and exploded on the shield, creating a terrifying impact force.

In less than two minutes, all the soldiers of the Matsusaka Legion who had finally rushed into the east gate were wiped out!

The heavy rain had a great impact on Ximen Hall, and an even greater impact on the Kwantung Army.

First of all, the marching speed was too slow, and under the fire suppression of Ximen Tang, the ground was full of potholes.

The charge speed of the Matsusaka Corps was half as slow as normal.

To know,
In this kind of firepower confrontation, the slower the speed, the more likely you are to be bombed, and the casualties will be very heavy.

The elite soldiers of the Kwantung Army all wore special leather boots.

After being soaked in rain water, it not only becomes slippery, but also becomes several times heavier.

What's more, there are many puddles underground, and if you step on one accidentally, you will fall.

Therefore,
The attack on Qingdao City was launched in the heavy rain. Even with the 20,000 elite troops of the Kwantung Army and the "fake troops" of the Daqian Dynasty, they were unable to break in.

Even if some of the elite troops of the Matsusaka Legion rushed into the city gate.

But they were soon wiped out by the heavy bombardment of grenades, and no one was able to escape.

The dozens of meters away from the city gate were a nightmare for the elite troops of the Kwantung Army.

Major Fujita Tsuyoshi watched the soldiers continue to die, and he said to Matsusaka Jiro:
"Colonel, retreat!"

"If we don't retreat now, our losses will be even greater. The rain is about to stop!"

"Now that we have regained our sight, once Ximen Hall's artillery fires at full capacity, our retreat will be completely blocked!"

The fierce battle at the city gate has reached a climax.

Although the Matsusaka Corps was very powerful and launched wave after wave of attacks towards the east gate of Qingdao.

but,

They were never able to break into Qingdao city.

At the city gate, more and more corpses of the Kwantung Army's elite soldiers were piled up.

The heavy rain gradually stopped and the vision in the distance began to recover.

Although Matsusaka Jio is stubborn and self-willed, he is by no means stupid.

He also knew in his heart that if he continued to fight like this, once the rainstorm stopped completely and visibility was restored.

It will be very dangerous for the entire Matsusaka Army.

Therefore,
He decisively withdrew his troops: "Stop attacking, retreat——!"

Toot—toot—!
As the retreat horn sounded.

Wow——!
The elite soldiers of the Matsusaka Legion, who had just been charging forward recklessly, immediately retreated like a tide.

In less than three minutes, they retreated five hundred meters!
Just as Ximentang's mortar adjusted the angle and distance, the elite of the Matsusaka Legion turned continuously and retreated from the small hill outside the city gate, disappearing completely.

Their retreat route was clear, and they were very disciplined and orderly.

So the retreat was very quick, leaving only corpses outside the city wall.

There were corpses of the elite soldiers of the Matsusaka Corps, as well as corpses of the "fake army" of the Daqian Dynasty.

As the heavy rain stopped, a strong smell of blood filled the air.

In this head-on confrontation in the storm, the Matsusaka Corps suffered heavy losses.

Of the 20,000 elite troops of the Kwantung Army, more than 4,000 were lost.

Also lost were three thousand 'fake soldiers' of the Daqian Dynasty!
Seven thousand people died!
in addition,

Nearly two thousand people were injured.

What Matsusaka Jiro could not accept was that the losses in this siege were so heavy, but no results were achieved.

"idiot--!"

After counting the losses, Colonel Jio Matsusaka was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

next moment,
Matsusaka Jio ordered all elite troops to retreat to the high ground at Qingdao Port for rest.

In this head-on confrontation between Ximen Tang and the Kwantung Army, the Kwantung Army was completely defeated!
Because Ximentang is guarding the city.

Although they are not at an advantage in numbers, their firepower is too strong, and they have the advantage of time, place, and people!

The Kwantung Army had no good way to break through Ximen Hall's defenses.

They are simply seeking death by rushing forward blindly.

At the end of this battle, Ximen Tang suffered very little loss.

In addition to the initial artillery bombardment, which caused dozens of casualties to the defenders of Ximen Hall.

Once they entered the grenade's attack range, the Matsusaka Corps could only be bombed outside the city.

With their shields raised, they could barely see anyone and were unable to fight back.

After seeing the Matsusaka Army being repelled.

Wow——!
On the city wall of Qingdao East Gate, everyone in Ximen Hall cheered excitedly.

Chen Jie quickly ordered Zhang Changfeng to send out scouts to closely monitor the movements of the Matsusaka Legion.

Simultaneously,

He asked everyone to take turns returning to the camp and changing their clothes to prevent themselves from catching a cold and getting sick after getting wet in the rain.

in addition,

Boiling hot soup and white flour buns had already been prepared in the city so that everyone could have enough food and drink.

The Kwantung Army's Fifth Fleet did not actually retreat, but simply stationed in a camp at Qingdao Wharf.

If nothing unexpected happens, they will launch another attack.

at this time,

Chen Jie has sent a pigeon message, asking Qingzhou and other places to send troops to reinforce Qingdao City.

As for the troops of the 'War Department' and the 'Bear Department', Chen Jie did not let them go out.

The Matsusaka Corps took a detour and landed in Qingdao, and it was necessary to prevent the Kwantung Army from making a feint to the east and attacking in the west.

If the forces of the "War Department" and the "Bear Department" were mobilized to Qingdao, the Oriental Fleet would suddenly launch a general attack in the direction of Weihaiwei.

Then,

The entire Shandong coastal defense line will be in great danger.

Therefore, they had to transfer troops from Qingzhou and let other branches of the "Eagle Division" support Qingdao.

According to the pigeon message sent by the "Qianbu", the Oriental Third Fleet stationed in the northeast has left Lushun.

Their purpose is currently unclear.

If the Third Fleet and the Matsusaka Corps joined forces and launched another fierce attack on Qingdao.

Ximen Hall only has 5,000 soldiers stationed there, and it is very difficult to block the east gate, the south gate, and the west gate at the same time.

(End of this chapter)