Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 240 Want to run? Chase me
Beep—beep—!
The Matsusaka Corps launched a full-scale charge.

The horn sounds!

The Kwantung Army from three directions gathered together and advanced towards the city gate.

put all one's eggs in one basket!
Matsusaka Jio ordered his troops to attack with all their might.

Although Ximen Tang's firepower was very strong, the casualties of the Kwantung Army became increasingly greater.

but,

The discipline of the Matsusaka Corps was very strict and no one dared to retreat.

Simultaneously,

As the fighting intensified, the Japanese people's fearless and indomitable spirit emerged.

They launched a fierce attack on the south gate of Qingdao City as if they were risking their lives.

Led by the Japanese, the remaining Daqian "fake army" had to go all out and cooperate with the main force of the Matsusaka Corps to launch a strong attack.

The armored soldiers who had been guarding the Japanese field artillery showed terrifying fighting power at this moment.

They seemed to have taken drugs, becoming extremely strong and crazy, and continuously firing from the shield formation.

Facing the fierce artillery and musket fire from Ximen Tang, they launched the most frenzied counterattack.

Even if some people were killed on the spot by heavy machine guns, they remained fearless and continued to charge forward.

At this time,

The bodies in the south gate area piled higher and higher as they got closer to the city gate.

Every time a bomb fell, it blew corpses and flesh into pieces.

A strong smell of blood filled the air.

The siege lasted for about half an hour.

The elite troops of the Kwantung Army suffered heavy losses, but were unable to break into the city gate.

Matsusaka Jiro and Fujita Tsuyoshi were far away, and they saw the cruel scene through the telescope, feeling heartbroken.

Many of the soldiers killed in the explosion were elite members of the Matsusaka Corps.

Many of them are even veterans who have experienced many wars with Matsusaka Jiro.

but now,

They fell down outside the city of Qingdao, without a complete body.

As Matsusaka Jiro ordered another fierce attack, Ximen Hall's weakness was quickly exposed.

Although there are 5,000 people from Ximen Hall's "Eagle Division" stationed in Qingdao City.

but,

Among these people, there are only 1,500 real elites.

The other 3,500 men were all new recruits who were recruited to expand the army after Ximen Tang was stationed in Shandong.

These newly recruited soldiers have only recently received systematic training.

Although they have a tenacious struggle, are fearless and dare to risk their lives.

but,

Their coordination and combat experience are far behind those of the elites of Ximen Hall.

At the beginning, there was just a burst of bombardment, and not much coordination was needed, so the difference was not noticeable.

As the Kwantung Army launched a fierce attack, the shortcomings of the new recruits were immediately exposed.

Especially when the elite troops of the Kwantung Army arrived at the city gate and were very close to it, the new recruits were suddenly at a loss.

As a result,
Many recruits fell under the guns of the Kwantung Army's counterattack.

Fortunately, the heavy machine guns and grenades on the city walls had been suppressing the Kwantung Army with firepower.

otherwise,

The casualties would be heavy.

As time went on, the defense line of the South Gate came under increasing pressure.

The city gate was almost breached by the Kwantung Army several times in a row.

Chen Jie stood on the distant city wall, observing the battle situation through a telescope, his face becoming solemn.

Zhang Changfeng also held his breath at this moment, feeling nervous inside.

He whispered to Chen Jie:

"Sir! The Japanese offensive is becoming more and more fierce. It won't be long before they break through the city gate!"

"Should we start bombarding our 'Krupp Infantry Gun'?"

The Simon Hall mortars were located in the fortifications on the city wall, commanding a high position, and there was a large blind spot after firing.

but,

The "Krupp Infantry Gun" seized from the Bian Du Concession last time was transformed by the Ximentang Arsenal.

The range of this artillery was reduced, but it adopted flat shooting, making the blind spot area very small.

The Krupp infantry gun was used just to make up for the shortcomings of the mortar.

Chen Jie nodded and said:
"It's almost done! Go and make arrangements to destroy all the elite Japanese troops that first entered the city gate!"

Those people rushing in the front are all the armored battalion of the Matsusaka Legion.

The elite among the elite!

Chen Jie had been holding back from firing the 'Krupp Infantry Gun' in order to get them together.

boom--!
at last,

The fierce attack of the Matsusaka Army was effective.

The defense line of Qingdao City's south gate was breached by the Kwantung Army's armored battalion.

Bang bang—bang bang—!
As the muskets fired fiercely, the Japanese Maxim heavy machine guns also opened fire.

Although the Japanese industry developed rapidly, most of it was imitated from the West.

With the current military capabilities of the Japanese, they have not yet been able to imitate heavy machine guns.

Therefore,
The Kwantung Army's heavy machine guns are still purchased from the British Empire.

at this time,

As the Matsusaka Corps' heavy machine guns opened fire, they quickly suppressed Ximentang's grenade attack.

Immediately afterwards, several other assault teams of the Matsusaka Legion rushed towards the city gate.

Despite Ximen Tang's frantic counterattack.

However, there is a huge disparity in military strength, and Ximen Hall has more new recruits.

Even though Ximen Hall's elite troops put up a tenacious resistance, they were eventually forced into the city gate by the Matsusaka Legion.

There is no way, the situations at the South Gate and the East Gate are completely different.

When the Matsusaka Corps attacked the east gate yesterday, it happened to be raining heavily and the enemy's marching speed was very slow.

So the recruits didn't feel much pressure.

Today, the Matsusaka Corps launched a general attack directly on the Zhengnan Gate. The marching speed was very fast and the combat effectiveness was more than doubled.

but,

Although the Kwantung Army rushed into the city gate, the firepower of Ximen Hall did not decrease.

There was fierce exchange of fire between the two sides and the number of corpses continued to increase.

Not only did the Matsusaka coalition suffer heavy casualties, but even Ximen Hall began to suffer large numbers of casualties at this moment.

Close-range fighting was never Ximen Tang’s strong point.

Matsusaka Jiro and Fujita Tsuyoshi, who were watching the game from a distance, were overjoyed when they saw this scene.

The opportunity is coming!

As long as the large army rushes into the city gate, there will be a chance to completely capture Qingdao Prefecture.

Matsusaka Jiro was an outstanding general who graduated from the Oriental Army Academy and had experienced the baptism of battle on the battlefield.

He naturally knew the principle of pursuing a victory.

Therefore,
At this moment, he did not hesitate at all and directly ordered all the elite troops of the Matsusaka Legion to speed up and rush forward. They must take down the defensive fortifications at the city gate, march straight in, and capture Qingdao in one fell swoop!
this moment,
Matsusaka Jiro had a feeling that he had a sure win.

but,

He seemed to be happy too early.

Just as he gave the order for everyone to speed up the charge.

At this moment, an astonishing scene took place in the battle at the south gate.

At this time,

The armored battalion of the Kwantung Army occupied the city gate. Nearly two thousand armored soldiers fearlessly fired fiercely at the surroundings, trying to suppress the defenders of Ximen Hall with firepower.

have to say,

If it were other defenders, it would be difficult for them to counterattack under the crazy attack of the armored soldiers.

Shields were erected around these armored soldiers, forming a large shield formation.

They occupied the city gate, and as long as the army followed closely, the entire south gate of Qingdao would fall.

but,

Just when the armored soldiers put up their shields.

The grenades, heavy machine guns, muskets, etc. on the city walls suddenly stopped firing.

Outside the passage fifty meters away from the city gate, rows of artillery carts suddenly appeared.
The passage through the entire city gate is unobstructed.

Krupp infantry gun!

A whole row of "Krupp infantry guns", twenty in total!
The 'Krupp Infantry Gun' has armor in front, and when lined up in a row, it looks like a line of defense.

Twenty black hole cannon barrels were aimed at the armored soldiers of the Kwantung Army who occupied the south gate passage.

The armored soldiers of the Kwantung Army had not yet reacted.

Boom—boom—boom—!
The Krupp infantry guns fired fiercely, and the entire passage of the city gate seemed to collapse.

Because the distance between the two sides was too close at this time, only about fifty meters.

The mortar cannot be used, but the Krupp infantry is cart-type and can be fired directly in parallel.

Close distance, strong power!
The Kwantung Army's armored soldiers had no time to react.

The front row's stainless steel shields were instantly destroyed by the Krupp infantry gun.

The elite Kwantung Army behind the shield formation were covered in blood and screaming.

hiss--!
The other armored soldiers of the Matsusaka Legion around couldn't help but gasp when they saw this scene.

"Baga--Krupp infantry gun!"

Several armored lieutenants couldn't help but roar in anger.

They didn't expect that Krupp's infantry gun could be used in this way.

Bang bang—bang bang—!
The armored soldiers quickly fought back with their muskets, while the heavy machine guns also fired fiercely at the Krupp infantry guns.

They wanted to take advantage of the moment when the guns were changed to kill all the artillerymen with heavy machine guns.

However, just as their muskets fought back, the Krupp infantry guns opened fire again.

Almost at this moment, twenty Krupp infantry guns roared like twenty ferocious beasts.

Another large group of elite Kwantung Army soldiers were screaming in agony after being bombed by artillery fire.

this moment,
All the elite armored soldiers finally realized that these Krupp infantry guns seemed to be a little different from the artillery of the British Empire.

The reloading speed is too fast!
How could he fire again in the blink of an eye, within less than five seconds?
in fact,

The Simon Hall Arsenal converted all the Krupp infantry guns captured from Western armies into rapid-fire devices.

Although it's not as good as a fully automatic artillery shell, it can fire twelve rounds a minute easily.

And it is completely different from the imitations made by the Orientals.

Although the Japanese also modified the artillery loading device, the gun barrel was not strong enough, and the barrel had to be cooled after continuous firing.

Ximentang processes all captured gun barrels and cannon barrels with the most advanced cold forging technology.

The strength of the gun barrel has been greatly improved.

This is also the important reason why Ximen Tang’s muskets, artillery, etc. are more powerful than those of the Western Allied Forces.

Of course, the most important thing is actually the shells and bullets!

Since Ximentang took over Shandong, each major city has been allocated modified Krupp infantry guns.

This cannon is not used for attacking, but for guarding the city gate.

For Simon Tang, besides grenades, the Krupp infantry gun was the last line of defense.

The power of the close-range bombardment is explosive.

The killing radius of the artillery shell reaches 20 meters.

And the shells are loaded with lead bullets, making their power even more terrifying.

Boom-boom-boom--!
The continuous bombardment completely stunned the elite armored soldiers of the Kwantung Army.

They had no time to dodge.

The twenty artillery pieces swept across such an area that even if you wanted to hide, you couldn't!
In less than a minute, eight rounds of bombardment were launched continuously.

More than 2,000 elite armored soldiers of the Kwantung Army, who had finally occupied the Zhengnan Gate, were all lying dead in the passage, and many of them were torn to pieces by artillery fire.

After the Krupp infantry gun broke the Kwantung Army's shield formation.

Next,
The heavy machine guns on the city wall began to fire fiercely.

Without the protection of the shield formation, the heavy machine guns opened fire and it was a massacre.

Bang bang—bang bang—!
In less than five minutes, the entire south gate passage was completely cleared.

And all the elite Kwantung Army troops who rushed up were repelled again.

One man is a barrier and ten thousand men are not allowed to open it!

Fifty meters away from the entrance of the south gate, twenty Krupp infantry guns were set up. Any elite soldiers of the Kwantung Army who came within the range would be killed on the spot.

The Kwantung Army launched a charge with the armored battalion's shield formation, and after great difficulty they captured the city gate and were on the verge of success.

Unexpectedly, within a few minutes, the situation was completely reversed.

The south gate was once again guarded by Ximen Tang, who regained control.

Until this moment,
Everyone in Ximen Hall breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone has to admire the young master's precise control of the battle situation.

Until now, no one has paid much attention to the "Krupp Infantry Gun".

Because Simon Hall’s mortar is more powerful and more lethal than Krupp’s infantry gun.

With the introduction of 120mm caliber mortars, Ximentang’s firepower configuration is now very comprehensive.

For the Simond Artillery Battalion, the Krupp infantry gun seemed a bit useless.

but,

It was only then that everyone realized that the purpose of Krupp's infantry gun was not to attack, but to guard the city gate.

Although the power of Krupp's infantry gun is relatively weak.

But as long as it is used at the right time, it can exert unimaginable power.

At this time, the main force of the Matsusaka Legion had all arrived, and they were attacking the city gate frantically.

A tough battle finally begins at this moment.

Simultaneously,

This is also the result that Chen Jie wants.

Because the elite troops of the Kwantung Army are gathered at the city gate at this moment.

I saw the soldiers of Simon Hall on the city wall, all holding grenades in their hands.

"Throw--!"

At Zhang Changfeng's command, the first round of grenades began to be thrown downwards!

One thousand five hundred grenades fell from the sky!

After throwing it out, the grenade had not yet hit the ground, so they bent down and took out another grenade from the wooden box on the ground.

Boom-boom-boom--!
The huge explosion was terrifying.

The massive grenade attack shook the earth and even the entire city wall.

Looking from a distance, the entire 50-meter range of the city wall was covered by grenades.

The key is,
The explosions continued, and Simon Hall had plenty of grenades.

In just two minutes, each person threw at least twenty grenades, and the movements were very fast.

If mortars are used to provide fire coverage, it would be shocking.

at this time,

Covering fire with grenades can really bring people an indescribable psychological shock.

Within a fifty-meter radius around the entire south gate city wall, the only sounds were the screams of the Kwantung Army!
If the main force of the Kwantung Army had not launched a charge and the personnel had not gathered together, the grenade would not have been so lethal.

Originally, when Matsusaka Jiro saw that the Armored Battalion had occupied the Zhengnan Gate, he ordered 14,000 main forces to charge, hoping to capture Qingdao City in one fell swoop.

And in just a few minutes, Ximen Tang threw 30,000 grenades on the city wall.

Almost all the grenades in Qingdao Arsenal were cleared out in one go!

Chen Jie had been waiting for this opportunity. He ordered the main force of the Kwantung Army to approach the city wall of Ximentang, and everyone concentrated on attacking the city.

Only by concentrated bombing with grenades in this way can the greatest damage be caused.

this moment,
The main force of the Kwantung Army was completely destroyed!
There's no way, the situation changed too quickly.

The Kwantung Army's armored battalion had already occupied Qingdao's south gate.

Who could have thought that in less than three minutes, the armored battalion, the elite force of the Matsusaka Legion, was completely defeated!
All the steel shields were destroyed by artillery fire.

The elite Kwantung Army, without the protection of the stainless steel shield, were like lambs to be slaughtered and posed no threat at all.

With the indiscriminate bombardment of grenades on the elite Kwantung Army near the city wall, the Kwantung Army's offensive was immediately broken.

After the grenades were emptied, Simon Hall's muskets began to fire violently.

At the same time, the heavy machine guns were firing without mercy at this moment.

Dada——dada——!
Eight heavy machine guns are like eight ferocious beasts baring their fangs.

Around the city walls, screams continued to be heard and the air was filled with smoke from artillery fire!
Seen from a distance, what appeared before everyone was simply hell on earth.

The main force of the Kwantung Army was attacked by grenades and suffered a great defeat after being hit by fierce fire from heavy machine guns.

More than half of the 14,000-strong main force of the Kwantung Army were wiped out in one fell swoop, and they basically lost the ability to fight back.

All one hundred artillery pieces equipped by the Matsusaka Corps were blown out.

The ground was littered with broken hands and feet!
There were so many corpses that it gave people an indescribable sense of tragedy.

The blood-stained ground makes one's scalp tingle!

Some Kwantung Army soldiers whose limbs were blown off let out miserable howls and struggled to crawl away.

They want to go home, they want to go back to Japan, they don’t want to die in a foreign country—!
The cruelty of war was vividly displayed at this moment.

At this time,

On the city wall of Qingdao Prefecture, the prefect and all the civil servants were completely stunned after seeing this scene from a distance.

hiss--!
Our Shandong Qingdao defenders actually completely defeated the Japanese! ?

To know,
Before this, the 30,000-strong Japanese coalition army swept through the 150,000-strong Daqian garrison in Shandong.

They also bombarded Weihaiwei, occupied the coastal areas of Shandong, and defeated Qi Zhentang's troops stationed in Shandong.

In the eyes of civil servants such as the prefect, the fighting power of the Japanese was too strong.

With the combat effectiveness of the Daqian army, it was simply unable to resist the attack of the Japanese.

but,

Everything that happened today completely overturned the perception of the prefect and all the civil servants.

The remaining Matsusaka Corps, with less than 5,000 men, was obviously completely stunned by the recent heavy bombardment.

They had never experienced such a horrific grenade attack.

"withdraw--!"

A captain of the main force of the Kwantung Army suddenly yelled.

He was already frightened out of his wits and was the first to order a retreat.

Wow——!
At the same time, he led his troops to retreat.

When the others saw the captain retreating, they followed closely behind him and fled without waiting for the retreat order from other commanders.

That’s right, this is not a retreat, but an escape!

For a while,
The remaining main forces of the Kwantung Army retreated to the periphery like a tide.

Instead of retreating to the flat main road, they retreated westward along the city wall.

There happened to be a large rocky mountain to the west of the city wall, blocking the view.

Even if mortars were used to cover the fire at this time, it would be of no avail.

The mortar's landing point was a parabola, and due to the obstruction of reefs and mountains, the mortar's landing point could not hit the Kwantung Army's retreat route.

Chen Jie saw that the remaining main forces of the Kwantung Army wanted to retreat, so how could he let them do as they wished?
He shouted to Zhang Changfeng and all the other backbones:

"Brothers, chase them!"

"The Japanese have been completely defeated by us. They want to escape. We must annihilate them all today!"

As the saying goes: Don't chase a desperate enemy!

but,

At this time, Ximen Tang had an absolute upper hand and defeated the Matsusaka Legion, forcing them to flee in panic.

How could Chen Jie care about the saying "Don't chase the desperate enemy"?
If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to strike hard at the fallen dog and expand our victory, we will be letting down our dead brothers.

not to mention,
The Matsusaka Corps' 'Shield Formation' armored battalion was wiped out, and one hundred Japanese field guns were also destroyed.

They are just a group of wild dogs without teeth and claws!
As long as Ximen Tang catches up with them, there will definitely be another massacre!
(End of this chapter)