Republic of China: German-equipped divisions massacred as warlords guarded the nation's borders

Chapter 264 The Enemy Approaches the Xuzhou Defense Line

Outside Xuzhou city, the autumn wind was bleak, the gray sky hung low, and the air was filled with the desolate scent of earth.

Amidst the intricate trench defenses, the soldiers of the First Division of the Chen Family Army stood resolutely at their posts.

They wore German-style steel helmets, and the bayonets of their Mauser rifles gleamed a chilling blue in the dim morning light.

Inside those sturdy bunkers, half-buried in the ground and reinforced with cement, the dark muzzles of MG34 general-purpose machine guns coldly point towards the open plain ahead. These bunkers are the result of the previous large-scale infrastructure construction in Xuzhou, with walls up to half a meter thick, capable of withstanding artillery bombardment.

It's no wonder everyone attaches such importance to this, even though we won the Battle of Xuzhou last time. But we only had a total of 20,000 men, one cavalry division and one independent mixed brigade.

There are now 150,000 troops, of which 50,000 are elite cavalrymen trained by the Fengtian Army in the three northeastern provinces.

It can be said to be a showdown between the strongest warlords in all of China today!

Inside the forward command post, Chen Zijun, holding binoculars, stared expressionlessly at the yellow dust slowly rising on the distant horizon.

"Young Marshal, the vanguard of the Fengtian Army's western route has already reached Suqian, and its main force is cavalry. The vanguard of the eastern route has only just arrived in Jining, and its main force is infantry."

Zang Keping, standing to the side, pointed to the map and reported in a low voice:

"The vanguard is a cavalry brigade and an infantry brigade of about six thousand men, which is a mixed division under the command of Division Commander Qian Baochang. They are rushing towards our defense line."

What's Qian Baochang's background?

Chen Zijun slowly exhaled a smoke ring and casually asked a question, his gaze never leaving the distant horizon.

"He was originally a bandit from outside the Great Wall, but was later incorporated into the Fengtian clique and then transferred to Shandong to serve Zhang Shizong."

A disdainful sneer appeared on Zang Keping's lips, his eyes filled with contempt:

"This guy fights with brute force and is best at using human wave tactics to charge forward like pigs. He doesn't understand modern coordinated tactics at all."

"He had won a few times before by virtue of his superior numbers, but his mind was still stuck in the era of lining up people to be shot."

Chen Zijun put away his binoculars, smiled faintly, and looked as relaxed as if he were just discussing a picnic:

"Good, I like these idiots who willingly offer themselves up for death. If everyone understood modern tactics, the war would be too boring."

"Pass down the order: no one is allowed to fire without my command. Even if the enemy is right in front of you, you'd better hold back."

"We need to let them get close and slaughter them like pigs to unleash the full power of our firepower network."

"clear!"

Zang Keping saluted deeply and then quickly relayed the order to all the trenches and bunkers on the front lines.

A dozen minutes later, yellow dust blanketed the plains in front of Xuzhou.

Thousands of Fengtian Army soldiers, dressed in gray-blue uniforms, charged forward in skirmish lines under the command of their officers, howling as they went.

As Qian Baochang rode a tall horse, he looked through binoculars at the Chen family army's defense line in the distance, which was completely still and without even a speck of dust rising. He couldn't help but laugh triumphantly.

"Commander, there's not a soul in Chen's army. Could it be that they were so scared of our approaching army that they wet themselves and fled back to Shanghai overnight?"

The adjutant next to him leaned in, smiling obsequiously.

"Bah! What a load of rubbish! The First Division of the National Defense Army, the so-called elite force of the King of Southeast China!"

Qian Baochang spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground, his face full of arrogance and contempt, waving his pistol:

"They're just a theatrical troupe hired by those Shaoxing clerks and compradors from Jiangnan. They might be good at scaring off bandits, but when they run into our seasoned veterans from beyond the Great Wall, they're nothing!"

"Back when I was fighting the Russians with bayonets in the Northeast, these Southern soldiers were still wearing open-crotch pants!"

"Pass on my orders: no stopping! Charge straight ahead and take the first trench!"

"Whoever storms into Xuzhou first, I'll reward him with a thousand silver dollars, and he can choose any girl or restaurant in the city he wants!"

"Go for it! Grab the cash!"

Under the insane lure of officers' swords and cash, six thousand Fengtian Army soldiers, their eyes bloodshot, launched a desperate charge against Chen's army's position like a surging tide.

The trenches of Chen's army were deathly silent, with only the sound of the cold wind passing by.

"Squad leader, the enemy is charging...it's a huge, dark mass of people! Are we really not going to fire?"

A young recruit who had just joined the force of the train had fingers that were white from gripping the rifle too tightly, and his teeth were chattering.

"Stop panicking! Load up your ammo and get close to the trenches!"

The veteran sergeant beside him snorted coldly, bit down hard on the blade of grass he was chewing, and patted the recruit's helmet:

"The young marshal already gave instructions: this kind of dense human wave charge is just to give us battle merits. Against our First Division, numbers only mean faster deaths!"

"When the machine gun fires, just close your eyes and pull the trigger into the crowd. You'll hit them every time!"

Inside the command bunker at the center of the defensive line, Zang Keping gripped the phone, his gaze fixed on the ever-approaching gray tide ahead:

"Young Marshal, the enemy has entered the 800-meter range."

Chen Zijun sat leisurely in a folding chair, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand, without even lifting his eyelids:

"No rush, bring them closer, even closer, let them run a little longer, they'll be more easy to kill when they're exhausted."

"Six hundred meters!"

"Wait a little longer."

"Four hundred meters! Young Marshal, we can already see the buttons on their uniforms!"

Zang Keping's palms were sweating profusely. Although he had absolute confidence in his own firepower, the sight of thousands of men charging towards him like wild beasts still made him instinctively nervous.

Moreover, the Fengtian Army is not a rabble; didn't you see the cavalry brigade patrolling on both flanks?

"Three hundred meters."

Chen Zijun finally put down his teacup, stood up, and walked to the firing port, a glint of beastly cruelty and brutality flashing in his eyes:

"Fire! Send these idiots on their way."

"yes!"

Zang Keping suddenly roared into the phone:

"Open fire! Give them a good beating!"

"Click!"

In an instant, dozens of well-camouflaged concrete bunkers on the Chen family army's defensive line opened their firing windows, revealing the robust machine gun cooling tubes.

"Rip!"

A unique, dull chainsaw sound, like tearing tarpaulin, suddenly ripped violently across the open plain!

That was the sound of dozens of MG34 general-purpose machine guns firing at a terrifying rate of 1,200 rounds per minute, unleashing a storm of metal!

"Puff puff puff puff!"

The dense hail of bullets, like an invisible steel scythe of death, swept across the Fengtian Army's charging ranks, instantly stirring up a cloud of blood mist.

The Fengtian Army soldiers at the forefront didn't even have time to scream before they fell in rows like wheat stalks swept by a whirlwind into the muddy pools of blood.

"Machine guns! The Southern soldiers have heavy machine guns! This firepower is suspicious!"

"This is impossible! How could this machine gun have such a high rate of fire?!"

"My hand! My leg is broken! Help!"

The dense hail of bullets wove an insurmountable net of fire, and under the baptism of hundreds and thousands of bullets every second, the Fengtian Army's proud and dense human mass was instantly torn to shreds.

Countless blood blossoms bloomed in the air, severed limbs rolled in the mud, and the warm blood instantly dyed the withered grass crimson.

The 7.92mm heavy-point bullets from Mauser rifles and machine guns demonstrated devastating penetrating power at such close range, often piercing the bodies of two or three soldiers in an instant, bringing out a large number of organ fragments.

Several Fengtian Army platoon leaders tried to return fire with their old rifles, but before they could even pull back the bolts, they were shot in the head by a sharpshooter in the bunker, and blood and white matter splattered all over the ground.

"Don't retreat! Charge! Anyone who retreats will be shot!"

Qian Baochang, furious, cursed and brandished his pistol, his face flushed, and killed several deserters who were retreating.

But at this moment, the soldiers of Fengtian Army were completely terrified by this extremely tragic scene, which was like a living hell.

Faced with the invisible, yet audible, chainsaw and machine gun fire that sounded like the roar of a demon, no one had the courage to take another step forward; everyone scrambled back.

"My God...this isn't war, it's a one-sided massacre!"

The adjutant, looking at the mountain of corpses piled up in his binoculars, turned pale with fright and nearly dropped the binoculars.

"Commander, the vanguard brigade has suffered more than half its casualties; they're unable to advance!"

"asshole!"

As Qian Baochang looked at the plain ahead, stained red with blood, his arrogant expression turned into deep terror and despair.

In just five minutes, his vanguard brigade left behind nearly three thousand corpses, while they didn't even get close to Chen's army's position!

"Back off! Get back down now!"

Qian Baochang finally broke down and roared, turning his horse around and galloping away.

On the battlefield, only corpses littered the ground, and countless wounded soldiers groaning and struggling in the mud.

Chen Zijun stood behind the firing port, coldly watching the fleeing remnants of the Fengtian Army, a chilling smile playing on his lips.

"Clean up the battlefield."

He turned around and gave the order in a calm tone:

"Wounded Fengtian soldiers should be treated as much as possible, and after treatment, they should be sent to prisoner-of-war camps in the rear for safekeeping."

"Furthermore, take the captured prisoners away for interrogation to find out where Zhang Shizong's main artillery force is."

"yes!"

Zang Keping stood tall and saluted, his eyes filled with admiration for the young marshal.

Half an hour later, in Jining City, more than 100 kilometers away, inside the main camp of the Fengtian clique.

"Bang!"

After hearing the battle report, Zhang Shizong was so angry that he slammed his hand on the mahogany desk, instantly cracking the hard surface.

"That idiot Qian Baochang! Six thousand elite troops, and they didn't even get close to the enemy's trenches, and half of them were wiped out?!"

Zhang Shizong's eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead bulged, making him look like an enraged wild beast.

"If he's had enough of being a division commander, I'll shoot him right now!"

"General, please calm down. Commander Qian was careless."

The chief of staff beside him, pale-faced, wiped the cold sweat from his brow and forced a smile as he advised:

"The firepower of Chen's army on the defensive line is indeed bizarre. The machine guns have an astonishing rate of fire, it's like pouring water, and our soldiers simply can't withstand it."

"General, should we contact the Japanese advisors in the concession and ask them if they have any ideas on how to break through the defenses?"

"What the hell are you asking! I'm leading troops into battle, why would I need to beg those shorty bastards?!"

Zhang Shizong suddenly drew his command sword from his waist, slammed it into the table, and roared with a ferocious expression:

"Order our twenty-four artillery battalions to send up all their mountain guns and field guns!"

"Give Chen's army's trenches a thorough blast with artillery shells!"

"I'll see if their turtle shells are harder, or my cannonballs!"