(68) General Yamada and the Annihilation of the 24th Brigade

  The Chinese reconnaissance plane that was shot at suddenly pulled up, and at this time, the two Japanese planes also caught up, and the pilots on the plane scolded while using their weapons - a modified machine gun to continuously fire at the Chinese plane.

  The Chinese plane seemed enraged by the Japanese "sea-air united shooting", and suddenly made a circle in the sky, turning around and rushing towards the Japanese plane like lightning.

  Two Japanese pilots didn't understand what happened but saw the Chinese plane's nose suddenly spew out two terrifying tongues of flame!

  Katō Tetsunori and his staff on the bridge of the ship gazed at the spectacle in the sky, momentarily stunned.

  At this time, a Japanese plane in the sky had already ignited like a kite on fire, burning towards the sea. Another Japanese plane immediately turned around and escaped, but the Chinese plane did not intend to let it go, closely chasing after it. Kato Teiichi watched as what seemed to be white smoke flew by in the sky, and then this Japanese plane also caught fire, carrying black smoke as it plummeted towards the sea, smashing into pieces.

  Watching Chinese planes easily shoot down two Japanese seaplanes, all the Japanese on the bridge were shocked and speechless.

  When the Japanese army attacked Qingdao, in order to deal with possible German aircraft, the Japanese Navy also brought a seaplane carrier "Wakamiya Maru" to the front. In the skies above Qingdao, the four seaplanes carried by Wakamiya Maru encountered only one enemy, a German Taube reconnaissance plane. The two sides met multiple times in the air and exchanged fire with pistols, rifles, and machine guns, but neither side was able to inflict any damage on the other. Until Qingdao was finally captured, Japanese planes were unable to shoot down the German reconnaissance plane, which successfully broke through with secret documents to China.

  Now, Japanese seaplane was shot down by Chinese plane with ease!

  But things didn't end there, just as all the Japanese on the bridge were staring blankly at the sky, that Chinese plane swooped down again towards "Chōfuku Maru"!

  Kato Teiji and his staff watched as the Chinese planes flew towards them, seemingly feeling a sense of foreboding. Before they could even take cover, yellow flashes appeared at the muzzles of the Chinese planes' guns, followed by bursts of white smoke and the deafening sound of bullets tearing through the air, sweeping across the deck and bridge of the "Suō" (周防), sending exposed Japanese sailors and officers into a panic, shouting in terror as they scrambled to take cover.

  The bullets shot down by the Chinese plane hit the armored deck of the warship and were scattered back by the armor plate, flying into the crowd. Some Japanese naval officers did not have time to run away and were hit by the bullets, falling down with a miserable cry.

  Kato Teiji watched as a string of bullets flew onto the bridge, sweeping through the staff officers. Several officers clutched their waists like they were dancing and contorted into an extremely strange posture before falling down, twitching uncontrollably in a pool of blood. A young officer was hit in the head by a bullet that ricocheted off the armored deck and fell to the ground beside Kato Teiji.

  Just as Katō Teiki was about to reach out and support him, a severe pain suddenly shot through his waist, and he immediately lost consciousness. His body stiffened in place, and he involuntarily reached back to touch his waist, feeling as though his hand had come into contact with something hot and sticky.

  Katō Teiki stared blankly at his blood-soaked hands and let out a low growl, wanting to stand up, but his body involuntarily fell back down.

  Katō Teiichi, who had fallen down, still kept his eyes looking up at the sky. At this time, he saw that a Chinese plane was flying triumphantly in the air above the "Suō" and then flew away with a swagger.

  The surroundings gradually became quiet, and the last thing Katō Teiichi saw was the blood-stained, anxious faces of his subordinates looking at him.

  June 2, 1915, 10:22 am, Shandong, Yanzhou.

  A shell whizzed through the air and landed in the midst of a group of queue-wearing soldiers who were running backwards, accompanied by a flash of fire and a loud explosion. Several queue-wearing soldiers were instantly swept away by the blast wave generated by the explosion, some were hit by shrapnel and fell to the ground, crying out in agony.

  Several shells came flying in from a distance, exploding continuously among the crowd, further increasing the panic of the queue soldiers.

  "Halt! All of you halt! You bunch of cowards!"

  Zhang Xun, riding on horseback, shouted angrily, but his curses were soon drowned out by the explosions of shells.

  Seeing the defeated queue soldiers running back without looking back, Zhang Xun took out his pistol and fired several shots at the fleeing soldiers in an attempt to stop them, but none of the shots hit anyone. His pistol suddenly jammed, and just as he was fiddling with it in frustration, a shell from the Japanese army came flying over and exploded not far away, the massive explosion sending Zhang Xun's ears ringing. His warhorse was also startled, letting out a long whinny as it stood up on its hind legs, throwing Zhang Xun off its back.

  Zhang Xun's heavy body crashed to the ground, and for a moment he was dizzy and disoriented. His pistol had flown out of his hand and he didn't know where it had gone. Several guards and officers nearby rushed over and helped him up.

  Zhang Xun saw that the pants on his calf had completely turned black, and the damaged and charred areas were constantly oozing fresh blood. Only then did he realize that he was injured, and his body immediately became weak and powerless.

  "General! Hurry up and retreat! If you're late, it'll be too late!" a deputy officer said to him with a crying tone.

  "No! I won't retreat!" Zhang Xun furiously shouted, "Give me a gun! Give me a gun!"

  "Great General! We can't defeat the Japanese! Let's retreat!" A bodyguard pointed at the corpses of the queue soldiers in the distance and cried, "The Japanese have more big guns than us, we can't use our heads to collide with them!"

  "What about our cannons?! Why have our cannons fallen silent?!" Zhang Xun struggled to his feet, asking loudly.

  After listening to Zhang Xun's interrogation, the deputy officers and bodyguards were all at a loss, with bewildered expressions.

  Born from the Qing army's Wuwei Front Army, its weapons and equipment were no worse than those of the old Beiyang Six Towns. The soldiers used not only new-style quick-firing guns but also a large number of artillery pieces, with 54 guns assigned to the Wuwei Front Army, including 36 German Krupp 75mm 30-caliber recoil land battle cannons and 18 75mm 14-caliber rapid-fire mountain cannons. In addition, Zhang Xun's Wuwei Front Army also had four powerful 105mm Krupp field cannons, which were his key to defeating the enemy. Last time in the attack on the anti-Yuan army, these big guns played an important role in the battle, and with one blow, they blasted the anti-Yuan army's camp into pieces.

  It was precisely the confidence in the fighting strength of his own " Queue Troops" that allowed Zhang Xun to dare to take the initiative to lead his army into battle against the Japanese, but what he did not expect was that facing a small number of Japanese troops, the Wuwei Front Army would be defeated so quickly.

  The Japanese army's new round of shelling has begun, and amidst the artillery fire, the terrifying roar of heavy machine guns can be faintly heard.

  Seeing Zhang Xun still refusing to leave, several bodyguards simply lifted him up, placing the leg-injured and unable-to-walk man horizontally on a horse's back, then surrounded him as they ran towards the rear. Although Zhang Xun on the horseback was shouting non-stop, no matter how loudly he yelled, nobody listened to him anymore.

  Just as Zhang Xun was shouting and scolding on horseback, the distant dark sky suddenly flashed with a glow like late clouds, followed by a burst of thunder-like explosions in the direction where the Japanese army was!

  Zhang Heng, who was on horseback, stared at the sudden and magnificent scene in front of him, momentarily stopping his shouting. He gazed at the scene with a stunned expression, as if he didn't dare to believe it was real.

  After this round of bombardment, the Japanese army's artillery fire towards Wu Weijun's vanguard obviously weakened, and at this moment, the red glow flashed again, and a more intense barrage began to shoot towards the Japanese army. The Japanese army's position continuously rose with huge smoke columns, and soon it was completely shrouded in thick smoke.

  The fleeing Wu Wei Qianjun soldiers were also stunned by this scene, possibly because they realized the arrival of reinforcements, and stopped in their tracks, standing there watching, the artillery fire that had just been fired by the Japanese army seemed to be not so terrible.

  It may have been destroyed by the devastating artillery fire, and the Japanese artillery firing at Wu Weijun's army suddenly stopped. Zhang Xun looked at the silent Japanese position behind him and was about to order everyone to return when a strange rumbling sound came from the sky.

  Zhang Xun laboriously raised his head on horseback and saw the silhouette of an airplane swooping past in the smoky sky.

  "What just passed?" a bodyguard looked up at the sky and asked.

  "Airplane..." another bodyguard replied.

  "Airplane? Japanese?"

  "No, it's our China's..."

  "Our Chinese plane? How did you know?"

  "I saw the dragon drawn above..."

  Around the same time, Lieutenant General Yamada, commander of the 24th Division of the Japanese Army, also heard a similar sound coming from above his head.

  General Yamada lifted the two charred bodies of the guards who had been lying on top of him, stood up with his sword in hand, and looked up at the sky. Sure enough, he saw a plane circling above the battlefield.

  General Yamada looked at this plane with excellent performance but obviously not belonging to the Japanese, and a hint of surprise and confusion flashed in his eyes.

  Judging from the conspicuous paint on the aircraft, it was obviously a... plane of those contemptible Chinese he had always despised!

  In the eyes of the Japanese, who have always been barbaric and ignorant about China, how could they possibly have such a good airplane?

  Seeing this advanced aircraft, Lieutenant General Yamada's heart tightened as he thought of the terrifying artillery fire he had just experienced, like hell.

  General Yamada's gaze turned towards the battlefield and fell on the corpses that were scattered all over the ground.

  These soldiers who were still vigorous on the battlefield have now become charred and incomplete corpses.

  Looking at this purgatory-like scene, General Yamada couldn't help but burst into tears.

  The 24th Brigade he led was once a meritorious unit that captured Qingdao, but now it has been annihilated in the intense artillery fire suddenly launched by the Chinese!

  General Yamada's gaze turned to his side and fell on the guard Ito who had just rushed up to cover him.

  At this time, Ito was lying on the ground, his two legs were gone, and the stumps of his calves exposed white bones. His military uniform was torn to shreds, with some parts charred black and stuck to his flesh, still smoking. Ito's eyes were wide open, his eyeballs protruding from their sockets, as if he refused to believe until death that he would be blown up like this.

  General Yamada suppressed the grief in his heart, bowed down and closed the eyelids of Ito and another guard, Kusii, who had died protecting him.

  At this time, the Chinese artillery had stopped firing, leaving only the plane circling restlessly in the sky above the battlefield, as if observing the effect of the bombardment. General Yamada angrily waved his fist at the sky and began searching for surviving soldiers.

  Yamada pulled out the wounded soldiers from the pile of corpses on the ground one by one, and at this time some Japanese soldiers who had escaped the artillery fire also slowly left their hiding places and gathered around him.

  Yamada easily gathered about a hundred men under him, and only then did he realize how difficult it was for him to survive the intense artillery fire from the Chinese army. He also realized that the enemy forces he faced might be very different from what the military had previously thought. Just as he was about to send someone back to report on the situation, he saw a large group of people in the distance.

  Yamada immediately ordered the preparation for battle, and the remaining Japanese soldiers lay down beside the bodies of their comrades who were still emitting smoke, holding up rifles with trembling hands. Two machine gunners also found a Markov heavy machine gun that had not been damaged by the explosion, hastily setting it up and pointing it in the direction where the figures appeared.

  General Yamada raised the binoculars in his hand and immediately saw the figures of Chinese soldiers carrying rifles, bowing their heads and advancing quickly.

  Seeing the enemy surge forward like a tide, they quickly entered range. Yamada looked around at his less-than-a-hundred subordinates, gritted his teeth, raised his war knife, and gave the signal for battle.

  Japanese soldiers fired their rifles in their hands, and the Mark IV heavy machine gun also roared to life.

  It may not have recovered from the terrifying emotions caused by the terrible bombardment just now, and the intense shooting of Japanese soldiers with rifles was like a mud cow entering the sea, without causing any harm to Chinese soldiers. On the other hand, the Mark IV heavy machine gun achieved great results, and several Chinese soldiers who rushed forward were knocked down instantly. General Yamada raised his binoculars and saw a Chinese soldier shot in the leg lying on the ground screaming loudly, while his companions behind him fell to the ground like cowards. Seeing this scene, Yamada felt a sense of revenge in his heart.

  Wait... what are Chinese people doing?

  General Yamada noticed a Chinese officer lying on the ground waving a pistol in his hand, apparently urging his subordinates. Soon he saw two Chinese soldiers crawling forward, one of whom took down a cylindrical object with straps from his back and erected it at an almost vertical angle on the ground.

  General Yamada was completely absorbed in the bizarre actions of the Chinese, seemingly forgetting that he and his subordinates were in a precarious situation. He stared intently at the movements of the Chinese, determined to figure out what they were doing.

  The Chinese soldier who had raised the cylindrical object appeared to be adjusting its angle, and soon he steadied it and nodded to his companion. His companion took out a long, thin projectile-like object from his backpack and held it up with both hands in front of the cylinder, then inserted it inside. General Yamada immediately saw something shoot out of the mouth of the cylinder with a "whoosh".

  Yamada still didn't understand what was happening when a low hum of artillery shells pierced the air above his head, followed by a loud explosion from the heavy machine gun position.

  The explosion shook the binoculars out of Yamada's hands, and he turned his head in surprise. The heavy machine gun position was now engulfed in flames.

  Utterly shocked, Yamada turned his head and raised the binoculars again. He found more Chinese soldiers setting up those cylindrical objects, loading a shell into each cylinder, followed by the same whistling sound above their heads once again.

  At this time, General Yamada finally understood that the Chinese were firing at him with a special type of light artillery.

  Without warning his subordinates, Yamada suddenly hugged his head and crouched down, and then a series of crisp explosions sounded beside him.

  After a while, the Chinese artillery fire stopped, and General Yamada cautiously straightened up and lifted his head.

  At this time, the Japanese shooting had completely stopped. General Yamada saw that his subordinates were almost all killed in battle, and he couldn't help but feel despair in his heart.

  Yamada did not go to reason with the Chinese soldiers who were almost upon them, he got up and came to the military flag that had fallen to the ground, carefully rolled it up and put it in a pile of burning debris.

  The military flag was ignited by the flames, emitting a bright light, and then quickly dimmed. General Yamada watched as the flag slowly turned to ashes, as if completing an important task, and let out a long sigh.

  As the Chinese soldiers rushed forward, General Yamada shouted and charged towards them with his sword held high. Two of the Chinese soldiers saw Yamada coming and instinctively raised their rifles, pulling the triggers.

  With two loud gunshots, the two bullets accurately hit Yamada, and he felt the bullets piercing his body. His legs went limp, and he involuntarily knelt down.

  "When did the Chinese people's marksmanship become so accurate?" The dying Yamada, before he took his last breath, had such a question flashing in his mind.