Chapter 020 Don't Capture

On January 27, 1895, the Erlongshan Fort shouted gunfire one after another.

It snowed all day, which had been melted and dried by gunfire. The ridge filled with smoke was full of charred dead wood and fragmented corpses.

The guard company led by Guo Er pole has repelled five group charges of the Japanese army. The reinforced company of more than 200 people suffered more than 50 casualties, reaching a quarter of the whole company.

However, there are at least 300 Japanese corpses lying on the ridge.

The Erlongshan Fort is indeed the core of the Lushun Port Land Defense Fort. It is a real fortress. The whole fortress is made of hard granite. On the tall chest wall, the shooting holes are scattered, which are not only convenient for rifle shooting, but also for wild artillery shooting, which can form crossfire. There are almost no shooting corners.

The incompetence of the Qing army easily threw such a strong fort to the Japanese army, and the paralysis of the Japanese army easily threw the fort to Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun, who captured the fort, learned the lessons of the Qing army and the Japanese army. They did not dare to be careless. Of course, they would not be incompetent!

The Japanese left 18 guns on the fort, including the Kruper field guns originally assigned to the fort by the Qing army, as well as mountain cannons carried by the Japanese army.

These artillery are cleverly deployed in a semi-open underground bunker, with a granite dome up to two meters thick above the bunker, which can withstand the bombardment of Japanese artillery. When firing the gun, the gun body moved out of the dome. Once attacked by Japanese artillery, the artillery can quickly shrink back to the bottom of the dome and hide.

More conveniently, the ammunition depot of the artillery is located in the underground bunker behind the position, only seven or eight meters away from the position of the gun position, and the gunner can quickly replenish the shell. And the shells left by the Japanese are very sufficient.

In one day's battle, 18 artillery were condescending. With its superior terrain, they used fierce artillery fire, covering the three kilometers around the Erlongshan Fort, which made the Japanese artillery unable to raise their heads and provide artillery support to the attacking troops. The attacking troops could only launch a strong attack on the Erlongshan Fort without artillery support.

The Japanese attack was hit by the artillery and Maxim heavy machine guns on Erlong Mountain. On the Japanese offensive road, the corpses were piled up. They finally attacked under the chest wall and had to climb the chest wall with their bare hands. The shooting holes on the chest wall were stacked. Every shooting hole was a nightmare of the Japanese army. They were curled up in the shooting hole. Zhang Jun inside was hanged calmly.

The one who attacked the Erlongshan Fort was the Xikuan Erlang Brigade affiliated to the First Division.

The mission of this brigade was originally to assist the Nomu Xidian Brigade to capture the camp, and then launch the Battle of Shanhaiguan, so as to cooperate with the Japanese army in the Shandong battlefield to form a pinch attack on the heart of the Qing Dynasty, which is an important battlefield of Japan's New Year's offensive.

After the battle mission was issued, the Xikuan Erlang Brigade left some troops to serve as the defense of Lushun. After the assembly in Jinzhou, the main force rushed in the direction of Haicheng overnight. In the early morning, the leading troops arrived in Haicheng and merged with the Naimu Xidian Brigade.

At this time, the news came that Lushun had lost. The base camp had to give up the Battle of Shanhaiguan and urgently ordered Xikuanjilang Brigade and Nogi Xidian Brigade to form an oriental cluster and return to Lushun.

So far, the three battlefields of the Japanese New Year's offensive, Shandong, Shanhaiguan and Linjinjiang, have stopped their attacks due to the fall of Lushun. Only the Japanese army in Shandong is still attacking according to the pre-war plan.

Two-thirds of the campaign goal of the Zhou Charter has been achieved.

The Xikuan Erlang Brigade is also the elite of the Japanese army. However, after a forced army all night, this unit rushed from Jinzhou to Haicheng and then from Haicheng to Lushun. It braved the severe cold day and night and marched 500 miles. When it reached Erlong Mountain, it was already exhausted.

Moreover, the establishment of this brigade is not complete. One of its regiments has been annihilated by Zhou Charter in Lushun and went to meet the king of Yan together with their division commander Shan Jizhi.

However, under the repeated urging of the base camp, Xi Kuanjilang had no time to rest and immediately ordered the troops to launch a strong attack on the Erlongshan Fort.

Erlongshan Fort is the north gate of Lushun. If you want to capture Lushun by land, you must first capture Erlongshan Fort.

The strict order of the base camp is the main reason why Xi Kuan Erlang suddenly launched an attack. The base camp has decided to abandon the Battle of Shanhaiguan and the Battle of Linjin River, and at the same time, step up the attack of the Battle of Shandong.

On the Shandong battlefield, the Japanese army has captured the Rongcheng and formed a siege behind the Weihai side. At the same time, the joint fleet blocked the entrance to the Weihai Guard Port and trapped the Beiyang Marine Division in the military port. Just last night, two Japanese torpedo boats sneaked into the Weihai Guard Port in the night and stopped. Zhenyuan and Dingyuan ships moored in the military port fired torpedoes and accurately hit the target. The two torpedo boats were immediately sunk by the attack of the Qing army's coastal fort. However, this morning, the joint fleet was surprised to find that the hull of Dingyuan was tilted and was about to sink. Zhenyuan was grounded, and the two giant ships lost their combat effectiveness.

The Japanese military used two torpedo boats in exchange for two capital warships of the Beiyang Marine Division.

This is a huge victory!

The landing troops of the Japanese army immediately launched a fierce attack on the land defense forts behind Weihaiwei. The battle progressed surprisingly smoothly. The second division of the leading force of the Japanese army has captured three land defense forts. At the same time, the third division and the sixth division launched an attack on the Qing army in the northwest and southwest respectively. The Qing army was defeated like a mountain and collapsed on the whole line. The Japanese army cut off the road for the Qing army to reinforce Weihaiwei. Haiwei has become an isolated island.

The Shandong Qing army was vulnerable, which made the base camp determined to fight the Shandong Campaign in any case until the Beiyang Marine Division was eliminated and the whole Shandong was occupied!

This is an adventure for the Japanese army. Because in the case of losing Lushun, the Japanese army in the Shandong battlefield will face a battle without a rear.

Therefore, the base camp requires that Lushun must be recaptured within three days, so as to completely relieve the worries of the Shandong battlefield.

However, in sharp contrast to the situation in the Shandong battlefield, the elite Xikuan Erlang Brigade was attacked by Zhang Jun at the foot of Erlong Mountain.

Five charges in a row, the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, but could not shake the Erlongshan Fort at all.

The extremely tired Japanese army had to suspend the attack and wait for the reinforcements of the Nomu Xidian Brigade.

Xi Kuan Erlang's artillery force was not very strong, and it was suppressed by the artillery fire of Erlongshan Fort, making it difficult to provide effective fire support to the attacking troops. Xikuan Erlang was ready to wait for the arrival of the Nomu Xidian Brigade. The artillery of the two brigades gathered to form a powerful artillery fire, suppress the artillery fire of the Erlongshan Fort, and then launch an attack. Otherwise, a strong attack without artillery support would be equivalent to death in vain.

The gunfire of Erlongshan Fort gradually subsided.

In the bunker, company commander Guo Erbao roared at Zhang Zuolin: "Zhang Zuolin, how dare you save the Japanese! You are a company commander, and I am also a company commander, and my company commander is much older than you! On the Erlongshan Fort, I have the final say! My order is not to be captured! These son of a bitch, the Japanese should pay for the lives of the people in Lushun!"

When capturing the Golden Mountain Fort, the company commander of the second company directly under the division was killed, and Zhou Charter promoted Zhang Zuolin to the commander of the second company. Because the Erlongshan Fort is the north gate of Lushun Port and its status is extremely important, the Japanese army will inevitably seize the Erlongshan Fort. In order to strengthen the defense of the Erlongshan Fort, Zhou Charter, after capturing the whole Lushun, ordered Zhang Zuolin to lead the second company to the Erlongshan Fort to reinforce Guo Erpole.

Zhang Zuolin also knew that Guo Erpole was the old qualified company commander in Zhang Jun and had a terrible friendship with Zhou Charter. Moreover, Guo Erbao was a practitioner. At the beginning, Zhang Zuolin had learned his interests in Zhong'anbao and did not dare to fight with Guo Erbao. He had to point to a man and a woman behind him and said, "Guo Erbao, I, you are the end. It's unreasonable. It's not me who saved him. It's this woman who protects him. Damn, this woman is from our Qing Dynasty, and she doesn't have an arm. It's pitiful.

The man was wearing a Japanese military uniform and the rank of major on his shoulders, while the woman was dressed in a thick cloth, covered with blood, pale face and only one arm.

The man is Yoshio Asano, the captain of the Japanese cavalry, and the woman is the Qing woman rescued by Yoshio Asano from the Japanese soldiers.

Yoshio Asano's cavalry brigade was raided by a company of guards, and the whole army was destroyed. He was the only one left. He hugged the woman and ran to hide in a valley. When the Nishikuan Erlang Brigade launched an attack on Erlong Mountain, Asano Yoshio and the woman were sandwiched between the Japanese army and Zhang Jun and were in a dilemma.

Originally, Yoshio Asano could run to the Japanese army. However, I don't know what happened. Yoshio Asano suddenly felt that the war had nothing to do with him. He was just a bystander. He even had an unspeakable disgust for the Japanese army, and he was unwilling to join the Japanese army again.

What's more, he can't bear to leave this poor Qing woman. One of her arms is gone. If she is left behind, she will only die in this ice and snow.

Asano Yoshio held this poor woman and fled in the valley to avoid the bullets of the Japanese army and Zhangjun.

Just now, an attack by the Japanese army was counterattacked by Zhang Zuolin. Zhang Zuolin personally led his company and rushed down the fort and drove the Japanese army down the ridge. In the counterattack, Zhang Zuolin met Yoshio Asano.

According to the order of Zhou Charter, Zhang Jun fought in Lushun and should not be captured. This is not only to avenge the people of Lushun, but more importantly, Zhangjun is fighting alone. It is extremely troublesome to deal with Japanese prisoners. It is necessary to take care of food and shelter, and to divide people to take care of them. Moreover, these Japanese troops are extremely stubborn and will resurgence if they don't pay attention to them. Leaving them on the fort is a future problem.

Zhang Zuolin was about to kill the Japanese major, but the woman in the major's arms did not know where the strength came from. She used her own body to protect the Japanese major, so that Zhang Zuolin had nowhere to do it.