Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 423 Battle of Hong Kong (2)
At about two o'clock in the afternoon, under the attack from both sides of the navy and the air force, almost all the forts on the west side of Hong Kong Island were blown up, leaving only a small fort on the east side.Not only that, but a large number of coastal fortifications deployed around Victoria Bay were basically blown up.It is estimated that there is nothing that can cause too much threat.Only then did Lu Rongting issue the landing order.At the same time, the cruiser formation was ordered to cover the landing of the army.As for himself, he wanted to bring three battleships to the east of Hong Kong Island. Although the fort on the east was small, it was still a threat. To be on the safe side, Lu Rongting decided to pull out this nail.

"Soldiers, today, you will fire the empire's first shot against the British devils who oppressed us. Show your courage. As long as we win, you will be remembered forever by future generations. Your names are among the first to be engraved in the Huaxia Military Soul Shrine! Let’s go!”

Following Lu Rongting's offensive order, countless alums rushed across the formerly beautiful Victoria Harbor, crossed the beach, avoided scattered artillery fire and incoming bullets, and launched a brutal hand-to-hand battle with the British army in the hinterland.

The First Division of the Tenth Army, who had been waiting impatiently, all geared up after receiving the order.The first group came from Tai Kok Tsui Pier, and the second group from Kwun Tong Pier, and rushed towards Hong Kong Island like two sharp swords.At the same time, the five cruisers in charge of covering also split into two groups, and the main and secondary guns fired together, blowing up the only remaining British hiding in the coastal fortifications so that they did not dare to look up.The artillery of the First Army, which was deployed overnight in Tsim Sha Tsui, also began to show its power at this time.Numerous battalion artillery, howitzers and rocket launchers were fired together, almost covering the entire west side of Hong Kong Island in artillery fire.

What really broke the British soldiers guarding the beach was the [-] bombers flying from Guangzhou.These bombers have been replaced with five-kilogram small bombs, and the rain of bombs fell from the sky, blowing the British positions into a sea of ​​​​flames.At four o'clock in the afternoon, when the two sharp swords landed successfully, there were at most fifteen hundred British soldiers who could organize an effective defense and could not retreat.Moreover, under such powerful artillery fire, all the firepower points that came out were blown up by the Chinese. As soon as those hidden British troops showed up, they were immediately strangled by the waiting warships and army artillery.

In the absence of heavy weapons, these [-] British soldiers who had been dispersed were obviously unable to stop the two regiments of the Chinese Army rushing up like wolves and tigers.After only resisting for half an hour, the battle on the beach was over. About a thousand British soldiers put down their weapons and raised their hands. They lined up in an orderly line and walked into the temporary prisoner-of-war camp set up by the Chinese army. .

As soon as the battle on the beach was over, after the two regiments handed over the aftermath to the successor troops, they didn't even take a break, and went straight to the hinterland of Hong Kong Island, where about [-] people escaped from the artillery fire The British soldiers, under the leadership of the commander, are preparing to use the buildings of Hong Kong City to have a more tragic street battle with the Chinese soldiers.

However, the current Chinese army is not the Qing army more than 50 years ago. The semi-automatic rifles and the latest mass-produced submachine guns equipped by individual soldiers are enough for the British to drink a pot. Semi-automatic rifles and submachine guns are obviously better than the British Rifles in human hands are more suitable for street fighting.What's more, the morale of these British soldiers has been low, and their guns have also lost a lot during the retreat of the large army.No matter how strong the fortifications are, they all look fragile in front of the Chinese armored forces. The British want to rely on some Western-style buildings in the city to block the imposing Chinese, obviously overestimating their own combat effectiveness.

At this time, although the marines had put the British into several relatively strong buildings, they did not launch an attack immediately. They just sealed off the surrounding area and evacuated the residents in the nearby area. Suffered indiscriminate disaster in battle.Although they have been away from the embrace of the motherland for decades, it is not their fault, it is Qing's incompetence.In Lu Rongting's eyes, they are all real Chinese, and they should naturally be the objects of his protection.

After the attacking force evacuated all the surrounding residents, the main force used to attack those strong buildings also came.Twenty tanks that had just landed rumbled over with a cloud of dust, and wherever they went, the Chinese soldiers burst into cheers.However, the British seemed to see the devil approaching them.

Behind the tank, followed more than 20 self-propelled artillery. These artillery with strong skin and thick flesh ignored the bullets fired from the building. rushed into the building.Amidst the rumbling gunfire, marble buildings were razed to the ground. Inside the ruins, British soldiers with broken arms and feet threw away their weapons and kept moaning and calling for help.

After destroying one building, the tanks and self-propelled guns moved on to another building, leaving the task of cleaning up the battlefield to the infantry.In fact, with the strength of the Marine Corps, even without tanks, it is only a matter of time before these British are wiped out.However, since the establishment of the new army, it has taken the lives of soldiers very seriously. The past tactics of defeating the enemy with crowds are no longer suitable for the needs of modern warfare. What is more important is to improve the combat capabilities of individual soldiers.As long as the casualties of soldiers can be reduced, no matter how much ammunition is wasted, it is worthwhile.Over the past few years, the army has been earnestly training joint operations between tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery and infantry, and Hong Kong is the best battlefield to test the results of the training.

One after another British-style buildings were razed, and teams of British soldiers raised white flags.By [-] o'clock in the afternoon, the paratrooper company had surrounded the Hong Kong Governor's Mansion. There were only more than a hundred Hong Kong Governor Bradley with available troops. Finally, he reluctantly ordered all the British soldiers to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Chinese troops nearby.However, what Bu Li did not expect was that when the order was issued, other than the people around him, the rest of the British soldiers had already entered the Chinese prisoner-of-war camp.The two [-]-ton destroyers stationed in Hong Kong, where Lun Pan fled, were also bombed and sunk by the Chinese Air Force at a place about [-] kilometers away from Hong Kong Island, and all the soldiers on board were killed.

At five o'clock in the afternoon on September 1900, 9, Hong Kong, which had been away from the motherland for 16 years, finally returned to the embrace of the Chinese people. The entire Hong Kong Island was filled with thunderous firecrackers.The Chinese here had never been so happy since January 59, 26, when the British forcibly occupied Hong Kong Island.What's more, what liberated Hong Kong Island was not the Qing Dynasty, which was famous for its political dictatorship and treated the people like nothing, but the Chinese Empire, which was ahead of Britain, France and other countries in terms of democracy.

As soon as the news of the Battle of Hong Kong came out, it immediately caused a shock in the world.The British "Times" published an article by the chief commentator for the first time, in which he said: "Hong Kong has solid fortifications, a strong fortification comparable to that of Panama, and about [-] well-trained soldiers. soldiers, but they collapsed after only holding on for ten hours. More importantly, the British soldiers did not lay down their weapons under unfavorable circumstances. Most of the British soldiers fought until the end before surrendering. Otherwise, the British would not The casualties would be so heavy. With such tenacious resistance, the Hong Kong garrison still suffered such a humiliating defeat, so the fighting power of the Chinese must be too terrible.”

The British "Guardian" published a commentator's article saying: "The Battle of Hong Kong was a battle without any suspense. China dispatched two hundred bombing sorties, three battleships and eight cruisers, and dispatched 5000 bombers. 20 troops. At the same time, this is the first time that China's armored corps has been put into use in a large-scale war after World War II. Twenty tanks, more than 20 self-propelled artillery and more than 1 armored personnel carriers cooperate with each other. The battle caused considerable damage to the British. Thinking back then, the invincible soldiers of the British Empire were as helpless as chickens that had just hatched in front of the well-equipped Chinese. The battle lasted no more than ten hours from the firing of the first shot to the announcement of the surrender by the Governor of Hong Kong, which was almost impossible to see in previous battles. You must know that there are at least 6000 British soldiers stationed in Hong Kong, and almost They are all elite troops transferred from the United Kingdom in recent years, and their combat effectiveness is far superior to that of the British regular army in the colonies. During the ten-hour battle, 2000 British soldiers suffered heavy losses, with more than 2000 dead and about 100 injured. More than 50 soldiers put down their weapons and walked into the prisoner-of-war camp without much resistance. Compared with the heavy casualties of the British army, the Chinese army only caused about [-] casualties, of which only [-] were killed or seriously injured. There are many people around."

Russia's "Daily Telegraph" stated: "The Battle of Hong Kong will undoubtedly occupy a very important position in the history of military research in later generations. This is the first joint sea, land and air battle in human history. Compared with the Battle of St. Petersburg that year, It was this war that really pioneered the combat of armored forces. After all, in the battle of St. Petersburg, although tanks were used, they were mostly used to drive and defend the enemy. What really worked was the army’s ditch style In this battle of Hong Kong, China used all the latest chariots and second-generation tanks developed by itself in recent years. Facts show that in the face of new combat methods, the old positional warfare and trench warfare , has not adapted to the needs of modern warfare, and the world's military development is about to enter the armor age under the leadership of China."

(End of this chapter)