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

It's 6:15 a.m.

Chen Zijun was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

He sat up from his cot, rubbed his temples, and glanced at the system panel in his mind.

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A little over two million pounds. Ammunition plentiful.

Not bad.

"Come in."

Shen Li pushed open the door and entered, his face ashen as if he had just eaten a pile of horse manure.

"Young Marshal, the Japanese have made their move."

"explain."

"At 4:30 a.m. today, the entire 3rd Battalion of the Japanese Special Marine Corps stationed in Shanghai set out from their camp. Two Type 89 medium tanks led the way, followed by more than 400 fully armed infantrymen. They crossed the boundary marker of the Japanese concession in Hongkou and advanced south along North Sichuan Road. The vanguard has now reached the intersection of Wenjianshi Road."

Shen Li took a deep breath.

"It's less than three blocks from our headquarters."

Chen Zijun remained expressionless.

"What's the reason?"

"They publicly claimed it was to 'protect the safety of merchant ships and overseas Chinese.' They said yesterday's shelling at the Shiliupu Wharf affected Japanese-owned businesses and demanded that Chen Jiajun immediately provide compensation and guarantee that he would not use heavy weapons again in the future."

Chen Zijun chuckled and stood up to put on his military uniform.

"Protecting overseas Chinese? Two tanks to protect overseas Chinese?"

"They're testing us," Shen Li said in a low voice. "Yesterday's barrage of artillery fire shook the entire city of Shanghai, and the Japanese are getting impatient. They want to see where our bottom line is."

Chen Zijun fastened the last button of his military uniform, walked to the window, and glanced northward through the curtains.

The dull thud of tank tracks rolling over the asphalt road could be faintly heard.

He looked at it for three seconds.

Then draw the curtains.

"Where is Zang Keping?"

"Stand by downstairs. His regiment hasn't regrouped yet after the battle of Shiliupu yesterday, but the first and second battalions can be deployed at any time."

"That's enough." Chen Zijun stretched. "Have him take the first and second battalions to the Hongkou boundary line and set up defensive formation. Set up the heavy machine guns and bring up the anti-tank guns. But he's not allowed to fire the first shot."

"Understood." Shen Li turned and left.

"etc."

Chen Zijun called out to him.

"Bring out yesterday's artillery regiment again. Turn all gun barrels toward Hongkou."

Shen Li was stunned for a moment, then gave a cold laugh.

"Young Marshal, rest assured, I'm here!"

Eight o'clock in the morning.

The southern boundary of the Japanese Concession in Hongkou District, at the intersection of Wenjianshi Road and North Sichuan Road.

Two gray-green Type 89 tanks blocked the middle of the road, their turrets slowly rotating, their short, thick 57mm gun barrels pointing like iron fingers toward the south in the direction of Chen Jiajun's army.

Behind the tank, more than 400 Japanese marines stood in two rows, holding Type 38 rifles with their bayonets gleaming coldly.

Their military boots marched in unison on Shanghai's asphalt roads, each step seeming to assert some kind of sovereignty.

The residents on both sides of the road had long since fled in terror.

The door was tightly shut, and the curtains were drawn. Occasionally, a pair of terrified eyes would peek out from the crack in the second-floor window, only to quickly retreat back inside.

At the entrance of a traditional teahouse on the street corner, two old men who hadn't had time to run away huddled in the doorway, their legs trembling violently.

"The Japanese are coming... The Japanese are coming..."

They were muttering to themselves, their faces ashen.

However, just when the Japanese soldiers thought the road was unobstructed...

A steel wall suddenly appeared at the intersection ahead.

To be precise, four Maxim heavy machine guns appeared simultaneously behind the sandbag fortifications at the intersection.

The dark muzzle of a gun was pointed directly at the front of the Japanese tank.

Immediately afterwards, more German-equipped infantrymen emerged from the alleys on both sides.

They were all wearing M35 steel helmets, gray-green military uniforms, and Mauser rifles with bayonets fixed.

Working in small groups, they quickly occupied the high points on both sides of the street and the entrances to buildings, forming a complete defensive formation.

Zang Keping stood in the very center of the intersection, arms crossed, the dagger at his waist reflecting the morning light.

He glanced at the Japanese tanks and infantry a few hundred meters away and let out a cold snort.

Confrontation.

The two sides were less than 200 meters apart, gun muzzle to gun muzzle, bayonet to bayonet.

The air seemed to freeze.

Any soldier from either side, if he pulls the trigger, will turn this street into a battlefield.

The commander of the Japanese Marine Corps stood behind a tank, observing the opposing formation through binoculars, his expression growing increasingly grim.

He originally thought that Chen's army was just a group of well-equipped local warlords, but he did not expect that the fortifications and firepower configuration of the opposite side were completely in accordance with the standards of regular European armies.

The crossfire of those four heavy machine guns perfectly covered the advance routes of all his tanks and infantry.

If they launch a direct assault, his two tanks will be reduced to scrap metal by anti-tank guns within thirty seconds, and the infantry behind them will be mowed down by machine guns.

He gritted his teeth, but still did not order an attack.

His mission was to probe, not to die.

at the same time.

Garrison Command Headquarters.

Chen Zijun sat behind his desk and picked up the telephone receiver.

"Connecting with the British Consulate General in Shanghai."

beep.

After two rings, the call was connected.

"Good morning, Mr. Barton," Chen Zijun said in fluent English. "I'm sorry to bother you so early. But I'd like to remind you of something."

"What is it?" Baldon asked sleepily on the other end of the phone.

"The Japanese Marines' tanks and infantry are roaming around outside the Japanese concession in Hongkou, which makes me very uneasy. You know, an insecure situation will seriously affect our construction progress at the steel mill and arsenal."

He paused, his tone neither hurried nor slow.

"I recall a clause in that £30 million procurement contract stipulating that the British Empire would be liable for breach of contract if project delays were caused by third-party military action. Mr. Baldon, you wouldn't want to see that happen, would you?"

There was a five-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Baldon's voice became incredibly clear.

"General Chen, please rest assured. I will contact the Japanese consulate immediately. I will give you a satisfactory reply within fifteen minutes."

Chen Zijun hung up the phone, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Thirty million pounds.

That's his trump card.

In this era, money is the greatest weapon. The British were willing to humiliate the Japanese for this unprecedented deal.

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes.

Shen Li rushed in again.

"Young Marshal! The British Consulate has just sent a strongly worded note to the Japanese Consulate, demanding that the Japanese Marines immediately withdraw to within the boundary line, otherwise the British will consider this a 'malicious disruption of the stability of the concession' and report it to London!"

"What was the Japanese consul's reaction?"

"It's said that he was so angry that he smashed a teacup, but he still ordered the Marines to halt their advance and remain in place."

Stay put and wait for orders.

They haven't left yet.

Chen Zijun picked up his coffee and took a sip.

not enough.

He put down his cup, stood up, and walked to the window.

On the riverbank outside the window, Zang Keping's artillery regiment was undergoing an emergency redeployment.

Twenty-four 75mm infantry guns and six 105mm howitzers are slowly rotating their muzzles from the direction they were facing yesterday toward the Shiliupu Wharf.

They all turned north.

All of them are aimed at the Japanese Concession in Hongkou.

The dark cannon barrels lined up in the sunlight, looking from a distance like a row of neat steel fingers pointing at the stronghold that the Japanese were most proud of.

When the commander of the Japanese Marine Corps saw this scene through his binoculars.

His face turned completely pale.

Those were thirty field guns!

Yesterday, that guy surnamed Chen used these cannons to turn the Shiliupu Wharf into ruins!

If these cannons were aimed at the Japanese concession in Hongkou and opened fire...

The mere thought of it sent chills down his spine.

The entire Japanese concession was only six streets in length, and those shikumen houses and wooden houses could not withstand a single 75mm shell.

If 105 millimeters of rain were to fall, the entire Japanese concession would be flattened.

He couldn't hold on any longer.

"All teams! Retreat! Retreat north of the boundary marker!"

Upon receiving the order, the Japanese soldiers turned and retreated with a sigh of relief.

The tank turned around, spewing black smoke, its tracks screeching as they rolled over the road.

The standoff at the intersection of Wenjian Road lasted less than four hours before ending with the complete withdrawal of the Japanese forces.

Zang Keping stood behind the sandbag fortifications, watching the Japanese soldiers' dejected figures, and spat.

"That son of a bitch, he doesn't even dare to fight back, but he dares to come out and scare people?"

"Damn it, you don't dare to shoot, but you dare to come out and scare people?"

The soldiers behind him let out a low chuckle.

That afternoon.

headquarters.

Chen Zijun is reviewing the unloading list of Krupp equipment to confirm that all production line equipment has been safely docked.

Shen Li knocked on the door and came in.

"Young Marshal, the area around Hongkou has been completely cleared. I've instructed Zang Keping to leave two companies of permanent fortifications along the boundary marker. From now on, if the Japanese try to sneak across the border again, they'll have to ask our machine guns for permission first."

"Hmm." Chen Zijun didn't even look up. "What's the reaction from the Japanese consul?"

"They sent a strongly worded protest letter, saying we had 'seriously violated the safety and dignity of the Japanese concession.' Our Ministry of Justice returned it verbatim, along with an excerpt from the original 'Concession Treaty,' highlighting in red the clause 'Neither party shall cross the boundary line to engage in military provocation.' They crossed the boundary first, and yet they dared to protest."

Chen Zijun curled his lip.

"Let them protest."

Just then, Mo Lanzhi called.

Chen Zijun answered the receiver.

"Young Marshal." Mo Lanzhi's voice was as calm as ever, but with a hint of excitement.

"A major incident has occurred within the Green Gang."

"explain."

"Feng Yong, one of Huang Heshang's three top henchmen, led 4,000 dockworkers from the southern district of Shiliupu to publicly announce his defection from the Green Gang this morning. He publicly tore down the Green Gang's command flag at the dock entrance, declaring that he would no longer obey Huang Heshang's orders."

Chen Zijun put down his pen.

"interesting."

"And another thing," Mo Lanzhi continued, "Feng Yong sent me a pledge of allegiance. It contained a complete roster of all members of the Green Gang's Southern District, along with warehouse addresses and income details. He said... he wanted to meet the Young Marshal."

Chen Zijun leaned back in his chair, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

The aftershocks of the bombardment of Shiliupu came faster than he had imagined.

"Let him come."