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

December 19, 1925, late at night.

Anhui, Ma'anshan Coal and Steel Complex.

He Maofeng stood on the watchtower on the east side of the factory area and glanced at the pocket watch on his wrist.

Eleven forty-seven.

A night breeze blew in from the direction of the Yangtze River, carrying the dampness of early summer and the fishy smell of the river. In the distance, a cluster of blast furnaces spewed dark red flames in the darkness, dyeing the entire sky an eerie orange-red.

That's the color of burning steel.

He Maofeng took a deep breath and glanced at the dark perimeter of the factory area.

He had been on guard in this watchtower for a full day and night.

Yesterday afternoon, the young marshal's telegram arrived.

The wording is simple, yet frightening.

"The remaining Japanese special forces have infiltrated the Ma'anshan area with explosives. Your Independent 6th Mixed Brigade, strengthen its defenses. If you can't do that, go to Hangzhou and live with my father in his old age."

He Maofeng's first reaction after reading the telegram was not fear.

It's anger.

He Maofeng has served the Chen family for two generations, starting with Chen Zijun's father, Chen Yuhe, and they've been fighting side-by-side ever since. Sending him to Hangzhou to retire? What's the difference between that and saying he's useless?

I'm not that old yet!

Therefore, within two hours of receiving the telegram, He Maofeng completed the war preparedness upgrade of the entire Ma'anshan factory area.

All members of the Independent Sixth Mixed Brigade have had their vacations cancelled.

Nine thousand eight hundred soldiers were divided into three shifts, working in shifts around the clock. The three layers of barbed wire surrounding the factory area were all electrified, with an MG34 machine gun emplacement erected every fifty meters. Thirty-six high-powered searchlights were installed at the four corners of the factory area and on the highest points, all pointing towards the open area outside.

In addition, He Maofeng also transferred the only heavy firepower from the artillery regiment directly under the brigade headquarters—four 105mm howitzers—and set them up in the sandbag fortifications behind the factory area wall.

"Commander, isn't using a 105mm howitzer to take out a few infiltrating agents a bit of an overkill?"

A young battalion commander muttered something under his breath.

He Maofeng glared at him.

"The young marshal said this factory is the lifeblood of the Chen family army. If anyone lets the Japanese touch even a single wire in the factory area, I'll twist their head off and use it as a chamber pot. Wasting talent? I'd rather bring over the entire brigade's artillery!"

The battalion commander shrank back, not daring to utter another word.

……

The night grew deeper.

Upstream on the Yangtze River, two small fishing boats are gliding silently across the water.

There were no lights on the ship.

The oarsman rowed extremely slowly and lightly, each stroke barely making a sound. Under the moonlight, the small boat resembled a black ghost, slowly drifting downstream towards a riverbank downstream of the Ma'anshan factory area.

Eight people were squatting in the cabin.

They were dressed in black night clothes, their faces smeared with soot, and each of them carried a heavy canvas bag on their back.

Explosives.

A full forty kilograms of military-grade TNT explosives is enough to destroy a blast furnace.

The man in the lead was tall and thin, with deep-set eyes and prominent cheekbones. His name was Takeda Jiro, and he was the Special Higher Police's last trump card in East China.

When news of the complete annihilation of the "Sakura" special attack team at Shanghai South Station reached Tokyo, the military staff were furious. But they did not give up.

Since a direct assassination attempt won't work, let's try another method.

Bomb the industrial lifeline of Chen Jiajun.

Without the special steel from Ma'anshan, Chen Jiajun's cannons would be nothing but scrap metal. Without the supply of coke from the coal-steel complex, those blast furnaces would become cold ruins.

This is far more useful than killing someone.

Jiro Takeda licked his chapped lips and gave the order in a low voice in Japanese.

"Everyone ashore. Divide into two groups. The first group will bomb the blast furnace complex, and the second group will bomb the coking plant. After the mission is successful, retreat through the ravine on the west side."

"Hai!"

Sixteen dark figures silently emerged from the cabin, crouching low as they crept towards the factory area, stepping on the pebbles on the riverbank.

The guides were two local traitors. This man was a small merchant from near Ma'anshan who had been bribed by the Special Higher Police for 500 silver dollars to provide the factory's patrol routes and shift change times.

"Sir," the traitor said in a low voice, speaking in broken Japanese, "the factory's outer perimeter barbed wire is just 300 meters ahead. The changing of the guard is at midnight, with a gap of about three minutes."

Takeda Jiro nodded.

three minutes.

enough.

They continued forward. Two hundred meters... one hundred and fifty meters... one hundred meters...

The outline of the factory perimeter wall could be vaguely seen ahead. The dark red glow of the blast furnaces shone through the wall, like the beckoning entrance to hell.

Fifty meters.

Takeda Jiro raised his right hand, signaling everyone to stop.

He crouched down and carefully examined the barbed wire fence in front of him.

It's very quiet.

There were no searchlights. No patrols. Not even the sound of dogs barking.

It's too quiet.

A sense of unease suddenly rose in Takeda Jiro's heart.

But he didn't have time to think about it anymore.

Because the next second—

Om-! ! !

Thirty-six high-powered searchlights lit up simultaneously!

Blinding white light shot in from all directions at the same time, instantly illuminating the entire open area as if it were daytime!

Takeda Jiro's pupils suddenly contracted.

He saw it.

Behind the barbed wire fence, there were densely packed sandbag fortifications.

Behind the fortifications, rows of dark gun barrels were visible.

MG34. MP18. Mauser rifle.

Hundreds of gun barrels were all pointed at the sixteen of them.

"Baka—!"

Jiro Takeda roared wildly, desperately reaching for the fuse of the explosive pack on his back with his right hand.

late.

boom!

A crisp gunshot rang out.

Takeda Jiro's head exploded like a watermelon. Blood and brain matter splattered all over the face of the traitor behind him.

That was a sniper positioned on the watchtower. A 7.92mm Mauser rifle bullet pierced precisely into Jiro Takeda's left eye socket from 300 meters away.

"Fire!"

He Maofeng's roar echoed through the night sky.

Da da da da da da—! ! !

Twelve MG34s opened fire simultaneously!

The orange-red bullets, like fiery serpents, rushed from all directions toward the seven dark figures in the open area who had not yet had time to react!

There was no cover. There was no shelter. There was absolutely no way to escape.

They were like targets standing in the center of a stage.

The first person was riddled with bullets; his body convulsed for a few seconds under the impact of the bullets, like he was dancing, before collapsing limply to the ground.

The second man tried to detonate the explosive charge, but his entire right arm, along with the charge, was blown off by a burst of bullets. The severed arm drew a bloody arc in the white light of the searchlight.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

The seven Japanese agents were exposed and fell to the ground in less than ten seconds.

The only survivor was the traitor, his face covered in blood, lying on the ground trembling.

He Maofeng walked down from the watchtower and strode up to the traitor.

He crouched down, grabbed the traitor by the collar, and lifted him up.

"Five hundred silver dollars?" He Maofeng's voice was as cold as ice. "Five hundred silver dollars and you'd sell your life and the face of your ancestors for eighteen generations?"

The traitor's teeth were chattering, and his crotch was already soaked.

"Great...Great General, spare me...I...I was forced to do this..."

"Take him away." He Maofeng released his grip and threw him to the ground like trash. "Hand him over to the military court. Let the young marshal decide the sentence."

He straightened up and looked around at the corpses and shell casings scattered on the ground.

Then he took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.

Smoke billowed from his nostrils, mingling with the gunpowder fumes in the air.

"Young Marshal," He Maofeng murmured to the air, "this time I won't have to retire in Hangzhou, right?"

……

Just as the gunfire outside the factory area subsided.

A deafening cheer erupted from the steelmaking workshop deep within the factory area.

He Maofeng strode into the steel plant.

Inside the enormous workshop, an electric arc furnace was emitting a dazzling white light. Dozens of workers and German engineers surrounded the furnace, their faces flushed, excited as if they were going crazy.

An elderly German engineer with gray hair stumbled over, his face streaked with tears, and shouted in broken Chinese:

"Sir! It's a success! The first batch of special armor steel is ready!"

He Maofeng was taken aback.

Then, he saw it.

From the tap hole of the electric arc furnace, a stream of molten steel, as red as lava, slowly flowed into the mold.

That was the first batch of special armor steel that the Chinese themselves had refined.

Its hardness, toughness, and elasticity all meet the German Krupp standards.

He Maofeng almost dropped the cigarette in his mouth.

Although he was a rough man and knew nothing about metallurgy, he knew—

With this steel, the tanks, cannons, and even warships that the young marshal wanted to build would finally have their own skeletons and armor.

"Good!" He Maofeng slapped the old German engineer on the back, almost knocking him over.

"Good job! I'll cover all the drinks tonight!"