Black Flag Army

At eight o'clock the next morning, Pan Dutong, who was also the division commander, called a meeting with his three brigade commanders and the heavy artillery commander. Pan Dutong had heard that the Beihai Company had defeated the Jin army with three planes, and was still hesitant about whether to attack. However, one of his deputy chiefs of staff, who had defected from Yan Xishan's Jin army, took the initiative to tell Pan Dutong that the three planes actually only defeated one Jin army regiment, and it was only with the cooperation of the ground forces that they won. The division commander Wen Shouquan did not fight at all, but retreated with two brigades. Pan Dutong was relieved to hear this, and ordered the army to attack Baotou, on the grounds that the former garrison commander Di Congmo colluded with the Mongolian bandits and harmed the people, and he, Pan Dutong, wanted to eliminate the harm for the people.

None of the three brigade commanders wanted to lead the charge, so Pan Erxi spoke up first: "Division Commander! My brigade is a newly formed brigade, and most of the soldiers are new recruits who have not been trained for long. If we attack the city first, it will easily collapse, which will affect the morale of the entire army."

General Pan nodded and said to Fan Guozhang, "Then let Brigade Commander Fan take the lead! Your First Brigade is a veteran brigade with mostly veterans. I will let the heavy artillery regiment cover you. The first one to enter Baotou City will be rewarded with 1,000 yuan."

Fan Guozhang said, "When the division commander conducted a major purge in the army last time, the officers in our brigade changed the most. Many officers were newly transferred and were not familiar with their subordinates at all. This is not conducive to fighting. Let's ask Brigade Commander Xiao to take the lead. Most of his second brigade are also veterans."

What Fan Guozhang said was euphemistic. In fact, many outstanding officers were driven away by General Pan and replaced by General Pan's relatives or people who gave him expensive gifts. These people had no idea how to fight, so the army's combat effectiveness naturally declined.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Guangchuan waved his hands and said, "Brigade Commander Fan is too modest. Your First Brigade is the most elite unit in the entire division, much stronger than us. Of course, you should go first. We are the reserve force and can support you at any time."

Fan Guozhang quickly continued to decline, saying: "My troops are all infantry. If they are attacked by aircraft, it is easy to suffer heavy losses. Brigadier General Pan's brigade is a cavalry brigade, so it is better to let the Third Brigade take the main attack."

Upon hearing this, Pan Erxi quickly retorted: "Although most of the soldiers in my Third Brigade are cavalry, there are too many rookies, and many of them can't even ride a horse. How can they take on the important task of the main attack? Brigade Commander Fan's soldiers are brave and good at fighting. How dare I compete with you for this opportunity to make meritorious service?"

Fan Guozhang still wanted to find excuses to be lazy, but Pan Juying saw that the three of them were shirking responsibility and wasting time, and he began to get impatient, so he interrupted them and said, "You three don't need to continue arguing. I am the division commander. Now listen to my orders. Fan Guozhang's brigade will attack from the east of Baotou as the main force, and Xiao Guangchuan's brigade will make a feint attack from the south to tie down the enemy's forces. Pan Erxi's brigade will serve as a reserve force to support Fan Guozhang at any time in the east. The artillery regiment will also be divided into two parts to support the east and south. No more objections are allowed."

After hearing what Pan Juying said, the three brigade commanders did not dare to say anything more and returned to their own troops with their own thoughts. However, Fan Guozhang still complained in his heart: This guy is protecting his relatives after all. You have placed so many relatives in the 20th Division. My brigade has become stagnant and the military discipline is terrible. And you still want me to die.

It was early morning, and the weather in Baotou seemed a little gloomy, with dense clouds blocking the sun. It was late autumn, and the wind was chilly. In the south of Baotou, the atmosphere fell into a dead silence. A group of Beiyang soldiers slowly transported the cannons to the vicinity. More than a dozen heavy cannons were as terrifying as towering giants. With the order of the head of the heavy artillery regiment, these cannons roared like a roar, and the shells fell like raindrops on the city walls and the back of the city. In an instant, the city wall in the south of Baotou blew out a bunch of gray waves, and several houses in the city collapsed instantly. With the continuous bombardment of more than a dozen heavy artillery, some fortifications in the south of Baotou were blown up, two bunkers were blown up, and the city walls were blown up with debris everywhere. Several soldiers of the guard brigade were also blown out on the spot, and their limbs and arms were scattered everywhere. However, the gate of Baotou still looked like a dead city, and no one from the guard brigade rushed out. After the artillery fire had been going on for about ten minutes, the gun barrels began to heat up. Brigade Commander Xiao Guangchuan, who had been watching, felt that the time was almost right, so he ordered the entire brigade to attack and capture the south gate of Baotou City in one fell swoop. The officers and soldiers of the 2nd Brigade of the 20th Division rushed up like a tide.

However, Baotou City suddenly came alive again at this time. The sound of "da da da" machine guns rang out from several windows of the tower. The Beiyang Army soldiers who rushed in front were swept to the ground by cutting wheat. At the same time, the sound of machine guns also rang out from the muzzles above the city wall. Under the continuous shooting, dozens of soldiers of Xiao Guangchuan Brigade disappeared. The officers and soldiers of the Guard Brigade hidden on the city wall gradually appeared. Various rifles, mortars and grenades also rang out. The demolition hands and ladder soldiers who rushed in front suddenly had their heads blown up. However, the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Army gradually reacted. The soldiers in front began to look for bunkers to shoot back. The sound of machine guns of the Beiyang Army in the rear also rang out, and the firepower of the two armies began to gradually form a situation of shooting against each other. The first regiment of the Guard Brigade led by Zhu Anbang was defending the south of Baotou City. Zhu Anbang himself was also commanding the battle on the tower. He organized the troops to fire back in an orderly and simultaneous manner as much as possible, so that the snipers could knock down the opponent's machine gun firepower points as much as possible. The battle south of Baotou gradually became stalemate. The defense of the guard regiment was quite tenacious. They paid close attention to the demolition workers of the Beiyang Army. The battle had lasted for nearly twenty minutes, but no demolition worker outside the city wall had managed to reach the city wall alive. The gap between the marksmanship and discipline of the two sides' rifles gradually emerged. The Beiyang Army's officers and soldiers had poor discipline, the troops lacked training, and their marksmanship was disorganized. It was common for the troops in the rear to accidentally fire and hit their own people.

About ten minutes later, the casualties of Xiao Guangchuan's brigade had reached more than 200 people, and two company commanders were killed one after another. The morale of the army had fallen, and the attacking troops withdrew one after another. At the same time, the artillery regiment's artillery sounded again, and the bombing of Baotou's South Gate began again. The defenders of the guard regiment had to hide in fortifications and towers. Zhu Anbang, who was in the tower, was quite puzzled at this time. He found that the enemy's attack was very strange. There was not even the most basic infantry and artillery coordination. The infantry and artillery had never attacked at the same time. The attack seemed quite perfunctory. In this era, there are very few commanders who make such mistakes. In addition, although the enemy's artillery fire was fierce, Zhu Anbang noticed that the number of the enemy's artillery was obviously not the scale of a heavy artillery regiment. He did not see the four large-caliber Krupp heavy artillery. Therefore, Zhu Anbang began to suspect that the enemy's attack might not be focused here. After the artillery fire stopped, the Beiyang Army launched another charge. This time, there were obviously fewer demolition experts, and many of them hid in bunkers before reaching the city wall. The two sides were once again in a stalemate of rifle fire. At this time, a scout came to Zhu Anbang and said, "Captain Zhu, the East Gate has also been attacked fiercely by the enemy, and the number is greater than this side."

At the east gate of Baotou City, about ten minutes after Xiao Guangchuan's attack began, Fan Guozhang also commanded the army to charge the east gate. The heavy artillery regiment's cannons and artillery at the east gate were all commanded by Fan Guozhang himself. He ordered all the cannons to bombard the city walls while letting the ground troops attack quickly. Moreover, Fan Guozhang also issued an order to offer a large reward for the heads of Di Congmo and Feng Ru, using money to lure the troops to attack at full speed. He also had four Krupp heavy artillery here, so the lethality of the shells was far greater than that of the South Gate. In addition, Fan Guozhang's brigade was Pan Juying's main force attacking Baotou. In order to pursue offensive efficiency, Fan Guozhang concentrated the range of the artillery bombardment on the city tower, all for the purpose of quickly taking Baotou. Under the bombardment of four large-caliber heavy artillery, several cracks appeared on the tower. The infantry on the ground also rushed to the edge of the tower, and the ladders began to be set up. The defenders had to push down their ladders under the artillery fire. The infantry artillery on the tower also began to fire back, and several machine guns opened fire like poisonous snakes. The artillery in the distance noticed the movement of the attacking troops and asked Fan Guozhang whether to adjust the angle of the artillery to avoid accidentally hurting their own people. However, Fan Guozhang asked them to continue firing until the city wall was destroyed. The sound of machine guns, rifles, and explosions resounded at the East Gate of Baotou, and the exchange of fire between the two armies at the city wall gradually became white-hot.

The second regiment of Liu Zhendong of the Guard Brigade defended the east gate. Although it was nominally a regiment, it actually had only two battalions of more than 800 soldiers. Moreover, under the coordination of enemy artillery and infantry, their losses continued to increase, with more than 100 casualties. A deputy battalion commander and company commander were also killed by artillery shells. The enemy's artillery position was relatively far away, and it was difficult for their own infantry artillery to bomb it. The enemy's infantry attack was also very fierce. Rows of demolition experts threw explosive packs at the city gate. There were already many damaged places on the city gate, and the defending engineers were busy and could hardly stop for a moment. In addition, the enemy's bombing of the city wall still did not stop. Many artillery shells directly killed the guard regiment and the Beiyang Army. The defending side had already replaced more than a dozen machine gunners, and two light machine guns were directly blown up. Many people on the top of the city could hardly show their heads, and the situation seemed quite passive. Soon, many Beiyang Army soldiers climbed up the city wall and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the security forces. The broadsword team of the Second Security Regiment participated in the battle. Liu Zhendong himself picked up a broadsword and rushed towards the enemy. The shouts of killing on the city wall were deafening. Many officers and soldiers on both sides were chopped down and stabbed to death, and blood was splattered everywhere. In Baotou City, Brigade Commander Zhang Zhenyang was also in the city commanding his infantry artillery and mortars to bomb the enemy. The Beiyang Army's offensive forces were also killed and wounded in the bombing. Two heavy artillery pieces on Fan Guozhang's side also exploded. The Beiyang Army's casualties reached more than 300 people, and the Beiyang battalion commander who was at the front was also killed by stray bullets.

It seemed that God favored Fan Guozhang this time. Under the continuous bombardment of four Krupp heavy guns, a large gap was directly blown out of a city wall, and a Krupp heavy gun also exploded afterwards. Before that, due to Fan Guozhang's continuous artillery bombardment, three more heavy guns of the Beiyang Army exploded. However, as the gaps in the city wall appeared, the Beiyang Army, whose morale was gradually declining, gradually regained its confidence and poured into the gap like a tide. The Beiyang Army on the city wall also gradually withdrew. All the officers and soldiers of the 1st Brigade of the 20th Division rushed into the gap frantically, vying to be the first to enter the city.

The one rushing to the front was a battalion of the Beiyang Army. The battalion commander was also a relative of Pan Juying. The battalion commander was very excited and felt that a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry was right in front of him. However, just after the battalion rushed into the gap, almost everyone's feet suddenly stepped on empty air. About 300 people of the army suddenly fell into a trench, and the battalion commander fell to death on the spot. In fact, this was a trap designed by Zhang Zhenyang. It was hollowed out as early as yesterday, and then very thin wooden boards were laid on it, and soil was sprinkled on it as a cover. Of course, that layer of wooden boards could not withstand the weight of so many people. Zhang Zhenyang saw the enemy's vanguard fall into the trench, and hurriedly urged the artillery to fire continuously to cut off their contact with the follow-up troops. The Beiyang Army was panicked by this sudden change and began to disintegrate under the bombardment of artillery fire. Dozens of Beiyang soldiers in the trenches were stabbed to death by bamboo sticks at the bottom of the trenches. The rest of the soldiers finally climbed up, but saw dense rifles and light machine guns on the buildings and roofs in front of them. They immediately became live targets. Under the fierce shooting, the Beiyang soldiers in the trenches were killed and wounded. Except for a few people who did not fall into the trenches, the rest were wiped out and did not even have the chance to surrender. As the rest of Fan Guozhang's brigade retreated, the attack of the 1st Brigade of the 20th Division on the east gate of Baotou also failed. Afterwards, the Beiyang soldiers counted the number of people. In this battle of less than an hour, they had suffered more than 500 casualties. The most important thing was that the Beiyang artillery losses were also serious. This round of fighting had broken six of their heavy artillery, including a Krupp heavy artillery.

The casualties were so great, but Baotou City still could not be captured. This made Fan Guozhang quite angry and immediately reprimanded several of his regiment commanders, calling them cowards. About half an hour later, Fan Guozhang reorganized the troops to attack. This time he changed a regiment to rush in front, and the target was still the previous gap. Fan Guozhang judged that the trench dug by the Baotou Army was only that one, as long as they crossed it, they would win. All Beiyang heavy artillery also followed the charge of the troops and resumed firing. Under the advantage of artillery fire, the Beiyang Army once again rushed to the gap. The gap had been built with simple fortifications by Liu Zhendong and his men. The two sides once again engaged in fierce exchanges of fire at the gap. After a while, the armies on both sides entered into hand-to-hand combat again. Liu Zhendong picked up a broadsword and fought a bloody battle with the enemy. He was highly skilled in martial arts, and the enemy could not survive a round in his hands. Seven or eight enemy heads were cut off by him one after another. In just a cup of tea, the gap was already a sea of ​​blood and corpses, and more than a hundred people from both armies died under the hand-to-hand combat.

At this time, a roar sounded in the sky. Fan Guozhang looked up and saw that it was Baotou's planes. There were five planes flying slowly, two of which were carrying bombs. The reason why the planes came only now was that they took off too late due to too many malfunctions, and the two bombers were also temporarily modified fighters. Before the battle began, Fan Guozhang heard from Pan Juying's staff that there was nothing to be afraid of enemy planes, but he still felt a wave of fear when he saw it with his own eyes, so he immediately hid in the air-raid shelter prepared in advance with several adjutants. Five planes immediately flew to the rear of the Beiyang Army, two dropped bombs, and three began to strafe the ground, causing more than 20 casualties in the Beiyang Army. It is true that the lethality of Di Xiong's current aircraft cannot be compared with that of European and American aircraft after World War I, and the power of the so-called bombs and grenades is not much different, but the psychological pressure caused by the aircraft is quite terrible. Not many people in the 20th Division had actually seen an airplane, so when they saw it with their own eyes, the morale of the army collapsed again. Liu Zhendong immediately led the troops of the 2nd Guard Regiment to launch a counterattack, and another round of charge by Fan Guozhang's brigade was repelled. This time, the Beiyang Army suffered more than 200 casualties again.

Fan Guozhang, who had failed twice, was furious again and started cursing at his regiment commanders again. Then he looked towards the camp of the Third Brigade in the rear and shouted in that direction: "Where is that coward Pan Erxi? So many people in my troops died, how could he have the leisure to sleep? This beast is worse than pigs and dogs!"

Then he said to a messenger: "Go and ask the division commander quickly. Xiao Guangchuan can't be lazy anymore. The planes on my side have arrived. The tactics should change. His brigade also needs to change from feint attack to main attack. I can't do it alone."

After the battle, Zhang Zhenyang reported the losses of both sides to Di Xiong: "We killed about a thousand people on the other side, and suffered more than 400 casualties. The main loss was Liu Zhendong's regiment. Fortunately, there were aircraft to help, otherwise the casualties would be even greater."

Di Xiong said: "I have watched it carefully. The battles will not be so fierce in the future. The Beiyang Army has been weakened. Of course, the most important thing is the night attack."