This "war wealth" was undoubtedly a huge amount of income for Zhang Zongchang, turning a small bandit into a giant that dominated one side. From then on, Zhang Zongchang was completely established in Shandong.
Heel.
Han Baihang received news during the march that Zhang Zongchang had entered Zhenjiang one step ahead of him by relying on his large number of people. Han Baihang was also very familiar with this man's temperament, and he also knew that Zhang Zongchang was of course in the service of Zhang Zuolin.
It was Marshal Zhang's order, otherwise how would he dare to use chicken feathers as arrows like this.
Han Baihang knew that his persuasion was ineffective, so he did not waste such words. He ordered the troops to move forward quickly and strive to reach Shanghai before Zhang Zongchang's team "suffered a loss".
Qi Xieyuan has long heard about the strength of Zhang Zongchang's White Russian Army. Even without the White Russian Army, Qi Xieyuan would not be able to resist Zhang Zongchang's 100,000-strong army. Therefore, he did not know what to do and was hesitating to choose.
This hesitation does not matter, the key is that it is difficult for him to make a decision here, and the military deployment cannot be communicated. Qi Xieyuan hesitated for two days, and Zhang Zongchang's team had already arrived in Zhenjiang in a mighty manner.
At this time, Zhang Zongchang had officially expanded his Belarusian Army into the 65th Belarusian Independent Division, and also formed an armored vehicle unit with more powerful combat effectiveness. Whether it was the military quality of the soldiers or the weapons and equipment of the army, they were all under certain conditions.
It is much stronger than Qi Xieyuan's troops.
Zhang Zongchang didn't waste any time. As soon as he arrived in Zhenjiang, he directly started a military offensive. It was like a gust of wind and rain.
In Zhenjiang, Qi Xieyuan's military power is not very strong, but it still has the strength of a division. This division's strength is usually enough to deal with some average armed forces, but when it encounters Zhang Zongchang's White Russian Army, over there
It was like paper, disappearing in an instant.
Zhang Zongchang adopted a "blitzkrieg" combat method in his attack on Zhenjiang. Facing Zhenjiang's solid city defenses, the artillery of the White Russian Army played a vital role.
The artillerymen of the White Russian Army are the best among the artillery. Their combat quality is extremely high. They are not afraid of the hail of bullets on the city walls and are able to do so with ease. This kind of childishness is a test of life and death for other soldiers, but
To them, this seems like a simple show.
Even the night before going to the battlefield, several White Russian soldiers gathered together to eat beef and drink strong vodka, as if what they faced the next day was not a fierce and cruel war, but more like a beef feast.
Dessert afterwards.
Zhang Zongchang also left them alone. These people were used to the experience on the battlefield. Sometimes it seemed that there was something wrong if they didn't drink some wine before going to the battlefield. It was like a person who smoked cigarettes. If you want him to quit it all at once, that would be wrong.
Possibly, for Belarusian soldiers, what alcohol brings them is not poison, but dependence.
But when they arrived on the battlefield the next day, they were still as strong as ever.
Facing the enemy's fierce attack, Commander Li, who was guarding Zhenjiang, naturally did not dare to relax. His strings were tighter than anyone else's. If this battle failed, for him, losing Zhenjiang would be a trivial matter, but the key point was
If Zhenjiang, a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, falls, the door to Shanghai will be wide open, and the entire Jiangsu Province will be in danger.
The most important thing is that if Zhenjiang is lost, with the maneuvering speed of the enemy's armored forces, I am afraid that I will have nowhere to run. I will only die by then. It is better to defend the city here and maybe still have a glimmer of hope.
But Zhang Zongchang did not give him the slightest hope. The Belarusian soldiers braved the hail of bullets to set up artillery mounts, all of which were large-caliber heavy artillery. Zhang Zongchang seemed to have been prepared for this battle. In addition, the Belarusian soldiers
The artillerymen were all good, and their target hit rate was extremely high. After two rounds of bombardment, Zhenjiang's city defense was blasted with a big hole.
At that time, only gorgeous fireworks were seen rushing towards the city wall. The black smoke rising after the loud noise almost covered the real sight of the attacking soldiers, and also caused Qi Xieyuan's army who was defending to panic. Along with the dense smoke after the explosion,
There was smoke, and there were raging fires burning on the city walls.
Some soldiers were lucky not to be hit by enemy artillery shells, but some soldiers were burned to death by the flames of war, and some couldn't bear to jump off the wall to get rid of the pain earlier.
For a moment, the scene on the city wall was chaotic. Those who fired back, those who put out fires and rescued people, those who repaired fortifications, and those who evacuated ammunition were all in chaos.
Commander Li personally climbed up the city wall to take command, but at this time, the battle had exceeded his psychological expectations. He had seen a lot of siege battles. In his imagination, generally speaking, the siege team would pay a huge effort.
The cost of casualties was at least four or five times that of the defending team, but today's battle made him doubt his military knowledge.
Furthermore, he quite trusts the ability of his men to build military fortifications, and the fortifications they built are fully in line with his combat expectations. However, the military fortifications that were invincible in the past have completely lost their effect today, and only two rounds of
After shelling, his fortifications were in dilapidated condition, and even the city walls were in danger.
Commander Li has never seen the rows of cannons under the city that require cars to pull. He has seen German cannons and Japanese cannons, but they are nothing compared to what is in front of him.
He can no longer fight this battle.
Zhang Zongchang did not relax his offensive rhythm just because the opponent was in a hurry. Anyone who is familiar with him knows that he is not such a person either.
Just after the first round of bombing, facing the dilapidated city wall and the torn city gate, Zhang Zongchang ordered a full-line attack and ended the battle as quickly as possible without giving the opponent any chance to breathe.
For a time, reinforcements and armored troops swarmed in. Especially Zhang Zongchang's armored troops, which was one of his efforts. Faced with such a situation, the role of armored vehicles came into full play.
Because the armored vehicle troops charging ahead are covered by the thick armor of the armored vehicles, they can advance unscrupulously inside the vehicle. Even the gunners and machine gunners shoot under the cover of the armor. It can almost be said that the enemy on the opposite side cannot hurt them.
Every cent.
Master Li had heard of "Blitzkrieg", but when he saw it with his own eyes, he was shocked. How could he fight against such a behemoth? There was no way.