From mid-February 1895, the Wonsan group, with the support of a large number of artillery, steadily approached Pyongyang step by step. Although Nie Shicheng's division had planned to use the mobile advantage of cavalry to harass the Japanese army's longer and longer supply lines, in the face of the Japanese army's impermeable defense, a small number of cavalry could not have a fatal impact on Japan's logistics at all, and could only delay the opponent's attack.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Nie Shicheng decided to shrink all his troops to Pyongyang, to ensure the security of Pyongyang City and the south, and to ensure the contact of the Qing army in Incheon.

And the Qing army at Inchon also began to cover the retreat one by one. After all, the distance from Inchon to Pyongyang is too large, and in order to reduce the distance between the two groups, Incheon's troops will gradually withdraw to the Kaesong line and redeploy, but fortunately, the Nozu Michikan group on the southern front of the Japanese army cannot take advantage of the situation because of repeated bloody battles and supply problems. The Qing army had to take a step back, and the Japanese army went further.

This situation has been discussed many times in military circles after the war, and many people believe that if the Japanese army could boldly use Gunsan Bay to supply or distribute the supply resources equally, the Japanese troops on the southern front would probably inflict heavy losses on the Qing army and reach the southern line of Pyongyang to complete the encirclement of the Qing army. It is not like in history, although the Wonsan group has a large number of heavy artillery, but is trapped under the fortified city. The troops on the southern front could not advance quickly because of supply problems.

As in history, the prelude to the Battle of Pyongyang still began at the Funabashi position on the east bank of the Taedong River. February 23, 1895. The 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the Japanese Army was under the command of the brigade commander Nogi Noshinori. The attack was launched on the position of Chuanqiaoli, and the Qing army's defensive force was more than 3,000 people from the new army and the old army commanded by Ma Yukun.

In order to strengthen the defensive force, Nie Shicheng specially assigned one battalion of Taiwan's New Army to Ma Yukun. At this time, Yang Tianming, the battalion commander of Taiwan's New Army, was hiding in the battalion headquarters and waiting for the end of the shelling. After many major battles, the Japanese army attached great importance to forward reconnaissance and artillery preparation, and fought relatively cautiously. After 2 days of investigation, in the early morning of the 23rd. With the roar of artillery, the Battle of Pyongyang officially began.

"Little Japan is really accurate." Yang Tianming, who was lying behind the second line of defense, checked the situation outside from time to time. Some of the poorly hidden ground guards and bunkers in the first line of defense were destroyed by powerful artillery fire, and shells continued to hit the ground like hammers. The blown wood, rocks, and mud fell like rain. After 15 minutes of artillery preparation, three Japanese battalions rushed to the position in three directions.

"Come with me, brothers, it's time for us to see us." The junior officers of the New Army led their subordinates to move towards the position through the guò communication trenches. The machine gun crews that remained at the support point of the first line of defense threw away the canvas that should have been on the machine guns. Then load the bullets. Wait for the order to shoot at any time. The mortar and artillery teams were constantly adjusting their artillery according to the calibration points previously measured. In order to block the enemy reinforcements in the rear and possible mortar artillery and mountain artillery in front at any time.

After the artillery suppression ended, more than 1,500 Japanese troops jumped out of the trenches of the advancing positions. The ghost shouted that this rushed to the Qing defense line. The distance between the two sides is getting closer, 500 meters, 400 meters. 300 meters. When the Japanese army hit to 250 meters. A flare rises into the sky. Bullets fired from machine guns and rifles on the Qing positions were intertwined into a dense web of fire. If the rain of bullets came from the front and side of the Japanese troops. In an instant, the formation of the Japanese charge was disrupted.

Serpents slice the shock troops into small pieces. In the face of the sudden blow, the Japanese soldiers fell down after a short period of confusion, and under the command of the junior officers, they all lay down and picked up the rifles in their hands to shoot at the opponent.

Rifle to machine gun. And the machine gun is still in the bunker, and the result of this situation is known without thinking. But just when the Qing army was secretly glad that they could suppress the opponent's attack lightly. The sharp-eyed Yang Tianming saw the threats that gradually emerged from the smoke of gunpowder. …,

"Open fire" with the order of the commander of the gun. THE JAPANESE ARTILLERY, WHICH HAD PUSHED THE 57MM MOUNTAIN GUNS AND 75MM MOUNTAIN GUNS TO THE FRONT OF THE POSITION UNDER THE COVER OF ARTILLERY FIRE, FINALLY BEGAN TO WIELD. Direct close-range shots. This accuracy was naturally very high, and the first shell knocked a machine gun bunker flying with a rain of bullets. Blood, machine gun parts and broken wood were blown into the sky. With a volley of fire, a hole appeared in the originally very fine net of fire on the battlefield.

BUT FORTUNATELY, NEITHER THE KRUPP CAMP GUN NOR THE 57 MOUNTAIN GUN WAS LIKE THE RAPID-FIRE GUN LIKE THE M1897 TYPE 75MM GUN THAT APPEARED LATER, THE GUN NEEDED TO BE RETURNED TO ITS POSITION AND RE-AIMED, AND IN ORDER TO FACILITATE MOVEMENT, THE JAPANESE ARMY DID NOT HAVE TIME TO BURY THE GUN WHEELS IN THE SOIL TO OFFSET THE RECOIL. Therefore, after the first round of design, there will inevitably be a pause in firepower. At this time, it hurt the Japanese soldiers who had just gotten up and were ready to charge.

After seeing that the machine guns that were still spewing poisonous fire like a monster dragon just now were knocked out by the artillery, the Japanese troops resumed the charge under the command of the junior officers, but they forgot. Even if a few heavy machine guns are lost, the line of defense, consisting of light machine guns and rifles with a high rate of fire, as well as grenades and grenadiers, which can move at any time, is still not a simple pig that can break through!

With the screams of grenadier launches, grenades fell in an arc from the air into the charging Japanese troops. The forged and formed projectile body was shattered under the action of explosives, and it was a high-speed shrapnel reaper, and the lives of Japanese soldiers were reaped. And those light machine guns that came alive from the blow also fired one after another, sweeping down the Japanese troops who rushed over one by one.

Subsequently, after knocking out a drum, the position was shifted. Although the firepower is somewhat sparse compared to the beginning, the three-dimensional strike fire net composed of the curved trajectory of the grenade and the flat fire of the light machine gun is even more deadly!

"A soldier less than 5 meters in front of me suddenly crooked his neck, and then a stream of blood spurted out. Presumably hit in the artery by shrapnel from a grenade. This grenade, which can be fired with a single steel pipe, is our nightmare, and it can hit a grenade at any time and from any angle you can't think of. You don't know when you're going to take your life. A Japanese soldier who participated in the war wrote in his diary.

Then the Japanese lay down again to find cover and fire, and the artillery behind opened fire again, but it was obvious that this attack was not effective, and the remaining bunkers were either not easy to hit. Either that, or concrete fortifications that are difficult to destroy.

And the light machine gun group is also shifting positions at any time. So the second wave of shelling had a limited effect. However, this was not the worst, the Japanese artillery, which had already opened fire, did not immediately shift their positions. (Without horses, it was really difficult to quickly transfer a 75mm gun by manpower.) ）

AFTER THE SECOND FIRING, THE 120MM HEAVY MORTARS IN THE REAR OF THE QING ARMY AND SOME 82MM MORTARS IN THE FRONT POSITION HAD FIRMLY LOCKED ON THE JAPANESE ARTILLERY. THEN A 120 MORTAR POSITION BEHIND THE POSITION, 4 120MM MORTARS AND 2 FRONT 82MM MORTARS FIRED A FIRE ON THE JAPANESE ARTILLERY POSITION!

IN 2 MINUTES, THE 120MM GUNS FIRED AN AVERAGE OF 3 SHELLS PER MINUTE, WHILE THE 82MM GUNS FIRED AN AVERAGE OF 8 SHELLS PER MINUTE. SENT THE 4 75MM MOUNTAIN GUNS AND THE 2 57MM MOUNTAIN GUNS THAT CAME OUT OF THE FRONT TO HELL ALONG WITH THE GUNNER AND AMMUNITION EQUIPMENT.

In the midst of this incessant explosion. The Japanese forward artillery was completely annihilated, and at the same time, Nogi Noshinori's first attack was completely defeated. In order to reduce unnecessary casualties, Nogi Noshinori withdrew the three brigades of the 1st Brigade that had been beaten and were still missing. In less than half an hour of attack, the Japanese lost one-third of their combat strength and lost a whole brigade of troops.

After a full day of fighting, the Japanese reorganized several attacks, and Nogi tried multiple methods to put the Gatling guns in front to provide direct fire. Frontal containment, side attack. Even the troops were ordered to dig trenches and push the starting positions as far forward as possible. But either way, in the face there is this forming trench system. and the defense system of the strong support point in front of the head-to-head bleeding. …,

Even though they have a temporary superiority in strength and firepower when attacking from the flanks, the Qing army can be reinforced along the trenches. And the firepower of the Japanese infantry with only rifles was not proportional to the firepower of the Qing infantry with machine guns at a distance and box guns at close range. And artillery does not have absolute superiority, even if the starting artillery direct fire can destroy part of the opponent's units. But the retaliatory fire that followed could still suppress the Japanese artillery.

IT WAS NOT UNTIL LATER THAT THE JAPANESE DECIDED TO USE A LARGE NUMBER OF 37MM LIGHT GUNS AGAINST THOSE NIMBLE LIGHT MACHINE GUN GROUPS. And the low weight, easy to transfer and concealed light artillery did put a certain amount of pressure on the Qing army's defensive line, and often these guns quickly moved after a few shells. The mortars of the Qing army may not have time to retaliate.

"If there is no absolute superiority in firepower, the trench system plus machine guns and mortars are extremely staggering for the infantry, and a large number of formed charges against the opponent's trench fortifications are tantamount to death, even if a breakthrough can be opened, the opponent can still follow the communication trench to reach the breakthrough. And successfully blocked. Nogi wrote this summary in his diary.

At the same time, his opponent, Yang Tianming, battalion commander of Taiwan's New Army, conceived of breaking through the trench system from the perspective of attack: "If you want to break through the opponent's trench system, the first thing is to attack with high-intensity firepower in a short period of time, and you must be able to destroy most of the opponent's fortifications in a short time. The second is continuous fire suppression to prevent the other side from reinforcing attack points from other theaters.

Separate the position you want to attack from the opponent's defenses. The third is speed, if you wait for the other party to react, then it will be too late. It is important to quickly capture the breakthrough and then consolidate it. The fourth is a light artillery mortar with sufficient automatic weapons. Outside the trenches, you'll have to deal with the fortifications with portable artillery, and inside the trenches you'll have to deal with the swarming enemy. ”

Thank you for slapping your face, Farewell to the Night, Ah 9690620, The Sky Doesn't Fall, N12345, and liang for your tips. The offensive and defensive battle in Pyongyang has begun, and we ask for fire support (to be continued......