On September 3, 1937, three Japanese destroyers came to Xiamen waters to show off under the cover of planes. The Chinese troops stationed at the Hulishan Fort fought back. The Japanese destroyer Ruozhu was shot on the starboard side and fled hastily under the escort of two other warships. It is the "Krupp Cannon" that created this great deed.
The Hulishan Fort was built in the 20th year of Guangxu (1894). It is located on the protruding part of the Xiamen Cape, surrounded by the sea on three sides, and has a superior location. It is known as the "Eight Min Gateway, Tiannan Key". A popular 28-birth Krupp cannon with a fee of 100,000 taels, a caliber of 280 mm, a length of 11.2 meters, a weight of about 44 tons, an elevation angle of 30 degrees, an effective range of 19,670 meters, and a penetration of 65.8 mm within 3000 meters Steel plate. During World War II, the frontal armor of the Soviet T34 tank was no more than 60 mm.
Upper picture_ Krupp cannon, caliber 280 mm
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Above_ Krupp cannon, caliber 280 mm
- How Krupp cannon was introduced into the Qing 9bf#
- The Westernization Party attaches great importance to the Krupp cannon
- Battle of Dagukou Fort
- Why the Qing Army with better weapons and equipment will lose
28 The raw Krupp cannon was born in the KRUUP foundry in Germany. In 1811, Friedrich established the KRUUP iron foundry in three thatched huts. He invented the excellent performance of "filling steel" and applied it to the breech gun, which was widely acclaimed and well-known in the world, and gradually became one of Germany's military pillars.
Li Hongzhang, an important official of the Qing court, admired the prestige of the Krupp cannon for a long time, calling the founder Frederick a "man with great ability". "KRUUP", as a foreign word, needs a down-to-earth Chinese name. The Qing Dynasty hoped that the artillery could win the victory, so the name "Krupp" was a perfect combination of transliteration and free translation.
In the tenth year of Tongzhi (1871), China and Germany reached an agreement on the purchase and training of guns. The Qing Dynasty purchased 328 cannons, and German technicians went to the Qing Dynasty to guide the Huai army's artillery skills. Five years later, 7 carefully selected Huai military elites went to Germany for training. In the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888), Li Hongzhang selected a group of scholars from the Beiyang Wubei Academy to study in Germany again. Among them was Duan Qirui, one of the "Three Peking Masters".
The Qing government spent huge sums of money to build forts in Lushun, Dalian, Weihai, Yantai, Wusong, Mawei, Huangpu and other places. By the end of the 1980s in the 19th century, Lushun had built ten forts with a total of 63 guns, of which 42 were Krupp cannons, accounting for 66.67%, and Dalian had six forts with 28 Krupp cannons, accounting for 68.42% of the total. , Weihai’s fifteen forts are all equipped with Krupp guns. At the end of the 19th century, the Krupp gun became a sharp weapon for shore-based defense in the Qing Dynasty.
Upper Picture_ Li Hongzhang (February 15, 1823-November 7, 1901)
b0f248b#8b0f#8b0f#According to Li Hongzhang’s idea that “the ship needs to be strong but also needs guns”, the large-caliber Krupp cannon constitutes the Beiyang Navy’s Backbone. In the 6th year of Guangxu (1880), the Qing Dynasty ordered two 7000-ton Class I ironclad ships to the German Vulkeng Shipyard, namely the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, which consumed a total of 2.82 million taels of silver. On March 31, 1881, Dingyuan started construction and was launched at the end of the year. Zhenyuan was launched on November 28 of the following year. The two ships were completed in 1884. In 1885, the two ships joined the Beiyang Navy at Dagukou.
The main guns of the two ships use 305mm two twin Krupp turrets, two 150mm Krupp breech guns as secondary guns, and are equipped with various caliber machine guns and rapid-fire guns. 16-door, 14-inch torpedo tube 3With. Both the firepower and the tonnage of the two ships are called "Asia's No. 1 Giant Ship." All capital ships of the Beiyang Fleet are also equipped with 2 to 8 Krupp guns.
While introducing the Krupp cannon, the Westernization Group actively hired German technical consultants to speed up the imitation of the Krupp cannon. In 1905, the Jiangnan General Administration of Manufacturing used domestic steel to imitate China's first 75 mm 14-diameter pipe retreat gun. After acceptance by the Army, they believed that “all are of Krupp-like style, and the workmanship is very delicate.” Hubei Gun Factory also imitated quick guns, gun mounts and ammunition of various calibers, becoming another second only to Jiangnan General Administration of Manufacturing. Imitation Center.
Upper image_ Beiyang Aquatics
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Above_ Beiyang Navy
Krupp equipped by Qing Dynasty at the end of the 19th century The artillery was tested by the war. In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), the Qing Dynasty was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, and its international status plummeted. With the increase in war reparations, the people were overwhelmed and the Boxer Movement broke out. At the time of the Qing Dynasty's internal and external troubles, the Western powers were ready to move and plot evil. In June of the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (1900), eight countries including Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Italy, and Austria assembled heavy troops to launch an offensive against the Dagukou Fort.
Dagukou is located at the confluence of the Haihe River and the Bohai Sea. It "extends to the deep ocean and internally connects to the seaport", which is the main gateway of coastal defense and the gateway to Gyeonggi. The Qing Dynasty built four forts on the north and south sides of Dagukou, with 134 Krupp, Armstrong and domestic imitation cannons. There were 6 Huai army battalions and 1 mine battalion under the command of defender Luo Rongguang, with a total of more than 3,000 people. In addition, there were 4 torpedo boats such as the "Hairong" cruiser and the "Hailong" and other Beiyang navy divisions.
On June 16, 28 warships of the Allied Forces berthed outside of the battery fire. On the one hand, an ultimatum to surrender within a time limit was issued to the fort. On the other hand, 935 coalition soldiers were dispatched as surprise soldiers to land in advance and ambush behind the south fort. Guard Luo Rongguang flatly rejected the unreasonable request of the coalition forces. At 2 o'clock in the morning the next day, more than ten warships under the illumination of searchlights began shelling. Luo Rongguang responded calmly and rose to fight back. The Qing army sank 5 warships. At dawn, the coalition forces hit the Zuoying ammunition depot, causing a violent explosion, and the North Shore fort fell.
Upper figure_ Dagukou Fortress Ruins
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Above_Dagukou Fortress Ruins
After the coalition forces occupied the North Fort, they transferred the gun muzzle and the warship artillery to bombard the South Fort, landing the coalition forces and launching from the side. Assault. The South Fort was hit by the enemy on the belly and back, and the ammunition depot was hit again. Luo Rongguang was martyred. The Qing army suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat. In this battle, the Qing army sank and injured 6 warships and wounded 255 coalition forces at the cost of more than 700 casualties. The cruiser Hai Rong and four torpedo boats were taken away by the coalition forces.
The coalition army opened the Qing army's arsenal in Tianjin, and the scene inside surprised the soldiers who were accustomed to the world. The coalition forces seized 36 87mm Krupp cannons, 60 70mm Krupp cannons, and 47mm and 57mm Nordenfeld rapid-fire cannons, a total of 84 guns, and another 30,000 guns. The new Mauser and Manrich rifle and a large amount of ammunition. On the other hand, the Eight-Power Allied Forces were equipped with only 83 artillery pieces and more than 10,000 rifles, and the Qing Army’s weapons were far more advanced than the Eight-Power Allied Forces.
Picture above_ Qing Army Dagukou Defense
From the perspective of the local war, the design of the Dagukou fort was flawed, and sensitive targets such as ammunition depots were not reinforced and protected. Regarding the deployment of troops, the Qing army was inadequately prepared for the enemy’s landing operations, and the troops invested passed in. In addition, during the fierce battle between the two sides, the late reinforcements and the lack of tactical cooperation within the Qing army caused the Qing army, which was fighting at home, to fall into a bitter battle of isolation and helplessness.
From the overall situation, the Qing army has an advantage in weapons and equipment and can play an important role in the war. However, it is people who determine the outcome of the war. After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War of Jiawu, the Qing dynasty established the Dingwu Army, Ziqiang Army, Wuyi Army and other new armies. "All training regulations shall be handled in accordance with Western France." The Ziqiang Army also hired German instructors to take charge of training and participate in management.
In the confrontation with the great powers, the Qing Dynasty discovered the gap with the Western powers, and intended to solve the current situation of the Qing army's "has no weapons" by purchasing advanced weapons and equipment. Then use the western army as a template to train the new army and establish the requirements for the "can" the Qing army fight. However, the Qing Dynasty blindly pursued the strength of technology and equipment and ignored the ideological construction of "loyalty and unfaithfulness" of the army. In the end, the new army trained by the Qing army became its own gravedigger.
Text: Jibaidanghe
The text was created by the History University team, and the pictures are from the Internet. The copyright belongs to the original author
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