At the peak of the tourist season, among the tens of thousands of tourists who visit Liugong Island every day, they will inadvertently find that 2 nautical miles south of Liugong Island, there is a small island that is not conspicuous protruding from the sea. This is not an ordinary island, and its name is also very strange, called "Day Island".
On this small island, there was an unusually fierce artillery battle more than 120 years ago, and it was a rare "victory that made the Japanese army frightened" in the Battle of Jiawu, the commander was the "Kangji" ship pipe belt at the time, the officer to the chief of the navy during the Republic of China period, the first member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Central Military Commission after the founding of New China, and the only Beiyang admiral who saw the founding of New China - Sa Zhenbing.
The bombed-out Nichishima Battery, photographed in 1895.
Nishima was originally a reef exposed to the sea, far away, as if clothes floating in the sea, ancient called "Yidao", because in the Weihai city to the east bay overlook, it is just in the direction of the eastern sunrise, plus the Weihai dialect in the "yi" and "day" two words homophonous, the early Qing Dynasty changed to Day Island.
Nikjima is about 120 meters long from east to west, about 80 meters wide from north to south, and the shoreline of the island is less than 1,000 meters, and the area is only the size of a football field.
In 1888, the Beiyang Navy formed an army and deployed a number of batteries along the coast of Wei Bay and Liugong Island to build a coastal defense barrier for "guns" and "ships". Because of its special position, Ridao was more noticed by Li Hongzhang, the minister of beiyang. During the survey of the coastal defense of various ports, he specifically mentioned the construction of an ironclad fort on Nichishima Island, and personally took a small ship to survey the base site of the fort. The Beiyang Guards, who were responsible for building the fortifications, raised it from the south shore of the bay with sand and gravel to build a nearly circular artificial island, and built a well fort on the island, which looked like a natural formation from a distance.
The Nichishima Battery is basically circular, about 14 meters above sea level, and the whole is built with gun positions, bunkers, powder magazines, and parapet walls. The gun position has two large traps, and 2 200 mm caliber trap guns manufactured by the British Armstrong factory are set. There are also 2 caliber 120 mm flat-firing guns and 4 caliber 65-mm flat-firing guns on the island, which has become a relatively important sea fortress, which can form a defensive line at the forefront of Weihai Harbor together with 6 forts on Liugong Island. If these forts are destroyed, the Beiyang Fleet will lose its last position support, which shows how important its strategic position is. In Li Hongzhang's military compromise of proofreading the sea, he said: "The subject is equal to seventeen days to Huangdao, and the next day to the island experimental trap cannon, in the sea outside the target, one hit, instantaneous rise and fall, the spirit is very accurate." At this time, the Qing court also deeply felt the tranquility of the sea frontier because Weihaiwei had such a strong defensive barrier along the coast.
On January 30, 1895, the Japanese army easily occupied Weihaiwei and many forts on the north and south banks of the bay in half a day, and then launched a full-scale attack on Liugong Island and the Beiyang Fleet in the harbor.
Sa Town Ice.
In order to strengthen the defense force of Ridao Island, Ding Ruchang specially ordered the "Kangji" ship to take Sa Zhenbing to the danger, leading 30 sailors to the town of Ridao to defend, it was the cold winter moon, the wind was howling, dripping water into ice, Sa Zhenbing and the sailors were not afraid of hardships, thus starting an 8-day bloody battle.
The battle on February 7 was the most tragic, with 25 Japanese ships, including Fuso and Chikushi, taking turns to bombard the island, and the batteries on the south coast of the Weihai Sea, which had been occupied by the Japanese army, also bombarded the island. Sa Zhenbing encouraged the sailors to stick to their posts and fight to the death, and the Liugong Island Battery also frequently fired artillery support, and the two sides launched an extremely fierce artillery battle.
Kenningham, a foreigner of the Beiyang Navy who participated in the battle at the time, recorded the fierce battle: "Sa Guan Belt led 30 sailors to defend this fort. He was very brave when the island was attacked, and although he braved the incessant artillery fire, he personally guarded the rapid-fire guns. At one point, three sailors guarded a cannon and braved ferocious bombardment, one of which was wounded in three places on the neck, leg and arm by the shell, but the first-class wound was wrapped, and he still resolutely returned to his duty and assisted in the battle with only one hand. ”
According to the japanese military's war history data, "In this battle, the enemy's artillery batteries were quite capable of fighting. With eight cannons against more than twenty of our fleet, they operated skillfully and fired at our ships. ”
The Japanese Navy was hit by this blow, and its arrogance was frustrated, so it had to temporarily stop the attack. Although the Japanese attacks were repelled, the officers and men guarding the island suffered heavy casualties, the powder magazine was destroyed by artillery fire, the garrison barracks were collapsed, one ground well was damaged, and the firing of another ground well was hindered. In this way, the Nichishima Battery has lost its anti-enemy role. Ding Ruchang had no choice but to order the station to be abandoned, and Sa Zhenbing had to be ordered to withdraw to Liugong Island. Nichishima was then occupied by the Japanese and completely destroyed. However, the Nichishima Battery, led by Sa Zhenbing, resisted the siege of hundreds of rapid-fire guns of the entire Japanese fleet of 25 ships with only 8 guns, preventing the Japanese from advancing further into Wei Bay.
Horsetail Ship Politics School??
In 1859, Sa Zhenbing was born in Fuzhou, and after several years of study at the Mawei Ship Politics School, he graduated with the first place in the class.
In his nearly 20-year naval career, Sa Zhenbing has accumulated rich experience in both teaching students and pipe belt large and small ships. However, leading sailors to garrison the Japanese Island Battery was the first time he had joined the army. There was no fresh water, grain, or vegetables on Ridao Island, and the supplies needed by the defenders were supplied by Liugong Island and the southern shore of Wei Bay.
In order to avoid artillery fire, the officers and men of the island lived in dark and damp underground bunkers. Poor living environment, coupled with overwork, Sa Zhenbing was once suffering from illness. His wife Chen Shixun came from Fuzhou to visit, and was about to board the "Kangji" ship when She was learned by Sa Zhenbing, who immediately ordered the sailors to withdraw the gangway and not allow his wife to board the ship. His subordinates repeatedly persuaded that Sa Zhenbing still did not allow his wife, who had traveled thousands of miles, to board the ship for a meeting, and he said with a straight face: "This place is extraordinary, today is extraordinary, how can we allow her to board the ship?" Tell her that I am dead, and let her return quickly. Mrs. Sa was refused to see her and had to return to the south in tears. The war-oriented Sa Zhenbing endured the torment of illness and the sailors who held the Japanese Island Battery day and night to fight the Japanese army.
Half a year later, Lady Sa died of illness, and with guilt and attachment to her wife, Sa Zhenbing, in the years to come, fostered her children to her in-laws' family, although she was in a high-ranking official position, she never married. Someone asked him why he didn't continue the string, and he said: If there is another woman in the world who is like my wife, I will marry!
Sa Zhenbing, 90 years old.