The Invasin of Qingdao

Naval landing of the Second Marines

## Quote

"Alright boys, now is the time! Keep your guns loaded, keep your wits about you, and most importantly, keep your head low; if you've gotta puke, then puke on the floors, not overboard, so you don't get shot at by these commies. Now, remember your wives, your children, your mothers and fathers, because today, we are fighting for the freedom of China! - General Hsei-Ling to his soldiers in a Landing Craft before landfall, 2034

## Background

Shortly after the Cultural Revolution of 2032, the Chinese government found itself in an unstable situation. Ever since the beginning of the 2020 decade, citizens of China have already become more acclimated with western ideas of democracy and governance, due to widespread use of social media and western sites. By 2030, this presence had become so significant that protests were a frequent occurrence in the country, unable to be clamped down by its sheer size. A protest of tens of thousands was happening every other day in cities all across China, and the police couldn't manage this widespread potency of protestors. It was at this time that hundreds of thousands of citizens began moving abroad, a fair portion to Taiwan specifically. Military Units began to defect quietly to Taiwan, as portions of the new generation of military high command had found reservations with China's Communist regime, which has failed to improve the quality of life for people in many years now. Entire ships and units of men would simply take a boat or vessel and sail to Taiwan, not intending to return. By 2032 the military was already in the threat of collapsing completely, as it believed that over half of the Chinese military had begun to show signs of suspicion. In proportion, it is believed that 75% of the Chinese population supported a change in government at this point. However, the government continued to suppress this sentiment as best they could, frequently finding protests and military defections to Taiwan to be a daily occurrence.

In 2034, after two years of suppression, everything fell apart in August 2nd after a crisis in the Chinese government saw leaks of a document detailing a plan to subdue the city of Shanxi with toxic gas. The military and civilian population erupted in outrage, and Chinese Communist units were rushed around the country in an attempt to suppress these rebellions. However, it was at this point that it was revealed that the Taiwanese government, in conjunction with defecting forces, have orchestrated a grand invasion of China to liberate it. It is likely this information was leaked by a Communist mole. After word of this got out, the Chinese military defected in the tens of thousands, with entire stockpiles and military ports being clobbered by soldiers finding transport to Taiwan. A large contingency of Communist units were sent to execute the treasonous soldiers, who fought briefly in The Battle of Shenzhen before the already demoralized communist forces withdrew. This sparked immediate action to be taken against China by commanding general Hsei-Ling of the Chinese Reclamation forces, and by the end of the 4th units were already gathering on the west coast of Taiwan with a fleet of naval ships and air units as support. On August 15, 2034, the full scale Naval Invasion of Shandong was launched, with a large concentration near Qingdao due to its importance as a supply center for Shandong.

## Overview

The Chinese Democratic Forces, enjoying the donation of old American warships, easily secured naval and air superiority early in the morning. By 11:00am, the first convoys had been launched from the Navy, bound for the rugged coast some fifteen miles easy of Qingdao. The area had already been extensively shelled by aircraft and naval guns, and active reconnaissance plays enjoying complete superiority were able to operate without much issue. However some scattered remains of Communist forces still remained on the beach, hiding behind ruins with small units of Machine Guns. it is notable that this war would be the last war fought with Machine Guns of the traditional style. Reconnaissance reports indicate that artillery was severely damaged, if not rendered unusable, and Chinese convoys had withdrawn around Shenzen, making the landing almost unopposed. By 1:00pm a beachhead had been secured, rounding up about two hundred prisoners, and Democratic forces had begun setting up in preparation for further incursions into Shandong.
However this turned out to be a farce, as immediately around 1:30pm a large Chinese counterattack was launched, numbering 5,000 against the settled 2,000 on the beach of Qingdao. A fully motorized force originating from the city swiftly made their way down the coast, and due to the proximity of the landed units and the Communist forces, artillery barrages weren't risked. Although bombardment was present as these units traveled down the coast, the speed of the motorized units made it difficult to pin down effectively. The unprepared landing forces were caught off guard, and Hsei-Ling quickly ordered the erection of barricades to defend. As the first motorized forces were prepared, they launched an artillery barrage towards the Democratic lines, while simultaneously setting off planted explosives all around the beach that were buried underground. This proved completely catastrophic, and of the 2000 units on the beach at that moment, five hundred suffered casualties. At the same time, a large contingent of airplanes from the Chinese mainland arrived perfectly as timed to gain air superiority, achieving this task over the course of the next hour. As motorized infantry reached the beach, they fired from their advantageous high ground position and due to the nature of the landscape, both sides were rather exposed and both sides suffered high casualties during this firefight. Reinforcements were immediately requested by the Democratic Forces.

After thirty minutes of fighting, around 2pm, the Democratic forces were completely surrounded and pushed out of the beach, huddled around their convoys on the shoreline, the remaining one thousand or so men however continued to hold, with Hsei-Ling barking words of inspiration. After another 15 minute Hsei-Ling realized that room needed to be cleared for the incoming convoys to reinforce their position, so in an act of desperation that many critique as sheer folly to this day, him and his remaining men launched a desperate counter attack that pushed back the Chinese temporarily at nonvenomous casualties, just as the convoys began to land. it is said that during this specific counterattack, the several hundred remaining men charged out from their convoys and barricades, straight into enemy fire without regard with their lives. The Communist forces were initially shocked at such seemingly suicidal attacks, and they retreated from their desperate ferocity. This allowed large amounts of convoys to secure themselves on the beach, reinforcing the line by hundreds. Eventually the Communists withdrew to the bluffs above, intending to put a stalwart defense against any more units landing on the beach. The battle would drag on for several hours until sunset, when the Communist forces would ultimately retreat to Shandong to regroup. The victorious Second Marines, who weren't initially part of the first wave of invasion forces, triumphantly secured the bluffs about Qingdao and began their march towards a siege of Qingdao. All in all, by the end of the 15th, 15,000 soldiers of the Chinese Democratic Army have landed on the beach supported by 150 tanks and 500 trucks.

## Aftermath

The overall successful invasion of Qingdao allowed all the other naval invasions of Shandong to proceed without much issue. It created a foothold for the Chinese Democratic Forces to eventually take Qingdao itself within the week. Many critiqued the lack of shore defenses, but this was in large part due to how little time the Communists had to prepare. All in all the invading forces suffered 2,000 casualties during the assault, with 800 having been from the initial wave, which were devastating casualties. Enemy losses numbered about 500. Hsei-Ling expressed regret at such high numbers, but ultimately other Chinese commanders praised him for his heroic fighting on the front lines itself. The ensuing "Reclamation" campaign would begin very shortly after this invasion, at the start of September, 2034.