BSI Chapter 197 Elite Japanese Army, Sun Yuanliang Meets a Mighty Bumper
Chapter 197 Elite Japanese Army, Sun Yuanliang Meets a Mighty Bumper
The Japanese company commander was greeted by the spitting fire of the vehicle-mounted machine gun and the roaring flashes of the armored vehicle's cannon.
His arm, still holding the sword, was frozen in mid-air when the bullet instantly tore his chest apart.
The tracks of the armored vehicle following closely behind rolled over his body as they churned over the muddy dirt road.
The cracking sound of bones breaking mingled with the roar of the tracks, only to be swallowed up in an instant by the clamor of the battlefield.
In the ruins of Jinzhuang, the gunfire gradually subsided.
The soldiers of the Third Column, carrying rifles, went house to house to wipe out the remaining Japanese troops.
Smoke was still rising from the bullet holes in the adobe wall, the bodies of Japanese soldiers lay scattered at the alley entrance, and the blood-stained Rising Sun flag was trampled into the mud.
In just twenty minutes, the entire Japanese company was wiped out.
Jinzhuang, the vital rear route for the Japanese regiment, was completely seized by the Chinese army.
Meanwhile, on the front line of Fujinyama, on the position of the Kameda Regiment.
The smoke of battle still billowed over the battlefield, and the acrid smell of gunpowder mixed with the stench of blood stung the nose.
Kamedaoka poked his head out of the half-collapsed trench, his face covered in black ash and sweat, leaving streaks of dirt on his skin.
His fleshy face was taut, and he squinted as he looked at the opposite hillside.
The Nationalist soldiers, crouching low and stepping through shell craters and rubble, charged toward the position.
The khaki military uniforms surged across the scorched hillside like a rising tide.
Bullets whistled and tore through the air above the position.
Light and heavy machine guns deployed behind the assault troops are firing overrunning targets.
Scorching hot machine gun bullets flew over the heads of the charging soldiers, tracing a smooth arc before slamming into the Japanese trenches and fortifications.
The heavy artillery barrage had left many Japanese soldiers dazed and confused, with some suffering ruptured eardrums and still howling in the trenches.
But when they saw the Nationalist troops rushing up, these battle-hardened Japanese soldiers instantly realized that this was a full-scale counter-offensive by the Chinese army.
"All units hold their positions! Await reinforcements!"
Kamedaoka drew his military sword from his waist, the blade reflecting the sunlight through the smoke and emitting a cold light.
Instead of panicking, he grinned and laughed, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, his eyes full of disdain and arrogance.
"These cowardly Chinese troops have finally dared to show their faces! Excellent!"
The regimental staff officer next to him was pale-faced, looking at Kamedaoka's frenzied state with a face full of surprise and doubt, his voice trembling.
"Colonel! Our troops are surrounded on all sides by the enemy. Gunfire and explosions are constantly erupting from the direction of Jinzhuang in the rear. Our retreat is probably cut off! Why are you still laughing?"
Upon hearing this, Kamedaoka let out a contemptuous sneer, spittle flying out with his roar.
"Fools! Even surrounded, I'm confident I can hold off this Chinese counterattack!"
"Since their main force has dared to expose itself, once the division's reinforcements arrive, their demise is imminent! At that time, we can annihilate them all here!"
Before he could finish speaking, the gunfire ahead suddenly intensified.
The assault troops of the 88th Division, under the cover of machine gun fire, had already rushed to within 100 meters of the front line of the position.
A fierce positional battle broke out instantly!
The first to attack were not the Japanese machine guns, but the grenade launchers hidden on the reverse slope of the trench.
Those Japanese veterans were already very familiar with operating the Type 89 grenade launcher.
They knelt in the trench, squinting as they adjusted their firing angle, their target aimed directly at the machine gun positions behind the 88th Division.
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
The grenade whistled through the air, the first one landing a few meters from the machine gun position, kicking up a cloud of dirt.
The second shot was closer, and the flying debris hit the machine gun shield.
Almost on the third shot, the grenade landed precisely on the machine gun position.
"boom!"
A violent explosion rang out, and the roar of the Maxim machine gun abruptly ceased.
The machine gun crew members, along with their guns, were thrown away by the blast wave.
Most of the machine gunners in the 88th Division were new recruits who were added after the Battle of Shanghai and seriously lacked combat experience.
They had no idea that after firing the machine gun for several minutes, they would have to immediately move to a different position.
Many people, seeing the grenades landing not far away, assumed that the Japanese grenade launchers had missed their target and continued to pull the trigger and fire wildly.
Unbeknownst to them, the two calibration rounds had locked them in place, and death was already looming behind them.
At the same time, the Type 92 infantry guns attached to the Japanese regiment also roared.
This weapon, which the Japanese army called the "all-purpose cannon," was lightweight and flexible. It could fire indirect fire at targets behind cover, or fire directly at and destroy simple fortifications.
A flash of light from the muzzle, and a high-explosive shell whistled as it crashed into the charging crowd.
Amid the explosion, several charging Nationalist soldiers were instantly engulfed by the blast wave, falling into pools of blood before they could even scream.
More soldiers were hit by flying shrapnel and fell on the way of the charge, howling in pain.
Those Nationalist soldiers who rushed to within 100 meters of the front line were instantly caught in a dense barrage of Japanese machine gun fire.
Those Nationalist soldiers who rushed to within 100 meters of the front line were instantly caught in a dense barrage of Japanese machine gun fire.
The Japanese machine gunners in the trenches were all well-trained veterans.
Whether it was the Type 92 heavy machine gun with its steady rate of fire or the Type 92 light machine gun, they all used short bursts of fire, and with each shot, charging soldiers fell.
The bullets struck the stones in front of him, sending up fine stone chips; they hit the soil, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Many soldiers had just jumped out of their cover and hadn't even taken a few steps when they were hit by oncoming bullets and fell heavily to the ground on the hillside.
After a round of attacks, the slope in front of the position was littered with the corpses of Nationalist soldiers, and blood flowed down the ditches into the soil, turning the scorched earth a dark brown.
The accuracy of Japanese infantry shooting was truly astonishing.
The gunfire from the Type 38 rifle was sparse yet deadly; within a hundred meters, almost every shot hit flesh.
The Japanese soldiers hiding behind the firing ports in the trenches only showed half of their eyes. With each shot, a charging Nationalist soldier would fall down, clutching his wound.
This is not simply a difference in combat experience, but a world of difference in daily training levels.
These soldiers who were added to the 88th Division were all carefully selected strong men, but after enlisting, they had very few live-fire shooting opportunities. Many of them were sent to the battlefield before they even got to handle a gun properly.
The Japanese soldiers on the other side, even if they were new recruits, fired more bullets in a month on the training ground than these Nationalist soldiers fired in a year.
What's even more troublesome is that the Japanese army made full use of the advantages of the mountainous terrain.
The various firing positions rely on each other and provide cross-coverage; if one position is attacked, the positions on the left and right flanks will immediately provide fire support.
This left the 88th Division, which had an overwhelming numerical advantage, with limited options and restricted its movements.
Several attacks were repelled by the Japanese army. Not only did they fail to capture an inch of the position, but they also left behind a large number of corpses in front of the position.
The battle raged from dawn until noon, when the sun was high overhead, making the smoke from the gunpowder on the battlefield scorching hot.
But the 88th Division fought all morning and still couldn't even take over the outer main positions of the Kameda Regiment.
Inside the 71st Army headquarters, the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like water was about to drip from it.
Song Xilian's military uniform was already soaked with sweat, his brows furrowed in a knot. He paced back and forth in the command post, his military boots crunching on the mud, each step filled with anxiety.
He would ask about the battle situation at the front every ten minutes.
But Chief of Staff Chen Ruihe's replies were almost identical every time.
"Reporting to the Commander, the 88th Division is organizing a new offensive, but there has been no progress so far."