xymnovel Chapter 228 Endless Tank Charges, Japanese Suicide Charges
Chapter 228 Endless Tank Charges, Japanese Suicide Charges
Yoshio Shinotsuka, clutching the urgent telegram from the front lines, his face equally grim, shook his head and said:
"The outlook is not very optimistic. Our defensive line in this direction was hastily constructed."
"Furthermore, this is a flat plain with no natural defenses, and the enemy's tank units, under artillery cover, are advancing too quickly."
"However, the troops are already building a second line of defense. Once the anti-tank artillery is deployed, it should be able to hold off the enemy's armored forces."
Iida Sadamoto's gaze was fixed on the map, and he circled the locations of Sanyuan Town and Changji Town repeatedly with a red pen.
His voice betrayed his panic: "There are enemy troops in Sanyuan Town, and enemy armored units in Changji Town as well."
"Plus the 71st Army of the Central Army, which is currently launching a counter-offensive, I have a feeling that what they really want to devour is us?"
Yoshio Shinotsuka shared the same worries. He picked up the telegram sent by Toshizo Nishio from the table, his brow furrowed.
"So, do you think we should still go and support the Sixth and Tenth Divisions?"
Iida Sadamoto paced back and forth in the room several times with his hands behind his back, finally stopping and gritting his teeth as he said:
"No rush, let's wait and see how the enemy is doing."
"If we blindly send reinforcements, we might be ambushed by enemy armored forces on the way, and then we won't even have a way to retreat."
His decision to remain inactive and observe the situation was partly for his own safety.
On the other hand, it was also because he firmly believed that the Sixth and Tenth Divisions were, after all, two veteran Class A divisions.
Even if they are surrounded, there are additional reinforced anti-tank units and artillery, so they shouldn't be unable to hold out for even two or three days.
They can decide whether to send troops after they have figured out Li Jianghe's true intentions.
Little did he know that from the moment they chose to remain inactive, the Japanese army's defeat was already inevitable.
The battlefield east of Huoqiu County was already a shocking scene of devastation.
The charred soil was studded with deformed shrapnel, and the battlefield was littered with broken corpses, dripping blood, and the wreckage of tanks still burning fiercely.
Black smoke, thick with the stench of blood, drifted in the morning breeze. The fierce battle had just taken a heavy toll on both the Third Column and the tank units of the Japanese Sixth Division.
But the devastation all over the ground does not mean the end of the battle; rather, it is only the prelude to a new round of fighting.
Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet began to tremble violently, and the scorched soil bounced with the tremors.
The roar of tank engines grew louder as they approached, instantly drowning out the groans of the wounded and completely enveloping the entire battlefield.
The Third Column's steel torrent started up again, its heavy tracks crushing the Japanese corpses scattered on the ground as it rolled toward the Japanese positions.
On the opposite, dilapidated Japanese positions, the commander's roar tore through the smoke of battle.
One anti-tank gun after another was pushed into its position, its muzzle fixed on the tanks of the third column charging forward, and it opened fire continuously.
"Boom!!!!!"
The sound of exploding shells rang out one after another, and amidst the ear-piercing sound of metal tearing apart, an armored tracked vehicle had its frontal armor pierced by an armor-piercing shell.
Before the soldiers inside the carriage could react, their bodies were torn apart by the scattered shrapnel, and the carriage was instantly a bloody mess.
However, as soon as these Japanese anti-tank guns fired, their positions would be instantly exposed, and they would be locked onto by the other tanks of the Third Column.
"Fire!!!!"
At the commander's order, the vehicle's mounted cannon and heavy machine gun simultaneously roared to life.
Shells and dense bullets intertwined to form a fire net, raining down on the Japanese positions.
Those anti-tank guns that had just opened fire became the primary targets of the Third Column.
Many Japanese anti-tank guns had just fired one shell, and before the gunners could even reload the second, they were blown to pieces by oncoming shells.
"Boom!!!!!"
A series of explosions erupted on the Japanese positions, sending artillery wreckage and soldiers' remains flying everywhere.
At the same time, the vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns roared wildly, their large-caliber, heavy-point bullets sweeping across the Japanese artillery positions like the fangs of a beast.
The Japanese soldiers, who had no time to dodge, were instantly torn to pieces by bullets and fell into pools of blood.
In the blink of an eye, the Japanese positions were filled with destroyed artillery pieces and piles of corpses.
Even at this point, the Japanese commanders showed no sign of backing down.
He drew his command sword from his waist, the tip pointing directly at the oncoming tank horde, and roared with bloodshot eyes, "Demolition Team! Charge!!!"
As soon as the order was given, a large number of Japanese soldiers, carrying explosive packs and holding demolition charges, leaped out of the trenches and charged towards the tanks of the Third Column like madmen.
Their eyes were filled with the madness of being brainwashed by Bushido, and they wanted to use their bodies to stop the steel torrent in front of them.
"boom!!!"
The sound of explosions continued, but it was not the sound of Japanese soldiers destroying tanks.
Instead, it was the cannons on the tanks that fired the shells with precision, which exploded in the charging Japanese troops, instantly turning the Japanese soldiers at the forefront into dust.
The remaining tanks did not stop for a moment, continuing to roar forward, their heavy tracks and wheels crushing the bodies of the Japanese soldiers.
After all the anti-tank weapons were destroyed, the Japanese troops on the position could only resort to suicidal charges to fight against the surging tank force.
But such resistance is nothing but a futile struggle in the face of overwhelming firepower and armor.
On the distant city wall of Huoqiu County, Tani Hisao held up his binoculars, staring intently at the battlefield in the distance.
He watched as his defensive line crumbled like an avalanche under the onslaught of hundreds of tanks, leaving no room for resistance whatsoever.
"Relying solely on anti-tank guns to stop the enemy's tank assault is still too much of a stretch."
Ogizu Rippei, who was standing to the side, spoke in a deep voice, his tone filled with barely suppressed anxiety.
"If this continues, it won't be long before the enemy's tank forces advance to the walls of Huoqiu City."
As he spoke, he turned to look at Tani Hisao beside him, only to find that the division commander, who had been so confident just moments before, now had a face so gloomy it could drip water.
Li Jianghe's third column, with just a few hours of fierce attack, completely shattered Tani Hisao's confidence.
This also made him finally realize just how foolish and ridiculous his previous thoughts had been.
According to his original plan, the 6th Division was to take the initiative and launch a counterattack towards Huainan.
However, the overwhelming bombardment by hundreds of artillery pieces from the Third Column's artillery detachment brought this counterattack to an abrupt end before it even began.
Before the main force of the 6th Division could react, more than two hundred tanks, along with infantry, launched a desperate charge on the front.
The accompanying rapid-fire cannons and vehicle-mounted artillery poured fire on the Japanese positions, bombarding them so much that they couldn't even raise their heads.
Forced into a corner, the 6th Division had no choice but to hastily switch to a defensive posture.
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