bayedsolid Chapter 215 Advancement of the Battlefront
Chapter 215 Advancement of the Battlefront
A Japanese major and five or six soldiers were crouching in the woods.
"Company Commander!" A soldier in a Japanese military uniform rushed back from the front.
"How is it?" the bearded company commander asked as he stood up.
"The Japanese defenses are lax, no problem!" The soldier nodded.
"Alright! Let's go!" The company commander waved his hand, and the men crept forward!
The men had just emerged from the woods when the booming sound of artillery fire erupted. The company commander glanced in the direction and waved in one direction. Several soldiers quickly followed.
After walking four or five miles, a small Japanese village appeared before them!
The company commander straightened his uniform and led his men over in a long stride!
Upon seeing the army approaching, the villagers all showed expressions of fear. The company commander didn't say much, but led his soldiers quickly through the village with a stern face.
The sound of artillery fire grew closer, and the group quietly climbed a small hill. A kilometer below, a large crowd had gathered, with at least a thousand artillerymen at work, and dozens of cannons were firing fiercely.
"Bazimuth 15 degrees, range 11,000. One test shot!" The company commander shouted, looking at the map and holding the radio.
"Whoosh, boom!" A shell flew by and exploded two kilometers away from the Japanese position. It startled the Japanese artillerymen!
"Fire! Keep firing!" the Japanese officer shouted. They were shelling, and the Chinese would surely retaliate. It wouldn't be surprising if a shell occasionally flew by.
"Azimuth angle 14.5 degrees, distance 9,900!"
On a cruiser at sea, a major listened to a walkie-talkie while calculating on a map, then quickly handed a piece of paper to the lieutenant next to him.
The lieutenant took the paper and hurriedly ran into the turret!
Soon, a cannon slowly rotated and then stopped. With a "boom," a cannonball was fired and flew into the distance.
"Boom!" The shell landed at the edge of the Japanese artillery position, killing two packhorses. The other horses scattered in panic. The guards on guard duty rushed to catch the runaway horses.
The Japanese army already sensed something was wrong! Their positions must have been exposed, and they didn't know why the Chinese artillery was so accurate.
"Azimuth 14.5, distance 8,500 to 9,800. Coverage 500 units to the left and right!" the company commander growled in a low voice.
On the sea, the turrets of a dozen or so warships turned together, all aiming at the distance.
A few minutes later, a deafening roar of cannon fire erupted. Each cannon spewed out a plume of smoke, and dozens of shells hurtled into the distance.
"Boom!" The Japanese positions were instantly surrounded by artillery fire, and the continuous barrage of shells caused the Japanese artillerymen to flee in panic.
"Okay! Well done!"
"Three-wheel coverage!" the company commander shouted, grabbing the walkie-talkie.
"Go!" After the three explosions, looking at the mess left behind by the Japanese artillery positions, the company commander waved his hand. The men quietly retreated!
"Baka yarou! How did the Chinese find my artillery positions?"
At the headquarters of the Japanese 16th Division, Lieutenant General Shigemoto Yamashita was furious. One of his brigades had already been decimated, and now his artillery had been destroyed. He didn't know what he could use to fight the Chinese.
"Order the Matsuki Brigade to immediately replace the Hinage Brigade and launch an attack! The soldiers of our Great Japanese Empire can defeat the Chinese even without cannons!"
"Hi!"
. . . . . .
"They're here! Fire!" The Marines watched as the dark mass of Japanese soldiers charged forward. A cacophony of artillery and machine gun fire erupted.
For a time, the two armies engaged in a fierce battle across a front of approximately five kilometers. The Japanese army wanted to push the Chinese army back into the sea, while the Chinese army wanted to eliminate as many Japanese soldiers as possible.
By 4 p.m., two regiments from the 1st Army Division had landed. One regiment from the Armored Division had also landed.
This area is too small to accommodate the subsequent troops and equipment! We must expand the beachhead before the main Japanese force arrives.
The gunfire gradually subsided, and the scattered Japanese soldiers turned and fled. This attack had once again ended in failure, leaving behind only a trail of corpses.
Just as the Japanese troops were slowly retreating, preparing to rest and launch their next attack.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from the opposite side. The ground trembled!
Dozens of massive tanks appeared at the front line, quickly crossing the trenches and crushing the retreating Japanese troops. A large number of ground vehicles followed behind.
A barrage of artillery shells rained down on the Japanese troops' forward assembly point, causing heavy casualties among the Japanese soldiers waiting there.
Before the smoke of battle had even cleared, massive tanks appeared before them.
"Kill them!" A Japanese lieutenant commanded a surviving heavy machine gun to fire fiercely at the tank.
Unfortunately, when the bullets hit the tank, they only sent up some sparks.
With a deafening roar, the tank's cannon spewed a plume of smoke. A nearby Japanese machine gun crew was blasted into the air.
The soldiers of the Japanese 16th Division had never seen such terrifying tanks before. Under the onslaught of tanks and armored vehicles, they were routed, desperately running backward.
The soldiers of the 1st Division followed behind the tanks, advancing continuously and capturing Japanese positions one after another.
By 6 p.m., after defeating the Japanese 16th Division, they advanced the front line by five kilometers before stopping.
They then began digging trenches and building fortifications under the cover of tanks and armored vehicles!
"Damn it!" Terauchi Masatake was shocked when he received news of the 16th Division's crushing defeat and the Chinese army's advance of five kilometers.
He knew the Chinese army was strong, but he didn't expect its combat power to be so high.
"Order the 15th and 9th Divisions to go to their aid immediately. We must stop the Chinese offensive! Drive them back to the beachhead!" Terauchi Masatake roared.
If they can't stop the Chinese advance, they'll storm the city.
He currently only has four divisions at his disposal, and the Imperial Guard Division is responsible for guarding Tokyo and the Imperial Household. In reality, only three are truly available.
The 16th Division has been decimated; all we can hope for is that the 9th and 15th Divisions can hold off the Chinese and buy him some time.
. . . . . .
"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!" Dusk was approaching, and the battlefield was quiet as the soldiers hurried to rest. They didn't know if the Japanese would launch a counterattack that night!
Soldiers from the cookhouse appeared in the trenches carrying loads on their shoulders!
"Old Yang, what are we having for dinner today? The brothers have been fighting all day and they're all exhausted. You have to get them something good to eat to help them recover!" A tall squad leader stood up and said with a smile.
"Brothers, you've really worked hard today! I made some braised beef to reward you!" Old Yang put down his load, picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and said with a smile.
Hearing that there was braised beef, the soldiers couldn't help but swallow hard. They all grabbed their mess boxes and gathered around.
Cattle are very important livestock, and they cannot be slaughtered casually even in the country. The soldiers had hardly ever eaten them.
"Old Yang, you're amazing! You even managed to get beef! Impressive!" The tall squad leader praised, giving a thumbs up.
"Hehe! In the afternoon's battle, one of the Japanese's cows was killed. Our battalion discovered it, and the battalion commander ordered it to be dragged back. Each company got a little meat."