20demayo Chapter 89 Never Give Up, Fight to the Death
Chapter 89 Never Give Up, Fight to the Death
More than fifty artillery pieces opened fire simultaneously, and the front lines of the Japanese 6th Division were instantly engulfed in flames and smoke. The flashes from the explosions illuminated the dark sky.
As the artillery barrage was about to end, Zhu Chi and Xu Dingguo led more than two thousand men to the front of the Japanese positions.
This caught the Japanese army off guard, since all the previous battles had been concentrated in the city, and even the enemy in the direction of Yuhuatai was only on the defensive.
But now the enemy from the direction of Yuhuatai is launching an attack on their positions, which is quite unexpected.
After all, the enemy numbers were too small; it was practically suicide.
However, the troops led by Zhu Chi and Xu Dingguo still left a deep impression on the Japanese troops when the battle began.
The soldiers at the forefront were carrying cluster grenades.
These grenades were all tied with ropes, and after the ropes were pulled, they would be thrown out by someone.
In this way, they could achieve a greater throwing distance, even throwing these grenades directly onto the Japanese positions from more than forty meters away.
"Boom!!!"
The Japanese soldiers who had just rushed into the position had not yet had time to organize their defenses from the artillery fire when cluster grenades began to rain down.
Once the cluster grenade bombardment ended, soldiers armed with submachine guns and flamethrowers rushed to the front.
"Da da da!!!"
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!"
Amidst the roar of submachine guns, golden shell casings flew everywhere, and bullets rained down like a storm of pear blossoms, suppressing the Japanese firing positions.
Some Japanese soldiers who tried to peek out and shoot were instantly pierced through the head by bullets.
At the same time, the flames sprayed from the flamethrowers also illuminated the position in a fiery red.
Even the Japanese soldiers hiding in the trenches could not escape their fate. After their bodies were engulfed in flames, they let out shrill screams, crawled out of the trenches, or rolled wildly on the ground.
Holding a submachine gun, Zhu Chi charged ahead, repeatedly pulling the trigger at the Japanese soldiers under the protection of his own soldiers.
Xu Dingguo took the lead and even engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army, tearing out the intestines of one of the Japanese soldiers.
Yu Hongzhi, wielding a nine-ringed broadsword, hacked Japanese soldiers to the ground one by one, his body covered in blood, like a demon god of war.
Hua Pinzhang kept cursing "turtle son," but his Zhongzheng rifle never missed, and he took down Japanese soldiers who were supporting the front line one by one.
Han Xianyuan, holding a Czech-made light machine gun, continuously fired short bursts.
If the commander was like this, the soldiers were even more courageous and their momentum was astonishing. They actually managed to defeat the Japanese troops on the front line.
At that moment, three red signal flares were launched into the sky, signifying that the forward positions of the 6th Division had been captured.
From the direction of Zhonghua Gate, Baicheng Mountain roared:
"Tank start!!!"
Eight Tanks No. 8 started up almost simultaneously, their roaring engines drowning out all the surrounding noise.
"Smack!!!"
With the tank hatches closed, eight tanks led the breakout force, charging to the very front.
Following behind were motorcycles, trucks, horse-drawn carriages, and mule carts.
Also after the shelling ended, Wang Chengzhu's artillery battalion towed the artillery behind the trucks, ready to catch up with the main force at any time.
The troops that withdrew from the direction of Yijiangmen, led by Chief of Staff Xiao Shen, headed south and passed through several city blocks.
The original force of over 700 men has been reduced to less than 400 survivors after a fierce battle with the Japanese army.
Behind them, the sound of Japanese gunfire continued unabated; those were the pursuing Japanese soldiers. With a flick of his finger, he instantly transported himself to the exciting world of Chapter 89, "Never Give Up, Never Abandon, Fight to the Death." They relentlessly pursued the military police led by Chief of Staff Xiao Shen, like mad dogs.
After all, the Japanese landing force suffered heavy losses in the blocking battles at Yijiangmen and Jiang'an, so they were naturally unwilling to let these enemy troops go easily.
"Brothers, stay close."
Xiao Shenmou shouted.
Just then, scouts rushed over from the front.
"Chief of staff, they've escaped! They've already escaped!"
"What?"
Chief of Staff Xiao asked incredulously.
The soldier repeated:
"Commander Li and his men have already left Zhonghua Gate. I could see their headlights. We've been abandoned in Nanjing."
As the soldier spoke, tears streamed down his face.
Being abandoned in Nanjing at this point, one can only imagine what the final outcome would be.
Some soldiers started talking about it.
"What talk of 'fighting side by side,' yet you still abandoned us?"
"Damn it, we shouldn't have trusted him. How could the words of a ragtag army regimental commander be trusted?"
"Damn it, let them run away. I'll go back and kill as many Japanese devils as I can."
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The crowd, each offering their own opinion, were already prepared to face their deaths.
Chief of Staff Xiao Shen looked at his brothers who had risked their lives with him, feeling extremely guilty, and sighed deeply:
"It seems that none have died on the battlefield to serve their country!"
As he said this, he was about to give the order to lead his soldiers back to fight.
Someone shouted at them:
"Is that Chief of Staff Xiao Shen?"
Upon hearing this, the magistrate of Xiaoshan turned his sorrow into joy and said:
"I am the magistrate of Xiaoshan. Which department are you from?"
"We're from the artillery battalion of the 3rd Provisional Regiment. Get in the vehicle quickly, we'll retreat together!"
Wang Chengzhu shouted.
Xiao Shanling led his soldiers over and indeed saw a line of trucks parked on the side street, but they hadn't noticed them because the lights hadn't been on.
In order to provide artillery firepower to the troops breaking through at the front, Wang Chengzhu's artillery battalion was the last to retreat.
However, in order to tow these artillery pieces, as well as a large amount of ammunition and other supplies, many trucks were left behind.
In addition to providing transportation for artillery battalion soldiers, it can also pick up Xiao Shanling's troops.
The military police soldiers, who had just been cursing, were now filled with a mixture of elation and embarrassment.
After all, the words they said earlier were harsh, and they had already cursed them. Who would have thought that Li Jianghe would actually leave a convoy to pick them up? It was quite embarrassing.
Once aboard the trucks and the throttles were locked, the convoy sped along the road cleared in advance by engineers, chasing after the troops breaking through the encirclement ahead.
Shimono Kazuo led his troops and rushed toward the breach in the Zhonghua Gate city wall, but before they even reached it, they realized something was wrong.
The forward positions of the 6th Division on the flank are under attack.
He hesitated, wondering whether to continue blocking the breach and blocking the enemy's breakout forces, or to support the front-line positions.
But Shimodo Kazuo quickly received an answer.
The breach must be sealed, because even if the forward positions are attacked, the main force of the 6th Division can recapture them with a single counterattack.
Instead, reinforcements continued to arrive at the gap.
"Keep moving forward and block them!!!"
Shimono Kazuhiro looked ahead with a determined gaze.
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