lovenovelstory Chapter 38: Iron Fist Unleashed, Japanese Heavy Artillery Arrives, Li Jianghe's Gift to the Jap
Chapter 38: Iron Fist Unleashed, Japanese Heavy Artillery Arrives, Li Jianghe's Gift to the Jap
The Japanese army's light and heavy machine guns, along with grenade launchers and anti-tank guns, bombarded the bunker complex relentlessly, suppressing the firepower here.
The firing ports of the bunker complex, with rows of MG42 and MG34 machine guns mounted on tripods, were firing continuously at the Japanese troops, roaring and firing.
The gun barrels glowed red-hot, and the bullets flew like blazing whips, lashing out at the Japanese soldiers. Wherever they went, limbs were shattered and severed.
Japanese engineers paid a heavy price, but were unable to get close enough to the blasting site.
The charging soldiers were often shattered by a hail of bullets as soon as they broke free from the protection of the tanks.
Japanese tanks advanced under the fire of anti-tank guns.
The tank drivers knew very well that the closer they were to the enemy positions, the safer they would be.
Because the firing angle of the artillery inside the bunker is greatly limited, the closer it is to the position, the larger its blind spot becomes.
Finally, when they got within about fifty meters of the position, the Japanese tank crews discovered that some of the enemy's anti-tank guns were no longer a threat to them.
This made them instinctively step on the gas, wanting to rush to the front lines as quickly as possible and tear the enemy's defenses apart.
But at that very moment, the rocket launcher squad that Li Jianghe had summoned had already dispersed on the position.
They didn't rush to fire; instead, they waited, carrying their Panzerfaust 60s.
This recoilless gun has a range of only 60 meters, but its structure and operation are extremely simple. Its 100mm armor-piercing shells can easily destroy Japanese tanks.
The gunners were hidden in the darkness of the defensive line.
Finally, the Japanese tanks closed in to within about thirty meters, and the roar of their engines became even more deafening.
"Fire!!!!"
With a roar, one after another, 100mm armor-piercing warheads of over-caliber were launched.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!"
The whistling sound was almost inaudible, yet it carried the call of death.
A Japanese Type 97 medium tank, which was moving along, was suddenly hit by a warhead.
"Boom!!!!!"
Another loud explosion rang out, and the turrets were blown away.
Then came the second one, the third one...
Fireworks were set off in front of the bunker complex, fireworks accompanied by blood and the screams of Japanese soldiers.
These Panzerfaust 60s did not have a high hit rate, but when 15 were fired simultaneously at a distance of only about 30 meters, they still dealt a fatal blow to the Japanese armored forces approaching the position.
In just one encounter, five tanks were destroyed.
Before the remaining tanks could charge forward, a second salvo came.
Amidst the roar, the entire Japanese tank squadron had suffered heavy losses, with most of its tanks destroyed.
Immediately afterwards, the third salvo came.
Inside the Japanese tanks, the tank crew members cried out in fear.
"What is that?"
"I don't know, it's similar to a grenade launcher, but it's carried on your shoulder."
"See that? The warhead they fired looks like a cannonball; our armor plates can't stop it at all!"
"Damn it, the defense industry tried to save on steel, and that fragile armor plate was easily breached."
"Retreat!!! Retreat!!"
The Japanese commander screamed almost hysterically.
Inside Yoshizumi Ryosuke's command post, he naturally witnessed the scenes unfolding in front of the defensive line under the light of the flares.
He saw the tanks that were about to rush onto the position suddenly explode.
Moreover, judging from the location of the explosion, it was not an anti-tank mine, but more like some kind of object that flew straight at you.
"What's that? Could there be anti-tank guns deeper within the defensive perimeter?"
Yoshizumi Ryosuke couldn't help but ask.
Nakagawa Hiroshi shook his head and said:
"Too far away, can't see clearly. Perhaps it's some kind of new weapon?"
He felt a sense of irony when he said those words.
The country opposite them is clearly an agricultural nation, while they are the industrial nation.
Why is it that an agricultural country can suddenly come up with new types of weapons that can cause devastating damage to their war machines?
Watching his troops retreat in disarray, Yoshizumi Ryosuke suppressed his anger and kept repeating the words "calm down, calm down."
"Wait until dawn, then continue the attack."
Yoshizumi Ryosuke said this.
He felt that the darkness of night was not conducive to leveraging their firepower advantage.
Only during the daytime can their combat power be fully unleashed.
Looking at the burning Japanese tanks and the Japanese corpses lying on the ground, the soldiers of the Fifth Regiment all wore expressions of disbelief.
Previously, when they encountered Japanese tanks, regardless of which unit they came from, they were basically routed.
This time, they not only stopped the Japanese armored forces from attacking, but also destroyed so many.
The feeling was strange, unbelievable, and filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.
"They actually... defeated the Japanese!"
"Long live! Long live!!"
Someone raised their arms and shouted.
The entire position was filled with a jubilant atmosphere, illuminated by the flames of burning Japanese tanks.
Looking at the destroyed Japanese tanks, Li Jianghe breathed a sigh of relief.
In this operation, more than 150 Japanese soldiers were killed, 12 tanks were destroyed, and a total of 15,000 merit points were earned.
It not only made up for the losses in ammunition and personnel, but also left a considerable surplus.
While the Panzerfaust 60 has many shortcomings, such as range and accuracy, it can fully utilize its advantages in close-range firefights.
As the saying goes, a good ointment is one that can draw out pus, and Li Jianghe doesn't pick and choose.
What's more, it can be upgraded in the future. The Panzerfaust 100 has a range of around 100 meters, and it might even be upgraded to a true rocket launcher like the Bazooka or RPG.
Whether it's anti-armor or assault operations, these weapons will be more than enough to give the Japanese a hard time.
"It's almost dawn, let's get out of here."
Li Jianghe looked at Xu Dingguo and said.
"Alright, let's retreat. We've held out this long enough to complete our mission."
Looking at the sun gradually rising in the distance, Xu Dingguo made up his mind.
Li Jianghe summoned another fifty Opel Lightning trucks, spending another 5000 merit points.
But before leaving, Li Jianghe instructed Long Wenzhang to lead the engineering company to leave some small surprises for the Japanese on the position.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the 10 105mm heavy guns that the 9th Division had transferred from Shanghai overnight finally arrived at the battlefield.
Seeing the Kuomintang flag still flying over the Xinzhuang bunker complex, Yoshizumi Ryosuke decisively ordered a heavy artillery bombardment.
Sure enough, the bunkers couldn't withstand the bombardment from the 105mm heavy artillery.
After all, these bunker complexes were not built in strict accordance with standards. Whether it was the thickness of the concrete or the number and grade of the steel bars, there was a suspicion of cutting corners.
It could withstand the bombardment of Japanese heavy caliber field guns, but it couldn't withstand the bombardment of these 105mm heavy artillery pieces.
Watching the bunkers being destroyed one after another, Yoshizumi Ryosuke felt reassured and laughed:
"Hmph, so-called bunkers are as fragile as tofu in front of large-caliber artillery."
After saying that, he ordered the Japanese troops in front to attack.
The attack went smoothly, and the charging Japanese soldiers discovered that this time they were strangely met with no resistance.
When they finally reached the position, they were shocked to find that the enemy had already fled and the position was deserted.
Nearly a hundred Japanese soldiers who were charging forward felt like they were punching thin air, leaving them somewhat disappointed.
However, they did not notice that in a forest a few hundred meters from the position, Long Wenzhang's palm was gently placed on the detonator.