Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 169 Conquering Dangshan

Outside Dangshan County.

Under the cover of night, temporary machine gun positions were set up. The machine gunners kept their composure and aimed their guns at the distant city gate.

"It's so far away, and it's a Mahakala, can we hit it?" The loader leaned his head out, feeling a little uncertain.

The machine gunner gripped the handle tightly: "I don't know. The superiors said that after receiving the order, just fire at the city gate."

"What did you say, sir?"

The loader immediately responded: "Just pull the trigger, the rest is up to the firepower density!"

Machine Gunner: "Yes! The rest depends on the density of firepower!"

"There is only one gate in the west of the city. We have eight machine guns set up here. Even if we don't aim, we can sweep a large area."

"There seems to be movement ahead!" The loader reacted and kept slapping the machine gunner.

The moon was shining brightly and figures were moving around under the city gate. Although I couldn't see them clearly, they were definitely Japanese devils!
While hesitating, a messenger came running over:

"Direct order from the General Staff, all machine gun groups at the East Gate begin firing, without any mistakes!"

The machine gunner took a deep breath and said, "Yes!"

Then he pulled the trigger hard and the bullets fired out like they were free.

"Da da da--!"

"boom--!"

The shelling of the city continued, with the sounds of explosions and gunfire intertwined.

The Japanese soldiers who wanted to rush out of the county town had no time to react and fell to the ground after running just two steps.

"idiot!"

"Retreat! Retreat!"

The scene was in chaos. The Japanese soldiers in front turned around and went back, but the people behind had no idea what was going on.

The crowds of people collided with each other, giving the heavy machine gun team outside the city an advantage.

The eight heavy machine guns that were mounted were all Changzhi 1938 models.

Compared with the Type 150 heavy machine gun, the -round large ammunition belt is much easier to use.

There is no need to worry about the sustainability of firepower.

When one ammunition belt is about to run out, the loader immediately puts another one in. Except for some lag, the firepower output can almost continue uninterrupted.

"The barrel is red! The barrel is red!" the loader exclaimed.

------

Wang Feng sat on a chair, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but in fact he was overlooking the entire battlefield.

"These damn Japanese devils react pretty quickly!"

Although the combat capability of the 16th Division is not good, the quality of its soldiers is still at the Class A baseline.

After a brief period of unrest, the situation has gradually stabilized.

One third of the dozens of poison gas bomb storage sites originally marked have exploded one after another.

He was already very satisfied with the result.

Given the objective conditions, it is impossible to achieve 100% self-detonation, and 50% is almost impossible.

Wang Feng opened his eyes, picked up the microphone on the table, and dialed it twice: "I want the pre-war staff!"

"Hello! I'm Wang Feng!"

Zhao Fangyuan's voice came from the phone: "Sir! Our unit is still firing. Should we stop immediately?"

Wang Feng: "Stop for now."

"The infantry will enter the city in half an hour!"

Zhao Fangyuan: “Yes!”

Half an hour is enough for the remaining poisonous gas in the air to evaporate.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Feng walked quickly to the strategic map.

Five days were spent in Dangshan and the 16th Division.

The loss of troops is as high as five or six thousand. If they continue fighting like this, they may not be able to carry out subsequent battles.

Thinking of this, Wang Feng sighed: "We still need to expand the scale of industry as soon as possible. It's too uncomfortable to be tied up!"

At present, the production capacity of individual light equipment in the garrison army can barely keep up with consumption.

Heavy weapons are a bit stretched.

Especially light and heavy machine guns and large-caliber heavy artillery.

These two categories are the necessities of war. The garrison can establish an advantage in the war, relying on nothing more than the excellent quality of soldiers and a complete logistical support system.

Wang Feng stood in front of the strategic situation map and thought for a long time.

The current situation can't help but give him a headache.

Taking Dangshan is only the first step, and defending the Longhai Line is the top priority.

The Fifth War Zone still has two corps in the north waiting to be evacuated, most of whom are elite troops from the Northwest Army and the Central Army.

Neither Chiang Kai-shek nor Li Zongren would let this force fail in Xuzhou.

Right now the Henan East Corps is being held back by the 14th Division and is unable to take care of itself. After all calculations, only the garrison troops can step up to save the situation.

Support the collapsing building!
"Fifth Division."

Wang Feng muttered to himself, and a person appeared in his mind - Itagaki Seishirō.

If there is no particularly urgent matter, this old devil will definitely not come back, and the commander of the newly formed Fifth Division is someone else.

I don’t know who it will be and how strong he is.

Can he reach the level of Seishirō Itagaki?

During the Pingxingguan Battle, this old devil gave me a lot of trouble.

Under the city of Dangshan.

Corpses were scattered all over the ground and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The two armies met.

"Hey! Which battalion are you from? What's your number?" An officer stepped forward with his brows twisted into a "川" shape.

"From the 1st column and the 6th battalion!"

"Order from above: let's attack the east gate!"

Another officer stepped forward, his momentum no less impressive than the other.

"The 1st Battalion of the 4th Column, Chi Zhanpeng." Seeing that it was a unit from the 1st Column, the officer who was asking the question softened his tone and stepped forward to introduce himself.

"Hua Dechang!"

Hearing this name, Chi Zhanpeng lowered his attitude even more: "It turns out to be Captain Hua!"

Hua Dechang knitted his thick eyebrows together, put his hands on his waist and said carelessly: "What's wrong? Have you heard of me?"

Chi Zhanpeng: "Of course, who hasn't heard of Captain Hua's name?"

"Last year at Kashiwagi Well, your battalion was a heroic unit that could stand on its own!"

Hua Dechang smiled and said, "Don't talk nonsense!"

"Since the superiors have given the order, we two battalions will attack the East Gate together. Why not take this opportunity to discuss countermeasures!"

Don't be fooled by his burly appearance, he is of the same character as Zhang Hu.

But he was a scholar soldier.

In the Battle of Kashiwagi, the original battalion commander was killed, and he served as the acting battalion commander.

Although he is still the battalion commander now.

But it's not the same thing.

After the Changzhi Military Academy was established, he took the initiative to sign up, and after being selected by the General Staff, he entered the "in-service class" to study.

He did not return to the army until the Battle of Dangshan began.

During the past few months of studying in the rear, the troops have undergone earth-shaking changes.

Since he missed two major battles and his qualifications were not sufficient, he was temporarily placed in the position of battalion commander for training.

Chi Zhanpeng thought for a while and said, "It's not difficult to break into the city. The key is how to gain a foothold in the city. Our two battalions can fight in rotation and advance alternately to avoid being attacked from behind!"

Hua Dechang nodded: "Okay!"

"Be careful to cooperate and don't be too far away!"

Chi Zhanpeng patted his chest and assured: "Absolutely no problem!"

After discussing the strategy, the two battalions quickly adjusted and launched an offensive against Dangshan County. At the same time, offensive operations also broke out at other city gates.

The artillery column joined the battle again to clear the way for the troops entering the city.

"boom--!"

As grenades fell one after another, the entire Dangshan City began to tremble under the salvo of 105mm heavy artillery.

The general offensive has officially begun!

The Japanese troops in the city suffered from poison gas, although after a brief riot, a large number of soldiers put on gas masks.

But in the first few minutes, the poison gas inhaled was enough to temporarily make him lose his combat effectiveness.

The Japanese never imagined that the poison gas, for which they had racked their brains and tried every possible means to increase its power, would one day be used on themselves.

"kill!"

"Kill the devil!"

"Give me the Molotov cocktail!"

The Japanese army's thorough preparations made in advance were completely disrupted by the pervasive poison gas and heavy artillery suppression.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"Cough cough."

The Japanese soldiers struggled to defend themselves, bullets flew in the streets, and both sides were killing each other.

A bloody battle ensued over each house.

"Fuck him"

The young soldier suddenly stabbed the Japanese soldier who rushed out from the corner to death. As soon as he pulled out the bayonet, he was shot from behind and fell to the ground.

Even the most experienced soldiers would be as naive as children when faced with the meat-grinder-like street fighting.

"move forward!"

"Machine gun! Machine gun! Suppressive fire!"

In the streets, a group of soldiers, holding guns in one hand, walked quickly with their backs bent.

The platoon leader kept shouting and turned his head to wave to the back.

"Here! Come here!"

"boom--!"

A grenade flew over and landed right next to the platoon leader.

The officer who was commanding the battle one second ago died on the battlefield the next second.

This situation is common in Dangshan City.

The 16th Division was no pushover, even though it suffered a series of defeats in battle.

But the strength of the Type A Division is still there, and that's only when it's against the garrison. If it were any other unit, it would probably have gone south by now and joined the 3rd and 9th Divisions.

(End of this chapter)