The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 332 The Fall (Two Chapters Combined)

Hu Biao, Xiao Cui, Lao Ma, Xiao Henan, and others led a fierce attack on the Japanese Independent Mixed Ninth Brigade in Pingding County. The intuition in their minds was correct.

The sniper teams led by the other transmigrators are now at their wits' end and on the verge of total annihilation.

However, if we were to say which of the four directions is the most dire and critical, it would be Xiazigou, thirty miles west of Pingding County, where Zanana and the wizard are currently located.

The reason is simple: the opponent they are facing now is much stronger.

In addition to the small groups of Japanese soldiers from Yangquan and other places, there is now a huge force that has set off from Taiyuan in a large number of trucks: a reinforcement force from the 39th Brigade under the 20th Division.

The Japanese army consisted of more than 6,000 men, equipped with more than 20 tanks and armored vehicles, as well as more than a dozen 105mm heavy artillery pieces.

If the Japanese troops with such strength and configuration were placed on the main battlefield, they could often hold their own against several divisions of the Nationalist army and even achieve victory.

If it weren't for the terrain limitations at Xiazigou, the Japanese troops' numerical and equipment advantages would not have been fully utilized.

The position that Zanana and the wizard had been holding was completely flattened by the Japanese in one fell swoop.

Even with their advantageous terrain, facing the prolonged and intense attacks from the Japanese, they were now nearing their end...

"Commander Zha, let the brothers retreat! Leave some seeds for us auxiliary troops, otherwise we'll all die here."

Besides! It's still thirty miles away from Pingding County. If we lead our brothers to shoot from the sidelines and throw bombs, even if the Japanese have cars, it will take them at least two hours to get there.

By then, Pingding County might have already fallen. Why insist on holding out here?

After the Japanese attack was repelled once again, Liu Quan, the company commander of a supplementary company, was also the only deputy company commander remaining on this hilltop.

He made suggestions to Zanana in an almost pleading tone.

The background to Liu Quan's plea for the above words was that the hilltop originally had three companies, totaling about four hundred men, who were the only remaining soldiers who could barely hold on, not counting the seriously wounded who were no longer capable of fighting.

In addition, they had almost completely run out of their original weapons and ammunition, and could only use a small number of Japanese Type 38 rifles and stones of various sizes that they risked their lives to retrieve from the front lines.

Whether we can withstand the next Japanese attack is still a very difficult question.

On another hilltop, the situation for the garrison led by the wizard seemed even worse; in any case, the battle at Blind Man's Gully had truly reached the point where it could not be fought any further.

After listening to the plea of ​​Liu Quan, the only remaining company commander under her command, Zanana did not fly into a rage, shouting, "Those who disrupt the morale of our army will be killed without mercy!" and then shot him dead.

With a tone full of bitterness, he asked a question:
"What if Hu Biao and his men fail to capture the county town within two hours?"
If the plan to attack the county town and annihilate the Japanese army falls through, wouldn't the villagers of Lizhuang who were massacred, the brothers who fought desperately on all sides, and the brothers who fought to the death in the county town all have died in vain?

In fact, during the lulls in the fighting, facing the heavy casualties among her brothers, Zanana did consider retreating first and then taking measures to ambush them along the way.

After careful consideration, she ultimately decided not to leave.

The main reason is that if we abandon the blocking action here and choose other ways to stop the enemy, there are simply too many unpredictable changes.

She wasn't sure if she could slow down the Japanese advance.

Faced with Zanana's question, the deputy company commander Liu Quan was stunned for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh.

Then he turned around and shouted, "Brothers, before the Japanese devils come up, let's hurry up and move some stones back; even if we die here today, we'll kill as many Japanese devils as possible to make it worthwhile."

Unfortunately, the Japanese didn't even give them a chance to carry some stones back to their position so they could use them to attack the Japanese later.

Just as everyone had prepared a hundred or so stones on the position, the distinctive whistling sound of dense artillery shells streaking across the sky filled the air, and the Japanese artillery bombardment began once again.

Faced with the Japanese artillery fire, Zanana couldn't even utter the words "Get into the artillery bunker."

After the Japanese used 105mm heavy artillery to bombard the area multiple times, all the fortifications they had built that morning were razed to the ground, and now there are no more anti-artillery shelters to speak of.

After the Japanese started shelling, the only thing they could do was rush towards the reverse slope.

The artillery shelter there was still relatively intact, and dozens of seriously wounded soldiers were temporarily housed inside.

The Japanese artillery fire lasted only five minutes before it ended.

When a loud command was given, "Get to the position, prepare for battle!" Zanana was the first to emerge from the artillery shelter and rush toward the position.

After rushing to the position, they found that it was like the surface of Mars, with craters of all sizes everywhere.

She randomly picked a crater that caught her eye and lay down. In that instant, Zanana felt like a piece of pork belly on a hot plate, about to emit a delicious aroma.

Because the soil in the crater that was just blasted out was still scalding hot.

Ignoring the scorching heat of the soil, Zanana poked her head out and looked down the mountain.

The first thing she could see was eight Japanese light and medium tanks lying on the narrow dirt road, all of which were her previous victories.

Faced with the inability to break through after a prolonged siege, the Japanese tank and armored vehicle units decided to force their way through.

Use armored units to launch a fierce attack from behind on Hu Biao and his men.

As a result, Zanana used the Solothurn 20mm anti-tank rifle to shoot down the eighth tank with two shots. Immediately, the seven tanks in front could not retreat and could only grit their teeth and continue to advance.

Unfortunately, the lead medium tank was also destroyed shortly afterward.

The remaining six tanks were like fish on a chopping board, and Zanana took them out one by one, even blowing up the fuel tanks of three of them.

With just this one achievement, Zanana's journey through time this time, carrying such a heavy weapon, was definitely not a loss.

The only regret is that the commander of the 39th Brigade of the Japanese army, Yoshito Takagi, has never shown his face.

Otherwise, with the Solothurn 20mm anti-tank rifle's extremely long range, one bullet could take him out, which would be equivalent to taking out another Japanese major general.

Secondly, Zanana can see the location at the foot of the mountain.

Now, two squadrons of Japanese soldiers, with leisurely strolling steps, launched a new attack on the hilltops guarded by her and the sorceress.

The Japanese were making such a show of force because they already knew that there were very few soldiers left to defend the two hilltops, and that they were about to run out of ammunition.

After taking a deep breath, Zanana picked up a Type 38 rifle that she had stolen.

He aimed at a Japanese soldier in the lead and pulled the trigger. Even at a distance of 400 meters, blood still spurted from the back of the soldier's head a second later, and he was killed on the spot.

Enraged, the Japanese soldiers immediately unleashed a barrage of fire on the hilltop with twenty or thirty light and heavy machine guns.

Thus began a new battle. Because of the need to manage the limited ammunition available, the gunfire on the position was sporadic and infrequent.

Another shot took down a Japanese grenade launcher operator. Just as Zanana was preparing to move, she heard her bodyguard, Zhong Gousheng, say in a tearful voice:
"Commander Zha, all of Commander Wu's men are dead."

Upon hearing this, Zanana looked up at the opposite mountain and was immediately overwhelmed with grief.

Sure enough, they saw over a hundred Japanese soldiers, about to charge into the position, but there was no movement on the position; the three companies the shaman had led were probably all wiped out by now…

*****
Actually, when Zhong Gousheng cried out, the wizard wasn't dead yet, but it seemed he was close.

Just ten seconds ago, he threw out the last wooden-handled grenade he had on him, and a fragmentation grenade fired from a grenade launcher landed at his feet and exploded.

His upper body was thrown into the air by the shockwave of the explosion, as both his legs had been blown off.

After flying several meters, his upper body crashed heavily into the thick layer of loose, loose soil blasted out by the shell.

By this time, he could no longer hear any gunshots or the shouts of his brothers fighting. He must have been the last survivor on the battlefield.

"Brothers, wait a moment, I'll come right away with you."

After muttering something under his breath, the wizard, who had lost both legs, began to crawl laboriously on the ground.

He crawled five or six steps, pulled an old-fashioned detonator from the pile of dirt, and when he found that the wires connected to it hadn't been severed, a look of relief appeared on his face. Then, without legs, he struggled to sit up from the ground.

Facing more than a hundred Japanese soldiers charging at him with bayonets, he didn't even glance at them, and began to tidy his appearance.

He straightened his helmet, fastened the top button that had been torn off during the previous battle, and wiped the major's rank insignia on his collar.

On the one hand, he hoped that before he died, he would not lose face as a dignified Chinese soldier in front of the Japanese devils.

On the other hand, after the last battle when only about twenty people remained on the battlefield, the wizard was already mentally prepared, knowing that he would definitely not be able to hold the line next time.

So he took advantage of the brief lull before the Japanese launched their attack to make some final preparations.

To be more specific, they brought a large portion of the mines with them when they set out and buried them, leaving a small portion of various landmines that they never had a chance to replace, all of which were buried on the battlefield.

Some wires were installed, and the system was changed to an electronically triggered state.

That was also his final cry during this journey through time.

Because of the wizard's arrangement, even thirty years later, when interviewed by a reporter from Uncle Sam's House, Private Yoshida of the 1st Infantry Battalion, 39th Brigade of the 20th Division of the Japanese Army, still spoke with great emotion:
As we were about to charge onto the position, we discovered a Nationalist Army major sitting upright on the ground.

He was covered in wounds, and even his legs were gone. There was a thick pool of blood on the ground, as if he had bled to death.

But the man was so carefree and relaxed, as if he were sitting under a cherry blossom tree attending a banquet.

He was surrounded by sushi, and a maid poured him the finest sake. There was even a geisha singing waka.

Suddenly, our squadron leader, Sang Tian, ​​shouted excitedly: "Catch him! He must be Hu Biao's partner. We'll all get a generous reward!"

The Empire had long offered astonishing rewards for killing or capturing Hu Biao and his comrades; under the orders of Sangtian Company Commander, everyone in our company became excited.

She took off running and charged madly toward the man.

I don't know if that man understood what Squad Leader Sangtian said.

But facing more than a hundred gleaming bayonets, he smiled faintly; under that smile, I suddenly felt so small, and instinctively stopped in my tracks.

It was this instinctive slowing down that allowed me to survive.

Just as the man at the front was about to charge at him with a bayonet, the man lifted a sack next to him.

Underneath the sack was an old-fashioned detonator, which he pressed down forcefully.

Then, the entire position was engulfed in explosions. Even I, who was outside the position, was thrown overboard. By the time I got up, almost everyone else in the squadron was dead.

Even if he didn't die then, he didn't survive the critical period...

Zanana sadly missed witnessing the wizard's final, self-destructive act.

Because about half a minute ago, she had just killed a Japanese soldier with a Type 38 rifle and was rapidly changing firing positions.

To be more precise, she jumped from one shell crater to another to avoid being targeted by the Japanese light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.

As a result, we saw that the guard, Zhong Gousheng, looked only twelve or thirteen years old due to long-term malnutrition.

A few steps away, he laboriously picked up a stone, preparing to throw it at the Japanese soldiers who had rushed to within fifty or sixty meters of the position.

He had barely raised the stone to his chest when a burst of blood erupted from his lower abdomen.

After being shot, Zhong Gousheng's face contorted in pain; but even so, he still managed to throw the stone before falling backward.

After collapsing, the boy's chest heaved weaker and weaker, and his life force was rapidly fading away.

But when he turned his head and saw Zanana, his eyes immediately lit up, and he laboriously raised one right hand and stretched it towards his chest.

But in the end, nothing was pulled out of his chest before he completely died.

However, Zanana still knew that even on his deathbed, the thing this young man cared about most was that she, his superior, hadn't eaten in a long time.

So I wanted to take out the two multigrain steamed buns that I had been keeping warm with my body heat.

Even though I kindly brought him to my side and acted as an incompetent bodyguard, I still couldn't save his life.

Thinking of all this, Zanana's mind became somewhat dazed. She remembered something Hu Biao, the most time-traveling idiot, had said during a casual chat with them:

...In fact, many of the brothers were illiterate. The farthest place they had ever been before enlisting was probably a county town dozens of miles away. They didn't understand the great principles of defending the country and protecting the homeland, or that without the country, there would be no home.

But as long as you treat them even slightly well, they are willing to follow you through thick and thin, even risking their lives for you, out of loyalty...

Zanana's dazed state did not last long; an explosion occurred on the opposite mountain, and the sound was still deafening when it reached them.

The loud noise immediately woke her up.

Before she could look over, another anxious voice rang in her ears: "Commander Zha, the Japanese are about to charge onto the position, but the machine guns are out of bullets, what should we do?"

With that sound, Zanana pulled back the bolt, preparing to kill the fastest Japanese soldier who had already rushed more than thirty meters away.

But after pulling back the bolt, he realized he was out of bullets too.

What to do? Die, then die. Facing her final moments, Zanana was so calm.

She threw away the light Type 38 rifle in her hand and ran towards the Solothurn 20mm anti-tank rifle, which still weighed 28 kilograms even after its stand was removed, not far to her left.

At the same time, he uttered a final command:
"Signal soldier! Send a telegram to the dead man, tell him that our battalion's blocking force can't hold out, but none of our brothers are cowards; they all died fighting the Japanese."

The rest of the men fixed bayonets and fought the Japanese to the death.

After shouting, Zanana took the thick gun barrel in her hand and, as if wielding a two-handed warhammer, led the charge out of the position.

In a highly excited voice, the order was given: "Don't shoot! Capture that woman alive; she's an important figure in Hu Biao's team."

After the Japanese soldiers in front of the position unloaded their bullets, they charged forward with bayonets fixed.

Forty years later, when a Japanese man was sorting through his father's belongings—including his diary—who had fought in the battle, he came across this passage:

...when he saw that woman wielding a heavy sniper rifle that a normal person could never use.

The legendary warriors like Xu Chu and Dian Wei, whom I encountered in the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" during my childhood, have become a vivid representation of my own experiences.

Our assassination tactics, which we were so proud of, became a joke in front of her.

Often, before they could even get close enough to stab her, they would be struck by the butt of her swung rifle, resulting in a disastrous outcome.

If you get hit on the head! The sturdy Type 90 steel helmet will be severely deformed, or even smashed, and the head under the helmet will also be smashed, and the neck will be violently twisted.

If it hits the shoulder, arm, or thigh, it would definitely result in a comminuted fracture.

Rather than saying we were besieging her, it would be more like we were handing ourselves over to be smashed to death like whack-a-mole by her...

Unfortunately, we ultimately failed to capture this important member of Hu Biao's team alive. After losing 11 men and seriously wounding 13 others, we finally managed to kill her.

If she hadn't already had a gunshot wound, the casualty count would likely have been even higher.

Even after being stabbed dozens of times and losing her breath, this powerful woman still maintained her standing posture, exuding a terrifying aura like a goddess.

So much so that in the time that followed, when we charged toward the position behind her, we deliberately avoided this standing corpse, and didn't even dare to look her in the eye...

(End of this chapter)