The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 369 I Really Want to Go and See It (Two Chapters Combined)

"Old Hu! You've crossed over so many times before. When facing Japanese air raids, besides burning fires to create thick black smoke, did you have any other air defense methods?"

This method of fighting, which involved letting the Japanese soldiers in before engaging them, resulting in a chaotic and entangled battle, led to extremely high casualties.

He raised his sleeve and wiped the sweat from his face, only to end up with a mess of sweat all over his face. The third brother, a complete novice, then asked Hu Biao a question.

For a period of time prior, they took advantage of the Japanese planes leaving and the lack of opportunity for the troops at the foot of the mountain to launch an attack, and did a lot of things.

For example, the position was reinforced again, and some new firewood was added to the fire.

Bandage the lightly wounded soldiers and carry the seriously wounded to the anti-artillery shelters on the reverse slope; collect the weapons and ammunition left behind by the Japanese, cut off the heads of the corpses, and throw them directly down the hillside, etc.

The plan to cut off the heads of the Japanese soldiers was simply to use this method that the Japanese feared most, to lower their morale, and to instill fear in these cowardly bullies.

After all that busy work, the Japanese planes still hadn't appeared.

However, considering that their airport is probably just outside Nanning, it shouldn't be long before they can replenish their fuel and ammunition and the situation can be resolved again.

During a brief break, the third brother asked Hu Biao a question.

The reason for this was that the battle, with planes circling overhead and large numbers of Japanese soldiers charging desperately on the ground, was simply too frustrating.

Although they knew that given the disparity in hard power, Hu Biao and his team probably didn't have a better way to represent them, they still hoped to get some surprises from the veterans.

Unexpectedly, Hu Biao and his fellow veterans actually had some solutions.

Before Hu Biao could speak, Uncle Bo began to introduce himself:

"Yes, it's all being arranged; while you were cleaning up the battlefield, AT was already working with some brothers who were skilled in carpentry to make some gun racks that could be used for both high- and low-powered attacks."

With these gun mounts, our Type 92 heavy machine guns, Maxim guns, and some other heavy machine guns will be able to fire at air targets.

Upon hearing this, the third brother's spirits lifted considerably.

You should know! Thanks to the batch of equipment captured from the Japanese this morning, there are as many as 13 heavy machine guns on the main position alone, as well as a Madsen 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun.

With so much anti-aircraft firepower, if they were to fire at full force against the air, their anti-aircraft firepower would be quite formidable.

He said with relief, "At least we don't have to worry about the Japanese planes anymore. It's a pity that without heavy machine gun firepower, the ground defenses will be significantly reduced."

However, compared to threats from the air, such a loss of firepower is still worthwhile.

However, the third brother was clearly too happy too soon, as Black Star quickly poured cold water on his enthusiasm:
"You're overthinking it. The effectiveness of machine guns in air defense is actually quite limited. Before the advent of anti-aircraft missiles, ground firepower was naturally at a disadvantage in air defense."

Although we can take advantage of the Japanese being off guard, we estimate we can shoot down one or two of their planes.

Then they probably wouldn't dare to dive-bomb and strafe as recklessly as before; but they definitely wouldn't fly away, they'd just attack from a slightly higher position, where the air strikes would be less effective.

"Damn it! This damn war is so frustrating, when will it ever end?" This time it was Old K's turn, the newbie, who complained in frustration.

Faced with the complaints from newbies, Hu Biao offered some answers that were almost disheartening:

"The Japanese won't surrender until 45, and it's only the end of 39 now, so there are still several years to go."

If we want to see any improvement in this battle, we need to hold out until the Japanese run out of ammunition and fuel, until the National Revolutionary Army launches an attack on Kunlun Pass, thus tying down the Japanese forces.

Don't think too much about it until then, just endure it.

After Hu Biao's helpless statement, "Our opponents have spiked clubs, but we have skullcaps," the group of novices fell silent.

Hu Biao's statement of "enduring it" was a prediction that was almost accurate in foreshadowing the battle at Gaofeng Pass that followed...

Twenty minutes later, with a piercing warning 'Japanese planes are coming again,' the air raid began once more.

Unlike last time, the air raid had just begun when a Japanese Type 95 fighter plane swooped down into the black smoke spreading across the position, and Hu Biao shouted "Fire!"

Immediately, all the heavy machine guns on the position, with their muzzles raised high, opened fire at top speed.

Even though the Japanese pilots above frantically increased their altitude immediately upon seeing the dozen or so fiery snakes, it was already too late.

In the blink of an eye, the fuselage was riddled with bullet holes.

The key point is that after the engine was hit by a burst of bullets, it immediately started emitting thick smoke.

However, just a second or two later, the plane, which had completely lost control, crashed headlong into the ground, resulting in an exceptionally violent explosion.

The Japanese pilot was quick-witted and immediately chose to bail out.

However, he was jumping too low, and before he could successfully open his parachute, he crashed to the ground with a 'thud'.

Even if he wasn't smashed to pieces on the spot, he would still suffer comminuted fractures and die instantly.

Unfortunately, few of the people on the vast battlefield were fortunate enough to witness this exhilarating scene.

As that plane billowed black smoke and went out of control, veterans like Hu Biao, Black Star, and AT were already shouting at the top of their lungs:
"Quick, quick, quick, take cover with the machine gun."

While they were shouting, they had already taken the heavy machine guns off the wooden gun racks and moved with these crucial pieces of equipment toward the nearest artillery shelter.

The commands and practices of the veterans were quickly proven to be absolutely correct.

The Japanese planes, having lost one of their aircraft, were like an enraged swarm of bees. Although they dared not continue their dive-down attack, they began frantically dropping bombs above the black smoke.

Dense bombs rained down on the position, and shockwaves from the explosions and flying shrapnel were everywhere.

If Hu Biao and his men had been a little slower, several anti-aircraft squads might have been wiped out by now; the deaths of people were a minor issue, the key problem was that the heavy machine guns were destroyed and there was nowhere to replace them.

After the above-mentioned frenzied bombardment lasted for a maximum of two minutes, the Japanese artillery began to fire as well.

In addition to the Type 92 infantry guns attached to the battalion, a Japanese infantry regiment would usually also have an artillery company with 8 to 14 75mm field guns and mountain guns.

At this point, Watanabe's artillery positions at the foot of the mountain finally opened fire.

With their arrival, the Gaofeng Pass position group became almost a no-go zone for life; the members of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment had no better option than to silently endure all of this, just as Hu Biao had declared.

The only saving grace was that there were moments between the intense bombing raids.

After spitting out a mouthful of flying mud and sand, the 19-year-old thug's previously numb eyes finally regained their sparkle.

Or perhaps, this guy has finally figured it out.

Amidst the bombing where death seemed imminent, the young man suddenly thought of a female classmate from junior high school, and was instantly filled with immense courage.

He developed a strong belief that he must survive the journey, which led him to continuously strengthen himself in the presence of that mysterious being.

Then, in the modern-day MMA profession, you need to be able to make a name for yourself, and then have the courage to confess your feelings to the other person and eventually get together with them.

There's nothing he can do! From the first moment he saw that girl, he couldn't forget her; it's just that he's a terrible student and hasn't dared to confess his feelings.

Hu Biao and his men were completely unaware of the psychology of those above the rank of thugs. Even if they did know, they could only say: "What man hasn't been young once..."

******
A day later, at 6:51 p.m., the sun finally set; in another twenty minutes or so, it would be completely dark.

"Damn it! I've lived another day."

Hu Biao, covered in dust and dirt, crawled out of a safety tunnel.

Knowing that with the arrival of night, the Japanese planes, which lacked night-fighting capabilities, would finally be able to stay quiet for a night, he muttered this curse in a voice only he could hear.

The main reason was that this kind of battle, with Japanese planes circling overhead almost constantly, was just too difficult.

Now, of the original 1800-strong Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, fewer than a thousand men are still fighting.

The consumption of weapons and ammunition was severe. Yu Hanyong and his cronies, perhaps out of fear of air raids, never came back after the first transaction.

What's worse is that in the continuous battles with the Japanese planes, the heavy machine guns that served as anti-aircraft firepower suffered heavy losses, and now only 6 remain on the position.

Even the firewood used to produce black smoke seemed to be insufficient.

There was no other way! Those bonfires burned almost non-stop from morning till night, requiring an astonishing amount of firewood.

Of course! After holding out for two consecutive days, they did achieve some results; on the contrary, their results were quite remarkable.

The two flanks of Gaofeng Pass, as well as the three lines of defense of the main position, were still in the hands of Hu Biao and his men.

Three Japanese planes were shot down, and the Watanabe Regiment at the foot of the mountain now has only six or seven hundred combat personnel left, which can be said to have been completely decimated.

As a result, these Japanese soldiers have not launched any further attacks since noon today.

Unfortunately, the Japanese have more than one unit on the Guinan battlefield. It is likely that a new attacking force is gathering and may appear at the foot of the mountain to take over the position early tomorrow morning.

Moreover, there is a high probability that the unit that will replace them will be the Japanese 5th Division.

The 7th Division was the elite of the Japanese army, one of their original seven divisions. It had set a record of fighting against more than 70 divisions in succession on the Chinese battlefield and was known as the "Steel Army".

Their combat effectiveness and fighting spirit far surpass those of the current Taiwanese mixed brigade.

The thought of having to fight to the death against the elite of the Japanese Fifth Division, with heavy losses in manpower and equipment, put Hu Biao under considerable pressure.

However, after traveling through time so many times, Commander Hu is now a fairly reliable commander.

At least he knows that the entire group is watching him. If even he shows signs of anxiety, then his men will only become more anxious and uncertain.

So this guy felt immense pressure, but his face showed a confident expression.

Even the shouts that followed were filled with ease and disdain: "Come out, all of you! Without air support, the Japanese are completely finished today."

Before it gets dark, let's all work harder to repair the position and see if we have more strength or if the Japanese devils have more bombs.

Let me tell you, the Japanese only have four small islands, and they don't actually have much to offer.

After dragging this out for so long, their meager savings are almost gone; they're so poor they're practically selling their pants.

Amid Hu Biao's nonsensical shouts, one after another, figures covered in mud emerged from the numerous shelters in the artillery bunkers.

They mocked each other's disheveled appearance, and for a moment the battlefield was filled with laughter.

Amidst the laughter and curses, everyone on the position knew that unless a miracle occurred, Gaofeng Pass would likely not hold for long.

Their laughing and joking expressions were merely a facade; they were prepared to fight to the death, already considering themselves as good as dead…

After it got completely dark, Hu Biao called a short meeting; in addition to the transmigrators, the attendees included officers under his command such as Wu Dawei, Zhong Shidao, and Tan Li.

Hu Biao knew that the soldiers shouldn't be told too much bad news, lest it affect their morale; however, officers above the company level under his command had to know about the dire situation they were facing.

That's why everyone present fell silent when a string of bad news was announced.

After a long while, Zhong Shidao, a veteran of the Central Training Corps, seemed to have thought of something before slowly speaking:
"Commander Hu, and all the other officers, you have more experience than us roughnecks."

When will our Chinese air force, even if it's decent, stop being bullied like this by the Japanese? I'm not afraid of dying, but this kind of pathetic battle makes dying feel too humiliating.

Back in the Jiangwan battlefield in Shanghai, one of our companies encountered Japanese planes on the way, and half of us died before we even reached the position.

Later, at Yuhuatai in Nanjing, we were able to blow up the Japanese tanks with explosives and grenades; it was just a matter of one group not being enough, so we used two or three groups, and even if more people died, we could still blow them up.

But we were helpless against the Japanese planes in the sky. Often, a single dive-bombing raid would wipe out at least a squad of our brothers.

At that time, I thought, if our air force could catch up with the Japanese one day, we could die in peace.

Faced with this question, Annie organized her thoughts for a moment, then spoke with an extremely serious expression:

"Of course we do. We Chinese are no less intelligent than the Japanese. On the contrary, we are much smarter. When we invented gunpowder and papermaking, they were living like savages."

In the span of just over a hundred years, we have fallen slightly behind.

"Once the world is at peace, we can catch up in time, and perhaps even build planes better than the Japanese."

"How long? A hundred years?" Tan Li, the Marine Corps lieutenant, asked, his spirits lifted, though he himself found the question incredibly audacious.

However, the Chinese Navy also suffered greatly in this war, and it also hoped to see its country have a powerful air force that could protect the skies.

Mina chimed in, "It doesn't need to be that long, eighty-odd years is enough."

Perhaps feeling that such an answer was somewhat empty, he then described it in more detail using language that could be understood in this day and age:
"By then, our aircraft will include not only bombers, fighters, and transport planes, but also many other aircraft with different functions, which together form a powerful system."

During aerial combat, there was a type of aircraft that was as powerful as having a telescope, capable of detecting enemy planes from thousands of miles away and then notifying fighter jets to engage them.

Fighter jets didn't even need to fly over there; they could shoot down the Japanese planes by firing a single shot from over 300 miles away.

When the Japanese pilots ejected, they couldn't even see our plane anywhere.

The statements made by Annie and Mina above are actually facts that have already occurred in the modern world.

However, when Zhong Shidao and the others heard this, they felt it was as mysterious as a book from heaven, and they dared not believe it. They did not even dare to hope for such a scene when they were dreaming.

Yet, deep down, they desperately wished it were all true.

In the end, all the incredibly complex emotions in his heart were transformed into a long sigh from Zhong Shidao's lips:
"Eighty years from now, I'm afraid our bones will have turned to ash, leaving not even a trace; but I really wish I could live to see that time and go take a good look."

The remaining Tan Li and the others remained silent amidst Zhong Shidao's sigh.

But their eyes, shining like stars in the night, expressed the purest and most fervent expectation in their hearts at that moment...

(End of this chapter)