The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 373 Water (Combined Chapter)

Time: Around 3 PM on December 1, 1939.

Location: The left flank of Gaofeng Pass, on that hilltop that Lao Ma and Xiao Henan have been holding for many days, and now they don't even know its name anymore.

After a gunshot rang out, a burst of blood erupted from the chest of a Japanese corporal.

Just a second ago, this veteran Japanese soldier was advancing while firing at the position, using textbook-perfect individual combat maneuvers.

In the next second, with an incredulous expression, he collapsed to the ground and quickly lost his life.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for the National Revolutionary Army to kill a Japanese corporal like this without losing three to five men.

Unfortunately, despite achieving such a respectable result with just one 6.5mm bullet, the lieutenant from Henan showed no emotion whatsoever.

He quickly ducked, dodging a fragmentation grenade from a grenade launcher. After the shockwave and shrapnel from the explosion, he shouted urgently:
"One-Eyed Dragon, the Japanese attack this time is very strange. I'm afraid they're going to fight to the death."

Upon hearing the shout, Old Ma, who was currently carrying a light machine gun and moving with a second gunner, immediately replied in a rather frustrated tone:
"I'm not blind, of course I can see it."

That's right! Ever since the Japanese started their attack, Lao Ma and Xiao Henan immediately felt a huge difference.

Since the 3th Division arrived here on the morning of the 28th, they have been fighting this Japanese steel army for almost three days, with a total of more than 20 battles.

This time, however, the Japanese committed two companies, roughly 370 or 380 soldiers, to launch the attack.

For the defending forces, the enemy had committed more troops to the attack, which naturally gave them a stronger impact.

The key issue is that the two hilltop positions on either side of Gaofeng Pass have a relatively limited width in front of them, and if more than a company is deployed, the formation becomes quite dense.

Facing the various defensive firepower on the position, there would be even greater casualties, which would be a loss rather than a gain.

In previous attacks, the Japanese only deployed one company of soldiers each time, and sometimes even less.

Therefore, just by seeing the densely packed Japanese soldiers outside the position, Lao Ma and Xiao Henan knew that something was wrong with this attack.

With just a little deduction, one can guess what the Japanese are thinking:
The prestigious 5th Division was a top-tier elite Japanese unit known as the "Steel Army."

However, after nearly three days of fighting, they had used up enough shells and aircraft fuel to fight a small battle, and the casualties had reached nearly a thousand.

So far, they haven't even captured an inch of the high-altitude pass.

Don't they, the "Steel Army," have any pride?
So judging from the Japanese troops' posture, they intend to spare no effort to take down the positions on the left and right flanks first, thereby compressing the defensive space of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

And in the future, more troops can be deployed from the left and right flanks to launch attacks on the main position.

Fortunately, last night, Hu Biao and his men on the main position seemed to have anticipated something.

In addition to replenishing the hilltops on both flanks with more troops, the original garrison of one company was strengthened to the level of a reinforced company.

They also added some machine gun firepower, making the firepower on the flank positions stronger.

Sure enough! Right now, four heavy machine guns are firing wildly on the position.

Furthermore, these heavy machine guns were deployed in firing positions reinforced with large logs and cushioned with sandbags, resembling machine gun bunkers.

They paired up, forming a crossfire formation to block the enemy.

Despite the large number of troops the Japanese soldiers had committed and their impressive charge, they were unable to advance an inch beyond the first eighty meters of the position.

The attack has not been long, but seventy or eighty people have already been killed or wounded.

Of course! Faced with these four deadly machine gun bunkers, the Japanese did something, they tried many ways to eliminate the heavy machine gun firepower, but unfortunately the results were not very good.

For example, they used radio to contact the planes circling over the position, instructing them to continuously drop bombs in the hope of destroying these machine gun bunkers.

However, given the thick black smoke billowing over the position, such bombing was ineffective.

They concentrated multiple light and heavy machine guns, continuously firing at the firing ports of the machine gun bunker in an attempt to suppress the fire; they even deployed multiple grenade launchers, constantly firing small melon grenades at the machine gun bunker.

However, the firing ports of the machine gun bunker were small, and it was staffed with a large number of personnel.

It was difficult for the Japanese to harm the machine gunner through the firing port; even if they were lucky enough to hit him, a new gunner would immediately take his place, and the machine gun would not be out of service for long.

In short, Old Ma and Little Henan, the two commanders on the left flank, were quite confident in repelling the Japanese attack, which they considered a sure thing.

The reason they were so agitated in their conversation just now was actually due to some other reasons.

Xiao Henan said that no one else was injured in the explosion caused by the fragmentation grenade fired from the grenade launcher.

To make matters worse, the glasses he was wearing were hit by a flying pebble.

The impact didn't immediately shatter the lens in his left eye, but it developed dense, spiderweb-like cracks, significantly impairing his vision.

If that were all, Xiao Henan wouldn't be so depressed.

You should know! He brought a total of five pairs of glasses with him this time.

The key reason is unclear; perhaps the battles after this time travel were exceptionally intense, or perhaps Xiao Henan has simply had some really bad luck lately.

During the past few days of fighting, he was constantly falling down or being hit by blast waves.

Or, due to the numerous reasons such as getting punched in the face during hand-to-hand combat, one wears out a pair of glasses almost every day.

All things considered, the pair of glasses he's currently wearing are the only two that are still in good working order; even if he has a spare pair in his pocket, it's hard to say how much longer they'll last.

So, going through time to fight the Japanese is not only exhausting and dangerous, it's also incredibly hard on your eyes.

As for Lao Ma, it was because the light machine gun in his hand was neither a Czech-made light machine gun nor a Type 96 light machine gun, which were the models that Hu Biao and his men used to use.

Instead, it was a relatively uncommon French-made Chauchat M1915 light machine gun.

This thing, well, it's arguably the worst light machine gun of World War I, without a doubt.

Leaving aside other drawbacks, the key point is that this thing has a hollowed-out curved magazine, which was originally designed to allow the machine gunner to see the number of bullets remaining at any time when firing.

However, the designers forgot one thing: the battlefield environment is extremely harsh, and a lot of dust can enter the magazine through the perforations and jam the bullets.

Since its inception, this thing has been constantly criticized.

After World War I, the French army sold or gave away a large number of these machines to foreign countries, and the Yunnan Army was one of the biggest users among the National Revolutionary Army. I wonder if this light machine gun came from the Yunnan Army.

Just seconds before Lao Ma spoke, the Chauchat M1915 light machine gun in his hand jammed.

This was the second time he had been stuck in such a short time since the start of the battle, and his frustration was understandable.

As a modern person, he naturally knew all the terrible things about the Chauchat M1915 light machine gun.

The problem is that the circumstances of this crossing are quite special. We're lucky to even have a light machine gun to use, let alone have the right to choose one.

After retorting to Xiao Henan, he could only find a place to squat in the trench.

Accompanied by their assistant gunner, they grumbled as they dealt with the jammed gun; little did they know, this frustrating situation was only just beginning...

******
In the midst of the fierce battle, Xiao Henan, who had just finished firing his rifle, suddenly noticed that a Maxim heavy machine gun in a bunker a dozen meters to his left had not fired for almost a minute.

Without this crucial source of firepower, the Japanese advanced another ten meters or so.

Overwhelmed with anxiety and frustration, he rushed to the entrance of the machine gun bunker, quickly glanced at one of the machine gun crews, and saw that two of them were still alive and had not been completely wiped out.

First he breathed a sigh of relief, then he cursed:
"What are you all standing there for? Open fire now! The Japanese are about to charge!"

Upon hearing this, the main gunner, his voice trembling with anxiety, exclaimed, "Sir, the barrel is burning hot; if we fire any more, it'll explode!"

We've already sent people to get water, intending to cool them down by spraying it directly; but for some reason, they haven't returned yet.

Faced with this answer, Xiao Henan felt utterly helpless. The weapons he acquired through transactions with Yu Hanyong and others were not only of a wide variety of models, but their condition and quality were also quite questionable.

For example, this Maxim heavy machine gun changed hands countless times.

Normally, this thing is located at the location of the cooling water tank, with a pipe connecting it to the water tank, and its function is to collect cooling water.

But after I got it, it disappeared without a trace.

It works, but it consumes a lot of cooling water. Even though we prepared several buckets of water before the war, they have all been used up.

"You pig-brain! Just pee on the gun barrel right now, and you can hold out for a while until the water-fetcher comes back," Little Henan continued cursing.

The main shooter said, "We've all used it, and now we can't squeeze out a single drop."

At such a crucial moment, it was Little Henan who resolved this crisis. With a smug look on his face—"You guys really pulled some strings this time"—he roared:
"I'll come, my kidneys are good and I urinate a lot."

In the following time, as a plume of steam with a strong, foul odor filled the narrow machine gun bunker, the temperature of the Maxim's barrel, which had been faintly red, dropped considerably.

Without needing any prompting from Xiao Henan, the main shooter had already fired again.

Even with the use of burst fire, they still managed to suppress the charging Japanese soldiers.

Seeing this, Xiao Henan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You guys continue, I'll go check where that kid who was looking for water went..."

The kid who was looking for water died at a corner of a trench, only ten meters away from the machine gun bunker.

This answer was found by Xiao Henan very quickly after he came out of the machine gun bunker.

He was shot in the temple and was probably killed instantly; even so, he was still clutching a metal water tank tightly in his hand, his face full of resentment.

It's likely that even in his dying moments, he was thinking about the crucial task of fetching water for the heavy machine gun.

Ignoring his sadness, Xiao Henan grabbed the water tank and prepared to rush towards the second-line trenches.

Otherwise, his urination wouldn't last long, and if some water wasn't brought over quickly to cool him down, the Maxim machine gun might have to stop firing again.

At this crucial moment, Old Ma's familiar roar rang in my ears:
"Blind man, go check out the No. 4 machine gun bunker. Why have they been out of fire for so long? Even changing the barrel shouldn't take this long."

I'm going to check out number two now; it seems there's a problem there too.

It was only at this moment that Xiao Henan realized that there were only two heavy machine guns firing on the position, including the one that had just urinated.

Faced with this situation, Xiao Henan was overwhelmed and had a huge headache.

He rushed forward seven or eight steps, grabbed a brother who was changing bullets, and vaguely remembered his name as Xu Yanming, and shouted:

"Take this water tank and fetch some water for that Maxim heavy machine gun."

"Hurry up, or if that thing shuts down, we're all doomed."

Xu Yanming, who immediately understood the importance of the mission, gritted his teeth and ran towards the second-line position.

Xiao Henan then ran towards the No. 4 bunker on the far right of the position. If he remembered correctly, there was a Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun there, but he didn't know what was wrong with it.

What else could be the problem? It's stuck.

Upon reaching the entrance to the bunker, Xiao Henan deduced this point simply by observing the dusty conditions inside.

Because the Type 92 heavy machine gun uses a rather peculiar 30-round copper magazine, it would jam if the loading was slightly off-center.

In addition, the bullets for this thing need to be oiled to ensure smooth feeding.

Normally it wouldn't matter much, but in this dusty environment, the lubricant brushed onto the bullets acts as the best adhesive, attracting an unknown amount of dust.

The timing is abnormal, and now it's unclear what happened inside the machine gun; it's stuck in some kind of mess.

So, the fact that the Type 92 heavy machine gun only stopped firing at this point seems to be quite a concession.

It was only then that Xiao Henan realized why the Japanese grenade launchers, which were completely ineffective at destroying the machine gun bunker, were recklessly unleashing fragmentation grenades and melon grenades.

It turns out that the purpose of storing it was to create dust, which was used to jam the heavy machine gun.

After all, they were the ones who made this thing, so they are naturally familiar with some of its problems.

Seeing that his brothers in the bunker had already disassembled the heavy machine gun and were working extremely hard, he realized that he couldn't do much to help them.

In his frustration, after uttering a curse in his local dialect, Xiao Henan knew that the only thing he could do was to continue fighting and buy some time for his brothers.

He immediately withdrew from the machine gun bunker and reached behind his back to pull out a wooden-handled grenade.

Because of the loss of two crucial heavy machine guns, the Japanese soldiers were about to rush into the area within fifty meters of the position.

The moment he retreated from the machine gun bunker, Xiao Henan's eyes lit up, for he had finally seen something that made him happy.

At his call, Xu Yanming, who had gone to the second-line position to fetch water, was now carrying a bucket of water and running back to the first-line position in a flash.

This means that with this water cooling, that Maxim heavy machine gun can fire continuously for at least a period of time.

They held out until the other two heavy machine guns finished repairing their malfunctions, and then escorted the Japanese soldiers back.

The very next second, Xiao Henan, who had vaguely heard some noise, shouted out at the top of his lungs, his face changing drastically:
"Air raid, take cover."

As he shouted, Xiao Henan turned around quickly and dashed into the machine gun bunker he had just been in.

Almost the instant he rushed inside, he heard the loud roar of an airplane engine overhead, along with the deafening roar of machine gun fire.

Without a doubt, this was a Japanese plane that risked diving into the thick black smoke overhead and unleashing a fierce strafe at the position.

Because the area of ​​the hilltop position on the left flank was not large, the firing ended in the blink of an eye.

But when Xiao Henan rushed out again, he found that Xu Yanming, who had been fetching water, was lying on the ground with several glaring blobs of blood on his back.

He was struggling to get up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even lift his body a little.

That's right! The water tank he was carrying has disappeared.

Upon seeing this scene, Xiao Henan almost immediately imagined the truth: the Japanese planes attacked too quickly, and Xu Yanming had no time to hide in the anti-aircraft bunker.

The only thing he could do was immediately lie down and shield the water tank with his body, and then he got shot.

Indeed, that was the case. When Xiao Henan rushed to Xu Yanming's side, the brother who had been on the verge of death suddenly had a bright look in his eyes.

He pointed to his crotch and repeatedly said, "Sir, is Shui...is Shui alright?"

“The water’s fine! You did a great job. Don’t worry, we’ll hold the line.” Little Henan said quickly, because he was worried that if he spoke too slowly, his brother wouldn’t have a chance to hear him.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Xu Yanming finally breathed a sigh of relief and died with a faint smile on his face.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Henan felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and he cursed, "You little devils, I'll fuck your gods..."

As for why Xiao Henan was dawdling here at such a critical moment instead of hurrying to deliver water to the Maxim machine gun.

The reason is simple: the moment he rushed over, he saw that Xu Yanming had shielded the water tank with his body.

However, the aircraft machine gun was too powerful, and after piercing through his body, it still managed to create several large holes in the box.

By the time he rushed over, the water in the box had already drained out.

The blood-stained water quickly seeped into the sand, which had become incredibly soft from repeated bombing, leaving only a large patch of damp mud and sand.

There's no water left, and they're even giving us a piece of yarn...

(End of this chapter)