The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 389 Taking Down the Land for Dinner (Two Chapters Combined)

Time: 12:21 PM.

Location: The Nationalist Army's starting position at the foot of Jieshou Mountain.

"Good heavens! No wonder the Fifth Army is the apple of Principal Bald's eye. Its equipment and firepower are as extravagant as a wealthy landlord. It's really tempting."

Amidst the deafening roar of cannons, Black Star muttered to himself, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Although Hu Biao, AT, Uncle Bo, the warehouse manager, Xiao Henan and his group did not speak, their eyes were filled with longing as they looked at the huge explosions.

It's like finding out that your good brother is an old bachelor who just married a beautiful young widow.

Just one minute earlier, the artillery units of the Fifth Army, following orders previously given by Hu Biao, began shelling the Japanese troops on Jieshou Mountain.

Then the Fifth Army's artillery, firing with all its might, unleashed a powerful barrage that immediately made Hu Biao and his country bumpkins drool.

The artillery firepower displayed by the Fifth Army at this moment was truly too extravagant.

The mere fact that they were the first to fire—a total of over twenty Bofors 75mm mountain guns and Russian 76.2mm field guns—already made them extremely envious.

Damn it! Their Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment only has two Type 92 infantry guns left.

There weren't many shells, and even when they occasionally fired one, it took Commander Hu a long internal struggle to decide what to do.

After a slight delay of about ten seconds, the 12 original German 150mm heavy guns joined the barrage; their immense power made them even more envious.

It should be noted that before the war, the Nationalist government had only exchanged tungsten ore for 44 150mm heavy artillery pieces from the Germans.

When the war broke out, the Germans ignored them when they wanted to switch sides.

Therefore, this thing was undoubtedly the strongest artillery piece in the National Revolutionary Army's army, and as a result, the Fifth Army alone had as many as 12 of them.

If they aren't the bald principal's darlings, then who are?

Then, just as Hu Biao was about to vent and say something sarcastic to comfort himself, Annie, who was next to him, suddenly gave him a subtle push.

Looking up, Hu Biao realized that Du Yuming, along with Division Commander Dai, Division Commander Zheng, and other high-ranking officers of the Fifth Army, were walking towards them together.

Hu Biao wasn't surprised by the arrival of these people.

About half an hour ago, the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Honorary Division, led by Regimental Commander Wang Bo, arrived at the starting position; in Commander Wang's words at the time:
In the following period, they will follow Commander Hu and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment to launch an attack on Jieshou Mountain.

If their 2nd Regiment is wiped out, it will be replaced by a regiment from the 200th Division. In short, the 5th Army will accompany the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment as long as it fights.

Commander Wang's tone was undoubtedly filled with arrogance.

This reflects a complex mix of resentment and discontent within the Fifth Army regarding the emergence of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and its assumption of the main offensive mission.

Under such circumstances, it is perfectly normal for Du Yuming and others to come and watch the battle, to see the performance and true skills of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

However, when these people got closer, Hu Biao and his group realized that something was wrong.

What do you mean? The battle hasn't even started yet, and they haven't had a chance to impress the Fifth Army by demonstrating their abilities.

However, in the eyes of Du Yuming and others, there was clearly more respect.

Especially Qiu Qingquan, that madman with eyes practically glued to the top of his head, has undergone a startling change in attitude.

He looked at Hu Biao with great admiration, as if he had met a kindred spirit.

So, what happened in the less than an hour after they parted ways that they were unaware of?
Before Hu Biao could speak, Qiu Qingquan had already given the answer; he forced a rather strange smile and began with a friendly remark:
"Brother Hu! I'm truly no match for you, Qiu. I'm convinced."

Before Hu Biao could even figure out when he had become so familiar with you, or how many of his strengths he possessed, or specifically which one he was good at, the question was posed.

Seeing Hu Biao's bewildered expression, Qiu Qingquan immediately explained:

"You don't know yet? There are two things, let me tell you."

The first thing is that around 10 a.m. today, the Japanese launched an attack on Gaofeng Pass without air support or artillery cover.

The two understrength Japanese battalions originally stationed at the foot of the mountain, totaling 1,700 to 1,800 men, launched an attack under the cover of several Type 92 infantry guns.

Compared to the pressure you faced when you were stationed there as a regiment, Brother Hu, it's nothing.

However, when the fighting reached midnight, the 170th Division of the Guangxi Army was unable to hold out any longer and began to request reinforcements from Commander Bai. Upon receiving the request for reinforcements, it is said that Commander Bai almost fainted from anger.

But he still suppressed his temper and sent a regiment of reinforcements to Gaofeng Pass.

Okay! Comparing people is a recipe for disaster, comparing goods is a recipe for disaster.

Through this simple and intuitive comparison, the Subei Independent Regiment's formidable combat capability is clearly demonstrated by the contrast between different attack intensities on the same position at Gaofeng Pass.

Therefore, it seems quite natural that the Fifth Army's attitude changed significantly.

However, Hu Biao's troops included a small number of remnants of the 170th Division, so he knew that although the 170th Division was not a main force of the Guangxi Army, its combat effectiveness was not that weak.

Given such a poor performance, it's likely that the military commanders were thinking about preserving their strength.

Hu Biao and his men had fought so hard for Gaofeng Pass for so long, they were naturally unwilling to lose it in such a ridiculous way, and they were quite frustrated.

But once Qiu Qingquan continued speaking and mentioned the next matter, they could no longer concern themselves with this minor issue.

Qiu Qingquan said with great emotion, "Everyone says that I, Qiu Qingquan, am very brave when I fight, and that I would dare to make a hole in the sky. That's why they call me Crazy Qiu. But I am still far inferior to you, Brother Hu Biao."

It's one thing to dare to make a military pledge before the war even begins.

The key point is that they dared to broadcast such a military order through the Central News Agency's radio station, letting people all over the country, and even many foreigners, know about it.

Such a do-or-die, desperate courage is something I, Qiu, truly cannot match. You're the madman, and so are all your companions."

"You're the crazy one, your whole family is crazy."

This was the first reaction of Hu Biao and the others after hearing Qiu Qingquan's explanation of the second matter.

The second reaction was: "Which bastard let the Central News Agency broadcast this? Does he have any military common sense or sense of secrecy?"

"Isn't this putting us and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment directly on the fire?"

After this reaction arose, they already had a basic guess in their minds:

Apart from that bald principal who was addicted to being a novice, considered himself a military genius, and liked to give reckless orders, no one else could have done such a thing.

However, while his military skills are poor, his political maneuvering abilities are quite formidable, suggesting he may have other considerations and underhanded tactics involved.

Then came the third and final reaction.

More accurately, after being driven to a dead end, they unleashed a fierce determination: Damn it! They were determined to take Kunlun Pass within two days.

No! We need to take Kunlun Pass faster and more decisively...

Around this time, the Fifth Army gradually reduced its shelling of Jieshou Mountain, as the scheduled attack time was approaching.

Hu Biao, AT, Uncle Bo, Black Star, Warehouse Manager, Mo Shuiyan, Warehouse Manager, Old Ma, Little Henan, Old Three, Old K, Guard, and Thug, a group of thirteen people, felt like they had a ball of fire burning inside them.

That is, all the male members of the time-traveling team at Kunlun Pass walked out of the trenches together.

Without any further instructions, the reinforcement battalion, along with the machine gun company and sniper platoon, which had been given prior orders, spontaneously followed and went out.

This is the first wave of attacking troops from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, as planned.

The reason why all the male transmigrators were mobilized together this time, instead of splitting up and each leading a unit to take turns joining the battle, is that...

On the one hand, although the brothers had been trained on this new type of equipment, the rocket launcher.

However, given the limited time, modern people were able to accept it more quickly, and it was necessary for time travelers to provide guidance or even use it themselves.

On the other hand, they had already conducted numerous simulations regarding the attack on Jieshou Mountain and had developed some advanced tactics. These tactics should be quite effective; the key was having a large number of qualified commanders.

Since the officers under his command hadn't fully matured, it was only those incompetent individuals who could take over.

As for the three girls, Annie, Mina, and Xiao Cui, they did not travel with the group. It wasn't because 'women should stay away from war,' but simply because the three of them had to shoulder some equally important tasks.

As the chief of staff, Anne would continuously replenish the attacking forces with additional troops and equipment based on their losses and progress, while withdrawing troops whose offensive capabilities had been weakened.

Mina, on the other hand, served as the external liaison officer, responsible for coordinating with the Fifth Army, calling for air support, and so on.

Xiao Cui, of course, led the medical and supply companies to carry the wounded brothers down and perform hemostasis and bandaging.

Let's forget about the surgery. After all, the Fifth Army has proper field hospitals and military doctors who are far more capable than her mediocre skills.

Meanwhile, the first wave of attacking troops from the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment began to assemble.

The 2nd Regiment of the 1st Honor Division, which was to cooperate in the operation, also began to assemble under the leadership of Regiment Commander Wang.

Finally, on December 24, 12, at 12:31 PM, 41 hours and 29 minutes before the deadline for Hu Biao's military order, the deadline was finally reached.

The battle of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment at Kunlun Pass officially began.

Before the formal attack, Hu Biao wanted to shout something to his brothers:
"Brothers! The whole nation is watching us, waiting for us to take it in two days; give it your all and don't let them down."

But the words that were on the tip of my tongue turned into something else entirely:
"Little sister-in-law! Prepare a lavish dinner, because I'll be eating dinner after I take down Jieshou Mountain."

Upon hearing this, the brothers of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment immediately became as energetic as if they had been injected with chicken blood; the others, however, thought that Hu Biao must be crazy to brag like that.

But soon after, the high-ranking officers of the Fifth Army who were watching the battle from the bottom of the mountain, as well as foreigners like Bill Eulton and Andrei, changed their minds.

And the course of this battle left an extremely deep impression on them.

******
The battle progressed quite smoothly for a period of time after it began.

During the artillery preparation conducted by the Fifth Army's artillery units at the fastest speed and with the greatest firepower, the Japanese positions on Jieshou Mountain suffered great damage.

Although the bunkers were undamaged, the barbed wire was torn and destroyed in large sections, rendering it essentially useless as a barrier.

Many trenches and firing positions were destroyed, resulting in numerous casualties among the Japanese soldiers stationed there.

Therefore, when the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment used heavy machine guns for fire suppression, the assault troops were equipped with a large number of light machine guns and submachine guns, and launched an assault with a large amount of automatic firepower.

The Japanese positions were breached one after another, and the Japanese soldiers were unable to even retreat before being knocked to the ground by a hail of bullets.

Hu Biao and his men advanced rapidly and easily reached the halfway point of Jieshou Mountain.

However, not only Hu Biao and his men, but even the spectators below didn't seem to care much about the results achieved by the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

The reason is simple: the Japanese troops had only set up some guard posts in the area below the mountainside, and the number of troops they deployed was quite limited.

The key is that the fortifications centered around concrete bunkers are all located above the halfway point on the mountainside; these are the real tough nuts to crack, and they've only just encountered them...

"Pockmarked guy, drop a lot of smoke grenades! Old cucumber, take out that Type 92 heavy machine gun for me."

Lying prone in a shell crater where the soil still retained some warmth, Hu Biao shouted at the top of his lungs; at the same time, his hands were not idle, and he replaced the magazine of his submachine gun, which had just been emptied, with a new one.

The Japanese soldiers lined up five concrete bunkers a little above the mountainside, forming a powerful network of firepower that supported each other.

On the Fifth Army's sand table, these bunkers are numbered 1 to 5.

In response to this situation, Hu Biao and his men immediately changed their original tactic of a large-scale charge.

To be more specific, the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Honor Division, which was cooperating in the operation, was ordered to remain in place and provide fire support, while the attacking force of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was divided into five.

Under the separate leadership of these time travelers, they launched simultaneous attacks on the five bunkers, leaving them no energy to support each other.

Hu Biao, Uncle Bo, and the guard, along with about a hundred men, were in charge of the second bunker.

With only a rocket launcher team, Hu Biao and his men charged to within about ninety meters of the bunker, but then found themselves unable to advance any further.

There weren't many Japanese soldiers inside the bunker or in the surrounding trenches.

That is, about half a squad, around thirty-five or thirty-six people.

The key was that the bunker contained a Type 92 heavy machine gun and two light machine guns as its core firepower, and with the accurate marksmanship of the other soldiers of the 5th Division, it was difficult for them to advance even one step.

The best proof of this is the brother next to Hu Biao whose face has been smashed.

Ironically, at this particular position, their rocket launchers had sufficient range.
But how to put it? This thing can only be relatively accurate within 60 meters; at a distance of 90 meters, you can basically forget about hitting it.

Don't think this thing is trash. The first Iron Fist weapon of the German Gunner only had an effective range of 30 meters. In comparison, what Mo Shuiyan made under limited conditions is actually quite advanced.

However, this situation was already anticipated by Hu Biao and others, and they had already prepared countermeasures.

Under Hu Biao's orders, the guard, who had just transmigrated to this world and was a police officer in the modern world, took a grenade launcher from his back and placed the base directly on the ground instead of on his lap.

According to experienced anglers, while it may look cool to place the grenade launcher base on your thigh, it can easily break your leg if you're not careful.

After estimating the location in the direction of the bunker, the guard positioned the grenade launcher at an angle of about 60 degrees.

The two brothers who followed closely behind each of them each had a cloth bag either open in front of their chest or slung across their shoulder.

They took out the homemade smoke grenades that Mo Shuiyan had casually made while manufacturing rocket launchers and stuffed them into the grenade launchers one by one.

During this process, Shouzheng continuously adjusted the angle of the grenade launcher to distribute the homemade smoke grenades as widely as possible.
With a series of muffled thuds, more than a dozen homemade smoke grenades were fired in a very short time.

They spread out in front of Bunker No. 2, between 20 and 50 meters away, and a lot of thick smoke billowed out, quickly making it impossible for the Japanese soldiers inside and outside the bunker to see any trace of Hu Biao and his men for a short period of time.

The only thing they could do was to fire back and forth with a light machine gun, hoping to use the resulting hail of bullets to keep the enemy away and get through the long period of thick smoke.

But at this crucial moment, Uncle Bo, the team's most senior sniper, stepped in.
Even the smoke ahead obscured his vision.

However, after his careful observation, the firing port of the Type 92 heavy machine gun was as clear as if it were engraved in his mind.

At this moment, this serious soldier entered a magical state.

I felt better than ever before, as if I were omnipotent.

After he gently pulled the trigger, the distinctive sound of the Type 92 heavy machine gun firing immediately disappeared.

Two or three seconds later, the sound of the Type 92 heavy machine gun firing rang out again.

It must have been the other Japanese soldiers in the bunker who filled the gunner's position again.

But so what? Uncle Bo had already pulled back the bolt, loaded another bullet, and pulled the trigger, extinguishing the Type 92 heavy machine gun that had just fired.

Unfortunately, Uncle Bo's superb form did not last, and he missed with his third shot.

Furthermore, the homemade smoke bomb has a limited duration; after smoking for more than ten seconds, the amount of smoke has noticeably decreased.

It will likely become completely ineffective soon.

However, none of the above matters much, because Hu Biao had already rushed to a spot fifty meters away, facing the direction of the bunker he remembered, picked up a Type 1 rocket launcher, and crouched down to prepare for firing.

More precisely, three seconds earlier, a rocket launcher operator had just hoisted a rocket into place to fire when he was killed by a stray bullet, and the rocket launcher slipped from his hands.

Hu Biao immediately picked up the rocket launcher and carried it on his shoulder.

After yelling "Get out of the way, don't stay behind me!" he pulled the trigger, sending a rocket flying forward.

The next second, large and small pieces of concrete flew up in the explosion.

The Japanese pillbox No. 2 was hit, and it suffered a horrific blow...

(End of this chapter)