The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 428 Break Through (Two Chapters Combined)

"Hey, hey, hey, did you hear me? Listen up, cough cough cough, there's a Japanese blocking position at 1:30 on the right. Open fire and take them out immediately, cough cough..."

Holding the phone, AT shouted out this sentence.

While shouting, the unemployed white-collar worker in this modern world had bloodshot eyes and a hoarse voice, looking very anxious and agitated.

And that's true; everyone is facing the same formidable opponent.

Since Hu Biao, Hei Xing, and their assault teams 1 and 2 are now engaged in fierce fighting.

Then the situation for the assault team led by AT, Xiao Henan, Shouwei, and Xiao Cui, which broke out from the southeast, won't be much better.

The battle situation here has also reached its most intense and difficult stage.

The AT's hasty phone call to contact the tank crew was an attempt to deal with a tough nut to crack.

As for the violent coughing sounds that seemed to rip out his lungs, which were mixed in with his hurried words?
This is nothing unusual; it's just that the nickname "consumption devil" is far too fitting for AT.

This guy was shot in the chest during the Battle of Kunlun Pass, which also damaged his lungs, and he developed a severe cough once again.

To be more specific, regarding the tough issues they are currently facing.

About half a minute ago, an AT, also acting as an accompanying infantryman, crouched behind the turret and fired.

During a lull in the fighting, he looked up and saw that they were only a hundred or two meters away from breaking through the Japanese's tortoise formation.

I was immediately invigorated and quite excited.

Although the assault team had already paid a heavy price to reach their current position.

For example, the armored units that were at the forefront now have only ten tanks left, and not a single armored vehicle.

The accompanying infantry, which was replenished once from a modified truck along the way, is now almost wiped out again; the T-26 tank where AT is currently located is now the only one left.

Even after the third assault team reached their current position, the terrain had turned into an upward slope.

The slope wasn't too steep, only about 20 degrees, far below the 32-degree maximum that the T-26 tank could climb.

However, when too much flesh and blood got mixed into the tracks, they became slippery, and with the added effect of the slope, the tank's forward speed became almost the same as walking.

Even at such a slow speed, a distance of one or two hundred meters is nothing to them.

It only takes a little over two minutes to completely break through the Japanese tortoise formation.

Just then, AT clearly saw two small dark shapes out of the corner of his eye. They must have been small melon grenades that the Japanese soldiers had used a grenade launcher to send flying rapidly towards them from the air.

In that critical moment, the only thing he could do was hold his head tightly, hoping that the little melon grenade would miss its target.

Or even if he crashes into a tank, the flying shrapnel shouldn't kill him; let him retain some fighting ability, otherwise the last accompanying infantryman on the tank beneath him will also be destroyed.

AT was lucky, because the two small black shadows flew over his head and did not hit the tank he was in.

But the unemployed young white-collar worker felt no joy; instead, he became more anxious than ever before.

Not only were there two small black shadows, one of which crashed to the ground and missed its mark, but the other landed on another tank that was advancing side by side with the AT about ten meters to its left.

Even more critically, these two small dark shapes were not the small melon grenades that AT had predicted, nor were they the kind of fragmentation grenades used in grenade launchers, but rather relatively rare small incendiary grenades.

Don't let its small size fool you; this thing is incredibly powerful.

A huge flame erupted and spread instantly on the tank, and even AT could feel the scorching air from ten meters away.

If it were right in the center of the flame, the temperature would be at least 700 or 800 degrees Celsius.

Along with the huge flames came thick smoke and a pungent smell.

The pungent smell was somewhat familiar to AT. After a fit of violent coughing, he quickly realized that the Japanese had added sulfur and white phosphorus to this type of small incendiary bomb.

Not only does it burn rapidly, but the gases and smoke it produces are also toxic.

In short, the T-26 tank, which had previously been largely unaffected by a single high-explosive shell hitting its top, now suffered a devastating blow.

The three surviving infantrymen were instantly engulfed in flames, the intense burning sensation causing them excruciating pain and eliciting heart-wrenching screams.

But the ropes they tied to the tank wouldn't burn out in a very short time.

For a time, they couldn't even jump off the tank and roll on the ground to extinguish the fire; they could only continue to endure this inhuman suffering until they were burned alive.

The crew members inside the tank were in no better condition.

Not to mention the rapidly rising temperature inside the car, which made them feel like they were about to be scalded.

The most fatal flaw is that the tanks currently produced by the Russians do not have rubber sealing strips at all, resulting in a serious lack of sealing performance.

So their tank crews were already used to heavy rain outside and light rain inside the tanks.

As a Russian product, the T-26 naturally suffers from this same flaw.

Now, if they were hit on the roof by a small incendiary bomb, a large amount of thick smoke would seep into the narrow interior space through the gaps, causing them to cough violently like ATs, giving them a taste of the suffering of tuberculosis sufferers.

In such a situation, they were completely unable to operate the tank, causing the tank, which was desperately moving forward, to come to an immediate stop.

Then these poor crew members thought about abandoning the vehicle and escaping.

However, the T-26 tank doesn't even have a quick escape exit at the bottom; they can only escape through the tank turret, driver's exit, and other similar places.

In such a process, one will undoubtedly suffer multiple damages, including flames, high temperatures, and toxic fumes.

Anyway, when AT saw the crew members opening the hatch to escape, he was thinking of calling out to them and telling them to run towards his tank.

I'll pull them up myself and prevent them from being left behind and killed by the Japanese soldiers who rush up.

What happened? Only half of the two crew members had managed to stick their bodies out when they collapsed from multiple injuries, turning into burning firecrackers.

The last crew member didn't even have time to peek out before being knocked unconscious by the fumes inside.

In short, the Japanese had set up a small blocking position a little to the right front of the AT, and the two grenade launchers in it used rare small incendiary bombs.

In the current special circumstances, it has demonstrated terrifying anti-armor capabilities.

For the assault team 3, which only has one or two hundred meters left to break through the turtle formation, this is also a huge threat and a tough nut to crack.

Come to think of it, considering the unscientific accuracy of Japanese veterans using grenade launchers, and the astonishing rate of fire of a grenade launcher that can fire up to 25 rounds per minute.

If we don't take them out quickly, they can destroy most of the remaining tanks of the third assault team.

Without the impact of the tanks, how could the third assault team quickly break through the Japanese turtle formation? This would lead to a series of consequences in the future.

Taking all of the above into account, AT immediately picked up the phone and contacted the crew, instructing them to open fire immediately and destroy the Japanese blocking position.

As a dignified independent regiment in northern Jiangsu, the crew members naturally dared not delay upon receiving orders from their superiors.

Under the commander's order, the driver immediately stopped advancing, providing the gunner with a stable environment to fire, which was very important.

The gunner quickly adjusted the direction and height of the gun muzzle, locking onto the blocking position built on a small mound; he stomped hard on the firing pedal and fired a 45mm high-explosive shell.

The gunner on the tank, as expected of an elite soldier from the Fifth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, successfully hit the target with this shot.

Unfortunately, AT, who had been closely monitoring the outcome, couldn't help but frown deeply.

No other reason than that the Japanese soldiers on the sniper position were quite cunning. As soon as they saw the tank gun turning, a Japanese lieutenant in command shouted.

At his shout, the dozen or so Japanese soldiers on the small mound all shrank back and lay down on the reverse slope of the mound.

So the shot that hit the top of the mound only blasted out a large amount of mud and sand, and did not cause any real damage to the Japanese soldiers.

This caused the Japanese soldiers to resume firing their light machine guns and rifles at this location. The two deadly grenade launchers were quickly re-erected; the operators, holding small incendiary bombs with red-painted casings, were expected to be ready to fire again soon.

In his desperation, AT fired a burst of bullets from the submachine gun in his hand.

A Japanese soldier who was holding onto a grenade launcher was taken down in the blink of an eye; the effect was surprisingly good.

The problem was that a few seconds later, a Japanese corporal not far from him threw down his Type 38 rifle and rushed toward the grenade launcher, ready to pick it up and use it again.

Unfortunately, when AT removed the empty magazine and reached into a satchel on his waist, he found it empty.

Unbeknownst to him, the twelve magazines he had brought with him when he set off, containing a total of more than three hundred bullets, had been completely used up.

AT, as expected of a seasoned time traveler, knew there wasn't enough time to reload the magazine, so he decisively threw away his submachine gun and picked up a Chiang Kai-shek rifle belonging to a fallen comrade.

With a 'bang', another Japanese corporal was killed.

The Chiang Kai-shek rifle was a good gun, but its firepower, which required pulling the bolt back after each shot, fell far short of the requirements of an AT rifle and was simply unable to suppress so many Japanese soldiers on the position.

At this crucial moment, a loud clatter of hooves approached him rapidly from behind, and a voice shouted:

"You consumptive devil, I'll lead the cavalry to charge again."

"Hurry up and reorganize your formation, reinforce with some accompanying infantry, and then it's all up to you; you must break through the Japanese turtle formation, and don't let so many of our assault team brothers die in vain."

In that familiar voice, AT sensed a resolute determination, realizing that the owner of the voice was prepared to die in battle.

"Alright! Blind man, you can go in peace."

AT roared in response, his face, covered in smoke and blood, filled with unwavering determination...

******
The person who shouted "Charge with the cavalry one more time!" at AT was Xiao Henan, a not-so-experienced time traveler.

Just as AT could sense the resolute emotion in his tone, Xiao Henan was prepared to die in battle at this moment.

Damn it! Who doesn't want to live a good life? Even knowing that he could be perfectly resurrected in the modern world, Xiao Henan doesn't actually want to die.

Not only because after he dies, there might be many missions before he can participate in a new time travel; but also because a greasy, ordinary middle-aged man like him would be unable to enjoy another kind of wonderful life.

The key is the manner of death, whether it's being stabbed to death with a bayonet, shot, blown up by a bomb, or some other method of death.

That process is really painful! No normal person would want to go through it even once.

However, now it was time for him to take the initiative and launch a desperate charge.

Before setting off, there was originally a cavalry force of more than 600 men who rushed to this position, and after replacing the armored forces, they launched two attacks.

Each of these raids resulted in staggering casualties, leaving only 170 or 180 survivors.

After this charge, it's hard to say whether even twenty or thirty riders will survive, so Xiao Henan doesn't think he'll be lucky enough to live.

With this resolute understanding, Xiao Henan vigorously whipped his warhorse with the back of his knife, ignoring the fact that the horse's rump was already covered in blood.

The purpose was to squeeze out the last bit of energy from the warhorse and unleash its maximum speed.

First, charge up to that Japanese blocking position and take them out, then lead the cavalry brothers behind you to continue charging forward, as far as you can, until you can no longer move.

If we can advance all the way forward and completely break through the Japanese tortoise formation, that would naturally be the best outcome.

Thus began the final, death-defying charge in Xiao Henan's time-traveling journey.

After passing the tank where the AT was located and charging forward for more than ten meters, a Type 99 light machine gun, which had recently entered service, opened fire on the cavalry unit that was charging like a tide.

Amidst the whistling bullets, all Xiao Henan could do was lie prone on the horse's back.

Looking at his brothers who were charging alongside him, some were shot and fell off their horses, while others, after being shot, let out painful neighs and fell down along with their horses.

Five seconds later, the Type 99 light machine gun emptied its magazine. While the gunner was changing the magazine, Xiao Henan's warhorse had already charged up the small mound.

Without any strenuous chopping, Xiao Henan simply pointed the sharp blade of his saber outwards and thrust it diagonally backwards.

As he passed the warhorse, the Japanese machine gunner, who instinctively stood up and tried to escape, had a fatal wound slashed across his neck, completely cutting through his blood vessels and trachea.

Then Xiao Henan sat up from his horse, brandishing his saber, and urged his warhorse forward.

Because the warhorses charged down the hill, their speed increased by a fraction.

Behind him, all the Japanese soldiers on the sniper position had been cut down, but at least fifteen or sixteen of his brothers had fallen along the path leading to the mound.

There's no way around it! Ever since the invention of the machine gun, the cavalry, a branch of the military that had enjoyed many glorious years, has gradually declined.

During this assault, after advancing about forty meters, a Japanese soldier yelled and desperately thrust his bayonet at Xiao Henan, who was rushing towards them.

When the opponent thrust out that bayonet, considering the speed of the warhorse and the distance between the two, Xiao Henan thought to himself, "This is bad."

Subconsciously, I made a backward movement.

This action saved his life, turning a bayonet that could have pierced his back and torn his waist into a slit across his abdomen, preventing him from being stabbed to death.

Unfortunately, even though he didn't die, the bayonet still seriously injured Xiao Henan.

After killing the Japanese soldier with a single blow, Xiao Henan felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

Somewhat surprised, he looked down and realized that the bayonet had, quite by chance, just missed the DIY bulletproof plate on his body, causing him serious injury.

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the fat on his middle-aged belly, causing his colorful intestines to slide out with the swaying of the warhorse.

"Damn it! This Japanese soldier is unprofessional!"
"By sharpening the bayonet so much, aren't you afraid it will get stuck after it's inserted into someone's body and you won't be able to pull it out?"

After grumbling and complaining like that, Xiao Henan pressed his left hand tightly against his lower abdomen, as if it were welded there, and never took it off again.

At this point, the number of cavalrymen following him had dwindled to less than a hundred.

This assault, after advancing about ninety meters, will completely break through the Japanese tortoise formation in another seventy or eighty meters.

Even Xiao Henan, sitting on horseback, could see his own infantry launching a frenzied attack from another defensive line.

With a 'bang', Xiao Henan was shot in the chest.

To be more precise, this was the fourth time he had been shot during the final charge; however, the DIY bulletproof plate had blocked most of the bullet damage in the preceding moments.

This shot, while rendering the DIY bulletproof plate almost unusable, caused Xiao Henan a fatal injury.

"What a pity! I was just a hair's breadth away from breaking through the Japanese tortoise formation."

With this regret, Xiao Henan could no longer maintain his position on the horse due to the swaying of his body, and fell straight off the horse after leaning to the left.

The posture was one where the left hand was pressed against the stomach and the right hand was holding the last pair of spare glasses.

Then, his regret of 'breaking through the Japanese tortoise formation' was miraculously achieved, only the process was a bit outrageous.

When Xiao Henan fell off the horse, unfortunately, one of his feet got stuck in the stirrup.

So even after he fell from his horse, the enraged warhorse continued to drag him forward; the Japanese soldiers, preoccupied with dealing with attacks from both directions, had no time to fire at this certain-death target.

And so, Xiao Henan was dragged by his warhorse through the Japanese tortoise formation, becoming the first among the more than four thousand men in the three assault teams to achieve this feat.

As he passed through the enemy lines, he breathed his last, his life force already exhausted.

At that very moment, the last man in his cavalry unit was shot down along with his horse by a light machine gun; with that, the cavalry unit under the Third Assault Team was completely wiped out.

Thanks to the desperate charge of these cavalry units, the armored forces led by AT were now only fifty or sixty meters away, and it seemed they were about to break through the Japanese turtle formation...

(End of this chapter)