The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 474 That's the One (Two-in-One Chapter)

Twenty minutes later, a screeching sound of steel scraping and the roar of a steam engine echoed from the railway between the two peaks of Mendun Mountain.

Almost an hour after receiving the distress call, the Japanese reinforcements finally arrived.

Just as the intelligence provided by Fang Youcai and other local Eighth Route Army comrades confirmed.

This Japanese reinforcement force came from the direction of Yi County in the west, led by two Type 93 SO-MO dual-purpose armored vehicles.

Following behind was a small steam locomotive, which pulled only one carriage.

Because the train carriages were open-style for hauling coal, the number of Japanese soldiers could be clearly seen from high places on either side of the railway.

A cursory glance suggests that the Japanese soldiers consisted of only a small squad; overall, this Japanese reinforcement was not very strong.

However, although they were not very strong, they were quite unscrupulous in their attitude.

Even though they could see thick smoke rising from the pillboxes in the distance along the way, these Japanese soldiers showed no sign of stopping. Instead, they accelerated after sounding their horns.

Of course, these Japanese soldiers seemed to have reason to be confident.

Their key source of confidence should be the two Type 93 SO-MO armored vehicles at the front. Although the frontal armor is only 16 mm thick at a 45-degree angle, the side armor is even only 8 mm thick at a 15-degree angle.

But it was still not the kind of super-strong defense that those local guerrillas in their minds could break through.

The two light machine guns, one light and one heavy, represent powerful firepower. Combined with the armor protection, these are two powerful vehicles that make the Eighth Route Army despair.

With a high speed of 40 kilometers per hour, it can fight its way out no matter how many opponents it faces.

So even though they knew that the Japanese troops at the Mendunshan stronghold were in grave danger, these small groups of Japanese reinforcements still rushed over with full confidence.

Unfortunately, what they didn't know was that Hu Biao and his group had brought a lot of good stuff from the modern world this time.

Although they didn't have Panzerfaust or other powerful weapons like the Bazooka rocket launcher, they still brought along an M1918 anti-tank rifle, nicknamed the "elephant gun."

In addition, it carried 300 rounds of 7.92*57mm SMK-H armor-piercing rounds.

This special ammunition, developed by the German military around 30 years ago, uses a tungsten alloy projectile.

If fired from a Mauser 98B rifle with a long barrel, it can penetrate a standard 14 to 16 millimeters of homogeneous steel plate at a range of 100 yards.

If a weapon with a short barrel is used, such as the Czech light machine gun, it can still be used without considering barrel wear, although its armor-piercing capability will undoubtedly be reduced.

Even so, penetrating 8mm armor at a 15-degree angle is no problem at all.

Meanwhile, in the weeds beside the railway, Uncle Bo had already set up the massive M1918 anti-tank rifle.

Not far from him, Black Star and Xu Feng, the team's former main machine gunners, each set up a Czech light machine gun.

The magazines of the Czech light machine gun are now fully loaded with SMK-H armor-piercing rounds.

In short, they were just waiting for Hu Biao to give the order to "take action" so they could give the Japanese a big surprise.

This wait didn't last long; a minute later, when the lead armored vehicle was almost level with the spot where Uncle Bo was lying down.

Hu Biao's familiar shout rang out: "Attack!"

With a slight adjustment of the muzzle, Uncle Bo aimed at the driver's position and pulled the trigger.

As he felt the M1918's massive stock slam into his shoulder with a powerful recoil that numbed half his body, Uncle Bo knew one thing clearly:
He didn't need to switch the butt of the gun to the other shoulder and fire another shot.

A fist-sized hole was torn open on the driver's side of the armored vehicle's front.

The driver was definitely hit by the shot, because the armored vehicle, which was originally speeding away, visibly slowed down.

Upon seeing this, the drivers of the armored vehicles and trains behind were caught off guard and unable to brake in time.

First, an armored vehicle behind crashed into the one in front.

Soon after, the small train, pulling one carriage, crashed into an armored vehicle behind it, causing a chain reaction collision.

Amidst the creaking and twisting of steel, the Japanese vehicles collided completely.

Although they did not derail or overturn immediately upon impact, all the Japanese soldiers inside lost their balance.

They were all tangled up together, so they had no way to operate the light and heavy machine guns or extend their rifles from the pre-drilled firing ports to fire.

This brief lull in the Japanese firepower was extremely short, but it was precisely this short lull that sealed the fate of this Japanese unit's complete annihilation.

Black Star and Asahi each took charge of an armored vehicle, firing bursts of Czech-made light machine guns.

Sure enough, even though the SMK-H armor-piercing rounds had reduced armor-piercing capability due to the insufficient barrel length, they were still not something that the Japanese vehicles with their thin armor could withstand.

Like chopsticks poking tofu, each armor-piercing round that hits the side armor immediately creates a clear bullet hole.

While the aforementioned individuals were making their move, the other transmigrators, and even the veteran and Fifteen, all joined in with their consent.

However, the target was not the two armored vehicles, but the Japanese soldiers being pulled by the small train engine.

Inside the open carriage, a group of Japanese soldiers were huddled together by the impact; the attack at that moment was a disaster for them.

Because the people hiding on both sides of the railway could easily shoot through the wooden carriages with a single shot.

Given the density of Japanese soldiers there, it would be extremely difficult to miss.

But the most brutal killing was done by Mo Shuiyan, who was crouching on the ground a little further away by the roadside, operating a grenade launcher.

Even now, the part of his right index finger that had been broken was wrapped up like a carrot.

However, this did not affect his ability to quickly insert pre-loaded melon grenades into the grenade launcher and fire them, as well as his accuracy in launching them.

The grenades landed precisely inside the carriage, and each explosion took down several Japanese soldiers.

Some Japanese soldiers were even thrown into the air, flying straight out of the train carriages and crashing heavily onto the railway embankments on both sides.

After hastily emptying a magazine of 20 SMK-H armor-piercing rounds, Black Star instinctively wanted to reload and continue firing.

As soon as he took the empty magazine out and glanced at the battlefield, he knew he didn't need it anymore.

The two Japanese armored vehicles had a large area of ​​densely packed gun holes on the side facing them, making it impossible for the crew members inside to survive.

The situation of the small train behind it looked even worse.

Especially in the carriage on one side, which was riddled with bullet holes, the corpses of Japanese soldiers were piled up high in a chaotic mess; perhaps some were not quite dead yet, but no one seemed inclined to check them.

Because the fighting has progressed to this point, they have not only destroyed one of the Japanese strongholds, but also wiped out a reinforcement.

Our losses were minimal, while the spoils were exceptionally plentiful.

With such a brilliant victory, these veterans finally vented all the frustration and anger they had been holding in, and felt an indescribable sense of relief.

The newcomers, including Lao Che and Xin Huo, along with four students including Song Jie, gained even greater confidence through their series of victories.

Fang Youcai, another wounded soldier, and a group of children including veterans were inexplicably invigorated.

Because of these brilliant achievements, even if it were just one of their main squads, they might not be able to achieve them in such a short time.

Of course, this is not to say that our soldiers are not brave enough, but simply due to limitations in equipment.

In short, when Hu Biao shouted, "Cease fire, let's go, we'll find a place to have a big meal later," everyone was excited. They picked up their equipment and bags and continued their journey into the mountains to the northwest.

Compared to the panic during the hasty breakout last night, there was a sense of solemnity and determination when we set off this morning to risk attacking the Japanese stronghold.

Now, everyone's face is filled with indescribable confidence and joy.

The reason for this is not only that they have guns in their hands and food in their pockets, giving them more confidence.

The key point is that they made this judgment: the main objective of the Japanese operation was to carry out a large-scale mopping-up operation against the Pingxi base area.

First, it was to retaliate against the massive blows and losses inflicted on them by the Hundred Regiments Offensive launched by the Eighth Route Army some time ago. Second, it was to strike at the vital forces in the base area and restore order to the region.

Therefore, the Japanese suffered losses exceeding those of an entire company on this small unit; to capture them, more search troops had to be brought back from the depths of their base to create a massive dragnet.

In this way, the intensity of the sweep will be reduced.

Considering all of the above, in order for the mopping-up operation to proceed smoothly, if the Japanese commander were even slightly rational, he would probably not order his men to fight them to the death and would give up the pursuit.

Regarding the above judgment, it can only be said that Hu Biao and his group guessed half right...

*****
Half an hour later, amidst a rapid clatter of hooves, hundreds of Japanese cavalrymen arrived at Mendun Mountain.

The leader was none other than Goro Mano, the Japanese major general and brigade commander; however, compared to when they were at the Great Wall at Dalongmen that morning, his expression was even more unpleasant.

That makes sense, considering he was originally waiting for good news from the Iijima Squadron.

For example, if you successfully catch up with and pin down the enemy, you only need to coordinate a few hundred people from the surrounding area to block them from both the front and the back, and you can completely wipe them out.

Based on some of his bold guesses, there might be some surprises later.

Instead of good news, the Mendunshan stronghold was attacked by a mysterious small force, and the defending troops were putting up a very difficult fight.

A reinforcement was sent from Yi County, but the bad news soon came that the reinforcement also lost contact.

Instinctively, he knew that the mysterious small force he encountered at Mendun Mountain was the same one that he had ordered Iijima Squadron to pursue.

So he immediately led his cavalry to the scene. When they arrived, they saw thick smoke rising from the watchtowers on the distant hilltops.

And nearby, armored vehicles and small trains were wrecked together, riddled with bullet holes and bloodstains.

They knew all too well that the Imperial warriors in their two squads, one in front and one behind, were now in grave danger.

When they were about 20 or 30 meters away from the miniature train, Goro Mano and the others pulled their horses back. A dozen or so Japanese soldiers dismounted and walked toward the armored vehicle and the carriages of the miniature train.

This is to see if there are any survivors from our side among them.

Unfortunately, no.

The two fastest Japanese soldiers opened the hatch of the armored vehicle convoy and glanced inside before immediately shaking their heads at their brigade commander, who was looking at them expectantly.

As a result, Goro Mano's mood worsened.

Just then, the sound of the train carriage door being opened rang out.

It was a faint splashing sound, followed by terrified screams from his men.

Startled, Mano Goro, thinking there was an ambush, hastily lay down on his horse before looking in the direction of the little train.

Only after seeing it clearly did I understand why there was a splash and why people exclaimed.

A squad of Imperial soldiers in the carriage had been riddled with bullets, and by then they had almost bled to death.

Some of this blood leaked out through gaps in the doors and under the train, staining the railway below red.

A significant portion of the remains gathered among the corpses, unable to find release.

When the car door was opened, several corpses rolled out, and blood gushed out like water, causing the above situation to occur.

After glancing at the corpses lying haphazardly all over the place, Goro Mano, filled with rage, inexplicably thought of something else.

The villages that were slaughtered one by one during this sweep seemed to be in a similarly tragic state.

At the time, he felt no pity whatsoever, but rather an indescribable sense of satisfaction; so what is this situation called now, the 'retribution' in Chinese folklore?
Thinking of this, as he shook his head vigorously, a sense of fear rose in his heart, making it impossible for him to stay in the same place and watch any longer.

Some people were immediately left behind to clear the bodies of soldiers from the armored vehicles and small trains.

He led his men straight towards the Mendun Mountain stronghold. After a slight hesitation at the foot of the mountain, he finally dismounted and headed towards the left side of the mountain.

After crossing the suspension bridge and the ditch...

Besides the severely collapsed watchtowers still emitting wisps of smoke, they could also see the bodies of about a dozen imperial warriors and security soldiers.

Without exception, they all died face down on the ground, terrified, so the truly fatal wounds were not visible.

Before he could speak, his adjutant, Major Yoshida, had already led two soldiers forward and flipped one of the corpses over.

Seeing this, Goro Mano nodded with great satisfaction.

They believe that Major Yoshida is a very clever young man and deserves to be trained and given more responsibilities in the future.

The next second, the clever young man and the other two soldiers in his eyes turned pale and ran away in all directions.

He had only taken two steps when an explosion occurred behind him.

In the shockwave of the explosion, Major Yoshida was propelled forward seven or eight steps before stopping in front of Goro Mano.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could utter a sound, he collapsed to the ground and died instantly; his back was already blown to pieces.

Seeing this, Goro Mano was both angry and furious, and his face turned somewhat pale.

If they saw such a scene, Mr. Xufeng and Mr. Nanze would probably burst out laughing like pigs on the spot.

When cleaning up the battlefield, Fang Youcai and others replaced all the wooden-handled grenades they had made at their base with better-quality Japanese grenades.

Originally, these wooden-handled grenades that had been replaced were to be burned, but seeing that it was a pity, they casually made a small trap on the corpses of the Japanese soldiers and puppet troops.

The principle behind the trap is very simple: moving the body will pull the fuse, causing an explosion.

Under normal circumstances, Major Yoshida and his men would have had a chance to escape, because the fuse of the wooden-handled grenade lasts for at least five or six seconds, enough time for them to run a certain distance.

Unfortunately, the fuses produced by the base's arsenal were of substandard quality, and they encountered one with an extremely short detonation time.

Before he could get far, he was blown up.

Under such continuous stimulation, Goro Mano almost went insane.

Immediately, troops must be mobilized to lay a trap and capture that mysterious squad, killing them in the most cruel way possible.

But just as the order was about to be given, he remembered that the current sweep was at a critical stage.

Even an important unit of the Eighth Route Army was on the verge of being completely surrounded; the thought that diverting troops might ruin everything made him hesitate.

After careful consideration, Goro Mano decided that the important matter was more important and he should hold back his anger for now.

The plan is to first eliminate that important unit of the Eighth Route Army, and then pursue this small but extremely disgusting and mysterious small force.

Just then, another metallic scraping sound came from the railway.

Looking up, I saw a train pulling four carriages coming from the direction of Yi County.

The train stopped at the foot of the mountain, and a company of military police hurriedly got off the train. In addition to their usual weapons and equipment, they were also leading five or six large wolfhounds.

Major Tanaka, who was leading the group, ran towards him with an excited expression on his face.

Seeing Major Tanaka's expression, Goro Mano realized something and his breathing became rapid.

Major Tanaka ran up to him without saying a word, but simply handed him an old newspaper from seven or eight months ago. After quickly glancing at the contents of the newspaper, Goro Mano's gloom vanished, replaced by pure elation.

The headline of the newspaper was about the Nationalist army's recapture of Nanning after the Battle of Guinan, and the large army entering the city.

In the accompanying photo, Hu Biao and his entourage are riding tall horses, enjoying the cheers of the city's residents, each one exuding an indescribable sense of high spirits.

One of Hu Biao's companions had been circled with a pen.

After a quick examination, it turned out to be the same person that Goro Mano had seen at the Da Longmen ancient city wall and had urgently sent to the military police to verify his identity...

(End of this chapter)