The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 552 Buried (Two-in-one chapter) (Seeking monthly votes)
At the same time, when the old car and the foreman shouted "poison gas bomb" in unison.

On the second line of defense behind her, Mina abruptly put down her binoculars and hurriedly shouted, "Brother-in-law, no! Hu Zhiyi, quickly send someone up to provide support!"

After shouting, he picked up a submachine gun slung over his shoulder, ready to go and support a certain position.

The reason this girl had such a strong reaction was mainly to train the new members of the transmigrator team who had relatively limited experience in positional warfare command, or who had no experience at all.

Therefore, the people in charge of the four positions, namely positions one, two, three, and four, are basically the contractor, Lao Che, Shizi, Xin Huo, Ji Shouxing, Dali, and the welder, who participated in the crossing this time and last time.

Under normal circumstances, there would be no problem with this arrangement.

After all, based on Hu Biao and others' combat experience, they were already familiar with the Japanese attack tactics; it was just the same few things over and over again.

Generally, a series of probing attacks will be conducted first to understand the density and location of firepower on the position, as well as the number of troops, before the attack intensity is gradually increased.

This allows those who lack experience to gain some command experience in positional warfare.

When the most difficult phase begins, the veterans will lead the troops to the front lines.

This can be considered a gradual and relatively scientific training method.

However, the Japanese attack strategy changed this time. They didn't launch any probing attacks at all and deployed more than three times their usual strength as soon as the battle started.

They even used a powerful weapon like poison gas during a brief period of calm weather.

Seeing such a big commotion, Mina became quite worried.

The series of battles in this transmigration is only just beginning. If a few transmigrators die, the subsequent battle plans will be difficult to manage.

Unexpectedly, not only did Hu Biao remain completely unresponsive upon hearing this.

Veterans like AT, Chen Tang, Huang Adi, Lao Ma, and Zanana calmly continued to observe the battlefield ahead through their binoculars.

They showed no intention of taking up arms and leading men to provide support.

Anne, still concerned for her cousin, explained to Mina, "You used to be in charge of logistics and the air force, so you don't know much about this kind of positional warfare."

It's alright. With our setup, those guys should be able to hold off a few attacks.

Even if the process is difficult and brutal, it's a necessary process for them; otherwise, how can they grow so quickly?

While Annie was explaining, Chen Tang, AT, and others also reacted.

However, after putting down their binoculars, instead of leading people up to provide support, they turned around and headed towards the hills behind them.

Seeing this, Mina couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"There's no use in worrying about them just because you see this."

"Why don't we take this opportunity to get some sleep? That way, when these rookies can't hold on any longer, we'll be more alert when we step in to relieve them."

Without turning his head back, Huang Yizhi offered this explanation.

This demonstrates the extremely strong mental fortitude of these seasoned veterans.

Upon hearing this, Mina also put down her submachine gun and stared blankly at the front line, a new question involuntarily rising in her mind:

"How many times have these rookies and semi-rookies managed to withstand the Japanese attacks on the front lines? Once, twice..."

*****
The novices and semi-novices on the front lines were completely unaware of the reactions and psychology of those on the second line.

Even if they knew, they probably wouldn't have time to care, because at that moment they only had one simple thought in their minds: the Japanese are coming up soon, kill them.

Thanks to the great victory last night, all personnel on the front lines now have a Type 99 gas mask captured from the Japanese.

Before the battle, everyone underwent a brief training session, learning how to wear them.

So on position number one, when the crosshair made a warning in his mouth and hurriedly put on a gas mask.

The others on the position also put on gas masks, wrapped a towel around their necks, wore homespun gloves, and tied their sleeves and trouser legs tightly.

In summary, in addition to preparations to prevent poisoning through respiration.

They also minimized the amount of skin exposed, which was the best possible protection they could offer.

By this time, at least dozens of poison gas shells had landed on position number one, and a large amount of grayish-white poison gas was spreading across the position.

Through the small lenses of his gas mask, Cross strained to open his eyes and peer towards the front of the position.

They discovered a company of Japanese soldiers outside the position. At this moment, they all put on masks and faced the No. 1 position that he and Dali were responsible for.

That is, a hill on the left flank, which is crouching and rushing over quickly.

"Light and heavy machine guns, open fire immediately! Everyone else, just wait until the Japanese are within 100 meters. Don't waste bullets!" Cross shouted at the top of his lungs.

Even so, the gas mask was tightly wrapped around his head and face.

This not only severely distorted the sound of the cross, but also significantly reduced the volume.

Fortunately, several brothers nearby heard it and shouted along with it. Then, those further away repeated the order, thus ensuring that it was delivered.

Then, the three heavy machine guns and six light machine guns on the position began to roar under the control of their main gunners.

Even before the war began, each light and heavy machine gun had been assigned a firing range. Now that they were firing, they formed a brutal crossfire by firing in pairs.

The Japanese soldiers at the forefront were instantly killed, with more than a dozen men falling to the ground.

Under normal circumstances, once the Japanese soldiers discovered that the defenders on the position had enough gas masks, their gas tactics would be ineffective and they would not gain any advantage, so they would generally retreat.

However, the Japanese troops' reaction this time was simply that the troops in front slowed down their advance.

They kept a greater distance from each other to avoid excessive casualties under machine gun fire.

The larger number of light and heavy machine guns behind them also fired relentlessly to suppress the enemy, showing no intention of giving up.

Although I hate to admit it, in this kind of exchange of fire, our rookie machine gunners were no match for the Japanese; their brutal crossfire was also reduced considerably.

In addition, grenade launcher squads also sprang into action within the Japanese troops charging forward.

After they crouched down, they fiddled with the grenade launcher, adjusting the firing angle, preparing to take out their machine gun emplacement.

Fortunately, at this time, the snipers personally trained by Uncle Bo, who could be considered his disciples and grand-disciples, and who were assigned at least three to each company, also opened fire.

Even with its small lenses, the toxic fumes from gas masks significantly impair visibility.

However, these were originally hunters, and their snipers, who were skilled marksmen, had all equipped their rifles with a 4x scope, which further enhanced their marksmanship.

Amidst the crisp 'bang bang' of gunfire, several Japanese soldiers were taken down before they could even successfully fire their grenade launchers.

Seeing this, the remaining members of the Japanese grenade launcher team dared not continue to be attacked in place and had to move to some nearby natural obstacles, thus saving the machine gun positions from a crisis.

Unfortunately, even so, before long, the Japanese infantrymen carrying Type 38 rifles rushed into the area within 100 meters of the position.

At this distance, if they went another thirty or forty meters, they could reach the edge of the hill and begin their ascent.

Therefore, it was time for those on the position to take action...

The crosshairs were aimed at a Japanese private first class, who had just put the sights of an M1 Garand rifle in his hand. As he shouted "Fire!", he pulled the trigger.

In a very short time, all eight bullets in the magazine were emptied.

At most half a second later than the crosshairs, the dozen or so submachine guns and fifty-odd rifles that had been aiming at the position also opened fire.

The sudden burst of intense firepower, coupled with the brothers' already somewhat accurate marksmanship within a hundred meters, caused more than half of the forty or so Japanese soldiers charging at the front to be taken down in an instant.

Including previous casualties, this Japanese company has already lost a third of its men; a whole squad has been wiped out.

Despite such heavy casualties, the Japanese still refused to retreat.

Apart from a small number of personnel who either knelt or lay prone on the position to fire, relying on their superior marksmanship, they quickly killed or wounded several people on the position.

Even Dali, whose fear of guns has now been completely cured, was about to rush over to take over when he saw a light machine gunner being killed not far away. A bullet grazed his head, and he was almost blown off.

The other, even larger number of Japanese soldiers, spurred on by the shouts of veterans and officers, charged forward with renewed speed, seemingly determined to take the position in one fell swoop, even at the cost of casualties.

Fortunately, the various traps in front of the position were standard equipment when the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment built fortifications.

Due to the limited time available, Hu Biao and his team set up two types of simple traps within a range of 30 to 100 meters from the front line.

They are simple in some ways. One type is the bullet mine they make using bullets and small bamboo shoots.

Another method involves digging a small pit in the ground, barely larger than the foot and only a few centimeters deep, covering it with woven bamboo strips and a thin layer of loose soil.

Don't be fooled by the simplicity of these arrangements, especially the latter which looks like a child's prank; they can achieve quite good results.

The former goes without saying; when the Japanese soldiers are charging, they have no time to pay attention to their footing.

As a result, with such a simple trap, the Japanese soldiers only needed to step on it to have their soles pierced immediately.

Not only did this prevent the Japanese from charging any further, but the pain also made them difficult to maintain their balance, naturally making them perfect targets. The defenders took them down one by one like they were sitting ducks.

The latter could also cause the Japanese soldiers to lose their balance after stepping into the air, or even sprain their ankles.

The effect of a sprained ankle grenade is definitely not as good as a bullet grenade, but this thing can be easily set up with a hoe and shovel in a few strokes, and the deployment cost is almost zero.

In short, the Japanese soldiers who rushed forward only managed to advance about twenty steps before nearly twenty of them were hit from both sides and killed by the defending troops on the position.

Those Japanese soldiers who weren't killed, but whose feet were pierced by bullets, were also rolling on the ground, clutching their legs and screaming in agony.

After witnessing these scenes and hearing the piercing screams, the remaining 70 or 80 meters leading to the position immediately became terrifying in the eyes of the other Japanese soldiers.

The main problem was that they didn't know how many similar deployments the defenders had on the ground along this stretch.

More importantly, the mountain wind, which had stopped for a while, started blowing again; the poisonous gas that had been spreading over the position was being dispersed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It won't take long for it to completely dissipate.

Seeing this, the Japanese company commander, whose company was about to suffer more than half casualties, had no choice but to issue a retreat order.

The remaining hundred or so Japanese soldiers began to retreat in shifts, covering each other's movements. They didn't forget to bring the wounded along as well. Their retreat was remarkably orderly, befitting the elite Japanese soldiers of a Class A division...

Shizi and Dali watched the retreating Japanese soldiers but did not give the order to pursue them.

Firstly, they were worried that if they chased after them, their own personnel might destroy the remaining traps, which they were counting on to continue playing a vital role in the subsequent battles.

Secondly, positions number two and three on the right side are still engaged in fierce fighting with the Japanese.

After all, compared to other positions, the No. 1 position, being situated on hills, still has some advantages in terms of its superior location.

The two men quickly called to their comrades on the position, adjusted the direction of their guns, and launched a flanking attack on the Japanese soldiers in front of the second position. Before long, they had taken down several of them.

Two or three minutes later, the Japanese soldiers on the other positions also began to retreat.

It's like the Japanese launched a major offensive right from the start, only to end it in a very anticlimactic way; they were defeated in a short time by these half-newbies and novices leading a company that wasn't even at full strength.

When the closest Japanese soldiers had retreated to within three or four hundred meters and were no longer easily hit, Shizi and Dali shouted the order to "cease fire" almost simultaneously.

Then he pulled down his gas mask and slumped down in the trench, breathing heavily.

Every single one of the other brothers on the position had the same reaction.

Well, people who have never worn a gas mask and participated in intense combat probably will never know how uncomfortable this process is.

The stuffy and hot conditions are just minor issues.

The key issue is that breathing is extremely difficult, requiring deep, forceful breaths to supply the body with oxygen; when fighting, the physical exertion is at least several times greater than in a normal environment.

So even though the battle was short, once it was over and everyone was safe, they were all quite exhausted.

Of course! This outcome is far better than simply covering one's chest with a wet towel.

Even though they were slumped on the ground, everyone on Shizi and the others had excited expressions on their faces.

Regardless of the results on other positions, they estimated that they killed or wounded about a hundred Japanese soldiers at position number one alone, while their own casualties were only about ten.

This is almost a 10 to 1 exchange ratio. Isn't that a great victory? Shouldn't we let them be proud of themselves?
A 10-to-1 exchange ratio can certainly be considered a glorious victory.

Unfortunately, it seems that Shizi and Dali won't have time to do something truly impressive.

The two men, having worn gas masks for some time, experienced severe chest tightness and discomfort, and they hadn't fully recovered from the discomfort.

A piercing alarm from a hand-cranked siren rang out from an observation post atop a hill behind them, echoing throughout every corner of the battlefield.

This chilling alarm sound represents an even more terrifying message:
The Japanese air raid came, and everyone immediately took cover.

He didn't know where the strength came from, but he bounced up in the trench as if he had springs in his body, raised his head, raised a pair of binoculars, and looked directly north of the Japanese Bailuo Airport.

After getting a better look at the details, I immediately gasped in shock.

Since the ambush last night, he has gasped for breath more times than he had before.

There was nothing that could be done about it; there were more than thirty aircraft in the sky, most of which were Nakajima Type 1 fighters, the most numerous type of aircraft in the Japanese Army Air Force.

Despite being called a fighter jet, it was armed with two 12.7mm machine guns and carried two 60kg bombs.

For them, who have almost no air defense capabilities, it is still an incredibly terrifying aerial reaper.

The smaller number consisted of Type 99 dive bombers and Type 99 light bombers; if you add both together, there were only about eleven or twelve of them.

Both types of bombers have limited bomb loads, but even with limited loads, they are still bombers.

The damage caused by ground attacks is immeasurably greater.

The smallest bomb carried on board, weighing 25 kilograms, had a destructive force upon landing that was roughly equivalent to that of a 105mm howitzer.

After being hit directly, it's hard to say whether the anti-artillery bunkers they reinforced and supported with logs could withstand the impact.

After all, although there are quite a few trees in the forests on the hills on both sides, they are not particularly large because they have been cut down by villagers for a long time due to their proximity to the village, and their supporting strength is relatively limited.

As for the even larger bombs carried by the Japanese bombers, don't ask! They were destined to be unable to withstand them.

Faced with such a crisis, what should the cross do?
What else could they do? They lit a fire to create smoke and distract the Japanese pilots, then hid in the gun shelter and prayed that their luck wouldn't be too bad.

"Light the fire quickly, then get into the bunker! No one is allowed to come out until the air raid siren is lifted!" Cross and Dali shouted in unison after putting down their binoculars.

As they shouted, they each rushed toward the nearest pile of firewood.

From several meters away, he took out an old-fashioned kerosene lighter from his pocket, lit it, and threw it toward the pile of firewood.

Because the firewood pile had been doused with a lot of oil and water beforehand, it ignited violently as soon as a spark touched it, producing a lot of thick smoke.

After doing all this, Cross plunged into an empty, gun-proof bunker.

Squat down like you're squatting in a toilet, head down, hands clasped behind your head, and then leave everything to luck.

As it turned out, his luck was really bad today. Amidst the immense torment of the world shaking, Cross suddenly heard the shrill sound of a bomb falling, getting closer and clearer.

This meant that an aerial bomb had landed on the spot where he was hiding.

Upon landing, even if it doesn't land on the edge of the bunker, it won't stray too far from the edge.

Instinctively, he tried to get up and rush out of the bunker, moving along the trench to another bunker, but it was too late.

After a deafening explosion, Shizi, who was just about to get up, discovered that the blasting hole he was in had collapsed.

A large amount of mud and sand poured down on him, burying him in darkness in an instant.

"Damn it! This grand time-travel drama has only just begun, and I'm already going to die?" These were the last thoughts in Cross's mind before he completely lost consciousness...

(End of this chapter)