The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 574 A Foolish Move (Two Chapters Combined)

What a terrible move! A really terrible move.

From the perspective of the ambush troops of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and the 74th Army, the remaining twenty or so Japanese tanks were not putting up a stubborn resistance.

Instead, they all started moving towards the ruins on both sides of the starting point, preparing to escape in different directions. This move was a foolish one.

Although tanks move on tracks, they have a stronger off-road capability than wheeled vehicles.

Even on ruins with broken bricks and tiles on both sides and uneven terrain, it is still possible to drive on a relatively flat route.

It can only start moving, but it can't get any fast at all.

On the contrary, because they are not relying on each other to form a defensive firepower network, they are easier for them to destroy; is this a bad move or something else?

What they didn't know was that You Chengmin, who issued the order that led to this scene, made this foolish move only when he had no other choice.

In more specific cases, it looks like this...

That said! Because of the abundance of lucrative rewards available on a regular basis, Colonel Tomonari Minoru, a big-bellied officer in the 13th Tank Regiment of the Japanese Army, could no longer fit into a tank.

So when he set off today, he sat in the passenger seat of a truck.

Therefore, when Hu Biao and his men launched their sudden attack, this Japanese colonel luckily escaped unscathed during the first wave of fierce assault.

The series of explosions initially stunned Tomonari, but he quickly recovered and made a rather reasonable response:

All personnel must disembark immediately, regardless of their status as civilian staff, repairmen, or supply soldiers.

Anyone who can still breathe should immediately grab a weapon and rush up with him to the tank.

In this way, although they suffered heavy losses in the initial attack, each tank that stopped in place became a solid steel stronghold.

As long as they rely on these strongpoints, they can hold out for a long time.

Even if the opponent has a rocket launcher, it is difficult to find an opportunity to attack at close range under their dense firepower.

Not to mention, the Hayabuchi Detachment and the 4th Division, with nearly 20,000 troops, are stationed in C Sand City, and they will definitely come to provide emergency support.

So this Japanese colonel never imagined that today would be the day they would suffer annihilation.

However, Colonel Tomochishi did not anticipate that three fatal changes would occur during this process.

Firstly, they saw at least several hundred Japanese soldiers charging towards them in a massive wave.

His position at that moment was at the crossroads where tanks and trucks met in the Japanese marching column, and he immediately shouted:

"Listen up, everyone nearby, forget about taking down the tanks and stop these Japanese devils with me."

After shouting, he picked up an M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle and started firing wildly at the charging Japanese soldiers.

A very short time later, with a crisp 'clang', a steel magazine with a missing round sprang out of the chamber, indicating that the eight bullets in the Cross's rifle had been emptied.

However, the four Japanese soldiers who charged at the front had all been knocked to the ground by him, and the Japanese soldiers who followed behind him instinctively slowed down.

As Cross reloaded an eight-round magazine into his rifle, the brothers who heard his roar opened fire on the Japanese soldiers.

Their total number was not large, only about fifty or sixty people.

Fortunately, it has one heavy machine gun, two light machine guns, and more than ten submachine guns, making its firepower density quite good.

After they opened fire, the dense barrage of bullets temporarily suppressed the Japanese soldiers who had just charged forward.

Secondly, the attack by Hu Biao and his men was so resolute and frenzied; when they were temporarily suppressed, they rushed up to blow up the tanks without even waiting for the rocket launchers to be loaded.

They weren't afraid of slow-loading rocket launchers, but they were afraid of this kind of crazy firing style.

It was as if Hu Biao and his men's crazy tactic of charging forward with Molotov cocktails and cluster grenades had struck when the tank units were at their weakest.

If it had been a few minutes later, the result would not have been the same.

Thirdly, the dense explosions and gunfire coming from afar indicated that the Nationalist troops who were ambushing them had actually deployed sniper units in advance.

It was at least a regiment of soldiers, equipped with a number of mortars and sniper units.

Therefore, although there were many troops in the city, most of them were asleep, and only small groups came up to support them after they were awakened.

In a short time, where could they break through the blocking force's defenses and come to their rescue?

In short, Colonel Tomochishi, who was constantly urging his men to advance and try to break through the blockade of Shizi and others, endured two agonizing minutes.

Everything that happened in those two minutes had a different feel for both sides in the battle.

In Hu Biao's and others' view, it was an extremely difficult fight.

Damn it! In preparation for tonight's ambush against the Japanese 13th Tank Regiment, they hadn't even used their rocket launchers in the previous positional battles.

Even getting here took a lot of time and effort to ensure the secrecy of the march and infiltration.

As the fighting began, one by one, our brothers fell to the Japanese machine guns mounted on vehicles and tanks. It was heartbreaking for them, and they trembled with fear.

However, Colonel Tomonari, the commander of the 13th Tank Regiment of the Japanese Army, had a completely different perspective.

Difficult? You have the nerve to call this difficult?

In just two minutes, a tank regiment that the Empire could normally rampage across this land and easily overwhelm one or two division commanders of the National Revolutionary Army had been mostly destroyed, leaving only about twenty tanks.

The terrifying speed at which they destroyed the tanks made it seem as if they were made of cardboard.

Such a scene was something that had never happened even in his most terrifying nightmares.

If this pace of development continues, how long can the last twenty tanks under my command survive?

One minute, two minutes? Anyway, You Chengmin didn't think the remaining tanks could last three minutes.

He, the commander of the Imperial Tank Regiment, will eventually become a regimental commander whose troops don't even have a single tank under his command.

It will become the biggest joke in the entire imperial army.

Considering all of the above, Yu Chengmin knew that under the current circumstances, the only option was to have his surviving tanks break out immediately, preserving as many tanks as possible.

Colonel Yu Chengmin gritted his teeth and roared at the messenger behind him:
"Quickly, quickly send orders to the surviving tank units; have them immediately form a battle formation, force their way out of the ruins on the left, and move towards us."

"Warriors, charge! Bring back our last tank!"

After shouting, he drew a katana from his waist and took two or three quick steps forward.

He slashed a repairman who was holding a Type 38 rifle but looked terrified and didn't dare to charge forward under the fire of the others.

The other Japanese soldiers around them, though still terrified, were inwardly shocked by what they saw.

But driven by the regimental commander wielding a blood-stained katana, he let out an unintelligible roar and charged forward...

Actually, upon closer examination, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with Colonel Tomochishi's order.

If the remaining Japanese tanks had executed his orders perfectly, they might have been able to save at least a few.

Although only a few tanks remained, which were of little use for most of the Japanese breakout operations, Tomonari Minoru was not left without any troops.

However, the Japanese soldiers' excessive stinginess in not installing radios on their tanks was now fully exposed.

Upon hearing You Chengmin's order, a messenger behind him immediately began relaying the command.

Braving the flying bullets, he climbed onto the hood of a truck, waving two small flags, and began to give orders using flag signals, a method that had long been outdated.

Even after being shot in the cross-shaped pattern, leaving his left shoulder mangled and bleeding, he still gritted his teeth and continued waving the small flag in his hand.

To be honest, this Japanese messenger was quite dutiful and brave, but it was completely useless and even had a huge negative effect.

The twenty or so tanks that the Japanese soldiers have survived are now all crammed inside their own tanks.

It kept spinning the vehicle frantically, firing its machine gun and tank cannon, but it couldn't keep up with the Nationalist army's frenzied attacks from all sides.

Where would anyone peek out to see if any commands were being relayed using flag signals?
Fortunately, the crew inside the tank couldn't see the flag signals, but the few accompanying infantrymen beside the tank managed to see them.

He immediately relayed the message to the tanks around him.

Unfortunately, their method of communication was even more primitive and outdated than flag signals; they took their rifle butts and began to smash the tank's hull. Amidst this brutal pounding, the Japanese crew members hiding inside the tank, considering their dire situation...

Although they vaguely understood that it must have been their regimental commander who issued the order for them to break out immediately.

However, during the retreat, these surviving tanks had to form a battle formation and retreat from the ruins on the left to the south gate of C Sand City.

The details of the order to eventually rendezvous with Colonel Tomochishi and the supporting troops were completely unclear to them.

There was no way! The Japanese infantrymen next to the tank couldn't use their rifle butts to tap out a Morse code on the tank, could they?
So, unsurprisingly, the remaining Japanese tanks began to break out in different directions on the battlefield.

It's not to say that every tank broke out on its own, but the largest breakout force consisted of two or three tanks clustered together, followed by a dozen or so Japanese infantrymen.

These surviving Japanese tanks, amidst the undulating ruins, began a chaotic escape at a pace barely faster than walking.

It's fair to say that the difficulty of defeating them has been reduced by an immense amount.

The commander of the Japanese 13th Tank Regiment made a suicidal and foolish decision...

*******
After witnessing the Japanese soldiers' chaotic and disorganized breakout, Hu Biao and other time travelers, along with officers from the 74th Army such as Li Hanqing and Zhang Lingfu, came to the scene.

They were initially overjoyed, knowing their opportunity had arrived.

Then, they all shouted out the same command, albeit in different accents and tones:

"Get out of the way! Those who are blocking the Japanese soldiers, get out of the way immediately. Don't fight them head-on; go around to their side or behind them."

"Take out their infantry first, then go up and blow up these iron turtles."

The messages shouted by the crowd above also represent the tactics they will use next.

For example, after AT finished yelling, he called to a light machine gun team that was firing "rat-a-tat-tat" at the Japanese frontal armor, and told them to quickly move to a new position.

Faced with a Type 95 light tank roaring wildly towards him, he immediately and decisively lay down on the ground.

Using the piled-up bricks and tiles as cover, they quickly crawled forward on the ground.

Three or four seconds later, the AT, which had moved more than ten meters away, leaped up and successfully arrived at the left side of the Japanese tank.

AT made its move decisively the moment it leaped into the air.

Holding an MP28 submachine gun, he opened fire wildly; before even emptying a single magazine, the three Japanese infantrymen who had been following behind the tank, crouching low, were all shot down.

Suddenly, this tank became a lonely, blind man.

The AT was standing only five or six meters to its left, but the crew didn't notice it at all.

The driver, steer the tank that was constantly belching out thick black smoke, laboriously drove it past the AT; it gave the impression of someone who was completely blind.

In such a situation, AT took out a Molotov cocktail and lit it.

He even had a leisurely mood, took out a "Kyoei" brand cigarette that he had captured from the Japanese from his jacket pocket, lit it on the Molotov cocktail, and took a big, satisfying puff.

Then he choked and coughed like a dog, even coughing up tears and snot.

As expected of the infamous "Consumptive Ghost" in the transmigrator team, this classic scene always occurs due to some inexplicable circumstances.

Of course! This is just a small matter and won't affect AT's ability to continue showing off.

He raised his sleeve, wiped the snot that had coughed up from his nose, and cursed, "Did those Japanese devils stuff horse manure in their cigarettes? They're fucking awful."

After cursing, he took a small puff of smoke and took a few steps forward, striking the Japanese tank less than a few meters away from its rear.

It's as easy as throwing an empty Coke bottle into the trash can in your own living room.

He threw a Molotov cocktail, which landed precisely on top of the engine.

With a crisp 'crack', the Molotov cocktail smashed to pieces on the tank.

The burning gasoline began to flow, quickly seeping into the engine compartment through gaps in the air intake grille; and the combustion intensified, generating astonishingly high temperatures.

So much so that AT only took two more small puffs of the cigarette in his mouth, leaving at least half of it.

The Japanese tank had only driven a short distance when its engine was severely damaged by combustion and overheating at high temperatures.

With two loud bangs and a violent jolt, the engine stopped completely, and the tank slowly came to a halt.

The Japanese crew of the Type 95 light tank, consisting of only three people, was also decisive.

After attempting to restart the engine twice in a short period of time, only to find that it was impossible, they realized that staying inside the tank in the face of a formidable enemy on the battlefield was tantamount to waiting for death.

Surprisingly, they opened the hatches on the turret and above the driver's head immediately, attempting to escape.

However, as soon as they poked their heads out, they saw a man with a cigarette in his mouth pull the trigger of a submachine gun at them.

"That guy is only smoking from one nostril; he must have caught a cold."

These were their last thoughts before they died...

After firing a burst of bullets and taking out three Japanese crew members who were within arm's reach, AT spat out his half-smoked cigarette and mouthful of tobacco with a "pui".

Then, unable to resist, he blurted out, "Trash~"

I don't know if they're cursing the Japanese soldiers and their tanks as trash, or the Japanese soldiers' cigarettes as trash, or maybe both.

After finishing his rant, AT changed his empty magazine while looking around, indicating he was preparing to find his next target.

It was during this process that we saw it just thirty or forty meters to the right.

The man named Zhang Lingfu, the deputy division commander, crouched low and ran swiftly to the rear of a tank that was no longer accompanied by infantry.

After pulling the pin on a bundle of cluster grenades, he actually held it in his hand for a second or two.

He casually tossed it under the tank in front of him.

After doing all this, Zhang Lingfu turned around and ran; after running five or six steps, he suddenly pounced and fell to the ground.

Just as Zhang Lingfu fell to the ground, a huge flame erupted behind him.

It must have been the Japanese tank behind him. Its base plate, which was only 5 millimeters thick, was blasted through by the bomb, and the ammunition compartment was also detonated.

As soon as the aftershocks of the explosion subsided, Zhang Lingfu had already gotten up from the ground.

He looked disheveled and disheveled, a far cry from the handsome figure he had been when they first met; however, AT gave him a thumbs-up, a gesture of genuine appreciation.

No other reason than that Zhang Lingfu was incredibly brave in today's battle.

It wasn't the typical "Brothers, charge!" kind of order common in the Nationalist army; instead, he personally took up a submachine gun and charged.

Especially after his brothers, who had wet quilts tied to their chests or had a lot of grenades tied to their chests, died one after another, he picked up the grenades on the ground and used them to blow up tanks.

Therefore, such soldiers absolutely deserve AT's respect at this moment.

What's quite amazing is that Zhang Lingfu, who is usually so arrogant, became even more defiant after meeting Hu Biao tonight. He inadvertently saw AT's thumbs-up gesture.

He actually scratched the back of his head and laughed somewhat embarrassedly.

Then, he and AT moved at the same time without prior arrangement, charging towards a Japanese tank at the 5 o'clock position.

At that moment, the distinctions between the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment and the 74th Army, and other units with different designations, vanished from their minds; they shared only one simple identity:

Chinese people, Chinese soldiers who fought against the Japanese invaders.

The situation involving AT and Zhang Lingfu was merely a microcosm of the ambush battlefield near the south gate of C Sand City.

All the Chinese soldiers worked together to launch an attack on the last remaining Japanese tanks.

They destroyed the Japanese tanks one by one in a way that was much easier than before.

Even more wonderfully, by this time, some of the 32 rocket launchers of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment had finally been loaded.

Once they joined the battle, hoisting their weapons onto their shoulders and firing again, the remaining tanks of the Japanese 13th Tank Regiment were practically no match for them...

(End of this chapter)