The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 580 Nightfall! Only the Beginning (Bonus Chapter for WoodenBlock1227)

At 4:32 p.m., behind a thicket of bushes about one kilometer away from the dirt road.

After putting down the telescope, the wizard couldn't help but mutter a complaint:
"Who said the Japanese were only one-track-minded, with rigid tactics and only one or two moves? Their adaptability is quite fast, isn't it?"

The premise for the wizard's complaint was that, through his telescope, he could see that the Japanese had clearly made many targeted preparations in response to their previous harassment tactics.

These are things they didn't see during their last attack.

For example, the Japanese set up machine gun positions on hills and other high ground about two or three hundred meters away from the roadside.

Patrol teams were deployed to search areas including grass, bushes, and woods.

In addition, planes were circling and scouting overhead as the Japanese troops withdrew.

This means that it's no longer possible to sneak up to the roadside and attack with grenade launchers and rocket launchers, or to shoot from a distance, as before.

Although the Japanese army lost some manpower for road construction, their approach was still relatively more cost-effective.

It must be said that these Japanese devils reacted quite quickly.

However, when he complained about this, the wizard's face showed no sign of tension, but rather an indescribable ease.

The root cause of everything is that there was a girl named Zanana lying next to him.

And this girl then set up the S-18 Solothurn anti-tank rifle that he had already helped repair, pointing the muzzle at the Japanese soldiers on the main road.

That said! At such a great distance.

Even with the Type 24 heavy machine guns used for slingshot firing, although the range was sufficient, it was still difficult to accurately hit the Japanese soldiers on the road.

However, the anti-tank rifle in Zanana's hands, which had a 20mm caliber and could be called a cannon, had no problems after being fitted with a 6x scope.

Therefore, this kind of response from the Japanese did not pose any pressure to them at all.

Soon after, Zanana set up the anti-tank rifle and replaced it with a brand new ten-round magazine.

Just as she was about to fire, the wizard beside her said expectantly, "Zanana, let me fire a round, how about it?"
Don't worry, I can only take five shots at most in one shoulder; my body should be able to handle it.

Upon hearing this, he glanced at the wizard nicknamed "Three Fatty," whose physique of over two hundred pounds was indeed much stronger than Uncle Bo's.

Without a word, Zanana rolled two body lengths to the side, giving up her shooting position.

After taking up the firing position, the wizard quickly locked onto the target through the 6x scope: a Type 4 150mm howitzer, which was absolutely a prized possession in the Japanese army.

This thing weighs 2.8 tons empty, plus the Japanese trucks have limited horsepower.

Even with a truck towing it, it still takes twenty or thirty Japanese soldiers to help push and pull it so that it can move forward at a snail's pace, slower than walking, on the newly repaired, soft road.

The part the wizard was aiming at was the wheel of this thing.

It should be noted that due to a shortage of rubber, the Japanese used the same all-steel structure for the gun wheels of this 150mm heavy artillery.

It doesn't seem to have any drawbacks under normal circumstances, but once it's damaged, it'll probably be difficult to find a replacement wheel.

Taking a deep breath, the wizard instinctively braced his shoulder against the butt of the gun and pulled the trigger, firing five bullets in quick succession at three-second intervals amidst the heavy 'thud, thud, thud' of the gun.

Of the five bullets fired, two hit the target.

Next, the wizard wanted to move the butt of the gun to his left shoulder and fire all five remaining bullets from the magazine.

Zanana had already picked up her anti-tank rifle, yelled "Run!" and led the way, sprinting towards a pine forest a hundred meters away.

Seeing this, the wizard had no choice but to quickly follow.

As it turned out, Zanana's actions were incredibly wise.

The Japanese reacted quickly and swiftly launched a counterattack; not only did the machine gun positions on the high ground begin firing wildly at their original locations, but Japanese officers also picked up signal pistols, aimed them at their former positions, and pulled the triggers.

Soon after, Japanese planes that had been circling in the nearby sky swooped down toward that spot, and their machine guns began to fire.

If they had evacuated even a little later, they might have actually been hit.

The five shots the wizard had just fired had actually achieved their goal.

The two axles supporting the wheel, which had been shot twice, were broken. At first glance, it seemed fine; but as the wizard and his companions hurriedly fled into the pine forest, the wheel, which was still moving slowly, suddenly began to deform.

In the blink of an eye, it became an oval shape, rendering it completely unusable.

The Japanese artillerymen on the spot were immediately faced with a tremendous and difficult choice:
They couldn't find replacement wheels in time, and logically, they should have just pushed the cannon to the side of the road and abandoned it, but they really couldn't bear to part with this precious treasure...

******
At the same time, at a location seven or eight miles away from this place.

Facing the Japanese soldiers about three miles away, the kneeling figure narrowed his eyes and raised a thumb high towards them.

The act of holding the elephant was certainly not a compliment to the Japanese soldiers, but rather a compliment to these Japanese soldiers as being truly excellent livestock.

The dirt roads that they filled in and then repeatedly compacted saved them the trouble of rebuilding them later.

He was simply using the 'jumping eye method' to adjust the angle of the three cannons in front of him so that he could take aim at the Japanese soldiers on the road and launch a volley.

After several minutes, he had positioned all three mortars.

He wouldn't need to personally handle the subsequent firing of the cannons.
After the commander shouted the order, "Six rounds in rapid fire, fire!", the three artillery crews fired the shells at top speed in a very short time.

Of the eighteen shells, seven landed near the roadside, while the rest all hit the road.

After a cloud of dust, the explosion killed three Japanese horses, overturned a carriage, killed eleven Japanese soldiers, and injured nineteen others.

The captain of this Japanese battalion rushed here and, seeing the scene of utter devastation, closed his eyes in anguish.

There was even an unspeakable, too dark thought in my mind:
"Damn it! Why not just blow these soldiers up and give them a quick death? Now it's too much trouble; it takes two or even more soldiers to carry each wounded soldier on the road."

In short, although the Japanese soldiers immediately took various targeted measures after being attacked.

However, it still cannot completely prevent attacks from happening; it can only reduce the intensity and frequency of attacks by Hu Biao and others.

The occasional mortar shells falling, or the sound of gunfire.

The Japanese soldiers, who were slowly retreating, were on edge the whole time, and were even more exhausted.

As time passed, the sky gradually darkened.

The aircraft, which had been circling in the air and serving as a strong deterrent and early warning system, was about to leave.

Unfortunately, the latest orders received by the Japanese were: no stopping; in order to evacuate to a safe area as quickly as possible, all retreating troops had to travel overnight.

That would have been bad enough, but then some things went wrong.

There was a bright full moon tonight, but as evening approached, large patches of dark clouds began to gather in the sky, as if it were going to rain.

If it rains, especially a heavy downpour, the roads will become muddy, making their retreat even more difficult.

Even if they were lucky enough that it didn't rain, the pitch-black environment made it easier for the Nationalist army to launch an attack on them.

Once these thoughts were considered, the morale of the Japanese army dropped at a visible rate.

Even though almost every Japanese soldier took the "marching pill" at noon, it was still in the effect of the drug and hadn't had much of an effect yet...

(End of this chapter)