Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 435: Reigniting the War

This was not the first time Tang Qiuli disobeyed orders on the battlefield. After the Battle of Pingjin in North China, he reported it to the Military Commission and the old man, which aroused a lot of criticism. Fortunately, he won the battle and inspired the confidence and courage of the people. The old man also stood up for him.

I am happy with the results, otherwise, the outcome will be disastrous.

On the eve of the Battle of Songhu, despite the old man's disapproval, four infantry brigades, an artillery brigade, and an air defense brigade of the Sulu Mobile Corps were sent into the urban area of ​​Shanghai first. As a result, they became the backbone of the first battle of August 13th.

This time, the old man still disagreed with his combat deployment, and Tang Qiuli still carried out the original plan. This time, how would the old man and the big guys from the Military Commission react?

Tang Qiuli didn't have any more thoughts to think about this. As long as Shanghai can be kept safe for the time being and the Japanese army's butcher knife can't reach Nanjing, everything makes sense. He has no regrets. The war has become two of his most taboos.

Fighting on the front line, the troops on hand are stretched thin, and the Central Army's

The main force is far away. Once there is a loss in Shanghai, what will he do to make up for it? Therefore, Brother Qiu Sheng's 140,000 troops of the Sulu Mobile Corps are his biggest bargaining chip in the direction of Shanghai. How to use it will depend on the needs of the battle.

The old man's thoughts cannot be taken into consideration.

In response to the Japanese government's August 15 statement that was full of lies and confusing right and wrong, the National Government responded accordingly and issued a highly targeted "Declaration of Self-Defense and Anti-Japanese War" on August 16, declaring that "

China will never give up any part of its territory. In the event of aggression, it can only respond by exercising its natural right of self-defense. All citizens also take it as their own responsibility to defend the territory, even if the territory is stained with blood, they will not hesitate."

The statement expressed the government's attitude towards Japan's military offensive. It was also Chairman Chiang's attitude since the July 7th Incident, when he was truly determined to fight the Japanese to the end. The Japanese plot against the Shanghai area made him even more vigilant.

At 8 pm on August 16, the Tenth Army (the Sulu Mobile Regiment of the ** Division), with two infantry brigades and one artillery brigade, under the command of Chief of Staff Chang Feng, attacked the Japanese navy stationed at Hongqiao.

More than 20,000 Marines launched an attack. At this time, the Corps Commander Tang Qiusheng had already led the rest of the troops to the Hangzhou Bay area to actively build fortifications and prepare to face the invading enemy.

At the beginning of the battle, the troops were not making smooth progress. Hongqiao was a stronghold operated by the Japanese army for many years. It had built a large number of solid fortifications and anti-gun shelters, and was densely covered with firepower points. The surrounding civilian houses were forcibly demolished by the Japanese army. Within a kilometer of the stronghold, there were

An empty open space

In the open land, there were no obstacles for the attacking troops to take advantage of, and they were all exposed to the fierce firepower of the Japanese Marine Corps. The Japanese army held on to the dangers here, hoarding a large amount of ammunition, food and drinking water, claiming that they would hold on to a certain position.

No problem if you are over 10 years old.

The leading battalion of the third regiment of the 1st Brigade, which was responsible for the main attack mission, was pinned to the spot by the Japanese firepower and could not move. The battalion commander's anxious eyes were filled with fire. In front of him were the remains of dozens of soldiers.

He was hit by Japanese machine guns at the beginning of the attack, and the troops had to retreat. The first attack failed, and dozens of soldiers were killed.

The regiment's artillery battalion rushed over to provide support. Dozens of Type 92 infantry guns and mortars blasted fiercely. The Japanese stronghold was filled with dust, bricks and tiles flew across, and fire flashed. The soldiers shouted with joy, feeling relieved in their hearts.

, the shelling stopped, the smoke cleared, and the Japanese stronghold was deathly silent, without a sound.

The battalion commander waved the soldiers of the battalion and rushed forward. Suddenly, the dead Japanese stronghold came to life, spewing out fires like poisonous snakes. The soldiers of the battalion who were charging in the open area were swept away by the sudden bullets.

The soldiers hurriedly fell down in a large area, but in the open and unobstructed area, they still became targets of Japanese fire, and Japanese mortars also began shelling.

The young bodies of the soldiers on the open ground were blown up into the air by artillery shells from time to time, turning into rain of blood flying in the sky. The battalion commander ordered the bugler to blow the retreat horn. However, how could they retreat under the heavy rain of bullets from the Japanese army?

After getting down, the regimental artillery battalion saw that something was not going well and quickly launched artillery fire suppression. With the thick smoke and the Japanese army's sight temporarily blocked, the first battalion finally withdrew.

However, of the more than 800 soldiers in a battalion, only 200 or so were able to come back alive, and most of them were injured. There are more than 600 young soldiers lying on the land of Shanghai forever, their blood stained

The ground beneath me turns red, and maybe, next spring, brilliant wild flowers will grow.

In the two attacks, more than two-thirds of the casualties in the first brigade, third regiment and one battalion were broken, and the organization was crippled. Less than an hour after the general offensive started, the left arm of the first battalion commander was hit by a bullet, and his uniform was soaked with blood.

Sleeves, ticking along the wrist

On the ground, he didn't care. He roughly pushed away the health worker who was about to bandage him. He grabbed a few grenades and rushed forward. He was hugged tightly by two guards. He cried loudly, six hundred

Many soldiers were gone in the blink of an eye.

He stared with blood-red eyes, turned around suddenly, and stared angrily at the regimental artillery battalion commander. The artillery battalion commander lowered his head guiltily. He had seen all the tragic scenes just now, and he blamed himself for his mistakes.

My heart was in severe pain. Hundreds of rounds of artillery shells were fired, and even a lump of iron could explode. How could the Japanese be okay?

The offensive was completely blocked. Less than an hour after the general offensive started, the casualties of the troops had exceeded more than 2,300, but the Japanese army did not even come within 500 meters of the Hongkou fortifications. The Japanese army's fortifications were extremely strong and well-designed.

The angle and slope have been carefully calculated. When the cannonball hits it, it can't even blow up a large piece of concrete. A large part of the explosive force has been cleverly removed.

If the fight continues like this, the two brigades will be filled with 30,000 men, and they will not be able to take down the strong Japanese fortifications. Commander Chang Feng is sweating. Since the army joined the Songhu battlefield, he has never fought such a useless battle.

The Japanese fortifications cannot be penetrated by bullets or destroyed by artillery shells. The artillery brigade's thirty-plus mén heavy artillery cannot accurately bombard the target due to terrain and field of vision restrictions. What's more, there is a dense residential area a thousand meters away.

.

What to do? Fierce gunfire came from the direction of Yangshupu. It was the Ninth Army of General Zhang Zhizhong. The Japanese Marine Corps was besieging more than 8,000 troops there. This made Chang Feng even more anxious. Commander-in-Chief Tang

The order given to myself was to seize the Japanese stronghold in Hongkou in five hours, and then support General Zhang Zhizhong in the direction of Yangshupu and clear out the remaining Japanese troops in the city.

But now the attack has been frustrated and the troops have suffered serious casualties. Chang Feng is also a veteran of the ** division. During the Battle of Mudanjiang in the Northeast, he was recognized by the then commander Tang Qiuli and transferred from an ordinary soldier to the staff office. After many years of service

During his war career, he has experienced countless battles and grown into the senior general he is today. However, this is the first time he has encountered a battle like this where he has nowhere to start and neither artillery bombs nor bombs are effective.

As time passed, the sound of gunfire from the direction of Yangshupu became more intense. The Ninth Army did not have multiple weapons of its own and needed more support. The Japanese troops in the city could not be eliminated. The Japanese troops from Japan were coming to reinforce the Songhu battlefield.

The Chinese team will face an extremely dangerous situation. It is very possible to be fired by the center and attacked from both sides.

Several brigade commanders could not bear it any longer and demanded to organize death squads to use the bodies of soldiers to pave a bloody path for the follow-up troops to attack. Of course Chang Feng could not do this. It would be a needless sacrifice, and no matter how many people there were, it would not be enough.

After entering, all the troops were exhausted. How could they complete the tasks assigned by the commander-in-chief? He was thinking nervously in the headquarters.

Instead of worrying here, it is better to go to the forward position and take a look on the spot. Chang Feng took several brigade commanders and staff officers to the position of the first brigade, third regiment and first battalion. This was the battalion with the highest casualties among the main attacking troops.

Bullet marks were scattered all over the charging road. The bodies of the soldiers stung his eyes, and the roar of the battalion commander stung his heart even more.

Because he is the supreme commander of the battle, all the casualties were caused by poor planning. He did not conduct careful reconnaissance of the Japanese stronghold in Hongkou in advance. He has an unshirkable responsibility. Chang Feng is a person who is good at self-summarization and criticism. Tang Feng

Qiu Li also appreciated this aspect of him the most.

In the dark night, the tongues of fire spewed out from the Japanese strongholds were like a pair of devilish, mocking eyes. Chang Feng gritted his teeth and observed carefully with a telescope. He could see the traces of shelling, but almost all of them were slight.

If there is enough time, continuous shelling by an artillery brigade for about three days will definitely open a crack in the turtle shell of the Japanese army, but time does not allow it.

The discussion of several soldiers reminded him that they were talking about fighting Japanese tanks on Baoshan Road. That iron guy was not as hard as the tortoise shell in front of him. Otherwise, our gun would have come in handy. Chang Feng saw something in front of him.

Liang, he mobilized the anti-tank rifle units of each brigade in the direction of the first battalion, which was the main attack direction. By opening this passage, the Japanese stronghold became useless.

According to Chang Feng's arrangement, forty-eight anti-tank guns were lined up in front of the firepower point with the most intense firepower against the Japanese army. Five soldiers were killed in the battle, and the temporary shooting position was built. The Japanese army probably also discovered it.

I found this simple temporary bunker and suddenly appeared in front of the open field.

Dense light and heavy machine gun bullets came like locusts. Five people were injured or killed by the anti-tank gunners before they even fired. The other soldiers, without blinking an eye, loaded armor-piercing bullets according to the chief of staff's instructions.

The anti-tank guns all concentrated on firing into one hole, where the Japanese heavy machine guns were pouring bullets like crazy.

The armor-piercing bullet, with its bright tail flame in the dark night, accurately entered the gun hole, and there was a dull explosion. Then, dozens of bullets rushed in like a meteor, and the Japanese heavy machine gun was mute at that time. From the gun hole,

Thick smoke and fire came out, and large chunks of the blown concrete flew up. It was done, and the method worked.

The rest can be easily solved. As long as the artillery fire is concentrated and bombarded along the cracks, the turtle shell will be smashed piece by piece. As each Japanese firepower point becomes mute, the troops have entered the charging position. The front is to thoroughly attack

Destroyed Japanese devils.

To be continued

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