Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 339: The Flying Thunder Cannon shows its power again!
Yang Jihe looked at Li Guotao curiously and asked, "Did you get enough salary in the 4th Army before?"

"no!"

Li Guotao waved his hand and said, "It's all the same. What I mean is that the bonuses given by the superiors are very large now, so we don't have to care about the military pay."

Yang Jihe smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "It's true that we don't need to care about it now. Let's just survive and win this battle first."

Li Guotao smiled and said, "Don't worry, we will all survive, and we will definitely win this battle."

After this period of fighting, Li Guotao became more confident in winning this battle.

Now Li Guotao also believes that as long as he can hold on for 47 days, he will have enough strength to turn defeat into victory.

Although this 47-day stand resulted in heavy losses for the defenders of the 10th Army, it was also a process of consuming the Japanese's manpower.

By that time, the Japanese had been almost consumed and exhausted, and it was the best time to deal with them.

In fact, the Japanese had besieged Hengyang for more than 20 days, and during this period, friendly forces also tried to rescue it.

The bald man has also been closely following the development of the situation here, and ordered the troops of the 9th War Zone to try to break the siege.

However, the 9th War Zone was not very active in rescuing Hengyang, and each unit clearly wanted to preserve its strength, which resulted in the previous plan to rescue Hengyang being delayed again and again.

Although some troops rushed to support, they were blocked by the Japanese and immediately withdrew, and never got close to Hengyang.

The bald man was very angry when he learned about this situation. In view of the fact that the 9th War Zone was not active in supporting Hengyang and kept delaying, the master of micro-control came online again.

Baldy decided to bypass the Ninth War Zone and directly command the 62nd Army, the 79th Army, the 100th Army and other units to carry out the Hengyang relief operation.

However, the Japanese were determined to capture Hengyang. Not only did they mobilize more than two divisions to attack the city, they also mobilized almost two divisions to block the Chinese army from supporting Hengyang.

Therefore, it was not easy for the reinforcements to break through the Japanese blockade and rush to Hengyang.

At least in a short period of time, it is impossible to lift the siege of Hengyang.

Therefore, we cannot count on support from our superiors for the time being.

Although Commander Fang repeatedly emphasized that reinforcements would arrive soon in order to stabilize the morale of the troops.

Moreover, Commander Fang also told his generals that he had agreed on a code word with the bald man.

"Very stable!" Two words.

As long as he sent the code word of these two words to Chongqing, the bald man would mobilize troops and lift the siege of Hengyang within 48 hours.

Commander Fang had not mentioned this secret code before because he did not hold out long enough, did not reach the time specified by his superiors, and did not reach the most critical moment.

Now the Japanese have launched a fierce attack again, and they have held out in Hengyang for more than twenty days, having already completed the order from their superiors to hold out for ten to fifteen days.

So now we can ask for reinforcements from our superiors.

So Commander Fang ordered his men to send the code of these two words to Chongqing every day, hoping that the bald man could send troops to lift the siege of Hengyang as soon as possible.

But Commander Fang never dreamed that the code word of these two words really didn't work. He had to wait for more than twenty days. Of course, this is all a story for later.

When Commander Fang announced this news, it had some effect, stabilizing the military's morale and allowing all units to respond to the battle calmly and hold on to Hengyang.

In fact, the defenders are now forced into a desperate situation. Apart from continuing to hold on, they have no choice but to silently hope that reinforcements will arrive as soon as possible.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon again.

The battle on the Zhangjiashan position came to a temporary end. The Japanese 65th Regiment launched three fierce attacks in the morning, but suffered five to six hundred casualties and failed to capture even the two small hills in front.

This made Takano Jiro very angry. He felt like he had been slapped in the face and it was burning with pain.

Perhaps at this moment, he finally understood why the 116th Division had taken so long and paid such a heavy price but had not been able to capture Zhangjiashan.

At this moment, in Jiro Takano's eyes, this originally inconspicuous hill seemed to suddenly become somewhat out of reach.

A Japanese lieutenant colonel said cautiously: "Colonel, if we continue to attack like this, even if we can capture Zhangjiashan, we will pay a heavier price in casualties. Is it worth it?"

Takano Jiro could not help but remain silent. After a moment's silence, he said, "General Iwanaga Wang said that we must take Zhangjiashan and then Hengyang. Commander Yokoyama is already urging us to do so."

"Taking over Hengyang is of great importance. We can't delay any longer."

The Japanese lieutenant sighed helplessly and said, "But Zhangjiashan is indeed difficult to fight. The enemy's will to resist is very tenacious. I have never seen such a difficult opponent."

Takano Jiro sighed helplessly and said, "The enemy's 10th Army is known as the Taishan Army. Now it seems that it is indeed worthy of its reputation."

"But no matter what, we must take Hengyang, and if we want to take Hengyang, taking Zhangjiashan is the key."

"Now that this crucial task has fallen on us, we cannot back down."

"Pass the order down, the troops continue to prepare and launch an attack. I don't believe that we can't take down a small Zhangjiashan."

"Hayi~!"

The Japanese officers present responded in unison.

In fact, at this moment, Takano Jiro was regretting his decision. If he had known this would happen, he should not have accepted this task.

But if he were asked to go find Yan Yongwang now, he really couldn't bring himself to do it.

Moreover, even if Yan Yongwang agreed, the deployment would inevitably be readjusted. At that time, Yan Yongwang would accuse him of disobeying orders and missing the opportunity to fight, and he could not afford it.

So now Jiro Takano is like a mute swallowing his bitter pill and can only grit his teeth and try his best to take down Zhangjiashan.

Under the order of Jiro Kono, the 65th Regiment could only continue to organize its forces and launch a more fierce attack on Zhangjiashan.

This time, Jiro Takano was also desperate, and his soldiers attacked the Zhangjiashan position at all costs.

The fierce fighting lasted for a day, but there was no progress.

The Japanese tried their best but still failed to capture the Zhangjiashan position.

Yan Yongwang has called more than once to inquire about the battle situation.

Jiro Takano had to report the situation truthfully. Wang Iwanaga did not blame Jiro Takano for his poor performance in the battle. Instead, he repeatedly comforted him.

This made Takano Jiro even more angry and he felt insulted.

Furious and humiliated, Takano Jiro secretly vowed to capture Zhangjiashan.

The next morning, Jiro Kono arrived at the front line again.

A Japanese lieutenant colonel said respectfully: "Report to His Excellency, Commander, according to your instructions, we have organized a special attack team, which can be deployed at any time."

Takano Jiro gritted his teeth and said, "Notify the artillery and request artillery support. After the artillery fire ends, launch another attack and make sure to capture Zhangjiashan for me."

"Hayi~!"

The Japanese lieutenant colonel responded respectfully and then passed the order on.

Soon, the Japanese launched another fierce artillery attack on Zhangjiashan. The shells hit the Zhangjiashan position one after another as if they were free.

Violent explosions continued to sound, and the entire Zhangjiashan was once again engulfed in artillery fire.

At this moment, the entire Zhangjiashan position had been plowed countless times by the Japanese artillery fire.

Jiro Takano really couldn't understand why such fierce artillery fire couldn't completely eliminate the enemies on the mountain.

Then the Japanese launched another fierce attack. Hundreds of them rushed towards Zhangjiashan with bare chests, bayonets held high, and screaming.

Fierce fighting broke out again. Under the desperate attack of the Japanese, the defenders also resisted with all their might.

Seeing a large number of Japanese soldiers rushing up, grenades were thrown at the Japanese soldiers at the foot of the mountain as if they were free.

As violent explosions continued, the attacking Japanese suffered heavy casualties.

However, these little devils seemed to be crazy, and did not stop attacking, but continued to rush to the mountain desperately. Because the old devil Takano Jiro had issued a death order, and the Zhangjiashan position must be captured today.

Takano Jiro stared at the battlefield with a gloomy look, and said with gritted teeth: "Continue the attack, and rush up the mountain no matter what."

The battlefield was already covered with corpses of the Japanese soldiers, but under the command of Jiro Takano, these brutal and crazy Japanese soldiers could only step on the corpses of their companions and continue to rush forward.

After several hours of fierce fighting, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties.

However, under the continuous attacks of the Japanese, the casualties of the defenders became increasingly heavy.

In the end, a large number of Japanese soldiers rushed to Hill 227.7 and Hill 221 one after another.

At this moment, there are only a few brothers left holding the position.

However, the brothers, who were already blood-thirsty, fought desperately against the Japanese attack.

Seeing the Japanese rushing towards them, some people would even detonate grenades or explosive packs and die together with them.

In the end, all the defenders of the two heights died heroically, without any escape.

On the main peak, Captain Lao watched as a large number of Japanese soldiers had already surged onto Hill 227.7 and Hill 221. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Flying Thunder Cannons, fire for me and blow these bastards to death."

Following the order from Battalion Commander Lao, dozens of flying thunder cannons on the main peak position opened fire at the same time.

Dozens of huge explosive packs were thrown onto Hill 227.7 and Hill 221 one after another.

"Boom~! Boom~!"

Violent explosions rang out one after another. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers who rushed to the top of the hill were instantly engulfed by artillery fire and torn into pieces by the raging shock wave.

When Jiro Kono saw this scene, his eyes almost popped out of his head in surprise, and the telescope in his hand almost fell to the ground.

"Bagaya Deer~!"

"How come the enemy suddenly has such powerful firepower?"

At this time, a Japanese officer nearby said, "Sir, when the enemy counterattacked these two heights before, they also used this secret weapon, and the artillery fire covered the entire heights."

"But later the enemy captured two high grounds, and all the Locust Army warriors on the mountain were killed in the battle. We also couldn't figure out what weapons the enemy used."

"However, the cannon used by the enemy does not seem to be an ordinary cannon. It is extremely powerful, comparable to heavy artillery. Judging from the number, there should be quite a few of them."

Takano Jiro frowned and said, "Check it out immediately. Find out what happened and report to me."

Although the Japanese suffered heavy casualties, they did not gain nothing. At least they took these two heights.

The Japanese soldiers behind were lying on the hillside, and only when they saw that there was no movement did they dare to climb to the top of the mountain carefully.

At this moment, Captain Lao's troops were no longer able to counterattack and retake the two positions. After all, they still had to conserve their manpower.

If we launch a counterattack at this time, we will inevitably get into a melee with the Japanese and consume a large amount of manpower. This is not a good move. We can only continue to defend the main peak. As long as we ensure that the main peak is not lost, the Japanese will still not be able to occupy the entire Zhangjiashan.

After a while, a Japanese officer came to Takano Jiro and said respectfully: "Colonel, I have already asked the locust warriors on the mountain."

"Some of them saw with their own eyes that dozens of things that looked like explosive packs were thrown from the main peak of Zhangjiashan and landed on the mountain and exploded."

Upon hearing this, Takano Jiro frowned and asked, "Are you sure it flew over from the main peak of Zhangjia Mountain, and not from their rear positions?"

The Japanese officer said: "More than one person saw it flying down from the main peak of Zhangjia Mountain, not from the area north of Zhangjia Mountain."

"At that time, some Locust Army warriors saw clouds of smoke rising from the main peak. They should have been caused by the firing of this kind of cannon."

"So the enemy's artillery should be deployed on the main peak of Zhangjiashan."

Takano Jiro frowned and pondered for a moment, then said: "It seems that the enemy is not using any new weapons and equipment."

"Most likely they used some homemade cannons or something like that, and the explosive packs were their shells."

"They set up the artillery position on the main peak, and we have never seen them use it before. The two times they used it were to bombard the two hills in front."

"From this, we can infer that this kind of earth cannon has a limited range, probably within 200 meters."

"The distance from the main peak of Zhangjia Mountain to the two small hills in front is about 150 meters."

"Ha! About one hundred and fifty meters." A Japanese officer answered respectfully.

Takano Jiro nodded slightly and said, "That's right. I believe my guess. With these guys, what new weapons can they have? They can only make some homemade cannons."

"According to my judgment, this kind of artillery must have many shortcomings. Although the explosive packs they throw are extremely powerful, their range is limited after all, and their accuracy is probably difficult to guarantee."

It must be said that Jiro Takano was quite smart and he quickly guessed the general situation, so he did not take the Flying Thunder Cannon seriously.

Takano Jiro said angrily: "Order the artillery unit to bombard the main peak of Zhangjiashan with all your strength and blow all these homemade cannons into the sky."

"Hayi~!"

A Japanese officer nearby responded respectfully and turned to convey the order.

At this time, a Japanese officer said: "Sir, our artillery also launched an artillery attack on the main peak of Zhangjiashan before, but failed to destroy these artillery. "

"It can even be said that these homemade cannons are intact. There should have been dozens of them before, and there are still dozens of them now."

Upon hearing this, Takano Jiro's expression changed slightly and he said, "You mean, this kind of earth artillery is relatively light, and the enemy can easily move them to a safe place to avoid the artillery fire of the locust army."

"Exactly!"

The Japanese officer responded respectfully.

Takano Jiro was a little unsure for a moment, and said through gritted teeth: "No matter what, you have to take Zhangjiashan for me."

"After the artillery preparation is completed, continue to attack the main peak of Zhangjiashan. Be sure to capture the main peak of Zhangjiashan as soon as possible."

"Hayi~!"

The Japanese officers present responded in unison.

At this time, a Japanese officer reminded: "Colonel, they have built two bunkers on the northern cliffs of these two hills. If we attack directly, we will fall into their crossfire and be attacked from both sides."

Takano Jiro frowned and said, "You have mentioned this situation before. I have reminded the attacking troops to follow your previous practice and find a way to blow up these two bunkers while attacking."

The Japanese officer said respectfully: "Your Excellency the Colonel is wise. In this way, it will be no problem to capture Zhangjiashan."

This time, the Japanese were well prepared. They knew about the existence of these two bunkers in advance, so they made preparations in advance.

After a fierce bombardment, the Japanese launched another attack.

At this time, the Japanese threw several smoke bombs under the cliff of the bunker. Then, under the cover of the smoke bombs, the Japanese soldiers rushed over with long bamboo poles with explosive packs tied to them.

"Da da da~!"

At this time, the machine guns on the main peak position sounded, and they kept firing at the two bunkers. However, due to the smoke, they could not see the specific situation at all and could only fire blindly for cover.

The Japanese soldiers who rushed forward also suffered casualties, but they also planned to take over the two bunkers regardless of casualties, so more people rushed forward with bamboo poles.

At the same time, a large number of Japanese soldiers took the opportunity to rush towards the main peak position of Zhangjiashan.

In order to quickly capture the Zhangjiashan position, the Japanese did not waste even a moment.

Although some Japanese soldiers were injured or killed, a group of them still rushed to the bottom of the cliff under the cover of smoke, then erected bamboo poles, sent the explosive packs outside the bunker, and detonated them.

The Japanese soldiers below were holding bamboo poles, risking being killed, and trying desperately to blow up the bunkers.

The brothers in the bunker couldn't see the Japanese soldiers right below them at all. When they noticed that there were Japanese soldiers outside, they threw grenades and killed some of them.

However, some Japanese devils still successfully detonated the explosive pack.

(End of this chapter)