Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 109 Suspend the Attack
"boom……"

Zhuang Xiaoman finally fired. A 75mm shell broke free of the barrel and struck the pile of rubble on the right flank at a speed of 600 meters per second. In the huge explosion, rubble flew everywhere, and the Type 94 37mm rapid-fire gun, which was still firing rapidly, was also lifted into the air, with scattered parts flying everywhere.

Smoke rose slowly around the Chaffee tank, and the gun barrel still retained a scorching heat.

John abruptly flung open the hatch, and acrid gunpowder smoke rushed into the turret. His oil-stained face was filled with anxiety.

He frantically pounded on the tank's exterior, shouting hoarsely, "Get out here, all of you! This iron coffin could explode at any moment!"

The co-driver and loader quickly opened the escape door at the bottom of the tank and crawled out from underneath.

But Qiao Erdan and Zhuang Xiaoman, who remained, were reluctant to leave.

Qiao Erdan said somewhat reluctantly, "Boss, this is such a good tank! You said it yourself, it's worth 600,000 silver dollars. It's just stalled for now, it'll be working again after some repairs. You guys go first, Xiaoman and I will stay here, fix it up, and then drive it back, okay?"

"Good my ass!" John roared through gritted teeth, his eyes red. "People are more important than tanks! All of you, come out here!"

Qiao Erdan gripped the control stick tightly, unwilling to let go. Zhuang Xiaoman was wiping the bloodstains on the scope with her sleeve. When she heard the roar, her shoulders visibly trembled, but she still stubbornly moved half a step towards the ammunition rack.

"Are you deaf?"

John grabbed Zhuang Xiaoman by the back of her collar and dragged her out. The belt left deep marks on her uniform, and several hot bullet casings jingled as they were kicked.

Joe suddenly lunged at the control stick, only to be slammed hard into the back by John's helmet. Amidst the clanging of metal, a screw popped out from a gap in the tracks and rolled alone into a crater.

The whistling of artillery shells echoed in the distance, and John's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He grabbed the two men by their collars and yanked them out of the tank.

Zhuang Xiaoman staggered and knelt on the scorched earth. Although her palms were burned red by the hot armor, she still stubbornly looked back at the Chaffee tank behind her with a face full of reluctance.

After spending so much time with it, he had come to regard the tank as a brother who would share life and death with him.

"Go quickly!"

John kicked him in the backside and dragged the two of them into a shell crater. Just as the three of them took cover in the crater, a shell pierced through the smoke and struck the side armor of a Chaffee tank more than ten meters away.

With a loud explosion, the Chaffee tank's fuel tank ignited, and then the ammunition inside the tank detonated. Amidst the deafening roar, the turret was hurled into the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

In the crater where the smoke had not yet cleared, John stood up, supporting himself on his bleeding left arm. Just as he was about to speak, a figure rolled in.

Zhuang Xiaoman and Qiao Erdan tensed up, and were about to make a move when John stopped them. He smiled at the man and said, "Company Commander Wang, now we are infantrymen just like you. Give each of us a gun so we can continue fighting."

The newcomer glanced at the three men and snapped irritably, "Fighting my ass! The regimental commander has ordered that all tank crews whose tanks have been destroyed are not to remain on the front lines and must immediately return to regimental headquarters to receive new orders."

After saying that, he continued, "Don't forget, you are armored soldiers who drive tanks, not infantry."

"Fine!"

Seeing that all the team members were safe and sound, John's heart relaxed. He patted Zhuang Xiaoman and Qiao Erdan on the shoulder and said loudly, "Guys... our battle for today is over. Come back with me."

As he spoke, he looked at the loader and co-driver not far away, the five of them supporting each other as they walked back... not to mention this five-man tank crew who had escaped death.

At this moment, in the Guandi Temple located near the north bank of Taierzhuang, Su Yaoyang received news that the attack had been blocked and the tank company had suffered heavy losses. He sighed and said, "Order the troops to stop the attack, build positions on the spot, and the tank company to withdraw to the south bank of the canal."

"Yes!"

After arranging all of this, Su Yaoyang made a call to the war zone command headquarters.

"Commander Li? This is Su Yaoyang... Yes... Japanese reinforcements have arrived, our offensive has been stalled, and we have lost nearly half of our tanks."

I have now ordered the tank company to withdraw to the south bank of the canal and then have the troops build up an offensive position in place.

Although we have not achieved our goal of completely recapturing Taierzhuang, we have at least recovered four-fifths of it. The basic objective has been achieved, and there is little point in continuing the attack. Therefore, I hope the troops will suspend the offensive for now, and I hope you will approve it.

Okay... I understand. Thank you for your understanding, sir..."

Li Zongren put down the phone and looked up to see Sun Lianzhong's bright eyes.

He let out a long sigh, took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him, laughing, "That kid Su Yaoyang is really good at fighting. After half a day of fighting, he actually recovered most of Taierzhuang. Currently, the Japanese army has retreated to the Chengmengou area and formed a stalemate with the security regiment."

After taking the cigarette and lighting it with a match, Sun Lianzhong took a deep drag and asked with some confusion, "Commander Li... I don't quite understand. Since Su Yaoyang had almost driven the Japanese out of Taierzhuang, why did he stop?"
I remember he only deployed three battalions initially, with another three battalions stationed on the south bank of the canal. If he had committed all his forces, I believe retaking the entire territory of Taierzhuang would have been no problem.

"And then?" Li Zongren asked instead of answering.

"What then?" Sun Lianzhong asked, puzzled.

Li Zongshen slowly exhaled a column of smoke and asked rhetorically, "So what if we recover the entire territory of Taierzhuang? Will that defeat the Japanese army?"

"This……"

"Don't forget, the Japanese army has already committed six main divisions to the Battle of Xuzhou."

We are already struggling so much against just the 33rd Brigade, and Su Yaoyang's security regiment is now our most capable force.

If the Nanjing Security Regiment suffers too heavy losses due to the strong attack on Taierzhuang, what will we use to resist the Japanese counterattack?
The 31st Division that was just withdrawn?

So don't blame me for favoring Su Yaoyang. It's just that the Nanjing Security Regiment is too important. As long as Su Yaoyang's main force is still there, the defense of Taierzhuang won't have any problems.

"Once we hold out until our main force arrives, that will be the time for our full-scale counter-offensive."

After pondering for a long time, Sun Lianzhong slowly nodded: "Commander Li is truly farsighted; I am ashamed of my own inferiority."

"Hahaha……"

Li Zongren chuckled and was about to speak when his staff officer rushed in to report: "Sirs, Japanese planes are here and are bombing Taierzhuang..."

(End of this chapter)