Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 125 Bombardment
Su Yaoyang's estimation was correct; this shelling was indeed the work of the Japanese Type 96 150mm howitzers.

As for the reason, it was naturally because the 16th Division had arrived.

As early as around 3 a.m. last night, Lieutenant General Nakajima Kesago, commander of the 16th Division, arrived at the headquarters of the 8th Brigade, accompanied by a group of officers including Chief of Staff Colonel Nakazawa Mitsuo, Major General Kusaba Tatsumi, commander of the 19th Brigade, and Major General Shinohara Jiro, commander of the 30th Brigade.

Upon seeing Nakajima Kesago arrive, Nagase Takehira, who had been forcing himself to stay upright these past few days, breathed a sigh of relief.

When Nakajima Kesago saw Nagase Takehira, he walked over with a smile and greeted him, "Nagase-kun... it's been a long time."

While Nagase Takehira breathed a sigh of relief, a trace of resentment welled up within him. Nevertheless, he still bowed respectfully to Nakajima Kesago: "Greetings, Lord Nakajima, welcome to Taierzhuang!"

"Yoshi!"

Nakajima Kesago patted Nagase Takehira on the shoulder with a smile, adopting the demeanor of an elder caring for a junior: "Nagase... it's been seven or eight years since we last met, I never expected to see you here again."

Nagase Takehira inwardly resented it, but still had to say against his will, "Yes... time really flies."

"When I first entered the Army Academy, you graduated in less than a year. I still feel a deep sense of nostalgia recalling your heroic figure as you were presented with a military sword by the Emperor."

Hearing Nagase Takehira say that, Nakajima Kesago was even happier.

He was a graduate of the 21st class of the Army War College. Due to his outstanding academic performance, he was admitted to the "Sword Group" (the top six graduates were awarded a sword by the Emperor), an honor that all Japanese officers dreamed of.

Takehira Nagase's flattery hit the nail on the head, naturally making him overjoyed.

“Nagase-kun, since Commander Terauchi Hisaichi has sent our 16th Division to reinforce you, I, as your senior, will certainly not make things difficult for you.”

You can withdraw your brigade's soldiers now; let the warriors of our 16th Division handle the rest of the fighting.

Nagase Takehira harbored resentment in his heart, but he also knew that his senior was known for his brutal command style and the implementation of the "Three Alls Policy" (kill all, burn all, loot all). Therefore, on the surface, he nodded in agreement without showing any emotion.

Nakajima Kesago turned his head and glanced at the two brigade commanders behind him before looking at one of them and saying, "Shinohara-kun, I plan to have your 30th Brigade go first in this attack."

I will send field artillery regiments and heavy artillery battalions to support you. I hope you will not disappoint me and will wipe out the Nanjing Security Regiment on the other side in one fell swoop, avenging Gu Shoujun and the brave soldiers of the 6th Division. Do you understand?

"Hai!" A fierce glint flashed in Major General Shinohara Jiro's eyes.

He had not forgotten that during the Nanjing Campaign last year, it was Su Yaoyang's poison gas that not only caused the deaths of more than 10,000 soldiers of the Sixth Division, but also affected his Sixteenth Division.

Although it was not disclosed to the outside world, as the supreme commander of the 30th Brigade, he was very clear that his division had also suffered more than a thousand casualties. In addition to more than 500 people who died directly, more than 600 people were left with permanent disabilities and had no choice but to retire.

Therefore, upon hearing that they would be taking over the attack on Taierzhuang from the 10th Division, the entire 16th Division was eager to fight back and vowed to tear Su Yaoyang and the Nanjing Security Regiment to pieces.

After several hours of preparation, the four Type 96 150mm howitzers brought by the 16th Division fired first, and shells weighing 31.1 kilograms each rained down on Taierzhuang. The ground shook and smoke rose into the air.

Immediately afterwards, the 36 75mm field guns of the Japanese 22nd Field Regiment also opened fire.

Blinding flashes of fire erupted from the cannons, and smoke and heat swirled across the battlefield.

The soldiers' eardrums were ringing from the shock, and dirt mixed with gravel fell from above their heads.

A shell whistled past the city wall, and the corner tower built of blue bricks collapsed like building blocks. Amidst the flying rubble, a faint, shrill scream could be heard.

The thick smoke made it impossible for the security soldiers on the position to open their eyes, and their throats were burning with sulfur. Many soldiers knelt in the trenches, gagging, while digging their fingers deep into the damp soil.

Faced with the Japanese artillery bombardment, Su Yaoyang was not to be outdone and immediately ordered his artillery battalion to counterattack.

Shortly after the order was given, thick smoke rose from the artillery positions on the south bank of the canal. The gunners, hunched over, moved about the positions, all drenched in sweat.

Suddenly, a shell fired by the Japanese army exploded fifty meters away, causing the observer to stagger and fall into the trench, his helmet hitting the sandbag with a dull thud.

"Loading complete!" The loader's hoarse shout was swallowed up by the roar of another round of shells leaving the barrel.

The gunner gripped the scalding breechblock rope tightly, his eyes able to see the flashing orange-red fire of the Japanese gun muzzles across the river through the scope.

The canal surface was constantly torn to pieces by the shockwaves, and several dead fish floated belly-up in the oily whirlpool.

On a heavy mortar position not far away, a mortar operator suddenly fell to the ground, shrapnel slicing off half of his ear.

Seeing this, the medic quickly ran over and dragged him backward, leaving a winding dark trail of blood on the scorched earth.

On the observation tower not far away, the communications soldier was repeating the coordinates at the top of his lungs, the telephone line swaying violently in the artillery fire like a dying snake.

"Boom...boom..."

When the M2A1 howitzers fired another salvo, the gun mounts sank more than two inches into the soft soil due to the reaction force.

The cooling water that evaporated from the overheated gun barrels formed distorted white mists in the sunlight, reflecting the gunners' faces blackened by gunpowder smoke.

They mechanically repeated the loading motion, their pupils reflecting the burning village on the other side of the canal.

"Commander, the Chinese artillery has begun to retaliate against us!"

In a certain observation post, Chief of Staff Colonel Nakazawa Mitsuo said to Nakajima Kesago.

“I see it,” Nakajima Kesago said calmly, raising his binoculars again.

This time, however, Nakajima Kesago's expression was rather unpleasant.

In the distance, the muzzles of Chinese artillery were still spitting fire, the explosions blooming into scarlet flowers in the twilight, while the impact points of our own 75mm mountain guns were like weak raindrops, futilely splashing up clumps of dust 500 meters in front of the enemy lines.

"Division Commander... our artillery range is too short to reach the Chinese artillery positions!"

The artillery captain's hoarse roar came through the microphone, mixed with the crisp metallic clang of the breechblock striking the gun.

He looked through his binoculars to the left and saw a bright orange fireball suddenly explode on the mountain artillery position to the left. The shockwave knocked over three loaders, one of whom, with a severed arm, was still in the posture of feeding ammunition.

"Damn it!" Nakajima Kesago suddenly cursed. He never expected that he had calculated everything, but miscalculated the range of the artillery on both sides.

He took a deep breath and turned to ask the chief of staff, "Nakazawa-kun... when will the Army Air Force plane arrive?"

"Your Excellency, the Army Aviation Corps said that there is still more than half an hour until dawn, so we will have to wait a while before we can depart."

(End of this chapter)