Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 24 The Grenade Launcher Squad's Attack
"Boom...boom..."

The faint light of dawn pierced through the thick smoke and fell upon the war-torn land in front of the church.

The six M2 mortars roared incessantly, their deafening roar seemingly accompanying the brutal scene. The air was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder, making everything around seem exceptionally gloomy.

The Japanese troops, who were searching in platoons, were suffering terribly, with shells exploding all around them.

Although these mortars weren't very accurate, they were still annoying.

The shockwave from the explosion and the flying metal fragments constantly threatened their safety. For safety reasons, the company commander in charge of the attack had to order the formation to disperse.

But then, they encountered another life-threatening situation.

"Boom...boom..."

Two more soldiers stepped on landmines. The two unlucky guys had their genitals and thighs blown off by the M2A4 anti-personnel mines that exploded half a meter high.

This landmine is a type of bounding mine. When it is detonated by a fuse, the propellant at the bottom of the mine will throw a 60mm mortar shell casing into the air, igniting a delay device that detonates the main charge inside the shell casing, resulting in a very powerful explosion.

M2A4 anti-personnel mine
"what……"

Seeing the two soldiers in front of him lying on the ground clutching their groins, the company commander in charge also felt a tightness in his groin, and then flew into a rage.

"Grenadier squad...Are you all blind? Blow up some of the Chinese mortar positions."

The grenade launcher team, however, was somewhat troubled: "Squad leader, we can't see the Chinese artillery positions at all, so we can't attack them."

"Then bomb the church! We can't just stand by and do nothing!" The company commander, who had been passively taking the bombs until now, was furious and roared as he issued the battle order.

"Hai!"

Upon receiving the order, the grenade launcher squad did not hesitate and quickly set up their Type 89 grenade launchers, firing several shells at the church.

Type 89 grenade launcher
The Japanese Type 89 grenade launcher was very suitable for individual soldiers to carry because it used Type 91 hand grenades, which weighed only 0.45 kg. An ammunition bag containing eight grenades weighed only 3.6 kg. The entire combat system, including the grenade launcher, weighed less than 7 kg, much lighter than a Type 91 machine gun weighing 10.2 kg. Therefore, the Japanese army equipped its troops with this weapon in large numbers.

"Whoosh...whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

"Lie down quickly!"

Su Yaoyang, who was on the wall, was observing the Japanese troops opposite him through binoculars when he was suddenly struck by a sharp whistling sound from the sky. Then, Li Gaoyuan's voice rang in his ears, and he was tackled to the ground.

"Boom boom boom..."

Several Type 91 grenades exploded nearby, producing a huge bang. The powerful shockwave sent many pebbles and clods of earth flying everywhere, and several small clods of earth even hit Su Yaoyang's face, causing him a sharp pain.

"Ptooey... ptooey..."

After the explosion, Su Yaoyang got up from the ground, spitting out dirt and cursing.

Li Gaoyuan, who was standing nearby, also sat up and asked, "Brother Su, are you alright?"

"I am fine."

Su Yaoyang patted his chest and looked curiously at a shallow crater nearby, asking, "Old Li... was that a Japanese grenade launcher?"

"Yes."

Li Gaoyuan brushed the dust off his clothes as he answered: "The main features of the Japanese grenade launcher are its wide firing angle, ease of operation, curved trajectory, and ability to be carried by individual soldiers to move with frontline infantry. It is extremely effective in killing targets behind fortifications and bunkers, and it is also highly concealed."

So be careful if you encounter Japanese soldiers in the future; it could be dangerous if you get targeted.

"What about the Japanese infantry?"

"infantry?"

Li Gaoyuan paused for a moment, then said, "To put it simply, within a hundred meters, if a Japanese soldier shoots you in the left eye, he absolutely won't hit your right eye." *Thud...*

As they were speaking, the distinctive sound of the Type 38 rifle finally rang out.

"Quick...quick...rush over there..."

A Japanese force consisting of three combat squads, under the command of a sergeant major, rapidly approached the church under the cover of ruins and buildings.

Although mortar shells exploded around them from time to time, it did not affect their speed at all, which shows that they were definitely a team of veterans with very rich combat experience.

"Stop..."

The sergeant in the lead raised his right hand high, and the soldiers behind him immediately stopped.

After observing for a moment, the sergeant pointed to a wall ahead and said, "Do you see the fortifications on that wall? There should be three or four Chinese soldiers stationed there."

The first group sneaks in and attacks with grenades, the second group uses rifles, and the third group provides cover with machine guns.

"Hai!"

"Bang..."

Soon, the soldiers of the second squad on the left wing fired the first shot.

The 6.5mm Arisaka bullet instantly pounded the wall with a series of loud cracking sounds.

The soldiers behind the wall were clearly startled and immediately launched a counterattack.

"Clap clap clap..."

The Japanese detachment was startled by the counterattack launched by the defenders on the wall.

The enemy's firepower was ridiculously strong; the dense bullets rendered the Japanese squad, which was more than 200 meters away, unable to even lift their heads.

Bullets rained down, striking the earth and rocks with a crackling sound.

The dozen or so Japanese soldiers who launched the first attack could only keep their heads down on the ground, not daring to move.

Finally, a private couldn't resist any longer and quietly peeked out. He heard a muffled "thud" and his head was instantly hit by a bullet. A large amount of brain matter splattered out, gleaming dark red in the sunlight.

"What's going on? When did the Chinese army's firepower become so fierce? What weapons are they using?"

Sergeant Major was a veteran who had served for four years and had extensive combat experience. He had fought against the Chinese army dozens of times since coming to China.

Such a person is quite knowledgeable about the weaponry and equipment of the Chinese military. The Chinese military's weaponry is quite diverse, including equipment from almost every country.

But small arms are nothing more than the Hanyang Type 88, Mauser 98K, and the Chinese Type 24 rifle, which is a copy of the German model.

He had never seen a rifle with such a high rate of fire before. In just a few minutes, the bullets fired from the other side had sifted through the area where their squad was located.

The sergeant, both surprised and furious, roared, "Machine gunner, what are you standing there for? Suppress the fire!"

"Hai!"

The third combat team, which had just arrived at the firing position, quickly set up the machine gun.

"Da da da... da da da da..."

The Japanese Type 11 light machine guns also opened fire...

(End of this chapter)