Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 31: Tentative Attack

St. Paul's Church in Nanjing was completed in 1923, covering an area of ​​more than 1,600 square meters. It was also the first formal Christian church in Nanjing.

It consists of two churches, one large and one small, and is surrounded by a thick wall made of blue bricks and cement, making it appear exceptionally sturdy.

Because the perimeter of the church wall was too large, it was difficult for Li Gaoyuan to defend such a long wall with only a hundred or so soldiers.

Fortunately, Su Yaoyang, the wealthy man, was very helpful. He not only equipped them with ten M1917 heavy machine guns, but also buried a large number of landmines around the church, which prevented the Japanese army from launching a full-scale attack before the landmines were cleared.

Moreover, after launching the attack, the 11th Regiment was surprised to find that the enemy's light weapons firepower was very strong, especially the enemy's rifles, which had an astonishing rate of fire. As soon as their soldiers fired a shot with their Type 38 rifles, the enemy returned five or six shots in an instant.

Yuichiro Nagano peered out from behind the window of a relatively intact house, watching with a grave expression as his soldiers, under the command of their officers, cautiously launched an attack on the church.

At that moment, what came into view through the binoculars was a small squad of Japanese soldiers, under the command of their officer, rapidly advancing along several buildings toward the church entrance. But when they were about 200 meters away from the church, a problem arose.

St. Paul's Church is a standalone building, with no other buildings within a radius of one or two hundred meters. The open terrain provided the defenders with a good view.

However, such terrain was too unfriendly to the attackers. If the Japanese soldiers wanted to rush into the church, they would have to run two hundred meters through a hail of bullets from the defenders before they could get through the gate.

For the Japanese army, those two hundred meters were a death trap. In less than half an hour, more than thirty of their soldiers had fallen on that route of attack.

A major, looking disheveled, burst into the makeshift command post. He picked up a teacup from the table and gulped down several mouthfuls before speaking, panting. This man was none other than Morimura Hachiro, the third battalion commander of the 11th Regiment.

"Commander, the Chinese firepower is too strong. Our Type 38 rifles are no match for them."

Yuichiro Nagano put down his binoculars, turned his head and glared at him.

"Morimura-kun, come here."

Morimura Juro put down his teacup and quickly went over.

Yuichiro Nagano pointed ahead and said, "I saw the probing attacks your battalion just now. The reason why the first two attacks failed was not only because they were blocked by the enemy's minefield, but also because the soldiers providing cover could not suppress the enemy's firepower in time."

Therefore, I require you to make full use of your grenade launchers, infantry guns, and precision fire capabilities to suppress the enemy. You must not allow the Chinese defenders to easily kill our attacking soldiers.

Morimura Juro smiled wryly and said, "Commander, the rate of fire of the Chinese rifles on the other side is too fast. Our Type 38 rifles are no match for them at all."

Moreover, because infantrymen are very agile, they immediately move to a new position after they run out of bullets in their magazines, making it difficult to suppress them with grenade launchers. This is what gives me the biggest headache.

"You know, we've only been fighting for half an hour and we've already lost thirty-eight soldiers, with another twenty-seven wounded. Such casualties are simply too high."

Yuichiro Nagano's face darkened, and he raised his voice: "This is not a reason for you to back down. I don't care about the casualty figures, I just want the church!"

If you can't do it, just say so. I'll send the second brigade.

In the Japanese army, if a commander were to speak to such an extent, it meant that his superiors had doubts about his abilities. If he didn't respond, it would greatly affect his career.

"Hai!"

Morimura Juro stopped talking, bowed, straightened his uniform, and left the regimental command post.

Soon, Morimura Juro led the Third Battalion, which had rested briefly, to launch another attack...

"Boom..." A Type 91 grenade exploded on the wall, and the huge shock wave made the wall made of blue bricks and cement vibrate, and even knocked two soldiers guarding the place to the ground.

Lu Shaobin struggled to his feet, coughing and shouting, "Cough cough cough... Wang Fugui, Zhang Wenshan, are you still alive?"

"Deputy Commander, I'm fine."

"I'm fine too."

Soon, two dusty-looking men got up from the dust and answered while coughing.

"It's good that you're alright." Lu Shaobin quickly peeked out and then quickly pulled his head back in.

"This place has been spotted by the Japanese grenade launchers. We can't stay here any longer. Let's find another place quickly."

"Yes."

The three men bent over and stopped at a corner where several sandbags and firing ports had been set up beforehand.

The three men stopped and did not rush to stick their guns out, but instead quietly observed through the firing ports.

Suddenly, Zhang Wenshan whispered, "Deputy Company Commander, the Japanese devils are here again."

Looking through the firing port, Lu Shaobin saw that to their left front, dozens of Japanese soldiers were advancing in skirmish formation from more than 200 meters away.

"Wait a minute... don't fire yet."

Less than 20 meters away from Lu Shaobin and his two companions was a machine gun position. He stopped the machine gunner who was about to pull the trigger: "Don't rush, the Japanese are trying to lure you into firing. If you fire now, you'll really fall into their trap. Let us handle it."

After saying that, Lu Shaobin made a gesture to Zhang Wenshan and Wang Fugui beside him.

The two men understood each other and quietly poked their guns out of the firing ports, aiming them outside.

Soon, accompanied by the roar of the Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun, a Japanese squad rushed out of their bunker and charged madly toward the church, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Fire!" Lu Shaobin shouted from the wall after the Japanese soldiers had run forty or fifty meters.

"Clap clap clap..."

"Clap clap... Clap clap!"

Lu Shaobin on the wall shouted, and seventeen or eighteen Garand rifles fired in unison, the dense and powerful "bang bang bang" breaking the silence.

7.62mm bullets rained down, and the Japanese soldiers who had been charging forward with great momentum and without restraint instantly became targets.

Five or six soldiers fell to the ground almost instantly, their bodies lying limply in the dust, a stark contrast to the small stones that had been kicked up and the Type 38 rifles lying on the ground.

The attacking Japanese soldiers were surrounded by a chaotic mix of gunfire and shouts, and their vision was filled with billowing smoke that stained the air gray.

Beside a house that had been largely destroyed by the bomb, a hornet's nest fell to the ground due to the violent tremors. The hornets on it swarmed out and hovered in the air, like a chaotic scene on a battlefield, with no one to belong to.

(End of this chapter)