Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 33 Outnumbered
With a loud bang, it seemed as if a huge object had crashed into the ground, so much so that even though Song Mei and the others were in the cellar, they could still feel the ground shaking.

While still drinking glucose, Song Mei staggered. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and braced herself with her left hand on the table that was being used as an operating table, preventing her from falling. The glucose bottle in her hand also fell to the ground.

Xiao Lu wasn't so lucky. With nothing to support her, she slipped and fell on her bottom, crying out in pain.

The entire cellar was thrown into chaos.

"Quick...get up! Check on the wounded!"

Once the shaking stopped, Song Mei quickly had the students check on the injured, while she herself went out of the cellar to check on the situation.

When she came out of the cellar, she found that the church's pointed roof had disappeared, and a dark hole was starkly in front of her. It turned out that the church's roof had been hit by a Japanese artillery shell, which had blown a large hole in it.

"Oh no... the Japanese have used artillery."

On a street about a mile from the church, Zhang Zhihao, who had already changed his clothes, stared at the church with a huge hole blown out of it and cried out in shock.

“Yes…and if I’m not mistaken, it should be the Japanese Type 97 81mm mortar,” Xiong Junfeng added from the side.

The two men were indeed experts in cannons; they could immediately identify what kind of cannon had hit the church.

Seeing that the two of them could name all the different types of artillery, Su Yaoyang asked in confusion, "Why was it a mortar and not a Type 92 infantry gun or some other type of artillery?"

"Sir, you are unaware of this," Xiong Junfeng explained.
"If it were a direct artillery strike, the hole in the top of the church would be slanted rather than a large hole at a 90-degree angle. Only a shell falling at an almost 90-degree angle could cause this kind of damage to a building."

The Japanese army currently only possesses three types of mortars, and only the Type 97 mortar has the power to cause this level of damage. If it were one of the other two heavy mortars, the damage would be far greater.

Looking at Xiong Junfeng speaking eloquently, Su Yaoyang was both shocked and relieved. These two guys were treasures. Having them would make it much easier for him to form an artillery unit in the future.

Wanting to test their mettle, he pointed to the church and asked, "As you can see, the Japanese are launching a full-scale attack on the church. Do you have any good ideas to help them out?"

Xiong Junfeng coughed lightly: "Sir... the department only knows how to fire artillery. When it comes to issues involving tactics and strategy, the department... is really..."

"And you..." Su Yaoyang looked at Zhang Zhihao again, who gave an awkward smile.

Seeing their behavior, Su Yaoyang sighed inwardly.

I was too hasty. As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise. Breaking through involves too many aspects. If they really had the ability, they wouldn't just be artillery commanders.

"Sir, what should we do now?" Xiong Junfeng and Zhang Zhihao asked at the same time, and hundreds of soldiers who had just finished changing into their uniforms looked at them.

Seeing the shells raining down around the church and hearing the intense gunfire, Su Yaoyang was at a loss for what to do.

He was a complete novice when it came to warfare. Now, he was being asked to command over four hundred soldiers to fight the Japanese face-to-face. It was a completely new experience for him.

His mind raced, trying to recall all the films and television shows he had watched in the first half of his life, including those about the anti-Japanese war, but after half a minute, he still felt his mind was completely blank.

For a moment, he even considered giving up, but when he thought of the nearly two hundred people, including Xiao Lu, Song Mei, Li Gaoyuan, and other soldiers and female students, who were still waiting for his rescue, he couldn't bring himself to say something as irresponsible as giving up.

Finally, his gaze returned to Zhang Zhihao and Xiong Junfeng, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He was indeed an amateur when it came to commanding operations, but weren't there two excellent artillery personnel here?

He quickly asked, "Xiong Junfeng, Zhang Zhihao, did you bring all the cannons I left in the yard?"

Zhang Zhihao quickly replied, "Reporting, sir... We've brought all six American-made M2 ​​107mm mortars, but we're short on ammunition; we only brought three basic loads."

"enough!"

Su Yaoyang nodded: "I will now assign you one hundred men to form a heavy mortar company, with Zhang Zhihao as the company commander and Xiong Junfeng as the deputy company commander."

Your company's mission is to carry a radio, set up artillery positions within twenty minutes, and await my orders to provide artillery support for the church. Can you do that?

"Sir, no problem!" the two replied in unison.

As experienced artillery officers, they would naturally carry out their missions independently once the commander issued the operational orders.

They quickly selected one hundred men to form a temporary heavy mortar company, and then began busily setting up artillery positions.

Then, taking advantage of this time, Su Yaoyang organized the remaining three hundred or so men into two infantry companies and appointed two second lieutenants who had previously served as platoon leaders as company commanders.

Finally, more than ten former squad leaders and veterans were appointed as squad and platoon leaders, and that's how a hastily assembled team was formed.

"Wang Shouxin and Li Qingxiang."

"road!"

Two dark-skinned officers in their thirties stepped forward; they were the officers who had just been appointed company commanders by Su Yaoyang.

"Twenty minutes from now, the heavy mortar company will begin shelling. After the shelling ends, you will follow me and rush to the church. As long as we can reunite with the brothers in the church, that will be a victory. Can you do it?"

"Don't worry, sir, the brothers will keep up with you and won't fall behind."

Watching the two men thumping their chests loudly, Su Yaoyang secretly wondered if these bastards would betray him halfway through the journey.

However, he had no other choice at the moment. After all, they were all a temporary team formed for fifty silver dollars, and they didn't know each other well, let alone cooperate.

Fortunately, these people were all soldiers before, so they had at least some basic tactical skills and experience, which was better than my mediocre skills.

As time passed, the Japanese attacks on the church did not weaken with the passage of time; instead, they became even more intense.

Through his binoculars, Su Yaoyang could clearly see that countless Japanese soldiers, under the cover of heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars, and Type 92 infantry guns, were swarming towards the church. The dense bullets hit the walls with a crackling sound.

Although the defending troops fought back fiercely, their numbers were too small and their firepower weakened. Meanwhile, the Japanese troops pressed forward relentlessly, and it looked like they were about to storm the church doors.

(End of this chapter)