inspire-indiana Chapter 312: The Japanese are so ruthless that they even blow up their own people
Chapter 312: The Japanese are so ruthless that they even blow up their own people
On the front line of Dazhai Mountain, the air was filled with smoke and flames of war.
The officers and cadres on the battlefield loudly commanded the soldiers to launch a counterattack. They moved back and forth on the battlefield, constantly adjusting their tactics.
"Keep firing, don't let the enemy get close!" A company commander waved his arms and gave orders loudly.
The logistics soldiers shuttled through the hail of bullets, carrying boxes of weapons and ammunition into the positions to replenish ammunition for the soldiers on the front line.
The attacking Japanese soldiers were forced to stop after encountering intensive firepower from the independent brigade.
The first echelon of Japanese soldiers used the bodies of their companions as cover at the foot of the hillside and launched an attack on the Eighth Route Army on the hillside.
The muzzles of their guns protruded from behind the corpses, spewing out tongues of flame from time to time, but despite this, their offensive was no longer as strong as before.
The Japanese regiment commander frowned, watching the first echelon of soldiers being suppressed 50 meters away from the enemy's front line and unable to move forward. He quickly gave an order: "Adjutant, order the tanks to attack."
"Hai."
The Japanese adjutant turned around quickly and went downstairs to convey the order.
After receiving the order, the tank battalion at the foot of Dazhai Mountain took quick action.
Dozens of medium and heavy tanks slowly drove up the hillside at a very slow speed.
The tank tracks left deep marks in the muddy ground.
In fact, in this situation, tanks are of little use at all. They move too slowly and can easily become targets for artillery.
If the battlefield is in a plain area, tanks can show their true power.
But in mountainous areas, the mobility of tanks was greatly limited, and they became slow-moving steel behemoths. Although they had thick armor, their advantages were not obvious in the face of the artillery and anti-tank weapons of the independent brigade.
When the Japanese tanks appeared on the battlefield, the morale of the Japanese soldiers, who were originally suppressed by intensive firepower, was instantly boosted.
They believed that the arrival of the tank brigade would be able to quickly break through the enemy's positions.
The Japanese driver stepped on the accelerator, the tank engine made a huge roar, and one tank after another began to advance towards the Dazhaishan position.
These tanks were like mobile fortresses. Countless Japanese soldiers launched another fierce attack. They followed the tanks and tried to use the tanks' cover to approach the Eighth Route Army's positions.
Zhang Dabiao, who was on the position, was not afraid at all when he saw the Japanese actually deployed tanks.
He knew that although these tanks were powerful, their speed and maneuverability would be limited on a mountainous battlefield.
He immediately shouted to the battalion commander standing beside him: "Captain, the Japanese have sent out tanks. Quickly notify the anti-tank squad and kill them!"
"Yes, Commander!" The battalion commander quickly turned around and began to organize the team.
"Anti-tank squad, assemble!" a battalion commander shouted loudly.
The members of the anti-tank squad quickly gathered from all corners of the position.
"Comrades, our position is threatened by tanks, we must act immediately." The battalion commander said briefly.
The members of the anti-tank squad quickly picked up the rocket launchers and took action.
..........
Not long after, thirty soldiers, carrying heavy rocket launchers on their shoulders, quickly ran to the front trench.
"Hurry, load the rockets!" a squad leader commanded loudly.
The soldiers quickly loaded rockets into the rocket launcher and prepared for battle.
When the Japanese tanks approached the front line with only 70 meters left, the soldiers suddenly stood up from the trenches, picked up the rocket launchers, aimed steadily at the slowly moving Japanese tank, and then decisively pulled the trigger.
In an instant, rockets whizzed out like lightning and rushed towards the target.
At this time, the tank was in the uphill stage and was moving extremely slowly, which created an excellent opportunity for the rocket's precise strike.
When the Japanese driver noticed that a rocket was coming towards him, he panicked and tried to adjust the direction to avoid the attack, but it was too late.
Just as the tank began to turn, the rocket hit the tank's armor hard, causing a huge explosion.
The explosion actually penetrated the thick armor of the tank and completely destroyed it.
The Japanese soldiers hiding inside the tanks were not spared and all died.
To make matters worse, the powerful explosion from the rocket also caused a chain reaction of shells inside the tank, further exacerbating the damage.
In the end, the tank was reduced to a pile of broken scrap metal in the huge explosion, and even the turret was blown more than ten meters into the air. The scene was extremely tragic.
This round of rocket attacks turned twenty-two Japanese tanks into burning wreckage.
The rest of the Japanese tanks witnessed this scene and were terrified and began to reverse frantically.
These Japanese drivers stepped on the accelerator desperately and fled down the mountain in a panic.
In the panic of reversing, more than a dozen Japanese soldiers who were unable to react in time were ruthlessly crushed to death. The scene was in chaos and the tragedy was unbearable to watch.
Zhang Dabiao stood on the position and witnessed the anti-tank team destroying more than 20 tanks with just one wave of attack. He was ecstatic and his face was filled with joy.
He shouted excitedly: "Great, anti-tank team! You are awesome! We made a lot of money this time!"
The Japanese commander Yamamoto in the rear witnessed through a telescope that his tank battalion suffered heavy losses in the counterattack of the independent column, and his face turned pale in an instant.
The tank brigade that he had high hopes for, which should have been the decisive force on the battlefield, suffered heavy losses just as it launched the attack.
"Adjutant, order the artillery to launch an attack. I want to kill the enemy." Yamamoto gave the order almost while roaring.
"Hai."
The Japanese adjutant responded and quickly turned around to convey the order.
Ito on the side frowned and looked at Yamamoto. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "General Yamamoto, our soldiers are attacking the enemy's position. If we launch an artillery attack at this time, our soldiers will be bombarded."
Yamamoto turned his head, his eyes flashing with determination: "General Ito, you have seen the situation on the battlefield. The enemy's firepower is too strong.
Only by launching another artillery attack can we capture Dazhai Mountain.
I believe the imperial soldiers can understand that this is the only way to avoid more casualties."
After hearing what Yamamoto said, Ito was silent for a while, and finally nodded silently.
He knew that decisions on the battlefield were often cruel, but sometimes difficult choices had to be made for ultimate victory.
When the Japanese artillery launched another attack, hundreds of shells whizzed towards the front positions of Dazhai Mountain like raindrops.
This sudden bombardment confused both the Japanese soldiers and the Eighth Route Army soldiers, because at this time the two sides were almost exchanging fire, and if they opened fire at this time, wouldn't they also blow up their own people?
"Damn it! These damn Japs are too cruel! They don't even spare their own people when fighting!" Zhang Dabiao couldn't help but curse.
Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang, who were far away in the Dazhaishan Command Center, couldn't help but gasp after seeing this scene.
They had never expected that the Japanese commander on the opposite side would be so cruel and ruthless. In such a close combat situation, he still chose to order the artillery to fire, obviously intending to blow up both his own people and the Eighth Route Army soldiers.