Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 67: Bloody Battle at Lion Grove Fort (2)

As soon as the Japanese infantry retreated, officers at all levels blew the anti-artillery whistle. The soldiers were already used to it, and they moved very quickly and quickly into the individual anti-artillery holes.
This type of simple anti-gun hole is built under the reverse slope of the river embankment. It is very simple, similar to a cat ear hole. Each anti-gun hole can accommodate a combat team. Unless the naval gun hits them directly, it is difficult to endanger their safety, so the anti-gun effect is very good.

Just as the officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion hid in the anti-artillery caves, the Japanese naval guns fired at them. Many shells fell into the ginkgo forest behind the river embankment, destroying several century-old trees.

The Japanese artillery preparation lasted for more than an hour. The Lion Grove Fort and its surroundings were ravaged by the naval guns. Colonel Ando 23 nodded repeatedly and said:

"Yoshi, the firepower of the navy's naval guns is really strong. If half of the funds could be given to the army, each regiment of the army could be equipped with a field artillery battalion."

There was a strong sense of sourness in Ando Nijisan's words. Japan's resources were tight, and the navy accounted for at least 80% of the annual budget. This made it so difficult for the million-strong army that they were reluctant to equip themselves with even submachine guns. The main weapon of the infantry was still the rifle from the 38th year of the Meiji era. It was understandable that they had objections.

Lieutenant Colonel Niwa Jiro, the senior staff officer of the regiment, was reluctant to respond to his words. After all, they were standing on a naval ship. Although it was fashionable for the army and navy to tease each other, it was not good to call a monk bald in front of him. So he cleverly changed the subject and said:
"Sir, under the attack of the navy's powerful naval guns, it is difficult for the Chinese firepower points to survive. At this time, sending warriors up there will probably only help them collect the bodies of the Chinese."

After hearing this, Anda Twenty-three laughed and said:

"It seems that the navy's naval guns are not completely useless. The huge amount of resources invested every year have seen some returns."

Colonel Anda obviously had no intention of saving face for the navy, and after another joke, he ordered an attack. Nearly 2 Japanese soldiers spread out in a scattered formation and formed several echelons to rush towards the river bank;
The Japs' attack front was nearly one kilometer wide and hundreds of meters deep, filling the entire river beach.

When they rushed to a distance of several dozen meters from the river bank, the light and heavy firepower of the Second Battalion opened fire fiercely at the Japanese without any need to aim;

They can’t kill them all, they can’t kill them all at all!

Sergeant Yang Shiyuan, a machine gunner of the first platoon of the first company, used the Type 92 heavy machine gun to kill the enemy for the first time. Although it was not very smooth to use, it still did not affect his killing of the enemy until his hands cramped;

Of course, it could also be the Type 92 heavy machine gun that caused the shock. Many of the Japanese weapons were simply anti-human and were criticized by countless people, such as the "Type 92" machine gun that would jam if the magazine was not filled with oil;
There is also the "pheasant neck" machine gun that uses a magazine to feed ammunition, with each magazine holding only 30 rounds of bullets. Compared with the Maxim heavy machine gun that uses a 100-round or 250-round belt to feed ammunition, its firepower sustainability is much worse.

Not to mention the Nambu pistol, the Japanese wouldn't even choose it when they wanted to commit suicide because it jams too easily.

Yang Shiyuan just disliked the Type 30 heavy machine gun for its slow firing rate. It would use up rounds of bullets after just a few bursts. The river beach was densely packed with Japanese invaders, and he wished he could kill them all.

There were too many devils, and Yue Qianli was very excited. He liked the devils' group charge, so he shouted:
"Notify the machine gun company to bombard them with rocket launchers, two rounds of coverage!"

He wanted to give the Japanese a warning and warn them not to launch a group charge, as the second battalion's infantry could not withstand it.

The battalion's communications staff immediately brought the communications soldiers to send flag signals to the machine gun company. They now only had one radio, and all communications with the various units were based on flag signals, even at the squadron level of the Japanese invaders. This ancient method of communication was sometimes better than a radio in certain battlefield environments.

Li Boxi, the machine gun company commander, received the flag signal from the battalion headquarters immediately and ordered to fire at the Japanese on the river beach. The brothers of the rocket artillery platoon could not wait any longer, and under the unified organization of the platoon leader, they fired the first round of salvos at the river beach in less than a minute;
72 107mm rockets whizzed over the river embankment and slammed into the group of Japanese troops. As a series of explosions swept across the river beach, the Japanese troops' skirmish formation was thinned out by more than half.

Colonel Ando 23 could hardly believe his eyes. He even suspected that it was the Chinese sea god who was angry. Having grown up by the sea, he still believed it.

"May Aunt Amaterasu bless you!"

Ando Twenty-three can only bring out Amaterasu to fight against the Chinese sea god, but unfortunately this is the Chinese's territory, and foreign monsters and demons are useless.

"fire!"

The rocket launcher platoon leader roared, and another round of shells flew towards the devils. Only then did Anda Twenty-three react:
"Bagayalo, heavy artillery, the Chinese have heavy artillery!
Get back quickly!"

"Request artillery support!"

Anda Twenty-three yelled at the top of his lungs. He was really angry. Fortunately, the navy he teased did not disappoint him. As soon as the machine gun company moved its position, the Japanese naval gun group began to issue their "protest";
The Chinese dared to fire their artillery in front of them, killing and injuring thousands of army idiots. They were so bold, so they retaliated with rows of large-caliber naval artillery shells, blowing up countless flowers and plants...

"Li Boxi did a great job this time. I'm going to give him credit!"

It was true that one man's poison was another's honey. The pain of the Japanese was Yue Qianli's happiness. After two rounds of rocket launchers, Yue Qianli estimated that at least thousands of Japanese had been killed.
The remaining Japanese soldiers were also frightened by the explosion and retreated to the starting position of the attack like a tide. An attack that was determined to win ended in a whimper.

After the bombing, the Japanese became obedient. They no longer dared to launch a group charge. Sending a few hundred people at a time was already the limit.
The Second Battalion could easily withstand such a strong force. After the Japanese attacked twice, they temporarily gave up the idea of ​​breaking through the Lion Grove Fort.

"Bakayalu, this rubbish Anda Twenty-three has brought disgrace upon the empire. Doesn't he know how to fight when the Chinese have heavy artillery?"

"Bakayarro! Didn't these navy idiots boast that they could completely suppress the Chinese artillery fire? Why are they helpless now? I want to complain to the commander!"

Vice Admiral Yamamuro Munetake had never been so angry. Apart from greeting all the female relatives of Ando Nijusan's family, he also put the blame on the navy. Anyway, the responsibility was all someone else's.

The Chief of Staff, Colonel Katamura Shihachi, agreed. The 11th Division had lost thousands of men in the attack on the small Lion Grove Fort, and someone had to take the blame. So he took over the conversation and said:
"Your Excellency the Division Commander is absolutely right. The Chinese heavy artillery is extremely powerful, but it is very heavy and slow in movement. It is not difficult for the naval gun groups to lock onto them. They are deliberately setting a trap for the 11th Division so that they can laugh at the army's incompetence."

"Bakayaro, the Navy has lost its conscience. I want to protest to the Commander - no, I want to complain!"

(End of this chapter)