Chapter 267

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The gunfire on the north bank of the Yangtze River came several hours later than in the south bank region, but was just as fierce.

Qiu Qingquan stood behind a hastily piled sandbag fortification, lowered his binoculars, and the river wind carried the smell of gunpowder from within Jinling City straight into his face.

"Have all regiments entered their attack positions?"

The staff officer replied at breakneck speed: "Report to Commander Qiu! Our brigade's three regiments have deployed in a fan formation, with our flanks connecting to the forces of Division Commander Song of the Thirty-Sixth Division.

The Shigetō Detachment has its back to the Yangtze River and is actually already half-encircled by us!"

"Good." Qiu Qingquan picked up the telephone beside him and called the frontline command post: "Listen up, everyone. Across from us is the Japanese Shigetō Detachment, their hands stained with the blood of our comrades and ordinary people;

Now, Commander Tang died for the nation in Jinling. If we do not avenge this, we are not worthy of being soldiers!

Commander Lu has ordered: either send the Shigetō Detachment to die under our gun barrels, or jump into the Yangtze themselves!

Avenge Commander Tang, attack begins!"

Roars erupted along the entire front line in an instant, drowning out the river waves.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The heavy artillery on the artillery position opened fire first. Lv Muzhi's Heavy Artillery Regiment had already moved to the north bank of the Yangtze River to stand by before the Japanese besieged Jinling, to facilitate flexible and mobile operations by the troops.

Shells howled toward the Japanese hastily constructed riverbank defensive line.

The Shigetō Detachment had originally been dispatched by Matsui Iwane to cross the Yangtze River downstream of Jinling in advance, to outflank the Xia Guo Army retreating to Pukou Wharf.

According to Commander Matsui Iwane, the enemy had fled Jinling City in a panic, and the Shigetō Detachment could advance boldly, as the naval fleet would soon arrive to support them.

But right now, the Shigetō Detachment's frontline position had been thrown into utter chaos.

The naval fleet's support had not arrived.

According to Gu Qingchuan, commander of the Combined Fleet, the Sui River Fleet had encountered stubborn resistance from the remaining warships and torpedo boats of the Xia Guo Navy, and asked the army to wait patiently, as the warships would soon advance to their designated positions.

"Hold steady! Machine guns keep up fire, prevent the enemy from closing in!"

"We've definitely been sold out by the navy!"

"Contact the south bank! Request artillery support!"

The Japanese position was in complete chaos.

Detachment Commander Major General Shigenaga Chishu had just sent a request for aid from the temporary command post when, through his binoculars, he saw gray-blue figures under artillery cover charging forward in skirmish lines on the distant horizon.

Those soldiers ran swiftly, alternated covering fire skillfully, and the firepower sprayed from their weapons was even denser.

There were both the classic Czech machine guns of the German-equipped divisions and the MG34 machine guns widely equipped by the Youth Army.

Shigenaga Chishu's heart sank. The intelligence he had received was that the enemy on the north bank were frightened birds, with only small detachments covering the retreat.

But this offensive before his eyes—where did it look like defeated troops? It was clearly a fierce tiger that had been nurturing its strength for a long time, bursting out of the gate!

In the span of several hours, Detachment Commander Major General Shigenaga Chishu spent his time entirely amidst one defeat report after another.

"Detachment Commander! The left wing's Second Battalion defensive line has been breached! The battalion commander is seriously wounded!"

"The right wing has discovered enemy outflanking!"

"Enemy artillery fire is fierce, requesting withdrawal to reorganize!"

Bad news came one after another. Shigenaga Chishu broke into a cold sweat on his forehead, and only by propping his command sword on the ground could he barely stand steady.

In Jinling City on the opposite bank, although Commander Matsui Iwane had already arranged for artillery fire to support across the Yangtze River, Shigenaga Chishu still found it difficult to hold on.

Commander Matsui Iwane's original worst-case plan was to have the Shigetō Detachment hold their position on the opposite bank as a bridgehead, ensuring subsequent troops could cross the Yangtze River more quickly.

But seeing that the navy had still not arrived and the Shigetō Detachment could not be relied upon, Commander Matsui Iwane could no longer sit still. He ordered the Shigetō Detachment to immediately board ships, withdraw to the south bank of the Yangtze River, and enter Jinling City to rest and reorganize.

"Order Shigenaga Chishu: the troops are to withdraw toward the river! I have already prepared ferries; retreat to the south bank as quickly as possible!"

After the Japanese resistance contracted toward the riverbank embankment, because the terrain was slightly advantageous, they stubbornly held out for a short while.

But Qiu Qingquan keenly detected the Japanese intention and reported to Lv Muzhi the news that the Japanese were about to withdraw.

Lv Muzhi immediately ordered the Heavy Artillery Regiment to extend their firepower to strike, covering the river surface.

"This is Lv Muzhi. Artillery extends fire, covering the riverbank area, focusing on striking the river surface!

Qiu Qingquan! All regiments increase pressure, drive the Japanese into the water!"

The offensive became even more fierce.

The Japanese were squeezed bit by bit onto the narrow riverbank, with murky, churning river water behind them and a deathly rain of bullets pressing closer step by step before them.

Some Japanese began to disregard orders, lunging toward the small boats, sampans, and steamships moored by the shore, and even hugging wooden planks as they jumped into the river.

Just at the peak of this despair, several warships and armed boats came from downstream.

Where water met sky, several wisps of black smoke rose first, followed by several indistinct ship shadows.

"Ships! Is it our navy?" a Japanese soldier pointed at the river surface and shouted with lingering hope.

Many Japanese jumped up and down by the river, waving their hands toward the warships approaching in the distance.

"Quick, use the naval guns, you bastards, blow these Chinks to pieces!"

The ship shadows drew nearer, their outlines becoming clear.

Commander Matsui Iwane, looking through the artillery observation mirror from the city head, nearly fell over.

Those coming were by no means his own navy, but rather the remaining ships of Xia Guo, with the Blue Sky White Sun Flag flying on their bridges!

These were clearly the Xia Guo warships that had blocked the Japanese naval idiots on the front line, and after completing their mission, were now retreating upstream along the Yangtze River!

The Xia Guo fleet retreating upstream from downstream originally had low morale. Leading them was the heavily damaged light cruiser Ninghai, followed by Pinghai, Yixian, and several other vessels of various sizes, as well as the remaining Yangtze River Torpedo Brigade.

Their formation was not tight; obviously, this was a retreating fleet that had fought a bitter battle with Japanese warships.

The fleet noticed the abnormality by the river, seeing that large numbers of Japanese troops had gathered on both the north and south banks of the Yangtze River.

This was truly a gift from nature; they had to seize the opportunity!

On the bridge of the Ninghai, Fleet Commander Chen Jiliang's long-suppressed fury could finally be released.

Having retreated all this way, watching the land fall along the route, and the agony of comrades-in-arms constantly falling, had long filled his chest.

"Transmit order! All ships take note: large numbers of Japanese troops gathered on both riverbanks have been discovered. All usable artillery, advance and attack!"

An Bang's Torpedo Boat Flotilla also noticed the anomaly; quite a few devils of the Shigetō Detachment were aboard ships, had already reached the middle of the Yangtze River, and would soon reach this side of Jinling City.

An Bang commanded his remaining torpedo boats: "Advance to sweep the small boats on the river, strike them while they are mid-crossing, leave none!"

The order was transmitted quickly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Ninghai's remaining main guns opened fire, 140mm shells slicing through the river wind, smashing into the dense crowds of Japanese troops waiting for boats by the riverbank.

Boom! Boom!

The firelight of explosions bloomed in succession on the riverbank, with earth, debris, and severed limbs mixed with river water shooting into the sky.

Japanese troops crossing or preparing to board were blown to pieces, and several steamships were directly blown into fragments.

An Bang's accompanying S-type torpedo boats retreated with the fleet, engines roaring, sailing at high speed within the Yangtze River.

The 12.7mm heavy machine gun at the bow and the added 20mm Oerlikon Cannon fired madly, searing trajectories lashing any floating object and struggling figure on the river surface.

Lv Muzhi received news of his own fleet's retreat, so he stopped using heavy artillery to bombard the river surface, lest he inflict friendly fire, and instead continued attacking the Shigetō Detachment's positions.

"Tell An Bang and Navy Commander Chen to focus on striking Japanese ships on the north bank of the Yangtze River; after destroying their ships, they may continue retreating upstream, but leave the Shigetō Detachment to me!"