Chapter 299

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The artillery fire on the north bank of the Huai River suddenly became denser and more precise; before the Ninth Division even reached the battlefield, Sun Liren had divided the area in front of the positions into multiple fire zones and carefully calculated the firing parameters.

At this very moment, 105mm and 75mm shells were accurately striking the most crowded areas of the Japanese river-crossing forces.

"Fire!"

Whoosh—Boom!!

Huge water columns, carrying shattered hulls, wood chips, and human limbs, shot into the sky; the Huai River water was dyed red, and the wails even drowned out the echoes of the explosions.

"Baka! The enemy's artillery fire is very powerful!" Yoshizumi Ryosuke, watching the battle from the south bank of the Huai River, had a grim face.

The Japanese originally thought that after half an hour of suppressive bombardment, the defenders on the north bank, even if not routed, would temporarily lose their organization.

However, the opposing artillery not only reacted quickly but also had extremely high shooting precision and reasonable fire distribution, clearly having pre-plans and being well-trained.

"Order our artillery to continue suppressing the enemy positions!"

"The river-crossing troops must not stop; accelerate across!"

Yoshizumi Ryosuke gritted his teeth and ordered, believing that hesitation and pauses would only bring greater casualties.

What made the crossing Japanese desperate was that when some of their boats and small craft luckily passed through the mid-section artillery blockade and approached the north bank, what greeted them was even denser and deadlier fire.

The Youth Army officers and soldiers hiding in the riverbank positions, upon the officers' commands, unleashed their accumulated firepower to their heart's content.

The MG34 General Purpose Machine Gun emitted a high-speed firing sound like tearing cloth, forming crossfire nets;

The M2 Browning Heavy Machine Gun's low and powerful bursts easily shattered the wooden boats;

The 20mm Oerlikon Machine Cannon and 37mm Anti-tank Gun focused on the few armored boats carried by the Japanese and the dense crowds attempting to force a landing.

Gunfire, explosions, screams, and splashing sounds mixed together; the beachhead on the north bank of the Huai River instantly became a meat grinder.

Japanese soldiers fell in swathes, and blood quickly seeped into the mud and sand of the river beach.

Some fearless Japanese officers waved their military swords, attempting to lead the remnants in a desperate charge, but under absolute automatic firepower and precise rifle and submachine gun bursts, such charges were tantamount to suicide.

The battle lasted less than an hour; the two battalions committed in the first wave suffered heavy casualties, the landing forces were compressed into an extremely small beachhead area, unable to advance or retreat, and could not continue.

"Divisional Commander! The first wave attack has been repelled, with losses exceeding forty percent! The enemy forces on the north bank have exceptionally strong firepower and solid fortifications; forced river crossing... the cost is too great!" The Chief of Staff of the Ninth Division looked at the bloody reports from the frontline and shouted anxiously, hoping to cancel the attack.

Yoshizumi Ryosuke sighed: "Isn't Sun Liren's Youth Army Fifth Division newly established? How can it be so hard to crack!"

"Although it is newly established on paper, there are not many new recruits inside! After several months of intelligence probing, most of the reorganized Youth Army are veterans who have experienced the Songhu and Jinling battlefields. Even the new recruits are reservists who have undergone more than half a year of training..." the Chief of Staff explained.

"Enough! Temporarily stop the river-crossing attack; this path is blocked, take another path! Wait for the 101st Division's support to arrive, and we will conduct multi-point landings; let's see what Sun Liren's single division can do!" Yoshizumi Ryosuke said.

The Chief of Staff worried: "Hope the besieged 13th Division can hold on until our support arrives..."

North bank of the Huai River, Youth Army Fifth Division Command Post.

Gunfire gradually became sparse; the Japanese retreated to the south bank, and the first large-scale forced crossing was repelled.

Sun Liren put down his binoculars, with little joy on his face, instead becoming more solemn.

He knew this was only the beginning; the Ninth Division would by no means let it rest.

"Division Commander, well fought! The little devils now know how tough we are!" a regimental commander said excitedly.

"Don't get too happy too soon; the devils have suffered a loss, and the next attack will be more cunning. Order the reconnaissance battalion's vehicles to patrol along the riverbank continuously, and keep the armored assault force on standby at all times to prevent the devils from landing by flanking elsewhere!"

"Yes!"

At this moment, the division staff officer walked in holding another telegram, a smile on his face: "Division Commander, good news! Half of the two armies promised by Lu Commander have arrived!

The vanguard of the Eighteenth Army led by Army Commander Huang Wei is approaching our department; additionally, another army's troops are moving toward the Huai River Defensive Line."

Sun Liren took the telegram and looked at it carefully; his tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

After retreating from the Songhu Battlefield, Huang Wei was promoted from division commander to army commander of the Eighteenth Army because he dared to fight and battle.

The Eighteenth Army is a direct lineage of the Central Army, with guaranteed equipment and combat power.

With this fresh force joining, the resilience of the Huai River Defensive Line will be greatly enhanced; plus another army's reinforcements still on the way, the 13th Division besieged in Guzhen will not wait for rescue even to death!

Almost at the same time, south of Xuzhou, the Guzhen area.

The battle here had already entered a state of white-hot intensity.

In the small area centered on Guzhen, most of the Japanese Thirteenth Division was tightly surrounded by the main force of the Youth Army Second Army commanded by Qiu Qingquan, Li Pingxian's Eleventh Group Army, and Liao Lei's Twenty-first Group Army.

The cannon fire shook the heavens and earth.

The Heavy Artillery Regiment directly under the Youth Army Second Army, as well as divisional artillery, regimental artillery, and the cannons and mortars of the Gu System Forces, were conducting round after round of saturation bombardment on the Japanese outer positions outside Guzhen.

Firelight and gunpowder smoke covered this land; the Japanese fortifications were stripped layer by layer and destroyed under the fierce artillery fire.

On a highland north of Guzhen that had just been repeatedly washed by artillery fire, Type III Long-Barrel Tanks, T Light Tanks, and armored vehicles formed an attack formation, their engines growling.

Behind and on both sides of the tanks were elite infantry carrying submachine guns and light machine guns, proficient in tactical movements; they were the armored assault force of the Youth Sixth Division actually commanded by Zhou Weiguo, with the goal of capturing the outer positions north of Guzhen and step by step compressing the Thirteenth Division's living space.

Zhou Weiguo himself was not sitting in a tank; as he had already become Deputy Division Commander, he no longer personally went to the frontline to fight.

Qiu Qingquan, serving as Commander of the Youth Second Army and concurrently as Division Commander of the Sixth Division, handed over the actual command of the Sixth Division to Zhou Weiguo to let him gain experience.

Zhou Weiguo stood behind a civilian house half-bombed and collapsed a little further back, observing the front through binoculars; beside him were Army Commander Qiu Qingquan and Deputy Army Commander Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei said: "Latest news, the devils to the north not only did not retreat, but actually dared to launch a counterattack against us!"

Zhou Weiguo said: "Should we dispatch the armored assault force to repel the devils and take their positions by the way?"

Qiu Qingquan remained calm in expression and tone, shook his head, and said indifferently: "No, keep the tanks and infantry; since the devils launched a counterattack themselves, we will first weaken them with artillery!"

"The 13th Division of Di Zhou Libing now relies only on the courage of common men; my homework at the Berlin Army University was far more difficult than this!"

"Order the artillery positions, interdictory fire!"