Chapter 303

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

At this moment on the rocket artillery position, Lv Muzhi was still ordering the Rocket Artillery Battalion to load rocket shells in a frenzy, preparing for the next salvo.

"Quick! Move quickly!" the Rocket Artillery Battalion Commander shouted urgently.

Soldiers worked in pairs, taking the heavy rocket shells over a meter long from the ammunition vehicles and swiftly and skillfully stuffing them into the still-warm launch tubes.

The sounds of metal clashing, shouted commands, and heavy breathing mixed together.

Lv Muzhi did not leave.

He stood beside the command vehicle, looking at his watch.

The effect of the first salvo had already been telegraphed back by the Forward Observation Post: the Seto Detachment's core position had been struck devastatingly, and Tang Enbo's Army Corps and Sun Zhen's Sichuan Army forces were launching a fierce attack on the Seto Detachment's position, with great effect.

Li Zongren took a deep breath and laughed happily: "Good, this thing is indeed a weapon of national importance, this weapon called 'Sichuan-Chongqing Girl'... truly fierce."

"It's just that it uses a lot of ammunition; should the remaining rocket shells be saved for next time?"

Lv Muzhi reassured Li Zongren: "The rocket shells brought by the military train number nearly five thousand, enough to make Isogai Rensuke eat until he's full, eat until he vomits; as long as we take the Tenth Division, what does consuming these rocket shells matter?!"

Lv Muzhi immediately grabbed a telephone and called the Frontline Attack Force Command: "This is Lv Muzhi."

"After the second rocket artillery barrage, all units will infiltrate in multiple directions by battalion and company, and do their utmost to expand the breakthrough."

"Don't fear casualties, don't spare ammunition; I want the Seto Detachment wiped from Isogai Rensuke's Tenth Division's order of battle before dawn tomorrow!"

At this very moment, at the critical juncture where the Tenth Division faced great calamity, the Fourteenth Division's Mechanized Rapid Detachment was also about to arrive at the battlefield.

At the Youth First Army Command in Yi County, Liao Yaoxiang, Chu Yunfei, and Chen Minren stood ready.

"The Reconnaissance Battalion reports that the Fourteenth Division's vanguard has reached about ten kilometers before our North Line Alert Position. Strength is about one reinforced infantry regiment, with over thirty tanks attached, plus dozens of truck-drawn field guns and rapid-fire guns." The Chief of Staff pointed to the newly marked blue arrows on the map.

"Tsk, if it's just these people, I think we can turn around and go fight the Tenth Division," Liao Yaoxiang said, looking as if he had this force figured out.

Chu Yunfei said: "We must still obey orders; the Tenth Division can't run away anyway, it's already a turtle in a jar. Our role is to keep the Tenth Division from getting out and the Japanese reinforcements from getting in."

Liao Yaoxiang nodded: "Order the forward alert forces to let them in."

"Prepare anti-tank fire, deploy infantry for cover, and block the enemy for me!"

On the Tianjin-Pukou Railway north of Yi County, the Japanese Fourteenth Division's Mechanized Rapid Detachment was traveling south by train.

Detachment Commander Colonel Sakai got off the train and observed the quiet fields ahead with binoculars.

"Indeed, the Chinese won't let us march smoothly along the railway; they've completely destroyed ten kilometers of railway."

Tank Battalion Commander Major Chisaki Isamu standing nearby said: "No matter, we are a mechanized detachment; without trains, we still have tanks, and can advance just as easily, just spending a bit more fuel!"

Colonel Sakai said: "General Terauchi's intention is very clear; our Rapid Detachment is only a small part of the Fourteenth Division's strength, merely a shot of stimulant for Isogai;"

"The real support for the Tenth Division is the Twentieth Division on the northern railway."

Major Chisaki Isamu's expression changed: "I heard the Tenth Division is now in great danger; does doing this mean the Area Army is prepared to abandon the Tenth Division? Then what is our Fourteenth Division for?"

Colonel Sakai shook his head: "Our Fourteenth Division is used to lock the western retreat route of Xuzhou; while we head south to support the Tenth Division, Division Commander Tsuchiya Yuan has already led the division's main force to cut off the western retreat route of Xuzhou;"

"After the Twentieth Division comes to support the Tenth Division, our Mechanized Rapid Detachment will leave here and hurry to join the main force of the Fourteenth Division to cut off the western retreat route of Xuzhou."

He lowered his voice: "If we can hold out until the encirclement is complete, that is best; if not, using it as bait to attract and consume the Chinese main force also serves the Area Army's best interests."

"As for whether to abandon the Tenth Division? I can only say not entirely."

"If we completely abandoned General Isogai's Tenth Division, what would we and the Twentieth Division be here for?"

"Just looking at the scale of this war, the Tenth Division may have to make some sacrifices."

"To annihilate the Tenth Division, oh, right, and the Thirteenth Division; to annihilate these two divisions, Xia Guo's main force has already gathered around Xuzhou;"

"As long as we can trap China's last few hundred thousand effective forces in Xuzhou, even if the Tenth Division and Thirteenth Division all die honorably, General Terauchi Hisaichi and the Imperial General Headquarters will consider it worth it."

Tank Battalion Commander Chisaki of the Tank Battalion nodded ambiguously.

Colonel Sakai said: "Alright, these are not things we need to consider."

"Chisaki-kun, you take the main force of the Tank Battalion, cover the Infantry Third Battalion, advance to clear roadblocks, and probe the strength of the Chinese defenses ahead, so as to strengthen the Tenth Division's fighting will."

"Remember, our tanks are precious; do not lose them needlessly."

"If you encounter stubborn resistance, withdraw in time and report; wait for the Twentieth Division to come support."

"Understood!" Major Chisaki Isamu saluted, jumped onto a Type 97 Medium Tank painted dark green nearby with a Rising Sun Flag hanging on its turret.

He slapped the vehicle body and shouted: "Depart! Let the Chinese see the might of the Empire's tanks!"

Engines roared, over twenty tanks of various models formed an attack formation, followed by about a battalion of infantry, crouching and advancing cautiously toward the destroyed railway line.

Steel tracks rolled over the frozen-hard ground, making a creaking sound.

Major Chisaki Isamu's Type 97 Medium Tank was in the center of the column; looking ahead through the observation window, the pride belonging to an Emperor Chuo tank soldier rose within him again.

No matter what, he must measure himself against the legendary Youth Army Tank Force, to see whether the Youth Army's tanks were too strong, or the Central China Expeditionary Army's combat strength on the Songhu Battlefield was too weak!