Chapter 318

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Liao Yaoxiang's words made Chen Minren nod repeatedly.

Chu Yunfei said: "Alright, no more talk. Commander Lu naturally has his reasons for doing things; we must properly handle this Tsuchiya Yuan Division before us;

Xue Yue's First Army Group is attacking very aggressively, Du Yuming has deployed the T26 tanks he just received from the Soviets, and everyone is rushing to take a bite out of the Tsuchiya Yuan Division;

we must act quickly too, we cannot let the friendly forces take all the credit!"

Liao Yaoxiang said with a smile: "No matter, the greatest victory of this battle will ultimately belong to our Youth Army. Even Du Yuming's so-called Mechanized 200th Division cannot stir up any great waves!"

Chen Minren nodded in agreement, then turned to a staff officer and said: "Transmit the order, accelerate the marching speed. We must capture Tsuchiya Yuan before the First Army Group!"

Orders were swiftly issued, and the steel torrent surged forward faster.

Two hours later, Chu Yunfei arrived at the pre-set artillery observation post.

Inside the observation post were artillery observation mirrors, rangefinders, telephones, and radios—everything was available.

Several observers and signalmen were working busily.

"Report to Division Commander Chu! All artillery groups have entered position and completed firing data settings!"

"The 155mm Heavy Artillery Regiment is ready!"

"The 105mm howitzer groups of each division are ready!"

Chu Yunfei stood with one hand on his hip and the other holding an artillery observation mirror, muttering to himself: "What a pity, the Rocket Artillery Battalion has been assigned to Qiu Qingquan's Second Army to block Japanese reinforcements, otherwise I would definitely make Tsuchiya Yuan's shells eat their fill!"

After speaking, Chu Yunfei picked up the telephone and said with full vigor: "This is Chu Yunfei. From now on, all army artillery fire is under my command!"

"Aim at the target and cook the devils a pot of steel meat soup!"

After a moment of silence, a dull rumbling like rolling thunder came from afar.

It was the Heavy Artillery Regiment of the Youth First Army attacking—the roar of 24 155mm howitzers firing in unison, shaking dust from the observation post's ceiling.

A few seconds later, through the binoculars, a series of huge orange-red fireballs rose on the southeast side of the Japanese position!

Explosive smoke columns shot into the sky, with soil, wood chips, and unidentifiable debris thrown into the air. Even from so far away, one could feel that destructive power.

The 105mm howitzers of each division followed closely, shells raining down on the Japanese front like hail, exploding into continuous clouds of smoke and fire.

Several BF109 fighters of the Southwest Air Force flew over the battlefield, on one hand observing the effect of the artillery strikes, and on the other guarding against aerial danger, escorting the Youth Army's big guns.

"Yes, all my artillery here has been used. The scene now is a sea of fire, very spectacular!" Chu Yunfei, holding the telephone, reported to Liao Yaoxiang on the other end who was confirming the situation.

"Dealing with the little devils requires hitting hard with heavy artillery, tanks, and cannons in round after round! The artillery strike is about to end. Division Commander Liao, you can order the armored assault force to set out;

And Division Commander Chen, the infantry assault echelon can set out now. I will order the artillery to stop firing in five minutes!"

The Youth First Army was fighting fiercely against Tsuchiya Yuan, while in the northwest of Lanfeng, the First Army Group was also going all out.

Hu Gongnan stood at his command position, observing the front battlefield through binoculars, the artillery fire reddening his face.

Truly, comparison makes one angry!

Both are Whampoa Class 1 graduates, yet Lv Muzhi is now flourishing, with three genuine stars on his shoulders—a true Second-Class General.

Tang Enbo has also made a name for himself recently; even Du Yuming, who was previously unremarkable, now brings the new force of the Mechanized 200th Division and is highly valued by the old man.

The competition is fierce!

"I cannot compare with Lv Weiyue. Tang Enbo and Du Yuming must absolutely not be allowed to ride over my head!"

"Report to the Army Group Commander!" a staff officer ran over panting, "Division Commander Du Yuming's tank battalion, together with an infantry regiment of the 200th Division, has broken through Tsuchiya Yuan's defensive line from the left wing!"

"What?!" Hu Gongnan's heart tightened. Du Yuming, who had received Soviet T26 light tanks, was indeed different—moving this fast?

"Order the frontal attack forces to intensify the offensive! Do not worry about casualties, press them all forward! Do not let Du Yuming take all the first merit!

Notify all divisions and regiments: whoever breaks through the Japanese position first, I will reward him with ten thousand yuan! Whoever first captures or kills Tsuchiya Kenji, I will reward him with one hundred thousand yuan and personally request merit for him from the Chairman!"

Orders issued, Hu Gongnan's already fierce offensive became even more violent.

Officers at all levels led the charge, soldiers surged toward the Japanese positions like a tide, with gunfire, explosions, and battle cries rising together.

In the abdominal position of Tsuchiya Yuan's division, Du Yuming's 200th Division tank battalion was charging with infantry, searching everywhere for Tsuchiya Yuan's command post.

Du Yuming was extremely excited in his rear command post. If he captured Tsuchiya Yuan before the Youth Army, he would surely become famous!

He could also avenge the humiliation of Songhu!

"All vehicles, note: maintain formation, machine guns sweep the trenches on both sides, main guns aim at suspicious firepower points ahead! Infantry, follow closely and clear out the remaining enemies!"

Du Yuming issued orders via radio, wanting to see for himself whether the Soviet T26 tanks could seize the lead before the Youth Army.

"Tsuchiya Kenji, this time you must die by my hand!"

The voice of the tank battalion commander came over the radio: "Division Commander! Good news! Tsuchiya Kenji has been killed!"

Du Yuming was overjoyed: "Excellent! Report your coordinates, I will immediately take men there and send Tsuchiya Yuan's corpse to Zhengzhou!"

"Division Commander... Tsuchiya Kenji's corpse has already been taken away by the Youth Army. When I arrived, the Youth Army had already assaulted Tsuchiya Yuan's command post, and now they are cleaning up the battlefield..."

Du Yuming was stunned. He hadn't expected to still be one step behind!

Tsuchiya Yuan's command post was now in utter disarray.

The 200th Division's tank battalion lined up in a row, and the Youth Army's tanks that had assaulted here also lined up.

One large pit after another was dug in the ground, filled with Japanese corpses of Tsuchiya Yuan's division. Several Youth Army engineers walked up, carrying flamethrowers on their backs.

Whoosh! Hiss!

The flamethrowers ignited the devils' corpses, and the Japanese corpses in the large pit were centrally destroyed.

When Du Yuming arrived at the scene, the battle had ended. He looked at his T26 light tanks, then at the Youth Army's Panzer III medium tanks, T light tanks, light anti-aircraft vehicles, armored vehicles, etc., and still shook his head helplessly.

Liao Yaoxiang pointed to a corpse that had been blown up missing a leg and said with a smile: "Division Commander Du, you have worked hard. This is the old devil Tsuchiya Yuan. He was blown up by our Youth Army's big guns right at the start of the battle."

"There are planes conducting aerial reconnaissance overhead, but in the end, our Youth Army's armored troops were faster!"

Saying this, Liao Yaoxiang pointed at the BF109 Fighter screaming overhead.

Du Yuming did not dwell on it further, finally letting go: "Whoever killed Tsuchiya Yuan makes no difference; at least the Fourteenth Division has finally fallen into our hands."

At the same time, Hu Gongnan's Seventeenth Army Corps finally eliminated the enemy facing them, and just as they were about to continue advancing, they received news that Tsuchiya Yuan had been killed.

Afterwards, Hu Gongnan secretly sighed: "Fortunately, it was the Youth Army that killed Tsuchiya Yuan; if it had been Du Yuming's achievement, I might not even rate a mention before the old man!"