Chapter 329: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa, Chapter 339: No

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The first line of defense of Ma Dang Fortress—the Xiangshan Defensive Line—sat on the bank of the Yangtze River, outside the range of Ma Dang Battery, serving mainly as forward warning and suitably blocking the Japanese army.

Bo Tian Zhi landed about two kilometers downstream of the Xiangshan Position.

The defenders were suppressed by naval gunfire and could not sortie to counter the landing, only urgently transmitting news of the Japanese landing to the rear.

Inside Ma Dang Battery, An Bang saw the lights of the Japanese fleet on the river through a rangefinder.

He immediately issued an order: the Second Regiment of the First Line's 16th Army must defend the Xiangshan Defensive Line to the death, not losing the position for at least two days, and give Bo Tian Zhi a heavy blow.

Tell them that as long as they hold until dawn, the Air Force will come to support.

At this time, ahead of the Xiangshan Position, Bo Tian Zhi had already sent an infantry battalion's strength onto the river beach and deployed sentries.

The Mountain Artillery Regiment was also landing in succession, with landing craft of all sizes constantly rushing ashore.

Type 2 Landing Craft and smaller landing craft constantly transported Japanese soldiers to the riverbank.

Major General Bo Tian Chong Yi Shao Jiang personally went ashore and used binoculars to observe the Xiangshan Defensive Line ahead.

The entire position was shrouded in darkness, so silent there wasn't a trace of life.

"Yo-shi, the Chinese officers must be toasting in town... now is the perfect time to attack!"

"First Battalion, under the cover of the Mountain Artillery Regiment, launch a full-scale attack on the Xiangshan Defensive Line! Naval gunfire will also provide simultaneous support."

Boom boom boom—

More than ten naval guns began to bombard the Xiangshan Position indiscriminately.

But the Xiangshan Position was built as a Class I National Defense Work, built into the hillside, extremely solid.

Soldiers of the First Regiment of the 16th Army lay inside the fortifications, quietly waiting under the command of platoon leaders and company commanders, waiting for the best counterattack opportunity.

"The little devils are coming up." A squad leader shouted.

The platoon leader beside him held a signal pistol, a flare already loaded in the chamber. He lowered his voice: "Don't move yet, wait until they're close before firing. We must wait for the regiment commander's order to counterattack!"

The soldiers held their breath, and between the light and shadow of exploding shells, the approaching figures of the Japanese were faintly visible, the atmosphere suddenly tense, the officers and men of the Second Regiment of the 47th Division of the 16th Army gripping their rifles one by one.

"Open fire!"

At the regiment commander's order, the battalion commander beside him fired a red signal flare into the sky, signaling the start of battle.

Immediately, officers at all levels fired flares into the sky, and the searchlights inside the permanent fortifications suddenly lit up, exposing the charging Japanese without a place to hide.

The Japanese at the very front were stunned by the light, scared stiff, scared enough to wet their pants.

Under the searchlights, the devils were like rats crossing the street, everyone shouting to beat them.

Rat-tat-tat-tat—

Machine guns and rifles inside the Xiangshan Defensive Line fortifications fired simultaneously, and many Japanese in the front row fell at once.

"Listen well, without my order, no one is allowed to retreat! I guaranteed with my head to Commander Li!

Whoever jokes with my head, I'll kill him first!"

The regiment commander stared at the three battalion commanders before him and said sternly.

The three battalion commanders had determined expressions: "Regiment commander, rest assured, the battle can be lost, lives can be lost, but we will never retreat!"

Boom! Boom!

The Japanese 75mm mountain gun positions were set up, and together with the naval guns on the river, they fiercely bombarded the Xiangshan Defensive Line again.

Defenders were occasionally blown over, but not a single Japanese could truly approach the position.

The devils of Bo Tian Zhi's First Battalion, under artillery cover, tried three times from various angles, but still could not take the first Xiangshan Defensive Line.

"Eight Gua! Truly hateful!"

At the command position in the rear, Major General Bo Tian Chong Yi Shao Jiang was both shocked and angry.

The offensive was severely frustrated—could the graduation ceremony being held in town have no effect on the defenders' combat power at all?

Could it be that without officers commanding, these Chinese soldiers could fight independently?

No, impossible—there is no army in the world whose soldiers are of such high quality that they can fight without the command of officers.

Bo Tian Chong Yi Shao Jiang was unwilling to believe: a force that lost its officers, even the Japanese army would inevitably fall into chaos, how could they possibly...

The staff officer beside him said: "Your Excellency, the intelligence we received may be false.

I observed it—the firepower deployment of the Xiangshan Defensive Line is completely different from what the intelligence described... we may have been deceived.

That so-called graduation ceremony of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University may just be a ruse."

Bo Tian Chong Yi Shao Jiang thought it over carefully, his heart sank: he was very likely deceived by that 16th Army Commander Li Yunhang.

He clearly had mastered the firepower points of the Xiangshan Defensive Line in advance, but when he got to the battlefield, he found all the firepower points were wrong!

Like a student walking into an exam hall, finding that none of the knowledge points he memorized were on the test!

"Hmph, old coot!"

Bo Tian Chong Yi Shao Jiang said hatefully—this old thing Li Yunhang dared to toy with me; once I take Ma Dang Fortress, I must twist your head off and kick it like a ball!

Notify the troops at the front: first suspend the attack, record and mark all the enemy's machine gun firepower points, and after dawn, use artillery for precision strikes!

Takahashi Regiment Commander asked: "Should we request air corps reinforcements?"

Bo Tian Zhi Commander nodded hurriedly: "Right, request support from Lieutenant General Tokugawa Yoshitoshi's Air Corps, and after dawn launch an attack on the Xiangshan Defensive Line—I want to launch a joint sea, land, and air strike!"

Bo Tian Chong Yi Shao Jiang's request was transmitted by radio to all places, and with the coming of dawn, fighter planes took off one after another from Anqing Airport—there were Type 97 Fighters and Type 95 Fighters—and on the waters downstream of Anqing, the Japanese aircraft carrier also dispatched Type 96 carrier fighters to provide support.

But arriving at the battlefield before the Japanese fighters was the Xia Guo Air Force.

Fighters flying out from Wuhan, Nanchang, and Jiujiang included Xia Guo Central Government's Hawk fighters, as well as Soviet Union's I-15 and I-16 fighters, and also BF109 Fighters from the Youth Corps coming to assist in the battle.

Besides the fighter planes, bombers also arrived at the battlefield.

German, American, and Soviet fighter planes gathered together to strike the ground targets of Bo Tian Zhi Detachment, and the ships on the Yangtze River were not spared either.

Detachment Commander Bo Tian Zhi saw dense fighter planes flying in from the sky and felt unbelievable; could it be that even Emperor Chuo could no longer maintain air superiority?

"Detachment Commander Sir! Please evacuate the command post immediately to avoid the bombing!" A staff officer brought several Japanese soldiers to persuade Hatada Jūichi.

Hatada Jūichi was someone who listened to advice, and he led people to hide in a small forest.

Boom boom boom!

A burst of explosions sounded on the position of Bo Tian Zhi Detachment.

"Detachment Commander! Our mountain gun position has been destroyed!"

Hearing the news, Detachment Commander Bo Tian Zhi felt a pang of heartache!

"Our fighter planes have also come to support us!" A Japanese soldier shouted excitedly.

"Don't stand there in a daze, use the anti-aircraft guns to assist in the battle!" Hatada Jūichi shouted fiercely.