Chapter 410: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 420 River Crossing River Crossing

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Feng Ling Du.

On the positions of the Japanese Army's 225th Regiment, every inch of soil was trembling.

Across the river, at Tongguan Fortress, over five hundred cannons were aimed right at the heads of the 225th Regiment!

155mm howitzers roared, each shot from the barrel bringing a massive wave of air.

On the 132mm rocket artillery positions, clusters of fire dragons howled into the sky, trailing long tail flames, dyeing half the sky blood-red.

Hamada Kazuki, the colonel of the 225th Regiment, hid in a reinforced dugout, his eardrums buzzing from the shock.

Across the river, over ten small steamboats belching black smoke, towing barges loaded with soldiers, began a full-speed charge toward the north bank.

Mixed into this fleet were some motorboats reinforced with steel plates, with Youth Army soldiers using machine guns to strafing wildly from the bows.

There were also countless kayaks and hastily lashed bamboo rafts, densely covering the water surface.

Youth Army soldiers clutched rifles or submachine guns in their arms, crouching in the ship cabins, staring fixedly at the opposite bank.

On the fore decks of some small steamboats were mounted 20mm cannons, firing point-blank at the Japanese positions across the river.

The Yellow River water was churned up by dense bullet rain into countless splashes, steaming like a boiling pot.

And on the hill east of Feng Ling Du, Group Army Commander Sun Weiru was holding up binoculars.

He saw the Youth Army charging at death on the Yellow River surface, his heart filled with myriad emotions.

"Finally! Finally fighting back!"

"Brothers! Do you see? The Youth Army has already charged up!"

"Fourth Group Army, all units, fix bayonets! Charge for me again!"

Shaanxi Army soldiers all over the mountains and fields let out earth-shaking roars, carrying bayonet-fixed rifles of various types, charging down from the scorched earth slopes.

These Shaanxi officers and soldiers truly seemed to be throwing away their lives, facing the remaining Japanese machine gun positions, crashing into them with flesh and blood.

The Japanese positions at Feng Ling Du were completely wrecked.

The originally flat defense belt was pockmarked by heavy artillery.

Even as the Youth Army crossed the river, the cannons in the rear continued to fire, showing no intention of stopping.

This time the cannons fired smoke grenades, booming until the positions at Feng Ling Du were shrouded in smoke before ceasing.

Japanese soldiers at the outer perimeter positions were first stunned by the shock, then blinded by smoke; some devils had just crawled out of the anti-artillery caves when they ran into the blood-crazed Shaanxi Army.

At this moment, as the Youth Army crossed the river, a fast boat had already crossed the Yellow River, over eight hundred meters wide, and several soldiers jumped off the steamboat.

They stepped through mudflats not reaching their knees, their submachine guns spitting dense barrages.

The Japanese also returned fire, using the beachhead machine guns to strafing wildly at the smoke for suppression.

Even though the first batch of Youth Army soldiers to disembark had already fallen under Japanese guns, the entire river crossing force pressed on one after another, more and more boats beached on the beachhead, more and more Youth Army troops stepping onto the shore.

Hamada Kazuki watched helplessly as the Youth Army crossed the Yellow River from the opposite bank, and the Fourth Group Army's Shaanxi Army charged down from Zhongtiao Mountain to the east.

Two torrents finally converged on his positions.

He knew that if reinforcements did not come, Feng Ling Du would truly be captured.

And at Hanyang Town, over eight li to the north, the relief operation was equally fierce.

Lv Ziqing's Special Airborne Regiment was at this moment facing the Japanese reinforcements rushing wildly from the direction of Yuncheng.

The vanguard of the Japanese 37th Division had already arrived, and they knew the importance of Hanyang Town.

Once Hanyang Town could not be retaken, the 225th Regiment at Feng Ling Du would be completely strangled, and the Youth Army's tanks would advance north along the Tong Pu Lu.

"Feng Ling Du might not be holdable!"

"Hanyang Town must be retaken; relying on Hanyang Town, perhaps we can block the Youth Army around Feng Ling Du and prevent them from advancing further!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Several Japanese Type 97 Medium Tanks swayed their bodies, firing wildly at the street corners of Hanyang Town.

"The Japanese medium tanks are coming up!"

A Battalion Commander wiped the black soot from his face, pointing at the tanks firing at the town entrance and shouting loudly.

"Bazooka teams, where the hell are you? Knock it out for me!"

Two paratroopers crouched low, quickly moving behind a pile of rubble, black iron tubes protruding from the ruined walls.

"Aim! Open fire!"

With a sharp whistle, the rocket shell, trailing tail flame, precisely struck the side armor of the lead tank.

The Japanese Army's current most effective standard tank—the Type 97 Medium Tank (medium tank)—was like paper before the bazooka.

A fireball instantly rose from inside the tank, the tremendous explosive force flipping the turret directly into the air.

"Good hit! Again!"

Airborne Regiment Commander Lv Ziqing also ordered the captured Japanese anti-tank gun to be dragged over.

The anti-tank gun was originally positioned south of Hanyang Town, facing Feng Ling Du to the south.

Now it was pulled to the north of the town, to deal with the Japanese reinforcements coming to support.

Boom boom!!!

"Hold this place! Even if only one person remains, block the road for me!"

Lv Ziqing personally held a Thompson, sweeping at a devil over ten meters away who was trying to climb over an earthen wall.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The paratroopers set up their M1919 Machine Guns and strafed the invading Japanese Army wildly.

Their Semi-Automatic Rifles never ceased fire, the distinctive Ping Ping Sound of the M1 Garand rising and falling.

On the road outside Hanyang Town, the corpses of the Japanese Army had piled up layer upon layer.

The Japanese reinforcements sent to support were stunned; they had committed large numbers of men to the attack, only to be driven back directly by the overwhelming firepower of this group of paratroopers.

Committing tanks to the attack was equally a case of No Return.

"Has the Artillery arrived?! Flatten Hanyang Town for me!" a Japanese lieutenant colonel shouted.

One Mountain Gun after another was pushed out and began bombarding Hanyang Town.

The Artillery Strike ended.

"All charge! Retake Hanyang Town!"

A battalion of Japanese Army, bayonets fixed on their rifles, charged fiercely toward Hanyang Town.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Dense gunfire rang out again; after a brief lull, the paratroopers' firepower remained extremely powerful, once again shattering the Japanese Army's attack.

Yuncheng, headquarters of the Japanese 37th Division.

Japanese Staff Officers came and went, their footsteps mingling with the ticking of radios.

Lieutenant General Hirata Kenbu of the 37th Division stood before a huge Sand Table, looking at the red circle marking Hanyang Town, his face full of Unbelievable disbelief.

"Where did this Youth Army come from?! How did they directly cross Fenglingdu and seize Hanyang Town?!"

"Paratroopers? You mean paratroopers?! Did the Chinese army fall from the sky and directly occupy Hanyang Town?"

Hirata Kenbu's tone was somewhat puzzled; this mode of operation lay beyond his Renshi.

It was not that he had never heard of paratrooper operations, only that the Other Party had actually delivered nearly two thousand men in succession.

Such an operation, occurring at this time and place—how could one not be Surprised?

Such a scale made Hirata Kenbu find it Incredible.

"Affirmative! The Other Party's firepower is Extremely powerful, possessing a Large Amount of automatic weapons; they currently occupy Hanyang Town, stuck between the 225th Regiment at Fenglingdu and our reinforcements."

"The Support Force sent out has all suffered Heavy Losses!"

Hirata Kenbu felt a sudden wave of dizziness.

He knew very well that losing Hanyang Town meant the 225th Regiment at Fenglingdu could neither Advance nor Retreat, becoming a Turtle in a Jar.

Even more terrible, Hanyang Town could be said to be the second gate entering Shanxi from the South Side.

Lv Muzhi had not yet opened the first gate, yet like a Ghost he had slipped in and opened the second gate first!

Truly a Horrible Opponent!