Chapter 413

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The entire North China war situation had been mobilized.

The Japanese fortress at Fenglingdu Ferry Crossing had already become a giant smoking grave.

The first wave of Youth Army river-crossing assault troops had successfully landed.

As the steamboats and motorboats docked, over a thousand elite soldiers carrying weapons, stepping through Yellow River mudflats deep enough to reach their knees, launched close-range fire toward the Japanese positions on the bank.

The Shaanxi Army Fourth Group Army, which had broken out from Zhongtiao Mountain, had also broken through the outer defensive line by now, and the two forces formally met up before the fortress's communication trench.

A Shaanxi Army soldier watched the Youth Army troops rushing past him, his eyes wide open.

He held a well-worn Hanyang 88 in his hands, while a Youth Army soldier beside him carried a huge iron canister on his back that he had never seen before.

"Brother, what's that thing on your back? Are you a cook?" a Shaanxi Army soldier asked instinctively.

Before the other could answer, a Youth Army lieutenant ahead shouted loudly:

"Engineers! Flamethrowers ready!"

This Youth Army engineer, mistaken by friendly troops for a cook, rushed several steps to the front of the line and dove into a trench.

Only to see him press the switch in his hand, and a vermilion-red fire dragon spurted out, instantly filling the trench.

The terrifying high temperature stirred visible ripples in the air, followed by the Japanese hidden within, letting out chilling, miserable cries for help.

Thick smoke carrying a pungent burnt smell drifted out; the Japanese who had wanted to lay an ambush in the trench were instantly reduced to charcoal.

The Shaanxi Army soldiers sucked in a breath of cold air—indeed a cook, turning the little devils into roast meat!

The troops continued advancing, sweeping through the Japanese inside the fortress.

The fortress was very complex.

Trenches and bunkers were interconnected.

Every time they reached a corner or a dugout, Youth Army soldiers cleared it with hand grenades and flamethrowers.

"White phosphorus grenades! Watch your cover!" a Youth Army soldier hissed.

Then he threw a white phosphorus grenade into a bunker that had already ceased fire, and a dull explosion sounded.

No earth-shattering explosion, but countless white smoke and sparks rushed out from the embrasures.

Several Japanese, covered in white smoke, with fires that couldn't be put out even rolling in mud, rushed out of the dugout wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves.

Their ammunition had run out; they had originally wanted to hide in the bunker to escape calamity.

Unexpectedly, the Youth Army threw a white phosphorus grenade in, setting all the Japanese inside the bunker on fire—burned alive!

The Youth Army's sweeping speed was fast; they moved in groups of three, one carrying an M1 Garand, one holding an M3 submachine gun, and the last one carrying various explosives.

Under powerful firepower, the core fortress of Fenglingdu gradually fell into paralysis.

Across from Fenglingdu—Tongguan.

Sun Liren quickly walked up to Lv Muzhi.

"Lu Commander! The core area of the Fenglingdu fortress has basically been cleared."

"We found the corpse of a Japanese colonel in the dark bunker in the deepest part; he committed seppuku, his intestines spilled all over the ground."

"According to the prisoner's confession, Hamada Kazuki, before committing suicide, ordered the remaining over nine hundred remnant soldiers to evacuate from the fortress."

"They are now fleeing at full speed toward Hanyang Town to the north, presumably to link up with reinforcements there and launch a pincer attack on the Special Airborne Regiment in the town."

Lv Muzhi knew very well Lv Ziqing's current situation; although the Airborne Regiment was well-equipped, it was after all a lightly equipped force.

Although he kept using transport aircraft to airdrop weapons to Hanyang Town nonstop, he couldn't withstand the enemy's overwhelming numbers.

"Ziqing and them are holding on with great difficulty over there; orders have been sent to our army troops that have entered Fenglingdu."

"Not a moment's rest; advance at a run, rush at full speed to support the Airborne Regiment in Hanyang Town!"

"Also tell the airfield: as long as I don't call them to stop, every two hours, they must airdrop supplies once to the Special Airborne Regiment in Hanyang Town!"

With Lv Muzhi's orders issued, the Youth Army, which had just stabilized its position, moved again, rushing toward Hanyang Town eight kilometers to the north.

Transport aircraft, escorted by fighter planes, fully loaded with supplies, flew toward Hanyang Town.

On the Yellow River, engineer troops were pushing pontoon bridge equipment into the Yellow River, preparing to build a heavy floating bridge.

The Japanese at Fenglingdu had already been wiped out, so there was no need to worry about the pontoon bridge equipment being destroyed by the Japanese.

Once the heavy floating bridge was completed, the Youth Army's tanks, mules and horses, vehicles... could all be transported into Shanxi!

By then, when the armored forces entered Hanyang Town, the Youth Army could strike all the way to the gates of Taiyuan City in one breath!

At this time, Hanyang Town had truly become a meat grinder.

Airborne Regiment Commander Lv Ziqing crouched in a trench, listening to gunfire and cannon fire coming from all directions.

"Regiment Commander! The devils to the north are charging up again!"

"A large number of devils have also been discovered to the south; they look like routed troops fleeing from Fenglingdu!"

"We're surrounded!"

Lv Ziqing spat out the mud in his mouth and changed to a new Tomson magazine.

"What's there to panic about! Still the same saying: paratroopers are born to be surrounded!"

"As long as we hold this place! Lu Commander's tanks can then advance smoothly into the northern plains!"

"Anyway, we can't withdraw; everyone might as well leave their lives here!"

Hanyang Town had special terrain and a strategic location.

North of Hanyang Town was the vast and flat Jinnan Basin.

South of Hanyang Town, on the road to Fenglingdu, the terrain suddenly narrowed, and with the Yellow River flooding, the actual passage left for the army was exceptionally narrow—a narrow passage less than two kilometers long.

As shown in the diagram, west of Hanyang Town, much of the area was alluvial tidal flats from the Yellow River, difficult to march on; in reality, they could only march along the foot of Zhongtiao Mountain, where the Tongpu Railway ran.

The Japanese Army at Fenglingdu should originally have retreated to Hanyang Town to continue defending, but this place was already controlled by the Special Airborne Regiment.

The two thousand paratroopers led by Lv Ziqing had held out for over twenty-four hours straight amidst these broken walls and ruins.

The battle fought here was intensely fierce.

Every soldier's eyes were bloodshot, but the weapons in their hands never stopped firing.

Lv Ziqing made full use of the weapons the Japanese Army had left in Hanyang Town.

The Type 94 Mountain Guns and Anti-tank Guns of the Japanese Army inside the town were now venting firepower wildly at the open ground to the north.

"Two o'clock direction, fire!"

The Japanese mountain gun sprayed out scorching shells, blooming among the Japanese Army's charging columns.

In the sky, the roar of huge engines would sound over Hanyang Town every few hours.

That was the DC-3 transport aircraft formation mobilized by Lv Muzhi; they were like tireless giant birds, constantly taking off from Luoyang, flying over the Yellow River, and arriving over Hanyang Town.

One white parachute after another descended slowly carrying heavy wooden crates, filled with combat supplies urgently needed by the paratroopers.

They were crates of Thompson Submachine Gun ammunition, brand-new bazooka rocket shells, and M2 Heavy Machine Guns that could turn Japanese tanks into sieves......

There were also bag after bag of lunch meat cans, chocolate, and so on.

There was even morphine and penicillin needed for first aid.

Lv Muzhi was almost sparing no cost to smash supplies into Hanyang Town, just so the Special Airborne Regiment could hold out a little longer.

Under dozens of pure white parachutes hung airdrop crates.

Some fell inside Hanyang Town, while others fell near Hanyang Town.

"Commander Lu's airdrop has arrived!"

"The airdrop dropped, hurry and go pick up the airdrop gun!"