Chapter 291: The 105mm Howitzer on the South Bank of the Yangtze River, Shi Xiaomao

May 30, 1942, 8 p. m., south bank of the Yangtze River.

Jiang Anguo and Xu Guozhang marched along the riverbank; Xu Guozhang's troops had already arrived early at Yidu and were preparing to cross the river.

Jiang Anguo, with the Guard Company soldiers and the troops of the other three battalions of the Independent Regiment behind him, only just caught up from the rear.

"Little Four, did the other side fire?" Jiang Anguo's ears twitched; he must not have misheard.

The river wind whistled, the waves crashed, yet the familiar metallic tearing sound still pierced the mist, clear and distinct.

Even with wave after wave on the Yangtze, the gunfire across the river could still be heard clearly.

Little Four nodded, "Young Master, that's right, it sounds like our MG42 machine‑gun."

"Do we have a position over there?" Jiang Anguo asked uncertainly.

Independent Regiment commander Yao Quanyi hurried to Jiang Anguo's side, "This spot is probably Baiyang Town; the First Battalion of the whole regiment is over there, perhaps reinforcements of the Little Devil from the Zhijiang direction have arrived."

"Zhijiang is that close to Xiaoting!"

Jiang Anguo had no time to think further and shouted, "Shi Xiaomao."

"Roger." Artillery Company commander Shi Xiaomao sprinted out of the formation, the candy he was eating falling from his mouth as he ran.

Jiang Anguo knew this fellow liked sweets, but the problem was he had been eating them since he opened his eyes that morning.

"Bring the 105mm howitzer onto the River Embankment! Quickly! The Japanese soldiers are firing on our position; I'll make them know the Yangtze River is not their moat but their grave!"

"Yes, Regiment Commander!"

"Yao Quanyi, go inform the opposite side's regiment and have the front‑line troops give the Japanese soldiers' coordinates, so our artillery can strike the devils more precisely." Jiang Anguo issued a second order.

"Yes, Commander." Yao Quanyi replied.

Jiang Anguo originally wanted to keep Yao Quanyi at Xiaoting to command the battle, but he recalled that Yao Quanyi's specialty was urban warfare, so his presence was crucial for the attack on Yichang.

Yao Quanyi excelled at urban warfare.

One could say that by a twist of fate, Jiang Anguo selected from his own regiment commanders the one most suited for this assault.

Shi Xiaomao was still wondering where the 105mm howitzer was; his artillery company had parachuted to Changde and had never even handled a mortar.

The artillery company, 198 men strong, all followed their commander's confusion, asking where the gun was!

While Shi Xiaomao was scratching his head, good news arrived.

Guard Company commander Jiang Xingxue, with eight 105mm howitzers pushed by his Guard Company soldiers, appeared behind the artillery company.

"Company Commander, this is the howitzer the Commander asked me to prepare for you," Jiang Xingxue said, pointing at the howitzer beside him.

"All the shells are here as well; the specific attack targets and distances will be sent to you shortly."

After saying that, Jiang Xingxue led his Guard Company soldiers away; their mission was to protect the Commander.

Seeing the brand‑new 105mm howitzer, Shi Xiaomao's eyes widened considerably and lit up.

"Brothers, move fast; within two minutes I want to see you get the gun set up." Shi Xiaomao shouted.

The artillery soldiers behind him sprang into action at once.

They unfolded the gun carriage on the spot, leveled it, moving with practiced skill.

One has to admit, a strong commander has no weak troops!

Shi Xiaomao was born to do this job.

In no more than one minute fifty‑two seconds, the guns were ready to fire.

That's why the Little Devils lost all air power in Central China; otherwise Jiang Anguo would not have dared to place a howitzer so openly on the Yangtze River bank with hardly any cover.

Yao Quanyi had already obtained the coordinates of Baiyang Town from the opposite regiment.

Shi Xiaomao measured the distance on the map himself; now it was dark, with no reference points, the faint lights on the north bank were barely visible, and the artillery position was two thousand two hundred meters from Baiyang Town across the river.

"Number One, Number Two, two shells, load!" Shi Xiaomao shouted, his eyes fixed on the opposite bank.

"Number One, loading complete!"

"Number Two, loading complete!"

Shi Xiaomao raised his right hand, then lowered it; the signalman's red flag dropped as well.

"Fire."

Dong!

Dong!

Two German 105mm howitzers roared together, their barrels spitting tongues of fire a yard long, the ground trembling.

Two shells tore through the night, screaming across the river at nearly 460 m per second!

Only five seconds later—

Boom!!! Boom!!!

On the east side of Baiyang Town's mountain hollow, one of the shells, by chance, struck a Japanese squad that was reorganizing.

Boom!

The violent explosion burst in the middle of the squad; the fragments instantly harvested the lives of that Japanese squad.

Lieutenant Colonel Jiman Yixiong could not believe what he saw as the shell instantly engulfed his own squad.

"What!" What happened?

"Quick, take cover, the Chinese army is on the opposite bank!" Japanese soldiers near the shore discovered the artillery firing from Nan'an.

The Japanese 232nd Regiment had just set up two Type 92 Infantry Cannons, preparing a retaliatory strike against the Chinese positions on Yazi Mountain.

The Japanese were also highly skilled at night fighting.

They intended to use the darkness and artillery cover to break through the Huaxia army's lines.

At that moment, far away, the Yazi Mountain position.

Zhang Liang saw the artillery fire erupt in Baiyang Town and shouted, "Flashbang!"

"Yes."

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!

Three flash grenades, cutting through this small town on the Riverbank of the Yangtze River.

The brightness illuminated the entire town, like broad daylight.

Jiang Anguo saw clearly through the telescope; of Shi Xiaomao's two shells just now, one definitely hit the target, giving him over three thousand points, which equals the number of a Little Devil squad eliminated.

"Great!" Jiang Anguo punched Xiao Si on the shoulder; Xiao Si lost his balance and crouched half his height.

"All guns, use gun No. 2 as the standard, adjust firing angles," Shi Xiaomao shouted loudly.

"Yes!"

The gun that just hit the Japanese Army target was indeed No. 2.

Seeing this, Shi Xiaomao immediately raised the command flag and shouted, "Load the shells!"

"Five rapid shots, fire."

Boom!

Eight 105 mm howitzers unleashed full fire, firing toward the Japanese‑occupied Baiyang Town opposite.

Five seconds later, all shells landed on Baiyang Town; half the town's buildings were instantly destroyed.

The Little Devils had no chance to retreat, boom boom boom.

What followed was the Artillery Company's second wave of attack, shells raining down on the Japanese Army.

"Don't!"

"Run fast!"

"The Chinese army opened fire again!"

The surviving Little Devils, wishing they had two more legs, hadn't run far before the third and fourth waves of attack came again.

The whole Baiyang Town became like a living hell!

Jiman Yixiong, at the Back, shouted in terror, "No!"

Along with Jiman Yixiong arriving at Baiyang Town were two 92‑type infantry guns; one shell landed right on a barrel, instantly twisting the barrel into a coil, while the other gun was flipped into a mud pit, its shield warped like scrap metal.

Jiman Yixiong's face turned ashen; his fire support, before firing a single shot, was already reduced to ash!