Chapter 369: Battle of Dangyang (Part Two)

Only the Japanese Army command post was seen, flames shooting into the sky, shockwaves overturning tables and chairs.

Shrapnel like knives swept horizontally all around.

Zhongcun's right arm was torn to the shoulder, blood spouting three feet; Xiaolin's abdomen was pierced, intestines gushed out, and he staggered to his knees.

"Uh…" Zhongcun covered his severed arm, blood oozing from his fingers, yet he still roared, "Enemy attack! All… all the city…"

Before he could finish, the second shell hit the target.

It directly knocked both Dangyang's 17th Brigade battalion commanders to the ground.

It didn't even give any chance at all.

The 150th Division was lucky; the mortar crew casually fired and blew up the two highest‑ranking Japanese officers in Dangyang.

"Tadadada—!"

MG42 machine‑gun fire rang from the southern ridge, bullets sweeping into the outer city towers of Dangyang like splashing water.

Dangyang originally had city walls, but years of war and floods had long eroded them, so the Japanese Army in Dangyang actually had no defenses to hold.

The Japanese Army's only reliance was the fortifications built outside the city.

Of course, the 116th Regiment and the Independent Mixed 17th Brigade were garrisoned here; no one would expect a Dangyang garrison of nearly five or six thousand to be attacked by Huaxia forces.

At this time, of course, there weren't that many troops; they couldn't even muster two thousand.

"The battalion commander is dead!"

"Bad news, the Shina Army has launched an attack."

After the two battalion commanders died, the Japanese Army fell into chaos.

Of course, a few company commanders survived, but the effect was clearly limited.

"Don't panic, don't panic, counterattack, counterattack!" a Japanese officer drew his sword and organized the soldiers to counterattack.

But within Dangyang city, a thing called fear already surrounded it; Yichang fell; the 116th Regiment was bombed by the Shina Army and annihilated; the Independent Mixed 17th Brigade was wiped out at Zengjiagang by the Shina Army; the Shina Army sent air units to strike Dangyang Airport.

"Shina Army has launched an attack!" the sentry shrieked.

Xu Guozhang stood on the southern ridge, raised his binoculars, his gaze like a hawk, sweeping over the southern part of Dangyang city.

He saw the Japanese outside the city in chaotic disarray, sentries abandoning posts and fleeing, machine‑gun positions unmanned, some even dropping their rifles while escaping. Farther, smoke rose at the city gate as if broken troops were charging.

Previously, Xu Guozhang would never have been associated with the "elite".

He even had a false impression that perhaps he had overestimated the Japanese with such troops before.

"Something's wrong…" he squinted, "They're not setting up defenses, they're fleeing for their lives!"

At that moment, a muffled explosion rang inside the city; the Japanese ammunition depot had been hit by a 150th Division mortar shell, and the violent blast further panicked the Japanese.

"Good opportunity!" Xu Guozhang slammed his binoculars down, drew his carbine, "Messenger! Sound the charge!"

"Yes!"

"Woo— Woo— Woo—!"

The bright horn tore through the morning mist.

"Kill—!"

The 3,000 soldiers of the 150th Division fixed their gaze, fearless, surging like a steel torrent from the ridges, ravines, and forests.

From the forced march last night to this charge, they never stopped a step, and their morale spread like wildfire.

Because Dangyang was right before them, killing the Little Devil was for today!

"First Battalion! Direct assault on the South Gate! Second Battalion! Flank the West Wall and encircle! rd Battalion! Suppress the eastern bunker with fire!" Xu Guozhang shouted while running, his voice cutting through the gunfire.

"Machine Gunners! Cover the charge! MG42 on the earthen slope, suppress the city‑top fire!"

"Mortar team! Six rapid shots, take out the opposite machine‑gun position! Quickly!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The 60 mm mortars fired in salvo, three precise rounds covering the Japanese South Gate machine‑gun nest. Sandbags were blown away, and two Little Devils, man and rifle, were flipped over.

"Tadtadtad—!"

Four MG42s opened fire together, 7.92 mm bullets spraying like silver threads, pinning the attempting Japanese counterattack to the ground.

Sichuan soldiers brandished MP40 submachine guns, four hand grenades at their waists, charging the enemy like ferocious tigers.

Someone leapt over the trench, flinging a grenade into the gate opening; an older veteran swung a broad‑backed cleaver, hacking the fleeing Little Devil's neck.

"Turtle son! Still dare to run?!" a squad leader roared, slashing a Japanese Second Lieutenant who had stripped and re‑dressed.

Inside the city, the remaining defenders completely collapsed.

The Japanese 116th Regiment's company commander Shanben Wufu, seeing Dangyang about to fall to the Shina forces, astonishingly had his soldiers raise a white flag.

"Surrender!"

"The Japanese have surrendered!"

After repeatedly killing many Japanese soldiers, the 150th Division saw a white flag raised inside the city and doubted its authenticity.

But when Shanben Wufu led a group of 116th Regiment soldiers out of a civilian house in Dangyang, they brandished their commander aloft, and behind them Japanese soldiers also raised Type 38 rifles.

It seemed the Japanese truly surrendered.

Seeing this, the Japanese soldiers of the 90th Battalion and the 91st Battalion also laid down their weapons and raised their hands.

More and more Japanese soldiers abandoned resistance and left their positions.

In less than forty minutes, Dangyang returned to Huaxia forces.

"It's simply unbelievable," Xu Guozhang said, watching his troops gather the captured Japanese soldiers.

He knew he only led a regiment of three thousand men to attack the Japanese‑occupied Dangyang, yet there were still over two thousand Little Devils inside.

Xu Guozhang felt a chill run down his spine.

If the Little Devils truly resisted, Xu Guozhang's 449th Regiment would have to sacrifice many soldiers.

Now the 150th Division entered Dangyang in a victorious posture, and Xu Guozhang immediately dispatched soldiers to secure Dangyang's key routes.

"Lu Zongjing." Xu Guozhang shouted loudly.

Regiment Commander of the 449th Regiment Lu Zongjing squeezed through the crowd, "Here, Division Commander!"

"Quickly, you immediately take men and seize the vessels near the Juzhang River; we still need these ships for the next assault on Dangyang." Xu Guozhang issued the order.

"Yes." Lu Zongjing instantly led his soldiers charging toward the Juzhang River.

Especially after learning that the Juzhang River bridge had been bombed, Xu Guozhang ordered the troops to secure the riverside vessels; indeed, many Little Devils were still guarding, unaware that the Japanese Army in Dangyang had surrendered yet still resisted with weapons.

The MP40 Submachine Gun sprayed a burst, killing those Japanese soldiers outright.

Xu Guozhang's command was simple: anyone still holding a weapon had not surrendered and could be shot dead on the spot.

This was also Jiang Anguo's countless admonitions; in his view, it meant killing everyone, leaving no prisoners. Yet Xu Guozhang and Hu Lian thought that capturing prisoners would be even more valuable.

Thus, Jiang Anguo, together with Hu Lian and Xu Guozhang, made a three‑point agreement: if the Japanese still held weapons, they must be shot, otherwise it would cause great harm to themselves.

No one could know how crazy Little Japan's fanatical militarism could be.

Dangyang's many Japanese surrenders were due to immense psychological pressure; layer upon layer of blows caused even the fanatical militarism to be defeated by reality.