Chapter 384: Assault on Jingzhou

Zuozuo Mu Dao Yi immediately issued the order.

They know they cannot just sit and wait for death.

"Order Zuotian Company, Yiwen Company, to support South Gate," Zuozuo Mu Dao Yi issued the order.

"Hey!" the Messenger took the order and left.

The two companies, in fact, each guarded one of Jingzhou's east and west gates, and Zuozuo Mu Dao Yi now has no recourse; the quickest reinforcement is these two companies.

If they attacked from the East Gate now, there would already be only a few Japanese soldiers at the East Gate.

The Japanese Army's two companies quickly gathered the orders; the Division Commander directly transmitted a do‑or‑die mission: must retake South Gate.

The situation at South Gate is simpler than Jiang Xingxue had imagined.

The Japanese forces have not deployed many troops at this position.

The first wave of fighter aircraft bombed the ground, already causing the Japanese at South City to lose more than half their strength; the second wave of mortar bombardment and the MG42 General Machine Gun's sweep delivered a fatal blow to the Japanese.

"Jiang Sheng, you take the third regiment to attack East City; the rest, follow me to assault West City, and keep communications clear!" Jiang Xingxue quickly issued the attack order.

The Guard Company is missing its second company; Zhang Yuan's second company, stationed at Baiyang Town, is now in Zhijiang and also rushing to Jingzhou.

"Yes, Company Commander," Jiang Sheng said uprightly.

In fact, the Guard Company is already at battalion scale, yet the highest rank remains Company Commander; Jiang Xingxue, Zhang Yuan, and Jiang Sheng are all at Company Commander level, and Jiang Xingxue simultaneously serves as the Guard Company Commander and as the commander of the first company.

"Company Commander, it seems the Little Devil's forces at West Gate are pressing forward."

Jiang Xingxue has already seen Japanese soldiers, holding Type 38 rifles, rushing toward South City; the sun is rising, and the sunlight reflects off the bayonets.

The Little Devil is still trying that trick, shouting wildly, looking to engage Huaxia soldiers in bayonet combat.

He glanced behind, at the East City wall, and saw the same; the Japanese Rising Sun flag fluttered, clearly indicating troops were being moved southward.

"They came quickly!" Jiang Xingxue's mouth twitched into a faint smile.

Jiang Xingxue does not intend to let the Little Devil enter South City wall so smoothly, and orders the Machine Gunner, "Machine Gunner, swivel the barrel and attack the Japanese reinforcement squad."

The soldiers moved swiftly; six MG42 General Machine Guns locked their mounts firmly into the wall embrasure, the barrels angled to target the Japanese reinforcements at West City wall.

"Open fire!"

Rat-a-tat—rat-a-tat—!

Six machine guns roared simultaneously, bullets pouring down like water being splashed!

The first sweep turned the Japanese lieutenant at the front into a sieve. Blood blossoms erupted from his chest, his body convulsed and fell, and his sword clanged to the ground.

The following Japanese troops were caught off guard, instantly falling into a death trap.

The city wall is narrow, just a straight passage, with nowhere to hide.

The Japanese, to reinforce, could either march over the wall or under its base. If reinforcement came from below, that would be fantastic news for the Guard Company.

High hits low, just like hunting wild boar.

Bullets whizzed, striking the bluestone slabs with sparks flying, ricocheting rounds mowing down rear soldiers.

Someone collapsed to the ground, but the following fire made their whole body convulse;

Someone turned to flee, and a bowl‑sized blood hole was blown in their back;

Even a rookie, terrified, crouched in the corner clutching his head, crying "Mother," and the next second was flipped by a burst of bullets.

"Mortar! Ten rapid shots," Jiang Xingxue persisted, ordering the mortar team, whose angle had already been set, to fire.

"Yes, Company Commander."

Boom!

Seconds later, the mortar exploded on the West Wall, killing several Little Devils on the spot.

Zuotian knows clearly that today, even if he dies, he must drive the Chinese army out of South City.

In just ten seconds, the reinforcement squad suffered over half casualties.

Corpses lay scattered on the wall, blood streaming down the stone cracks, forming a dark‑red creek that slowly flowed toward the Jingxiang River.

"Change the ammo belt!" the Machine Gun Squad Leader roared.

The assistant gunner quickly pulled out the empty belt and fitted a new one. The scorching barrel emitted blue smoke, yet did not pause for a moment.

The second sweep began, targeting officers attempting to drag wounded or organize a counterattack.

A Sergeant raised his pistol and shouted "Charge," but before the words left his mouth, a blood hole opened in his forehead.

The Japanese completely collapsed.

Survivors, rolling and crawling, hid beneath the wall, and no one dared to show their heads.

Jiang Xingxue stood on the tower, looking at the corpses piled on the horse path, and coldly said, "Continue the advance, give the Little Devil no breathing room, push to North Gate and link up with the main force."

When the thunderous collapse of South Gate's water gate echoed to the north of the city, the 34th Regiment of the 11th Division's assault unit burst into the sky, and the entire army launched the final attack.

"Charge—!"

"Kill the Little Devil! Drive them back to their homeland!"

The roar rolled like thunder.

The 34th Regiment, over a thousand troops, surged like a breached dam, leaping from the trench, rifles in hand, great swords swinging, lunging ferociously at the North Gate wall.

Within this force, nearly forty percent of the soldiers are locals from Hubei—Yichang, Jingmen, Jingzhou, Huanggang, Xiaogan, Mianyang—whose hometowns have been under occupation for more than four years.

Many left home as youths; now returning, they are veterans covered in gunpowder smoke.

They remember their mothers' tearful farewells at the dock, and their fathers' words on the field ridge, "Do not forget the homeland."

Today, at last we can personally drive the invaders out of the Jingchu lands!

"For the elders and kin of Jingzhou!" a Platoon Leader roared, a cloth sack hanging from his chest, containing the soil he took from his hometown before leaving Jingzhou.

All the warriors felt a surge in their hearts, their bullets striking every Little Devil they saw, without mercy.

The artillery fire had already paved the way for them.

Since the main force arrived at Jingzhou yesterday, the 11th Division's Artillery Battalion, the Independent Regiment's 105 mm howitzers, and the Sherman tanks' 76 mm main guns have taken turns bombarding the North City wall.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The thousand‑year rammed earth crumbles before the high‑explosive bomb like a crisp biscuit.

The Ming‑era blue‑brick bastion was blown into powder, the Corner Tower turned into a charred skeleton, the willows along the moat were all snapped, their trunks smoldering with embers.

This ancient city that once witnessed the rise of Chu, the Three Kingdoms' wars, and dynastic changes, before the steel torrent of modern warfare, is astonishingly fragile, unable to withstand a single blow.

But the soldiers of the 34 448th Regiment have no sorrow in their hearts, only hatred and vows.

"My village is only thirty li east of the city!" a Machine Gunner shouted while spraying fire, "The Japanese burned my family shrine; today I'll use their blood to sacrifice to my ancestors!"

A Tank rolled over the collapsed breach in the city wall, its tracks lifting up broken bricks and rubble.

Infantry followed closely, Hand Grenades clearing the way, submachine guns sweeping the houses.

Every street and alley became a battlefield of revenge.

On the city tower, the remaining Japanese Army fought in panic, but their morale had already collapsed.

Someone, seeing the South Gate fall and the north side under fierce assault, actually abandoned his gun, leapt down the wall, and fled into civilian houses.

Regiment Commander Cao Jinlun of the 34 448th Regiment stood at the breach, gazing at the rolling black smoke rising inside the city; his voice choked yet firm: "Brothers, we… are home."

At this moment, toward the South Gate, Jiang Anguo's Guard Company had already linked up with the vanguard of the 11th Division.

Two armies, one coming from the south, one arriving from the north, met victoriously in the heart of Jingzhou.

The millennial Jingzhou, at last, returns to its former lord amid the blood and fire of Huaxia's sons and daughters.