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Text Chapter 229 A river of blood

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    "Boom! Boom!" "Ta-ta-ta-ta!" The sounds of mortars and heavy machine guns rang out, wantonly slaughtering the soldiers of the 11th Battalion of the Japanese Second Division who were crossing the river.  Soldiers were constantly shot and fell into the river, dyeing the river red.  There was still a distance of less than twenty meters, but it became an insurmountable chasm for the Japanese soldiers.

    "Come on! Rush over to me." The captain of the 11th Battalion, a short but strong major officer in his thirties, waved his command knife and ordered loudly.

    Under his order, the Japanese soldiers braved the hail of bullets from the Western Sichuan Army and moved step by step to the other side of the river.  If it were on flat ground, a distance of more than 20 meters could be crossed in a few seconds.  But in a river more than half a meter deep, it takes much more time to cross this distance.  Not to mention the powerful firepower of the Western Sichuan Army.  A large number of Japanese soldiers fell on the charging road.

    However, the casualties of their companions not only did not make these Japanese timid, but instead inspired the wildness in their hearts, making them howl and attack the south bank of the Jiujiang River like wild wolves.

    The battle lasted less than ten minutes, and more than half of the 11th Battalion of the Japanese Second Division had been lost.  So far, no one has successfully crossed the Jiujiang River and set foot on the defensive position of the Western Sichuan Army.

    "Order the troops to withdraw! The firepower of the Western Sichuan Army is too strong. They are not prepared for a charge, and they are just letting the soldiers die!" said the commander of the Second Division, Sakuma Mata, who was watching the battle.

    The retreating bugle sounded, and the attacking Japanese troops retreated like a tide.  However, in the process, many were killed by the Western Sichuan Army.  During the attack, there were more than a thousand people in a group, but when they retreated, less than half of them were left.

    "General, the Chinese firepower is too strong, and there is a river blocking it. We can't break through their defense line!" Captain of the 11th Battalion.  With red eyes, he reported to Sakuma Zuomataichu.

    Compared with the Western Sichuan Army, the equipment of the Japanese Army is simply several levels behind.  The current Japanese army is basically equipped with Murata 18-year-old single-shot guns.  You need to fire one shot and load one bullet, and the rate of fire is extremely low.  Although the Japanese army has now begun to equip Murata's 22-year-old repeating guns, so far.  Only the Guards Division and the Fourth Division are equipped.  The rest of the troops.  They still use this single-shot gun.  Although they seized a lot of repeating guns from the Qing army during last year's battle, especially Mauser 1888 rifles, they still had different bullets.  In order not to increase the pressure on logistics, the Japanese army did not change their uniforms at all.  In terms of artillery, during the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese army had less than 500 artillery pieces, while the Manchus had more than 1,700 artillery pieces.  The Japanese army captured a large number of cannons from the Manchus, which greatly improved their artillery.  But compared with the Western Sichuan Army, their artillery is still quite weak.

    "Order the artillery to fire to clear obstacles for the infantry's attack. The remaining five brigades of the 4th Brigade are ready to attack!" Lieutenant General Sakuma Mata ordered.  The strength of Western Sichuan seemed to be beyond his imagination. He suddenly realized that it was not as simple as he thought to break through the Western Sichuan Army's defense line.

    nine in the morning.  The Japanese army began a large-scale artillery bombardment of the Western Sichuan Army's defense lines.  Originally, each division of the Japanese army only had 24 field guns, 12 mountain guns, and a small number of 90mm mortars.  The artillery used by the Japanese Army was originally the old German Krupp cannon. In 1881, the Osaka Arsenal successfully imitated two types of bronze-mounted retractable artillery from Italy and other countries.  Among them, the 70mm field gun has a maximum range of 5,000 meters, and the 70mm mountain gun has a maximum range of 3,000 meters.  But after defeating the New Manchu Army last year.  The Japanese Army obtained a large number of advanced artillery pieces from the Qing Army, including the most advanced German Krupp tube-retractable rapid artillery and so on.  This brought the number of artillery equipped to each division of the Japanese army to more than 60.

    And in western Sichuan.  Each division's artillery battalion is equipped with 12 155mm heavy howitzers and 36 105mm light howitzers.  The artillery companies of each regiment are equipped with 6 105mm light howitzers and 6 Type 82 infantry guns.  The artillery platoons of the following battalions are also equipped with two Type 82 infantry guns and two 120mm heavy mortars.  This leaves each division of the Western Sichuan Army with 12 155mm heavy howitzers, 54 105mm light howitzers, 36 Type 82 infantry guns, and 18 120mm heavy mortars.  Among them, the heavy mortar was only finalized and equipped with troops last year and was named the Type 94 heavy mortar.  The Type 94 120mm heavy mortar weighs 94 kilograms, has a shell weight of 6.5 kilograms, and a range of 3 kilometers.  The number of artillery pieces in each division of the Western Sichuan Army has far exceeded that of the Japanese Army. This does not include the 60mm light mortars and 80mm medium mortars equipped by the companies and platoons below.  However, the 23rd Division needs to defend a 4-kilometer-long defense line, while the Japanese Second Division only needs to select a section of the position to attack.

    "Boom! Boom!" Shells fell one after another on the position of the 3rd Battalion of the 232nd Regiment of the Western Sichuan Army.  1Suddenly, gunpowder smoke enveloped the entire kilometer-long position of the 3rd Battalion.

    When the Japanese army started shelling, the Western Sichuan Army had already penetrated into the anti-gun holes that had been dug.  The Japanese artillery was less powerful, and even the artillery holes made of civil structures were enough to withstand the Japanese bombardment.

    "Damn it, the Japs have started shelling, and I don't know if the 3rd Battalion can stop it. Order the artillery company to launch a counterattack, and also request reinforcements from the artillery battalion of the division." Lu Hanyuan, the commander of the 232nd Regiment, ordered.

    A few minutes later, six 105mm light howitzers from the artillery company of the 232nd Regiment opened fire.  The infantry artillery did not fire because of its range.

    "Boom!" A shell landed on the Japanese artillery position, and several Japanese soldiers who were operating a field gun were blown away.

    Subsequently, several artillery shells fell and hit the Japanese artillery position, destroying two field guns and a mountain gun.  A dozen Japanese artillerymen were killed.

    "Suppress! Suppress the enemy's artillery fire!" the commander of the field artillery regiment of the Japanese Army's Second Division ordered loudly.  The Japanese field artillery quickly turned its muzzle and suppressed the artillery positions of the Western Sichuan Army.  Those mountain artillery, due to their range, continued to bombard the position of the 3rd Battalion of the 232nd Regiment.

    "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The artillerymen from both sides came and went, launching an exciting artillery battle. Although the 195mm light howitzers equipped by the artillery company of the 232nd Regiment were powerful, they were too few in number to compete with the Japanese army.  This was countered by the massive field artillery of the Second Division.  Fortunately, at this time, the divisional artillery battalion of the 23rd Division opened fire, which alleviated the crisis.

    As soon as the 12 155mm heavy howitzers and 36 105mm light howitzers of the artillery battalion of the 23rd Division opened fire, the artillery position of the Japanese Second Division was immediately plunged into a sea of ??flames.  Especially the 42-kilogram 155mm heavy howitzer shell. Every time it explodes, it will create a crater more than ten meters wide. No living thing within a radius of tens of meters can escape.

    "Baga, a division of the Western Sichuan Army is actually equipped with so many heavy artillery!" Lieutenant General Sakuma Mata's face was ashen.  The firepower of both sides is not at the same level at all.  If this fight continues, the Japanese Army will really suffer.

    At the rear of the Second Division, General Yamagata Aritomo who was watching the battle was also shocked by the firepower of the Western Sichuan Army. Although they had received some information about the Western Sichuan Army's firepower before, they all scoffed.  If one division is equipped with so many cannons, how much money and steel will it cost?  With Japan's resources, it is certainly impossible to achieve such luxury.  Therefore, they also believed that the intelligence obtained was completely exaggerated.  But now, they realize the facts.

    "Order Lieutenant General Katsura Taro's Third Division and Lieutenant General Nozu Michizuki's Fifth Division to also launch an attack to share the pressure of the Second Division!" Yamagata Aritomo ordered.  Since the Japanese Army does not have an advantage in terms of firepower, it only needs to take advantage of its military strength.  The Western Sichuan Army across the Jiujiang River only has one division, and he has eight divisions in his hands.  The strength of the army is eight times that of the Western Sichuan Army!

    "Boom! Boom!" As the Japanese Third Division and Fifth Division joined the battle, the entire Jiujiang River defense line fell into flames of war.  The Japanese army launched a massive bombardment on the Western Sichuan Army's defense line.  Although the artillery battalion of the 23rd Division of the Western Sichuan Army is powerful, it is difficult for two fists to defeat four hands, and it has never been able to take care of the entire front.  In order to preserve the strength of the artillery, the 105mm light howitzer had to be withdrawn one kilometer and direct its firepower at the Jiujiang River instead of the Japanese artillery positions.  Of course, the 155mm heavy howitzer has a slightly longer range and can attack the Japanese army unscrupulously.

    At 10 o'clock in the morning, in addition to the 11th Brigade of the 4th Brigade of the Japanese Second Division, five other brigades launched a fierce attack on the defense line of the 3rd Battalion of the 232nd Regiment of the Western Sichuan Army.  They adopted a pig-like attack, also called a wave attack, which means that it continues like a wave until the target is defeated.

    Five infantry brigades formed five attack waves, rushed into the Jiujiang River, and struggled to attack the other side.  The light and heavy firepower of the 2nd Battalion of the 232nd Regiment of the Western Sichuan Army opened fire instantly.  A large number of artillery shells fell in the Japanese attacking formation, causing the Japanese soldiers to fall on their backs.  The heavy machine gun made a low roar, harvesting lives wantonly.  One by one, Japanese soldiers fell into the river after being shot.  As more and more Japanese soldiers were killed, more and more corpses piled up in the river. The Jiujiang River, which was not wide at first, was almost blocked by the corpses of Japanese soldiers, and the river water was completely dyed bright red.  .

    "Attack! Attack!" A large number of Japanese soldiers, ignoring the death of their companions, led by officers at all levels, launched an attack on the other side like crazy.  The Japanese artillery also bombarded the Western Sichuan Army's defense lines to provide support for the infantry.

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