"Is there an earthquake?"
Nakamura was frowning as he looked around.
The Japanese often experienced earthquakes, so they did not panic. Many of them had left the mainland for too long and had not experienced earthquakes. They even felt nostalgic.
"It's not an earthquake!"
Nakamura Yuto was looking at the mountain valley not far away. If it was an earthquake, the mountain should have reacted, but there was no reaction at all.
The ground shook slightly.
"What's that?"
Nakamura Takeshi frowned. He had only seen such a situation when he visited the Tank Regiment before.
Could it be that there was at least one regiment of chariots nearby?
How could that be? Nakamura Yuki threw this ridiculous idea to the back of his mind.
In the entire northwestern and central regions of Jinxi, the Guizi didn't even have a complete chariot regiment. Only the 4th division had a chariot brigade.
Not to mention the Jinsui Army and the 8th Route Army. Many of them had never even seen a chariot before.
"Could it be a cavalry regiment?"
Nakamura Yutomasa thought of a possibility. Within this area, there was indeed an active cavalry regiment of the 8th route army. They appeared and disappeared unpredictably, giving the Japanese a headache.
However, at this moment, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the logistics troops behind the Japanese.
"What's that!"
Some of the soldiers in the supply unit looked behind them in horror.
On the plains in the distance, steel behemoths suddenly appeared and were rushing towards the 21st Brigade.
"That's a tank!"
One of the Japanese said with trembling legs.
However, they did not see the symbol of the Japanese on these tanks. Instead, they saw the symbol of the Jinsui Army.
This meant that these steel monsters were not theirs, but their enemies had surrounded them from behind.
"Enemy attack!"
One of the Japanese shouted with all his strength.
Almost all the soldiers of the 21st Brigade looked over.
They also noticed the Steel Mages charging at them from behind.
"Nani!"
Nakamura was looking at the tanks that had suddenly appeared in the distance with his binoculars. He had a lot of questions in his mind. Where did the enemy's armored troops come from?
However, there was no time for him to think.
"Artillery unit, turn the cannons around and target the enemy's armored forces behind!”
"Prepare for battle!"
After the initial panic, the Japanese soldiers of the 21st Brigade quickly got busy.
The soldiers kept changing the direction of the tanks, preparing to fire their cannons at the tanks.
There were also some Japanese Machine Gunners who hurriedly set up their heavy machine guns.
Their heavy machine guns could penetrate tanks. This was the judgment of the Japanese. Their own Little Bean tanks could indeed be penetrated by heavy machine guns.
But they weren't facing Little Bean's tank.
Instead, there were 36 M4 Sherman heavy tanks.
Not to mention the heavy machine guns of the Japanese, even the mountain cannons of the Japanese might not be able to penetrate the armor of the Sherman tank.
At this moment, on Phoenix Ridge.
Yu Yang looked at the armored battalion in the distance and smiled.
"Inform the Heavy Artillery Battalion to get to work. Let the Japanese have a taste of being blown up!”
"Yes, sir!"
The Heavy Artillery Battalion's position was located on the reverse slope. This way, they could ensure that they would not be discovered by the Japanese and would not be found by the Japanese.
"Report, Battalion Commander Yu has sent a message. The armored battalion has launched a general attack on the 21st Brigade of the Japanese!”
Hearing this, the Heavy Artillery Battalion's commander, Zhang Dapao, immediately jumped down from the ammunition box and spat out the foxtail grass in his mouth.
"Brothers, let's get to work. Scouts, report the location of the Japanese!”
"Yes, southeast direction, nine kilometers away…"
After hearing the report from the observer, Zhang Dapao immediately rubbed his hands and said,""All cannons, 42 degrees. Prepare for a round of test fire. Observer, report the landing point of the shells!”
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, the artillery turned the wheel and adjusted the angle of the cannons to 42 degrees.
The loading crew in charge of ammunition opened the cannon and loaded the high-explosive shells into it.
" Cannon 1 is ready!"
"Second cannon ready!"
" Cannon number three is ready!"
“……”
After the 16 105mm howitzers were all prepared, Zhang Dapao exerted some force with his hand.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
“……”
Sixteen heavy cannons opened fire one after another.
The incessant sounds of cannon fire caused muffled thunder to ring out from the top of Phoenix Ridge.
Ding Wei and the others were shocked and looked in the direction of Phoenix Ridge.
"This is the sound of a 105mm heavy cannon. This 357th Regiment still has heavy cannons?”
Ding Wei was shocked.
Previously, they thought that the 75mm howitzers and the large number of mortars were all the cannons of the 357th Regiment.
Who would have thought that the 357th Regiment would actually hide sixteen heavy cannons at the rear of the formation?
It was a real heavy artillery, a heavy artillery with a caliber of more than 100 millimeters.
The roar from Phoenix Ridge spread to the Japanese camp nine kilometers away.
Nakamura Yuuki had a bad feeling when he heard the thunder.
However, before Nakamura could react.
The shells had already landed around the 21st Brigade.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
“……”
The cannonballs continued to fall.
The caliber of the 105mm heavy artillery was 30mm larger than the 75mm field artillery, but its power was several times higher.
The shockwave from the explosion blew away all the ghosts within a few dozen meters of the landing point.
The Japanese who were slightly closer to the center of the explosion were directly killed.
Sixteen shells landed around or in the Japanese camp.
"Report, cannon number three, cannon number four…cannon number thirteen's landing point was off, the rest of the cannons hit their targets!”
The observer reported the situation loudly.
"Immediately adjust the deviation cannon by one degree. Continue firing the remaining cannons. Fire five rounds of rapid fire!”
Zhang Dapao immediately ordered again.
After hearing that it was five rounds of rapid fire, all the cannoneers immediately got busy.
Pulling the bolt, he opened the barrel, pulled out the shell, and stuffed a new shell into the barrel.
This was repeated five times.
In just over a minute, five cannonballs had been fired!
On the top of Phoenix Ridge, muffled thunder-like booms kept ringing out.
With every sound, a cannonball flew towards the 21st Brigade.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The 21st Brigade was surrounded by explosions and flames. Cannons kept falling.
One by one, the Japanese soldiers fell.
Wails and screams rang out continuously.
The Japanese soldiers fled in all directions. They did not dare to gather together, afraid that the shells would land on their heads.
When the bombardment ended, the Japanese soldiers slowly raised their heads and looked around. Was the bombardment finally over?
The ghost didn't want to experience the nightmarish scene again.
At this moment, the 21st Brigade of the Japanese was filled with corpses.
Sixteen cannons, five rounds of rapid firing and one round of test firing. Six rounds of artillery fired nearly a hundred 10mm shells, causing huge casualties to the Japanese.
However, the nightmare of the Japanese was not over yet.
The armored troops behind them had already begun to rush towards the 21st Brigade. They lined up in a row and more than 30 tanks charged together, causing the surviving Japanese soldiers to feel despair.
They had never experienced such a scene before.
The enemy in front of them wanted to destroy them all, leaving no one alive.
Yu Zhiqian's armored battalion had already reached the 21st Brigade's supply unit when the bombardment ended.
The M1 Sherman tank directly crushed the supply troops.
Some of the Japanese were so scared that they stood there in a daze. The tanks directly ran over their bodies.
Meanwhile, some of the Japanese were desperately firing at the tanks with their rifles.
However, other than making a sound, it had no other effect.
"Retreat!"
Nakamura ordered with an ugly expression.
He did not expect an armored unit to appear here. He was not prepared to face an armored unit at all. Moreover, it was a field battle. If he did not retreat now, the casualties would be even greater.
The messenger quickly gave the order to retreat.
However, the armored battalion appeared behind the 21st Brigade and blocked the retreating route of the Japanese.
If the Japanese wanted to retreat, they would have to break out from Phoenix Ridge or retreat from the front of the armored battalion!
While the Japanese were still hesitating about where to retreat, the armored battalion had already made a decision for them.
The tanks began to turn their cannons and fire at the densely populated areas.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The 76mm tank cannon had become a nightmare for the Japanese. After a shell landed, more than a dozen Japanese would be killed.
"Charge over!"
A Japanese lieutenant general took his official sword and led the charge towards the armored battalion.
As long as he charged over, he would be able to survive.
With the officer leading the way, the Japanese soldiers immediately followed behind and rushed towards the armored battalion.
But soon, the Japanese fell into a deeper despair.
The machine guns on the tanks began to spit out tongues of fire and poured ammunition.
The M4 Sherman tank was equipped with two 7.62 caliber machine guns.
When they saw the Japanese charging over, the machine guns immediately opened fire.
"Da da da…"
"Da da da…"
"Da da da…"
One after another, the Japanese were killed, and the armored battalion continued to clear out the Japanese.
They maintained their speed and charged towards the center of the 21st Brigade.
"Brigade commander, let's retreat. We don't have any weapons to deal with the armored forces!”
"What about calling for air support?"
"It's too late. Even if the bomber from the Army Air Force arrives at the battlefield, it will take at least an hour.”
In other words, the current 21st Brigade could not even withstand an hour of attack from the armored forces.
"Order the troops to break out of the encirclement from Phoenix Ridge. There's no need to continue fighting. Leave Phoenix Ridge quickly!”
Takeshi Nakamura did not continue to argue and directly ordered.
"Ha Yi!"
"All troops, move towards Phoenix Ridge!”
The Japanese officer began to shout and pass down orders.
Now, the Japanese officers could not find their subordinates at all.
The Japanese's command system was in a mess.
If it weren't for the fact that Nakamura Yumasa was still around, there might have been a situation where everyone fought for themselves.
After the Japanese soldiers began to retreat toward Phoenix Ridge, the commander of the armored battalion, Liu Hongliu, immediately sent a signal to the first battalion of Phoenix Ridge.
"The devils have broken out of the encirclement in the direction of Phoenix Ridge!”
On Phoenix Ridge, Yu Yang smiled when he saw the telegram.
"Brothers, the remnants of the Japanese 21st Brigade were beaten to a pulp by the armored battalion. Now they want to break out of Phoenix Ridge. Can we let them go?”
"No!"
"Very good. Order the artillery battalion to lock down Phoenix Ridge with artillery immediately after the devils enter. The rest of the brothers, follow me and push forward 500 meters, waiting for the devils to come and die!”
"Yes, sir!"
The devils of the 21st Brigade wished they had two more legs so that they could escape this nightmarish place as soon as possible.
As long as the Japanese fell behind, they would be immediately caught up by the armored forces behind them.
These steel monsters would not hesitate to kill these ghosts and then mercilessly crush them, letting their flesh and blood fuse with the land.
Using their lives to nourish this land.
The 21st Brigade had more than 8,000 people when they set off. Now, they only had slightly more than 3,000 people left.
In just two hours, they had lost more than two-thirds of their troops. This was the largest number of casualties that the 21st Brigade of the Japanese had ever suffered.
However, this was not something that Nakamura Yuemasa could consider.
There was only one thought in Nakamura's mind right now, and that was to escape with his troops.
" Send a message to General Shinozuka. Our troops are in the direction of Phoenix Ridge. They were attacked by the armored troops of the Jinsui Army because…"
"Boom!"
"Brigade Leader!"
Before Nakamura could finish his sentence, a cannonball landed around him.
It directly killed Nakamura and the Japanese signal soldier.
The rest of the Japanese did not react at all.
When they rushed over, they saw that Nakamura Yuuma was only left with half a body.
"Brigade Leader!"
Yuuma Nakamura was still breathing.
He looked at his lieutenant and slowly said,""Quick, quick, take the troops and retreat!”
"Yes, sir! Brigade Leader!"
The colonel slowly placed the body of Takeshi Nakamura on the ground, drew his katana, and shouted,""Everyone, advance!"
Nakamura was dead, killed by a tank cannon.
His death was like the last straw that crushed the ghost.
With the death of Nakamura Takeshi, all the Japanese fell into despair.
There was no hope at all.
Some of the Japanese soldiers had already thrown away their weapons and knelt on the ground to pray to their god.
There were also some devils who seemed to have gone crazy and shouted some words.
Some of the Japanese followed behind the officer and moved toward Phoenix Ridge.
When the Japanese soldiers arrived at Phoenix Ridge, the 21st Brigade of the Japanese soldiers had gone from 3,000 to 2,000. A few kilometers later, another 1,000 soldiers were killed.
Yu Yang's eyes lit up when he saw the Japanese soldiers rush into the narrow mountain road of Phoenix Ridge.
"Brothers, the Japanese are here. Take good care of them and make them regret being born into this world!”
"Yes, sir!"
The First Battalion under Yu Zhiqian had moved from the middle of Phoenix Ridge to the lower part of the mountain. They were only a hundred meters away from the road below Phoenix Ridge.
Ding Wei could only hear the sounds of gunfire coming from afar, but he didn't know what was going on.
"What is this 357th Regiment doing? Give up the position and launch an attack?"
"I don't know, but there are constant gunshots ahead. Perhaps another unit of theirs has attacked the 21st Brigade!”
Ding Wei looked at the temporary camp of the 357th Regiment and said worriedly,""Although we have annihilated the Japanese's Yoshino Regiment, the 21st Brigade still has the 33rd Regiment and two infantry battalions under their command. They have more than 5,000 people.”
The vice commander thought for a while and said,""Do you want us to remind them?”
Ding Wei shook his head slightly and said," Forget it. I guess they have their own battle plan. I don't understand this battlefield. When did a Japanese regiment be so easily destroyed by the Jinsui Army? I don't understand!"”
"Cabinet is just using the advantage of weapons. When we fight the Japanese, we lack artillery support. Once the Japanese attack, we have to hide. We have no choice but to fight the Japanese hand-to-hand.”
Ding Wei turned around and said,""You sound like an old comrade of mine. Back when we were fighting the Japanese at the ferry, Li Yunlong looked at the equipment of the Jinsui Army and said that if he had the equipment of the Jinsui Army, he would definitely be able to defeat an entire regiment of Japanese.”
After hearing this, Chen Feng, the deputy commander, immediately smiled and said,""Commander Ding, you're talking about our new regiment's old commander, Li Yun Long, right?”
Ding Wei nodded." Yes, it's him. His independent regiment is the main attacker for this mission. The independent regiment just suffered a defeat, so it doesn't have all the members. Their weapons and equipment aren't as good as ours. I wonder how the independent regiment is doing now.”
Two hours ago.
The Li family was in charge of the camp.
Li Yunlong and Takahashi Matayoshi looked at each other and immediately ordered the heavy artillery to be prepared.
The eight Howitzer 105 were operated by Yu Zhiqian's artillery. He turned the muzzle and aimed at Takahashi Matayo, who was sitting on a stool in front of the military factory.
"Report, Heavy Artillery Company report, the preparations are complete!”
The Second Battalion Commander ran to Yu Zhiqian and said in a low voice.
"Are you ready? Then open fire and blow up this Japanese regiment commander. Damn it, this is a war. He thinks he's sitting at home and chatting with people. Let's see if I don't blow him up!”
After hearing Yu Zhiqian's order, the messenger waved the signal flag in his hand.
The gunner pulled the rope hard.
The first Howitzer 105 let out a deafening roar.
Immediately after, the second, third, and fourth 105mm howitzers opened fire one after another.
In front of the military factory, Takahashi Matayoshi introduced to the staff officer beside him,""Although it looks like we are surrounded by the 8 armies, our reinforcements have already formed a huge encirclement on the outside. As long as we delay in the middle long enough, the enemies on the outside will be eliminated.”
"The 4th division is already on their way. The 4th division's chariot regiment can easily tear apart any position that the 8th division has set up!”
Hearing the regiment commander's words, the staff officers beside him immediately began to praise him.
"Regiment Commander, your tactic of surrounding from all sides and blooming in the center is really good!”
" This isn't my plan. This is General Shinozuka Kazuo's battle plan…"
Just as he died, a dull thud suddenly came from the independent regiment's position in the distance.
Takahashi Matayoshi's expression changed. He was too familiar with this sound. It was the sound of a large-caliber heavy cannon.
Even the artillery battalion of the 12th regiment only had a few heavy cannons of this scale. Because they were too heavy, they did not bring them out for this battle.
"Boom!"
A cannonball landed on an open space outside the Munitions Factory.
"Damn it, I missed!"
Li Yunlong, who was observing with binoculars, couldn't help but hit the trench hard.
"Commander, be careful!"
A staff officer's expression changed when he heard the sound of the air being torn apart. It was the sound of a cannonball falling, and the landing point was in the surroundings. This was also one of the best ways for veterans to distinguish the landing point of a cannonball on the battlefield.
However, it was already too late.
The shell landed on an open space less than a meter away from Takahashi Matara.
The 105mm shell directly killed Takahashi Matayoshi and his staff officers.
When Li Yun Long saw this scene, he immediately patted the trench and said,""F * ck, Yu Zhiqian, that brat, he stole my Sakata old devil and now he's finally returning it to me. Report to the headquarters immediately and kill the captain of the Japanese regiment.”
Zhao Gang was stunned." Li Yunlong, we are defending now. The Japanese are attacking. Are you crazy?"”
Kong Jie was the same." Li Yunlong, our Independent Regiment is already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. If we leave the trenches to fight the Japanese, won't we be sending our soldiers to their deaths?”
Li Yun Long glanced at Zhao Gang and Kong Jie and said,""Am I the Guild Leader or are you the Guild Leaders? Listen to my order, prepare to attack immediately. Tell the artillery company not to save their shells. Bomb the Japanese's Yamazaki Battalion's position fiercely. It would be best if they could turn the Yamazaki Battalion's position upside down. Tell the heavy artillery company's brothers to find the Japanese's command center and bomb it!”
After saying that, Li Yun Long looked at Zhao Gang and Kong Jie and said,""Now that the commander of the Japanese regiment and a pair of staff officers beside him have been blown up, it is time for the Japanese to lose their command.”
"If we don't take this opportunity to attack and take down one or two large Japanese teams, it will be troublesome for us to wait until the Japanese have stabilized their position before attacking. Only by taking down a portion of the Japanese can we quickly take care of the remaining Japanese.”
"But Li Yun Long, the order we received was to defend our position to the death!”
Kong Jie reminded once again.
"What do you say outside? The opportunity is fleeting anyway. If you're afraid of taking responsibility, stay at the position. I'll bring my men and charge up!”
After saying that, he ignored Kong Jie and Zhao Gang.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。