Chapter 18: Battlefield Disobedience (Part 1) (Tears Requesting Recommendation Tickets)

  The next day, as soon as it dawned, the Japanese 36th Infantry Regiment launched an attack.

  Approximately two squads of infantry, guided by two light tanks, divided into two routes and slowly approached the four-row warehouse from both east and west sides. In addition, the Japanese army also occupied several other high-rise buildings in Zhabei and built mortar positions and heavy machine gun strongholds on them to provide firepower support for the infantry's attack with dense crossfire.

  Yesterday's attack was just a probe, but today it is a straightforward and powerful full-scale attack.

  However, the commander of the 36th Infantry Regiment, Colonel Suketsune Jiro, seriously underestimated the strength of the Chinese army defending the Sihang Warehouse. He never thought that the Chinese army would have a 37mm anti-tank gun! This thing was the nemesis of the Japanese Type 95 light tank, and the less than 10mm armor of the Type 95 tank could not withstand it at all.

  Before the two light tanks approached, two larger shooting holes appeared on both sides of the wall at the bottom of the four-story warehouse. The two war defense guns suddenly exposed their ferocious faces. Lieutenant General Saka, who was observing the battlefield situation through binoculars, saw this and his heart skipped a beat. He saw that the black cannon mouth flashed red light, and immediately heard two loud explosions. On the two Type 95 light tanks in front, huge flames had already erupted!

  "Hachi-gara!" shouted Ibata Jirō, his face red with rage. "How the hell did those Chinese troops get their hands on a war-defense cannon?"

  "Colonel, the tanks have been destroyed and the infantry cannot launch a strong attack without cover. Why not let them fall back?" said Deputy Commander Kitajima Tsuneo.

  "No way." Ibukiyama Jirō said resolutely, "We can't retreat! Even without tank cover, the brave warriors of the Imperial Japanese Army can still defeat the Chinese army with their flesh and blood as well as their fearless fighting spirit! Immediately give orders to Tachihara squad and Yamamoto squad using flag signals, telling them to continue attacking!"

  "Hey." Kitaōji Takeshi suddenly bowed his head.

  …………

  Four-line warehouse, ground floor.

  Yue Weihan was observing the Japanese army's movements outside through Kong, and through the flying artillery fire and the smoke-filled air, he could vaguely see the Japanese soldiers charging towards the warehouse building.

  The regular infantry regiments of the Little Devils are indeed not to be underestimated, with extremely high individual soldier quality. When charging, they would often run in a zigzag pattern, rarely making straight dashes forward. This made it difficult for Nationalist soldiers to hit their targets with rifle fire, unless they were exceptional marksmen like Yue Weihan and Hua Hanlin.

  As for machine guns, a large number of bullets poured over like a fan-shaped splash, and the little devils really had nowhere to hide.

  However, the little devils are not fools either. The distance between their individual soldiers is at least over 10 meters. It's impossible for a large number of devils to rush together like in later movies and TV shows. Therefore, using machine gun fire to kill scattered devil soldiers in loose formation would also consume too much ammunition.

  Although the 98th Division left all its reserve ammunition for the Baoshan camp before withdrawing, it was absolutely unable to withstand such consumption.

  However, the little devils are powerful after all, but they are still flesh and blood. To think that they can capture a solid military fortress with their flesh and blood is also a fantasy.

  Although the Japanese army had more than 3,300 people in the entire infantry regiment, which was more than ten times that of the Baoshan camp in terms of troops, the four warehouses were limited in area and restricted by terrain, so the devils could not deploy their main force. Therefore, they could only adopt a tactic of adding oil to the fire, throwing in one small team after another, which was extremely advantageous for the National Army.

  Yue Weihan only observed for a while and felt completely at ease. As long as the little devils didn't use heavy artillery to bombard or drop heavy bombs, and as long as the ammunition of the Baoshan camp hadn't been exhausted, these four warehouses were an impregnable fortress. Even if the little devils filled the inside with an entire division of troops, it would still be a waste!

  "Chi Cheng Feng!"

  Yes!

  "Tell the brothers to conserve machine gun bullets, don't use them unless absolutely necessary. Try to use rifles as much as possible. If you can't hit the target, let the little devils get closer before shooting. This way, the target is bigger and the hit rate is higher!"

  "Yes! His grandpa, the grandfather of Erlian, cease fire with machine guns, let the little devils get closer before shooting!"

  "Yes!" The fleeing soldiers of the Second Regiment responded loudly, and several machine gunners also picked up the nearby Type 99 rifle or Arisaka Type 38, firing cold guns through the shooting holes at the outside.

  The fierce battle lasted for days, and the Bao Shan camp continuously repelled the Japanese army's 16 attacks!

  The streets and open spaces on both sides of the four-line warehouse were already littered with corpses, with blood flowing like rivers. Of course, these were all Japanese military corpses. As for the National Army, due to the solid concrete building as a support, casualties were minimal, with only a dozen or so soldiers injured by jumping shells, and two soldiers killed in action.

  The Shanghai crowd gathered on the south bank of Suzhou River was almost driven mad!

  As the little devils' offensive was repeatedly crushed under the fierce firepower of the National Army, the emotions of the people gradually rose to a climax. At this moment, someone in the crowd shouted first, and in an instant, tens of thousands of people followed suit, shouting involuntarily. In less than a moment, the scene converged into a vast wave of sound.

  "Down with Japanese imperialism!"

  "Long live the Chinese nation!"

  "Down with Japanese imperialism!"

  "Long live the Chinese nation!"

  "Down with Japanese imperialism!"

  "Long live the Chinese nation!"

  Four-story warehouse four floors, command center.

  Listening to the slogans outside getting louder and louder, Yue Weihan couldn't help but be slightly moved.

  Yue Weihan has always been unenthusiastic about slogan shouting and considered it a bookish move, but today he can feel that the tens of thousands of people on the other side of the river are not just shouting slogans for the sake of shouting slogans, nor is it because of bookish pretensions. It's a release of grievances, and even more so an emotional frenzy!

  Since the September 18th Incident, the Chinese nation has been oppressed for too long.

  Since the two Opium Wars, the Chinese nation has been struggling in the abyss of suffering for too long. When a certain grievance accumulates to an extreme point and a certain emotion is pent up to an extreme point, even a slight external stimulus can trigger an explosion. The resistance at the Baoshan Garrison in the Sihang Warehouse was undoubtedly this trigger point.

  …………

  About 200 meters west of the warehouse is a three-story building that has become the command center for the Sakae Garrison.

  Gunki's headquarters was set up at such a close distance, naturally with consideration. The Chinese army across the way lacked heavy firepower and relied solely on trench guns, which were difficult to penetrate the walls of the building. As for howitzers, they posed no threat whatsoever. Therefore, there were no safety concerns, and setting up the headquarters here allowed for close observation of the Chinese army's movements.

  Wakizaka Gitarō was not afraid of the Chinese army's counterattack. If the Chinese army really counterattacked, it would be just what he wanted.

  Listening to the slogans outside the window, one wave higher than the other, Deputy Regimental Commander Kitajima Takeshi could no longer hold back his anger in his chest. He strode to the window and suddenly raised the Southern pistol in his hand, just as he was about to fire, a powerful large hand pressed down heavily on his wrist, and at the same time, the serious voice of Lieutenant Colonel Wakisaka sounded in his ear: "Kitajima-kun, don't be impulsive."

  "How detestable! These Chinese pigs are truly too detestable!" Kitajima Takeshi gritted his teeth and said, "More annoying than Ishikawa's mosquitoes!"

  "Kita-jima, the buzzing of mosquitoes is indeed annoying, but as an Imperial Army commander, you shouldn't let external things affect your emotions!" Sugasawa Jirō waved his hand and said sternly, "The tenacity of that Chinese army ahead is somewhat beyond my expectations. I think continuing to attack strongly may not yield a good result after all."

  Kitajima Kō's expression changed, and he said: "Is the major's intention to request artillery support?"

  "No." Wakisaka Jirō shook his head and said, "Has Kita Islander read the ancient Chinese 'Art of War' by Sun Tzu?"

  "The Art of War by Sun Tzu?" Kitano Takeshi shook his head and said, "I haven't read it. I'm not interested in Chinese culture."

  Wakisaka Jirō shook his head and said, "If Kita Island wants to make a name for himself in this holy war, it's best to take some time to study the culture of the Chinese people. The culture of the Chinese people is indeed profound and profound. To be honest, it's easy to occupy all of China, but if you don't understand their culture, it's absolutely impossible to rule the entire Chinese nation for a long time."

  He said this, and Sakai Jirō continued: "Sun Tzu was the greatest military strategist in ancient China. In his book on war, he mentioned that winning a hundred battles is not the ultimate goal; subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the ultimate goal! The meaning is that winning a hundred battles is not the highest state of two armies clashing; achieving one's purpose without resorting to force is the highest state of two armies clashing!"

  "Hmm, this statement seems to make sense." Kitajima Takeshi said with genuine admiration, "General, you are indeed a worthy descendant of a prestigious family, your knowledge is truly profound. However, I wonder what kind of strategy you plan to use to achieve the effect of 'winning without fighting'?"

  Okisaka Jirō's eyes narrowed and he said in a low, menacing tone: "In order to avoid escalating the situation and drawing in countries like America, England and France, we can't use heavy artillery or heavy bombs. However, we can put pressure on the Shanghai Municipal Council through diplomatic channels, and then have them put pressure on the Chinese government!"

  "General, you are too formidable." Kitajima Takeshi exclaimed in admiration. "The Chinese government has always been weak and to this day still does not dare to formally declare war on the Great Japanese Empire, which is the best proof. I think that as long as the authorities of the International Settlement exert a certain amount of pressure on the Chinese government, the Chinese government will definitely order those troops in front to disarm and withdraw into the International Settlement."

  "Japan has an idiom called 'a turtle in a jar'. As long as the Chinese troops in front disarm and retreat into the concession, they will truly become turtles in a jar."

  ……

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