The First Sacrifice of the Lonely City: Bloody Battle Chapter 22: Fierce Battle at Old Clock Tower (Part 2)

  Today is the third update for votes, nearly 12,000 words already! I'm really sorry, due to network congestion, the post was uploaded incorrectly.

  The Japanese army's attack came suddenly and without warning, with a storm of shells falling densely within the Chinese troops' defensive zone. The intensity of the artillery fire was far greater than any previous attack. In the basement of a small building in the main position, Song Yuanhang experienced the feeling of an earthquake for free.

  Song Yuanhang splashed a cup of hot water on himself, scalding him and causing him to cry out in pain, and he became the only person injured in the air raid shelter during this Japanese artillery attack.

  Just as the Japanese artillery fire was about to reach its climax, suddenly all external communication lines in the central command bunker were cut off at the same time. The flank positions that could no longer receive artillery support from within the city became precarious. The lieutenant colonel in charge of defending the bunker immediately dispatched a small and thin communications soldier named Hei Dan (Black Egg) to inspect the lines under Japanese artillery fire.

  The two Japanese machine guns seemed to have discovered the Chinese communication soldier's intention, and the fierce crossfire sealed off all possible routes for the communication soldier to retreat, causing the small communication soldier Hei Dan to take cover in a shell hole with dust flying everywhere.

  Losing communication made Song Yuanhang, who was in the command center, completely blind and dumb!

  "Send a few signal soldiers up! Provide machine gun cover!" Song Yuanhang's order made several machine gunners who were waiting in the bunker tremble slightly!

  The old soldiers all knew that this was a nine-death, one-life game of survival, but the two machine gun squads didn't hesitate in the slightest, and could even be said to have expressionlessly followed the communications soldier out of the bunker.

  Song Yuanhang tightly grasped the telescope in front of his chest, gazing through the smoke and dust that occasionally rose at the distant figure.

  The Japanese army discovered the Chinese soldiers' attempt, and more machine guns and two Type 92 infantry cannons turned around at the same time. Three communication soldiers fell down one after another on the advancing road, while the two machine gun squads responsible for cover were also hit by Japanese artillery fire.

  "Alas!" Song Yuanhang helplessly put down the binoculars, sighing that the little devil's 92-style infantry cannon was indeed a supporting treasure, with a range of fire from 2,200 meters to 100 meters, almost invincible.

  Perhaps the sacrifice of his comrades stimulated Hei Dan, the little communications soldier. He carefully stuck out his head to take a look at the fallen old soldier, pulled down his cap, and began to crawl forward along the edge of the shell hole.

  Except for one machine gun, all the others adjusted their firing directions and the suppressive firepower suddenly eased.

  A machine gunner who had been covering the retreat also struggled to get up, wiped the blood from his face, pulled over the machine gun, and fired fiercely at the Japanese army on the mound.

  Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Hei Dan suddenly jumped up and rushed to the front of the broken communication line. After shaking out the line, Hei Dan was shocked to find that the spare line was short by about one and a half meters. In his haste, he took off his shoes, moistened his toes with saliva, and wrapped the wire head around his big toe. With his left hand pinching one end of the wire, a series of piercing, numbing electric currents passed through the small communication soldier's body.

  Enduring the pain, Hei Dan suddenly found that his location was a completely exposed flat ground. A Japanese machine gun was aiming at him while adjusting its direction. When he turned around to look for the old soldier who had been covering him with his machine gun, he found that the old soldier had already fallen into a pool of blood.

  "Loosen the thread and roll over to take cover in a nearby foxhole, but what about the officers? So many brothers can't die in vain!" Hei Dan wrapped the thread around his finger, gently closed his eyes, and imagined his relatives he had never met.

  Several bullets hit Hei Dan's chest, accompanied by a burst of blood mist, and his frail body fell to the ground! Just like millions of unnamed martyrs, for the survival of the nation and state, these people who had never enjoyed any benefits from the country, and were even ordinary soldiers of the oppressors not long ago, gave their precious lives with ease.

  Song Yuanhang's phone finally got through, and he shouted into the receiver in a hoarse voice: "Hello! Hello! This is Lao Zhong Lou, requesting artillery support, requesting artillery support!"

  "We've been discovered by the Japanese army and are relocating our position, unable to provide support!"

  Song Yuanhang pleaded in a hoarse voice: "Support us! The Japanese army's tanks are coming, and the brothers on both wings really can't hold on!"

  He hesitated for a moment and then said in a very firm tone: "Three rounds! Three shells per round!"

  "Thank you! Thank you! Thanks to the artillery brothers!" Song Yuanghai realized that several Japanese planes were flying directly over his own position, heading towards the old city's market area while waiting for the bombardment. Song Yuanghai was suddenly startled in his heart, he knew that was where the artillery positions were hiding.

  The shells that came whizzing in exposed the Japanese troops on the flank, who were blown to smithereens, and the reinforcements of half a company also successfully inserted from the left flank. Song Yuanhang was extremely fortunate that the communication had been restored in time, but he did not know that this radio wave was transmitted through the flesh and blood of a Chinese soldier.

  However, the artillery position was heard to have exploded, and in the midst of the rolling thick smoke, the high-firing machine gun sounded like a muffled drum beating loudly.

  Not long after the Japanese infantry retreated, the rumble of engines was heard from the corner of the street. Through the observation port, Song Yuanhang found that more than a dozen Japanese tanks filled the streets, followed by dense infantry, advancing slowly.

  The worst-case scenario that Song Yuanghai feared the most had occurred, and Hirai Tetsuya's guess was correct - the Chinese army only had two 37mm caliber German-made PaK anti-tank guns! As long as the Japanese army sent out a few tanks, the massive flames emitted by the anti-tank guns when firing would naturally reveal their position. Once they broke through the left and right flanks, the solid defensive positions in the central area became useless.

  Cut off the connection between Japanese infantry and tanks with firepower, order the first and third companies of the military police to counterattack from both wings, prevent the enemy from infiltrating, organize a dare-to-die team to cooperate with the war prevention artillery to blow up the little devil's turtle shell.

  Song Yuanhang's order was quickly implemented, and a few minutes later, Qi Mingbin brought more than 50 dare-to-die corps members with cluster hand grenades tied to their bodies. What surprised Song Yuanhang was that among these dare-to-die corps members, there were actually more than ten constabulary soldiers with red armbands?

  When a man is about to die, his words are good. Looking at the simple and rugged faces, the firm expressions, Song Yuanhang knew that this would be a desperate mission with no chance of survival.

  The Japanese were getting more and more aggressive, the reinforcements had yet to arrive, and the division headquarters had already retreated! The grassroots officers and soldiers basically understood their situation, the difference was just between dying early or late, being afraid of being injured while alive! Being afraid of going missing after death! Due to limited medical conditions, over 80% of the wounded died in hospitals, which is more terrifying than going missing. The families of those who went missing did not receive any compensation at all.

  Song Yuanhang was clear that China and Japan had been fighting for so many years, relying on the flesh and blood of soldiers to consume the Japanese army's elite troops bit by bit, from confrontation to stalemate, and eventually counterattack. Chinese soldiers can be said to have fallen one after another, and in a somewhat exaggerated way, the War of Resistance Against Japan was an epic written with the blood of Chinese soldiers and civilians.

  After adjusting his emotions, Song Yuanhang looked at the military officer and said loudly after handing out 10 taels of silver to each person: "Do you have any other requirements?"

  After a while, an old soldier raised his head, looked at Qi Mingbin with a dazed expression, weighed the dollar in his hand, and threw it under Song Yuanhang's feet with a clatter.

  The old soldier's eyes turned red and he sighed slightly: "Commander! We came to fight the devils, not to make money!"

  With a rustling sound, a layer of silver coins appeared under Song Yuanhang's feet!

  Song Yuanhang was slightly stunned, with a complex emotion mixed in his heart, and his nose was slightly sour. Even the well-equipped and well-trained Second Hundred Regiment still had a huge gap compared to the Japanese army. Chinese soldiers relied on their passion and sacrifice to fill this gap.

  To be honest, Song Yuanhang did not agree with this way of fighting, but if they didn't blow up the Japanese tanks, once they passed through the three forks and broke through the left and right wings of the defensive position, Lao Zhonglou would inevitably fall.

  If the old clock tower is lost, the Japanese army can directly attack the Commonwealth Reserve Bank in the new city area without any scruples.

  Hesitating for a moment, Song Yuanhang comforted him in a soft voice: "You can tell me your family's address, I guarantee that I will send the money to your home."

  "Home!" The old soldier let out a miserable laugh and suddenly looked solemn, saying: "The Japanese had already destroyed our home long ago!"

  Qizheng Bin leaned over and whispered in Song Yuanhang's ear: "The old man's home is in Nanjing!"

  "Nanjing!" Song Yuanhang was stunned for a moment, that was an eternal pain in the heart of every Chinese!

  The old soldier nicknamed "Old Bones" said sincerely: "Commander, we don't ask for anything else. If we win against the little devils, use this money to build a monument for us brothers! Let future generations know that we died for our country. On holidays and festivals, give some incense and cigarettes, so that there's a place to pay respects."

  "I promise you!" Song Yuanhang's eyes were already moist, what a good soldier! The generous request to die was just to build a monument, it was such soldiers who stood up as the backbone of the nation in times of crisis.

  Song Yuanhang took the roster of the dare-to-die corps from the quartermaster, tore open a first-aid kit, wrapped it in a package and stuffed it into his inside pocket.

  The commando team members witnessed all this and collectively saluted Song Yuanhang!

  However, when they set out, the grenade launchers on the dare-to-die troops were gone, replaced by the Molotov cocktails held in their hands.

  After Song Yuanhang gave the order to set off, he watched as the dare-to-die corps members dispersed into several groups on their own and disappeared from view.

  Suddenly, Japanese infantrymen who had been following the tank's advance pushed a dozen or so women, bound together with their upper bodies exposed and in a state of panic, to the front of the tank.

  Song Yuanhang's hand holding the telescope was trembling, those young girls' upper body were full of scars, while their lower body wore military pants and puttees, revealing their identity - Chinese female soldiers!

  Facing the advancing Japanese tanks and infantry, the Chinese defenders' positions were eerily quiet! The intense shame made the female soldiers shrink their bodies, trying to bury their heads in their chests, but the Japanese troops following behind them would occasionally strike the lagging female soldiers with rifle butts.

  Looking at the Japanese soldiers' complacent and ugly faces, Song Yuanhang squeezed the binoculars with a cracking sound, but he just couldn't give the order to fire.

  The Japanese army has finally advanced to within 100 meters of the main position of the defending troops, and the Japanese tanks and infantry have begun to lay down a barrage of fire on the Chinese soldiers in the defensive fortifications.

  Chinese soldiers in the trenches were occasionally hit by Japanese firepower, but the Chinese army seemed to have lost its voice and not fired a single shot.

  The female soldiers who realized they were being used as shields let out a scream and began to scatter in all directions!

  The deranged Japanese army began firing frantically at the female soldiers from behind, and soon all of them fell into a pool of blood.

  "Son of a bitch! I'll fuck your grandfather!" Amidst the cacophony of curses, the Chinese position erupted like a volcano! A dense hail of bullets instantly swept towards the Japanese army.

  Everywhere in the ruins were dense shadows of people, and the dare-to-die corps members with red eyes began to fight at close range with the Japanese army in the ruins, while more dare-to-die corps members rushed straight to the places where the Japanese armored vehicles and personnel were most densely packed.

  However, in an instant, a Molotov cocktail flew out of the window of a two-story building and smashed onto the engine of the Type 95 Ha-Go tank! Along with the shattered remains of the bottle, flames erupted with a whoosh! Several Japanese soldiers standing too close to the tank were splashed with gasoline and frantically tried to pat it off, only to find that the more they patted, the bigger the flames grew? Even their palms began to burn...

  As the Japanese army was in a state of confusion, five or six Chinese soldiers with Molotov cocktails rushed out from the opposite street corner at the same time. The Chinese soldiers threw the bottles at the Japanese armored vehicles and turned around to run away! Unfortunately, their actions were discovered by the machine gunner on the Japanese armored vehicle, who fired a burst of bullets, knocking three Chinese soldiers who failed to take cover to the ground in a hail of bullets.

  Heart-wrenching screams came from several tanks hit by Molotov cocktails! The hatches of several tanks that had just caught fire opened almost simultaneously, and the Japanese tank crew members, covered in flames, struggled to climb out!

  The accompanying Japanese infantry were stunned and remained in place for a while!

  The two hidden anti-tank guns also took advantage of the situation and frequently fired at the Japanese tanks!

  The Japanese infantry following the war chariot had already discovered the source of the attack and raised their guns, several Japanese squads also began to infiltrate in all directions.

  Taking advantage of the artillery's blank fire, the dare-to-die corps launched a counterattack against the Japanese army! Unfortunately, they failed to seize the opportunity when the Japanese were in chaos. Just as one of the dare-to-die soldiers jumped up from the ruins with a burning bottle, he was hit by incoming bullets!

  The remaining seven Japanese tanks opened their hatches and manned machine guns, indiscriminately firing at the surrounding buildings. A member of the dare-to-die corps who was about to throw a petrol bomb was hit by a bullet, which also struck the petrol bomb in his hand! In an instant, that dare-to-die corps member and several comrades around him were turned into human torches, with flames over a meter high engulfing them whole, emitting thick black smoke.

  Fearless commandos emerging from all directions did not show any fear, they charged towards the Japanese army's armored vehicles with burning bottles while shouting loudly under the hail of bullets!

  The raid launched by the dare-to-die corps resulted in the destruction of five Japanese tanks, but more than 30 members fell in a pool of blood! After a brief battle, the Japanese army retreated to their starting position under the guard's heavy machine gun fire. The bodies of several dare-to-die corps members on the second floor were still burning, and apart from the rolling black smoke, there was a pungent smell of charred meat floating in the air!

  Song Yuanhang's fist heavily slammed onto the concrete wall, he was excited about the brave performance of the dare-to-die corps members, and also regretted that they did not seize the opportunity to reduce casualties and expand their gains.

  The easy withdrawal of the Japanese army made Song Yuanhang feel a little confused. Suddenly, a burst of urgent artillery fire hit the defender's position! More than a dozen exposed machine gun firing points were almost all covered by dense fire...

  According to normal configuration and deployment, the heavy machine gun is configured on the first line, not only can it play a fire advantage, but also has a psychological incentive effect. However, this also determines that the heavy machine gun is the focus of destruction for both sides. The Chinese army's thinking about using heavy machine guns almost stayed in the World War I era. During the 'Battle of Shanghai', the Japanese army often used armored defense guns to deal with the Chinese army's heavy machine guns. After a battle, eight or nine out of ten heavy machine guns in a division were often destroyed.

  The Battle of Tonggu was no exception, with the Japanese army using a large number of mountain guns to replace tank defense guns! The Chinese defenders' exposed firepower points on both flanks were cleared one by one.

  Before the artillery fire was extended, the Japanese attacking troops launched a charge! Unlike previous charges, this time most of the Japanese troops were used for infiltration, and they engaged in a house-to-house and room-to-room battle with Chinese soldiers, attempting to make up for the disadvantage in light weapon firepower with superior troop strength.

  The tactical deployment of the Japanese army rendered the sniper teams set up by Song Yuanhang ineffective, but these fifteen combat groups equipped with automatic weapons played an unimaginably huge role.

  In the narrow alleys, courtyards, low walls and ruins, Japanese soldiers suddenly found that the length of their trusty Type 38 rifles with bayonets seemed too long? In many places, turning around required standing their weapons upright to do so.

  In comparison, the Chinese soldiers' five-man squad was more flexible, with each member equipped with a Mauser M1932 submachine gun in addition to four rifles, and sufficient hand grenades made the Japanese army suffer.

  However, the Japanese army relied on its superior military strength to nibble away at the controlled area of the defenders, and from time to time, the sound of hand grenade explosions came from the civilian houses on both sides, as if telling Song Yuanhang that the Japanese army had attacked where! Song Yuanhang, who was anxious like a burning fire, knew that once the two-wing positions were breached, the main defensive position of the old bell tower would lose its defensive significance.

  When the last machine gun on the right-wing position stopped firing, yellow figures and that dazzling bandage flag had already appeared on the defensive position.

  Song Yuanhang gritted his teeth, gathered more than 30 lightly wounded soldiers who could still fight, and led his own guard squad to launch a counterattack! The Japanese army, which had stepped into the defender's position for the first time in days, did not expect the Chinese army's counterattack to come so quickly! So fierce! After sporadic gunfire, the blue troops charged into the yellow crowd.

  Song Yuanhang charged forward with a submachine gun at the forefront of the counterattacking troops, and dozens of officers and soldiers who had dispersed from the right wing also joined the counterattacking troops along the way.

  At this moment, Song Yuanhang's mind was a complete blank, desperately pulling the trigger, and in front of him were Japanese people everywhere like locusts, those ferocious faces! Made people extremely disgusted.

  Five guardsmen covered around Song Yuanhang, forming a barrier with their bodies! The six assault rifles of the six men had become the sharp tip of this small unit, and wherever they pointed, they swept away! Intensive firepower sent Japanese soldiers flying in all directions.