The First Part of National Humiliation: The Lonely City's Blood War Chapter 24: Full Line Alert

  In the long darkness, Song Yuanhang saw those familiar faces of the past! Hu Na, Da Dui Zhang, Xiao Nanjing and others were turning around in front of him like a carousel, suddenly, all those faces turned into floating skulls? Fresh red rain fell from the sky!

  "Ah!" Song Yuanhao suddenly woke up with a start, but as his whole body was in severe pain, he fell back onto the bed.

  Liu Mengzi, who had been guarding Song Yuanghai's side all along, saw Song Yuanghai wake up and hurriedly shouted loudly: "Doctor! The Chief of Staff is awake! Come quickly!"

  With a flurry of urgent footsteps, Xu Tu'an burst into the ward, while Song Yuanhang also struggled to sit up and found that the sky outside had actually darkened. Only when he looked at his wristwatch did he realize that it was already ruined, with a shrapnel fragment the size of a fingernail embedded in the dial!

  After the shock, Song Yuanhang touched the thick bandage on his neck and tried to move his body. He found that everything was normal except for the bullet graze wound on his shoulder. When he looked up, he saw Xu Tu'an entering the room with his head wrapped like a rice dumpling.

  Song Yuanhang didn't wait for Xu Tu'an to speak, and pulled him into an inquiry: "How long have I been unconscious? What about the old clock tower's position?"

  Xu Tu'an held Song Yuanhang's body with both hands and said, "Chief of Staff, don't worry, you were injured this afternoon and were rushed back by your brothers. It's 10 pm now, you've been stunned by the shell for over 5 hours, scaring your brothers to death!"

  Xu Tu'an paused for a moment and continued: "The old bell tower position lost contact at 18:29, after which we dispatched two reinforced platoons to attempt to reinforce, but one platoon encountered the Japanese army at the entrance of Xiaoxi Street, with only three people surviving. The other platoon has also lost contact. Currently, there is still intense gunfire in the direction of the old bell tower, and the main position should still be in our hands."

  Song Yuanhang knew that the military situation had reached a critical point, and during his coma, Zheng Tingqi led a battalion of reinforcements to reinforce the 131st high ground. Everyone knows that once the city's commanding heights, the 131st high ground, is lost, the Central Bank will be directly exposed to the direct fire of the Japanese artillery.

  Zheng Tingqi's departure made Song Yuanghai the highest commander of the core formation in Gucheng District, and all the heavy burdens were on Zheng Tingqi and Song Yuanghai's shoulders.

  Just as Song Yuanhang was about to plan to withdraw half a company from the tense troops, and then reinforce Lao Zhonglou again, the gunfire in the direction of Lao Zhonglou suddenly stopped.

  The old bell tower's position has reached the point of exhaustion, and Qi Mingbin, covered in gunpowder and blood, is also about to reach the end of his life. Several hours ago, Zhao Guochang had already called to inform him that he could retreat, but both wings of the old bell tower had fallen, and they had been cut off from their rear by the Japanese army.

  After burning the documents and military orders in the main stronghold, Qi Mingbin took out a photo from his pocket that was stained with blood, and with his smoke-blackened hands trembling, he felt for a pregnant woman on the photo.

  The Japanese artillery fire started again, and Qi Mingbin knew it was the prelude to the Japanese attack. At this moment, he longed to see his child born! Ordinary accompanied him (her) Zhang Da, listening to a childish voice calling out "Dad", unfortunately, he had no chance anymore.

  This is a sorrow filled with indignation and helplessness. How many Chinese soldiers, like Qi Mingbin, sighed at the country's weakness, cherished their last affection for their wives, children, parents and families, yet clearly knew they were no match, but still engaged in a desperate battle with the Japanese invaders' pouring steel with their flesh and blood, even if they shed their last drop of blood without regret.

  Zi Mingbin may not have realized that it was countless people like him who, at the critical moment of national and ethnic crisis, used their flesh and blood to prop up the iron backbone of the Chinese nation. This is a will that no strong enemy can defeat.

  The shouting of the Japanese infantry charge was getting closer and closer. Qimingbin stuck the photos close to his body, led the last few dozen officers and soldiers to counterattack against the Japanese army, while a dozen wounded soldiers stayed in the bunker, firing at the Japanese with their remaining ammunition.

  In the midst of the Chinese nation's long live cries, dozens of hungry and tattered Chinese soldiers stumbled forward under the bright moonlight to meet the Japanese army's attack formation.

  The Chinese garrison within the main position has been almost annihilated, with several seriously wounded soldiers lying in the nearby ruins with tears streaming down their faces. Just a moment ago, the Japanese used several flamethrowers to attack the core stronghold.

  The entire bunker suddenly turned into a huge furnace. The sound of ammunition explosions kept coming out, and flames rushed out through the shooting holes, ventilation holes, and dark seams. Nearly a dozen Chinese wounded soldiers who were stubbornly resisting inside the bunker all sacrificed their lives.

  Looking at the dense and crowded Japanese army, a wounded soldier pulled out a fuse, smiling as he gazed at the approaching Japanese soldiers.

  A deafening explosion! The massive fireball produced by the blast illuminated half of Tonggu City, and almost all the glass at the Reserve Bank was shattered! Fortunately, Song Yuanhang had arranged for soldiers to paste cross-shaped adhesive tape on the glass beforehand to prevent shattering, which prevented a second wave of casualties.

  The explosion came from the direction of the old bell tower, and as he gazed at the flames engulfing the old bell tower, Song Yuanhang knew that the old bell tower was finished! The fall of the old bell tower also marked the demise of the 598th Regiment. Zheng Tingji, who had led a breakthrough through the Japanese army's encirclement to reach the 131 high ground, silently removed his military cap. Wei Jingnan, who had been fighting with dozens of remaining soldiers in the old city area against the Japanese army, gazed at the massive fireball rising from the old bell tower and remained speechless for a long time.

  At this moment, the 56th Division Commander Watanabe Masao Major General ignored the warnings of his staff and guards, and walked into the old bell tower district in the midst of the raging fire, stepping over layers of corpses.

  Watanabe Masao looked around, amidst the ruins, everywhere were the bodies of Chinese and Japanese soldiers. In front of a defensive position of Chinese soldiers, Watanabe Masao stopped in his tracks! The so-called defensive position was just a makeshift bunker made of doors, sandbags and corpses in the ruins.

  Everywhere were shattered pieces of weapons, every corpse of a Chinese soldier was covered with wounds, and around the remains of one Chinese soldier lay ten or more corpses of Imperial soldiers!

  Watanabe Masao stared blankly at the bodies of Chinese soldiers who had been used as part of the fortifications, unable to comprehend the seemingly crazy behavior of the Chinese soldiers whose tenacious and unyielding fighting spirit was beyond his imagination.

  Especially before the explosion, Chinese soldiers counterattacked. How could the Chinese still counterattack in this situation?

  And his subordinates, the excellent soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire, have become numb and dispirited, trembling with fear at the sound of a single gunshot... Can the Chinese still fight? Our soldiers are already useless...

  Watanabe felt fear and helplessness towards this war for the first time. Can a nation with such soldiers be conquered?

  Watanabe Toshio didn't dare to think about it anymore, the corpses of the soldiers had already numbed him, leaving this damn battlefield was his only thought at this moment.

  Compared to Tsukine Kō, who was scolded by the General Headquarters, Watanabe Shōzō is fortunate. His 56th Division captured the position of Chinese defenders after suffering heavy casualties, while Tsukine's 55th Division has been unlucky since the beginning of the defense battle in Gubeikou, losing troops and generals one after another, and after paying a great price, the 131 highland was still controlled by the Chinese defenders.

  Takeuchi Hiroshi was no longer thinking about what lay ahead, but how he could survive...

  On the evening of the 31st at 20:00, the Central Bank, as the core position of the Chinese garrison in the ancient city, was subjected to a fierce attack by the Japanese army. The mortar arranged by Song Yuanhang on the top floor played an important role, and several times the Japanese army broke through the front door, but were repelled by accurate and timely artillery fire.

  Upon learning of the failure of the fifth assault, Takeuchi Hiroshi personally arrived at Xincheng District to direct the battle. The attacking force gradually increased from three infantry battalions of the 112th Brigade to the entire 144th Brigade, two cavalry squadrons, the entire 55th Mountain Artillery Regiment, and a portion of the 55th Engineer Regiment, totaling over 15,000 troops.

  Takeuchi Hiroshi, who thought he was iron-mouthed and steel-toothed, personally inspected the actual situation on the battlefield and was shocked to sweat profusely. He found it hard to imagine what kind of madman built this core fortification, as all shooting ranges within 300 meters were cleared, and the ground was covered with small pits with a diameter and depth of 20 centimeters everywhere.

  Direct hits by mountain guns of 100mm caliber or less on the main fortifications of Chinese troops could only leave a helmet-sized pit, and most of China's firepower was built underground. When Imperial soldiers attacked, the entire position became like a porcupine!

  "There must be weaknesses, there must be weaknesses!" Takeuchi Hiroshi muttered to himself repeatedly. In his view, there was no fortress in this world that could not be breached.

  After directly taking over the command of the regimental commander, Takeuchi Hiroshi ordered Yamada's battalion to launch a full-scale attack. Major Yamada was taken aback and hesitated for a moment before saying: "Sir! Due to the constraints of the terrain, our army can only deploy up to two companies at most in each attack, it is impossible to deploy an entire battalion!"

  If it were in peacetime, Takeuchi Hiroshi would have seriously considered and adopted Yamada's suggestion, but the Emperor's "Brave War" edict had already been issued, and the lives of soldiers were no longer important. The key was how to take down Songgu City, the hardest bone to gnaw on, as soon as possible. With the achievement of annihilating the only mechanized unit of the Chongqing army as a shield, Takeuchi Hiroshi was confident that he could still get through safely with his connections in the Army Ministry. He absolutely couldn't let Watanabe Masao, that old fox, share his own glory.

  Slap, slap, slap! After several slaps, Takeuchi Hiroshi yelled at Yamada: "Are you a coward? How dare you serve the Emperor with loyalty? Settle it yourself!"

  Takeuchi Hiroshi threw the knife in front of Yamada, and Yamada, with a smoky face, was taken aback at first, then knelt down with a thud, slowly stretching out his hand, the white gloves on his hands were no longer visible!

  Many officers on the side looked at Yamada with unbearable expressions, although they knew that Yamada was right, but in the absence of the regimental commander, no one dared to plead for Yamada.

  A moment later, Yamada, who was holding a wakizashi, suddenly turned around and bowed to Takeuchi Hiroshi, saying: "Sir, I hope to die like a true warrior on the battlefield, please!"

  Takeuchi hesitated for a moment, waved his hand, and after all, Yamada was the most capable of his subordinates, it's really a pity!

  Facing the hidden Chinese garrison's stronghold in the dark, Yamada helplessly and slowly drew out his command sword. Yamada was clear that this would be his last charge, no matter what the outcome, he had to go to his death!

  Yamada's dense assault formation left Song Yuanhang stunned. In the darkness, the Japanese infantry wave generally adopted a charging formation that was layered and stacked under the flashing light of artillery fire, surging towards the Chinese defensive positions in waves.

  Takeuchi Hiroshi gazed through the telescope at the dense and disorderly charging infantry, apparently hindered by the small pits on the ground. The troops had already approached within 100 meters of the Chinese defensive position, but the Chinese army had not yet opened fire. Although their own artillery was very fierce at this moment, Takeuchi Hiroshi knew that if the artillery were fierce enough to suppress all the firepower of the Chinese defenders, the solid reserve bank should have been captured long ago.

  "Time-delayed fuse, eighty meters of marked tape! Illumination flares!" Song Yuanghai shouted loudly.

  Five or six illuminating shells fired by mortars floated in the air with small parachutes, lighting up the ground in a bleak white. The Japanese attacking troops paused for a moment, and countless bullets swept towards the Japanese assault formation like a stormy rain. In the dark night, the reserve bank position was filled with long flames sprayed out of machine guns everywhere.

  Yamada, the lieutenant colonel at the forefront of the charge, and the soldiers beside him, burst forth with clusters of blood mist. The hail of bullets from nearly a hundred light and heavy machine guns was like a harvester of lives, forming a "harvest line" on the earth! Japanese soldiers who advanced to this line fell one after another.

  Agonizing struggle, mournful moans! The Japanese army, with a formation that was too dense, suffered heavy casualties in just a few dozen seconds. Due to the overly dense formation, the soldiers in the front row were shot down, and the following soldiers did not have time to react and dodge, also falling to their deaths.

  Personally took up a ZB light machine gun, disregarding the danger of his shoulder wound bursting open, and crazily fired off an entire clip before Song Yuan

  While shouting in great pain, he ordered the troops to pay attention to saving ammunition! The Japanese army's offensive momentum was quickly contained, but the large number of Japanese corpses surprisingly formed a fortification, allowing the follow-up Japanese army to rely on the wall of corpses to engage in a shootout with the Chinese defenders.

  In the exchange, Yamada's unit didn't gain much advantage and retreated to their starting position after half an hour of attacking. As usual, the Japanese artillery began a routine bombardment of the outer fortifications and main buildings. Of the 831 men who launched the attack with Yamada's unit, only 127 survived.

  The massive casualties in the second intense shock shook Takeuchi Hiroshi's fragile nerves. After understanding, Takeuchi Hiroshi learned that the Chinese garrison's firepower points almost every time after the attack had to make major adjustments, and due to geographical constraints, the previous method of using trench mortars to destroy the advance was completely ineffective here. The lack of concrete-piercing shells also made the heavy artillery bombardment effect less than ideal! And the urgently needed special ammunition was just transported from Tokyo.

  Takeuchi Hiroshi's fist heavily slammed onto the wooden observation port, and he was well aware that he had encountered a master of defensive warfare.