Chapter 46: The Most Bitter Battle

  The Japanese army's thirty-six tanks had approached the war horses, continuously using machine guns to sweep around.

  A dozen cavalrymen hadn't even opened fire before they fell under the tank's machine guns.

  Even if they were given time to shoot, bullets would have no effect on tanks.

  "Disperse and retreat." Liang Fei shouted loudly.

  He knew that facing tanks, cavalry had no way out.

  The cavalry dispersed even more, with several war horses running together.

  Very soon, the cavalry seemed to have grasped some rules. As long as they approached the Japanese army's position on one side of the road, these tanks would not shoot.

  A considerable number of cavalry launched an attack along the Japanese army's position, since they couldn't complete the task of wiping out the artillery, it would be better to assist the third brigade in quickly taking down the position.

  Yang Junran stood on a prominent earth slope, holding binoculars to observe the battle situation in front of him.

  The number of Japanese cavalrymen has been dwindling, but it is clear that the warriors of the cavalry regiment are still quite skilled.

  However, facing tanks, cavalry was fundamentally unable to play any role at all.

  The third battalion attacked the Japanese army's position, which was in a state of utter chaos, with cavalry clashes and Japanese tanks.

  In addition to the troops of both China and Japan, the enemy and we were mixed together.

  However, this also has its advantages, that is, the Japanese tanks have become more cautious and do not dare to fire wildly or sweep the cavalry.

  It's likely that the third battalion has made some progress in their attack here, compared to the first battalion.

  "Orderly, inform Colonel Kang of the 1st Regiment to pass on the order. After resolving the battle, leave behind a machine gun battalion, an artillery battalion and one infantry battalion. The rest of the troops will quickly reinforce the 3rd Regiment." Yang Junran saw that the battle was almost resolved on the side of the 1st Regiment and hastily shouted to the orderly beside him.

  The orderly ran swiftly towards the First Regiment, his speed astonishing Yang Junran.

  The four Type 92 infantry guns withdrawn by Yang Junran also began to be transported towards the tanks, with a total weight of only 0.212 tons for each Type 92 infantry gun, which is more than 400 catties.

  Over 400 catties of stuff, plus cannon wheels, only two soldiers are needed to easily pull them running around here.

  Seeing more than 20 artillerymen pulling out Type 92 infantry guns into view, Yang Junran suddenly remembered something.

  After taking a look around, apart from a cavalry regiment, there was no one else at all.

  "Come here." Yang Junran pointed at a cavalryman and shouted loudly.

  The cavalry quickly ran over, Yang Junran whispered in the cavalry's ear for a while, and the cavalry quickly ran towards the artillery.

  The fierce battle in front was still going on, and the First Brigade had already engaged in a bayonet fight with the Japanese army.

  It's still the third trip here, and there is no progress at all.

  Deng Ziyong was extremely anxious, but there was no way at all.

  The preceding cavalry had given them their greatest assistance, but several charges were all beaten down by the Japanese machine gun fire.

  "Battalion Commander!" Deng Ziyong shouted loudly.

  A major with a smoky face quickly ran over and said "report".

  "Suppress the enemy's machine gun fire for me, let them shoot their way out, I'll relieve you of your duty!" Deng Ziyong shouted hastily.

  "Yes, retreat." The major replied and ran back towards his own artillery position.

  The 109th and 92nd infantry guns were scattered behind the Third Brigade, shooting while preventing the Japanese artillery from attacking.

  Currently due to urgency, no trenches have been dug.

  Artillerymen must also pay attention to the Japanese artillery's strike during firing.

  "Fire!" The artillery battalion commander shouted loudly.

  The Type 92 infantry cannon fired rapidly, and shell after shell of shrapnel shot out towards the Japanese army's position.

  Shrapnel shells slowly exploded on the Japanese army's position, and the bullets inside flew quickly, shooting down the Japanese machine gunners.

  Many Japanese machine gun positions were hit, and the remaining devils also began to hide slowly.

  "Brothers, charge with me!" Deng Ziyu shouted loudly.

  Deng Ziyong did not charge forward himself but instead wielded a shotgun and directed his troops' charge.

  Yang Junran soon discovered this point and his face was somewhat displeased. He carefully observed the third brigade's attack.

  Fortunately, Ou Yang Jian, the deputy commander of the third expedition, personally led the troops to charge forward, which made Yang Junran feel much more at ease.

  The Type 92 infantry gun had already begun to move into the nearby bushes under Yang Junran's command, waiting for an opportunity to fire at the tanks.

  Although Yang Junran knew that the armor thickness of these Japanese tanks was not very strong, he also had no confidence in whether the infantry guns could destroy these tanks.

  The Japanese tanks have started moving, shells are constantly firing at the charging soldiers, with a mighty and domineering appearance.

  Yang Junran's face was getting uglier and uglier, and the third brigade's attack was actually repelled by the Japanese tank shells.

  The new recruits of the Third Brigade are not few, and Yang Junran is intentionally bringing them up for training.

  But he did not expect that the third battalion would perform so poorly.

  With a loud "boom", a Type 92 infantry gun had already fired out.

  According to Yang Junran's orders, these Type 92 infantry guns were all laid flat for firing, increasing the penetrating power of the shells.

  The nearby Japanese tank's flank was visibly hit and the entire tank began to shake.

  The shell finally penetrated and left a hole in the side of the tank.

  The concentrated tank is Type 95 Ha-Go, and the armor thickness on its sides is only 8mm!

  Seeing one of their own tanks destroyed nearby, the remaining tanks became more cautious.

  The troops of the third brigade in front reorganized their attack, and the cavalry regiment also began to coordinate with the third brigade's attack.

  "Fall back to their flank and attack." Liang Fei held the Type 44 rifle, shot and killed a Japanese soldier, then shouted loudly.

  A regiment of cavalry swiftly circled around the flank of the position, coordinating with the third brigade's attack.

  Yang Junran put down his binoculars and said to the nearby signal soldier, "Send a telegram to Zhang Junzhe, where have their tanks gone? Do they want me to invite them?"

  The signalman saw Yang Junran get angry and quickly ran to the radio next to him, continuing to send messages to the tank regiment.

  After seeing the signalman leave, Yang Junran raised his binoculars once again.

  The officers and soldiers of the third battalion launched a charge under the cover of machine guns and artillery.

  Many warriors fell under the bullets, but Ouyang Jian still charged forward in the first place.

  "Huh." Yang Junran's eyebrows furrowed, saying in surprise.

  On the Japanese position, although they were suppressed by artillery and machine guns.

  However, many Japanese troops were still able to fire and the cavalry on their flank was clearly their biggest threat.

  The Japanese army's machine gun firepower has already started to turn its muzzle.

  As the Japanese machine gun fire unfolded, more than a dozen cavalrymen fell under the bullets.

  The war horse was neighing constantly, as if mourning for its master.

  A burst of bullets came shooting in quickly, a tall warhorse suddenly fell to the ground.

  The third battalion's offensive had some signs of progress, and Ou Yang Jun had already approached within two hundred meters of the enemy's position.

  He knew all this was because of the cover of the cavalry, otherwise he would not have charged to this position.

  "Launch smoke bombs, cover our retreat!" Ouyang Jian yelled at the soldiers behind him.

  Each connected grenade launcher was quickly set up and fired at the Japanese army's position with micro-grenades.

  Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ouyang Jian quickly shouted: "Brothers, follow me and charge!"

  Hundreds of officers and soldiers followed Ou Yang Jian's back and launched an attack on the Japanese army.

  Deng Ziyong discovered an opportunity later and quickly ordered a regiment to reinforce, but he never took action himself, only directing the troops.

  Independent Mixed Brigade Second Division Headquarters

  Toka Kōji's complexion was getting worse and worse, it was clear that his own troops were already at a disadvantage.

  A large detachment of reinforcements was still on the march, while their own tanks were being held up.

  "Orders..." Kōsuke Suga was about to give orders, but then remembered that he only had a single company's worth of troops under his command. If he were to commit this company to battle, his own situation would likely become even more precarious.

  "Commander, the mountainous area reports that the Chinese tanks are actively disengaging from our troops and rapidly reinforcing in this direction. There are a total of 39 Chinese tanks, all of which are Type 97 medium tanks." A staff officer holding a telegram ran to the front of Tsuneo Kōji and said.

  "Order them to pin down the actions of these tanks, once they join the battlefield, the entire situation will be unfavorable for us. Order the divisional artillery troops to suppress the hidden cannons in the grass, and have all tank units launch a full-scale assault to assist the troops in holding their positions."

  After saluting, he quickly ran over to one side.

  "Boom." With a loud explosion, another Type 95 tank was hit and became the second tank to be knocked out.

  Four 92-pattern infantry guns were scattered and hidden in the bushes, looking for opportunities to fire shells.

  Due to the flat trajectory, it was still no problem for the Type 95 tank with only a few millimeters of armor, but as the artillery fired, their positions were gradually exposed.

  Machine guns began firing into the bushes, and some of the tall grasses were quickly cut in two.

  There were still many bullets hitting the infantry gun's shield, producing a "ding-dong" sound.

  Fortunately, the rumble of tanks drowned out such sounds; otherwise, as soon as the Japanese army opened fire, these infantry guns would become a pile of scrap iron.

  Yang Junran anxiously watched the direction of the First Brigade, he knew that as long as the First Brigade solved the battle, the entire battlefield situation would change.

  However, the Japanese army was not so easy to deal with. Although the fierce battle on the position was going on, it was not an easy task to end the fight in a short period of time.

  "Sir, look." A messenger pointed at the Japanese army formation not far away.

  "Damn it, we're done for." Yang Junran couldn't help but curse as he followed the direction of the messenger.