Just as the 1149th Tank Regiment launched a counterattack against the invading Japanese 148th Infantry Regiment, more than eighty 60mm and 81mm mortars belonging to the 200th Division also opened fire.
As the most elite unit of the national army, the 200 Division was originally equipped with 12 75mm howitzers, but these artillery pieces had already been lost in the battles during this period.
Gao Hongming simply air-dropped a lot of mortars to them a few days ago. Although they were not as powerful as those mountain cannons, they were still better than nothing.
As expected, the counterattack of the 1149th Regiment was met with a crazy counterattack by the Japanese army. Accompanied by intensive gunfire, the offensive formation composed of more than 20 Wehr tanks and VC tanks heard metal crisp sounds like bells from time to time.
It was the sound of a tank being hit.
"boom!"
A Vicker tank fired a shot at a Japanese firepower point in the front left, and muzzle fireworks accompanied by black smoke drifted around.
"Asshole, you missed the target!" A second lieutenant who was bending down and following the tank couldn't help but cursed. Next to him, all the soldiers lowered their waists and carefully observed the surroundings with medium-sized rifles.
From time to time, someone fired at the surrounding area.
The sound of gunfire and explosions instantly enveloped the Japanese positions, and occasionally you could hear the screams of Japanese soldiers and the creaking of tanks crushing the road.
Colonel Shiota Yoshizo carefully hid behind a big tree and observed the movement ahead. The counterattack of the national army on the opposite side had been going on for more than half an hour, and there was still no sign of retreat, which also confused him.
As far as he knew, the Chinese army's equipment has always been very poor due to its poor national strength and economic conditions. Take the Chinese army as an example, even the most elite troops, each soldier is not equipped with many bullets, only seventy or eighty.
Shooting bullets is pretty good.
The bullets are like this, let alone the artillery shells. Ten minutes of artillery preparation before the attack is considered a luxury.
But now, more than twenty minutes have passed, and the artillery shells fired from the opposite side still show no intention of stopping. This makes the Japanese army who are used to five minutes very uncomfortable.
But these are not the worst. Facing the counterattack of the national army tanks, the 148th Infantry Regiment, which lacks anti-tank weapons, has great difficulty in resisting.
Colonel Yoshizo Yoshida called his chief of staff: "Hurry up and organize a support team to stop the Chinese attack!"
"Hai!"
Soon, Colonel Yoshizo Shiota saw two figures rushing out of the bunker, running to a bomb crater and jumping in. Then the last soldier rushed over, but when he rushed out, there was a dense explosion in front of him.
There was a gunshot, and the soldier screamed and fell to the ground.
Seeing the soldier fall to the ground, a soldier who first ran to hide in the crater stood up and tried to come back to rescue his companions, but was held back by another soldier.
"Baga, is that guy a stupid pig?" Yoshizo Shiota watched from behind and became furious.
No one around said a word, this is how cruel the battlefield is.
In a situation like this, if you go to the rescue, you may not be able to save the person, and you may have to catch more people.
But it's not okay to just sit back and ignore it, as this will seriously affect morale.
Fortunately, it was the Standing Team who went on the mission this time. Their life or death was decided the moment they jumped out of the trench.
"boom……"
Just when Yoshizo Shiota was feeling uneasy, a Vicker tank suddenly fired a shot into the crater where the two militants were hiding.
Although the Vickers tank type B was only equipped with a 47mm short-barreled gun, its power was not small. One shot hit the crater, and the huge shock wave blew the two Japanese soldiers hiding in the crater into the sky.
The rumbling sound of metal tracks rubbing is like the grin of death. As a rapid-fire gun, the Vickers tank's main gun can fire at a rate of 10 per minute. Coupled with a Vickers 7.7mm machine gun, the powerful firepower
The Japanese troops of the 148th Regiment retreated step by step.
Faced with the rising casualty rate, the chief of staff approached Yoshizo Shiota and said, "Your Excellency, Wing Commander, the Chinese counterattack firepower is very strong. We have suffered heavy casualties. Should we retreat to the defensive position behind us quickly?"
Although Shiota Yoshizo was unwilling to accept it, as an experienced commander, Shiota Yoshizo knew that in the face of menacing tanks, it was best to retreat without complete defenses and anti-armor weapons.
Method.
He let out a long sigh: "Okay, immediately order the troops to alternate cover and retreat to the rear defense line to reorganize."
"Hai!"
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"Master... the little devil has retreated!"
Seeing the Japanese retreat, Gao Jiwen, who was watching the battle, breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the 1149th Regiment to withdraw. This regiment was the only mobile unit in his hands and could not be easily damaged.
However, he also looked up at the sky. At this time, the sky had returned to tranquility, as if the fierce air battle just now was just an illusion.
But Gao Jiwen knew very well that if his own planes had not arrived in time to annihilate the Japanese fleet, many people in the 200 Division would have died.
But soon something troubled him again. The fighting in the past two days had been too fierce, and the ammunition and materials dropped by the last airdrop were almost consumed. It seemed that he had to send a telegram to the headquarters again.
Rangoon Expeditionary Force Headquarters
"Sir, there is a call from the 200 Division. The Japanese offensive has been very fierce these days and the ammunition is consumed too quickly. Gao Jiwen requested the headquarters to conduct an airdrop to Tonggu City again." A staff officer handed a telegram to Luo Zhuoying with both hands.
"Nonsense!" Luo Zhuoying took the telegram and slapped it on the table in displeasure.
"More than 500 tons of supplies were airdropped to him a few days ago, including 3 million rounds of ammunition, 30,000 original German hand grenades, dozens of mortars and combat artillery, and even several bottles of medicine.
car.
It has only been a few days, why do you need supplies again? What does Gao Jiwen do for food? Does he dare to steal and sell arms supplies?"
Du Yuming on the side said helplessly: "My Chief Luo, even if Gao Jiwen dares to resell arms and supplies, but now he is besieged in Tonggu City, who can he sell to? He can't sell to the Japanese, right?"
When Du Yuming said this, Luo Zhuoying also thought about this and said angrily: "But I also have to have supplies. Stilwell also said that it will take half a month for US military aid to arrive for us, so what can I give it to?"
he?
The last airdrop of materials was coordinated by Chongqing, and Gao Laodi was paid according to the market price. Only then did they send a fleet of transport planes to airdrop 200.
Now Gao Jiwen is clamoring to continue airdrops, what can I do? You can’t let me pay for it, right? I have no money!”
Looking at the angry Luo Zhuoying, Du Yuming also felt a little headache.
The current situation is that the Liantai Militia to which Gao Hongming belongs is a private armed force, and all military supplies, food, and wages for the army are paid for by him personally. They can't let Gao Hongming pay for it himself, so as not to cause chaos.