The roar of the heavy artillery exploded throughout the space like rolling spring thunder, and the air ripped apart by the shells made a harsh whistle.
The masonry of the street was completely turned upside down by the violent bombardment, and the several-meter-square crater was surrounded by bloody and scorched black soil.
The houses in the ruins were like paper, torn to pieces in an instant, and the smoke and dust covered the sky, as if it was dark.
Company commander Wang Huzi saw a brother trapped by a collapsed house. The brother waved to him with a painful expression and his mouth wide open. Wang Huzi’s head was buzzing and he couldn’t hear what he was shouting. He wanted to rush over to save people.
But just when he stood up, before he could stand firm, a cannonball landed nearby and exploded with a loud bang. He was knocked over by the strong shock wave and hit a pillar hard. He was knocked unconscious and felt that his internal organs were about to be broken.
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When he shook his head and spat out the dirt that splashed into his mouth, he looked up and saw that there was only a hole with smoke coming out where the brother had been pressed. Torn cotton clothes and broken limbs were scattered around in disorder.
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"Grandma's little devil!"
When Wang Huzi saw one of his brothers exploded to nothing, he was so angry that he punched the ground, his eyes were red and he shed tears.
Heavy artillery ravaged the Zhonghe Bridge position, many houses were razed to the ground, and the rubble-strewn streets were completely blocked by collapsed houses. The smoke filled the air, and many brothers choked and coughed.
The Japanese infantry stepped on explosive spots and rushed forward. They charged forward fiercely, holding sharp bayonets and howling.
"Ready to fight! Prepare to fight!"
A mournful roar could be heard from among the ruins. Zhang Lingfu's 305th Regiment, which was guarding the front line, suffered heavy losses in the shelling. Even though they could still move, they grabbed their guns and rushed out of the house.
Da da da!
Before the order to fire was given, the machine gunner behind the sandbag had already pulled the trigger and fired a long burst at the Japs rushing into range.
The Japs in front were immediately mopped down, but the Japs behind were not frightened by the roaring machine guns, and continued to charge forward with sharp bayonets in hand.
Zhang Lingfu could clearly see the ferocious face of the Japs. He shouted and opened fire. Rifles, machine guns, mortars...all the firepower was directed at the Japs.
Hundreds of Japanese soldiers rushing up along the street were swept away like wheat. However, the Japanese soldiers were very accurate in shooting, and the whizzing bullets came back. Many soldiers lying behind the bunkers were shot in the head as soon as they raised their heads.
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Boom!
The Japanese soldiers' Type 92 infantry artillery also pulled up, opened its frame, fixed the auxiliary hoe, and opened fire with a roar.
A building on the left side of the street was hit. A heavy machine gun and four soldiers stationed inside were blown away and fell to the street. Most of the small building collapsed in an instant, and the falling bricks and gravel hit the building below.
The brother's hands and feet were bruised and he hurriedly evaded.
Zhang Lingfu fired and shouted toward the back: "Kill the Japanese infantry artillery for me!"
Zhang Lingfu's 305th Regiment was well equipped, and the mortar company immediately adjusted its forces and began to fight back against the Type 92 infantry artillery that the Japanese had pulled to the street.
On the battlefield where bullets were flying everywhere, the accuracy of the mortar battery was not very good. Most of the shots missed and fell behind the Japanese infantry guns. Zhang Lingfu was so angry that he yelled "trash".
The soldiers of these mortar companies were new recruits who had just been recruited a month ago. It turned out that most of the veterans were dead in Luodian Town, Shanghai. Zhang Lingfu scolded them to no avail. They were not trained enough and it was weird to be able to shoot accurately.
On the other hand, the Japs were extremely accurate. Any target they aimed at was destroyed in the blink of an eye. Several machine guns of the defenders were accurately hit and were blown up without a trace.
Bullets rained down everywhere, and the ruined streets were littered with corpses, their feet stained with blood. Although the Japanese screamed fiercely, they were still unable to get past the thunder.
"Bagaya road!"
The war was not going well, and the captain of the 36th Regiment, Osaka Wakiitajiro, was so angry that his face was twisted, he pulled out his saber and smashed the table into pieces.
Zhang Lingfu's troops fought extremely tenaciously, beyond the expectations of the Japanese soldiers. Almost half of the hundreds of people they attacked in the first wave were killed. The remaining people used the debris obstacles on the street to start a shooting battle with the defenders.
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Casualties from shootings in narrow streets continued to rise. Medical soldiers covered in blood were busy with their feet on the ground, and after temporary rescue and bandaging, they continued to send the wounded down.
The Japanese commander Osaka Wakitajiro dispatched a tank squadron. The tanks in the Japanese army were not used intensively on the battlefield, but were distributed among the infantry regiments to cover the infantry attack.
Japanese tanks and armored vehicles drove onto the streets. They were like monsters wrapped in steel, spitting out tongues of fire and smashing everything in front of them to pieces.
The rubble and debris on the street had no impact on the fast-turning tanks and armored vehicles, which were running rampant and rolled over.
"Sun Dahe——"
"Here!" Company Commander Sun Dahe, whose face was bleeding, heard Zhang Lingfu's shout and hurried over.
Zhang Lingfu pointed at the Japanese tanks and armored vehicles that were rushing over and ordered: "Use gasoline bottles to burn them!"
Without any hesitation, Sun Dahe shouted at the top of his lungs to some people to follow him and burn the Japanese tanks.
The gasoline bottles were already prepared. Each of them held the bottles filled with gasoline and climbed into the ruined building. They watched the Japanese tanks rampaging below and slaughtered their comrades. They grabbed the burning gasoline bottles and shot at the Japanese soldiers without hesitation.
The tank jumped down.
These death-defying soldiers burned together with the gasoline bottles, and the cluster grenades tied to their bodies also exploded. Soon the Japanese tanks turned into a large ball of violently burning fireballs.
The red-hot Japanese tank soldiers came out screaming, and they were quickly beaten into pieces by the defenders in the distance with angry machine guns.
The Japanese tanks behind them were not particularly afraid. They continued to crush the corpses and rushed forward, breaking through the barricade. Many defenders who could not dodge were caught in the chains, leaving only their flesh and blood.
Zhang Lingfu's 305th Regiment had fought bloody battles, and all the elite veterans had long since been wiped out. In the past few days, more than a thousand people had been killed in Nanjing in the bloody battles. Facing the fierce attack of the Japanese soldiers, they really could not withstand the fierce attack and had to move towards the Second Army.
Prevent retreat.
Yang Ling's guerrilla battalion was guarding the second defense. Seeing Zhang Lingfu and others retreating in embarrassment, followed by the Japanese soldiers' fire-breathing tanks, they immediately jumped into the battle.
There were barbed wire obstacles piled up in front of Yang Ling's secondary defense position. The Japanese tanks rushed in front of them and tried to clear a bloody path, but it was so easy there.
The brothers holding cluster grenades had already rushed out from both sides, stuffed the grenades into the bloody chains, and exploded with a loud bang. The Japanese tanks were lying on the ground, and they could only roar on the spot.
The Japanese infantry followed the tanks and attacked forward. Yang Ling and the others counterattacked with ferocious firepower. More than twenty Czech light machine guns formed an airtight fire network, leaving numerous corpses in front of the position.
The Japanese were unwilling to give in and fired smoke bombs at Yang Ling and the others. The incendiary bombs caused debris and wood to crackle and burn. The Japanese infantry used the cover of the smoke bombs to rush forward.
Yang Ling would not stupidly fight with them with bayonets. He greeted the Japanese soldiers who rushed forward with a hand grenade and sent them all to see the King of Hell.
The Japanese's frontal attack was blocked, so they immediately sent people to outflank the enemy from both sides. However, mines had already been laid there, and there was a loud explosion. The Japanese did not get a favor and retreated.
The two sides fought fiercely until dusk. The Japanese planes flew over and strafed again. The bombs turned the Zhonghe Bridge upside down, leaving corpses and scorched earth everywhere.
The Japanese infantry once again mobilized two brigades of field elites to attack from all sides. In order to avoid being surrounded, the defenders had to temporarily retreat to the front line of Guanghua Gate to rely on the city wall to resist.