Explosions resounded one after another, gunshots became more intensive, and in the city riddled with holes, the attacking Chinese troops and the Japanese troops who were holding on to their death began a fierce hand-to-hand battle.
Hand-to-hand combat has always been cruel and bloody, and in this narrow alley, the two sides fought without giving in.
"Captain, the Chinese army has gone crazy! They have launched a general offensive!"
The Chinese troops attacking the city fought very frantically and bravely, breaking through several Japanese defense lines, which made the Japanese panic.
Although the Chinese troops they encountered in the past were often brave, their inferior equipment and backward tactics destined them to be defeated.
Their 14th Division started by rushing to cross the Yellow River, and defeated a garrison defending the Yellow River with only a few losses. Then they effortlessly captured Heze, which was guarded by a division, and then went straight to Lanfeng.
Along the way, although many of the Chinese troops who blocked the attack were killed on the battlefield, their bravery and unnecessary sacrifice only resulted in a small number of Japanese casualties. After all, the gap in strength between the two sides was too great.
But since entering the Lanfeng area, the 14th Division, which has always been rampant, seems to have stepped into a quagmire. It no longer dares to be as unscrupulous as before, but is struggling every step of the way.
Their opponents are all well-equipped Central Army troops, and they are no longer the local troops with old sleeves made in Hanyang.
Central Army units such as the 74th Army were not only equipped with the most sophisticated weapons in China at the time, but also the best soldiers. Most of the officers were Huangpu soldiers who were not afraid of death.
These Huangpu officers always took the lead in battles. Although they suffered heavy casualties, under their brave leadership, the soldiers at the bottom were no longer cowardly, but suddenly turned into howling tigers and wolves.
The 14th Division fought against these Central Army elites several times in the Lanfeng area, but failed to gain any advantage at all. Now they were forced to switch from offense to defense. You can imagine their frustration.
The Japanese wing captain also heard the sound of gunfire getting closer and closer to the wing headquarters. He didn't understand why the Chinese army, which had always been vulnerable, suddenly became so brave and good at fighting.
If the entire Chinese army becomes so powerful, I'm afraid they...the captain cannot imagine the consequences.
"Captain! Chiye Brigade is requesting reinforcements. They have been surrounded by Chinese people!" A combat staff officer holding a phone made the commander recover his thoughts.
The captain took a deep breath and ordered: "Tell Ikeno-kun that reinforcements will arrive soon, please insist on it!"
"Captain, we have no extra troops in our hands..." a staff officer reminded.
"These are imperial soldiers. Now I order all soldiers who can fight to take up arms and join the battle!"
The commander pointed to the signal soldiers and logistics soldiers in the wing headquarters and gave the order.
Someone frowned and said, "But they are on the battlefield, who will contact and guard the radio station?"
"Now it's a life-and-death moment, and there's no point guarding the radio!"
These logistics soldiers were not originally part of the combat unit, but were now summoned by the company commander to prepare for the battle.
The blood-red rising sun flag was hoisted, and the Japanese army captain personally led hundreds of counterattack troops composed of logistics, reporting troops, wounded soldiers, etc. to join the battlefield and launched a desperate counterattack.
Seeing the blood-red rising sun flag coming over, the Japanese soldiers who had been struggling to support them screamed as if they had been beaten to death. That was their alliance flag.
"Damn, the little devil reinforcements have arrived!"
Seeing the large number of reinforcements coming from behind the Japanese, the deputy battalion elder spat out his pipe and spoke viciously.
"The reinforcements are coming and they are like this, we will still beat them to pieces!"
The student soldier Wang Zikun has now become the deputy company commander. His bookishness has long been washed away by gunpowder smoke. At this moment, he is grabbing a cake covered in mud and stuffing it into his mouth.
Yang Ling saw in the smoke, countless Japanese soldiers rushed toward them under the guidance of the Rising Sun Flag. He estimated that there were at least five or six hundred Japanese soldiers. With the few remaining brothers in their third battalion, it was quite difficult, but the division commander
Wang Yaowu was supervising the battle from behind and did not dare to retreat.
He waved back and shouted to the company commander Shunzi: "Shunzi! Send people to find reinforcements, let's hold the Japanese here!"
After Yang Ling finished speaking, the company commander Shunzi casually nodded to a few brothers and said: "Hurry up and find nearby reinforcements. The sooner the better!"
The brothers who were called did not hesitate at all, and immediately got up from their hiding places, turned around and disappeared into the ruins.
Several battalions of attacking troops seemed to be numerous, but they suddenly spread into the spider-web-like city and disappeared in an instant. Only the sound of gunshots was heard, but no one was seen.
"Machine gunner, occupy the roof on the left and hold it for me!"
"Wang Beard! Leave two squads at the back, don't let the Japanese take advantage of you!"
"Pull the captured infantry cannon to me behind the gun. Use good steel on the blade!"
"Shunzi, your people retreat a hundred meters to hide and wait for my order!"
"Yes!" Shunzi responded loudly, turning around and retreating with dozens of brothers.
Yang Ling issued orders in an orderly manner, and the brothers, who were all dirty and beaten, began to use the ruins to prepare for battle.
The Japanese commander personally led the reinforcements and quickly launched a counterattack. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers shouted loud slogans and rushed over. The posture was like a flood that broke the embankment, making the brothers holding guns dry.
His face tightened, even veterans were shocked by this momentum.
"When we meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins! Give me a fight!" Yang Ling saw that his brothers were feeling guilty, so he took the lead in firing with a machine gun in his arms.
He pulled the trigger and started sweeping wildly. The Japanese who rushed straight towards him suddenly had a bloody hole in their chests. The blood mist dispersed and poured out in a large area.
"ah!"
"Onboard! Onboard!!"
The Japs behind were not frightened by this, and roared and quickened their pace. Yang Ling threw the machine gun with the empty magazine to the machine gunner, fired the grenade and threw it out, and exploded a large area with a loud bang.
Seeing that the twenty-odd Japanese who rushed over were beaten to pieces in an instant, Lao Yanqiang also shouted: "What a coward, beat him like a fool!"
"Whizzing!"
"Da da da--"
"Bang! Bang!"
All kinds of weapons were fired with a crash, and it was a terrifying barrage. Under the violent fire, the nearly a hundred Japanese soldiers rushing in front were felled into a pool of blood like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
The Japanese soldiers behind stepped on the bloody corpses and continued to rush upward. The bullets that fired back also flew over, and the dense bullets intertwined into a large and airtight net among the ruins.
There was a loud popping sound on the wall, and in an instant it was covered with hundreds of transparent bullet holes. The brothers' heads popped open like ripe watermelons, with blood and brains flying everywhere.
The brothers threw strings of grenades at the Japs, and the Japs also threw melon grenades at them. The explosions continued, and the tyrannical shock wave knocked the brothers upside down.
A brother struggled to throw the grenade out, but before he could throw the second one, the previous one was picked up and thrown back by the Japanese. He stared at the smoking grenade and tried to avoid it, but there was a loud bang.
, his legs instantly exploded into pieces.
"Ah! My legs!" The brother looked at his lower half that suddenly disappeared and howled in horror. With a pop, half of his head also flew out.
A Japanese lieutenant rushed forward shirtless. The command knife held high made him a target. Several bullets hit his head. Like an exploding watermelon, his head exploded, red and white.
The water drenched him all over, and he fell unwillingly into the smelly ditch.