No matter how helpless we are, facing the weak national power, we can only succumb helplessly.
Even though Liu Lang had made a lot of efforts, Chen Yunfa lived up to his trust and destroyed the most important wireless field radio station in the Sihang Warehouse, and even persuaded Xie Jinyuan, a pure soldier who believed in obeying military orders as his bounden duty.
However, the general trend of destiny cannot be completely changed.
After the secret agents of the Military Commission's Investigation Bureau failed to deliver the letter, the national government, which had been cornered by the consuls of Western countries, directly ordered the Third Theater Command to send Zhang Boting, Chief of Staff of the 88th Division, to the concession in person and find a way to contact the Four Industries
The warehouse defenders informed them to retreat.
The senior officials of the government are not stupid. Through the battle in which the defenders of Sihang Warehouse were extremely determined and killed a large number of Japanese troops, they also guessed the intentions of the commanders and soldiers of Sihang Warehouse. They did not want to withdraw, so they had to fight here.
The Japanese army fought bloody battles to the end, even if the Japanese army really brought in heavy artillery.
If it were in the past, these senior officials would have burst into tears and shouted a few words of heroism, so they would not have gone out of their way to support and rescue them. But that is not possible now, they must withdraw. They are good at delivering intelligence.
The special agents who entered the Sihang Warehouse were like meat buns beating a dog and never came back. The fight at the Sihang Warehouse was more exciting than the previous two days. It could only be the immediate superior who sent out the defenders of the Sihang Warehouse.
Not to mention how the 88th Division Major General Chief of Staff Zhang Boting arrived at the concession and confirmed with the concession commander Smallet what kind of treatment his subordinates would receive. It has been proven in the past time and space that in the face of power, all promises
It's all farts.
Just this afternoon, Sihang Warehouse and the proud Jiro Wakiba had another head-to-head confrontation.
Colonel Jiro Wakiba, who owns two 120mm cannons, is obviously a bit arrogant.
Of course, his advantage is not only the possession of two powerful weapons that can destroy strong and thick walls, but also the attitude of the commander of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force. It is clear that the Army General has approved his strategy and tactics, although he did not say it explicitly.
, but the arrival of the two 120mm cannons is the most silent recognition, which is the real source of adrenaline for Jiro Wakiba.
An army colonel is considered a person in ordinary times, but he is only a person and is far from a real big shot. Even Army General Matsui Iwane, the commander of Japan's Shanghai Expeditionary Force, is actually just a figure among Japanese big shots.
Otherwise, he would not be so concerned about the war of aggression against China.
Army generals have to work hard to climb up, let alone the army colonel Wakiitajiro. In fact, in China, a colonel is nothing more than an army colonel like Namdanza.
You said, with the recognition of His Majesty the Commander-in-Chief in charge of an army of hundreds of thousands, how could he not be intimidated by Itajiro? That would be a shame.
When I saw two 120mm heavy guns placed 3,000 meters away from the front of the warehouse, they fired two consecutive shots. One shot blasted the barricade in front of the Sihang Warehouse building and left a big hole in the wall. The other shot even more
After almost destroying the wall, Jiro Wakiita gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, and once again concentrated three infantry squadrons to serve as the main frontal attack, and two infantry squadrons to serve as feint attacks on the two flanks. In the afternoon, another strong attack came.
Although the brazen firing of two cannons had frightened the Westerners, he said that the Chinese would give the clearest answer tonight. His strategy of occupying the Sihang Warehouse without any bloodshed might be fully realized by tomorrow morning.
.However, this does not prove that Wakiitajiro did not have the intention to occupy this fortress through force.
Just relying on the help of Westerners to drive away the Chinese defenders cannot prove the bravery of the Imperial Japanese Army, especially since more than 800 people of the 36th Infantry Regiment have been killed here. The squadron leader, squad leader, Cao
Long, the number of officers killed in the battle was even more shocking. Wakitajiro, who was already a little disappointed, naturally still hoped to capture this fortress with force.
According to his idea, he would use 120 cannons to open the way, and he would attack again. If he couldn't attack again, he would just sit back and wait for victory the next day.
Of course, we can never say that Wakibajiro is stupid. He knew that the Chinese defenders of the warehouse were strong and did not want to attack it. It was not only the courage that the two cannons gave him, but mainly because he understood the bottom line of Westerners. Through
In these two days of dealing with Westerners, Wakitajiro, like his commander Matsui Iwane, who had already taken risks, was no longer as awed as before.
Because they found that as long as they were tough, the other side would give in. As long as they didn't really detonate those two super bombs and push the Westerners to a corner, in fact, even if there were bullets or artillery shells falling in the Western Concession,
They have to swallow this breath first, so as not to cause any trouble for them.
So this time, Jiro Wakibata directly ordered two cannons to aim directly at the warehouse building. Even if they missed, they would bomb into the concession and most of the people killed would be Chinese. Anyway, they would never hit the two large gas tanks.
Just fine.
However, the Chinese people who are also risking their lives on the south bank of the Suzhou River are not stupid. Standing directly behind the Sixing Warehouse, they cannot see how their own troops torture the little devils. Most of them stand 50 meters away from the Sixing Warehouse.
This way, we can roughly see the fierce battle between Sihang Warehouse and the Japanese army, and we will not be hit by stray bullets from the Japanese army, unless the Japanese army deliberately shoots towards the crowd.
There are smarter ones, stand directly around the big gas tank, and if you have the ability, you will hit me. If the gas tank bursts, I will not die alone, but everyone will finish the game together.
It is estimated that the one who is really anxious is Brigadier General Smartet, the commander of the Western garrison who took the initiative to place his observation point 400 meters away from the rear flank of the Sihang Warehouse. The Chinese were furious and refused to retreat, and the Japanese were also there.
Crazy, we brought in 120 heavy artillery today, and maybe 240 heavy artillery tomorrow.
With the support of 120 heavy artillery, the firepower of the Japanese army was indeed different. The barricades that could defend against heavy machine guns were like paper under the bombardment of heavy artillery. After the Japanese army bombarded them with several consecutive artillery shells, they were reduced to ruins. The first building of Sihang Warehouse
The defensive line was lost before even the Japanese infantry began to attack.
Fortunately, when the Japanese heavy artillery began to test-fire, Xie Jinyuan strictly ordered all the officers and soldiers of the First Company to return to the warehouse and abandon the first line of defense. Otherwise, just from those few guns, Lei Xiong's First Company would lose an infantry squad.
.
After clearing the barricades, the two 120-meter heavy artillery began to aim at the building and fire. After more than twenty shots in a row, the solid walls of the Four Rows Warehouse were no longer as indestructible as before, and more than a dozen shocking large pits were like scars.
Two windows that were left on the wall and were completely sealed by sandbags were directly hit by cannons and completely exploded, leaving two terrifying large holes. At the same time, the cannon shells were even shot into the room and exploded, destroying the two windows.
The room exploded into a mess.
Two hiding machine gun teams died in the horrific explosion shock wave. The soldiers vomiting purple-black blood stopped breathing before the medics arrived.
The power of the 120 cannon is unparalleled.
Seeing Jiro Wakiba who arrived at the headquarters 800 meters away from the front battlefield in person, he looked excited. Damn it, if he had made up his mind earlier to call in heavy artillery to assist, maybe his 36th Infantry Regiment would have shown the bravery of the Imperial Japanese Army.
Occupying this fortress is not as difficult as imagined.
Even Kitajima Takeo, who did not agree with this storming, was a little shaken by the 120 cannon's record at this moment. Perhaps, the commander's decision this time was not so wrong. Attacking and occupying the enemy's position and forcing the enemy to leave the position are important.
Publicity and military exploits are completely different. One is in the sky and the other is on the ground!
The morale of the Japanese army, which had been sluggish for two consecutive days, seemed to have been improved at this moment. Looking at the smoke rising under the bombardment of our own heavy artillery, the Chinese fortress, which even looked a little embarrassed, cheered "On board! The empire's military fortune is prosperous!" cheers one after another.
The 120mm cannon was indeed powerful enough. Not to mention the excitement of the Japanese army, the Chinese defenders hiding in the warehouse felt a huge threat for the first time. Even Xie Jinyuan frowned deeply.
Both cannons are already so terrifying. If the Japanese army brings in a few more, they can use this terrifying direct-aimed cannon to blow open the thick wall with almost no infantry attack. Then all firepower points will be completely exposed to the Japanese firepower.
In front of us, at that time, was the real fight to the death.
"Dafa, is there any way to blow up these two heavy cannons of the Japs? They pose too great a threat to us." Xie Jinyuan was the first to ask Chen Yunfa subconsciously.
In the subconscious mind of this National Army lieutenant colonel, Chen Yunfa and his elite team can do it, although it seems to be an impossible task.
"Sir! It's not a problem to blow it up, but I don't think it means much anymore. Since the Japanese army dared to mobilize two of them and blew them up, they might be able to mobilize more." Chen Yunfa shook his head for the first time and rejected the supreme commander.
proposal.
"Can the Sihang Warehouse be defended after all?" A trace of confusion flashed in Xie Jinyuan's eyes.
"No, whether the Sihang Warehouse can be defended or not depends not on the cannons of the Japs, but on the people's hearts." Chen Yunfa said with a slight sigh.
In the morning, he had received information through the slogan outside the window. The 88th Division had sent superior officers to the concession. It was estimated that they would personally go to Sihang Warehouse to order the retreat in the evening. He had to get the army officer to retreat before then.
The lieutenant colonel made the final decision.
"What do you mean?" Xie Jinyuan was stunned for a moment, and quickly heard the meaning behind Chen Yun's words.
"The purpose of the Japanese army's heavy artillery is not only to launch a strong attack, but probably more to deter those Westerners..." Chen Yunfa didn't make it too clear, but he believed that this person understood what he meant.
"Needless to say, since the little devils are still determined to attack, let's give them a good look first. They can't do it with heavy artillery alone." Xie Jinyuanhu's eyes showed a cold light, as if he had made up his mind, "Order
Machine gun company, don't hide it this time. Use all firepower. You don't need to hit their firepower points. Let me hit their infantry. If you want to bleed, then let me bleed more this time."
Chen Yunfa sighed slightly.
Through this order, he already knew that this person had finally made his choice.
He wanted to teach the Japanese army a profound lesson before they were forced to retreat. This time, it was no longer just ten mortars that opened fire, but all fourteen, and were there any that had been hidden all along?
The nearly ten exposed heavy machine guns have all been moved to the front of the building by the machine gun company.
Chen Yunfa also placed the "Hitler chainsaw" he had been carrying on the sandbag.