kvmb Chapter 1169 The Veteran's Panic
Chapter 1169 The Veteran's Panic
Of course, some veterans in the unit played a significant role in their panic. These veterans often instilled in them the idea that when encountering soldiers of the 72nd Group Army, the first thought should be to find a place to save one's life, the second should be to check if the retreat route is still passable, and the third should be to look for any available means of transportation, whether belonging to officers or colleagues. When the 72nd Group Army attacked, one should be willing to risk everything and get on a vehicle; this was the basic way to survive.
Don't even think about how far your short legs can run. Even if you were once the long-distance running champion of all of Japan, you couldn't possibly outrun the wheels of the 72nd Army. The number of their wheels is astonishing, even on par with the Army Headquarters. Let alone our field divisions, we're simply not in the same league as them.
A Japanese veteran once said that in the 72nd Group Army of China, a combat team, organized into squads, would have either one American-made truck, three jeeps, or two motorcycles and two jeeps. They certainly didn't walk. According to that Commander Li, "We're here to fight, not to exercise our legs. Can you outrun a truck?"
Even in areas that were slightly muddy or without roads, the 72nd Army would issue conscription orders to requisition a large number of livestock wagons from the surrounding people, since they wouldn't walk on their own anyway.
"Reporting to the brigade commander, the scouts at the front report..."
When the shells started falling, Brigade Commander Kurihara finally realized just how formidable the enemy before him was. He had initially thought holding out for two hours would be no problem; they reached their designated combat position within the allotted time, only to find that what had originally been an infantry battalion was now almost entirely wiped out.
However, most of the defensive fortifications still existed, so his 6000 soldiers quickly moved into the three defensive fortifications, intending to hold them for two hours to give the Ninth Division time to assemble.
Just as an operations staff officer was about to come over to report, a flying shell fragment tore him in two, leaving the telegram smeared with blood and making it impossible to read what kind of telegram it had just received. Brigade Commander Kurihara could only order others to inquire again.
The planes in the sky were also engaged in a fierce battle, with our men constantly falling to the ground while the enemy planes rarely suffered any hits. Brigade Commander Kurihara understood that the aircraft on both sides were vastly different; we were far behind them.
Just as he was about to encourage his men, a heavy artillery shell exploded 250 meters away from him. When the shell exploded, at least five or six hundred people on the entire position saw it. They could only feel their hearts pounding, and some of those closer could already feel the pressure of the shockwave.
203mm heavy artillery!!!
Although Brigade Commander Kurihara wasn't well-liked within the Japanese Army—otherwise he wouldn't have been sent to be a scapegoat—he was still very aware of the explosive power of artillery of various calibers. Seeing 203mm heavy artillery in front of him, how could his poorly constructed fortifications possibly withstand it?
Some of the more experienced soldiers noticed it too; they turned to look at the Type 92 infantry guns beside them. The entire brigade only had 24 Type 92 infantry guns, and these were only added at the last minute before the campaign. But compared to the enemy's 203mm heavy artillery, were these even in the same league?
Although they were reluctant, they had no other artillery besides these 24 infantry guns at the moment. Tanks and armored vehicles were already beginning to appear in the distance, and the infantry guns here could only helplessly load shells and fire at the distance, not knowing how effective they would be. Perhaps these shells would be useful when they encountered light armored vehicles.
"Move the artillery positions."
Just as the artillerymen of Kurihara Brigade fired two shots, their commander immediately ordered them to move their artillery positions. The men were all bewildered; why were they being ordered to move so quickly? They should have fired at least three shots first.
"Execute the order; those who delay will be executed on the spot."
Seeing the group of people standing there dumbfounded, the officer picked up his whip and lashed it across one of them's face, instantly turning the man's face bloody. The others, belatedly realizing what was happening, quickly got back to work. On the battlefield, it's best to avoid injuries; even though the Japanese medics had a supply of medicine, these wounds could be fatal at any moment.
These people thought that moving the artillery positions was the right thing to do, but was it really necessary to do it so quickly? Would the enemy be able to react that fast? We only fired two shots, and they were able to deduce the location of our artillery positions and also get their own artillery aimed at us?
In their view, this was impossible. Although we were a ragtag brigade, even the most regular long-range artillery divisions in Japan couldn't possibly accomplish so much in such a short time. Therefore, they believed their superiors were somewhat worried.
When the dozen or so artillery pieces were withdrawn from the battle, nearly a third of them remained uncollected. Only then did the soldiers understand their commander's meaning. One 105mm howitzer shell after another rained down. At this point, the remaining third was doomed. Even among the dozen or so artillery pieces loaded onto trucks, one truck was destroyed.
They managed to escape halfway, which is incredibly lucky. Zhang Hongguang's artillery had just been set up; if there had been artillery positions nearby beforehand, none of you guys would have made it out. You hit the jackpot today.
The Japanese artillerymen finally understood what their superiors meant. In the next battle, they would have to move their artillery positions after firing just one shell. The enemy's calculation ability was too amazing. If they continued to attack with two shells at a time, they probably wouldn't be able to avoid the next shelling.
Seeing the sea of fire over the artillery positions, the soldiers of the entire brigade lost all enthusiasm. Although they still gripped their rifles tightly, some of the new recruits, as instructed by the veterans, had begun to check the surrounding vehicles, figuring out where they could gain an advantage during the retreat.
If there's a car, then use a car; if there's no car, a horse-drawn carriage will do!
Everything is better than using your own two legs.