afterglow

Chapter 257 Land, sea and air firepower; breakthrough!

For a small and medium-scale battle, this time the land, sea and air coordinated fire coverage can be described as quite violent.

All kinds of shells and aerial bombs composed of hundreds of tons of steel and explosives almost turned the resistance army position on the other side of the river upside down.

Along the road connected to the bombed-out bridge, there were originally more than a dozen houses and a small statue of Jizo Bodhisattva, which was probably a product of the Edo period.But after an hour of bombardment, they have completely disappeared from people's sight, leaving only fragments of bricks and tiles everywhere.

Several seaplanes released by Zhanghe and Yongping have been hovering at an altitude of about 300 meters, responsible for reporting the landing point of the shells to the battleship, so as to facilitate correction of deviations.

From the perspective of pilots and observers, about eight or nine hectares of wilderness on the west bank of Arakawa has been transformed into the surface of the moon, with craters of various sizes.

"Tsk tsk, I'm afraid they are all dead."

"I'm afraid I just need to cross the river to clean up the battlefield later..."

"Yeah, such an exaggeration, it's amazing to be able to live a lifetime."

The officers and soldiers squatted or lay on the riverside on the east bank, and they couldn't help sighing after witnessing such a spectacular scene.

Yao Liangchuan also recorded in his notebook: "...from a quarter past seven, all kinds of weapons of our troops were fired at once. Navy planes and naval guns also rushed to fire. Bullets fell like rain. The Japanese army's front was like a sea of ​​flames, and the sky was covered with smoke and dust. ..."

The captain of the third team of the first battalion held a Type [-] submachine gun, blew a whistle, and then greeted loudly: "Damn! Rabbits, get ready to go!"

Immediately, two red flares were launched into the air, and a sharp and short suona sounded, both of which conveyed the same meaning—the start of an offensive operation.

The 85-horsepower six-cylinder air-cooled gasoline engine on the amphibious tank made a loud roar, and it seemed that it couldn't wait after idling for a long time.

Eighteen [-]-type floating chariots drove into the water from the river bank quite uniformly. While the tracks continued to paddle, the small propellers at the tail also turned, rolling out waves of snow-white waves.

"Be quick! What are you talking about?!"

Amidst the yelling of the non-commissioned officers, the fully armed soldiers half pulled and half pushed, worked together to get the standard rubber boat into the water, and then began to paddle in coordination.

Eighteen amphibious tanks of the chariot convoy and a total of forty rubber boats from two teams had a frontal width of about 400 meters. The quality displayed by them made the two British people three kilometers away couldn't help admiring.

Lieutenant Allen and Captain Olier were unlucky bastards who were temporarily sent to do hard work. They were sent to serve in the Tokyo Concession in October last year, but the garrison was about to withdraw within a few months.

They wanted to come to Tokyo to enjoy it for a year and a half, but they didn't live happily for a few days, and they were instructed to stay to perform military observation missions before they left.

"Which unit is this?" The bearded Captain Olier looked away from the artillery mirror, "The quality of the Chinese is completely different from what those people in China say."

"The blue-green military uniforms indicate that they are the Marine Corps. The Chinese have many battalion-level units, but only two regiment-level units. I think this should be one of them." Lieutenant Allen replied.

"I don't know how their army is doing, but at least the Marine Corps is very good." Olier snorted, "The politicians of the British Empire are really funny. defense of the area."

Allen sighed: "Arrogance, cunning, selfishness, the bureaucrats and politicians of the British Empire seem to have always been like this, and my grandfather said so."

The two seemed to have forgotten their jobs and complained about being sent to do the drudgery instead.

Meanwhile, a dozen amphibious tanks had rushed up the west bank where the fighting was taking place.

On the scattered positions, the gunpowder smoke has not yet cleared, and the ground is full of dilapidated appearances. The resistance army seems to be all dead, and there is no sign of firing.

"boom!"

A Bofors M34 anti-tank gun arranged on the side edge of the position survived the fierce artillery fire before, and the disgraced resistance gunners manipulated it to fire on the amphibious tanks of the Ming army.

"Bang-boom!"

The 37mm armor-piercing high-explosive shell easily pierced through the 12mm carburized surface-hardened armor steel, and exploded inside it, making a dull bang.

The tank painted with the white "[-]" number rushed forward six or seven meters by inertia, and then stopped slowly. Some of the martyred shells and bullets broke through the hatch cover, and red and yellow fireworks burst from the turret. Seats and hatches erupted like a fountain of steel and flames.

"No.13 car is gone! Where is the enemy gun?!"

"I see! At nine o'clock!"

The No. [-] car reacted the fastest. While the other cars were still surprised, it had already started firing tracer bullets in the direction of the Resistance Army's anti-tank artillery position.

The importance of good teammates is self-evident. This directly points out the direction for other Ming army tanks. Whether you see it or not, let's bomb first!
In just ten seconds, a dozen rounds of 37mm anti-explosive bombs and more than 200 rounds of 7.36mm machine gun rounds were poured there.

At this time, some rubber boats also washed up on the river beach. The soldiers threw away their oars and quickly sought cover with their weapons in hand.

The previously dead and silent position became lively in an instant. The gunshots of "bang bang bang" were accompanied by countless bullets shot from the left, front, and right, and the screams of being shot echoed one after another on the entire river beach.

Mortar shells from unknown sources also fell one after another, hitting the Ming army who had just landed on the head with precision as if they had eyes.

The officers and soldiers immediately lay down, and then took out the shovels they carried with them and began to dig foxholes.

In this case, there is no need to fight back. With more than a dozen tanks, the firepower of the infantry unit seems to be better than nothing. Seize the time to build individual bunkers is the kingly way.

Different types of military chiefs have different mentalities when they witness the casualties of their subordinates. Even if they are both "sad" and "angry", the cores are often very different.

Treating soldiers as consumable tools is the regret and indignation of things being destroyed by others, while treating soldiers as brothers and sisters is the regret and indignation of flesh and blood being hurt by others.

Perhaps because of his background, Fan Qijin, who is the grandson of Lai'anbo, obviously leans towards the former.

However, since Zhou Changfeng did not have any additional requirements on the time limit, there was no need to worry about this battle, and he could counter it calmly.

So after looking through the binoculars for a while, Fan Qijin said in a deep voice: "Being bombarded by a battleship is still so resolute? Tsk, send an order to cast a smoke screen obliquely in the front, and several chariots on the left cooperate with two platoons to attack the enemy. Insert it [-] meters deep and get their ribs stuck!"

The [-]-type radio transceiver played a big role, and his orders were transmitted to the other side of the river in an instant. This is a direct manifestation of the improvement of technical equipment in combat efficiency.

"The viewing distance is 820, the elevation is 11, the enemy's first-line position and depth, the first to fourth guns increase by 10 mi each, smoke bombs!"

"Bang! Bang!"

The four 80mm smoke bombs landed at different points, roughly at intervals of more than ten meters vertically.

For three consecutive rounds, a gray-white smoke wall appeared on the flank of the resistance army's position. It was composed of smoke clusters released by twelve smoke bombs. It was about 150 meters long and more than ten meters wide, directly cutting off the right side of the enemy's position. Enemy forces elsewhere would have difficulty perceiving the situation there.

At the same time, four amphibious tanks and a team of more than 200 people attacked boldly, broke through the blocking of the enemy in front of them, and advanced [-] meters quickly and decisively.

They immediately built fortifications on the spot, or directly borrowed ready-made craters as bunkers, and established a stable support point.

A nail was driven between the ribs?Wouldn't be happy to change anyone.

Lieutenant Assistant Fujiwara Yoshiharu hurriedly ordered mortars to suppress the Ming troops who were coming straight in, and mobilized a reserve squadron to launch a counterattack against them.

When the attention of the Japanese was attracted by this unit, the main force on the front had recovered from the chaos of being blocked when it first came ashore. The infantry launched an attack, and the tanks stayed still.

Tanks in this context acted as armored archers rather than armored cavalry.

Hundreds of officers and soldiers of the [-]rd Battalion of the [-]st Marine Regiment slightly widened their lines to the two wings, and then leaped forward under alternate cover of the oncoming firepower.

Although it was the same period, the image of the brave defenders of the Turkic Army was quite different from that shown in later film and television dramas—the steel helmets on their heads were British-style MkI Tommy helmets with pot lids, not 11-style steel helmets; The light machine guns in China are Lewis or Madsen, not the [-]-year crooked handle; the heavy machine guns are not the [-]-type chicken necks fed by the springboard, but the water-cooled Vickers fed by the canvas belt.

Lacking anti-tank direct firepower, they can be said to be helpless in the face of such an offensive. Once the firepower of their own machine guns is fired, they will be attacked by Ming army tanks. More than a dozen mobile bunkers.

Therefore, the resistance army can only hope that they can win back a city in close combat.

Because the firepower of the machine guns was almost suppressed, it was almost impossible to stop the Ming army soldiers from attacking with rifles alone. In a few tens of seconds, the Ming army infantry who were alternately covering and advancing had already rushed into the forward position.

Although the degree of industrialization of Ming Dynasty does not rank in the first echelon of the great powers, the abundance of automatic firepower equipped by infantry units can be said to be second to none.

According to the army establishment table revised in the 36th year of Zhichang, the headquarters of each team has ten [-]-type submachine guns and ten [-]-type automatic guns, which can be allocated and used when necessary. Both get two additional automatic weapons.

From the perspective of the post-war period, this may not be a big deal, but it is only [-] years now, and the British army has not even been equipped with standard submachine guns.

There is no harm without comparison, and the number of automatic weapons directly determines which side will have the upper hand in close combat.

Hundreds of resistance troops who launched a counterattack fought with the Ming army who rushed into the position, and the bang and howling of grenades exploded one after another.

The ragged resistance army, armed with bayonet-mounted rifles, launched a hand-to-hand charge due to the fierce battle, shouting "Long live Japan" or "Long live the Yamato tribe", but there was no "Tiannao black card onboard".

The short, bow-legged resistance soldier held a slender bolt-action rifle that did not match his stature, which seemed rather comical to the officers and soldiers of the first marine regiment.

A round of 9.6×20mm pistol bullets and .351 Winchester rifle bullets sprayed out, and the Japanese who were knocked down fell to the ground, or fell into the trench from above.

It didn't take much effort, and the counterattack of the Fujiwara detachment was shattered.

On the flank, the detachment of four tanks and a few dozen infantrymen remained firmly in place, and a squadron that counterattacked them tried in vain.

So far, the reserve teams of the three squadrons have suffered heavy losses, and only two squadrons of the reserve team are fully staffed.But the forward position has been taken by the Ming army, and the main position is crumbling.

The line of defense that Qingxin spent days and nights building was easily breached like this?

I thought it would be able to stop the Ming army for at least two days and nights, but it turned out to be in jeopardy after only two hours.

"Prepare to retreat!"

"Now? Your Excellency, we should at least wait until dark?"

"Impossible, we'll all be dead before then."

The expressionless Lieutenant Commander Fujiwara Yoshiharu deeply felt the gap in national strength, and abstract statistics such as industrial output value are now intuitively and concretely reflected on the battlefield.

After randomly releasing some fuming cans to obstruct the Ming army's sight, the Fujiwara detachment quickly broke away from the line of defense and retreated towards Tokyo city.

When the number of people was counted at noon yesterday, there were still more than 2000 people in the Fujiwara detachment. So far, it has only experienced one failed night attack and more than two hours of frontal defense, and it has suffered more than [-] casualties.

Violent artillery fire and air strikes accounted for the majority of the number of enemies wiped out. About 400 people were the result of artillery shells and aerial bombs. Among the remaining 600 people, a considerable part was the result of grenades and rifle grenades, rifles and machine guns. The casualties caused by the fired bullets are really insignificant compared with those explosive weapons.

Such a high-intensity battle has destroyed the defenses of many people-the friends who were talking with each other last night turned into a corpse, or only left with stumps and arms.

The retreat road was only a few kilometers away, but the air strikes by Ming army carrier-based aircraft made it seem ten times longer.

Hundreds of corpses were left along the way, and many people fled timidly. When the defeated remnants of more than 3000 people retreated to the predetermined area, there were less than [-] people left.

"According to naval aircraft reports, there are no other suspicious enemy forces in the vicinity."

"Okay, then let's continue to push forward and stop when we reach the urban area."

Zhou Changfeng was very satisfied with the forcible crossing of Arakawa by the Marine Regiment, and he was determined to continue to advance triumphantly by taking advantage of the excellent morale.

At the same time, in the direction of Kawasaki to the southwest, because the enemy's will was far beyond the imagination of the Fourth Division, it suffered a loss due to carelessness at first, but then successfully achieved a breakthrough.

The fate of the Matsumoto detachment was even more miserable than that of the Fujiwara detachment. The Fourth Division wiped out most of them, with no organizational system, and only less than a thousand soldiers fled.

In Funabashi City just to the east, the progress of the Seventh Division was also quite smooth. The Qingshui detachment that blocked them was severely killed by land, sea and air firepower because they chose to defend on the beach.

Afterwards, the Qingshui detachment, which suffered half of the casualties, swam without attacking, laying booby traps and landmines everywhere to delay the actions of the Seventh Division.

By noon that day, the Ming troops who had landed from three positions had cleared their frontal obstacles, and the downtown area of ​​Tokyo was encircled on three sides.

(End of this chapter)