SWDnovel Chapter 189: Xiao Shanling, moved to tears, the principal begins micromanagement.
Chapter 189: Xiao Shanling, moved to tears, the principal begins micromanagement.
"The Type 92 heavy machine gun."
Xiao Shanling looked at the machine gun with a complicated expression and couldn't help but sigh, "Back when we were defending Nanjing, we suffered a lot from this thing."
The biggest advantage of the Type 92 heavy machine gun over the Maxim is its air-cooled structure, which does not rely on water cooling, making it far more practical in water-scarce battlefield environments.
In addition, this heavy machine gun has extremely high shooting accuracy. Skilled machine gunners can use it to fire short bursts, creating a strong suppressive fire effect. It is a veritable infantry weapon on the battlefield.
The only drawback is that it uses a 30-round magazine, which needs to be replaced after it's used up, resulting in less sustained firepower.
Besides the heavy machine gun, the carriage was also filled with wooden crates containing Type 91 light machine guns and Type 11 light machine guns, as well as boxes of grenade launchers, and all the necessary ammunition and spare parts.
Just as the group was examining and admiring the light and heavy machine guns, Hua Pinzhang's loud shout suddenly came from the next carriage, his voice cracking with excitement.
"Come quick and see! A cannon! There's a cannon!"
Everyone was stunned upon hearing this, then immediately turned around and rushed to the next carriage.
Upon entering the carriage, everyone was stunned.
Fixed inside the carriage were rows of Japanese Type 92 infantry guns, their barrels polished to a gleaming shine and their muzzles gleaming coldly.
This artillery piece is not large, but it excels in its flexibility and versatility.
Curved fire can be used as a mortar to strike enemies behind cover; horizontal fire can be used as direct fire, capable of destroying bunkers and fortifications.
What's even more remarkable is that it can be quickly disassembled and transported by mules and horses, allowing it to accompany infantry even in complex terrains such as mountains and hills.
The group quickly stepped forward and checked the cannons. In just this one carriage, there were five Type 92 infantry guns. There were also special wooden boxes next to them, containing the cannons' maintenance tools, sights, and everything else.
Looking at the cannons, Xiao Shanling's eyes reddened with emotion, glistening with tears. His lips moved for a long time before he finally uttered a single sentence:
"Jiang He, this is...this is incredibly generous! The only way we can repay this kindness is by killing more Japanese soldiers on the battlefield!"
In that era, artillery was the most precious treasure for the Nationalist army.
During the Battle of Shanghai, the National Revolutionary Army had a pitifully small number of artillery pieces. After a series of defeats, many more were abandoned or destroyed. Today, the artillery in the hands of each unit is extremely rare.
Even though the number of these Type 92 infantry guns is not large, they are a much-needed boost for the 11th Army.
Before this, the 11th Army was supposedly equipped with an artillery regiment, but in reality, the regiment only had 10 small-caliber mortars and less than 200 rounds of ammunition, not even enough to form a basic unit. During training, the soldiers were reluctant to fire a single shot.
The soldiers worked tirelessly for two whole hours to unload and inventory all the equipment and supplies from the entire military train.
A densely written list was eventually delivered to Xiao Shanling.
He looked down at the numbers on the list, his pupils suddenly contracting.
This time, Li Jianghe delivered more than just the few thousand guns they had anticipated.
There were a total of 8,000 Type 38 rifles; 200 light machine guns and 80 heavy machine guns; 300 infantry grenade launchers; and as many as 20 Type 92 infantry guns.
In terms of ammunition, there are 1.2 million rounds of ammunition for various types of rifles and machine guns, and 5,000 rounds of various types of artillery shells, enough for the 11th Army to fight a tough battle.
What surprised Xiao Shanling, Zhu Chi, and the others the most was the list of medicines at the end.
Five boxes of sulfonamides, which can save lives on the battlefield and are sold at exorbitant prices on the black market, were delivered.
These five boxes of sulfonamides, any one of them could easily fetch tens of thousands of yuan on the black market in Wuhan; they are a hard currency that money can't buy.
The people around them crowded over to see the numbers on the list, and fell silent for a moment, their hearts filled with a mixture of warmth and heaviness.
They had nothing to repay them with; the only thing they could do was use these guns and ammunition to kill more Japanese invaders on the battlefield.
In Huangchuan, the atmosphere in the Third Column's command post was exceptionally heavy.
The battle map hanging on the wall was covered with red and blue pencil marks. Li Jianghe stood in front of the map, holding a stack of battle reports that had just been sent from headquarters. His brows furrowed more and more, and his face gradually darkened.
The news in the battle reports was getting worse and worse.
In the direction of Shucheng, the main force of the Japanese army launched a large-scale operation and, in just three days, completely defeated the two National Army divisions stationed there, causing the defense line to collapse.
In addition, Okamura Yasuji's troops, advancing along both banks of the Yangtze River, achieved a series of victories.
Under the repeated cover of Japanese naval gunfire and air combat, the National Revolutionary Army's multiple defensive positions deployed along the Yangtze River were easily breached by the Japanese army, which found them to be as fragile as paper.
Less than a week after the start of the war, the Japanese army advanced nearly 100 kilometers along both banks of the Yangtze River, with its forces threatening Jiujiang.
What infuriated Li Jianghe the most was the fall of Madang Fortress.
At a critical juncture when the Japanese army was advancing westward in a massive offensive, Li Yunheng, the garrison commander of Madang Fortress, insisted on summoning officers of all ranks around the fortress to attend a two-week "Anti-Japanese Constitutional University" training course.
This directly resulted in the Madang Fortress being leaderless, the front-line positions being sparsely populated, and a large number of officers being absent.
The Madang Fortress, which was originally highly anticipated and touted as an impregnable fortress, was easily breached by the Japanese army in just two days, and the entire fortress fell into enemy hands.
Even though the Soviet air force sent to China risked their lives to bomb Japanese positions and coordinate with ground troops to launch counter-offensives, they were never able to recapture the positions.
He took a deep breath to suppress his anger, turned around and looked at the mark of southern Henan on the map, already having a plan in mind.
Taking advantage of the fact that the main force of the Japanese army was divided and advancing, he planned to strengthen his troops and launch an offensive against the Japanese army in the southern Henan area to tie down the Japanese forces and disrupt their offensive rhythm.
Just as he was about to convene his staff to formulate a battle plan, Long Wenzhang rushed in with a strange expression, holding an encrypted telegram in his hand.
"Sir, an urgent telegram from the Chairman!"
"Whose?" Li Jianghe frowned, thinking he had misheard, and took the telegram from Long Wenzhang's hand.
He glanced down at it, and his expression changed instantly.
This telegram was actually a personal order from the principal, commanding him to immediately lead the Third Column to Wuhan, traveling day and night, to prepare for the battle against the Japanese invaders in the Jiujiang area.
Long Wenzhang stood aside, looking confused and puzzled. He couldn't help but say, "Commander, something's not right, is it? This telegram from the Chairman is directly overstepping his authority."
Everyone knows that Li Jianghe's Third Column belongs to the Fifth War Zone's operational order of battle.
The one who should have been able to directly exercise command over him was the Fifth War Zone Command, specifically Commander Li.
This order, which bypassed the Fifth War Zone Command and came directly from Chongqing, completely disrupted all his plans.
Li Jianghe held the thin telegram in his hand, standing there silently for a long time, his brows furrowed into a deep knot.
Damn it, they've started micro-managing again.