SWDnovel Chapter 5: One basic load of shells, a counterattack, targeting the elite troops.
Chapter 5: One basic load of shells, a counterattack, targeting the elite troops.
"Could it really be a German-equipped division of the Central Army? That can't be right. They're almost unable to hold the Zhabei position. How could they possibly have extra troops to support this place?"
As for the 87th Division, they were decimated by them a few days ago and it's impossible for them to come to the front lines to provide support.
Kameda became increasingly uneasy and hurriedly ordered the troops at the front to open fire to cover his comrades' retreat.
Inside the warehouse, Li Jianghe looked at the Japanese corpses scattered on the ground and said to Long Wenzhang beside him:
"Deputy Company Commander, go to the back block and find Lieutenant Liu. Tell him that our unit plans a frontal counterattack and hopes he will join the battle at the appropriate time."
"A counterattack? Us?"
Long Wenzhang was first taken aback, then excited. "Company Commander, then I'll have to be at the forefront."
After he finished speaking, he ran off excitedly to the back.
In this operation, Li Jianghe's side killed 23 Japanese soldiers, earning 1100 merit points.
Of course, they also suffered considerable casualties. The entire unit had 4 wounded and 5 killed. Including previous casualties, an entire infantry squad had been wiped out.
Li Jianghe reopened the system page.
The merit points have been found to be 2000.
He added two infantry squads, two heavy machine gun squads, and one anti-tank gun squad.
The force, which previously numbered over sixty men, has now grown to nearly one hundred after being replenished, which is considered the configuration of a standard company.
In addition, Li Jianghe purchased 20 boxes of hand grenades, 10000 rounds of ammunition, and 10 first-aid kits.
The two battles just now consumed a lot of rifle and machine gun bullets, and even more hand grenades.
As for the first aid kit, it is specifically used to provide basic medical care to wounded soldiers.
After doing all this, Li Jianghe only had 900 merit points left.
Looking at Long Wenzhang in the back street, Deputy Liu was somewhat puzzled.
"A counterattack?"
"That's right. Our company commander said he's going to launch a counterattack and hopes you can lead troops to support him."
Long Wenzhang said with great certainty.
The adjutant put aside his doubts and said instead:
"By the way, I just saw the Japanese release poison gas. Are you all alright? That poison gas is really insidious."
"It's alright, we have gas masks. The Japanese thought we were all poisoned to death, so they rushed into the warehouse, but we wiped them out in no time. We killed more than twenty of them."
Long Wenzhang held up two fingers and said with a smug look on his face.
Lieutenant Liu looked at him and thought to himself, "I really underestimated you guys. You're still alive. You're really tough."
"Okay, I understand. Tell Company Commander Li not to worry. I'll go report to the regimental commander."
As he said this, he swung his long legs and ran towards the rear regimental headquarters.
Xu Dingguo was also observing the battlefield situation, and what surprised him most was the grain warehouse.
Li Jianghe and his dozen or so men actually managed to hold their ground.
At this moment, Lieutenant Liu rushed in, panting, and said:
"Commander, the Kameda Company has been decimated. Li Jianghe says we should launch a counterattack."
"What? He's crippled?"
Xu Dingguo was also shocked, wondering what was going on. The Kameda Squadron had been crippled by more than ten people.
What? Are Li Jianghe and his soldiers invulnerable to swords and spears?
At this point, Lieutenant Liu gave a brief account of the situation.
It is said that Li Jianghe rallied some of the defeated soldiers, increasing his troop strength, and thwarted two enemy assaults in succession, killing and wounding forty or fifty Japanese soldiers.
In addition to the enemy casualties caused by Yu Hongzhi's previous battles with the Japanese army, the current losses of the Kameda Company should exceed one-third.
"Commander, do you still have any soldiers? I want to join Company Commander Li in the counterattack."
Lieutenant Liu explained the purpose of the trip.
"That's it. That's all that's left at the regimental headquarters, but..."
As Xu Dingguo spoke, as if he had made up his mind, he said, "I will apply to my superiors to give Li Jianghe a basic number of shells. These shells... were originally intended for use during the retreat."
"Okay, one cardinality is fine."
After finishing his sentence, Lieutenant Liu sprinted off again, his long legs swinging wildly.
Half an hour later, Long Wenzhang returned.
"Company commander, Lieutenant Liu said he has requested a basic quantity of artillery shells."
"We'll launch a counterattack after the shelling stops."
"A basic load of shells?"
Li Jianghe was also quite surprised.
Whether or not there is artillery support during the counterattack will have a completely different effect.
Moreover, a single batch of artillery shells is extremely precious.
The so-called "basic quantity" of artillery shells varies from country to country and even from time to time, mainly depending on logistics and the amount of artillery shells stored.
For example, in the counterattack at Wenzaobang, the Japanese 3rd Division alone had a basic load of 300 rounds of 75mm mountain guns, and the number of shells fired in a day far exceeded 2000.
The most elite German-equipped divisions of the National Revolutionary Army, such as the 88th Division, had only 12 mountain guns in total, with a total ammunition reserve of less than 300 rounds, meaning each gun could only fire an average of 25 rounds.
To compensate for the lack of artillery firepower, the National Revolutionary Army deployed the Central Training Corps Artillery Battalion and the Central Artillery School Training Team to the battlefield for the Wenzaobang Counterattack.
Even so, artillery firepower was still quite scarce.
Li Jianghe distributed all 20 boxes of the newly purchased grenades, totaling 400 grenades.
Each soldier carried at least four grenades, and some even had three to five bundled together as cluster grenades.
After the first round of shelling, these grenades will create an artificial bombing zone.
To some extent, it can make up for the lack of artillery firepower.
At four o'clock in the morning, Kameda was waiting for reinforcements from the rear.
His squadron suffered more than half its casualties, with 65 killed and 71 wounded, leaving fewer than 70 men fit to fight.
"Reporting to the captain, reinforcements will arrive in half an hour."
At the same time, the brigade will provide a basic amount of artillery cover.
The captain ordered that the grain depot must be taken down before dawn.
The correspondent reports to the leader at this moment.
"Fine, if I can't take it, I'll commit seppuku."
As Kameda said this, he had already made up his mind.
Currently, troops in the Chenjiaxing area and other regions are generally advancing.
Only his neighborhood had been unable to breach the grain warehouse, which was naturally unacceptable to Kameda.
Finally, the reinforcements for the two squads arrived and assembled at the rear.
This greatly boosted Kameda's confidence.
Just as Kameda was preparing his troops for another attack, a whooshing sound suddenly came.
He was still puzzled, wondering if the higher-ups were in such a hurry? The reinforcements had just arrived, and they had already started shelling?
But the next moment, the shell landed on the street where they were.
"Boom!!!!!"
The Japanese reinforcements assembled in this area were hit by several artillery shells in the blink of an eye, resulting in heavy casualties.
"hidden!!!"
Kameda shouted, and soon, the second round of shelling arrived with a whistling sound and exploded.
The intense shelling lasted for several minutes. By the time a basic load of shells was used up, the Japanese soldiers in this area had suffered heavy casualties.
Many buildings were also damaged and collapsed under the heavy shelling.
Kameda was puzzled, wondering why the enemy was using artillery fire at this time. Could it be...?
He thought of something, but just then, another explosion came from ahead.
With the cover of artillery fire, the soldiers of the Third Company had rushed to a position less than 30 meters in front of the Japanese troops in the street.
Lin Yongzhi roared and led his soldiers forward, throwing grenades as they charged.
"Boom!!!!!"
The Japanese soldiers, who had just been stunned by the bombing, were quite surprised by this sudden counterattack.
They only have a few dozen soldiers on the other side, yet they dare to launch a counterattack head-on? That's simply outrageous.
The soldiers of the Third Company remained silent, simply throwing their grenades forward continuously.
At the same time, eight Type 24 heavy machine guns roared from the flanks, providing suppressive fire on the Japanese-held area.
In addition, there were two 37mm anti-tank guns, which were used to suppress Japanese machine gun positions from a distance.
"Oh no, Captain! The enemy has broken through our flank, and their firepower is too strong!"
"Reporting, Captain! The frontal squad has suffered heavy casualties and can't hold on!!!"
,,,,
As Kameda listened to these words, he felt as if he were dreaming, a nightmare.