Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 54 The Final Showdown (Part 4)

Seeing this, Zhang Wenshan could no longer contain himself. He reached into the cloth bag at his waist with his right hand and quickly produced two MK II grenades. After pulling the pins, he threw them forward with force.

"Boom...boom..."

The explosion of the two grenades, one after the other, knocked down more than half of the dozen or so Japanese soldiers who were still barely standing.

"Boom boom..."

Two more grenades followed, and the remaining Japanese soldiers finally fell in pools of blood after being hit by four grenades.

The security regiment is now equipped with two types of throwables: German-made M24 grenades and MKII grenades.

The former is more powerful, has a larger explosive charge, and can be thrown over a longer distance, primarily relying on shockwaves to kill enemies.

Although the latter is not as powerful as the former, it is cheaper to manufacture, smaller in size and lighter in weight, and its main selling point is that it can be used in large quantities to satisfy hunger.

A soldier carrying M24 grenades can only carry a maximum of four or five.

However, if you are carrying MKII grenades, you can easily carry ten or even twenty in a cloth bag.

Many scenes in later films and television shows have recreated this situation.

When American soldiers are fighting, if they are unsure whether a place is safe or under attack, they will instinctively pull out a grenade and throw it, blowing it up without thinking twice.

In light of this, Zhang Wenshan brought a bag of hand grenades with him when he came out, and now they have finally come in handy.

After the entire bag of grenades was thrown out, dozens of Japanese soldiers fell in pools of blood, centered on the Type 89 tank.

"Huff...huff...huff..."

Zhang Wenshan gasped for breath, staring at the dozens of corpses before him. He picked up his sniper rifle, grabbed his empty sack, and quickly left the street, running towards the back...

The fierce resistance of the Third Battalion not only dealt a heavy blow to the 41st Regiment, but also enraged Guo Qideng, and even surprised Su Yaoyang, Li Gaoyuan and Huang Guantao.

“Lu Shaobin… say it again!” Su Yaoyang shouted into the phone.

"Reporting to the commander, after a morning of fighting, our battalion repelled three large-scale attacks by the Japanese army, and also killed or wounded no fewer than 500 Japanese soldiers."

"What about our casualties?" Su Yaoyang asked the question that concerned him most.

"According to the statistics, the Third Battalion suffered a total of 206 casualties, including 116 killed in action. There are still 327 combat personnel left. We can still fight!" Lu Shaobin's clear voice came through the phone.

Su Yaoyang looked at Huang Guantao and Li Gaoyuan, and the three of them exchanged glances.

Killing 500 enemy soldiers while suffering only a little over 200 casualties sounds unbelievable. When did the Japanese become so ineffective in combat?
This isn't to say they're belittling themselves or boosting the morale of others; it's simply the truth.

This was during the early stages of the full-scale war between China and Japan. Japan was at its peak in terms of both national strength and military power, while China was a weak country that could not even produce large-caliber artillery shells on its own.

In the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese army deployed 22 troops from 9 divisions, while the Chinese army deployed more than 70 troops from 73 divisions. Despite having a force several times larger than the enemy, the Chinese army still suffered more than 25 casualties.

During the Nanjing defense battle these days, Li Gaoyuan's training corps was a force to be reckoned with, which shows the fighting strength of the Japanese army.

The initial success in severely damaging the 11th Regiment could be attributed to taking advantage of an opening, but now the Japanese are well-prepared, deploying artillery and tanks.

But just to capture the first line of defense, the Japanese army suffered more than 500 casualties, which surprised them greatly. "Commander, Brother Gao Yuan, what should we do now?" Huang Guantao couldn't help but ask, "Although Lu Shaobin confidently said that more than 500 Japanese soldiers were annihilated, I still have some doubts about this result."

Moreover, the Third Battalion itself suffered over two hundred casualties; should we allow them to withdraw and rest?

"What do you mean by 'rest'?" Su Yaoyang said coldly. "Our defenses are only so big, and we've only been fighting for a short time."

If they withdraw, wouldn't the first line of defense be handed over to the enemy?

At this rate, wouldn't the Japanese reach our church within a day?
Tell Lu Shaobin that without orders from the regimental headquarters, the Third Battalion must hold its ground firmly, even if it means losing everything. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!

"Yes!"

Although Huang Guantao felt a pang of guilt, reason told him that Su Yaoyang was right.

Right now, the security force only occupies a tiny area, just a few blocks. If they retreat, the Japanese cannonballs could hit the church directly.

"By the way..." Su Yaoyang instructed Li Gaoyuan:
"Send someone to scout the rear again and see if you can break out and contact the 36th Division in Xiaguan or Commander Xiaoshan to ask them to send reinforcements, even just a battalion would be good."

"Well... alright..." Li Gaoyuan hesitated for a moment, but still agreed.

But he still said, "Commander, I think we shouldn't place too much hope on it. As far as I know, the Japanese army is still approaching the Mufu Mountain and Shimonoseki areas."

The higher-ups are still racking their brains over this; where are they going to find extra troops to support our isolated force?

Su Yaoyang explained, "Whether they come to provide support or not is their business, but we must convey our demands to our superiors."

Besides, didn't Xu Dapeng send someone to report yesterday that he recruited over a thousand defeated soldiers at Xiaguan Wharf? If we can get these people over, our manpower shortage problem will be greatly alleviated.”

“That’s true.” Li Gaoyuan looked thoughtful.

The biggest problem with the newly formed security regiment is that it is too small. More than a thousand men have to deal with the continuous attacks of the Japanese army, which is too dangerous. If things go wrong, the whole army will be wiped out.

Li Gaoyuan nodded: "Okay... I'll send someone over right away."

"Send more men. There are Japanese soldiers everywhere now. Too few men won't be enough," Huang Guantao added.

"Understood, I'll send out the entire company!"

More than ten minutes later, a group of soldiers quietly left the church and quickly made their way towards the area where the gunfire was less frequent...

Although it was called a group of people, there were actually quite a few of them, more than two hundred people.

They left their defensive zone from the church's backyard, quietly bypassed several alleys and Japanese checkpoints, and arrived at a main street.

The leader was Li Qingxiang, the company commander of the first company.

"Lianzuo...that's where it is."

A platoon leader pointed to the main street: "Although the Japanese are outnumbered, they have still set up several firing points and sentries over there, just in case we escape from there. If we just walk straight over there, the casualties will be too great."

(End of this chapter)