A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

The unsuspecting Japanese armored vehicle formation was completely exposed to our forces on the right flank. The anti-aircraft machine gunners were watching intently, their eyes filled with murderous intent. They looked like a group of tigers staring at their prey, ready to pounce and devour it!

Once all the Japanese armored vehicles were within range of our anti-aircraft machine guns firing from the side, our anti-aircraft machine guns on the front and flanks opened fire simultaneously!

Our army deployed a company and a platoon of Type 24 anti-aircraft machine guns for flanking fire, plus other machine guns that had been urgently replaced with long, heavy-barreled ones, totaling more than 10 heavy machine guns. On average, each Japanese armored vehicle would be targeted by concentrated fire from 4 of our heavy machine guns.

At a distance of over 200 meters, facing such a tall vehicle target, our machine gunners could hit it with their eyes closed. Moreover, the armor-piercing ammunition belt contained a tracer round every few rounds, providing clear ballistics and incredibly precise point of impact!

At this distance, the SMK steel-core armor-piercing projectile could easily penetrate the thin side armor of the Japanese Type 93 armored vehicle.

The Japanese Nomura Company, which was making a flanking attack, was stunned by the sudden barrage of fire from the front and left. Heavy machine gun fire swept over like a storm, bullets piercing through several layers of human bodies, creating bursts of blood mist, and intestines, internal organs, bone fragments and flesh flying everywhere. The Japanese soldiers were killed and wounded in large numbers and were immediately thrown into chaos.

Kameda's expression changed drastically. They had never suffered such fierce firepower in the Battle of Shanghai. He shouted, "Enemy attack on the left flank! Counterattack! Counterattack!"

Faced with fierce fire from the left, the Japanese soldiers ignored the officers' stern orders and reflexively swarmed to the right side of the armored vehicle. Survival was the priority, and the protection of the armor plates always gave them more peace of mind.

Amidst the chaos, Company Commander Koji Nomura hurriedly organized machine guns and grenade launchers to return fire, but faced with fierce crossfire from our front and flanks, he inevitably had to be overwhelmed.

Because our ambush positions on the right flank were hastily constructed, the fortifications and firing points were quite rudimentary, and the Japanese light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers began to cause casualties among our soldiers.

The Japanese grenade launchers, which were both close at hand and very well concealed, were always the most direct firepower threat to our army. Yi Anhua ordered the regimental mortar company to suppress the enemy's grenade launchers.

The artillery company's observation post reported to the regimental headquarters: "No impact point visible!"

Song Hongfei, who had been observing through binoculars for a long time, said, "If you can't see the impact point, that's good! It's a depression, and the Japanese grenade launchers are hiding there! Concentrate your artillery fire and shoot those bastards!"

Amidst a barrage of heavy machine gun fire, Japanese armored vehicles were hit almost simultaneously, their side armor riddled with bullet holes. Even after penetrating the armor, the armor-piercing rounds still possessed considerable lethality, resulting in either death or serious injury to the occupants.

To make matters worse for the Japanese army, Lieutenant Kameda's command vehicle was hit in the first wave of bullets. The unfortunate Kameda himself was hit by more than ten bullets, and his skull was blown off. A mass of red and white brain matter exploded and smeared the face of the machine gunner next to him.

Only half of Kameda's hideous face remained, revealing gaping, large teeth that sent chills down one's spine.

Without unified command, the Japanese armored vehicles were forced to fight independently, and the engines of two armored vehicles were quickly damaged, causing them to break down on the spot.

The immobilized armored vehicles were used as fixed firing positions, and the stubborn Japanese machine gunners returned fire with their vehicle-mounted machine guns.

"Bang bang bang bang bang! Bang bang bang bang bang!" Our anti-aircraft machine guns fired long tongues of fire.

Armor-piercing rounds, tracer rounds, and incendiary rounds—after firing two or three 250-round belts, the assistant gunner skillfully and quickly replaced the overheated barrel with a spare and continued concentrated fire until the Japanese armored vehicle was riddled with smoke and caught fire.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining two Japanese armored vehicles had no will to fight. The drivers turned the steering wheel sharply and turned the vehicle around, impatiently stepping on the gas pedal as soon as possible to get away.

The rampaging armored vehicle rammed into several Nomura squadron soldiers who couldn't dodge in time, then ran over them. The army soldiers who had narrowly escaped were furious and cursed the navy idiots.

Company Commander Koji Nomura, who witnessed this scene, couldn't believe his eyes. He stared in disbelief for a long time before finally snapping out of it and roaring in fury, "Baka! You damned naval idiots! I'm going to court-martial you!"

"Those little devils want to run? No way!" A bearded machine gun platoon leader in our army laughed contemptuously.

"Concentrate fire! First and second squads, lead the charge! Don't let it get away!"

The bearded platoon leader directed several anti-aircraft machine guns to concentrate their fire, and several tracer bullets chased after the armored vehicle. Within a range of several hundred meters wide, the dense firepower of our army was like a net covering the sky and the earth. The Japanese armored vehicle had nowhere to escape, and one vehicle was quickly hit and started smoking and burning.

The other vehicle was the furthest away, and the Japanese driver was terrified, desperately fleeing at top speed.

The vehicle failed to escape either. Its three right tires were quickly shattered by anti-aircraft machine gun fire, causing it to veer off course and plunge into a ditch, where it could no longer move. The remaining occupants had no choice but to abandon the vehicle and flee.

The Japanese troops, who had intended to outflank and encircle the flank positions, ran headlong into an impenetrable wall. The Nomura Company, which suffered heavy casualties, was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to hold their ground and confront our troops.

Subsequently, the Japanese long-range artillery also began to counterattack, with the mountain guns and field guns of the 3rd Division's artillery regiment firing urgently, creating a chaotic barrage of "boom boom boom boom".

Our left and right artillery groups' mountain guns immediately engaged in artillery battles with the enemy artillery. The Japanese artillery had no choice but to focus their attention on finding and suppressing our artillery, and had no time to attend to anything else.

Seeing that our army was well prepared, Japanese battalion commander Ito Hiroshi realized that his three companies' attacks had all failed, with no progress made in the frontal assault and a humiliating defeat in the flank attack. He had never suffered such a heavy loss before!

Enraged, Hiroshi Ito hesitated whether to commit his last reserve squadron, Sakamoto, to the battle, making a desperate gamble to turn the tide of the war.

"How is the situation in the troops?" asked Yi Anhua, the commander of the 522nd Regiment, to the two battalion commanders at the front.

The forward battalion commander replied, "The casualties are heavy, but the organization is still intact, the soldiers are in high spirits, and they can fight again!"

"Well done! Issue a commendation!"

Wang Youping, commander of the 87th Division, was very pleased that a regiment had withstood multiple attacks by a Japanese battalion supported by aircraft and heavy artillery without using all its reserves.

"A second attempt will eventually fail! The Japanese offensive has been thwarted, and its offensive strength and morale have been exhausted. We still have fresh troops in reserve; now it's our turn to counterattack!"

Song Hongfei's words resonated deeply, greatly boosting the morale of everyone in the command post.

Subsequently, Song Hongfei made counter-offensive plans:

"The 1st and 2nd battalions on the front lines will engage the enemy in close combat, while the 3rd and 5th companies of the battalion reserves will join the battle and launch a counter-attack from the front!"

"The entire 3rd Reserve Battalion is committed to the battle, launching a flanking attack! The 7th and 8th Companies on the right flank, in coordination with the anti-aircraft machine gun company, will attack an enemy company on the left flank! The 9th Company on the left flank will maneuver forward and cut into close combat! Cut off the connection between the enemy's frontal attack echelon and the reserve!"

"The regimental reserve special service company and a battalion from the 518th Regiment, which are on standby for reinforcement, will join the battle at any time, depending on the situation!"

"Each 82mm mortar company and platoon is responsible for coordinating with the assault forces to attack, while the two 75mm mountain artillery groups will use firepower to block and cover the Japanese follow-up echelons at the forward positions! Make sure their first echelon cannot retreat and their follow-up echelons cannot come to reinforce!"

"Afterwards, our army launched a full-scale counterattack, dividing and encircling the enemy, and annihilating three companies of the Japanese attack echelon! Our army has the advantage in automatic weapons. Combat teams should be formed with squad leaders and key personnel armed with MP28 anti-tank and anti-tank guns as the core, and carry out small-group, multi-pronged attacks! We must bravely break into close combat and cut off the communication between the enemy attack echelons!"

As Song Hongfei issued the battle plan, a tense atmosphere spread throughout the command post.

"The enemy has used up their three initial attacks! It's our turn to attack!" Wang Youping ordered menacingly, "Commander Yi, immediately organize the attack according to Colonel Song Hongfei's battle plan!"

The officers of the 87th Division were in high spirits and their fighting spirit was soaring!