The War of Resistance Against Japan: Special Operations Battalion Traverses Shanghai and Slaughters

When Long Fei and Jiang Yunqing arrived at the rear of the First Battalion's position, they found that the First Battalion was having a very difficult time fighting.

The first line of defense has been lost, and now we are retreating to the second line of defense to continue the resistance.

"Commander Jiang, we can't wait any longer. Order the artillery platoon to fire now and stop the Japanese advance."

"Okay, I'll do as you say. Order the artillery platoon to fire."

Jiang Yunqing picked up the walkie-talkie that Xie Qiang was carrying and immediately gave the order.

Although this was the first time the artillery platoon had used the M2 mortar, the basic principles remained the same, and the firing and calibration methods were the same as their previous mortars.

So, in less than a minute, the artillery platoon, along with the mortars from before, a total of 24 mortars, launched a shelling attack on the Japanese.

Not long ago, the First Battalion of the 101st Regiment of the Japanese army, despite suffering dozens of casualties, successfully captured the front-line position of the First Battalion.

Therefore, Japanese battalion commander Ken Yokokawa decided to take the Nationalist army's second-line positions in one fell swoop.

Because the 101st Regiment had never encountered a strong enemy, they believed that the Nationalist Army was weak and completely vulnerable.

The arrogant Japanese soldiers were fully expecting to quickly tear apart the Nationalist army's defenses and then capture Fu'an Town.

They suddenly heard a dense, whooshing sound coming from the sky.

"What? Where did the Chinese army get so many cannons?"

Before Yokokawa Ken could figure it out, mortar shells landed in the Japanese ranks.

"Boom boom boom..."

The artillery platoon fired five rounds in succession before Long Fei ordered it to stop.

"Commander Long, why don't you continue shelling the Japanese?"

"Commander Jiang, we need to give the troops that are flanking us to the left and right some time. If we fight too hard now and the Japanese retreat temporarily, how will we encircle them from three sides?"

Jiang Yunqing hummed in agreement and then fell silent.

Even though only five rounds of shells were fired, totaling more than a hundred shells, it still gave the Japanese a lot of trouble.

After fighting for half a day, the Japanese had only suffered about twenty dead and more than thirty wounded.

Unexpectedly, after the shelling ended, more than forty were killed and more than seventy were wounded.

Of course, this attack was a failure, and Ken Yokokawa could only order a halt to the offensive, treat the wounded, and retreat for rest.

Ken Yokokawa was so angry that he yelled and screamed in the temporary command post.

"Damn it, the Chinese army is so cunning! They actually hid their artillery strength and launched a surprise attack on us while we were off guard."

After calming down, Ken Yokokawa decided to launch another attack.

This time, however, he decided to bombard the area with artillery first, and then use tanks and armored vehicles to push forward.

This was just one of the Japanese soldiers' three basic tactics, nothing new.

The soldiers of the First Battalion had previously faced attacks from Japanese tanks and armored vehicles because they lacked anti-tank weapons.

They could only use Molotov cocktails and grenades to fight back. Although they destroyed one Japanese tank and two armored vehicles, they also suffered more than twenty casualties.

Even such a loss pained Ken Yokokawa deeply.

After all, the regimental commander, Goro Iizuka, only equipped his first battalion with three tanks and five armored vehicles.

Having lost a third of their troops in one fell swoop, and seeing the Nationalist army fighting so desperately, Yokokawa Ken ordered the armored units to simply provide cover by firing artillery in place and not to continue advancing.

This allowed the First Battalion to catch its breath; otherwise, the second line of defense might have already fallen, leaving them with no choice but to retreat into the town and fight the Japanese in street battles.

Just as Yokokawa Ken had regrouped his troops and launched another attack.

Jiang Yunqing received a report that the Second and Third Battalions had outflanked and reached their designated positions.

Long Fei turned to Xie Qiang and said, "Order the Tiger tanks to attack, and the gun platoon to continue firing until all the shells are used up."

At the same time, the Japanese began shelling, and the remaining two tanks and three armored vehicles lined up and charged toward the second-line position of the First Battalion.

Behind the tanks and armored vehicles followed at least one company of Japanese infantry.

The Nationalist Army artillery platoon leader, whose real name was Liu Tiezhu, was nicknamed "Mountain Cannon".

He was from Northeast China, tall and imposing, with a forthright personality. He originally served as an artilleryman in the Northeast Army.

Because of his fascination with artillery and his education, he learned a great deal about artillery.

In a previous exercise, a mortar shot destroyed a target 1,500 meters away.

So his comrades gave him the nickname "mountain cannon," which is an insult in Northeast China, but here it was full of praise from his comrades.

Therefore, Liu Tiezhu gladly accepted the nickname.

Later, when the Northeast fell to the Japanese, Liu Tiezhu followed his troops and left his hometown. Later, Jia Yunshan, the commander of the 33rd Division of the Northwest Army, learned of his situation.

They used two machine guns and one hundred hand grenades to exchange him from the Northeast Army.

Liu Tiezhu also went from being an artillery squad leader to a platoon leader.

After the Japanese launched their artillery barrage, Liu Tiezhu deduced the approximate location of the Japanese artillery positions based on factors such as the direction of the incoming shells and the time it took for them to land.

Therefore, Liu Tiezhu ordered the five mortars to adjust their firing parameters, preparing to bombard the Japanese artillery positions in a short time.

After Jiang Yunqing gave the order, only two rounds of artillery fire, consisting of ten shells, were enough to successfully detonate the shells on the Japanese artillery positions, thereby destroying the Japanese artillery positions.

After the Japanese artillery fell silent, their only remaining hope now lies in the armored units and the infantry's grenade launchers.

But before the Japanese tanks and armored vehicles could reach the second-line position of the First Battalion, they were already engaged in combat.

Suddenly, two Tiger tanks appeared out of nowhere from behind the 1st Battalion's position.

With a thunderous roar, it charged straight towards the Japanese tanks and armored vehicles.

They were firing cannons as they pounced.

The Japanese's two tanks and three armored vehicles weren't even enough to fill the gaps between the Tiger tanks' teeth.

"Boom boom boom..."

In less than a minute, the two Tiger tanks fired eight armor-piercing rounds.

The Japanese tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed in the blink of an eye, and one tank even exploded.

The two Tiger tanks, clearly not satisfied with the fighting, charged towards the infantry behind the Japanese troops.

At this moment, the artillery platoon also ran out of shells, and Jiang Yunqing shouted orders into the walkie-talkie.

"Each battalion immediately launched an attack on the Japanese."

The Second and Third Battalions, which had maneuvered to the left and right flanks of the Japanese troops, were the first to open fire.

Two hundred MG42s, emitting a low, hissing sound like tearing cloth, began to relentlessly mow down the Japanese soldiers.

Other Nationalist soldiers armed with Thompson submachine guns were not to be outdone, and each took aim at the Japanese and began firing.

The Japanese soldiers were immediately stunned. Before they could recover from the shock of the Tiger tank, they were met with a barrage of bullets.

The Japanese company that was leading the attack fell in droves and was wiped out in no time.

The First Battalion then followed behind the Tiger tanks and launched a counterattack against the Japanese.

After annihilating the Japanese attacking force, the Second and Third Battalions continued to advance and launched an attack on the remaining Japanese troops.

Following Long Fei's earlier instructions, the two Tiger tanks ignored the presence of the Japanese soldiers and rolled forward, crushing their way to the rear of the Japanese battalion.

Then they changed direction and, with the imposing force of one man guarding the pass against ten thousand, blocked the Japanese retreat.

"What the hell? How can the Chinese army have such powerful tanks? And how did their firepower suddenly become so strong?"

At this moment, no matter how hysterically Ken Yokokawa barked, he couldn't change their tragic fate.

"Order the Second Company to hold the line, and the rest of the troops to retreat immediately."

Although Ken Yokokawa issued the order to retreat in time, it was too late.

The Japanese infantry's Type 92 machine gun and Type 91 heavy machine gun were no match for the MG42 machine gun and Thompson submachine gun.

Within minutes, a large battalion of Japanese soldiers had been wiped out.

Only a few dozen remaining Japanese soldiers, along with Ken Yokokawa, huddled behind a pile of rocks, continuing their stubborn resistance.

Tiger tanks wouldn't tolerate the Japanese, nor did they want to blast them into the sky with a few shots.

Instead, they charged straight at the pile of rubble.

This pile of rubble was no match for the Tiger tank's impact and collapsed with a crash.

They immediately pinned the Japanese soldiers hiding behind them under the rocks.

The Tiger tank had no intention of stopping; it increased its speed and drove onto the rocks, repeatedly crushing them.

The poor Japanese soldiers who were trapped under the stones but hadn't been crushed to death were then crushed into a bloody pulp.

Ken Yokokawa was no exception; even when the rocks collapsed, two Japanese soldiers rushed to his aid.

But instead of being killed by the falling rocks, he was immediately crushed into a human-shaped meat patty by a Tiger tank that drove up to him.