Rebirth of the National Marshal

Chapter 347 The tragic battlefield

The difference between the navy's naval guns and the army's artillery is that the navy's artillery has a larger caliber and a faster firing speed.

If it was just the artillery of the Japanese Army, the Central Army of the Party-State and some other local warlords could still engage in an evenly matched artillery battle with them after getting the support of Mao Yuanshan. For them, dealing with the Japanese devils' artillery would only mean sacrificing a few more lives, and we Chinese people can still afford this sacrifice. But if the enemy used the naval guns of the Navy, especially some large-caliber heavy artillery, this would not be something we could resolve.

The first is a problem of range. They are out of the range of our artillery. The second is a problem of speed. In the past, the artillery of the Japanese army was fixed in one place. As long as we find the right position, we can always hit them. However, these naval warships are moving quickly in the Yangtze River. It is too difficult to hit a moving target.

Another reason is that our artillery caliber is relatively small and the range is relatively short. Even if the enemy stops there and does not move, you cannot hit them.

This was an unequal war. Once the Japanese Navy joined the war, the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse, just like the last time. The only difference was that last time there were 15 Stukas left for them, but now there are none left.

It is a little different from the last time. The last time the Japanese warships entered the Yangtze River, because there were more warships, there were more artillery, so they could attack all the positions of the Chinese army. But this time only two destroyers came in, so they had to pay special attention to them. The Luodian area is the area they have to pay special attention to.

In about half an hour, about 200 shells had fallen in Luodian area. All of these shells were fired by heavy artillery with a diameter of 100mm or above. Unlike the previous Type 20 infantry guns, such shells would leave almost no grass growing within a radius of meters, let alone people.

A regiment of the Central Army that had just come to support the Luodian area immediately lost more than half of its troops. The infantry division of Lu Jiasheng, the original defenders here, had suffered losses of more than 2/3. They didn't even see a single Japanese devil and were directly beaten into this state by the enemy's artillery.

"This battle is so fucking pathetic, all our gains are gone in an instant as soon as these little Japanese navy arrive. Before, we could still engage in a tug-of-war with the Japanese devils here, even if they are stronger than us during the day, we can organize a suicide squad to take it back at night. But look at the situation now, where can we find people to form a suicide squad? Now, let alone people to fight back, a random battalion of the Japanese devils can kill us all. We must report to the headquarters quickly and say that we really can't hold on any longer and ask them to send more reinforcements." Before, any junior officer would be scolded when he asked Lu Jiasheng for support, but now Lu Jiasheng really couldn't hold on any longer. Look at the straight rise in casualties on the position. If he doesn't ask for support from the headquarters, they will have nothing left when the Japanese devils charge.

"Division Commander, the telephone here has been blown up. We have sent out several communicators, but none of them have come back. The artillery fire outside is too powerful. Why don't we wait for a while before letting the communicators go out." Half of the soldiers in their division's communications squad had been killed or wounded. They all went out on fast horses, but none of them came back. In the end, only one of them survived. All of them were killed by the Japanese devils' artillery.

"Bullshit, quickly call the communicator out. Even if there is only one person left, he must quickly connect the telephone line for me. If they can't contact the headquarters, I will shoot them all." Lu Jiasheng used to be a general who loved his soldiers like his own sons. He also didn't want to let his soldiers go out to die. But in the current situation, he must let them know what the current Luodian area is like and the importance of Luodian area to the entire Battle of Shanghai. I believe that the guys in the headquarters should know it better than himself.

The last three remaining communicators all went out. They began to search along the telephone line towards the headquarters. It should be that some place in the middle was cut off. Before they found the place where it was blown off, they first found their two comrades. They were both communicators who had been sent out before and were now dead.

After an hour's bombardment, less than 1/5 of the people on the position were able to stand. Nearly 1 of the more than 7000 brothers were killed directly by artillery fire, and most of the remaining 3000 or so were wounded.

"Hurry up, order the brothers to get into the positions, everyone go up. The Japanese devils have been preparing for this wave of artillery attack for such a long time, they must want to take over our area in one fell swoop. The position must not be lost from our hands, everyone rush up and die on the position." Hearing the artillery fire outside stop, Lu Jiasheng became even more nervous, because he knew that the Japanese devils were going to attack. The Japanese devils were not an industrial power, so they could only prepare for the artillery attack for a maximum of 20 minutes. This time it took an hour, and most of them were heavy artillery used by warships.

Lu Jiasheng took out his pistol and led the few remaining staff officers, cooks from the kitchen squad, and horsemen from their entire division. All together, there were only about 4,000 old, weak and disabled soldiers. Looking at the more than 6,000 Japanese soldiers gathered on the opposite side and were ready to start the attack.

This time the Japanese devils' attack was completely different from the previous ones. This time they sent a large number of troops to attack on all fronts. So even though the Songhu Garrison Command knew that the Luodian area had become a mess, they had no way to send reinforcements, and there were messages asking for help everywhere.

Some troops were temporarily requisitioned by other battlefields on their way here. There is nothing we can do about it. Although your place is very important, other fronts cannot be said to be unimportant.