A squadron of Japanese troops crossing the river faced a sudden and powerful firepower under a firepower network composed of hundreds of machine guns. The crooked machine gun installed on the bow of the ship became a decoration, and the firepower seemed insignificant.
The Japanese soldiers on the boat were constantly penetrated by hot bullets, and their bodies fell into the Zhang River like broken catkins, turning the river red in an instant.
At the same time, twelve Type 92 heavy machine guns placed on the Zhanghe Bridge opened fire on both sides, pointing directly at the Japanese troops who were trying to control the ships and flee towards the east and west sides.
Kuroda Yuzo on the south bank of the Zhang River widened his eyes, and his slightly standing body seemed a little stiff. He couldn't believe that the tragedy in front of him was happening to the soldiers under his command.
"How could this happen?" Yuzo Kuroda muttered to himself.
Erbangzi at the bridge was admiring the tragic scene below with great interest, and for a moment he even forgot to supply ammunition.
"Second stick, bullet plate, bullet plate!" Company Commander Shi Desheng kicked the second stick, and the 30-round bullet-proof plate would soon be empty.
Erbangzi hurriedly picked up a bullet plate and inserted it into the ammunition supply chute of the heavy machine gun.
"Don't you dare to stick your head out from the bridge if you don't want your life?" Shi Desheng cursed angrily and pulled back the second stick that was about to stick his head out again.
"Company commander, there is a Japanese officer on the opposite side, and he is holding a command sword!" Er Er pointed his stick at Kuroda Yuzo on the other side and said.
Shi Desheng stuck his head out and took a glance. The distance was more than 400 meters away, and he could only see a figure standing behind the carriage, which seemed a bit abrupt.
In line with the idea of shooting three poles when there are no dates, Shi Desheng immediately turned the muzzle of the gun, holding the weight tightly with both hands, and a tongue of flame emerged from the black hole of the muzzle, and ejected towards the opposite side.
Heavy machine guns have always caused range damage and cannot be aimed as accurately as rifles.
A series of bullets first splashed on the ground in front of the carriage, and then ricocheted onto the carriage.
Kuroda Yuzo was stunned and didn't respond, but the adjutant on the side reacted very quickly, flying over and overpowering the standing Kuroda Yuzo.
The bullet passed through the body of his adjutant and hit Yuzo Kuroda's right arm. The severe pain awakened Yuzo Kuroda from his brief trance.
Seeing his confidant who had been with him for many years die tragically in front of his eyes, if his adjutant hadn't been protecting him at the critical moment, he would have been the one with blood splattered on the spot.
Kuroda Yuzo suppressed his inner panic, pushed away the adjutant's body, and shouted to the side: "Machine gun cover, the rest of the people retreat, retreat immediately!"
Kuroda Yuzo decisively gave up on the Japanese troops struggling in the river.
As soon as he finished speaking, a harsh scream came from above, and several artillery shells pierced the sky and flew towards the Japanese artillery positions in the rear.
The independent detachment artillery battalion on the north bank of the Zhang River has been measuring the location of the opponent's artillery after the Japanese artillery opened fire.
After roughly locking the opponent's position, the scene of several test firings of artillery shells appeared.
Without exception, the few test-fired artillery shells did not cause any damage to the Japanese artillery positions.
The artillery positions in the northeast and northwest quickly adjusted their parameters. A total of eighteen artillery pieces opened fire at the south bank of the Zhang River. Immediately, the Japanese artillery positions were covered by fierce artillery fire.
Giant rumbling flames rose around the Japanese artillery positions, and the exploding incendiary bombs swallowed up the nearby Japanese artillery in an instant.
"Ah, ah!" The lit pedestrian torch rolled helplessly on the ground, wailing in pain.
The scattered shrapnel shredded the Japanese soldiers' bodies like sledges, and the strong air current swept the broken limbs and arms into the air.
After five rounds of indiscriminate artillery fire, there was no time to confirm the results of the battle. Chen Feng, who was located at the artillery position on the northwest side, decisively ordered: "Quick, move immediately!"
On the other side, Zhou Weihan ignored Zhao Gang's objections and forced himself to climb to the top of the second-story turret.
Zhou Weihan lay on the ruins on top of the gun tower, raised his telescope, and stuck his head out. In the field of view of the telescope, the Japanese artillery position seemed to be engulfed in a sea of fire.
"What a pity. After this round of artillery fire, I wonder how many of the Japs' artillery pieces are left usable?" Zhou Weihan said with some distress.
"No matter how good the artillery is, it must be able to be used by us. When the Japanese army has been in unfavorable situations in previous battles, if the artillery cannot be taken away, it will be blown up immediately. Of course, there may be one or two Japanese artillery pieces on the opposite side.
It’s possible to stay safe under the gunfire!” Zhao Gang said teasingly.
After Zhou Weihan heard this, he turned around, glared at Zhao Gang, and then said: "The Japanese army that crossed the river before was only 800 people, nearly four infantry squadrons, and now there is another squadron. The heat is almost there, don't scare away the little Japs.
Got it!"
Then he said to the monk on the side: "Monk, go and notify the first group, and the 28th group will retreat one after another!"
The monk bent down and jumped from the top of the second floor of the turret. Tian Defu, who was still on the turret, was dumbfounded.
"Defu, protect the detachment leader and political commissar!" The monk raised his head and smiled innocently.
The machine gunners of the regiment that received the order, the 28th Regiment, retreated one after another under the cover of the heavy machine guns on the bridge.
North bank of Zhanghe River.
Kuroda Yuzo's face was gloomy, and there was a pent-up anger in his heart with nowhere to vent it.
The more than 2,000 imperial troops he led set out from Xinxiang. Although there were twists and turns along the way, the Eighth Route Army disappeared wherever they passed. They hit a snag at the Zhanghe Bridge.
In less than two hours, five infantry squadrons were lost, and Ichiro Mizuno, who had come all the way from Shangqiu, was also shattered on the spot.
"Your Excellency Da Zuo, the artillery suffered heavy casualties. Less than 100 soldiers survived. All six field guns were blown up, and five Type 92 infantry guns were blown up!" a Japanese military officer reported.
The Japanese army is a country with scarce resources. In the Japanese artillery force, it has always been believed that artillery is more important than people.
Therefore, after being attacked by artillery fire, the Japanese army did not try to avoid the artillery fire, but instead tried to move the artillery fire.
The Type 38 field gun weighed about one ton, and there was no time to move it. In the end, only three lighter Type 92 infantry guns survived the fire.
"Where did the Eighth Route Army come from? How could it have more artillery than the Imperial Japanese Army?" Kuroda Yuzo was stunned at this time, and he had doubts in his heart.
"Your Excellency Da Zuo, we have fallen into the Eighth Route Army's conspiracy. The Eighth Route Army has obviously been ambushing on the north bank of the Zhanghe River for a long time. It first used its usual trick of mine formations, but it concealed most of the light and heavy machine guns, making us mistakenly think that the opponent's weapons and equipment were backward, thus
Tempt the Imperial Army to attack again, and then use all the firepower to kill!" Chida Hanbei had been watching from the sidelines, but at this time the outsider could see it clearly.
However, Chida Hanbei did not notice Kuroda Yuzo's increasingly gloomy expression, and continued: "The other party also has organic artillery. I suspect that the other party is the main force of the Eighth Route Army that attacked Handan City!"
Chida Hanbei's hindsight judgment was like adding fuel to the fire, which completely ignited Kuroda Yuzo's inner anger.
Kuroda Yuzo slapped Chida Hanbei in the face and said angrily: "Baga, shut up!"
Chida Hanbei spat out two back molars from his mouth, covering his face and retreating repeatedly.
"You are responsible for choosing the place to cross the river. You bear the main responsibility for the current situation!"
------Digression-----
Double monthly pass on the last day, Sanshui please support me