Chapter 49: So Angry, So Angry

The gunfire on the left wing of the Sihang Warehouse finally calmed down after 30 minutes.

Because, few people outside the warehouse could breathe.

The Japanese troops in front of the warehouse retreated collectively after digging in the ruins for more than half an hour.

The sun that jumped out of the horizon was still gentle, emitting warm light to dispel the cold wind in the early morning of late autumn.

The people on the banks of Suzhou River in the concession were jubilant.

Although the previous two small-scale battles ended with the victory of the Chinese defenders, anyone with a discerning eye knew that it was just a mutual test between the two warring parties, and at most it was just an appetizer.

However, this offensive and defensive battle that lasted for nearly an hour can be regarded as a hard dish. The Japanese army mobilized more than three infantry squadrons and at least four artillery pieces and more than 20 light and heavy machine guns to participate in the battle, but the outcome remained unchanged.

The defenders won.

And it was a complete victory.

The people didn't know how many Japanese casualties were in the front because of the distance, but everyone could see clearly how many Japanese casualties were in the battlefield on the flank of the warehouse. There were dozens of bodies lying in the ruins 50 meters away from the warehouse wall.

The Chinese people were very excited, and more and more people came from far away in the concession to join the jubilant crowd.

This was the result of Brigadier General Smallett's decisive order to set up barricades on the streets leading to the Suzhou River an hour ago to block the flow of people.

You know, not counting the original residents of the concession, the number of people pouring into the concession at the beginning of the Battle of Shanghai alone was as high as hundreds of thousands or even more. If it was not stopped, once stray bullets or shells fell into the crowd, a tragedy that shocked the world would occur, and he, the commander of the concession coalition forces, would not be able to leave.

But even so, along the 2,000-meter-long street along the south bank of the Suzhou River, nearly 10,000 Chinese people gathered, comparable to a football final.

In order to evacuate the crowd, all the restaurants, shops, porridge shops and other commercial places opened by the Chinese in the buildings along the river were open to the public for free.

Even more than 80% of the bosses began to distribute tea and food for free. There was no big reason. Maybe they were just happy, or they hoped that everyone would save some energy so that they could have more energy to cheer for the brothers on the opposite side later!

The flashlights on the roofs and the best sights of each building kept flashing. From a distance, they were even brighter than the sparks from the muzzles of the machine guns that kept firing.

Chinese and foreign reporters were crazy.

What is big news? This is it.

The remnants of the Chinese army held their strongholds, and the Japanese army attacked at all costs. As a result, in less than an hour, nearly a hundred people were killed.

The Japanese army, which once boasted that it would conquer all of China in March, had been severely slapped in the face. Now, they were defeated by their men and received a "chrysanthemum thorn".

The damage was not small, and the insult was even greater.

Perhaps, the only people that the autumn sun did not warm, apart from the Japanese soldiers lying in the ruins and gradually becoming cold and hard, were the Japanese major who had once hoped to write his name in the sky of Japanese history.

Toyota Hide, who had moved the headquarters back 800 meters, stood in the headquarters and stared into the distance. He had maintained that posture for nearly half an hour.

It felt like a postmodern art sculpture. If his eyes were not so dull, and there was a little deep melancholy mixed with sadness, the effect might be much better.

He had received the battle report from Beicang Mandu. Two fully organized infantry squads were completely destroyed, with 5 heavy machine gunners killed, 3 grenade throwers killed, and 6 artillerymen killed, which almost meant that the 1st Infantry Squadron of Beicang Mandu had lost its combat effectiveness.

At the moment of the big explosion, Toyota Hide thought that the idiot Beicang Mandu would be unlucky, but he didn't think he would be so unlucky. A whole infantry squad stepped on the oversized landmine.

What's even more stupid is that they also lost an extra infantry squad on the front line. What a pig! Not just the pigs in Beicang, but the whole warehouse is full of pigs.

There is no doubt that the blame for the defeat will be pinned on Beicang Mandu, but it is certain that he, the supreme commander, will not be well off.

Compared with the loss of the left wing position, what makes Toyota Hide even more heartbroken is the front battlefield, which is all his direct line.

It's just firepower containment, so why is the loss so great? When the battle report was reported to him ten minutes ago, the Japanese major was simply unbelievable.

Almost all of the 50 people in the 3rd Infantry Squadron of the 2nd Infantry Company who were caught in the blast were buried. Fortunately, there were only broken walls and not too many heavy objects. The other infantry squads were quick and dug out about 40 people, but no more than 20 were still alive.

This is okay. After all, not everyone can be a turtle. They can hold their breath in the water for an hour. It's good to be able to snatch back half of it.

But because of the rescue of the 20th person, 22 infantrymen died from the Chinese cold guns and cold artillery. What the hell?

Especially more than ten soldiers died from rifle wounds, which is really a chilling thing.

The accurate shooting distance of Chinese cold gunners is as high as 470 meters?

It is unbelievable, but it is a fact.

In other words, the loss of 110 people on the flank battlefield was because they were the main attack, but the 1st Infantry Battalion, which was a feint attack, actually lost nearly an infantry squad.

Amaterasu must be joking with him, and Toyota Hide has not recovered yet.

No, it should be said that he was confused and dizzy when the colonel commander of the 36th Infantry Regiment, Jiro Wakiita, angrily broke into Toyota Hide's field command post.

"Pah!" A big slap hit the postmodern sculpture so hard that the sky was full of stars.

All the Japanese soldiers in the headquarters were silent.

The colonel beat the major, which might be the first time for the 3rd Division since the Battle of Shanghai.

The major who could command an infantry battalion of 1,000 people was already a mid-level officer in the Japanese Army sequence. He was only one step away from being promoted to lieutenant colonel and colonel and becoming a senior officer, but he was slapped in front of people.

It can be seen that the colonel was angry.

Jiro Wakiita was of course angry. If he had not been under the authority, he might have cut Toyota Hide into pieces and fed them to the dogs.

The 1st Infantry Battalion had nearly 200 casualties so far, and the casualties reached 20%, but it was not the real reason for the Japanese colonel's anger.

The 36th Infantry Regiment had been in the war for more than two months. From more than 3,200 people when they arrived on the landing ship to 1,500, the loss was more than half, but he was not so angry.

As a noble, Jiro Wakiita shoulders the honor of the entire family. The life and death of ordinary Japanese soldiers is not important. What is important is that he, as a commander, has won victory on the battlefield again and again.

However, after paying such a huge loss, not only the stronghold of the Chinese defenders is still standing, but the 1st Infantry Battalion, a group of idiots, even touched the hair of the defenders, and the closest position is only 50 meters away.

The intelligence personnel on the concession side have sent telegrams, and the Western media are taking pictures.

Various eye-catching headlines such as "The Japanese army was defeated by the Suzhou River!", "The Chinese are still defending Songhu!", and "The Japanese's grief!" have been freshly baked and sent to all parts of the world.

Is this just a slap on Jiro Wakiita's face? The faces of the brigade commander and the division commander were slapped by the guy in front of him, okay?

If he is not beaten now, will he wait until the New Year?

The Japanese colonel was full of depression that "the subordinates made a mistake but he was stabbed in the valley with a stick", so he naturally took out all his strength.

Toyota's show was really impressive. His left cheek was visibly red and swollen. Two lines of blood flowed out of his nose, staining his mustache and wetting the front of his military uniform...

It was so miserable!

The postmodern sculpture quickly adjusted its shaking body and stood up straight, looking very sincere in being beaten.

Most people would not be able to hit him again after seeing this.

Unfortunately, the colonel was really angry.