latelenovela Chapter 1081: Overkill!
Chapter 1081: Overkill!
The Japanese troops involved in this bombing raid did not possess any large-scale weaponry; they were primarily infantry carrying their individual equipment, along with some logistical supplies. Therefore, the bombs carried by the aircraft were all small bombs weighing around 25 kilograms.
These small bombs were dropped from high altitudes like a shower of flowers. When many Japanese soldiers looked up, they instantly felt as if their legs were filled with lead, and they couldn't move them at all.
Some people could run, but when they saw the number of planes in the sky, they didn't know where to run. Even if you had wheels on your feet, you probably wouldn't be able to escape.
Under these circumstances, the entire 24th Brigade was dumbfounded, never expecting such a thing to happen after dawn.
When the first bomb exploded, many knew their fate. More than seventy bombs detonated within a minute, averaging more than one per second, and from the sky, the entire area was engulfed in flames.
Some villagers fled to the neighboring mountain. After seeing this scene, they wept and cursed the Japanese, saying, "What you did yesterday has come back to haunt you today. May this fire burn you all to death."
Twenty minutes later, the bombers ran out of bombs and began their return flight. However, Wang Zuye knew that a large number of Japanese soldiers were still hiding. It was impossible to kill the entire brigade by bombing unless the bombing of that level continued for at least another hour.
"Reporting to the company commander, the Ninth Regiment is less than 20 li away from us and will arrive in about half an hour."
Right now, the Japanese need to deal with the aftermath of the bombing and will have to stay here for a while. I didn't expect the Ninth Regiment to arrive so quickly. We don't need to worry about the Japanese running back.
"Immediately notify the Ninth Regiment to go around to the east of the Japanese. We will join forces with them to block the Japanese retreat route first, and then the rest will be easy."
Wang Zuye drew a line on the map; this was their blockade line. If the Japanese couldn't cross this blockade line, they could expect to be wiped out.
During the bombing, Brigade Commander Ogura dodged left and right, hoping to save his life. Unfortunately, he was unlucky; a bomb exploded nearby, and shrapnel passed right through his knees, leaving him with only his upper body; his legs were numb.
The medic was bandaging the guy's wounds, but given their current conditions, it would be difficult to insist on going back, because almost all the means of transportation had been destroyed. Even if you could find a means of transportation, there was no order to retreat. Could you really force your way back? That would be disobeying orders on the battlefield.
Brigade Commander Ogura had already fainted from the pain. He had never suffered so much before. The medics had very limited anesthetics, and they had used almost all of them on him, but he still fainted from the pain. So now the command was handed over to Chief of Staff Takagi.
"Still haven't been able to contact headquarters? What are you all doing?"
More than half of the communications squad members were killed in the bombing, and even the squad leader could not be found. The remaining soldiers had tried their best, but the antenna planted on the hillside was destroyed. Even if they had extraordinary skills, they could not contact headquarters.
"At this point, Chief of Staff, the only option is to send someone back."
The deputy squad leader of the communications squad glanced at the few remaining warhorses in the distance. If they were to rely on these things to get back, it would take at least half a day, and by the time they brought back the message, a whole day would have passed.
For ordinary people, a day is not long; it can pass in the blink of an eye.
But now, of the brigade's 10,000 or so men, more than 3,000 have been killed, and another 1,000 or 2,000 are wounded or sick. The rest are scattered throughout the town. It's difficult to even gather them together. Chief of Staff Takagi doesn't even dare to think about what will happen after this day.
"You two ride back immediately and report the situation here as quickly as possible. At the same time, notify the troops along the way to send a large number of military doctors with medicines, especially anesthetics."
Chief of Staff Takagi glanced at Brigade Commander Ogura. This man should still be alive. Whether he heard what Takagi had just said was unknown, but Takagi had to say it anyway. In case he came back to life, he might be grateful for what Takagi had said. Brigade Commander Ogura's family was quite powerful within the army. With someone giving him some pointers, his future would be much easier.
At a time like this, instead of thinking about saving the entire brigade, they're thinking about how to flatter the leaders.
This chief of staff is truly qualified.
"All soldiers who can stand up, immediately search for all the supplies around you, use every means at your disposal to dig out our supplies and soldiers, and do it quickly."
Chief of Staff Takagi finally gave the first order: during the explosion, many people and supplies were buried in the mud. They had to be dug out now; if they didn't act now, the death toll would probably rise by several hundred more.
After marching south from the north, they had only encountered ragtag troops. So they were all very confident. Today, they finally knew what made the 72nd Army different. They had only encountered a small force on the ground, but now they were facing heavy bombers, and an entire brigade was wiped out.
"Chief of Staff... Your Excellency Chief of Staff..."
They'd been digging for almost an hour, and quite a few things had been unearthed. Commander Xiao Cang had also woken up, but he was in so much pain that he was practically grimacing. Expecting him to command these people was probably pointless.
"Weren't you supposed to go back and deliver the message? Where's your deputy squad leader?"
When Chief of Staff Takagi saw that the only two remaining members of the communications squad had returned, his heart skipped a beat.
"Chief of Staff, our way back is blocked. It's all men dressed in black German uniforms. Their weapons are too powerful. The two of us just rode past on horseback when they started machine-gunning us. If I hadn't rolled into the river, we wouldn't be back now. They're everywhere, about fifteen kilometers to our west..."
When this guy gave his report, all the Japanese soldiers around stopped and listened intently.
Chief of Staff Takagi slapped him across the face. "If you'd known it would be like this, you should have kept your voice down..."