Anti-Japanese War: When I get promoted, the system will explode with soldiers

Chapter 1068 Bombarding the North Bank

As Company Commander Xu swung his hand down, the shell was fired. The whole process took only half a second, but the shell spent a considerable amount of time flying through the air.

Three or four seconds passed before the shell exploded near the Japanese machine gun position, about five or six meters away from the Type 92 heavy machine gun.

This thing is a 120mm mortar, and the explosive power is enormous. Counting from the center of the explosion, there would be no survivors within a 35-meter radius. There might be some shelter that could save your life, but you definitely can't withstand the shock wave.

"Sure, give it a good beating."

Upon seeing this, Battalion Commander Hao ordered the other artillery pieces to fire immediately, as this was a rare opportunity and there was plenty of ammunition.

In an instant, the artillery on the shore began to fire, and one after another, fire mushrooms appeared on the Japanese positions opposite, mixed with the screams of the Japanese soldiers.

In fact, in this situation, it is not necessary to bombard with very precise accuracy. The brothers did not understand this before, but now that they see a huge fire on the other side, they all think that they should just do it. Anyway, there are plenty of shells. As long as we are in the right direction, we can just fire like this.

Ma Leizi, from a high vantage point in the provincial capital, also saw the situation of the Japanese on the other side of the Yellow River. "If you bastards continue to build defensive fortifications on the riverbank, then my artillery will never stop firing."

Ma Leizi's idea was very simple: even if we had river ships, we couldn't allow the Japanese to have any defensive fortifications on the banks of the Yellow River. Otherwise, we would suffer heavy losses when crossing the river. We would have to use artillery shells to drive the Japanese away, no matter what they wanted to do on the riverbank. Even if they just wanted to take a piss, my artillery shells wouldn't allow it.

Previously, when the Japanese were building defensive fortifications along the river, they had never seen the 72nd Army come to shell them. They thought the 72nd Army's artillery hadn't been delivered. Now, a single wave of attacks had wiped them out, and these guys realized just how fierce the 72nd Army's firepower was.

When the Isogai Division retreated from the south bank of the Yellow River, the Japanese soldiers behind them mocked them, believing they had lost their pride as elite troops. They couldn't even defeat a security regiment.

Now look at the shells on the banks of the Yellow River, and you'll know how powerful the security regiment's attack was.

"Withdraw to the second line of defense, withdraw to the second line of defense."

Seeing that no one was crossing the river and that we had no means of retaliation, the Japanese commander realized that staying on the riverbank would only increase casualties and wouldn't accomplish anything. So he quickly ordered his men to retreat.

"The Japanese soldiers began to retreat, and the artillery fire extended for three hundred meters."

The artillery observers on the opposite bank of the river were all perched in trees, with a clear view of the situation in the distance. They had high-powered binoculars in their hands, and there were probably only one or two in the entire Japanese division, but they had been using these things for months.

In this day and age, such optical sights are extremely expensive. The Japanese navy even added a white cloth to the bottom of their binoculars so they could wipe them clean at any time. But for the 72nd Army, each squad leader usually had one.

Large numbers of Japanese soldiers began to retreat northward from the riverbank, but they were also puzzled as to why the shells followed them wherever they ran, making it seem like there was nowhere to run.

When the Yellow River defense line was being built, these people thought the other side had missed an opportunity to attack. They thought, "We've almost finished building it, and you haven't reacted at all. When you want to cross the river in the future, just wait and see how much damage our defense line will cause you."

But now I finally understand. It wasn't that they didn't see you building defenses back then, but rather that they hadn't brought over all kinds of artillery and shells, so they let you stay here for a while. Now that all the weapons and equipment are in place, do you see your position still standing?

"Let's wrap up work and have dinner."

At 11:30 a.m., the riverside positions on the opposite side were no longer visible, and thick black smoke filled the air.

From their position, we can see that many places are still burning. We also used some incendiary bombs later on. As for how badly the enemy was burned, we don't care about that.

"Lamb noodles, hurry up, hurry up."

Only 120 meters away from where the soldiers were fighting, the cooks lifted the lid of the 12th Battalion's large pot, and the fragrant mutton noodles inside made everyone's mouths water.

"If you don't like the taste, come over here. We have plain noodles, pickled vegetables, spicy pickled vegetables, all kinds of braised dishes, tomato and egg..."

Whenever it's time to eat, no one is in a hurry to pick up their chopsticks, which is completely different from before. When we first joined the army, we would rush to the front of the table at every meal because we had never eaten anything like it before.

Once they joined the army, they all managed to improve their own appetites.

But later everyone realized that you should listen before you eat.

The main event usually happens at the end; you need to listen carefully to what the cooks are saying first.

For example, although mutton noodles are delicious, some people don't like the muttony smell, so they just have a bowl of plain noodles with some tomato and egg sauce, which tastes just as good.

"Take your time and line up. The supply is open. As long as you don't waste food, you can eat as much as you want. Let me make this clear from the start: the officer has given the order that anyone who wastes food will not be allowed to eat for two days."

Recently, some unpleasant things have been discovered. Although there aren't many, they still need to be dealt with strictly.

The Haiyang security team found the discarded meat buns, and they were all whole.

The investigation eventually uncovered the truth within the entire security regiment, revealing that the three soldiers had lost two months' salary.

They really didn't eat for two days, so that everyone could see it clearly and they would be punished, unable to be promoted that year.

Li Shaoyi agreed, saying that it was right to create good logistical conditions for the troops, but if you people look at the abundant supplies and don't treat the food as food, then don't blame me for letting you down.

No one in the units was unwilling to accept this punishment. Everyone came from poor families, and they all knew perfectly well how important food was, without any need for any propaganda from above.

Moreover, in the eyes of peasants, wasting food should be punished by death. They've only had enough to eat for a few days, and now they're starting to waste food? These are pure meat buns, something they could only dream of eating before, and now you dare to throw them away?

According to other officers and soldiers, they should be starved for a week. As long as they don't starve to death, they should be made to experience the taste of hunger. This is really going to be a nightmare...