Chapter 94: Artillery Battalion
Huang Guantao lived up to his reputation as an experienced officer, instantly identifying the 33rd Brigade’s weakness.
Upon learning that the attacking Chinese force was an armored unit, Segaya Ki immediately thought of the artillery battalion and the independent heavy artillery battalion outside the city.
The latter, in particular, possessed four Type 89 150mm heavy guns. Divisional Commander Isogai Kensuke had specifically assigned them to him for the successful capture of Fujian County. If anything were to happen to these four heavy guns, Isogai Kensuke would absolutely not spare him.
Therefore, Segaya Ki immediately ordered the artillery battalion and the independent artillery battalion to retreat immediately towards Linyi.
Some might ask why the artillery wasn’t ordered into Fujian County town, which would have been quicker and more convenient.
Segaya Ki had certainly considered this problem, but the issue was that the Japanese army had just captured Fujian County, and there were still scattered pockets of resistance from remaining soldiers within the city.
If so many artillery pieces were brought into the county town, there was a chance that a bold straggler might rush out from a rooftop or stable with explosives or grenades, detonating them at the ammunition pile and taking everyone with them in a suicide attack.
Moreover, Fujian County was just a small county town with narrow streets. If heavy artillery were to enter the city, there would be no room to maneuver in any situation. Segaya Ki dared not take this risk, so he could only order the artillery battalion and the independent heavy artillery battalion to proceed to Linyi.
In any case, Fujian County had already been captured, and the artillery had completed its mission. It was a logical decision for them to rendezvous with the 10th Division.
Segaya Ki calculated everything, but he forgot one thing.
The sudden heavy rain that morning foiled his plan.
The Type 89 heavy gun, as the longest-range artillery piece in the current Japanese Army’s 150mm caliber inventory, was indeed astonishingly powerful, but also the heaviest, weighing 10.4 tons. This weight dictated that it could only be towed by trucks.
In China during this period, apart from a few major cities, the roads in most other places were almost entirely unpaved. Especially after rain, almost the entire road would be submerged in water.
The main force used by the Japanese Army to tow artillery at this time was the Toyota KB truck, whose maximum load capacity was a pathetic 1.5 tons.
To tow a 10.4-ton Type 89 artillery piece was already a case of a small vehicle pulling a large load. Now, with the heavy rain, it was even worse.
After less than half an hour of travel, all the vehicles of the independent heavy artillery battalion were submerged in mud and water.
If the independent heavy artillery battalion was in such a state, the artillery battalion, which was moving with them, was not much better off.
Although the Type 41 75mm mountain gun equipped by the artillery battalion weighed only 536 kilograms, much lighter than the 10-ton Type 89 heavy gun, the problem was that it was towed by mules and horses. When they encountered roads that had turned into muddy swamps, they were equally helpless.
Mud clung to the truck tires, forming viscous whirlpools under the downpour.
Major Fujita Yusuke, the commander of the independent heavy artillery battalion, had his military boots deeply sunk into the mud, each step emitting a grating sucking sound.
The steel hubs of the heavy artillery were completely submerged in the mud, like a dying behemoth. The truck engine roared with a dying struggle, and the black smoke from the exhaust pipe was pressed to the ground by the rain, appearing exceptionally foul under the gray sky.
He could only grip his saber tightly, letting the rain splatter on the bridge of his nose from the brim of his cap, the earthy smell mixed with the scent of gunpowder assaulting his senses.
The shrill neighing of pack horses echoed from a distance. Soldiers in the baggage train were pushing against the gun carriages with their shoulders, dark sweat stains seeping through the backs of their uniforms. Mud splattered onto his shiny leather boots, the stain resembling a spreading blot on a map of occupied territory.
“Move!” The scabbard smashed against the truck’s fender, the sound of metal collision startling egrets from the rice fields.
Through the rain curtain, he saw cherry blossom insignia floating in the muddy water; it was a collar insignia torn off by a soldier who had fallen.
The Toyota KB truck suddenly let out a muffled sound like flatulence, its exhaust pipe spewing out a final wisp of black smoke before completely stalling.
“Idiot!”
Seeing the trucks breaking down one after another, Major Fujita Yusuke could no longer hold back his curses. At this pace, let alone three days, even ten days wouldn’t be enough to reach Linyi.
Furthermore, having so many artillery pieces disabled halfway was extremely dangerous. Although Segaya Ki had dispatched two infantry companies to escort them along the way, no one could guarantee that unexpected situations wouldn’t arise.
Even if they were lucky enough not to encounter a large Chinese Nationalist force, the scattered bandits and mountain brigands would be enough to give him a headache.
Looking at dozens of artillery pieces stuck in the mire, Fujita’s anger was mingled with a growing unease.
He squinted towards the end of the wilderness. The leaden-gray clouds pressed down low, as if they would smash onto this scorched earth at any moment.
“Damn it… is it going to rain again?”
He called for a signalman: “Go… and fetch Captain Sakai.”
Soon, a short and stout captain trotted over, mud splashing onto his gaiters.
Fujita noticed the other man’s nose twitching incessantly and a look of impatience on his face. This captain, from Hokkaido, clearly had not yet grown accustomed to this damp, rainy weather.
“Immediately order your company to set up a perimeter,” Fujita said in a low voice. “Search an area of three li in every direction.”
He then pointed to a faintly visible village in the distance, his command saber glinting in the sunlight. “Pay special attention to the Chinese scum in those villages. If you encounter any sign of trouble…” Fujita’s left hand suddenly clenched into a fist. “Do not hesitate, immediately slaughter those Chinese dirtbags!”
Upon receiving the order, the captain’s pupils contracted sharply, and he swallowed a dry mouthful of saliva.
He knew full well what his Major meant; he was clearly ordering him to take his men and massacre that village.
Then he straightened his back sharply, the heels of his military boots clicking crisply. As he turned, his saber sheath struck his hip with a dull thud.
“Second Company, assemble!”
With a roar like that of a wild wolf, the soldiers of this company rapidly assembled like whipped tops.
Soon, over two hundred Japanese soldiers charged towards the distant village like hungry wolves. Traveling lightly, they reached the village in just over twenty minutes. At that moment, the dull thuds of the beasts from the islands kicking open the doors of thatched huts echoed incessantly.
An old woman with white hair stumbled out, her withered arms flailing in the air, tears streaming down her wrinkled face.
Beside her, a private first class grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth. The dull thud of his rifle butt striking the old woman’s back mixed with the sound of bone splintering.
A baby’s cry came from a corner, as weak as a dying kitten, quickly silenced by the “bang” of a Type 38 rifle.
Before long, thick smoke began to rise from the thatched roofs. The captain pulled out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose.
He saw a little girl in a red bellyband curled up under a millstone, her large eyes filled with terrified tears.
A sergeant beside her grinned and tore open his collar.
