Chapter 125: Cannon Fire
Su Yaoyang’s guess was correct; the shelling was indeed the good work of the Japanese Type 96 150mm howitzers.
As for the reason, it was naturally because the 16th Division had arrived.
As early as around three in the morning of the previous night, Lieutenant General Nakajima Chosaku, the commander of the 16th Division, arrived at the 8th Division’s command post, accompanied by Chief of Staff Colonel Nakazawa Mitsuo, Major General Kusaba Tatsumi, commander of the 19th Brigade, and Major General Shinohara Jiro, commander of the 30th Brigade, among other officers.
Seeing Nakajima Chosaku arrive, Nagase Takehei, who had been toughing it out these past few days, breathed a sigh of relief.
And Nakajima Chosaku, upon seeing Nagase Takehei, walked over with a smile and greeted him proactively, “Nagase-kun… it’s been a long time.”
While Nagase Takehei’s heart relaxed, a hint of unwillingness also welled up, but he still respectfully bowed to Nakajima Chosaku, “Greetings, Your Excellency Nakajima, welcome to Tai’erzhuang!”
“Yoshi!”
Nakajima Chosaku smiled and patted Nagase Takehei’s shoulder, adopting a demeanor of an elder caring for a junior, “Nagase… it’s been seven or eight years since we last met, hasn’t it? I didn’t expect we’d meet again here.”
Nagase Takehei secretly resented it, but he still had to say against his will, “Yes… time passes so quickly.
The year I entered the Army War College, you had already graduated less than a year ago. Thinking back to your heroic image when you received the Emperor’s gifted sword still fills me with emotion.”
Hearing Nagase Takehei say this, Nakajima Chosaku became even happier.
He was a graduate of the 21st class of the Army War College. Due to his excellent performance, he was admitted to the “Sword Group,” for the top six graduates who received the Emperor’s gifted sword; this was an honor that all Japanese officers dreamed of.
Nagase Takehei’s flattery had hit him right in the heart, and he was naturally overjoyed.
“Nagase-kun, since Commander Terauchi Hisaichi has sent our 16th Division to reinforce you, I, as your senior, will naturally not let you be in a difficult position.
You can withdraw your brigade’s soldiers. Let the warriors of our 16th Division handle the upcoming battle.”
Nagase Takehei inwardly resented it, but he also knew that his senior was notoriously known for his brutal command style and his implementation of the “three alls policy” (kill all, burn all, loot all). Therefore, he outwardly nodded in agreement without showing any emotion.
Nakajima Chosaku glanced at the two brigade commanders behind him before turning to one of them and saying, “Shinohara-kun, I plan to send your 30th Brigade first in this attack.
I will provide support from the artillery regiment and the heavy artillery battalion. I hope you will not disappoint me and annihilate the Nanjing Security Regiment opposite us in one fell swoop, to avenge Mr. Tani Hisashi and the warriors of the 6th Division, do you understand?”
“Hai!” A fierce glint flashed in Major General Shinohara Jiro’s eyes.
He had not forgotten that during the Nanjing Campaign last year, it was due to Su Yaoyang’s gas attack that not only did over ten thousand soldiers of the 6th Division perish, but their 16th Division was also affected.
Although it was not disclosed to the outside world, as the highest commander of the 30th Brigade, he was well aware that his division had also suffered over a thousand casualties, with over five hundred killed directly and over six hundred left with permanent disabilities, forcing them to choose retirement.
Therefore, upon hearing that they were to take over from the 10th Division to attack Tai’erzhuang, the entire 16th Division had been raring to go, vowing to tear Su Yaoyang and the Nanjing Security Regiment to shreds.
After several hours of preparation, the four Type 96 150mm howitzers brought by the 16th Division opened fire first. Shells weighing 31.1 kilograms each continuously rained down on Tai’erzhuang, shaking the earth and sending up plumes of smoke.
Immediately following this, thirty-six Type 96 75mm field guns belonging to the Japanese 22nd Field Artillery Regiment also opened fire.
The muzzles spewed blinding fire, and smoke mixed with heatwaves rolled across the positions.
The soldiers’ eardrums buzzed, and dirt mixed with gravel rained down from above.
A shell whistled past the city wall, and the corner tower, built of blue bricks, collapsed like building blocks. Amidst the flying debris, faint, piercing screams could be heard.
The thick smoke blinded the Security Regiment soldiers on the positions, and their throats burned with the sensation of sulfur.
Many soldiers knelt in the trenches, gagging, while digging their fingers deep into the damp soil.
Faced with the Japanese artillery bombardment, Su Yaoyang was not to be outdone and immediately ordered his own artillery battalion to counterattack.
Not long after the order was given, dense smoke rose from the artillery positions on the south bank of the canal. Gunners, hunched over, scurried across the positions, all dripping with sweat.
Suddenly, a Japanese shell exploded about fifty meters away, causing the spotter to stumble into the trench, his helmet hitting the sandbags with a muffled thud.
“Loading complete!” the loader’s hoarse shout was swallowed by the roar of a new volley of artillery.
The gunner gripped the scorching lanyard, his eyes peering through the aiming sight to see the flickering orange-red glow of the Japanese gun muzzles on the opposite bank.
The surface of the canal was repeatedly torn to shreds by the shockwaves, and several dead fish, their bellies up, floated in oily whirlpools.
On a heavy mortar position not far away, a shell carrier suddenly collapsed, shrapnel slicing off half his ear.
Seeing this, a medic quickly ran over and dragged him back, blood leaving a winding dark trail on the scorched earth.
A communications soldier in a nearby observation tower repeatedly shouted coordinates at the top of his lungs, the telephone wires swaying violently in the artillery fire, like dying snakes.
“Boom… boom boom…”
As the M2A1 howitzers fired in unison again, the gun carriages sank more than two inches into the soft mud under the recoil.
The cooling water evaporated from the overheated gun barrels formed a distorted white mist in the sunlight, reflecting the smoke-blackened faces of the gunners.
They mechanically repeated the loading actions, their pupils reflecting the burning villages on the opposite bank of the canal.
“Your Excellency Division Commander, the Chinese artillery has begun to counterattack us!”
In a certain observation post, Chief of Staff Colonel Nakazawa Mitsuo said to Nakajima Chosaku.
“I see,” Nakajima Chosaku said indifferently, raising his binoculars again.
However, this time, Nakajima Chosaku’s expression was somewhat displeased.
The muzzles of the Chinese artillery in the distance continued to spew fire, the explosions blooming like scarlet flowers in the twilight, while the impact points of their own 75mm mountain guns were like weak raindrops, uselessly kicking up puffs of dirt five hundred meters in front of the enemy’s lines.
“Your Excellency Division Commander… our artillery’s range cannot reach the Chinese artillery positions!”
The artillery captain’s hoarse roar came through the microphone, mixed with the crisp metallic clang of the breechblock.
He shifted his binoculars to the left and saw a bright orange fireball explode at the mountain gun position on the left. The shockwave overturned three loaders, one of whom had his severed arm still in the position of feeding a shell.
“Baka yaro!” Nakajima Chosaku suddenly cursed. He had never expected that despite calculating everything, he had miscalculated the firing range of both sides’ artillery.
Taking a deep breath, he turned and asked the chief of staff, “Nakazawa-kun… when will the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force arrive?”
“Your Excellency Division Commander, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force says it is still more than half an hour until dawn, so they will have to wait a while longer before departing.”
