SFS Chapter 408: Bushido? Just a Man's Courage
Chapter 408: Bushido? Just a Man's Courage
"In these final moments, please let me stay with my men."
Captain Hara Tame, the former captain of the Yahagi, rejected the suggestion to stay in the underground bunker.
He changed into a neat John-style navy dress, made of pure white fabric, with gold epaulettes, gold embroidery, and neatly pressed trousers. He looked more like he was going to a party than to a war.
He quietly drew his command knife and shouted, "Gentlemen, follow me and charge!"
With a roar, he was the first to rush to the edge of the trench. He slipped and almost fell, but he still gritted his teeth and climbed up the slope covered with bullet holes and rubble.
He used his hands and feet to climb out of the trench with the help of a ladder.
"Onboard!"
Behind him were hundreds of Japanese naval sailors and officers who were running out frantically and had no ships to return to.
He paid no attention to the shrapnel whizzing around him, only to run forward. His steps were stumbling, but he seemed to be running towards salvation.
He ran wildly in the wind, as if trying to shake off all the confusion and humiliation behind him.
But in my mind, a voice still echoed like a maggot attached to my bones:
"If the Combined Fleet remains in the mainland, it will not be able to obtain fuel from the South Pacific. If it remains in the South Pacific, it will not be able to obtain ammunition and supplies from the mainland."
That was a telegram from Navy Minister Mitsumasa Yonai.
"If Luzon is lost, the Combined Fleet, built at the cost of billions of the nation's money, will inevitably be caught in a dilemma. Only by defeating the main fleet of the Americans in a single blow in Leyte Gulf and inflicting heavy damage on them can the value of the Combined Fleet be demonstrated, and the prestige of a decisive victory can bring the Americans to the negotiating table."
"To this end, all officers and soldiers of the Lion City Fleet must assist the Army in implementing the most tenacious defense, until the last man, in order to gain the Army's cooperation..."
What a “last man”.
No matter how beautiful the words are, they cannot change the reality.
The naval officers and soldiers whose warships in Singapore were bombed to the bottom of the sea by the Anmin Army Air Force are now just bargaining chips in the transactions between sea and land, and have all become cannon fodder.
In that case, don't think too much and just vent.
"Onboard!"
“Onboard——!!”
However, no matter how loud the Japanese shouted, they could not withstand the crushing power of modern firepower.
Light and heavy machine guns immediately began to roar, the barrel of the M1919A6 vibrated continuously, dense bullets splashed out, and clusters of flames spurted out, tearing the charging Japanese soldiers into pieces.
"Fire!" Tank company commander Chen Xiuwen gave the order, and several M4 Shermans immediately braked lightly.
The gun barrels were all lowered, and the 75mm guns roared like beasts.
The eight M4 Shermans in the lead immediately opened fire. Some fired high-explosive bombs, while others simply fired white phosphorus incendiary bombs or shrapnel. These shells had excellent killing effects on the soft targets that rushed out of the bunkers.
Countless 75mm shells whizzed out, blasting craters one after another in the Japanese charging team, and white phosphorus incendiary agent splashed everywhere, burning the surrounding Japanese soldiers to tears.
High-explosive bombs would produce a huge explosion, blowing the Japanese's body parts into pieces.
After the fuse of the shrapnel was triggered, countless shrapnel like small steel arrows shot out, piercing the surrounding Japanese soldiers into blood gourds.
But those Japanese soldiers seemed to have been drugged. Even after being hit by shrapnel, they still dragged their broken bodies forward. Some even stabbed the tank tracks with bayonets, and some even detonated the grenades tied to their bodies and rushed straight towards the tank chassis.
"There's a cluster movement of enemy troops ahead!" The artillery observer called over the radio, "Requesting immediate suppressive fire!"
In the distance, several M44 155mm self-propelled artillery pieces immediately stopped their current operations after receiving the order.
The artillerymen quickly re-binded the bombardment parameters according to the new coordinates sent by their superiors, preparing to carry out this higher priority mission.
Soon, a dull roar came from the rear of the position, like a heavy hammer falling to the ground, and the entire battlefield wailed in the shock.
The one who was running wildly heard a terrible whistling sound coming from the sky. The next second, everything went black in front of his eyes and he lost consciousness.
The bullets impacted the center of the Japanese charging column, sending dirt flying over ten meters into the air and sweeping away an entire section of the charging column, men and souls alike. In the moment of blood and fire, their cries of "Long live!" turned into broken groans.
After the bombardment, the infantrymen of the 3rd Division pushed back, using bayonets, grenades, rifles, and submachine guns in turn to eliminate every Japanese soldier still standing.
An officer shouted: "Search carefully, don't give the Japs a chance to self-destruct!"
The charging Japanese suffered heavy casualties, with corpses piled up like a wall. Blood slowly flowed down the hillside, dyeing the surrounding weeds and stone roads red.
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In the temporary command post of the division headquarters, the division commander Lu Baozheng stood behind the periscope, looking coldly at the chaotic battlefield.
He put down the mirror and slowly exhaled, his voice filled with disdain and fatigue:
"What the hell is Bushido?"
The staff officer beside him was stunned: "Division Commander?"
Lu Bao sneered, "It's just a show of bravery. These Japanese navy guys don't know how to fight. If they really just stay in the trenches, digging trenches to shoot, burying mines, and hiding from artillery... I'll have to clear them out one position at a time, day by day, and I might suffer hundreds of casualties before I can finish off a single position."
He pointed to the still-burning hills ahead, and the piles of corpses left by the Japanese on their way. "And now, with a 'Long Live Charge,' we'll bring down our heavy artillery, pounding a whole area cleanly and efficiently. There's no need to push forward to clear the area. Wherever the bodies are piled, that's the front line."
He glanced back at the staff officer who was taking notes, and suddenly grinned again: "These people don't even care about the cost-benefit of death. They are really unprofessional even as cannon fodder."
Everyone burst into laughter, and the staff officer beside him suddenly said, "Maybe it's just too professional?"
Everyone immediately looked at him, and he slowly said, "These are probably sailors and logistics personnel, not professionally trained Marines. I'm afraid even how to operate a rifle must have been recently given emergency training."
"How can we fight an honest positional battle with soldiers like these, who don't even know any tactical skills? On the contrary, if we keep launching these 'long live charges', it will only delay time and waste our heavy artillery and ammunition..."
As he spoke, the staff officer's voice became lower. If his guess was true, then the Japanese commander was too cold-blooded and cruel.
Lu Bao smiled and pointed at the staff officer: "You, you have quite some ideas!"
He grabbed a red and blue pencil, drew a few circles on the map, and said:
"We brought these shells here to bomb the Japs, so we don't worry about wasting them. Order the artillery regiment to keep bombing, don't be polite. If they want to die, we'll do them a favor—send them off with one shot!"
Before he could finish his words, a new round of explosions and gunshots were heard from the front.