Munitions Empire

Chapter 585: 544 Crazy Demon

"These bastards! Even after being bombed like that, they still have so many cannons!” a Tang Army soldier, hiding in the trench, grumbled as he shook the loose soil off his body, holding his rifle.

A shell had just landed near his position, raising a cloud of dust and nearly burying him alive.

Debris from the sky clattered against his M35 helmet, creating a cacophony of clinks and clangs, and now and then, medics ran past, dashing toward the cries for help.

Even if the trenches were dug well, there would still be unlucky ones hit by shells. Some would be blown to pieces instantly, while others with severed arms or legs lay on the ground wailing loudly.

There were also the less fortunate who suffered grazing shrapnel wounds… These were the unluckiest, too lightly injured to be pulled from the line, bleeding yet continuing to fight.

The most merciless aspect of war is that, whether you’re brave or cowardly, whether you’re a soldier or a civilian, everyone dies eventually.

The first one to stand up and charge might be struck down by a bullet, or he might emerge unscathed. Similarly, the second soldier who jumps out of the trench to follow might also be hit, or he might escape harm.

If you’re too scared to advance, squatting in the trench with your eyes closed won’t necessarily keep you alive; it’s possible that a shell will land and you’ll peacefully go to another world. But if you move, there’s also a chance you’ll be hit and die.

Bullets don’t have eyes, nor do they distinguish between good and evil, and they certainly don’t show mercy. As they leave the barrel, there are only two outcomes: hit or miss.

In the sky, a Stuka dive bomber swooped down with a bone-chilling screech, dropping a bomb close to the ground.

At the Qi Army’s position in the distance, another muffled explosion was heard, and a plume of smoke shot skyward, the object of the blast unknown.

The Qi Army was not about to show weakness either, as another shell landed near the Tang Army’s position, the massive explosion lifting a curtain of dust into the air, filling the atmosphere with the choking scent of burning.

Huddled against the edge of the position, a platoon leader peered through his binoculars at the Qi Army’s position. Then he ducked back, loudly warning his subordinates, “They’re coming again! Prepare for battle! The Qi Army is starting their assault! Get ready!”

Everyone began checking their ammunition, the sound of rifle bolts being drawn back filled the air. Then another shell from the Qi Army landed, this time striking Luo Town behind them.

A low building collapsed with a crash, throwing up a cloud of dust. At this point, no one even bothered to look back, as they had all become desensitized to the destruction.

In fact, some Tang Army soldiers with time to jest even started a betting pool on how many buildings in Luo Town would remain after the battle.

"Here they come!” With everyone ready, the Qi Army soldiers had already advanced, stepping over the bodies of their comrades, inching closer to the Tang Army’s defensive position.

The battle erupted immediately, as the Tang Army’s machine gun hidden in the front position once again roared into action. That annoying sound of tearing cloth once again tormented the ears of the Qi soldiers, who had even complained about the Tang Army always having uniquely irritating and noisy weapons and equipment units.

The MG42 machine gun had a high rate of fire, so most of the Tang Army chose to use ammo belts. This means Tang Army’s logistics support was quite good, and the generals placed high importance on it; otherwise, they would not have been able to afford using a weapon that spent bullets like water.

After the sound of the tearing-cloth machine echoed in the position, the Qi Army’s advance was temporarily halted. But this time, they didn’t retreat as usual but kept gritting their teeth and moving closer to the Tang Army’s position.

The Tang Army soon realized the problem—the enemy had more troops entering the battlefield behind them. This time, the Qi Army had deployed not just one battalion but two or even more.

The densely packed Qi soldiers entered the battlefield, nearing the Tang Army’s position. Even after being sprayed by machine gun fire, they managed to cling to the Tang Army’s position.

This time, despite dozens of mortar shells fired into the densest part of the Qi forces, the heavily wounded Qi soldiers did not retreat but continued their advance, heedless of everything.

It seems that after a few probes, the Qi Army was unwilling to waste any more time; they intended to recapture Luo Town today and open up the road to Nanye.

"Bang!” Tang Army marksmen began joining the fight, aiming their K3 rifles at the enemies approaching their position, then firing with composure.

After firing a single shot, they didn’t bother to check their results but withdrew into the trenches, pulling back the bolt to reload.

With the addition of these marksmen, the Tang Army’s firepower suddenly became three-dimensional and even denser.

The dispersed Qi soldiers immediately felt the pressure. Even though they had spread out their formation, the pinpoint shooting of the enemy still took them down.

Advancing over the bodies of fallen comrades was not an easy task. Although there was no troublesome barbed wire in front of the Tang Army’s positions, this did not mean the journey was any easier.

Bullets came head-on, and not many of the Qi Army soldiers had the courage to keep moving without stopping. Most of the time, they were crawling over corpses, and for them, the last hundred meters or so was like an endless torment.

However, the Qi Army did have a numerical advantage. Not to mention that all of Qi Country’s western troops were converging on Luo Town, even just the 3rd Army alone consisted of three infantry divisions, a force close to 25,000 men.

The infantry divisions of Qi Country weren’t like Tang Country’s, which did not have a huge establishment of 20,000 men. Qi’s infantry divisions were very traditional, the smallest being composed of 4,500 men, patched together during formation with old military corps.

Elite main forces, such as the 3rd Army, oversaw three divisions, so their establishment was large, all reinforced, configured with six to seven thousand men each.

Together with the artillery and various miscellaneous troops directly under Army headquarters, the total strength of the 3rd Army exceeded 20,000, close to 25,000 men. This was roughly the size of a single division on the Tang side, with fairly similar firepower configurations as well.

However, there were great disparities between Qi and Tang in terms of training, performance of weapon equipment, and commanders’ abilities, ultimately affecting the battlefield performance of both forces.

The Qi Army deployed more troops in this offensive because reinforcements were arriving. Over 30,000 troops had already been gathered nearby.

With so many troops crowded together, space was clearly running short. If they didn’t commit more troops to the attack, they would just have to huddle together and wait for the Tang Country Air Force to bomb them.

Thus, the Qi Army dispatched three infantry regiments in one breath, an entire division’s worth of forces, and launched a relentless assault, regardless of the cost.

The mass of Qi soldiers, holding their bayonets, charged with the most primitive tactics towards the Tang Army’s positions. As they approached, the previously hidden Tang Army flanking cross-fire finally began to roar.

At that moment, the Qi commanders at the front realized that the Tang Army they had been continuously fighting had not been truly serious.

Now with the hidden firepower joining the battle, the Tang Army’s three-sided cross-fire made Qi Army casualties double instantly.

The blood-enraged Qi soldiers did not retreat. With their enforcement squads pushing forward, they recklessly forced their own troops to continue the assault.

Five to six thousand men were thus squeezed onto the battlefield, innumerable dead or wounded remained staunch, unable to advance an inch or allowed to retreat even half a step.

As time passed, ammunition at the Tang Army positions began to run low. One soldier lifted the ammunition box under his feet only to find it more than half empty.

"Ammunition! I need ammunition over here!” Almost at the same moment, a soldier on another side pulled the last magazine for his Thompson submachine gun from the pouch on his chest and yelled loudly.

"The reserves are almost out! Ammunition delivery will take another ten minutes The platoon leader, while loading new ammunition into his K3 rifle with a stripper clip, shouted loudly.

"The Tank Corps should counterattack now! If they don’t get a move on, we’re not going to last!” After all, it was a hastily built defensive position. Qi Army’s reckless charge had caused quite some trouble for the Tang Army. A battalion commander, lowering his binoculars, spoke to the liaison officer beside him.

"The battalion commander has already sent the message to the Armored Corps, but I don’t know why there’s still no movement,” the liaison officer, raising his own binoculars to observe the enemy troops now closely approaching their positions, said anxiously.

"No choice! We wait… If something really goes wrong, they’ll pay dearly with their lives!” The infantry battalion commander was clearly irritated; he didn’t want to lose the outer defenses of Luo Town on the first day of battle.

If the Qi Army were truly let into Luo Town for street fighting, their numerical advantage would be fully utilized. Though it wasn’t certain that Tang Army would lose, falling into a passive situation was an inevitable result.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Tang Army’s Armored Corps had already received orders to leave their hidden reverse slopes. Even though they were already some distance from the battlefield, at this moment, they did not charge toward the side of Tang Army’s defense position.

After a discussion, 1st Company decided the payoff would be meager if they merely repelled the Qi Army. Revealing the carefully hidden positions would be a loss-making business.

Thus, they decided to go big: raid the Qi Army’s rear, destroy their artillery positions, and turn the assembly points upside down!

This plan took advantage of the speed of the Armored Corps. If successful, the rewards would be greater than a direct attack on Qi front-line troops.

So, after leaving 2nd Battalion’s 3rd Platoon of 4 tanks to attack the Qi Army’s offensive flanks according to the original plan, the remaining five platoons, a total of 18 tanks, circled around with great momentum from another side to the flank of the Qi 3rd Army.

While the Tang Army infantry waited desperately for their own tanks to make a flanking attack to relieve their pressure, the 1st Battalion of the 1st Armored Division of the Tang Army charged wildly once again.

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