You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you ended up with a German-equipped division

Chapter 293 The Demise of the Japanese Air Force

The dark shadows flickered in the sunlight, like a flock of migratory birds flying this way.

For the first time, Japanese ground forces were so eager to see air support arrive.

It would be extremely difficult for them to stop the advance of enemy tank forces by relying solely on their anti-tank guns and infantry weapons.

Although the armor of those tanks wasn't thick, it was impenetrable; throwing grenades at them was like scratching an itch.

At that very moment, the fighter jets and bombers began to be destroyed and shot down one after another after a series of muffled thuds.

One plane after another streaked across the sky in black arcs, trailing thick smoke and flames as they fell.

Some planes exploded into pieces in mid-air, while others crashed into distant mountains, creating mushroom clouds.

"This..." Many Japanese soldiers stared at the scene in disbelief, their mouths agape.

Their morale suffered an unprecedented blow, like being punched hard in the chest.

The air force that used to be able to move freely and provide them with fire support is now falling like autumn leaves.

Those pilots who were soaring through the skies yesterday, dropping bombs like they were dumplings, are now the targets of their hunt.

The enemy's air defense network was several times denser than before, almost impenetrable.

Those 88mm anti-aircraft guns seemed to have eyes, and their shells were specifically aimed at the areas where the planes were most concentrated.

Each explosion meant that a Japanese plane had been damaged or shot down, like the tolling of death's bell echoing in the air.

Just as these Japanese soldiers were feeling dejected and their morale was wavering, the sound of gunfire and the roar of artillery brought them back to their senses.

The third column of tanks has already charged forward! The steel torrent is upon us!

The vehicle-mounted machine gun, positioned high above the enemy, was like a mobile machine gun fortress, continuously firing and sweeping across the enemy's trenches.

The machine gunner sat inside the armored vehicle, looking out through a small firing port. He had a wide field of vision but didn't have to worry about being hit.

"Da da da!!! Sizzle sizzle sizzle!!!"

Whether it was the roar of an MG34 or an MG42 machine gun, the two gunshots were slightly different, but equally deadly.

The MG34 has a crisp sound, like a high-speed chainsaw, with a strong sense of rhythm.

The MG42's sound is even more rugged, like a giant cloth-tearing machine at work, making a continuous "shh-shh" sound.

The bullets rained down like a storm, so dense that there were almost no gaps, landing in the area where the Japanese troops were located.

Some Japanese soldiers only peeked out slightly before their helmets were pierced by a hail of bullets.

The 7.92mm heavy pointed bullet has extremely strong penetrating power; a steel helmet is like paper in front of it.

The bullet pierced through the helmet and continued forward, shattering the head. Blood and brain matter gushed from the bullet hole before the victim could even scream.

Some Japanese soldiers were hit in the chest by bullets before they could even fire, and they were sent flying backward as if they had been hit by a sledgehammer.

Also firing were the machine guns on the armored vehicles, which were true infantry killers.

Whether quadruple or double-mounted, the machine guns with their barrels flattened began to bombard ground targets.

"Boom boom boom!!!" The 20mm high-explosive shell exploded on the ground, shrapnel flying everywhere.

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When it hit the Japanese soldier's body, the powerful kinetic energy instantly tore the body apart, turning the torso into pieces and sending the limbs flying far away.

The 37mm direct-fire guns, 50mm long-barreled guns, and 75mm short-barreled guns all roared at this moment.

Shells of all calibers were rained down on the Japanese positions as if they were free, each one taking several lives.

Many Japanese soldiers didn't even have time to pull the trigger before they were torn apart by the constant barrage of bullets and shells.

The entire Japanese defensive position trembled under the roar of the Third Column's tanks, like grass in a storm.

By noon, the Japanese defensive positions deployed inside or on the flanks of Minshan Township were collapsing amidst the roar of tanks.

Those trenches and firing positions that once caused the Chinese army so much trouble are as vulnerable as sandcastles in the face of armored forces.

This is an absolute crushing of firepower, and even more so, a crushing of tactical thinking; a clash between two different eras of warfare.

The armored vehicles' lightning-fast advance was something that the Japanese infantry's combat tactics could not even imagine.

Japanese soldiers were used to slow-paced offensive and defensive battles, with both sides exchanging artillery fire for a long time before the infantry slowly crawled forward.

But the tanks of the third column didn't give you any time to react. From the end of the shelling to the tracks rolling onto the position, it took less than three minutes.

However, these anti-tank guns are often targeted from the start and quickly destroyed by artillery shells or Panzerfaust 60s.

Often, after firing just two or three shots, the artillery observers of the Third Column would lock onto their position, and then a shell would come crashing down, sending both the man and the cannon flying.

As for the tanks of the third column, they seemed endless; after destroying more than ten, even more kept charging forward.

The destroyed tanks lay slumped in place, billowing black smoke, but the tanks behind them bypassed the wreckage and continued to charge forward, wave after wave like a tide.

Not only on the front lines, but also on the flanks, the 3rd Column of Li Jianghe was a key target of their attack.

The Japanese troops deployed on the flanks thought their positions were relatively safe and that they could escape unscathed.

As a result, armored vehicles came out from behind the mountains on both sides, cutting off their retreat.

Furthermore, through attacks on the flank positions, the Third Column divided the entire Japanese Third Division into three sections within a single morning.

Like slicing a sausage, cut it into sections, arrange them in a circle, and eat them piece by piece.

The divided Japanese troops lost contact with each other, fought independently, and were unable to support each other, leaving them with no choice but to wait for their demise.

At the same time, Japanese troops north of Huangkan Village were also attacking, which was the direction of the 107th Division's attack.

The only difference is that their attack made almost no progress and instead suffered considerable losses.

The Japanese troops initially used artillery to clear a path, with hundreds of shells raining down, turning the guard detachment's position into a cloud of smoke and dust.

Then the infantry charged forward, bayonets at the ready, shouting slogans, surging forward like a tide.

As a result, under the intense machine gun fire of the guard detachment, they could only leave behind a pile of corpses, without even touching the front line of the position.

Those MG42 machine guns felled the charging Japanese soldiers one after another like harvesting wheat, and their corpses piled up into small mountains.

Following concentrated artillery bombardment, the 107th Division began to use armored units to assist in the attack.