The assault distance of less than thirty meters was too close.
Although the national army was fully equipped with firepower, it still could not stop them.
Seeing that the Japanese troops were about to pour into the west building of Sihang Warehouse, several sighs sounded from the rooftop of the Bank of China.
"The national army is finished." Reeves, an English observer with a pipe in his mouth, gloated and told Lotov, "Although all five tanks in the first echelon of the Japanese army were destroyed, the wreckage of these five tanks is also very important. The side-firing firepower of the National Army caused serious obstruction, and the Japanese army could rely on the cover of the tank wreckage to launch an assault from a very close distance. If the National Army had enough troops, it might be able to withstand it, but it is a pity that they only have one platoon."
Lotov shook his head: "I'm afraid things are not that simple."
Reeves said suddenly: "No more miracles will happen. The national army will definitely be overwhelmed this time..."
However, before Reeves could finish his words, a ball of red light suddenly bloomed on the Guangfu Road in front of the west building of Sihang Warehouse, followed by a second group, a third group and even hundreds of groups, and finally all the red light converged into A piece of red within the field of vision, and nothing else could be seen, only this dazzling red.
What followed was a series of rumbling explosions.
"Oh, the cake seller!" There was an exclamation from the rooftop.
"Such a density is simply insane. How many landmines have the Chinese army laid?"
Reeves was also stunned and opened his mouth so wide that he could almost swallow a goose egg.
He had thought that the national army might use landmines, but he really didn't expect that the national army would plant so many landmines in such a narrow area and detonate them at the same time.
The tactics of this small national army unit are indeed a bit cruel.
"Sure enough." Lotov shook his head and said, "I knew it wasn't that simple.
…
"Principle of concentration of firepower!" Okawauchi Denqi's facial muscles began to twitch violently.
Morita Taka and several lieutenants and majors were also stunned. Such an intensity would require at least four to five hundred landmines. How could the China Army have buried so many landmines and detonated them all at once?
Such a big deal, or the China Army they are familiar with?
The Chinese army they were familiar with did not understand the principle of concentration of firepower at all, and even the heavy artillery would be split into artillery platoons for individual use.
Is this probably a fake Chinese army?
It took more than three seconds for the red light produced by the explosion to fade away.
What followed was thick smoke and dust.
The more than fifty marines in the first echelon were completely invisible.
But even if you can't see them, you can still guess their situation. They are in the center of a series of explosions of hundreds of landmines. Even if they are not killed by the fragments of the mines, they will be killed by the shock wave, or even torn apart.
Even if a few marines manage to survive, they will basically lose their combat effectiveness.
This has just begun, and the Special Marines have already lost a squad of troops.
But fortunately, there is a second echelon next, and a third echelon after that.
However, the Chinese army was unable to deploy the second serial mine array in a short period of time.
So, it's over, this war that has brought shame to the Imperial Navy is over.
…
Before the smoke and dust caused by the explosion dispersed, the second echelon of the Japanese army rushed up.
Five Type 95 light tanks were in a two-three formation. The crunching sound of tracks crushing stone slabs and the bang-bang sound of metal hitting were endless. The previously destroyed tanks were quickly knocked away.
Immediately, five tanks rushed into the billowing smoke.
Immediately afterwards, continuous gunfire sounded in the billowing smoke.
Obviously, the tanks of the Chinese army and the Japanese army had fired at the same time.
But with visibility like this, it's basically a fool's errand.
Immediately afterwards, the second echelon of Japanese infantry also rushed up.
The marines of the Japanese Navy did not hesitate at all. They rushed into the thick smoke with shining bayonets. Then there was a loud sound of gunfire, but they could not see the specific scene in the thick smoke.
However, experienced military observers can still make judgments based on experience.
Reeves breathed a sigh of relief and said to Lotov: "This time it's really over."
Lotov smiled and said: "Reeves, I advise you not to rush to conclusions, lest you be slapped in the face by the national army again like just now. Wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
"No, it's different this time." Reeves said confidently, "The national army could not have expected that the previous explosion would form such thick smoke and dust that the shooting range of both sides was blocked, but such obstruction was obvious It is conducive to the Japanese attack, and under the premise that both sides can only shoot blindly, the loss of Sihang Warehouse is an inevitable result."
Another observer echoed: "Yes, the national army only has one platoon after all."
"Yes, what you said is correct." Lotov shrugged and said with a smile, "But before this battle is finally decided, anything is possible."
…
At this time, we were in the lobby on the first floor of the west building of Sihang Warehouse.
"Quick, damn quick, pile up the cotton bales!"
Following Yang Deyu's roar, dozens of motley veterans quickly piled dozens of bundles of cotton bales in front of the doors and windows.
The binding straps of these cotton bales were all processed in advance, so they were disconnected one after another during the process of pushing forward, and the originally tightly tied cotton immediately scattered all over the floor.
These cotton bales are stored in Sihang Warehouse by various cotton mills.
After the Battle of Songhu broke out, the Nationalist Government urgently organized a large number of trains to transport machinery, equipment and supplies in the Songhu area to the rear, but cotton was obviously not on the list of transferred supplies.
It was these cotton bales stranded in Shanghai that came in handy.
"Fire, light the fire! Light the fire quickly!" Yang Deyu ordered again.
A dozen motley veterans struck matches and threw them into the cotton pile.
Cotton is extremely flammable and will burst into flames as soon as it is ignited.
Several Japanese who tried to break in through the doors and windows were burned into flames in the blink of an eye.
The raging fire immediately formed a partition zone behind the doors and windows of the west building.
Before it was over, the miscellaneous veterans guarding the second and third floors of the Sihang Warehouse also dropped cotton bales from the windows one after another, and they threw them down for free, one bundle after another, hundreds of bundles dropped in the blink of an eye.
Within a moment, the Guangfu Road section in front of Sihang Warehouse burst into flames.
At this time, the diffuse smoke gradually dispersed, and the fire became more dazzling.
The flying flames almost covered the 100-meter-long recovery section. The five tanks of the second echelon of the Japanese and a small group of infantry were swallowed up by the flames, and it was too late to turn around and escape.
Only a handful of Japanese soldiers jumped into the Suzhou River and were lucky enough to survive.
…
"What's going on?" Zhang Baiting subconsciously took a step forward, "Why did it suddenly catch fire?"
"The fire started so quickly and so fiercely, it must be something that can easily go overboard." After murmuring twice, Yu Hongjie suddenly shouted, "Cotton bag, it's a cotton bag!"
"Cotton?" Zhang Baiting suddenly wondered, "The Sihang Warehouse has a lot of cotton bales."
"You people of the 88th Division are really prodigal. These are the top-quality cotton stored in the Sihang Warehouse by major cotton mills such as Great China and Xinhe." Yu Hongjie paused and sighed, and then said, "Just take the cotton It is better to burn the Japanese than to fall into the hands of the Japanese, and it can be regarded as a contribution to the Anti-Japanese War."
…
"Holyshit! Fire attack! It's actually a fire attack!"
"This national army is really surprising!"
"What did they throw at the Japanese soldiers' heads? It looked like cotton?"
"Yes, it's cotton bales. My God, the Chinese army has set a precedent of using cotton bales to attack tanks."
"If it's just cotton, I'm afraid it won't have this effect. Alcohol and other combustion aids should also be added."
"First flour bombs, then flanking fire, and now cotton fire attacks. The commander of this small national army unit is simply a master tactician. No, I have to find a way to conduct an exclusive interview with him as soon as possible."
Military observers and reporters on the rooftop of the Bank of China building once again exploded.
Only Reeves' face became very embarrassed because he was slapped in the face again.
Fire attack? In what age are we still using fire attacks? Only barbarians would use this tactic.
However, the fact is that the fire attack of the Chinese army is very effective. Five tanks and a small group of infantry in the second echelon of the Japanese army have been completely swallowed up by the flames. Not a single tank escaped, and only a few infantry escaped. Not only In this way, the tanks and infantry of the third echelon of the Japanese army were also blocked by the fierce fire and could no longer enter the recovery section in front of the Sihang Warehouse.
