The Japanese left in despair.
However, reporters, military attachés and military observers from Western countries are very interested.
They all gathered together and discussed the counterattack tonight with great interest.
It turns out that the previous four days of hibernation were just for tonight's show of swords. The Songhu Independent Group was still the same Songhu Independent Group, and they did not give up.
In this case, the following days will not be boring.
But not everyone holds this view.
British observer Reeves expressed a different opinion.
"Instead of looking forward to the next performance of the Songhu Independent Regiment, it is better to think about whether they can withstand the Japanese counterattack. This time the Japanese have suffered such a big loss and will definitely launch crazy revenge. I don't think the Songhu Independent Regiment is capable. Withstand the Japanese counterattack."
"If you have played football you will agree with my judgment."
"In football, the most dangerous moment is after a goal is scored."
"Because after you score, your opponent will definitely launch a crazy counterattack."
"If you can't withstand it at this time, you will soon lose the ball or even lose the ball continuously."
What Reeves said seemed to make sense, and Sophia became a little worried.
So Sophia asked Lotov in a low voice: "Major Lotov, is Reeves right?"
"Although what he said is not entirely correct, it still makes some sense." Lotov said, "This is indeed the most dangerous moment for the Songhu Independent Regiment. If you are not careful, you will lose everything. In the end Not only will the Bank of Communications warehouse be unable to be defended, but even the original Sihang Warehouse will be lost.”
"Ah?" Sophia asked anxiously, "Didn't we just win the battle?"
"It is dangerous because of the victory." Lotov said solemnly, "Because of the victory, the Songhu Independent Regiment now needs to guard two buildings instead of one before. The troops and firepower will inevitably be dispersed. In addition, they will definitely suffer casualties in the battle to occupy the Bank of Communications warehouse, and the strength of the troops will be even tighter, so..."
Seeing Lotov's sudden pause, Sophia couldn't help but urge: "Why don't you say anything?"
"No, it's the Sihang Warehouse!" Lotov said with a change of expression, "The Japanese army's retaliation will most likely target the Sihang Warehouse instead of the Bank of Communications Warehouse. Sophia, please call the Songhu Independent Group quickly."
"Okay." Sophia quickly grabbed the phone, but before she could dial out, a dazzling red light bloomed again in the direction of the four rows of warehouses ahead, and streams of artillery shells were crisscrossing the night sky.
But it was the Sihang Warehouse that was shelled by the Japanese army.
"It's broken, it's too late!" Lotov stamped his feet and sighed, "It's too late!"
However, Reeves, Steve and other military observers and reporters cheered. These are animals who are just watching the excitement and don't take it too seriously.
…
Maeda Ritsu also had a sinister smile on his face.
About a quarter of an hour ago, he led the 7th Battalion, adapted from the Wuzhen Fortress Special Marines, to urgently reinforce the Bank of Communications warehouse from North XZ Road, but in the end it was still a step too late.
When they arrived at the Kaifeng intersection, the gunfire from the direction of the Bank of Communications warehouse had become sparse.
Maeda Ritsu was keenly aware that they were a step too late. The Bank of Communications warehouse had been lost, the Zhabei detachment headquarters had been destroyed by the national army, and Takeshita Yifeng was probably in danger. It was too late to go to the Bank of Communications warehouse at this time.
To be honest, this result surprised Maeda Ritsu.
He couldn't imagine at all how the national army did it?
Because such a battle, even if it is deduced hundreds or thousands of times on the sand table, the national army has no chance of winning, and the Zhabei detachment will not lose this battle no matter what.
However, the cruel reality is that the Zhabei detachment lost.
Even the detachment's headquarters was destroyed by the national army.
However, Maeda Ritsu did not indulge in this emotion.
Instead, calmly analyze the situation and respond immediately.
Although the Songhu Independent Regiment won the battle and even occupied the Bank of Communications warehouse, they must have devoted all their main forces to this battle, so the defense of the Sihang Warehouse must be extremely empty at this time. If you launch a raid on the Four Lines Warehouse, you will definitely be able to capture the Four Lines Warehouse easily.
Therefore, Maeda Ritsu decisively issued an order - to counterattack the Sihang Warehouse!
A large number of ladders were originally prepared on the Japanese position north of Guoqing Road, so an infantry squadron of the 7th Battalion immediately took bamboo ladders and quietly entered the attack position north of Guoqing Road.
Then, the Japanese army began to prepare for artillery fire, and this artillery attack was without any scruples.
Various mortars, grenade launchers, flat-fire cannons, rapid-fire cannons and even 75mm-caliber field guns launched fierce bombardments at the Sihang Warehouse from various positions.
However, the focus of the shelling was the west building of Sihang Warehouse.
In this way, all the artillery shells can avoid falling on the gas plant in the public settlement.
The Japanese still had concerns about the two large gas tanks at the gas plant.
But the Japanese no longer had any scruples about the concession buildings on the south bank of the Suzhou River.
From time to time, artillery shells crossed the Suzhou River and landed on South Suzhou Road or even deep in the concession.
The people gathered on Nan Suzhou Road hurriedly dispersed and ran for their lives.
Zhang Yifu also hugged his wife and returned to the room, blocking the doors and windows with a cabinet.
…
The Sihang Warehouse, which was the target of the attack, withstood most of the Japanese artillery shells.
If you fire too much, there will always be shells falling into various gaps in the north wall and exploding.
But fortunately, the Songhu Independent Regiment had already taken precautions, and there was no one behind the gap. The supplies were transferred to the public concession in batches over the past four days and placed in the warehouse rented by Xu Shengping.
Therefore, although the Japanese artillery fire was fierce, the officers and soldiers of the Songhu Independent Regiment were not injured at all.
About ten minutes later, the Japanese artillery fire began to extend westward, targeting the ruins between the Sihang Warehouse and the Bank of Communications Warehouse for continuous shelling. This was done to block the return of national troops from the Bank of Communications Warehouse.
Maeda Ritsu believed that he had grasped the weakness of the Songhu Independent Regiment, because the Songhu Independent Regiment had only a small number of troops in the first place, only three to four hundred men at most. To ensure the success of the raid on the Bank of Communications warehouse, at least three hundred men would have to be invested. The strength of the troops, which means that the number of troops in the Sixings Warehouse at the moment is at most fifty, or even less!
Therefore, the 7th Brigade's counterattack has a very high chance of success.
A squad of the 1st Squadron was divided into several groups, carrying ladders and launched a charge.
Almost at the same time as the Japanese army launched its charge, two illumination bombs rushed over Guoqing Road with a squeaking scream. This was to provide illumination for the Japanese snipers ambushing the positions north of Guoqing Road. As long as the national army appeared on the north wall, Behind the gap, they will be immediately hunted by these Japanese snipers.
It should be noted that the Japanese army did not call them snipers.
However, the Japanese army's marksmanship is generally good, and all of them are snipers.
The 7th Group has a total of more than 500 people. In addition to the 1st Squadron that went into the attack, more than 300 Marines from the other two squadrons all entered the position north of Guoqing Road to temporarily act as snipers.
There are about thirty gaps in total, and at least ten snipers are taking aim at each gap.
Therefore, as long as the national army dares to show its head, it will definitely be shot by snipers without any suspense.
However, the national army never showed up. The team that launched the charge rushed to the root of the wall with a ladder and quickly put it up.
However, there is still no national army visible behind each gap.
It wasn't until the Japanese army climbed up the long ladder to a height of eight or nine meters that a familiar scene finally appeared.
Glass bottles finally rolled down from behind the gap. Each glass bottle was tied with a grenade, and then exploded as soon as it rolled down.
In an instant, the north wall was in flames.
The Japanese attack was defeated without any suspense.
All five ladders were burned to ashes, and more than a dozen of the Japanese who climbed the ladders were burned to death.
However, after seeing this scene, Maeda Ritsu's expression turned out to be very calm.
Seeing that the captain of the 7th Battalion, Mitsuo Kobayashi, was a little nervous, Ritsu Maeda patted him on the shoulder to comfort him and said, "Don't worry, Kobayashi-kun, this is just the beginning."
Kobayashi Mitsuo asked: "Chief of Staff, do you want to continue the offensive?"
"Of course." Ritsu Maeda nodded and said, "We will launch an attack in squads. If a squad is disabled, replace it with another, and if a squadron is disabled, replace it with another squadron. Even if the entire 7th Battalion is disabled, it will not be allowed without my order. stop."
"Hai." Kobayashi Guangfu nodded.
