nucmednet Chapter 228 Invading Tokyo
Chapter 228 Invading Tokyo
"Your Majesty, the Chinese have entered the city, Tokyo is no longer safe. Please leave immediately!" Terauchi Masatake said anxiously.
"Why is this happening? Weren't we holding our ground well?" Mutsuhito was also taken aback. They had been fighting for over ten days, and although the Chinese army's attacks were fierce, their troops had held their ground very well!
He was hoping to launch a counterattack once the Chinese had lost their fighting spirit! Unexpectedly, the city fell. Mutsuhito was also somewhat panicked!
Terauchi Masatake quickly recounted the battle situation, and the ministers also urged Mutsuhito to leave the city and take refuge.
Mutsuhito slumped into his seat, his face ashen. Although he had vowed to live and die with the Duke of Tokyo, he was still terrified when the danger actually struck!
"Your Majesty, rest assured, we still have over 200,000 troops. It won't be so easy for the Chinese to occupy Tokyo. I will definitely arrange for troops to fight their way out and escort Your Majesty out of the city," Yamagata Aritomo said, stepping forward.
"Attendants, immediately have people pack His Majesty's belongings!" Without waiting for the already limp Mutsuhito, Yamagata Aritomo began to direct the ministers on the spot.
The battle in Tokyo was progressing much faster than the Japanese high command had anticipated. With the cooperation of coerced troops, the Japanese army suffered a crushing defeat. Large numbers of Japanese soldiers surrendered.
By daybreak, the Chinese army had breached three sides of the city wall and occupied most of the city. Only the northern wall remained in Japanese hands.
This was a classic case of encircling three sides while leaving one side undefended, but the Japanese were helpless. They were now unable to resist the Chinese army's advance and were retreating northwards.
As dawn broke, Chen San and his soldiers ate breakfast early and then led their troops to continue their advance into the city. They had already reached the heart of Tokyo and were not far from the imperial palace.
The tanks rumbled and rolled over the ruins, slowly advancing forward. Chen San led two squads of infantry behind them, the soldiers aiming their rifles at both sides, ready to shoot down any Japanese soldiers who rushed out.
On both sides, dozens of auxiliary soldiers armed with rifles followed the attack.
About a hundred meters ahead, a three-story brick-and-concrete building stood out abruptly. It stood out remarkably sturdily in an area dominated by dilapidated wooden structures.
A Japanese company was holding its ground in this building. At this moment, from a window on the third floor, a Japanese lieutenant colonel was carefully observing the Chinese troops opposite.
"Fire!" Upon seeing the Chinese troops enter the designated firing range, the Japanese lieutenant colonel ordered the troops to open fire.
"Da da da, pa pa pa pa..." Two Maxim heavy machine guns were pushed out of the windows on the second floor and opened fire fiercely on the Chinese troops.
Large numbers of Japanese soldiers also appeared at each of the other windows, firing wildly at the opposite side.
In an instant, more than a dozen auxiliary soldiers on both sides were knocked down, and the remaining soldiers hurriedly sought cover to take refuge.
The tank suddenly stopped, and the bullets clanged and clattered as they hit the armor, sending sparks flying.
The tank turret slowly rotated, just as it was about to fire. With a loud "boom," the Japanese infantry guns hidden on the ground floor of the building opened fire first.
A single shot hit the tank's frontal armor, causing the tank to shake.
"Mortar cover! Tanks, retreat immediately!" Chen San hid behind a stone wall, peeked out, and gave the order.
A dozen mortar shells flew past, exploding and kicking up clouds of dust below the building.
With a thunderous roar, the tank started up and rapidly reversed, firing its cannons at the building opposite as it went. The coaxial machine gun also fired fiercely, causing the Japanese soldiers in the windows to scatter and take cover.
The machine gun crews and soldiers behind the bunkers also opened fire on the Japanese troops inside the building, and for a moment, the gunfire was deafening. The two sides exchanged fire.
Seeing the tank retreat undamaged, Chen San breathed a sigh of relief. At this point, Japanese infantry guns were mostly equipped with high-explosive shells, posing little threat to tanks.
But every tank is a treasure, and they can't be damaged here. Chen San didn't dare to risk them either.
"Contact the heavy artillery regiment at the division headquarters immediately!" Chen San raised his binoculars to observe for a moment, then walked over to the mortar and said.
The Japanese-occupied building across the street was sturdy and beyond the capabilities of their mortars. To minimize casualties, it was better to let the divisional artillery handle them.
Chen San ordered the soldiers to take turns providing cover and slowly retreat, widening the distance between them.
A dozen minutes later, "whoosh, boom!" a shell landed about twenty or thirty meters in front of the building, blasting up bricks and dirt everywhere.
After a few minutes of silence, "Boom boom boom," several shells landed, and the entire building was engulfed in gunfire.
The scene was quiet. As the smoke and dust cleared, a large hole was blasted into the front of the building opposite. Half of the building had collapsed.
Chen San waved his hand! "Kill them!" A major from the auxiliary army brandished his sword. The soldiers of the auxiliary army yelled and charged towards the building with their rifles.
"Rat-a-tat-tat," the general-purpose machine guns and heavy machine guns opened fire on the windows of the building, providing cover for the auxiliary troops' attack.
The tanks started up again and moved forward. Chen San and his soldiers followed behind, advancing rapidly.
Seeing that the auxiliary troops had already stormed into the building, the machine gun team quickly stopped firing. They immediately turned their guns around to guard other directions.
Gunshots rang out from inside the building, accompanied by various Japanese curses. Gradually, the gunfire ceased, followed by cries and screams.
Chen San went downstairs, ordered the soldiers to be on guard, and then went inside with several guards.
The first floor of the building was probably a warehouse, and it was in complete disarray, with the bodies of Japanese soldiers scattered all over the floor. Some auxiliary soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield.
They stabbed each Japanese soldier's body several times with bayonets, and then began searching the body for its contents.
A woman's scream, curses, and sobs came from upstairs. Chen San frowned and led his men upstairs.
In a large room on the second floor, seven or eight Japanese women dressed in kimonos were being raped by auxiliary soldiers. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, and groups of three to five soldiers were grabbing a woman and tearing at her.
The room was in complete chaos, filled with lewd laughter, screams, and curses!
"Damn it! What are you doing?" Chen San was furious when he saw this!
"Hey! Sir, please go first!" A lieutenant from the auxiliary force scrambled to his feet and stood in front of Chen San. Pointing to the woman on the table, who was completely stripped naked and had her hands and feet restrained, he said obsequiously.
"Damn it! Let them go right now!" Chen San swallowed hard and slapped the lieutenant across the face.