Munitions Empire

Chapter 587: 546 Silent gunfire

In fact, Liu Guozhu was also a bit stunned; he hardly knew what to do anymore. The sheer number of Qi Army troops before him had left him feeling undecided.

He didn’t know whether to stop and wait for reinforcements or to continue the offensive. Both options carried enormous risks for him.

If he chose to stop, he and his two remaining tanks would be unable to control the at least 1000 Qi Army captives before them. Worse still, the surrounding Qi troops might realize they were only facing three Tang tanks and immediately counterattack.

If such a situation were to occur, they would be in complete danger. Venturing deeply into enemy territory, isolated and unsupported, even a retreat might not shake off the pursuit of the Qi Army—it would be no different from death.

But if Liu Guozhu chose to press on with the attack, it would mean continuing to charge deep into the Qi Army’s territory, essentially throwing themselves into encirclement. If the Qi Army snapped to and began striking back from all directions, retreat from the fight would become even harder.

However, Liu Guozhu didn’t have much time to ponder, as he couldn’t afford to stop now. If he did, at least a few hundred Qi soldiers around him would certainly slow him down.

"Continue forward! We can’t let these prisoners trip us up! Otherwise, we’re finished!” Liu Guozhu, driven to desperation, ordered his driver, “If they don’t make way, run them over! The machine gun is ready to fire at any time!”

The driver also realized that if they stopped here, surrounded by thousands of Qi soldiers, they were in for trouble.

So, he accelerated, with the tank’s tracks spinning rapidly and the engine roaring, scaring off the surrounding Qi soldiers as they hurriedly made way.

"That’s a field hospital! Do you see those tents over there?” Liu Guozhu exclaimed as if he had discovered a new continent, noticing another camp at the far end of the site.

It was a field hospital newly established by the Qi military, which was essentially just a place to house the wounded.

Due to its provisional setup, there was a severe shortage of staff and even doctors and nurses were scarce. Obviously, in these details, the Qi military was in no way comparable to that of Tang Country.

In Tang’s infantry companies, there were military medics aplenty; so many that each platoon was allocated at least one, sometimes even two!

In contrast, a Qi infantry battalion would be considered well-off with two doctors, while most units might have only one, or they might be available only at the regiment level.

Clearly insufficient for combat needs, the proportion of Qi soldiers receiving medical treatment was pitifully low.

Previously, when fighting trench warfare, the pre-constructed field hospitals with some medical equipment managed to alleviate some of the medical pressure.

But now, having abandoned the trenches to engage Tang forces in open ground, this shortcoming became starkly apparent. The Qi’s military logistics and supply system for field operations was simply too fragile.

Countless wounded crowded the hastily constructed encampment, with woefully few tents available, forcing many injured soldiers to lay in the open fields awaiting aid.

Yet instead of Qi doctors they were waiting for, it was their comrades from a nearby camp running around like headless chickens who arrived.

Some of the severely wounded were trampled to death by the fleeing troops, and even some of those with minor injuries who managed to get up were knocked down again and stomped to death.

The Qi wounded, finally grasping the situation, no longer had the luxury to complain about their comrades’ scoundrel behavior as they too heard the alarming news from the shouts that the Tang Army was coming.

"The Tang Army is coming!” A Qi soldier, still with fresh blood on his arm, had already been scared out of his wits by the Tang forces and immediately started running.

They had launched an attack on the Tang positions that morning but failed to even reach the edges of the Tang entrenchments after suffering heavy casualties, thoroughly demoralized.

Seeing defeat was already unfolding, they turned and ran without hesitation, not even making a token attempt to resist.

Sure enough, other wounded men began shouting, as if the calls could vent the fear in their hearts: “The Tang Army is coming!”

"The front has fallen! It’s lost!” Meanwhile, more Qi soldiers started yelling, frantically scrambling up the other side of the embankment, trying to escape the view of Tang tanks.

A Qi doctor, covered in blood from amputating a soldier’s limb, poked his head out of the tent upon hearing the shouting and immediately saw Liu Guozhu’s No. 4 tank.

He was startled, stumbled, and fell to the ground, pointing at the approaching tank and shouting, “Tank! A Tang tank!”

The Tang tank, which was nearly upon him, merely rolled past, flinging mud in his face with its tracks, then carried on without a pause.

In this manner, Liu Guozhu’s No. 4 tank chased after at least 1000 fleeing Qi soldiers, crossing the very highway they had been seeking all along.

They had not expected the military of Qi Country to be on such a grand scale, already covering the road they had been searching for, with many Qi Army forces actually having arrived along this road.

Now, Liu Guozhu had found this road and, with a single shot, had blown up a horse-drawn cart that was parked on it, laden with ammunition, before hurriedly crossing over the road.

What was frustrating was that Liu Guozhu found he couldn’t make contact with his own command tank, number 5. The radio only responded with Tank 2, and amidst the chaos of the battlefield, he could not see where Tank 5 was.

Liu Guozhu was no War God; he had almost lost his life due to recklessness during the battle of Luo Town. Therefore, this time he had learned from his lesson and did not plan to open his hatch and look for Tank 5 amidst a sea of Qi soldiers.

In his view, under such circumstances, it was like a clay Buddha crossing a river, barely able to save himself, let alone Tank 5, whose fate was now left to destiny.

It was simply impossible for him to turn back and search for the unresponsive Tank 5, because the moment he crossed the road, Liu Guozhu beheld a terrifying sight.

There were Qi Country soldiers scattered across the hills and fields, enveloping at least 20 large-caliber howitzers with their barrels raised. Parked trucks loaded with ammunition were everywhere, and ammunition boxes covered the ground as far as the eye could see.

Clearly, this was the Qi Army artillery position that their Armored 1st Battalion had been searching for, the most important target that they needed to destroy for their counterattack.

The sacrifice of Tank 5 didn’t account for much if it meant they could destroy this position. Then the situation at Luo Town would essentially be decided.

"Move forward! Move forward!” Liu Guozhu ordered excitedly over the radio, then he switched channels and shouted toward the battalion headquarters, “I’ve found the Qi Army’s artillery position! I’ve found them!”

"Tat-tat-tat-tat!” Without waiting for Liu Guozhu’s command, the gunner manning the course-aimed machine gun began firing, and tracer bullets plunged into the crowd of Qi soldiers, causing those still in shock to topple over.

They had just heard someone shouting that the Tang Army tanks were coming, and before they could understand what was happening, they saw a Tang tank descend from the embankment and start firing.

Qi Country’s artillerymen who were bombarding Tang positions had never imagined that Tang forces would appear here; some Qi Army loaders were still holding shells, standing there stupefied.

The Qi Army artillery position had been under severe strain all morning. Since dawn, they had been continuously harassed by Tang aircraft above them.

Bombs fell from time to time, destroying their cannons, killing their comrades—this was the primary reason why Qi forces had not yet been able to completely overpower the Tang artillery fire.

Liu Guozhu’s tank maneuvered around a massive crater left by a Stuka, firing bullets that sparked against the barrel of a Qi artillery piece.

At that moment, the Qi Army was truly in disarray; they fled in all directions, with only a few alert squads futilely attempting to fire back with their rifles.

Unfortunately for them, their attacks could not stop Tank 4, commanded by Liu Guozhu, from rampaging through the Qi positions, not even slowing it down.

"Boom!” After aiming at a target close at hand, the gunner in front of Liu Guozhu stepped on the fire pedal, and a shell blasted out, hitting a Qi Army 250-millimeter caliber mortar directly.

The thing, nearly as large as a water tank, lost its barrel in the explosion, tumbling to the ground like a huge bell.

More Qi soldiers raised their hands high, not knowing how many Tang troops had attacked; they chose the safest surrender to save their lives.

Everything had fallen into chaos, and the artillery fire of Qi Country had abruptly ceased. The Qi Army’s 3rd Army soldiers, who had been advancing, were suddenly panicking.

Previously they had had relentless artillery suppression, which gave them the opportunity to barely approach Tang defensive positions. Now that this supportive fire had stopped, as they were under Tang firepower, what were they to do?

Retreat? It was hard enough to have advanced to this stage, and they were on the verge of breaking through the Tang defensive line, pushing Tang forces back into Luo Town. How could they give up?

Continue the attack? Without artillery support, relying solely on human lives to fill the Tang firepower traps, how many would need to be sacrificed?

Probably, even if all of them died here, it was doubtful they would force Tang forces to retreat half a step, right?

Thinking this, a Qi frontline commander became angrily embarrassed, turned back, and looked behind him, “What the hell are those damn artillerymen doing? Keep firing!”

No one answered him, because the Qi artillery position was still silent, as if they had used up all their shells.

"Cowards! Don’t they know victory is within reach?” After waiting another few seconds and finding that his own artillery fire was still silent, the Qi officer drew his pistol from his waist, “Forget it! Brothers! Today we fight those Tang people to the end!”

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