Chapter 6

Second Platoon Leader Big Yellow Teeth led his men forward through the alleys of the civilian houses, turning left and right without much direction, unsure of how far they had gone. He felt a bit uneasy. The company commander had told him to get close enough to see the Japanese, but how close was that? He hadn't seen a single Japanese soldier. Damn it, the first platoon had already entered the houses, while his second platoon was still wandering around. What if they ran into the Japanese? He raised his hand to stop the men following him, and the squad temporarily halted by the wall.

He turned and asked the soldier behind him, "Do you know how far we've come?"

"Maybe—two hundred meters? Or three hundred meters?"

"Damn it, who's asking who?"

At this moment, another soldier came over, "Platoon leader, listen to the gunfire from the east. Are we level with the Japanese on the small street?"

Big Yellow Teeth perked up his ears. Indeed, the gunfire from the east, through several layers of houses, was clearly audible, especially the continuous firing of the Type 11 light machine gun, which sounded like beans bouncing without a break, occasionally mixed with the Japanese soldiers' shouts. Big Yellow Teeth had an idea. He decided to move to the small street on the east side and attack the Japanese from the side to help the first company, which was facing off against the Japanese on the small street. He waved his hand, and the second platoon turned left toward the small street.

Just one or two minutes later, a squad of Japanese soldiers came searching in the opposite direction at the corner where the second platoon had just stopped...

The first company was engaged in a firefight with the Japanese on the small street. The visibility was too poor, and they could only shoot blindly at each other. They had to find cover hastily, using windows, doorframes, pillars, and steps. The Japanese machine guns kept firing, and the Czech ZB-26 light machine guns on their side responded. The distance was too far for hand grenades to be effective, and while the Japanese had grenade launchers, they couldn't see the targets due to the poor visibility. Although the shooting was blind, the straight street meant that even random shots could hit something. By now, over ten men from the first company had been killed, and many more were wounded. Except for the machine gunners, the rest were hiding on both sides of the street, with bullets whizzing past them. The situation on the small street was at a stalemate, and they could only hope for the flanking maneuvers in the alleys of the civilian houses to break it.

Big Yellow Teeth finally led the second platoon to the side of the small street, just one house away from the Japanese who were blocking the street. He waved his hand back, making the twenty-odd men crouch against the wall. He listened carefully to determine the position of the machine gun behind the house. He chuckled to himself, thinking that if they could take out the Japanese on the small street, he would get the credit. His second platoon would finally have a moment to shine. He turned and quietly gathered the men, giving them low instructions, "The three of you in front, no, five of you, each prepare a hand grenade. When I give the order, throw them over the house."

"Platoon, Platoon Leader, I don't have a hand grenade!" the new recruit Liu Erdan said blankly.

"Damn it, can't you ask someone next to you for one? You're so stupid. Don't interrupt. Oh, when the hand grenades explode, the first squad will charge from the left side of the house, the second squad will go around the right, and the third squad will follow me through the window. Everyone, fight hard, no one is allowed to chicken out. Got it?"

Seeing the men nod in understanding, Big Yellow Teeth stood up, leaning against the window of the back wall, and slowly and carefully pulled back the bolt of his rifle without making a sound. "Everyone, get ready!"

Rustle—four hand grenade pins were pulled, and the grenades, smoking, flew over the roof.

Liu Erdan, using a hand grenade for the first time, felt his heart pounding, his mouth dry, and his legs trembling. Seeing the four men next to him throw their grenades, he hesitated for a moment, turned his head to the side, gritted his teeth, and pulled the pin of his grenade. He closed his eyes and threw the grenade over the roof, the fifth one also smoking as it flew up.

Clang, clang—clatter—three smoking wooden-handled grenades bounced happily on the gravel of the small street, leaving the dozen or so Japanese soldiers who were focused on shooting stunned. The machine gunner and his two assistants, lying under the eaves, stopped firing and turned to look. Rustle—another grenade fell through the gaps in the roof tiles, landing with a thud on the machine gunner's steel helmet.

Boom, boom, boom, boom—the chemical reaction expanded perfectly, accompanied by a thick, full-bodied smoke, and the destruction within a dozen meters was complete, along with a heart-stopping shock. The dozen or so Japanese soldiers on the scene were almost all killed, and the machine gunner's body was half gone. The effect was perfect.

The hand grenades had exploded! Charge!

The first and second squads charged out from both sides of the house. Big Yellow Teeth smashed the window next to him with the butt of his rifle, climbed over the windowsill, and entered the house. The men of the third squad followed closely behind.

The fifth grenade, with the pin pulled last, had a higher arc and lingered at the highest point for a moment before falling straight down, smashing through the roof tiles and landing at Big Yellow Teeth's feet inside the house.

This was fate, something no one could escape. On the battlefield, the one who kills you isn't always the enemy; sometimes it's yourself.

Boom—the entire house shook as if it had sneezed. The blast wave shattered all the windows and doors, and the thick smoke and debris spewed out, sending the last man of the third squad, who had just climbed through the window, flying out.

The explosion inside the house caused the first and second squads advancing on both sides to hesitate for a moment. A few men were knocked over, but they still charged out. At this moment, no one paid attention to the explosion inside. With the smoke from the explosion, the second platoon rushed onto the small street, where the ground was covered with Japanese corpses and blood. For a moment, they were a bit dazed. Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing dozens of Japanese soldiers on the small street leading to the dock...

The details determined the outcome. The Japanese had set up two lines of defense on the small street. The first line had a machine gun and an infantry squad, while the second line, about twenty to thirty meters back, was the main force of the squad.

Seeing the dozen or so men in the first line disappear in the explosion, and then another dozen enemies emerge from the smoke, the Japanese were momentarily stunned. Instinctively, they raised their bayonets and countercharged.

Bang, bang, bang... The second platoon fired a volley from their positions, only one volley, taking down over a dozen Japanese soldiers. Then, the gleaming bayonets were right in front of them, turning the situation into a massacre.

Why a "massacre"? The Japanese had bayonets, and we had them too, right? Unfortunately, we didn't! Our rifles had bayonet mounts, but no bayonets. The entire third company had only a few bayonets that matched the rifles, given to experienced men skilled in bayonet fighting. The rest had to pick up bayonets from the battlefield, which were mostly Japanese Type 38 bayonets that couldn't be mounted on their rifles and had to be carried on their belts. So, don't assume everyone had a bayonet; in many units, bayonets were a scarce resource. The reality was that harsh.

When the bayonets were right in front of them, no one could help but be afraid. But when they were stabbed, they felt a sense of relief. As long as they had a breath left, they could grab the rifle and prevent it from being pulled out, then pull out the knife from their belt and stab back, or grab anything nearby and smash it into the enemy, or try to grab the Japanese soldier, claw, scratch, and bite, never letting go. The second platoon was swallowed up in a sea of cold steel...