afterglow

Chapter 29

Six minutes later, the observation post at the front of No. 6 Heights.

Clouds of gray-white smoke have not dissipated, and their presence has reduced visibility to about [-] to [-] meters, so the two soldiers here chose to listen.

One of them wears a small, over-the-ear aluminum horn, which increases the hearing distance a little, and is usually used for night alerts, but it seems to be very suitable now?

The roar of the gasoline engine and the metal friction of the track were the first to reach the ears, followed by the sparse footsteps and voices.

The two soldiers cooperated very well, one of them threw a red smoke grenade out forcefully, and the other raised his flare gun...

But someone was faster than them, and another observation post had fired two red flares.

"Look! Er Hong!"

"Captain, there is red smoke!"

The two red flares are very obvious even in broad daylight, and the slowly rising red smoke is even more conspicuous.

"Beep-beep-beep-"

In the sound of the whistle, hundreds of soldiers with their waists bent and rifles quickly entered the main front line through the traffic trench. The light machine gun shooter checked the magazine, and the heavy machine gun shooter opened the receiver cover to check whether the ammunition chain was attached smoothly. Everything was in order. proceeding in an orderly manner.

Two hundred meters away!Liu Qidong immediately ordered the four 64mm mortars of the machine gun platoon and the rifle grenades of each department to fire.

The shooting elements have already been calculated by surveying and mapping, and now they are all recorded in the notebook. If you say which area to hit, you can just look through it, so in a blink of an eye, more than a dozen mortar shells roared up, and then hit them precisely. In the smog that is about to dissipate.

Three, two, one... all free fire!
At the moment when mortar shells and grenades exploded, there was loud gunshots on Height Zero. Bolt-action rifles, light machine guns, and heavy machine guns fired at the same time. From a distance, countless muzzle flames on the hills flickered like RGB light strips. non-stop.

Waiting for explosives to arrive before shooting is an important principle-the most powerful weapons in your unit should be delivered to unsuspecting targets first if possible.

This is easy to understand. If you shoot first, the enemy will immediately lie down and seek cover. In this way, the killing effect of the shells that fall later will be greatly reduced.

Under the guidance of six A9 cruiser tanks and five Carden-Lloyd ultralight tanks, companies A and B of the Raigal regiment (battalion) who were hit suddenly responded quickly.

Smoke bombs were fired at the positions of the Chinese army to obscure their vision, and the British and Indian troops lying on the ground took out their engineering shovels and began to dig lying foxholes on the spot.

Regardless of whether there is a clear target or not, the tanks are frantically firing and strafing in the general direction, hoping to suppress the firepower of the defenders.

At the same time, more than a dozen howitzers and six mountain cannons in the rear also continued to fire according to the initial parameters.

The dense bullets and falling artillery shells significantly affected the defense of Height Zero, and it was difficult for Ming soldiers to move under the fierce fire suppression.

And at the same time, C Company of Raigal Battalion was turning southeast of the high ground, trying to launch an attack on the flank.

Defensive combat does not mean sitting still and being beaten. Passive defense must be avoided. The field regulations issued by the Metropolitan Government in the 32nd year of Zhichang clearly stated:
"For troops in a defensive posture, it is not advisable to passively fight. It is necessary to deploy peripheral sentries and scouts as soon as possible to determine the enemy's movements and prevent the enemy's surprise attack. Under appropriate circumstances, the general can organize elite units to launch counterattack operations to disrupt the enemy's deployment. Counterattack operations It is advisable to launch a surprise attack, and it is best at three o'clock in the morning, night, and evening."

If the Ming army is like this, it is even more impossible for Zhou Changfeng to accept a rigid passive defense.

Following his instructions, Xue Can used the third team and the first platoon as the main force to temporarily strengthen a squad of infantry, plus a Type 64 heavy machine gun and a Type [-] [-]mm mortar.

This infantry detachment of more than 60 people then quietly left from the south of Demaji City, and rushed in a large circle to the east of Height Zero.

Even the field cannot be an ideal level, it is more or less undulating, and because of the bushes and woods that can be seen everywhere, the C Company of the Raigal Battalion in the detour did not notice them.

When you attack in a roundabout way, others are also turning around you.

Under the command of the company commander, Major Eben, the platoons of Company C immediately deployed to meet the enemy. The 2-inch light mortars of the three platoons immediately fired smoke bombs, and several Lewis light machine guns were also set up. The rest of the soldiers Even bayonets were fitted to the Enfield rifles.

The 2-inch light mortar is an important support weapon for the infantry platoon of the British and Indian Army. According to the regulations, three people are in charge. The main purpose is actually to launch smoke bombs instead of high-explosive bombs. There are 30 smoke bombs out of the 18 standard rounds. The high-explosive bomb has 12 rounds, and the maximum range is only 600m.

At this time, the Ming army on Height No. [-] had already spotted them, and the blocking fire came one after another, but it had little effect because they were covered by clouds of smoke.

Company C was only [-] meters away from it, and the two platoons were about to launch an attack. Major Eben, who was overjoyed, even thought that he would be able to charge up to the small hill in one go, and defeat the Chinese army that was entrenched here.

However, at this moment, in a small forest about [-] meters away to the right of Company C, dozens of soldiers from the Ming army were staring at their every move.

A Type [-] heavy machine gun full of metallic luster is firmly arranged here. The black muzzle is pointing at Company C which is operating in the distance. The deputy shooter held the metal springboard with both hands.

A few tens of steps behind them, the mortar was also adjusted. The gunner took the shell with the fuse unscrewed and placed it in the muzzle, waiting for an order.

Seeing that the enemy troops were standing up one after another and preparing to advance, the second lieutenant with a binoculars shouted, "Let go!"

With a few "bang bang bang", four 64mm mortar shells flew towards Company C in succession; at the same time, the heavy machine gun also rang out "listen to listen".

Where did this attack come from? !side rear? !
In the explosion, more than a dozen British and Indian soldiers were knocked down in an instant, and the others hurriedly fell to the ground.

The incident happened suddenly, and more than 100 people in Company C, from soldiers to officers, were dumbfounded.

But now they are like targets in the eyes of the machine gunners in the woods. Heavy machine guns mounted on a solid tripod usually have quite good shooting accuracy, not to mention the temporary addition of a triple scope. up.

[Hangzhou Jingrui Optical Instrument Co., Ltd.’s [-]-type triple mirror is widely used, and can be installed on rifles, heavy machine guns, and anti-war guns through different fixtures. 】

Looking at the panicked enemy soldiers lying on the ground [-] meters away, the excited main shooter shot them one by one with two precise and deadly short bursts. This seemed easier than hitting a fixed target?
The Type 7897 heavy machine gun was designed by the Ming army to eliminate the old Hotchkiss M7914. It is similar to the Hotchkiss M[-]. The biggest improvement is probably lighter and more beautiful.

At that time, some people believed that the spring-loaded bombs had no future, and proposed not to equip heavy machine guns with spring-loaded bombs. However, at that time, Ming really had no better choice.

Because metal ammunition chain feeding was a novelty at that time, Daming, with a weak industrial foundation, did not dare to be the first to eat crabs. Wouldn't it be a laughing stock if he came up with a heavy machine gun that kept malfunctioning?

Moreover, the various Maxims equipped by Britain, Russia and Germany are no better than Hotchkiss. After all, the canvas ammunition belt is easy to be damaged, causing the ammunition to jam, and it will also be damp and moldy; as for the continuity of the ammunition supply, the heavy machine gun is not buckled in actual combat. The trigger is not let go, and the metal springs one by one are basically enough.

But now, more than ten years later... The Ming army has already fallen in love with the ingenious work of the Czechs-the improved version of VZ.35.

(End of this chapter)