The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 11 Ammunition and Bombardment

As Fu Chen said, He Wei's platoon was indeed on the front line. The second battalion was raided by the Japanese army in the morning and the entire battalion retreated to Yanzhuang. The task assigned by the summit was to use Yanzhuang as the advance position and head towards Yongzhuang in the north. Xingcun attacked and advanced, but now it failed to complete the scheduled task but was defeated, suffered heavy losses, and was forced to return to Yanzhuang.

Behind Yanzhuang is the main Dabaishui position of the Tenth Division's main force and defense.

The Second Battalion's field position outside the village, with the Sixth Company as the main defense, basically built three lines of defense. The first line of defense was guarded by He Wei's platoon, and the second line of defense was guarded by the other two platoons of the Sixth Company. The third line of defense was defended by the troops of the [-]nd Battalion, [-]th Company and [-]th Company, which had just been severely damaged. It was the reserve team of the [-]th Company.

This is the defense system that the [-]nd Battalion hastily established outside Yanzhuang. It is a well-behaved and there is nothing wrong with the defensive tactics. However, because the entire battalion suffered too many casualties and the troops were not enough, He Wei Platoon, who was on the front line, had to shoulder the responsibility alone. A defensive front of over [-] meters.

He Wei only dug the fortifications for less than 10 minutes. As soon as he piled up the sandbags, someone came from behind. Ding Zhensan, the warrant officer of the Sixth Company nicknamed Ding Mazi, followed the orders of the company commander Fu Chen. With a fat belly, he walked along the A platoon of soldiers came to the communication trench to replenish ammunition for the platoon.

The special agent chief is no ordinary person. He is the general manager of the national army infantry company who is in charge of the logistics work of chewing bags, replenishing weapons and ammunition for the whole company, orderly, cooking, and the training organization of non-combat soldiers at the company headquarters. He was responsible for eating, drinking, chewing grain, replenishing weapons and ammunition, and all other chores. He was equivalent to the company commander in later generations. Needless to say, his status in the company was also different in terms of treatment. He could ride with the officers and march without having to carry a gun. Carrying a rice bag, there is usually someone available to give instructions, which is really a big deal!
Even if the company commander and battalion commander have evil intentions and want to use their free money to make money and drink soldiers' blood, they can't get around the company commander's special agent!
Hearing that the special agent came to deliver ammunition in person, He Wei immediately stopped what he was doing and went to greet the special agent.

Ding Zhensan, the special agent commander of the Sixth Company, was followed by two second-class ammunition soldiers from the company headquarters. The three of them each carried two dark green ammunition boxes and stacked them in a row of trenches.

With two gold rings on his hands and grease stains on his hat, the dark-faced special agent Ding Zhensan asked someone to put the things away, spit, put his hands on his hips, and spoke in an authentic Henan accent.

"The platoon commander and the company commander asked me to deliver ammunition to Xie. Two boxes of [-] light-point bullets and one box of heavy-point bullets are all bullets shipped from the central government. Two boxes are made in Gong County and one box is made in Ning. The company commander specifically asked me to give all the bullets to the first platoon. A lot of things were lost in the dog-like raid just now. This is the only inventory left. There are also three boxes of grenades. They were all given to the first platoon. The first platoon leader Check, check?”

He Wei and the others were from the Central Army. They used Zhongzheng rifles, Czech light machine guns and Type [-] heavy machine guns, all firing [-]-point bullets. It was only after the troops arrived in Shanxi that they discovered that Yan Laoxi's Jinsui Army was using imitation Japanese bullets. The bullets of the [-]-caliber machine gun are not compatible with the [-]-caliber used by the central military. Therefore, the bullets used by He Wei and others are carried by themselves and shipped from the central government. Some are made in Gongxian County, Henan Province, Hanyang Arsenal, and some imported from Europe. .

There are also different types of [-]-caliber bullets. For [-]-caliber pointed bullets, there are light pointed bullets, heavy pointed bullets, steel core bullets, and tracer bullets. The use of bullets is also particular. Medium and formal rifles generally shoot light pointed bullets. , Czech-type and Type [-] heavy machine guns use heavy-tipped bullets. When it is necessary to shoot armored vehicles and other armored targets, steel-core bullets are used.

This time, I replenished three boxes of bullets and three boxes of long-handled grenades for one platoon in one go, which was considered a big deal.

He Wei: "It's okay. Special Agent Ding, we can rest assured that you are doing your job. Come, Squad Leader Ge, Xiao Tao, please collect the things."

He Wei called to the squad leader Ge Guicai and the messenger Xiao Tao to take the ammunition.

While the ammunition was being stored here, He Wei took out another Japanese cigarette and handed it to Ding Zhensan.

"Special Agent, take one?"

Ding Zhensan smiled and thought about how this new platoon leader, who had always been dull, seemed to be a different person. He said: "This is a miss, no, how can I smoke in the front line like you?"

Saying no, Ding Zhensan took He Wei's cigarette without changing his expression and put it in his ear.

What you say is beautiful, but your hands are honest, He Wei complained in his heart.

He Wei said: "Keep it, this cigarette is a trophy, I didn't even give it to the company commander."

"It's a hit! It's a hit! I heard what the company commander said about Xie. The platoon commander, Xie, was a man. He killed three little Japs. After a while, Xie had to use the ammunition to kill those guys who had killed thousands of swords. .”

"Definitely." Ding Zhensan hit and missed sometimes, and He Wei couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry, Special Agent, we will fight bravely to kill the enemy!"

Ding Zhensan chatted with He Wei for a few words, and left after completing the errand of delivering ammunition. It happened to be wartime, and everyone had no time to spare.

Ding Zhensan and three others who delivered the ammunition were also in a hurry to return to the company headquarters. Instead of walking through the winding traffic trenches, they climbed directly into the open space behind a row of trenches and walked back.

"Platoon leader, I've unpacked everything, three boxes of bullets, two boxes of light-pointed bullets, one box of heavy-pointed bullets, five hundred rounds per box, and three boxes of grenades, ten in each box. Everything is fine."

The old squad leader always handles things safely. After Ge Guicai finished the inspection, he came over and said to He Wei.

He Wei watched Ding Zhensan leave and looked at the open ammunition box. Three boxes of yellow [-] bullets, five in a row, were stuck on the bridge clip, lying quietly in the ammunition box.

"Okay, monitor Lao Ge, thank you for your hard work. Let someone carry it down and put it away."

A row of fortifications had not been dug yet and were far away from completion. He Wei picked up the shovel at hand again and prepared to continue the construction.Puff-whoosh-boom-

Not long after he finished speaking, suddenly, a burst of sound and air waves came from above He Wei's head, piercing the sky and pressing on top of a row of trenches, creating a huge sense of oppression.

Whoosh - a sharp, piercing scream like a ghost pierced into He Wei's ears. The ground beneath his feet shook violently. Before He Wei had time to react, he saw the open space behind a row of trenches and the second-line position being covered by thick smoke and fire. The fog shrouded the area, and after the violent tremors, the smoke and debris from the shells were swept back into the air and rushed into a row of trenches along with the air waves.

The hot air wave knocked over He Wei, poured into He Wei's mouth, and impacted He Wei's internal organs. The mud and dust poured into his mouth and nose, the terrifying air wave, the tingling sensation in his abdomen, his squinted eyes, almost... He Wei lost consciousness instantly, and the gravel and mud hit the helmet, shaking him to pieces.

The black smoke and shrapnel generated by the explosion of the artillery shells swept the field positions, rolling backwards and bombarding them, blocking He Wei's view of the second and third line positions.

Yanzhuang on the back side of the position was also ignited with billowing black smoke.

Reluctantly standing up, He Wei looked forward with his mouth open, dumbfounded and unable to say a word. The hot air and blood hit He Wei's body and nerves. What he saw was a tragic scene. He was talking to himself just now. Special Agent Ding Zhensan and an accompanying ammunition soldier, who had walked no more than ten meters away, were annihilated by the incoming artillery fire. He watched as half of Special Agent Ding Mazi's body was torn apart by the shells and was lifted into the air.

Although the ammunition soldier who was slightly behind was not dead, he was worse than dead. Both legs and lower limbs were severed along the waist. He was holding his bloody lower limbs in the open ground between the first and second lines of defense, crying and wailing.

All this happened in just ten seconds.

……

"Anti-gun!"

The old squad leader Ge Guicai reacted quickly and first shouted the anti-cannon command.

He Wei slowed down a little, spat out a mouthful of dust, and yelled as calmly as possible: "Japanese bombardment, hide, everyone quickly squat down with your head in your hands, lean against the trench, don't run around."

One platoon was indeed the platoon with the most veterans. As soon as He Wei said a word, most of the people dropped their shovels and pickaxes, rolling around and squatting in the trenches with their heads in their hands. There were only a few who had been newly recruited from the division camp before the war. The soldiers panicked. They had just been added to the combat company. They had never fought on the front line and had never seen such a battle. Several of them were running around in the trenches, running desperately towards the communication trenches connecting the second-line positions in the rear.

"Pull those headless flies back!"

He Wei held his head, cursed and moved quickly towards the traffic trench, caught up with him, kicked down a running soldier, grabbed his belt with his hands, and dragged the soldier back to the trench.

Squad leader Ge Guicai followed He Wei and kicked and dragged one of the new recruits back, leaving only one who ran around and rushed from a row of trenches into a traffic trench. He had already run a long way and no one could catch him.

Whoosh - boom - a shell smashed into the traffic trench, and a shell flower fell impartially in the traffic trench, fell behind the soldier, exploded in the traffic trench, and exploded into a gray-black shell flower.Densely packed steel fragments splashed in, tearing the soldier's body to pieces. Hot air waves picked up the soldier's mangled corpse and threw it into the air...

He Wei witnessed all this and closed his eyes in pain. In an instant, a large living person was exploded into a pile of minced meat, and a bloody severed hand fell at He Wei's feet.

Resisting the discomfort, He Wei turned his head away and no longer looked at the remains of the soldier who was killed by the explosion.

The bombardment continued. After one person was killed, the trenches in a row became very quiet. Everyone was squatting down with their heads in their hands, leaning against the trenches. The fortifications in the row were not completed, but the trenches were dug. We didn't have time to do anything like the anti-cannon holes, the concealment department, etc., so we had to squat in the trenches.

In the trench, He Wei came back to his senses, bent down, and squinted his eyes to look in the direction of the second and third line positions and Yanzhuang. He saw artillery fire all over the sky, and the bombardment was far stronger than that of the first line position where he was. Looking back at his own place, so far, There were not many casualties. Except for the special agent chief who delivered the ammunition, a running around in his own platoon was killed.After the rapid artillery fire attack that took less than half a minute, the Japanese army immediately began to extend their shooting. The number of bullets they received here became less and less. It seemed that the main target was not their own position at all?
Almost most of the bullets fell on the rear position of the row. Otherwise, He Wei would not be able to calmly observe the rear position now.

Of course, there were also many miss-missed and inaccurate artillery shells that exploded in the open ground around the village, and there were quite a lot of them.

He Wei thought to himself that it was not surprising that there were so many crooked shells according to the Japanese style of play. The normal large-scale shooting procedure of field artillery was to test-fire single guns and benchmark guns, and constantly correct the direction and distance.

When a single gun hits the target with near and far bullets, a clamp is formed, and a rough scale is obtained. After that, the width of the clamp needs to be continuously shortened to find the correct shooting direction and the far limit and near limit. Then the single gun To fire along, fire more than six rounds and continue to correct to get the accurate scale.

Finally, the artillery group concentrated its firepower and used a single gun to test-fire Zhuyuan. It then carried out effective fire in an organized manner and intensively bombarded the target position. However, this round of Japanese artillery was directed at his position and Yanzhuang behind it. !The accuracy was greatly reduced, and the shots missed a lot, but just like this, it was enough for the defenders in Yanzhuang to drink a pot.

"Damn it, there is no test firing or follow-up firing, it is just artillery concentrated fire!"

A chill suddenly appeared behind He Wei.

ps: "Special agent chief, responsible for managing the company managers and miscellaneous tasks, training miscellaneous soldiers, and managing the preservation of weapons and poisonous gases, etc." - From the draft of the first enrichment and adjustment division (German Weapon Division) plan (compiled in 1935)
(End of this chapter)