The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 12 Prepare for Battle
The deep shelling of the rear was so fierce that the Japanese infantry might be coming soon. In other words, the main targets of this round of shelling were the second-line positions and reserves behind the first row.

The Japanese army may have used extended artillery fire to block support from the rear to the front-line positions, killing and injuring the reserves, and then the infantry attacked the front-line positions with all their strength, seeking a breakthrough!
If it is true as I guessed, then I have to quickly prepare the entire platoon to defend against the enemy! Look at my soldiers, they are all doing fortifications when they are bombarded. Many of them are wearing white military underwear to avoid the bombardment, and a few of them hurriedly join forces I didn't even have time to grab the gun.

He Wei said anxiously: "Brothers, hurry up and get dressed, and the attackers should get their guns. The enemy's shells are not coming for us. Hurry! Come to me for squad leaders to gather and receive orders!"

After He Wei's order was issued, a row of soldiers who escaped from the panic of the shelling immediately began to prepare for battle and loaded their guns.

Xiao Tao, the messenger, ran all the way to He Wei in the trench like a monkey, and brought He Wei his Zhongzheng rifle, a bullet belt, and a shoulder bag.

"Platoon leader!"

Xiao Tao came to He Wei's side and shouted, with a clean smile on his face.

"Good boy!"

He Wei took the Zhongzheng rifle and cartridge belt, slung the canvas cartridge belt from his left shoulder to his right rib, wrapped it around his waist, and finally tied the cloth belt tightly, loaded the rifle and fired, and took it on the trench again Two open-capped grenades were stuck in his waist.

In a hurry, He Wei was ready to fight. At this time, the three squad leaders, Ge Guicai, Luo Youdao, and Tu Desheng, gathered around and squatted beside He Wei.

"Platoon leader, there are 14 people in a class!"

"There were 11 people in the second class, one of whom was killed."

"Twelve people in class three!"

The three squad leaders are all veterans and know how to report the numbers first and then wait for the platoon leader to give orders.

After hearing the specific number of people, He Wei was quite satisfied. A standard infantry platoon of the national army has a full complement of 44 people. His platoon now has 37 people. The full manpower rate is really good in wartime, and the first squad is still fully staffed. The 14-man infantry squad couldn't be better.

Boom boom boom - the shelling from behind showed no sign of weakening. Amidst the deafening sound of the artillery, He Wei opened his mouth wide and roared with all his strength.

"The Japanese are specifically targeting the back of our platoon to bomb. They want to cut off our retreat and prevent reinforcements from coming up. We must make preparations immediately."

"Listen to my order and move the entire platoon to the left and right lines! The first squadron is arranged in the center of the position, the second squadron is on the left to face the enemy, and the third squadron is on the right to face the enemy. Immediately enter the position, prepare to fight, and follow my order to fire."

"Yes!"

"clear"

After receiving the order, the squad leaders of each squad called up the soldiers of their squad at the top of their lungs. According to He Wei's deployment, they assigned tasks to the soldiers. One row after another, the soldiers squatted in the trenches and squirmed laboriously. The body moves slowly.

He Wei was leaning in the trench in the center of the position, holding the Zhongzheng rifle, letting the dust fly around, quietly waiting for the moment when the shelling stopped.

Yanzhuang, a small village in northern Shanxi, was enveloped in artillery fire in an instant... The [-]-caliber mountain artillery shells hit the back of a row of positions heavily, and the transportation trenches connecting the front lines and the second and third line positions were covered by a continuous cloud of bullets. , flying steel fragments and flying sand filled the sky above the national army position outside Yanzhuang.

Obviously, the second and third-line positions are now suffering from more violent shelling than the first-line positions. The dense cloud of bullets and gunpowder smoke obscured He Wei's sight of looking back, and also blocked the channel for forward support from the rear positions.The whistling shells exploded on the ground, rolling up clods of soil, stumps and shrapnel, and projecting them in all directions, scattering...

He Wei's judgment should be accurate, but the trenches in a row were quite safe, and were only occasionally affected by a few scattered bullets. A row of soldiers were constantly slightly injured by shrapnel. The only good thing was that, except for those who were running around, , so far no one has been killed.

Each squad of a platoon arrived at the combat position deployed by He Wei under artillery fire. The fortifications built by the soldiers in the platoon were very simple, just one-line trenches. This kind of one-line defense was actually not very technical. A platoon of men had to be spread out over a wide front more than [-] meters long, and they had to be spread out flat for defense.

He Wei was in the center of the trench, squatting with his head held low. On both sides of him, soldiers from the first squad had already taken the lead and entered their respective combat positions.

Luo Youdao's second squad and Tu Desheng's third squad were slightly slower than the first squad, but they all reached combat positions. The soldiers squatted in the trenches to avoid bullets, and several soldiers who were bitten by shrapnel covered themselves. Covering his wounds, he gritted his teeth and squatted in the fortifications, holding on to the land under his feet with his comrades around him.

Forcibly suppressing the shock of witnessing a real shelling in his heart, He Wei removed the safety plate on the bolt tail of Zhongzheng rifle and pushed in a row of bullets. After the shelling seemed to weaken slightly, He Wei slowly raised his head and exposed his eyes. From the top of the trench, he tentatively looked towards the front of the position.

As soon as he raised his head, scorching air rushed in along his nose and throat. The rim of his helmet was hit by scattered dirt and made a loud bang. He Wei looked at the front of the position. There was an endless open space with no end in sight. The craters created by several missed shells were billowing with billowing white smoke, and it seemed that the Japanese infantry had not yet come up.

"Whoosh-boom"

After the ear-piercing whistling sound, hot air waves suddenly hit from the front of He Wei. He Wei subconsciously shrank back to the trench. A shell hit the open ground in front of He Wei without any bias, and a large number of clods of earth and Stones and even fragments broke from He Wei's head, fell down, and hit He Wei's helmet.

The shell exploded in an open area not far from the trench. The air wave directly pushed He Wei to the back cliff of the trench. He Wei felt his eyes go dark and an extremely uncomfortable feeling surged in his throat. He Wei almost lost consciousness with this bursting feeling.

"Platoon commander! Platoon commander!"

The messenger Xiao Tao desperately pushed He Wei, who was lying dead in the trench. He Wei felt dizzy and his ears were ringing for an unknown amount of time before he realized that someone seemed to be pushing him. He staggered and woke up.

As soon as he woke up, he saw Xiao Tao. He Wei could hear Xiao Tao's voice calling the platoon leader clearly. Looking at the back of the position, he saw that although the shelling was still continuing, the density of falling bombs had been greatly reduced. The artillery shelling was now regular and the sound was naturally quieter.

What is shelling weakening?This is the signal for the infantry to launch an attack!
He Wei said anxiously: "Pull me up."

Xiao Tao helped He Wei up, and He Wei hurriedly leaned on the rifle and stood up again to lean against the inner wall of the trench. But before he could even stand on his heels, he heard a shout from a soldier on the right.

"The devils are coming!"

He Wei hurriedly lay down in the trench and looked in front of the position. He saw that Japanese troops had appeared on the open ground in front of the formation, and they were quickly approaching the rows of positions. The bayonets of the [-] rifles faced the sun and gave off a dazzling cold light.

"Give me the order! Prepare to fight!" He Wei shouted.

Immediately, the "prepare to fight" commands appeared in the rows of trenches one after another.

(End of this chapter)