The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 145 The Air Force is coming
Yongxing Village

The attacking Japanese troops have all entered the attack starting position. A dozen tanks of the Fourth Battalion are parked in front of the position, waiting for the order to attack. Infantry No. 16 Regiment Captain Goto Juro is like his soldiers. Wearing a [-] steel helmet and holding a Type [-] rifle, they hid in the trenches and quietly waited for the bombardment notification from the school launch balloon.

Beside Juro Goto, the adjutant of the No. 16 Infantry Regiment was anxiously guarding the phone and looking into the air behind him from time to time. He seemed to be very dissatisfied with the slow-moving school launch balloon. However, Goto Juro was very calm at this time. Just waiting silently in the trench, this calmness and composure also infected the soldiers in the trench, and the originally tense atmosphere also dissipated.

"Baga, what does your balloon squadron do? It's been 15 minutes, why haven't you finished your homework and started bombardment?"

The wing adjutant who couldn't wait was completely furious and cursed into the phone. After dozens of seconds, a lazy voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Sir, the release of the school launch balloon will take a long time, please be patient."

"These balloon soldiers are rubbish!"

The tension on the front line does not affect the balloon soldiers at the rear at all. The balloon soldiers are still completing various tasks in a leisurely manner. Many balloon soldiers will not think that their current idleness and laziness will soon be used for blood and... Life is exchanged as a price.

The operation of the balloon squadron lasted for a full 27 minutes. When the telephone soldier at the artillery position received the call from the balloon soldier, the first-line infantry troops preparing to attack had been waiting in the attack position for more than half an hour.

In the artillery position, the temporary artillery group has long been ready for battle. Two Type 150 75mm heavy siege cannons, four Type [-] [-]mm howitzers and four Type [-] [-]mm mountain cannons have all completed their first launches. Loading of artillery shells.

While the balloon squadron was dawdling, the artillerymen had prepared a large number of artillery shells, mountain artillery shells, howitzer shells and heavy artillery shells. The propellant and cartridges were piled up in the artillery position. The temporary artillery group commander, Captain Kakihara Isao, received the school to launch the balloon. After the firing report came, the artillery was immediately ordered to prepare for firing.

"Ready, open!"

After adjusting the firing conditions of various artillery pieces, Isao Kakihara issued the firing order as always. A ball of orange flames erupted from the muzzles of the ten artillery pieces. Thanks to the good observation effect of the school firing balloon, the first round All the artillery shells hit the main position of the Sixth Company. Next, there was continuous artillery preparation and intensive shooting. The gunners loaded the shells into the barrels one after another and hit the Sixth Company's position.

150 mm caliber, 75 mm caliber, [-] mm caliber sharp blasting grenades and arson bombs were fired at the Sixth Company's position one after another. The ammunition soldiers were busy unloading various weapons from the artillery carriages. With artillery shells of various calibers, a fierce and furious fire coverage is taking place here.

In the sixth company's position, one shell after another turned the position into a world of dust and fire. In order to intensify the damage to the sixth company's position, Goto Juro ordered to extend the preparation time for artillery fire to one hour. This will be the sixth company's position. It was the most violent bombardment the company had ever endured.

Fortunately, the solid fortifications of the main position withstood the postgraduate entrance examination. Although under the fierce shelling, the officers and soldiers endured unspeakable torture in various bunkers. Under the blast of explosive bombs, the ground seemed to tremble and set on fire. As the bomb burned, the surrounding temperature suddenly rose.

The main position was fine, but the rear position suffered. A hiding hole in the 150th Company of the [-]rd Battalion was hit by a [-]mm heavy artillery shell with a delayed fuse, and was hit by a [-]mm grenade. Two consecutive artillery shells directly collapsed the soldier hiding cave.

Half of the squad of soldiers hidden in the hole were torn into pieces, and various human body fragments and weapons were swept into the air by the air waves generated by the explosion of the shells.

Four and ten minutes after the bombardment, following Juro Goto's order to attack, and under the cover of ten various tanks of the Fourth Tank Battalion, more than 10 Japanese troops jumped out of the attack position. Under the cover of artillery fire, they slowly Advance towards the Sixth Company's position.

In the command post, he felt the weakening of the Japanese artillery fire. He Wei removed the sandbag at the observation entrance of the command post and looked outside. Everywhere he looked, there was thick smoke and fire. The Japanese arson bombs destroyed the Sixth Company's position. Fires broke out everywhere, including some wooden shelters, sandbags, and even the soil. The weakening of the Japanese artillery bombardment must be a signal for the Japanese infantry to launch an attack. He Wei raised his telescope and looked forward, but he could not see the Japanese infantry. But the two high-flying balloons of the Japanese army were clearly visible.

"Let you be majestic for a while longer and wait to be beaten down!"

He Wei muttered viciously.

The attacking Japanese army quickly launched an attack formation, with ten tanks as the lead, infantry, and artillery lined up in sequence. Behind the tanks were infantry in skirmish lines, and behind the infantry were soldiers carrying Type [-] heavy machine guns. Soldiers from the machine gun squadron. At the end of the attack queue were soldiers from the infantry artillery squadron directly under the brigade carrying the Type [-] infantry cannon. Soldiers from the wing artillery squadron pushing the Type [-] mountain cannon and rapid-fire soldiers pushing the Type [-] [-] rapid-fire cannon. Gun squadron soldier.

At the very center of the first skirmisher line is the temporary flag-protecting team of the Infantry No. 16 Regiment. The flag bearer of the regiment, Second Lieutenant Seto, is holding the regimental flag of the Infantry No. 16 Regiment and walks in the center of the flag-protecting team. Leading the charge with more than 1000 Japanese infantry behind him.

The captain of the Infantry Regiment No. 16, Juro Goto, and the adjutant of the regiment, also followed closely behind Second Lieutenant Seto, charging forward with the [-] rifle, quite like using the military flag as a guide and not taking down the enemy. The momentum of not giving up in the position.

As the Japanese army advanced farther and farther, several Japanese tanks appeared in He Wei's telescope. The dust behind them was so thick that he couldn't see anything clearly, but he thought they must be Japanese infantry. He Wei immediately connected to the artillery. The phone call from the position notified Cao Huiguo to be ready to indicate the target for the Air Force. After receiving the call, Cao Huiguo immediately ordered the fourth artillery company to prepare to fire. The gunners loaded yellow smoke grenades for the four Bofors 75mm mountain guns. Quietly waiting for the order to fire in the artillery position.

He Wei squatted in the command post and prayed silently. Now he was fully prepared for the air force coordination, but he couldn't say whether the air force would come or fly over his head before the Japanese army attacked. Combat air-to-air coordination is a difficult tactic for the Chinese army. This operation was impromptu and no one dared to guarantee it. In addition to being prepared to fight alone, He Wei could only pray to God. Show more favor to some Chinese troops.

In the air two kilometers away from Yanzhuang, five Hawker II fighter jets and three Schreck attack aircraft formed a neat formation, flying at an altitude of 2000 meters. Surrounded in the center.

On a Xurek attack aircraft, Lieutenant Fan Guanghua, the leader of the attack aircraft unit, carefully searched the ground. Warrant Officer Ye Gui, the machine gunner in the back seat, excitedly pushed and pulled the bolt of the rear seat machine gun. As the distance got closer, The muffled sound of cannons reminded Fan Guanghua. Fan Guanghua immediately reminded Ye Gui to pay attention to the search, and then looked down himself.

At this time, the surroundings were cloudless, and the terrain below the plane had changed from mountains to plains, with more and more black smoke-emitting villages and dense bullet holes appearing. Fan Guanghua checked the flight map, and according to the map Sign, we will arrive at the combat area soon.

Suddenly there was a roar of engines overhead, and the two Hawker IIs were seen lowering their altitude. The aircraft of the captain of the No. 20 Eighth Squadron slightly turned its angle and waved to Fan Guanghua. Currently, all Chinese military equipment The aircraft were not equipped with radios, and previous communication between the aircraft relied on gestures. Fan Guanghua also made a reply gesture to the captain of the 28th Squadron.After that, three Hawker IIs and three Schrecks continued to fly normally. The captain of the 28th Squadron quickly pulled up and advanced with his wingman, and the two Hawker IIs quickly flew forward to search for the enemy.

The squadron leader of the No. 20 [-]th Squadron gave full throttle while looking down. Suddenly, he saw a village that had been bombed into ruins on the lower left. After comparing the flight map, he immediately judged that it was Yanzhuang. , further forward, he saw a field position, surrounded by dense craters, and at this time, artillery shells continued to come.

There were flames and thick smoke everywhere on the position. After sending a signal to the wingmen, the two Hawker IIs continued to lower their altitude. The captain of the 28th Squadron stuck his head out and saw only a large open area in front of the position, and on the open area, there were The Japanese troops that were charging forward had tanks, artillery, and infantry.

The targets available for attack were below, but the captain of the No. 20 Eighth Squadron did not take any attack action because the targets of their two aircraft were the Japanese army's school-launched balloons. After flying over the Japanese army's assault formation at high speed, they I saw the Japanese artillery position again. The ten continuously firing artillery pieces were very conspicuous. After continuous searches, two huge school launch balloons finally appeared in the sky one kilometer behind the artillery position.

The captain of the 28th Squadron immediately made an attack gesture to the wingman pilot, and then controlled the aircraft to quickly roll and dive. The Japanese school launch balloon was about 800 meters away from the ground, and the two Hawker II fighter jets were only 2000 meters away from the ground. Soon, the two aircraft He crossed the height difference of 1000 to [-] meters and dived towards the two school launch balloons.

The Japanese balloon soldiers were performing their usual tasks. Suddenly, there was a huge roar in the air. On the ground, the captain of the anti-aircraft machine gun team of the balloon squadron realized that something was wrong. He immediately raised his telescope to observe and saw the school shooter. Above the balloon, two biplane fighter jets painted with the blue sky and white sun military emblem swooped down from high altitude. The team leader immediately called for his two Type 28 anti-aircraft machine guns to shoot into the air, but it was too late. The two fighter jets of the [-]th Squadron had already started shooting. shooting.

The captain of the 28th Squadron was the first to pull the trigger. The two [-]mm machine guns on the Hawker's second nose spit out a stream of flames. Then, the wingman followed suit and fired dozens of rounds of bullets from the two aircraft. On the same school launch balloon, the two planes flew low and then quickly changed to level flight, concentrating their firepower on the gondola under the school launch balloon. The Japanese soldiers in the gondola killed several people before they could react to what was going on.

"Fire! Shoot!"

At this time, the Japanese anti-aircraft machine guns also opened fire, but the firepower density of the two Type 800 anti-aircraft machine guns could not pose any threat to the high-speed flying fighter jets. The two Hawker [-]s would pull up, dive, and fly level. , under fierce aviation machine gun fire, the two school launch balloons exploded violently one after another, igniting raging fire in the sky, falling apart like a flamingo falling from [-] meters in the air.

Some Japanese balloon soldiers who were lucky enough to survive in the gondola cried out in despair as they were thrown out of the gondola. One after another they fell to the ground and became meat patties. After killing the two school-launched balloons, the two Hawker IIs However, the fighter jets did not stop moving. The captain of No. 20 Squadron [-] pushed the joystick and led his wingman towards the Japanese artillery position.

In the Japanese artillery position, many Japanese gunners also discovered that Chinese military planes were attacking from behind. Unfortunately, they could only stare at it because they did not have any anti-aircraft weapons in their hands. Captain Kakihara Isao, the temporary commander of the Japanese artillery group, saw There was an incoming plane, so he could only order everyone to stop the bombardment. What was even more terrifying was that in the telescope he raised, he saw the aerial bombs mounted on the belly of the two Chinese fighter jets, and then he shouted and ordered the gunners to attack the air. shooting.

"Shoot quickly, it's a Chinese military plane."

In panic, the Japanese gunners picked up the Type [-] rifles around them and opened fire at the Chinese fighter jets flying at low altitude. The two Chinese fighter jets used clever maneuvers to avoid the incoming bullets. Occasionally, one or two bullets only hit the target. It can take off one or two small pieces of wing skin.

The captain of the No. 20 Eighth Squadron sneered as he looked at the Japanese artillery below. He kept lowering the flying altitude and soon rushed over the Japanese artillery position. He pulled the bombardment rod at a height of 200 meters and dropped a 220-[-] bomb. The [-]-kilogram aerial bomb flew away, and the wingman also dropped the bomb shortly after. At the same time, he fired a machine gun at the Japanese artillery position. Two Browning aviation machine guns sent dust flying on the ground, and dozens of bullets were fired. The machine gun shells knocked down seven or eight Japanese gunners, causing the artillery in the artillery position to make sparks and tinkling sounds.

boom

The chaos caused by machine gun fire had not yet passed. The first aerial bomb hit the ground and exploded. The 150-kilogram aerial bomb landed impartially on a Type [-] [-]mm heavy siege cannon.

The violent explosion exploded the breech of the artillery and tore the huge hydraulic cylinder into pieces. A Type 150 100mm sharp blasting grenade in the barrel was also detonated, causing an even more violent explosion. The surrounding Japanese gunners It was also blown to pieces. However, the explosion caused by the second aerial bomb was even more violent. In order to facilitate the replenishment of ammunition, the Japanese army placed artillery and ammunition trucks of several types of artillery together. However, what was originally done for convenience has now brought about consequences. Disaster struck, and more than [-] Japanese gunners watched helplessly as the shell fell vertically onto a Qiwushan artillery ammunition truck.

boom

There was another explosion. This shell seemed to ignite the flames of a powder keg, causing a chain reaction. Dozens of 75mm mountain artillery shells, 150mm howitzer shells and [-]mm howitzer shells exploded in a chain reaction.

The exploding shells included demolition bombs and arson bombs. The shock wave generated almost spread to the entire artillery position. The explosive ammunition detonated the accumulated warheads of the 75mm mountain artillery squadron at the position.

The four Type 75 [-]mm mountain guns were turned into scrap metal and parts in the violent explosion, including gun barrels, gun shields, hydraulic oil, large legs, as well as various observation equipment such as telemetry machines and artillery scopes. , was blown up all over the sky, and the gunners suffered heavy casualties. Dozens of mules and horses carrying the guns also died tragically in the explosion. The frightened horses ran around and trampled to death many injured Japanese artillerymen who fell to the ground.

Hot air waves blew in. Isao Kakihara, commander of the temporary artillery group of the Japanese army, watched helplessly as the 75mm mountain artillery squadron was destroyed. His heart felt like a knife, because he was the squadron leader of the 75mm mountain artillery squadron, and now he saw his direct subordinates. How can you not feel heartbroken when all your subordinates were wiped out?
In just 2 minutes, two-thirds of the artillery shells of this temporary artillery group were destroyed in the explosion. Four Type 75 [-]mm mountain guns and a Type [-] [-]mm heavy cannon were turned into parts. More than [-] gunners There were casualties, fires broke out everywhere on the artillery position, there were screams and cries everywhere, and corpses and artillery parts were everywhere. This temporary artillery group had actually completely lost its combat capability at this time.

In the air, the two pilots looked at the large fireworks they had lit. They both showed a satisfied smile and turned the nose of the plane to fly back.

The flames soaring into the sky shook the entire battlefield. Through the observation port, He Wei saw the thick smoke rising straight into the sky. Although he didn't know what it was, the Japanese must have suffered a big loss. He saw the Japanese army's school-launched balloon being destroyed. After the shooting down, He Wei immediately sent a signal to the artillery to fire. A mountain artillery battery quickly fired four 500mm yellow smoke grenades with a shooting range of 75 meters.

At this time, the attacking Japanese troops were also stunned. The destruction of the artillery position meant that there was no artillery support. Many advancing Japanese infantry could not help but look back at the artillery position. No. 16 Wing Captain Goto Juro was unmoved. Move and continue to urge the soldiers forward.

But something happened at the artillery position, and suddenly several more artillery shells from the Chinese army flew in. After discovering the shelling, the Japanese troops in the impact fell to the ground, but there was no explosion as expected. After the shells landed, , began to release yellow smoke, and the smoke quickly dispersed among the Japanese assault queue.

At this time, the roar of the plane sounded again and got closer and closer. The Japanese soldier who was lying on the ground raised his head and saw six Chinese Air Force fighter planes in the sky, flying over along the trajectory of yellow smoke.

(End of this chapter)