The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 18 Heavy Machine Gun Platoon
On the open ground in front of him, the corpses left by the Japanese army were still lying in front of the rows. The fresh soil blown up by the artillery shells was still emitting a trace of heat. He Wei put his chin in the middle of the ammunition box on the sandbag and followed the gray Look to the horizon and observe the enemy's situation.

Although the Japanese attack had been repelled just now, He Wei knew very well that it was just a tentative attack, and a more deadly and cruel battle was yet to come.

In the trenches, there were only the heavy breathing of the soldiers and the clashing of firearms. There were no other unnecessary sounds. A row of soldiers stood firm on the position, as vigilant as He Wei, with their guns pointed at the front of the position, waiting for the next step. Field fight.

Now, the dead soldiers have been buried, the fortifications have been repaired, and the seriously injured soldiers have been sent away. The next thing to do is to execute the order-continue to hold on to the current position!
However, what is quite strange is that more than 20 minutes have passed since the first attack by the Japanese army, but there has been no movement on the other side, and no second attack has been launched so far. This is very inconsistent with the style of the Japanese army. How can there be a small attack? After being repulsed, the second attack will not be launched for a long time. Moreover, the last attack was almost a tentative feint. According to the Japanese army's style, after the feint is over, the real attacking troops will immediately launch an attack on a row of positions, and it will be Accompanied by more powerful suppressive covering fire.

"Not right."

He Wei touched the Czech gun he had on hand and let out a puzzled sigh. Tao Heiwa, the messenger, squatted on the right side of He Wei, carrying He Wei's formal rifle on his back. He Wei was now regarded as the "three-gun platoon leader." .”

The so-called three guns means wearing three guns: a Czech style gun at hand, a shell gun on the waist, and the Zhongzheng rifle.But you must not really carry three guns on your back. He Wei is carrying a light machine gun in his hand and a shell gun on his waist. Carrying that Zhongzheng is too heavy. He also has a satchel on him. The Japanese gas mask bag was seized. Zhongzheng The rifle bayonet and hand grenades were all in pieces, and the six-pound rifle was slung across the back. The strap was too tight and affected the combat, making it difficult to perform tactical movements, so Tao Heiwa could only be asked to help carry it.

Tao Heiwa was carefully wiping a new object—a grenade launcher seized from the Japanese army.

Just now, He Wei organized people to drag back the Japanese corpses and weapons close to the trenches of the third squadron, including the grenade group that was killed by He Wei. Of course, those who died far away from the first row of positions were ignored. .

A total of eight 700 caps, more than [-] rounds of [-]-caliber rifle ammunition, a grenade launcher and [-] rounds of grenades and grenades were surrendered.

The eight intact [-] caps captured by the Japanese were of no use, so the soldiers used bayonets to cut a few strips of cloth from the Japanese uniforms, as well as the cowhide belts, bullet boxes, bayonet holsters, shoulder bags, and gas masks stripped from the Japanese soldiers. The lunch boxes were neatly bundled aside along with the equipment He Wei brought back.

However, He Wei was very interested in the grenade that was captured. It seemed to be the latest Type [-] [-]mm heavy-duty grenade of the Japanese army, so he gave it to Tao Heiwa for safekeeping along with [-] rounds of grenades and grenades. , this is a good thing. In the battle just now, this thing destroyed a row of light machine gun positions on the right wing, almost putting the row in danger and jeopardizing the position.

He Wei planned to take some time to study this Japanese grenade. There were still more than a dozen grenades, and he could use the captured grenade to attack the Japanese.

He Wei gave the kid two more pieces of Japanese candies, grenade launchers, ammunition and He Wei's pistol, telling him to take good care of himself. There was no way to carry the shell gun on his shoulder. There were too many things and He Wei couldn't hold them all by himself.

Tao Heiwa held the candy in his mouth and meticulously carried out the tasks assigned to him by He Wei, wiping the captured grenades and more than a dozen grenades clean. Although this boy was young, he had three years of military service. , had no parents since he was a child, and fell into the hands of a soldier dealer. When the Tenth Division was recruiting soldiers in Shaanxi, he was sold to the recruiting officer for five oceans, and he has been working as a second-class officer in the platoon. The messenger didn't even have a gun and couldn't fire.

If it weren't for his young age and too honest temper, he would be able to become a superior soldier now. Just when He Wei was wondering why the Japanese army didn't continue the attack, Ge Guicai quickly approached He Wei.

"Platoon commander, company commander is here."

He Wei turned his head and saw company commander Fu Chen leading the messengers along the communication trench to the first row of positions. Fu Chen nodded to He Wei, and there was a brighter look in his eyes, but there was another thin line on his face. The bloodstains on the body seemed to have been caused by Japanese shelling.

"Captain!"

He Wei bent down and met Fu Chen. Fu Chen grabbed He Wei's left arm and spoke affectionately.

"Well done! Well done! Brother Wei Hua, you are indeed a newbie who is as strong as a tiger. You fought such a beautiful battle just after graduating from the military academy. In this battle just now, your platoon fought well!"

"I don't dare. Fortunately, my brothers fought off the Japanese attack with their lives. Although the Japanese attack force was not large, they fought very fiercely. It would be impossible to defend them without risking their lives."

He Wei pointed at a row of soldiers in the trench. Although many soldiers raised their guns in defense, the uneasy expressions on their faces still showed the intensity of the battle.

In front of the position, the bodies of the Japanese soldiers who were killed were scattered in pieces, and a row of captured Japanese weapons and equipment were neatly placed in the position. These all fell into Fu Chen's eyes. If He Wei just came back, If Fu Chen still had some doubts about He Wei killing three Japanese soldiers and escaping back to the team alone, the command and response shown by the first platoon and He Wei in the battle just now left Fu Chen speechless. .

Generally speaking, in the eyes of the company commander, a new platoon leader of a company who has just graduated from a military academy is not as good as an old squad leader of a platoon until his probationary period has passed. The sergeant is reliable and the company commander will not regard him as a real leader. The officer platoon leader saw that He Wei had been in such a state before.

But after this battle, facts speak louder than words. Needless to say, now, in the eyes of Fu Chen, the commander of the [-]th company, He Wei is already a capable person with commanding ability, worthy of being a platoon leader.

"How many casualties did your platoon suffer?"

"The entire platoon has 11 killed, four lightly wounded and four seriously wounded. The seriously injured soldiers have been sent down. The Japanese casualties are about the same as ours." "I saw the wounded soldiers and have asked people from other platoons to go to the battalion headquarters. lift."

Fu Chen patted He Wei on the shoulder and said with a little force: "Wei Hua, as expected of a cadre from our Whampoa Military Academy, did a good job. The Japanese artillery attack was very sudden. In this case, you can quickly organize a platoon Defense is very methodical.”

Fu Chen saw the gauze around He Wei's neck and pointed at it. "fine?"

He Wei said: "It's okay, I was bitten by the shrapnel from the grenade. It's a pity. Agent Ding Zhensandand Ding sent us ammunition, but he was killed just as he was about to go back. Just before the shelling, Agent Ding was still talking to me. Smile and talk, and in a blink of an eye, the person is gone.”

"Life or death depends on a split second. That's how fighting is. Not to mention that Lao Ding is on the front line with you. Just now, a round of artillery fire almost knocked me out when I was on the second line of our company. It was so sudden. A man from the second line The squad didn't have time to enter the concealed area, and a cannonball hit it just in time. Only the deputy squad leader ran out, and everyone else was gone."

"The situation at the battalion headquarters in the village is also not good. Before the battle started, I had requested from the battalion commander a mortar platoon in the battalion (according to the adjustment division's establishment, each infantry battalion has an 82mm mortar platoon, and Jinling Two Zaomin Type 82 [-]mm mortars) will provide you with fire support. Unfortunately, the battalion headquarters was also bombed in the village. The two [-]mm mortars were suppressed and had no choice but to wait until the Japanese army retreated. Got a few shots.”

"Company Commander, the mortar support in the battalion is only auxiliary. Moreover, the Japanese artillery suppressed the battalion headquarters and second-line positions extremely fiercely. The brothers in the mortar platoon are also powerless. It is not easy. The key is for us infantry to do it ourselves. If you can defend it, you can bear it.”

Fu Chen gave a thumbs up and said: "If you want to be honest, you need to be strong yourself!"

After saying that, Fu Chen stood on tiptoes, looked towards the front of the formation, and changed the subject.

"Have the Japanese made any moves in front of the position?"

"No, but according to the general situation, after the attack just now, the Japanese army should launch a second attack soon, but there is still no movement. Company Commander, I feel... something is not right."

Fu Chen nodded.

"There is a problem. In the past, when we fought with the Japanese army, it is not an exaggeration to say that their attacks were devastating. Round after round, but now they were silent and did not continue to move. This kind of attack is not very good. right."

For a moment, both He Wei and Fu Chen fell into silence, pondering the Japanese army's different tactical performance.

.........

After a moment of silence, He Wei continued: "Company Commander, I thought we should have prepared early. The more the Japanese army behaves like this, the more it means that the next attack will be more violent. I plan to strengthen the platoon's fortifications. I have one more request. At the critical moment, At this moment, I hope that the company commander will ask the brothers in the second and third platoons to provide reinforcements, otherwise I am afraid that I will not be able to do it alone. I also hope that the company commander can support me with some soil work materials, hemp ropes, sacks, and guy ropes. The more scraps and pieces of wood, the better, and the more ammunition, the better.”

He Wei thought to himself: "Anyway, the attack will definitely be more violent. No matter how the situation changes, if you ask for more things, it will be over. We only have one platoon in hand, and the situation is not optimistic. The more things we have, the more safety and certainty we will have."

Fu Chen thought for a while and then said: "Brother, keep your heart in your heart. The company will definitely support you if necessary. The second and third platoons can pull up at any time. I will command the second and third platoons to hold the formation for you. You just have to do it." To strengthen the defense, there should be a lot of materials for earthworks... The battalion headquarters should be in Yanzhuang Village. Before the war, the brothers cut down a lot of trees and they are all stored in Yanzhuang. I will call them the second and third platoons. I'll look for it for you... and help you solve it as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Report to the company commander, bring the first platoon of the heavy machine gun company!"

Suddenly, Fu Chen's messenger came running quickly, followed by more than thirty soldiers, and drove along the communication trench to the first row's position.

"Well done, He Wei. In order to strengthen the defense, the battalion commander assigned the first platoon and two heavy machine guns of the heavy machine gun company to our company. This platoon is all assigned to you. Adjust the defense, fortification reinforcement, and layout of the heavy machine guns. It’s up to you to make your own arrangements and do whatever you want, anyway, I just want the position!”

Fu Chen pointed at the approaching machine gun platoon and said. As he spoke, soldiers from each machine gun platoon were carrying dark heavy machine gun bodies, ammunition boxes, tripods, cooling water tanks, cooling water pipes, earthwork tools, and ammunition. Opened into a row of positions.

Seeing the heavy machine gun, He Wei was overjoyed: "Thank you, company commander. With the support of the heavy machine gun and the reinforcement of the position, I have a little more confidence in holding the position." Two more heavy machine guns are very effective for the defense of a row of positions. The big help was also a reassurance for He Wei.

After the heavy machine gun platoon reported, Fu Chen asked some more details about the position defense and then left the platoon position.Next, He Wei will start strengthening the defense of the entire position.

(End of this chapter)