The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 248 Big Melee
The Japanese troops attacking the teaching corps' position tried to use the cover of smoke to directly turn the battle into a close combat, and broke into the teaching corps' position in one fell swoop. However, the officers and soldiers of the first battalion of the teaching corps who directly fought with them did not give them this chance. There was only fifty meters between the two sides. meters, the first battalion of the fifth regiment of the teaching corps opened fire completely, giving the Japanese army a head-on blow with extremely hot firepower.

The Japanese troops attacking the teaching corps looked like lunatics emerging from the smoke, and what they faced was the most powerful force in the Chinese Army today. Twenty-seven Czech light machine guns from one infantry battalion and three infantry companies, three hundred Multiple Mauser standard rifles, eight Jinling-made Type 24 heavy machine guns, two Jinling-made 20-year-old Type 82 mortars and two German-made 75th infantry guns formed a deadly fire net. Directly pocket the crazy charging Japanese infantry.

Among them, the firepower of infantry artillery is particularly powerful.

In the infantry artillery position of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment, the commanding second lieutenant infantry artillery platoon leader roared out passwords one after another, and the content of the repeated passwords was only two words.

"Swing shot!"

"Swing shot!"

Boom, boom

In the infantry artillery firing position, dozens of infantry artillerymen of the teaching corps, wearing German-made steel helmets, rubber shoes and leather shoes, and full leather gear, hid behind the wavy edge of the infantry artillery shield and fired fiercely. They were surrounded by piles of There are infantry artillery ammunition boxes written in German. In the shooting observation post near the artillery position, there is also a German-made artillery scope and range finder that are temporarily inoperable due to smoke.

If it weren't for the blue sky and white sun emblem on the helmets, the gray armbands with the word "teaching" written on them, and the yellow skin and dark eyes of the officers and soldiers, this scene could easily be thought of as the German Army in action.

The muzzles of the two leIG18 small infantry guns were constantly adjusted under the pull of the gunners, swinging the left and right shooting directions of the artillery. The gunners loading and firing were also firing at the maximum speed. The ground around the artillery was already full of piles. A stubby brass propellant barrel that emits white smoke.

The 75mm long blasting shells whose fuzes were adjusted to close to zero degrees almost flew out of the gun barrel and entered the detonation state. Finally, they exploded fifty to one hundred meters in front of the position, and were violently bombarded. The enemy in front of the first battalion's position.

Under the operation of artillerymen who are familiar with techniques and tactics, the rate of fire of these two infantry guns has reached the limit. They can fire twelve rounds of shells per minute. However, these high-explosive grenades imported from Germany only require five rounds. Create a death debris belt up to one hundred meters wide in front of the position.

Boom
Under such a violent bombardment, screams continued to be heard in the white smoke released by the Japanese army. Blood-red flowers exploded one after another in the white smoke. A large number of Japanese soldiers fell on the battlefield created by infantry shells. In the debris belt, the firepower of the first battalion is not limited to this.

Although the officers and soldiers of the three infantry companies under the first battalion could not see the Japanese troops clearly, they all began to conduct blind fire and volley shooting. The riflemen began to concentrate their volleys of fire under the command of the squad leader and platoon leader, and the Czech light machine guns continued to fire. , fired repeatedly.

The 2nd and 4th heavy machine guns in the shooting bunker were pouring bullets in front of the position crazily. The machine gunners of the first battalion of heavy machine guns all held the firing triggers of the machine guns and kept turning the muzzles of the machine guns. There were clouds of steam coming out of the Type 4 heavy machine gun's cooling water tank, and a crossfire network composed of dense 7.92mm caliber heavy-pointed bullets. Japanese soldiers fell to the ground and died under the intensive firepower.

The attacking Japanese troops suffered heavy casualties under such intensive fire attacks. The three infantry squadrons that advanced together paid the price of nearly forty deaths in just five minutes.

And more wounded Japanese soldiers who were knocked down fell rolling and wailing in the smoke. Under such circumstances, the smoke that once provided cover and shelter to the Japanese army finally had the counter-effect of trapping itself.

Since the smoke has not dispersed, and the charging Japanese soldiers wore gas masks to avoid being burned on their faces by the smoke bombs, many people's sight and even tactical movements were affected, and many people could not see the smoke at all. Those killed corpses and wounded soldiers lying on the ground, some people kept tripping over the corpses and wounded soldiers on the ground during the charge.

The Japanese attack team also suffered from small-scale chaos.

The teaching corps is not only well-equipped, but more importantly, has a very sufficient supply of ammunition. At this time, almost all the officers and soldiers of the first battalion of the fifth regiment of the teaching corps are shooting hard and blindly without careful aim. The first battalion is relying on abundant ammunition. The inventory maintained a dense and continuous firepower density, blocking the oncoming Japanese troops with firepower without seeing the target.

"Stop charging and reorganize the team!"

"Take off the gas masks and set up the machine guns!"

"Grenade man, get ready to shoot!"

Amidst the blood, fire and smoke, the Japanese troops of the 1st Battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army's Kunisaki Detachment had to give up the attack in disgrace. The three infantry squadrons that advanced together all chose to lie down in the smoke. The ground alternately covers the advance.

The Japanese officers had to bear the consequences of their own actions. They took off their gas masks, commanded their soldiers and rectified their troops amidst the pungent and eye-catching white smoke.

After a few minutes of chaos, the Japanese army finally began to fight back. The machine gunners of each squadron began to use Taisho 11-year-old crooked light machine guns to suppress fire. The grenade launchers also began to load and fire, serving as covering fire from the rear. The heavy machine guns of the Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun Squadron on the mission also moved forward one after another, suppressing fire on the positions of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Teaching Corps.

Boom
bang bang bang
Ta da, da da

After a short period of unilateral output, the position of the First Battalion of the Fifth Regiment of the Teaching Corps finally encountered a fire counterattack from the Japanese army. A dense volley of Type 38 rifles, crooked light machine guns, and Type 92 heavy machine guns fired 6.5 mm bullets and 7.7 mm bullets emerged from the smoke and shot at the position of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Teaching Corps.

Just like the attack method used by the teaching corps just now, the Japanese riflemen and machine gunners also adopted a fierce and blind fire fighting method. They began to counterattack with firepower at the teaching corps without aiming. The intensive ballistic trajectories of the two sides were like Dozens of irregular rays intersected and stacked in the smoke.

And because the distance between the two sides is relatively close, the closest place is less than fifty meters apart.

Therefore, this wave of fire counterattack by the Japanese army also caused certain casualties to the first battalion. The dense hail of rifle and machine gun bullets knocked the sandbags piled up on the first battalion's position, and some stray bullets and flying bullets were shot into In the communication trench, the log reinforcement materials added to the communication trench were banging, and some officers and soldiers of the first battalion were also hit by the dense rain of bullets from the Japanese army and fell in the trench.

Boom boom-boom

Followed closely by the Japanese fifty-millimeter grenade, seven or eight grenades fired from the Type 89 heavy grenade also hit the first battalion's position, and several fell near the trench. After the explosion, The shrapnel produced knocked down several officers and soldiers of the teaching corps.

However, since the grenade did not have a special sight, and the smoke environment was not conducive to grenade shooting, most of the grenades fired by the Japanese army flew over the trenches of the 1st Battalion and landed behind the trench positions. In the open space, the killing effect is not as good as that of a concentrated shooting rifle machine gun. "Onboard, onboard!"

The Japanese infantry counterattacked very quickly. Not long after the covering fire started, a dozen Japanese forward infantrymen rushed out of the smoke howling and took the lead in charging the 1st Battalion's position.

The charging position of these dozen Japanese infantrymen was only fifty meters away from the First Battalion's position, which was quite close. Therefore, after these Japanese soldiers jumped up and charged with howling like ghosts and wolves, they quickly joined the First Battalion's position. However, , just when they were about to rush into a position less than twenty meters away from the first battalion's position.

A 75mm infantry artillery stray bullet accurately exploded in the middle of these dozen Japanese soldiers. The dense shrapnel generated after the explosion of the 75mm infantry artillery shell instantly swallowed these more than a dozen Japanese soldiers.

A dozen Japanese infantrymen charging with strange screams suddenly turned into piles of corpses. At the moment when the 75mm infantry howitzer shells exploded, two mortar platoons of the 82nd Battalion of the 1st Battalion fired out. The 82mm mortar shell also hit the ground and exploded, mowing down several fish that slipped through the net, tearing apart and flying away several corpses, and the blown-out internal organs and stumps even flew to the position of the first battalion of the teaching corps. superior.

However, this was just the beginning. As the fighting lasted longer and longer, more and more Japanese troops began to charge desperately, either in groups of three or four, or directly as an infantry unit of more than ten people. Although all charges of various sizes were repelled by the fierce firepower of the first battalion, as the Japanese firepower fully unfolded, the impact of the Japanese firepower and troops of the fifth regiment and the first battalion was also increasing. The bigger.

Waves of Japanese troops came out of the smoke, first crawling forward, and then leaping forward to attack. One wave was repulsed by the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment, and the next wave quickly rushed up again, like a continuous tide, one wave after another. Before the wave broke out again, the charging Japanese troops seemed to be crazy. They rushed up with red eyes desperately, completely ignoring the piles of corpses on the ground.

Not long after, there were more than 40 corpses of dead Japanese soldiers on the position of the First Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Teaching Corps. However, this did not weaken the momentum and resilience of the Japanese infantry in charging forward. Some Japanese infantry even began to use the corpses on the ground. As a cover, use it as a shooting bunker to advance step by step.

Boom
Several 70mm Type 92 infantry artillery shells and 75mm Type 41 mountain artillery shells also fell on the position of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Teaching Corps. In order to achieve a breakthrough as soon as possible, the attacking Japanese infantry brigade was directly affiliated with the infantry artillery squad. The reinforced artillery of the regiment completely ignored the risk of accidental damage and fired directly at the front of the position of the 5th Regiment and 1st Battalion, and frantically used shrapnel to kill the infantry.

As shrapnel shells of 70mm and 75mm exploded at the seams between the attacking Japanese infantry and the teaching corps positions, officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Teaching Corps in the positions were constantly hit by prefabricated steel balls flying all over the sky. Hit, casualties increased linearly.

Of course, some Japanese soldiers fell to shrapnel fired by their own artillery.

While the attacking Japanese infantry received artillery support, the shooting accuracy of grenade launchers was also constantly improving. Rounds of 50mm grenades were also fired by Japanese grenade launchers who took the risk to shoot, and continued to hit them. Entering the position of the teaching corps, several grenades accurately hit the first battalion's light machine gun shooting position, destroying several of the first battalion's Czech light machine guns.

In the most intense part of the battle, the Japanese officers and soldiers who were crawling under cover of corpses had reached a position 20 meters away from the first battalion position under the cover of artillery fire. The officers and soldiers of the teaching corps in the position also opened fire to resist with all their might. Firearms were fired desperately, and the two sides even yelled and threw grenades at each other.

Various dense rains of bullets crisscrossed each other on the ground, and Gong-made long-handled grenades and Japanese-made Type 91 grenades flew across the sky. Amidst the rumbling explosions, officers and soldiers from both sides fell down every moment. Every moment, more officers and soldiers from both sides rushed forward to make up for their loss, and the battle became increasingly intense.

The balance of the battle began to tilt towards the Japanese army at this time. Although the officers and soldiers of the first battalion tried their best to resist the Japanese army with various firearms in their hands, the battalion's mortar platoon and the two 75mm guns assigned to the first battalion The infantry artillery fired at the maximum rate of fire, but in the face of a complete Japanese infantry brigade that had gradually adjusted, the combat firepower of the first battalion of the fifth regiment of the teaching corps was still insufficient.

An infantry brigade of the Japanese army only has less light machine guns than the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Teaching Corps. The remaining firepower is actually more powerful than the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment. Although the performance of the Type 92 infantry artillery directly under the brigade is not as good as that of the 5th Regiment and 1st Battalion. The regiment's reinforced German-made 75mm infantry gun was attached, but in such a close combat situation, the performance gap of the artillery was not reflected at all.

More importantly, the attacking Japanese infantry brigade also received direct mountain artillery support from the artillery squadron directly under the wing, and each infantry squadron was equipped with six Type 89 50mm grenades, which were similar to light mortars. The infantry company platoon accompanying the artillery fire played a great role in the current close combat.

As the smoke gradually dissipated and the Japanese army gradually advanced, the shooting speed and hit rate of the Japanese grenade launchers skyrocketed. The light machine guns of the first battalion were constantly hit by the Japanese grenade launchers. Even the best-equipped troops were not equipped with the corresponding type of company-platoon-level light accompanying mortars.

Therefore, the first battalion, which was continuously bombarded by grenade launchers, was unable to come up with corresponding countermeasures and could only struggle to support itself under the fierce bombardment of Japanese grenade launchers.

The madness of the Kunisaki detachment, a group of fishermen from Hiroshima, is unimaginable. This offensive infantry brigade of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment of the Training Corps, following the infantry's frenzied tidal attack and risky shooting of the brigade's artillery and wing's artillery, , once again used more crazy tricks. During the melee between the two sides, the Japanese captain who directed the attack made a request for fire support to the rear artillery of the Kunisaki detachment.

As a result, the two mountain artillery brigades of the Kunisaki detachment that had ceased fire for a long time opened fire again. The twenty-four Type 94 75mm mountain cannons used the smoke in front of the position as a mark and extended fire to the rear of the position of the fifth regiment of the teaching corps. Taking the front section of the smoke as the target starting area, a round of echelon deep extension shooting was carried out that cost more than 200 shells.

In this round of shelling, the rear of the entire fifth regiment's position of the teaching corps was shrouded in dense bombs and thick smoke, while the first battalion's position also received more than a dozen near-misses, and another Many officers and soldiers of the first battalion of the teaching corps and some Japanese soldiers who were charging forward were annihilated in the artillery fire.

In the command post of the first battalion, Zheng Huiran, commander of the first battalion of the fifth regiment, looked at the gradually advancing Japanese troops and his gradually weakening subordinates. He knew that the battle was no longer something that his battalion could handle alone, so he immediately called the regiment for help. In the regimental command post of Chang Ma Weilong.

Facing the Japanese troops who were already stuck with the first battalion's position, Ma Weilong was helpless. The smoke released by the Japanese troops in front of the position had not dispersed yet. The two sides were fighting each other in close combat in the smoke.

When it comes to troop strength, Ma Weilong has no reserves in his hands, and the defense areas of the other two battalions are also very wide. It is impossible for him to deploy the troops of the other two battalions to reinforce the first battalion.

As for firepower, he did not have decent firepower to support the first battalion. For the Japanese troops fighting in close combat with the first battalion, the only effective firepower was a large amount of area-killing artillery fire. The 37mm tanks directly under the regiment Defensive guns and twenty-millimeter machine guns simply do not have this combat effect.

The only two infantry cannons left in the infantry artillery battery in his hands could play such a role, but how could two infantry cannons directly repel the attack of a brigade of nearly a thousand Japanese troops?
The only thing that might be able to play a role is the artillery battalion directly under the corps. But no matter what kind of artillery fire, facing a position filled with smoke and melee, once it is fired, it will inevitably cause accidental damage. Using artillery support is actually The next best choice, even if you fire, you will kill one thousand enemies and suffer eight hundred losses.

The only feasible option is to ask for help from the corps and ask the corps to send support troops to reinforce the first battalion's position.

Therefore, Ma Weilong made a call for help to Qiu Qingquan, the chief of staff of the teaching corps who was temporarily taking command.

　Happy holidays to all book lovers!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)