The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 264 Heavy Attack
"Reporting to your Excellency, the regimental commander, the 38th friendly infantry regiment sent a signal and is ready for battle. The light armored vehicle squadron in front is making final preparations and will be ready for battle soon!"

"The two mountain artillery brigades serving as cover in the rear have also begun to move closer to us!"

On the position of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army's Kunisaki Detachment, Yamada Tetsujiro, the captain of the 41st Infantry Regiment, stared closely at the front of the Chinese Army's 48th Infantry Regiment with his eyes covered with red bloodshot eyes. In the division's position, he quietly listened to the report of the wing adjutant behind him who was also tired.

In order to achieve a breakthrough as soon as possible on the 48th Division's position, Sasaki Toichi and Kunisaki Noboru agreed to adopt the tactic of concentrating their forces on a single breakthrough.

The so-called concentration of troops means concentrating all available troops and assault forces in military science. Therefore, the 38th Infantry Regiment of the Sasaki Detachment and the 41st Infantry Regiment of the Kunisaki Detachment totaled five field infantrymen. The troops of the brigade came out in full force, lurked overnight and rushed to the front of the 48th Division's position, and spent one night building simple concealment fortifications.

The five infantry brigades lurked all night in the cold winter night and lined up in preparation for the attack.

Yamada Tetsujiro said with a ferocious expression: "Tell the tank troops to prepare as soon as possible and order the wing artillery squadron and rapid-fire artillery squadron to follow the first-line assault infantry and provide as much cover as possible for the first-line infantry. , tell all the officers and soldiers of this regiment that the time has come to avenge Yu Sui’s warriors and Yu Sui’s comrades, we must capture the Chinese army’s positions and kill them all!”

Yamada Tetsujiro's ferocious face was full of fierceness. The tragic scene of an infantry brigade under his command being wiped out by the teaching corps was still vivid in his mind. Now, all he could think about was revenge.

The two infantry brigades of the 41st Infantry Regiment and the three infantry brigades of the 38th Infantry Regiment were already ready for battle. In front of Yamada Tetsujiro's 41st Infantry Regiment, came from the Sasaki detachment. Seventeen Type 94 light armored vehicles of the Eighth Independent Light Armored Vehicle Squadron have been lined up in a horizontal line.

The engines of seventeen armored vehicles painted in yellow and green camouflage colors roared, and the engines spewed out clouds of black smoke.

These seventeen Type 94 light armored vehicles with small appearance and weak firepower are the main equipment of the independent light armored vehicle squadrons currently assigned to each division of the Japanese army. The predecessors of the independent light armored vehicle squadrons were the light armored vehicle training centers of the Japanese army, equipped with They are also Type 94 light armored vehicles.

This type of armored vehicles is generally assigned to division-level tactical units in the form of independent light armored vehicle squadrons during wartime, performing tasks such as assault fire reconnaissance and assisting infantry breakthroughs.

Many Japanese field divisions are assigned a light armored vehicle squadron, and the 8th independent light armored vehicle squadron in front of the 41st Infantry Regiment was assigned to the armored vehicle squadron of the 16th Division, and was later assigned to the 10th Infantry Regiment. The Sixth Division was assigned to the Sasaki detachment.

The crews of the seventeen light armored vehicles completed the final pre-war preparations around the armored vehicles, and got into the body of the Type 94 light armored vehicle one after another. The commanding lieutenant squadron leader stood on his car and asked the people behind. The 41st Infantry Regiment waved the red command hand flag.

Then, two red flares flew over the 38th Infantry Regiment, which was advancing hand in hand with the 41st Regiment.

"Report to the commander, the armored vehicle unit and the friendly 38th Regiment have sent signals and are ready to attack!"

The staff officer reported to Tetsujiro Yamada.

"Send the red flare, all units, start attacking!"

Yamada Tetsujiro roared.

Immediately afterwards, two red flares echoing the 38th Infantry Regiment and the armored vehicle unit also passed over the 41st Infantry Regiment. Seventeen Type 94 light armored vehicles slowly drove away, and behind the tanks In the rear, Japanese infantrymen from five infantry brigades also got out of the trenches. A heavy assault group of more than 4,000 people used armored vehicles as a cover to lead and pounced on the 48th Division's position.

In the position of the 48th Division, the shocked officers and soldiers of the 48th Division were barely ready for battle. Most of the soldiers stood in the ditch with their weapons in hand, staring nervously at the front of the position.

During the shelling, the front of the 48th Division's position was also heavily bombarded. Although the 48th Division did not lay various obstacles such as deer villages and barbed wire in front of the position as required for offensive and defensive operations in field positions, However, the Japanese artillery, which had no shortage of artillery shells, still strictly carried out the artillery bombardment, blasting the front of the 48th Division's position into craters, filled with flames and craters.

In the center of the 48th Division's position, the officers and soldiers of the 144th Brigade of the 48th Division nervously observed the situation in front of the position. The black smoke generated by the shelling was blown along the cold wind to the position of the 144th Brigade.

Suddenly, there was a strange noise from the front of the position. The unusual noise was not the rapid rushing footsteps of the Japanese infantry, but bursts of clanging and rubbing sounds of steel intersecting. The strange sounds were blown away by the cold wind. Thick black smoke reached the position of the 144th Brigade.

Many recruits of the 144th Brigade were trembling with fright at the distorted sound they had never heard before. The towering smoke pillars and firelight in front of the position also blocked the observation sight of the officers and soldiers of the 48th Division on the position. , the fierce sound of steel friction and the towering smoke pillars and firelight were superimposed, making the recruits on the position feel extremely panicked.

And as time passed by, the strange sound got closer and closer.

Then, I don’t know what happened, but gunfire suddenly rang out from the position.

砰

砰

砰

Da da da

Taking the sound of several Hanyang-made rifles as a clue, guns suddenly rang out from the position of the 144th Brigade, first rifles, then light machine guns, and finally, even the heavy machine guns in the bunker firing fortifications also opened fire. , streaks of irregular and scattered firepower sprayed out from the position of the 144th Brigade, passing through the smoke column in front of the position, shooting in all directions.

In the brigade command post of the 144th Brigade, brigade commander Guo Hua, who was nervously observing the enemy's situation, heard a sudden gunshot from his position. He immediately called and sent messengers to ask his subordinate regiments what happened.

The report he received made him furious. It turned out that some recruits on the position were too panicked and dared to shoot without orders. This finally caused a chain reaction in various positions. Some soldiers who mastered automatic firepower such as light and heavy machine guns The veteran also thought that the Japanese army had launched an attack and opened fire. In the end, he came and beat the enemy indiscriminately without seeing them.

Guo Hua, who was almost furious, quickly ordered the troops to stop shooting, thus ending the farce caused by indiscriminate shooting.

Soon, silence returned to the position once again, and the strange noises in front of the position became louder and louder. Brigadier Guo Hua also raised his telescope again and nervously observed the movements in front of the position, and just at the 144th Brigade Not long after the chaotic firing state of the position ended, several strong winds blew through, blowing away the remaining thick smoke in front of the position.

As the smoke dissipated, brigade commander Guo Hua's telescope showed a row of yellow and green Japanese tanks rapidly advancing in front of the position, and behind the tanks, they formed a dense formation to launch a group charge. Japanese infantry. "It's a chariot!"

"What it is?"

"Monitor, what is that?"

"The devil's iron bastard is here, it's the iron bastard, hurry up and fire!"

Before Guo Hua could give the battle order, the 144th Brigade's position exploded. Many recruits saw the Japanese tanks speeding in front of the position, and their minds and emotions were dominated by the panic they had just suppressed.

This time, there was no need for anyone to take the lead. Seeing the Japanese tanks charging fiercely, all the recruits in the entire position pulled the triggers. Hundreds of Hanyang-made rifles began to crackle and fight, facing the Japanese tanks. , the helpless recruits could do nothing, and the only response was to shoot randomly with the rifles in their hands.

bang bang

bang bang

The rifles rang, the Czech light machine guns rang, and the Type 24 heavy machine guns also rang. Facing the rushing Japanese tanks and the densely packed infantry behind the tanks, the veterans and officers of the 48th Division also Fire was selected by default, and regardless of whether the Japanese tanks and infantry entered the effective range, all the firearms on the position that could fire began to spit out tongues of fire.

Except for some of the officers and veterans of the 17th Division who were old Fengjun soldiers who had seen the French-made Renault FT tanks of the Fengjun troops, most of the rest had never seen armored vehicles or tanks. The Iron Bastards were really in a panic. Like the new soldiers, they could only direct the firepower of their men to fire forward as much as possible, trying to resist the Japanese tanks in this way.

"Onboard!"

Facing the indiscriminate firepower of the 48th Division, the Japanese infantry and equipment coordinated attack queues still rushed forward in an orderly manner. Behind the seventeen Type 94 light armored vehicles, thousands of them formed a dense formation. The Japanese infantry shouted and charged forward crazily, but the resisting firepower of the 48th Division did not delay their rapid advance.

Although the concentrated firing of the 48th Division knocked down some of the attacking Japanese infantry, the damage caused to the Japanese assault queue, which had a total strength of several thousand people, was almost negligible.

The intensive resistance firepower of the 48th Division does not seem weak, but most of the recruits of the 48th Division simply fire their guns randomly without aiming when shooting. The bullets are not accurate, and some bullets even shoot into the sky. Beating has no practical effect at all except listening to the noise to encourage you.

Soon, the seventeen Type 94 light armored vehicles that were impacting the front rushed to a place one kilometer away from the 48th Division's position. Immediately afterwards, the turrets of the seventeen Type 94 light armored vehicles sprayed out one after another. There were streams of dark red fire, and the Taisho 11-year-old vehicle-mounted 6.5mm machine guns mounted on seventeen turrets poured fierce firepower on the 48th Division's position.

Da da da

Da da da

Da da da

A string of 6.5mm bullets hit the 48th Division's position. The firepower of the Japanese Type 94 light armored vehicle was also very weak. Its only main firepower was the Taisho 11-year-old type mounted on the turret. The light machine gun, which is the vehicle-mounted version of the crooked light machine gun used by the Japanese infantry, is definitely not powerful in terms of firepower.

But for the officers and soldiers of the 48th Division, most of whom had never seen a tank, the psychological pressure caused was extremely great.

The sound of gunfire, artillery, and shouts of killing resounded in front of the 48th position.

The 144th Brigade of the 48th Division was in the center of the defense line and bore the brunt of the attack by the Japanese infantry-armored coordinated attack column. Guo Hua, commander of the 144th Brigade in the command post, looked as if he was in an uninhabited land. , the Japanese tank was getting closer and closer, and he was anxious, but he had no available means to counter the tank.

Unlike his old and rough grassroots officers, who were mostly from the Zhili Allied Army, warlords and even bandits, Guo Hua had gone to the higher education class of the Central Military Academy to receive modern military education.

He knew that to deal with tanks, the defense method relied on anti-tank fortifications and trenches, while the attack method was the 37mm anti-tank cannon, followed by the steel-core armor-piercing projectiles equipped with light and heavy machine guns.

Unfortunately, the 48th Division is not equipped with tank defense guns at all. Even the 82mm mortars were lost in several battles in Jinling. Now the only anti-tank forces Guo Hua can use are light and heavy. Armor-piercing bullets from machine guns, and the least valuable and most abundant thing in the 48th Division right now - human life.

"Come here, tell them to organize my people to prepare grenades quickly, go up and destroy the Japanese tanks. Don't let those tanks rush in. I will also shoot the light machine guns and heavy machine guns. I must block them."

Guo Hua, commander of the 144th Brigade, shouted anxiously at the phone leading to his two infantry regiments.

On the precarious and shaky 144th Brigade position, before Guo Hua's order could be conveyed to the subordinate battalions and companies, some veterans and officers took the initiative to stand up and began to organize death squads.

Boxes of Gong-made long-handled grenades were opened and gathered together to form cluster grenades in groups of three to five.

Under the advice of some veterans who were from the Zhili Allied Forces and participated in the Fengjun's entry into the Customs, a large number of shell guns and speed machines were also gathered.

During the Battle of Nankou between Fengjun and the National Army of Christian General Feng Yuxiang, the Nationalist Army used shotguns and pistols similar to shotguns to shoot at the shooting holes of Fengjun's tanks at close range. The driver's observation window successfully prevented the Fengjun tank troops from attacking.

Many Fengjun veterans were also deeply impressed by this.

Soon, several demolition death squads equipped with cluster grenades, shell guns, and fast and slow machine pistols were waiting in the position of the 144th Brigade.

(End of this chapter)