The Beacon of Laiyang Metal

Chapter 43 Artillery Battle
  "Follow the training, dig the trench in a Z-shape, and then dig it deeper. This is to save your life!"

After watching Jiang Hongchun and the corpses of the fallen soldiers being carried onto the truck, escorted by two soldiers, and heading towards the county seat at the rear, Yang Erwa began to direct his squad leaders to build new fortifications.

On the basis of the original machine gun fortifications and foxholes, they rebuilt trenches and anti-gun holes for shooting. In order to avoid being hit by direct artillery, the anti-gun holes were placed on the reverse slope of the hillside.

When encountering shelling, you only need to leave one or two observation posts to avoid excessive casualties caused by shelling.

At the same time, all the trees in front of the shooting boundary were cut down and dragged to the mountain for reinforcement. The grass was directly poured with gasoline and set on fire. After getting busy, the originally lush green plants in front of the hillside had now become It had to be so bare that it would be impossible for the Japanese to approach covertly.

"Have the heavy machine guns and mortars been placed? How many times have I told you, if possible, build a ceiling for the heavy machine gun fortification. The grenade launcher of the little devil is not a vegetarian. If a grenade is fired, your entire machine gun team will be destroyed."

When he saw the little Japanese scout riding a three-wheeled motorcycle in the telescope and hurried back like a frightened rabbit, Yang Erwa, who had always been known for his stability, felt a little sad. Very impatient, he checked the defense line over and over again on the position.

"Platoon commander, the company commander is here!"

Yu Shaohu, commander of the 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion, was one of the few veterans in the security brigade who had fought several major battles. He participated in the war against Yuan, the war to protect the Dharma, and the Zhifeng war. He fought hundreds of battles, large and small, and finally was no longer able to survive. A platoon leader, because he had no money to respect his superior, was kicked off before his butt was even warmed up and became a leader again.

In anger, he followed fellow Shandong fellows to travel to Guandong to seek life. Apart from fighting, he almost starved to death on the streets with no skills. Fortunately, he caught up with the recruitment of soldiers for the security regiment. He showed his hand in front of the entire regiment of officers and soldiers for the first time in live ammunition shooting. Wei Yuan was overjoyed when he knocked off a cigarette butt 300 meters away, and immediately decided to be promoted to platoon leader. Later, he was promoted to his current position of company commander during several bandit suppression operations.

"How is the position being constructed? Have the reinforcements from the little devil arrived?"

After receiving the order, Yu Shaohu rushed to the scene without stopping. He hurriedly inspected a row of fortifications and the surrounding environment of the battlefield. When he saw the railway bridge, he almost thought he was a soldier, and a thought suddenly came into his mind. idea:
  "The order issued by the superior officer is to block this railway and not allow a train or a Japanese soldier to pass through. They simply blow up the railway bridge and destroy it. Even if the Japanese don't have any interference to repair it, it will take several months to repair it."

Just do what you say: "The second platoon leader called your people, took out a few of the explosive bags we pulled over, and waited for the Japanese train to come..."

Kuroda Haruhiko was one of the squad leaders who was ordered to reinforce this time. Because he was a lieutenant, he temporarily took command of the remaining two squads. However, before he could reach the railway bridge, he was reported by the Japanese soldiers in charge of reconnaissance ahead that they had discovered something in the front. There are traces of battles and destroyed Imperial Army vehicles.

I was immediately shocked. It was only when I saw the blazing military vehicles through the telescope and the corpses of the Imperial Army everywhere on the ground that I realized that the squadron leader Oura Kazuki who had set off earlier and the entire team led by him were probably All have been annihilated.

This made Kuroda Haruhiko very scared. He didn't understand who could wipe out an entire squad of the Imperial Army in just a few hours.

At the same time, I felt a little more excited in my heart. With my lieutenant rank and qualifications, I was already able to command a team of the size of an Imperial Army squadron. The reason why I still stayed in the position of squad leader was because squadron leader Kazuki Oura had been waiting for a while. Without promotion, I have no way to go further. With the blessing of Amaterasu, my opportunity has finally come...
  Of course, this strange thought can only be thought about in Kuroda Haruhiko's mind. On the surface, he still looked serious and said to another team leader standing next to him:
  "Captain Oura and his team are likely to be completely destroyed due to the attack. They need to report to the Dandong headquarters immediately and request tactical guidance."

In addition, after the enemy armed attack, instead of evacuating, they also built positions along the "Qingshangou" railway. It is necessary to confirm the number and number of enemies as soon as possible and find opportunities to annihilate them."

Two Japanese squads of about 100 Japanese soldiers immediately started moving after receiving the order. They also began to build civil fortifications, as well as machine gun and artillery positions about 800 meters away from the Ninth Company position. At this time, the initial reinforcements of both sides were basically They are all about a hundred people in size, and their strength is roughly the same.

After all preparations were made, a reply from the Dandong headquarters arrived, instructing them to confirm the identity and quantity of the enemy's armed forces. If there was an opportunity, they could launch an attack first to annihilate them. Reinforcements from Dandong had also begun to assemble and would take trains along the "Anfeng" Railway” went to support.

After receiving a call back from the headquarters, Kuroda Haruhiko first dispatched a wheeled armored vehicle to perform fire reconnaissance. This armored vehicle was an Austin wheeled armored vehicle model, equipped with two three-year-old heavy machine guns, and an Austin Ding gasoline engine 50 horsepower engine, vehicle armor thickness 8 mm.

With such a gadget, if it were encountered by other Chinese armies that lacked artillery and other heavy weapons, they would basically face a situation that would collapse at a stroke.

It's possible that it's not unusual for an armored vehicle to chase a regiment and fight. There's nothing we can do about it. Who makes our country's industrial base weak? It's not uncommon for us to be beaten if we fall behind.

Since the wheeled track armored vehicle on the railway was destroyed, a large number of bullet holes were found in the back of the direction of the Japs. The Japs currently do not know how the armored vehicle on the railway was destroyed.

Judging from the distortion of the car door and body through a telescope, it was most likely caused by the enemy using explosives at close range for a sneak attack.

Therefore, this Austin armored vehicle sent on a reconnaissance mission did not take the Chinese army that had built fortifications and tight defenses seriously.

At this moment, it was swaying in a straight line, heading straight towards the position constructed ahead, rotating the machine gun tower as it walked, and firing a row of bullets towards the suspicious location ahead.

At this time, Yang Erwa and company commander Yu Shaohu each held a pair of binoculars and were lying behind the trench, observing the movements of this armored vehicle that looked very defiant.

"Company Commander, do you want to fight or not?"

In addition to the two mortars brought by Yang Erwa, company commander Yu Shaohu also brought six mortars and two M6 1mm howitzers. At this time, they had all been deployed in the artillery positions built in advance behind the mountain. At this time, only a phone call is needed, and the rear artillery will fire the artillery shells into the shooting points marked in advance.

For this armored vehicle with a thickness of only 8 mm, let alone being hit directly, it may not be able to defend itself against shell fragments even if a shell explodes close to it at close range.

Yu Shaohu said very calmly:
  "Don't worry, wait until it gets closer, wait until it's three hundred meters away, and use the heavy machine gun to hit it. Now that it's here, don't even think about going back. Although we don't lack shells, we can't waste them."

As the roar of the engine got louder and louder, the distance got closer and closer, 300 meters, meters, meters, and finally we reached an inconspicuous stone marking the -meter distance.

"fire"

"Almost at the same time that Yang Erwa gave the order, the heavy machine gunner who had been prepared beside him immediately started shooting.      "Dong dong dong..."

The 12.7 mm large-caliber armor-piercing projectile immediately exerted its due power. For an armored vehicle with only 8 mm of front armor, it was like paper in front of it.

With more than a dozen fist-sized bullet holes in the front armor, the Japanese armored car swerved forward for more than ten meters as if it was drunk and then disappeared.

"Nani?"

Kuroda Haruhiko, who was paying close attention to the investigation situation from the rear position, was so shocked that his jaw dropped.

"When did the Chinese have such powerful anti-armor weapons? They are trash, those trash from the intelligence agency, why haven't they discovered such important information? They are trying to kill the precious lives of the imperial army!"

"Kuroda-kun, what should we do now?" asked another team leader on the side;
  Haruhiko Kuroda was so angry that he threw the white gloves in his hands to the ground: "Fire a gun? Knock out the machine gun of the man on the opposite side, and then send out scouts to continue the investigation."

boom-

A shell landed in front of the firing machine gun fortification. Gravel and sand were scattered everywhere, and a rising stream of gunpowder smoke continued to fall, hitting people painfully.

Then the second shell fell, this time directly hitting the machine gun fortification that was still firing two minutes ago. After a "bang", the machine gun fortification originally made of sandbags and logs disappeared in an instant.

The Japanese's two Type 2 infantry cannons began a non-stop bombardment, and clouds of gunpowder smoke rose from the position. The M heavy machine gun that had just finished shooting had already been hit by two rifles before the Japanese opened fire. One soldier carried the gun rack, and another soldier carried the ammunition box. The machine gun team moved to another backup machine gun position.

The reconnaissance team composed of more than a dozen Japanese soldiers also began to use the cover of artillery and all the obstructions they could find on the battlefield to move forward clumsily and quickly.

After advancing to a certain suitable position, prepare to start testing the enemy's fire points, and then the rear commander will decide whether to wait for them to withdraw and carry out fire strikes, or directly convert the reconnaissance mission into a close attack.

This is also a tactic often used by the Japanese army against the Chinese army that lacks heavy weapons on the battlefield against China.

As for later TV dramas, the Japanese army lines up to charge, waiting for the Chinese army to kill them one by one. Everyone greets the director for me...
  The tactic of lining up to charge is called the "Pig Charge". The generation of "Pig Charge" Nozori Nogi became famous for this. It was commonly used by the Japanese army during World War I, and was often used at critical moments in the battle. After all, anyone who has been trained for a few years can Soldiers who have more than ten years of service are valuable assets of this country and will not be wasted in vain.

"Hahaha, it seems that what the brigade commander said is right. The little devil knows these three axes. After the artillery bombards the infantry, rush forward. After the infantry rushes, the artillery bombards."

Yu Shaohu hid in the trench, observing the battle situation through the artillery periscope, and sighed;

Seeing that the infantry of the Japs advanced to the forward position at the foot of the mountain and stopped still a hundred or ten meters away, across the railway line in the middle, they began to shoot exploratory shots to pretend to attack.

Yu Shaohu knew that the opportunity had come. The little devil was testing his firepower arrangement, and he was also testing the little devil's firepower arrangement.

He picked up the magnet phone that had been arranged in the trench in advance:
  "Artillery, follow the coordinates set in advance and shoot the hell at the squad leader's artillery position. If you dare to miss, you artillery squad will push your cannon for five kilometers."

"Yes, if we miss, the whole class will push the artillery and run five kilometers!" After hanging up the phone, the entire artillery position in the rear began to move.

"Get ready, let go!"

"Dong dong dong...boom...boom..."

Within two minutes, eight mortars and two 8mm infantry guns poured no less than 75 rounds of artillery shells onto the Japanese artillery position opposite.

In an instant, the Japanese artillery position was like a volcanic eruption. The rumbling explosions suddenly started, again and again, one after another. The smoke formed after the explosion of a large number of artillery shells shrouded the entire Japanese artillery position, even if it was observed with a special artillery periscope. Yu Shaohu could not clearly see the situation of the Japanese artillery in the explosion.

Finally, the explosion stopped, the smoke dissipated, and the Japanese artillery no longer made any movement. Even the dozen or so Japanese soldiers hiding a hundred meters away used the cover of obstacles and crawled back in an attempt to escape from both sides. The middle area of ​​the battle.

"Want to run?"

Seeing these dozen Japs trying to escape, Yu Shaohu picked up the magnet phone at his feet:
  "The fight was good just now. You don't have to push the artillery for five kilometers. There is still a small group of Japanese troops 100 meters away from the forward position. After killing them, I will go back and treat your artillery squad to a drink..."

"Chirp..."

A dozen Japanese soldiers who had yet to leave the battlefield were accurately hit by the ensuing mortar shells, one after another. The smoke from the previous explosion had just risen, and the next shell followed. According to the front The real-time coordinates given by the position continue to extend the attack distance backwards.

Until more than a dozen Japanese soldiers were all shrouded in the smoke of the explosion, and some were thrown up high by the shock wave of the explosion like broken dolls, and then fell down, the position also entered a brief silence.

(End of this chapter)