Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1431 Interlocking

If his memory served him correctly, Kawashima Gojiro knew that Major Sano was now protected by only a small team of 15 people.

  Damn it, the Chinese actually dared to sneak out of their positions and launch a surprise attack on the battalion headquarters!

If they succeeded in their sneak attack and killed Major Sano, then the battle would be a failure for the entire infantry battalion, regardless of whether they captured the Chinese high ground or not. When Lieutenant Kawashima Gojiro realized this, he felt cold all over.

"Everyone return to support the battalion headquarters!" Kawashima Gojiro's heart-wrenching roar resounded throughout the battlefield.

Under the leadership of this Japanese lieutenant, many Japanese soldiers stood up and ran backwards, regardless of the bullets flying overhead. In order to increase their speed, many Japanese infantrymen even rolled their bodies on the hillside.

"Want to run? That's not that easy!" Boss Cao's one eye was full of sneer, and he took the walkie-talkie: "Platoon Leader Feng, launch a saturation bombardment of the front 13 to 100 meters of our Hill No. 300!"

"No problem, but Deputy Platoon Leader Cao, the ammunition quota is limited. I can only provide 36 shells to your No. 13 Hill!" The platoon leader of the heavy mortar platoon, whose face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, answered seriously while holding the walkie-talkie.

"That's enough. As long as we can hold these little Japanese devils on the position for a few minutes, we have plenty of ways to kill them!" Boss Cao, who asked for heavy firepower support from the heavy platoon for the first time, was already very satisfied with the firepower support of 36 artillery shells.

After all, there are 15 high grounds in the entire battalion!

除了重迫排的4门150迫击炮参与了对13号高地前沿的炮击，13号高地本身拥有的3门迫击炮也加入其中，另外一直重点关注着这边的李大营长也大手一挥，命令营炮兵连所属的3门80毫米榴迫炮抽出一门对13号高地前沿进行火力覆盖。

There were a total of 8 artillery pieces, which blew up the entire small hillside with smoke and flying shrapnel. Even if you buried your face in the ground, you might be torn into pieces by the gusts of air and shrapnel, let alone dare to move on the position.

That is, the front of the position was blasted by Type 150 mountain artillery, leaving dozens of craters of varying sizes, which could barely provide a place for the Japanese infantry to hide. Otherwise, there would be no way to hide. With more than shells of various sizes hitting the front, more than % of the more than Japanese soldiers were killed.

Even so, more than 5 Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded in the shelling that lasted more than 40 minutes. Lieutenant Gojiro Kawashima, the acting squadron leader who led nearly 3 infantry squads, was directly turned into a high-end version of an infantry squad leader.

Kawashima Gojiro, who was curled up in the bomb crater like a shrimp, holding his head, had a look of sadness in his eyes. This was not only because he knew very well that he was doomed to lose the battle.

Rather, this Chinese army, which he had never encountered on the battlefield, was too terrifying.

Such fierce artillery fire from the Chinese had never appeared before. If this kind of artillery fire was used in a large-scale infantry charge, not to mention 300 people, even 1000 people would be torn to pieces.

But the Chinese just didn't use it. Instead, they waited until their last reserve troops went onto the battlefield before using it.

The terrifying heavy firepower can only mean that they are well-equipped. The most terrifying thing about this Chinese army is their minds.

By this time, the Chinese's tactical intentions were already clear on paper. They were ambitious and wanted not only to kill the imperial officers and soldiers, but also to kill their own commanders as well.

But obviously, so far, they are about to achieve their tactical intentions.

The constant explosion of artillery fire had made Lieutenant Kawashima, who had figured it all out, unable to hear any other sounds. He, who was hiding from the turbulent air waves in a one-meter-deep bomb crater, could not see what was happening at the battalion headquarters hundreds of meters away.

The only thing he could do was to pray, praying that Amaterasu would bless the major and help him escape safely from this stunning attack.

The Japanese Army lieutenant was not the only one to figure this out.

  When a gunshot was heard, the personal guard beside him fell down like a log. The Japanese Army Major, who was knocked down by the guard in the temporary field fortification, finally understood the Chinese tactics - decapitation battle!

However, he did not have as much time as Lieutenant Kawashima to think about how powerful the enemy was. He had to fight for his own survival.

The Japanese Army Major, who had not touched a rifle for more than a year and was only used to the Nambu Type 14 pistol, took the gun of the dead guard and, together with the infantry squad that was guarding him, launched an attack to block the elite Chinese troops who had sneaked into the area.

As long as they can hold on for ten minutes, no, maybe five minutes, the front-line infantry will return and be able to surround and kill these daring Chinese, making them lose more than they gain.

"Boom!" But soon, a grenade accurately blew the Type 96 machine gun and the shooter, which had just fired two rounds of bullets, into pieces all over the ground, and the Japanese Army Major was completely desperate.

The damn Chinese not only had submachine guns with amazing firing rates, raining bullets down on the Imperial infantry who were only armed with Type 200 rifles, forcing them to so badly that they dared not even raise their heads, they even had small grenade launchers that could accurately shoot from meters away.

Judging from the smoke raised by the explosion, that thing is much more powerful than the Imperial grenade launcher.

It must be said that Yoshizo Sano was very knowledgeable. These direct-fire rifle grenades imported from the United States all came from the Taihang Arsenal. The charge was all replaced with cyclone explosive. Although the charge was only 30 grams, because there was space left to load lethal steel balls, the explosive power was two to three times that of ordinary yellow gunpowder.

Temporary field fortifications could not withstand the continuous bombardment of direct-aimed grenades. This was one of the reasons why Boss Cao was confident in carrying out the decapitation operation with a team of 10 people.

  In the face of the continuous rain of bullets, the shooting skills that the Japanese infantry were proud of were simply a joke. If you can't even lift your head, what can you use to practice accurate shooting? Your head?

The harm caused by a weak counterattack is that the opponent will continue to approach. Once the opponent enters the area of ​​40 to 50 meters where bombs can be dropped, it will be the end of you.

This was something that every Japanese soldier with rich battlefield experience understood, but even though they understood it, every colleague who dared to show his head and fight back bravely was either shot into a sieve by the concentrated fire of several submachine guns, or was blown to pieces along with his sandbag fortifications by the terrifying direct-aimed grenade thrower. Who would dare to do such a stupid thing?

Chronic poisons can cause death, but compared to dying immediately, anyone with a bit of common sense would choose the former without hesitation.

Major Yoshizo Sano, who kept shouting at the soldiers to shoot him but hid behind the fortifications, had the same idea.

So, the remaining 9 Japanese soldiers finally met their end 3 minutes later.

Three consecutive rounds of grenades were thrown from forty or fifty meters away, directly turning the poorly defended brigade headquarters into a mess.

After Adong led six soldiers into the area and killed the last resisting Japanese soldier, they finally found the body of Sano Yoshizo, who was wearing a tweed coat and had his stomach ruptured and intestines spilling, behind a sandbag fortification.

Yoshizo Sano did not commit suicide by disembowelment out of despair. The stupid way of committing suicide by stabbing the belly with a knife, which is a Japanese way, would basically take an hour for the person to die. It is far from being as straightforward as the ancient Chinese who cut the carotid artery with a knife and died completely in a few minutes.

Yoshizo Sano was killed by a grenade!

Several shrapnel tore open his belly and severed his arteries. With no one to stop the bleeding, the Japanese Army Major fell into a deep coma in less than a minute.

Because of the need for a quick victory, the 10-man team with full firepower had no intention of showing mercy and taking any prisoners. When no one could prove the authenticity of the guy in the yellow tweed coat, Adong could only use the most traditional Chinese way. He picked up the command knife hanging on the corpse, laid the body out like a fish on a chopping board, chopped off the head in no time, and tied a belt around his waist by passing it through the mandible.

  Isn't the evidence preserved?

Really, when Li Jiujin saw this guy with a head tied around his waist, he was completely confused. What era is it now? Why are they still doing the Qin family's tricks?

But you know what, after killing Sano Yoshizo's group of devils, a part of the Japanese army deployed on both wings by the Japanese Army Major happened to return and had an encounter with 10 Chinese soldiers in the mountains and forests.

Because the number of Japanese soldiers was close to 30, a submachine gunner was unfortunately shot in the chest and died on the spot after a burst of gunfire.

Adong, who had been promoted to corporal, had tears in his eyes at that moment. This sturdy but agile mountain guy rushed out with a submachine gun under the cover of two rifle-grenade fire.

At that time, the distance between the two sides would never exceed 150 meters. At the beginning, the Japanese army did not see clearly what was hanging on the waist of the Chinese man who was approaching like a monkey, tumbling and jumping all the way, and thought it was a large grenade.

  When the distance between the two sides was reduced to 80 meters, several sharp-eyed Japanese soldiers discovered what was hanging on the guy's waist. It turned out to be a human head. The neck that was cut off by a sharp weapon was still dripping with blood. Looking more closely, the burnt yellow face with big gray eyes staring at him could not be that other than Major Sano. Chinese barbarians.

The Japanese soldiers who saw all this were instantly furious.

Putting aside how brutal Adong's behavior was, the key point is that the thing the Japanese feared most on the battlefield in China was being beheaded, which in the customs of the islanders meant that the soul could not return to its hometown.

  Of course, the more important thing is that they came to rescue Major Sano. Now Major Sano's head has become a trophy of the Chinese. Is it worth it for them to fight against such brutal barbarians?

With this thought in mind, the will to fight naturally dropped!

On this side, Adong was so bloodthirsty that he saw that he had failed to kill the Japanese soldiers hiding behind the rocks after several attempts. So Adong simply took out a walkie-talkie to call his deputy platoon leader, reported the coordinates, and requested mortar support.

At this time, the artillery fire that Boss Cao requested to cover the front line of the position had already stopped. Upon hearing Adong's request, he immediately ordered the three mortars on Hill No. 13 to fire according to the coordinates reported by Adong.

This may have been the first time that a single soldier of the 4th Regiment called for squad-level artillery support via walkie-talkie in a field battle, but it was extremely successful.

The more than 9 Japanese soldiers hiding in the mountains and shooting at 20 Chinese soldiers never dreamed that the Chinese would be so awesome. A few small scums could actually get artillery support, and incredibly quickly.

The only thing lacking is perhaps accuracy.

Although during normal training, the Fourth Regiment emphasized that squad and platoon-level officers must be able to know the artillery positioning coordinates in order to seek fire support from the artillery more quickly and accurately, but for some ordinary soldiers, this was not strictly required.

Tang Dao also knew that haste makes waste. These guys, who had just put down their hoes for a few years, had difficulty writing a letter to their families. It was indeed too difficult to ask them to learn how to measure the distance and direction of the artillery after their hard training.

These things can only be done slowly. Between saving life and learning and progressing, anyone with a bit of common sense will know what to choose.

For example, Adong watched helplessly as a series of three shells hit an area less than 3 meters away from him. If they were a little off, he would be killed. He didn't even bother to curse, but shouted into the walkie-talkie: "It's off, it's off, the impact point is 20 meters away from the west!"

After shouting, Adong and a sergeant gunner on the other end of the walkie-talkie wiped their sweat at the same time.

The gunners were so angry because the bastard who was shouting on the walkie-talkie was so stupid that he dared to ask for mortar support without even reporting the correct coordinates. They almost sent their own comrades to heaven with their own hands.

As for Adong, he naturally felt fear and regret. If he had listened to Deputy Platoon Leader Cao and practiced more on the positioning coordinate techniques taught by the mortar operator, he would not have done such a stupid thing that almost killed himself.

I made up my mind that after this battle, I would study hard and make progress every day.

You see, this is the choice of a smart person. No matter how difficult it is to study, is life more important? No wonder it is said that Tang Tuanzuo even jumped into a cesspool to save his life.

Of course, at the post-war summary meeting, Adong, who had already won the second-class military merit, was used as an example by Commander Tang because of his single-handed call for artillery support, but he was a negative example.

If it weren't for the golden second-class battle medal hanging on his chest, Adong would have been too embarrassed to see his acquaintances for a few days.

Fortunately, there was the walkie-talkie, an instant communication tool. After three consecutive rounds of test firing, the shells finally landed where they should.

After several rounds of artillery fire, the remaining Japanese troops lost all their will to fight. They were protected by artillery, so why should they fight against them? If they didn't run away now, when would they?

The 39th Division's first escape did not occur on Hill 13 where the fighting was most intense, but instead occurred in the mountains and forests where both sides had the least troops.

But these dozen Japanese soldiers were also the lucky ones among the nearly 13 Japanese soldiers in front of Hill No. 500. It was precisely because of their cowardice that they did not die, at least here.

And those brave men, especially those who rushed into the front-line trenches more than ten minutes ago, also met their end after their major captain died.

"Grenade! Three rounds, throw!" At the command of Boss Cao, the 3 soldiers still in the second-line trench stood in the trench and threw grenades into the first-line trench diagonally below.

The distance of 40 meters between the two trenches was measured on site before the war. It was not a distance set at random, but a distance that made it difficult to throw a grenade from the bottom up, but very easy to throw from the top down.

Moreover, before the war, under the leadership of Boss Cao, everyone practiced with training bullets of the same weight, and the accuracy was around 70 to 80 percent.

In three rounds, that was 3 grenades thrown, at least 45 of them fell into the trenches, and the front-line trenches were suddenly filled with smoke.

  The Japanese soldiers howled in agony!

Of course, there are also bullet-proof trenches half a meter deep in the front-line trenches. If a grenade is thrown, the soldiers can jump into the bullet-proof trench to save their lives. If they are agile enough, they can most likely survive the attack of such a dense grenade.

  But since Boss Cao dared to give this trench to the Japanese, how could he not have the means to deal with them?

"Incendiary bombs! 3 rounds! Throw!" Following Boss Cao's order, the soldiers lit the fuse of the glass bottles in their hands.

He stood up straight and slammed hard towards the first line of trenches below.

Grenades were not only an appetizer for the Japanese, but also a way to suppress them and prevent them from hiding and shooting at the second-line trenches. This allowed the Chinese officers and soldiers in the second-line trenches to feel at ease and boldly throw the terrifying Molotov cocktails into the trenches.

The reason why even a tough guy like Boss Cao felt terrified was that they had all seen with their own eyes the power of the glass bottle filled with yellowish-brown turbid liquid exploding.

A stone as tall as a person was hit by such a thing. No matter how much water was poured on it or branches were used to put out the fire, the fire did not subside. Everyone was busy for 3 minutes and the whole stone burned for a full 3 minutes until the fuel was completely exhausted. When we looked again, we found that the granite that did not even leave much trace of the bullet was actually burned and cracked.

If this splashed onto a person, it would burn their bones!

Therefore, the infantrymen of the Fourth Regiment would rather deal with explosives and bombs than easily touch the Molotov cocktails that were said to be developed by the regiment commander himself.

However, the Japanese were huddled in such trenches, and throwing dozens of Molotov cocktails at them was the best option. Even if they were not burned to death, they would at least be choked to death. No one knew what was added to them, but it would emit a pungent stench that made it hard to breathe. It would be even worse if they covered their noses with clothes, and even breathing would become difficult.

That is the concept of future thermobaric bombs quoted by Tang Dao. It uses intense combustion to consume a large amount of oxygen. The pungent smell emitted is a small amount of ammonia water, which can not only help combustion but also burn the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes of respiratory organs. If people inhale too much, it can cause lung swelling and even death.

Of course, if you want to get this treatment, you must first avoid the flying sparks of death.

Obviously, in a semi-enclosed space like a trench, not many Japanese infantrymen could receive this treatment.

Five minutes later, when Boss Cao led his men into the trench, a familiar smell of meat wafted into his nose, almost making him fall over.

It felt like walking into a delicatessen!

(End of this chapter)