The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 266 Rush for help!

The sound of gunfire, artillery, and shouts of kill resounded through the front line positions of the 48th Division.

The five Japanese infantry brigades and a dozen Japanese Type 94 light armored vehicles disrupted the positions of the 144th Brigade of the 48th Division. The Japanese armored vehicles as the vanguard relied on their own maneuvering speed advantage to run rampant.

The Japanese infantry of five brigades, after more than ten minutes of melee, also relied on their superior firepower, physical strength and stabbing skills to successfully capture the first-line position of the 144th Brigade.

In this melee, the two infantry regiments of the 144th Brigade, which fought in close combat with the Japanese army, lost almost half of their strength. After completely seizing the first-line position, the five infantry brigades of the Japanese army once again adjusted their offensive teams. shape.

The five brigades broke away from the close-range melee. The commanders of the five infantry brigades gave up the latest skirmish group attack tactics and instead chose the old skirmish line attack tactics.

Following the battle commands from the Japanese sergeant and squad leader, the five Japanese brigades formed horizontal skirmish lines in squad units. The five infantry brigades lined up in a line, forming dozens of densely packed skirmishers. Line team.

This old tactic, which had been eliminated by various light and heavy machine guns during World War I due to the addition of various advanced science and technology, is far more advanced than the most advanced skirmish attack tactics at this moment. Easy to use.

Because, for the officers and soldiers of the 144th Brigade who lacked training and organizational capabilities, this backward, but extremely disciplined, and oppressive skirmish line tactic was better than disorderly close combat and melee. Even more terrifying.

The intention of these five Japanese brigades was to completely defeat the Chinese officers and soldiers of the 144th Brigade from the front with strict discipline, excellent quality and excellent close combat tactics.

Just yesterday, in this position, the Japanese raiding force easily captured the position of the 48th Division using only a reinforced squad, and once caused a massive attack on at least one brigade of the 48th Division. A massive rout.

This matter had long been spread among the Japanese attacking troops before today's attack. In the opinion of many Japanese officers on the ground, large-scale scattered skirmishing tactics were used to deal with this Chinese army with such low combat effectiveness. , is undoubtedly a waste of military resources and soldiers' physical strength.

On the contrary, the backward skirmish line assault tactics are more suitable for dealing with this Chinese army with such a weak combat effectiveness!

Therefore, under the orderly instructions of the Japanese officers, the five Japanese infantry brigades that had undergone preliminary adjustments formed dozens of skirmishing lines. They marched in neat steps, holding rifles with blood-stained bayonets on them. The Fourth Brigade's second-line deep positions launched further assaults.

At this time, although the newly defeated officers and soldiers of the 144th Brigade retreated to the second-line position, due to excessive losses and the unrelenting pursuit and harassment of Japanese armored vehicles, there was no time to organize a new line of defense. , and in the previous battle, the two infantry regiments of the 144th Brigade had lost more than half, and less than half of the remaining officers and soldiers were unable to withstand the upcoming heavy-force assault of the Japanese army.

Faced with a group attack by five infantry brigades and thousands of Japanese skirmishers, the broken defense line composed of the remaining officers and soldiers of the 144th Brigade will definitely be penetrated and breached as soon as they come into contact.

And just when the Japanese skirmisher line attack group began to slowly move and attack, and after the melee that had just ended, it once again started a frontal sweep of the rout, and saw that the balance of victory was about to completely tip to the Japanese army.

Suddenly, on both sides of the 144th Brigade's position, loud shouts of killing suddenly erupted. On both sides of the first line of position captured by the Japanese army, a large number of Chinese troops suddenly rushed in.

"Kill!"

"Fight them!"

On the flank of the 144th Brigade's position, an infantry regiment from the 142nd Brigade of the 48th Division rushed towards the Japanese army from the flank, shouting to kill.

In addition to an infantry regiment of the 142nd Brigade, there is also a division special agent company directly under the 48th Division. This new force is the reinforcement sent by the Chief of Staff of the 48th Division to the 144th Brigade position. .

The one at the forefront is the special agent company directly under the 48th Division. This special agent company is composed entirely of veterans. It can be said to be the essence of the 48th Division. They are also veterans from the old Fengjun and Zhilu Allied Forces. , these veterans, each armed with a shell gun and a machete, rushed towards the Japanese flank with shouts of killing.

Behind them was the main force of an infantry regiment from the 142nd Brigade of the 48th Division (the 142nd and 144th brigades under the 48th Division).

The Japanese officer who was commanding the troops to advance in an assault looked towards the flanks of his troops' assault queue, only to see more than 2,000 Chinese soldiers besieging them desperately from the flanks.

In the position, the captains of the five infantry brigades of the Japanese army were a little shocked when they saw that the Chinese soldiers who were charging madly were not as incompetent and weak as they were yesterday.

Yesterday they only used an infantry squad to capture this position, and today not only did a large-scale melee break out, but the Chinese army stationed nearby actually had the ability to launch a large-scale support counterattack?
As everyone knows, although the combat quality of the 48th Division has definitely not improved at all compared to yesterday, for a unit, the determination and will of the commander are also very important. Now the actual commander of the 48th Division , that is to say, the chief of staff of the division is determined to defend the position.

Under the influence of the commander's will, the 48th Division naturally cannot collapse at the first touch like yesterday. On the contrary, such a commander with a firm will to defend the position to the death even further stimulates the fighting will of the officers and soldiers of the 48th Division. out.

The reinforcements now desperately rushing towards the position of the 144th Brigade have an aura of fighting to the death and fighting to the end. Although the formation of the charge is very dense and disorganized, the various tactical movements of the infantry during the attack are also inconsistent. extremely
"Stop advancing and get into position!"

"Shoot, shoot!"

"Occupy the trenches and fortifications left by the Chinese army, open fire, and block them!"

"Contact the armored vehicles and tell them not to rush in, but to retreat and hold on to the spot!"

On the front were the remnants of the two infantry regiments of the defeated 144th Brigade, and on the flanks were sudden reinforcements of about one infantry regiment of Chinese reinforcements. Faced with the danger of being attacked on both sides at the same time, the Japanese officers He quickly suppressed his surprise and adjusted his tactics again.

The Japanese troops who were about to advance suddenly stopped advancing under the organization and command of the officers, and jumped into the positions, communication trenches and foxholes left by the 144th Brigade, while the Japanese troops who were pursuing and attacking the remnants of the 144th Brigade More than a dozen Type 94 light armored vehicles, also called by the Japanese infantry, temporarily gave up their pursuit of the remnants of the 144th Brigade, turned around one after another, and returned to the newly captured 144th Brigade position.

The Japanese infantry who gave up their assault and advanced set up various light and heavy firearms in their positions and opened fire on the Chinese reinforcements that were swarming in from the flanks.

A dozen Japanese armored vehicles that returned to the position of the 144th Brigade also served as fixed firepower points, madly spitting tongues of fire at the Chinese reinforcements.

The form of the battle once again returned to positional offensive and defensive operations dominated by firepower. However, this time the Japanese troops were guarding the position, and the charge was made by a regiment of Chinese troops.

Da da da da da bang bang bang bang bang
Boom boom boom

The five invading Japanese infantry brigades quickly began to fire back after quickly adjusting. The Japanese infantry's Type 38 rifles fired first, and then dozens of light and heavy machine guns from the five infantry brigades also came out. A stream of fire shot at the officers and soldiers of the 142nd Brigade who were rushing towards them.

More than a dozen Japanese Type 94 armored vehicles also relied on the infantry to turn the muzzles of the machine guns on the armored vehicle turrets, and howled rhythmically at the rushing Chinese officers and soldiers.

The dense firepower net projected by the Japanese rifle machine guns and armored vehicle machine guns was like a wall of fire, hitting heavily in front of the rushing reinforcements of the 48th Division. The officers and soldiers of the 48th Division were constantly involved in this The wall of fire was hit and knocked down.

However, today, the officers and soldiers of the 48th Division showed a fighting will that far exceeded yesterday. Although the rushing reinforcements suffered heavy losses, they were not directly defeated by the Japanese firepower. Instead, they faced the Japanese army's dense fire network and launched successive attacks. The impact.

During the position offensive and defensive operations between the 144th Brigade and the Japanese army, the two infantry regiments belonging to the 144th Brigade suffered heavy casualties in the melee, losing more than half.

Now, the newly reinforced special agent company of the 48th Division and a regiment of the 142nd Brigade launched a desperate attack against the Japanese fire net. So far, the two infantry brigades and four infantry brigades of the 48th Division have The Corps has already deployed two-thirds of its troops into the battle!

The battle at this time was extremely brutal!

In the command post of the 48th Division, the Chief of Staff of the 48th Division, who directed the operations of the entire division, looked through the artillery mirror at the officers and soldiers who fell in droves under the almost airtight fire net of the Japanese army, his eyes wide open. , two bean-sized turbid tears fell quietly.

Obviously, the current actual commander of the 48th Division was heartbroken when he watched his troops being consumed in front of the Japanese firepower like they were rolling in a meat grinder.

However, there is no way, no way. The Japanese army has already broken through the first line of positions. If they do not launch a counterattack and charge, the Japanese army will definitely continue to expand their results and advance in depth.

Therefore, even if it is known that the Japanese army has an absolute firepower advantage, this seemingly futile counterattack must continue, because only by assuming a counterattack posture can the speed of the Japanese army's assault be slowed down and the Japanese army be able to persist until reinforcements arrive!

The chief of staff suppressed the fishy taste in his throat and shouted to the staff behind him: "Tell the troops at the front that no one is allowed to retreat. If anyone dares to take a step back, I will take action immediately! Before reinforcements arrive, we must launch continuous attacks on the Japanese army." Counterattack! Tell the 142nd Brigade that if the reinforcements from the previous group are exhausted, they will join another group!"

"Inform the 144th Brigade and launch a counterattack after reorganizing. They lost the position and they have to fight for me!"

"Let the division's direct communications company, baggage company, engineer company, and all the miscellaneous personnel of the division headquarters be ready. When all the troops on the front line are gone, let them move in. General Xiao handed over the position to us. We lost it once yesterday. We must not throw it away again today, even if we throw it away, we have to wait until we are all dead before throwing it away!"

The chief of staff issued the orders one by one with a trembling voice, but he could no longer bear to look at the artillery mirror in front of him.

At this time, the reinforcements that the 48th Division was expecting were also rushing towards its position as quickly as possible. On the way from the hidden position of the Xiaguan garrison reserve to the 48th Division's position, more than 200 large trucks were on their way. They drove forward at maximum speed, risking Japanese artillery and air raids.

"hurry up!"

At the front of the convoy, He Wei was sitting in the co-pilot of his Mercedes-Benz military off-road vehicle, constantly urging the driver next to him to use full power and accelerate forward.

Looking at the 48th Division's position surrounded by rumbling gunfire and shouts of killing, He Wei's heart was full of worry, surprise, and even a trace of fear.

Just this morning, he had just accompanied He Shaozhou to reorganize the 103rd Division overnight. Before he could close his eyes and rest for a while, violent artillery fire rang out from the forward position.

Soon after, He Wei received a call from General Xiao himself, and learned a piece of news that shocked him. That is, the Japanese army suddenly launched an attack on the 48th Division's positions, and dispatched armored vehicles and artillery fire. Also very violent.

Under this fierce attack by the Japanese army, the first line position of the 144th Brigade of the 48th Division has also been lost!

After He Wei learned the specific battle situation, his feeling could be described in two words.

Too fast!

Too fast!

The speed of action of the Japanese was really too fast. The attack was launched so quickly and suddenly, and a lot of technical equipment was invested. Tanks and artillery were all dispatched. It can be seen that the Japanese moved quickly and well-organized. It was so secret that such a large-scale attack didn't reveal any flaws at all, and it gave the 48th Division a sap when it came up.

At the same time, He Wei still felt like smiling bitterly.

Just yesterday, he was discussing with General Xiao, He Shaozhou and others whether to adopt conservative tactics for a possible attack on the Japanese, or to use bold tactics to lure the enemy deep and annihilate them. Now it seems that he and others have really underestimated the Japanese.

The damn Japanese made a big move when they came up, directly piercing the front line of the 48th Division. Talking about conservative and non-conservative is really a bit nonsense.

The current battle situation cannot be decided and judged according to the expectations of He Wei and others. Different tactics such as luring the enemy deep and sticking to the spot have all been forgotten.

At the moment, the only right thing to do is to quickly fill the hole that was penetrated in the 48th Division's position.

So under this urgent military situation, General Xiao immediately ordered He Wei's special agent battalion and He Shaozhou's 103rd Division to block the gap and provide reinforcements.

He Wei's special agent battalion set out first as the first echelon, rushing towards the 48th Division's position as quickly as possible.

(End of this chapter)