The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 371 Cross the river! Kill the bandits!
He Wei equipped the Assault Corps with a large number of machine guns, submachine guns and other automatic weapons. He Wei was mentally prepared for the fact that the Assault Corps' infantry battalion would consume a large amount of ammunition in battle when the Assault Corps was established.

To this end, He Wei also specially organized a baggage platoon in the battalion headquarters company under the assault corps infantry battalion to increase the logistics carrying capacity and self-sustaining combat capability of the assault corps infantry battalion.
However, the rate at which the First Battalion consumed ammunition in the battle just now far exceeded He Wei's expectations.

In this short battle, the 1st Infantry Battalion almost used up all the ammunition for its automatic weapons. Not only did the companies of the 1st Battalion use up all the ammunition for their own automatic weapons, but even the spare ammunition stored in the baggage platoon of the 1st Battalion's headquarters company was mostly used up.

With such a rate of ammunition consumption, it is no exaggeration to call the various light and heavy automatic firearms that He Wei carefully configured for the assault corps "steel-eating machines"!
From this we can see that in combat, having more automatic weapons, machine guns, and cannons is certainly good, but having more bullets and artillery shells is more important.

Otherwise, no matter how good the performance of a gun is, without ammunition it is no different from a firewood stick.

Fortunately, He Wei had made some preparations in advance. When the First Battalion was fighting fiercely with the Japanese army, he called Banbishan in advance and notified the assault corps' direct supply company to escort additional ammunition to the First Battalion's position.

Half an hour after the battle ended, the transport column of the assault corps's supply company, consisting of mule and horse teams and horse-drawn caravans, finally arrived at the position of the assault corps' first battalion under the command of the company commander, Captain Li Teqian, transporting a large amount of ammunition, including 7.63mm pistol bullets, 7.92mm light and heavy bullets, 81mm mortar shells and 75mm mountain artillery shells, as well as dry food supplies, fodder for horses and other supplies.

The large amount of ammunition delivered by the quartermaster company was like a timely help, and soon replenished the almost exhausted carrying ammunition of the First Battalion of the Assault Corps. The empty bullet belts and magazine belts of the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion were soon refilled with new ammunition delivered by the quartermaster company, and the mules, horses and carts of the quartermaster platoon under the First Battalion Command Company were also reloaded with boxes of new ammunition.

The wealth and richness of the assault corps were fully demonstrated at this time. If it were any other field unit of the National Army, it would be impossible to complete the replenishment of such a large amount of ammunition in such a short time.

After the quartermaster company completed the replenishment of ammunition and supplies, He Wei did not let them return with empty vehicles. Instead, he ordered the quartermaster company to load the wounded soldiers of the First Battalion, the remains of the fallen officers and soldiers, and the captured spoils, and transport them back to Banbi Mountain as fast as possible.

Only after sending the baggage company away did He Wei finish the aftermath of the annihilation battle. Although this battle against the Japanese river-crossing landing was fought very beautifully and the invading enemy was successfully annihilated, the west bank of the Fuchi River was still in the hands of the Japanese army.

The current situation is that although the Japanese troops who captured the west bank of the Fuchi River suffered a disastrous defeat in the operation to cross the river and land on the east bank of the Fuchi River, the Japanese troops on the west bank of the Fuchi River still have the ability to continue to launch river crossing and landing operations on the east bank of the Fuchi River.

In the landing operation just now, the Japanese army happened to choose the position in front of the First Battalion as the landing point for crossing the river, so they were beaten badly. However, if the Japanese army continues to organize river crossing attacks, it is hard to say where the next river crossing attack will be.

Now the main force guarding the long defense line on the east bank of the Fuchi River is the 18th Division. If the Japanese army launches a river crossing and landing at the position guarded by the 18th Division next time, it is really hard to say what the battle situation will be like.

After this victorious battle, how to deal with and how to eliminate the Japanese troops entrenched on the west bank of the Fuchi River remained the number one problem that He Wei needed to face and solve.

In the command post of the First Battalion, He Wei sat in a marching chair with his arms stretched out wide, and around him sat the company-level and above officers of various units of the Assault Corps who had reinforced the east bank of the Fuchi River, including the battalion commander of the First Battalion Fu Chen and three infantry company commanders of the First Battalion, the company commander of the battalion's heavy machine gun company, the company commander of the battalion's mortar company, the company commander of the battalion's headquarters company, the company commander of the engineer company directly under the Assault Corps Zhao Jiansan, the company commander of the special service company directly under the Assault Corps Yang Biao, as well as the company commander of the first company of the mountain artillery of the artillery battalion of the Assault Corps assigned to the First Battalion and the platoon leader of the first platoon of the tank defense artillery company of the artillery battalion of the Assault Corps.

He Wei looked around at the officers around him and said, "Everyone, we won this battle, but the west bank of the Fuchi River is still firmly in the hands of the Japanese. Our main combat goal next is to deal with the Japanese troops on the west bank of the Fuchi River. What do you think?"

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, a captain infantry company commander of the first battalion said excitedly: "Captain, what's there to say? We just killed hundreds of devils. I think these devils on the west bank of the Fuchi River are just a bunch of fools. I say, we continue to cross the river, fight over and kill them!"

After the company commander finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter in the command post.

Victory is the best medicine to boost morale. The 1st Infantry Battalion has just won such a victory. This battle is also the first battle between the 1st Battalion and even the infantry units of the Assault Corps and the Japanese army. The morale of the officers and soldiers participating in the battle is very high. Both their fighting spirit and combat skills have been fully mobilized by the victory just now.

The company commander's simple and crude response of "kill them" was actually the common wish of the high-spirited and vigorous officers in the command post.

"The captain is right, Captain, lead us across the river and kill these bastards!"

"Yeah, fuck him!"

"We are now better equipped than the Japanese, our firepower is stronger than the Japanese, and our ammunition has just been replenished. There is nothing to be afraid of. Captain, just give the order, and the brothers will definitely follow you to fight and wipe out the Japanese troops on the other side."

"Captain, our general-purpose machine guns and 60mm mortars are so useful. I haven't had enough fire just now, so I want to find another group of enemies and have more fun."

"Let us take the lead, Captain."

"Go, go, go. If you really want to lead the charge, let my soldiers do it."

He Wei's short words were like lighting a firecracker. Officers kept responding loudly, all clamoring to cross the Fuchi River. The Japanese on the other side took the initiative to attack. The blood and lives of the Japanese army had completely turned these officers into a group of warmongers.

He Wei's loyal supporter, Yang Biao, the commander of the special forces company directly under the assault corps, did not participate in the battle just now, but he also joined in the fun, waving his arms with red eyes and shouting: "Captain, we will do whatever you say. If anyone dares to be cowardly on the battlefield, the special forces company will not recognize anyone!"

Even He Wei's messenger Tao Heiwa joined in the fun and shouted that he wanted to cross the river and fight the Japanese to the death!
He Wei just looked at this group of militants with a smile on his face. Apart from anything else, seeing his subordinates' high morale like little tigers, fighting bravely, full of positive fighting emotions and a warm atmosphere, as the chief officer and commander of the assault corps, He Wei was very pleased. Fu Chen was still not used to his subordinates' noise, so he shouted: "Alright, save these morale-boosting words for your soldiers. Now we are studying tactics, not pre-war mobilization!"

Fu Chen then looked at He Wei and asked, "Captain, don't worry about them. They were just killing like crazy and the excitement hasn't subsided yet."

He Wei smiled and nodded, and said to Fu Chen: "Captain of the First Battalion, what do you think of the next battle?"

Fu Chen thought for a moment and said, "Captain, in my opinion, although our battalion has dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army, we still don't know the situation of the Japanese army on the other side of the river. Similarly, the Japanese army is likely to launch a river crossing and landing operation against our positions on the east bank of the Fuchi River. The battle just now was because the Japanese also took a fancy to the land in front of our battalion's position, but if the Japanese army continues to land, we can't predict where they will attack."

Fu Chen cleared his throat again and said, "Judging from the firepower and combat effectiveness of the Japanese Marine Corps that my battalion just fought, if the Japanese cross the river and land in front of the 18th Division's position to attack, this battle will probably end in a stalemate. I also agree to continue with the original plan and take the initiative to cross the river and attack."

He Wei nodded slightly, agreeing deeply with what Fu Chen said. Indeed, if the Japanese Marines on the west bank of the Fuchi River landed and attacked in front of the position guarded by the 18th Division, with the 18th Division's combat effectiveness that was really worrying, if it were to fight against the Japanese Navy Marines, the battle would most likely become a "chopsticks poking tofu" type of battle as Fu Chen said.

The chopsticks, of course, represent the attacking Japanese army, and the tofu represents the defense line of the 18th Division. When the chopsticks poke the tofu, it will naturally go through it with one poke!
From this perspective, continuing with He Wei's original plan to cross the river and attack was indeed the best option. Instead of guarding in fear on the east bank of the Fuchi River, it would be better to take the initiative and attack the Japanese troops on the west bank, replacing defense with offense and solving the problem once and for all.

He Wei thought about it and made up his mind to continue with his original plan of crossing the river and landing.

He Wei said: "You all have high morale and are in high spirits. Judging from the current battlefield situation, taking the initiative to attack is indeed the best option. Moreover, my original combat intention was to have your battalion conduct a river crossing and landing operation. In this case, I will personally lead you across the river to attack!"

Upon hearing that He Wei had made the decision and would personally lead the team to attack, the officers in the First Battalion Command Post cheered loudly and were full of fighting spirit.

At this time, Fu Chen added to He Wei: "Captain, but the current strength of the Japanese troops on the west bank of the Fuchi River is unknown. If possible, it would be safer if our troops and firepower could be appropriately strengthened before the attack."

He Wei nodded, then paced and pondered. The troops he had at hand now included the entire First Battalion of the Assault Corps, the Engineer Company directly under the Assault Corps, the Special Service Company directly under the Assault Corps, the First Mountain Artillery Company of the Artillery Battalion, and a platoon of the Tank Defense Artillery Company. These troops added together had a total strength of nearly 2,000 people. In terms of the organizational structure of the troops, it was equivalent to a fairly large battle group.

But what Fu Chen said was not without reason. He Wei and his men were completely in the dark about the situation of the Japanese troops on the west bank. The Japanese Marines that were just annihilated by the First Battalion were also very stubborn in the battle. They all fought to the death and all died in the battle. The First Battalion didn't even capture a single prisoner. As a result, He Wei couldn't obtain relevant information about the Japanese troops on the west bank of the Fuchi River by interrogating the prisoners.

Although He Wei has a lot of troops at his disposal, in this situation where he is unknown and the enemy situation is unclear, the more troops and firepower the better.

"Captain Fu, call the 18th Division's command post and contact Director Wang Yuanling who is in charge of the command in Banbi Mountain. Ask him to transfer all the tank defense artillery companies of my artillery battalion. I remember that the Japanese army on the opposite side has tanks. We only have one tank defense platoon now, which may not be enough."

"Okay, I'll ask the company commander of the battalion headquarters to contact them and bring the tank defense artillery company with us. This way we'll have more confidence if we encounter the enemy's tanks."

He Wei nodded, and then looked at the extremely excited officers in the command post. His face suddenly became serious, his eyes became sharp, and he said: "Now that the battle plan has been decided, we will definitely fight to the other side of the river. Everyone is eager to fight and the morale is very high. This is very good, but I also want to remind everyone that although we just defeated the Japanese army and ate a lot of them, the combat form just now is essentially defensive. The next offensive operation on the other side is completely different. It will be mainly field combat. The difficulty and intensity of the operation, as well as the casualties that the troops have to pay will be much greater. Therefore, I hope that everyone will be cautious in tactics, and be prepared to suffer heavy casualties and fight to the death with the Japanese army. In short, field combat is different from positional warfare. Everyone has to cheer up. Do you understand!"

The officers stood at attention and shouted, "Understood!"

He Wei turned his gaze to the engineer company commander Zhao Jiansan and said, "Captain Zhao!"

Zhao Jiansan took a step forward and shouted, "Yes!"

"Since we are attacking by crossing the river, your engineering company will be responsible for building roads and bridges across the mountains and rivers. What do you think of how the troops should cross the river?"

Zhao Jiansan seemed to have a plan in mind and immediately replied: "Captain, in the previous battle, we seized 24 rubber boats and steel boats from the devils. These boats all have their own engines and can be used by us. We can use these boats to directly transport a group of vanguard troops across the river. After the vanguard troops have gained a foothold on the other side, my company will use these rubber boats and steel boats to build a pontoon bridge on the river to set up a passage for the main force and artillery mules and horses to cross the river. In addition, while organizing the troops to cross the river, we can also use mountain artillery to fire smoke bombs to form a smoke cover belt at the landing site to conceal the crossing operation. According to my estimation, if we can make good use of the rubber boats and steel boats left by the devils, it will take less than an hour or even faster for all our troops to complete the crossing!"

He Wei was very satisfied with Zhao Jiansan's answer and said approvingly, "Very good, Captain Zhao is indeed a cadre who fought in the Battle of Shanghai. In this case, the river crossing plan and organizational arrangements of our army will be handed over to Captain Zhao. The batch of rubber boats and steel boats seized from the Japanese will also be given to your engineering company. If you need anything, please feel free to ask."

"Yes! Captain, I will ensure that the mission is completed."

He Wei nodded, looked at the officers, and said, "Okay, that's it. Brothers, you have just won a victory and you have worked hard. Each company should have dinner first, and then immediately prepare for battle. If the Japanese Marines dare to attack the east bank, we can also attack the west bank. Next, we will cross the river and kill the enemy!"

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, the officers in the command post raised their right arms and shouted in unison: "Cross the river! Kill the bandits!"

(End of this chapter)