The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 383 The Last Madness (The previous chapter number is wrong, it should be Chapter 383)
After more than 200 elite Japanese Marines were annihilated by artillery fire during their retreat, an extremely strange silence suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

The main attack force of the first battalion, which had just captured the Japanese army's first-line positions, had achieved impressive results after continuous assaults and fierce close combat and hand-to-hand combat, but it had also suffered considerable casualties and was unable to organize another assault on the Japanese army's second line of defense and deep areas in a short period of time.

Therefore, the battalion commander Fu Chen did not pursue the victory, but instead organized the officers and soldiers of the first battalion to reorganize the defense line, search for the remaining enemies in the trenches, rescue the wounded and consolidate the positions.

Although the first battalion that captured the first line of defense of the Japanese army suspended its attack and stopped its actions, the Japanese troops in the second line of defense did not take the opportunity to launch a counterattack or counterattack against the first battalion that stopped its attack, but stayed in the trenches very honestly.

The battle just now had basically wiped out all the elite elements of the Japanese landing marines. The elite infantry combat troops and artillery were almost completely lost, leaving only three squadrons temporarily formed by baggage soldiers and service soldiers and a bunch of miscellaneous signalmen and messengers.

Faced with such a situation, not only did the Japanese supreme commander Kitaro Tsuchiji feel helpless and sad, but the Japanese baggage soldiers in the trenches of the second line of defense also felt extremely terrified when they saw the bullet holes with white smoke and the bloody corpses in front of the positions.

Just a few hours ago, the corpses and broken limbs on the ground were their spirited comrades and elite Marines with outstanding achievements. But now, they have all become the "defenders of the country" of the Japanese Empire. The contrast and horrific scene made the Japanese troops in the second line of defense feel panic-stricken.

These Marine Corps' baggage service soldiers are not combat soldiers at all. After receiving basic infantry training, their task is to transport various ammunition. They have never received any decent infantry tactical training. They can only be said to be a group of riflemen with barely usable combat effectiveness. Their combat effectiveness is completely incomparable to that of the elite Japanese Marines that have been wiped out. It can be said that they are just a bunch of small fry.

Among these baggage special forces, only the squad leader of each baggage squad was equipped with a rifle, and the remaining soldiers were only equipped with a bayonet. Although they were now pulled to the position to take on the defense mission, the weapons issued to them were Hanyang rifles, Czech light machine guns and long-handled grenades captured from the defeated 18th Division of the Chinese Army.

As for these weapons captured from the enemy, the quartermaster soldiers, who usually lack combat training, can only say that they can use them and know how to use them, but they cannot say they are proficient in using them.

The Japanese troops had lost all their elite troops, were inadequately trained, and had simple weapons. They were struggling to defend the second line of defense. From officers to non-commissioned officers and from non-commissioned officers to soldiers, all stood coldly in the trenches and looked at the tragic situation in front of the position. No one made a superfluous sound.

The position was very quiet, an eerie and terrifying quiet. After the bombardment, the thick smell of gunpowder mixed with the increasingly strong smell of blood and slowly blew towards the Japanese second-line position with the breeze, repeatedly stimulating the sense of smell of the Japanese officers and soldiers in the position. Under the dual impact of vision and smell, the mood of grief for the loss of one's loved ones, despair, and fear also surged into the hearts of the Japanese soldiers in the position in this eerie silence.

The sound of gunfire died down, and the smoke over the battlefield gradually dissipated. The two armies, which had just been fighting desperately, now entered a state of confrontation across the trenches.

After appreciating the tragic scene of the Japanese army being bombarded, He Wei put down the telescope with a smile on his face and said to the commander of the special agent company, Yang Biao, beside him: "Go and send someone to pass on my order. The engineer company, the tank defense artillery company, the headquarters company of the first battalion, the heavy machine gun company, the mortar company and the 60mm mortar squads of each infantry company should all advance to the first line of defense of the Japanese army captured by the first battalion! All units should quickly assist Captain Fu's main attack force in deploying defenses, transporting the wounded, and replenishing ammunition."

Yang Biao nodded, knowing that He Wei was now pushing the other troops forward to continue to deal with the Japanese troops in the second line of defense. He immediately left excitedly and called on the people around him to pass on the order. However, Yang Biao took a few steps and suddenly stopped, ran back and asked: "Captain, you didn't tell me what the mission of my special forces company is?"

He Wei said: "The first mountain artillery company has run out of ammunition, so it is inconvenient to maneuver. Your company will be responsible for staying behind to protect the first mountain artillery company."

Yang Biao stood at attention and excitedly asked He Wei for a fight: "Captain, several of my brothers died in the feint attack. The brothers in the company want to kill the enemy in front of them to avenge the brothers who died in the feint attack. Let us go too."

He Wei also knew that the special forces company had suffered a small loss during the feint attack to scout the enemy, and the whole company was full of revenge. After thinking about it, he added: "Okay, but the mountain artillery company cannot be without infantry protection. You leave a platoon to protect the mountain artillery company, and the rest of the people will also go up."

"Yes!"

After Yang Biao left, the messenger Tao Heiwa immediately ran over and handed over a kettle and a pack of opened compressed biscuits.

"Sir, drink some water."

"it is good!"

He Wei unscrewed the kettle, tilted his head back and drank half of it, then stuffed a few compressed biscuits into the water. He then took off his helmet and poured the remaining half of the water on his head.

"Huff" He Wei wiped the water off his face and raised his sleeve to wipe it. Half a pot of water was poured down. The stimulation of the cold water and the pleasure of annihilating the enemy with artillery fire instantly swept away He Wei's slight fatigue, and was replaced by extreme excitement.

By now, all the planned attack targets had been achieved. The attack force of the first battalion not only successfully captured the first trench of the Japanese Army and killed all the Japanese defenders in the front-line positions, but also had the unexpected surprise of the mountain artillery company destroying the Japanese artillery position.

The Japanese troops in the second line of defense did not respond at all after the first battalion's troops captured the first line of defense. There was no counterattack or counterattack, and there was no artillery support or harassment from small units. The infantry in the first line of defense also did not take any countermeasures when they were covered by artillery fire from the first mountain artillery company during their retreat. All these phenomena indicate that the Japanese troops trapped in the second line of defense are probably no longer able to continue.

The silence of the Japanese positions at this moment also indirectly confirmed He Wei's judgment. In this case, He Wei naturally made up his mind to fight hard in the next attack, try to concentrate all his strength, and defeat the enemy in front of him with a swift offensive.

He Wei let out a long breath and said, "What a pleasure! What a pleasure! Let's go! Heiwa, let's go up!"

Under He Wei's command, the various troops quickly began to maneuver towards the Japanese positions captured by the First Battalion. He Wei, ahead of the other troops, carrying a gun and the messenger Tao Heiwa, passed through the Japanese obstacle area and the open area full of bullet holes in front of the Japanese front-line positions, and arrived at the Japanese positions that had just been captured first.

When He Wei jumped into the communication trench of the position captured by the First Battalion, the officers and soldiers of the First Battalion's main attack force were cleaning the battlefield in the trench, searching for remaining enemies, and clearing away corpses and various ammunition scattered everywhere. The scene He Wei saw in the trench was much more tragic than he had expected.

The trenches were filled with the smell of blood, burning and gunpowder. The cliffs of the communication trench were dotted with bullet holes and shattered logs. The exteriors and muzzles of the Japanese bunkers and machine gun nests densely distributed along the communication trench were all blackened by gunpowder. White smoke was emitting from the entrances of the bunkers and machine gun nests, and corpses and broken limbs were piled up like walls at the entrances of the bunkers and at the bottom of the communication trench.

Helmets, rifles, bayonets, shell casings, field telephones and telephone wires, and all kinds of equipment stained with blood were thrown everywhere from inside to outside the trenches, creating a scene from purgatory. Of course, among these corpses, the number of Japanese soldiers was much greater than that of officers and soldiers of a battalion.

Not long after He Wei entered the trench, he was recognized by a bloody sergeant squad leader. Seeing that the captain actually came to the front-line trench, the sergeant immediately shouted, "Captain, why are you here?" He Wei only saw that the sergeant's left arm was injured and wrapped in a layer of bloody gauze, and his face was also cut by shrapnel. He immediately said, "This is the front-line battlefield. You are bleeding and fighting here, why can't I come? How are you? Are you seriously injured?"

Hearing He Wei's concern, the sergeant seemed very excited and said, "Captain, it's not serious. I just got stabbed in the arm by the Japanese. But it was worth it. While the bastard was stabbing me, I used the butt of my submachine gun to hit his eye socket and killed him."

"It looks like the knife stabbed deep enough. I've also been stabbed by a Type 38 bayonet. The Japanese bayonet technique is extremely powerful. Brother, you should be careful. If you can't bear it, go down and deal with it."

The sergeant immediately waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, Captain. It's just a scratch. I came here with you from Nanjing. I will die on the battlefield. I will never act like a coward."

He Wei was very pleased that the soldiers under his command were so loyal, brave and honest. He encouraged the sergeant and the officers and soldiers around him, and then found the battalion commander Fu Chen under the leadership of a lieutenant platoon leader of the first battalion.

He Wei met Fu Chen in the command post fortification of the Japanese front-line position. This core command post fortification in the Japanese position was also a huge firepower point. The inside was also a tragic scene. The fortification was full of blood and more than a dozen corpses, and the walls and firing holes were blackened by gunpowder smoke.

The ground was littered with expended Type 92 heavy machine gun magazines and empty ammunition boxes. There were two Type 92 heavy machine guns mounted on the shooting platform behind the firing port of the fortification. The fortification was also filled with a strong stench of corpses.

Although Fu Chen was not covered in blood like the sergeant squad leader just now, he was not much better. His grass-green military uniform had been stained dark brown by blood, and his helmet was covered with scratches. Seeing this, He Wei hurriedly asked, "Old company commander, are you injured?"

Hearing He Wei calling him "old company commander", Fu Chen recalled the years of the Battle of Xinkou. At that time, he, a graduate of the 8th class of Whampoa Military Academy, was still a captain company commander, and He Wei, a graduate of the 11th class of Whampoa Military Academy, was still a second lieutenant platoon leader under him.

Today, the former second lieutenant platoon leader has risen to become a new celebrity in the National Army's Central Army. He has been promoted to major and is at the forefront among his classmates of the eighth term of Whampoa Military Academy. Having just experienced a life-and-death battle, Fu Chen felt deeply moved when he recalled the past.

A warm feeling flashed through Fu Chen's heart, and he laughed loudly and said, "It's okay. My body is full of Japanese blood. You, the old company commander, are lucky. You died once in Xinkou and walked through the gates of hell. You have become familiar with the King of Hell. Now I'm afraid that even the King of Hell won't dare to take me if I want to go down."

He Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. Hope nothing happens to you, otherwise who will lead this battalion?"

Fu Chen then changed the subject, addressed the opponent, and said solemnly, "Captain, now the Japanese army's first line of defense has been captured by our battalion. How do we fight next?"

He Wei seemed very relaxed. He pulled over a few empty ammunition boxes and sat down with a big horse and golden sword, saying, "I have made arrangements. All the troops of your battalion, as well as the tank defense artillery company and the engineering company are heading towards the position under our feet. When the troops arrive, we will immediately make offensive deployments and strive to kill the remaining enemies in one go. When your battalion attacked this position just now, the Japanese troops on the second line of defense didn't even fart, and didn't send out any support, let alone counterattacks. When our artillery attacked the retreating enemy, the Japanese did not react. This situation can only mean that the Japanese troops in the front position have run out of fuel, or that the combat power in their hands is no longer sufficient to launch a counterattack or counterattack, and their artillery positions were also blown up by our mountain artillery company. I estimate that the Japanese artillery is most likely finished now."

"In short, the Japanese army's behavior just now is completely inconsistent with their usual practice. When we fought with the Japanese army in the past, we often fought for a position repeatedly and changed hands repeatedly. Now they are so honest. Humph, I'm afraid they can't stand it anymore. Not to mention what happened just now, I don't think they will organize any counterattack next time."

He Wei raised his fist again and said to Fu Chen in a decisive tone: "After all the troops arrive, I plan to continue to use your battalion as the backbone and concentrate all our manpower and firepower to organize another swift assault. As long as our assault is powerful enough and this punch is fierce enough, I think we only need one round of fierce assault to take down the Japanese second line of defense and completely defeat them!"

After hearing He Wei's analysis, Fu Chen carefully recalled some of the Japanese army's movements in the later stages of the battle. The Japanese army's performance in the later stages of the battle was indeed not like their usual tactical style.

In addition, the second position of the Japanese army in front was also very quiet and silent at this time. Therefore, Fu Chen also agreed with He Wei's judgment that the Japanese were most likely defeated and were unable to organize a counterattack due to the heavy loss of combat power.

Fu Chen, who had just cleanly destroyed the first line of defense of the Japanese army, was in high spirits and extremely determined to fight. After listening to He Wei's analysis and the offensive plan of "achieving success in one battle", he immediately became excited and said firmly with a tone full of eagerness for battle: "Okay! Let's beat him up! Let's try to take down his position in one go!"

After assessing the enemy situation and deciding on the next combat strategy, Fu Chen and He Wei immediately began to prepare for the next attack. The various units that received He Wei's orders to advance to the front positions also arrived one after another.

At this point, in the first line of Japanese position that had just been captured, all the forces of the first battalion, including three infantry companies, the battalion headquarters company, the battalion heavy machine gun company, the battalion mortar company, the nine 60mm mortar squads of the three infantry companies, the engineering company directly under the assault corps, the artillery battalion tank defense artillery company and part of the special service company, had all advanced to their positions.

After the headquarters company of the first battalion completed the replenishment of ammunition and began the final work of the first attack, such as the evacuation of the wounded and the remains of the fallen officers and soldiers, all units immediately began preparations for the next attack.

In terms of the specific offensive plan, He Wei first ordered the nine mortar squads that were withdrawn from the three infantry companies of the 1st Battalion to return to the units and integrate into the combat structure of each company. The three infantry companies of the 1st Battalion were still commanded by the battalion commander Fu Chen to take on the main attack mission. At the same time, Yang Biao's special forces company was also assigned to Fu Chen's command. On the one hand, it was to make up for the loss of combat power caused by casualties in the previous attack, and on the other hand, it was also to give the officers and soldiers of the special forces company an opportunity to kill the enemy and take revenge.

The battalion's heavy machine gun company, battalion's mortar company and the assault corps' direct tank defense artillery company built fortifications on the spot to cover the main attack force's charge. Among them, the machine gun company's six Czech-made zb6 heavy machine guns were to use heavy machine guns to indirectly fire, using the tactical method of overshooting to cover the infantry force's assault.

The battalion's 81mm mortars bombarded the Japanese second line of defense with rapid fire, with the Japanese infantry in the positions as the main target of attack, and used dense grenades to kill the infantry in the Japanese positions. The tank defense artillery company used flat-fire artillery fire to directly fire at the bunkers, machine gun nests and other firing points in the Japanese positions.

Having just won a great victory, the morale of officers and soldiers in all units was very high, and all preparations before the attack were completed quickly.

However, just as all units had completed preparations for the attack and were waiting for the order to launch the attack in the Japanese trenches that had just been captured, an unexpected situation occurred in the Japanese positions ahead.

In front of the second Japanese position, a large group of dark figures suddenly appeared. He Wei hurriedly looked forward with a telescope. At first glance, He Wei thought that he had misjudged and that the Japanese counterattack force had begun a counterattack. But then He Wei realized that something was wrong, because the chaotic and dense formation of the dark crowd and their disorganized marching method obviously did not seem like the work of the Japanese counterattack force.

When He Wei carefully saw the specific situation of this mass of black figures, he suddenly became furious, because these "massive black figures" that suddenly rushed out from the second line of defense of the Japanese army and gradually approached He Wei's position were not the Japanese counterattack troops at all, but the captured officers and soldiers of the 18th Division of the National Army!

He Wei put down the telescope and punched the cliff of the trench: "Fuck it, damn it, they are so desperate that they use prisoners as human shields!"

(End of this chapter)