The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 416 The Japanese Army is Finished, the Japanese Army's Position is Finished
In the vast wilderness, fifteen mottled, bullet-riddled British-made Vickers tracked tractors were speeding along at a rapid speed. The steel tracks, stained with the flesh, broken bones and blood of the Japanese army, moved at high speed driven by the steel road wheels, passing by with a solemn and terrifying bloody atmosphere, causing the earth to shake frequently.

Amid the continuous roar of the engine, there were various gunshots, scolding, explosions, and even cheers and laughter.

Under the leadership of He Wei, fifteen tracked tractors loaded with the Seventh Infantry Company of the Third Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps rushed towards the main position of the Hata Detachment.

After being completely defeated, the retreating Japanese infantry had completely lost their organized retreat order. The remaining 600-odd defeated soldiers all fled towards the main position of the Hata Detachment, running everywhere like rabbits whose nests and camps had been blown up.

As the fifteen tracked tractors led by He Wei rushed towards the main position of the Hata Detachment, they were naturally bound to come into contact with more than 600 defeated Japanese soldiers. He Wei was also very happy to deal with these defeated soldiers who were running everywhere.

Thus, an attack on the defeated Japanese troops during the maneuvering process began naturally.

Fifteen speeding tracked tractors were lined up in a row. The officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company of the Third Battalion on the vehicles were constantly shooting at any defeated Japanese soldiers they encountered along the way with machine guns and mortars.

The fleeing Japanese troops had nowhere to escape in the open ground. There was basically no way to hide in such a vast open terrain, and there was no way to rely on the terrain and objects to avoid the attacks of tracked vehicles.

Likewise, the nearby open terrain not only prevented the fleeing Japanese soldiers from hiding, but also made it impossible for them to flee madly to avoid the fire attacks of the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company on tracked vehicles.

No matter how much the fleeing Japanese infantry gathered their strength and ran wildly in the wilderness, the driver of the tracked tractor could easily catch up with them by just stepping on the accelerator.

Once they entered the sight of the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company, they would become sitting ducks and would basically be doomed to die, falling one after another under the intensive firepower of the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company.

As for resistance? The defeated Japanese infantrymen only had rifles and light machine guns in their hands. It was impossible for these light weapons to cause any significant killing effect on the high-speed mobile crawler tractors. Moreover, the morale of these fleeing Japanese soldiers had collapsed, and they no longer had the courage to actively launch a desperate attack on the crawler tractors.

In other words, the remnants of the Japanese infantry, which were defeated by the fierce machine gun and mortar fire of the Third Battalion and the anti-aircraft artillery company's anti-aircraft artillery fire, were "conveniently" attacked by fifteen tracked tractors and the officers and soldiers on the tractors that were maneuvering towards the main position of the Hata Detachment while they were fleeing.

For He Wei and the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company he led, this was just an easy attack during the process of maneuvering forward.

As for the defeated Japanese army, they had just escaped from the fierce firepower attack of the Chinese army and had no time to catch their breath before they had to face the fierce attack of tracked tractors carrying Chinese army infantry.

Just now, the Japanese army was attacked and intercepted by tracked vehicles during the Banzai charge, and the horrific nightmare of being attacked and killed by the steel tracks and the terrifying firepower from the tracked vehicles was repeated once again.

On a tracked tractor, He Wei calmly pulled the trigger of the Type 38 rifle. The butt of the rifle slightly hit He Wei's shoulder under the weak recoil. A Japanese soldier who was running wildly with a rifle trembled violently at the crisp gunshot. After being hit, he dropped the rifle in his hand, ran forward a few steps, and then rolled on the ground.

He Wei pulled the bolt, ejected the shell, reloaded a 6.5mm bullet, and aimed at an injured Japanese officer who was staggering and fleeing with a command knife in his hand.

He Wei pulled the trigger again, and the bullet seemed to have eyes and hit the Japanese officer. The Japanese officer hit by He Wei fell sideways as if he was pushed hard by someone.

Immediately afterwards, He Wei fired three more shots in a row, killing two more Japanese soldiers with three neat and crisp gunshots.

"Captain, good job! I'll come too."

As soon as the crisp sound of the Type 24 rifle in He Wei's hand stopped, a dull bang followed. Zhao Zhanhai shouted excitedly with a competitive tone, half-crouched beside He Wei, used the body of the tracked tractor as a support to aim and shoot, pulled the trigger of the Czech-made vz rifle in his hand, and accurately hit a Japanese soldier.

The powerful 7.92mm full-power rifle bullet immediately opened a bloody hole in the chest of the Japanese soldier and knocked him to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Zhanhai's second bullet hit a Japanese soldier who was fleeing wildly, causing him to stagger a few times and fall to the ground. Zhao Zhanhai quickly fired the three bullets in the magazine.

However, Zhao Zhanhai's shooting skills were obviously not as good as He Wei's shooting result of four out of five shots. Even the three bullets he fired missed the target. The Japanese soldier targeted by Zhao Zhanhai had very skilled combat movements and tactical qualities. He managed to dodge left and right and successfully avoided Zhao Zhanhai's three consecutive shots.

"This bastard is really good at hiding!"

Zhao Zhanhai cursed loudly, and just as he finished his words, a stream of hot fire from the MG34 general-purpose machine gun swept over instantly, turning the Japanese soldier into a bloody sieve.

Then, several mortar shells landed in the surroundings, splitting the limbs of more than a dozen Japanese soldiers fleeing around in the billowing smoke and turning them into blood gourds. The large open space with emerald green grass was suddenly littered with corpses and in a mess.

Several Japanese soldiers who were not killed by the shelling seemed to have suffered mental breakdowns. They no longer dared to look at the tracked tractor not far away and fled madly with strange roars and screams, as if the tracked vehicle spewing intensive firepower was a monster from hell.

These terrified Japanese soldiers were treated as living targets by the soldiers of the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion on tracked vehicles before they had run more than ten meters. They were shot dead one after another in the wild, and the streams of blood dyed the surrounding land a maroon color.

Many officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company on tracked vehicles were like He Wei and Zhao Zhanhai, shooting the fleeing Japanese soldiers in the wild easily and indiscriminately in the manner of a shooting competition. The fleeing Japanese soldiers on the battlefield were trying their best to escape in order to survive, while the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company sitting on the tracked vehicles were calm and relaxed and shot the fleeing Japanese soldiers at will.

The 7th Company's Czech light machine guns, general-purpose machine guns, mortars and other automatic weapons and mortars had greatly reduced their killing efficiency against the fleeing and extremely dispersed Japanese soldiers. However, the officers and soldiers still fired fiercely at the relatively concentrated areas of the Japanese soldiers as much as possible.

The fifteen tracked tractors were like the extremely mobile light cavalry of ancient times, chasing and killing the fleeing Japanese soldiers like they were driving sheep, and all kinds of firearms roared in unison.

“Beep… beep…”

“Boom boom…boom boom boom…”

"boom……"

There was another long burst of intensive gunfire. Under the pursuit and attack of fifteen tracked tractors, more than 600 Japanese soldiers fled in all directions, leaving more than 200 corpses and dozens of wounded soldiers wailing in the wild. Zhao Zhanhai, who experienced the novel combat method of mobile combat on tracked vehicles for the first time, was very excited. He held up a telescope and looked at the remnants of the Japanese army that were gradually going away. He said with lingering feelings: "Captain, there are still hundreds of enemies. Let's catch up and kill them."

He Wei shook his head and stopped looking at the desperate Japanese soldiers who were running away. Instead, he looked at the main position of the Japanese army that was covered by artillery fire: "Don't chase the desperate enemy. There is no need to care about these collapsed remnants. Even though these defeated Japanese soldiers are running fast, they will eventually have to drill into their main position. By then, they will still be on our plates. We have to quickly deal with the Japanese in the main position and defeat them completely!"

He Wei quickly arrived at the attack starting position of the main force of the assault corps in front of the main position of the Japanese army. When fifteen tracked tractors drove into the attack starting position of the main force of the assault corps, the attention of the officers and soldiers of the assault corps in the starting position was immediately attracted by the fifteen tracked vehicles that were riddled with bullet holes and covered with flesh and blood.

The commander of the first battalion, Fu Chen, was relieved when he saw He Wei, who was covered in blood but intact, in the command post of the attacking force.

When Fu Chen learned that He Wei encountered the main force of the Japanese army of more than 2,000 people with only a special forces company and an anti-aircraft artillery company, he was scared to death. If something unexpected happened to He Wei, the backbone of the assault corps would be gone. Once the backbone was gone, the unit would most likely collapse.

Now seeing that although He Wei had battle wounds, he was safe and sound, Fu Chen finally put his mind at ease.

"Captain, how is your injury?"

He Wei smiled and said, "It's okay. We fought a bloody battle with the damned ones and defeated the enemy's main infantry force. I estimate that there shouldn't be any decent infantry units in the main position of the Japanese army opposite. Most of them are probably engineers, artillery, and logistics troops. They are much easier to fight. Your pressure is much less. How are your preparations here?"

Fu Chen looked stern as he said to He Wei, "The 150st Infantry Battalion, the nd Infantry Battalion, the Artillery Battalion, the Engineer Company, and the Communications Company are all ready for battle. The st Infantry Battalion and the nd Infantry Battalion, which are responsible for the main attack, and the Engineer Company are already on standby at the attack starting position and can launch an attack at any time. At present, our troops are preparing artillery fire. The mm heavy artillery battalion behind the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights will suppress the Japanese army's deep positions and artillery positions. The artillery battalion of our corps will suppress and destroy the enemy's front-line positions and obstacles."

"Headquarters plans to launch the attack in five minutes."

After Fu Chen finished speaking, he asked with some expectation: "Captain, the troops are ready to attack. What is the next command?"

He Wei waved his hand and said, "I have already handed over the command of the attack to you, so you will continue to command it. You should do whatever you are supposed to do. You are the one who will arrange the specific attack arrangements. Changing generals at the last minute is a taboo. I also believe that you can fight well in this battle. I am here to help you."

"As I said before, the enemy's main infantry force has been largely destroyed, and there aren't many Japanese infantrymen left in the position. You can do whatever you want."

"Yes!"

Seeing that He Wei did not take back his command, Fu Chen was overjoyed. As a soldier, who doesn't want to command more troops to fight the enemy on the battlefield? Who doesn't want to command large-scale troops to fight the enemy?

Not long ago, He Wei encountered the Japanese army and immediately appointed Fu Chen to take over his command of the attack on the main position of the Japanese army.

As a battalion commander, it was an extremely rare opportunity for him to temporarily command two infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, an engineering company and a communications company of the assault corps to launch an attack on the Japanese army.

With the strength of the assault corps, the size of the troops temporarily commanded by Fu Chen had actually exceeded the field infantry regiments of the general forces of the National Army.

This was a rare opportunity, so Fu Chen was unwilling to give it up easily. He Wei was also willing to do his best to hone the command ability of this old company commander who graduated from the eighth class of the Whampoa Military Academy, and cultivate his ability to command higher-level units.

He Wei's trust also greatly increased Fu Chen's confidence and made him feel excited, so he immediately obeyed He Wei's orders and continued to command and give orders.

He Wei raised the telescope and observed the main position of the Japanese army in the distance. He saw that under the fierce bombardment of the 150mm heavy artillery battalion and the assault corps artillery battalion, the main position of the Japanese army from the front line to the front line, and from the front line to the depth had been completely covered by dense and fierce barrage.

The dense artillery fire from 75mm mountain cannons to 150mm heavy howitzers shrouded the main positions of the Japanese army in thick smoke that blocked out the sky.

All the obstacles in front of the main position of the Japanese army had been destroyed by the bombardment of the artillery battalion of the assault corps. The front of the position was littered with shattered barbed wire, stakes, chevaux de frise and wooden stakes.

Faint screams occasionally broke out from the deafening artillery fire. He Wei looked up. Whenever a scream was heard, the shock wave from the exploding shells would cause several more bloody corpses to be blown dozens of meters into the air.

He Wei could also vaguely see some Japanese soldiers running around in panic in groups of two or three in the Japanese positions.

Only from time to time would some shells be fired from the direction of suspected Japanese artillery positions, some of which landed in front of the Japanese main position, and some landed at the assault corps' attack starting position.

However, as soon as the Japanese artillery opened fire, the suppressing fire from the 150mm heavy artillery battalion behind the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights would return fire at the firing position of the Japanese artillery. It can be said that the Japanese artillery unit had been suppressed by the 150mm heavy artillery battalion behind the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights.

At this time, the chaos in the main position of the Japanese army was completely consistent with He Wei's previous judgment - the Japanese army in the main position no longer had any organized large-scale infantry units.

If there were still decent infantry units in the Japanese main position, it would be impossible for the defense of the position to be like this.

There is no need to elaborate on the results of the assault corps' attack on the main Japanese position, which had messed up its defensive deployment.

He Wei shook his head, dropped the telescope with a sense of relief, sat down easily and said in a cold voice: "The Japanese army is finished, this position is finished."

Two minutes later, as Fu Chen roared out the battle order to start the attack, three green flares representing the order to start the attack whizzed into the sky above the starting position of the main attack force.

Immediately, the intensity of the bombardment from the 150mm heavy artillery battalion and the assault corps artillery battalion suddenly increased. At the same time, the barrage of artillery fire began to move forward, bombarding the Japanese artillery positions and deep areas.

The moment the artillery barrage began to advance, more than 2,000 officers and soldiers from the 1st Infantry Battalion, the 2nd Infantry Battalion, and the Engineer Company of the main attacking assault corps issued an overwhelming shout. The officers and soldiers rushed out of the trenches one after another, deployed a standard skirmish group battle formation, and launched an attack on the main position of the Japanese army with shouts and killing.

(End of this chapter)