The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 437 Colonel's Death
On the high ground, the Japanese army retreated in large numbers to the bottom of the high ground. The mountain ridge position on the top of Hill 201, which was covered by fierce artillery fire, became a world of bullet rain and flames. The Japanese soldiers who were killed in the explosion did not leave behind piles of corpses, but turned into pools of flesh and blood that were no longer human.

The trenches on top of Hill 201 were filled with large craters caused by heavy artillery shells. Most of the well-built fortifications originally built by the 9th Division had collapsed under the fierce artillery bombardment.

Many trenches had been flattened and filled in by the exploding shells. This high ground, which had an original elevation of 201 meters before the war, was destroyed and ravaged by countless falling shells, explosives in the trenches covering the high ground, and a large number of Japanese soldiers who died in the artillery fire and flames. It was obvious that this high ground would never again have an elevation of 201 meters.

All the retreating Japanese troops tried desperately to break out of this hell on earth at the top of the hill.

Under the fierce bombardment, the battalion-level and most squadron-level organizations of the Japanese troops on the high ground no longer existed. The highest-ranking major infantry battalion commander and several squadron commanders among the attacking Japanese troops had been killed in the bombardment. The remaining Japanese troops could only organize themselves into squads, detachments, or even companies and frantically rushed towards the starting position for the attack at the foot of the mountain.

Amid the flashing sparks and flying shrapnel after the explosion of the shells, they left behind corpses and ran wildly along the high mountain.

After suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese troops retreating from the high ground finally left the area where the shells were most densely falling. Feeling like they had survived a disaster, the remaining 201-odd Japanese troops immediately mustered up their courage, quickened their pace, and rushed to the halfway point in front of Hill .

In the artillery command post on Banbi Mountain, Chen Xinsheng, who had been observing Hill 201 with a gun mirror and a high-power telescope, looked at the fast-moving black dots on the front of Hill 201 and decisively ordered the artillery sergeant beside him: "Order, all artillery will fire at the front slope of Hill 201 to stop the retreating Japanese troops. The two mountain artillery companies of our battalion will fire at the hillside above Hill 201, and the remaining mountain artillery, howitzers and naval guns will fire below the hillside!"

Chen Xinsheng, who was given the authority to freely command artillery fire by He Wei, would naturally not let these Japanese troops go. Seeing that the Japanese troops wanted to flee, he would concentrate all his artillery firepower to stop them.

Due to the far distance between Banbi Mountain and Hill 201, and the obstruction of vegetation due to the numerous hills and foothills near Hill 201, the artillery observation post on Banbi Mountain could only see the front slope of Hill 201 above the halfway point. Therefore, Chen Xinsheng ordered his troops to use the halfway point as the dividing line and marker for distributing the firepower of his artillery.

As Chen Xinsheng's order was transmitted to the artillery positions in Banbi Mountain by the sergeants through the telephone communication network, the Banbi Mountain artillery group that had been pouring fire on the top of Hill 201 finally paused for a short time. Less than half a minute later, the two mountain artillery companies of the artillery battalion of the assault corps started firing again.

Boom
Boom
一个连的6门苏俄造m1909式76毫米山炮和一个连的6门94式75毫米山炮轰轰的咆哮起来，两连的官兵们以娴熟的射击技术使用山炮弹幕覆盖了201高地正斜面的半山腰以上区域，且使用94式山炮的山炮连还换用了缴获的日式榴霰弹。

As a result, Soviet-made 76mm explosive grenades with instantaneous fuses and Japanese 75mm air-burst shrapnel shells exploded frequently, quickly creating a death purgatory among the Japanese soldiers on the high ground who were not running fast enough.

Dense shrapnel and shrapnel bullets exploded in the sky above the high ground, carrying clouds of white smoke and flying everywhere, mowing down the Japanese soldiers in yellow uniforms in large numbers, causing their figures to stumble and fall, with blood and flesh splattering everywhere.

Countless people were riddled with holes from shotgun shells while fleeing to the lower reaches of the high ground.

突击总队炮兵营两个山炮连的猛烈炮击声尚在山间回响，负责向201高地半山腰以下射击的150毫米重炮营，海军炮队的120毫米舰炮，还有以最近缴获自日军的19门94式75毫米山炮和8门41式75毫米山炮组成的临时山炮群也加入了炮兵的合奏之中。

Compared with the accurate, fierce and sharp bombardment of the two mountain artillery companies of the assault corps artillery battalion on the front of Hill 201 above the halfway point, the artillery observation post on the hill cannot directly observe the area below the halfway point of Hill 201. Therefore, the firing parameters of the artillery group bombarding the area below the halfway point of Hill 201 cannot be called accurate.

The artillery group that was temporarily organized with captured Japanese mountain artillery was a newly organized one. The gunners and the officers and sergeants who directed the shooting all came from different units. Their shooting level was not ideal. They could shoot at visible targets above the halfway point of the mountain, but their shooting at obscured targets below the halfway point that could not be observed was much worse.

Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, the sound of the artillery group bombarding the hillside below was a little chaotic. As round after round of shells were fired, the observation officers and sergeants could not see the effect of the shelling at all. They could only see that the front of Hill 201 was filled with thick smoke and dust raised by the falling bombs after the explosion.

Chen Xinsheng, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation on Hill 201, could no longer see the general situation on the hill. Banbi Mountain was already far away from Hill 201, and after such fierce bombardment, Chen Xinsheng could only see clouds of thick smoke. Even the outline of the mountain was obscured by the thick smoke.

Seeing this, Chen Xinsheng gave another order: "Order the temporary mountain artillery group to speed up the firing speed and use rapid fire to hit me!"

The officers and soldiers of the temporary mountain artillery group quickly increased the firing speed of the artillery. It was impossible for Chen Xinsheng to have too high requirements on the accuracy and tactical level of the artillery fire from the gunners and officers from different units and troops of the temporary mountain artillery group. The only way to increase the killing effect on the obscured targets that could not be seen visually below the halfway point of the mountain was to increase the amount of firepower projection and fire more artillery shells!
The gunners of the temporary mountain artillery group who received the order increased the firing speed in a panic. Although the firing rhythm gradually became chaotic, and many mountain artillery even fired on their own, breaking away from the organized firing, the speed of firepower projection was greatly increased.

One after another, 75mm mountain artillery shells were fired from the artillery positions, carrying hot air waves across the Yangtze River and numerous highlands and foothills, and exploded below the halfway point in front of Hill 201.

Since we can't see clearly and can't observe the effect of the shooting, we can only launch shells as much as possible and bombard the obscured front of Hill 201 below the halfway point with the tactic of killing the master with random punches!
Feeling the ground shaking under his feet due to the increased firing speed of the temporary mountain artillery group, Chen Xinsheng nodded slightly with satisfaction, and then ordered: "Let the two mountain artillery companies of my battalion shift their firepower and also fire at the halfway point below the mountain! Tell them that the distance is too far and the area below the halfway point is blocked. Don't worry about the accuracy, just throw as many shells as you can!"

The two mountain artillery companies of the assault corps' artillery battalion had fired hundreds of shells at the halfway point of Hill 201. With such intensity, it was impossible for any large-scale Japanese troops to survive above the halfway point of Hill 201. Chen Xinsheng once again adjusted his shooting tactics and put all the artillery of half of the mountain artillery group into the bombardment of the area below the halfway point of Hill 201.

After a slight adjustment, the two mountain artillery companies of the assault corps continued to bombard the new target - the area below the halfway point of the mountain - at the maximum rate of fire. The 150mm heavy artillery battalion and the 120mm naval guns of the naval artillery team also increased their rate of fire, and together with the temporary mountain artillery group that was already firing fiercely and in a somewhat messy manner, they concentrated their fire on the obscured area below the halfway point of Hill 201.

Artillery shells of various calibers flew, landed, and exploded one after another. The artillery observation post on the Banbi Mountain artillery position could not see the bombardment effect on the shelled area below the halfway point of Hill 201 which was obscured. Even many of the shell landing points could not be seen. All that could be seen was the dust and earth pillars raised by the dense falling bombs.

As the number of falling bombs increased, gradually, the Hill 201 that the artillery observation on half of the mountain could see was just a hilltop surrounded by thick smoke and columns of smoke in the middle of the night.

随即，在230高地上放列的第9师迫击炮群也开始延伸射击，20门82毫米迫击炮投射出的爆破榴弹和榴霰弹飞过了201高地的山顶，沿着高抛的弹道开始向201高地的正面轰击。

The 9th Division's mortar group bombarded the front of Hill 201 across the top of the hill. Needless to say, the accuracy of its extended firepower was very worrying. The 20 mortars bombarded fiercely. Although the shells flew over the top of Hill 201, the landing points were varied, and they were almost everywhere in front of Hill 201.

Some hit above the halfway point of the mountain, some hit below the halfway point, and some even went directly over the high ground and hit the Japanese starting position below the high ground.

However, the mortar's firing rate was fast, and the 9th Division's mortar gunners fought hard, which, combined with the larger amount of firepower projected, created a considerable bombardment effect.

Soon, amid the smoke and dust from the gunpowder fired by half of the mountain artillery groups, there were also balls of fire and flames with white smoke caused by 82mm yellow phosphorus bombs.

Boom-boom-whoosh

The shells fired by the mortars from the high ground flew over the hilltops with a continuous whistling sound, falling one after another and blasting.

For the artillery observation post on Banbi Mountain, the long distance and the obscured nature of the target area meant that they were destined to be unable to see the effects of their own bombardment. However, the Banbi Mountain artillery group's artillery tactics of putting the amount of artillery projection first produced extremely good results. Coupled with the assistance of the 9th Division's artillery, they caused a bloody storm for the Japanese army.

Below the halfway point of Hill 201, countless artillery shells flew, fell, and exploded with a loud bang, one round after another. The accuracy of the artillery bombardment was not very high, and the distribution of the falling shells was also very messy. Many shells even missed the target.

However, the dense falling shells greatly compensated for the lack of accuracy. The Japanese soldiers who rushed to the lower half of the mountain had no way to avoid the dense artillery bombardment and could only bite the bullet and rush down the high ground relying on instinct.

What greeted them was a dense barrage of falling shells. In the process of the Japanese army's charge towards the high ground, grenades and shrapnel of various calibers fired from the direction of Banbi Mountain exploded, blasting the fleeing Japanese soldiers into pieces, causing them to fall to the ground one after another.

The dense shrapnel and shock waves produced by the explosion of the 150mm heavy grenade were like a shell, a pool of blood, and a crater. Almost all the Japanese soldiers near the landing were torn to pieces, turned into balls of flesh and blood, and then thrown into the air, and finally fell as a torrential rain of flesh and blood. The toxic smoke and flames produced by the 82mm yellow phosphorus bombs that exploded from time to time gave endless poison and torture to the Japanese soldiers who were unfortunately affected.

Boom
Bang Bang
The sounds of explosions of artillery shells of various calibers, the sounds of breaking through the air, the burning sounds of the spreading flames, and the screams of the Japanese soldiers mixed together. The entire front of Hill 201 was shrouded in rain of bullets and bloody wind. However, the screams and curses of the Japanese soldiers were soon completely suppressed by the other mixed sounds of explosions and burning.

Most of the more than 9 remaining Japanese troops who successfully rushed to the middle of the mountain were ultimately unable to successfully retreat to the high ground. Under the full-scale bombardment of the Banbi Mountain artillery group and the th Division mortar group, almost all of them were annihilated in the artillery fire and poisonous smoke.

On the front of Hill 201, which was filled with smoke and flames, there was almost no Japanese soldier running back. There were only broken limbs that were constantly thrown into the sky by the shock waves of the shells, and the soil layer on the front of the hill, which was faintly visible after the smoke was blown away and was stained with blood and flesh.

After more than forty Japanese soldiers managed to escape from the smoke of Hill 201, which was covered by torrential artillery fire, and rushed to the bottom of Hill 201 with fear on their faces, no living people could be seen on the hill, nor was there any sound from living people.

In the Japanese command post below the high ground, Major General Katsuji Imamura, commander of the 6th Infantry Brigade of the 11th Division, and Colonel Ueichi Yasuda, commander of the 11th Infantry Regiment of the 13th Brigade, closed their eyes in pain almost at the same time.

A field infantry battalion, an engineering company and a mortar company, nearly two thousand elite Japanese troops, except for the dozens of people who managed to escape, the rest were completely wiped out in such a short time!

Not only these two commanders, but other Japanese officers and soldiers below the hill were also in a commotion. The attack on Hill 201 was launched by more than a thousand Japanese troops centered on the 13rd Battalion of the 3th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army, but other parts of the 13th Regiment also advanced to the bottom of Hill 201 and took on the task of reserve.

The devastating and fierce artillery bombardment on Hill 201 not only destroyed all the Japanese troops attacking Hill 201, but also completely shocked all the Japanese officers and soldiers watching the battle on the hill.

Such bombardment is terrifying!
Imamura Katsuji put down the binoculars, suddenly pulled over a staff officer beside him, and shouted angrily: "Go contact the division's artillery and tell them that our infantry has lost enough blood. Tell the division commander that we require artillery fire support, artillery fire support, let them pull the artillery to the riverside, pull it to the riverside, and suppress the Chinese artillery on the half mountain!"

Faced with the heavy casualties of his infantry, Katsuji Imamura could no longer control his emotions, and his anger reached its peak. He was angry at the Chinese army's artillery fire on Banbi Mountain that slaughtered his men, and he was even more angry at the incompetence of the 6th Division's artillery, which was unable to suppress or even interfere with the firing of the Chinese army's artillery on Banbi Mountain.

The battle had gotten to this point and Imamura Katsuji could no longer care about anything else. In a rage, he could only urgently request artillery reinforcements.

Only in this way can we fight back against the Chinese artillery on half of the mountain.

"Yes!"

The staff officer immediately bowed and ran to the phone to pass on the order.

However, before Katsuji Imamura's furious request for artillery support was issued, the mountain artillery group that had just annihilated more than a thousand Japanese troops by artillery fire brought an unexpected disaster to the main force of the Japanese 201th Infantry Regiment, which was hiding and waiting under Hill 13 as a reserve.

Under Chen Xinsheng's order to fire with all his might regardless of accuracy, all the artillery pieces in the Banbi Mountain Artillery Group were firing with all their might. The number of shells fired was definitely sufficient, but after all, the fire was aimed at the long-range, obscured, and unobservable 201 Heights below the halfway point of the mountain. So while the firepower projection was sufficient, the accuracy was lacking.

However, due to the lack of direct observation, some shells that were supposed to hit the area below the halfway point of Hill 201 became "stray bullets" and fell abruptly below Hill 201, near the position of the Japanese reserve force.

For the Banbi Mountain Artillery Group, these stray bullets were a pleasant surprise, but for the Japanese army, they were a terrible disaster.

Among them, several 75mm mountain artillery shells fell directly on the ammunition storage site of the artillery squadron of the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army under the high ground.

These shells exploded quickly after they hit the ground, detonating hundreds of 75mm mountain artillery shells with fuses already fixed in the Japanese ammunition depot.

The effect created by the explosion of one hundred 75mm mountain artillery shells was very shocking. First there was a loud "bang!" and a chain of explosions followed. Then, a black and white mushroom cloud immediately rose where the shells hit.

"It's the ammunition storage place of the regiment's artillery position!"

The commander of the 13th Infantry Regiment, Shoichi Yasuda, pointed at the position of the regiment's artillery company where a huge explosion occurred and shouted.

"Bag! Bag!"

More than a thousand attacking troops had just been wiped out, and now the regiment artillery company's ammunition storage depot on the high ground had been bombed again. Imamura Katsuji was so angry that he cursed loudly, and in a rage he rushed out of the command post and ran eagerly towards the position of the regiment artillery company. In a blink of an eye, he rushed far away.

At this time, there were still sporadic stray shells that had lost their accuracy and occasionally hit the Japanese reserve position below Hill 201.

Boom
Boom
When the commander of the 13th Regiment, Yasuda Izumi, saw his superior rushing out despite the Chinese army's artillery fire, he immediately shouted in worry, "Your Excellency the Brigade Commander! Get into the fortifications quickly!"

Before he could finish his words, a whistling sound that was very unfamiliar to Yasuda Shouichi was heard. In the blink of an eye, it approached from the distant sky to a very close position.

Boom-boom

In an instant, before Yasuda Shouichi could react, the astonishingly powerful loud bang, the severe pain all over his body, and the worry about his immediate superior, the commander of the 11th Brigade, Imamura Katsuji, became Yasuda Shouichi's last memory.

The command post where Shouichi Yasuda was stationed collapsed, destroyed by a 201mm grenade that was supposed to hit the lower halfway point of Hill 150 but lost its accuracy.

The German 43mm heavy artillery shell loaded with 150 kilograms of high explosives hit the command post where Yasuda Shuichi was located unexpectedly and accurately, instantly destroying the civil structure of the command post with a loud bang.

The sandbags, logs, earth mounds and covering soil of the command post fortifications were blown into the air by the huge shock wave that seemed to be able to tear the air apart. The superstructure of the entire command post was destroyed, and in its place was a large crater with a depth of nearly two meters and a radius of nearly six meters.

Inside the big pit were various communication equipment and weapons that had been shattered, as well as a dozen Japanese officers and soldiers led by Colonel Yasuda Ueichi, commander of the 6th Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade, 13th Division of the Japanese Army, who had turned into scattered, bloody debris.

This colonel infantry regiment commander of an elite Japanese division, who was hiding in the command post and was worried about the safety of his superiors just a second ago, died dramatically from an inaccurate stray bullet and was shattered to pieces in the command post that he had just used to hide from bullets.

(End of this chapter)