The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 508 Bloody Beach

With a loud "crack", lightning flashed across the sky with a blue-white glow. A strong cold wind blew up fine rain. The sound of rain and huge thunder mixed together, but it could not block the huge engine and roar on the road below.

In the Mercedes Benz jeep, the driver was speeding forward at full throttle. He Wei was sitting in the back seat, staring intently at the military map near Qisha and Longmen with the help of the flashlight turned on by the orderly Tao Heiwa beside him. On the road where the jeep was located, there was a convoy of cars that stretched out like a long dragon. In the dark night, the road was a long dragon of car lights, which looked very spectacular.

After He Wei led his troops to set off, he became increasingly worried about the defense near Qisha. In order to prevent any further complications, He Wei decided to reach the Qisha area as quickly as possible.

Therefore, he had to find ways to further speed up the troops' advance. So, He Wei ordered his independent motor vehicle battalion No. 1 to load all the personnel and equipment of the assault corps' first infantry battalion to realize the motorized march of the first battalion. He also formed a fully motorized, tracked marching column with the motorized first battalion and the combat battalion No. , the assault corps' direct tank defense artillery company, the anti-aircraft artillery company and the tank transport company to advance quickly towards the vicinity of Qisha.

The 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps, which had no vehicles to ride due to insufficient numbers, followed on foot at the speed of a forced march.

The scene on the highway was nothing short of spectacular. More than 1 trucks, jeeps, tank loaders and transport vehicles of various types, as well as the fifty-seven T26B tanks and Fiat CV35 tanks of the st Battalion were all equipped with various lighting fixtures, and the car headlights, taillights, and tank searchlights illuminated the highway as bright as day.

He Wei, who was riding in the car and leading the way, was much calmer as the weather gradually improved, but he could not help feeling a little anxious because of the confusing battle situation. In order to be prepared for possible anti-landing operations, he could only try his best to calm himself down, organize this motorized march as quickly as possible, and look at the map to familiarize himself with the terrain and conditions near Qisha.

Fortunately, the starting point of the assault corps was not far from Qisha, and the imported vehicles equipped by the assault corps and the tanks of the tank battalion were also sturdy enough. In less than fifty minutes, He Wei led his troops to the defense zone of the newly formed 19th Division in Qisha.

Since He Wei had informed the defenders near Qisha in advance before departure, after arriving at the Qisha defenders' defense zone, He Wei immediately met the Qisha defenders' highest commander who had been waiting for a long time - Lieutenant Colonel Yang Tian, ​​commander of the 19th Regiment of the newly formed 56th Division.

Although he had received advance notice from He Wei, when Yang Tian saw the huge motorized and mechanized mixed column consisting of hundreds of tanks and trucks, he still took a breath and couldn't help but admire the Central Army's wealth.

In the command post of the 56th Regiment, He Wei, who was soaked by rain, rushed into the 56th Regiment and asked anxiously, "Captain Yang, what is the situation in your defense zone? Are there any enemy movements?"

Therefore, Yang Tian was somewhat unhappy with He Wei's domineering attitude. Firstly, He Wei's attitude was not very good. Secondly, the army led by He Wei had not established an actual command relationship with his 56th Regiment, nor with his superior units, the New 19th Division and the 46th Army.

Since He Wei led his troops to the defense zone of the 46th Army, the Guilin Headquarters did not issue any orders such as "assigning He Wei's troops to the command of the 46th Army". The army led by He Wei was completely independent of the 46th Army and theoretically had nothing to do with the 46th Army.

Although Yang Tian was angry, he didn't dare to show it. After all, the other party was a colonel in the Central Army.

"Commander He, no Japanese military movements have been detected in our regiment's defense zone, and no Japanese warships have approached to fire. It seems that the focus of the Japanese attack seems to be in the direction of Longmen and Beihai."

He Wei nodded, and then walked directly to the observation post of the 56th Regiment Command Post and looked into the distance.

It was late at night, and there was a sea breeze and it was raining, so visibility was very poor. All that could be seen clearly was the gray sky and the vaguely visible coastline. Fortunately, the command post of the 56th Regiment was on a small hill, so He Wei could look down at the defenders' positions along the coast.

It can be seen that there are also faint fires in the defenders' positions and searchlights scattered around searching the sea surface. However, in this dark night with strong winds and rough seas, it is difficult to see the situation on the sea surface with the searchlights, and the whistling sea wind and waves cover up the "movements" that the Japanese landing troops may make.

As for the situation on the sea, it was completely unclear. There was almost no light in the gray-black sky.

After observing for a few minutes, He Wei felt that the situation was even worse and could not help but frowning. Such observation conditions and geographical conditions were greatly disadvantageous for the defenders. Although there were also many disadvantages for the landing party, it was not impossible to take the risk and organize a landing under such sea conditions. With the madness of the Japanese army and their consistent style of not taking human lives seriously, He Wei believed that they dared to issue a landing combat order.

He Wei looked away from the observation port and frowned as he asked, "Captain Yang, how are your defenses equipped? Have you spotted any enemy activity?"

"The defense line of our regiment is centered on Qisha. Three infantry battalions are deployed along the coastline with Qisha as the center to form a linear defense position. The battalions and companies are connected to form a defense line. My regiment command post and direct troops are hidden on the hill behind the center of the defense line. After the Japanese army started shelling tonight, I ordered the troops to strengthen their vigilance and search the sea with searchlights. However, the waves were too big, it was dark and raining, and the observation effect was very poor, but no Japanese troops were found."

After that, Yang Tian added: "Commander He, the Japanese army is fighting fiercely in Longmen and Beihai, and the bombardment is particularly fierce. There is no trace of Japanese troops in our regiment's defense area. Judging from these circumstances, the Japanese should not have regarded our regiment's defense area as an attack and landing target. Moreover, given the current sea conditions and weather, I don't think the Japanese are likely to make any landings."

He Wei naturally disagreed with Yang Tian's opinion. He had always believed that the Japanese army was very likely to land near Qisha. Now that he had seen the weakness of the Qisha defenders' defense, he became even more worried and vigilant.

He Wei waved his hand and said seriously: "Captain Yang, Qisha must be defended. The attention of your division and your army has been attracted by the fierce Japanese artillery bombardment from Longmen and Beihai. I also spoke with your division commander Huang on the phone. He has sent the reserve troops to the Longmen direction. There is only one regiment in Qisha, and you are not strong enough. If one regiment directly deploys along the coastline to set up positions, once the Japanese launch a surprise attack and break through your defense line, you won't even be able to fight back."

Yang Tian also knew that what He Wei said made sense. Not only were the troops of his regiment scattered, but the firepower was also weak. The artillery firepower only had one regiment's mortar company. He saw that He Wei was going to Qisha to consolidate the defense, so assisting him in the defense would be of great benefit to him. He was also happy to have someone to help him, so he would not argue with He Wei.

However, he still didn't think that the Japanese army would risk launching a landing operation in such weather.

He Wei didn't care what the friendly army commander thought. After hesitating for a moment, he quickly made a decision and gave the order.

It was dark, windy and rainy now, and the effect of the searchlights used by the officers and soldiers of the 56th Regiment in the defensive positions was only marginal. Only by advancing to the beach could they conduct effective reconnaissance. If infantry was sent out for reconnaissance, it would obviously not produce any good reconnaissance results. So He Wei assigned the task of advancing for reconnaissance to Zhao Huzhen's 1st Tank Battalion.

Under He Wei's order, Zhao Huzhen's 1st Tank Battalion was immediately dispatched. The four tank companies under his command were divided into groups of two, and each group took turns to move forward and drive the tanks directly onto the beach to perform reconnaissance missions. The other troops brought by He Wei hid behind the 56th Regiment's defensive position and waited in preparation for battle.

He Wei only breathed a sigh of relief after watching two tank companies, totaling twenty-four T26B medium tanks and Fiat CV35 ultra-light tanks, drive towards the beach defense line in the night.

With these "Iron Turtles," once the Japanese army really launches a landing, they can also rely on their own mobility and firepower to resist for a while, buying themselves enough time to respond.

Time passed by minute by minute. The four tank companies of the 1st Tank Battalion were continuously rotated, conducting reconnaissance and patrolling on the beach all night long. The 56rd Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps following up in the rear also arrived at the defense zone of the th Regiment shortly afterwards. It was soon early morning. After the second half of the night, the wind and rain along the coastline decreased significantly, and the weather improved significantly.

Almost at the same time as the weather improved, the highest commander of the Japanese landing operation, Ando Rikichi, also decisively issued the order to start the landing. In fact, even though the current sea conditions and weather have improved, they are still not suitable for landing operations. Apart from anything else, with the current strength of wind and waves, accidents are very likely to occur in the process of transferring soldiers from transport ships to landing craft, and the landing craft used for beach landing also have a certain possibility of capsizing.

But just as He Wei guessed, in the eyes of the senior commanders of the Japanese army, the lives of lower-level officers and soldiers were merely consumables. The current sea conditions and weather could still provide excellent cover for the landing to achieve the effect of a surprise attack. As for the non-combat accidental casualties that might occur in the process of organizing the landing, that was just a necessary price to pay.

On the open sea, the decks of more than a dozen Japanese transport ships were already crowded with people. The first batch of landing missions were carried out by the 5st Infantry Brigade of the 21th Division of the Japanese Army. Under the order of the brigade commander Masao Nakamura, the 21st Infantry Regiment of the 21st Brigade became the landing vanguard of the 21st Brigade.

Fully armed Japanese officers and soldiers climbed down the rope ladders on both sides of the transport ship in the biting sea breeze and drizzle, and transferred to the "Daifatsu" steel landing craft waiting under the transport ships on both sides.

The transfer process of the 21st Regiment from the transport ship to the landing craft was not smooth. At least a dozen Japanese soldiers fell into the water, and several of them never came up again and sank to the bottom of the sea forever. However, almost no Japanese soldiers of the 21st Regiment were affected by this. Instead, they transferred to the landing craft step by step. Most of the Japanese soldiers of the 5th Division came from Shimane, Yamaguchi, and Hiroshima areas. They were tough and the quality of their officers and soldiers was fully reflected at this moment.

Soon, in just over half an hour, all the officers and soldiers of the 21st Battalion of the 1st Regiment completed boarding the boat. An infantry battalion with more than a thousand officers and soldiers was a considerable force in the eyes of the commander of the 21st Infantry Regiment, Yoshinosuke Miki, and it was enough to open a landing site on the beach.

Therefore, without waiting for the follow-up troops to complete the boarding, Miki Yoshinosuke, who was impatient, ordered the 1st Battalion to start the beach landing. Dozens of steel landing crafts carrying more than a thousand Japanese officers and soldiers were launched one after another, away from the transport ships, and moved quickly towards the shore in the dark night at a.m., braving the waves and sea breeze.
On the beach, the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion, which had just completed its third rotation, and the 2nd Company of the Tank Company were patrolling in a line on the beach. The 1 tanks of the 12st Company were in front, and the 1 tanks of the 12st Company were in the back. The 24 tanks were wading along the coastline. The turrets of the two companies' T26B medium tanks were turned to the sea, and the muzzles of the mm caliber tank guns on the turrets were pointed directly at the sea. The lights from the two searchlights on the turrets of each vehicle were also swept towards the sea. More than beams of light swept around the sea. Although the weather conditions had improved greatly, the wind was still strong and the rain had not stopped. In such an environment, it was an excellent cover for both the Japanese troops breaking through the waves on the sea and the Chinese tanks searching. The wind and waves on the sea well blocked the red and green warning lights on the Japanese landing craft and the roar of the landing craft engines.

Similarly, the roar of the Chinese tank engines was mostly drowned out by the sound of the waves. The Japanese soldiers who were rocking on the landing craft in the waves could see the searchlights of the Chinese tanks, but they did not realize that the source of the light was actually a piece of steel tank.

From the perspective of the Japanese troops on the landing craft, who were already armed and ready for the landing attack, those lights were most likely caused by the Chinese army's patrolling sentries along the coastline or searchlights placed in fixed fortifications. They were not something to be feared. After all, the Guangxi army troops deployed along the entire southern Guangxi coastline were equipped with lighting equipment. Therefore, the Chinese army's lighting lights could be seen everywhere on the coastline. It was only natural that lights would appear at the place where they were about to land. If there were no lights, that would be suspicious.

Just like that, an entire infantry battalion of the Japanese army advanced rapidly towards the coastline of Qisha on landing craft at an extremely fast speed, and more than 20 Chinese tanks coincidentally happened to be patrolling in their designated landing area. All movements of both sides were concealed by the wind and waves. The two troops collided with each other without any warning and slowly approached each other.

At the front of the tank column, the commander of Tank Company 1, Major Xi Tiangeng, stood in front of the observation port in the turret, concentrating on staring at the sea surface along the light of the turret searchlight. The dripping raindrops kept hitting the bulletproof glass of the observation window in the turret, making his vision a little blurred. Fortunately, the gunner in the turret had pushed open the turret hatch and raised the telescope to look at the sea surface.

The column of tanks continued to move forward slowly. So far, this was the fourth rotation carried out by the entire company under the command of Xi Tiangeng. He did not notice any problems. The only sounds around him were the sound of waves and the roar of tank engines. There seemed to be nothing else on the sea except the waves.

Just as Xi Tiangeng left the observation port and started operating the radio, preparing to contact the 2nd Tank Company in the rear, the gunner who was sticking his head out from the turret suddenly shouted.

"Captain, there seems to be something on the sea."

Xi Tiangeng was startled and immediately stood up, sticking his head out of the turret to observe.

"what's the situation?"

"Captain, I seem to see some red and green dots on the sea, but I can't see them clearly. They appear and disappear from time to time. The colors are a bit like the taillights on our tanks."

"Order the entire company to stop advancing, report the situation, and ask them to search and observe carefully."

Xi Tiangeng hurriedly gave the order, and soon the tank columns of Tank Company 1 and Tank Company 2 stopped advancing. The officers and soldiers on each tank also searched the sea carefully. After careful observation, Xi Tiangeng also saw the flickering red and green lights on the sea. When he thought about the tank tail lights that the gunner had just mentioned, Xi Tiangeng immediately determined that it must be the lights from the Japanese landing craft.

After Xi Tiangeng's report, officers and soldiers on other tanks also discovered the abnormalities on the sea one after another. Then, the two company commanders immediately formulated a strategy to attack the enemy after communicating through the vehicle-mounted radio and reported the situation to the battalion commander Zhao Huzhen.

The landing Japanese troops eventually revealed their true colors. After all, the Chinese tank soldiers patrolling the coast had advanced observation and aiming equipment and stable platforms. The Japanese officers and soldiers crowded in the landing craft, swaying left and right under the beating of the waves, could only judge that there were lights on the coast, but could not see the tank body hidden in the darkness at all.

After reporting to the rear, Xi Tiangeng and two other tank company commanders unanimously agreed to the tactic of bringing the Japanese landing craft closer to attack the enemy in a covert manner, and Tank Company 1 was the first to open fire.

So, the two tank companies turned off all the lights, and the turrets of all the T26B tanks were aimed at the front of the "red and green lights" on the sea. The gunners loaded armor-piercing shells on the 45mm tank guns on each vehicle, and the DT-type 7.62mm coaxial machine guns in the turrets and the DT-type 7.62mm machine guns on the turrets were loaded with bullets. The tank soldiers also loaded flares for the signal guns.

The two companies of ten ultra-light Fiat CV35 tanks also turned their small bodies and aimed the twin 8mm Fiat M35 machine guns on the tanks at the Japanese landing craft.

The Japanese soldiers on the landing craft were completely unaware that two Chinese tank companies had already woven a deadly fire net for them in front of their scheduled landing site.

Xi Tiangeng drove the gunner back into the turret, and he held a signal gun loaded with flares in one hand and a vehicle-mounted machine gun on the turret in the other, staring intently at the increasingly obvious red and green lights on the sea. As the Japanese landing craft got closer and closer to the coast, the sound of their landing craft's engines became more and more obvious.

In the darkness, Xi Tiangeng could only judge the distance by the sound of the Japanese landing craft's engine. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind to fight the Japanese as close as possible. The tank company commander, who graduated from the 10th class of the Whampoa Military Academy's Transportation Corps, also showed enough composure. He kept holding back until the roar of the engine in his ears overwhelmed the sound of the waves. Then Xi Tiangeng raised the signal gun in his hand, let out a long breath and shouted, "Fire!"

Whoosh - a flare soared into the sky, a red line appeared in the dark sky, and then turned into a dazzling spot of light, and the turret searchlight of the tank where Xi Tiangeng was located was turned on again.

Then, there was a continuous sound of gunfire, one flare after another soared into the air, red lines appeared one after another, and finally turned into dazzling spots of light, which quickly spread into bright surfaces. The searchlights of each tank were turned on one after another, and the flying flares and searchlights illuminated the beach where the two tank companies were located and the nearby sea as if it were daytime.

What caught the eyes of Xi Tiangeng and the officers and soldiers of the two tank companies was a wave of at least fifty Japanese landing craft that seemed to have no end. At this time, the Japanese landing craft in the front was less than 200 meters away from the beach. The officers and soldiers of the tank company could even see the reflections of the densely packed Japanese helmets on the landing craft.

"Fight!"

Xi Tian Gengjin fired another flare obliquely toward the sea, and then pulled the trigger of the DT 7.62mm machine gun on the turret. A string of bullets whizzed towards the Japanese landing craft that was approaching the beach. Then, the turret where Xi Tian Geng was located trembled, and the tank gunner in the turret pulled the trigger. The Soviet M1931 45mm tank gun roared, and a shell shot straight toward the sea.

Suddenly, the originally quiet beach was boiling. The 26mm tank guns of fourteen T45B tanks opened fire one after another, twenty-four tower-top DT machine guns and coaxial machine guns roared, and the twenty 35mm machine guns on ten Fiat CV8 ultra-light tanks also roared.

Dense rain of bullets instantly hit the landing craft group of the 21st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Japanese Army. The dense tracer trajectories crossed each other to form a terrifying bullet rain coverage area. It came suddenly and violently, and collided with the Japanese landing craft group. Immediately, from the dozen or so Japanese landing craft in the front, there were continuous screams and the sound of bullets hitting the steel plates of the landing craft.

These dozen landing craft were all hit by dense machine gun bullets. Many Japanese soldiers were killed in the landing craft before they understood what was happening. Three unlucky landing craft were directly hit by the armor-piercing shells fired by the 45mm tank gun. The 45mm tank gun shells that could penetrate the tank armor easily penetrated the steel plates of the landing craft and then flew around in the landing craft, killing many Japanese soldiers in the boat.

Soon, finding that armor-piercing shells were not effective, the Chinese tank gunners switched to explosive shells. Then an even more tragic scene ensued. Since the Japanese landing craft were close at hand, the gunners had an extremely high hit rate. As long as a Japanese landing craft hit by an explosive shell was hit, there would be an explosion mixed with screams. The dense explosive fragments not only destroyed the landing craft, but also killed the Japanese troops crowded in the boat with extremely high efficiency.

Amid the continuous explosions, a Japanese landing craft was even overturned in the sea, and another one had its rudder broken, deviated from its direction and collided with the landing craft behind it, naturally resulting in the capsizing of both the craft and the people on board.

Amidst the piercing screams and terrifying groans, bullets flew out from the shore like raindrops. Faced with the sudden and fierce tank fire attack, in the first five minutes, the Japanese troops crowded in the landing craft had no idea what was happening and could only be slaughtered in a daze.

As for counterattack, that was even more impossible. The Japanese infantry were all crowded in the landing craft and had no conditions for counterattack. The only weapon for counterattack was the Type 92 heavy machine gun mounted on a fixed machine gun mount at the rear of the landing craft. However, such a heavy machine gun was completely ineffective under the combined attack of machine guns and artillery fire from two tank companies.

"Fight!"

The company commander of Combat Company 1, Xi Tiangeng, yelled as he replaced a new drum magazine for the DT machine gun in his hand, and then fired indiscriminately at the Japanese landing craft on the sea less than meters in front of the beach. The machine gun bullets instantly hit the landing craft with bangs, and screams were heard. The gunner in the turret also delivered an explosive grenade to the Japanese landing craft, which directly blew open the front door of the landing craft. Xi Tiangeng then adjusted the muzzle of the gun to fire at the inside of the landing craft. Amidst the screams, the Japanese soldiers in the landing craft were knocked down like wheat being cut. By the time Xi Tiangeng had used up a drum magazine, there was no living person left in the tattered landing craft.

After a near-massacre shooting, about 20 Japanese landing craft rushed onto the beach one after another and successfully reached the beachhead. However, most of the landing craft stopped after reaching the beachhead and did not lower the pedals at the bow of the landing craft. There was no Japanese infantry landing on the beach because there was no living person on the entire craft. Even if some individual landing craft lowered the pedals after rushing onto the beach, the infantry in the craft were subjected to intensive machine gun fire before they rushed out of the landing craft.

The beach was littered with landing craft that were riddled with holes, steaming, and extremely bloody. The landing craft that were still following on the sea were not much better off. The aiming conditions formed by the constantly rising flares and searchlights made it easy for the Chinese tank soldiers to attack them with targeted precision shooting. As a result, the Japanese landing craft on the sea were in chaos. There were many landing craft that were blown up and sunk, or lost power and deviated from their direction. What was even more terrifying was that there was no reliable means of communication between the Japanese landing craft.

In this chaos, the Japanese squadron leaders, battalion leaders and other cadres at all levels were unable to command, let alone organize a retreat or a counterattack. In addition, it was raining, and the Japanese officers of the 1st Battalion could only stare anxiously in the landing craft, watching their subordinates in confusion, wailing, and being slaughtered in the dense rain of bullets.
However, they had no time to worry, as a more terrifying scene appeared. In the deep positions behind the beach, a large number of Chinese tanks painted with the blue sky and white sun emblem appeared again. In addition to the tanks, there were also cars and dense infantry.
(End of this chapter)