The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 521: The Power of Infantry-Tank Coordination
As 20 CV35 ultra-light tanks that had used up all of their onboard machine gun ammunition quietly left, 37 T26B medium tanks were also deployed in full force in the smoke.

The four tank companies spread out on the left and right wings with the tank battalion led by Zhao Huzhen as the center, forming a first-line attack surface, and pressed hard against the 42rd Infantry Battalion of the 3nd Regiment of the Japanese Army's reinforcements.

The four infantry companies of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps, which accompanied the battle, followed the tanks in the infantry-tank coordination formation trained before the war, with their bayonets shining, and advanced in the direction of the Japanese reinforcements.

The heavy machine gun company of the 37st Battalion set up machine guns in the temporary firing positions left by the Japanese and prepared for firing. However, the muzzles of their guns were not aimed at the incoming Japanese reinforcements, but exactly the opposite. The black muzzles of eight Czech-made ZB19 heavy machine guns were pointed in the direction of the positions of the New th Division that were in the midst of a melee.

At this point, the infantry-combat mixed column composed of the tank battalion and the 26st Infantry Battalion was divided into two. All the T42B tanks and four infantry companies of the tank battalion head-on confronted the newly arrived reinforcements of the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the 19nd Regiment of the Japanese Army, while the heavy machine gun company of the 19st Battalion was deployed on its flank and rear facing the position of the new th Division. On the one hand, it protected the flank safety of the infantry-tank mixed force that was confronting the Japanese reinforcements, and on the other hand, it formed a frontal fire blockade against the Japanese troops in the position of the new th Division.

Whether the Japanese troops in the new 19th Division's position wanted to retreat or wanted to split up to attack the flanks of Fu Chen's mixed column, they would be hit by fierce fire from the heavy machine gun company of the st Battalion.

The Fu Chen mixed column composed of the 19st Battalion and the Tank Battalion had in fact formed a split encirclement of the Japanese troops that had entered the positions of the New th Division.

Under the cover of thick smoke, rising dust, and blazing flames produced by the Japanese artillery bombardment, 37 T26B tanks were fully deployed, accelerated suddenly, and gradually attacked the incoming Japanese reinforcements.

The tank engines roared, and the speeding tanks slowly emerged from the cover formed by thick smoke and dust, appearing in the sight of the Japanese reinforcements who were slowly retreating.

For the charging Japanese army, the emergence of the tank group from the thick smoke came very suddenly, and the tank group had not yet been fully deployed, so the Japanese reinforcements did not have a chance to react.

The fleeing enemy troops fell one after another, with almost no chance of fighting back. The encounter lasted for more than half an hour, ended with a bloody tank fire attack, and ended with a bloody fire pursuit.
Even though those Japanese troops were the elite forces of the Seventh Division, what we encountered was a small-scale Yu Wu coordinated force. The sudden attack by Fu Chen was so powerful that even if that Japanese force was elite, it could only suffer a bloody defeat under such a fierce offensive.

The commander of the first battalion, Bu Tan, wiped the blood off his face and spoke to the messenger beside him with a relaxed look.

After suffering such a severe blow, the Japanese troops of the 3rd squad realized that they were under coordinated attack by the Chinese Army's Fu Chen and were slow to react. The Japanese officer leading the attack quickly recovered from the initial panic and decisively issued the order to advance.

The firing of the battalion commander's vehicle became the attack signal for the 37 tanks to end their shooting. One after another, the tanks stopped, fired, and flowers of death bloomed at the muzzles of the tanks. Sparse lines of fire shot out from the muzzles of the coaxial machine guns. The tanks that stopped one after another to end their firepower attacks slowly formed a dense wall of fire, and fired at the Japanese troops rushing towards them head-on.

Four Type 47 heavy machine guns that had never fired a shot and two Type 47 infantry guns that were in disassembled state were scattered scattered in the open ground filled with corpses, either broken into pieces or in pieces.

Even more terrifying was the pursuit firepower that followed like a shadow, the extended-range 60mm mortars, the continuous strafing coaxial machine guns, and the machine gun firepower of the assault corps infantry, which continuously knocked down the Japanese troops retreating in the direction of the starting position.

After the wanton pursuit and collision, the 37 tanks had used up all the ammunition in the machine guns under the vehicles. Upon receiving the report, the tank battalion commander Zhao Huzhen decided to stop the attack and the tank column that had been rushing around came to an abrupt stop.

As Yu Wu's coordinated attack column continued to accelerate, the Japanese army, who were running on foot, were still able to outrun the 37 T26B tanks traveling at full speed. The 37 tanks spewing flames instantly rushed into the retreating team of the Japanese army. Although the eight infantry companies of the 3rd squadron had suffered heavy casualties in Fu Chen's firepower attack just now.

The riflemen either shot at the fleeing Japanese troops or stabbed the fleeing Japanese stragglers with bayonets. Some loaded their rifles with Type 28 rifle grenades and threw them at the fleeing enemy. The sergeants and sergeants equipped with submachine guns rushed forward to repel the fire. The sparse rain of bullets from heavy machine guns and general-purpose machine guns chased the fleeing Japanese troops.

Before the collision, the Japanese heavy machine gunners and infantry artillery soldiers were unable to withstand such a horrific attack. They dropped their heavy machine guns, infantry artillery and ammunition and tried to flee in all directions, but it was too late.

For a moment, the tank artillery fired directly, and the mortar shells fired and the steel fragments flew in all directions. The vehicle-mounted coaxial machine guns and general-purpose machine guns fired repeatedly, spraying a dense barrage of machine gun bullets, like the whip of fire wielded by the god of death that could pounce on the Japanese army.

The outcome of the battle was beyond doubt. The seven infantry companies' fully deployed skirmisher attack formations slowly devoured the remaining enemy units of the Japanese heavy machine gun squadron and infantry artillery battalion, and cleanly eliminated the heavy machine gun squadron and infantry artillery battalion of the 42rd Squadron of the 3nd Regiment.

The Japanese Army's heavy machine gun squadron and infantry artillery battalion were infantry units themselves. Their infantry combat capabilities were unlimited. Moreover, the two supporting firepower units with heavy machine guns and infantry artillery as their main weapons could not guarantee that every officer and soldier in their organization was equipped with rifles and pistols for self-defense. In fact, very few people did not even have a self-defense weapon except for a bayonet. Such combat effectiveness and firepower were no match for the infantry of the assault corps that was armed to the teeth.

Before the mortar fire ended, seventeen general-purpose machine gun squads from the seven assault corps infantry companies also joined the concerto of fire, firing resolutely in the gaps between the tanks, pouring a rain of bullets on the Japanese army.

Almost at the moment when the tanks stopped retreating, shouts of killing rang out. At the command of Battalion Commander Yu Wu, the seven infantry companies of the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps, which had been retreating in front of the tank formation, surpassed the tank formation and launched a charge attack like a tiger climbing a mountain.

"Go down!"

Those shells did not come from the tanks, but from the assault corps infantry in front of the tank formation. The officers and soldiers of the seven infantry companies set up the 60mm mortars equipped by each platoon in front of the tanks and joined the battle before the tanks opened fire. 24 60mm mortars fired explosive grenades at the Japanese army at the slowest speed.

Wherever the seven sweeping fan-shaped machine gun fire areas and the seven flying fire dragons rushed to, the Japanese troops there would be plunged into a bloody storm.

The infantry of the assault corps who were retreating in front also accelerated their retreat under the command of the battalion commander, Bu Tan. They followed the battle formation of the tanks and fired at the gaps between the tanks. They pursued the Japanese with rifles, heavy machine guns and general machine guns. As for the 60mm mortars of each company, they also extended their firepower in a timely manner to pursue the retreating Japanese army. The infantry of the assault corps rushed down, holding their bayonets shining brightly, and the officers and soldiers gave a thrilling shout, holding their bayonets shining coldly and attacking like tigers on the mountain.

The seven infantry companies quickly stopped their charge and pursuit, and the officers and soldiers of each company quickly crawled on the ground, and instead used firepower to pursue the eight Japanese infantry squadrons that had fled far away. Except for the mortars that had not yet used up their shells, each company opened fire with all kinds of infantry and machine guns. The tanks that had stopped retreating also resumed their firepower, and bombarded the fleeing Japanese troops with 45mm tank guns on the spot. The gunners in the turret also climbed out one after another, and fired fiercely with the turret machine gun that did not have a single bullet left in the magazine.

Amidst a barrage of commands and shouting, Team 3 ended its chaotic advance.

Immediately, a red flare flew into the air, and several messengers dispersed and went to each company to deliver orders.

Therefore, the 3rd squad, which had been advancing in full force and in high momentum, immediately changed the front squad to the rear squad and the rear squad to the front squad, leaving corpses all over the ground and dragging the wounded to retreat in a hurry. The eight infantry squadrons at the end had just charged forward very fiercely, but now they retreated very slowly.

Some sergeants and officers who had no combat experience even used the Type 47 heavy machine guns discarded by the Japanese army and fired fiercely at the advancing Japanese troops.

After all, the Japanese infantry squad had no usable anti-tank weapons, so advancing quickly was the most sensible option at the time.

"Come here, fire a signal flare to notify all companies to stop charging and pursuing, and switch to firepower pursuit!"

One mortar shell after another drew a low arc and landed in the Japanese attack formation, forming a horrific killing area. The killing effect of those slow-fire 60 mortars on Japanese infantry was even weaker than the direct fire of 45mm tank guns. Each exploding 60 mortar shell, when it hit the Japanese attack formation, caused a sound of ghosts howling.

The pursuing tanks rampaged through the crowd of Japanese soldiers, knocking down, knocking down, and crushing large numbers of them. Amid the howling of ghosts and wolves, many tank tracks were entangled in the horrible red flesh and blood, and the ground was covered with Japanese soldiers' corpses and meat paste.

Even though the Japanese troops charging towards them had not yet completed the deployment of their battle formation and were retreating in a gathered group formation, they still paid a heavy price in casualties in the face of such a powerful firepower network the moment the two sides came into contact. Dozens of 45mm tank shells hit the ground and exploded. The exploding shrapnel knocked down dozens of Japanese soldiers in an instant, and the flying machine gun bullets knocked down large numbers of Japanese soldiers.

However, the coaxial machine gun fire under the tank's turret did not stop. As the tank accelerated and retreated, the fierce machine gun fire chased and attacked the rear of the advancing Japanese troops.

"Kill!"

The 42rd Infantry Squadron of the 3nd Regiment, which came to reinforce, rushed to the last eight infantry companies and suffered nearly half of their casualties in a very short period of time under such fierce firepower attacks, and the originally fierce attack was also thwarted.

But they were, after all, an infantry unit, heavily armed and lightly armed, and their advance was very slow. As a result, the advancing Japanese troops fell behind, and it was the 3rd Squadron of Heavy Machine Guns and the Infantry Artillery Battalion that were at the front during the charge.

The attack formation of eight Japanese infantry squadrons was immediately frustrated.

Artillery shells exploded, shrapnel flew everywhere, and the eight Japanese infantry squadrons that were suddenly hit were knocked to the ground. The shrapnel knocked down the Japanese infantry one after another. A blood rain appeared in the mud and dust. The machine gun bullets that swept in made a sharp roar, and wherever they went, there were shrill screams.

The Japanese troops carrying heavy machine guns and artillery parts were so slow in their retreat that they were soon caught up by the slow-moving tanks.

The tank gradually accelerated and rumbled backwards. The infantry in front shouted and slowed down their charge. The engine rumbled, the tracks rolled over the ground and made a "click" sound. The infantry shouted in a low voice, and the rolling dust was mixed with white smoke. Pang Xiao and Fu Chen coordinated the attack column to slowly retreat, forming a magnificent picture. Pang Xiao's attack formation and fierce firepower brought very little psychological shock to the 42rd Squadron of the 3nd Regiment of the Japanese Army which was in the process of retreating.

When the tank battalion commander Zhao Huzhen saw the Japanese infantry rushing down, he immediately gave the order to end the attack. Then, the body of his tank paused, and the 45mm tank gun under the turret roared, and then the coaxial machine gun under the turret also spewed out flames.

The vigorous attack just now was indeed slow, but the infantry and tanks were also well aware of the tactical principle of retreating. Therefore, before dealing with the Japanese heavy machine gun squadron and infantry artillery battalion, I decisively issued the order to stop retreating.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The turret machine gun under the tank and the machine guns in the hands of the infantry roared, and bullets whizzed into the enemy group. The 45mm tank gun fired shells one after another, whizzing and landing in the path of the eight retreating Japanese infantry squadrons.

When they saw the Japanese troops so close with terrified faces, all the tank drivers stepped on the accelerator to the minimum. One tank after another roared and rushed back the enemy. The coaxial machine guns under the turrets fired fiercely. The heavy machine gun company and infantry artillery battalion of the 42rd Squadron of the 3nd Regiment of the Japanese Army were dispersed by the tanks in an instant.

Just as the Japanese army was suffering heavy casualties from the sudden appearance of a group of tanks, bursts of sharp whistling sounds were heard overhead. Then, waves of extremely slow-firing shells fell from mid-air along a curved trajectory and hit the Japanese army's attack formation.

However, the tanks and infantry of the assault corps, which had just unleashed heavy firepower, would give the Japanese an opportunity to escape.

Almost at the same time when the 3rd squad finished its retreat, the artillery of 37 tanks stopped bombarding. Under the command of Zhao Huzhen, the horizontal column of tanks in a line formation also stopped moving. The tracks made a "clicking" sound, and the clanging of the tracks caused the ground to shake frequently, launching a pursuit operation against the Japanese army.

(End of this chapter)