The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 523 Driving Ducks

In front of the position of the new 19th Division, the 19st Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps had already "approached" the position of the new 19th Division in accordance with He Wei's orders. Four infantry companies and one heavy machine gun company all moved to the artillery and heavy machine gun firing positions left by the Japanese army in front of the position of the new th Division.

Under the deployment of Battalion Commander Fu Chen, the four infantry companies were deployed on the left and right wings, with two companies on the left wing and two companies on the right wing. The battalion's heavy machine gun company was also divided into left and right wings, with two heavy machine gun platoons deployed on the left wing and two heavy machine gun platoons deployed on the right wing.

Fu Chen deployed all his troops on the left and right wings, but the two wings were not connected together. Instead, a passage with a length and width of nearly one kilometer on the front and sides was formed between them.

"Battalion Commander, the enemy is coming!"

On the left wing, the company commander of the heavy machine gun company of the first battalion put down his binoculars and spoke anxiously to the battalion commander Fu Chen who was squatting in a foxhole.

Fu Chen had also already seen the yellow stream of people struggling to break out from the gray tide. More than 19 Japanese soldiers who had struggled to break out from the position of the New th Division gathered together sparsely.

Then, they rushed towards the front of the new 19th Division's position and were about to retreat along the route they had taken when they attacked.

The defeated Japanese soldiers, desperate to survive, moved as fast as the tide.

The tactical skills of these Japanese soldiers were indeed good. After escaping, they did not continue to gather together, but instead dispersed, thus avoiding mass casualties caused by intensive firepower attacks.

Faced with the rapidly dispersing Japanese fleeing troops, the assault corps troops in the New 19th Division's position did not organize a pursuit under He Wei's orders. Even the troops of the friendly New 19th Division, at the suggestion of the assault corps, gave up pursuing the victory and did not organize troops to follow up the attack, and did not even launch a fire pursuit.

After all, the 19st Battalion was right in front of the new th Division's position. If they organized a fire pursuit, the projected firepower would not only chase after the Japanese army's rout, but would also more easily cause accidental injuries to the officers and soldiers of the st Battalion.

"Captain, should we start herding the ducks now?"

The machine gun company commander came up to Fu Chen and asked in a low voice.

Looking at the scattered Japanese soldiers getting closer and closer to the first battalion's position, Fu Chen nodded and gave orders word by word: "Let's get started, drive them into the pocket."

"Yes! All companies start firing! Target, the two wings of the enemy's fleeing army! Fire!"

At the same time as the heavy machine gun company commander shouted out orders, the company's messenger also sent flag signals to the two machine gun platoons on the right wing.

At the same time, the shooters of the four ZB37 heavy machine guns in the two heavy machine gun platoons on the left wing quickly adjusted the direction and elevation of the heavy machine guns with the sound of mechanical friction, and the black muzzles of the guns were pointed directly at the leftmost wing of the defeated Japanese army.

The heavy machine gunner released the safety, tightened the grip, and pulled the trigger. Immediately, the four zb37 heavy machine guns let out a dull roar, accompanied by the shaking of the shooting parts and the friction of the ammunition belt. In a short burst of gunfire, the long bursts of fire from the four machine guns were completed in an instant. "Boom boom boom..."

The two machine gun platoons fired a concentrated fire and swept the left wing of the defeated Japanese army. Then, the two machine gun platoons on the right wing also roared and the right wing of the Japanese army also fell. A heavy machine gun company, with eight machine guns forming a firepower network that was divided into the left and right wings, shot from both sides, and the left and right wings of the defeated Japanese army suffered heavy casualties.

After being attacked by fierce machine gun fire, the defeated Japanese army quickly began to shrink their troops in order to avoid the machine gun fire from both wings. The originally scattered defeated troops quickly gathered together, and the Japanese troops on both wings really shrank to the center like ducks being driven, and the shooters of the heavy machine gun company kept adjusting their shooting direction as the Japanese troops continued to move forward.

Amid the continuous long and short bursts of fire, the defeated Japanese troops kept moving, and under the "coercion" and "guidance" of machine gun fire, they finally broke into the passage reserved for the Japanese army by the 1st Infantry Battalion. On the left and right wings of their escape route, two infantry companies and two heavy machine gun platoons of the 1st Battalion were deployed respectively.

The Japanese troops who were fleeing and running wildly did not think so much. After experiencing an extremely brutal and bloody battle, they just wanted to get out of the battlefield as soon as possible and retreat. They did not care about so many things at all. They did not realize that the "smooth retreat path" they were on was actually the result of deliberate guidance of heavy machine gun fire by the Chinese army in front of them.

When the vanguard of the defeated Japanese army rushed into this passage, the firepower of the heavy machine gun company came to an abrupt halt.

Fu Chen looked at the defeated Japanese soldiers who had rushed into the passage he had reserved and were surrounded on both sides by the first battalion of troops, and a sneer suddenly appeared on his face.

"Messenger, prepare the flares!"

Through Fu Chen's telescope, the retreating Japanese army kept moving, moving, and advancing in the passage reserved by the first battalion. Soon, the vanguard of the defeated team rushed to the end of the reserved passage, and then half of the defeated team had rushed out of the passage. When he saw the tail of the Japanese army's defeated troops about to rush out of the passage, Fu Chen immediately shouted: "Fire!"

The signal gun in the messenger's hand fired a sound, and a red flare shot up into the sky.

Almost at the same time, the four infantry companies of the first battalion, the first company, the second company, the third company, and the fourth company, opened fire at the same time. Various light and heavy weapons concentrated their fire, forming a cross-fire network, which swept towards the Japanese fleeing troops who were in dense formation and about to rush out of the reserved passage. Infantry and machine gun bullets flew like heavy rain.

The infantry company's machine guns, 60mm mortars, rifle grenades, the heavy machine guns of the heavy machine gun company, and the Type heavy machine guns captured from the Japanese army that were temporarily used by each company, all kinds of firearms spewed out thick tongues of flames.

The Japanese troops retreating in dense formations were suddenly knocked down in large numbers, falling in a pool of blood like wheat being cut. For the Japanese troops, the original "smooth road" turned into a bloody road.

Amid the sound of gunfire and explosions, large groups of Japanese soldiers fell down howling. The corpses lying in all directions were crowded together and soon formed a small hill.

A few minutes after the first battalion opened fire, there were bursts of whistling sounds of shells breaking through the air above the heads of the officers and soldiers of the first battalion. Then, the sounds of breaking through the air turned into whistling sounds, and the shells whizzed down and exploded with sparks.

The artillery of the assault corps' mortar group, which had been hiding in the shelter, roared again. A large number of 81mm mortar shells fell in the ranks of the retreating Japanese army, exploding with a loud bang, frequent flashes, rising columns of earth, and whistling shrapnel flying everywhere, easily and accurately tearing the retreating Japanese army into pieces.

(End of this chapter)