The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 524: Total annihilation! Death in glory!
In the Japanese command post, the commander of the 21st Brigade, Masao Nakamura, and the commander of the 42nd Infantry Regiment, Motoichi Sakata, had lost their previous composure and were staring at the battlefield in the distance with bloodshot eyes.

Of course, due to the long distance and poor observation conditions, they had no way of determining what was happening on the front line.

Looking out from the Japanese command post to the front, one could only see flames rising into the sky and thick smoke and columns of smoke. The effect of the Japanese army's ground-to-air joint firepower preparation in the initial stage of the offensive was indeed terrifying. The bombardment of a division-level artillery fire, coupled with the strafing of carrier-based fighters, the horizontal bombing of carrier-based attack aircraft, and the dive attacks of carrier-based dive bombers, the entire position of the New 19th Division had been surrounded by thick smoke and fire. In addition, due to the fierce fighting between the two armies and the firing of the Kuomintang mortar group, long-distance visibility on the battlefield was extremely low.

The crackling sound of gunfire and the shouting of killing cast a shadow over the confusing battlefield situation.

However, although they could not clearly understand the situation at the front line, the experience of the 42rd Infantry Battalion of the 3nd Regiment was enough to make them angry. Although the 3rd Battalion was almost wiped out by the tank battalion and the st Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps and suffered heavy casualties, more than remnants were withdrawn one after another.

In addition, some lucky ones including the 42st Infantry Battalion of the 1nd Regiment, the heavy machine gun company of the 2nd Battalion, the infantry artillery squad, the artillery company directly under the 42nd Regiment, and the rapid-fire artillery company escaped back to their attack starting positions.

After escaping, these Japanese officers and soldiers immediately reported the battle to their two superiors.

The Chinese army's tank group and infantry attacked in coordination. The regiment's artillery squadron, rapid-fire artillery squadron, heavy machine gun squadron and infantry artillery squad of the 1st Infantry Battalion and the 2nd Infantry Battalion were attacked by enemy tanks and were completely destroyed. It is suspected that a large number of Chinese troops wearing German-style steel helmets and strange clothes launched a counterattack.
Every word and every battle situation of the soldiers who escaped back irritated the nerves of Masao Nakamura and his partner.
Among them, what most frightened the commander of the 21st Brigade, Masao Nakamura, was undoubtedly the so-called "Chinese troops in German helmets and strange uniforms."

The tragic scene of the 21st Regiment being attacked fiercely by the Chinese army that night is still vivid in people’s minds. The reappearance of the Chinese army is obviously not a good sign.

Nakamura Masao suddenly felt that the situation was not good, and the commander of the 42nd Regiment, Sakata Motoichi, with red eyes, asked: "Brigade Commander, please send the 21st Regiment to reinforce. The infantry of the 1st and 2nd Battalions are still in the enemy's position. Please also ask the division to cover them with artillery fire. The warriors of our two battalions are fighting hard in the enemy's position. If you don't send reinforcements, I'm afraid they will be in a very dangerous situation."

Nakamura Masao nodded slightly and immediately ordered: "Notify the division artillery and request the division artillery to provide fire cover for the frontline positions."

"Yes!"

After the messenger officer left, Nakamura Masao did not issue an order to send reinforcements. Although the troops he had were already stretched thin, it was not that he could not send even a little reinforcement.

However, when he thought of the appearance of the highly combat-capable Chinese army, even though Masao Nakamura knew that the situation of his own troops on the front line was critical, he was still hesitant and did not dare to send reinforcements rashly.

Just as Masao Nakamura was hesitating, suddenly, the sound of artillery fire from the direction of the front line increased again.

The sudden increase in the sound of artillery instantly interrupted Nakamura Masao's thoughts. Soon, a messenger officer came running and reported to Nakamura Masao in a hurry: "Report to the brigade commander, the division artillery regiment sent a report that the enemy's artillery suddenly opened fire and released a large number of smoke bombs. In order to avoid accidentally injuring our officers and soldiers, the division artillery cannot fire."

"What?" Masao Nakamura frowned. The sudden firing of a large number of smoke bombs by the Chinese army on the opposite side immediately made Masao Nakamura's command determination go from being uncertain to being completely confused.

Just as the Japanese artillery reported, at this moment, in front of the New 19th Division's position, amid the rumbling of artillery fire, large clouds of yellow smoke and white smoke gradually rose and drifted away. Under the influence of the wind, a large smoke shield was formed, covering the entire New 19th Division's position, while constantly spreading to the surrounding areas of the position.

As for using mortars to fire lethal shells, there is no longer any need for that.

Under the joint attack of the 42st Infantry Battalion of the Assault Corps and the mortar group, hundreds of Japanese defeated soldiers were almost completely wiped out, and only dozens of lucky Japanese defeated soldiers managed to escape. This also meant that the 1st Battalion and the 2nd Battalion of the nd Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army were completely wiped out.

He Wei, who received the good news from the first battalion, was very pleased, but he did not get carried away by the victory.

Although the Japanese troops inside and outside the positions had been cleared out, He Wei was still very alert to the fierce artillery fire and fierce air strikes. If he had just annihilated the Japanese troops and then the Japanese launched another round of fierce artillery bombardment and covered the positions of the new 19th Division with a round of fierce firepower, then his happy event would turn into a funeral.

Therefore, after the first battalion reported victory, He Wei decisively ordered the mortar group to fire smoke bombs in front of the position, releasing a large amount of smoke, covering their own positions with thick smoke, interfering with the Japanese artillery and air force attacks. At the same time, He Wei also quickly ordered the assault corps and the friendly 19th Division to retreat, treat the wounded, enter the shelter, and prepare to withstand the Japanese retaliatory artillery fire.

As for counting the specific results of the battle and cleaning up the battlefield, that is not what we should do now, and there is no need to rush. It will not be too late to clean up the battlefield after dark.

The top priority is to retreat in time and continue to remain vigilant.

Just when Masao Nakamura and other senior Japanese officers of the 21st Brigade were hesitant and timid due to the confusing battlefield situation and the strange actions of the Chinese army, the assault corps and the new 19th Division troops had quickly completed the retreat under the cover of smoke.

He Wei's decisive move played exactly what the Japanese army wanted. The observation post of the artillery unit of the 5th Division of the Japanese Army, which received the order to cover fire, could not see the situation on the battlefield at all. Apart from the thick smoke, fire and fog floating everywhere, they could see nothing. Although they could fire according to the determined firing parameters and accurately hit the positions of the Chinese army opposite,

However, the Japanese army had no idea that the 19st and 42nd Infantry Battalions of the 1nd Regiment, which had attacked the position of the New 2th Division, had been completely wiped out. They still thought that the two armies on the front line were fighting in the smoke. Under such circumstances, how could the Japanese artillery dare to take the risk of opening fire?
Faced with the layers of smoke inside and outside the Chinese army's positions, although Nakamura Masao was hesitant, after careful consideration, although he still had not made up his mind to send a large number of reinforcements, he still pulled out two infantry squads from the remnants of the 42rd Infantry Battalion of the 3nd Regiment which had just retreated, and sent them to venture into the thick smoke to scout the situation.

After all, although the situation on the front line is critical and unclear, it is always necessary to make the battle situation as clear as possible, otherwise the basic command basis for the subsequent battle will no longer exist!
Just five minutes after the small forward force sent by Masao Nakamura disappeared in the smoke, a fierce burst of gunfire was suddenly heard, including the sound of Type 21 rifles, the sound of Taisho -year light machine guns, the sound of explosions when Type mm grenade launchers were fired, and faint shouting continued to be heard, which made Masao Nakamura and the officers in the st Brigade Command Post nervous and frightened.

The gunshots and explosions stopped abruptly after more than ten minutes. Ten minutes later, several Japanese soldiers returned to the command post of the 21st Brigade and reported their reconnaissance results to Masao Nakamura tremblingly: except for more than fifty people who managed to escape, all the officers and soldiers of the 42st Infantry Battalion and the 1nd Infantry Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Regiment that attacked the enemy's positions were killed!

(End of this chapter)