The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 533 Bloody Night 2
"Commander, in addition to the division's artillery bombardment, I suggest that the frontline troops launch a feint attack, and all the organic firearms in the front-line infantry regiments should also open fire! I hope the second batch of landing troops will also seize the opportunity and launch an attack as soon as possible."

After Ando Rikichi gave the order to fire, the commander of the 5th Division, Imamura Hitoshi, added, his eyes full of ferocity.

He has been having bad luck recently. The first batch of Japanese landing troops have suffered heavy losses since their landing, but it is always the 21st Brigade under his command that has suffered the most. Imamura is very angry.

A few hours ago, more than 1,500 reinforcements and a group of new officers who arrived with the second landing force of the Japanese Army landed in Qisha. As soon as these reinforcements landed, they were added to the Fifth Division by Toshiyoshi Ando.

Imamura Jun used this group of troops to supplement the 21st Brigade, and soon restored the 21st Regiment of the subordinate 21st Brigade to a fully equipped and fully staffed state. He also transferred a small number of personnel to the 21nd Regiment of the 42st Brigade, which was almost reduced to a hollow shell, and the regiment barely restored the combat strength of an infantry battalion.

The injection of fresh blood greatly restored the combat effectiveness of the 21st Brigade. This infantry brigade, which had been half-crippled shortly after the landing, finally recovered to the combat effectiveness of barely one and a half regiments.

The successful landing of the second landing force on the North Sea beach gave Imamura Hitoshi a shot in the arm.

His own troops had been replenished, and the second batch of reinforcements responsible for flanking the flank had also successfully landed. The desire for revenge and the determination to attack suddenly filled Imamura Hitoshi's heart.

Ando Rikichi thought about it, nodded slightly and said: "Okay, we will launch a feint attack with a small force. I will also order the second batch of reinforcements to attack as soon as possible. The enemy's most powerful assault corps is in the direction of Qisha. The enemy's manpower in Beihai is limited and their combat effectiveness is not strong. We should let them go and fight!"

Twenty minutes later, the salvos of artillery from the 5th Field Artillery Regiment of the 5th Division and the Guards Artillery Battalion of the Guards Mixed Brigade joined the Japanese artillery concerto. The five artillery battalions, in accordance with the firing parameters determined during the day, together with the naval gunfire, bombarded Qisha's second line of defense and deep areas.

Ground artillery shells and naval gun shells of various calibers were like fire and meteors, attacking Qisha’s second line of defense in an overwhelming manner amidst bursts of dull booms.

Qisha, the second line of defense
Shells fell like hail, and in the pitch-black night, amid bursts of deafening roars, balls of red and black flames shot straight into the sky. The dense landing of shells, shock waves and the raised mud completely covered the positions of the second line of defense.

In the previous battle, although the 19th Regiment and the Field Replacement Regiment of the New 56th Division won a great victory with the cooperation of the Assault Corps, they also suffered heavy losses. Even the commander of the Field Replacement Regiment of the New 19th Division was wounded in the battle and had to be evacuated. After the battle, the New 19th Division combined the 56th Regiment and the Field Replacement Regiment into four relatively complete infantry battalions, which were commanded by Yang Tian, ​​the commander of the 19th Regiment of the New 56th Division.

After so many battles, Yang Tian gradually became well-trained. After taking over the command, he implemented strict vigilance against the Japanese troops in front, and at the same time reinforced the fortifications in Qisha with the cooperation of the assault corps. After this period of emergency reinforcement, the strength of the fortifications in Qisha's second line of defense has been greatly improved.

Although the Japanese artillery bombardment was extremely fierce and the overwhelming rain of bullets almost covered all the positions of the second line of defense, the defenders in the positions did not suffer many casualties.

However, even though the killing effect of the Japanese artillery bombardment was very limited, the fierce bombardment that suddenly began yesterday and continued almost continuously until night was itself an extremely dangerous signal.

In the command post of the 56th Regiment, Yang Tian paced nervously, feeling the shaking ground and the scorching air waves pouring in through the cracks in the command post, and his heart was filled with anxiety.

The Japanese army, which had been silent since yesterday, suddenly launched an attack, bombarding his positions with heavy artillery fire. After nightfall, the Japanese ground artillery fire stopped, and only the naval artillery fire continued to bombard. But just now, the Japanese army suddenly resumed the ground artillery fire, and the entire Qisha second line of defense was shrouded in artillery fire.

In Yang Tian's opinion, there was only one explanation for the sudden and fierce firepower of the Japanese army, that is, the Japanese army had ended its rest and replenishment after the disastrous defeat, and was showing its fangs again, preparing to launch another attack on Qisha's second line of defense.

"Order all frontline troops to be ready for battle at any time. The Japanese may attack at any time."

"Go and inform the friendly assault corps that the Japanese ground artillery fire is coming again. The enemy may launch a large-scale attack again. I hope the friendly forces can provide timely assistance."

"Reporting to the regiment commander, a shelter of the third company of the first battalion was blown down, and a platoon leader and a squad of soldiers were buried inside."

"Captain, the third battalion commander is injured and needs to be evacuated."

"Commander, the ammunition storage depot of the Second Battalion's heavy machine gun company was blown up."

Yang Tian kept giving orders to the adjutant beside him. The officers in the command post were also facing a serious enemy. According to Yang Tian's orders, they made one phone call after another, either reporting the situation to the assault corps or calling the battalion and company commanders in the position to urge them to deploy defenses. The reporting calls from the front-line battalions and companies were also continuous, most of which were reporting losses or casualties.

Yang Tian issued one order after another and responded to reports from subordinate units one after another.

Suddenly, Yang Tian felt that the shaking ground suddenly stopped and the shelling seemed to stop abruptly.

"Whizzing"

A series of sharp sounds of breaking through the air followed one after another, and before Yang Tian could react, beams of dazzling white light came through the observation ports and gaps of the command post.

Outside the command post, in front of the main position, more than a dozen flares streaked across the night sky and soared into the sky, illuminating the Qisha second line of defense position shrouded in darkness almost instantly. Yang Tian realized that the situation had changed, and immediately shouted: "Ask the front-line troops what's going on outside?"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was another whistling sound of flares rising into the sky, followed by the crackling sound of gunfire and chattering shouting suddenly appearing in front of the position of Qisha's second line of defense.

"Onboard!"

The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and shouts of killing suddenly filled the air, replacing the fierce sounds of naval and ground artillery bombardment.

At this time, Yang Tian didn't even need to ask, the phone in the command post rang. After an officer answered the phone, he said in shock: "Commander, the enemy suddenly attacked our position. Japanese troops appeared in front of the positions of each battalion. The enemy fired a large number of flares and has reached our position!"

"Order all battalions to fight back immediately and stop the enemy. Then report the situation to the friendly assault corps and request Captain He to provide fire support!"

Yang Tian issued a series of orders anxiously.

When Yang Tian heard that the Japanese army was attacking, he immediately thought that the Japanese army was attacking his position at night. He also thought that the Japanese army's artillery bombardment since yesterday was in preparation for the current night attack. How could he sit still? He immediately ordered to open fire.

Soon, dense gunfire sounded in the positions. The defenders who received the order to open fire came out of their hiding places, entered combat positions and opened fire. Almost all four infantry battalions opened fire. As the various firearms of the defenders sounded, the gunfire inside and outside the positions suddenly intertwined, and red or green tracer ballistics intertwined with each other.

Amid the dense gunfire, the Japanese troops in front of the positions fired flares from time to time. Groups and waves of Japanese troops, either in groups of three, five, or a dozen, launched continuous charges towards Qisha's second line of defense. The crossfire network composed of grenade launchers and heavy machine guns also fired fiercely.

The battle between the two sides was extremely fierce. After a while, the Japanese artillery fire resumed, but it was not the bombardment of its division-level artillery, but the bombardment of battalion-level artillery, regiment-level mountain artillery and rapid-fire artillery.

The Japanese army launched a fierce attack, and Yang Tian's troops also resisted with all their might. The fighting between the two sides was extremely fierce.

The attacking Japanese army was naturally the troops of the 5th Division. In order to create the illusion of a night attack on Qisha's second position, the 21st Brigade of the 21th Division was dispatched again. A group of officers and soldiers who had participated in the attacks on Qisha's first and second lines of defense were selected from the 42st Regiment and the nd Regiment to form a harassing and feinting attack force. Under the cover of naval guns and ground artillery, they quietly approached the position of Yang Tian's troops, immediately stopped the shelling, and launched a harassing attack.

Most of the Japanese troops involved in the harassment had participated in the attack on Qisha's second line of defense. They were familiar with the attack route and the various terrains in front of Qisha's second line of defense. Their enemy engagement and field tactics were very secretive and skillful. Their vanguard troops almost reached the position within a hundred meters in front of the second line of defense. As soon as the Japanese army began the attack, they could accurately fire grenades into the trenches of the second line of defense. The close distance of their night raid and the fierceness of their attack were obvious.

After they launched the surprise attack, the regimental artillery, rapid-fire artillery and battalion artillery of the 21st Brigade also opened fire to assist.

Mountain artillery, rapid-fire artillery, and brigade artillery opened fire in succession to provide cover. The light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers of the Japanese harassing troops also spewed flames at the highest rate of fire. The attacks of the harassing troops were extremely fierce. The Japanese army adopted a small-unit tactic and launched a wide frontal attack in front of the entire defense line. Although the number of people was small, the momentum was strong and the battle was large.

In fact, since the Japanese army had witnessed the powerful combat capability of the assault corps and had suffered repeated defeats in front of Qisha's two defense lines, although it was a feint attack strategically, at the tactical level of actual implementation, the order given by the commander of the 5th Division, Imamura Hitoshi, who proposed the feint attack, to the night attack troops was not a "feint attack" that he would stop when he saw the results, but four simple and crude words - all-out attack!

That is, to attack with all your strength, to make this "feint attack" as close to the main attack as possible, the real attack!
Whether it was Yang Tian or the defending officers and soldiers in the position, when they saw the Japanese army organizing such an attack, coupled with the fierce artillery bombardment that began yesterday, no one would think that the Japanese army was making a feint attack. Such a swift and fierce attack, coupled with the non-stop artillery preparation day and night, must be a night raid by the Japanese army. Therefore, they all fired with all their might and fought to the death.

The harassing Japanese troops were like locusts, coming in wave after wave in densely packed scattered combat teams. Their attack momentum was extremely swift. After the defenders repelled one wave, another wave of attacking Japanese troops quickly rushed up, and the intensity of the battle escalated rapidly.

Because the distance of the Japanese army's night attack was too close, not long after the two sides exchanged fire, a close-range grenade war broke out in the most intense part of the fighter planes in the position. The officers and soldiers inside and outside the position shouted and roared, throwing grenades at each other at a distance of only a few dozen meters.

Even crazier was the Japanese artillery. In order to kill as many soldiers as possible, the Japanese battalion artillery and the regiment artillery even risked accidentally injuring their own people in the night battle with poor visibility. They fired a large number of shrapnel shells with built-in prefabricated steel balls at the highest rate of fire.
This so-called night feint attack was extremely fierce!
In the rear, at the command post of the assault corps, He Wei followed the observation port of the command post, listening to the roar of gunfire and looking at the tracer bullets and orange-yellow flames looming in the distance, and he felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy.

He was not a god, so it was impossible for him to predict that at this moment a large Japanese reinforcement force was sharpening its knives and landing on the surface of the North Sea, and even a brigade of Japanese troops had already landed safely. His tactical judgment at this time was no different from Yang Tian's. He also believed that this was an attempt by the Japanese army to take down Qisha's second line of defense with a night attack.

He Wei made this judgment for the same reason as Yang Tian. In this situation, no one would think that the Japanese army was conducting a feint attack, and it was even more impossible to judge out of thin air that the Japanese army was preparing to take action in the direction of the North Sea.

"Captain, the Japanese are attacking fiercely. Commander Yang and his men are engaging in a fierce firefight with the Japanese. We are requesting fire support."

Chief of Staff Wang Yuanling hung up the phone in a hurry and spoke to He Wei anxiously.

He Wei could imagine the intensity of the battle just by listening to the gunfire at the front line. He did not have full confidence in the combat effectiveness of Yang Tian's troops, and this was a night battle, so he agreed to Yang Tian's request for fire support without thinking twice.

He Wei gave the order: "Order the mortar group to immediately open fire at the frontline positions. The entire corps is ready to fight. Send someone to notify Captain Zhao of the tank battalion and have them start the tanks as well. Be ready to pull them up at any time!"

Soon, the mortar companies of the three battalions of the assault corps and the 19th Regiment of the new 56th Division and the mortar companies of the field supplementary regiment roared and launched a volley of bombardment on the frontline positions.
In the frontline positions, the mortar group still set up a frontline artillery observation post. After the artillery observation officer reported the approximate direction of the attack on the Japanese army to the mortar group position, rounds of 81mm and 82mm mortar shells accurately landed in the Japanese attack column in front of the position.
(End of this chapter)