Blood-Red Front

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

Early the next morning, the front lines of Niutou Mountain were covered in explosions, and fighter jets and bombers kept circling overhead.

Whether it was the frontal defensive positions or the reverse slope positions, they were all shrouded in thick smoke.

Looking at the smoke-filled battlefield, Okazaki nodded confidently.

The chief of staff standing nearby said, "Brigade commander, with such intense artillery fire, no living thing can withstand it. I think by the time our army launches its attack, the Xia army will probably have very few men left."

"Heh... a reverse slope? In the face of all-round, three-dimensional firepower, which side is a reverse slope?" Okazaki said with disdain.

"I want to see how Xia Jun responds. It would be best if he could give me a surprise, otherwise it would be really boring."

As he spoke, Okazaki couldn't help but burst into laughter.

At this moment, inside the 404th Detachment command post, Guan Jianchu felt somewhat nervous looking at the forward positions that were being continuously bombed.

"Sir, compared to when we were in Lujia Town, the firepower of the newly promoted army is much stronger. I don't know if the front-line positions can hold out. I hope there are fewer casualties."

"The newly promoted army is still using the same old methods: bombing, creeping barrage, smoke cover, infantry-tank coordination, nothing new."

Although the heavy artillery regiment of the newly promoted army failed to detect anything last night, Lin Zhiyuan was not too nervous. Instead, he gestured for Guan Jianchu to sit down.

"Try this tea. It was a gift from the President to my father. It tastes quite good."

Lin Zhiyuan had eaten a whole chicken early in the morning and was quite full, so he asked Shang Kebing to make him a pot of green tea.

Guan Jianchu had no choice but to sit down, and Shang Kebing brought him a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Miss Shang." Guan Jianchu accepted the gift politely.

"Old Guan, you can rest assured. I checked the front lines before the battle. As long as they hide in the tunnels, the Rising Army's few bombs won't be able to do anything to them."

The Americans' firepower, capable of lowering hilltops by two meters, couldn't penetrate the tunnels, let alone the Rising Army's little breeze and rain.

Even though the tunnels at Niutou Mountain weren't as well-developed as those at Shangganling, Lin Zhiyuan was still very confident.

Just as Lin Zhiyuan finished speaking, an operations staff officer put down the phone and reported: "We've made contact with the 6th Regiment. The fortifications at the front line have been severely damaged, but the casualties are not high. They're all hiding in the tunnels."

Guan Jianchu exclaimed with admiration, "That's truly amazing! Just by digging a little soil, the Chusheng Army's shells lost more than half of their lethality."

Guan Jianchu knew very well that fortifications constructed of earth and wood could not withstand artillery fire for long.

Whether Niutou Mountain can be held depends on the personnel; the fewer casualties the troops suffer, the longer they can hold out.

"Let them bomb it. Bomb it until they think it's enough, then we'll teach them a lesson," Lin Zhiyuan said casually.

The artillery bombardment by the rising army continued until 2 p.m., and the planes also bombed back and forth several times.

When the artillery fire moved back, the newly promoted army finally made a new move.

As Lin Zhiyuan said, the next step after the initial artillery bombardment was for tanks to cover the infantry in launching an attack.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

"Have the mortar company of the 6th Regiment open fire to cut off the communication between the tanks and the infantry," Lin Zhiyuan ordered, holding up his binoculars.

"Tell the cannon company to prepare. If the newly promoted army conducts counter-battery operations, fire a salvo at the coordinates I gave you."

Infantry advances differ from combined arms operations. In combined arms operations, infantry cannot disperse, and they cannot lie prone in order to keep up with the tanks. This maximizes the lethality of mortars.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

A 100mm mortar shell has a kill radius of nearly 20 meters, and the newly formed infantrymen hit by the barrage suffered heavy casualties instantly.

This forced the newly promoted troops to lie prone on the ground to avoid artillery fire, causing them to become separated from the tanks.

Behind them, the newly risen priestess detected the 6th Regiment's mortar positions again, and the mountain artillery regiment immediately launched a counter-battery strike, which brought the 6th Regiment's mortar fire to a halt.

However, the smile that had just appeared on the newly ascended priestess's face was suddenly blasted into the sky by an explosion.

"It's a cannon!" The commander of the initial mountain artillery regiment's voice changed. "Quickly! Transport the mountain guns immediately!"

The shell arrived before the sound, so it could only be a high-velocity cannon, and a large-caliber heavy one at that.

The newly promoted artillerymen disregarded their own safety and desperately rushed to transport the cannons.

In the early days of military service, artillery was far more important than men.

Because the coordinates provided by Lin Zhiyuan were far beyond the observation post's field of vision, the artillery company ignored the actual situation and simply kept firing.

The cannon battery, which had fired 30 shells, finally stopped five minutes later.

Rookie soldiers rushed back into the shelling zone to rescue those who could still be saved.

……

Inside the 14th Brigade headquarters, the chief of staff reported: "Brigade commander, the losses of the mountain artillery regiment have been tallied."

"What's going on?" Okazaki asked expressionlessly.

"Three mountain guns were lost, 182 people were killed or wounded, and the shrine maiden was killed in action."

Okazaki, who could still remain composed upon hearing about the losses of mountain guns and personnel, could no longer hold back after hearing about the death of the shrine maiden. He drew his command sword and began slashing wildly.

"Baka! Baka!"

The things on the table were chopped into tiny pieces with a loud crackling sound.

Okazaki finally stopped, panting, after clearing the entire table.

"How did the mountain artillery position get exposed?!"

"The situation is unclear. No infiltration troops have been detected, and the enemy's observation post on Niutou Mountain should not be able to see the location of the mountain artillery regiment."

"Baka!" Okazaki cursed angrily, feeling as if a pair of eyes were constantly staring at him.

"But since that's the case, let's have a fair and square competition!"

"Order the 11th Regiment to intensify its offensive and force the Xia army to relocate."

"The heavy artillery regiment and the mountain artillery regiment should construct underground artillery positions and take cover, so that this will not happen again."

"Hi!"

……

The newly formed 11th Regiment launched a fierce attack on the Niutou Mountain position from multiple directions, and the entire mountain was filled with newly formed soldiers wearing khaki uniforms.

However, Okazaki's expression grew increasingly grim as he watched his troops launch the attack.

"Is Xia's troop replenishment so fast? Why does it seem like the number of troops on the front lines hasn't decreased?"

"It's possible they were resupplyed from the rear via trenches," the chief of staff said. "I saw Xia soldiers coming down from the mountaintop along the trenches."

"The rear? The back slope or the reserve?" Okazaki frowned.

"The reverse slope positions were bombarded repeatedly by bombers, making it unlikely that they could support the front lines from there. So how did the reserves break through the artillery barrage?"

The extended firing of the heavy artillery was intended to block reserve reinforcements; Okazaki did not believe anyone could charge through artillery fire.

"It could also be a trench," the chief of staff said. "Although the reconnaissance planes didn't capture it, that doesn't mean it didn't exist. The Xia army might be using it as a disguise."

"Yes, that's very possible." Okazaki nodded.

"If Xia Jun is willing to throw people under the muzzle of cannons, then I'm willing to bury them too."

"After the 11th Regiment withdraws, the heavy artillery will bombard the front-line positions for another hour to annihilate all the Xia troops. I want to see how many times the Xia troops can be replenished."

"Hi!"

……