Chapter 210: Kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred to yourself
"Hold on, hold on!
Sharpshooter, hurry up and beat up that little Japanese soldier with a knife for me!"
At the Eighth Route Army's blocking position at Tieshanling, Zheng Shicheng, the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 1st Column of Taiyue, looked at a Japanese officer who was holding a knife and commanding the Japanese to charge, and quickly called the sharpshooter of the 1st Battalion over.
"Yes!"
After seeing how effective it was to have snipers in each company of the Vanguard Regiment, the brigade commander took a batch of sniper rifles from the Vanguard Regiment and distributed them specifically to various troops in the Taiyue Military Region. Each battalion selected two soldiers with the best marksmanship to be equipped with sniper rifles.
Then select several soldiers with good marksmanship for training, and use the best Type 38 rifles to form a sharpshooter team that specializes in fighting the Japanese machine gunners, grenade throwers, and officers.
After hearing Zheng Shicheng's order, a sharpshooter next to Zheng Shicheng first shot and killed a Japanese sergeant with a plaster flag on his rifle, and then quickly aimed at the Japanese officer who had just run out of the bunker to command the troops to charge.
With a gunshot, the Japanese commander who was shouting to charge fell to the ground.
"Well done! After this battle, I'll give your Sharpshooter Squad canned beef!
Increase your firepower and beat the Japs back for me!"
When Zheng Shicheng saw the Japanese officer being killed, he quickly ordered his troops to increase firepower and shoot down the Japanese who were rushing up the slope.
Accompanied by the roar of heavy machine guns, the Japanese soldiers who rushed to the middle of the mountain were once again beaten back by dense firepower and had to retreat back to the foot of the mountain to wait for the next attack.
"Stretcher team, hurry up and take the wounded away!
Quickly repair the fortifications and replenish ammunition! "
Seeing the Japanese being repelled, Zheng Shicheng quickly ordered his troops to repair fortifications and replenish ammunition.
A member of the stretcher team at the back of the mountain quickly used a stretcher to carry the ammunition at the back to the position, and then carried all the seriously wounded soldiers away from the position.
"Damn it, the water tank is broken!"
A shooter of the 24th heavy machine gun looked at the wet soil on the machine gun position, lowered his head, and found that the water tank of the heavy machine gun had been pierced by the Japanese.
"Damn it! Those damned Japanese actually broke my heavy machine gun. Lao Xu, look around and see if there is anything that can block the hole for me!"
The heavy machine gunner cursed and shouted at the assistant gunner to help him find something to plug the hole in the water tank. Otherwise, without cooling water, the heavy machine gun would not be able to fire much and would have to cease fire.
Their battalion has a total of three heavy machine guns. If one of them stops, there will be a huge gap in firepower.
After the heavy machine gunner shouted a few times, he saw that the assistant gunner next to him did not respond, and he immediately realized what was going on.
After a moment of silence, the heavy machine gunner called for the stretcher team to carry away the assistant gunner who had died long ago after being shot in the head by a Japanese bullet fragment.
"Someone come and help me hold the bullets!"
The heavy machine gunner did not feel sad or cry because of the death of the deputy gunner.
The Japanese would launch the next round of attack soon, and he had no time to be sad or cry.
He needs to stay the same and not let his mood fluctuate.
If your mind is not stable, then your hands will be unstable. If your hands are not stable, then you will not be able to shoot the heavy machine gun well and you will not be able to kill more Japanese devils!
A soldier with his head wrapped in bandages by the medic was quickly directed to run to the heavy machine gunner.
"Captain, what do you need me to do?"
"Recruit?"
"Well, I just joined the Eighth Route Army less than a month ago..."
"Come, I'll teach you how to use a heavy machine gun... Look, when I shout bullets, you open this and put the bullet belt in...
Remember, after inserting the bullet belt, you have to hold it with your hand, otherwise it will easily get stuck.
When I shout for more water, you open the kettle next to you and pour the water into the machine gun... When I shout for a move, I will drag the heavy machine gun down first, then I will carry the front and you carry the back, and follow me to another machine gun position...
How is it? Do you understand? "
Seeing that it was a new recruit, the heavy machine gunner controlled his temper and taught the new recruit as gently as possible how to cooperate with him in using the heavy machine gun.
"Well, monitor, I understand. That's it... and then this... right?"
"Yeah, that's right, you're good. Which class are you from? Do you want to learn heavy machine gun from me?
This thing is much more useful than the Type 99 light machine gun in your platoon..."
"Squad leader, can I also learn the heavy machine gun?"
"Of course you can. Anyone can learn how to use a heavy machine gun. If you can learn it, you will have your own heavy machine gun in the future!
I see you have a good memory, so follow me as a secondary shooter and I will slowly teach you how to use a heavy machine gun!"
Listening to what the recruit said, the heavy machine gunner seemed to have thought of the time when he was still a recruit.
During a battle, the deputy gunner of the regiment's only heavy machine gun was killed in an explosion.
The heavy machine gunner directly asked me to help him load bullets, and in the end the other party also took me as the new assistant shooter.
Until he got his own heavy machine gun.
As the recruits listened to what the heavy machine gunner said, excitement filled their young faces.
"Thank you, monitor."
……
“Bagaya road!
We have charged three times, why haven't we taken down Tieshanling yet? "
The commander of the 42nd Regiment of the Japanese 9th Brigade, Yoshino Kuma, saw that the troops on Tieshanling were retreating again.
He was so angry that he pointed at the Japanese captain who was responsible for attacking Tieshanling and cursed him.
"An entire battalion, more than a thousand people, with artillery cover, why haven't they captured Tieshanling after three battles?!"
"Kitada-kun, I need an explanation!"
Kitada Daishi, the Japanese captain in charge of attacking Tieshanling, saw the regiment commander getting angry and quickly started to explain.
"Captain, the Eighth Route Army occupies the high ground, and the terrain is narrow, so our troops can't rush up at all, and the Eighth Route Army also has a lot of heavy weapons.
There were three heavy machine guns, which directly blocked the charge route. As soon as our grenade launchers appeared, they would be shot down by the Eighth Route Army's snipers.
There was no way to blow up the Eighth Route Army’s heavy machine gun positions.
Moreover, the Eighth Route Army also has artillery. If we use the Type 92 infantry gun, it will be easy for the Eighth Route Army to blow up our artillery."
Kitada Daishi also has his own troubles.
He originally thought that the task of attacking Tieshanling would be easy. After all, with the equipment of the Eighth Route Army and the number of Eighth Route Army soldiers on Tieshanling, and with more than a thousand people in his battalion, it should be an easy task to capture the Tieshanling position defended by only a few hundred Eighth Route Army soldiers.
But he never expected that the firepower of the Eighth Route Army on Tieshanling was so fierce and was not weaker than their troops at all.
There were even three heavy machine guns, and they were set up at a high altitude. And because of the terrain, if the heavy machine guns were set up at the foot of the mountain, they would need to pile up sandbags and raise the muzzles to hit the Eighth Route Army's positions and suppress the Eighth Route Army with firepower.
But if there are too many sandbags, the target will be obvious and will be directly blown up by the Eighth Route Army's mortars.
If it is carried up the mountain, it will be shot down by the Eighth Route Army's snipers.
So now the Japanese are charging the Eighth Route Army without the cover of heavy machine guns.
Having heavy machine guns for defense and not having heavy machine guns for defense are two different things, especially when they are charging from the bottom of the mountain to the top.
There was no cover, and the Eighth Route Army could hide in the shooting positions made of sandbags and shoot at them.
Their troops simply couldn't get forward.
"Captain, I request that the artillery squadron suppress the Eighth Route Army positions on Tieshanling with artillery fire and use mountain artillery to destroy all the heavy machine guns on the Eighth Route Army positions."
Kitada Daishi asked Yoshino Kumasa for help, hoping that the regiment commander could provide artillery support.
"Can we use special weapons?"
"Captain, we can't use special weapons here. We are at the foot of the mountain, and the Eighth Route Army is on the mountain. If we use special weapons, it is very likely to injure our soldiers by mistake!"
"Captain of the Regiment, the commander of the brigade sent a telegram asking us to capture Tieshanling within two hours!"
"idiot!
Kitada Daishi, this is your last chance. Let the Kitada Battalion charge. I will have the artillery squadron provide cover fire!"
"Hi!"
"Send a message to the artillery squadron, have them launch a covering bombardment on Tieshanling! Cooperate with Beitian Battalion to launch an attack on Tieshanling!"
"Hi!"
After receiving the order from Yoshino Kumamasa, Kitada Daishi quickly returned to his own troops and began to organize his troops to prepare for a new charge.
"Notify everyone, first and second squadrons to prepare for the attack, charge in echelons, if the first squadron is annihilated, then the second squadron will follow immediately!
If the second squadron is completely destroyed, I will personally lead the third squadron to charge!"
"Hi!"
……
"Shut up!"
As a distinctive sound rang out in the air, the veteran Eighth Route Army soldiers on the Tieshanling position immediately recognized it as the sound of the Japanese artillery shells flying.
"Bombardment! The Japs bombardment!
Anti-cannon!"
Because the soil on Tieshanling was too hard, the Eighth Route Army did not dig many anti-artillery holes on their defensive positions. Most of them were temporary anti-artillery holes built with sandbags, which could block a few mortar shells.
At the call of commanders and fighters at all levels, the Eighth Route Army soldiers on the battlefield entered the anti-artillery caves one after another to avoid the Japanese artillery fire.
"The Japs are charging!"
The observer on the position saw that the Japanese had launched a charge towards Tieshanling before the shelling stopped, and shouted to warn them.
"Damn it, do the Japanese want to die? Do you want to be beaten?!"
When the Eighth Route Army observer saw a shell fall right in front of the Japanese's charge path, his eyes widened.
Not only that, the shells exploded on the mountain, and the flying debris directly killed several Japanese soldiers who were charging down the mountain.
"Damn it, the Japanese are getting mad. Everyone, come out and stop them! Stop them!"
……
"Brother Ligong, how long have the Eighth Route Army been fighting the Japanese?"
At the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's blocking position behind Tieshanling, Chu Yunfei looked at the smoke and dust rising from the Eighth Route Army's position and the Japanese soldiers charging down the mountain, and asked Fang Ligong beside him.
"Commander, the Eighth Route Army has been fighting the Japs for nearly two and a half hours... The Japs are getting really angry now, and they're charging right before the shelling stops.
Or charge up the mountain from the bottom...kill one thousand enemies but lose eight hundred of your own."
Fang Ligong used a telescope to watch the Eighth Route Army soldiers on the Tieshanling blocking position who were resisting the Japanese artillery fire and launching a counterattack against the Japanese invaders, and he couldn't help but sigh.
“If it were our troops, except for a few regiments, the rest of the troops would have fled long ago in the face of such an attack by the Japanese.
Not to mention organizing a counterattack.”
Listening to what Fang Ligong said, Chu Yunfei couldn't help but nodded and spoke.
“The Eighth Route Army in front is just a new unit of the Eighth Route Army. Its organization has not been recognized by the Shancheng side. It can be said to be a militia unit.
But the other side had only a battalion of 400 people at most, and they managed to block the two-hour high-intensity attack of a Japanese field regiment.
Especially under such fierce artillery fire, they were able to organize a counterattack... Brother Ligong, if we draw a battalion from our 358th Regiment, can we achieve the same level as the Eighth Route Army?"
"Brother Ligong, look at the Eighth Route Army. I'm afraid they're going to lose their first position. The Japanese are using a suicidal tactic to fight the Eighth Route Army!"
Chu Yunfei had just finished expressing his admiration for the Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness when he discovered that the Japanese had actually rushed to the Eighth Route Army's position under their own artillery fire.
Moreover, the Japanese had clearly rushed onto the Eighth Route Army's position, but their artillery did not stop shooting and continued to fire.
Our own people and the Eighth Route Army will be blown up together!
Exchange with the Eighth Route Army!
Yoshino Kuma was thinking very clearly that since the Eighth Route Army that was blocking them was so powerful, it must be the elite troops of the Eighth Route Army.
Rather than wasting manpower and time on normal combat, it is better to exchange troops directly with the Eighth Route Army.
Anyway, the Beitian Battalion lost nearly two hundred people in three charges.
The Eighth Route Army did not suffer any losses.
Therefore, Yoshino Kumamasa directly decided to let the Kitada Battalion launch a charge, forcing the Eighth Route Army to have no chance to avoid the artillery fire and to fight back.
At that time, we can directly cover the enemy with artillery fire. Even if it is one for one, it will be worth it as long as we can capture Tieshanling.
After all, the Beitian Battalion is not a veteran unit and is not elite. It is not worth it to exchange an elite unit for the elite unit of the Eighth Route Army!
"Haha, it looks like the Eighth Route Army has sent all its elite troops here to block the attack... I wonder what you will use to defend the city after all these elite troops are wiped out!"
"Captain of the Regiment, Captain Kitada requests the artillery squadron to stop shelling. Their men have already rushed to the Eighth Route Army positions and are entangled with the Eighth Route Army on the positions!"
"No, keep firing and tell Kitada Daishi not to worry about the soldiers dying in battle. There will always be casualties in war!
Those are the elite troops of the Eighth Route Army. If we destroy these elite troops of the Eighth Route Army here, then the road ahead will be smooth!
Order all troops to quickly mobilize infantry artillery to launch a covering artillery attack on the Eighth Route Army positions at Tieshanling!"
(End of this chapter)
