my bright sword career

Chapter 162 Persevere Until Dawn

As the key to winning the Xiaolingdi stronghold, the head of the Eighth Route Army headquarters paid close attention to Pao Lian's every move, and Brigadier Wang, who was worried, even went to Pao Lian to observe in person.

When he got to the position of the artillery company, he saw that the soldiers of the artillery company were making preparations in full swing.

The four cannons are being deployed, and several gunners are wielding big hammers, smashing nails the size of a fist with a bang.

Brigadier Wang walked over and curiously asked the gunner who was smashing the hammer, "Young man, what are you doing?"

Seeing Brigadier Wang and the guards behind him, the gunner knew that this must be a high-ranking officer of the Eighth Route Army, so he smiled honestly and said, "Sir, I'm smashing hoe nails in the garrison.

The recoil force of the artillery is particularly large when it is fired. The strong recoil force will cause the artillery to vibrate strongly after firing, causing the gun position to move. The purpose of smashing the hoe nails is to ensure the stability of the artillery when shooting. "

"Then how long does it take for your artillery to go from the driving state to the firing state?"

"About half an hour."

How many people do you need to operate one of your artillery pieces?

"A total of eight people including the gunner, first gunner, second gunner, third gunner, and loader."

Regarding Brigadier Wang's question, the gunner also knew everything and said everything.

After walking around the artillery position, Brigadier Wang nodded in satisfaction. These artillerymen are well-trained and well-prepared. Although some artillerymen seem to be novices, they can do well under the leadership of veterans. impressive.

At 01:30 in the morning, all the preparations for the artillery battery had been completed, all the gun muzzles had been stripped off, and the aimers had adjusted their positions according to the positions reported by the gun observers.

Soon, Xu Dashu also sent someone to report that the three infantry battalions of the 769 regiment had all entered the combat position.

"Order Xu Dashu to start the bombardment at two o'clock in the morning, and end the bombardment in 10 minutes. He wants to launch an attack immediately. He must take down all three blockhouses in the Xiaolingdi stronghold!"

"Yes!"

Today's night is extraordinarily beautiful, and the gentle moonlight turns the whole earth into a bright color.

Due to the dangerous location of the Xiaolingdi stronghold, and the fact that there is a squadron of Japanese troops and a battalion of puppet troops stationed here on average every day, there has never been anyone who is not open to touch their bad luck since it was built. The vigilance of the Japanese army here is not very high.

Even though it was early morning, the lights were still on in the three bunkers in the stronghold, and there were chatter and laughter of punching and drinking from time to time, and the whole place looked very lively.

Seeing such a scene, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army who participated in the war were all itchy with anger. They were so arrogant after they came to Huaxia, and they didn't know how to restrain themselves at all. They didn't take them seriously at all.

"You little devil, this is too crazy."

Listening to the faint Japanese that could still be heard hundreds of meters away, the young soldier couldn't help cursing out loud.

"Snapped!"

There was a muffled sound accompanied by a pain in the back of the head, and the little soldier just turned his head when he saw the squad leader glaring at his face, "Ga boy, how many times have I told you that the latent discipline has been forgotten so quickly. "

The little soldier rubbed the back of his head that was still aching, and said in a low voice, "I just couldn't help but say it. Your voice, monitor, is louder than mine."

"You still dare to talk back." The squad leader raised his right hand again in a gesture, so frightened that the little soldier quickly hugged his head with both hands, pressed his head to the ground, and dared not speak again.

Chichi laughter came from around, the squad leader turned his head to stare at the surroundings, and snorted softly, the surroundings suddenly became silent.

Time passed bit by bit, when the hour hand pointed to two o'clock in the morning, accompanied by three gunshots of "bang bang bang", three signal flares, one red, two green, were fired into the sky.

Three flares hung high in the sky, illuminating the entire sky in a strange color. Just before the three flares landed, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army who were ambushing in front heard a muffled sound coming from behind. , About a few seconds later, there was a sharp whistling sound in the sky.

"Boom boom boom..."

As soon as the whistling sound of the shells piercing through the air reached my ears, there was a huge explosion in the direction of the bunker on the left. Four shells exploded around the bunker one after another. Although they were hundreds of meters away from the explosion point, they were lying in ambush behind the hillside. The soldiers of the Eighth Route Army seemed to be able to feel a shock wave accompanied by heat rushing towards their faces. .

"Hey...it missed..."

Seeing that none of the shells hit, the little soldier became a little anxious, and he shouted again while lying on the ground, but this time the squad leader never knocked him on the back of the head, but just cursed: "You know what? Shit, if it’s off, it’s off, it’ll be changed soon, what are you in a hurry for?”

The little soldier muttered: "No...the shells are so expensive, one shell is worth a year's expenses of ordinary people."

"You still dare to talk stubbornly." The squad leader was about to fight, but the little soldier shut his mouth again this time.

However, the squad leader was not wrong, and the rear artillery battery also began to make fine adjustments under the reminder of the observers. During the third round of salvo, a shell finally hit the left bunker.

Accompanied by a loud bang, the three-story bunker was smashed into two pieces, and the sky filled with broken stones and bricks flew out in all directions. Even the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army who were lurking hundreds of meters away from the bunker had some people Hit by flying pebbles,
"Hit, hit!"

Looking at the bunker that was emitting thick black smoke, the little soldier danced with excitement, but at this time no one came to stop him, because not only him, but all the soldiers around him also shouted in excitement.

You must know that this is a bunker built entirely of bricks, stones, and cement. Under normal circumstances, the Eighth Route Army wants to capture such a strong bunker, and it is absolutely impossible to take it without killing hundreds of people.

After all, even the [-]-type infantry artillery can't do anything about such a strong bunker, but now it is easily opened by a shell. It is estimated that at least half of the devils and puppet soldiers inside will die, right?

But the artillery who had laid down the bunker with one shot did not give up, the shells still relentlessly smashed down towards it, and soon the second... the third shell hit the remnant of the bunker.

In the earth-shattering explosion, only the first floor at the bottom of this three-story bunker covering an area of ​​more than [-] meters remained, and the other parts had long been turned into broken bricks and tiles.

The Eighth Route Army soldiers lurking a few hundred meters away opened their mouths wide in shock when they saw the power of the artillery.

"My darling... the power of this thing is too great, right? If that's the case, what are we going to do later? Collect the little devil's body?"

"To shut up!"

As soon as the little soldier finished speaking, he received a violent shudder on the back of his head. It turned out that some company commander had come behind him.

The company commander shouted: "What do you know, kid? Although the artillery is powerful, it can only clear obstacles and destroy bunkers for us. But if we want to completely eliminate the enemy, we have to rely on our infantry."

After finishing speaking, the company commander turned his head and said to the surrounding soldiers: "Comrades, you must remember that you must not be careless after launching the charge later, thinking that you can sit back and relax if the devil's bunker is blown up by the cannon.

The little devils are not so easy to die, they will definitely hide in the dark and shoot us coldly, such enemies are the most dangerous.So everyone will keep their eyes wide open later, and don't let any suspicious targets go, do you understand? "

"Understood!" The soldiers agreed in unison.

"Company commander... our artillery has begun to attack the bunker on the right!" A soldier pointed to the bunker on the right and shouted.

Looking in the direction of the soldier's finger, the bunker on the right of Rijun has been shrouded in bursts of smoke. Amidst the sound of explosions, the bunker on the right has also stepped into the footsteps of the bunker on the left...

Although the situation in Shanxi has become very tense due to the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments War, the Taiyuan First Army Headquarters was uncharacteristically lively today, because just today a group of song and dance troupes from the mainland came to Taiyuan .

Hearing that the local song and dance troupe came to the headquarters to perform, the staff officers, officers and soldiers in the headquarters were extremely excited, and many people began to call on friends to pass on the news.

1940 was the third year that China and Japan entered the all-out war. By this time, a lot of homesickness had begun to appear in the Japanese army. This sentiment was especially common among ordinary soldiers and even low-level officers.

Now, it is rare for a local song and dance troupe to come to Taiyuan to perform. Both officers and soldiers in Taiyuan City are extremely happy, because they have heard that this song and dance troupe will come to the troops to perform in batches.

But today is the first day, and the song and dance troupe will serve Yoshio Shinozuka, the supreme commander of Taiyuan, and the officers of the headquarters.

That night, Shinozuka Yoshio was in a good mood after watching the performance, and he specially chose a geisha to accompany him.

It's just that this geisha is still a novice, and she doesn't know how to cooperate at all, which makes Yoshio Shinozuka very unhappy. He was originally annoyed and wanted to curse, but seeing the childish face of this geisha, he couldn't bear it. Getting angry, he had no choice but to sleep with the geisha in his arms, and wait for another show when he woke up.

After all, he is already in his 50s, and today he had a fight with this geisha after drinking, so he slept very deeply.

That night, there was a sudden commotion in the originally peaceful telegraph room, and telegrams asking for help from all over the place flew like snowflakes.

Major Sakai Masago, who was in charge of the combat staff on duty, was also shocked. He was shocked when he saw the stack of telegrams in his hand, and subconsciously wanted to report to Chief of Staff Naozaburo Okabe, but then he remembered that Okabe Major General Naozaburo had already gone to Ke Nan Po yesterday, so in desperation he could only grab the telegram and rush to Yoshio Shinozuka's bedroom.

It's just that he knocked on the door for a long time, but no one responded, and finally the geisha opened the door for him.

Shinozuka Yoshio, who was woken up in the middle of the night, was naturally very upset. He suppressed the anger in his heart and took the stack of telegrams, but his expression changed instantly after flipping through a few.

Overnight, Guantou, Pushang, Xiaolingdi, Yushe County, Yanbi and other strongholds were all attacked. This attack came very suddenly, as if the enemy suddenly appeared overnight.

"Bageyalu, damn Chinese people, damn Eighth Route Army, they're here again."

Seeing the telegrams for help sent almost at the same time, Yoshio Shinozuka didn't know that the Eighth Route Army launched the second phase of the Hundred Regiments Campaign.

"Your Excellency, Commander, what should we do now?" Masako Sakai hurriedly said, "Should we immediately send nearby troops for reinforcements?"

"no!"

Shinozuka Yoshio refused without hesitation, "It's already early morning, and no one can guarantee whether the Chinese people will set up an ambush halfway, so we can only let the besieged stronghold hold on for help for the time being."

"But I'm afraid those strongholds won't last until tomorrow." Masako Sakai said anxiously.

"idiot!"

Yoshio Shinozuka was angry, and he slapped Sakai Masago casually, "They are all warriors of the Great Japanese Empire, and they also have a strong fortress. If they can't hold on for one night, such waste will come What's the use?

Now go and send a report to the stronghold under attack, let them stand by and wait for help, and wait until dawn.Then call the 21st flight team and ask them to dispatch planes to increase personnel immediately after dawn. "

"Hey..." Sakai Masago, who was slapped, also came to his senses. He was indeed not wronged by the slap. He sent troops to increase the number of troops in the middle of the night. What a stupid commander must be to make such a decision. .

He didn't dare to talk nonsense anymore, and hurried out to convey the order.

The young geisha carefully closed the door, and looked at the man beside him who was old enough to be his grandfather with some fear.

Shinozuka Yoshio let out a long sigh. Years of military career told him that it is useless to be anxious now, and he should hurry up and sleep to recharge his energy. It is estimated that he will not be able to sleep peacefully for a long time from tomorrow.

Thinking of this, he felt a little annoyed, he hugged the geisha and threw her on the bed, and then rushed towards her...

"Your Excellency, Squadron Captain, what do you say, Captain?" In the large bunker in the middle of the Xiaolingdi stronghold, Captain Keita Kofukuda, the supreme commander of the Xiaolingdi stronghold, looked at the two squad leaders who were staring at him eagerly. , sighed.

"Your Excellency, the captain of the alliance, said that the headquarters called and asked us to stand by and wait for reinforcements. The reinforcements can only leave after dawn, and there will be planes coming to help."

"But your Excellency, squadron leader, the Chinese people outside have heavy artillery. This is how our No. [-] and No. [-] bunkers were blown up by the Chinese people with heavy artillery!" A team leader said anxiously.

"Baga, are you still a soldier of the Great Japanese Empire?" Little Fukuda Keita was furious when he heard this, "Even if the Chinese have heavy artillery, it doesn't matter, as long as we are the last one left, we will never stop fighting!"

Seeing the two squad leaders lower their heads, Fukuda Keita's tone softened, "You don't have to be afraid, our No. [-] bunker is located in the dead corner of the design of the Chinese heavy artillery, they can't hit us, what we have to do is to hold on until Dawn, do you understand?"

"Hi!"

(End of this chapter)