afterglow

Chapter 429 Never Surrender; Four Days and Three Nights

October 10th, early morning.

There is still nearly an hour until sunrise, the darkest hour before dawn.

There are many stars in the night sky, but it is a pity that in the far southern hemisphere, the Big Dipper cannot be seen, replaced by the Southern Cross.

Under Xue Can's order, the [-]st Marine Brigade and [-]st Regiment began to enter the offensive starting position one after another, preparing to officially launch the attack on Darwin.

Vulnerable civilians such as the elderly, women and children have been basically evacuated in the past few days. The remaining people are mainly young and middle-aged men and women, including many high-spirited militiamen.

The ultimatum sent to the Australian 6th Infantry Division clearly informed that casualties among civilians stranded in the city were inevitable, and it was recommended to surrender the city.

Division Commander Major General Richard and Mayor Thomas jointly wrote a reply letter. The letter was largely blank, with only a few words: "That's totally out of the question."

"It's a waste of time, they won't agree."

"Indeed, but basic etiquette must be in place."

So from now on, there is nothing to worry about. If necessary, the Ming army can completely raze Darwin to the ground.

But the problem is that the purpose of landing in Darwin is to seize this port city as a transit point, and complete destruction is unacceptable.

On the order of someone from Zhou, the participating troops formed a large number of mopping up teams. Each team was merged from two infantry squads. On average, each infantry battalion formed four such temporary units.

The mopping up team usually operates as a close combat team of three or four people. They are equipped with submachine guns, automatic guns, shotguns, and carry a large number of grenades and blasting tubes. The number of people is not too large or too small. If there are too many, it will be bloated and inflexible.

Their task is to roam on both sides of the main axis of attack, spy on enemy troop deployments and sweep enemy troops in houses.

From a macro level, the core of street fighting is to capture or destroy key buildings and use them as anchor points to radiate power to the surroundings. This can compress the enemy's activity space and ultimately control the entire city.

But when it comes to the tactical level, the regulations and suggestions given in various doctrines and manuals are much more complicated.

In this era, the armies of the major powers did not have much experience in street fighting, let alone the Ming army.

Although Zhou Changfeng has done his best to teach many tactical and organizational essentials summarized by later generations, he knows that many lessons can only be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people if they are tested at the cost of blood.

Throughout the ages, there have always been people who never look back without hitting the wall.

The characteristics of street fighting are that the width of the battlefield is narrow and command communication is difficult. Troops may be crowded together accidentally or separated inadvertently.

In order to reduce the command hierarchy and speed up response, officers at all levels should be decentralized one level - from the regiment to the battalion, from the battalion to the team, and from the team to the platoon.

Combat formations should avoid collective actions of more than one squad, and prioritize actions in small groups of three or four; various explosives must be used flexibly and extensively.

At this time, the sky in the east has turned white.

When the sun jumped above the horizon, whistles sounded one after another, and the [-]st Marine Brigade in charge of Beicheng District immediately launched an attack.

[Image - Darwin]

Before entering the city, sporadic cold shots were fired from multiple directions.

One round after another, they hit the surroundings of the Marine Corps officers and soldiers. From time to time, someone was injured by ricochet or splashed gravel.

Darwin had a population of only a few hundred thousand in later generations, and today the population is only over [-].

Although the population is small, the urban area is not small, nearly twenty square kilometers, and the buildings are sparsely spaced.

This is good news for armored forces, as tanks will not be too crowded even if two tanks are placed side by side.

The chariot convoys directly under the First Marine Brigade were also split up and put into battle. Each street was assigned a chariot platoon, that is, four medium tanks, using urban infantry-tank coordination tactics of infantry guiding the tanks.

The Marine infantry were about fifty meters in front of the tank, cautiously advancing slowly along the sides of the street.

The battle officially started half a quarter of an hour later. The leading team discovered that there were roadblocks piled up with abandoned cars, broken furniture, large wooden boxes, etc. on the street. When they were preparing to place explosive packages to blast and clear them, intensive gunfire began. The sound suddenly sounded!
  "Da da da da-"

"Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-"

The Vickers heavy machine guns and Bren light machine guns deployed on the left and right fronts opened fire at the same time, and dense crossfire covered the entire street in an instant.

Even though they were prepared, several people were still knocked down by bullets in this encounter.

In addition to machine gun fire, grenades and mortar shells also fell one after another, and the streets were instantly obscured by the smoke from the explosion.

The battle-hardened soldiers of the [-]st Marine Brigade rolled and threw themselves behind the nearby bunker almost instantly, and then immediately selected a direction under the command of the officer to violently fight back.

"Over there! Ten o'clock, ten o'clock direction to the second floor, hit!"

"The grenades are coming!"

"Old Qi was shot! Someone is here!"

"Medic! Come and save people!"

The crafty and cunning Australian army laid booby traps in places that might be used as bunkers, such as corners, low walls, and car wrecks.

They unplugged the Mills grenade and pressed it under an inconspicuous object. Once touched, the handle would fly away and the grenade exploded a few seconds later.

Medics and first responders crawled forward in the rain of bullets, dragging the bleeding wounded back to a safer place, and then bandaged and administered painkillers.

"The tank is approaching from behind! It's about to fire!"

"Boom!"

The Type 1 medium tank numbered 3-48 was the No. [-] vehicle in the platoon of the directly affiliated combat team. The crew members quickly aimed at the second-floor window of the building that was spitting flames in the distance and fired a [-]mm anti-explosive bomb.

Bricks and stones scattered, smoke and dust dispersed, and the Vickers heavy machine gun immediately misfired, and several Australian soldiers covered in blood were blown down in the room.

The four tanks quickly suppressed the enemy's firepower with accurate and timely direct fire, and the team began to slowly advance forward.

The soldiers dispersed in small groups, preparing to clear the houses garrisoned by Australian troops.

"Help the infantry enter the house and shoot the explosive bomb." "One kill bomb is good!"

Marines used light machine guns to fire tracer rounds at the walls of the houses to indicate the location of the tanks.

Then the tank aimed at the wall and fired, blasting a big hole in it.

In order to avoid being choked by the smoke and coughing, the soldiers invariably tied towels to cover their mouths and noses, then walked forward with their waists hunched over, and threw a few grenades into the hole in the wall.

As soon as it exploded, they quickly rushed into the house and shot at anything that was moving with submachine guns, automatic guns, and shotguns!
  From downstairs to upstairs, Marines threw grenades into each room before breaking in and clearing out the remaining enemy soldiers inside with heavy strafing.

The seemingly high-end and cool CQB tactics are ultimately just police tactics, with many compromises made in order to reduce the impact of violence and avoid collateral damage.

The army's town clearing tactics are much simpler and more direct, allowing almost all means to be used to eliminate the enemy.

When storming a house, the military often uses more violent and effective methods.

Entering through doors and windows is not the best option. There may be booby traps behind the doors and windows, and the enemy's guns may be pointed at the doors and windows. In contrast, blasting the wall directly from the side and drilling a hole into the house can surprise the enemy.

The police have to worry about the influence of public opinion. Does the military need to consider this?
  In fact, the approach of the [-]st Marine Brigade was already very "elegant", while the [-]th Army Division attacking Nancheng District was really simple and crude.

Under the cover of fire and smoke screens, they approached the house guarded by the enemy, and then placed a large number of explosive bags and blasting tubes on the load-bearing walls of the house, directly blowing up the entire building!
  Often after huge earth-shaking explosions, the Australian soldiers inside are buried alive in the rubble.

However, the annoying thing about street fighting is that even if the attacker's tactics are correct, the defender can still cause considerable damage to the attacker as long as he is determined and resists tenaciously.

In the mobile command center in the northern suburbs, Zhou Changfeng, with a solemn expression, was gnawing on steamed buns while looking at the gunpowder smoke in the distance.

The radio station on the nearby Bren MkII carrier vehicle was receiving telegrams from all parties and was ticking; several field telephones never stopped ringing.

Zhou Changfeng's original command vehicle was the Type [-] armored vehicle command vehicle. However, this six-wheeled armored vehicle on a truck chassis had poor off-road performance and the equipment it carried was limited.

In view of the fact that the Ming army captured a lot of trophies in the battle to pacify Nanyang, he selected some Bren machine gun vehicles and converted them into armored command vehicles.

"Report, Jun seat. The supervisor reported that the third battalion of the first regiment is timid and refuses to go to the front line." Xiao Li cupped his fists and reported.

Zhou Changfeng ordered without hesitation: "The military police will go over and verify. If it is confirmed, they will be dismissed and detained. The battalion deputy will take over temporarily."

The fierce fighting lasted from early morning to dusk, and even after nightfall, there was no respite for both sides.

The Australian army organized a small counterattack force to try to recapture the strongholds lost during the day, and the Ming army also continuously sent out scouts or patrols to try to penetrate deeper.

Stuart Middle School in North City District and Isidore Hotel in South City District have become the most fiercely contested buildings between the two parties.

A four-storey hotel like the latter may be inconspicuous in other cities, but it is already one of Darwin's major hotels.

The hotel was garrisoned by a reinforced platoon from the 6th Brigade of the 15th Australian Division. The [-]th Division of the Ming Army sent an infantry team to launch an attack with the support of some engineers and chemical defense troops.

It may seem small in scale, but the battlefield is not point-to-point. In fact, there are thousands of people on both sides of the battle line surrounding the Isido Hotel.

The fierce shelling blasted this reinforced concrete building, which is rare in Darwin, to full of holes. The outer wall was dark and covered with bullet holes and potholes.

"Set up the machine guns and cover them!"

"Fire suppression!"

"Damn it! Send a grenade at that window on the third floor!"

The Australian army had already thrown away most of the combustible materials in the hotel, and the beds, wardrobes, curtains, carpets, etc. were all cleaned up.

Therefore, although the Ming army used grenades and flamethrowers to eliminate all the enemies on the first floor, the Australian troops on the second and third floors were still resisting.

The former dominance of infantry automatic firepower no longer exists here, because unlike the conservative and stubborn British, the Australians are equipped with a considerable number of Thompson submachine guns.

Most of the city of Darwin was reduced to ruins in the raging flames of war, especially the two main battlefields surrounding Stuart Middle School and the Isidor Hotel. Every building was blown down, and not a single person was visible as far as the eye could see. A intact house.

明军的80㎜迫击炮、112㎜步兵炮、112㎜榴弹炮、144㎜榴弹炮，澳军的3英寸迫击炮、QF4.5英寸榴弹炮、QF18磅野战炮，双方的各型火炮毫无顾忌的发射炮弹。

Among such ruins, the Australian defenders fought for every inch of land. They fought with the Ming army for every house, every floor, and every street.

The Ming infantry once relied on the more common submachine guns and automatic guns to take advantage of them in close combat, but now they can only be considered equally matched against the Australian infantry's Thompson submachine guns and Winchester shotguns.

Moreover, the morale of the Australian 6th Infantry Division has been extremely high from the beginning to the present, and can even be called fanatical. They do their best to resist, and if they are surrounded, they often persist in fighting to the end.

Every time the Ming army took a step forward and every building they captured, they suffered huge casualties. The result of such a bloody battle was debris and corpses strewn all over the ground.

The shotgun used by the Australian army proved to be a weapon very suitable for close combat. The Ming army found that it should also equip more shotguns, otherwise there would be some imbalance in the exchange of fire.

The Ming Dynasty Army has never regarded shotguns as standard combat equipment, so there is no unified model specification.

Although each infantry division is equipped with some shotguns to a greater or lesser extent, the models are often miscellaneous - Baocheng brand three-barreled shotguns, Ruifeng brand pump-action shotguns, Remington shotguns, Browning semi-automatic shotguns, etc. have.

The [-]th Division, which had suffered from shotguns, directly called the Ministry of War and strongly requested that the distribution of military shotguns be stepped up!

As of October 10, four days and three nights of high-intensity street fighting had exhausted the Ming army's participating troops.

The First Marine Brigade had 373 casualties and 1128 wounded. Six Type 6 medium tanks were irreparably lost, and they barely controlled several key points in Beicheng District.

The 466th Infantry Division paid an even heavier price - 1405 officers and soldiers were killed and [-] wounded. Considering the casualties in previous field battles, the [-]th Infantry Division basically lost its combat effectiveness.

The tank troops, officers and soldiers, and artillery troops also suffered casualties. The first offensive tank battalion lost 17 heavy tanks, 7 of which were worthy of repair.

However, most of the key points in Nancheng District have been captured, including the Isidore Hotel, which changed hands three times in the past few days and nights!

The Australian 6th Infantry Division was almost fully manned before the war, with a full strength rate of 96% and 13790 officers and soldiers. However, after nearly ten days of bloody battles, it had been basically wiped out, with only a few hundred remnants left in the city. A residential complex and museum in the middle of the district are resisting.

However, there are still many scattered stragglers in the urban area, but because most of the key points are occupied by the Ming army, these unorganized sporadic resistance does not pose a threat.

The tired Zhou Changfeng sat on two empty ammunition boxes and drank tea, but he received a radio communication from the Longshuo.

The commissioner of the Ministry of War who was appointed to observe the war situation said: "Zhou Daizhao, the DPRK just called to inquire about the progress of the war here."

(End of this chapter)