afterglow

Chapter 446 An annihilating strike; success or failure depends on this one move

At this time, the Australian officers and soldiers of the Kurong Regiment (battalion) were leaving the assembly area one after another, preparing to go to the reserve position through four trenches, and then launch a counterattack.

The blue sky was filled with orange-red meteors, and they trailed long gray-white trails towards here.

"What are those?"

At first, the Australian soldiers who did not know the truth looked up at the sky, confused by this strange sight.

The first one to react was a lieutenant. He felt his heart tremble, and then he shouted in a voice that almost broke his throat:

"Get down! Everyone get down!"

A few seconds later, this row of meteors crashed down.

As the distance gets closer, the Doppler effect makes the sound of the rockets friction with the air getting sharper and louder, as harsh as scratching the heart and lungs.

"huhuhuhu"

【Audio】

But most people couldn't feel uncomfortable for long, because hundreds of rockets had already landed.

"Boom boom boom!"

In an instant, the gathering place was completely enveloped in flames and smoke!

The violent serial explosions made the ground tremble, and the thunderous roar alarmed the division commander Vernon who was at the headquarters.

The officers rushed to the observation port or ran directly out of the headquarters.

They saw that the staging area for reserve troops was now swallowed up by flying dust, making it impossible to tell what was going on there.

The officers' faces were full of astonishment, and several colored pencils held by a major staff officer fell to the ground with a few "snaps".

He murmured: "God..."

It takes about twenty seconds for the fifteen-unit rocket launcher to complete a salvo. The three fire support ships can project a total of 3×7×15 rounds.

Because rockets do not need to withstand the chamber pressure during launch unlike ordinary artillery shells, the projectile body can be made very thin and the loading coefficient is high.

The body of the Type 144 46mm rocket is made of thin-walled seamless steel tubes. The 7.7kg rocket is loaded with up to 150kg of TNT, which is more than the mm high-explosive bomb.

What's even more frightening is that the Ming Army believes that this kind of multiple rocket launcher is not suitable for attacking field fortifications - the projectile is thin and has low strength. Therefore, it is positioned as a weapon against soft targets.

Therefore, even ordinary rocket anti-personnel explosive bombs are mixed with some prefabricated fragments by default, which are about 600 short steel rods or steel balls.

The volley of rocket launchers came to an end, and all seemed silent.

Although several Ming destroyers were also firing, people could selectively ignore the shells they fired.

In just half a minute, the Australian 8th Infantry Division can be said to have lived like a year. The only traces of the existence of the No. Reserve Assembly Area are countless craters and mess everywhere.

The smoke and flying dust have not yet dissipated. The broken limbs and broken arms lifted up by the air waves are scattered one after another, and the tattered clothes and pants are fluttering down...

After a while, medics and stretcher bearers from nearby units rushed over sporadically, followed by the ambulance team from the 8th Infantry Division field hospital.

They rushed over desperately despite the 128㎜ explosive bombs that were still falling, but what they saw in front of them was a bloody scene like hell.

Even though we have to deal with wounded people who are missing arms and legs from morning to night these days, there are still many people who are so frightened by this scene that their faces turn pale and their legs tremble.

I don’t know who vomited first, and a chain reaction started immediately, with sounds of vomiting happening one after another.

In this area of ​​a few hundred meters, there is no grass anymore, and the ground is filled with soft soil. When you reach out and touch it, some of the soil is still slightly warm, and from time to time you can feel sharp shrapnel or hard short steel rods mixed in it.

"Horizontal and vertical" is no longer suitable to describe the scene here, because some of the corpses are in a state of fragmentation and decomposition, and the rest are basically missing arms and legs.

Internal organs and intestines can be seen everywhere, as well as pieces of canvas and leather from portable equipment and military uniforms.

"Go! Find survivors!"

"What are you waiting for?!"

Rescue the wounded? Are there really any wounded? I'm afraid not even a few complete corpses can be found in this hell on earth.

Among the four infantry companies of the Kurong Regiment (battalion), D Company was the first to enter the trench and rush to the reserve position. They basically escaped annihilation, with only a few casualties.

The remaining three companies, A, B, and C, all suffered devastating blows. The ambulance team sent by the field hospital initially estimated that there were about 400 casualties.

Because they were hit by intensive firepower suddenly, many people were swallowed up by the explosion before they had time to lie down and seek cover. This made the death rate extremely high.

Generally speaking, the ratio of killed to injured is about one to three. If the medical support level is good, it can reach one to four.

But in this hell on earth, everyone finally found only more than ninety survivors, not even three figures.

The blood of the fallen Australian officers and soldiers spread all over the land here, soaking it wet.

On the premise of ensuring the suddenness of the strike, the characteristics of the rocket launcher make it very effective against unprotected soft targets.

The Ming army didn't know about it at first. At first, they thought it was just a supply depot or a reserve headquarters, with probably only a few dozen enemies.

These days, the three fire support ships have not been used, because Zhou wanted to find a suitable opportunity to use these three weapons to show their power, but he has not found one from the beginning of the battle to today.

His patience was exhausted, so he felt that there was no need to hide it anymore, so he just started to deal with this target that seemed to be acceptable.

The spectacular fire coverage came to an end, and Zhou Changfeng and other officers also enjoyed it with great interest.

"I think we should be more cautious about such a violent and large-scale sudden attack. It is best to let the scouts go over to detect the sentry first, and then report the situation and direct the artillery fire to suddenly cover..." Xie Wancheng talked about his thoughts, " Hey, that would be fun."

The officers talked happily, chatting and laughing happily.

Everyone didn't realize what happened, and thought it was just an ordinary target like destroying a supply depot.

After a while, the radio listening teams in the rear positions and the battleship Yuan Ding noticed the sudden increase in frequency of communications, with several commonly used channels almost all occupied.

A reconnaissance team penetrated the battle line and found a telephone line behind the Australian position.

Several veterans were very skilled. They put the small switch on the ground, along with the earphones, used daggers to peel off the outer covering of the telephone wires, and then connected the wires.

This kind of wired monitoring is not uncommon. It has a complementary relationship with radio monitoring and exists at the same time.

The headphones are filled with jabbering Australian English, which is much harder to understand than the standard British accent.

The corporal's eyes widened as he clutched the earphones with one hand, trying to distinguish the words.

Someone nearby complained: "What's going on? Don't you understand? If not, let me do it." The corporal waved his hand impatiently and shouted in a low voice: "Get out! Shut up, don't say anything."

Several people thought about it for a while, half listening and half guessing. The further they went, the more bizarre they felt.

What the hell?

Listening to these Australian white barbarians beeping, it seemed that a battalion had suffered heavy casualties. One moment they said they were going to terminate the counterattack, and the next moment they said they were going to retreat to the next line of defense.

Because the entire front was in a state of firefight, it was too dangerous, so the reconnaissance team did not choose to return in a hurry, but temporarily found a hidden place to hide.

After sunset, they sneaked back to the area controlled by the Ming army under the cover of darkness.

"Destroy an entire enemy battalion?"

In the rear command post, Zhao Hanfeng, Yao Liangchuan, and Xie Wancheng said in unison.

Zhou Changfeng, who was eating canned oranges, was also a little confused. As he swallowed, he said in surprise: "Uh... what? How did this result... come about?"

The scout lieutenant of the 13th Infantry Division said excitedly: "Reporting to Commander Zhou, the enemy situation detected yesterday afternoon was different from what we expected. That place was probably used for gathering. At that time, the Australian barbarians planned to counterattack. It just so happens that it’s like a blind cat meets a dead mouse.”

The fully loaded Kurong regiment (battalion) suffered an annihilating blow, with only one of the four infantry companies left. This must have left an unforgettable lesson to the Australian army.

Give the Aussies a little bazooka shock - boy! Hundreds of tigers run together!

Half of the reserve force was lost in one go. It can be said that Major General Vernon's heart was bleeding.

This means that the Australian 8th Infantry Division has basically lost the possibility of counterattack, and the remaining reserves can only be used to stabilize the situation when the front collapses, nothing more.

Nearly a week of fighting has left the troops physically and mentally exhausted. Although huddled and defensive can delay time, it also looks dull and stupid.

Many battles in the past few days have evolved into fixed patterns——

The Ming army attacked a position of the Australian army, but was limited by minefields and barbed wire and was forced to organize blasting to clear the obstacles. The Australian army took the opportunity to kill the Ming army with various firepower. After the obstacle was cleared, the Ming army carried out the same old tactics. The infantry and artillery tanks coordinated the attack and broke through the Australian position.

This battle mode made Zhou Changfeng very unhappy. Although as a commander, he didn't have to worry, he was too dull.

The Ming army's casualties in the war exceeded 3,000, and the Australian army's losses were conservatively estimated to be about the same. However, because the medical conditions could not be compared with the Ming army's support of a secondary field hospital and a hospital ship, the mortality rate was much higher.

The Yangbai hospital ship has treated a large number of seriously wounded people and provided the highest medical level that can be achieved in such situations. Therefore, the number of casualties and deaths so far is only 784, and the total number of casualties is 2980, which can be said to be quite good.

In addition to the accumulation of experience, one hundred and fifty penicillins flown from the mainland of Ming Dynasty also played a key role.

Because a suitable mass production method has not yet been found, each of these penicillin injections, which only have 20,000 units, is extremely precious.

Only those sick and wounded with severe infection symptoms were eligible for use. In this era when drug resistance did not exist, military doctors were deeply shocked by the remarkable efficacy of penicillin.

Although some medical journals have published the efficacy of this miracle drug, everyone views it with a skeptical attitude.

Seeing is better than hearing. Who dares to believe that patients with severe bacteremia caused by wound infection quickly became energetic even when they were dying?

At the beginning, everyone was a little nervous, thinking that this might be a comeback, but they didn't feel relieved until they were really sure that things were getting better.

"Where are the offenders on the Kokoda Trail? They are already half a day behind schedule."

In view of the heavy losses of the enemy's manpower, Zhou Changfeng considered it was time to launch a general attack.

He imagined that tanks and infantry would launch an offensive from the southwest and due south together in a beautiful pincer offensive; during this period, the flanking division should also take the opportunity to stab the Australian army's rear.

When his inquiry telegram was sent, more than a thousand officers and soldiers led by Youzi Tao were still trekking on the southern section of the Kokoda Trail...

They were approaching a small town called Luna, which was the last village and town on the way to Moresby, only a dozen kilometers away.

However, the most worrying thing inevitably happened.

The incubation period of malaria is about ten days, and that of dengue fever is slightly shorter. Since the day before yesterday, patients with high fever and rash have appeared in the army one after another.

Before the war, everyone knew that they would not be able to escape the invasion of tropical diseases, so they were well prepared.

But when a disease does become epidemic, people still lament that they were not adequately prepared.

Hundreds of patients suddenly appeared overnight. They were hot and cold, with high fever and chills, and persistent headaches that made people moan uncontrollably.

The accompanying military doctors immediately administered quinine, aspirin, and Guizhi Fuling Pills. Although they could protect the soldiers from the disease, they could not regain their combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

"We received a call from the Mocheng headquarters that the general offensive will be launched in the early morning of the 14th. We are required to arrive in time to join the battle, attack the enemy's rear, and disturb the enemy's morale."

The signal soldier read the telegram aloud and then handed it to Tao, the unshaven traveler.

After traveling for days and days, the latter had no time to take care of himself.

He frowned and said: "If you can't make it in time, you still have to take over the town ahead. Call me back to inform you of the situation. The staff will not be in place until tomorrow at the earliest."

After knowing the situation, Zhou quickly gave a reply: the general offensive can be postponed for one day and night, and then it will be launched on time.

Everyone knows very well that taking a small road to attack the enemy's flank with a partial division is the icing on the cake and can make a normal battle more beautiful, but without them it will not affect the overall situation. The frontal troops are still capable of annihilating the enemy.

Don't blame others if you don't get the military exploits in front of you in the end.

Youzi Tao has his own selfish motives, and he is also a very shrewd person.

If the enemy refuses to retreat, I am afraid that they will not be able to defeat the enemy face to face in one day.

In order to gain due credit for himself and more than a thousand officers and soldiers, he ordered to recruit fifty men from the Ming and Southern armies who dared to die, brought two 64mm mortars, and searched for nearby climbable terrain. The cliffs bypass the town of Luna and head towards Moresby.

Even if it was just a formality, at least the mission was partially accomplished.

While making both preparations, four teams of Ming Army and Southern Army infantry entered the offensive starting position one after another, preparing to launch the offensive.

The enemy in front of them was the remnants of the 53rd Australian Militia Battalion and the Papua Militia Battalion, which had just arrived, totaling people.

"Success or failure depends on this, brothers, it's the last moment!"

"After suffering for so many days, we can't be stuck here."

"Ready... on!"

"Beep beep beep-"

Under the cover of heavy machine gun and mortar fire, hundreds of Ming and Southern infantry attacked the approximately 600-meter-long Australian position!

They spread out into a sparse formation, like a summer swell, one wave after another...

(End of this chapter)