afterglow

Chapter 481: Feint attack turns into strong attack; vicious barbed wire fence

No one expected that this battle would turn into a meat grinder that fueled each other. The Third Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment, as a reserve force, also sent two teams for reinforcements, but it still failed to repel the U.S. military that counterattacked with all its strength.

The two sides fought in melee for half an hour on the west side of Highland 80. The already dilapidated position almost lost its original appearance in the bloody tug-of-war.

Bodies scattered everywhere, empty bullet casings everywhere, bayonets stuck in the soil...

Seeing that the battle situation was at a stalemate, Xue Can was forced to order a shift to defense, and would attack again after regrouping.

The two armies on the west side of the battlefield each relied on almost half of their positions, which were uneven and intertwined.

At the closest point, the soldiers on both sides were only thirty meters apart, and they could clearly hear the voices coming from the corner of the trench not far away.

The attack on the east side of Hill 80 was smoother. The officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion of the First Regiment faced Company A and Company B of the Third Battalion.

After a morning of fierce fighting, they were successfully repelled, and the subsequent counterattack was also beaten back, and they asked for instructions whether to capture Highland 80.

"...We can use one team now, and the battle will start in an hour, and then we can send another team around five o'clock. Are you sure?"

"No! Let them keep it safe." Xue Can refused.

It was originally planned to capture the positions on the east and west sides and then attack from both sides. How could the Second Battalion in the east be allowed to try to capture Highland 80 alone now?

Xue Can and the other officers all realized that they had previously underestimated the combat power of the enemy in front of them. This was an out-and-out hard nut.

Unlike the 1st Marine Regiment, which was blocked from attacking Edson Heights, the 2nd Marine Regiment, which was responsible for the feint attack west of Guadalcanal Airport, did not encounter too strong resistance.

The fleet on the sea bombarded the U.S. military positions with extremely fierce firepower, and the hail of artillery shells blew the field fortifications that had taken dozens of days to be carefully constructed into smithereens.

Two teams of the floating tank battalion followed more than 500 officers and soldiers of the 2nd Regiment and 4th Battalion in a frontal attack. However, a dozen amphibious tanks from another team drove into the sea at the Matanikau River and attacked the US military from the sea. The right wing of the position is roundabout.

After being devastated by naval artillery fire, nearly half of the US military's firepower points had been destroyed. The machine gun firepower could not form a tight blockade, and heavy machine gun positions were constantly being fired by Ming army tanks.

The only two remaining M3 37mm anti-tank guns fired at the two dozen Type amphibious tanks in the distance. The armor-piercing bullets penetrated the weak armor as easily as chopsticks poking through tofu.

The amphibious tank numbered 1-3-3 aimed at a section of the trench and opened fire. The 38.4㎜ anti-explosive bomb was not as powerful as a grenade, but it was enough to silence the Browning automatic rifles that were constantly firing here.

But then, the tank was hit by an anti-tank gun. The driver felt wet and hot liquid on his neck, but he had no time to care about it. He just put the reverse gear on and stepped on the accelerator in an attempt to evacuate.

However, it was already targeted by anti-tank guns and could not escape the disaster. It was shot three times in a row while reversing, and finally stopped and was engulfed by the raging fire.

This anti-tank gun bunker was also exposed, and a light machine gun team fired at it with tracer bullets to indicate the target for our own tanks.

Immediately afterwards, dense artillery shells and bullets came to greet them. Explosions occurred one after another, completely muting the bunker. The few remaining US anti-tank artillerymen hurriedly evacuated.

【Picture】

Within a few minutes, six amphibious tanks were destroyed. No matter how hard the Ming soldiers searched with their eyes wide open, they could not find another anti-tank gun.

The floating tank battalion, which suffered heavy losses, decided to retreat, but the officers and soldiers of the fourth battalion still decided to continue the attack.

Defending this place are two companies of the 39th Regimental Combat Team. The position is fragmented and the machine gun firepower is sparse. Semi-automatic rifles alone cannot suppress the heavy machine guns firing fiercely at the starting position of the Ming army's attack.

As more and more Marine infantry jumped into the trenches, the first line of defense quickly collapsed.

The U.S. military faced by the Ming Army today adopts a conventional horseshoe-shaped position. This platoon-level position is in an arc shape. The positions of three infantry squads are connected in sequence, which can concentrate firepower well in the direction facing the front of the position, but The defense on the flanks was weak.

Historically, this was not the case. Since the Japanese army was accustomed to penetration tactics, in order to protect the flanks from sudden stabbings, the US military would often deploy circular positions.

"Report from the front line, the fourth battalion has broken the enemy's forward position and is following in pursuit!"

A major communications staff officer walked quickly, saluted with his fists clasped, and reported the battle situation at a very fast speed.

In the Bren machine gun vehicle converted into a command vehicle, Zhou Changfeng, who was staring at the map and thinking, suddenly learned the news.

It was fun now. The main attack direction was blocked and stagnant, but the feint attack was very interesting.

He muttered to himself: "The fighting spirit of this army is indeed not good..."

Then, he ordered: "Tell Chen Min to organize a formal attack as soon as possible and the chariot fleet to participate in the battle; then... send electricity to the aircraft carrier and ask them to ensure that several aircraft are hovering with bombs on standby at any time to suppress the exposed enemy artillery positions."

"Understood, resigning!"

What is obvious is that it is actually easier to follow the coastline from the west towards Dong Guah Airport.

The terrain is gentler, and the fleet on the sea can also provide powerful direct fire support.

Going around to the south to attack the Edson Highlands was completely the opposite - the terrain was complex and it was impossible to carry heavy weapons, making it difficult for the attackers to use their weapons, and the enemy had an advantage from being high up.

The reason why he planned to seize Edson Heights first was that Zhou Changfeng hoped to defeat the US military on Guadalcanal in one fell swoop.

If they drive straight along the coastline, it will be easier to defeat the US military, but the result is that they may not even be able to defeat them.

Adelson Heights can be used as a solid support point to cover the leisurely alternate cover and roller retreat of the US military in the direction of Guadalcanal Airport.

In order to prevent this situation from happening, Zhou Changfeng was determined to gnaw on the hard nuts from the beginning, trying to defeat the US military in one fell swoop.

This is in the inaccessible Solomon Islands. If the remaining U.S. troops without effective organization are defeated and flee to the south of Guadalcanal, the jungle will be enough to swallow them up.

Malaria, dengue fever, wound infections, crocodiles, centipedes, snakes... there are all kinds of things that can kill people lurking in the depths of the jungle!

However, given that the group's attack was blocked, it was naturally unwise to continue such a plan.

Zhou Changfeng asked the Second Regiment to end the feint attack and launch a fierce offensive against the US military position. The offensive cut-off line was the Longa River.

Four hundred meters on the east bank of the Longa River is Richard Airport, and any direct fire can directly threaten the airport.

"Stop at the line of the Longga River?" Zhao Hanfeng pondered thoughtfully for a few seconds, then drew a line on the map with a red pencil, "In this way, we can threaten the rear side of Dawangling."

Zhou Changfeng said "Yes", "Yes, don't be too sharp, lest the Americans withdraw directly. The prisoners captured by the paratrooper team sent by the Air Force previously confessed that they had hoarded supplies in many places in the south. If the US military formally withdraws, there will still be a comeback. of risk.”

Then, he looked at Xie Wancheng and said, "It's difficult to fight with just one regiment. Let the engineering battalion and chemical defense team go over for reinforcements. You take over the command from Xue Can and re-plan the offensive."

The latter was greatly surprised and immediately accepted the order excitedly: "Don't worry Junzuo, I will smash it even if it is a copper or iron wall!"

At this time, Zhu Lizhuo came running from a short distance away. He glanced at everyone and said, "The three-and-a-half-inch artillery battalion has arrived... I will set up the headquarters and retire."

After spending so much time and energy, the 1st Battalion of the 1st Marine Brigade Mountain Artillery Regiment was finally in place.

In the European battlefield, the 112mm howitzer is a very common suppressive artillery and has good versatility.

But in Asia and the Pacific, artillery of this level is a bit bulky, which is why the mountain artillery regiment of the Ming Army's Southern Infantry Division is a mix of 80mm and 112mm howitzers.

Eighteen 18mm howitzers were towed by trucks to the assembly area, and then used off-road vehicles to pull them to their respective combat positions.

Due to terrain restrictions, it was impossible to arrange it horizontally, so the entire position could only be stretched vertically, and finally a rectangular artillery position was formed.

Several artillerymen rode on three-wheel sidecar motorcycles with telephone wire tubes and laid telephone lines between various fighting positions; the remaining artillerymen were also digging with shovels to build bunkers for the artillery. At 15:30 in the afternoon, the two battalions of the regrouped Second Marine Regiment began to enter the offensive starting position.

At the same time, a yellow signal flare rose into the sky, which was quite conspicuous.

The Ming army's field artillery group began to prepare firepower based on the calculations, and the fleet on the sea also began to bombard them.

The smoke from the explosion of the artillery shell seemed to blacken the white clouds. The loud noise of the earth shattering went straight into the sky, and the US military formation in the east was instantly plunged into a sea of ​​flames.

On the position of Company C of the 39nd Battalion of the th Regimental Combat Team, the seemingly solid field fortifications collapsed in the violent explosion. Logs were broken, soil was scattered, and steel plates were twisted.

American soldiers huddled in the trenches and trembled uneasily. Many of them kept crossing themselves and praying.

The officers and soldiers of the Second Marine Regiment exclaimed with joy as they looked at such a scene, and a feeling of excitement and joy filled everyone's heart.

"Everyone, listen up. One group suffered a loss in the east. I heard that they hit a hard bone and were killed inextricably."

"Brothers, what do you think? Are you afraid? We will compete later on whose bones are stronger!"

"It's time to leave, let's go!"

The soldiers left their positions one after another, carrying their guns and crouching, and ran in a loose formation towards the starting position for the attack.

The suppressed US field artillery group did not fire. During this period, only a few mortar shells fell, causing few casualties.

Everyone lay prone behind a ridge - this was the selected starting point for the attack, with a moderate distance and natural terrain as support.

Suddenly, someone ran from behind, shouting as he ran, "Don't block the road! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

I saw a few engineers approaching carrying bundles of blasting tubes. They were going to clear the mines and obstacles on the way to the charge.

Someone asked: "Can you clean it up?"

The four engineers did not respond and continued to rush forward.

Two smoke grenades fired by 64mm mortars landed at the front of the enemy's position, and a large cloud of gray-white smoke suddenly appeared.

The demolition team composed of Yang Dian, Lu Caishu and others climbed over the ridge as a bunker and were immediately intercepted by bullets fired from the US military position.

The four people rushed across the more than 100-meter-long field desperately and jumped into a shallow depression. Fortunately, no one was injured.

The U.S. military sharpened the branches, arranged them and tied them into horses, and placed them at the front of the position. They also laid out bellows-shaped barbed wire fences in the grass, and placed many landmines.

Engineer Corporal Yang Dian was a new recruit during the Malayan Campaign last year. Now he has been promoted to a non-commissioned officer after many battles. This is an important step.

"on!"

After speaking, Yang Dian waved his hand.

Soldier Lu Caishu climbed forward with a blasting tube, and the flying bullets hit the ground next to him, making a low popping sound.

He lit the fuse, threw out the blasting barrel, and then rolled over.

"Boom! Boom, boom, boom -"

The loud noises of the series of explosions made people's ears hurt, and mud and rocks fell loudly.

They followed the same pattern and blasted several times in succession, clearing a safe passage about thirty meters wide.

Suddenly, they discovered something strange.

"Look at these grandsons, they put barbed wire in the grass." Yang Dian couldn't help but cursed: "Damn it! I dare say there is a machine gun on the opposite side, just waiting for our people to rush up and squeeze in here, it's so poisonous !”

【Picture】

The hidden barbed wire must be removed!

I don’t know if other demolition teams have discovered this anomaly.

Another private held the blasting tube in his right hand and crawled forward with one hand.

Seeing that part of the minefield laid out had been cleared, the US military position was filled with the roars of officers and non-commissioned officers. More bullets were fired here, but they were obscured by smoke screens and their accuracy was not good.

Yang Dian stared at the figure in front of him, shouting in his heart to hurry up.

When the pacesetter was still a few meters away from the barbed wire fence, Yang Dian saw his helmet flying up, his body motionless, and there was no answer no matter how he shouted.

At this time, another rifle grenade flew in. The MkII grenade rolled on the ground several times and exploded.

Yang Dian was stunned by the shock wave. He felt dizzy, his eyes were filled with stars, and his ears were filled with buzzing.

He shouted at the top of his lungs: "Lu Caishu! Come on!"

No one answered. Lu Caishu lay motionless on his back - he was hit by a grenade fragment in his femoral artery and went into shock soon after.

Before Yang Dian could speak, the last private soldier had already hunched over and ran forward.

He was so anxious that Yang Dian quickly stopped him and said: "Lie down!!! Walk on your stomach!"

But it was too late. The covering smoke was about to dissipate, and the bullets fired by the US military became more and more accurate.

The first bullet hit the private's abdomen, and the 6.5mm surface-hardened armor steel in the Type personal protective gear blocked the blow.

He fell to the ground and continued to crawl forward through a hail of bullets.

Immediately, several more black shadows flew over, and the smoke from the grenade explosion swallowed up the private.

Yang Dian punched the ground hard, and at this time, a red flare shot into the air.

This is a sign that the attack is about to begin. The artillery fire will extend in depth, and the infantry must be prepared.

He turned his head and glanced in the direction he came from, and saw a dozen tanks approaching slowly in the distance, and the starting position for the attack was also crowded with people.

"It's so bad luck, it doesn't even work!"

He took a deep breath, stuffed the first aid kit he had just opened back into the big pocket on his chest, and crawled forward regardless of his legs bleeding...

"Boo-hoo--"

Two red flares pierced the blue sky.

In an instant, the clicking sound of the tank's tracks was drowned out by shouts like a roaring mountain and a tsunami, and countless dark green figures rushed towards the US military position!

(End of this chapter)