The beacon of youth

The Kuomintang officers in the encirclement thought that it would be better to break out of the siege if they were caught by the Communist army. With the help of a large number of technical weapons, they might be able to break through. Under this kind of luck, the Kuomintang commanders at all levels also risked their lives. Before the infantry launched an attack, they used A large amount of artillery fire prepared the positions of the People's Liberation Army, and thick smoke and fire enveloped the entire position of our army in Luoju Town.

The enemy fired not only grenades but also a large number of incendiary bombs. The weather in July was already extremely sweltering, and the flames created by the incendiary bombs made the front of the Tenth Division's position even worse.

The incendiary bomb is a very troublesome weapon. The scene of the bombing makes people feel that even the air seems to be on fire. The soldiers in the artillery hole are sweating profusely and find it very difficult to catch their breath. Master Gao Jinchun is a very An experienced commander, he told the soldiers to quickly block their mouths and noses with wet towels, and urinate into the towels if they could not find water. No matter what, wet towels must be used to prevent poisoning.

When the soldiers of the [-]th Division stood up to the enemy's bombing in the front position, the artillery battalion of the independent brigade opened fire first. With the coordinates and orientation of the enemy's artillery already known, what the howitzer battalion had to do was A large number of artillery shells were thrown over in the fastest time, and their artillery positions were paralyzed before the enemy could react, so as to relieve the infantry at the front and let them taste the iron fist of the People's Liberation Army.

Li Yong ordered Gao Xiang's artillery battalion to use their utmost efforts to suppress the enemy's artillery, and not allow them to attack our army's positions without any scruples, otherwise the soldiers who were still holding on to the positions would be burned to death. If they are dead, they will be suffocated if they are not burned to death, so the artillery fire of the independent brigade is very important.

The first rapid fire fired hundreds of shells, and Gao Xiang continued to order his soldiers: "The height remains the same, the pitch remains the same, the whole battalion rapid fire, six rapid fires, eight rapid fires."

There are more than 90 artillery pieces, each with ten rounds is more than 900 rounds. Under Gao Xiang's order, the soldiers fired two to three thousand shells in a few minutes.

Thousands of shells hit the past, like the sky falling apart, and the unprepared Kuomintang artillery positions were blown up into a mess. The number of artillery in the Kuomintang army was no less than that of the independent brigade, but they could not use it in a concentrated manner like the independent brigade, so in the first In the round of confrontation, he was caught off guard by the howitzer battalion.

The soldiers of the Tenth Division who were hiding in the artillery hole felt that something was wrong, especially those veterans who had been in the battlefield for a long time. These veterans were all confused, what's going on?It seems that the bombing site was not our place, um, not only it was not our place, but it seemed that the Kuomintang troops were bombed. Oh, could it be that our reinforcements have arrived? ?

The old soldier's mind is very alert, and he has a keen sense of the battlefield. He can guess something with a little reaction. A squad leader said: "It's almost there. Listen to our instructor. The field army headquarters sent an independent brigade of the Second Army to support us. Now, looking at the cannonballs, it might be the Independent Brigade."

Another one said: "It should be them. No one in our Field Army Divisional Brigade is as good as the Second Army Independent Brigade. I saw them marching once. That guy, the barrel of the cannon was wiped out." It’s like a forest of carbon, black and suddenly, what do you think they did? Why are there so many cannons?”

"No matter what you do, the more the better, beat hard, and let them know what it's like to be bombarded." Master Gao Jinchun muttered in the headquarters while listening to the report.

Li Yong and Wang Chengde led a few soldiers into Mr. Gao's hiding place. They raised their hands together to salute Mr. Gao. It was not because of their positions, but because Mr. Gao Jinchun was an old senior, and he was older than Li Yong and Mr. Gao. Wang Chengde is more than ten years older, and salutation is due.

Mr. Gao Jinchun pulled Li Yong over, and took a few glances: "Oh, oh, Brigadier Li, I've heard of you for a long time, it's time to come, and you'll silence the enemy's artillery as soon as you come. yes."

Commander Gao said that there is a reason why he has admired his name for a long time. They both belong to the same field army, but Li Yong and Commander Gao belong to different troops, and they usually fight frequently, so they rarely meet each other. This is the first time for the two of them. Even though it was the first time we met, we had heard about each other, especially a few months ago, the 25th Division had a hard fight with the 25th Division of Ma Jiajun, and finally the Field Army sent an independent brigade to clean up the [-]th Division So, Li Yong and Mr. Gao have heard about each other a long time ago, but they just haven't met each other.

Master Gao Jinchun looked back and forth at Li Yong and Wang Chengde: "I said, Brigadier Li and Political Commissar Wang, you travel independently. Look at this guy, he is very well equipped."

Li Yong, Wang Chengde and other people are very eye-catching in the division headquarters of the Tenth Division. Except for Li Yong and Wang Chengde, these people are all steel helmets, American-style submachine guns and shell guns. It is enviable, but these are not the main thing. The main thing is the existence of Li Jia, the company commander of the guard.

The eyes of the soldiers of the tenth division were almost straightened, and they wondered, the independent brigade came as soon as it came, why is there a female soldier behind the brigade commander and political commissar?What is the reason?

No wonder the soldiers guessed wildly. At that time, there were very few female soldiers in the combat troops, or there were none at all. Of course, the undecided independent brigade made a female soldier swaying back and forth in front of the chief. Strange.

Strange as it is, Commander Gao Jinchun didn't have time to think about it: "Brigadier Li, you need to be more careful with your artillery positions. The enemy not only has cannons and tanks, but also sky-high planes. Once the enemy's planes find them, our cannons will be destroyed." It’s too late to run, so prepare early.”

Li Yong: "Thank you, Commander Gao, for your reminder. I suggest that our two troops set up a joint headquarters to unify the command. Our independent brigade obeys Commander Gao's orders. What do you think?"

The order from the Field Army Headquarters to the Independent Brigade was to quickly reinforce the 20th Division and hold the position. The order did not say which of the two troops was bigger and which was smaller, but regardless of seniority or ability, it was absolutely correct for the commander Gao to command the battle. After more than [-] years of non-stop fighting on the battlefield, Commander Gao's command experience is stronger than those of the Independent Brigade. Li Yong and Wang Chengde also agree with this point.

After briefly thinking about it, Teacher Gao said straightforwardly: "Brigade Commander Li and Political Commissar Wang, the military situation is urgent. Since you say so, I will not be hypocritical. A joint operation is better than each of our two families. The task is the most important, I, the big brother, will be your leader for a while, and now I will introduce our situation to you."

Commander Gao pointed to the position and said: "The total strength of our Tenth Division before the war exceeded 1, and there are more than 5000 who can still fight. Previously, Boss Peng and the leaders of the field army gave our division the task of holding out for at least another ten hours."

When talking about this, Teacher Gao looked at his watch, and then continued: "More than two hours have passed, that is to say, from now on, we have to stick to it for another eight hours to complete the task. The hour was very difficult, our division had basically run out of ammunition, and the ammunition for the field army’s logistics supply hadn’t arrived, so if you don’t come, you will have to bayonet the enemy.”

Wang Chengde and Li Yong looked at it. Wang Chengde turned around and told Li Jia, the company commander of the guard: "Notify Sun Quanhou and He Cuihua that the horses will send people to supply the Tenth Division. The brother troops will be given whatever is lacking. Take ammunition and food casually. No ambush is allowed."

Li Yong and Wang Chengde did this based on their full confidence in their own troops. The large supply battalion with more than 2000 people is all motorized, and the ammunition and food they bring are much older. It is no problem to resupply the Tenth Division. The speed is also much faster than the field army's mule and horse transport team.

Master Gao Jinchun laughed loudly: "It's a trench battle. I won't say thank you. As long as we have enough ammunition, we can persist. The enemy's infantry is not difficult to deal with. What I hate is the enemy's technical weapons, all of which are heavy equipment. Tanks, cannons, and planes, we don’t have anyone to take advantage of, and we can’t fire a few shots and run away like a guerrilla, hey, we will suffer a lot.”

At the headquarters of the KMT Frontline Corps, an officer was holding a phone and kept shouting: "Hey, hey, take me to the artillery position. What's going on with you? Why did the artillery fire stop?"

The officer who made the call came back to report: "Reporting sir, our artillery positions have been attacked by superior artillery fire from the Communist Army and suffered heavy losses."

The frontline commander of the Kuomintang kept thinking: "Well, the situation is not right. The communist army on the opposite side has never had any artillery fire, and the poor artillery has no way to fight against the Communists. How could there be any superior artillery suddenly? ?”

An officer beside him reminded: "Commander, is it possible that the reinforcements of the Communist Army have arrived? Based on the newly increased artillery firepower density of the Communist Army, the artillery of the Communist Army is at least two regiments, and the main force is 105 howitzers. Based on comprehensive analysis, I believe that the reinforcements from the Communist Army must have arrived."

The front-line commander of the Kuomintang is not stupid. Not only is he not stupid, but he is also very smart. From the artillery fire of the People's Liberation Army, it can be seen that what the officer said just now is correct. It must be the reinforcements of the Communist Army. Otherwise, it would be impossible to have such a powerful artillery fire, but the reinforcements are not necessarily large troops of the communist army, the reason is also very simple, if the main force of the communist army arrives, then there will be nothing to start this battle, and the PLA on the opposite side will not give him any more Opportunity, a general attack will definitely be launched, but so far the communist army has only used artillery to fight against the army, and the infantry has not made any major moves, which shows that the main force of the communist army has not yet arrived.