Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 259 The Battle of Hailanpao (6)
After a heavy rain, the forest on the outskirts of Belogorsk was quiet.The night shrouded the forest, and the dark and unclear light penetrated through the gaps in the treetops, making the scene here more the same as in the fairy tale world.Compared with the hell on earth where Hailanpao had been shattered by artillery fire, the peaceful scene here is a bit unreal.When people come here, they seem to have forgotten that not far away, people are still using all their power to kill each other bloodily.

At this moment, the night is as thick as Duanmo, which is produced in Gaoyao County.The Northeast Army soldiers ambushing in the trenches tried to keep their eyes wide open, staring at the movement in the woods outside.But in the darkness of this thick night, the line of sight cannot exceed a distance of ten meters.In addition, the tributary of Heilongjiang was flowing not far from them.Hearing is also greatly disturbed.But they are not helpless. Hundreds of reconnaissance soldiers are distributed within one kilometer in front of the position, and they all adopt the compound sentinel system. If the Russian 21st Division comes at this time, they will definitely be able to issue an alarm in time.

This afternoon, hundreds of Russian cavalry were dispatched from the lookout post on the top of the mountain. Feng Linge, the commander of the 28th Division, suddenly became nervous. However, the Russian cavalry did not seem to find the Chinese lurking here. They did not launch an attack. The lookout post did not find the follow-up troops of the 21st Division.It seems that, as the intelligence said, the large Russian army is still half a day away from here, and these cavalry are just the vanguard of reconnaissance troops.After all, cavalry is not infantry. Even if they have undergone ground combat training, they still dare not advance rashly without heavy weapons.

"Cuckoo, cluck, cluck" came the owl hooting, one long and two short, and the sentry squatting in the trench heaved a sigh of relief.The search of the scouts did not find the enemy, and it seemed to be another peaceful night.

Zheng Cuiting, the brigade commander of the 55th brigade, patted his forehead vigorously, enduring the fatigue near dawn.He held his Sharp rifle and looked at the opposite woods over and over again with wide eyes. It was almost dawn.

At this moment, Zheng Cuiting seemed to hear an unusual sound in the woods ahead. He widened his eyes and looked left and right. The guard soldiers in the trench could hardly see them in the night.He stood up and tried to poke his head out of the trench.He almost narrowed his eyes until he vaguely saw a large black shadow moving in front of him. Zheng Cuiting thought he was dazzled, but then the moving black shadow became one.

However, before he could see clearly, the black figure in front spoke first with the muzzle of his gun.A continuous flash of light burst out, illuminating the top of the jungle. If it wasn't accompanied by a sound more violent than thunder, and this light rose from the south, the soldiers of the Northeast Army in the trenches probably thought it was the light of the rising sun.

The light illuminated the figure covered by the night, and a large group of Russian soldiers rushed over in a straight line. The muzzles of more than a dozen wheel-mounted cannons in the two wings were facing the Northeast Army's fortifications.

"The Russians are coming! We are here! Order all soldiers to fire immediately!" Zheng Cuiting's voice was nervous and excited. His years of military career made his blood boil every time he heard the sound of guns.

At this time, the Russian artillery made the most powerful sound against the Chinese positions, and the dark and low sky above the jungle was brightly illuminated by bursts of artillery fire and explosions.Those streaks of orange and dark red light, like streaks of lightning in the dark clouds, tore apart the entire night sky.The roar of the shells spread far away, like a burst of muffled thunder, sweeping across the entire Belogorsk.

Under this man-made scene of mass destruction, the soldiers on the ground could hardly breathe. The first reaction of many soldiers was to shiver in the trenches with their heads in their hands, forgetting to hide in the bomb hole.

"Urgently order the artillery regiment to press up, and all the soldiers quickly enter the battle position. Hurry up!" Zheng Cuiting set up a Maxim heavy machine gun with his own hands while giving the order. Two soldiers prepared ammunition belts for him. The Russians immediately fell to the next row.

The 28th Division was dispatched to the front line in a hurry, and it was not even equipped with uniform weapons at all. The soldiers waved a variety of rifles in their hands, including the German Type 88 Mauser, the French Sharp, and the American Li Yi There is also the British Henry Marr, but despite this, these weapons are also world-class, with good performance and controllability, and maintain a considerable degree of lethality against the Russian army.

The Russians' usual tactical style is to attack in a position led by cavalry, but the vitality of the Northeast Army is too suppressed, and the Russian cavalry has no chance to break through.

In just 5 minutes, the Russian artillery poured more than 300 shells to the front of the Chinese position. The smoke of gunpowder shrouded the position, and even the morning sun could not dispel it.Looking at the 55th Brigade's defensive position at the forefront, it seems as if a plow has been deeply plowed. The soldiers, whether they are alive or dead, are covered with a layer of floating soil, and there are all kinds of tragic deaths in the trenches. The dead bodies of soldiers from the second brigade, many with bloody mouths and noses, were obviously shocked to death. Those soldiers who hid in the anti-blasting holes were even worse. They were all buried alive.As the most powerful weapon invented by mankind so far, the large-caliber heavy artillery has demonstrated its terror.

"Order the fifth and seventh regiments to block the east and west wings respectively to prevent the Russian cavalry from detouring from the two wings. The 11th regiment quickly stepped in to support the 55th brigade in our fortification." Feng Linge, who was born as a scholar, was also a giant bandit in western Liaoning. , has experienced many battles, so he can still keep his head calm at the critical juncture.

Since it was not expected that the Russian artillery offensive would be so fierce, especially the lack of preparations for the Russian army's large-caliber artillery, the 55th Brigade was under the pressure of the Russian army's strong frontal attack, and it did not take long for a reinforced company to lose its strength.And with the first ray of sunshine in the morning, rows of Russian soldiers in gray uniforms in the opposite woods pressed over from the shadow of the woods.

"Brothers, step up your firepower and hold on to the fortifications!" Zheng Cuiting's face was full of gunpowder smoke, his arm was cut with a deep wound by shrapnel, and he was still shooting frantically at groups of Russians with heavy machine guns. He knew that the 28th Division and this Compared with the ace division of the Russian army, it does not have an advantage in strength. If you want to win, you must firmly occupy this fortification and wipe out a large number of the enemy's vital forces.

Zheng Cuiting gave an order, and the second wave of shooting by the defending soldiers began.At this time, many soldiers had been tortured by the heavy artillery bombardment, and their nerves were about to collapse. They wished to kill all the Russians in front of them in one breath, so as to end this cruel battle as soon as possible. Most of the soldiers of the 55th Brigade were equipped with Sharp rifles, one of the two types of rifles installed by the French Army. It was a rifle with a long range and high accuracy. Enemy soldiers replenished, always maintaining the integrity of the infantry line, and also gave Chinese soldiers a feeling of inexhaustible killing and inexhaustible destruction. The textbook-like offensive formation of the Russian 21st Division taught Chinese officers and soldiers the most vivid lesson .

The shortcomings of the Sharp rifle also appeared at this time. Compared with contemporary rifles such as Mauser and Li Yi, the rate of fire of the Sharp rifle is not outstanding, and it can even be said to be slow.His complex locking mechanism made him a third slower than Mal and more than half slower than Mauser.Moreover, most of the 55th brigade is equipped with Gatling machine guns. After all, it is not the Maxim machine gun in the hands of Zheng Cuiting, which is an automatic weapon in the true sense of later generations. As a kind of trench fire suppressing weapon, its rate of fire is still slow. More often he Requires the cooperation of artillery.If dozens of artillery bombard the Russian attack group at this time, it may cause mass destruction to the enemy. However, since the task of the 28th Division is to intercept the support army, it is basically lightly loaded. All the heavy artillery was reserved for attacking Hailanpao's main position.

The battle lasted for nearly an hour, and more and more soldiers fell in the trench. The two soldiers who refilled Zheng Cuiting's bullets said timidly, "Brigade Commander, we can't hold on any longer, let's retreat!"

Zheng Cuiting stared at them fiercely, his eyes were full of fierce light: "It's a shame that you have been with me for so many years, you dare to say such a thing, if you want to withdraw you, I will never be a coward in front of Big Nose!"

At this time, the Russian assault infantry line was about to overwhelm the forward position, and their skilled squad combat tactics immediately extinguished the scattered fires of resistance on the position.A 90mm grenade was blowing up not far from Zheng Cuiting. Zheng Cuiting and the two soldiers were shocked several meters away and passed out on the spot.Facing the enemy's powerful offensive, it was difficult for the 55th Brigade to organize an effective counterattack.

"General, I think we should take a rest after occupying this fortification. The soldiers have already marched for two days, and they don't have much energy." Hawthorne, the deputy commander of the 21st Division, said to Primakov, the division commander next to him.

"No, Hawthorne, our soldiers are the bravest. They have been impatient to move their hands and feet. Let them rest at this time, and they will complain about me." Primakov said with a relaxed expression.

Hawthorne said: "But it's not yet dawn, our sight is not clear in the jungle, and the troops are prone to confusion."

"Hawthorne, you have to understand that Hailanpao is waiting for our support now. Don't you see how vulnerable the Chinese are? They have no will to fight at all. I can't imagine how a team with such low morale can give What trouble are we causing?"

"It looks like this. I don't understand whether Admiral Babkov was beaten into a mess by such troops?"

"Even if they hide an elite force, it's nothing special. The 21st Division is not afraid of anyone's challenge. We can only move forward, forward, and forward, crushing and crushing the Chinese, and let them stand between us and Hailanpao." At a loss." Primakov said confidently.

(End of this chapter)