Episode 68 Massacre of the Village

The primeval forest at night is eerie, especially by the river. All kinds of insects and frogs are chirping, which is so loud that it is like a big free market, almost deafening. Green eyes flash through the deep black forest from time to time. I don’t know.

What kind of nocturnal animals are they?

Each of the two lifeboats carried ten sailors and rowed quietly to the shore. A dozen oars were handled gently, trying not to stir up a splash or make a sound. The light machine gunner on the bow of the ship lowered his voice.

Lying in the small boat, the gun pointed forward. When there were still 500 meters away from the shore, the two small boats separated, one rowed upstream, and the other rowed downstream. The middle of them was built on the river bank.

Pirate Village.

The mission of these 20 sailors is to be the first to land ashore, find their way to the edge of the pirate village in the invisible riverside jungle, and then use flashlights to signal the destroyer to guide more sailors ashore and blockade the village from the outside.

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According to the pirate's account, the pirate village extends about "five to six hundred steps" along the river bank, and about "two to three hundred steps" in depth. The pirates said how many steps, and the captain did some calculations, which means that it is about "two to three hundred steps" along the river bank.

It is two to three hundred meters long and more than a hundred meters wide inward. As a village, it is not small. The 120 temporary "marines" of the Kuimulang certainly cannot surround such a large area, let alone the deep area.

In the dense forest where no one can see anything. But the main damage must be done by weapons on the ship. The sailors who came ashore just formed a series of firepower points around the village, killing as much as possible the pirates who fled by.

The small boat heading downstream first rowed into the mangroves on the shore. The dense mangroves extended all the way into the river. It was difficult to paddle in the mangroves, so some sailors put away their oars and grabbed them with their hands.

He grabbed the branches of the mangrove and pulled the boat forward. The squad leader immediately shouted in a low voice:

"Don't grab the branches! You don't know what's up there!"

The sailor was so frightened that he quickly retracted his hand. Yes, in this kind of tropical rainforest, you have no idea what might be on the branches. If you catch a snake or a poisonous spider, you'll have to fight it before you even start.

Someone died in battle.

The sailors carefully rowed the boat as far in as possible, but after rowing for a long time, they still did not reach the land. The mangroves soaked in the water seemed endless.

Suddenly, the machine gunner at the front let out a "boo", and everyone immediately put away their oars and entered a state of silence.

The machine gunner pointed forward with his arm. Everyone looked along his arm. Very close in front, less than ten meters away, stood a tall bamboo building. It was dark and had several "tall legs."

It stood in the water, with a small boat tied below. Looking further inside, I found the second and third stilt bamboo buildings... It seemed that the pirate village also extended into the water like the mangrove forest.

The sailors found an edge of the pirate village, turned the boat around, and rowed down the river. On the left, they kept seeing tall bamboo buildings far and near, many of which were still lit with fire, and the sound of drinking and noisy noises could be heard from inside.

The sound was accompanied by loud chatter and laughter in Malay, and there was also a smell of alcohol.

After rowing for a while, the bamboo buildings on the left became sparse and gradually disappeared. The sailors looked at each other and knew that this was the edge of the village. With a gesture from the squad leader, the boat turned around again and rowed quietly towards the shore.

go.

After paddling for more than ten meters, they couldn't row anymore. The sailors tried their oars into the water, and found that the water was already very shallow, almost reaching the shore. The squad leader gave the order, and the sailors quietly rolled out of the boat and drowned in knee-deep water.

Push the boat and drag the boat ashore.

The sailors hid the boat, then quickly looked around and determined that this was the edge of the village.

"There are still 20 to 30 meters of mangroves from the river," the squad leader took out a flashlight and said with a frown, "I don't know if the ship can see it if I send a signal here. I can only try it. If it doesn't work, I have to paddle out.

.”

He pointed the flashlight in the general direction of the destroyer, turned on the light beam and waved it.

…

The Kuimulang lay quietly on the river, without a trace of light, like a dark rock. The observers widened their eyes and focused on the direction where the signal should be sent. The captain, Qiu Qiu, asked

Xiaoqiang also stood on the bridge, staring nervously at the river bank, looking at his luminous pocket watch from time to time.

"Captain, signal!"

An observer suddenly shouted in a low voice. Immediately afterwards, everyone also saw it. More than two hundred meters downstream on the right, in the dense forest like an umbrella, there was a faint light shaking. If it weren't for the sky and the earth at this time,

It was pitch black, so bright that you couldn't see it accidentally.

"Didn't they ask them to send signals at the edge of the village?" Xiang Xiaoqiang raised his binoculars to observe the place and muttered in confusion, "Why did you go ashore and still run so far?"

After a moment of silence, Qiu Qiu guessed:

"Maybe the river stretches all the way in, and they can't see the village unless they paddle in."

"ah."

The first set of signals was available, and now we were waiting for the second set of signals. The second set of boats rowed upwards against the current, which would definitely be slower. But after waiting for a while, a hundred meters upstream on the left, the second set of boats

The signal was also seen.

The captain immediately ordered the follow-up troops to follow. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth boats were all lowered. Forty sailors paddled towards the flashlight signals at both ends of the pirate village.

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This time with light guidance, the speed was much faster. Following the previous six lifeboats, six inflatable rubber boats were also lowered, carrying 56 sailors. The 116 sailors walked along the edge of the pirate village.

After walking around for a while, we completely figured out the size and shape of the village. We set up 36 ambush points in the dense forest one to two hundred meters outside, and set up light machine guns on the two roads out of the village.

With the pockets clothed, the commander of the temporary marine company ordered three sailors to enter the village to conduct reconnaissance. They must be wary of this possibility: the two pirates deliberately pointed them to an ordinary fishing village, and finally found it after killing them for a long time.

Those killed were all ordinary fishermen...

After a while, three sailors came back, dragging a man with them. The man was tied up tightly and his mouth was tightly gagged. The company commander shone a flashlight on his face, and the man still stared,

There was a muffled cry of "Uh-huh" in the throat.

The company commander called over the Malay translator and interrogated him. The two pirates on the ship did not lie. This village was a pirate village. When the translator asked if everyone was in the village, the pirate said carefully

, there are only half of the people in the village, because two leaders went out to work with their people last night and have not returned yet.

In this way, everything is correct.

The four 102mm main guns, two 40mm ping-pong cannons, four 20mm machine guns, and two 12.7mm machine guns on the Kuimulang all lowered their muzzles and aimed at the pirate village. They were flashlights at both ends.

The 60mm mortar airlifted from the Songkhla base was also assembled on the deck, and the two gunners were in place to adjust the shooting angle.

Although the power of this mortar cannot be compared with the main gun, but against targets such as villages in dense forests, the curved trajectory of the mortar is more effective than the straight trajectory of the naval gun. And as a mortar, it is always

It fires more shells per minute than four naval guns combined.

The captain and Qiu Qiu both held telescopes and stared motionlessly at the two flashlight lights on the shore. When the two flashlight lights became double, that was when a "confirmed, ready" signal was sent from the shore, and the ship

Then you can fire.

Xiang Xiaoqiang was not as patient as them. He kept pacing back and forth, going back and forth between the command room and the bridge, as if his tail was on fire.

Suddenly, the flashlight light downstream shook a few times, and another flashlight light appeared next to it.

After a while, the flashlight light upstream also changed from one place to two.

The signal was unmistakable: this was the pirate village, and the shore was ready for firing.

…

The captain picked up the ship's phone and ordered:

"40mm gun, fire flares."

"Bang bang bang bang..."

A series of loud bangs resounded across the Gamba River, and the fire was dazzling. The 40mm ping-pong cannon roared, and first fired a string of illumination bombs into the village and the surrounding dense forest. After firing four magazines, the fire ceased.

Flares were burning one after another, lying on the ground, in the forest, and in the water, constantly spraying bright magnesium light. Soon, the entire area was illuminated like daylight. Countless birds and beasts were chirping, and groups of them had fallen asleep.

The birds flapped their wings "flutter flutter" and fled out of the canopy of the trees. At this time, many people in the village were shouting, some male and some female. These pirates and gangsters still didn't know what was going on.

The Ba River and nearby forests were awakened.

The captain ordered again:

"All guns, free fire!"

The four main guns roared one after another, and the entire destroyer trembled. It was as if the river beneath it was also shaking. Then the 40mm, 20mm, and 12.7mm guns all joined the chorus, and countless rays of fire shot towards the people on the shore.

Flying into the dense forest, a sea of ​​​​fire quickly formed in the forest. Two mortarmen knelt on the deck and kept loading shells into the barrel. Although there was only one gun, its rate of fire was several times that of the main gun.

It can be said to be "pouring" shells.

With the firelight and magnesium light, the entire area was as bright as day, and the red light illuminated half of the sky. In the strong light, the outlines of the bamboo buildings were clearly visible. With each explosion, there were burning bamboo buildings flying up.

The sky, and then the debris burned and scattered over a vast area. In the firelight, from time to time, the stumps and severed arms of people could be seen being thrown high. More of them were broken tree crown branches and leaves, flying in the air in random directions.

fall.

The officers on the ship held telescopes and looked at the hellish village on the shore. Xiang Xiaoqiang also held telescopes and watched the battle with concentration. He was so excited now that the blood in his body was boiling, and his heart was filled with the pleasure of revenge, and he was hearty.

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Although Xiang Xiaoqiang was not from a formal military academy, he had much more practical combat experience than the officers on the ship. He soon realized that although the ship was "firing with thousands of guns," nearly half of the village's casualties, or damage, were destroyed.

It's all caused by the 60mm mortar. The 102mm main gun fires too slowly. The 40, 20, and 12.7mm guns fire fast, but their calibers are too small and have no effect unless they hit people directly. And they all

It was a flat shot, and most of the ammunition was blocked by the dense forest and did not penetrate into the village.

Xiang Xiaoqiang is really glad that he asked the Songkhla base for this mortar.

After a while, muzzle flashes also flashed a few hundred meters around the village. It was on the road leading to the outside of the village, and an ambush firepower point opened fire. Xiang Xiaoqiang's telescope quickly moved to that location. He carefully distinguished the source of the fire.

Due to their size and the frequency of firing, they quickly determined that they were two light machine guns. This was obviously the pirates in the village who had reacted and started running away into the dense forest outside the village. Soon, another gun appeared on another road.

The same muzzle flash.
To be continued...