Wangjia Village.

Relying on powerful artillery firepower, the Japanese army has captured the outer defensive positions of the Independent Battalion and is now launching an aggressive attack on the strongest and last line of defense outside Wangjiacun.

"Boom!"

"Boom, boom, boom! -"

The Japanese artillery shells were like free rocks, falling one after another for more than ten minutes.

Hundreds of artillery shells continued to pour down, shaking the independent battalion's position and causing flames to burst into flames. They left behind one blackened crater after another, and the large tracts of sand and mud kicked up almost filled up some trenches.

.

Fortunately, the Independence Battalion built strong defenses in advance and dug many cat-ear holes on the trench walls on both sides. At this moment, the soldiers of the Independence Battalion were hiding in the cat-ear holes.

Not many shells fell into the trenches, and most of them fell outside. Therefore, the Japanese bombardment seemed terrifying, but in fact the casualties caused to the independent battalion were not very large.

As soon as the Japanese bombardment stopped, the soldiers of the Independence Battalion crawled out of the Maoer Hole.

There was mud everywhere on their bodies and on their heads, and they looked like groundhogs.

Stopping the bombardment does not mean stopping the offensive.

On the other side, the Japanese army sent a reinforced squadron of about 300 people to form a tentative attack group and launched the first attack on the forward position of the independent battalion.

At the same time, Xu Hailang, commander and deputy battalion commander of the First Company of the Independent Battalion, was lying behind the observation hole of the rear command post, holding a telescope to observe the enemy's situation.

He has fought against the Japs many times, and he knows the Japs' tactics very well.

To put it simply, the Japanese army's offensive routine was that after the artillery bombarded the infantry, the infantry could not rush forward, and the artillery continued to bomb. There was almost no tactics at all. They relied entirely on strong firepower and the quality of the soldiers to overwhelm the Chinese army.

Seeing that the Japanese army only sent two to three hundred men, Xu Hailang immediately realized that this was just a tentative attack by the Japs.

Its purpose was, firstly, to test the power of the previous artillery bombardment, and secondly, to lure the defenders' light and heavy machine gun firepower points to be exposed, so that the artillery could accurately strike them.

Naturally, Xu Hailang would not let the Japs' conspiracy succeed, so he said to the messenger: "This is just a tentative attack by the Japs. I order the front-line troops not to overexpose their firepower, and to move the enemy closer before attacking!"

"Yes, company commander!" The orderly soldier promised, immediately picked up the phone and issued instructions to the frontline trenches.

The independent battalion benefited from many victories. Not only did it seize two radios, but each of its subordinate companies was also equipped with telephones. Therefore, the battalion headquarters could contact the front-line companies at any time.

In the front trench, a liaison soldier who was responsible for guarding the phone put down the phone and immediately walked quietly to their deputy company commander's side. He conveyed the message to deputy company commander Zhao Bin, who was observing the enemy's situation, that company commander and deputy battalion commander Xu Hailang

instructions.

"I know, go tell the company commander and tell him to let him go! I guarantee that these two or three hundred little devils will never come back!" Zhao Bin said in a deep voice with confidence.

"OK!"

Zhao Bin put down the phone, raised his face again, and ordered in a deep voice to the soldiers around him: "Brothers, please pay attention to your concealment. This Japs are the enemy's probing force. Don't expose your firepower in advance. Move the enemy closer before attacking."

!”

"Also, when attacking later, be careful to avoid the enemy's shelling. You don't need to fire the heavy machine gun. After the light machine gun fires a shuttle, you must move your position immediately!"

The first company of the Independent Battalion has a full strength of more than 500 people. Although more than 200 people were killed and wounded in the previous battle and the outer positions were lost, there are still more than 300 people at this moment and the combat effectiveness has not been lost.

As for the baggage company and supplementary company, they are deployed in the rear positions as reserve troops.

After receiving the order, the 300 soldiers of the first company deliberately lowered their heads to dodge. The bullets were loaded into the chambers, and the grenades were taken out of the ammunition boxes one by one. The back cover was unscrewed to reveal the fuse.

In front of the position, more than 300 Japanese soldiers have entered within 500 meters, and they have advanced slowly from slowly to running quickly, rapidly approaching the forward position of the company.

This distance was already within the fire blockade range of light and heavy machine guns. The Japs were very experienced and spread out one after another, using a relatively dispersed skirmish line to charge quickly with their backs bowed and their heads lowered.

In order to rush into the effective range of the infantry as quickly as possible, that is, within 200 meters, this distance will be the distance where the exchange of fire between the two sides breaks out.

It is also the distance where the battle is most intense.

Of course, it does not mean that infantrymen cannot kill people 200 meters away, but due to the limited marksmanship, beyond this distance, neither the Japanese nor the Eighth Route Army can hit the target accurately. Shooting blindly will only waste bullets.

Of course, if you don't consider the issue of ammunition, you can actually shoot from 500 meters away.

Because whether it is a Type 38 rifle or a medium-sized rifle, the effective killing distance reaches 500 meters.

"Speed ​​up, keep speeding up!"

A Japanese captain was hiding in the crowd, constantly urging his subordinates to speed up.

Behind them, two Type 92 heavy machine guns also began to roar, providing them with fire cover.

"Thud, tug, tug, tug, tug!——"

The deafening sound of gunfire rang out, and a large and dense rain of bullets immediately poured out.

These hot bullets either hit the front of the trench, raising clouds of smoke or dust, or they whizzed directly over the heads of a company of soldiers.

Soon, the Japanese offensive troops approached 300 meters away, but the defenders still did not move.

This couldn't help but make the attacking Japanese feel very happy. The previous shelling must have caused huge casualties to the defenders, forcing them to abandon the defense and flee.

They were like this a few times before.

With this idea in mind, in order to take the lead, the Japanese in the attacking force accelerated their speed again.

200 meters, 150 meters, 80 meters! Until now, when they are about to break into the 50-meter range, the soldiers of the first company hiding in the trench fortifications can even hear the footsteps of the Japanese charging.

Deputy company commander Zhao Bin suddenly stood up holding a Czech light machine gun and fired rapidly at the charging Japanese soldiers!

"Da da da..."

Gunshots rang out, and dozens of meters away, several Japanese soldiers twitched and fell down, and the weapons in their hands fell to the side.

While firing, Zhao Bin also shouted at the top of his lungs: "Brothers, open fire, hit, hit hard! Kill these bastard little devils!"

In order to avenge the sacrifice of their brothers, the soldiers of the company were all working hard and waiting for this moment.

For a time, all light machine gun fire points, individual trenches, and foxholes opened fire at the same time.

"Chu tuk tuk! Ta da da!"

"Pah, pah, pah!"

"Boom, boom, boom! -"

The forward position, which was quiet a second ago and could hear the drop of a pin, suddenly erupted with gunfire, which was also mixed with the sound of exploding grenades.
Chapter completed!