If replaced by other troops, the beach landing operation may not succeed at a huge cost, let alone a firm foothold, just like the Austro-Hungarian Army during the Dardanelles Battle.
The 2nd Cavalry Division was obviously more prepared. It had already conducted two drills in Dunkirk before the troops landed. All the commanders and fighters were familiar with the matters that needed to be paid attention to during the landing operations, so they did not need to be reminded by the officers. Huang Hai and Horace
Find a temporary position suitable for a hypothetical machine gun.
Just after two bursts of fire were fired to suppress the German machine gun position in a bunker, a second lieutenant came over with a pistol in hand: "Sergeant, take your men and follow me -"
"Sir, I'm on a mission-" Huang Hai didn't get up immediately.
"Take your machine gun and follow me, we need fire support -" the second lieutenant shouted at the top of his lungs. At this time, the beachhead was in chaos. It was really not easy to find a complete machine gun team.
"Sir, what should I do?" Horace held a bullet box in a miserable state, not knowing what to do.
"Let's go, let's go with the second lieutenant -" Huang Hai did not hesitate. On the premise that he could not find his direct commander, he had to accept the order of a higher-ranking officer.
Let's go. There are still half the bullets in the machine gun's magazine that don't need to be replaced. Horace put the spare magazine into his backpack. When he picked up the rifle, he looked angrily at the German bunker, and then followed Huang Hai dejectedly.
The second lieutenant's troops were going to attack a German artillery position and gathered together along the way. The second lieutenant had nearly 30 soldiers under his command.
These soldiers belong to three different units, one is the 2nd Cavalry Division, the other is the British 21st Division, and the other is the reorganized 5th Division from Canada.
Among all thirty people, Huang Hai and Horace were the best armed. In addition to rifles and light machine guns, both of them were equipped with pistols, and Horace also brought a few extra grenades.
"Okay, gentlemen, now let's clarify the combat mission. Our target is a German artillery position two kilometers away. The German army responsible for guarding the position is a company, but I don't think this German company will be an obstacle to us.
We must clear out this German position as soon as possible, otherwise our fleet outside the sea will be threatened by the Germans." The captain and the company commander are probably almost fifty years old, and he and the second lieutenant are very similar to each other.
"There's no problem, Huang. You are our hero. Next, you have to provide cover for our troops-" The captain has a good attitude towards Huang Hai. Fighting heroes are always respected.
"I have no problem." Huang Hai said concisely.
"Great, then we'll set off right away -" the captain couldn't wait, the opportunity was always fleeting, and no one could guarantee whether German reinforcements would appear.
The distance of two kilometers is not that far. According to the training intensity of the Southern African Expeditionary Force, it can be won in one sprint.
As a result, Huang Hai and Horace walked for a full hour this time, defeating two waves of German troops who tried to resist, and finally arrived at the German artillery position.
Huang Hai and Horace were both veterans. They randomly found a mound on higher ground and began to prepare a machine gun position.
The easiest way to prepare a machine gun position is to prepare more sandbags. The protective power of sandbags is indeed not as good as that of steel and concrete, but sandbag positions are low-cost, fast, and can also provide certain protection for soldiers, so sandbags are the most popular weapon in the south.
You are proficient in almost everyone's fixed repertoire of the African Expeditionary Force.
"Tom, lead your squad and assist Sergeant Huang Hai in the battle. Remember, if the situation goes bad, you must appear in time to save us -" The captain and the company commander don't think there is anything shameful in this. All Chinese are pragmatists.
Furthermore, the gods of the Chinese people are the ancestors of the Chinese people, and this cannot be replaced by a small cross.
After a short rest, the captain led the troops to formally launch an attack on the German artillery positions.
Huanghai's machine gun position faced a large number of backpacks, some of which still contained suicide notes that had just been written. The captain and company commander's troops did not bring anything except pistols and grenades. They had to charge as fast as possible.
He kept rushing past the German hand positions, and then threw grenades into the barrels of German artillery.
Huang Hai started shooting at this time. Four people were responsible for cooperating with Huang Hai in the battle. Horace was still responsible for changing the ammunition box. A soldier on the other side of the Yellow Sea was responsible for changing the barrel. Behind a stone next to you, a second lieutenant was observing with a telescope.
German position.
He is the observer of the Yellow Sea.
"Ten...ten...ten...Huang, at your ten o'clock direction, a small German force was found——" the second lieutenant's voice changed with excitement.
Huang Hai didn't get excited, quietly moved the muzzle of the gun, took a slight aim and then pulled the trigger.
Ta-ta-ta-ta--
The general-purpose machine gun fired briskly and crisply, causing the German troops who were trying to counterattack to flip over. The second lieutenant was reluctant to put down his telescope.
Horace did not hesitate, placed the muzzle of his gun on a neatly stacked blanket, and also tried to shoot at the Germans.
Click-click-click-
The sound of the firing pin hitting the air didn't even need to be reminded by Huang Hai. The soldiers on the left were busy changing to grab them all, and Horace was busy changing the ammunition boxes. Ten seconds later, Huang Hai's light machine gun started roaring again.
Buzz——
There was the roar of aircraft engines roaring in the sky. 24 shining silver planes were flying towards Bruges. Directly above them were 60 four-engine strategic bombers, also flying towards Bruges.
Like tanks, four-engine bombers finally came into their own after the British Expeditionary Force launched a new offensive.
The power of strategic bombers does not lie in the number of casualties they cause to the enemy, nor in the number of strategic targets they destroy, but in creating a psychological shadow on the people in the rear of hostile countries, making them feel the threat of war first-hand, thus reducing the morale of the German military and civilians.
Since the four-engine bombers entered the war, both Bruges and Ghent have suffered heavy casualties. Ghent, as the transshipment center of the German army in Belgium, was almost razed to the ground. The four-engine heavy bombers can carry bombs weighing up to 1,500 pounds.
Compared with the Big Beretta, which can only be fired in two hours, it is not much better. No matter how strong the fortress is, as long as it is directly hit by a 1500-pound aerial bomb, there will only be one end.
Huang Hai ignored the plane and never took his eyes off the crosshairs. His reputation as an ace shooter was indeed well-deserved. Huang Hai almost suppressed a platoon of German troops with a light machine gun. The attacking troops successfully rushed into the artillery position without much resistance.
"Sir, should we move our position forward?" Horace asked the second lieutenant holding the telescope.
"Huang Hai, you did a great job. You got a new medal in the battle. God bless you -" the second lieutenant ignored Horace, said hello to Huang Hai, and led his men away.
.
Huang Hai and Horace curled their lips, packed up their belongings, and randomly withdrew from their positions.
The gunfire at the beachhead was still fierce. When Huang Hai and Horace walked back, they were surprised to find a German fortress right in front of them.
This is a quite large fortress, and there should be at least one platoon of German troops stationed there. Huang Hai and Horace only have two people. After repeated weighing, Huang Hai decided to retreat, not wanting to make unnecessary sacrifices.
"Sir, we should take down that fortress." Horace spoke righteously.
"There is at least one platoon of German troops defending that fortress, and there are only two of us -" It's not that Huang Hai doesn't want to fight, but he really can't. Two people fighting fifty people, this is not a network.
"You use the machine gun to cover me, and I will get close to the bunker and throw grenades inside. We don't need to wipe out all the German troops. As long as we can distract the German troops and free our troops from the beachhead -" Horace's voice became more and more intense.
Xiao, this is actually not the mission of Huang Hai and Horace. Huang Hai and Horace are only responsible for fire cover.
"You want me to suppress a platoon of German troops by myself?" Huang Hair was about to collapse. The Germans were not pigs. If forty or fifty people attacked together, Huang Hai couldn't withstand it even with three heads and six arms.
"It won't take long, at most ten seconds -" Horace had already started stuffing grenades into the equipment on his chest. There were still two ammunition boxes left in the backpack, and all the ammunition boxes Huang Hai carried had been emptied.
Two and a half, or three boxes of ammunition were used to deal with a platoon of Germans. This was when the Germans had no reinforcements. Huang Hai really had a headache, and Horace was really not afraid of death.
"Sir, get ready, I'm about to go -" Horace was not kidding. He had a pistol and a grenade in one hand, a sapper shovel and a dagger, but his rifle was still beside Huang Hai.
"You bastard, I'll deal with you after I've beaten you -" Huang Hai ignored the complaint and immediately put down the bipod of the general machine gun and placed it on a rock beside the trench.
Before Horace could launch an attack, several German soldiers carrying bullet boxes suddenly turned around from the trench next to Huang Hai.
When Huang Hai discovered the German soldiers, the German soldiers also discovered Huang Hai. Both sides were stunned for a moment.
After all, Huang Hai had been in battle for a long time, so he threw a grenade at it casually, then picked up the light machine gun and fired from a crouching position.
When the grenade was thrown over, the German soldier carrying the bullet box was startled. The German soldier walking in the front dropped the bullet box and turned around and ran away.
The German soldiers behind had not figured out what was going on, but the two-meter-wide trench suddenly became overcrowded.
Ta-ta-ta-ta--
At this time, Huang Hai started shooting. There was no need to aim carefully. The muzzle of the gun was slightly downward, and the trigger was held tightly without letting go.
The power of the general-purpose machine gun is still very good. Huang Hai only knew that the 7.7mm bullet has strong penetrating power before, but he didn't know how strong it was.
Now Huang Hai knows that a 7.7mm bullet can penetrate the bodies of at least two people continuously and then stay in the body of a third person.
The screams in the trench suddenly rose to the sky, and rows of German soldiers staggered around like candied haws. No one noticed that the grenade Huang Hai threw out at the beginning did not even pull out the safety pin.
In such an emergency, there is really no time to remove the safety pin.