The smoke of gunpowder poured over the entire battlefield like black mist. The burning village emitted orange flames and burned cracklingly. The air was filled with the smell of burnt and dead people.
Many livestock that had not escaped the artillery fire were blown to pieces, with bloody flesh and blood scattered everywhere, the bumpy road was full of craters, and the fluffy soil was burnt black.
The team of the 301st Regiment moved forward for about twenty miles in the darkness, and finally arrived near the Huilongji battlefield. The naked eye could already clearly see the bright lights rising on the horizon not far away.
These bright lights flashed fiercely, and the dazzling bright light illuminated the earth completely. The brothers could see the scorched earth all over the ground and the broken limbs lying on the ground. The light disappeared in a flash, and the earth fell into darkness again.
"Put your guns on fire!"
The voices of the veteran platoon leaders rang out one after another in the darkness.
Although the well-trained recruits were frightened by the cruel battlefield, they still subconsciously pulled the bolt of the gun and loaded the bullet into the chamber, ready for a firefight at any time.
The troops are still marching into the battlefield where the exchange of fire is fierce, and the scorching hot air waves rushing towards them make people feel no longer cold, but like stepping into a steamer that can cook people, and sweat flows down the neck into the brothers.
They unbuttoned their collars to allow themselves to breathe easier.
A shrill whistle suddenly sounded in the dark night sky. The brothers who were advancing towards the battlefield invariably raised their heads and found that there was a projectile dragging light extending towards the team.
"Hide the cannon! Hide the cannon!" While the recruits were still looking up at the bright light with the whistle, the veterans' shrill voices were already heard.
"boom--"
The cannonball fell into the team, the ground shook violently, and a dazzling fire burst out. Four or five brothers were blown to pieces before they could react, and rain of blood and broken flesh and bones were scattered in all directions.
Fall.
The sweeping strong air wave knocked many brothers off their feet. Brother Yedu was stunned by the buzzing in his ears. When he saw the head falling at his feet, he felt scared and shouted in horror.
stand up.
"It's dead! It's dead!"
The nerves of the recruits had been tense. Now that they saw that their comrades were blown up without any corpses in the blink of an eye, the string in their heads was broken, and they started yelling desperately.
Shunzi, the veteran deputy company commander, knocked the screaming recruits to the ground with the butt of his rifle, and scolded: "You are yelling, shut up!"
Maybe it was the pain in his shoulder that made the recruit forget to keep shouting, or maybe the veteran deputy company commander Shunzi's too serious look calmed him down. In short, the recruit didn't dare to shout anymore.
Shunzi stepped on the dripping flesh and blood and walked to the two-meter-square bomb crater. He stretched out his hand to detect the breath of the brothers who had been blown over. He quickly stood up and shook his head.
"The ball is dead, pick up their equipment and keep walking -"
There was no emotion in Shunzi's tone, as if those who died were not brothers who had known each other day and night, but strangers. This made the recruits feel the cruelty of war.
Shunzi climbed from a small soldier to the current deputy company commander. He fought a lot of battles and saw a lot of dead people. Rather than adapting, he felt numb.
As the team continued to move forward, the battlefield got closer and closer. From time to time, shells missed by Japanese artillery fell near the team and exploded violently.
Every time a shell hits, the recruits can't help but feel their scalps numb. Those erratic shells are like ghosts from hell, appearing and falling from time to time, and then blowing people into ashes, which makes them palpitate.
Veterans are afraid of machine guns, while recruits are afraid of artillery. The roar of cannons is like a reminder, making the recruits feel shrouded in fear.
The third battalion led by Yang Ling walked to the front of the regiment. When he saw the new recruits who were howling on the training ground, their faces turned pale and they were so frightened that they could not hold their guns steady. They couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. Soldiers who have never been on the battlefield will eventually die.
Not really a soldier.
Perhaps only through the baptism of blood and fire can they truly transform and grow.
"The muzzle of the gun should be pointed upward. Don't point it at your brothers." Yang Ling patted a recruit brother on the shoulder and pointed to the muzzle of his gun that was pointed at the back of the brother in front of him and corrected him.
Now all the guns are loaded with bullets, and Yang Ling doesn't want his own people to hurt his own people.
When this brother heard Yang Ling's reminder, he immediately lowered his head in shame. Although he was required to do this during training, he only stared at the shells flying over from time to time. He still remembered it, so he hurriedly turned the muzzle of the gun from the front.
Brother's back moved away.
"Don't be nervous. Don't be afraid when you get to the battlefield. The more afraid people are, the faster they will die. Watch what the veterans do." Seeing that this brother was a little scared, Yang Ling's eyes softened.
"Yes, sir."
After receiving encouragement from Yang Ling, the deputy commander, the brother who was afraid of being beaten seemed to have a magical power injected into his heart, and suddenly he felt that the battlefield was not so scary.
The reconnaissance platoon led by deputy battalion commander Yan Qian quickly connected with a platoon from the 305th Regiment in charge of guarding the Japanese at Huilongji. They learned about the situation on the battlefield and quickly reported it to Yang Ling.
.
"The Japanese's offensive is very fierce, and it has not stopped even after dark. Deputy Brigadier Zhang Lingfu is leading the people to support the attack, and reinforcements are urgently needed!" Lao Yanqiang spoke very quickly, and Yang Ling also knew that the situation was urgent.
Zhang Lingfu has been promoted to deputy brigade commander of the 153rd Brigade, but still serves as the commander of the 305th Regiment. They arrived on the battlefield earlier than Yang Ling and have been blocking the attack at Huilongji for a whole day.
"You report the situation to the regiment headquarters quickly, and I will take the third battalion up first!" Yang Ling made a prompt decision and prepared to take the third battalion up first for reinforcements.
"Yes!" Lao Yanqiang responded and immediately ran away towards the regiment headquarters behind him, his figure disappearing into the darkness.
"Brothers from the third battalion, listen to my order and press forward! Be fast!"
"Hurry! Hurry!" As soon as Yang Ling finished speaking, the urging voices of the platoon leaders of each company started shouting, and the entire team surged forward and crashed into the smoke-filled battlefield.
The combat mission of the Japanese 14th Division was to cut off the Longhai Railway, control the area west of Xuzhou, cut off the retreat route of the main force of the Chinese army in the Xuzhou area, and then encircle and annihilate the main force of the Chinese army.
Therefore, after they encountered the blockage of the 74th Army in the direction of Huilongji in Dangshan, the leading troops immediately realized that their strategic intentions were exposed, so they rushed forward desperately to avoid failure.
Fighting Zhang Lingfu's 305th Regiment in the direction of Huilongji was the vanguard of the 28th Brigade under the 14th Division. Their attacks were fierce and fierce, and they had broken through the defenders' positions several times.
"Tum, tom, tom,"
The Japanese artillery roared continuously, and the overwhelming artillery fire passed through the smoke and hit the defenders' position in Huilongji.
Explosions exploded one after another in Huilongji. Fires shot into the sky. The blasted bodies floated radially in all directions. A hazy rain of blood fell in the sky.
The deafening sound pierced the eardrums, and the charred houses collapsed under the gunfire, and smoke covered the sky.
"Da da da……"
The machine guns at various fire points of the defenders sprayed out a series of tongues of fire, and bullets like water splashed at extremely high speeds, embedded in the soil with a pop, and penetrated people's chests.
"Hold it! Hold it!"
In the smoke, the officers, whose faces were blackened by smoke, roared as hard as they could, but were soon drowned out by the violent explosion.