There are many hills and jungles in the Minshan area, and the rugged and muddy mountain roads made Yang Ling and the others miserable as they climbed up and down the hills and almost turned into clay figures.
"Quick! Speed up!"
Yang Ling knew that the military situation was urgent and kept urging his panting brothers to speed up the march.
Although the nearly 700 brothers of the Third Battalion have undergone a month of intensive training on mountain marches, they are still tired and out of breath at this moment.
In particular, the machine gun crews in each infantry company were soon unable to keep up with the team. Carrying nearly 20 kilograms of Czech light machine guns on a rapid march almost killed the machine gunners.
"Regimental deputy, the brothers in the machine gun team and ammunition platoon can't keep up. Why don't we take a break?"
Deputy battalion elder Yan Qian also noticed the backward machine guns and ammunition, and quickly caught up with Yang Ling and asked for Yang Ling's opinion.
"The situation ahead is urgent and the team cannot stop." Yang Ling rejected Lao Yanqiang's proposal without any hesitation.
However, the machine gun teams and ammunition platoons of each infantry company are important components to ensure the output and continuity of firepower. If they are left behind, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.
Yang Ling waved his hand and said: "Let each company send people to take turns carrying machine guns and ammunition boxes. No one can be left behind!"
Compared with the lack of ammunition on the battlefield in the past, the Military Commission was also unusually generous this time.
Each of their brothers received at least two hundred rounds of rifle bullets, and a lot of other types of ammunition. Having enough ammunition was originally a good thing, but in the face of such a rapid march, it became a burden.
Under Yang Ling's instructions, the brothers took turns helping to carry ammunition boxes and light machine guns, and the team's speed finally did not slow down.
But as soon as one problem was solved, new problems came one after another. Groups of Sichuan Army brothers who had been defeated from the Minshan position crowded on the road, making the originally narrow and slippery mountain road suddenly blocked.
"What's going on in the front?!" Yang Ling, who was furious, saw the rushing team suddenly stopped and asked the front in a hurried voice.
"Regiment Vice...Regiment Vice, the road ahead is blocked——"
Yang Ling immediately pushed his way to the front and watched as a large group of Sichuan Army brothers whose faces were stained with cannon fodder and blood were swarming back, blocking the team's path forward.
Marching in this mountainous area is different from plain areas. There is only one road. The two teams meet in the middle of the road, carrying weapons and equipment. Both sides are either steep slopes or cliffs. There is no way to go wrong.
These Sichuan troops were all reorganized from the local security forces. Facing the fierce Japanese 9th Division troops, they were unable to withstand them. The enemy charged them into dispersion.
Facing the defeated Sichuan troops crowded on the road, Yang Ling loudly ordered: "Get out of the way and let us pass first!"
However, these Sichuan troops were in chaos, and their organization was disrupted. Yang Ling's orders had no effect at all. Some people stepped back, while those behind them were still pushing in.
"boom!"
Yang Ling had no choice but to pull out the shell gun from his waist and fired into the sky to control the chaotic situation.
"Let your commander speak out!" Yang Ling shouted murderously.
"Our battalion commander is dead..."
"Now the highest-ranking military officer stands up and speaks -"
Seeing Yang Ling's fierce look, these defeated Sichuan Army brothers were also restrained. Soon a major with a blood-soaked bandage around his neck squeezed in front of Yang Ling.
"I am Yang Ling, deputy commander of the 301st Regiment of the 74th Army. Our unit has been ordered to rush to Minshan to stop the Japanese army. The military situation is urgent. Please ask your brothers to get out of the way." Yang Ling did not wait for the Sichuan Army Major to speak.
He spoke in a commanding tone.
A look of embarrassment appeared on the major's face: "Sir Yang, we also want to get out of the way, but you see the road is so narrow. If we give in, we will go down the mountain."
Yang Ling knew that the major was telling the truth, but there was no time to waste now, they had to send reinforcements.
Yang Ling thought for a while, looked at the blood-stained major and said, "Brothers, do you want to take back the position -"
The major was stunned for a moment, then replied: "Why don't you think about it? We came all the way out of Sichuan to fight, not to be deserters, but we have run out of weapons and ammunition. There are so many Japanese that we can't defeat them. We will only die in vain if we go back."
Yang Ling felt confident: "I'll give you ammunition. Do you have the guts to fight back with us?"
"Sir Yang, are you really going to give us ammunition?" The major looked suspicious. Their Sichuan army was poorly equipped. If they had ammunition, why would they be afraid of Japanese soldiers?
"Just answer me, do you dare to rush back?!"
The major saw that Yang Ling didn't seem to be telling lies, and his blood surged in his bones. He rolled up his sleeves and said, "I won't leave Sichuan if I'm afraid of death!"
"Okay, now tell your brother to turn around and let's fight back together!" Yang Ling saw that the major was also a bloody man and ordered.
This major of the Sichuan Army was also a bloody man. He raised the shell gun in his hand and shouted: "Brothers of the Sichuan Army! Chairman Liu's last words! The Japanese will not withdraw from the country for one day, and the Sichuan Army will never return home! We are not cowards! Follow the seven
Brothers from the 14th Army, kill them back!"
"Kill him back...don't be a coward!"
"Go back! Go back and regain the position!"
Encouraged by the major, the Sichuan Army brothers who were crowded on the road started making noises one after another, turned around and headed towards Minshan.
“These Sichuan guys are really smart!”
The brothers of the Third Battalion were originally full of contempt when they saw these Sichuan soldiers in ragged clothes, but when they saw that they actually wanted to fight back together, their views on them suddenly changed a lot.
...
Yang Ling and the others hurriedly and slowly arrived at the front line of Minshan Mountain at one o'clock in the afternoon. From a distance, they heard the sound of gunshots like exploding beans and the deafening sound of artillery.
The air was filled with heat, the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke and the strong smell of blood, which made the brothers whose clothes were soaked with sweat feel the tense atmosphere of the battlefield.
In the grass on both sides of the muddy road and under the big trees, there were wounded soldiers with missing arms and legs lying there. Their twisted faces were full of pain and they were wailing continuously.
The newly reinforced brothers from the Third Battalion, carrying guns on their backs, hurried past these dying and seriously wounded soldiers. Looking at their bloody bodies, their expressions became tense.
"Stop advancing, hide on the spot and wait for orders——"
Yang Ling waved his brothers back and stopped five or six hundred meters away from the battlefield.
Captain Wang Huzi, the company commander, held a shell gun in his hand, quickly lay down behind a tree trunk as thick as an arm, and stuck half of his head out to observe the situation in front.
The brothers in the company behind him all dispersed and got behind the weeds and stones on the roadside with a huff, their heavy breathing and the clanging sound of their rifle butts.
Yang Ling, deputy commander of the regiment, had already trotted forward with several guards, braving their waists, preparing to contact the 302nd Regiment to inquire about the situation on the battlefield.
Wang Huzi and the others were walking in a hurry, their clothes had been soaked with sweat, and now they were sticky on their backs. He couldn't care less.
He looked towards the hillside where the gunfire was fierce in front of him. Even though he crawled out of the pile of dead people several times, he still took a breath of cold air.
On the hill a few hundred meters ahead, artillery shells flying from nowhere hit the top with clang. The deafening explosion raised flames and smoke into the sky. The entire hill was like a small boat in the storm, shaking violently.
It may capsize at any time.
He saw the guns and bodies being thrown into the sky in the flames of the explosion, and they were already torn apart when they fell.
The entire hill had been wiped out by bombs and explosions, leaving only a few smoking tree stumps standing bare, and the blood-red and fluffy soil was covered with broken heads and limbs.
The violent barrage of fire shrouded the hillside, and waves of Japanese soldiers wearing cold steel helmets were rushing up from the other side with 38 rifles with bayonets...