Four hundred and fortieth chapters anti-slope trench
Minshan was occupied by Morishung's brigade first, and a series of solid fortifications were built based on the mountains.
The remaining Japanese troops who retreated to the mountains faced the swarming Chinese troops and poured out firepower like crazy.
Bullets that were as dense as locusts were swept down almost close to the ground, breaking dry branches and grass, causing mud and mist to fly, leaving a mess wherever the bullets passed.
"Machine gun cover! Charge me in the first row!"
Deputy battalion elder Yanqiang had several bayonet wounds on his body, and half of his body was stained red with blood.
Seeing the remnants of the Japanese soldiers who had retreated to Minshan Mountain, Lao Yanqiang, with red eyes, was ready to rush forward with his butt in his arms and capture them in one fell swoop.
There were less than ten brothers left in the second company and the first platoon. After hearing the roar of the old smoker, they jumped out from behind the hidden rocks and rushed up with their guns raised.
"Da da da da——"
Seeing these desperate Chinese soldiers rushing upwards, the Japanese light and heavy machine guns deployed on the mountain swept over them with intertwined firepower.
The dozen or so brothers ran out and only took a dozen steps when they were enveloped by barrage fire chains from high above. They rolled down the gentle slope in a bloody mess, and the hillside was red.
War is extremely cruel, and deaths are commonplace, but seeing these dozen brothers wiped out in an instant, the brothers behind them clutched their guns tightly and swallowed hard in their throats.
The brothers lay down behind the rocks, on top of the corpses, in the grass and shot towards the mountain. The bullets flew high.
The Japanese machine gunner was shot in the face and fell backwards with his face covered in blood. However, the deputy gunner quickly took over and the Type 92 heavy machine gun started roaring again.
The First Corps under the command of General Xue Yue relied on countless hills to block the Japanese attack on the Nanxun line, and the Japanese troops now occupying Minshan Mountain were also condescending, blocking Lao Yanqiang's way.
The Japanese's light and heavy machine guns blocked the brothers' attack path with a hail of bullets, and the old smoker with red eyes was particularly unwilling to do so.
However, the Japanese had the advantage of geographical location, and their weapon firepower was even more ferocious, making it impossible for the brothers' grenades to hit them.
"The second platoon feints to contain the attack from the front! The third platoon moves up from the left wing and blows up the Japanese machine guns!"
After Lao Yanqiang fired a few shots at the Japanese, he prepared to let a platoon flank touch them.
But when the brothers in the third platoon started climbing up the mountain from the left wing, the Japanese grenades were thrown down.
Rumbling explosions occurred one after another, and in the smoke, the brothers in the third row had to retreat in embarrassment.
"Stop attacking!"
Yang Ling saw that the Japanese were condescending and further attacks would only cause unnecessary casualties, so he gave up the idea of taking advantage of the situation to capture Minshan.
Lao Yanqiang suddenly became anxious and shouted: "Let me lead the team and charge again!"
Yang Ling knew that his brothers had suffered heavy casualties and Lao Yanqiang was getting anxious, but as the commander, he had to stay calm at this moment.
"The enemy's firepower is very fierce. If we fight again, our brothers will bleed in vain. Please withdraw."
Seeing Yang Ling persist, Lao Yanqiang waved his arm reluctantly: "No more fighting! Get out!"
When the brothers who were near the foot of the mountain heard this, they hurriedly got out of the enemy's range as if they had been granted amnesty.
"Wang Beard, lead people to clean up the battlefield——"
"Blacksmith, set up the machine gun for me to prevent the Japanese from counterattack!"
Yang Ling's orders were conveyed one by one, and the gunshots on the battlefield finally became sparse.
Seeing that they could not attack the Japanese positions in Minshan, the brothers carried bayonets and went around looking for wounded Japanese soldiers to vent their anger on.
Yang Ling's counterattack was very swift and violent, catching the Japanese off guard and leaving many injured Japanese on the battlefield.
The brothers who were furious were not polite either. They shot their heads off at close range or nailed them to the ground with bayonets, and they were all quickly wiped out.
Just when Yang Ling gave the order to stop the attack, Lin Xiufeng, the leader of the 302nd Regiment who had gathered his troops, hurriedly followed from behind.
"Deputy Commander Yang, why don't we fight? We should take advantage of the victory and capture Minshan."
Lin Xiufeng's 302nd Regiment destroyed one battalion in just one day, and the other two battalions were also maimed. At this moment, he was feeling angry.
He followed Yang Ling's advice, retreated and lured the Japanese pursuers into an ambush circle, and then led his troops to counterattack in order to avenge him.
But when he gathered his troops and rushed to support Yang Ling who was counterattacking, he saw that Yang Ling and the others had stopped attacking, which puzzled him.
"Captain Lin, the Japanese are condescending and fire fiercely, and we don't have heavy weapons. If we attack by force, we will only make the brothers bleed and die in vain. It's better to suspend the attack and wait for our mortars to be sent up before attacking."
Although Lin Xiufeng wanted to capture Minshan in one go, when he saw the dense machine gun bunkers halfway up the mountain, he sighed heavily and agreed to Yang Ling's suggestion to suspend the attack.
In addition to their lack of strength, another important reason why Yang Ling did not choose to continue the attack was that they were worried about the arrival of Japanese reinforcements.
They now only have three disabled infantry battalions in total, and their combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced after a fierce battle.
If they attack Minshan now, if Japanese reinforcements arrive midway, they will be unable to resist.
Therefore, what needs to be done now is not to capture Minshan, but to seize the time to repair the fortifications and trenches and wait for reinforcements.
As long as they hold on until the follow-up main force arrives, it is only a matter of time before they capture Minshan.
Yang Ling belongs to the action group and does what he is told to do, preparing to immediately repair the fortifications to gain a foothold to prevent the Japanese from counterattacking.
"blacksmith--"
"Yes!" Blacksmith Pi'er, the captain and company commander, who was covered in seized items, rushed up to Yang Ling.
Yang Ling pointed to the overgrown hilltop about 500 meters behind and said, "Immediately take people to the back of the mountain to dig trenches, repair gun holes, and build fortifications a hundred meters away from the ridgeline."
"Yes!" the blacksmith responded loudly, calling his brothers to dig fortifications.
Lin Xiufeng thought that Yang Ling would use the existing fortifications here. When he saw that Yang Ling sent people back a few hundred meters to build the fortifications behind the mountain, he was a little confused.
"Deputy Commander Yang, there are ready-made fortifications here and they can be repaired. Isn't it unnecessary for you to go to the back of the mountain to build fortifications?"
Counter-slope combat is still a new thing for the middle and lower-level officers of the National Revolutionary Army.
Most of the fortifications they built in the past were single-line trenches. Later, after experiencing bloody lessons, they learned to build three-dimensional defense fortifications combining points, surfaces, and lines.
However, this kind of fortification is still not advantageous under the Japanese army's artillery superiority. A single artillery bombardment can destroy most of it.
And now Yangling wants to rely on the anti-slope fortifications built on the mountain to minimize the effect of the Japanese artillery fire.
Because the fortifications were built on the other side facing the Japs, the Japs' direct-fire artillery had no effect. Even if the cannons hit the other side of the mountain, there would be a blind spot, greatly reducing the damage.
As for Yang Ling and the others, they only needed to retreat to the rear and hide when the Japanese bombarded them, and to defend the ridgeline of the hilltop when the Japanese charged, so the Japanese could do nothing to them.
Faced with Lin Xiufeng's questions, Yang Ling naturally answered them all.
"Okay, why didn't I think of that? Deputy Commander Yang, tell me, how did you come up with it?"
After hearing Yang Ling's narration, Lin Xiufeng, who had suffered so much from Japanese artillery fire, felt as if he had seen a new world and felt incredible.
Yang Ling just smiled and said nothing. It was obvious that the Chinese army's tactical level was lagging behind.