The arrival of Maruyama Masao's 6th Brigade suddenly increased the strength of the Japanese, with all kinds of light and heavy firepower. In addition to the Type 92 infantry guns assigned to each artillery squadron, the artillery brigade also brought up 75 mm caliber mountain guns.
"It seems that the little devil has spent a lot of money this time."
Looking through the telescope, he saw the 75mm mountain gun with its gun jacket lifted on the Japanese position, and the regiment leader Zhang Handuo's eyes were extremely solemn.
Yang Ling also saw the little Jaap who was getting ready to fight. There was no trace of fear on his resolute face: "Come over now, the guns in the hands of brothers are not for nothing!"
"boom!"
A shrill whistle sounded, and a cannonball exploded on the top of the mountain. Several small trees were instantly blown into debris all over the sky, and a column of black smoke mixed with mud and mist rolled up.
Seeing that the Japanese had begun to calibrate the test fire, Yang Ling did not hesitate at all. He turned around and shouted: "Leave the observation post and the rest of the people enter the tunnel!"
"Quick! Get into the tunnel! Don't wait any longer!" The company and platoon commanders shouted and urged from the main trenches.
Lying in the trench and watching the brothers at the bottom of the mountain, they all hurriedly dug into the tunnels dug in advance to prepare for artillery defense.
A night of heavy rain made the soil on the mountain ridge as soft as rotten tofu. The tunnel initially dug collapsed a lot, and then wood was cut for support, allowing the brothers to have a place to stay.
The brothers ducked into the cannon-proof tunnel, and in an instant, except for those disguises, there was not a single person on the mountaintop.
As soon as the brothers got into the tunnel with their front legs, a sharp and shrill whistle sounded in their ears.
The Japanese's Type 92 infantry cannon and the 75mm mountain cannon roared together, and rows of shells flew towards the mountains.
"Boom-boom-"
An overwhelming barrage of artillery shells fell on the defenders' positions in the mountains, and dull explosions resounded one after another, just like the muffled thunder of the earth shattering.
The weeds and branches used as camouflage on the position were instantly torn and shattered by the explosion of fire, and the muddy rocks and soil exploded and splashed in all directions like fireworks.
In the rumbling explosion, smashed wood and rubble tumbled into the sky, and thick black smoke filled the entire mountain.
Although the brothers were hiding in the tunnels built in advance, they still felt like they were sitting on a broken ship that could capsize at any time. The ground was shaking and the mountains were shaking, and their hearts were trembling.
The choking smoke mixed with hot mud poured into the tunnel. The mud, sand and gravel slapped the brothers' cheeks, causing burning pain.
Continuous violent explosions covered the entire mountain range, and the shrubs and saplings growing here were shattered and burned by the bombardment like plowing holes.
Huge clouds of dust and thick gunpowder smoke filled the air everywhere. The brothers' ears were buzzing from the huge roar. Some closed their eyes and prayed, while others cursed at the Japanese.
The Japanese troops have a complete industrial system. Their annual steel production is hundreds of times that of China, and they can bombard without restraint.
As the Chinese army is poor and weak, many of its weapons and equipment still rely on imports, and they are gone once they are exhausted. Therefore, most of the time, they rely on flesh and blood to fight to the death.
Japanese Lieutenant Colonel Ono Ichiro looked at the mountains covered by artillery fire with a cold look on his face. He believed that under such an intensity of artillery fire, the Chinese army would be peeled off even if it did not die.
They were blocked for a full day and night in the Minshan area, which made it difficult for him, who was proud and proud, to accept such a result, so he wanted to retaliate fiercely to vent his anger.
A ferocious look flashed across Ono Ichiro's face, and he pulled out his saber with a bang. The slightly curved saber was extremely sharp and dazzling in the sunlight.
"Kill!" Ono Ichiro drew his saber forward and roared like a wild beast.
Behind him, more than a thousand Japanese soldiers wearing steel helmets and holding bayonets heard the order and quickly stood up, like a tide, and rushed towards the golden dragon stalk that Yang Ling and the others were guarding.
When Ono Ichiro directed his battalion to attack the mountains where Yangling and others were defending, Mori's heavy battalion also began to attack the 302nd Regiment.
The smoke had not yet cleared, and the observation post, which was covered with a thick layer of mud debris, spat out a mouthful of blood-stained dirt and stuck half of its head out to look down the mountain.
In his field of vision, Japanese soldiers all over the mountains and plains were rushing towards the mountains.
"The Japs are coming! The Japs are coming!" Observation posts in various positions shouted at the top of their lungs.
The brothers who were hiding in the tunnel and were stunned by the gunfire heard the shouts from the observation post outside.
In the tunnel at the forefront, the first battalion commander Lu Xing shook his buzzing head and kicked the bugler next to him: "Blow the trumpet and let the brothers enter the position!"
The horn sounded loudly on the mountain ridge, and the disgraced brothers grabbed their guns and got out of the tunnels, quickly running towards their fighting positions.
The sound of the gun bolt being pulled and the sound of heavy breathing intertwined with each other, and rows of guns were pointed at the foot of the mountain.
The Japanese soldiers opened up the skirmish line and divided into several waves and surged up towards the mountains. Looking down, they looked like crashing waves.
More than a thousand Japs don't sound like much, but they really spread out and pounced on them. They were all over the mountains and plains, and it made people's scalp numb to see them.
"Stay still, listen to the order and shoot again!"
Even the platoon leaders were veterans. When they saw the desperate attitude of the Japanese when they came up, they changed their usual playful smiles and became serious.
The brothers who were guarding the main trenches on the front line loaded the bullets into the barrels of their guns, and unscrewed the safety bottom covers of grenades and placed them in convenient locations.
First Battalion Commander Lu Xing carefully poked out half of his head to observe the little Japs pouncing on him with his butt sticking out. When he saw the cold steel helmet, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
In line with the principle of saving ammunition, the brothers prepared to shoot the little devil at a closer distance, so that they would be more certain of hitting the target.
But the little devils didn't have such particularity. Their grenadiers followed up and started bombarding the brothers with their grenade launchers.
Lu Xing heard the sharp whistle coming from above his head and hurriedly rolled away.
"Boom!"
The grenade landed not far away from Lu Xing, and immediately exploded a crater with smoke, causing Lu Xing to break into a cold sweat.
"Listen to me, I will kill the Japanese grenadiers first later!" Lu Xing got up and yelled angrily.
The Japanese grenadiers have been strictly trained. It can be said that they are all excellent artillerymen who can hit wherever they want. They are a huge threat to the Chinese army.
But under normal circumstances, these grenadiers hide behind the infantry and dare not show their heads, but now they are feinting and hiding behind is useless.
"Pah! Pah!"
"Whizzing--"
The little devil's infantry had already approached a distance of two hundred meters. As they climbed up the mountain, they raised their guns and fired. Bullets were flying everywhere, and blood was pouring from the heads of several of the brothers who came forward.