As night fell, the Japanese who launched a forceful attack on the Wushimen defense line were once again suppressed by a dense rain of bullets. They were carrying the wounded and retreating in embarrassment.
"Bang! Bang!"
The brothers of the grenade company commanded by Captain Su Er also began to beat the drowned dogs, and the inaccurate grenades flew toward the Japanese.
"Boom——"
The explosion of the grenades stirred up mud all over the sky, and most of them failed. Although the Japs were not killed, the flying shrapnel ferociously embedded themselves in the Japs' bodies, causing the Japs to add many casualties out of thin air.
"Damn it, you are blind! Aim and hit, don't waste the shells!"
Su Er saw that most of the grenades that flew out fell into the air, but the Japanese were running further and further away. Some of them turned their heads and cursed in anger.
But this grenade is not a rifle. Even if these brothers who rush to put it on the shelf are scolded, they still have no accuracy and most of them miss it.
Fortunately, there was also a blind cat that bumped into a dead mouse and fell into the retreating group of Japanese soldiers. The bombs immediately caused the Japanese soldiers to fly with their flesh and blood, and screamed in agony. Su Er also shouted happily.
The grenades of the grenadier brothers were chasing the Japanese butts, and the rifle officers and soldiers lying in the trenches did not stop either.
One by one, they pulled the bolts of their guns, loaded the bullets, aimed at the backs of the Japanese soldiers, and fired.
The sound of gunfire was not very intensive, but the dull banging sound of gunfire was heard endlessly. Many bullets penetrated the body of the Japanese soldier, and brilliant flowers of blood spurted out from his chest, and then he fell to the ground twitching.
The Japanese soldiers came and went as quickly as they came, and they were all gone in the blink of an eye. They all retreated to their positions. The brothers cursed and put away their guns, leaning against the trench wall and breathing heavily.
Luo Wen just put away his rifle and wiped the sweat from his face with his dirty sleeves. He was terrified. The Japanese soldiers almost rushed into the trench just now, and they were all ready to fight with their bayonets.
Fortunately, several heavy machine guns placed at the side and behind opened fire in unison, shattering dozens of little Japs and suppressing the momentum of the Japs' attack.
"Check and replenish ammunition. Do not leave the battle position without orders!"
Deputy Battalion Commander Qin Shoumao walked with his waist crouched in the trench filled with the smell of blood and gunpowder smoke, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Although the Japanese retreated temporarily, no one could guarantee that the next wave of Japanese attacks would follow, so the brothers did not relax at all.
"Lieutenant of the Battalion, it's already dark. The Japanese are not coming, are they?"
Luo Wen then saw Deputy Battalion Commander Qin Shou walking past him and hurriedly stopped him and asked.
Qin Shou glanced at his outstanding little fellow and replied: "The little devil is cunning, don't let down your guard yet, pay attention to the artillery!"
"Yes!" Luo Wencai responded loudly and confidently.
Qin Shou patted his fellow countryman on the shoulder and praised him: "You played well just now, you didn't embarrass me."
Although Luo Wencai is a new recruit who has just been added to the army, he performed well in both tactical movements and shooting in dealing with the Japanese bombardment just now.
The Japs left three corpses in front of Luo Wencai's fighting position, and several others were injured, but they escaped back.
Qin Shou finally figured out that this little fellow of his was a soldier. If the other recruits were like him, the little devil would have been dealt with long ago.
It's a pity that the performance of most of the new recruits was unsatisfactory. Although some of them had fought a battle, as soon as the Japanese rushed up to them, their minds went blank and they were so frightened that they wanted to run back.
If it hadn't been for the machine gun fire from various bunkers and the grenades thrown by the veterans, I'm afraid the Japanese would have broken into their position.
However, Qin Shou did not blame the new recruits. After all, growth takes time. As long as they fight a few more battles, they will all grow into veterans and backbones of the army. This cannot be rushed.
"Let's rest first. I'll go for a walk." Qin Shou said and walked away.
Luo Wencai, on the other hand, sat down with his back against the trench, unscrewing the kettle and filling his smoking throat with water. The weather was sultry and the air seemed to be burning. Fighting the Japanese in such weather would cost him his life.
The Wushimen defense line was just a hard stone. Although the Japanese attacked several times, each time they were aggressive, with planes and artillery coming in force. Although they seemed fierce, they had little effect and suffered heavy losses.
"Each cooking team will deliver the meals as soon as possible. Don't let the brothers go hungry."
Seeing the Japanese retreating, Yang Ling's tense face relaxed. It was getting dark, and the day had finally passed.
"Regiment leader, what is the password tonight?" Zhang Qingyun, the regiment chief of staff, came over and asked.
Yang Ling looked at the gradually darkening sky, pondered for a few seconds and then replied: "Kill the enemy and serve the country."
With the return of the regiment leader Yang Ling, the regiment chief of staff Zhang Qingyun completely lost the opportunity to command the troops. Fortunately, he also had self-awareness and became low-key in his actions, strictly following Yang Ling's orders.
"Yes!" the regiment chief of staff agreed hastily, preparing to send the night's instructions to each battalion.
Seeing Zhang Qingyun turning around to leave, Yang Ling ordered: "Inform all battalion commanders to come to the regiment headquarters for a meeting, and the direct company commanders of the regiment have also been notified."
Zhang Qingyun hurriedly agreed: "Yes -"
Although they repelled several Japanese attacks during the day, many problems were exposed and there were still many casualties. Yang Ling hoped to hold a meeting to summarize and avoid a similar situation from happening again.
Soon, the three battalion commanders and the leaders of the machine gun company, spy company, machine gun company, and grenade company directly under the regiment all got into the bunker at the regiment headquarters.
They, the leaders of each battalion and company, were also directing operations on the front line. The uniforms that were clean and tidy in the morning were now dirty uniforms, and their faces were as smokey as the bottom of a pot, full of gunpowder smoke.
"Please find a place to sit by yourself." Yang Ling saw them arriving one after another and waved to them to find a place to sit by themselves.
The light in the bunker at the regiment headquarters was dim. They looked for stools and ammunition boxes to sit down. Soon everyone was there.
"Have you eaten yet?" Yang Ling asked.
Liu Yidao replied: "I haven't cared about it yet." The others also shook their heads.
"Bring them some food and we'll talk while we eat."
Yang Ling asked the cooking squad leader to serve each of them a large bowl of wild vegetable porridge, and then brought out a basket of grain cornstarch.
They were also hungry, and they all started eating with their bowls in hand, regardless of their image as officers.
"The reason I called you here is to let you talk about the problems that were exposed during the day's battle. Let me know if you have any ideas."
Yang Ling looked around at the battalion company commanders who were devouring their food and spoke first.
After hearing Yang Ling's words, their eating speed immediately slowed down, and they looked at each other without speaking.
"Don't hide it, just say what you have in mind. I won't blame you." Seeing their concerns, Yang Ling added.
Lu Xing placed his bowl on the ammunition box and spoke first: "Since the leader wants us to speak, I will say a few words first."
"First of all, there is a problem with our firepower. The firepower of the infantry companies at the front is too weak, but the machine gun company has a full twenty machine guns. Although the firepower is powerful when concentrated, after all, it cannot take care of every position. In a tight situation
They just support us, which makes them exhausted and the effect is not good."
Lu Xing was talking, and everyone nodded in agreement. Without the support of a machine gun company, they would not be able to suppress the Japanese firepower. However, there is only one machine gun company, but it cannot take care of every position.
Yang Ling asked: "Do you have any suggestions?"
Lu Xing replied: "Regiment leader, I suggest splitting up the machine gun companies and assigning them to various positions reasonably. This way we can greatly enhance the firepower of each company and avoid having to support every position."