Although the officers and soldiers of the 1st Battalion tried their best to use the rocks along the way to cover themselves, and the machine guns and mortars behind them also desperately threw artillery shells and bullets at the top of the mountain, the rugged top of the mountain provided a natural barrier for the little devils, which greatly reduced their own losses.
In very small circumstances, one can also use the light of flares to shoot at slow-moving crowds.
It has to be said that the military quality of the Japanese officers during this period was not bad.
Ozawa Yushi had already measured the shooting range of the machine gun on several extremely rugged mountain roads that he had to pass up the mountain. The target of the four heavy machine guns of the little Japanese was not to shoot at the crowds at the bottom of the mountain, but at several intersections.
When conducting cross-blockade strafing, there are basically no blind spots for shooting.
Therefore, those brave Northwest Army soldiers who were struggling to climb up the mountain would be hit by the Japanese's precise shooting or grenade bombs if they were not careful. However, the officers and soldiers who finally rushed to several mountain passes,
Before he could find a bunker or a stone to cover himself, he was hit by a hail of machine gun bullets from several directions.
Behind a bunker at the foot of the mountain, Battalion Commander Liu, who was observing the battle with a telescope, frowned and turned to the messenger: "Immediately order the troops to stop attacking and withdraw first. The bodies of the wounded and brothers must also be carried down.
It cannot be left to the devils."
As a commander who has experienced countless battles, when he saw the layout of the enemy's machine gun firepower points, he knew that he could not rush in so hard, otherwise all the people who went up would be in vain.
In order to reduce the losses of the attacking troops, the best way is to suppress the four heavy machine gun positions of the Japanese. I dare not say to destroy them directly, but at least we cannot let them pour bullets so unscrupulously.
Moreover, although the first attack cost more than 20 casualties, the layout of several Japanese firepower points was basically clear.
Of course, he would not think that the Japs only had a few firepower points. The Japs' tactical level was not low, and there must be exposed or spare machine gun positions.
Not long after, the retreating team came over with the wounded. A captain officer came to Battalion Commander Liu with blood-red eyes and reported: "Report to Battalion Commander, our company has 11 killed and 10 injured. I request the next attack."
Our 1st Company should still be in charge, the blood of our brothers cannot be shed in vain."
Battalion Commander Liu asked with a cold face: "How many Japanese have you killed?"
"This..." The company commander was speechless for a moment.
Battalion Commander Liu sighed lightly, patted the company commander on the shoulder and said: "Lao Gui, you can't rely on a moment of courage to fight against the Japs. You lead the team down to rest first. We have to think of a way, otherwise we will be a battalion."
Even if it’s all reimbursed, it won’t be able to cover these mountain roads.”
At this time, Battalion Commander Liu did not know that there was an ambush on the cliff of Heizui Mountain lurking behind the Japanese army. The order he received was that Heizui Mountain must be captured no matter what method was used.
In Zhao Chengyu's view, any strong attack or feint should be fought for real, that is, it is a fake show. Of course it is better to capture Heizui Mountain in one go. Even if the attack is blocked, we must let the little devils know that we are doing our best.
Attack and constantly attract their attention.
Moreover, once the troops under attack know that there is a killer weapon on the mountain, they will inevitably think about conserving their strength when attacking. Otherwise, the little devil will notice something fishy.
After thinking for a while, Battalion Commander Liu suddenly turned around and shouted behind him: "Old gun barrel."
"Hey...here he comes!"
An officer with the rank of captain trotted over.
Battalion Commander Liu took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out one and lit it for the officer who ran over, and then said: "Old gunner! It's not possible for us to attack straight up like this. The machine gun firepower of the little Japanese is too strong.
, is there any way you can knock out a few of your mortars for me?"
This officer, nicknamed Old Cannon, was the artillery company commander directly under the 109th Brigade Headquarters. He was said to be the company commander, but he only had four 82mm caliber mortars that Maozi had gifted him.
Since he was an officer directly under the brigade headquarters, Battalion Commander Liu spoke to him in a consultative tone even though his military rank was one level higher than his.
The old gun barrel is actually only in his thirties, but due to the constant exposure to wind and sun, his dark face is covered with wrinkles, making him look like a little old man.
But at this moment, there was a glimmer of light in his eyes, and he stared at the top of the mountain without speaking.
Battalion Commander Liu knew that his colleague was weighing an important decision in his heart.
I saw the old gun barrel taking a deep breath of smoke, and then slowly exhaling it. The clouds of smoke covered half of his face, but some hoarse words rushed out from behind the smoke.
"Is there any other good way? The only way is to let the mortars follow the infantry up the mountain and witness the enemy's firepower. Only then can we hit accurately."
"Then you send me an artillery team and select the best gunners."
"Good gunner! That's easy for you to say. We are in a situation where we are reluctant to fire a live round during training. Where do you want me to find a good gunner? I can only do it myself."
"this……"
Hearing this, Battalion Commander Liu hesitated.
You must know that this company commander named Lao Cantou is the treasure of the brigade commander. When it comes to manipulating artillery, he is one of the best in the entire 29th Army. If something goes wrong, he will not be able to explain it to the brigade commander.
"I'm telling you, Old Liu, the military situation is like a raging fire. Why don't you leave your mother-in-law and organize troops to go up? It's not like you don't know the temper of the brigade commander. We can't take Heizui Mountain tonight, and we both have to suffer military consequences.
"
"Okay!" Battalion Commander Liu threw the cigarette on the ground and stamped out the smoke.
…
The Chinese army's first attack failed as expected, but Yushi Ozawa on the top of the mountain did not relax his vigilance at all.
Generally speaking, the first attack is often tentative, mainly to discover some of the defender's key firepower points and defensive structure. The subsequent attack is the real battle.
Moreover, these soldiers under my command were very tired yesterday from helping transport artillery and shells. They had only rested for less than two hours at night when they were awakened by the attack of the Chinese army. Now they are on guard in the bitterly cold position in the wind and snow.
Two hours, a lot of physical and mental exertion.
The key is that they saw the Chinese army boldly and recklessly surrounded Heizui Mountain. Anyone with a little military knowledge would know that the base camp at the foot of the mountain must have been occupied by the Chinese army, which meant that they were now alone.
Although this situation will not cause these loyal and brave imperial soldiers to lose the courage to fight to the death, it is inevitable that their morale will be affected to a certain extent.
This also made him feel a trace of regret for his previous move of sending Yuya Katase's team, the most powerful unit in the squadron, down the mountain because of his overconfidence.