In fact, the moment Shinji Morita was shot to death, the encounter was destined to end in suspense.
Although the Japanese army that lost its top commander still had a certain ability to counterattack, it lost its most important decisiveness.
If Major Shinji Morita was still alive, he would definitely issue a retreat order when he found that the Chinese had resolutely charged towards the position in an attempt to resolve the battle in the shortest possible time.
As long as a small infantry team is left to fight fiercely with the opponent, he and most of his elite subordinates will still have a chance to escape into the wilderness.
Because this area is too big, even if Tang Dao has already asked two infantry platoons to be surrounded by two wings in advance, due to the strength of the troops, there is still a wide enough space.
The flares carried by Tang Daobu are limited. When the moon breaks into the dark clouds again, darkness will become the best cover for the Japanese army.
Unfortunately, there is no what if, Morita Shinji died.
The Japanese troops on the left and right wings did not receive any military orders from 200 meters away. Although they were suppressed by the Chinese troops, they could only resist with all their strength.
Until Tang Dao personally led four infantry squads and charged the entire army with a wave of grenades, smashing the most important corner of the Japanese triangular position in less than two minutes.
The Japanese troops on both wings were shot wildly by a heavy machine gun and four light machine guns from the top of the hill. Only then did they realize that the Chinese who blew the charge horn had already killed the 1st Infantry Squadron on their rear flank.
Major Shinji Morita was missing. Whether it was attacking, retreating, or continuing to fight on the spot, there was no order issued through the hand-cranked siren.
The hand-cranked siren is an extremely important tool for the Japanese infantry squadron-level troops. The squadron commander basically uses the sound produced by this tool to issue tactical instructions to the three infantry squads on the battlefield under heavy artillery fire.
Of course they didn't know that Major Shinji Morita was fatally shot by the most talented sniper marksman in their opponent's camp. The squadron leader who accompanied Shinji Morita personally commanding the 1st Infantry Team together with the signal soldier carrying a hand-cranked siren,
During that wave of covering attacks involving nearly 80 long-handled grenades, he was hit by a grenade fragment that exploded in the air and died on the spot.
From that moment on, they can only rely on themselves.
However, by the time the two Japanese infantry squads woke up, it was already too late.
A heavy machine gun with a rate of fire of 500 rounds per minute and an effective range of 1,000 meters was more than 200 meters away, blocking their escape route from a high position.
The only grenadier who could pose a threat to it was almost completely killed and wounded, and any infantryman who picked up a grenade and wanted to attack it almost became a key target of the Chinese side. Whether it was a rifle or a machine gun, the dense flow of bullets
As a result, the new grenade launcher who was still in the test-firing stage hardly survived for more than half a minute.
The imperial infantry's most trustworthy light infantry and heavy firearms have become a life-threatening talisman.
After paying the price of seven or eight people in succession, with the ferocity of the Japanese army, no one even took the grenade.
You may die in a confrontation with the Chinese, but you will definitely die if you take that thing. Choose one of the two, what an easy choice? Not all Japanese are tough.
I like the iron head, that is, the iron head does not hit the steel plate.
Now, they collide.
Speaking of iron heads, there are also iron heads here in China.
As the commander of the fire support company, Cheng Tietou was originally ordered to follow three infantry companies with three machine guns and six heavy machine guns at a distance. He only waited for the three infantry companies to reach the front of the Japanese artillery position. If the sneak attack failed,
Entering the critical stage, the machine guns and heavy machine guns under his command will open the charge channel for the entire army.
However, because the night attack must be absolutely silent, even if the packhorse is tied up, the horse's mouth cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, large objects such as machine guns weighing nearly 200 kilograms can only be carried on the shoulders of the machine gunners.
Don't look at the 20 people in a cannon squad, plus the artillery shells and the cannon crew's own equipment, the average weight on each person's head is nearly ten kilograms.
This speed of travel is obviously not comparable to that of infantry companies that have removed all other burdens, leaving only weapons and equipment.
Therefore, no matter how tough Tietou was, he and his fire support company were still 1,300 meters behind the three infantry companies.
If the three infantry companies had to immediately launch a strong attack due to exposure or other reasons as soon as they arrived at the front line, then Cheng Tietou would definitely be subject to strict military discipline for being late.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that the Independent Battalion has just formed an army. At least half of the fire support company is from the former Songjiang Security Regiment soldiers. If they are only allowed to carry guns and rigorously trained veterans of the Imperial Guard like the Sixing Battalion,
They may be able to keep up with the high-speed march, but it is absolutely impossible to maintain this speed while carrying such heavy equipment.
Of course, Tang Dao also considered the actual situation of the fire support company. Without the help of pack horses, it would be impossible for them to keep up with the light infantry, so they deliberately postponed the assembly time for forty minutes, and at the same time, they also gave time to the continuous march.
The nearly ten kilometers of infantry gave the infantry enough time to repair.
But unfortunately, no one expected to encounter the Japanese army on the way, a typical bandit meeting a child thief.
What's even more unfortunate is that the fire support company's field radio is out of order. Cheng Tietou didn't receive the order given by Tang Dao at all. Of course, Tang Dao, who has already entered the battle, has no time to worry about whether the fire support company can rush quickly.
Come on, even without a fire support company, he had to deal with the Japanese in a short enough time.
Therefore, at the moment when the battle began, Cheng Tietou, who was panting and rushing with his subordinates, suddenly heard the faint sound of explosions coming from the distance. Even if he was as experienced in combat as he was, he couldn't help but be confused.
I turned on the flashlight covered with a cloth and carefully compared the map. Then I called the guide to confirm carefully that I had not gone to the wrong place. Only then did I dare to conclude that it was my vanguard unit that encountered the Japanese army.
According to a normal person's first reaction, Cheng Tietou would naturally lead his fire support company to move quickly towards the direction of the sound of gunfire.
However, Cheng Tietou was not the second lieutenant platoon leader who only followed orders. He knew that this was a battlefield, and the vanguard could encounter Japanese troops, and there might be other Japanese troops here.
Although his fire support company is equipped with machine guns and heavy machine guns, if he loses the protection of infantry and encounters Japanese infantry, and there are no fortifications in this wilderness, his fire support company will be like the Japanese Sixth Heavy Artillery Brigade.
They had the same regiment, even though they had heavy artillery, they were still killed by an advance regiment of no more than 2,000 people, leaving them defenseless.
In other words, an infantry company with a fire support company can almost function as an infantry battalion, but with only a fire support company, an infantry platoon can handle them.
The long-range firepower characteristics of the fire support company are destined to be a catalyst rather than a main force.
So, this time the iron head is not so iron-clad.
The entire army was immediately ordered to remain silent, and the machine gun team quickly assembled the machine gun, loaded the shells, and hung the ammunition belt on the machine gun.
Captain Tietou's caution saved him and the fire support company.
Within ten minutes, one of the three groups of scouts he sent came back almost crawling all the way.
There was no need to wait for him to report. The sound of breathing coming from the distance and the unique sound of big leather shoes on the mud made the entire fire support company fall into silence.
That turned out to be Japanese.
Although the dark night blocked everyone's sight, the clearly audible sounds reminded these Chinese soldiers who had experienced the battlefield.
The Japanese army was less than 50 meters away from them in a straight line.
The soldiers couldn't see their company commander's face, or even his figure, but they all turned their eyes to him.
Attack or remain silent?
This may also be one of the most difficult choices Cheng Tietsou has faced in his life.
The attack can mow down this group of unsuspecting Japanese troops, but what happens next? Then the Japanese infantry will crawl to the ground, and then use the width of the battlefield to spread out the infantry to reduce casualties, and then use grenade launchers to attack
Shelling a clearly visible firepower point, whether it is a machine gun or a heavy machine gun, requires continuous firepower to suppress the infantry, and it is heavy and has almost no maneuverability.
If you fire, you will be blown up by a grenade. If you don't fire, you will not be able to suppress the Japanese infantry. The Japanese infantry will move forward. When they shorten the distance and enter the attack range of their melon grenades, that will be the entire fire support company.
of hell.
But if they don't attack, where will these Japanese soldiers who are running in small steps go? To support their comrades? Is he going to watch these Japanese soldiers attack his comrades?
Facing the Japanese planes that swooped down from high altitude and fired wildly with two airborne machine guns, Cheng Tietsou did not break a sweat, but on this winter night, Captain Tietsou's forehead was dripping with hot sweat.
