Volume 1 Deserter's Bloodbath Chapter 36 Surprise!
Inside the 11th Division's headquarters, apart from the beeping sound from the radio, the staff and civilian personnel did not dare to speak at all. They were also waiting for Peng Shan's orders.
"Send a message to Commander Luo. More than 10,000 soldiers of our 11th Division are determined to take Luodian at all costs. Request heavy artillery support!"
Peng Shan explained word by word that with heavy artillery, not only would it be easier to attack, but the casualties among the brothers would also be much less.
“Ding ding ding…”
The electric culture was like radio waves, quickly shuttling through the Songhu area, and the telegram requesting heavy artillery support was also sent to Chen Cheng, the head of the civil engineering department.
"telegraph!"
"Commander, Commander Luo called back, please take a look!"
Mei Chunhua held the telegram with a strange expression on her face, and it was hard to tell whether she was happy or disappointed.
"What's wrong?"
Looking at Mei Chunhua's strange expression, Peng Shan took the telegram.
No wonder Mei Chunhua had that expression. Peng Shan also wanted to complain. What he wanted was the support of the National Army's heavy artillery brigade's 150mm heavy howitzers. As a result, Commander Luo only gave the 8th Company of the 16th Regiment four Liao-type 14 77mm field guns, and even the ammunition base was only two bases!
"That's fine! It's better than nothing. Four 77mm field guns and two base shells are better than nothing! Let the brothers get ready and march out as soon as it gets dark!"
Peng Shan was not so worried. Having artillery support was better than having no support. Although the 11th Division was equipped with a mountain artillery battalion, the mountain artillery was also old 75mm mountain artillery with a short range and low power, which could not be compared with the field artillery directly under the war zone.
The order to retreat was only issued to the brigade headquarters of the 31st and 33rd Brigades. For the officers and soldiers on the front line, if they knew that a retreat was about to take place, the subtle differences on the battlefield might be discovered by the Japanese.
"Keep your voice down and move faster!"
The brothers in the logistics battalion were busy packing supplies. Large quantities of supplies were loaded into wheelbarrows and backpacks. For the Chinese army, they had no cars to help with transportation, and even horses were only provided to officers at the division and brigade levels.
"boom!"
"boom!"
To the north of Xinzhen, gunfire was heard. Now was the time for the sharpshooters to freely display their marksmanship. The distance between the two sides was over 400 meters. The Japs were always keeping the pressure on, meaning they could launch an attack at any time.
“Boom, boom…”
The Japanese infantry artillery would occasionally fire a shell at what they thought was a key area.
"boom!"
No matter whether it was the National Army in Xinzhen or the Japanese, all the confident sharpshooters had now left their main positions. They were competing with each other in shooting skills about 300 meters apart.
"boom!"
"puff!"
The sound of a Type 38 rifle was heard, and an old soldier of the National Army was shot in the forehead and fell on the edge of the crater.
"Damn it, tell them not to go. More than a dozen elite soldiers have gone out, and most of them are dead now!"
Yu Ziwen held the telescope and slapped the trench in frustration.
"Captain, to be exact, there is still one person alive. Look over there, the soldier from the Death Squadron is still shooting! And the results are pretty good. I saw six Japanese soldiers killed!"
The battalion commander pointed to the bomb crater in the left front where Feng E was standing.
"Huh? Why didn't you even bring a helmet? Didn't you give the Death Squad a supply?"
Yu Ziwen looked through his telescope in the direction pointed by the battalion commander and discovered that Feng E in the crater was wearing a cylindrical hat, with no trace of the German M35 steel helmet.
"He didn't bring it with him when he left. It must have been damaged!"
"Captain, this brother is really good. I have been observing him since yesterday. Please bring him over to our battalion!"
The battalion commander licked his face and said to Yu Ziwen.
"What's the name? I'll go to the division headquarters and ask if it's possible." Yu Ziwen nodded. He very much agreed with the officers' hobby of loving talents.
"Feng E, it seems he graduated from the Central Military Academy, and was sent to the Death Squad because he violated military law." The battalion commander was obviously prepared and told what he knew.
"boom!"
Feng E fired another shot. The Japanese in the distance seemed to be well-trained elites, so it was not so easy for him to hit them. The bullet flew over the crater that covered the enemy's body, raising a cloud of mud.
“Crack! Crack!”
Lying in a bullet crater, Feng E was loading bullets into his rifle. After a whole day of shooting, his bullets were used up quickly. Now, let alone hitting the target with every shot, he was considered lucky if he could kill a Japanese soldier with five bullets.
"Hey! The attacking devils are better! One shot each, it's easy to fight! How come these devils are like San Sunzi, so good at hiding! Where is their Bushido?"
Feng E muttered to himself, missing his shooting efficiency when the Japanese attacked.
"Huh? Why is there no more sound from the Zhongzheng rifle?"
After loading the bullets, Feng E frowned. He hadn't heard the sound of the Zhongzheng rifle for a long time.
“They’re not all dead!”
Feng E swallowed his saliva, did not rush to show his head, and began to listen carefully.
Now the entire front line was suddenly terribly quiet, even the Japanese's Type 38 rifle shooting stopped.
"Damn it! I can't fight anymore. If I'm the only one left, I'm afraid I won't survive two bullets!"
Feng E understood that when he was the only one left, once he started shooting angrily, the Japanese sharpshooters would aim their guns at the bomb crater where he was hiding, and maybe even a 70mm high-explosive shell from the Type 92 infantry gun would fly over.
"Hoohoo...I hope the devils don't find me!"
Feng E took two deep breaths and prayed secretly. The main trench behind him was less than twenty meters away from him, so he decided to go back!
"Two rolls, there's a cover there!"
Feng E looked at the main trench behind him and began to observe carefully. He didn't dare to run back straight away. The elite veterans of the Japanese devils had very accurate shooting skills. The Japanese devils had a complete military-industrial system and equipped their top shooters with special Type 97 sniper rifles. Unlike the veterans of the National Army, most of them relied on their eyes to aim.
Feng E was observing carefully, but he did not act immediately. Many Japanese soldiers on the opposite side had died in today's shootout. It was a time when both sides were fighting fiercely. If he went out at this time, the Japanese soldiers' shooting would probably be very fierce. He was waiting for an opportunity.
Putting the rifle aside, Feng E took out a multi-grain cake from his pocket and began to chew it. He had been fighting for most of the day and had not eaten anything. His stomach was already growling with hunger. He decided to take this opportunity to fill his stomach so that he could run away later.
"Captain, look at that kid, he's squatting in a bomb crater and eating? He doesn't want to fight anymore?"
The surprised mouth of the battalion commander showed his mood. Shouldn't this be the final moment of the duel between the warriors of both sides? Didn't Feng E want to show his bravery and beat the devils back? By the way, there weren't many devils left on the opposite side!
"People are made of iron and food is made of steel. We have been fighting for six or seven hours since dawn! The soldiers in the fortifications have already eaten two meals. They are also human beings, so it is time to fill their stomachs!"
"Order the machine guns to prepare. If he wants to come back, provide cover! The heavy machine guns are not allowed to fire. We only have that precious one left!"
Yu Ziwen reminded carefully that the machine gun cover he mentioned was the cover of the Czech light machine gun. The light machine gun was convenient for retreat, but once the heavy machine gun was exposed, it would be very difficult to escape!
