Chapter 45: The Devil Was Knocked Down

  "Boom, boom, boom, boom..." Zhao Zhibang's position was already clear to the Japanese army. After the four machine gunners were taken out, the 92 artillery began a fierce bombardment of its pre-targeted location. The shells fell around Zhao Zhibang like raindrops, and the dust raised by the explosions obscured his vision. However, with his eyes closed, relying on memory, he fired his four guns and hit a Japanese machine gunner in the chest.

  "Hit, hit, hit me hard!" The Japanese infantry, taking advantage of the suppressive fire from their machine guns, charged forward again, now only over 400 meters away from Zhang Menglou's machine gun position. Under the shouting of their commander, they were recklessly charging forward, but after the three Japanese machine guns fell silent, the Chinese troops began to counterattack. The captured enemy machine gun in the individual foxhole next to Zhao Zhibang also played its role at this time.

  Although the machine gun team was not very familiar with the little Japanese book, but after pulling the trigger and sweeping the devils who were rushing forward without regard for their lives, four or five devils got relief. As the killing in the trenches continued, more than 20 of the Japanese army's front runners were eliminated at once. The troops brought by Liu Mingzhi did not disappoint everyone's expectations. Although they couldn't compare with Zhao Zhibang's marksmanship, their accuracy was not much worse than that of the Japanese army. At this time, the two captured Japanese machine guns were also set up in the trenches and began to perform their tasks.

  The Chinese troops launched a fierce attack, and the Japanese army fell back again, with more than ten casualties. At this time, the enemy's mortar was also moved forward by tens of meters under the urging of the lieutenant behind, and began to bombard the position of the Chinese troops. Soon, the captured machine gun in the trench completed its historical mission, and the machine gunner was blown up by a shell and fell to the ground with blood and flesh scattered all over his body.

  "Zhibang, don't bother with the enemy's machine gunner for now, first take out the mortar...!" Zhang Damao shouted loudly as he looked at the twisted machine gunner who had been blown into the trench by a shell. He knew that another one might have already become the target of the enemy's mortar.

  "Bang, bang, bang!" Zhao Zhibang fired three shots in a row. The newly calibrated mortar gunner was knocked to the ground, and the loader next to him didn't escape either, being shot down with one bullet. In fact, Zhao Zhibang hadn't heard Zhang Daman's words at that time, but saw the enemy's mortar move forward by tens of meters, so he gave it a satisfying blow.

  After taking out the enemy's mortar, Zhao Zhibang again aimed his gun at the machine gun that was desperately sweeping back and forth. Without any suspense, it was another case of "gunfire, man down". In a short while, four of the six enemy machine guns fell silent. The remaining two saw the situation was not in their favor and quickly dropped their guns and ran away. The Japanese lieutenant who was directing the battle from behind didn't say anything as he watched his machine gunners flee. He had already seen the situation clearly and knew that staying there would be useless, only resulting in more unnecessary deaths. Of course, he wasn't concerned about the lives of those few soldiers. The other mortars saw the machine gunners run away and knew they would be next if they stayed. They quickly retreated, knowing they would soon return to their "old home". Zhao Zhibang saw the machine gunners flee and was about to aim at the mortar crew more than 20 meters away when he discovered they had already escaped without a trace.

  Without the suppressive fire of machine guns and mortars, over a hundred devils who charged forward were instantly killed by the middle team's gunfire, and they scattered around like headless flies. When they thought they had found a good hiding spot and were rejoicing, they didn't expect to be blown into pieces as soon as they lay down. The devil soldiers who weren't killed hadn't reacted yet, but fate never favors one person. After another six Japanese soldiers were blown up by landmines, the remaining ones understood that the middle team had already prepared a return ticket home for them in those seemingly safe places.

  In the end, they had no choice but to stick their heads under the bodies of their fallen comrades. Even so, these motionless Japanese soldiers still became targets for the platoon's shooting practice, and in an instant more than 20 of the remaining 70 or 80 Japanese soldiers were killed, with several others being shot in the buttocks by the platoon commander as they buried their heads in the corpses.

  "Damn, these shells from the Japanese artillery are endless!!! The enemy's machine guns and mortars have already retreated from the battlefield due to Zhao Zhibang's efforts, but those 92-type cannons just won't stop firing. They know they need to take out Zhao Zhibang, so it seems like they'll keep bombarding for a whole day before they can be effective. So, they've shifted their target to the mountain stronghold instead."

  More than 90 troops have died under the enemy's artillery and machine gun fire. Zhang Damao watched anxiously as soldier after soldier was blown up by shells, feeling helpless. The enemy at the foot of the mountain could charge up at any moment. It was uncertain whether Zhang Menglou and another Czech-style machine gun at the foot of the mountain could withstand the enemy's group charge. He did not dare to take risks and let all the soldiers in the trenches on the mountain retreat into the caves to avoid artillery fire, putting all his hopes on the three machine guns. So they could only grit their teeth and die resisting under the enemy's artillery fire.

  The highest commander of the Japanese devils who was still lying on the ground in front of the Chinese troops was a lieutenant squad leader. This lieutenant was not the one who had previously fainted, but rather the high-ranking officer who had graduated from the military academy through the back door and was now lying on the ground for nearly half an hour. It is estimated that by this time, his soul had already returned to his alma mater, where he was kneeling in front of his former teacher, confessing his sins.

  That reinforcement lieutenant, at this time also hiding under the soldier's corpse who had been stirred up by him and had already turned over, but his buttocks were not raised very high, so the bullet only opened a shallow ditch on his buttocks. Of course, he did not know that the middle team had left an important mark on his buttocks at this time, because dozens of people around him were being called out one by one to report to the emperor.

  This excellent student, who had excelled in the military academy, knew that it was time for him to make a decision. If he didn't make up his mind now, he might end up drifting back home like his fellow schoolmate who had just returned to report.

  He was anxious, extremely anxious, but the superior behind him was even more anxious. Earlier, when he listened to the report of the deputy commander of the front-line company, he looked at him with disdain. He also believed that this guy's military academy diploma must have been obtained through the back door. Otherwise, a company with 2 92-type cannons, plus machine guns, mortars, and grenade launchers, attacked for two days but failed to capture a position held by a Chinese local army battalion without heavy weapons support.

  Now he finally understands that he was indeed wronged by his compatriot, because his current situation is the best explanation.

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