Chapter 35: The Battle of Card City (4)

  No time to investigate why Hebal had such a transformation, and even came to the front line to ask for battle voluntarily, Jiang Yunzhi decided to take a gamble. If he won the gamble, he would complete the blocking task given by the commander; if he lost the gamble, he would pull the commander up and use those four tanks to kill his way out of a bloody road.

  "Colonel Hebal, please lead the cavalry regiment to assist the 102nd artillery battalion in pulling heavy mortars to this location." Jiang Yunzhi took out a military map and pointed with his finger.

  "Understood, guaranteed completion of the task. Also, Colonel Chiang, the cavalry regiment requests artillery fire and then attacks the enemy's artillery position on the flank."

  Jiang Yunzhi raised his head, staring tightly at Hebal, wondering what this comrade baron was thinking! And Hebal's gaze firmly met his, without the slightest hesitation. Jiang Yunzhi was the first to avert his eyes, "Alright, you can make your move, Colonel... please take care!"

  When Jiang Yunzhi arrived at the front line position, the Australian artillery fire had already ended. In less than half an hour, hundreds of shells fell on the 102nd Regiment's position. Qian Zihao was organizing soldiers to dig open the trenches that had been blown up, rescue those buried, and rush to repair the position in preparation for the Australian army's new round of charging.

  The entire morning's battle had cost the 102nd Regiment more than thirty casualties, while this half-hour of concentrated artillery fire had almost reduced the native regiment by a fifth; two Red soldiers also died in the bombardment.

  Jiang Yunzhi found Qian Zihao, who was covered in dirt and unrecognizable, pulled him to the side, "Zihao, it's time to use the machine gun bunker. Our artillery attack on the enemy's artillery position will begin in an hour."

  "Pffft!" Qian Zhihao spat out the sand in his mouth with great effort, "Captain, as long as we take out the enemy's artillery, our position will be absolutely fine!"

  "Hmm. The commander has discovered the enemy's armored forces, although they are only light tanks, but we must fortify our positions and prepare rocket launchers! Hebal's cavalry regiment will also make a timely move to thoroughly destroy the Australian artillery position."

  "What? Captain, the whites have already screwed us once, and you're still letting Hebal attack the Aussie artillery?" The camouflage helmet in his hand was slammed heavily onto the shooting cover by Qian Zhihao.

  "The commander personally entrusted me to guard against other white troops, believe Hebal!" Poker face didn't show any emotional fluctuations, calmly stating the reason why he chose to trust Hebal.

  "I..." Qian Zhihao, who almost cursed out loud, heard that it was the commander's order and gloomily pulled his uniform button. "What's wrong with the old man? Why does he believe him so much? I also think Hebal is not bad, but after all, he is a white person..."

  "Alright! Zhihao, we can't question the commander's orders. Quick, the enemy is coming!"

  The Red Guards' shouts rose again, awakening the scattered and wandering native soldiers, who hastily picked up their rifles and lay down behind cover to prepare for firing.

  This time, the Australian infantry was accompanied by five Mark II cruiser tanks. The British army divided tanks into cruisers and infantry tanks, but this type of cruiser tank was not suitable for this kind of positional warfare. However, the Australian army did not have infantry-style tanks. In mainland Australia, before the appearance of the Red Guards, the enemy of the Australian army were the aborigines, so the thickness of armor was irrelevant. But when facing the Red Guards, the Mark II's thin iron plate of only a few millimeters became a fatal weakness. When the heavy machine guns on the Mark II tanks suppressed the Aboriginal soldiers and they couldn't lift their heads, more than a dozen rocket launchers equipped by the guards had already quietly aimed at them. At a distance of 150 meters, just when the Australian soldiers thought this charge would definitely break through the position, the rocket launchers fired, and dozens of heavy armor-piercing shells weighing two kilograms each whizzed out, followed by continuous explosions, either being blown up or penetrated, four Mark II tanks were instantly scrapped, and the infantry hiding behind them also fell down. A deliberately suppressed cheer came from the position, but Qian Zhihao shook his head, 150 meters of shooting distance was still a bit far for these Aboriginal soldiers, more than a dozen shots at five tanks, and one tank was not hit. He took over a nearby unlaunched rocket launcher, aimed at the Mark II that was turning around to prepare for escape, "Whoosh - Boom", another cheer came from the position, Qian Zhihao threw the launched rocket launcher on the ground, pointing at the already burning tank, and said with a stinky tone, "All of you learn from me!"

  The tank was destroyed, and the rest of the Australian troops retreated in disarray. The native soldiers on the position almost jumped out of their chests with excitement, but slowly calmed down. However, the battle was far from over. The attack had been repelled, and five precious tanks had been lost. The Australians were thoroughly enraged, and the artillery regiment's 25-pounder guns roared again, more fiercely and densely than before.

  Qian Zhihao carefully put the sniper scope into his arms to protect it, and shouted in Jiang Yunzhi's ear, "Captain, where are our artillery? Is Hebal not reliable?"

  Jiang Yunzhi shook his head, and the sand on his helmet poured down with a rustling sound. He didn't know about the artillery situation either, nor did he know how to answer Qian Zihao's question.

  Inside the base command room, the holographic screen in front of Zhong Yi was displaying the situation of the artillery position. Hebal led the cavalry regiment to pull the heavy howitzers to the designated location with horses, and all personnel were ready to go, waiting for the attack. The few Red Guards soldiers who commanded the local artillery were a bit at a loss after a sudden transfer, and they were busy adjusting. Although Zhong Yi had already sent the coordinates of the Australian artillery position to them, it wasn't until an hour and a half later that the 12 100mm howitzers were set up and began to adjust their firing parameters. This also resulted in Jiang Yunzhi and Qian Zihao being bombarded for another round at the front line, causing more than 100 casualties for the 102nd Regiment, as well as the loss of six Red Guards soldiers' lives.

  Finally, Qian Zhihao found that the shells falling near the position were becoming sparse, and he quickly jumped up, with dust flying everywhere, as if emerging from underground. The trenches had become unrecognizable, with sections collapsing one after another, causing the trench to lose its traffic function. The Australian army did not give them time to repair, and a larger-scale infantry charge had already begun. It was every man for himself, and Qian Zhihao exerted great effort to push open two sacks of sandbags in front of him, revealing a low, cement building that was only 30 centimeters above the ground, with a square window in the front that protruded a black gun barrel - a 58-style twin heavy machine gun. Along the entire line, every 20 meters there was such a bunker, also the only defensive structure that the Red Alert base could currently build. However, after several rounds of shelling earlier, less than half of the bunkers had exposed their gun barrels. Jiang Yunzhi gritted his teeth, meaning that dozens more heavy machine gunners had sacrificed themselves. The artillery fire stopped, but a denser gunfire suddenly erupted on the battlefield, and this time, the Australian army's charge was exceptionally strong-willed, refusing to retreat, advancing step by step under the hail of bullets formed by the light and heavy machine guns on the position.

  Qian Zhihao's machine gunner had already replaced the red-hot barrel for the third time, and he himself had also fired three magazines. Fortunately, the Red Guards had never worried about bullets in battle, especially since their own base was not far behind. The indigenous elder of the Karl Guli City Autonomous Preparatory Committee had organized the indigenous people to transport ammunition for the troops.

  "Huh?" Qian Zhihao suddenly discovered that the person running over with an ammunition box this time was actually wearing a dark green military uniform of the guard squad. The entire 102nd Regiment was on the battlefield, were there still troops in the city? Had the commander sent out the guard unit left to defend the base?

  "What? You're a white man!" Qian Zhihao grabbed the soldier who was about to leave after putting down the ammunition box, "Which unit are you from?"

  "Commander, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Company of the 101st Regiment!"

  ……