Chapter 36: The Battle of Kars Blockade 5

  On the position replenished with ammunition, the gunfire became more urgent, and the tall Australian soldiers fell down one by one. Some people say that after killing on the battlefield, new recruits become old soldiers, no longer afraid. No one went to verify this theory, Qian Zhihao just saw some indigenous soldiers who thought they were good at shooting, picking up the automatic rifle with optical sight brought by the sacrificed Red Guard soldier next to them, and calmly starting to shoot. There are not so many opportunities on the battlefield for you to think about what is reasonable or unreasonable, just like why the ammunition was sent by the 101st Brigade soldiers earlier?

  This round of attack lasted for half an hour, and the Australian Mark 2 cruiser tanks were intimidated by the threat of the Type 56 rocket-propelled grenade launcher and did not dare to get too close to the position. They could only provide firepower support to the infantry from a distance of three hundred meters. However, the Guards' portable 60mm mortar was getting more and more accurate, even directly hitting a Mark 2 tank, forcing the remaining Australian tanks to continue retreating.

  The two sides fought to the death until another round of cannon fire came, and the native soldiers on the battlefield were shocked again. Did the Australian artillery not care about their infantry and directly bombard them indiscriminately? But there was no shell falling on the battlefield, where was the cannon being fired from?

  Jiang Yunzhi and Qian Zihao, who knew the reason, shouted excitedly, "Brothers, it's our artillery, their artillery is finished!"

  This was the most heartening news since the start of the war, and it spread rapidly along the trenches in stages, greatly boosting the morale of the native soldiers. Meanwhile, the Australian infantry at the front line, who were being pinned down by machine gun fire, also seemed to have received the news that their artillery was under attack, and retreated all along the line.

  The 100mm heavy mortar battery of the guard unit did not need ranging shots thanks to accurate coordinates provided by the commander. Under the unified command of the Red Guards, all 12 mortars fired simultaneously. The native soldiers also performed above par, firing dozens of rounds in just a few minutes, far exceeding their previous training levels.

  Thousands of meters away, the Australian artillery position had turned into a sea of flames, and what was even more frightening was that there were still a certain number of shells stored on the position, ready for the next bombardment. The artillerymen suffered heavy casualties, and no one could care about the slow spread of the fire to the shell boxes.

  "Boom... Boom...", after the continuous loud noise, the powerful shockwave left the already charging cavalry regiment caught off guard. Many warhorses became startled by the massive explosion and the charge formation became somewhat disordered. Hebal drew out his knight sword from his waist and loudly shouted: "Glory is my life——"

  The knights who had reined in their mounts simultaneously drew their swords and, with Heber shouting the ancient war cry of the Knights, charged into the Australian artillery positions amidst the inferno.

  On the blocking position, four olive-green 59-style tanks rumbled over the trenches, their long 100mm-caliber gun barrels spewing out vengeful flames. The native soldiers of the 102nd Regiment also jumped out of the trenches under the leadership of the Red Guards, shouting slogans and chasing after the retreating enemy. Their automatic rifles were all set to burst mode, which meant they didn't need to aim anymore - as soon as an enemy appeared in their line of sight, they just pulled the trigger and swept them away.

  The Australian 2nd Division organized several temporary positions, all of which were quickly broken through by the 102nd Regiment following the Type 59 tanks. The Australians retreated again and again until they reached the high ground in front of the division headquarters, where they set up machine gun positions to block the 102nd Regiment's charge. Jiang Yunzhi also ordered the 102nd Regiment to retreat back to the blocking position, without the cover of trenches, and exchanged fire with the enemy, but his side was at a disadvantage due to the difference in numbers. Moreover, the blocking position had the protection of machine gun pillboxes, which helped to stabilize the position.

  A counterattack drove the enemy back thousands of meters, Jiang Yunzhi judged that the Australian army would not dare to organize another attack today, and ordered Qian Zihao to guard the position tightly, and returned to the base alone. More than half of the 40-hour defense time ordered by the commander had passed.

  Outside the base, he met Hebal, who had already led the cavalry regiment back. The blood-soaked Baron comrade gave Jiang Yunzhi a big fright. "What's going on? Are you injured, Colonel?"

  "It's nothing, it's not my blood!"

  "What? The cavalry regiment's charge was blocked?"

  "Yunzhi, they've encountered Australian tanks!" Before Hebral could respond, Zhong Yi's voice came from behind, and Jiang Yunzhi turned around to see the smiling commander opening his arms wide in welcome to Hebral, "Brother, welcome back!"

  The Baron was extremely excited, ignoring the bloodstains all over his body, and hugged Zhong Yi tightly. "Yes, Zhong, we're buddies!" The scene of two big men hugging each other didn't interest Jiang Yunzhi at all; he wanted to know more about the cavalry regiment's attack situation.

  The cavalry regiment began its charge at the same time as the heavy artillery battery opened fire. As they approached the Australian artillery position, although the bombardment had ended, they coincidentally encountered a shell that exploded on the ground, and some of the charging cavalry suffered casualties. After the explosion, Hebar led his troops into the position, and the surviving gunners put up little resistance under the iron hooves and swords of the cavalry, running wildly in all directions. However, just as Hebar thought this charge would be easily successful, two Mark II tanks suddenly appeared outside the artillery position, their machine guns firing wildly at the sword-wielding cavalrymen. It was undoubtedly a massacre, with many of the horsemen falling to the ground. Hebar was also knocked off his horse and fell to the ground, but fortunately, his mount was killed while he escaped death's kiss.

  "What then?" The unchanged poker face also revealed a hint of anxiety.

  "I didn't expect the tanks to appear suddenly, our cavalry regiment also has rocket launchers." Hebal still habitually referred to the 56-type 40mm rocket launcher as a grenade launcher.

  "Old He, are you really okay? You're covered in blood!" Jiang Yunzhi's tone was a bit strange. Hebal shrugged and smiled: "God bless me, bullets can't hit me. Oh! I'm here to report to the commander, my knights have suffered heavy casualties, I need to get back to them."

  Zhong Yi nodded, "The field hospital in the military camp has made preparations to receive the wounded. If there are not enough beds, hospitals in the city can also be requisitioned at any time."

  "Oh, that's great, the knights won't lose their lives from excessive bleeding. Commander Jiang, I'm going to the hospital."

  Jiang Yunzhi looked at Hebal, who was hastily leaving, with some playfulness. "Commander, why did you trust him from the start? You know that compared to Hans, Hebal is a true British aristocrat, and he's also... an heir."

  Upon hearing Jiang Yunzhi's question, Zhong Yi smiled mysteriously and said, "You've been holding this question in your heart for a long time, haven't you?"

  Jiang Yunzhi's head nodded like a little chick pecking at rice, Zhong Yi burst out laughing, "Yunzhi, fine wine and coffee are both water, but one can get you drunk, while the other can wake you up."