Chapter 5: The Xiangjiang Campaign (3)

  At this time, the Red Tenth Regiment's position was in a precarious situation. Originally, after yesterday's battle, the Red Tenth Regiment had already lost more than half of its strength. Although last night's victory by the Red Eighth Company brought great confidence to the entire regiment and there were many supplies, the Guangxi Army also went crazy at this time. The commander of the 24th Division of the Guangxi Army, Qin Lianfang, was heartbroken over his elite main force regiment, and the Red Tenth Regiment on the battlefield suffered a disaster.

  As soon as the sky brightened, the Gui army began to attack. First, they still bombarded with artillery, and in order to avenge last night's losses, Tan Lianfang almost used up half of the shells brought by his artillery company. They bombarded for a full hour before starting the assault. At this time, the Red Tenth Regiment's position was like it had been turned over. Although they were protected by anti-artillery trenches, dozens of people still sacrificed their lives. The positions were all destroyed, and almost all the trenches were flattened to the ground.

  When the warriors arrived at the front of the array, they were all stunned. The regimental commander Shen Shuqing hastily shouted: "What are you dazed about? Quickly reinforce the fortifications!" It wasn't until then that the warriors came to their senses and began repairing the fortifications.

  But it was too late, the enemy was already close at hand. This time, there were only two companies attacking. The regiment commander hastily ordered: "Prepare for battle."...

  In this way, in the fortifications without trenches, the warriors repelled the enemy's attack one by one. But their own losses were also huge. Originally more than 800 people, after half a day of fierce battle, now only more than 400 people are left.

  Liu Hua was at the rear of the position, anxiously waiting, his comrades were all looking at him, occasionally walking back and forth, looking at the distant position.

  Suddenly, there came a loud rumbling sound.

  "It seems the enemy has started shelling again!" Old Sun reminded from beside him.

  "I know and I don't know how the captain is," Liu Hua replied.

  But the cannon fire had just stopped, and a shout of killing was heard. "No! Did Captain Liu and his men run out of ammunition?" Liu Hua thought to himself. But what happened next made Liu Hua guess correctly - Captain Liu's men were indeed out of ammunition. Moreover, he sent a messenger to ask Liu Hua to come up to the front line.

  But who would have thought that the messenger was hit by a shell and is crawling towards us step by step.

  Thinking that the squad leader might be in danger, Liu Hua immediately ordered the whole company to rush towards the position.

  Just a few hundred meters away, he saw the communications officer covered in blood. Liu Hua quickly picked him up.

  "Hurry...hurry..." With that, the messenger sacrificed himself.

  Liu Hua put down the body of the signal corps, quickened his pace and ran towards the position. As he ran, he shouted: "The whole company is in combat formation, hurry up and follow..."

  Soon, they saw the battlefield, and at this time, the horses of both sides had already been intertwined, and the firepower advantage could no longer be played. Liu Hua hastily ordered.

  "The whole company is ready to charge with bayonets. The sniper squad will take care of the machine gunner officer. The platoon leaders will use pistols and submachine guns, and the whole company will follow me in the charge."

  Having said that, the first one rushed towards the formation.

  At this time, the Red Eighth Company was like a sharp sword, charging forward towards the enemy, cutting off the enemy's flanks and rear. The firepower team immediately set up positions along the charge route, intercepting the enemy's follow-up troops. At this time, the close combat advantage of the Red Eighth Company came into play, with submachine guns and shotguns firing at anyone in sight. The soldiers fought in groups of three, covering each other as they clashed.

  At this moment, Liu Hua suddenly saw that the team leader was surrounded by more than a dozen enemies, with only two guards covering him.

  "He shouted loudly: 'Little Dragon, take a squad and follow me to rescue the captain. The others will be led by Old Sun, continue attacking.'"

  Xiao Long shouted loudly: "Yes, first class follow me and charge."

  Lao Sun was taken aback for a moment, because he was currently a person who had made a mistake, but Lian Chang let him command a company. As a former commander, Lao Sun immediately reacted and ordered: "The second platoon attacks to the left, the third platoon attacks to the right, and the rest of you follow me in the charge."

  As it was Commander Liu Hua's order, the soldiers executed it quickly and immediately began to carry out Lao Sun's command.

  Liu Hua led a group of soldiers, charging left and right, and finally approached the regiment commander. At this time, two guards beside the regiment commander had already sacrificed themselves, and he was struggling to hold on alone.

  Liu Hua let out a loud roar; "Follow me, charge and kill!" He rushed desperately towards the captain's side. Just as he arrived, however, a bayonet suddenly stabbed into the captain's abdomen. Liu Hua happened to see this scene unfold.

  "Ah... kill..." He roared loudly, tightly gripping the bayonet-equipped rifle, wanting to vent all his anger on the enemy. He dodged left and stabbed right, quickly resolving the enemies around the captain with Xiaolong's help.

  He picked up the captain, tears streaming down his face, and shouted loudly: "Captain, we won, the enemy retreated, you must hold on, hang in there! Captain... Captain..."

  Squad leader, Shen Shuqin opened his eyes and saw Liu Hua. He smiled quietly, struggled to open his mouth, and said softly: "Red Tenth Squad... relies on you now... You are the acting squad leader..." After finishing speaking, he closed his eyes again, looking so peaceful.

  At this time, Peng was observing the battlefield at the legion headquarters and found something unusual about the Red Tenth Regiment's position. He quickly called to ask about the situation.

  "Hello, is this Shen Shuqing? How's the situation at the front now?" Peng asked anxiously.

  But the other party did not speak and remained silent.

  At this time, Peng was somewhat annoyed and shouted loudly: "I am Peng Dehuai, call Shen Shuqing to answer the phone, quickly..."

  Liu Hua held back his tears and said softly, "Report to the Brigade Commander, our Regimental Commander has sacrificed himself, but the position is still in our hands, we can hold it."

  Director Peng fell silent for a moment, then said, "Who is in charge of your team now? Call him over."

  "Report to the Regimental Commander," Liu Hua replied loudly after a pause, "the Regimental Commander appointed me as Acting Regimental Commander before his sacrifice. I am Liu Hua."

  "Liu Hua, Liu Hua, were you the commander of the Red Eighth Company before? Alright, I'm appointing you as the commander of the Red Tenth Regiment now. The appointment letter will be brought over by the chief of staff. I order you to hold your ground at all costs." With that said, he hung up the phone without waiting for Liu Hua's response.

  At this time, the commander of the Gui Army, Tan Lianfang, looked at the casualty report and also fell into deep thought. He had thought that he could take down the enemy position with one blow, but suddenly a group of cavalrymen appeared out of nowhere, not many in number, and he didn't think much of it. But unexpectedly, those men were so fierce, rampaging across the battlefield, and his own troops were being gradually split up and annihilated before his eyes, leaving him powerless to do anything.

  It's only been two days, and I've already lost two troops. Now I'm left with just two troops. What should I do? He thought to himself quietly. Launch an attack? Absolutely not possible now, as our own side has just suffered a defeat, morale is too low. It seems we need to regroup first.

  Having thought it through, he gave the order for the troops to rest and reorganize, remain on high alert, and replenish their ammunition.