Chapter Fifty-Nine (6)
"One battalion provides covering fire, one company charges forward, and all heavy firepower is used up." The second battalion commander clenched his fists and said fiercely. On the second day at dawn, the second battalion commander ordered the troops to start attacking, but the enemy's firepower was too strong, and two consecutive charges were repelled, resulting in the loss of a squad of soldiers.
"Wait a minute, don't rush in." Liu Hua, who had been watching the battlefield on the city wall, ran over.
"Colonel, the enemy's firepower is too strong, there's no blind spot at all. We've charged several times and lost a whole platoon of soldiers." The second-in-command said with red eyes.
"Never mind, I know. Communicator, let Chen Guangrong bring the mountain artillery company in," Liu Hua said fiercely, looking at the dozens of corpses in front of him.
Soon, a team of soldiers pulling big guns ran over. "Report to the legion commander, the mountain artillery company has come to report." An officer stood in front of him.
"Commander Wang, assign the three platoons of mountain artillery to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions respectively. Now, I order your 2nd platoon to blast the enemy's position in front of us," Liu commanded with burning eyes.
"Yes, Battalion Commander, Second Platoon is ready to lay down the cannon, target enemy front line position, direct aiming." The company commander followed with an order.
"Boom, boom, boom..." With the sound of three artillery shells rising, the enemy's sandbagged position was instantly engulfed in flames. "Comrades, charge! Avenge our fallen comrades!" The second battalion commander shouted along with the cannon fire and rushed out first.
In less than a minute, the smoke cleared, and the enemy's position, which had been under attack for a long time, was gone. Liu Hua chased after him "Second Battalion Commander, fight like this for me, the second platoon of the mountain artillery company is now under your command, I must take you to attack the enemy's artillery position."
"Order the First and Third Battalions to attack in the same way, blast a path with cannons. I don't believe the enemy is made of iron. We must take down both the East and West gates before nightfall." Liu Hua said, looking at the martyrs' corpses in front of him.
In this way, Changde County town rang out three cannon shots from time to time within a day. Before long, it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Reporting to the Legion Commander, Sun Xingbang has come to report." "Reporting to the Legion Commander, Wang Nanhu has come to report." Looking at the two war generals in front of him with faces full of gunpowder, Liu Hua smiled.
"Good job, how's the battle situation now?" Liu Hua asked excitedly.
"Colonel, the enemy still has two battalions of troops left, now trapped in the enemy's command post. The command post is a large courtyard with very strict defense, and it's a bit difficult to take it down." Sun Xingbang replied.
"Alright, let's go and take a look." Liu Hua was the first to head towards the scarred battlefield.
Far, far away, the enemy's division is enjoying a fortress, and the soldiers are tightly surrounding it. About 600 meters outside the division headquarters, 10 mountain guns are set up, and several black dots are scattered on the wall of the division headquarters courtyard.
"King Lianchang, what's going on? Can't even get the mountain guns to fire?" Liu Hua asked as he walked onto the mountain gun company's position.
"Colonel, the enemy's wall is too thick, and our mountain gun shells are not armor-piercing, they explode upon contact with the courtyard wall, so..." Captain Wang hung his head low. Liu Hua also fell into deep thought.
"Mountain cannon vs. bayonet." Liu Hua suddenly thought of the tactics often used in the Liberation War, where artillery was pitted against bayonets.
"Colonel, what's with the mountain guns and bayonets?" Wang Lianzhang asked in puzzlement.
Liu Hua did not explain, "Director Sun, have someone find some sandbags and figure out a way to build a defensive position 200 meters away from the enemy. Commander Wang, take your mountain artillery company over there and aim directly at them." Liu Hua ordered.
"Yes, Legion Commander." After that, everyone began to prepare. Under the cover of strong firepower, the troops quickly built a position 200 meters away.
"Commander of the Legion, everything is ready," said Wang Lianzhang as he ran over.
"Alright, give me a direct shot at the wall of the courtyard on this side, continuous fire." Liu Hua walked to the position and commanded.
"Boom, boom, boom..." With the sound of an explosion, gaps appeared in the walls of the enemy division's courtyard. As the density of artillery fire increased, two mortar battalions rushed to join in, and soon the enemy division was engulfed in a sea of flames.
"Order the troops to charge." Liu Hua commanded coldly.
At this time, for the infantry, all that was left was to sweep the battlefield. Under the fierce artillery attack, the two regiments of enemy troops were finally reduced to less than a company of wounded and sick.
"Reporting to the Legion Commander, the reconnaissance battalion has arrived to report that the mission has been successfully completed." Liu Xiaogang suddenly appeared in front of Liu Hua, and Liu Hua's eyes lit up. Ha ha, the enemy's ammunition depot is in my hands again. Almost shouted out loud.
"Let's go and see what good things the enemy has brought us." Liu Hua said with a smile, his tightly furrowed eyebrows finally relaxed.
Open the door of the ammunition depot, and what comes into view is box after box of ammunition, stacks of uniforms, and box after box of artillery shells. "Haha, this time we've made a fortune! Let's send a report to Director Li Qing and have them rush to Changde overnight to transport the supplies." Liu Hua walks into the ammunition depot with a smile, ignoring the gaze of those around him.
"What's this?" Liu Hua pointed at the two objects covered with rain cloths and asked as he walked over. "Battalion Commander, these are 75 mountain cannons, brand new." The Mountain Cannon Company Commander ran over excitedly to say.
"Then leave it to your mountain artillery unit." Liu Hua said with a smile.
"Legion Commander, this is the list of supplies we found in the enemy's quartermaster warehouse." A battalion commander from a reconnaissance regiment ran over.
"Well, it seems that this time they really made an effort to wipe us out, but we got off cheap. Order the troops to take a good rest today and transport all supplies tomorrow." Liu Hua said as he put away the list of supplies.
"Send a telegram to the political commissar, let them continue to block Xue Yue for two days, don't be afraid of casualties. Within two days, we must not allow Xue Yue to approach Changde." Liu Hua continued to say.
At this time, Political Commissar Guan Xiang was pacing back and forth in the temporary command center, also unaware of how things were going on Military Commander's side. The political commissar couldn't help but start to worry, after all, this was the first siege battle for the 7th Army Corps.
"Commissar, good news! The regimental commander has taken Changde," said the division commander Gao Yuan, rushing in with a telegram.
Comrade Political Commissar, our unit has taken the county seat of Changde, captured a large amount of supplies, and hopes that the Second Division will continue to fight bravely and hold off Xue Yue for at least two more days. Liu Hua.
"Commander Gao, it seems we've made a big haul this time. How far is Xue Yue from Shimen Bridge?" the political commissar asked.
"Commissar, there are still 60 miles of road, and we should be able to make it in one day tomorrow," said Gaoyuan after a moment.
"Alright, High Master, tomorrow we'll increase the intensity of our counterattack. We still need to hold on for two more days."
The two immediately began discussing, while at this time, Xue Yue's temporary command post was in a mess.
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