Chapter 68: The Ambush of Ten Million Sprouts (6)
Watching the Second Battalion shatter the enemy's attack under the cover of artillery fire, Liu Hua smiled slightly and turned his binoculars towards the First Battalion's position.
The first battalion, due to the enemy's single-minded desire to charge forward, gave the first battalion enough time to build a position. By the time the enemy realized they were being ambushed and wanted to break through, the first battalion had already built a line of defense and was waiting for the enemy's attack.
A team leader looked at the enemies rushing towards him, without any panic, calmly issuing various orders.
"Order the artillery company attached to the division to carry out indiscriminate bombing of the enemy's attacking formation, and must disrupt the enemy's attacking formation. The 1st and 2nd battalions are preparing to counterattack the enemy, while the 3rd battalion is the reserve force for the entire regiment, ready to provide reinforcements to the troops at any time."
As the order was given, the artillery company that had been preparing for a long time began to fire, and with each shell that fell, a big hole appeared in the enemy's attacking formation. Although the enemy continuously replenished their troops, only one battalion of the attacking force had not yet engaged with the Red Army when it lost its combat effectiveness amidst nearly 100 explosions and quickly retreated.
Watching a team with such an orderly combat method, Liu Hua shifted his binoculars towards the main battlefield.
After the initial concentrated bombardment, the enemy's main force had lost about 30% of its troops. With the addition of heavy machine guns, the enemy's losses grew even greater.
At this time, the main battlefield, no one can be seen on the highway, only some corpses are left, and the remaining enemy troops are scattered on the slopes of both sides of the highway, avoiding the flying bullets. Seeing the scene in front of him, Liu Hua admired this bandit army even more.
"Report to the Legion Commander, the reconnaissance battalion has sent a telegram that the enemy's reinforcements of about two brigades have left the city, led by Chen Quzhen. At their marching speed, it will take about 4 hours to arrive at the Shiwangping battlefield." The communications staff officer ran over and handed Liu Hua a telegram.
So soon. Liu Hua thought secretly.
"Order Commander Wang to lead the 8th and 9th battalions, to proceed to a location about five miles from Wàn Miǎo, where they will establish an ambush position. It is imperative that this be done quickly, and that the enemy be stopped decisively. We must also delay the enemy, in order to give ourselves sufficient time to annihilate them completely. Order the 7th battalion to immediately enter a state of combat readiness, cease all repair work, and serve as the army's reserve unit."
Soon, Wang Shizhang led his troops to rush towards their destination. At this time, Liu Hua looked at the hidden enemy on the main battlefield and couldn't help but get a headache. There were still four hours left, and he had to annihilate the enemy within three hours in order to have enough time to annihilate Chen Gu's reinforcement troops.
"Tell the commissar to order all artillery to carry out indiscriminate bombardment of the mountain below, wherever there are people, I want them to be bombarded. We must blow them up. Order the heavy machine guns to follow the artillery fire and annihilate all standing enemies. Tell the commissar that enemy reinforcements are arriving soon. Don't conserve ammunition. Give me a fierce attack." Liu Hua thought for a moment before issuing the order decisively.
Soon, the artillery battalion that received the order immediately turned its muzzle to face the position below. With a loud command from the battalion commander, the howitzers and mountain guns began to fire in unison, with the impact points of the shells slowly moving forward like three straight lines. At this time, the enemy who was lying on the ground could no longer withstand such intense artillery fire, and they got up and ran around wildly, only to become targets for the heavy machine guns.
About half an hour of artillery fire had passed, and the entire battlefield seemed to have been plowed by shells, with shell craters densely packed.
"Order the troops to attack."
"Drip, drip, drip..." With the sound of the charge, the warriors emerged from the trenches, holding submachine guns and bayonet-equipped rifles, beginning their charge.
"Charge!" The warriors roared, the front warrior fell down, and the back warrior immediately filled up. Soon, the remaining enemy was compressed on three small hills. Looking at the constantly resisting enemy, Liu Hua didn't have such a good heart.
"Get the artillery company up here for me. We must settle all enemy forces within an hour, and the remaining troops will immediately sweep the battlefield."
Soon, nearly 30 mortars were brought over. In the midst of the explosions, the mountain where the enemy vanguard had gathered instantly turned into a sea of flames. Watching as the enemies who rushed out of the flames were continuously riddled with machine gun fire, and as the artillery continued to pound away, fewer and fewer silhouettes could be seen. Liu Hua ordered the big guns to shift positions, beginning their assault on the second mountain where the enemy had gathered.
Very soon, after more than half an hour of effort, all remaining forces were annihilated.
The political commissar with an excited face, Liu Hua smiled, although he knew that his troops had suffered heavy losses this time, but in Liu Hua's view, such losses were worth it, especially for a bandit army like Chen Quzhen.
"Comrade Commander, we have won!" The commissar exclaimed excitedly.
"Director, you look so happy, I'll tell you, the happiness is yet to come! Chen Quzhen has sent us another piece of fatty meat, we can't not eat it!" Liu Hua said with a smile.
"Commander, what fatty meat?" The political commissar looked at Liu Hua in confusion.
Looking at the puzzled-looking commissar, Liu Hua told him about Chen Quzhen's reinforcements and the Third Division's blocking of the enemy. The commissar listened, burst out laughing "It seems that heaven wants to destroy Chen Quzhen this time! It's really heaven helping me, Regimental Commander, issue the order quickly!" Looking at the anxious commissar, Liu Hua couldn't help but laugh again.
"Commissar, look at you, don't be in a hurry, Chen Quzhen hasn't clashed with the Third Division yet, look how anxious you are, haha."
"Haha, Commander, isn't this great? Next, how are you going to deal with the two regiments brought by Chen Quzhen?"
"Comrade, I plan to leave the 1st and 2nd Guard Regiments, which have suffered the greatest losses, to clean up the battlefield. They will also light fires on two mountain peaks to attract enemy reinforcements. We'll keep firing here continuously and leave a mountain artillery company to conduct intermittent bombardments to lure the enemy in. Let them continue to attack the 3rd Division, inflicting casualties on the enemy during their assault. Once the 3rd and 4th Regiments begin their attack, they will circle around the left flank of the enemy from the left wing of the 3rd Division, while the 5th and 6th Regiments will circle around to the right flank of the enemy, forming a complete encirclement. After the encirclement is formed, all troops will launch a simultaneous attack and annihilate the enemy." Liu Hua looked at the contemplative Commissar.
"I agree, Legion Commander. I'll take the left wing, General Gao will take the right wing, and General Sun will stay behind to command the troops here. You can command overall and be responsible for controlling the timing of the general attack. What do you think?"
"Agreed." After listening to the personnel deployment of the political commissar, Liu Hua quickly nodded in agreement.
"Then let's get ready to execute now! The troops' flanking maneuver will take a long time." said the political commissar after thinking for a while.
"Alright, order the troops to set out now and also order the artillery battalion to bring all mortars to the position of the Third Division. Tell Commander Wang that the artillery battalion can only fire together during the general attack, and when the enemy attacks, at most only one artillery company's guns can open fire. Execute immediately."
