Chapter 63: Fierce Battle at Eagle's Mouth Ridge (Three)

  Because there were no signs, the devils didn't notice the large number of hand grenades falling from above, like the god of death spreading its wings and revealing a ferocious smile. Some hand grenades even "thudded" onto the devils' steel helmets, startling them, and by the time they realized that the white smoke-emitting things under their feet were deadly, it was too late!

  A deafening explosion shook the earth, and the blast of flames illuminated the dark night sky, like a steel storm rising from the ground.

  Two hundred people, more than two hundred hand grenades, fell into the dense crowd of devils, some warriors also threw out two at a time like Tang Qiuli, anyway, they didn't need to show their heads, the devils were close, and they just threw them with all their might.

  Shrapnel flew in all directions, recklessly reaping the lives of the devils. Every hand grenade that fell had a pile of devils turned into fragmented flesh. This place was where you could hide and wait to be beaten! But it wasn't over yet, hand grenades continued to fly out, each soldier throwing at least five or six, in mid-air, everywhere were flying the devils' severed limbs, broken guns, torn clothes, and dented steel helmets.

  In a large area, more than 1,000 hand grenades were used. The devils still had the upper hand! After several rounds of repeated grenade attacks, within an area of about 40-50 meters around the trenches, there wasn't a single devil left who was even breathing, let alone seriously injured. It was impossible to find even a complete corpse!

  The hot blood flowed down the slope and was immediately frozen solid on the ground by the severe cold, this stretch of snowy land was covered with the enemy's filthy blood.

  Those tanks and armored vehicles moved forward, their tracks spinning wildly as they slid around. Realizing things were not going well, they tried to turn back, but it was too late. Dozens of Molotov cocktails with flames attached were smashed onto the vehicle bodies. In an instant, the enemy's armored vehicles were surrounded by raging fires and in the blink of an eye turned into several fireballs.

  If it were a German armored vehicle, like those in European countries, the armor would be thick enough to withstand some resistance. But the little devil's toy, as the saying goes, is just a thin-skinned iron coffin. That place in Japan lacks steel and iron, so they didn't dare make it too thick. The intense burning of gasoline was too much for it, "Boom boom" a few times, and the ammunition inside couldn't withstand the high temperature and exploded. The little devils originally wanted to use this thing to take the lead, bullying the Chinese army for not having anti-tank weapons. Now look, it's been reduced to its original components.

  As soon as the battle started, the vanguard of the Matsuda Alliance was wiped out with 500-600 casualties, and two tanks and four armored vehicles were lost. Without a single gunshot, this wave of hand grenades made the little devils suffer heavy losses.

  The devils behind finally reacted, this is an ambush, retreat quickly! A large group of devils turned around and ran down the ridge, not running? Are you kidding me? Didn't you see the hand grenades chasing after them? Going downhill was faster than going uphill, some devils fell down and didn't get up, sliding down the slope instead, finally escaping the deadly grenade attack.

  Just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief, I suddenly heard the sound of violent howling coming from behind me, like a torrential rain. The gunfire was so dense that I couldn't make out the number of shots. My god! How many heavy machine guns must have been fired to create such a commotion?

  In the darkness, flashes of trajectory swept by like iron brooms, wherever they reached, batches of devils were knocked down, some were unlucky and directly shot into sieve-like holes! However, compared to others, they were still lucky, at least making a complete corpse.

  A burst of intense gunfire, and more than 400 devils were killed.

  Tang Qiuli was ruthless enough, in the front trench, he arranged more than 80 Czech-style light machine guns. The narrow front, such dense firepower, plus the piled-up devils, one bullet could take two devils' lives, the little devils were not meat on the chopping board, cut at will, that was a pleasure.

  Every time the light machine gun finishes two magazines, the devils run out of range, and the soldiers stop firing. This is exciting and refreshing! Following the commander to fight is a pleasure. On our side, not even one person was lightly injured, it's simply amazing! The only problem is that the noise was too loud, my ears are still ringing now. Those who didn't get to use the light machine gun looked at these marksmen with envy, their own guns were useless. As soon as they aimed at a devil, before they could even fire, the devil was shot down by the machine gun. They didn't even get to fire, and they felt resentful. In their hearts, they secretly thought: when can I also experience this pleasure?!

  Matsumoto, who was commanding at the rear of the main force, was stunned. He had never dreamed that in this place, his elite field corps would lose nearly a third of its men in an instant, without even getting a glimpse of the enemy's situation. These were all brave and skilled Imperial Army soldiers! His heart was bleeding, it was too terrifying, what kind of troops were they facing, with such fierce firepower and tactics so familiar?

  Following the invincible and undefeated Imperial Army elite soldiers in Manchuria, more than a thousand lives were lost on this unknown Eagle's Mouth Ridge, without even having the chance to fight back. Is this dark Eagle's Mouth Ridge a bloodthirsty abyss that swallowed the Imperial Army soldiers? His teeth involuntarily chattered!

  A Japanese captain, stumbling along, came before him. "Regimental Commander, sir! The soldiers of our unit who were on the front line have all died for the Emperor!" The voice of the Japanese captain awakened Matsuda from his boundless fear. He looked at this subordinate with a pale face and dull eyes, still in shock, without saying a word. What was there to say? The bodies of Imperial Army soldiers lay scattered everywhere!

  A strong smell of blood wafted through the air, and when he looked up, Eagle's Peak, which had just erupted like a volcano, was now shrouded in silence. A cold gust of wind blew by, causing Song Tian to shiver involuntarily. He glanced around at the soldiers, who all wore expressions of lingering fear, and his mind reeled dizzily.

  Matsumoto's chief of staff reminded him that it was not good to delay like this, and he should think of a way as soon as possible! Eliminate those Chinese who ambushed the Imperial Army soldiers on the ridge. Don't we have cannons?

  One sentence reminded Matsuda, oh yeah, how could he forget that he still had six field guns? There were also twenty or so infantry cannons, aiming at those damn Chinese and blasting them to pieces, venting the hatred in his heart!

  Matsuda regained his composure and busied himself directing the deployment of artillery positions.

  Tang Qiuli was very clear about the route of the devils in the Anti-Japanese War, relying on their fierce firepower, planes and artillery bombarding the Chinese army's positions fiercely, most of the casualties of the Chinese army were suffered here, he didn't want to repeat the same mistake.

  In the telescope, see the devils busy, know the devils want to fire artillery, he smiled disdainfully, still the old routine, we won't fall for it. He left 50 soldiers in the front trench to monitor the devil's movement, mainly afraid that the devils would take advantage of the artillery fire to break through the front line. The rest of the soldiers all went up to the cliffs on both sides.

  The lively fight just now, the troops on both sides of the cliff, under Tang Qiuli's command, didn't fire a single shot or throw a single hand grenade, and still haven't exposed themselves. The first strike was enough with the front-line troops, in order to suddenly attack in the next battle and give the devils a devastating blow. I reckon that even if Song Tian uses two brains, he can't figure out that Tang Qiuli still has an ace up his sleeve after such an intense fight! This is really frustrating for the soldiers on the cliff, their eyes are red with rage! They're so anxious that they're sweating bullets, but there's nothing they can do! The commander has given strict orders, and anyone who disobeys will be punished! Just wait, soon we'll be fighting again, just waiting for the commander's order!

  Tang Qiuli turned around, using binoculars to observe the situation inside Sanjiaoriver Town. In the vast night, a long dragon composed of lights stretched out, its head towards the mountains and its tail already leaving Sanjiao River, gradually disappearing into the endless forest until it was no longer visible in the binoculars. His heart suddenly felt at ease.

  All the supplies have been transported away, and there is no more burden. It's good to accompany Song Tian, the old devil, for a while. In fact, taking advantage of the devils not understanding what's going on, it's possible to leave the battlefield now, which is relatively safe. At least you don't have to suffer from the devils' artillery fire. However, Tang Qiu couldn't bear to part with them, worrying that after the devils failed at Sanjiaogou, they would follow the trail into the mountains. After all, there were so many supplies, and the marching speed couldn't be fast. If the devils caught up, it would be a big trouble. By blocking the devils here for a while, the safety coefficient of the transportation team would be higher. Besides, with such favorable terrain conditions, it's not worth teaching the devils a lesson. When will you find an opportunity to do so?

  He took advantage of the devils not having bombarded yet, and summoned Liu Tien-han, Shan Hu and four others to a brief meeting, telling them that the logistics team had entered the mountains and informed them of the time for the troops to withdraw and the retreat signal. After arranging these, he was about to go to the front line position. These several commanders tried to stop him but couldn't, so they could only hold back their worries and let him and Shan Hu go down. Liu Tien-han and Feng Ji-wu deeply admired their commander-in-chief, who at a young age had great courage and strategic thinking, not simple at all!

  He and Shanyu went down into the trenches and told the remaining soldiers to take cover in the artillery caves immediately, not allowing them to fire without his orders.

  The artillery fire, the devils opened fire, good guy, just like crazy, field guns, infantry guns, mortars shook the sky, shells fell on the position like raindrops, ice blocks flew everywhere, Tang Qiuli sat in the bunker, felt the ground shaking, the ground under his feet was swaying, fortunately it was frozen, if it were soil, it would have collapsed by now.

  The little devils are really anxious, the shells are like they're free, and they're throwing them at the position with all their might. However, as long as they don't directly hit the entrance, nothing will happen. This barrage lasted for a full 20 minutes, the artillery fire rumbling away in the distance, starting to extend its range, the devils' infantry is about to charge.

  Tang Qiuli gave a secret signal, and the troops hiding on both sides of the cliff quietly entered the position along the communication trench, standing against the inner wall, each soldier holding two hand grenades in their hands, waiting silently for the commander's order.

  The enemy's light and heavy machine guns opened fire, bullets whizzing over the soldiers' heads like a gust of wind, splashing ice chips onto their faces with a chilly sensation. The little devils had spent a lot of money, preparing a fierce firepower, the enemy's charging battle cry echoed through.

  Tang Qiuli quietly captured the footsteps of the devils, silently calculating the distance in her mind. Fifty meters, thirty meters, twenty meters... "Attack!" she shouted loudly, as a wave of hand grenades rained down on the charging devils, covering them from head to toe. A distance of twenty meters was just a few steps for the charging devils.

  A reinforced company of devils, yelling and rushing up, the imperial army's artillery fire is so fierce that the Chinese on the opposite side should have been blown to pieces. Just now was an accident, and they suffered a loss. If they were lucky, they would catch one or two prisoners and send them to the regimental commander, and the reward would not be less. So this group of devils rushed forward desperately, and the devils in the front saw the edge of the trench.

  Within this twenty-meter distance, it was a death line. Hundreds of hand grenades exploded into a sea of fire, blasting out a three-dimensional firewall. Any devils who crossed into this range were instantly torn to shreds. But that's not all - the hand grenades kept coming non-stop. Tang Qiuli thoroughly carried out the Eighth Route Army's close combat tactics. Within twenty meters, the devils didn't even have a chance to fall prone. If you don't fight, then forget it; if you do fight, then beat them to death!

  The devils charge forward quickly, and retreat quickly too. What a joke! Look at the end of this grenade explosion - even a piece of iron will be blown into several pieces. Are they going to keep charging? Aren't they idiots?

  An enhanced company, more than 200 devils, except for a dozen or so who were crippled and limping, and managed to escape with their lives, the rest all lay on the cold snowy ground, meeting the great god of heaven, returning to their old homes in Japan.

  The devils' infantry ran away, but the light and heavy machine guns were still barking incessantly. Tang Qiuli ordered the communication soldier to inform the artillery behind that each mortar fired three urgent shots, and immediately moved to the mountain after finishing, to prevent the devils' artillery from retaliating. Must knock down the little devils' light and heavy machine guns, this thing is annoying.

  In an instant, a group of shells swooped down on the enemy's machine gun position like black crows, and the enemy's machine guns fell silent. Under such intense bombardment, the enemy's machine guns were probably reduced to scrap metal.

  Before the soldiers withdrew from their positions, the enemy's artillery attack came. This time, because there were many soldiers on the position, the enemy's shells caused some casualties to the troops, but the situation was not very serious. Taking advantage of the enemy's prolonged artillery fire and before the infantry charged, Tang Qiuling quickly checked the troops and found that three soldiers had been killed, five or six seriously or lightly wounded. They hastily carried away the wounded soldiers as the enemy launched another charge.

  Apart from being hit by another barrage of hand grenades and leaving a trail of corpses, the devils got nothing, Yingkou Ridge was like an iron gate that blocked the enemy's throat.

  Then there was another bombardment, and another charge. The result was the same every time. After several rounds of this, Matsuda couldn't take it anymore. Of the more than 3,000 soldiers he had led here, only a little over 1,000 were still breathing. The rest lay on the cold snowy ground in front of him. A crack field corps had been thoroughly crippled, and he himself had become the one responsible for sacrificing the lives of His Majesty's soldiers. It wasn't that Matsuda was incompetent, it was just that the Chinese were too cunning!

  All-out attack, all the shells were fired, all the soldiers charged forward, and he led the charge himself. For the sake of the Great Japanese Empire, he staked his own life on this hundred or so pounds. Matsumoto tied a white cloth around his head, and the rest of the devils understood and followed suit.

  The enemy's artillery fire was more intense and longer-lasting each time, Tang Qiuli knew that Song Tian was going all out. Originally, relying on the terrain of Eagle Mouth Ridge, they could squeeze out the last drop of blood from Song Tian's troops, and Song Tian's unit would be eliminated from the list of enemies. Looking at the time, there were only two hours left before dawn, once the sky brightened, Song Tian would call in enemy planes for support, one in the air and one on the ground, it was not a good situation to be in. Besides, even a beast at bay will fight back, it's not worth fighting a war of attrition with the enemy, let's just retreat while we can!

  Tang Qiuli gathered his troops, withdrew from the front line, and climbed up to the cliffs on both sides. He placed several large barrels of gasoline at the edge of the cliff, which had been prepared in advance, and tied many hand grenades to the gasoline barrels. This was the final big meal he had prepared for the devils, and it had to be rich!

  The devils charged again, this time even more frenzied than before. Tang Qiulai waved his hand and several gasoline drums fell to the bottom of the cliff. They rolled down the slope towards the enemy's position. He ordered a few sharpshooters to aim at the drums and fire. Several bullets accurately hit the drums, and immediately, a sea of flames erupted, flowing down the road and engulfing the devils' battalion.

  The troops took advantage of the darkness before dawn to leave the battlefield, disappearing into the vast forest and majestic mountains. They walked a long way, still seeing the towering flames that had engulfed the place they had just left, casting a reddish glow over half the sky.

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