Blocking position on the eastern slope of Kuancheng.

Machine gunner Chen Erwa stared nervously at the machine gun's crosshairs, and the open nose already indicated that the machine gun was now at a critical point and could fire at any time. Chen Erwa is a native of eastern Hebei and has been in the army for less than a year, and he remembers very well that he joined the army in September last year, and the place where he joined the army was Chengde.

Like all the poor people in this era, Chen Erwa also has bitter tears, the landlord's exploitation of the devil's oppression has forced Chen Erwa's family to a dead end, when the local bullies want to rob Chen Erwa's sister to pay the rent, Chen Erwa, China's largest peasant representative, resisted, when he held a kitchen knife to cover his sister's escape, he was unfortunately caught by the military police of the little devils who rushed over, and was put on death row as Tubalu on the charge of "collaborating with the Communist Party". But at this time, the troops of the Inner Mongolia Military Region attacked Chengde, and after Chen Erwa's sister escaped, she found the local guerrillas in Chengde and prepared to rescue her younger brother.

After Chen Erwa was rescued, she quickly joined the Eighth Route Army with the support of her sister, and his sister Chen Daya also joined the Eighth Route Army medical team and became a nurse in the Eighth Route Army Field Hospital. After joining the army, Chen Erwa really got respect, although Chen Erwa joined the army for less than a year, but because he himself is extremely talented in machine guns and mortars, so he can often play a role that cannot be ignored in battle, so soon Chen Erwa was promoted to the second squad leader of the first platoon of the machine gun company, and soon after he was awarded a personal second-class merit, when the brigade commander gave him a big red flower of personal first-class merit, Chen Erwa has regarded the army as his home.

At this time, Chen Erwa was already the commander of the machine gun company, and was actively striving to join the party, in the words of Master Chen, he joined the party both mentally and physically. This time, the sharp knife battalion was ordered by the superior to block the cavalry unit of the Yue army from raiding Chengde in Kuancheng, and a regiment of machine gun companies, which was the most powerful machine gun company of the 3rd Brigade of the 77th Division, was also transferred to the sharp knife battalion to assist in the operation, so Chen Erwa also followed the troops to Kuancheng.

"Company commander, the devil's cavalry is coming up, what should we do now?" Warrior Li Mule asked a little nervously.

"What to do! Cold! Our platoon is the first line of trenches to defend, so it is the earliest unit to exchange fire with the Japanese army, we are eating meat, and the remaining second, third, and fourth companies are eating our leftovers. Comrades, the brigade commander said that when this battle is over, we can return to Sui to rest and recuperate, and then Commander Han Yunhua will give us a lesson, don't you want to meet our Commander Han for a long time, since you want to see those things to fight this battle, so none of you can give me a chain at a critical time. Wait a while and listen to my orders, you can just shoot when I shoot, do you know? Chen Erwa said loudly.

"Got it!" The fighters replied in unison.

The first company had 174 soldiers, eight Type 92 heavy machine guns and 16 crooked handle first-class anti-aircraft machine guns, although half of these equipment were temporarily transferred from other units, but in order to win this battle, the 3rd Brigade was regarded as pressing on the old capital, and although the Sharp Knife Battalion had only more than 700 men, except for the necessary snipers and ammunitionmen, the rest were machine gunners. Master Chen knew that it was not possible to deal with the cavalry rifle, and at the speed of the cavalry, the rifle would be charged by the cavalry before the machine gun was fired, although the cavalry suffered a little from a distance because the target was obvious enough, but if you talk about close combat, the cavalry is synonymous with strength, not to mention an infantry, even if it is three infantry, it is not necessarily the opponent of a cavalry. Therefore, against the cavalry, it is necessary to use machine guns with powerful firepower, especially heavy machine guns with great lethality.

Lieutenant General Yoshida also knew that his cavalry group had already exposed its target, and it didn't mean much to hide it, so as soon as he came up, he ordered his troops to come to a brigade-level charge. Although the cavalry brigade has only more than 300 people compared to the establishment of more than 1,000 infantry brigades, the momentum displayed by the charge of more than 300 people is no less than that of more than 1,000 infantry.

Seeing the cavalry rushing over with a cavalry gun in hand, Chen Erwa's heart suddenly calmed down, and counted silently: "One thousand meters...... 800 meters......... 600 meters ......."

When the cavalry of the Yue army was still 500 meters away from the blocking position, Chen Erwa decisively gave the order to fire, only to see that he quickly pulled the trigger himself, and shouted loudly: "Fire, hit me hard, fire ..........."

The impact of the cavalry was terrifying, but the cavalry's moving target was large, and the density was large enough when the group charged, so as soon as the guns of the Sharp Knife Battalion rang out, a large number of horses fell to the ground immediately. Running at such a high speed, once you fall, the consequences are unimaginable. Not to mention that the huge habitual surname is likely to hurt the knight on the horse, and more importantly, it is often the cavalry at the front who falls, once they fall, the cavalry behind will not have time to stop, so the cavalry who falls to the ground, whether it is a war horse or a knight, is dead.

The first line of defense was very narrow, less than 100 meters long from north to south, flanked by hillsides that were not suitable for cavalry charges, and only a fairly wide valley road in the middle, so a company of more than 30 light and heavy machine guns could completely block the entire road. Moreover, in order to deal with the cavalry charging at high speed, the soldiers of the first company also dug a trench two meters wide and two meters deep at a distance of 300 meters and 200 meters from the position.

Sure enough, although the machine gun fire was very fierce, but the cavalry group was not easy to deal with, and when the first batch of forty or fifty knights were killed, the second group of cavalry of the Yue army was less than 400 meters away from the position of the first company, and at this rate, the army only needed to lose one or two hundred cavalry to rush into the defensive position of the first company. After all, no matter how powerful the fighters are, it is impossible to put bayonets on heavy machine guns.

But soon the cavalry of the army encountered a test, when the cavalry of the high-speed charge gradually approached the first trench, because the trench camouflaged better, some of the shelters on it completely confused the army, when the first war horse screamed and planted into the "horse pit", then a large number of war horses fell into the trap of a company.

This kind of trap is the horse trap that Master Chen used to build a camp in ancient times to prevent the enemy from breaking into the camp, and the biggest advantage of the cavalry is speed, once the speed advantage of the cavalry is leveled, then the combat effectiveness of the cavalry will be greatly reduced, and even inferior to the infantry.

This time, a total of more than 40 devil cavalry fell into the horse trap, and at the same time, they collided with dozens of war horses due to the sudden deceleration, and the speed of the cavalry suddenly changed from high-speed charge to stagnation, and the speed advantage was suddenly gone. Once stopped, the cavalry of the Yue army suddenly became a live target, and Chen Erwa seized the opportunity to order the troops to open fire.

"Dada..................."

"Dada..................."

The first attack of the cavalry group was quickly repulsed, and this time the army lost a total of more than 140 people, and the cavalry wing responsible for the attack was now only half of the number left, so it can be said that the losses were heavy.

Lieutenant General Yoshida Nao watched the whole process of the battle between the two sides through a telescope, and he sighed and said: "Shaoga, our cavalry group is really worthy of being the most elite troops in the Great Empire, although they failed to take the position of the Chinese army this time, but they did not flinch in the face of such powerful firepower, and they fought very well. However, the machine guns of the Chinese troops are not easy to pack, okay, let the cavalry wing of the 26th Division go up. ”

"Hay!"

The 26th Division was originally subordinate to the battle sequence of the Mongolian army, and was responsible for the safety of all cities on the Mongolian plateau, including Guisui and the broadest steppe, so the cavalry unit of the 26th Division was also the most powerful cavalry unit in combat effectiveness in the cavalry unit of the Yue Army, except for the Hessian cavalry wing. To say that the cavalry unit of the Japanese army, the Black Island Cavalry Wing, is undoubtedly the most famous, the Black Island Cavalry Wing was originally the Emperor's Guard of the Imperial Family, and its successive Wing Commanders were all members of the Imperial Family. The current co-captain Kuroshima Morita Daisa is also a member of the royal family, and he is also a direct member of the royal family.

Kuroshima Morita Daisa is a member of the royal family and a hereditary baron. Since childhood, Heidao has been brave and strong, strong in martial arts, good at using a sword, and sitting down is the Heidao Wing, well-trained, and is the strongest cavalry wing in the army that invaded China, and there is no one. Therefore, many of the [***] teams know this Kuroshima Morita and his Hessian cavalry wing, so the Hessian cavalry wing is the most famous cavalry wing in this book.

Although the cavalry wing of the 26th Division is not as good as the Hessian cavalry wing, because they have been dealing with Mongolian men since their formation, they have also developed the unique fighting style of the 26th Cavalry Wing, so the combat effectiveness of the 26th Cavalry Wing is also top-notch.

After receiving the order, the commander of the 26th Cavalry Wing, Hayao Miyazaki, immediately ordered his troops and horses to attack. The 26th Cavalry Wing did not disappoint Lieutenant General Yoshida either, and Miyazaki knew that although his cavalry wing was strong, it was not much stronger than the cavalry brigade just now, and the traditional tactics used by the cavalry brigade just now would certainly not be too satisfactory.

Therefore, Miyazaki did not order the troops to rush forward in a swarm, but ordered the entire cavalry wing to be divided into three batches, the first batch was the fourth cavalry squadron with the weakest combat effectiveness of the entire cavalry wing, the second batch was the rapid-fire artillery squadron of the cavalry wing, and the third batch was the remaining three cavalry brigades.

Miyazaki's tactic was obvious, that is, first let the 4th Cavalry Squadron, which had the weakest combat effectiveness, act as cannon fodder to buy time for the rapid-fire gun squadron, and then use the rapid-fire gun squadron to eliminate or suppress the machine guns of the [***] squadron, and finally charge the large army. This is also to blame Chen Erwa's machine gun position for being immoral enough, the position of the entire machine gun company is at a turning point, and only a small section can be seen in a straight line, so although the range of the rapid-fire guns of the Yue army can be detected, it can't be stopped, so it can only be approached and then attacked.

Miyazaki's tactics were very successful, the 4th Cavalry Squadron just rushed up and the rapid-fire artillery squadron followed, and as soon as it approached the position of the squadron, the 4th Cavalry Squadron was in front, while the rapid-fire artillery squadron quickly dismounted and quickly installed a small-caliber rapid-fire mortar.

This rapid-fire gun, which was specially equipped for cavalry units, actually had no other advantages, that is, it had a fast rate of fire and was simple to install. Very quickly, the artillery squadron was installed, and the first round of test firing was carried out.

"Boom...... Rumble...... Boom ......"

Before the 1st Company had time to adjust after the 4th Cavalry Squadron had been resolved, the position was bombarded by the rapid-fire artillery squadron of the Japanese army. Although there were no casualties in the first round of test firing, Chen Erwa knew that this time it would be encountered, just as the machine gun company is the best weapon to clean up the cavalry troops, and the artillery unit is also the best thing to clean up the machine gun company, it can be said that the artillery is the nemesis of the machine gun unit. Especially the heavy machine gun that is difficult to move, a Type 92 heavy machine gun weighs 55 kilograms, and it is difficult for a person to move this big guy, so each heavy machine gun needs more than four soldiers to work, in addition to the machine gunner, there are two secondary shooters and one ammunition driver. Light machine guns are good to say, and if they can't do anything, they can also shift positions, but heavy machine guns simply can't move for a long time, so heavy machine guns are easily bombarded by artillery.

Miyazaki's business is very cost-effective, a cavalry squadron for a reinforced machine gun company he still earns, but Chen Erwa is not a vegetarian, knowing that the artillery of the next army will bombard the position fiercely, so he asked the commander of the sharp knife battalion Li Desheng for help, because Chen Erwa knew that Li Desheng also had a mortar company in his hand, in addition to two Type 92 infantry guns, he was also equipped with six 60 mortars, if he did not let the artillery company support at this time, his machine gun company would soon be bombarded into slag by the army.

Li Desheng is also aware of the current situation, even if Chen Erwa does not ask him for help, he will not dare to sit idly by. Compared with the artillery squadron of the 26th Cavalry Wing, which was hastily deployed, the artillery company of the Sharp Knife Battalion had already established its own artillery position, and had also established a firing unit for all areas of the firing range.

There is still a gap between the artillery of the cavalry unit and the artillery of the infantry unit, and although the artillery equipment of the cavalry unit is fast and simple, its artillery is not only small in caliber, but also has a broken firing range, which is simply incomparable with the artillery unit of the infantry.

However, even so, Miyazaki Hayao did not let the artillery squadron withdraw, but ordered the remaining six mortars to continue firing, and ordered the artillery unit to ignore the artillery of the [***] squadron and concentrate fire on bombarding the Chinese machine-gun positions. Chen Erwa did not expect that even if there was an artillery unit to suppress it, the artillery unit of the Yue army would continue to fire shells at his machine gun position, and in just two minutes, the machine gun company would lose four heavy machine guns and one anti-aircraft machine gun. It's okay to say that heavy machine guns, after all, the East and West Military Districts can now produce them themselves, and the output is also considerable, and it is nothing to lose a few units. However, there are only a few anti-aircraft machine guns in the entire military region, and there are only six in total in the 77th Division, and the loss of one is enough to heartache. At the same time, the troops also began to suffer casualties, and the two charges of the army just now did not cause casualties in the machine gun company, but after a burst of shelling, Chen Erwa found that 11 soldiers were killed and 22 soldiers were injured.

However, the artillery unit of the Yue army could only stop here, because the last mortar of the artillery squadron of the Yue army was also destroyed by the Chinese artillery unit.

However, Miyazaki Hayao was also a good man, and when the last mortar was destroyed, he ordered all the cavalry of the 26th Cavalry Wing to immediately charge the position of the machine gun company. This time, Hayao Miyazaki made a bloody investment, and more than a thousand cavalrymen, including himself, received an order to fight to the death and not retreat, and would definitely not retreat unless they broke through the position of the opposite [***] team.

Moreover, in order to deal with the machine gun company of the [***] squadron, Miyazaki Hadaichi ordered the machine gun squadron of the 26th Cavalry Wing to rush to the front of everyone, and if it could rush to the position of the squadron [***], it would be good if it could rush to the position of the squadron, and once the attack was blocked, the machine gun squadron would immediately set up a machine gun position on the spot to counterattack and suppress the machine guns of the Chinese army.

To deal with the trap, Miyazaki ordered each of the 2nd Cavalry Squadron to carry a large bag of sand, which he was to fill in a road.

The sound of the war horse collapsing sounded again, Chen Erwa knew that the army was about to charge again, but this time the firepower of the machine gun company was not as fierce as before, but Chen Erwa did not flinch, he knew that his machine gun company was the protagonist of today, although there were more than 600 people in the sharp knife battalion behind, but the firepower was not as fierce as his machine gun company.

"Dada..................."

"Dada..................."

The unique sound of the Type 92 heavy machine gun sounded again, and as soon as the cavalry unit of the Yue army entered the range of the machine gun, Chen Erwa ordered the troops to open fire. However, due to the loss of more than 30 soldiers and five or six heavy machine guns at once, the firepower of the machine gun company was obviously weakened, and at the same time, the cavalry of the Yue army also held machine guns while charging, which posed a considerable threat to the machine gun company.

This time, the speed of the cavalry center was not fast, and the whole army was consciously divided into three sections, the first section was more than 30 light machine gunners, the second section was more than 130 soldiers with horse sandbags, and finally the cavalry with spears in hand.

This time, due to the suppression of the machine gunners, the firepower advantage of the machine gun company was suddenly offset a lot, although because the cavalry of the army could not be equipped with heavy machine guns, so the [***] team was still in an advantage in firepower, but the absolute superiority when it was just launched has disappeared without a trace.

On the way to the charge, the cavalry of the Yue army continued to fall from their horses, but the distance of a few hundred meters was only two minutes for the cavalry, and soon the cavalry of the Yue army rushed to the front of the "horse pit", such a wide and deep trench, not to mention the war horse, even the chariot can be trapped, so the machine gun squadron of the Yue army counterattacked on the spot, and on the other hand, it was to cover the second cavalry squadron to step up the filling of the pit.

(To be continued)