"What about the artillery?! Bring artillery to bombard them! Hu Xiuzhi, the commander of the fifth company, couldn't notice that his voice was already full of despair. Even this hysterical sound could not be transmitted very far, and less than two hundred meters away from him, the roar of the heavy machine gun in the German bunker suppressed Hu Xiuzhi's voice with a higher decibel and volume.

Rocket artillery was powerful enough to mass-kill infantry in open areas, and on July 10, that is, yesterday, the BJP killed more than 600 enemies with 10 rockets. However, the number of German regular troops in the fortress of Qingdao is about the same as yesterday, but in the face of the attack of tens of thousands of People's Party troops, the more than 600 enemies relying on the fortress have exerted their strong combat effectiveness.

The fifth company led by Hu Xiuzhi was the second wave of troops to attack the northern section of the Qingdao fortress. It was dark when they set off, and the People's Party had already cut the wires from the electric lights in Qingdao's urban area. Now the entire city is completely dark on the ground. In addition to the fire of the shells, the Germans hit the sky one after another, radiating a strong light in the air.

Even a unit of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, which attaches great importance to training, has never heard the roar of artillery at such a dense frequency, and every minute there is the sound of shells exploding far and near. The commanders and fighters of the troops simply did not have time to think about it so much. In particular, in the second echelon, everyone followed the determined line of communication, held their rifles tightly under the reflection of artillery fire, and rushed all the way with the necessary equipment on their backs.

At each end of the line of communication were comrades in charge, who either ordered the troops to pass quickly or to stop temporarily. Hu Xiuzhi's evaluation in the army was already "very patient and meticulous," but he found that every time he stopped after passing a few hundred meters of communication line, the troops would more or more or even leave behind one or two or even one squad of soldiers when checking the number of people. But it was by no means Hu Xiuzhi's troops running in the lines of communication. Many of the troops, like the Fifth Company, looked nervous and panting to fight under the command of the commander.

Of course, the Fifth Company has not only lost its personnel, but also other soldiers who have fallen behind or confused have "joined" the ranks of the Fifth Company. After the troops simply stopped, according to the number of people left behind, the comrades in charge would temporarily arrange the soldiers collected from the traffic points into the passing troops according to the number of people left behind.

At least at this stage, Hu Xiuzhi's thinking is still very clear. While he decided to intensify the training during such forward mobile training, he asked the order to be passed on in a low voice: "The comrades in the back grab the straps on the backpacks of the comrades in front. ”

The People's Party's backpack had a cloth belt sewn under it, and Hu Xiuzhi knew that it was specially designed to be grabbed by the comrades behind him when marching. However, every time Hu Xiuzhi saw this handle, he remembered the game of "eagles catching chickens" that was often done in the army. There was a long queue, each of whom grabbed the clothes from the backs of the comrades in front of them, and then avoided the comrades who acted as "eagles". In order to coordinate the coordination of the whole team's running, many comrades often ran out of breath in the game.

Originally, it looked like a child's game, but now it seems that this kind of training is of great significance for late-night marching. If you can't effectively follow the team, it is impossible to avoid falling behind.

Sure enough, after everyone pulled the handle on the backpack of the comrade in front of them, although the speed of action was a little slower, at least there was no problem of falling behind. Before Hu Xiuzhi could rejoice in this, the troops arrived at the final starting position. The Qingdao Fortress did not surround the core area of the fortress with a towering wall. It is a modern fortress based on the terrain and composed of many pillboxes. The People's Party has extensive experience in siege of cities, especially in the Chinese style of defense such as attacking weizi or chengchi.

But Hu Xiuzhi looked at the Qingdao Fortress, which was not majestic, and only felt a chill. As long as you have sandbags in that layout, you can set up machine guns for defense at any time. The vanguard had already captured the outlying fortresses, though it was impossible to see in the darkness of the night what kind of fierce fighting had been experienced. But Hu Xiuzhi could smell a strong smell, which was a mixture of gunsmoke and flesh and blood.

"Oh!" There were already comrades in the army who began to retch, or simply vomited under the stimulus of this smell.

Hu Xiuzhi attacked the Qingdao Mountain Fort, which was named Bismarck Hill by the Germans, and there were two fortress batteries of the Germans. There are 2 21CM cannons on the north battery and 4 28CM howitzers on the south battery. The sky of Qingdao was lit up almost all night by the fire of these cannons.

"Go back! Back to where we started. The traffic officer shouted.

Although this order was very surprising, Hu Xiuzhi did not question it, and he immediately urged the surprised comrades to set off to the assembly point where they had just come. The troops had not gone far when an earth-shattering noise was heard behind them, and the ash and sand and gravel from the shells were beating down on the comrades of the troops. It was mixed with the cries of wounded comrades.

"Don't shout!" Hu Xiuzhi immediately shouted. If you cry out in pain after being wounded, you will only reveal the location of your troops. This is something that has been emphasized many times. But the emphasis is emphasized, but after the real injury, everyone can't help but shout. "Health center, hurry up and bandage. The troops move on! ”

Hu Xiuzhi felt upset, everyone ran around all night like headless flies, and they were already dizzy. With the wounded, the troops cannot leave the wounded here, but also inspect and transport. It is really better to attack the city wall, although the enemy is condescending, but they are in the open, whether the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army gathers artillery fire, or attacks from multiple directions. There are ways to deal with it.

But to be able to get to the position of company commander, Hu Xiuzhi also has enough psychological endurance. While urging the troops to move on, he personally went over to see the wounded comrades. Fortunately, it was far enough away from the position of the shell, so the shrapnel hit the back without fatal injuries. Hu Xiuzhi looked up at the location of the traffic point, and he didn't know how the Germans' artillery hit so accurately, and a shell hit just right. If it weren't for the urgency of the traffic officer's urging, and the urgency of his own urging, the troops would set off immediately, and this cannon would come down, and I was afraid that half of the company would be able to explain there. The traffic officer was too close to the location of the shell explosion and certainly not spared, so Hu Xiuzhi patiently ordered the hygienist to quickly bandage the wounded as he was impulsive.

At this moment, there was another loud bang. This time the sound was closer and louder, but not from behind, but from the front of the troops. Hu Xiuzhi didn't feel upset anymore, he immediately stood up and ran in the direction of the explosion. Sure enough, this shelling caused heavy casualties to the front line of the troops. If it weren't for the fact that the troops were formed in columns, and the bodies of the comrades who died in front of them suffered a lot of impact and shrapnel, the casualties of the troops would have only been greater.

This time, the distance was less than 100 meters, and the troops directly killed and wounded two squads of commanders and fighters. There are also various situations in the back because of the impact. Hu Xiuzhi ordered the front platoon to immediately stay in charge of the wounded, and he then shouted: "The second platoon, the third platoon, the fourth platoon, follow me and continue to march in formation." ”

The soldiers were a little panicked in this artillery fire, and when Hu Xiuzhi shouted like this, they almost subconsciously obeyed the order. Hu Xiuzhi himself ran to the front of the team to lead the team, and the troops crossed the scene of the shelling strewn with corpses, made a small bend, and began to continue to advance towards the previous assembly point.

After experiencing the danger of getting lost in the shelling, and experiencing the losses of casualties and attrition, Hu Xiuzhi did not know how far he had run with his troops, and the remaining three platoons of troops finally entered the final offensive position at dawn. It was a foggy day, and the troops went through the night, casually stuffing a few mouthfuls of compressed biscuits and drinking some water while waiting. And Hu Xiuzhi went to the front position, and in the fog, he saw a dense corpse that he had never seen in his life.

This is the fortress fortress that the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army has taken, this fortress is at the foot of the mountain, and when you look up, it is the enemy's battery. In addition to the craters left by the shells, the bodies of the fighters were almost piled up in several places. The blackened bunker is the best sign. Hu Xiuzhi found that in addition to the pillboxes that could be seen, the Germans actually set up several hidden bunkers in very inconspicuous positions on the sides of the main pillboxes, forming crossfire. Linking the point of fire of this fortress with the corpses of the soldiers of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, everything is very clear.

The troops of this kind of bunker have also talked about it, but after seeing it with their own eyes, they know what a terrible thing it is. Moreover, the fortress guns on the enemy's batteries were more capable of shooting at the troops attacking the pillboxes, and Hu Xiuzhi could not think of how the comrades could overcome this group of fortresses.

When I was shuddering, I saw someone running over. This is Li Caishan, the commander of the fourth regiment, Li Caishan brought two guards, but no more people followed. As soon as he saw Hu Xiuzhi, Li Caishan immediately asked, "You are the commander of the fifth company of the second regiment, right?" ”

"Yes!" Hu Xiuzhi replied.

"How many troops are there?"

"Three platoons."

"Bring the troops with me at once!" Li Caishan's eyes looked like they were about to erupt fire.

"Report to the head of the regiment, we have not received an order."

Li Caishan came up and grabbed Hu Xiuzhi's shirt, "What are you waiting for for the order?" I now order you to attack me at once! ”

"But our head ......"

"Do you know where your head is? The troops of our four regiments do not know where they are! To go or not to go?! Li Caishan's eyes flashed with a terrifying light.

Although there is no reason, Hu Xiuzhi knows very clearly that if he refuses, Li Caishan will immediately pull out a gun and shoot at himself. After such a night, Hu Xiuzhi has no concept of death at all, he has not done anything wrong, and it is impossible for him to be weak-hearted. So Hu Xiuzhi nodded, "I'll organize the troops to attack immediately." ”

The troops were already at the foot of the mountain, and everyone followed Li Cai and followed the waist of the lynx along a German communication trench to the mountain.

Li Caishan, the commander of the Fourth Regiment, was quite calm, and he said as he walked: "After we captured the pillbox, the German devils blocked the underground passage. Now there are two pillboxes leading to the mountain, and two companies have not been able to take them after going up. ”

"How do you fight that?" Hu Xiuzhi asked.

"You'll know when you go up!" Li Caishan replied hatefully.

Sure enough, as Li Caishan said, you will know when you go up.

The remaining strength of the two companies was less than two platoons. Immediately after converging in one place, the troops were dispersed in various relatively safe positions. Two company commanders, one of whom was of the fourth regiment and the other of the first regiment. This company of the 4th Regiment was killed and wounded by the Germans in a single shot because it was relatively concentrated at the beginning.

At the pre-war meeting, the company commander of the fourth regiment had red eyes, and he only said one sentence, "When I attack again, I will go first, and you can see how I died." Be careful next time. ”

Twenty minutes later, the company commander died on the way to the attack. It's a pretty standard crossfire fortress. Despite the Germans' lack of troops, the fort was built in a difficult position to climb and could not be touched from the side. Moreover, the Germans were afraid that artillery fire would injure the pillbox by mistake, so all the artillery fire was carried out towards the side of the pillbox. The sky had already begun to light up, and the German artillery fire had become fierce.

The troops mobilized four light machine guns to cover the attack, and the company commander of the fourth regiment and the demolition team rushed from one concealment point to another at the moment when the enemy's fire was slightly interrupted. On this road, there are many corpses of comrades who have sacrificed their lives, and this is indeed the offensive line laid out by comrades with their lives.

The two pillboxes each had three firing holes in the direction of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and the Germans had noticed the attack of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and four heavy machine guns were spewing flames frantically. And the light machine guns, rifles, of the People's Party, fired heavily to cover the attack. The next demolition team carefully watched the route of the previous group's attack. Hu Xiuzhi understood what the company commander of the Fourth Regiment meant by "look at how I died". The various demolition teams just walked through the little bit of space that the previous team summed up with their lives, and then forced their way up.

When he crossed a hurdle, a soldier was only a little higher in the shoulder, and half of his shoulder was cut off by the bullet of the heavy machine gun, and the blood-red muscles and snow-white bones were instantly exposed to the air.

And when he rolled over another depression, the company commander slipped and rolled over, and the two comrades behind also wanted to do the same, but they were hit by bullets and died instantly. The company commander of the 4th Regiment had clearly learned enough experience, but even if he had learned his lesson, it would take not only courage but also luck to get through this blood-paved road.

The machine gunners in charge of covering were also desperate, and the light machine guns and heavy machine guns obviously suffered from firing at such a distance of several hundred meters. Although they were able to occasionally hit the enemy inside the firing port, the Germans also seemed to know that if this last pass was breached, the battery would be completely exposed to the attack of the People's Party. So the Germans did not have the slightest pause in firepower. Two machine guns chased after the company commander of the fourth regiment, while the other two frantically fired bullets at the BJP's firing point.

The distance was already very close, and the company commander of the fourth regiment of the demolition team, which had four people when he set off, was now alone. I don't know if the blood on his clothes is his, or if it is the comrades who have died on the way. The enemy was obviously not familiar with the position of the company commander of the fourth regiment, it was a dead angle of machine guns, Hu Xiuzhi could see clearly from behind, just after the enemy's heavy machine guns stopped firing, the company commander stood up with a blaster and rushed towards the pillbox.

It works! Hu Xiuzhi almost shouted. But at this moment, a lid was suddenly lifted on the German bunker, and a German actually leaned out from it, holding a pistol in his hand, and fired at the company commander of the fourth regiment in front of him.

The light machine gunners and riflemen could not miss this opportunity, and almost at the same time as the company commander fell, the German soldier was hit by at least a dozen bullets, and Hu Xiuzhi even saw a black hole appear in his temple. But it didn't make sense, the bodies of the Germans were dragged back into the bunkers, and the iron canopies were immediately closed.

"What about the artillery?! Bring artillery to bombard them! Hu Xiuzhi roared angrily. Since there is a lid on the pillbox, that position is definitely a weakness. If you bombard it with mortars, it is possible to open the bunker Tianling cover.

"What shells are there! ......" shouted Li Caishan, the fourth regiment leader. As if in response to this remark, the Germans fired a few more shots at the positions attacked by the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. The rumbling explosion and the roar of the heavy machine gun completely suppressed the voice of the regiment commander Li Caishan.

From Li Caishan's mouth shape, Hu Xiuzhi could see that the three words he didn't hear should be "go on". In fact, you don't need to hear clearly, this is the situation now.

"The fifth company is responsible for the attack!" After the cannon, Li Caishan's voice could finally be heard clearly.

"I'll lead the team!" Hu Xiuzhi shouted. The training of the fifth company was not enough to deal with such a brutal battle, Hu Xiuzhi knew it, and the physical exertion was even greater due to the running around this night. If you want to launch an effective attack, you have to rely on extremely strong squads. If a platoon hadn't been affected by that shot, Hu Xiuzhi would still be able to pick out more than 20 people. However, one platoon was left behind by Hu Xiuzhi, and most of the other three platoons were recruits, and the number of veterans was quite limited, and there were no more than ten who could effectively participate in the battle.

Li Caishan didn't care about Hu Xiuzhi's troops, and even if he did, it was useless. Since Hu Xiuzhi decided to attack in person, Li Caishan asked, "How long do you need to prepare?" ”

"Ten minutes." Hu Xiuzhi replied.

Ten minutes later, fifteen cadres in the Fifth Company, who had been in the military for more than a year and a half, had already gathered around Hu Xiuzhi. The enemy's heavy machine guns also stopped roaring at this time. Looking at the corpses along the way, and listening to Hu Xiuzhi's explanation, the comrades' faces were quite ugly.

"The capture of Qingdao Fortress is Chairman Chen's order! Do you have the confidence to complete it? Hu Xiuzhi asked loudly.

Hearing Chairman Chen's three words, the comrades were shocked. "Yes!" Everyone looked at each other a few times and shouted together.

"I'm leading the team myself! Let's divide into three groups. I'll go first! Hu Xiuzhi replied.

The first trio was quickly completed, and Hu Xiuzhi, the fourth platoon commander and deputy platoon commander of the fifth company formed a squad. Before leaving, Li Caishan asked in surprise: "Go up without a blaster?" ”

Hu Xiuzhi pointed in the direction of the bunker, "I brought a grenade." In the case of blasters, just use the one that the company commander left there just now. ”