Eighteen wheelbarrows were quietly transported to the bottom of Guanjiayuan, and due to the angle, the Japanese troops on the top of the wall could not be seen for the time being. The front of these vehicles was covered with sandbags, and the bodies were covered with five layers of wet quilts, under which the fighters of the carts could hide. Historically, this armored wheelbarrow was called an earthen tank, and it was an essential weapon for the Eighth Route Army to attack the city.

"A big team, up!" With the order of Battalion Commander Zhang of the 2nd Battalion of the 332nd Regiment, six of the wheelbarrows quickly rushed forward. In order to prevent being injured by the grenades of the Japanese army, the soldiers of the cart were also covered with a wet quilt. They are all selected strong men, and it is not a problem to push hundreds of pounds of things on the flat road and walk dozens of miles. However, it was too hard to push uphill, so I had to stop after less than ten meters.

The rear half of the body has brackets that can be fixed on the slope as soon as it is lowered, forming a bunker. The warriors were exhausted and panting, but they had no time to rest, and they had to stay here and wait for the next charge.

The Japanese soon noticed movement underneath the wall, and the machine guns deployed on the ridge line at the top of the wall immediately opened fire, and the bullets hit the sandbags with a pop and pop. Although it was unlikely that the bullet would penetrate the sandbag, everyone still sweated for the six warriors.

"Camp, look, the earth tank is retreating!" One of the fighters suddenly exclaimed. It turned out that all the impact of the bullet was absorbed by the sandbag, and the kinetic energy was converted into a larger thrust, plus it was a slope, and the fighters gradually became a little unbearable.

Battalion Commander Zhang didn't see it well, and hurriedly said: "One shift, on!" ”

A group of twelve warriors rushed up with wet quilts, and together with the warriors who had been pushing the cart before, they fixed a wheelbarrow in groups of three.

At the same time as the machine guns fired, the grenadiers began to fire. The Type 89 grenadier can easily hit this distance, but it is not very effective. Because this is a slope, most of the shrapnel of the grenade will be scattered along the vertical line of the inclined plane, and it will be difficult to hurt the fighters hiding under the frame.

In addition, the wet quilt has a good defense effect on shrapnel, and at most a few pieces of skin and flesh will be bruised.

The captain of a large group shouted: "How are the brothers? ”

"It's all right, Captain."

"The grenade is so good, the master is itching!"

"It's fried so windy, it's just cool and cool!"

……

The warriors were joking loudly, seemingly unconcerned about the danger in front of them. In fact, several fighters were already wounded, but they gritted their teeth and refused to give up.

As soon as the Japanese moved, the 2nd Battalion of the 342nd Regiment on the Shapo position also began to fight back fiercely. The four flat-firing snipers quickly adjusted their targets and began to roar. The 37-millimeter warhead slammed ferociously into the Japanese bunkers, and the civil structures could not withstand such a blow, and a heavy machine gun that was firing wildly quickly fell silent. As for the grenadiers that do not yet need labor snipers, Czech heavy machine guns are enough to calm them down.

After suffering a heavy loss, the Japanese troops quickly shrank into bunkers and quickly moved to reserve bunkers through communication trenches. Seeing that the Japanese army did not dare to show their heads to attack again, Battalion Chang Zhang was overjoyed: "The enemy's fire has been suppressed, the first brigade continues to advance, and the second brigade follows!" The sappers will build bunkers now! ”

Taking advantage of the fact that the Japanese did not dare to fight back, a large group of soldiers pushed the cart and continued to move forward, and the second brigade followed behind the first brigade and was ready to fill the vacant space at any time. The sappers followed closely, hiding behind earthen tanks and building bunkers. The fighters first carved out a small flat on the slope, then placed sandbags, and put up a door panel covered with a wet quilt, and a simple bunker was completed. If the earth tank is destroyed, as long as the bunker remains, the fighters will still have fortifications to rely on, so as not to be slaughtered in the open space.

The earthen tanks advanced in groups, and the sappers followed behind and continued to repair the fortifications until a slope was transformed into a "terrace". Zheng Weiguo plans to use this method of encroachment to gnaw down the 300-meter-long slope little by little, forming a situation of step-by-step and anti-guest-oriented.

There were about three hundred meters from the bottom of the ditch to the top of Guanjiayuan, and the fighters quickly advanced a hundred meters. There is a steep hill here, and there is only one path to continue on, and the road is steeper and more difficult to walk. It was a bit troublesome for the earthen tank to move on, so Battalion Commander Zhang decided to build fortifications on the spot so that the soldiers could rest.

Although this steep ridge affects the progress of the earthen tank, it is also a natural barrier, and with a little modification, it is an excellent bunker. Moreover, the place is relatively large, and it is no problem to hide the strength of a reinforced company. After taking this place, the distance of the soldiers' charge was immediately shortened to two hundred meters.

The sappers dug a trench under the steep ridge, then dug out the hiding hole inward, and then extended a communication trench along the lower side of the hill. After the earthwork is completed, a wooden shelf with rope nets on top and a wet quilt is covered, and a bunker is completed. Don't underestimate this kind of bunker, even if the Type 92 infantry cannon hits (when it is curved), it is difficult to cause much damage.

Battalion Commander Zhang transferred a company over to hold the steep position, and then ordered: "A large team, keep moving!" The sapper company prepares! ”

The soldiers pushed the earth tanks forward along the path, and because of the narrow road, only three wheelbarrows could be used in parallel, but once they passed through this bottleneck, they could build a stronger position above the steep ridge (this steep ridge was very high, tens of meters, so it was impossible to climb directly).

The Japanese commander quickly discovered the intentions of the Chinese army, and he kicked over a chair and said angrily: "Baga, despicable Shina people, obscene turtle tactics!" Shoot, shoot now! I'm going to drive them all into the ravine!" ”

The squadron deputy hurriedly said: "Your Excellency, please calm your anger, the attack of heavy machine guns and grenadiers has almost no effect, and will only expose the target in vain!" ”

The commander calmed down for a moment and said, "Jossi, you're right! If you have any good ideas, please tell me. ”

The squadron deputy said: "Your Excellency, only artillery can stop the Chinese!" ”

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! The Japanese mortars finally couldn't hold back and fired a triple shot at the earthen tanks that were struggling to advance. However, the terrain here is complicated, and the Japanese can only hide in the fortifications to shoot, which is not very accurate. Only one of the three shells landed next to the tank, knocking one tank to the ground. One of the fighters on the left screamed and fell, apparently cut by shrapnel.

Rumble! The Type 92 infantry gun was also pushed out, and a shell smashed right on the top of the earthen tank, and the violent explosion blew the wheelbarrow to the ground. Although the shrapnel failed to penetrate the quilt, the huge force still shook the soldiers on the cart to vomit blood. Fortunately, the lowest firing angle of the Type 92 infantry gun was minus ten degrees, and it could not fire directly. Otherwise, one shot would be enough to knock the earthen tank into a ditch.

"Fire!" The artillery deployed on the Willow Ridge position finally opened fire, and shells smashed into the Japanese artillery position. They had been waiting for the Japanese artillery to show up. The Japanese had only three small guns and were unable to resist, so they had to transfer the artillery in a panic. Infantry guns, because of their wheels, were quickly towed away. The 90-mm mortar was too bulky and was quickly blown into scrap metal by the Type 41 mountain gun.

After losing four earthen tanks in succession, the fighters finally passed the path and quickly dispersed on the slopes, forming a strong defensive line.

Battalion Commander Zhang hurriedly said: "Engineer company, go on!" ”

The fighters quickly rushed forward with sapper shovels, and then continued to repair the fortifications under the cover of earthen tanks. Occupying this place, the charging distance is only one hundred and fifty meters.

Suddenly, there was a shout of "kill to give" from the Japanese position, and then more than 100 Japanese soldiers rushed down from the top of the wall shouting long live. It turned out that the Japanese army had already mobilized a squadron of soldiers through the communication trenches, just waiting to counterattack while the second battalion was not firmly established.

Due to the speed of the Japanese charge, the distance of more than 100 meters was downhill, and it took more than ten seconds to reach the front. Although the heavy machine guns on the Shapo position fired desperately, they were still unable to intercept the Japanese offensive. Seeing that the Japanese army was about to rush to the earthen tank with a bright bayonet.

But at this time, the infantry company was still under the steep hill, and it would not be able to rush up at all for a while and a half. There were only a dozen cart men on the position, and more than a hundred sappers. The cart men had only pistols, the sappers had only two squads with submachine guns, and the rest had a sapper shovel for each person.

The commander of the engineer company, Huo Company, shouted loudly in a hurry: "Engineer company, assault forward!" ”

The soldiers rushed forward with their shovels, while two other squads of soldiers stood on the left and right flanks and fired fiercely at the Japanese with submachine guns.

When strafing at close range, the power of the submachine gun is still very high. The Japanese troops who rushed to the front were quickly knocked down in large areas, and many soldiers tripped over the corpses of their comrades, and the line of attack quickly became confused. The sappers took the opportunity to rush into the enemy line with flying sapper shovels, and then slashed left and right. Due to the steep terrain and dense crowds, the small sapper shovel is indeed powerful.

After the two sides tore apart for a while, the first company of the second battalion of the 332nd regiment finally arrived. They did not join the battle group directly, but divided into two flanks to outflank forward, and the Japanese squadron leader saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly retreated to the rear. It was definitely not a good idea to run up the slopes, and many Japanese soldiers were slashed in the back, buttocks, and thighs by the sappers behind them.

Battalion Commander Zhang didn't expect the situation to be so good, he was surprised and delighted, and hurriedly shouted: "Blow the trumpet of the charge, and the whole battalion will attack!" The soldiers cheered, and after chasing the rout of the Japanese army, they rushed upward, and there was a great momentum of rushing to the top of the wall in one fell swoop.