(iv)

Accompanied by the dense and chaotic gunfire and explosions, on the beach at midnight, the gunfire flickered, the bullet marks were intertwined, the large and small fireballs came and went, the flares fell slowly one after another, and the shadows of the trees in the B company in the coconut grove were swaying, and the figures were undulating. ww）

Captain Van der Rift held a heavy 45-inch M1911 pistol in one hand and a microphone in the other, and the staff officer on duty at the Shore Defense Artillery Command on the other end of the telephone line.

Of course, there was nothing on the sea, and the rubber boats on the beach had long been beaten into sieves, but the strange-looking and agile figures, after being knocked down by the machine guns of Company B, rushed into the position of the 2nd platoon north of the company, and became a mess with the marines huddled in the foxhole.

"Go to Ensign Carlson and order him to take the 4th platoon to reinforce the left flank."

Vandergraft roared as he grabbed one of the heralds.

The 4th Platoon Acting Platoon Commander, Evans Carlson, was the youngest officer in the company, but he was highly valued by Vandergrif for his quick wit and courage, and his platoon was placed in a reserve position for this time.

Vandergravet then spent the longest quarter of his life.

His gaze kept scanning the beachhead—the sea was still empty with flares.

His ears were always on the telephone receiver, and the line was transferred from the shore artillery headquarters to the battalion headquarters, the regimental headquarters, and finally to Major General John Lezhin, commander of the 1st Marine Division and commander of the garrison on Malaita Island.

"How many enemies are there?"

The major general asked.

Vander-Rift glanced at the beach, and then at the 2-row positions in the melee.

"I saw five or six kayaks, about 30 or 40 people, and the fire was very strong, it seemed like it was all automatic weapons......"

"Yes, General, we opened fire at the first moment, and we killed no less than 10 of them. The rest rushed into the left flank of our company's position, and I had sent my reserves to destroy them...... Yes, we didn't get barbed wire and no mines before we left......"

"There are no anomalies on the sea, no ships are seen, yes, I confirm...... Swear in God's name. I didn't even see a dead fish......"

After repeated confirmations, Major General Lezhin asked him if he needed reinforcements.

"General. I have 300 Marines and I can work it out. ”

"God bless you, I'm going to see the report after dawn."

The phone hung up, and Vandergraft poked his head out of the foxhole, stared at the 2nd platoon 400 feet (about 130 meters) away, anxiously awaiting the results, and several times almost couldn't help but carry his gun himself.

The sound of gunfire and explosions finally died down, and just as Vandergraft was about to step out of the foxhole to inspect the scene, a herald with a bloody face stumbled in front of him.

"The enemy broke through the positions of the 2 platoons. Fleeing into the woods to the north, our troops suffered heavy casualties: Lieutenant Morrison in the 2nd platoon was killed, Ensign Carlson in the 4th platoon was wounded, and more than half of the sergeants were killed or wounded. Now the units in the 2nd Platoon position were temporarily taken over by Second Lieutenant Payne, who asked me to come here and ask if I could lead the remaining forces out of position and pursue the enemy. ”

"The rest of the troops...... Did Second Lieutenant Payne say how many troops are left? ”

"There were less than 60 people who could move. And no class is complete. ”

"What?"

Van der Grift was taken aback: two rifle platoons, together with reinforced machine-gun squads and infantry artillery crews, totaling 130 to 140 men, armed with one light infantry gun, two heavy machine guns, four light machine guns, two grenadier canisters, and four grenade rifles, plus the support of the whole company of other heavy weapons, were holding their positions at ease. In the face of 30 to 40 enemies exposed on the beachhead, at least 10 of whom had already fallen in the first round of firefighting, not only did they not completely annihilate them, but they lost more than half of their own!

What kind of combat power is this?

Is the other party a human or a ghost?

Vandergraft had no time to think about it, he had to make a decision immediately: to chase, or not to chase?

This question may seem difficult, but it is simple to analyze: an attack of this magnitude can crush two of his platoons at once. No one knows when or how big the next attack will be, so it is wisest to hold on until the situation becomes clear, or if there are enough reinforcements.

"Order Second Lieutenant Payne: Quickly clear the battlefield, remove the wounded, restore the defensive posture with the current strength, and I will inspect his position after daybreak."

As soon as the order was given to the herald, several dull explosions were heard in succession from the position of the 2nd platoon and the direction of the beachhead - Vandergrift was no stranger to this sound, in the earlier counterattack on Kodiak Island, many wounded soldiers of the Rì Army exploded themselves with grenades in order to avoid being captured.

"This is the so-called East Asian bushido jīng god...... It seems that only the dead yellow monkey is a good yellow monkey. ”

Vander-Rift sighed as he grabbed the microphone in his hand......

After dawn, Van der Gravet accompanied Major General Lezhin to the 2nd platoon position with mixed feelings and introduced the battle situation last night.

“…… Our company suffered 37 casualties and 41 wounded, totalling 78 casualties - including 3 officers and 8 non-commissioned officers, 1 light machine gun and 3 rifles. ”

“…… Twenty-three bodies were left behind by enemy troops, and an estimated 10 to 15 escaped. The equipment left behind included: 1 grenade launcher of unknown type, 1 rifle of unknown model equipped with scope and detachable magazine, 20 hand-held machine guns or submachine guns, 23 pistols, and 21 ball grenades...... In addition, there was a small radio station carried by a single person, as well as at least 20 metal canisters with a capacity of less than half a gallon, filled with gasoline. ”

"Gasoline?"

Major General Lezhin frowned as he examined the neatly lined up corpses and equipment on the ground: one of the charred corpses directly confirmed Vandergrift's account.

"Where did these people come from? Last night, the Navy's torpedo boat team repeatedly searched the surface of the sea and found nothing. ”

The Major General muttered for a while, then turned to Vandergrift: "Captain, what do you think they are here for?" ”

Vandergraft shrugged helplessly: "I don't know about this, I just know that they are not ordinary enemies." Look at their weapons, look at the camouflage uniforms, look at the big bags and bags they have on them, look at these indescribable gadgets - general, I think we're in big trouble. ”

Major General Lezhin bent down to pick up the "unknown model" rifle, flipped it over and played with it a few times, and then handed it to Vandergraft.

"From now on, your position will be connected by C, and I will give you two more platoons of reinforced Company A, plus one Chinese interpreter, and you will be responsible for leading the reinforced Company B to pursue and suppress this enemy squad, and the most important thing is to catch a few live mouths and figure out what they want to do."

…… (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )

PS: Author's note: 1 US gallon is about 3.785 liters.