Two hours later, close to 17:00 p.m

During this time, the Confederate Army launched three more fierce attacks, all of which were severely beaten down, in addition to hundreds of corpses on the position, five heavy machine gun positions were eliminated, and a lot of heavy fire equipment was lost.

Snow Mountain Town

The white captives who were forced to fight on the first line of the battle suffered more than 130 casualties, and the remaining soldiers who could fight with guns in their arms were two companies of soldiers, about 240 men, and although the battle was very brutal and bloody, they finally saw hope.

Take advantage of the gap between battles

Duan Qirui ordered a few more boxes of spirits and cigarettes to be sent to encourage the white prisoners to stick to their positions, and the wounded did not need to be carried down.

Now that both sides are red-eyed, these white captives have no choice.

If they retreated, they would be beaten into a hornet's nest by the heavy machine guns of the war, and surrendering to the enemy would be a dead end, and the Southern Union Army had suffered heavy casualties in the past two days, but most of them were caused by white prisoners......

Think about it, the Confederate soldiers have torn their hearts, where will they accept the surrender of these traitors?

Today's weather is not good, the sky is overcast, and the cold south wind blows again near 5 o'clock in the afternoon, blowing away the heavy smell of gunpowder and blood on the battlefield, and making the temperature drop a lot.

The sound of bagpipes rang out again, hovering over the battlefield like a devil who summoned people to death, emitting notes of death.

A large number of Confederate soldiers crawled out of the outer trenches, and soon formed a loose line of advance and marched forward, stepping through the corpse-strewn wasteland to attack the high ground.

It won't be long before it gets dark, and this may be the last attack this evening, and the Confederate Army will take advantage of the setting sun to clean up the battlefield and return to lick its wounds, as was the case yesterday evening.

No...... Wrong......

Duan Qirui suddenly stood up abruptly, picked up the binoculars and took a closer look......

In the outer trenches, a large number of dense soldiers of the Southern Union Army appeared, more in number than in the first wave of attacks, and near the snow mountain town on the other side, there were also a large number of dense attacking soldiers, this turned out to be an unprecedented scale of attack, at least a bloody battle at the regimental level.

Duan Churui's expression became solemn, and the other officers in the command also noticed that the situation was not good, and they all stepped forward and said;

"Shizuo, this time the enemy is not good!"

"The Smith Corps has invested so many troops to attack, it seems that it is inevitable, I'm afraid it won't stop at the foot of the first line of the mountain, right?"

"It's really a bloody investment, it's not good!"

"Then we should resolutely block the enemy, division, should we order the troops to reinforce the front-line positions?"

"No, the artillery battalion was ordered to prepare for battle, the enemy had the possibility of shelling our positions." Duan Qirui decisively gave the order.

He didn't care about the life and death of the white captives on the front line at all, and when he saw the enemy's heavy troops, out of keen intuition, he instinctively began to worry about the defensive line on the mountainside.

Those sturdy reinforced concrete fortresses are the thorns in the eyes and flesh of the Confederate army that they will want to get rid of quickly, and no amount of troops will be enough to fill them with just the flesh and mortal tires of soldiers.

It seems that the reinforcements in the evening this evening have given the commander of the Smith regiment a lot of confidence and is ready to stud.

The voice did not fall

The enemy's artillery bombardment had already begun, and about a dozen German-made 105-mm guns of the Confederate Army fired at the same time, and the shells suddenly smashed down with a sharp whistling sound, and all the landing points were in the area around the mountainside defense line, and the smoke and dust of the explosion were immediately filled, and the flames soared into the sky.

The entire hilltop high ground seemed to be struck by a giant with a heavy hammer, and the mountain shook for a while, and the stumps and broken arms of the Chinese defenders flew into the air in the violent explosion, and nearly 20 shocking pits appeared on the position that was originally covered with weeds, and one shell even blew up the tunnel, and at least a dozen soldiers were killed in the first round of shelling.

Duan Qirui knew at the first time that the reinforcements of the Southern Federal Army had brought new artillery units, which was a big trouble.

The reason is simple;

According to the prisoners' confessions, the artillery regiment brought by the Southern Union Army this time had a total of 48 artillery pieces, including 16 German-made 105-mm anti-aircraft guns and 32 French-made Haqikes M1875 1.65-inch mountain guns, which belonged to the normal configuration of the artillery regiment.

After many days of fierce fighting, our side destroyed no less than 4 105 mm guns and 7~8 mountain guns, basically knocking out the strength of one of the enemy's artillery battalions.

At least seventeen or eighteen 105-mm heavy artillery salvos were fired, and it was not reinforcements that there were ghosts?

"Order the artillery battalion to give me a resolute counterattack, don't be stingy with shells, and be sure to bring down the enemy's heavy artillery position for me, damn it...... Lao Tzu can't do it. Duan Qirui shook his hat fiercely and shouted loudly.

"Yes, sir."

Although Duan Qirui felt sorry for his artillery reserves, now was not the time to be thrifty, if the enemy's heavy artillery was allowed to destroy the mountainside position, the battle below would be difficult to fight.

The enemy's heavy artillery position had just gone through three salvos when the 95mm Miss Australia guns at the hilltop launched a fierce counterattack.

After several artillery tests, the hilltop position opened fire in the blink of an eye, and the "whooshing" shells swept across the gloomy sky, and hit the enemy's heavy artillery positions hidden in the forest.

The explosive power of the 95mm Miss Australia gun is not covered, the ultimate rate of fire can reach about 16 to 17 rounds per minute, and it is very convenient to observe the enemy's gun position from a high position, so this round of artillery counterattack is very sharp.

The theoretical firing range of the German Krupp 105-mm field gun of the Federal Army of the Southern Army was higher, but it was limited by the upward firing of one side and the condescending downward bombardment of the other, so the Federal Army of the Southern Federation had to set the heavy artillery positions within the range of the 95-mm artillery.

Eight 95-mm guns counterattacked at a rate of nine to 10 rounds per minute, and the shells of both sides were whistling back and forth in the air, and more than two dozen 1.65-inch mountain guns of the Confederate Army then joined the fierce artillery battle to increase the fire density of the counterattack.

A few minutes later

There was a violent sound of explosion in the forest, and several blue-black mushroom clouds rose into the sky with large clouds of fire and heavy smoke, which looked magnificent.

The heavy artillery positions of the Southern Union Army were suddenly muted, and only the mountain artillery positions scattered in several places were still bombarded desperately, and the fighting was very lively.

"Stop the shelling, order to stop the shelling quickly." Duan Qirui jumped up like a rabbit and shouted loudly.

On the hilltop position, the artillery of Miss Australia, which was counterattacking, quickly stopped, and the excited cheers of the artillerymen were faintly heard.

At this time, Duan Qirui sat down with his chest covered in distress and asked in a low voice; "Report, how many shells are left?"

"Report to the divisional seat, there are more than 270 rounds of 95-mm shells left in the artillery battalion."

"Wow, I'm going to shout slower, this guy is a loser, I'll finish the cannonballs, and give the order, huh...... In the future, under no circumstances will it be allowed to fire eight guns at the same time, at most two guns, that ...... I can only shoot three bursts, tell Wu Haishan to aim for me, ouch hey, my shells! ”

Duan Qirui's heart ached, he had knocked out the 23-strong artillery shell reserve in just a few minutes, and if he wanted to let the artillery battalion go and build it, it would be done in two more minutes, so how would he live in the future!

Fortunately, the results of the battle are outstanding, and this round of ferocious artillery shelling has killed at least seven or eight 105-mm field guns of the enemy, which is enough to **.

Confederate artillery is not a fool and will not concentrate heavy artillery in one position.

The battle on the front-line position is in full swing

The Confederate Army dispatched more than 20 mountain artillery pieces and more than 10 heavy machine guns to block the mountainside position, and the shells and heavy machine gun bullets rained down frantically, filling the mountain with smoke and dust, and the mountainside position was in shambles.

The attacking white infantry rushed up in large groups, and were knocked down by the heavy machine gun bullets and platoon guns cutting leeks as if they were struggling to counterattack, and the white infantry behind continued to attack under the orders of the officers, rushing up wave after wave.

Casualties on both sides are increasing at an alarming rate, and bloody battles are being fought together.

The brutal battle was going on, and strangely enough, the heavy artillery on both sides was all muted, and only the light artillery continued to fight.

The 60-mm field guns on the top of the hill fired three rounds unhurriedly and redeployed one heavy machine gun position after another, blowing up no less than 10 1.65-inch mountain guns of the French Habekais, greatly weakening the enemy's firepower.

On the light artillery contrast

The French 1.65-inch mountain gun was far from a match for the 60-mm field gun, and the rate of fire of this 42-mm rapid gun was about 12 rounds per minute, and due to the lighter shells and shorter range, it could not inflict lethal damage on strong reinforced concrete pillboxes.

On the other hand, the 60-mm field guns fired condescendingly, and the enemy's artillery positions were completely invisible, and the three point shots were accurate and ruthless, and the power of the shells was large enough, as long as one shot hit or exploded within 3 meters, the entire heavy machine gun group or artillery group of the enemy could be terminated.

"Division, the front-line position has been lost, is it a backup plan?"

"Wait, there's no hurry."

Duan Qirui glanced at the battlefield with a gloomy face, only to see a large number of white soldiers of the Southern Federation in blue-gray military uniforms rushing into the front-line trenches, fiercely raising sharp bayonets to pierce the defenders' chests, even the white captives who raised their hands to surrender did not let go, stabbed them to the ground with bayonets, and then stabbed them a few times hard, venting the brutal anger in their hearts.

There were only a few dozen white captives left on the position, and in the blink of an eye, they were overwhelmed by a large number of Confederate soldiers, and not a single one was left alive.

At this point, all but Colonel Antonio, all the more than 900 white prisoners were wiped out.

Under the heavy shelling, the Chinese soldiers on the mountainside position suffered more than 100 casualties, and many strong pillboxes were destroyed, and the losses were also not small.

After the soldiers of the Confederate Army occupied the position at the foot of the mountain, there was still a steady stream of soldiers to replenish them, and soon formed a powerful attack lineup, continuing to attack the mountainside position.

At this time, the heavy machine gun position of the Southern Union Army was newly replenished, and it was restored to the scale of ten heavy machine guns again, weaving a dense rain of bullets and began to strafe wildly, and the bullet rain flew in the air, and the Chinese soldiers on the mountainside position could not raise their heads at all.

Seeing that the enemy of the brigade was approaching step by step, the officers of the command could not hold their breath and asked for instructions one after another; "Master, activate the dark castle, I'm afraid that the mountainside position won't be able to withstand it if it goes on like this!"

"Yes, the arrogance of the enemy must be suppressed."

"Shizuo, I am willing to take my men to reinforce the mountainside position and counterattack the enemy."

"If you really can't do it, let's start the backup plan, the time is almost ripe."

A 60-mm field artillery group not far away was blown away by enemy fire, and the soldier's stump and broken arm flew out of the distance, Duan Qirui's eyes narrowed dangerously, and replied quietly; "Wait and see, I believe that the brethren on the mountainside will be able to stand the test."

The officers of the command looked at each other and then fell silent.

Duan Qirui, the division seat, showed superb command talent in previous battles, established high prestige, and won a large number of people's hearts, which made all the officers particularly convinced.

Mountainside

On the mountainside position, which was ravaged by artillery fire and blockade by heavy machine guns, the officers organized the soldiers to shoot in a row, knocking down the attacking enemy one after another, and the heavy machine guns in the ruined pillboxes also roared angrily, aiming at the attacking white soldiers and firing wildly.

The whistling bullets rained down, and the brutal bloody battle did not stop for a moment.

There were too many attacking enemies, knocking down a group and another group, braving the rain of bullets to attack upward, these white soldiers were accurate in marksmanship, the Chinese soldiers in the defensive positions kept falling, the heavy machine guns in the broken pillboxes were also muted, and the defensive force shrank sharply.

This battlefield is a huge millstone of death, and everyone who comes in it will be in danger of their lives at any time.

After withstanding the enemy's desperate charge in three waves, most of the defenders on the mountainside suffered casualties, and only one hundred and seventy or eighty men were left with weapons, and almost all of them were wounded.

In the position at the foot of the mountain not far away, the black-pressed Confederate Army was preparing to launch the fourth charge, vowing to take the mountainside position no matter what the cost.

Right now

The town of Snow Mountain has also fallen into a boundless bloody storm, and a large number of attacking soldiers of the Southern Army have entered the town, relying on the strong houses to shoot fiercely, gradually expanding the occupied area and encroaching on the defenders' territory.

The Smith Corps, after receiving reinforcements, had enough troops and weapons to fight on two fronts, so that the defenders could not take care of each other, and this proved to be the right thing to do.

Facing a crisis

Duan Qirui became extremely calm at this time, and there was no concept in his mind about whether he should rescue friendly troops, but how to do the most reasonable and inflict maximum damage on the enemy?

Seeing the large number of Chinese soldiers killed and wounded on the mountainside position, many officers in the command headquarters were stunned, and their blood surged into their hearts, and they no longer had the calm look they had before.

It was not a white captive soldier, many of the Chinese soldiers were brothers of the same clan or in the army, and many of the cavalry divisions were retired comrades-in-arms, and their heavy casualties made the officers feel painful and asked for help.

Duan Qirui was not allowed to do anything, and although the decision was cruel, it was very reasonable.

There was a drop of more than 200 meters from the top of the hill to the mountainside position, and the soldiers were all exposed to the enemy's guns when they walked through the mountain road at least eight or nine hundred meters away.

Think on your toes, the white commander will not let a large force of reinforcements reach the mountainside position, under the tight blockade of the enemy's heavy machine guns and mountain artillery, the reinforcements will be more than half wiped out on the road, how unwise!

Every soldier is extremely precious and must not be sacrificed in vain.

In Duan Qirui's calculations, relying on the quasi-favorable terrain advantage, every Chinese soldier who died in battle had to pull two to three white soldiers on his back, so that it was cost-effective.

Letting hundreds of reinforced soldiers die in vain on the road is not his style.