Company C of the Raigar Battalion, accompanied by tanks, entered the city from the south, and the tanks marched slowly forward on either side of the middle and infantry columns.

This is the basic operation of infantry and tank coordination in urban combat, the two cover each other, and one is indispensable, if the infantry is still cowering and following the rear of the tank, then the opponent may suddenly rush out of the buildings on both sides to surprise the tank with poor visibility.

In fact, a more efficient tactic is for infantry to guide the tanks, i.e., the infantry in front and the tanks behind, with the infantry gradually advancing and clearing the flanks, and the tanks following behind bombarding any exposed enemy fire.

But this bold tactic required the courage and courage of the infantry and the high morale of the infantry, which was obviously not possessed by the current Anglo-Indian army.

The nervous C Company, which had been disturbed by the fighting in the past few days, was restless, and only three of the nine companies of the brigade could still continue to fight, and the C Company had also lost more than 30 men, including the company commander, Major Lilai.

Now they are cautiously advancing slowly with seven tanks, but the streets are exceptionally quiet? In addition to the roar of the tank engine, there was only the sound of footsteps.

"Bang!"

"Dada-da-"

Suddenly, there was a loud burst of gunfire, and the Ming troops lying in ambush on both sides of the diagonal front opened fire together, and three heavy machine gun fire points, six light machine gun fire points, and gun grenades weaved a fire net.

"Pick up the enemy! Chinese Infantry !! ”

Six or seven British and Indian soldiers were knocked to the ground in an instant, and the others hurried to both sides to seek cover, but still people were hit by bullets or fragments; The unlucky ones were knocked down by the ricocheting bullets that crashed into the tank's armor.

The tank crews were also terrified when they heard the clanging sound of hitting the armor, after all, no one knew when they would encounter anti-aircraft machine guns.

When the three smoke bombs fired by the Ming army fell in the middle of the tank column, the A9 cruiser tank at the front opened fire, and the 2-pound high-explosive shell immediately overturned a fire point, and the two shooters of the light machine gun team fell in a pool of blood.

At this time, a battle anti-gun team also opened fire, and the loud sound of "dong dong" gunfire was like a fist smashing on the heart, which was shocking.

Even with armor-piercing incendiary shells, the after-effect of the anti-aircraft gun is still small, and even if it is opened with four holes in a row, the turret of the cruiser tank is still rotating and firing, which is why it is usually recommended that the anti-aircraft gun should be used intensively.

The smoke from the smoke bombs that had just fallen finally filled the air, and the smoke mixed with the explosion of the grenade seemed to work better?

"This street is a killing area!"

"Beware, the enemy crossfires!"

"Sergeant, get out of the streets! Enter the housing area! ”

The British and Indian soldiers hiding on both sides of the street were so frightened by the rain of bullets and grenades that they had to retreat into the adjacent quarters.

But maybe it's the beginning of another nightmare?

In an alley, nine Anglo-Indian soldiers cautiously approached the edge with rifles...... Suddenly, several figures appeared in the ruins next to them, followed by a fierce strafing fire.

Two Type 34 submachine guns and two Type 20 automatic guns spat tongues of fire, and in just a few seconds, 70 rounds of 9.6mm pistol rounds and 30 rounds of .351 Winchester round-head rounds were poured out!

Caught off guard, the nine British and Indian soldiers had no room for reaction, and their only action was to turn around and raise their guns in the direction where the bullet was fired, but they were all shot before they could pull the trigger.

With their backs to the wall, next to each other, dead in a whole row? The Anglo-Indian troops in this squad were executed as if they had been executed en masse, but it was a bit like the queue shot 150 years ago.

The five Ming soldiers of the close group left two on guard, and the remaining three stepped forward quickly, unable to get their rifles or bullets into their eyes, and they only took Mills grenades from the corpses.

Now that it has turned to street fighting, the more grenades there are, the better, and there are not many grenades left in the first battalion.

Not surprisingly, the Anglo-Indian army, which was attacking in three directions, was also attacked head-on in three directions.

The Ming army's carefully arranged concealed firing points, mobile firing points, and close combat groups turned each block into a killing zone, and the Anglo-Indian troops who broke into it would be killed and injured by crossfire from four or five places.

Heavy fighting continued into the afternoon, with the most brutal fighting near the DMG hospital building.

Five cruiser tanks of the 5th Royal Tank Battalion were parked in the street outside the building, and the 2-pounder tank gun and 7.7mm machine gun never stopped.

Vickers heavy machine guns, Lewis light machine guns, Type 20 heavy machine guns, Type 33 light machine guns, there are at least dozens of machine guns on both sides firing at each other, and the rain of bullets may be able to collide in mid-air?

Five QF 3.7-inch mountain guns in front and eight QF 4.5-inch howitzers in the rear, this part of the artillery was deployed in the front, fired at close range, and directly bombarded the hospital building, with several shells hitting the building directly every ten seconds.

Fragments of shattered concrete splattered in all directions, snake-twisted steel bars were exposed, and the entire western four floors of the building were devastated, riddled with craters and holes.

The wreckage of two A9 cruisers and three Carden-Loyd ultralight tanks was burning and black smoke billowed into the sky, and at least 50 Anglo-Indian corpses of various formations were lying around the building.

Unlike the battles that besieged fortified support points, street battles in other parts of the city were shorter. The British and Indian armies tried to penetrate deep into the city in order to separate the Ming troops in the city.

Bombardment and air raids in crumbling urban areas seem to be more favorable to the defenders? In the narrow and complex streets and alleys full of bricks and tiles, the Ming army's close contact group, which was heavily equipped with submachine guns, automatic guns, and grenades, was like a fish in water.

They work in groups of five or six, hiding in the enemy's paths, and then strafing them with automatic fire at close range; Or several groups cooperate with each other, waiting for the enemy to approach, one group first attracts the enemy's attention, and when they turn to fight, the other group sneaks up from the rear.

Faced with the sudden spray of bullets from submachine guns and automatic guns, as well as the grenades that kept falling at their feet, the Anglo-Indian infantry detachment was almost unable to find the north.

How could the bolt-activated Enfield No.1 rifle cope with the dense automatic fire of a storm at such a close distance of more than ten meters?

Moreover, the Ming army used grenades to arrange terrible mines in many places, and the Type 18 grenades and captured Mills grenades were all based on the principle of ignition of the fuse after pulling out the safety pin and flying off the safety handle, which was very convenient for arranging the mines.

A thin wire is tied to the pull ring of the safety pin, and the grenade is buried on one side, and the pull ring will be torn off when the enemy passes by when it touches the thin wire; Or just pull out the pull ring, put the grenade on the ground and press the handle with something, and the enemy will touch the thing and the handle will bounce off.

Company C of the Raigar Battalion, which entered the city from the north, lost another 50 men in four hours, leaving the company with only 78 men, and gloriously became the seventh company of the 16th Infantry Brigade to be crippled.

The elusive automatic weapons team, the ubiquitous terrifying mines, and the street fighting tactics of the Ming army made the British and Indian troops embarrassed and confused, and they were afraid of every step forward.