"Boom, boom—"

After sabotage fire from the fleet, mortars and mountain artillery belonging to the 1st Marine Regiment began to suppress enemy positions, while several infantry guns accompanied the infantry detachments to move forward.

Direct fire support is necessary for offensive operations against field fortifications and buildings, and it is more accurate and rapid than curved fire.

For example, there is a small building a few hundred meters away, and the enemy has set up a fire point in it, and the mortars can only stare dryly, but if there are infantry or anti-tank guns, it can be easily solved at this time.

The resistance in front of him seemed to have some anti-tank guns, but because they had never been captured, the officers and soldiers did not know the specific model, but through the interrogation of the prisoners, they learned that they were imported from Switzerland, which were extremely expensive and very rare.

Since the weakly armored Type 35 floating combat vehicles could only withstand medium-caliber infantry shells, the captain of the convoy ordered them to be placed on the starting position of his own attack, and not to coordinate with the infantry.

"Who's still alive? Who's still alive?! ”

"The Ming army is approaching!"

Under the cover of heavy fire, even if it is not killed by fragments, all kinds of sand and debris set off by the shock wave can significantly damage the human body.

The gray-headed, ragged, blood-stained Resistance soldiers emerged from their shelters and hurried into their positions without bothering to shake off the sand from their coats.

"There's only a town left, shoot!"

The Lewis light machine gun and Vickers heavy machine gun replica of the Kawasaki Arsenal and the Tokyo Artillery Factory spewed out orange dazzling tongues of fire, and 6.5×50mm rifle rounds were sprinkled at the oncoming Ming infantry.

Even if the reaction is fast, there are always unfortunate people who are shot and fall to the ground, crying out in pain and crying for help.

"Someone! Grass! ”

"The medics are coming and saving people!"

Due to the very short rifling distance, the nutation of the 6.5mm rifle missile within 200 meters after firing is more violent, and it is easy to lose stability and roll over when it hits the human body when it is blocked, thus causing great trauma, and it will tend to stabilize after this distance.

However, in the range of 200 to 300 meters, after hitting the human body, the high spin speed is easy to rupture the armor of the warhead, and the lead core inside is squeezed and deformed, which will also cause serious damage.

The so-called "one shot, two eyes, half a month of recuperation and a good man" must be 300 meters away by a 6.5×50mm foot machine bullet, at this time the nutation has been stabilized, the spin speed has also decreased, it will not cause great trauma.

"Don't close your eyes! Open up! You still owe Lao Tzu a full twenty-one yuan, who will pay it back when you die? ”

The medical soldier of the first battalion and the third team had poor marksmanship, but he was stocky and kind, and in line with the principle of making the best use of his talents, Shangguan let him become a medical soldier.

The wounded little pacesetter's face was pale and slurred at the moment due to severe pain and rapid blood loss, "The pain is dead, stop the pain... Pain relief first! ”

The slender 6.5mm bullet flipped over after hitting his lower abdomen, slicing a section of his intestines, and when it came out of his back, it tore a finger-length wound directly, and the blood flowed profusely.

The paramedics put a bandage directly at the entrance of the fingernail-sized bullet in his abdomen, then turned him over, pressed the long wound tightly with the bandage, and took out a painkiller syringe and stuck a needle in his calf.

The gushing blood quickly soaked the bandages, and the medics had to uncover them, sprinkle them with hemostatic powder, replace them with a roll of bandages, and wrap them around his torso with a triangular scarf to bandage it.

Different from the disposable painkillers in the shape of glue pipes used by the Americans during the Great War, the standard analgesic syringes of the Ming army are now L-shaped, with a trigger in front of the grip, which will be injected when pressed, and a small glass bottle containing 50 milliliters of painkillers is placed vertically on the top, this dose can be used by two people, and the small glass bottle can be replaced after use.

In view of the fact that the resistance of the enemy in front of them was still quite strong, the officers and men of the first battalion and three teams, who had already rushed through the halfway distance, did not rashly attack, but lay down on their stomachs and launched a confrontation with it.

Soon, three 80mm infantry guns, which had moved forward with the attack, began to fire at the enemy positions.

In the sound of "bang" artillery, the machine-gun firing points that were still in the way were blown away one after another, and only a few clever machine-gun teams were transferred in time.

The defenders' firepower was quickly contained, and under Xue Can's orders, the battalion mortars began to fire smoke and incendiary bombs alternately in depth, and another team's follow-up forces were invested.

Clouds of gray-white smoke rose from behind the enemy's position, mixed with dazzling scorching fire, and the 3,000-degree heat of thermite ignited all combustibles and melted incombustibles.

In addition to the first battalion of the frontal main attack, Zhou Changfeng also ordered the second battalion, the anti-chemical platoon, and the engineer platoon to transfer manpower to organize several breakthrough detachments.

Each detachment consisted of one squad of infantry, one squad, one squad, one squad, more than thirty people, armed with a large number of blasters and two flamethrowers, which were used as a breakthrough to the enemy's strong support points.

At this time, the forward position of the resistance army had fallen apart, and the main position had been rushed into two platoons by the Ming army.

The main position was filled with craters, trenches, and shelters, each of which could have enemy troops lurking or mines being buried.

The two sides engaged in a bloody battle over a complex area of less than 100 meters, and the fierce battle lasted for more than half an hour, and neither side was willing to give up.

Zhao Hanfeng, who was in the front-line command headquarters, was observing the battle situation in the artillery team mirror, and saw that more than a dozen enemy troops were annihilated, and the corners of his mouth were about to rise, but in the next second, he saw half of his own infantry being knocked down by the side-firing machine gun fire point - these guys were really calm, and they could be patient and silent until now before they suddenly fired!

He couldn't help but complain: "The resistance of these Japanese soldiers is too resolute, troublesome!" ”

"Fighting a war can't always be smooth sailing, and if you can defeat the other party in one go every time, it will be too easy." Zhou Changfeng, who was beside him, took a deep breath of cigarette and said calmly: "But there are only a group of people who are stubborn and stubborn." ”

At 17:43 in the afternoon, the fierce battle of more than three hours finally made key progress.

The 2nd Battalion's auxiliary assault on the flanks was of great effect, forcing the enemy in front of them to reinforce a portion of their forces, thus weakening their already stretched defenses.

With the collapse of the defense of the main position, the enemy was forced to shrink its forces and defensive line, abandon the outer positions, and retreat to the factory area to continue to resist stubbornly.

The Japanese will to resist exceeded the expectations of the Ming soldiers, but it was still in Zhou's expectations, and he was not even surprised that his own fleet had been hit by suicide.

The first battalion participating in the attack was already exhausted, and the officers and men were physically and mentally exhausted after an hour and a half of bloody fighting.

Moreover, the second and third battalions also needed time to adjust their deployment, so Zhou Changfeng postponed the continuation of the offensive.

Next to the rear headquarters, looking at the wounded soldiers who were constantly being transferred to the field hospital, Yao Liangchuan, who looked heavy, proposed: "Attack the heart first, try to surrender." ”

Mixed with psychological warfare is beneficial and harmless, Zhou Changfeng naturally agreed, and the officers had no objections.

So everyone set up a megaphone on the front line, and found a translator assigned to the 1st Marine Regiment of the Second Army, and asked him to surrender the remnants of the resistance army in the factory area.

Translator Hirono Yamada is a thin-skinned middle-aged man with a sense of obscenity peculiar to the Japanese, he was born in Yokohama, but settled in Nagasaki, and is a typical Muhua Japanese traitor.

He bowed and bowed, "Don't worry, my lord, the villain's words will definitely cause them to fight among themselves, and no matter how bad it is, their minds will be shaken." ”

This guy's flattery made Zhou Changfeng very unhappy, but he waved his hand in disgust and asked him to leave quickly.

When he arrived at the front line, Hirono Yamada cleared his throat and said to the tail of the loudspeaker:

"Gentlemen, I persuade you with great reverence, please stop this useless resistance, I know what you think. Their loyalty and bravery are admirable, but such a vain sacrifice is too worthless! ”

"The Ming Dynasty is by no means here to enslave us, they are just expelling the Westerners who oppress the people and make a fortune, isn't this a good thing? Please don't be fooled by some people, the Akito is not so terrible and cruel, otherwise I would not be here to speak to you. ”

"Give up, it's time for this war to stop, everything ends here, after the Westerners leave, we will build a new home on our own, what a good future it is. Think of your parents, your wives, your children, who doesn't want a peaceful life? Why waste your life in vain? ”

As Yamada continued to deliver his tirade, he was suddenly attacked by an enemy in front of him, and a bullet struck him with dust all over him, and the sound of whistling frightened him into the trench.

Although it didn't seem to work, Zhou Changfeng was sure that it had actually shaken some people's defenses, but it still needed time to ferment.

Since you're not in a hurry, let's just wait.

Therefore, he decided to postpone the siege of the factory until tomorrow morning, hoping that this evening would weaken the will of the resistance army even more.

The night has arrived, and the refreshing spring evening breeze should be refreshing, but the smell of gunpowder smoke and blood is quite disgusting.

In the dilapidated factory area, the tired Fujiwara Yoshiharu Nakasa is inspecting the situation under his command.

Today's fierce fighting has depleted most of the resistance's already modest ammunition, and the few ammunition left are not enough to support a resolute defense.

The wounded soldiers were murmuring in pain, and the other soldiers were napping, munching on rice balls, and wiping their rifles.

At this time, there was a burst of music outside.

Fujiwara Yoshiharu is also a mid-level officer, but he still knows something about musical instruments, and when he hears it, he knows that it is an ensemble of Wakoto, Shamisen, and Shakuhachi.

He immediately thought of the idiom "embattled", and then sighed heavily and muttered, "I wonder if these instruments and pieces will disappear in a few hundred years......"

The quiet music seemed to carry sadness and desolation, and the sound waves penetrated every inch of the factory and lingered in the ears of the soldiers.

Some were sobbing, their whimpering and the bitter groans of the wounded soldiers, making others feel as uncomfortable as if they were scratching their lungs.

Overnight, more than 400 of the remaining 3,000 people fled, and the good news is that most of them left their weapons and ammunition in place, so that the rest of them could get more ammunition on average.

At 6:00 a.m. the next day, the general attack of the 1st Marine Regiment was launched on time.

Because the enemy's position had been compressed to a small area, a dozen amphibious tanks in the convoy could accompany the infantry this time.

"Don't get too close to the chariot! Beware of the heartbeat! ”

"Da-da-da-"

Under the ruins of the factory, countless stubborn resistance troops desperately opened fire on the approaching Ming army, but all exposed fire points were mercilessly bombarded by tank guns or infantry guns.

Although the trial rocket launchers did not have a long range, average accuracy, and were mainly used for anti-armor, officers and men believed that they were better than guns and grenades when attacking enemy troops.

Under the cover of smoke bombs, a breakthrough detachment approached the southwest of the plant.

"Whew-"

Using flamethrowers, they destroyed two heavy machine-gun fire points made of fragments of reinforced concrete and numerous sandbags.

The yellow and red "fire dragon" gushed out and poured on the target, emitting bursts of heat, making people feel as if they were scorched by the June sun.

The brutal battle continued until noon, and the 1st Marine Regiment had captured half of the factory, and the remnants of the enemy force were compressed to the north and northeast of the city.

The Resistance ran out of ammunition for just over 1,000 men, less than 10 rounds of ammunition were evenly distributed to each of them, and the two remaining mortars fired only a dozen shells.

"I decided to launch a counterattack and everyone volunteered. Others are on standby and are allowed to surrender or retreat to the city. ”

In the basement of the half-collapsed No. 3 building, Fujiwara Yoshiharu gave orders to the officers and soldiers present.

"I'll lead the team to fight back, Your Excellency, the command of the troops still needs you." The adjutant said earnestly.

"No, there's no point anymore."

A quarter of an hour later, about five hundred people had gathered in a small flat area behind the ruins.

Dressed in different clothes but all in tatters, tired but sharp-eyed, among those present were wounded soldiers with bandages on their arms and heads.

Under the leadership of Nakasa, everyone gathered in groups of three and five according to their hometowns, and then knelt on the ground one after another, kowtowing again and again in that direction.

They whispered the names of their loved ones, followed by the names of the local mountains or rivers, a tradition that the samurai hoped would bring their spirits home after they were killed.

This is destined to be a decisive counterattack, there is little ammunition, and it will be faced with the ferocious and scorching fire of the Ming army, and no one believes that this counterattack will be effective, so in fact everyone knows that this is tantamount to death.

Some people are muttering to themselves, some are comforting each other, some are staring at pictures of their wives and children, some are holding stones and sharpening bayonets......

The battle has been fought to this point, and these Japanese think that they have done everything they can, but they do not want to give up reasonably, but intend to fight to the end with a broken can mentality.

Several officers and soldiers of the flag protection team walked to the front of the line with a flag on a white background, with the words "defend the land" and "struggle" written on the right and left respectively.

Immediately afterwards, several officers at the head stood up.

The other soldiers behind them also rose to their feet, and swiped their bayonets into their rifles, which seemed to be a sea of shimmering points of light in the midday sun.

(End of chapter)