A series of smoke balls quickly formed, and billowing gray smoke quickly mixed together.

The density of defensive fire plummeted, and the Marine tanks and infantry involved in the attack seized the time to retreat and regroup at the enemy's outer defensive line that had been captured earlier.

Of the more than 30 tanks accompanying the attack, two were directly destroyed, and four were wounded and unable to move, and the crew members had to abandon their vehicles and flee.

Under the bloody sunset, the two sides entered a temporary standoff, firing a few mortar shells and strafing a few shuttles from time to time.

"What about the interpreters, come here, as usual, let a few of them honestly explain the status of the number, the formation, the firepower system, and the reserves...... Ask these a few first. ”

The Dutch and Indian officers and men who had been captured earlier were interrogated intensively, and the so-called "tactical attention to the enemy" had to be taken seriously, even if they were attacking with the overwhelming momentum of Mount Tai.

The three dejected Dutch officers were at first silent or unanswered, but relented after a few punches and threats.

In the front-line headquarters, the gas lamps emitted a yellow glow, stretching the shadows of the people inside.

Thoughtfully, Zhou Changfeng held a blue pencil in his mouth and stared intently at the simple hand-drawn map in front of him.

He turned the red pencil in his hand, then took the blue pencil from his mouth, and drew a large circle on the map.

"It's the same as the scout unit probes, you can't go wrong. Draw a team, give them more portable machine guns, and bring a few bazookas, and go deep into here, piercing and thrusting, fast, accurate, and ruthless! ”

"Then, change the direction of the main attack on the front, it is not easy to rush there, and then prepare double artillery fire, and at the same time rush to the front-line position and the headquarters. The chariot troops will not rush, and it is inconvenient to cooperate at night, so follow behind the infantry to support. ”

Zhao Hanfeng, who was standing next to him, repeated his instructions, and then bowed his head and said, "Then I'll let Zhu Lixuan draft an artillery plan." ”

The staff officers in the front command immediately went about their duties.

While preparations for the night attack were in full swing, the field cooking squads of each battalion and team were also very busy.

They also had to build positions, build mounds of earth around them, dig foxholes, and be vigilant when cooking and cooking.

You say you're just a cook? Cannonballs don't care if you're just a cook.

Throughout the ages, the Chinese military has not rejected night raids that can be miraculously effective, but due to limited organizational capabilities, in order to avoid their own chaos, the scale of the general night raid team is not too large.

In modern times, the researchers of the Military Gezhi Institute have long been concerned about how to improve the eyesight and night vision of soldiers.

It was one of them who accidentally discovered vitamin A, and the Ming Military Gezhi Institute tentatively named this nutrient that is conducive to maintaining visual ability "Jiong".

Subsequently, after in-depth research, this fat-soluble organic compound was officially listed as vitamin A separately in the international community to distinguish it from vitamin B elements.

Targeted, purposeful dietary adjustments have led to a rapid reduction in the number of people suffering from night blindness in the military – even if it is not possible to get ordinary soldiers to eat livestock liver or cod liver oil every day, but carrots and even pine needle tea are at least sufficient.

This allowed the Ming army to eliminate objective negative influences when fighting at night and to fight as efficiently as possible.

However, the Metropolitan Governor's Office and the Military Department also agreed that it was not appropriate to use a large number of troops in an offensive operation launched at night, which would not only be unhelpful, but would greatly increase the difficulty of one's own command and control, resulting in accidental injuries.

At 11:30 a.m. in the first half of the day, the night raid was carried out on time.

On the front of the entire front, a series of more than a dozen 80mm and 112mm flares hung above the black curtain, like a long string of large light bulbs.

"Boom-boom-boom-"

Because of the limited ammunition he carried, the 1st Marine Brigade did not dare to squander the ammunition, so Zhu Lixuan rigorously calculated the amount of ammunition used for the feint attack and fired as few shells as possible to achieve similar results.

The 18 112mm howitzers of the 1st Battalion of the Mountain Artillery Regiment of the division fired at intervals to carry out an equal rapid fire of one shell per minute, with the 6 guns of the first team firing first, the second team firing again after 20 seconds, and the third team firing second.

A number of 128mm and 80mm mortars were also involved in the shelling, but did not fire too many shells.

The sound of the shelling at night was much greater than that during the day, and the fire was so bright that it was deafening, but this seemingly sparse artillery fire was quite powerful for the Dutch and Indian troops who were bombed.

At the same time, more than 160 officers and men of the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Battalion, and 3rd Brigade arrived at their destination accurately.

They found the junction of the Dutch and Indian positions and began to try to infiltrate.

The soldiers of the Ming army did not dare to take a breath, because there were enemy foxholes and trenches dozens of meters away, and they could even hear the enemy soldiers talking inside.

They quietly cut in like an invisible blade, successfully penetrated the battle line, and came to the rear of the Dutch and Indian positions.

"Boss, it should be their cannon over there, why don't we finish that place first?"

Faced with a platoon commander's proposal, the captain who led the team picked up the binoculars and looked at them carefully for a while, and said confidently: "What is the order?" Together, lead your platoon to raid the artillery position, and the others will be ready to give their lair to the ground. ”

The enemy stabbed him in the back unexpectedly, why did he worry so much? Both at the same time, that's how confident!

More than 100 Ming soldiers divided into two routes, and more than 40 people went straight to the artillery positions of the Dutch and Indian troops, while the others continued to touch the headquarters.

As the sun set, the Ming army noticed the command of the enemy in front of them, but at that time it was only suspicious and could not be determined.

But after observation from many directions, the wires and radio antennas exposed by the shock wave of artillery fire proved that this was indeed a command headquarters, but whether it was its regimental headquarters or not is unknown.

"Oh, second lieutenant, what's unusual over there."

"Maybe it's a rabbit that's scared away."

The more than 100 Ming troops who infiltrated here coincidentally bumped into the gendarmerie squad that was rushing to the front line to maintain battlefield discipline, and had to open fire in advance.

"Da-da-da-"

Dense gunfire rang out, and at one point at least ten automatic weapons were firing, and hundreds of bullets were poured out in a matter of seconds.

A dozen poor Dutch gendarmes screamed and fell to the ground before they even reacted.

They were neatly knocked down by bullets, and collapsed on the ground, struggling and howling in pain, but soon lost their lives.

"It's exposed, move fast!"

"Boom-boom-boom-"

Three red flares burst into the night sky, which was lit up by artillery fire, and were clearly visible.

The team headquarters and heavy firearms platoon were deployed on the spot, and the two 64mm mortars and two heavy machine guns carried by the soldiers were quickly deployed by the soldiers, forming a small circular fire support point.

The two infantry platoons attacked under the leadership of the deputy captain and rushed straight to the target 500 meters away.

Before the frightened Dutch and Indian officers and soldiers could react, they saw that the dense Ming army had already approached a distance of several hundred meters.

"Oh God, are they ghosts?!"

"Squeak-boom!"

Mortar shells screamed down, and a succession of eight 64mm anti-explosive shells blew up the already panicked Dutch and Indian troops.

"The Chinese infantry is approaching! Sir! Sir! ”

"How did they get past the line? What is the condition of Zone D? ”

"There are too many of them, maybe three hundred? Five hundred? ”

Because of the limited firing range, only one of the two Type 37 heavy machine guns could provide fire support, but it was sufficient.

Dense machine-gun bullets mixed with tracer rounds flew into the dirt, tearing and igniting the tent cloth and wood, and crushing the terrified enemy troops to the point where they could not lift their heads.

After rushing to close range, the Ming army had an advantage, but the more than 80 officers and men of these two platoons were intensively equipped with more than 30 Type 20 automatic guns or Type 34 submachine guns.

The Dutch gendarmes who had been "shot in line" in front of them were armed with several Thomson submachine guns, but now they were also in the hands of these Ming soldiers.

Attack in a loose formation, throw grenades when you reach about 30 meters, then alternately cover forward, turn over and shoot wildly over cover.

"Wow, blahh—"

"Da-da-da-"

9.6mm pistol rounds, .45ACP pistol rounds, and .351 Winchester rifle bullets rained down like water, and the enemy soldiers who were blown up by the grenades were shot and killed before they could recover their senses.

"Brothers, follow Lao Tzu!"

"Damn, kill !!"

A series of flowing movements completely stunned the Dutch and Indian officers and soldiers, where did they parry the wolf-like Marine infantry?

After a brief period of resistance, the regimental headquarters company of the 5th Infantry Regiment collapsed. Many threw their guns on the spot, fell to their knees and surrendered, while the rest scattered as birds and beasts.

When the menacing Ming soldiers rushed into the headquarters, a Dutch captain staff officer who wanted to resist to the end had just pulled out his pistol when he was smashed into a sieve by a dozen bullets, and blood was splattered on the map on the table next to him.

Several officers next to him trembled with fright, raised their hands in horror and trembled.

The commander of the 5th Regiment narrowly escaped because he had been hit by fragments during the previous shelling, but he held out until the Ming army suspended the assault and is still being treated in the field hospital.

At about the same time, an artillery battery assigned to the 5th Regiment was also routed.

More than 20 bodies of Dutch and Indian artillerymen fell on the artillery position, and six 75mm Bofors mountain guns were captured intact.

"Yes, yes, this has to be credited. What do you think of the prison army, the miraculous merit or the first merit? ”

Zhou Changfeng admired all this in the artillery mirror, and only felt that this situation and this scene were refreshing.

Yao Liangchuan, who was beside him, was still holding a telescope, "It's really good, but the evaluation of miracle skills is extremely difficult, this can't be overflowing, otherwise how can you afford the word 'strange'?" ”

Satisfied, Zhou Changfeng stood up from the artillery team mirror and stretched, "General attack, hurry up, it's time for us to 'receive supplies'." ”

The enemy in front of him was in disarray, and the four infantry squadrons and dozens of tanks, which had long been ready to attack, launched a fierce attack like a sea of mountains.

After five rapid shots, the Marine infantry, who were scattered all over the front, got up from their respective assault starting positions, shouted and launched an assault!

The engines of the Type 38 medium tanks also let out a loud roar, as if the impatient war horses were snorting.

Some people shouted the slogan "Hit the shore of Tangning, take the supplies as you like," so that many officers and men stepped on the devastated enemy positions with a smile and a grin.

The 2nd Infantry Regiment of the 5th Dutch-Indian Infantry Division fell apart, and the rout fled all over the mountains.

Although the Dutch did not consider it to be annihilated, citing the fact that the regimental commander had fled, ... Can only one of the routs of the Commander of the Light Pole be considered a successful breakthrough?

The mixed regiment of the 1st Marine Brigade did not bother to search for those defeated soldiers at all, but concentrated on "receiving supplies".

Fourteen small warehouses and five large warehouses stocked up on everything from aspirin to wine, grenades to artillery shells.

According to Zhou's order, each team could only send two squads to collect supplies in case the order was disrupted.

The soldiers stuffed the big pocket next to the collar of their field uniforms, and they could take as much as they could with their left and right hands, and many of them dropped as they walked because they took too much.

After a simple equalization, the whole army rested for six hours to regain its strength for tomorrow's attack.

Zhou Changfeng naturally resisted the use of drugs to forcibly boost his energy, and his bottom line was coffee, and the rest was not considered.

He believed that with proper command, he could achieve similar propulsion efficiency even without using those things.

However, this has higher requirements for the level of the commander - not only to crush the enemy army sharply and quickly, but also to properly arrange the rest time.

And this is precisely what he is very self-conscious.

Because the mixed regiment of the 1st Marine Brigade advanced too efficiently and the Dutch-Indian 5th Regiment collapsed at an extraordinary rate, the BDA Coalition Headquarters in Bandung did not wake up until the next morning.

The next day, April 10th.

The weather was good, a few clouds stuck to the blue sky like marshmallows, and this was a more suitable day for air force sorties.

At 9:47 a.m. that day, nine B-10 bombers took off from Mauspati Airport in Jasmine to carry out an air raid on Downing Shore, which had just changed hands overnight.

More than 50 aerial bombs blew up several warehouses and damaged some of the supplies, but the results were limited to that.

The mixed group had already set out on the journey again three hours earlier, heading southeast for Chiraza.

The large units of the 1st Marine Brigade, which were steadily following up, didn't care at all - anyway, they were all Dutch, and if they were blown up, they would be blown up, and the Dutch would be even more distressed if they were distressed.

Realizing that the Ming army was trying to cut off the island of Java in two, John Greer Dill was greatly frightened, and immediately ordered the main force of the Dutch-Indian 2nd Infantry Division to move to intercept the 1st Marine Brigade with all its might.

However, the coalition forces were too slow to respond, and the loose and inefficient Dutch-Indian army was not very efficient in scheduling the march.

At dusk that day, the advance detachment of the mixed regiment was only 21 kilometers away from Ciraza, and the port city was ready to fall.

Due to the undulating terrain here, the march of tank units became a big problem, and there were endless breakdowns, and almost every half hour a tank reported a minor or major malfunction.

"Closing the formation, it's too long to pull back and forth."

In order to prevent the troops from being disjointed and going wrong, Zhou Changfeng ordered the advance detachment to stop advancing and wait for the night before heading south.

Interestingly, the Dutch also made a ruthless effort this time, and they were stunned to do the impossible thing - to transport 39 Vickers MkE and Mammon Hanington CTLS-4 tanks to Daheng overnight by mining narrow-gauge railway.

The next morning, after a short rest, the armored unit launched a counterattack against the mixed regiment of the 1st Marine Brigade in cooperation with the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Dutch-Indian Division.

(End of chapter)