"Sir! The situation here is critical! A large number of Chinese infantry is approaching! ”

The Australian soldiers squatted in the shelter of the trenches, tightly holding the Enfield rifles in their arms, and endured the three-dimensional firepower of the Ming army's army, sea and air in turn.

Whenever the artillery fire began to extend backwards, the officers would blow their whistles, and the non-commissioned officers would shout at the top of their voices to get the soldiers out of the shelter and into positions ready for battle.

This time, the Ming army's air raid came a little later, and the army's field artillery group had already begun to carry out blocking and firing in depth, and more than 20 Type 36 bombers taking off from Rabaul were belated.

After observing the columns of smoke released by the red and blue canisters on the ground, the aircraft tasked with guiding began to fine-tune its course and select the best attack path.

The group flew over the last line of defense of the 8th Infantry Division of the Australian Army, and more than 200 100kg aviation anti-personnel and explosive bombs were smashed down one after another.

The Australian positions facing the main axis of the attack were blown into a sea of fire, and the area was covered with smoke and dust, and countless pieces of wood and dirt fell with a clatter.

Because the meteorological observation unit found that the current wind direction, wind speed, and humidity were more suitable for the use of smoke screens, rows of smoke screens were fired to assist the attacking troops before this round of offensive was launched.

More than a dozen smoke bombs fell from near and far 400 meters to the left of the target, as did the right side.

They formed a wall of smoke that cut off the view on both flanks, preventing enemy troops in adjacent positions from killing and injuring attacking troops with direct fire.

"The Chinese are coming! The Chinese are coming! Everyone gets into position, at once! ”

Second Lieutenant Upton shouted and stumbled waving his hand in the trenches, and heavy shelling and air raids blew up many of the trenches and bunkers, many of which had to be climbed over.

Several soldiers carrying Vickers heavy machine guns looked numbly at the half-collapsed machine gun position, and had to rush to another backup firing position without stopping.

The soldiers who rushed into battle opened fire spontaneously, crackling sporadic fire to no avail, and several Vickers heavy machine guns and Bren light machine guns were also firing indiscriminately.

I saw eleven tanks lined up, rumbling head-on, and countless Ming infantry followed a few meters behind the tanks, trotting forward.

“Duang—Biu——”

A 40mm MkI armor-piercing bullet slammed into the front of the hull of one of the Type 38 medium tanks, and the sandbags were piled up to absorb some of the kinetic energy.

After penetrating the sandbag, the shell failed to penetrate the 30mm thick case-hardened armor steel.

Another 2-pounder anti-tank gun also opened fire at about the same moment, and its armor-piercing shell hit the side of the tank turret at an angle of incidence of about 25 ° and penetrated it.

The uncharged 40mm armor-piercing projectile is essentially an iron lump, which deforms and shatters during the penetration process, and burrows into the tank with large and small metal fragments.

Since some of the kinetic energy is converted into heat during impact, these red-hot debris can not only kill the crew members, but also ignite flammable materials such as gasoline.

The tank stopped, but soon received multiple shells in succession, three or four holes in the side, and wisps of black smoke emerged from the breaches and gaps.

The hatch at the top of the turret was pushed open, and the bruised loader poked his head out, crawled out with difficulty, and fell to the ground with a poof.

The low and concealed characteristics of anti-tank guns make tank crews of all countries very disgusted, and it is difficult for tanks with narrow vision to detect and quickly return fire.

With experience, everyone observed the most suitable position for the placement of anti-tank guns, and after watching for a while, they discovered the location of the target through the muzzle flame.

At a distance of less than 100 meters from the first line of Australian positions, the tanks alternated artillery and machine gun fire in an attempt to destroy the enemy anti-tank guns, while the infantry rushed out from the rear and launched a direct charge.

"Second shift, third shift, on!"

"What are you doing? Grab the machine gun and go! ”

The defenders' firepower was weak and messy, so the Ming soldiers did not use alternate cover to leap forward, but directly rushed forward in a loose formation.

When dozens of officers and soldiers broke through to a distance of only thirty or forty meters, both sides could clearly see each other's expressions.

At this moment, the Bren light machine gun and Enfield rifle rang out again.

In the sound of "da-da" gunfire, the slightly messy shooting of the Australian soldiers caused the Ming soldiers who rushed to the front to be shot one after another and fell to the ground, and the others behind quickly followed and fell to the ground.

Then they fell to the ground and threw grenades, and at one point a dozen of them were thrown into the trenches in front of them.

The continuous muffled explosion caused the mud in the trench to tumble, and the explosion of the grenade caused fragments to fly in this section of the trench, and I don't know how many people were knocked down by the fragments, or stunned by the shock wave.

The only two Bren light machine guns here were also all silent, because these two light machine gun groups were regarded as thorns in the side of the Ming army, so they dropped the most grenades.

The stumbling Ensign Upton stood up slowly, his eyes red, and he yelled a little frantically: "Don't be in a daze! They're coming! ”

Before the smoke of the explosion dissipated, figures had already rushed to the front of them.

The Ming infantry who broke through the position opened heavy fire with a variety of weapons, shooting the scattered Australian soldiers in the dilapidated trenches.

"Bang! Bang! ”

While running around a corner, Ensign Upton, stumbling, fired several shots from his revolver to knock down a Ming soldier who was reloading an automatic gun.

But in the next second, he felt his back be hammered hard a few times, and then his body collapsed to the ground weakly as if it had been drained of energy.

Just as he collapsed in the mud, a corporal carrying a Type 35 semi-automatic rifle stepped over him.

The corporal leaned down to examine the beaten classmate, then shook his head and sighed, and continued to walk deeper into the trench with the others......

Due to the intermittent rain in the past few days, most of the officers and men of Ming and Macao were wet and covered with mud.

The Australian 8th Infantry Division's front was on the verge of collapse, and at first they laid out three lines of defense and set up eight high ground as support points.

Now the first two lines of defense have long been captured by the Ming army, and only the last precarious line of defense remains, and only Heights 121 and 165 are still under control of the eight heights.

If the Ming army's offensive in the past few days seemed unhurried, then today's general attack is a very different ferocity, as unstoppable as the stormy waves rushing in front of you.

The general offensive should be launched at a time when the enemy forces were already tired and weakened.

In Zhou Changfeng's opinion, it is best to attack on the entire front at this moment, concentrating firepower and armored units on one or two main attack directions, and the rest of the auxiliary attacks and feints found that although only a small number of troops are invested, they should also try their best to create a huge formation.

While hindering and confusing the enemy's judgment, it can also put heavy pressure on the psyche.

Is it hard to penetrate the ice at the end of the crossbow? No, no, no, the remnants of the enemy in front of you are nothing more than thin ice that is about to melt.

"The 1st Battalion of the 38th Regiment has achieved its goal, destroyed more than 300 enemies, and is advancing in depth to expand the results of the battle......"

The chief of staff of the 13th Division gave a brief feedback on the latest situation at the front, and then looked at the generals present.

"Don't stop, let them go three or four miles deep to the northwest, establish positions to cut off the enemy's left and right contacts; What about the Thirty-Seventh Regiment? Haven't opened a big gap yet? Call and urge! ”

After understanding the situation, Yu Zhuchang, commander of the 13th Infantry Division, ordered.

Zhou Changfeng had a high fever this morning, and he was obviously infected with malaria, and he tried to hold on for a while but still didn't feel good, so he handed over the command to Yu Zhuchang.

In fact, he didn't like this shrewd guy very much, he was cautious a few days ago, and in order to avoid being held accountable for excessive casualties, he cowered, and the whole division advanced quite inefficiently.

Now, contrary to the previous style, he has continuously instructed his troops to attack and fight fiercely to expand the results of the battle, regardless of the disconnection and separation of individual units due to continuous operations.

Having such a general is a very good subordinate for the superiors, but I am afraid it is not good news for the lower-level officers and soldiers.

As of the evening of December 15, the two sides were already engaged in the final battle.

The remnants of the 3rd Light Tank Company of the Australian Army led the two infantry companies with the fewest casualties in a counterattack in an attempt to repel the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Marine Brigade, 1st Regiment and 3rd Battalion stuck at a critical junction.

Six American-made M2A2 light tanks attacked in a wedge-shaped formation, but were destroyed in just four minutes by several anti-aircraft guns and rocket-propelled grenades flying from all directions.

The Australian soldiers who followed were immediately bombarded by mortars and later exposed to heavy machine-gun crossfire.

The futile, deadly but futile counterattack, was nothing more than six new steel bonfires and dozens of corpses added to the already devastated battlefield.

On the 165 heights, which have been repeatedly contested, the fighting that broke out was the most severe.

Broken bayonets, smashed butts, tattered steel helmets, curled sapper shovels, and empty shells of various calibers were everywhere.

The corpses of the fallen soldiers were strewn and mutilated in different postures, layer upon layer, and the remains of many of the fallen soldiers still retained the same expressions they had had fought before they died.

Every position, every section of the trench had to go through several or a dozen battles, until one of the sides was temporarily unable to fight back, and it would not stop for a moment.

The 12th Field Artillery Regiment (Battalion) of the Australian Army, which was attacked yesterday because of the exposure of its position, lost most of its artillery and equipment, and the remaining artillerymen picked up their carbines and went into battle, but only a third of them were still able to move after a day and night of fierce fighting.

The 13th Infantry Division inflicted heavy losses on the recalcitrant Australians with overwhelming artillery superiority and automatic firepower, and almost half of the company was reimbursed for each attack resisted.

But even so, the fierce bloody battle also caused heavy losses to the Ming army, and the blood shed from both sides was mixed with muddy water.

The 39th Infantry Regiment was responsible for capturing the 165th Heights, and a total of 14 assaults had been driven down in the past, and the hill seemed to have an endless number of enemies.

It was not until friendly troops captured the flank Australian positions that the connection between the 165 Heights and other Australian troops was completely severed.

Next, the 38th Regiment of the Ming Army took over the attack, and the remnants of the enemy were soon killed and wounded under the continuous onslaught.

This hill, which consumed at least 430,000 catties of steel and explosives and damaged more than 1,200 soldiers, was called "Blood Ridge" by war correspondents, which shows how cruel and bloody it was.

The 39th Infantry Regiment, which suffered the largest casualties, initially planned to apply for 700 Medals of Unity - a total of 1,014 casualties, excluding the 322 killed and killed, the rest was about the same number.

"Junza, the enemy has collapsed on all fronts, and it is estimated that he is about to retreat."

In the reserve headquarters, Xie Wancheng excitedly reported the latest progress to Zhou Changfeng.

The latter is now draped in a military blanket and is preparing to eat a few more Guizhi Poria pills on time.

The symptoms of malaria are really uncomfortable, hot and cold, splitting headaches, although I have been infected once before, but now I am still very uncomfortable to suffer again.

"Go to the command headquarters and tell me, don't pursue it in a big way, just transfer one or two reinforced battalions, and accordingly, you have to prepare a few tanks and two infantry teams to follow up, ready to support the siege at any time."

It is easy for the pursuing force to fall into a deliberate trap set by the enemy, and it is dangerous if it is ambushed, so Zhou Changfeng requires that a support detachment of infantry and tanks must be prepared so that it can respond to unexpected situations in time.

It looked like the Aussie had been routed and seemed to be trying to retreat deep into the mountains to the northwest.

Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but feel a little regretful, if only the detachment that took the Kokoda trail could arrive on time, it would definitely make the remnants of the enemy even more chaotic in this situation.

It's a pity that the influence of terrain factors is too great, and in that kind of rugged and narrow ghost place, it is easy to do less to more.

At this moment, in the headquarters of the 8th Infantry Division of the Australian Army, everyone was numbly and mechanically packing up equipment and burning some minor documents.

Major General Vernon and the officers had expected this day before the battle began - sea and air supremacy were in the hands of the Ming army, and it was impossible to hold Moresby by the garrison alone, and the defensive battle would fail sooner or later.

He planned to hold out for two weeks, but he did not achieve the expected goal, and at that time he underestimated the disadvantage of losing air and sea supremacy.

Fortunately, the complex terrain here prevented the Ming army from advancing straight in, and although the three lines of defense all collapsed, the Ming army could not quickly advance into depth for a while to divide and annihilate the Australian army.

Thus, the remnants of the Australian troops could still alternately cover the retreat with relative calmness.

The militia battalion defending the Kokoda trail is really worthy of admiration, if it weren't for their bloody battle, I'm afraid that there would have been a Ming army copying the path in the rear, it would be unimaginable!

Thinking so, Major General Vernon drilled into the command headquarters and saluted and reported, "Sir, the car is ready, please evacuate here." ”

The personnel of the division headquarters rushed out and put the equipment and important documents on the off-road vehicle.

Major General Vernon, who had already stepped into the car with one foot, glanced into the smoke of gunpowder in the distance and sighed heavily.

But at this moment, there was a sudden sharp sound of cannonballs breaking through the sky.

"Boom!"

A 64mm mortar shell landed a few meters away from the convoy, followed by a second and third......

"Take cover!"

"What's going on?!"

"Where is the enemy?!"

A shell also fell next to the Humber sedan where Major General Vernon was, shattering the window glass on the spot, and the smoke and dust instantly swallowed several people here.

Many times, whatever you are afraid of comes.

(End of chapter)