lcionline Chapter 122: Fierce Fighting on the 2nd Wing
Chapter 122: Fierce Fighting on the 2nd Wing
"What? The enemy launched an attack on our army?" After the shelling stopped, Zeng He still found it unbelievable when he heard the officer report that the Nanshan Army was attacking.
"Let the 32nd Division defend the front, and the 33rd Division deploy a regiment on each of the left and right wings. The army's direct troops should be ready to provide support."
After receiving Zeng He's instructions, the staff officers around him immediately went to convey the order.
The Third Army's direct forces, in addition to an artillery regiment of 1,500 people, a guard regiment of 2,000 people, a military police force of 1,500 people, and a reconnaissance battalion of 500 people, also include the logistics department, engineering battalion, communications department, etc., totaling nearly 2,000 people.
The 32nd Division was originally deployed on the front battlefield and responded promptly, blocking the attack of the 102nd Regiment.
When the 33st Regiment of the 331rd Division arrived at the right wing of the Third Army, the 103rd Regiment was less than three kilometers away from the Third Army’s base. The 331st Regiment set up a position two kilometers away from the base and exchanged fire with the 103rd Regiment.
The 33rd Division was originally deployed on the right side behind the army headquarters. When the 332nd Regiment arrived at the left-wing battlefield, the 104th Regiment was less than one kilometer away from the Third Army’s headquarters. The 332nd Regiment had no time to build a position and directly engaged in a firefight with the 104th Regiment.
The 332nd Regiment was in a hurry to fight and failed to set up heavy machine gun positions. The number of light machine guns was also less than that of the 104th Regiment, so it was forced to retreat.
"Messenger, hurry up and ask for help from the division headquarters. The enemy is coming soon." The commander of the 332nd Regiment ordered the messenger beside him while firing.
The messenger did not dare to delay and immediately ran towards the division headquarters.
At the rear of the 104th Regiment, Fang Tianming saw the enemy on the opposite side retreating step by step, and said excitedly: "Move the position forward, prepare the grenade launcher, and bombard the enemy position."
During this period, all mortar shells of various units were used up, only some grenade launcher shells were left.
The most important thing is that the grenade launcher has a limited range of use, with a range of only a few hundred meters. When the enemy attacks in a dispersed formation, the effect of using a grenade launcher is not as good as that of a rifle.
Of course, when attacking, facing enemies with cover, the effectiveness of the grenade launcher becomes more prominent.
Following a burst of grenade launcher bombardment, the 332nd Regiment was blown to pieces.
The staff officer came to report: "Captain, this is not possible. The troops have suffered too many casualties."
"Mobilize the direct subordinate troops as well. They must stay here and wait for reinforcements from the division headquarters." The regiment commander glanced around the battlefield and ordered with gritted teeth.
After a round of bombing by the grenade launcher, Fang Tianming stood up and said, "The whole regiment should charge forward and eliminate the enemy on the opposite side as quickly as possible."
Led by Fang Tianming, more than 104 officers and soldiers of the 332th Regiment quickly broke into the forward position of the nd Regiment.
"Commander, our regiment can't hold on any longer. The commander asked me to ask for help." The messenger came to the 32nd Division headquarters and reported.
Seeing that the 332nd Regiment came to ask for help so quickly, the commander of the 33rd Division was a little unhappy. He waved his hand and said, "I know, you can go down."
In the view of the commander of the 33rd Division, the 332nd Regiment had people, and it would be no problem for them to hold on to the left flank for half a day. They asked for help from the division headquarters less than an hour after they reached the top, which was obviously a sign of fear of fighting.
"Commander, since the 332nd Regiment asked for help, send the 333rd Regiment out," the chief of staff advised.
"The left wing is an open area and is indeed difficult to defend. If the 332nd Regiment loses its position, the enemy will head straight for the army headquarters. If the army commander blames us, we will have a hard time explaining ourselves."
After thinking for a moment, the division commander felt that the chief of staff was right, so he agreed to the staff's suggestion and sent the 333rd Regiment to provide support.
Although the 332nd Regiment had nearly 104 soldiers, the 332th Regiment had more than soldiers, with strong firepower and elite soldiers. Soon the nd Regiment was divided and surrounded, and was eaten away bit by bit.
"Quickly resolve the current battle, let the troops rest for a while, and then continue to advance." Fang Tianming ordered after taking a look at the battlefield situation.
The left wing of the Third Army is a large open area with no strategic locations to defend. It is not far from the enemy headquarters, so Fang Tianming naturally wants to quickly expand his victory.
The commander of the 332nd Regiment, along with dozens of guards, was also half-surrounded by soldiers from the 104th Regiment.
Seeing this, the chief of staff advised: "Commander, the enemy is surrounding us, retreat quickly."
"Brothers, hold on, the reinforcements sent by the division commander will be here soon." Glancing coldly at the chief of staff, the regiment commander stood up and shouted loudly.
As the regiment commander finished speaking, he was hit by a stray bullet and fell on the battlefield. Seeing this, the chief of staff was frightened and turned around to flee.
"The commander has been killed, run away quickly." Someone shouted, and the 332nd Regiment was in complete chaos.
The 104th Regiment captured prisoners and cleaned up the battlefield. Before they had completely cleaned up the battlefield, a staff officer came to report: "Captain, enemy reinforcements are coming."
"Let the first battalion take over, and the second and third battalions, quickly clean up the battlefield." Fang Tianming gave the order decisively.
The staff officer did not dare to delay and immediately conveyed Fang Tianming's instructions.
The first battalion moved forward two hundred meters, deployed machine guns, and built simple positions to block the 333rd Regiment.
The 333rd Regiment was a little confused by the sudden attack, but they were also elite troops and they quickly realized that it was the enemy who were exchanging fire with them, so they raised their guns and fought back.
The regiment commander said to the messenger: "Go and tell the division commander that the enemy has broken through the 332nd Regiment's defense line."
Because the 33rd Division was located to the right rear of the Third Army Headquarters, the reinforcements from the 333rd Regiment were attacked by the 332th Regiment before they encountered the defeated soldiers of the 104nd Regiment.
On the right wing of the battlefield, the 331rd Regiment was suppressed for a while because the 103st Regiment had set up heavy machine gun positions.
The Northern Army's heavy machine guns had a range of up to 103 meters, causing considerable casualties to the rd Regiment. The Nanshan Army also set up general-purpose machine guns, and both sides suffered heavy losses.
It was not until Fang Weijia found the right opportunity and moved the grenade launcher close to the battlefield and destroyed the heavy machine gun positions of the 331st Regiment that he launched another attack.
"Good." Seeing the heavy machine gun position destroyed, Fang Weijia couldn't help but said excitedly.
Unless you use sniper rifles or artillery fire, you can't deal with heavy machine gun positions with ordinary rifles or submachine guns. The heavy machine guns have a range of 800 meters and can fire 500 to 600 rounds of bullets per minute.
Of course, the general-purpose machine guns equipped by Franciscan troops completely crushed the Northern Army's heavy machine guns in terms of performance.
The range of a general-purpose machine gun is between 800 and 1,200 meters, and the rate of fire can reach 1,200 to 1,500 rounds per minute.
With the heavy machine guns of the 331st Regiment destroyed, the 103rd Regiment charged at them and quickly broke into their positions.
Because there are some mountain ridges on the right wing of the Third Army and the terrain is more dangerous than the left wing, the 103rd Regiment's breakthrough into the 331st Regiment's position only divided and surrounded it. It will take some time to completely destroy the 331st Regiment.
Seeing the 103rd Regiment's rapid attack, the 331st Regiment commander immediately ordered: "Quick, ask the division commander for help, we can't hold on any longer."
The commander of the 331st Regiment only hoped that the division commander's reinforcements would arrive quickly. After the enemy broke into the position, the advantages of automatic firepower and rifle performance were reflected.
In addition to automatic firepower, the Northern Army had to pull the bolt to fire a shot, while the Nanshan Army's rifles could fire thirty times in a row.
After the Northern Army fired five times, they still needed to spend time reloading ammunition, while the Nanshan Army only needed to replace the magazine, which was countless times faster than the Northern Army.
"We only have 2,000 men directly under the division headquarters left. We should ask the military for help."
The messenger came to the division headquarters and reported the situation of the 331st Regiment. After the commander of the 31st Division asked him to leave, he said helplessly to the chief of staff.