Mortar shells roared out one after another, crossed the Yongding River, and landed on Zheng Zeshi's position on the river bank. The violent explosion caused the soil on the position to fly, and the sandbags rolled down one by one, blocking the trenches.
Some bodies flew up, and then the broken limbs fell down one after another, and blood splattered on people's faces and bodies.
Zheng Zeshi was holding a box cannon and crouched in the trench to avoid the enemy's shelling. He shouted to the recruits who were participating in the battle for the first time, "You new recruits, remember this. When the shells come, don't give up."
I want to get up and run away, otherwise your little son’s life will be over.”
Although the words were rough, it was the experience he summed up through battle, and it was a precious treasure at the cost of blood and life. The recruits listened carefully while lying in the trenches, letting the shells explode around them and even above their heads.
With.
Although it was just a mortar shell, the power of the explosion was not small. The soldiers' ears were buzzing from the explosion and they were temporarily unable to hear clearly. They stared at the enemy's position opposite, waiting for their charge.
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The bombardment was followed by a charge. This was a tactic the Japanese were accustomed to, and it happened every time. Therefore, Zheng Zeshi asked everyone to pay attention to hiding, recharge their batteries, and wait for the Japanese to arrive.
He was determined to fight the Japanese to the end this time.
While thinking about it, Zheng Zeshi commanded the troops to adjust their defenses, greatly strengthening their defense capabilities!
Sure enough, after the shelling, the Japanese rushed forward. Under the cover of machine guns, they rushed forward along the old and new Marco Polo Bridge, charging and shooting at the same time.
Zheng Zeshi's position was quiet, but the soldiers were already in preparation. They were waiting for the Japanese to enter the shooting range before launching an attack.
Zheng Zeshi held his boxwood cigarette rod in his hand, and while beating the soil on his body, he chuckled and said, "The bastard little devil has finally come up, and I will bear this punishment in vain."
"Platoon leader, shoot, the Japanese are already on the bridge!" Now that the war has begun, the soldiers have no scruples. At worst, they will be punished together with the platoon leader, and their heads will be nothing more than a scar as big as a bowl.
Zheng Zeshi shook his head and said relaxedly, "Don't worry, let the Japanese go away for a while!"
After getting on the bridge, there was still no response from the other side. This made the charging Japanese soldiers mutter. They didn't know what unknown things were waiting for them in front, so they slowed down and moved forward little by little. They walked very cautiously.
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Although they slowed down, the Japanese quickly reached the middle of the stone bridge. Seeing that there was still no ambush, they suddenly became bolder and rushed forward, shouting.
Zheng Zeshi inserted the boxwood smoking rod into his waist, then grabbed a Czech light machine gun, pulled the bolt with a clatter, then turned the muzzle of the gun and pointed it at the Japanese on the stone bridge, "Hit me!"
Click, click, click - the sound of machine gunfire pierced the sky above the river. The bullets swayed away and flew into the crowd of Japanese soldiers. In the blink of an eye, a large number of them fell down. The rest quickly lay down and shot at the enemy.
He crawled forward.
Boom——, a grenade flew out and landed on the bridge. It exploded and blew away a stone lion on the bridge railing. The two Japanese were then blown up and fell into the Yongding River.
"Damn it, who asked you to throw the grenade? If you blow up the bridge, I will kill you!" Zheng Zeshi became angry and cursed at the soldier who threw the grenade.
The soldier shrank his neck in grievance, and then did not dare to throw the grenade.
The soldiers fired at the Japs one after another, beating them until they were lying on the ground and did not dare to raise their heads. They stopped in place for a while and could not move forward.
The Japanese artillery began to fire again, but they did not seem to want to damage the Marco Polo Bridge. Their artillery fire was mainly concentrated on the extended positions on both sides of the old Marco Polo Bridge, all the way to the head of the Marco Polo New Railway Bridge and Zheng Zeshi's position.
However, in this way, the impact on Zheng Zeshi's position was much smaller, and only a few people were injured.
The two sides started a fierce battle. The Japanese squadron was divided into several squadrons and took turns attacking. They launched charges from the old and new bridges in an attempt to break through the Chinese army's defense line.
Zheng Zeshi led his troops to fight hard. They repelled seven Japanese attacks in a row. The front of the position was filled with Japanese corpses. The blood stained the decks of the two bridges red, and the river water also changed color.
The battle started at noon and continued into the evening. The Japanese were unable to cross the bridge.
When the sun set, the gunshots slowly stopped!
After more than half a day of fierce fighting, both sides were exhausted and needed a rest, so they unanimously chose to temporarily cease fire and repair their respective teams.
Zheng Zeshi did not bother to rest, but walked around the various positions with his signal troops to check the damage so as to determine how to arrange the defensive positions.
Along the way, Zheng Zeshi found that more than half of the team's casualties were lost. Even the platoon deputy died in the afternoon battle. Only one of the squad leaders was still able to fight, and about one-third of the veterans in each squad were left.
, the casualties were considerable.
Of course, the Japanese did not get any advantage. They launched these several attacks and left no less than forty or fifty corpses. Speaking of which, Zheng Zeshi and the others made the profit.
He ordered the soldiers to quickly clean up the battlefield and obtain the weapons and ammunition of the Japs. Zheng Zeshi went to the shelter and made a phone call.
As soon as the call was dialed, the person on the other end of the line, Chang Cheng Yi Gong, cursed him so hard that Zheng Zeshi only shrank his neck without saying a word in rebuttal.
After Company Commander Cheng finally finished scolding him, Zheng Zeshi chuckled and said, "Company Commander, you can't blame me. The kid is here to die, so I have to accept him."
"You're a good kid, you're always cheap and good, but this time you caused a big disaster. The Japanese garrison office in Peiping City was blown up. In one afternoon, no less than twenty Illuminati came. They were all condemning the Chinese army.
You started a fight without authorization and provoked trouble." Cheng Yigong scolded angrily, "It's not like you don't know the current situation of the commander-in-chief, and you have caused such a big trouble for him."
"What's the trouble? At worst, we'll fight the Japs when they come. I still don't believe that our 100,000 troops of the 92nd Army can't defeat the Japs." Zheng Zeshi said nonchalantly.
"If only it were that simple, forget it, I don't understand even if I tell you." Company Commander Cheng was so angry that Zheng Zeshi was like this. He only thought about fighting and nothing else. "You kid, give me more."
Be careful, now that the war has begun, the little devil will definitely not let it go. If we lose our position, I can't spare you, kid."
"Don't worry, company commander, if you lose our position, I'll give you my head." Zheng Zeshi slapped his chest with his big hand and promised Cheng Yigong.
——Pop——!
A sudden and shrill sound of gunshots stunned Zheng Zeshi, who was answering the phone. He turned around and saw that there seemed to be a human figure moving on the river between the old and new bridges, heading towards the shore.
"Little Sanzi, prepare to fight!" Zheng Zeshi threw down the phone, reached out and pulled out the cannon, roared and rushed towards the fortifications.
The soldiers also rushed towards the fortifications.
At this moment, there was a splash on the water, and then a figure appeared. As soon as they came out, they raised their arms, and grenades flew out one after another, flying towards Zheng Zeshi's position on the shore.
The third squad was stationed at this section of the river embankment. The squad leader was a man from the Northeast and one of Zheng Zeshi's men. He held a light machine gun in his hand and roared at the soldiers, "Fight, don't let the little Japs come up."
Boom boom boom, flames burst out on the riverbank position. The grenades thrown by the Japanese were very accurate and landed on the position of the third squadron. In the violent explosion, the soldiers were knocked upside down and many fell down.
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The third squad leader was holding a machine gun and was shooting. Suddenly he felt a pain in his back, and then he lost consciousness in his right arm, which was so limp that he could no longer use his strength. He gritted his teeth and handed the machine gun to his left hand and pulled the trigger again.
The trigger.
The machine guns spit out tongues of fire and rained bullets on the river.
But that group of Japanese soldiers were very cunning. After dropping their bombs, they quickly dived into the water and lost sight of their traces, causing the soldiers' shots to miss. The next moment they emerged again not far from the shore, submachine guns in their hands.
He fired repeatedly, and then jumped onto the river bank vigorously.
The position of the third squadron was quickly lost, and the remaining five or six soldiers fell to the guns of this group of Japanese soldiers in the blink of an eye.