When Qi Zhibiao heard Guo Zhixin's words, he smiled bitterly and said: "What else can I do now? Look at this position, it is now in ruins. Almost all the fortifications have been reduced to a piece of dust, and the sacks behind are small because of their size. The enemy's artillery fire blockade cannot be delivered, and even if they want to repair the fortifications, there is no way."
"To be honest, Lao Guo, I'm somewhat surprised that he can be like this. The proportion of new recruits in the army is too large. On average, there are only one or two veterans per class. Although these recruits have completed full training, you and I are not real people. A recruit who does not tell lies in front of others and has not truly experienced the test of war will always remain a recruit."
"No matter how many bullets he fired on the training ground, how many days he walked in the queue, how many days he practiced tactics, as long as they have never been on the battlefield, they are still new recruits. Today's battle can achieve this For my sake, I am still persisting and the position has not collapsed, which also shows that I am quite competent as a battalion commander."
"However, thanks to you, the scholar, today, if you hadn't reacted quickly, killed two deserters on the spot, and stabilized the position, we might not have been able to withstand it for even two hours. If we cross here, we will lose Without flank cover, the main position without a barrier would be difficult.”
"Originally, I was unwilling to be transferred to the Production Corps as the Minister of Arms. I thought it was over now and I had become the leader of new recruits. I thought that this time I was really saying goodbye to the battlefield completely, but I didn't expect that the headquarters would We were in a hurry to transfer all of us who had just completed mobilization to Qixinghe."
Having said this, Qi Zhibiao threw away the cigarette butts in his hand, quickly changed the magazine of the submachine gun in his hand, opened the last grenade box, unscrewed the safety cover of the grenades inside, and placed them one by one in the shell crater where he was. Either edge or distribute to the warriors around you.
After finishing everything, he clapped his hands and said: "Lao Guo, don't think too much. People die like birds in the sky. They will not die for tens of millions of years. There is just a scar as big as a bowl on the head. Who asked us to catch up with this war-torn era? Didn't the commander say it well? In order for future generations to no longer be slaves, our generation must pay a certain price, even if the price is our own lives, we have no choice."
Having said this, Qi Zhibiao raised his telescope and looked at the Japanese military position not far away. After putting down the telescope, he continued: "Lao Guo, don't blame me for speaking vulgarly. Let's prepare to hand over these 180 kilograms here today. You, Lao Guo, also know the background of the several regiments going south this time."
"This time, the Japanese army has concentrated such a powerful artillery cover and such a dense offensive, and it can last for such a long time. The backbone of veterans who have not fought several wars will not be able to withstand it at all. If they rely solely on recruits, In this blocking battle, it doesn’t take more than three hours to not lose Jinsha Gang, even if it is picked up.”
"Our regiment has gathered almost all the old bones of the army that went south this time. The number of veterans is the largest, only accounting for one-fifth. Except for the remaining regiments of our regiment, recruits with no combat experience account for almost 90%. This kind of If the troops can hold on for a while in the mountains, they will probably collapse in a few hours on this bare and undefendable plain."
"Commander Liu knows this situation very well, and given his character, he will not take this risk, so don't even think about changing defenses. Now the little devil has formed another blockade with artillery fire 500 meters behind us. Line, this blockade, not to mention new recruits, even veterans will have to pay a considerable price if they want to break through the blockade."
"Captain, the situation at the political commissar's side is not much better than ours. They are facing two Japanese brigades, and the pressure is even greater than ours here. If they want to mobilize effective forces to reinforce us, I'm afraid they can be mobilized. It’s also a drop in the bucket.”
"Now we are unable to get reinforcements. If we want to save Jinsha Gang, there is no other way except fighting hard here. To be honest, I don't want the corpses of new soldiers to be strewn here, so Lao Guo , today we have to prepare for the worst."
"Lao Guo, we will divide the army into two companies later. You and I will each lead a company. I will lead a company and carry the lightly wounded people in front. You will lead a company and lead all the wounded. There are no roads along the left side. The communication trenches that were flattened by the Japs' artillery fire should first be retreated 300 meters to the second line of defense. I can't stand it anymore. You guys are on top. We can't all be here. Let the Japs use artillery to attack them little by little. Consume it completely."
Guo Zhixin shook his head slightly and said: "Lao Qi, I'm not afraid of death. I'm mainly afraid that I won't be able to complete the task assigned by my superiors to hold on for at least twelve hours. You are right. The follow-up troops are blocked by Japanese artillery fire and cannot come up. We are basically fighting alone here, so I am worried about whether we can complete the tasks assigned by the division."
"But you're right about one thing. We can't all gather here and let the Japanese artillery shells be used up. In this case, Lao Qi, you are a military commander and your ability to grasp the battlefield is better than mine. Should I be the one at the front? , you take a company and retreat first, and when my side is completely clear, you can go up again."
"Lao Qi, the Japanese will not back down with such heavy casualties. I think the next attack will probably involve the entire army. You and I both know that, judging from the situation on the battlefield and the intensity of the Japanese attack before, The Japanese are eager to break through here in order to attack the interior of our base area."
"After a few hours, they have paid so many casualties but not made much progress. I'm afraid the Japanese have lost their patience. I think when they attack again, the intensity can only be strengthened, never weakened, and for us He said that if you want to persist as long as possible, the time for the second echelon to attack is very important. You are the military commander, and your ability to grasp the battlefield is far better than mine. The second echelon is left to your command, which is more suitable than me."
Having said this, Guo Zhixin stopped Qi Zhibiao's attempt to speak, took off his satchel and stuffed it into his hands, then said: "Lao Qi, don't argue about this anymore. I'll stay, and you can take the rest of the staff first." Withdraw to the second line. I am the secretary of the general branch of the battalion instructor party. According to the principles within the party, I have the decision-making power on this matter. This matter is settled. You withdraw first."
"Inside this satchel is the roster and home addresses of all the battalion cadres and soldiers. You must keep it. There is also a code book for the battalion and company walkie-talkies. You should also take it with you. If it doesn't work, you can burn the code book. As for the flowers, You must find a way to send someone to send the roster to the regiment headquarters."
Guo Zhixin's insistence made Qi Zhibiao reluctantly agree. Taking advantage of the gap in the Japanese artillery fire, Qi Zhibiao led a company to carry the seriously injured who could not move. After leaving most of the few ammunition on hand, Qi Zhibiao followed the entire The last communication trench on the position that was not destroyed by Japanese artillery shells was withdrawn to the second line of defense 300 meters behind.
It is said to be the second line of defense, but in fact it is just a small natural ditch. As for the other bunkers and fortifications, just like the first line of defense, they were completely razed to the ground by Japanese artillery fire. After placing the severely wounded in the surviving half of the shell-proof hole, Qi Zhibiao, who was thinking about the front-line position, took a few steps to the edge of the ditch.
Ignoring the shells that fell around him from time to time after the Japanese army started another artillery bombardment, he raised his binoculars and carefully observed the front-line positions. When he saw another group charge launched by the Japanese army, Qi Zhibiao, who was ready for battle, could not help but feel a wave of excitement in his heart. Trapped for his instructor.
At this time, all he could do, apart from preparing for a counterattack, was to focus on six hours of fierce fighting. Under the firepower of the Japanese infantry artillery fire at close range, the only two remaining heavy machine guns and the last 3,000 rounds of 77-caliber Heavy machine gun bullets and three light machine guns used firepower to block the Japanese attack route as much as possible.
At this moment, Major Shibayama, who was also red-eyed opposite him and led the suicide squad in the charge, did not care about the casualties caused to him by the opponent's machine gun fire. For the subordinates who fell down after being continuously hit by bullets from the opponent, he He didn't even look at it. He held his saber high and charged at the forefront of the death squads.
After six hours of fierce fighting, under the intensive Japanese artillery blockade, the wounded in the front could not be evacuated, and the ammunition from behind could not be delivered. Even if Qi Zhibiao left most of the ammunition on hand, the front-line ammunition was already scarce at this time. Extremely, the rifles have less than ten rounds per person.
In addition to the three crooked-handled machine guns left by Qi Zhibiao, each of which still has an average of more than 30 rounds of ammunition, the original submachine gunners have already exhausted their ammunition and have replaced them with Italian rifles received from the martyrs. It was a Type 38 rifle picked up from the corpses of Japanese soldiers. This small amount of ammunition was used up in just a few bursts.
After throwing out the last grenade, Guo Zhixin smashed the speed machine with the last magazine in his hand on a stone, then picked up an Italian rifle with a bayonet. He said to the soldiers beside him who had also fixed their bayonets: "Comrades, smash the weapons that no one is using. Not a single part of our weapons can be left for the little devils."
"We will fight the little devils today to the end. Even if we bleed dry, we will make these little devils peel off their skins. Charge and kill the devils." After that, the first one took the lead and rushed out.
At this time, the cadres acted as an example. After smashing the extra weapons that had no ammunition, all the soldiers still on the front line did not retreat. They all rushed up behind Guo Zhixin with rifles with bayonets in hand. , and violently collided with the Japanese army.
The light machine gunner who had exhausted the last magazine in the bucket, dismantled the machine gun into a pile of parts and threw them away, picked up the martyr's rifle and rushed out, smashed the radio operator, and even The lightly wounded who were able to move also supported each other, limped out with the remaining grenades, and the whole company that remained on the front line was already in full force.
After using up the last bit of ammunition, less than one company of defenders and the last complete squadron of the 12th Regiment's First Battalion, as well as the number of troops led by Shibayama Hanaji himself, rushed forward to face the charging Japanese army. A fierce hand-to-hand battle broke out between the death squads, which numbered less than fifty people.
If the bayonet is broken, use the butt of the gun. If the butt of the gun is broken, use the teeth, fists, and marching shovel. If you are stabbed down, use the grenade on the opponent or yourself, and die together with the opponent in the struggle. Whenever there is an explosion, a group of people from the two armies in the melee will fall.
Guo Zhixin didn't mind this kind of death-defying fighting style, but the Japanese army couldn't stand it. The Japanese army, which was good at hand-to-hand combat, was disrupted by Guo Zhixin's desperate fighting style in this hand-to-hand battle, including Colonel Tabota, who was ordered by Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru to personally supervise the battle from behind, shook his head and was speechless for three minutes after watching the retreating troops being beaten by the opponent in hand-to-hand combat, which he was best at, and ordered covering fire to the artillery. command.