A string of red signal flares soared into the sky in the dark sky. After rising to the top, they slowly landed like meteors. The Japanese army carefully targeted several major passes around Khuzestan in southwest Persia and important areas bordering Iraq.
The defense line constructed was reflected blood red.
As the whistles sounded one after another, the artillery positions suddenly became noisy.
"Bang bang bang——"
Behind each front line, large and small orange fires began to bloom, and then earth-shaking explosions sounded.
People on the ground were as if they were standing in the center of an earthquake, their bodies unsteady and shaking constantly.
Cannons of different calibers spit out dazzling fire and fire the shells according to the predetermined shooting elements.
If you look down from the air, you will feel that the fortifications built by the Japanese army in the area confronting the Anjia Army have completely turned into a purgatory of blood and fire. Broken limbs and broken arms, accompanied by guns that have become parts, are shooting everywhere.
, the ground seemed to be soaked red with blood against the backdrop of the constant flashes of artillery fire and red flares.
The sounds of shelling and explosions are getting louder and more violent, and the ground is shaking, shaking, and bumping violently, as if the end is coming!
On the Japanese army's position, large and small explosions shimmered with light, and smoke and dust mixed with firelight spewed straight into the night sky. The violent smoke completely blocked the curved first quarter moon and the bright stars.
The qualified Japanese soldiers have basically been deployed to the northwest of Iraq and southern Syria to fight the British army. At this moment, those responsible for defense tasks in the position are all Lanyin puppet troops. These soldiers left the island to fight in the Middle East and suffered a lot.
The indigenous soldiers, who had suffered so much, suddenly enjoyed such high-level treatment. Seeing their companions turn into powder in the artillery fire, the remaining soldiers couldn't help but feel heartbroken. Fortunately, the commanders at all levels, led by Japanese, shot one of them in time.
A large number of people prevented an immediate collapse.
The artillery fire continued, and the seemingly endless fires were like plows on the backs of oxen, plowing inch by inch on the front line that the Lanyin Army was responsible for defending. In the area where the fire passed, one after another figures
Some were torn into pieces, or were thrown out of the deep trenches, and fell into the soft scorched dust with their missing limbs.
The steel plow made of blazing fire shattered the bunker fortifications it stepped on, flew away the machine gun barriers it touched, and destroyed everything it touched.
The non-stop artillery fire that lasted for a quarter of an hour caused the morale of the Lanyin Army to fall to the bottom.
The sound of gunfire gradually slowed down and slowly extended into the distance.
As the loud charge horn sounded, the infantry of the Anjia Army, led by the tanks that rushed out like arrows, began to launch an all-out attack on the Japanese army's painstaking defense line.
In the north of Khuzestan, at Andimeshk where Highway 5 and Highway 37 intersect, the 9th Tank Division of Zheng Weihao under the Third Tank Army of the Yecheng Front quickly overcame the solid defense line built by the Lanyin Army.
, broke into the edge of the city.
Since the Japanese army entered the Middle East to fight, they have acquired many good treasures from the British army, including various types of mountain artillery, field artillery and mortars.
For example, 13-pound rapid-fire field gun, 15-pound and 18-pound mk1 rapid-fire field gun, 18-pound mk2 rapid-fire field gun, 4.5-inch mk1 and mk2 rapid-fire howitzer, 60-pound mk1 artillery, 5-inch mk1 howitzer, etc.
It is an artillery weapon from the last European War. The range of most artillery is only a pitiful five or six kilometers. As soon as the last European War ended, these outdated artillery were resold to the Middle East, and the government supported and controlled by the British paid for it.
Arm the armies of various countries or regions.
After the Japanese army invaded the Persian Gulf, the appalling massacres they caused in Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other places greatly deterred the Arabs. They quickly gathered around the British to resist the Japanese attack. However, most of these armed forces did not accept
With professional training, where is the opponent of the Japanese army with rich combat experience? The Japanese commander General Nakamura Kotaro used a trick, and the coalition forces were defeated. Not only did the whole of Iraq fall, but many armed equipment also fell into the hands of the Japanese army.
inside.
The Japanese army looked down upon these old and shabby artillery pieces, so they threw them all to the Lanyin Army together with the captured ammunition. Now these weapons caused some trouble for the charging Anjia Army.
"boom--"
Artillery shells were fired randomly into the charging Anjia army.
The armor of the Panther tank is enough to cope with the direct bombardment of these old-fashioned artillery. Therefore, in the flash of light and flash, the tanks continue to charge forward without stopping. But the lack of protection of the infantry is different. With the irregular
The shells fell, and slowly some casualties began to appear.
Huang Jialiang is an ordinary armored infantry member of the 5th Regiment of the 9th Tank Division. He is a Jing ethnic minority from South China. He is short. He only joined the army in June last year and his current rank is only a private.
The Fifth Regiment is an armored infantry regiment. Its role is to accompany the tanks in launching attacks and prevent the other party from attacking with human bullets. Because the armored infantry needs to carry weapons and huddle in the cabin of a compact armored personnel carrier, like the submarine soldiers of the Navy, they generally
Those short people are needed. At this moment, Huang Jialiang followed closely behind the tank, and together with the Anjia officers and soldiers, roared fanatically and rushed forward.
Under the command of the *** officers, the Lanyin Army used various buildings in the city and used various firepower to target and shoot at the attacking Anjia officers and soldiers.
At this time, the tank in front stopped advancing.
It turned out that a trench that was seven to eight meters wide and about three to four meters deep suddenly appeared a hundred meters ahead. This trench was supported by wooden planks in front of the garrison, and then sprinkled with soil on top to camouflage it.
The Air Force took detailed photos, and scouts also sneaked in for reconnaissance many times, but no abnormalities were found.
After today's battle started, several tanks rushing ahead just drove onto the wooden planks laid on the trench. Those wooden planks could not withstand the crushing of the tanks weighing twenty to thirty tons, and they collapsed immediately, and the tank fell headlong into the trench.
.
As the trenches collapsed one after another, the defenders fired a barrage of artillery fire and tore down the remaining wooden boards one by one. An anti-tank trench to prevent tank attacks appeared in front of the mechanized troops of the Anjia Army.
It is impossible for the remaining tanks to have wings, so they can only stop here and temporarily serve as mobile forts, aiming at the firepower points of the defenders in the city.
Because this sudden change was not anticipated, no engineers were prepared among the charging troops.
At this time, the general offensive has been launched. It is impossible to wait for the engineers to blast out the road before resuming the attack. In this case, the armored infantry quickly moved forward, jumped over the tanks, jumped into the trench, and then used human ladders to continue the offensive.
.
After rushing into the city of Andimeshk, the buildings in all directions made the sound of shooting. Machine guns and submachine guns roared, and countless bullets drew fiery red trajectories, frantically harvesting the lives of the Anjiajun soldiers under attack.
.
The most terrifying thing is a 12.7mm four-barreled machine gun modified by the British. For some reason, it fell into the hands of the Lanyin Army. The enemy set it up behind a block of adobe houses facing the street, a two-story reinforced concrete building.
The top of the building and the exits of several streets were all blocked by its firepower. Amidst the dull and dense sound of "dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang."
The Anjia officers and soldiers were swept to the ground like wheat. Each of the loyal and brave soldiers was beaten to pieces, and their flesh and blood flew everywhere.
In just two or three minutes, the number of armored infantry casualties quickly exceeded fifty, and almost a platoon was wiped out.
"Platoon leader, squad leader——"
Huang Jialiang huddled at the corner of a house, his eyes red and splitting, and he roared loudly with grief and anger. With his blood rushing up, he suddenly straightened up and quickly rushed towards the center of the street. Just now, the man who rushed in front with others
The platoon leader and squad leader, as well as more than 30 officers and soldiers of the platoon, fell into a pool of blood.
"Whoosh——"
A dense burst of bullets swept over, and Huang Jialiang, who wanted to save his platoon leader and squad leader, was pushed to the ground by the company commander Zhang Yu who rushed up, and then dragged him and hid behind the corner.
Zhang Yu yelled at the new recruit Danzi: "Private, do you want your life?"
"The platoon leader and squad leader...they...they..."
Huang Jialiang's mouth tightened, and tears immediately flowed out.
"well!"
Zhang Yu sighed, stretched out his hand, straightened the helmet on Huang Jialiang's head, and said to him solemnly: "Private, I have seen it. It is precisely because your platoon leader and squad leader have all sacrificed that you have to be calmer and think about how to do it."
Avenge them instead of risking your own life."
After saying that, Zhang Yu dropped Huang Jialiang, moved forward a few times, and ducked behind a low-rise earthen house with the roof lifted off. Through the gap between the bricks, he took a closer look at the fierce large-caliber four-barreled machine gun.
He turned around and shouted: "The rest of the first row, follow me! Second row, third row, cover fire!"
After saying that, without waiting for the instructor to react and stop him, he ducked down, followed the corner, and ran towards another street that was completely different from the direction of the flow of people.
Seven or eight soldiers, including Huang Jialiang, quickly followed Zhang Yu. Around them, rubble from the explosion and bullets flying through the air with screaming sounds continued to pass by.
Just as Zhang Yu led a platoon to move, the charging crowd on the other side fell in large numbers under the enemy's intensive firepower. The attack was suppressed by the enemy's powerful firepower.
Zhang Yu calmly led these soldiers along the corner of the wall to the street entrance.
This street presents a strange "T" shape. The rows of houses in front are the top horizontal line. The firepower point hiding the four-barreled anti-aircraft machine guns is at the end of the vertical line, almost all attack directions are blocked.
All fucked.
At this time, it was probably discovered that the siege battle had reached a stalemate, and the artillery outside the city began to bombard the enemy's firepower points. Unfortunately, the placement was not good, and the enemy's position did not suffer much damage, and they continued to spray ammunition.
Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Zhang Yu led his men and stumbled into a pit more than one meter deep that was blasted out by several large-caliber artillery shells two hundred meters away in front of the small building.
Pressing the helmet on his head, he turned around and said appreciatively: "As expected of the soldiers I led, all of them followed without any damage. Very good. With you, I will be more confident about my next move!**
*Damn, I haven’t encountered such fierce firepower for a long time... Get down..."
Zhang Yu pushed Huang Jialiang to the ground, and a dense string of bullets passed over the crater. Zhang Yu took a "poof", spit out the dirt in his mouth, pointed at the soldiers beside him, and pointed at the four bullets that were shooting happily.
machine gun, said:
"Brothers, have you seen that? That damn anti-aircraft machine gun is right behind this building. Almost all the way forward is blocked by it. In a short period of time, the tank cannot keep up, and
I suspect that there is still enemy anti-tank fire hidden in this neighborhood, so now we have to kill it and minimize the casualties of the siege troops. In a while, we will touch up from there-"
Zhang Yu pointed to the bottom of the building where the anti-aircraft machine gun was located. Huang Jialiang followed Zhang Yu's gesture and found a ditch that looked like a drainage ditch, which was very close to the small building where the anti-aircraft machine gun was located.
"Okay, now start counting. I count to three. Everyone lines up in two groups and charges forward, alternately covering one...two..."
Zhang Yu picked up the I-type automatic rifle in his hand. The soldiers listened nervously to the numbers in his mouth. Huang Jialiang did not take the gun, but took out a grenade.
"Three... attack!"
As Zhang Yu shouted, nine people quickly rushed out and rushed towards the drainage ditch.
After taking a few steps, with the help of the light from the artillery shells and illumination bombs, the Lanyin Army discovered these uninvited guests and the dense bullets, and immediately chased them.
Huang Jialiang quickly threw the grenade, and with the help of the smoke and dust raised by the explosion of the grenade, he continued to rush forward. Just when Zhang Yu and Huang Jialiang rushed into the drainage ditch, they heard the roar of the Vickers Mark I heavy machine gun.
The seven soldiers behind them were immediately swept to the ground.
"Fuck! There is actually hidden firepower! It seems that this small building is an important firepower support point for the enemy!" Zhang Yu said cursingly.
Huang Jialiang's expression was painful. He could hardly believe that the people whose bodies were almost broken at the waist and who were still writhing in pain on the ground and being continuously shot by machine guns were the same people who were fighting with him just now.
"Quickly - don't be in a daze, rush after me!"
Zhang Yu's big hand knocked on Huang Jialiang's helmet, causing him to wake up. Then he solemnly said: "Private, take out the grenade, attach the bayonet to the automatic rifle, and charge with me!"
After saying that, Zhang Yu roared and quickly rushed into the door of the small building.
Seven Lanyin soldiers who were shooting outwards on the ground floor discovered them. One of them, with his back against the wall, loaded the rifle with bullets and was about to shoot outwards. The Lanyin soldier who was about to shoot outwards reacted fastest and turned the muzzle of the rifle in his hand.
He aimed at Zhang Yu, but the distance between them was too close. Zhang Yu rushed forward and bumped into him. He grabbed the barrel of his gun and turned it aside. "Pop -" the bullet hit the wall behind Huang Jialiang.
Sparks fly.
Huang Jialiang did not dare to neglect, picked up the automatic rifle, pointed it at the remaining six Lanyin soldiers who were in a hurry, and fired a burst of fire. The six Lanyin soldiers included the shooter, deputy shooter and ammunition hand who operated the Vickers Mark I heavy machine gun.
All three soldiers fell in a pool of blood.
Zhang Yu tried his best to press the barrel of the Lanyin soldier fighting with him with his hand, reached out and took out the dagger on his leg, and stabbed the soldier in the lower abdomen.
"What a boy, you actually killed six of them in one go! Now you have avenged the comrades who died just now!" Zhang Yu raised his head, gave Huang Jialiang a thumbs up, and shouted: "Come on, let's go upstairs and blow up that gun
machine gun--"
Suddenly, a Lan Yin soldier rushed down from the stairs, holding a Lee Enfield III rifle with a bayonet in his hand. As soon as Zhang Yu got rid of the Lan Yin soldier's body, he was stabbed by the newly rushed Lan Yin soldier.
on the shoulders.
Zhang Yu grabbed the bayonet and struggled with the Lanyin soldier. During the scuffle, the Lanyin soldier threw away his rifle and took out the pistol from his waist, but Zhang Yuteng could not stop him. Huang Jialiang was afraid of accidentally injuring Zhang Yu, so he had to put down his automatic
rifle, he rushed forward, stretched out a hand, and held down the pistol of the Lanyin soldier.
With Huang Jialiang's assistance, Zhang Yu held down the Lanyin soldier's arm with one hand, picked up the dagger with the other, and plunged it into his chest.
The Lanyin soldier's body convulsed twice and finally stopped moving.
Zhang Yu just breathed a sigh of relief when two Lanyin soldiers rushed down the stairs again. When Zhang Yu saw them, he shouted: "Be careful!"
Then he pushed Huang Jialiang, who had his back to the stairs, to the side. Zhang Yu rushed up and pierced the chest of the Lanyin soldier in front of him with a knife. However, the Lanyin soldier behind him pulled the trigger of the submachine gun in his hand.
.
"Da da——"
A crisp gunshot sounded. As Zhang Yu rushed forward, dozens of bullets were shot into his body. He stared angrily and fell down unwillingly, but he still hugged the opponent's barrel tightly.
.
"Company Commander!"
Huang Jialiang, who was extremely angry, picked up the I-type automatic rifle with a bayonet and stabbed the Lanyin soldier who was entangled by Zhang Yu. The Lanyin soldier stretched out his hand in vain to block it, but amidst his fierce screams, he automatically
The bayonet of the rifle went directly through the back of his hand and plunged into his neck.
Looking at the company commander who fell in a pool of blood trying to save himself, Huang Jialiang's tears could no longer be suppressed and instantly flowed down his cheeks. He gently stretched out his hand, closed Zhang Yu's eyes, and picked up the grenade on Zhang Yu's body.
His eyes became determined and sharp, and he murmured: "Company Commander, I'm going to deal with the enemy!"
Huang Jialiang put all the grenades away and looked up at the top of the stairs. The four-barreled anti-aircraft machine gun above was still roaring.
"Boom——"
Amid the rising orange flames and huge explosions, the four-barreled anti-aircraft machine gun that had been raging for a long time finally misfired. The front of the street, which was firmly suppressed by the enemy's firepower, suddenly rang out with cheers like a wave of Anjia officers and soldiers, "Charge."
Ah", "The enemy has been killed by our comrades!", "Long live the Anjia army!" - In these deafening shouts, the Anjia army officers and soldiers rushed towards the center of the city like an unstoppable torrential river.
Faced with this overwhelming and powerful offensive, the Lanyin Army retreated steadily and gradually became exhausted.
As the tank troops joined the battle, the Lanyin Army was slowly eliminated.
After six hours of fighting, by 10 a.m., the city of Andimeshk, an important town in northern Khuzestan, finally fell under the control of the Anjia army, and the door to the southern plains of Khuzestan was completely opened.
...
Bushehr Port on the north coast of the Persian Gulf was built in the 1830s and is the main port connecting cities such as Isfahan and Shiraz to the outer sea.
Hu Jialin arrived here on a special plane on the 13th and urgently set up a frontline headquarters to coordinate the war in the Middle East.
In this strong attack, the order issued by the headquarters was very clear. It was to capture Khuzestan and Iraq with lightning speed, cut off the Japanese army's path south, and then send a partial division to go south along the coastal road on the south coast of the Persian Gulf.
Until they reached Cape Had in Oman, the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf was completely under control.
At 10:30 in the morning, intelligence from various units continuously gathered at the former enemy headquarters.
Chief of Staff Huang Zhi looked at the map and explained the battle situation to Commander-in-Chief Hu Jialin, Political Commissar Huang Yingwu, Deputy Political Commissar An Mingqi and others:
"So far, the ministries are making good progress. On the northern front, the First Army of the Yecheng Tank Group attacked from Schillingburg in Kermanshah and the Mehran area of Ilam. Among them, the 1st and 2nd Tank Divisions
and the 1st Armored Infantry Division, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Heavy Tank Regiments, have broken through the Gratu to Hanegen defense line. The enemy did not expect that we deployed such a powerful force in the Kermanshah area with no railway connection.
With the tank troops, the defense line collapsed at the first touch.
"In Iraq, almost all areas are plains. After the border defense line is broken, the remaining enemies are like chickens and dogs, vulnerable to attack. The road mileage from Hanaigan to Baghdad is only 200 kilometers, and it is expected to be completed within three days.
The troops arrived at the gates of Baghdad. At the same time, there is a railway connection from Hanaigan to Baghdad. The materials we have hoarded at the border can be easily transported to the front through the railway, and there will be no problems in supply;
"The 3rd Tank Division and 2nd Armored Infantry Division, as well as the 4th and 5th Heavy Tank Regiments, broke through the Baidela Barrier built by the Japanese army at 6:25 in the morning. The enemies on this line were defeated by our powerful mechanized
Under the threat of the corps, they abandoned their position and fled before engaging in battle. Our army pursued all the way and captured the city of Jesan at 9:40 a.m. At this rate, we can capture the city of Kut, an important town in eastern Iraq, by this evening.
"
Hu Jialin nodded happily and said:
"Very good. The main purpose of this attack on Iraq is to be fast. We must cut off the retreat of the Japanese troops in southeastern Syria and northwest Iraq before they can react, so that the territory controlled by the Japanese troops can become a buffer between us and the British troops.
Zone. Once we have completely captured the Persian Gulf, we will then seek to completely annihilate the Japanese army."
"Ye Cheng's cluster has been completed quite well!"
Huang Zhi said with a smile: "The tasks they shoulder are very heavy. The Second Tank Army must stay on the northern front of Persia to prevent the Soviets from turning their backs. The Third Tank Army must cooperate with Yang Jiuxiao's Corps to capture Khuzestan. The group directly belongs to it.
The troops have to coordinate various fronts at any time, and it is not easy to perform like this."
"How's it going down south?"
Huang Yingwu asked: "In the battle report in Khuzestan, except for the Third Tank Army's successful capture of Talezang and Andimeshk, is there no news about the two armies of Yang Jiuxiao Corps?"
"Yes! But the situation is not optimistic!"
Huang Zhi's expression became solemn: "The eastern region of Khuzestan is the main oil-producing area of Khuzestan. After the Japanese army stole the area, they forced the locals to resume production of some of the oil wells that had been damaged by the British. After the Japanese army obtained a large amount of crude oil
, spent extravagantly, filling a huge trench behind his defense line with crude oil to prepare for wartime needs.
"In the early hours of this morning, we found that the frontline troops were under heavy shelling by our army. The enemy commander immediately retreated the troops through the gully, and then set fire to ignite the oil. Now, the wall of fire 40 to 50 meters wide is blocking our way.
The pace of the army's advance! We still don't know how much oil the enemy poured into that trench. If the fire does not go out for a long time, the Third Tank Army may be fighting alone!"
Hu Jialin asked angrily: "Were these situations not detected beforehand? The anti-tank trench at Andimeshk can be used as an excuse by the enemy's clever concealment, but what about this trench? It can't be out of thin air.
Appeared, right?"
Huang Zhi explained: "This trench has already existed. The British want to build an oil pipeline to connect the Gachisalan oil field and the port city in the Persian Gulf. That trench was built to bury the oil pipeline. No one knows
I didn’t expect that the Japanese would be so vicious, secretly introducing crude oil from the Qisalan Oilfield to form a natural wall of fire to block our army’s advance!”
"*** people are so scheming!"
After hearing the explanation, Hu Jialin became less angry. He had read relevant information and knew that the Gachisaran Oil Field is currently the largest oil field in Persia. Like all oil fields in Persia, this oil field is dissolved in crude oil under the high pressure of the earth's crust.
Liquefied petroleum gas drives the crude oil to rise along the well pipe. It is a rare self-blowout well and does not even need an oil pump to pump oil.
With such unique conditions, it would be truly unbelievable if the Japanese army did not exploit them skillfully.
Huang Yingwu comforted him: "This is just right. It can test Ye Cheng's tank unit's ability to continue fighting. The tank group army is our ace unit. Currently, Xiao Wu has established a second tank group in northern Kazakhstan, all of which are equipped with Leopard and
Tiger tanks and retired weapons and equipment will be used to assist the Far Eastern Army..."
Huang Zhi asked: "Didn't the Far East develop the T34 tank based on our Leopard tank? Why do they still need old tanks?"
“Their production capacity can’t keep up!”
Huang Yingwu replied: "The T28, T26 and BT series tanks are not outdated, and they are enough to deal with the Moscow army! Due to the impact of the Great Purge, the Soviet Union's tank and fighter research and development came to a standstill. This was also the reason why the Far East was under heavy pressure.
The reason why they can persist is because of their cooperation with us, their weapons and equipment are more advanced than the Soviet army, especially in local battles. They want to transform the advantage of weapons into actual military strength, and they want to defeat us.
Mirovo Industrial Zone, but the boss refused. As compensation, the boss signed a military cooperation agreement with them. We will provide weapons and strategic materials worth 500 million yuan to the Far East as a thank you for the Far East's care for us.
!”
Huang Zhi nodded. He knew very well that it was precisely because the Far Eastern Republic stood in the west and north of Central Asia that it built a wind-blocking barrier for Central Asia and Japan. Therefore, such efforts are completely worth it! As long as
If the war does not start in Central Asia, the Anjia army can concentrate on developing industry and agriculture and building a group of border fortresses. When the Far East and Moscow decide the winner in the future, South China's advantage will be unstoppable, thereby ensuring the security of its inherent territory.
In a sense, this can be regarded as a conspiracy, and in order to survive, Moscow and the Far Eastern Republic had to have good relations with South China to achieve a certain balance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***: I’m so sweaty. Now I have to write until late at night every day before I can post it. How sad!
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