The full moon was in the sky, there were not a few floating clouds under the moon, and the vast white moonlight shone on the earth. On the ground, there were multiple marching columns, whether heading east or west, they were all so long that one could not see the end of them.
Until it disappears into the night.
There was a deafening roar in the field. Under the moon, the tanks were lined up in a battle formation. Because the threat at this moment mainly came from the second line of defense of the Qing army, which was the left wing, the armored troops were lined up in a left echelon formation.
Because it is at night, the distance between vehicles is much closer than during the day. Moreover, in this case, tanks are more likely to be ambushed and rely more on infantry support, so behind each tank company, there will definitely be a
Armored vehicle infantry company. And in order to enhance the visual effect, each "left trapezoid", that is, both sides of a company's tank, will also be accompanied by infantry on foot.
On each turret, the commander was exposed, staring ahead with wide eyes. A dozen meters away on both sides of the vehicle, infantrymen lined up in a search formation, marching forward in the fields. These armored vehicles
The ratio of automatic weapons among the division's soldiers is
Except for the imperial guards and commandos, he is the tallest in the entire Ming army. Almost every infantryman you can see carries a submachine gun. Those soldiers who do not carry submachine guns also carry general-purpose machine guns, light machine guns, and
Carrying a machine gun tripod, or carrying bullets.
…
A high proportion of automatic weapons. This is also the general situation of the People's Guard's light weapons configuration. One reason is that the People's Guard is either an armored division or a mechanized division. Soldiers mainly march in vehicles and often fight in vehicles. Soldiers in the Motorized Infantry Division are just
Taking a car when marching long distances
Vehicles, but when approaching the fighting area, they have to get out of the vehicle and fight on foot. The mechanized infantry division not only marches in armored vehicles, but also rides in armored vehicles during the battle, passing through the hail of bullets, transporting them directly under the eyes of the enemy, and then jumps out of the vehicle and steals.
Automatic weapons and close range firefights.
Because it is basically a close-range battle, submachine guns are the mainstay, which can make the best use of strengths and avoid weaknesses. In addition, the proportion of general-purpose machine guns and light machine guns is also relatively high, which can largely make up for the long-distance firefighting problem caused by the lack of rifles.
If Xiang Xiaoqiang were here, he would definitely see that these People's Guard soldiers marching on foot already have a posture similar to that of the Germans in World War II. Especially the general machine gun team, the machine gunner directly carried a whole "Woodpecker" machine gun on his shoulder strap.
At the waist, one hand holds the butt of the gun, and the other hand holds the barrel, ready to fire at any time. As if he is carrying a large submachine gun, he is so majestic and majestic. While looking around at the night, he talks to his brothers around him.
Chat loudly.
The assistant shooter and observer were equally impressive. One of them carried a tripod and a spare barrel, and the other carried a submachine gun on his back. They were covered with bullet chains, smoking cigarettes, walking on both sides of the main shooter to cover him, and laughing loudly.
With.
Looking at the endless formation of the People's Guard, almost every soldier is like this, with high morale, marching in the cold and dry night, stepping on the soft northern farmland, listening to the roar of tanks and armored vehicles... This kind of
The thrill of being a conqueror, coupled with the sense of security brought by the giant steel beast around them, made every soldier's chest beat with excitement. Even though it was already late at night, no one felt sleepy at all.
In the distance behind him, there are two clumps of jumping flames. In fact, they are not "fires", but giant fires that are more than ten meters high. There are two piles every ten kilometers. It's just that the distance is too long.
It's too far away, so it looks even smaller than the flame of a lighter, just like two bright stars. Now, the two stars are basically overlapping, but they are slightly separated, and they can be distinguished as two stars.
This shows that the direction of attack is basically correct and has not deviated much. The two "stars" behind him play an excellent role in always regulating the direction of the soldiers' attack, which is more effective than the Big Dipper in the sky.
…
The moonlight is very bright, and the visibility is better than expected. It stands to reason that the marching speed can be faster than the current one. However, since this is the first mechanized march at night, I must be cautious and cautious when explaining to Xiaoqiang. I would rather go slower than thousands of people.
Don't be ambushed. The current speed of about eight kilometers per hour is pretty good, and the infantry can keep up. Although eight kilometers per hour is a bit faster for dismounted infantry, these infantry are all riding in armored vehicles. When they reach a certain distance
, the soldiers on and off the vehicle can be exchanged.
At a speed of eight kilometers per hour, including some small resistance that may be encountered on the road, it is enough to advance to the seaside before dawn. If it is faster, not only will chaos easily occur, but the infantry on foot will not be able to keep up. Without the scattered troops on both sides,
It would be too dangerous to drive dismounted infantry.
The armored division advanced all the way to the northeast, and encountered small-scale resistance along the way. However, this was such a powerful armored division, and many times it did not fight much. The Qing army on the opposite side just fled, even throwing away its artillery. Guangwu "
The side effects of the order "If one person is captured, the whole family will be implicated" became apparent at this time.
Originally, without this order, they might have resisted for a while under the coercion of their superiors. It would not be terrible to be surrounded. At worst, they would have surrendered in the end. But now, the fear of being captured makes these small groups of Qing soldiers even dare not
In the First World War, they knew that the mobility of the Ming army was far superior to their own, and they were afraid that if they stayed to resist, they would be surrounded. In the end, no one would be able to escape, and their whole family would be completely ruined.
Even the officers of the Qing army who originally forced the soldiers to resist are now taking the lead in retreating. Once they are surrounded, even if they are officers, they will inevitably be captured. The court will not go easy on their wives just because they are officers. On the contrary,
Those Qing soldiers whose homes are in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan will happily surrender at this time. They have no scruples at this moment. Their hometown has been liberated by the Ming army, and they know that as long as they surrender to the Ming army, they will be able to return soon.
hometown.
So a strange situation occurred - every time they encountered a Qing army, after two weak resistances, the Qing army would immediately break into two groups. One group dropped its heavy weapons and fled like flying, and the other group
Joyfully left to surrender.
In this way, they advanced all the way, fighting against the wind. At 2:30 in the middle of the night, the reconnaissance battalion of the leading troops of the 5th Armored Division had advanced through Tongxing Town, and no Qing troops were found. The common people near the town heard the noise and all covered themselves up.
I took off my clothes and came out to take a look. I saw a large ocean of metal under the moonlight, and a large piece of steel helmet glowing with cold light, slowly flowing outside the town.
They were stunned and couldn't believe their good luck for a long time. - In the past month, the imperial army continued to move south, and the town kept publicizing how powerful the imperial army was and how powerful the imperial army was.
The defense line was so impregnable, and Nanming was so scared that he was already crying and begging for peace from the court... The common people thought that they would live under the rule of the Qing Dynasty for the rest of their lives.
Unexpectedly, after the cannons were fired for a while during the day and the first half of the night, the Ming army actually came here in the second half of the night... Destiny changed so quietly.
…
At this time, it is estimated that we are still 20 kilometers away from the seaside. At this speed, we will arrive in more than two hours.
A platoon of the reconnaissance battalion was widely dispersed in the fields. At the front were some twenty infantrymen, armed with submachine guns and light machine guns, walking in the fields and searching in a fan. Behind them were several sidecar motorcycles at a distance.
Woodpecker in bucket
The machine gun slowly moved forward. At the very back, there were three Lightning-2 light tanks and two armored vehicles with machine guns to provide support. Both armored personnel carriers were empty, and the soldiers on them were
Already searched on foot in front.
The vast farmland was bare, with the pale moonlight shining on it. There were occasionally one or two tall graves in the distance. From time to time, on the dead trees in the field, an owl made a strange cry.
The atmosphere was quite terrifying.
Even though the soldiers of the reconnaissance battalion hold submachine guns in their hands, they still have their hearts in their hands. They are not as relaxed as the officers and soldiers behind them. They talk when they should, laugh when they should, and smoke when they should smoke. The troops behind are not as good at it.
Being suddenly ambushed. Those who are suddenly ambushed can only be the reconnaissance troops who are at the forefront and have the weakest strength. They are like the engineers opening the way in the minefield. Once there is danger, they will be the first to be killed.
It's them.
Especially the machine gun motorcycles behind them kept a distance of tens of meters from them. The tanks and armored vehicles kept the distance even further. This was to prevent the enemy from being detected by the sound of the engine before the people arrived.
If you are detected by the enemy first, you will inevitably be ambushed.
But having said that, the more this happens, the more nervous people become. Wherever these twenty or so infantrymen go, the surrounding fields are silent, especially since they only have submachine guns and light machine guns in their hands, they feel even more weak. It is better to have tanks behind them.
More secure.
Suddenly, the squad leader who was walking at the front raised his arm. Suddenly, all the twenty or so people scattered stopped, like clockwork, very precise.
Then, the squad leader at the front waved his hand downward again, and everyone in the two squads lowered their bodies and entered a semi-shaded state.
The first squad leader was half-kneeling in the dirt, holding up his binoculars and looking at a dark, gray thing in the distance ahead.
…
About a hundred meters away, a dozen large trees gathered together to form a small forest. Behind the small forest, there were vague outlines of some houses.
The monitor judged that it was a village.
The two squad leaders observed it with binoculars for a while, then quietly gathered together and exchanged opinions in a low voice. They both thought it was a village.
We passed a lot of small villages like this this night. However, we cannot take it lightly. At least six of the resistance we encountered were all near small villages like this.
The squad leader called a soldier and asked him to run to the back and notify the motorcycles and tanks behind him that a small residential area was found about a hundred meters ahead.
Then, he discussed with the other squad leader, and each stood up with a squad, carrying submachine guns and light machine guns, hunched over, and divided into two sides to outflank the small village ahead for reconnaissance.
…
The two reconnaissance squads quietly walked around the outside of the village from the north and south directions, and finally met at the east end of the village. Nothing was found outside the village. The soldiers felt a little more relaxed and began to drive in a low voice.
It was a joke, waiting for the two squad leaders to make the next step, whether to continue moving forward or enter the village for further investigation.
If you enter the village, if you don't do it right, it will cause a series of barking dogs. If there is really a small group of Qing troops staying, it will be a warning. But then again, if there is a Qing army, even if it is a warning, it is
That's right. That's what the reconnaissance battalion is for.
After some discussion, they decided to use the most common method.
More than twenty scouts stood guard at the east end of the village, each occupying several shooting points and laying ambush. Then, two soldiers walked to the door of a house at the entrance of the village and knocked gently.
They planned to ask the people in the village whether there was accommodation for Qing troops in the village.
After knocking for a long time, a shuddering sound came from inside. Then, there was the sound of a person pulling on his shoes. He leaned against the door and asked impatiently:
"Which one? What do you do?"
"Open the door and talk!" A Ming army soldier lowered his voice and shouted in a rough voice, imitating the northern dialect, "This man is from the 12th Division of the Eight Banners! Let the Ming army disperse! Are there any of our brothers in your village?"
The voice inside the door seemed very scared and whispered:
"I don't know... the officers are here, please open the door now..."
The door opened a crack, and a head was exposed, looking at them. He was shocked when he found out that they were Ming soldiers:
"Ah! You are..."
"Haha, fellow villagers, don't be surprised..." A Ming army soldier laughed, "We are from the 5th Armored Division of the People's Guard of the Ming Army. The main force is behind us. We will go to your village to scout first... Are there any Qing troops in your village?"
"Ah... ah..." Perhaps he was too excited, and the fellow was speechless for a long time, "Sir... sir... sirs, you have worked hard, there are no Qing troops in our village..."
The two Ming soldiers looked at each other, smiled, nodded, and one of them smiled:
"Okay, excuse me. Tell the villagers tomorrow morning that your village has been restored!"
"Hey! Hey! It must be..."
…
After the two soldiers completed their mission, they felt relieved. They took a long breath and walked toward the village. One of them took out a cigarette and gave one to his partner, and the two started smoking.
.
By the light of the match, a soldier suddenly looked at the ground and was stunned for a moment.
"Hey, let's go! What's wrong with you?"
"Wait a moment!"
The first soldier squatted down and touched the ground with his hands.
"What's wrong?" The second soldier laughed, "Did you see the money?"
"How big is your mother's money! Shhh... keep your voice down!"
"What's wrong? What did you find?"
The first soldier was very nervous and whispered:
"Hey, help me block it and strike another match!"
"what?"
"I teach you how to row and just do it!"
So the two soldiers squatted on the ground, struck another match, and shined it on the ground.
Under the red light of a match, a track mark was deeply imprinted on the mud.
The two soldiers looked at each other, dumbfounded.
They quickly put out the matches, and then they groped on the ground in two directions. Soon, one person whispered:
"Here it is!"
Another person also came over and touched...the second track mark was found.
Judging from the width of the track marks, it is not a Ming army tank.