in2ebook Chapter 396: Have you learned to predict?
Chapter 396: Have you learned to predict?
When the Japanese saw the flag signals, they immediately turned the mortars around and prepared to concentrate fire on Wei Heshang's gunboat.
"Oh no! The Japs are coming towards us now!"
Monk Wei immediately returned to the cockpit. He could no longer let the gunboat sail freely, but had to keep it as far away from the shore as possible to prevent his aunt's mortar shells from hitting the gunboat.
Because the Japanese were going to fight on the island this time, they did not carry infantry guns and anti-tank guns, but instead carried a large number of mortars.
The Japanese on the eastern front opposite Wei Dayong were equipped with more than 30 mortars.
Seeing the overwhelming artillery shells, Wei Dayong was immediately paralyzed. He quickly pushed the accelerator to the bottom. Black smoke came out of the chimney of the gunboat, and thus he avoided the first wave of attacks.
"Fuck it, be ready to jump off the boat at any moment!"
Without the support of mortars, the troops defending Weishan Island repelled the Japanese's first wave of attack.
But seeing the Japanese mortars continuously firing at the gunboats on the water, they became extremely anxious.
"Quick, call the remaining troops and tell them to use rockets to destroy the Japanese mortars!"
As he was speaking, a mortar shell landed right in front of the gunboat's course, and the shrapnel made the armor crackle.
"Damn it, the Japs have learned to predict!"
The remaining troops on Weishan Island immediately took out rocket launchers from wooden boxes.
Because the water bank is relatively low, the position built by the independent column is at a higher position.
It's easy to hit high and low.
In the first wave of rockets, eight rockets were fired, six of which hit the target and directly destroyed the Japanese's six mortars.
It was the first time that the Japanese soldiers of the 5th Independent Infantry Battalion saw this shoulder-mounted, direct-aimed, high-kill weapon. They were shocked and filled with fear.
"Impossible! The hostile forces operating here are most likely the Eighth Route Army guerrillas. How could they have such advanced weapons!"
But the sound of the explosion was not fake, the high-speed flying shrapnel was not fake, and the Japanese soldiers' broken hands and feet were not fake.
Even Ishihara Satomi began to wonder, could it be that this was not a guerrilla force of the Tubalu, but an independent column with strong soldiers and horses? But how did they send so many weapons and equipment to Weishan Lake?
But he didn't have time to think about the "way" of the independent column now, but had to find a way to break the deadlock.
There was strong resistance from the island garrison in front and two gunboats causing trouble from behind.
"Baga, order all troops to ignore the gunboats behind us and charge at full speed to eliminate the defenders on Weishan Island!"
In the end, Ishihara Satomi had no choice but to take a gamble and pin all her hopes on a frontal breakthrough of the Weishan Island position.
Once they break through the position, they can set up defenses on Weishan Island. No matter how powerful the firepower of the two gunboats is, as long as they retreat out of the range, the gunboats can't go ashore and pursue them, right?
Therefore, Monk Wei could stab the Japanese in the back at will, and even if it meant the loss of two or three hundred Japanese soldiers and puppet troops, Ishihara Satomi could completely accept it.
Ishihara Satomi, who was soaking wet, ran to the mortar position with a bent back and half-knelt on the ground.
"Turn the guns around and bombard the defenders with all your might! Kill them!"
The well-trained Japanese artillerymen immediately adjusted the mortars, calibrated them, and fired rapidly at an extremely fast speed.
As expected, with the addition of mortars, the Japanese's second wave of attack went very smoothly.
"Hey? The Japanese don't want to attack us anymore? Then we'll just keep attacking their butts!"
Wei Dayong maneuvered the gunboat closer and closer to the shore of Weishan Lake, with mortars serving from a distance and MG34 firing from close.
But the Japanese still stuck their butts out and pushed towards the shore.
"Old Wei, the position is not good! It seems that the first direction is about to be broken through!"
Peng Liang rushed into the cockpit anxiously and shouted to Monk Wei.
"Contact the comrades on the island, launch a counterattack, and then quickly retreat to the second line of defense!"
"Yes!"
In order to relieve the pressure on the defenders of Weishan Island, the barrel of Wei Heshang's mortar was almost red and all the shells were used up.
Fortunately, the defenders of Weishan Island took advantage of Wei Heshang's last round of firepower output to successfully repel the Japanese attack and then entered the second line of defense.
The second line of defense is actually Fenghuangtai in the northwest of Weishan Island, which is the commanding height of the entire island, with an altitude of 91.6 meters.
In Fenghuangtai, Peng Liang's Weishan Lake Independent Battalion did a lot of work in the early stages, bought a large amount of bricks and wood from the land, and built a large number of semi-permanent fortifications.
Circular fortifications were built from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, and then connected by "Z"-shaped communication trenches.
Especially at the top of Phoenix Terrace, a huge amount of money was spent to build a fortress that was close to a permanent fortification, so it was naturally no problem to withstand the Japanese mortars.
The 201st Airborne Regiment and Weishan Lake Independent Battalion withdrew from the first line of defense, and the Japanese quickly went ashore and occupied the defense line, with the gunboats behind them far behind!
But they didn't expect that the gunboat behind them had no mortar shells, and even the bullets for the MG34 general-purpose machine gun were almost exhausted.
Monk Wei only had one general-purpose machine gun, three semi-automatic rifles, and four Type 95 rifles left.
"Fortunately, we have enough rifle bullets, otherwise we would have to fight the Japanese with bayonets!"
"Captain, the commander of a battalion on the island wants to talk to you!"
"bring here!"
Wei Dayong took the microphone.
"I'm Wei Dayong!"
"Report to the regiment commander. We and the soldiers of the Weishan Lake Independent Battalion have withdrawn to the second line of defense without leaving behind a single wounded soldier. We have suffered more than 200 casualties, and the independent battalion has lost more than 150. The exact number is still being counted!"
Monk Wei's heart was bleeding when he heard these bloody numbers.
The members of the 201st Airborne Regiment were all the best soldiers selected by him from various units. In the beginning, he was often looked down upon by Zhang Dabiao in order to recruit these soldiers.
The 800 soldiers he brought back this time were the best of the best and the most powerful battalion.
"Damn the Japs! Brothers, you've worked hard, but the Japs aren't much better. Now is the most critical moment. It depends on who will give up first!"
"Commander, there are no cowards in the 201st Battalion of the st Airborne Regiment. As long as the people are in the position, they will be there!"
The battalion commander hung up the phone after saying this.
As night gradually fell, the enemy and our side were like wild beasts that had just fought, each licking their wounds as if they had reached a tacit understanding. The fierce battlefield returned to calm, and it was quiet enough to hear the calls of water birds and, of course, the sound of burning life.
Ishihara Satomi held her command knife, looked at the casualty report submitted, and then crushed it into a ball of waste paper.
"Damn it, there are only 500 Imperial warriors left, plus 700 Imperial Affiliates? Order all Imperial and Imperial Affiliates remaining on the various islands to abandon the islands and gather on Weishan Island!"
As agreed, the Japanese fired a green flare into the sky, and then they gradually sent reinforcements under the cover of night.