Chapter 58: Breaking the Stronghold, Annihilating the Invaders

Until the sky turned completely dark, the fighters of the Independent Detachment and the guerrilla forces did not begin their operations.

Led by dozens of guerrilla fighters, the soldiers of the First Company bypassed the stronghold and proceeded to the roadside of the mountain highway ahead to establish a blocking position.

The Second Company, the Third Company, and the main force of the guerrillas waited for a short while—reserving time for the First Company to construct its position—and then assisted the artillery company in maneuvering to a location one kilometer away from the stronghold to set up the artillery position, completing the assembly and calibration of the infantry guns and mortars. Such a distance facilitated direct-fire aiming for the infantry guns, thereby increasing their destructive power against the blockhouse structures.

Subsequently, Liu Changqing led the Second and Third Companies, as well as the guerrillas, crawling under the cover of darkness to within less than five hundred meters of the stronghold's main gate, where they constructed improvised machine-gun nests and made preparations for the assault.

In addition, to prevent the Japanese troops in the four small corner blockhouses from harming the captured civilians before their impending defeat, sharp-shooters were specially assigned to circle around to the opposite sides of the four corners, preparing to temporarily suppress the enemies in the blockhouses through precise sniping.

Everything was ready.

At this moment, Zhang Yun, staying beside the artillery position, checked the time; it was close to nine o'clock in the evening. Without further delay, he directly ordered the attack to commence.

Just like the stronghold-assault subject during recruit training, the attack was initiated by the infantry guns. The gunners skillfully shoved 3.8-kilogram high-explosive shells into the chambers, gently closed the breeches, and pulled the firing lanyards!

"Thud!" "Thud!"

Not long after the two cannon shots rang out, massive explosions blossomed against the walls of the large blockhouses on both the left and right. The relatively thin walls of the stronghold blockhouses were instantly mangled as if gnawed by dogs, revealing gaping holes. The few Japanese soldiers and puppet troops left behind near the large holes were left with bloody heads and disemboweled entrails by the shrapnel of the exploding shells, while those further away suffered bleeding from their seven orifices and were left dizzy and disoriented!

Following the discharge of the infantry guns, three 80mm and 82mm mortars also commenced intensive strikes. Soon, over a dozen mortar shells landed directly on the machine-gun nests and guard posts near the stronghold's main gate, blowing the area near the gate to pieces and flattening the defensive works constructed by the Japanese and puppet troops one by one.

Meanwhile, the two 60mm mortars of the infantry company were not to be outdone, launching intensive attacks against the two small corner blockhouses near the enemy's main gate. Regrettably, the firepower of the 60mm mortar shells was too weak to blast open the small blockhouses, but it still left the Japanese and puppet soldiers inside with ringing ears, and even knocked down the surrounding perimeter walls.

The artillery company of the Independent Detachment applied the firepower-raid tactical doctrine specially trained by Zhang Yun, pouring shells into the enemy's positions and barracks at maximum speed!

Although it sounds like a lot was happening, the aforementioned events actually transpired in just over a dozen seconds. By this time, the two infantry guns had fired their second rounds of the day, targeting the two large blockhouses once more. Under the high-intensity training of the artillerymen and Li Tianduo's precise manipulation, the second rounds from both infantry guns struck directly into the already-blasted gaping holes of the blockhouses, detonating violently inside the structures!

"Boom!" "Crash!" The large blockhouse on the left likely had its stored ammunition detonated, producing a violent secondary explosion before the entire blockhouse collapsed completely. The blockhouse on the right appeared somewhat more resilient, and a machine-gunner holding a Type 11 light machine gun had already begun counterattacking from the uppermost machine-gun port.

However, it was clear that the Japanese machine-gunner's counterattack was futile. A few seconds later, two infantry gun shells struck the right-hand large blockhouse simultaneously. The brick-and-stone structure could not withstand such punishment and collapsed entirely as well!

By this time, the entire position near the stronghold's main gate had been eradicated, along with the two large blockhouses. The infantry guns shifted their muzzles to target the small corner blockhouses.

The infantry company launched its assault!

There were no battle cries, no reckless banzai charges. Two 60mm mortars consecutively fired eight smoke shells behind the stronghold's main gate, and then the assault troops of the infantry company, organized into squads of three with four squads forming a platoon and four platoons constituting a wave, dispersed and charged forward with maintained intervals. The two following platoons protected the flanks of the forward assault team and advanced in support, rushing toward the stronghold's main gate as well.

In the rear, more than ten machine guns provided covering fire toward the direction of the smoke screen!

Liu Changqing looked at the assault formation of the infantry company and nodded with satisfaction. This infantry combat method was actually synthesized by Zhang Yun, who blended the later-generation infantry three-three system squads with the German Rommel inverted-triangle attack tactics, and finalized it after discussing it with Liu Changqing and others several times.

To enhance firepower, among the three-man squads of the vanguard assault teams, one soldier carried a Mauser automatic pistol while two carried rifles; the fourth squad in each platoon served as a firepower squad, with one soldier wielding a ZB vz. 26 light machine gun, another carrying spare machine-gun magazines and an automatic pistol, and a third holding a rifle (submachine guns had not yet been issued, but Mauser automatic pistols could later be replaced with MP38 submachine guns), ready to use the machine gun to cover the preceding three squads at any moment.

To reinforce the assault effect, the assault was preceded by intensive artillery fire to disrupt the enemy's defensive rhythm, establishing an absolute firepower advantage over the enemy using direct-fire weapons in the direction of the attack. To prevent heavy casualties from enemy machine-gun and artillery fire, the members of the three-man assault teams maintained intervals of over three meters from one another and were responsible for mutual support.

In short, this was an assault formation that emphasized firepower supremacy. In the Chinese battlefield, where firepower density was generally weak, it should possess formidable combat capability. As for its actual effectiveness, it could only be tested and verified through genuine combat.

However, the Eighth Route Army at present could not afford such a firepower configuration; even Zhang Yun could not afford too many of them right now. In reality, the Independent Detachment had only managed to fully equip the first three waves—consisting of over 60 men in the assault force—with this weaponry!

During the infantry assault, the small corner blockhouses flanking the stronghold's main gate could not withstand the infantry gun shells and were quickly blasted into ruins. By this time, all peripheral positions in the direction of the stronghold's main entrance had been completely eliminated, clearing the enemy firepower points ahead for the assault force!

Soon, the assault force of the Independent Detachment's infantry company had breached the interior of the stronghold. The following firepower squads closely followed, occupying positions such ruins to mount light machine guns. Subsequently, the two 60mm mortars also advanced with the assault, establishing an artillery firing position near the entrance.

Everything happened too quickly!

From the fierce artillery strike to the leveling of the main gate and the collapse of the large and small blockhouses under artillery fire, everything occurred within two minutes.

Although the intense artillery fire awakened the Japanese and puppet troops who had just fallen asleep, as the 80mm and 82mm mortars intensively shelled the barracks, the Japanese and puppet soldiers who had just emerged from their dormitories with machine guns and rifles were instantly torn to shreds by flying shrapnel. The massive casualties and gruesome scenes immediately threw the puppet troops into absolute panic, causing them to drop their weapons and flee in all directions.

Although the Japanese troops were highly elite, because they distrusted the puppet troops, most of the Japanese soldiers slept inside the blockhouses. Consequently, as the blockhouses collapsed, most of them were crushed to death or injured beneath the rubble.

Although some Japanese soldiers slept in the barracks, they failed to form an effective defense due to the chaos caused by the puppet troops.

Seeing that defeat seemed inevitable, a bloodied Japanese squad leader suddenly appeared with a group of machine-gunners. By summarily executing over a dozen fleeing puppet troops, he managed to cow the rest and rallied dozens of men to establish a defense line relying on the barracks!

However, it was too late, and the gap in firepower during positional warfare was simply too vast!

As the assault force occupied the main gate and established light machine-gun and mortar positions, the close-quarters combat between the two sides saw the assault force's dense automatic firepower completely overwhelm the Japanese and puppet troops.

An old Japanese grenadier managed to fire a grenade, wounding a light machine-gunner from the assault force, but immediately afterward, two 60mm mortar shells landed around him, blasting him into the air. And although the Japanese riflemen were marksmen, they could not withstand the dense hail of pistol bullets fired in a fan pattern by the Mauser pistols at the front. What was more, 82mm mortar shells continued to rain down upon the heads of the Japanese soldiers.

The puppet troops had already been terrified into submission by the Japanese, but seeing the Japanese soldiers dying and getting wounded one by one, they collapsed and fled backward once again. The Japanese squad leader attempted to threaten them with his weapon once more, but he was spotted by a sharp-eyed sniper in the assault force, who sent him straight to the netherworld with a single bullet!

With the influx of subsequent large reinforcements, the Japanese troops became increasingly helpless and were completely wiped out. The remaining dozens of puppet troops obediently knelt and raised their hands!

The stronghold was captured!