Blood-Red Front

After the initial reconnaissance, the aircraft airdropped intelligence over the advance battalion of the 41st Regiment of the 14th Mixed Brigade.

A small parachute wobbled down from the sky.

Major Imai, the newly promoted battalion commander, quickly received the message about the airdrop.

Looking at the hand-drawn map of the battle formation, Imai said, "The Xia army really chose a good location; we can't even outflank them."

The Lujia Town and Henan ring positions form a strategic triangle. If the Xia army crosses the river from a distance and launches a flanking attack on Lujia Town, the Xia army in Henan can freely strike the flanks of the flanking force.

At this point, the only option for the Imai Battalion was a frontal assault. Only after capturing the Henan circular position could the Hatsushige Army deploy its forces in multiple directions.

The deputy battalion commander standing nearby said, "Major, although the Xia army has already seized Lujia Town, they probably haven't fully established their positions yet. Should we send out a small team for a probing attack?"

Although the 14th Mixed Brigade was temporarily transferred from the garrison to the 10th Army, they were clearly not very obedient to management.

The 14th Brigade did not attack Huating from the left rear as ordered by headquarters. Instead, after successfully maneuvering out of the enemy lines, it chose to penetrate directly into the heart of the Xia army's territory.

Faced with such a sudden and swift offensive, Imai did not believe that the Xia army would have been prepared in advance.

"Let the first squad go," Imai said.

"The rest of the troops should prepare to cross the river. Once the first squad opens a breach, the main force should immediately rush in and cut off the encirclement of the enemy."

"According to intelligence from the reconnaissance aircraft, the enemy's main force is currently concentrated in the positions south of the Wusong River. As long as we are fast enough to eliminate the enemy's main force in Henan, we can avoid fighting the Xia army in street battles in Lujia Town."

"clear."

Imai Battalion is not afraid of fighting in urban warfare, but once they enter the urban warfare phase, they need to clear out the enemy from house to house, which is too time-consuming.

Upon receiving the order, the newly formed squad began to advance, and when they were more than 400 meters away from the riverbank, they began to deploy according to standard procedures.

On the position, they saw the newly promoted troops launching an attack, and some of the new recruits immediately picked up their rifles.

"Don't fire. Let the enemy get closer. We have the river as cover; they can't get up there," a veteran soldier nearby stopped the new recruit.

At such a distance, even a veteran wouldn't be able to hit the target, let alone a new recruit.

Firing at this point would only be a waste of bullets and would very likely provoke a retaliatory grenade launcher from the Rising Army.

Heavy machine guns could indeed mow down the rising army, but after the fierce battles with the rising army on the Binxi battlefield, the veterans knew the threat posed by the rising army's infantry artillery, so they would not easily expose their own heavy firepower.

Upon seeing that no one was firing from the opposite position, the newly promoted squad leader did not lower his guard; instead, his expression became even more serious.

"Squad 1, assault! Squad 2, provide cover! Squad 3, provide support! Grenadier squad, prepare for fire!"

"Attack formation!"

"Scatter! Scatter!"

On Lin Zhiyuan's map, the newly formed squad formed a diamond formation, with three infantry squads advancing in a triangle, and the grenade launcher squads following closely behind the infantry.

The eerie atmosphere on the battlefield, quiet yet tense, lasted until the newly promoted infantrymen approached within 100 meters of the riverbank.

"Bang!"

As the battalion commander pulled the trigger, gunfire from Xia Jun and Chu Sheng Jun erupted instantly.

Seeing that the two sides were so close before Xia Jun opened fire, Imai knew he was in trouble.

At the beginning of the military, or rather at this time, the infantry tactics were basically the same all over the world.

First, the machine gun teams suppress the enemy, then the rifle teams advance in batches over short distances. Once the rifle teams are in position, they provide concentrated fire to suppress the enemy and cover the advance of the machine gun teams.

This process was repeated until they were within 100 meters, at which point they would crawl forward, and then charge with their blades for the last 30 meters to disrupt the enemy's formation.

This tactic proved effective even when fighting against the Rossian Empire's army to the north.

However, the Xia army had the river as cover. Even though the man-made river was not very wide, it was enough to thwart the initial assault of the rising army.

After all, no matter how skilled a fighter is, it's impossible for them to leap across the river and charge onto the Xia army's position.

"They're so calm and collected; they're definitely not local security forces. They must be the main force of the Xia army," Imai analyzed.

"The major is right." The deputy battalion commander nodded. "The Xia army's light machine guns are no less numerous and dense than ours, and there are also bursts of heavy machine gun fire. They are undoubtedly the Xia army's elite."

"Order the infantry artillery to move forward and prepare to eliminate enemy heavy firepower at pinpoint locations," Imai ordered.

Local security forces usually only have rifles, and at most one or two light machine guns. A newly promoted army squad's heavy firepower can overwhelm the enemy.

However, if they encounter the main force of the Xia army, it will not be so easy to make a breakthrough. The suppressive power of heavy machine guns is not comparable to that of light machine guns and rifles.

The two infantry guns of Imai Battalion began to move forward.

However, once the infantry gun entered within 500 meters of the Third Battalion's front line, it was immediately marked on Lin Zhiyuan's minimap.

[Artillery Platoon, 1st Infantry Battalion, 41st Regiment, newly promoted to Army Corps.]

Type 92 infantry gun: 2 pieces, manpower: 55.

[Type 92 Infantry Gun: Weight 212 kg, maximum range 2800 m...]

The Type 92 infantry gun is the most important accompanying support firepower for the infantry battalion of the newly established nation. It can achieve precision strikes within 1200 meters and area suppression within 1800 meters.

However, because it is a short-barreled howitzer, the Type 92 infantry gun has a low muzzle velocity and a relatively curved trajectory.

When firing at long range, complex calculations are required, so novice artillerymen prefer to advance their artillery directly to the front lines.

The 400-600 meter range is the preferred range for infantry artillery. At this range, infantry guns can fire at a high angle at reverse slope fortifications or directly at fixed bunker firing positions.

This time, the artillery platoon of Imai Battalion advanced its infantry guns to within 400 meters of the 6th Regiment's forward positions before stopping.

While the newly promoted artillerymen were busy building their positions, Lin Zhiyuan had already made a phone call to the mortar company of the 3rd Battalion.

"This is Lin Zhiyuan. Do you see the enemy artillery position at 5 o'clock?"

Upon hearing Lin Zhiyuan's words, the artillery company commander immediately raised his binoculars.

However, no matter how he looked, he still couldn't find anything.

After the gun shield is removed, the Type 92 infantry gun is only half a meter tall, which is about the same height as a heavy machine gun. Sometimes it is not even noticeable when it fires, let alone when it is concealed.

"Commander, I didn't find anything."

"Area C, No. 5, 12, 35, let's take another look."

With the exact location known, the artillery company commander finally saw it.

In a field, a small group of newly risen soldiers dressed in khaki were busy at work, with two cannons protruding from behind the earthen embankment.

Because the newly promoted soldiers were disguised, it would be very difficult to find them without knowing their exact location.

"Commander, I see them!" the artillery company commander exclaimed excitedly. "Two cannons, that should be an artillery squad."

Lin Zhiyuan nodded. "Good to see. Get rid of him."

"Rest assured, Commander, we guarantee the mission will be accomplished!"

Artillery is not infantry and cannot disperse in small groups. Therefore, once a barrage of fire is launched, the casualties of artillery units operating in clusters will be considerable.

……