Blood-Red Front

After hanging up the phone, the artillery company commander turned and shouted, "All gun positions, area C5, coordinates 312, 335, prepare for 5 rounds of rapid fire!"

According to Lin Zhiyuan's plan, each infantry battalion's mortar company should be equipped with 6 82mm mortars. However, the 6th Regiment was short of both men and artillery, and the 3rd Battalion was only equipped with 3 82mm mortars at this time.

The maximum range of the 82mm mortars used by the Xia Army was similar to that of the Type 92 infantry guns used by the Chu Sheng Army, but the mortars did not have rifling, so the hit rate was lower at longer distances.

In addition, mortars can only fire indirect fire and not direct fire, so they are generally used for coverage strikes between 500 and 1500 meters.

Since it was a pre-set position, the mortar company had already calibrated the distance, so there was no need to conduct a test firing. The soldiers only needed to adjust the angle according to the distance and attach the fuse and propellant charge to the mortar shells.

A dozen seconds later, the artillery company commander blew his whistle and raised his small flag.

"All company, get ready!"

"Five rapid-fire rounds! Fire!"

With a heavy wave of the small flag, the gunner released his grip, and the shell slid down the muzzle to the bottom, where the primer instantly ignited the propellant.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

The mortar has an extremely high rate of fire; once the shells are prepared in advance, the interval between each shot is only two or three seconds.

The newly formed artillerymen, who were busy at work, suddenly heard a whooshing sound coming from the sky.

As veterans, they recognized the sound immediately.

"Mortar!"

The alarmed artillerymen immediately rushed into the nearby craters.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

Fifteen 82mm shells landed in succession, and the nascent artillery platoon was engulfed in explosions and scattered shrapnel.

Seeing the artillery squad suddenly subjected to overwhelming fire, Imai almost fainted from shock.

"Baka yarou! How is this possible?!"

There was no test firing; the artillery barrage went straight in, indicating that the enemy was prepared and that the artillery squad's position had been completely exposed.

"Captain, we must halt the offensive." The deputy captain immediately said, "The enemy's firepower far exceeds our expectations."

For Imai Battalion, the artillery platoon being subjected to overwhelming fire was extremely devastating.

Without infantry guns, Imai Battalion would have had difficulty destroying the Xia Army's heavy machine gun positions.

With Xia Jun's heavy machine guns positioned there, it was virtually impossible for the infantry to break through the river in front of them.

What the deputy captain understood, Imai naturally understood as well.

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!" Imai gritted his teeth and said.

"Arrest a few Chinese civilians nearby and see if we can find out what's going on the other side!"

Imai was not surprised that the Xia army had mortars and heavy machine guns, as he had already guessed that it was the main force.

But in just the first round of probing, Xia Jun revealed three mortars and two heavy machine guns, which was very strange.

As an elite force, the Xia Army would never expose all of its heavy firepower at once. The fact that it has used so many heavy weapons means that the Xia Army has even more trump cards up its sleeve.

With Imai's order, the attacking Hatsushige squad quickly retreated, and the remnants of the artillery squad that had been shelled also hurriedly ran away with their infantry guns.

Although both infantry guns were damaged, the gun barrels are made of high-strength steel. As long as the shell doesn't hit them directly, there shouldn't be any major problems. They can be repaired and still be used.

A newly established nation may not be wealthy.

……

The initial rank of the army was withdrawn, but Lin Zhiyuan did not relax.

He knew very well that this was just a minor skirmish, and the next firefight would definitely not be so easy.

"Commander, apart from the stretcher team remaining on the second line of defense, all the able-bodied men have been withdrawn," Guan Jianchu reported.

"Tell District Chief Zhang to evacuate all the women and children of the militia, and have all the remaining able-bodied men participate in digging up the houses."

Lin Zhiyuan's requirement was that all houses in Lujia Town should be designed to facilitate support and evacuation, and that soldiers of the 6th Regiment should avoid appearing on the streets as much as possible during street fighting.

However, this is a huge workload. The engineering company of the 6th Regiment and some local residents have already started demolishing and opening up houses in Lujia Town, but the process is still somewhat slow.

"Commander, besides the militia, there are still quite a few residents lingering in Lujia Town. What should we do with them?"

"Try to persuade them to leave."

Many people in Lujia Town have already fled. Those who remain are either elderly people or people who think that Chu Shengjun won't do anything to them.

Lin Zhiyuan didn't really have any good solutions for these residents.

Guan Jianchu nodded, "Then I'll have someone from the political department try to persuade them again."

……

An hour later, the main force of the 41st Regiment joined forces with the Imai Battalion.

Inside the regimental headquarters, after listening to Imai's report, Colonel Hasegawa slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Baka!"

"They don't even know who the enemy on the other side is? It's a joke!"

"Yes, sir!" Imai immediately stood at attention.

Imai was helpless. The Xia army on the other side must have just arrived, and the nearby civilians didn't even know that troops had come to Lujia Town.

Looking at Imai, who was standing at attention with his head bowed, Hasegawa said in a deep voice, "Major, I don't care which unit is on the other side. I have only one request: take the position as quickly as possible."

The 14th Brigade planned to outflank Kunshan. If they could not advance swiftly, they would not only fail to complete their strategic plan, but they might also have their retreat cut off by the Xia army in Huating.

"Commander, the enemy has built multiple lines of defense and has a large number of heavy weapons. Our troops have been fighting continuously for 24 hours. It is unlikely that an attack will be effective now."

"If we rush, the enemy will rush too! If we don't take advantage of their unstable foothold, when will we? Wait until they've fully established their positions?!"

"The 14th Brigade's mission is to capture Kunshan. If we fail to quickly take Lujia Town and let the Western Xia army escape, can you bear the responsibility?!"

"Commander, the attack is too hasty now. I'm afraid the casualties will be too high."

"Baka yarou!"

"We are the Empire's most elite force!"

"Who doesn't suffer casualties in war? Go ask Xia Jun on the opposite front if they're afraid of losing their men."

Imai fell silent.

After a while, Imai spoke up: "Regimental Commander, we need mountain artillery support for our attack."

Hasegawa remained silent, while the chief of staff beside him said, "The 3rd Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment has not yet arrived; only our regiment's mountain artillery company can provide artillery support."

The 14th Brigade consists of two infantry regiments and one reinforced independent mountain artillery regiment.

Although mountain guns were lighter than field guns and could be disassembled and transported by mules and horses, they still could not keep up with the marching pace of infantry, especially in areas with dense river networks.

"Commander, should we wait...?"

"Bang!"

Hasegawa slammed his hand on the table, interrupting Imai.

"The mountain artillery company will provide long-range support. In addition, the artillery platoon of the 2nd Infantry Battalion will be temporarily reassigned to the 1st Battalion."

"In half an hour, the infantry and artillery will launch a coordinated attack. Imai-kun, I hope you won't let me down."

Hasegawa's tone was extremely cold.

"Hi!"

Imai didn't dare say anything more, stood at attention, and walked out of the regimental headquarters.

……