The shining blue sky and white sun cap badge was inlaid on the tall and stylish dark gray military cap. The curled brim was pressed down slightly, blocking some of the light, forming a curved shadow, covering part of the bronze and heroic face. The straight gray military uniform was tied in a thick and strong brown belt. The straps passed diagonally across the chest and around the shoulders, and were close to the major's collar badge with a red background and gold edges. The metal buckle on it was shining, forming a strong color contrast with the spotless black boots. A tall officer appeared at the door of the division command post.
"Report!"
The chief of staff, who was lying on the map, raised his head and said, "Well, Hu Yi, you're here." He took off his glasses and threw them on the map on the table, then put his hands behind his back and continued, "The division commander went to the headquarters overnight. I am currently in full command."
"Resolutely obey orders! Chief of Staff, please give instructions!"
The chief of staff waved his hand slightly, signaling Hu Yi to rest, and continued: "The Japanese suffered a loss yesterday. After this night, I estimate that their preparations for the attack are complete. How is your direct machine gun company arranged?"
"There are eight heavy machine guns, two of which are deployed at Yaomadu, two on the left wing of the front, and three on the right wing. They have all been assigned to the troops at their respective positions for temporary command. The remaining one will be dispatched by me in the center."
The chief of staff looked down at the map and said, "Are they all spread out? This is not good. I order the machine gun company to gather immediately and move to the hill to defend."
"This..." Hu Yi was puzzled. The hill position was the front line. It was a small hill without vegetation. If eight heavy machine guns were clustered on the hill position, the firepower range would be limited and the firing range would be too repeated. Not only would the heavy machine guns' range advantage be lost, but their concealment would also be too poor.
"Don't talk nonsense. The Japs are clearly going to attack the hill, and I want to keep the hill. If you don't want me to put your machine gun company up there, do you want me to put my artillery company up there? Follow your orders!"
"yes."…
It was almost dawn, and Hu Yi stood on the hill, looking around with a frown on his face. The deputy company commander ran up from behind, stood beside Hu Yi, took off his hat and wiped the sweat off his head, then fanned himself with the hat in his hand. "I say, company commander, are you sure you heard the order correctly? If you put us here, isn't that like using a heavy machine gun as a light machine gun?"
"How is the preparation of the fortifications going?" Hu Yi answered the question irrelevantly.
"As you said, in order to protect against artillery fire, we dug U-shaped trenches and made them as deep as possible. But look at the weeds around us. The heavy machine guns can't be hidden. I'm at a loss."
"Have you said hello to the infantry positions at the front of the mountain?"
"I've been there to see them. They're from the 642nd Regiment. They've deployed a reinforced battalion at the foot of the mountain in front of us. They should be able to hold out."
Hu Yi nodded, turned and walked towards the position.
"Hey, Captain, Captain, don't leave so quickly. Can you ask your superiors for instructions? There's still time..."
The Japanese were serious about it. They deployed a large battalion and attacked the frontline position at the foot of the hill like a surging tide. The dense artillery fire bombarded the reinforced battalion position at the front of the hill again and again.
Eight wheeled Maxim heavy machine guns worked almost non-stop, and in cooperation with the reinforced battalion in front, they firmly suppressed the Japanese offensive line at the front of the hill position, leaving behind a large number of corpses but unable to advance any further.
When the third attempt at a cluster attack failed, the frustrated Japanese finally extended their vision and discovered the fire support on the hill.
A 90mm Type 97 mortar shell came down from above his head with a distinctive whistling sound, landing not far outside the trench, raising a large cloud of mud and dust, and the falling gravel and dirt covered Hu Yi.
Hu Yi put down the telescope. It was bad. What was supposed to happen was finally happening. This single shell was a test fire, providing a reference for the correction of firing parameters before the formal bombardment. He shouted to the deputy company commander who was directing the firing on the position: "Cease fire and hide, prepare for artillery defense!"
Ten seconds later, the rain of bullets arrived as expected. The continuous roar extended wantonly, covering the entire hill position in gunpowder smoke.
The artillery fire did not stop, and the fourth charge of the Japanese began. Although the reinforced battalion, which had lost the heavy machine gun support behind it, resisted tenaciously, it was finally driven into the front trench by the first wave of Japanese.
The hand-to-hand combat in the telescope made Hu Yi extremely anxious. If the reinforced battalion could not hold on, the machine gun company behind would also be destroyed. He stood up from the trench and screamed through gritted teeth: "All machine guns, use the front trench as a reference point, extend 200 meters to block the fire. Block the fire!"
In the endless smoke of gunfire, the machine gunners climbed out of the trenches again, braving the air waves that could hit them at any time, listening to the deafening roar, and braved the continuous falling of gravel, sand, and shrapnel, and operated the machine guns again. The operators were constantly knocked down by shrapnel, and the people next to them immediately took over, allowing the machine guns to continue to fire, sprinkling out one barrage after another, penetrating the smoke one after another, roaring across the front trenches where the fighting was going on, forming a deadly barrage blocking zone. The Japanese who followed up were finally suppressed, and fell to the ground helplessly, panicking to find stones, shallow pits, or corpses to avoid the harvest that was coming. The Japanese who rushed into the defensive position had no follow-up support, and were finally killed by the infantry in the trenches. The fourth attack was fruitless.
The shelling stopped temporarily. The deputy company commander rushed to Hu Yi with a dusty face and shouted at him hoarsely: "Company commander, we can't fight like this anymore. Almost half of the brothers in the company have been killed by shells, and two machine guns have been destroyed. It's not worth it to fight like this!"
Hu Yi lay on the edge of the trench, holding a telescope and continuing to observe the battlefield, as if he didn't hear what the deputy company commander next to him said at all.
Hu Yi was also hesitating. How else could he fight? The Japanese could launch a new round of attacks at any time. Should he move his position now? It was too hasty. He probably didn't have enough time. The battlefield situation was much more severe than he had expected. He didn't expect the Japanese to come up with large numbers of troops at the beginning. If he lost the support of the machine gun company, the reinforced battalion in front might not be able to withstand a wave of Japanese troops. Should he continue to fight like this? The machine gun company would probably be gone if this happened again. It was all over. Hu Yi regretted it. Following orders? What the hell was he doing? He should have turned against the command post and made things clear to that grandson of the chief of staff. He should have rejected this ridiculous order. At most, he would be free from his official duties, but he could also quit his job. It was useless to think about these things now.
Seeing that the company commander still did not move, the deputy company commander made a bitter face and pleaded, "Captain, I beg you on behalf of the brothers. You can see that if our company is destroyed, the position in front of him will also be lost. If we move to the flank, it will be more effective to provide support to the front."
"Do you think that the front can withstand the enemy's attack while we move?" Hu Yi's tone was flat and emotionless.
"Maybe they can do it. After all, they are a reinforced battalion. Maybe they can hold on."
Hu Yi thought about it silently for a while, and finally made up his mind: "Tell the brothers to hold out for one more wave. As soon as this wave is over, immediately move the position to the right wing. Also send a signalman to the front to explain the situation to the reinforced battalion and let them be mentally prepared."
"Yes!" The deputy company commander saluted Hu Yi solemnly, turned around and ran away.
Leaving the mission position without permission is also a violation of military law and must be dealt with responsibly. However, in order to leave a way out for the brothers in the machine gun company, it is worth it! Hu Yi took a deep breath and suddenly felt much more relaxed.
The situation on the battlefield never develops in the expected direction. The fifth attack, which was expected to come soon, has not yet appeared. This makes Hu Yi very upset. Such a long interval is enough for the machine gun company to move to a cover position. Damn, they missed a good opportunity. What are the Japanese doing? Did they stop attacking because of morale setbacks? Impossible. Or are they secretly outflanking? There is no movement from the flanking troops. Impossible. Is there a problem with the command system? Impossible. Insufficient ammunition? Impossible. Did they have dinner early? Even more impossible. Hu Yi kept thinking and guessing, but there was no answer.
The Japs paused their attack because they felt the loss was too great and unwilling to accept it, so they called for air support. They were waiting for the planes to arrive and cooperate with the artillery to destroy the firepower on the hill before launching the charge.
The bombardment began. Hu Yi finally felt at ease. No matter what, it was better than the quiet torment. The bombardment was larger this time. Not only mortars, but also Type 92 infantry guns joined in, cutting down the hill position layer by layer, rumbling like a shrew, biting every inch of soil.
When the trench stopped shaking, Hu Yi realized that the shelling had stopped. There was a constant buzzing in his ears, and he couldn't hear anything clearly. He shook off the dust and climbed back to the edge of the trench. Something seemed to appear in the distant sky, slowly approaching and gradually becoming clearer.
An aerial bomb was released and fell, followed by the second, the third...
A huge gust of air suddenly spread out at the edge of the trench above Hu Yi's head, causing one side of the trench to collapse and almost bury Hu Yi's entire body...
The second round of air strikes passed over the hill, this time with aerial incendiary bombs. The bare hill finally turned into a hell of flames...
Internal order of the 67th Army: After verification, the commander of the machine gun company directly under the 107th Division, Hu Yi, made improper command and deployment in the battle of Xiaoshan, resulting in the death of all the members of the machine gun company. It is now decided to demote him and retain him as a warning to others...
A dozen figures were running in panic, dripping with blood and sweating, falling down, struggling, and struggling to climb over the top of the hill behind the position.
Clatter, clatter—more than a dozen machine guns were loaded with bullets and lined up in a row.
The deserters stumbled to a stop, staring numbly at the supervisory team in front of them, silent for a moment.
"I'm the company commander. I gave the order to retreat. It has nothing to do with them. Come and greet me if you have the guts."
Hu Yi still had his machine gun hanging behind his shoulder. He had never taken it off. He raised his head and calmly looked at the dozen or so deserters in front of him. Through them, he saw the bombing planes on the other side of the mountain, circling with strange buzzing sounds. He just said calmly, "Get out of here!"
"Captain? This?"
"I said get them out!"
…