The fire did work. It illuminated the open area of more than 100 meters in front of the third company's position, temporarily suppressing the Japanese at the edge of the fire and preventing them from advancing.
But since the attack had begun, the Japanese had no intention of giving up, not to mention that they had the advantage in numbers. They called in grenade launchers and began to bombard the fire. Although they knew that the fire would go out sooner or later, the Japanese did not intend to wait.
Explosions occurred one after another around the fire, and finally a grenade hit the fire, suddenly splashing out sparks of fire, and a field of fireworks appeared on the flat ground. If you were not on the battlefield, everyone would be amazed.
"The fire is out! What should we do now?" The big guy said blankly as he looked at the sparks all over the ground.
Wang Laokou reloaded the bullets: "What's there to see? Just keep shooting. When you see a flash of gunfire, fire a shot at that location. After firing, quickly retreat and come up again after a few breaths."
Without the fire, the surroundings suddenly became dark. The flames of the Japanese machine guns began to return fire to the city, and dozens of tracer bullets kept crossing the open area. Hu Yi aimed at a continuous flame position and fired a shot. There was no response. He quickly loaded the bullet, aimed a little back, and fired again. The flames of the machine guns finally stopped, but they started again in an instant, and swept back to Hu Yi. The bullets randomly embedded in the surrounding ground, making a puffing sound.
Hu Yi reluctantly retreated behind the ridge. There were more than a dozen machine guns, at least four of which were heavy machine guns. This was at least a squadron of Japanese soldiers, and it was unknown how many were behind them. Although this was only the first wave of attack and the Japanese soldiers had not yet approached, Hu Yi felt that the Third Company could not hold on and the Western Front would be lost.
Wu Gui leaned against the window, listening to the crackling sound of stray bullets hitting the wall from time to time, feeling helpless. This damn night is the best cover for the attack. There are too many Japanese soldiers. It is useless to rely on the two Czech guns of the third company to attack blindly. The Japanese soldiers will rush over sooner or later. Street fighting? With only twenty people in hand, it will only take a few minutes. He raised his hand and pointed at the signalman next to him: "Hurry up and find the battalion commander to ask for reinforcements. Go quickly!"
Mortar shells and mountain artillery shells fell from time to time, illuminating the alleyway, sometimes accompanied by smoke and dust, and the sound of gravel hitting tiles. The signalman fell from time to time, and then got up again. His body was scratched by shrapnel and his uniform was wet. He finally saw the battalion headquarters after panting, but was dumbfounded.
The house where the battalion headquarters was located had half collapsed, and the fire inside was still burning fiercely, illuminating the surrounding ruins.
The signalman grabbed a figure that was running by and said, "Where's the battalion commander? Where is the battalion commander? The third company needs support!"
"The north has been lost, and the battalion commander has led a platoon to fight back."
In the firelight, the signalman let go of the other's hand, turned around stiffly, and ran in the direction of the third company...
Boom—After another explosion, the sound of the machine gun on the left disappeared. The dust from the roof fell down with the shaking of the explosion, and fell all over Wu Gui. Wu Gui shook his head, wiped his face, and shouted: "Why did the machine gun stop! Keep firing! You two go over and take over the machine gun!"
After he finished speaking, there was no response. Looking back, he saw the two soldiers behind him lying in a pool of blood, motionless. Wu Gui crawled through the bullet hole, through the smoke, and came to the machine gun position on the left. There were already seven bodies piled up near the machine gun, and the last person sent to replace him also died on the machine gun. Wu Gui pulled the bodies away, climbed up to the position himself, and spit out strings of flames again.
Under the cover of artillery fire and machine guns, the Japs on the western front gradually approached, sometimes crouching and sometimes crawling.
From the occasional flashes of gunfire, the Japs had noticed the position of the third row's bunker. A machine gun was aimed at this place, firing suppressive fire. The five men in the third row huddled in the bunker behind the ridge of the field, unable to raise their heads.
"The Japanese are coming. If we don't run back now, it will be too late!" Zhao Yongxian shouted.
Wang Laokou was at a loss for a moment: "This time it's really urgent, Xiao Hu, let's retreat back to the city first."
Hu Yi's gun had just run out of bullets, and he was loading bullets into the chamber. "We can't run back. We're only 50 to 60 meters away, and if we get shot from behind, we'll be dead. Even if we're lucky enough to get into the city, we won't survive. There's been no movement from the north for a long time, so we're probably done for."
"My Commander Hu, that's better than staying here and waiting to die, right? It will be too late if we don't leave now. Have you changed your mind and decided to die for our country?" Zhao Yong asked anxiously.
It was not until the fifth bullet was loaded into the gun that Hu Yi spoke again: "Big guy, remember to take those two shovels with you. I will lead the way and everyone will follow. Run to the south bank of the river. Silly boy, bend down when you run, don't be afraid, be quick, and make sure to follow."
The silly boy nodded without saying a word.
Zhao Yong opened his mouth wide: "What? Running sideways? Doesn't that mean running right in front of the enemy? Then..."
Hu Yi waved his hand decisively: "Stop talking nonsense, if you want to run back, just go back. Are you ready?"
In the darkness of night, five figures suddenly jumped out from behind the ridge of the field, crouching and running quickly towards the river bank.
The Japanese in front had been approaching the bunker within a dozen meters. Suddenly, they saw a blurry figure rushing out. They reacted instinctively, fell to the ground with a bang, and then raised their guns and fired.
Fortunately, they were running sideways, the target was moving quickly sideways, and the light was dim. Caught off guard, the Japs in front could only fire a row of shots randomly, and the machine gunners in the back did not dare to shoot easily, because if they opened fire, the trajectory would sweep over their own people in front. They could only stare and watch stupidly until the figure approached the shore and left their own area, and then they fired at them.
The river bank was a gentle slope, lower than the open area, and a bit muddy. Hu Yi ran all the way to a mud pit at the bottom of the slope before stopping, followed by Zhao Yong, the big guy and the silly boy, and finally Wang Laokou stumbled and almost rolled down.
Hu Yi grabbed the shovel from the big guy and whispered, "There's no time to waste. The four of you get down in the mud pit, quickly."
The four people climbed into the pit in a daze, and Hu Yi grabbed a shovel and started to bury them. In fact, it was not really a burial, but just a layer of mud on the four people to cover them.
When Wang Laokou was the last one to be buried, Hu Yi's arm was suddenly grabbed by Wang Laokou: "Ahem, Xiao Hu, keep a thought for me." As he spoke, Wang Laokou stuffed the pocket watch into Hu Yi's pocket.
"Brother Wang, what are you doing? I'm a good swimmer, maybe I'll be back soon." Time was running out, so Hu Yi didn't waste any time, and quickly shoveled a few shovels of dirt, probably covering Wang Laokou as well. He threw the shovel into the river, picked up his rifle, and waded into the river step by step until the water reached his chest, then he turned around, raised his rifle, and aimed at the dark river bank.