The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Captain Sakagami, who was in charge of guarding the mining area, stood in the mining command post with uncontrollable anger in his eyes.

His outer positions had long been destroyed by the bombardment of heavy artillery, with smoke and flames illuminating everything.

The saber that usually hung at his waist was now tightly held in his hand, and the scabbard made a creaking sound as he gripped it.

He rushed towards the artillery squad leader and grabbed his collar, as if to lift him off the ground:

"Baga! Why haven't you countered the enemy's artillery fire? The enemy's artillery fire has blown us to pieces. What are you doing?"

The artillery squad leader had a face full of grievance, and the sweat dripping from his forehead mixed with the smoke around him, making him look extremely embarrassed.

He lowered his head deeply, his voice trembling, "Sir, the enemy is using heavy artillery with an extremely long range. Our Type 92 infantry guns are completely unable to counter them. The range is too short."

Sakagami's face turned ashen, and he stared at his subordinates with eyes like a venomous snake.

His voice was filled with resentment and anger. "Damn it! Where did these artillery units come from? Why are the enemy's heavy artillery units able to appear in the heart of the Locust Nation's occupied territory?"

Explosions echoed in the distance, sending splattered dirt everywhere and filling the air with the pungent smell of gunpowder. Each shelling seemed a mockery of Sakagami's authority, and his rage grew ever stronger.

He suddenly turned to the soldier in charge of communications and shouted, "Hey, the call hasn't been connected yet?"

The soldier frantically shook the handle of the phone to try to charge the magnetic phone. His face was full of panic and his voice was trembling: "Private Marseille, sir, I don't know what's wrong with this phone today, it just won't start!"

"Baka!" Sakagami gritted his teeth. The experienced man quickly gave the order: "Knock twice, knock twice quickly!"

This simple and crude command has been the magical method for dealing with electronic equipment failures for hundreds of years - "knock twice".

The soldier did not dare to delay and did as he was told immediately. He knocked on the phone a few times with trembling hands, and then he turned the handle again.

Miraculously, a rustling sound came from the phone and the call was connected.

Sakagami, as if grasping at the last straw, hurriedly grabbed the microphone and spoke in a hurried, almost incoherent voice:

"This is the Sakagami Battalion. The Maukalefeng Coal Mine is under siege by the main enemy force. Dozens of heavy artillery are attacking our positions. Requesting tactical guidance, requesting tactical guidance!"

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"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Accompanied by huge explosions, the bombardment of heavy artillery from the independent regiment's artillery battalion continued.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a huge explosion broke the sky, and a high-explosive bomb accurately hit the roof of the Japanese bunker.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment. After a violent chemical reaction, nearly 2 kilograms of Amato high-energy explosives released powerful energy that stripped off the top layer of concrete of the bunker. Countless pieces of concrete and steel bars flew in the air and fell silently like broken bones.

Inside the bunker, the powerful shock wave instantly knocked the Japanese soldiers stationed there unconscious or killed them. The air in the entire bunker seemed to be frozen in the explosion, leaving only the soldiers who were no longer breathing and the remaining flames.

"This is White Owl No. 4. The bullet hit the enemy bunker directly. Please start firing with all your strength."

The reconnaissance platoon soldiers on the front line brought exciting news via radio.

After the independent regiment's artillery battalion received confirmation from the front-line artillery observer that it had hit the target, it was as if some kind of shackles of confinement had been opened, and the gunners immediately went into a state of frenzy.

The sweaty artillerymen loaded the shells quickly and skillfully, and the high-explosive warheads and propellant charges were pushed into the barrels accurately.

Every time they pulled the gun cord, it was like injecting new destructive power into the battlefield.

Then, after the QF 25-pound howitzer had finished firing and returned to its position under the action of the liquid-pneumatic recoil device, they quickly repeated the loading and firing actions.

The roar of howitzers came one after another, and the air was filled with pungent gunpowder smoke. The 12 howitzers in the battalion fired hundreds of shells quickly as if they were in a competition.

The bullets drew dazzling arcs in the air and landed on the Japanese positions one after another.

The two main forts 6 kilometers away were covered by continuous artillery fire. The solid concrete gradually collapsed under the impact of the shells, as if a dilapidated city wall finally could not bear the weight of time and collapsed.

The collapsed debris crushed the Japanese soldiers inside who had no time to escape. Machine guns, rifles, ammunition, guards - everything was buried in the collapsed ruins, as if they had never existed.

After an hour of artillery preparation, the entire mining area's outer defense positions had become a ruin.

All resistance was completely destroyed by round after round of artillery fire.

The artillery's mission came to an end. Their artillery had completely cleared the attack route, and the remaining barbed wire, chevaux de frise, and minefields were blown away without a trace.

-----

The first battalion's attack officially began.

Six Matilda II tanks (pictured) stood as steady as a rock, arranged in two triangles, their tracks creaking softly as they rolled over the wet ground.

These steel behemoths, produced by the John people according to the ideas of the last war, fulfilled their duties as infantry tanks, covering the soldiers of the independent regiment as they slowly advanced, like a moving solid barrier, isolating the dangers ahead.

Behind these tanks, the soldiers of the first battalion of the independent regiment walked slowly up the canyon road with weapons in hand.

Originally, launching an upward attack in a narrow road was a very disadvantageous situation, but everyone in the first battalion, from the battalion commander Hao Yi down, now had a relaxed attitude.

Just because of the artillery preparation of just one hour, it gave them great confidence.

As Napoleon said, artillery is the god of war. Powerful artillery is the soul pillar of the infantry.

"Oh my god, the shit the Japanese scattered has probably turned to ashes." A soldier from the first battalion leaned half of his body out from behind the tank and looked at the Japanese position that had been completely plowed by artillery fire and turned into ruins.

However, before he could take a second look, the old platoon leader from Sichuan beside him quickly grabbed him and pulled him back, cursing in a low voice: "What are you doing? What are you doing? Are you trying to kill yourself?"

As a veteran who had participated in many battles, the platoon leader was also surprised that his troops' firepower was no less than that of the Japanese division, but he knew very well that the tenacious Japanese would not be completely wiped out by artillery fire.

There are always some enemies hiding in trenches or anti-artillery holes, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack - just like him who survived the Japanese artillery fire in the Battle of E Province.

Suddenly, a whoosh sound rang out from my ears.

Then the platoon leader felt a few drops of warm blood splashing on his face.