Bright Sword: Construction starts from southeastern Shanxi

Just as the Eighth Route Army was pressing forward, a dense burst of machine gunfire suddenly rang out from a tall bunker.

"Da da da--!"

Three heavy machine guns formed cross fire, completely blocking the street ahead and forcing the Eighth Route Army soldiers to lie on the ground and use the broken walls to avoid the rain of bullets.

"Damn it, I can't get out!"

A soldier slammed his head against the ground, his face splattered with mud.

Zhang Changhe stuck his head out to observe and found that the entrance to the Japanese bunker was extremely small, and the machine gun positions were hidden and solid. A frontal attack would cause too much loss, so he had to find another way.

His eyes turned fierce and he shouted, "If there aren't enough explosive packs, use grenade launchers and grenades!

After suppressing the fire, the assault team will follow me around!"

The grenade launcher squad quickly took their positions, and three grenade launchers fired continuously at the gun ports of the bunker. The grenades exploded on the solid walls, causing dust to fly everywhere inside the bunker.

At the same time, more than a dozen grenades were thrown one after another and exploded near the enemy's firing points, forcing the Japanese army to temporarily cease fire.

Seizing this brief opportunity, Zhang Changhe led the assault team to detour from the flank and gradually approached the bunker with the help of the ruins of the house.

Suddenly, a Japanese machine gunner discovered them and was about to turn the gun when Zhang Changhe shot him in the head, and blood splattered on the wall.

"rush!"

The remaining soldiers suddenly leaped up and rushed towards the bunker entrance, and close combat broke out instantly -

In the narrow passage, the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese army engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Bayonets clashed, blood splattered everywhere, and screams and roars mixed together.

A Japanese soldier swung his sword at Eighth Route Army soldier Li Dayong, but he dodged it and then stabbed the enemy's chest with his bayonet, twisting it hard and causing blood to spurt out.

The battle lasted for five minutes. All the Japanese troops in the bunker were wiped out. The Eighth Route Army successfully captured the bunker, the high ground firepower point was eliminated, and the biggest obstacle to the troops' advance was removed.

As the outer defense line collapsed, the Eighth Route Army assault team successfully advanced to the inner city area.

However, the battle situation suddenly changed at this moment - the enemy's resistance was more tenacious than expected.

Kuribayashi Tadamichi's core defense system demonstrated amazing defensive capabilities, which hindered the Eighth Route Army's offensive and prevented it from breaking through the last line of defense.

In the early morning, the main forces of the 1st and 3rd columns of the Eighth Route Army had approached the area where the Japanese central command headquarters was located in the city.

The soldiers were originally full of confidence and were ready to quickly break through by bombarding the walls with artillery and explosive packs.

However, when the first round of artillery fire covered the target, the result shocked everyone -

"boom--!"

Mortar shells exploded on the city walls outside the headquarters, and the air was filled with smoke.

However, when the smoke cleared, only a few cracks appeared in the wall, which was far from being destroyed.

Immediately, several soldiers took the opportunity to rush forward, quickly placed explosives, and tried to blow open the side door.

however--

"Boom!" The flames of the explosion shot straight into the sky and dust flew everywhere, but when everything calmed down, the soldiers were shocked to find that the fortifications built by the Japanese army were still standing.

"How is this possible?! The explosive packs couldn't even blow up the fortifications ahead?"

Commando leader Zhang Changhe frowned.

At this time, the soldier with glasses beside him suddenly realized and said anxiously: "It seems that the Japanese have made special reinforcements in advance. I am afraid that the inside is the same as what the instructor in the north said.

The Japs not only filled the city walls with concrete and steel plates, they even had a second layer of protection, which our current explosives can't break through!"

At the same time, the high-altitude machine gun positions of the county center command center began to counterattack fiercely.

“Da da da da—!”

Three heavy machine guns fired wildly, with flames spurting out, trying to suppress the Eighth Route Army's attacking team.

The commandos could only hide behind the bunkers and could not get close to the target at all.

The battle situation deteriorated rapidly, and the soldiers of the three regiments gradually fell into difficulties during the advance.

Since the fortifications were difficult to destroy, the troops had no choice but to attack by force. The enemy used the bunkers, firing holes and hidden fortifications on the streets to form a series of interlaced fire blockade zones.

A small assault team attempted to move around along a side alley, looking for loopholes in the enemy's defenses.

But just as they turned into the alley, they were suddenly ambushed by the Japanese army.

"Bang bang bang!"

The Japanese soldiers hiding on the roof opened fire, and bullets swooped down from a high altitude. A soldier was shot and fell to the ground, and his blood dyed the cobblestone road red.

"Fight back! Fight back!"

A platoon leader roared and led the soldiers to find cover and fight back. Bullets whistled and the narrow alley instantly turned into a death trap.

At the same time, the fighting in the south block also entered a white-hot state.

A squad of Eighth Route Army soldiers was trying to break through the defenses of a Japanese bunker. Rows of bullets hit the wall, sparks flying, but the enemy's heavy machine gun firepower remained strong.

"Grenade launcher! Shoot them down quickly!" The squad leader gave an order, and a grenade launcher in the rear quickly aimed at the enemy position.

"Boom-"

A grenade whizzed out and hit the machine gun point accurately!

The impact of the explosion turned the entire machine gun position into a ball of fire, and several Japanese soldiers were blown away with screams.

Taking advantage of the temporary loosening of the enemy's defense line, the Eighth Route Army commandos suddenly jumped up and rushed towards the bunker with bayonets in hand.

However, the Japanese army did not completely collapse. They held on to the end in the bunkers, and the two sides engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat in the dim streets!

A soldier had just rushed into the bunker when he was stabbed in the shoulder by the enemy. He roared angrily, endured the severe pain, and inserted the bayonet into the enemy's chest with his backhand. Blood splattered on the wall, forming a horrifying blood mark.

The surrounding warriors also engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, with fists and feet flying, daggers flying, and every fight was accompanied by roars and screams.

The battle was at a stalemate, and the news of the prolonged attack was soon passed back to the Geziling Command Headquarters.

Yang Nengjun stood in front of the map with a frown on his face.

"Commander, the front-line offensive has been blocked!

The enemy's headquarters fortifications are incredibly strong, and ordinary artillery and explosive packs are unable to penetrate them. Frontal attacks will cause severe losses!"

Chief of Staff Shake walked up to Yang Nengjun with a serious expression and said.

Political Commissar Lin Tie was also lost in thought. He looked at the map and said:

“It seems that Kuribayashi Tadamichi was well prepared, and his defense is not just the traditional city wall fortifications.

Instead, it combines reinforced concrete structures, bunker groups and staggered firepower networks to form a solid battle fortress.

These little devils have been preparing for this for a long time!"

Yang Nengjun nodded and asked in a deep voice, "Do you have any more detailed information? How did they reinforce it?"

Shake picked up a battlefield report that had just been delivered and said:

"The reconnaissance team we sent out reported that the Japanese army had built three layers of defense around the county government office.

The first layer is the outer barricades and machine gun positions, the second layer is the reinforced main city wall, and there are secret passages and hidden firing points inside. The third layer is the underground fortifications that connect various strongholds.

"Underground fortifications?" Yang Nengjun narrowed his eyes.

"You mean, they're ready for street fighting or even underground warfare?"

“Yes, the enemy had already foreseen that we might attack the city, so they had already used the existing tunnels in the city to transform them.

And added closed shooting ports and fire support points.

That is to say, even if we break through the first line of defense, we may fall into the enemy's dense ambush."

There was silence in the command center, and everyone realized that this battle was more difficult than expected.

Lin Tie looked at the map and whispered, "It seems that we need to change our tactics..."