A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

While Zhang Yi's 3rd Company launched a fierce attack on the northwest defense line of Yantou Village, Wang Jingxiong's 1st Company immediately launched a fierce attack on the north and northeast positions of Yantou Village, relying on the high ground on the west bank of the bend of the Chishui River west of Sanzhang Village.

Yantou Village extends from north to south, mainly along the main village road that runs through the center of the village, with several east-west lanes running through it. The entire village is narrow in the north and wide in the south, short from east to west and long from north to south. The width from east to west varies from 6 to 70 meters to more than 100 meters. The main north-south road is more than 200 meters long, and the northernmost exit of the main village road is less than 200 meters from the northwest bank of the Wei River.

Under the unified command of Song Hongfei, the 2nd and 3rd Mountain Artillery Companies and the Horizontal Artillery Company of the Artillery Battalion of the General Corps continuously bombarded the defensive positions on the north, northeast, and east sides of Yantou Village. These three lines of positions, totaling only about 300 meters in length, were shattered by the firepower of 12 artillery pieces and 2 mortars. One by one, the fortifications and firing points were brutally breached by the targeted artillery fire, resulting in heavy casualties among the defenders.

Powerful artillery fire and intense heavy machine gun fire created a barrage of bullets in front of Yantou Village, illuminating the village in the dark night and forming an insurmountable line of fire.

The defeated soldiers of the Southeast Army, a company or so, were terrified on the open ground, feeling utterly trapped with nowhere to go. Those who tried to run back to Yantou Village were already being blasted into the air by the intense artillery fire—a wall of death.

If they continued, the Central Army's pursuers were already pressing in from the north and northeast. Mortar shells were clearing a path for them as if they were free, and eight heavy machine guns roared terrifyingly, leaving trails of death with tracer rounds, hissing and ripping through the air with a horrifying sound, as they fiercely fired at the positions in Yantou Village, pressing down on the brothers so that they couldn't even lift their heads.

The Central Army soldiers deployed into battle formation, their agile figures leaping forward relentlessly. Their menacing presence and deafening battle cries were chilling. As they approached, they shouted, "Brothers of the Southeast Army, get off the battlefield! Get off the battlefield!"

At this moment, the defeated soldiers discovered that the Central Army to the east was not firing, but unexpectedly retreating. They shouted, "Get out of here! Get out of here!"

Now everyone could see that the Central Army in the east was clearing a path to the south. Clearly, the Central Army was giving them a way out: escape to the south!

The defeated soldiers looked at each other, their faces ashen, and the officers were also pale, all their fighting spirit gone. In this open field, a mere few hundred meters had become a test of life and death.

Run for your life? The officers would never utter that word. Military law is merciless; there's no room for reason. Resist? In this open, exposed field, you'd be a sitting duck! Which officer would dare give that order? Faced with death, it wasn't impossible for a soldier to shoot you in the back and then flee for their own life!

There was no time for you to think. The Central Army's mortars and heavy machine guns were coming after you. Bullets were hitting your heels, sending sand flying. Brothers who were slow to react were licked by the fierce barrage of fire. Heavy machine guns shattered bodies, and blood and flesh splattered everywhere. The scene was horrific and terrifying. No one dared to look at it again.

The defeated soldiers, utterly terrified and filled with despair, had no choice but to live or die. Only one thought remained in their minds: escape! Being a soldier is just about getting rations; the Central Army has already given them a way out, why aren't they taking it? What kind of blockheads are they?!

The defeated soldiers formed a surging tide, with one taking away ten, and ten taking away a hundred. They were instantly routed, and everyone wished they had two more legs. They fled in panic to Qinglong Village, south of Yantou Village.

"Push forward! Capture Yantou Village!" Song Hongfei ordered.

Two red signal flares rose into the air, and a barrage of artillery fire extended forward, suppressing and blocking the defensive positions and reinforcements of Qinglong Village, south of Yantou Village.

The mortar gunners of the sergeant battalion had gained experience in infantry-artillery coordination. The shells seemed to have eyes, clearing a path about 100 meters ahead of the assault formation. More than 10 heavy machine guns provided fierce fire suppression on the defenders' line of positions, which stretched more than 300 meters in length on the northwest, north, and northeast sides, covering the assault formation's advance to the grenade throwing range. Then, a barrage of grenades rained down on the defenders.

The assault team quickly advanced into the defending positions, and the intense bursts of MP28 submachine gun fire erupted.

The light and heavy machine guns of the Southeast Army defenders had been heavily targeted, and those that couldn't move quickly enough were overwhelmed by firepower several times greater than their own. The machine gunners' bodies lay scattered around the machine guns, and no one dared to approach them anymore. The bolt-action rifles in the defenders' hands were now like sticks; soldiers who tried to fight back could only fire two shots before being swept away by a hail of submachine gun bullets.

At this moment, the entire sergeant battalion's offensive posture was like a sharp trident, fiercely attacking the enemy in Yantou Village from the north to the south, unstoppable and penetrating to the very end!

On the right flank was Zhang Yi's 3rd Company, which had broken through a section of the main trench near the Wei River in the northwest. One reinforced platoon continued to penetrate deep into the western part of the defense line, one platoon launched a fierce attack along the trench, and another platoon advanced straight along the eastern side of the trench to cut off the trench's connection with Yantou Village to the east.

The central route was Wang Jingxiong's 1st Company. The 1st Platoon launched a fierce frontal attack on the main village road that ran from north to south, while the 2nd and 3rd Platoons advanced directly to the east and west sides of the village, respectively.

The left flank consisted of two formations from Liao Jianchu's 2nd Company. One platoon formed the right flank, pressing directly towards the northeast of the village, coordinating with the left flank of the 1st Company to penetrate the east side of the village. The other two platoons, along with one platoon from the machine gun company, were positioned on the high ground on the southwest bank of the dike in Sanzhang Village as the reserve force for the entire battalion, exerting strong pressure and firepower to the enemy on the east side of Yantou Village.

On the southern flank of the sergeant battalion, the special operations battalion of the brigade closely cooperated with the 2nd Company to confront the enemy's defenses in the areas east and southeast of Yantou Village, east of Qinglong Village, and northeast of Ganjiazhuang, carrying out feint attacks and fire strikes to firmly contain the enemy in this area.

Further south, the main force of the brigade, including the 1st Regiment, the 2nd Regiment, and the 28th Division, lined up in sequence and launched simultaneous attacks, overwhelming the enemy.

Starting at 3 a.m., the Central Army and the Southeast Army engaged in fierce fighting along the Chishui River. Tracer bullets flew crisscrossing in the air, and intense artillery fire illuminated the sky.

For a time, Lin Damu's regiment's positions were under severe pressure everywhere, and it was no longer able to send reinforcements to Yantou Village at the northernmost point. The two companies to the east and west of Yantou Village had already suffered heavy losses from the fierce artillery fire, and at this moment they were simply unable to resist the fierce flanking attack from two companies of the Central Army from the north to the south.

The 1st Company of the Sergeant Battalion, which was in charge of the attack on Yantou Village, deployed its combat units in a "three-three system" and carried out small-group, multi-pronged assaults. The 1st Platoon in the center launched a fierce attack from the north, while the 2nd and 3rd Platoons on the east and west flanks continuously infiltrated and attacked through gaps and junctions in the enemy's defenses.

After the elite squad successfully stormed in, they used the fierce firepower of grenades, light machine guns, and MP28 submachine guns to eliminate the enemy. When they encountered strong firepower points that they could not immediately capture, they bypassed the flanks and continued to advance. The following assault groups then used the breakthrough point as the center to divide and encircle the two flanks, expanding the results. Finally, the main force stormed in to encircle and eliminate the remaining enemy troops and firepower points.

Northeast of Yantou Village, Tian Dalei, a Type 24 machine gunner from the 1st Company, and his assistant gunner Hao Xiangbin positioned their machine guns on the flank of the assault formation, firing fiercely from bipods. Further to their rear, the machine gun platoon's heavy machine guns, with their heavy barrels, fired from tripods. The flanking fire from several general-purpose machine guns was extremely fierce, and the dense hail of bullets kept the defenders from raising their heads.

Before long, the assault formation had broken into the enemy lines and launched a close-quarters attack.

The garrison north of Yantou Village collapsed first, fleeing in panic into the village. Those who couldn't escape quickly threw down their rifles, covered their heads with their hands, and lay on the ground shouting, "Surrender! Surrender!"

The elite assault squad of the 1st Company bypassed the surrendered enemy and continued the pursuit, while the remaining enemy was dealt with by follow-up squads. MP28 submachine gunners took the lead, closely pursuing the fleeing soldiers and advancing straight ahead.

The assault formation of the 1st Company and a platoon of the 2nd Company quickly broke through the village's perimeter. The 1st Platoon in the middle rushed into the village along the main village road and the alleys between the houses on both sides, while the other three platoons attacked from the northwest and northeast sides along the village's perimeter, like an unstoppable trident, fiercely thrusting in from north to south.

"We're following!" shouted machine gunner Tian Dalei, grabbing his general-purpose machine gun and advancing alongside the assault platoon from the side. The assistant gunner, carrying a spare barrel and ammunition boxes, followed closely behind. Behind them, an ammunition handler carrying several ammunition boxes also kept pace. This is the enormous advantage of the air-cooled general-purpose machine gun in terms of portability and mobility, allowing it to accompany the assault team in its advance and provide uninterrupted machine gun fire.

From the flank and rear of the assault formation, the heavy-barreled machine guns of the machine gun platoon provided continuous fire cover.

On the eastern side of Yantou Village, the 4th Company of the 1st Battalion and a company of the 3rd Battalion of the defending army were arranged in a north-south formation. They were first subjected to heavy artillery bombardment by the Central Army, and their positions were shattered, resulting in heavy casualties among the soldiers. As soon as the artillery fire stopped, they were suppressed by the fire of more than 10 heavy machine guns. The enemy launched a fierce multi-pronged attack, moving extremely quickly, and with the support of machine gun fire, they pushed to the grenade throwing range.

The defending soldiers, pinned down by enemy fire, couldn't even lift their heads, let alone retaliate. The only heavy machine gun remaining in each of the two companies was destroyed by direct fire from enemy artillery shortly after it opened fire. The few remaining light machine guns were quickly silenced by enemy artillery fire as well. Unable to withstand the onslaught, the defenders retreated steadily, continuously fleeing southwards from the village.

Some of the defending troops fled into the village in a panic, and the two sides engaged in street fighting.

The defensive positions built earlier were mostly outside the village. No fortifications were built inside the village, leaving it defenseless, because no one intended to bear the consequences of civil war destroying people's houses and property.

The street fighting was not intense and there was no suspense. The sergeant battalion was equipped with an overwhelming number of machine guns and submachine guns. The fierce firepower immediately suppressed the defenders. The few light machine guns left by the defenders were quickly wiped out by small groups of multi-pronged assault tactics that kept flanking from the sides and rear, using grenades and submachine guns.

Several fearless defenders roared and threw a few grenades at the attacking formation, temporarily halting the assault. But this was only a last-ditch effort. The stubborn soldiers then convulsed under the hail of submachine gun fire. Two of them hadn't even had time to throw their second grenades when they exploded in their hands, creating a flash of light and thick smoke. Clothes and limbs were blown away, a gruesome sight.

Inside and outside Yantou Village, numerous small combat units from the sergeant battalion constantly flanked and encircled the village, seemingly attacking from all sides to divide and surround it. Their automatic weapon fire was extremely fierce. The defending troops suffered heavy losses; the 4th Company commander and two platoon leaders were killed in action, and their organization was scattered, making it impossible to mount an effective counterattack. They felt trapped in a hail of bullets, with only one safe direction: the south!

The defending soldiers had only one thought in their minds: run south! And they had to be quick! The Central Army was rapidly advancing and encircling them from both flanks; if they were too slow, they would be completely surrounded!

The brilliant tactical execution of the 1st Company impressed the officers watching the battle. This was the "small group multi-route assault group" tactic that the sergeant battalion had been practicing for months, and it was unique in the entire National Army!

The Southeast Army's garrison quickly collapsed, and the already broken soldiers abandoned their armor and fled in panic to Qinglong Village, south of Yantou Village.