A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

At 5 p.m., more than 10 "Haoxu" armored vehicles from the armored reconnaissance company crossed the Yuxian River north of Xincun from their base near the stairwell railway station and arrived at an open area north of Sanzhang Village, which was not visible from the Southeast Army's positions. Four vehicles from one platoon crossed the Chishui River northwest of Sanzhang Village and quietly arrived at the training ground north of Yantou Village.

The sergeant-in-chief surrounded the imposing armored vehicle, extremely excited, curiously touching it and exclaiming in amazement. The armored soldiers, seeing this, were filled with pride and arrogance, each puffing out their chests high.

"How impressive! How thick is this armor? Can it stop bullets?" The infantrymen discussed among themselves.

"It can withstand bullets from a standard Type 79 machine gun from the front!"

"That's amazing!" the infantrymen exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up.

"This is an armored vehicle. When you see the tanks later, they will be even more formidable. They have thicker armor and more powerful firepower, including a 47mm cannon!"

"Wow! That's amazing!" the infantrymen exclaimed.

"Each class will conduct formation and coordination training! Let's experience the speed of the tanks firsthand!" Song Hongfei ordered.

Due to limited space and to prevent the Southeast Army from noticing excessive activity, Song Hongfei and armored vehicle company commander Lu Jianxiong had devised a plan: each company would use one or two armored vehicles to simulate the off-road and attack speeds of tanks, conducting rotational training for each squad. The remaining vehicles would be arranged in a static combat formation for infantry to practice coordinated formations at the company and platoon levels.

The training grounds of the 2nd and 3rd companies of the sergeant battalion are once again ablaze with enthusiastic training spirit.

After dinner, the 1st Company of the Special Service Battalion arrived at Yantou Village and took over the position from the 1st Company of the Sergeant Battalion. The 1st Company also engaged in live-fire training of combined arms operations.

At 3:30 a.m., more than 20 tanks and engineering support vehicles of the 1st Company of the Armored Battalion began to move from the area of ​​the stairwell railway station east of Xincun towards Sanzhang Village. In order to conceal their movements, all vehicles turned off their headlights and relied entirely on the guides sent by the Special Service Battalion to indicate the route from time to time with directional lights and to follow the guide lines drawn on the ground with white lime powder.

At 5:00 AM, all tanks, armored vehicles, command vehicles, and various equipment and supplies had arrived north of Yantou Village and were concealed and awaiting orders. Infantry, armored troops, accompanying artillery, and engineers had been organized into two assault formations, and the supply and logistics departments were also busy preparing. At several positions of the artillery battalion of the brigade, the artillerymen had already raised their gun barrels, the dark muzzles pointing directly at the pre-marked targets.

Command vehicles, telephones, and radios assigned to each company, sergeant battalion headquarters, brigade headquarters, and artillery command post have all been connected. The communications staff and communications soldiers are focused on monitoring the situation, ready to respond at any moment.

At 5:30 a.m., when it was still pitch black, the various participating units of the Training Corps began their meals, and the atmosphere before the big battle was tense and solemn.

"Fire!" The Eastern Route Army's frontline command issued the order for the first round of artillery fire. As strings of red signal flares rose, illuminating flares that struck the Southeast Army's positions shone as brightly as day. The terrifying sound of shells piercing the air tore through the tranquil night sky. Dozens of shells fired in the first volley landed on the designated targets from different directions. With violent explosions that shook the earth, the Southeast Army's positions were immediately engulfed in smoke and fire.

Ten minutes after being subjected to a massive artillery barrage by the Central Army, the Southeast Army finally snapped out of its panic. Some of their hidden secret artillery positions were activated, and the Southeast Army launched a full-scale counterattack. The duel between the two artillery forces began, with shells flashing brightly and making a thunderous roar as they left the barrels.

After 15 minutes of the initial artillery barrage, the Central Army ceased its intensive shelling and focused its fire on the exposed artillery positions of the Southeast Army. Both sides exchanged sporadic artillery fire intermittently. Caught off guard, the Southeast Army suffered significant losses in personnel and equipment during the first round of bombardment.

On the concealed ground north of Yantou Village, all vehicles of the Central Army were inspected, started up, and put into standby mode. The assault team's personnel and equipment were ready to go.

"2nd Company, 3rd Company, and Engineer Unit, move to the starting position!" At Song Hongfei's command, the 2nd and 3rd Companies immediately set off for the trench positions northwest and west of Yantou Village. The 3rd Company, as the right flank formation, crossed the trench and advanced to a concealed area on the south bank of the Wei River west of the trench.

At 6:1, the Central Army artillery launched another fierce bombardment. The second round of bombardment focused on the trenches north of the Longhai Railway and the positions around Qinglong Village, Ganjiazhuang, and Changmin Village on the northern front, while the southern front focused on the core position of Zhangjialing and suppressed several artillery positions of the Southeast Army.

Under the cover of the second round of artillery fire, the 1st Company moved into its positions south of Yantou Village and stood ready for battle. Two armored vehicle formations successively and covertly advanced to the defensive positions west of Yantou Village.

Song Hongfei sat in an Sd.Kfz.223 communications command vehicle. This type of vehicle was equipped with an independent suspension system, so it didn't bounce around much on the unpaved terrain. The vehicle's exterior was very futuristic and avant-garde, not even outdated in the 21st century, but the interior space was quite cramped. The tall Song Hongfei felt even more cramped inside, so the vehicle commander himself became the driver, and with a communications staff officer, the three crew members were fully occupied.

"The interior environment of this wheeled vehicle is much better than that of a tracked armored vehicle!" Song Hongfei concluded after personally experiencing both the tanks and armored vehicles of the Nationalist Army. At that time, the tanks were filled with a pungent smell of fuel, engine oil, and hydraulic oil, the odor was murky, the engine noise was deafening, the suspension was ineffective, and the ride was very bumpy.

There's no air conditioning inside the tank. In summer, it's like an oven. This huge lump of iron, under direct sunlight, could practically fry an egg on the tank's steel plates. The interior is also completely sealed, like a steamer. Anyone with slightly weaker constitutions might suffer heatstroke and faint shortly after entering the tank in the sweltering heat. Tank crew members love to drive with the hatches open, sticking their heads and bodies out, precisely because the inside is unbearably hot; they'd rather inhale the dust.

Winters are freezing cold, like being in a refrigerator, and starting and warming up the engine in cold weather is a major problem. Song Hongfei felt that winter was better than summer; in cold weather, you could wear more clothes, but in hot weather, you couldn't just peel off a layer of skin. Tank soldiers, unlike infantrymen, couldn't move around to warm up. In winter, sitting inside meant freezing hands and feet, especially in the frigid north. If you didn't wear gloves, your fingers would stick to the armor plates and you could tear off a layer of skin.

Song Hongfei thought the armored soldiers were truly remarkable. The working environment inside a tank is extremely challenging to one's physical condition; it's almost unbearable for a weak person. For tank crew members, it's a huge challenge over time. Let alone intense combat, even just half a day of training inside the tank can leave a soldier dizzy and exhausted. Driving a tank across the battlefield looks impressive, but the hardships and fatigue endured by the armored soldiers are unimaginable to ordinary people.

In the pre-dawn darkness, a biting wind howled past, stinging the face like a knife. The north wind howled, the earth groaned, and an atmosphere of desolation seemed to pervade the world.

Song Hongfei stood atop the turret of the command vehicle, his expression solemn and silent. A chilling murderous aura gradually gathered between his brows, and his eyes flashed with a sharp, dagger-like light. In the dim light, only the resolute and solemn expressions and murderous gazes of the assault squad members could be seen.

This battle was not only about victory or defeat, but also about the lives and honor of the soldiers.

"There's not much to say. This is what the pillars of the nation do. Joining the army means fighting on the battlefield!" Song Hongfei surveyed this fierce and powerful army.

"Who is the strongest?!" Song Hongfei shouted.

"We are the strongest! We are the strongest!" The soldiers shouted with earth-shattering force.

"We dare to fight and we will win!" Song Hongfei shouted angrily, raising his right fist.

"Victory! Victory!" The soldiers shouted, their bloodshot eyes wide and their right fists raised, their faces contorted in a ferocious grimace.

"Sergeant Battalion, follow me to victory!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

A few stars twinkled in the desolate, high sky. The leaves had long since fallen, leaving only bare branches. The wind blew across the earth, sounding like a sob. The morning mist was bleak, but a sliver of dawn pierced the eastern horizon, and the sky gradually turned white.

"Attack!" Song Hongfei gave the order.

Two formations, each with more than a dozen tanks and armored vehicles, emerged from four pre-prepared passages and crossed the trenches, kicking up clouds of dust as their tracks and wheels turned. The 2nd and 3rd companies of the sergeant battalion advanced alongside the steel torrent.

Song Hongfei shouted into the vehicle radio: "All vehicles, maintain triangular attack formation and keep speed! Infantry accompanying the vehicles, do not leave the 60-degree acute-angle fan-shaped area of ​​the vehicle!"

As the command vehicle issued the artillery fire correction order, volleys of shells roared and crashed into the positions and fortifications of the Southeast Army defenders. In an instant, flashes of fire and billows of smoke filled the air, and the earth trembled. One after another, the earthen fortifications were blown apart and burst into flames, the firelight turning the sky above the positions crimson.

The artillery of the Southeast Army suffered heavy losses in the two rounds of artillery bombardment and was suppressed by the covering fire. The few remaining well-hidden artillery pieces were able to launch sporadic counterattacks, which were better than nothing.

The Southeast Army soldiers lay prone in the trenches and artillery shelters, trembling in terror amidst the overwhelming artillery fire. Unable to retaliate, they could only silently endure the bombardment, wishing they could bury themselves in the ground. The Central Army's artillery fire was not only fierce but also incredibly accurate, almost as if it were raining down directly on their heads.

Unbeknownst to them, the Central Army's artillery observation team was following Song Hongfei's battalion headquarters. After determining the target coordinates, they used the vehicle-mounted radio on the command vehicle to report directly to the rear artillery command, and guided and corrected the firing at any time. The shells were as accurate as if they had eyes.

Meng Guangtian, the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the Southeast Army at Qinglong Village, tensed up suddenly. After the first two battles, he had gained experience. After the Central Army's mountain and field artillery bombarded the area, the infantry would launch a fierce attack under the cover of mortars. Moreover, the distance between them was very short. The Central Army's mortars dared to fire a barrage of bullets more than a hundred meters in front of the infantry.

"Be on guard! The Central Army is coming up!" the officers shouted. The front line of Qinglong Village and Yantou Village were only 200 meters apart, and no one dared to be careless.