Ren Xiaosu stared blankly at the hundreds of grenades placed in front of him. For a moment, he did not know what to say. Second Company's commander, Xu Haichen, looked at Zhang Xiaoman and said, "Remember, I gave all the grenades to y 'all to reduce the casualties of Second Company and Third Company. Y' all better not take the grenades and go too deep into enemy territory alone. Otherwise, even if your Razor Sharp Company makes a great contribution, I'll still report you to the commander-in-chief."
In the end, Zhang Xiaoman managed to convince Second Company's commander, Xu Haichen, with the reason of reducing casualties. During the raid on Shichuan Village last night, Second Company had lost more than a dozen men. They were all good brothers who had trained together and got along with each other day and night. Their contributions were far less important than their lives. This was the consensus among the officers of Fortress 178.
When it was time to fight a tough battle, they would fight a tough battle. But if there was a better option, they would definitely prioritize preserving the strength of their troops.
"Don't worry, don't worry." Zhang Xiaoman smiled and said, "We're all brothers, so how could we possibly do something like that? Come on, Ren Xiaosu, hurry up and put away these grenades. We'll continue pushing forward once it gets dark."
Ren Xiaosu quietly watched as Zhang Xiaoman negotiated with Second Company and Third Company. A group of soldiers were huddled up next to them smoking and chatting. Some of them had even taken off their shoes, and the entire building was filled with a strange smell that was a mixture of the stench of feet and cigarettes. However, these cigarettes were different from the ones smoked by the private troops. Even when the soldiers were chatting, they would still keep their firearms close to their chest.
"Old Xu" had told him in the past that Fortress 178 was different. At that time, Ren Xiaosu thought to himself, 'Aren't we all strongholds? How much difference can there be between strongholds?'
But only now did he realize it was really not the same.
As Ren Xiaosu put away the grenades, he asked Zhang Xiaoman, "I think we should be more careful as we advance forward. The terrain of Shichuan Village is complicated, and the Soong Clan has built some new buildings. We can't be sure if they've left behind any contingencies. I keep feeling that the attack on Shichuan Village this time was too easy. "
For Ren Xiaosu, things that were too easy to accomplish would always make him feel a little uneasy.
Zhang Xiaoman did not know whether to laugh or cry. "You call this easy? If it weren't for your accurate grenade throwing, do you know how many of us would've died in Shichuan Village? You might not know, but Battalion Commander Zhou had planned to use the entire Forward Battalion on this. "
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. "It's that serious? Fighting a street battle like this requires the entire Vanguard Battalion? "
"That's right." Zhang Xiaoman sighed and said, "Only by taking down this Shichuan Village and clearing out the long-range artillery that might be hidden here can the troops at the rear enter the FOB to rest assured and reorganize. Only then can we proceed with the next phase of the battle plan."
Jiao Xiaochen added, "Nowadays, it's a war of modern firearms and explosives. The role of the Vanguard Battalion is to clear the obstacles in the early stages, but in the later stages, we can only serve as scouts to infiltrate and fill in the gaps in the maps. There's basically no stage for us on the battlefield."
"Jiao Xiaochen added," We're not cannon fodder, and Fortress 178 has never needed cannon fodder to win the war. It's just that we have different roles in the fighting forces. Our sacrifice today is to ensure that the troops at the rear achieve an overall victory.
But when Zhang Xiaoman heard this, he immediately denied it. He said in a serious tone, "We're not cannon fodder, and Fortress 178 has never needed cannon fodder to win the war. It's just that the division of labor in the fighting forces is different. Our sacrifice today is so that the troops at the rear can achieve an overall victory. When Ren Xiaosu heard this, he immediately denied it. Jiao Xiaochen chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "Commander Zhang, you came from the Razor Sharp Company. If we're really cannon fodder, why can't we be cannon fodder?"
Jiao Xiaochen chuckled and patted Ren Xiaosu on the shoulder. "Commander Zhang, you came from the Razor Sharp Company. If we're really cannon fodder, why can't we be cannon fodder if the commander is willing to be cannon fodder?"
Ren Xiaosu suddenly understood. Perhaps it was because the successive commanders were willing to take the lead that Fortress 178 was so cohesive today.
So why did Zhang Jinglin assign him to the Razor Sharp Company when he said he wanted to go to the most dangerous place? What was the meaning of this?
"Where are we going to fight this war?" Ren Xiaosu asked.
"We're going to wipe out the Soong Clan completely, of course. We're going to fight our way northeast until we reach Mt. Pingluo." Zhang Xiaoman said, "If we don't get rid of hyenas like the Soong Clan once and for all, there will be no peace in the Northwest."
…
That night, as soon as the sun set, the Razor Sharp Company took the lead and launched another attack on the hinterlands of Shichuan Village.
During the day, the enemies in Shichuan Village seemed to have received orders to recapture their lost territory. However, urban warfare had always been disadvantageous to the attackers. The route the enemy chose to break through happened to be where Second Company and Third Company were stationed.
The two company commanders were already angry to begin with. The more they thought about it, the angrier they got because of Zhang Xiaoman. Now that the enemy had come knocking on their door, they definitely had to give them a good beating.
During the previous breakthrough, there were still heavy machine guns and ammunition left behind in the machine gun positions that had been destroyed. Zhang Xiaoman and the others did not take them with them because they were already carrying enough weight. They could not carry any more.
Meanwhile, the fallen weapons and ammunition ended up in the hands of Second Company and Third Company. When the battle started, the machine gun bullets rained down like rain, and several of the walls collapsed.
Xu Haichen kept roaring from behind the machine gun positions.
The defenders of Shichuan Village charged in several waves, but they could not break through Second Company and Third Company's defensive line. In the end, they had no choice but to retreat.
After the surprise attack ended the next day, the Razor Sharp Company had already advanced five kilometers into Shichuan Village with the follow-up troops. Only a small portion of the Soong Clan defenders were still putting up a stubborn resistance in the buildings to the north.
This battle left the defenders of Shichuan Village feeling very aggrieved. They had thought that their firepower was strong enough, but they had dozens of firepower points on the entire urban battlefield, and there were countless soldiers hiding in the buildings, ready to launch sneak attacks.
But after two days of fighting, they suddenly felt their defensive positions were as weak as mud. They could not effectively stop the soldiers of Fortress 178 at all.
Sometimes, their firing points would be destroyed by a grenade before they could even see the enemy!
This battle was way too aggrieving!
According to the original plan, they were supposed to wipe out the entire Forward Strike Battalion of Fortress 178 at Shichuan Village. But in the end, only three companies of the Forward Strike Battalion managed to break through the defenses at Shichuan Village.
In fact, if it were not for urban warfare, the killing effect of grenades on flat ground might not be that good.
But now, those pitch-black houses that were originally the defensive strongholds of the defenders had become Ren Xiaosu's target practice targets.
The next night, when Zhang Xiaoman reported the battle situation to Battalion Commander Zhou Yinglong, Zhou Yinglong felt a little numb. He had asked Zhang Jinglin to give him more time so they could safely take down Shichuan Village.
As a result, the armored brigade at the rear had to postpone their advance. But just as they managed to buy some time, Zhang Xiaoman told him they might be able to take down Shichuan Village by tomorrow.
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