Although it felt like he had not lost consciousness for long, when Zhou Changfeng woke up, the surrounding light was obviously much darker.
Because he saw Xie Wancheng wandering around at first sight, the first thing he said was to chase people away, "Why don't you go and take over the command?! What's the situation now?"
Xie Wancheng, who looked helpless, smiled bitterly and said in a deep voice: "Then... Battalion Commander, don't worry, it's already past five o'clock in the afternoon. Battalion Commander, you have been unconscious for more than two hours. Now..."
"The battle situation, just tell me the battle situation!"
"Well...the enemy army then launched a massive attack at 3:30, advancing in three directions. The three teams in the south of the city were in good condition, but the team in the north of the city lost contact and were intercepted by a group of enemy troops. The enemy forces in the west of the city were very strong. Meng, they rushed to our side again, I ordered the reserve team to join the battle and repel them."
Zhou Changfeng felt his mouth was dry, licked his lips and asked: "How is the current situation of the first team?
Xie Wancheng pointed to the north and replied: "The situation is unknown. Two squads of the reserve team encountered a detachment of enemy tanks and infantry while detouring northeast of the city. All except five people withdrew and were killed; the two reconnaissance teams were unknown. However, there is still a firefight in the north of the city. There are at least two of our heavy machine guns firing, so we should be able to withstand it."
Zhou Changfeng nodded and said casually: "Where is my kettle?"
"No, I'm not sure if your internal bleeding is serious. You shouldn't drink water now." The military doctor's second lieutenant came over and asked: "Sir, how do you feel now?"
"The painkiller injection I got in the afternoon has not worn off yet, and I don't feel anything now."
"Then it's better to lie down and rest first. The enemy has retreated."
At this moment, the dense sound of gunfire in the distance to the north suddenly weakened?
Everyone present suddenly became alert and turned their heads to look towards the north of the city.
"It's not a big problem. The enemy is probably retreating." Zhou Changfeng blinked and listened for a few more seconds. "Listen, there are at least two Type 20 heavy machine guns still ringing, and the sound of the Vickers heavy machine gun It’s gone.”
The sounds of both are very special, and it is not difficult to distinguish them after staying on the battlefield for a long time - the sound of the Type 20 heavy machine gun is similar to a hammer hitting nails, a short and crisp "listen" sound; while the Vickers heavy machine gun It was a loud "thump thump thump" sound.
After a while, the gunfire from our side gradually stopped, and two green flares were launched from the north of the city.
The British and Indian troops broke into the city and fought in melee for most of the day. They chose to give up and began to alternate cover to withdraw from the battle.
The fierce exchange of fire turned into sporadic gunfire, and the little Demaji seemed to be calm again.
The exhausted officers and soldiers were like deflated rubber balls. They all sat down one by one, leaning against the ruined walls with their guns in their arms and remaining silent, as if they were celebrating their survival after the disaster.
"Stay alert! Take turns eating!"
The sky is getting darker and darker, and the continuous dark clouds that have been gloomy all day have now dissipated, and the sunset is reflected in the western sky.
Zhou Changfeng asked the communication platoon to send a concise telegram to the Lingzhi headquarters, saying:
"Reporting to the Lingzhi headquarters, the staff has been fighting fiercely for three days to seize Demaji, blocking the enemy's advance to the east. The enemy has withdrawn and returned to defense. The mission has been completed. In total, more than a thousand enemy troops were killed and wounded, and more than 20 tanks were destroyed. One enemy plane was shot down and one of the flying officers was captured alive. In addition, our own side suffered heavy losses and is unable to fight anymore. Sincerely.
A-1131 Troop
"Dongyou hour at noon"
Afterwards, the 1st Battalion sent a message to the brigade headquarters to report the specific situation of Task Force Wilson, but received no response.
Logically speaking, the main force should be very close to Demaji, and the leading unit may arrive tonight.
"It's weird, can you still contact me in the morning?" Xie Wancheng said worriedly.
"Probably keeping the radio silent." Zhou Changfeng, who looked tired, waved his hand and said relaxedly: "Don't worry, we can rest when we need to and just stay alert."
Later, when the painkiller shot in the afternoon had worn off, Zhou Changfeng felt a dull pain all over his body, but it was relatively weak and did not affect his sleep.
Because he hadn't had a good rest for several days, he slept particularly deeply the night after the fierce battle.
However, halfway through Yinshi, intensive gunshots and continuous roars suddenly rang out in the distance to the east of the city?
But the exchange of fire lasted very briefly, ending in about a few minutes, and then started again after a while, and this was repeated about four times.
Zhou Changfeng, who was awakened, came to the window, listened carefully for a few seconds, and speculated: "It should be the leading unit of the large army fighting with the enemy's small infiltration team."
War is not simply about setting up a battle array and fighting head-on. The party that takes the initiative often sends small groups of troops to infiltrate from multiple directions to cut off the enemy's contact with the outside world and act as sentinels and screen guards.
The British and Indian troops sent many reconnaissance teams and combat patrols to infiltrate around Demaji in the past few days, and several of them were lurking near the east of the city.
The reconnaissance battalion of the mixed third brigade had already arrived. Naturally, the small British-Indian army with limited scale could not compete with it, so they quickly retreated.
Realizing that the main force of the Ming army was about to arrive on the battlefield, Wilson immediately ordered all ministries to prepare for defense, rearrange firepower points, adjust defense lines, and organize circular positions.
A dozen howitzers of the British-Indian Fourth Artillery Battalion ended their deployment and began to be folded up and mounted on trucks for transfer and deployment; the remaining two dozen tanks of the Fifth Royal Tank Regiment also headed to their respective locations under the guidance of soldiers holding signal batons. Assigned fighting position.
On the urban side, a platoon from the reconnaissance battalion had already cautiously entered, made contact with the first battalion, and immediately began to lay out telephone lines.
In accordance with the order of brigade commander Huang Taize, the reconnaissance battalion was deployed on the appropriate terrain in the east to establish a stable stronghold in advance for the large troops arriving later; at the same time, several detachments were sent to approach the enemy at night to reconnoiter the enemy's situation and find out the enemy's deployment and Firepower configuration.
About an hour later the 4th and 5th Battalions also arrived, followed closely by the Engineer and 3rd Battalions.
At around 9 o'clock, the brigade headquarters, the second battalion, and the combat artillery team arrived, and then immediately began to set up a command post on the spot. Huang Taize, who looked tired but had bright eyes, ordered an immediate attack.
The fourth battalion mainly attacks Highland Zero, the fifth battalion detours north to the flank of the enemy's main position, the third battalion attacks the enemy from the front, and the second battalion enters the city and is ready to respond at any time!
After less than two-quarters of an hour of silence, the peaceful midsummer night was broken again.
The sound of gunfire suddenly started, and 80mm mortars from several battalions opened fire one after another. The mortar shells fell on the defense line of Task Force Wilson. Illumination bombs and various illumination bombs continued to rise into the night sky, causing several people in the surrounding area to lose their sight. The battlefield inside seemed like daylight.
Major Sampson bowed and quickly walked into a shelter and reported the situation to Major General Wilson.
He said anxiously: "Your Excellency, we are in trouble, they are surrounding us! The circular position was attacked by at least two thousand Chinese troops in two directions. Company B of Raigar Battalion claimed that an unknown number of Chinese infantry were heading northeast. Move quickly!"
"They are faster than we expected. According to yesterday's aerial reconnaissance, they should not arrive until noon tomorrow." Wilson frowned, reached out and tapped the map, and said solemnly: "We must hold on until the morning, and then in the air Retreat with support!"
