Rise From Eight Hundred

If the battlefield a day ago made the soldiers truly understand the reasons why their squad leaders, squad vice-chairmen and even platoon leaders could become grassroots officers.

They have a firm determination to implement tactics, and they are also as fearless and brave as themselves, and they also have a sufficiently calm mind.

They are one of the best soldiers on the battlefield.

Then this night-time high-speed march of more than 20 kilometers made the soldiers realize that their company commander’s choice was not wrong.

Almost all squad leaders and platoon leaders became the group of people who took the heaviest load in their respective battle sequences.

Or, not only the grassroots officers such as squad leaders and squad vice-chairmen, but also the lieutenants, captains, majors, lieutenant colonels, and even their colonels in the independent battalion are no exception. They all carry more than an ordinary soldier.

This behavior cultivated in crisis will eventually become an unwritten convention in the years to come.

In Tang Dao’s words, the higher the position, the greater the responsibility, and carrying a heavy load is naturally a kind of responsibility.

The officers of the independent battalion at all levels must lead by example, just like on the battlefield.

Because this is not a light march, but a heavy march like moving. All the belongings of the newly established independent battalion must be moved away.

Perhaps not only the belongings, in this battle, the three infantry companies of the independent battalion produced more than 40 wounded soldiers, and the whole army had light and heavy wounded waiting to be transported. The independent battalion naturally could not leave the wounded to the field hospital and could only find a way to take them away.

Each infantry company should find a way first. If there is really no way, the baggage company with the heaviest task of transporting supplies will help transport them.

Don't think that the baggage company has more than 50 pack horses captured from the Japanese army and more than a dozen carts. The transportation capacity is sufficient, but the baggage company with more than 150 people has to transport enough food for more than a thousand people for more than half a month, as well as various ammunition and medicines that Tang Dao has tried his best to dig out.

These three types of supplies are life-saving things for the soldiers on the battlefield, and none of them can be lost.

In addition, there are some iron picks, hardwood, iron plates and other materials seized from the Sixth Heavy Artillery Brigade for building fortifications.

These supplies may not seem to be of much use when they are running away, but if the Japanese army chases them and they need to rebuild the defense line, they will be of great use.

Digging trenches on the ground can only block bullets. How are the Japanese army stronger than the Chinese army? It's not that the individual soldiers have been trained for a long time. The bayonet and gun skills are better than the Chinese soldiers. The soldiers of the independent battalion who have been polished over and over again on the battlefield of the meat grinder are not inferior to them in this regard.

Just like the encounter the night before, where did the independent battalion win? It's not because of the continuous-fire light firearms such as submachine guns and Mauser pistols that the Japanese army did not have. Those light firearms are indeed powerful in close combat, but the Japanese army is not stupid. They can't rush over to kill you, but they can still hold on and wait for help.

The main factor that determined the outcome of the battle was that the three infantry companies had six mortars. The six mortars destroyed 70% of the Japanese firepower points. With the help of more than a dozen infantry squad precision shooters and sharpshooters such as Niu Er and Tang Dao, the Japanese light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers were destroyed. The infantry were able to crawl forward and use grenades and short-range automatic continuous light firearms such as submachine guns and Mauser pistols to solve the Japanese army.

If the Japanese vanguard also carried infantry artillery, the final outcome would be hard to say, but it would be impossible to solve the battle within 40 minutes.

The biggest factor that allowed the Japanese army to overwhelm the Chinese army was artillery.

The title of God of War was not for nothing.

Before the two sides could see each other clearly, a row of deadly shells had already blown the Chinese position into a mess. Shrapnel and air waves fell outside the trenches, so people dared not even show their heads. If they fell inside the trenches, more than ten meters on both sides of the bullet point, no matter what posture you used, you were basically dead.

Therefore, if you want to survive under the Japanese army's covering artillery attack, single-soldier and squad-level anti-artillery holes are a must.

Just dig a hole on the side of the trench and hide yourself in it? A 6.5-kilogram mountain artillery shell falling on it can easily collapse this simple anti-artillery hole. If it doesn't kill you, it can bury you alive.

Tools and materials such as steel plates, hardwood, and iron picks that are not for individual soldiers are necessary to build such anti-artillery fortifications.

No matter how insufficient the transportation capacity is, it is necessary to create transportation capacity.

To this end, not only the infantry had to help transport food and other supplies, but the cavalry platoon also transformed into a transport platoon. Not only were the sides of the war horses full of ammunition boxes and food bags, but the cavalry also carried them on their backs.

In addition to his own equipment, Lv Sanjiang, the new cavalry platoon leader, also hung two 30-jin food bags in front and behind. The other soldiers followed suit. They couldn't fight as hard as Lv Sanjiang, but they could still reduce the load of their war horses by 10 jin with manpower.

It's not that the commander Tang Dao was cruel and wanted to tire the cavalry platoon that he had finally dug out to death.

It's that Lv Sanjiang felt sorry for his maroon warhorse.

According to the precise calculations of Zhuang Shisan, the data master in the afternoon, each warhorse in the cavalry platoon can carry 280 jin of food and ammunition, and the cavalry can carry more than 20 kilometers without running.

As a result, Lv Sanjiang felt so distressed that he took a 30-jin bag of food from the warhorse and carried it on his back on the march.

As he said later, if Gu Xishui could carry his youngest sister on his back for more than ten kilometers, I could definitely do it too.

Facts have proved that although both are the most important things in life, comradeship and love can be compared, but the food bag when you are not at the end of your rope cannot reach this height.

Lü Sanjiang, an excellent cavalryman that Tang Dao valued very much, almost died of exhaustion halfway, if it weren't for his red horse looking at him stubbornly stopping when he was about to fall.

The horse is also an extremely psychic animal. Looking at his companion who was sweating like pulp and pale but extremely stubborn, he actually bit the food bag with his mouth to force Lü Sanjiang to stop.

It was not until then that the cavalry realized that their platoon leader was almost exhausted to death, and hurriedly fed him water and sugar.

It was also thanks to Tang Dao's early preparations that before retreating, the milk candies seized from the Japanese army were distributed as an important supplement. Although not much, regardless of rank or level, each person was given three.

But these three milk candies became one of the key factors in this retreat that many military historians in the future will find extremely incredible.

Many soldiers who survived the war all mentioned these three candies when they recalled the retreat, which was even more difficult than the battlefield.

"As soon as the sweet candies entered my mouth, not only did the sweet taste make me feel less tired, but I also instantly felt a little more strength in my body. It was really amazing."

This was certainly not their illusion, just like injecting glucose into a human body that needed energy in the future. Seventy percent of the calories needed by the human body are provided by sugar. Sugar is not only the main source of calories for the human body, but also maintains the normal metabolism of the human body.

After a person has done strenuous exercise, as long as he replenishes sugar in time, it will be of great help in relieving fatigue and preventing collapse.

In the future battle of Wusheng Mountain on the northern ice field, a Chinese soldier could not even find a frozen potato, but he actually repelled 6 attacks by American soldiers with five guns left by his comrades, and the time span was as long as 24 hours.

In addition to sufficient ammunition, what supported him to fight for such a long time was more importantly the few fruit candies given to the soldiers at the front by the consolation group. It was these few candies that gave this heroic soldier enough calories to fight with high intensity.

Otherwise, hunger alone would have defeated this soldier.

Three candies saved Lv Sanjiang's life. He put the grain bags on his chest and back back on the back of the red horse. One man and one horse assisted each other to make the impossible possible, and transported more than 300 kilograms of supplies back to the JX defense line 25 kilometers away in just seven hours.

Such stories of mutual assistance are naturally not only in the cavalry platoon, but also in the infantry company, artillery company, and even the baggage company.

If you are tired, I will carry your burden and keep moving forward.

If you fall, the entire infantry squad will share your burden. I will support you and carry you. I will move you and lift you, and I will take you forward.

Forward, forward, the independent battalion carrying all the military supplies finally returned to the defense line before the sun rose and the sky was full of glory.

At that time, the Japanese reconnaissance planes had been flying over their heads for more than half an hour.

The main force that had arrived first had already deployed anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns on various fortifications.

If the Japanese bomber formation dared to come, they would fight to the death.

No one would retreat.

Because two kilometers ahead of them, the heroic independent battalion that was guarding their rear was marching.