Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 236



Only Noblemtl

#236. Between Steel and Flame (6)

Although they succeeded in striking the enemy’s flank, they failed to cut off their escape route.

In order to drive out the enemies who had formed a firing line, we mobilized two grenade launchers and fired a lot of artillery fire, but the enemy’s resistance was more persistent than expected.

The 4th Platoon Commander could guess how strong the resistance was, since even the platoons that were trying to break through were suffering damage.

“The choice is yours, Commander. Either follow the orders of the battalion commander, or wipe out the remaining enemies here. We will follow your choice, Commander, no matter what.”

The senior instructor was looking at the company commander with intense eyes.

The messengers who were standing by him, the grenadier gunners, and the 3rd Platoon leader who was left in reserve were also waiting for what he would say.

It was obvious which would be more expensive: the opportunity cost of giving up this place or the opportunity cost of ignoring the battalion’s orders.

If the main fishing boat broke through, they would be surrounded and would have no choice but to die or flee in disarray, regardless of whether the area was cleared or not. On the other hand, if they firmly defended the main fishing boat and later received reinforcements to counterattack, they could expect to clear the area.

The company commander, who had been thinking for a moment, let out a sigh and said.

In order to protect the country, you must also know how to admit that you cannot protect everything.

“The battle on the main defense ship is urgent, so we will temporarily abandon this place. We will withdraw our troops to the main defense ship.”

“What about the friendly platoons that are in contact?”

“Withdraw while the grenade launchers lay suppressive fire. Move by platoon, but if you encounter the enemy, do not engage them if possible and withdraw to the main fishing boat.”

Soon, the grenadier squads began to pour suppressive fire on the village where the enemies were hiding, and taking advantage of this gap, the 4th Company began to withdraw toward the main fishing boat while maintaining its integrity.

The sound of loud fighting began to come from closer and closer.

***

The retreating allies began to join one by one in the kitchen fishing boats, and in response, the enemies who had been pursuing the allies also began to advance towards the road.

As expected, the enemy seemed to be trying to break the will of the friendly forces to fight by relying on rifle firepower pouring down from the densely packed mountain lines.

The pouring enemy rifle firepower and their fanatical will to fight made our troops hesitate.

The movements of the enemies, who seemed to have the skills of cross-progression and cover ingrained in them, were truly admirable.

The only regret they had was that they would soon face the firepower of the kitchen fishing boats they had built.

The enemies were moving as if they were trying to limit the defensive firepower of the friendly forces by pouring concentrated fire from a distance of 500m, but it was difficult to pose a major threat to those who had secured sufficient cover and built up firing points to reinforce dangerous areas.

Of course, it was a spectacular sight to see the infantry brigades approaching while firing volleys.

Of course, it is closer to approaching them in a proud manner while exposing their position.

The enemy must have been relying on the firepower of the skirmishers carrying tens or even hundreds of rifles before the friendly forces’ Maxim cannons could fire.

“Enemy scouts are approaching to suppress our firepower!”

It was also around the time when Maximo was finally finishing dissipating its heat.

The battalion commander, who had passed the gunners who were busy firing grenade launchers for a while, could see the hand signals sent by the Maxim gunners from above a two-story red brick building that had been selected in advance.

Then he looked at the officers and messengers around him and shouted.

“No. 1 Maxim cannon, fire between 3 and 11 o’clock, and No. 2 Maxim cannon, fire between 1 and 12 o’clock, and when ordered! And each company commander should actively use the grenade launcher squad so that they can focus their fire on densely populated enemy areas!”

And soon, the enemies began to surge forward, becoming apparent to everyone.

As the companies were returning to the kitchen ships one after another, the enemy, as if they were not giving them time, was advancing the scout ships at an even faster speed than before.

“The enemies will soon rush in!”

“Everyone, hold on! Hands off the trigger!”

When 1/3 of the enemy advances, the remaining 2/3 provide cover for them.

In order to destroy them all at once, the remaining enemies had to enter the created killing zone.

Then the enemies’ cross-advancements began to intertwine.

Other units moved in behind the sheltered formation and got entangled, and the night-time conditions began to make it difficult for them to control the situation.

It would certainly be an uncommon mistake for the enemy, but if such a situation were to occur even once, there would be no mercy or opportunity on the battlefield.

“Now! Shoot!”

In the red brick building, the Maxim gunners pressed their triggers, and behind them, the grenade launchers, after estimating the distance to the enemy, began to fire grenades with their detonators replaced according to the markings.

The tangled ranks of Japanese soldiers scattered dark red blood on the white snow, and soon froze over.

However, the enemies seemed to have only one choice left, and unlike the Qing army or other bandits, they began to attack fanatically.

Although some of the ranks of the mountain troops had collapsed, the enemy’s attacks were still sharp, contrary to expectations.

The enemies were making good use of the urban environment and were sufficiently offsetting the firepower of the Maxim guns.

Several soldiers fell down screaming as bullets flew from the mountain barracks.

The battalion troops, whose morale had briefly risen thanks to the fire support from the Maximo batteries, began to hesitate again.

“You little shits! Stop it!”

“Hey! Don’t shoot so quickly! Shoot after stopping!”

“Chew! Maximoffee is out of ammo! You, go get some ammo quickly!”

From above, the excited gunners and the old man, Jeong-Gyo, the machine gun team leader who controlled them, could be heard shouting.

I could also see the youngest member of the machine gun crew running, staggering, carrying a canister in the distance.

The firepower of the two Maxim guns was certainly powerful, but it was difficult to subdue all the enemies that were rushing in like a tidal wave.

“The enemies are breaking through the killing zone.”

“Block the follow-up. Deal with the remaining enemies with close range fire.”

Jumping over the corpses of their former comrades, they began to thrust their sharp bayonets at the defensive line.

The enemies who had crossed the killing zone had now reached the final defensive firing point.

It was amazing how he managed to get here while dodging the Maximo’s shots here and there.

The battalion special forces officer, who had his eyes locked with the battalion commander who was drawing his sword, nodded and made a hand signal with his fist as if he was throwing something at the soldiers visible within the defensive line.

Soon, the new recruits of each platoon and squad hurriedly took out the grenades they had kept in their bags, and the veteran soldiers anxiously waited for orders, picking up the grenades they had placed on one side of the firing line.

Between their trembling breaths, whether from the cold or the fear of coming into contact with the enemy, and the roars of the enemies that can now be heard even from the defensive line, they are.

Beep!

Finally I heard the whistle blow, the order to throw the grenades.

“Now! Throw it!”

As they had been trained, or some of them recalled their combat experience, they began to ‘welcome in the warmest way’ the enemies who approached them.

Enemies were flung around between explosions.

Some enemies screamed and let out lamenting sounds as if they were looking for their comrades, while others crawled on the ground, searching for missing body parts, which felt like a glimpse of hell.

“The enemies are coming over the four generations!”

After a while the enemies appeared again.

It seemed that those who had replaced the Zephas who had been swept away by the grenade had arrived again.

They were trying to cross the four wings of the kitchen fishing boat.

Although the soldiers on the defensive line continued to throw grenades and shoot, the friendly firepower was being dispersed by covering fire from the skirmish line.

“Stop it!”

Officers and instructors quickly began to block the enemy by stabbing them with bayonets, cutting them down with swords, or shooting at them with the muskets each person carried, but the number of enemies crossing the line soon increased.

“Stop the enemies who have crossed the line!”

“Don’t let a single one go back!”

The enemies who had crossed the barracks began swinging their bayonets, and the soldiers defending the barracks were pushing back the enemies who were trying to cross the barracks with their shovels and the bayonets of their rifles.

Between the flash of the gun and the sound of the explosion, there was only darkness, and in between, people in different uniforms moved according to their own instincts.

“The short kids are the enemy! Kill all those skinny kids!”

There was a sound of something breaking as the senior sergeant deflected the bayonet flying at him with his bayonet and then struck his chin with the buttstock.

Before I could even check what had happened to the enemy, I immediately stabbed the enemy in the chest with the barrel of the gun, and a scream tormented my ears.

“Ahh!”

“It’s an enemy officer! Kill him!”

“These little bastards!”

He looked in the direction of the sound for a moment, then stepped on the fallen enemy with his boot and pulled the barrel out with the recoil.

Then, after checking that there were still cartridges left in the gun, he pulled the bolt, extracted the cartridge from the previous shot, and pulled the trigger while holding the long saber, aiming at the enemy officer who had just cut off the chest of a friendly soldier.

It was a close range, so there was no need to aim.

As the enemy officer fell down screaming after being shot, other soldiers rushed at him and cut him into pieces.

Guns, shovels, etc… They were all lethal if they got hit.

However, apart from that, the number of enemies crossing the four walls was gradually increasing.

The 2nd Platoon troops on the kitchen boat were being pushed back by severe outnumbered forces.

“More enemies are coming to the center of the front line! If we continue like this, the 2nd Platoon’s Gannas will be completely wiped out!”

“You damn Japanese bastards!”

The battalion commander looked at the approaching enemies, his hand trembling as he held the sword.

The Japanese, full of fanaticism and hatred for the enemy, were harming their own troops like wild beasts.

The brave soldiers who had been carefully selected from the northwestern region were falling without a chance to do anything.

“We must retreat, Commander.”

From the right, the battalion chief of staff made a suggestion, breathing heavily.

Even though we had been warned that there would be a night attack, we were pushed back like this. The enemy was clearly elite.

The battalion commander felt the sky suddenly brighten with the loud sound of Maxim gun firing.

The battalion commander shook his head with an incomprehensible smile.

“We haven’t lost yet.”

“Commander, to your left!”

“Look at the sky.”

The chief of staff looked up at the sky at the battalion commander’s words.

Signal flares were floating here and there in the air.