The power of the 20mm cannon lies in its high rate of fire, and 200 rounds per minute are poured everywhere, and the firepower must be temporarily suppressed. With Song Desheng's order, under the rapid attack of six jackal chariots, the outer layer of masonry and stone of the houses at the bridgehead on the other side of the river began to mottle and peel off, and dust was splashed, and the enemy artillery that did not shoot dead ends suddenly became dumb; The soldiers of the motorized infantry battalion, who followed the roundabout convoy, began to use mortars to shoot smoke bombs at the bridgehead over there, and several smoke bombs passed, and the white fog rose on the bridgehead, and the broken chariots emitting black smoke and the steel chariots that were still firing shells were covered by the white mist.

While Song Desheng and the infantry on the chariot supported the opposite bank, the infantry that had lagged behind the chariot finally arrived at the river. The river may be an obstacle for tanks, but the riverbed more than thirty meters wide, and the water that is not very deep in early winter is not an obstacle for the infantry at all. But when the infantry jumped into the riverbed and prepared to cross the river to fight, 'boom... ......With two bangs, the bridge across the Ornan River was blown up, the river water and stones splashed in all directions, and some stone chips also smashed into Song Desheng's No. 092 car.

"Company commander!" The gunner in the same car saw this scene from the scope and shouted on the radio in pain, but Song Desheng was not impatient, looking at the broken stone bridge in a daze.

But just as he was in a daze, German fire with the signal of blowing up the bridge began to emerge from all over the river, and countless machine guns and rifles were fired at the infantry who were crossing the river and the jackal chariots on the bank of the river, and the sound of bullets hitting the armor of the chariot woke Song Desheng from his stupor: this should be the second line of defense of the German army, and they wanted to stop themselves on this side of the Ornan River.

"Call for artillery fire now! Call for artillery fire!! Song Desheng looked at the infantry who were hit by enemy machine guns and rifles on the riverbed, and only hoped that the artillery in the rear would immediately smash the shells over. But this is clearly impossible, the artillery battalion is four kilometers away. His radio could not communicate directly with friendly troops four kilometers away, and the only way to call the artillery was by wireless telegraphy.

The jackal chariot was constantly suppressing the machine guns on the opposite side. But when German mortars and field artillery came in, the convoy, like the wolf chariots on the other side of the bridge, had to crash through the gates or walls of the houses on the side of the street, hiding the bodies of the tanks in these makeshift bunkers. When the last infantry on the riverbed fell to the ground and died, the artillery battalion that received the wireless telegraph finally fired two test-fired shells, Song Desheng immediately asked his subordinates to correct this, and then generated electricity again, but at this time it was not his command, and the school artillery aircraft was hovering in the air. Tens of seconds later, just as the Germans, who had a premonition that something was wrong, wanted to retreat, a barrage of covering shells hit anywhere on the other side of the Ornan River.

The howitzer came with a violent roar, it smashed into the walls and roof of the house, and then, the ground shook and the rags of the house were torn and blown apart by the flames of the explosion, but before these rags were completely shattered, another howitzer burst into the air. This time, the fragments of the house that had not yet fallen to the ground instantly turned into powder and flew into the already thick air. In the midst of this devastating shelling, the city's dwellers, who had never been seen at all, finally appeared. Except for a few crazy headless flies running around, more people shrank in place and shivered and prayed to God.

Song Desheng's telescope only flashed over these poor Frenchmen, and more attention was paid to the German infantry who were scurrying around under artillery fire. He also paid attention to the stranded tanks at the bridgehead, which had been frozen and lifeless before the shelling. But now, the rapid artillery fire brought several of the vehicles back to life - and the turrets of several began to spin.

The shelling did not last long. Ten minutes later, the barrage stretched far to the other end of the city, and the experienced infantry commander's whistle sounded at this time, and the infantry in camouflage clothes flowed down the riverbed like ducks, wading through the middle of the river, which was not deep, and soon touched the opposite riverbank. Although the chariots did not pass, the wall-breaking tactics in street fighting were a compulsory course for every main division, and these infantry began to infiltrate the Germans like rats along the unbombed houses and chaotic streets, and the endless gunfire became fierce again.

'Bang dang', the closed turret cover of the 092 car was opened during the shelling, although the air in the car was not good, but I didn't want the outside of the car to be filled with the dust splashed by the shelling, and the commander of the third company, Song Desheng, gave a 'bah' before he began to give an order: "Second company, second company, immediately save people, immediately save people, the battalion commander is on the opposite bank!" After speaking, he looked at the bombed and collapsed stone bridge, and began to call the bridge company on the radio, shouting: "Build the bridge immediately!" Build a bridge now! ”

The streets of Baledik were so narrow that they were blocked by the chariots and infantry in front, and the boat-bridge troops behind could not get through, so that in the end the boat-bridge company could only tear down a few French houses and drive from another street to the riverbank, where the water was already dissatisfied, and after leveling the embankment and quickly erecting a simple steel bridge with a pontoon in the center of the riverbed, the road to the other half of the city was opened. When the chariot rumbled past, Song Desheng was called over by the political commissar.

"The battalion commander is sacrificed!" In the white medical tent, the body of the battalion commander Zhang Liuji was covered with a white cloth, and standing beside him was the gloomy political commissar, perhaps because he felt that he couldn't be so sad, Zhang Yannian cheered himself up, and after saying the matter of the battalion commander, he raised his voice and said very seriously: "Comrade Song Desheng, I officially inform you that you are now the acting commander of the second battalion, do a good job!" ”

"But ......, but ......" Song Desheng was shocked by the sacrifice of the battalion commander, but he was suddenly promoted, and in a moment of sadness and shock, he suddenly thought of the second company commander: "Report to the commander, Comrade Meng Qingshan, the commander of the second company, should be more qualified for this position than me." ”

"Comrade Meng Qingshan also sacrificed." Zhang Yannian, who was a little cheered up, looked a lot darker when he heard his suggestion, but he still tried his best not to let himself be affected by this, he said: "The team led by Comrade Qingshan met the German snipers, although his team successfully completed the roundabout mission, but ......, let's talk about these things later, according to the established battle plan, you should continue to command the troops." ”

"Yes, sir!" When Song Desheng heard that Meng Qingshan had also died, his heart was full of sadness. I remember that he had written a special report before, believing that opening the turret cover to command and taking the lead in the charge would make the casualty rate of the grassroots commanders of the tank unit very high, and he hoped that the General Staff and the General Logistics Department could improve this. As a result of his report, the General Logistics Department provided the grassroots commanders with nylon body armor and infantry steel helmets, and ordered the grassroots commanders to use these protective equipment when directing operations, but the results were ......

"That's it! Don't be a mother-in-law. We beat the Germans to the ground, and we couldn't find our mother, so a few people died. With such an expensive chariot as a coffin, it is worth it in this life! Zhang Yannian looked at Song Desheng, whose morale was not high, and roared loudly, "Song Desheng acting battalion commander, I order you as a revival member, immediately command the battle and occupy Baledik!" ”

"Yes! Sir! Provoked by the political commissar, Song Desheng shouted loudly.

"I'm not your commander, I'm your commissar. Comrade Acting Battalion Commander. Zhang Yannian also replied loudly. I strongly advise you now, destroy the Germans! ”

"Yes! Destroy the Germans!! Song Desheng saluted, took one last look at the white cloth-covered body, turned around and strode out.

On the map, the Ornan River, which runs through Baledik, splits into two rivers, and the bridge that just collapsed is only the first river, and a few hundred meters to the northeast of this bridge is another stone bridge.

The intelligence of the French was erroneous, the Ornan River was not very deep in winter, and the bridges were not fatal to the capture of such a city. Without bridges, the boat-bridge troops were able to drive their chariots to the opposite bank. When the 092 car drove over the steel pontoon on the center of the river, Song Desheng thought of this painfully, he suddenly felt that the sacrifice of the battalion commander was not worth it, but he couldn't say this kind of thing, and the whole army was a whole, he couldn't distinguish the value of everyone's sacrifice with value and unworthiness, they were all a life, they were all loyal to the country, and they were all iron-clad and good men! (To be continued......)