Chapter 16 The Strength of Subordinates

The three infantry squad leaders expressed their attitudes one after another, and the soldiers naturally had nothing to say.

They stood up one by one to tell Tang Dao their names, ages, and military service, which was also a process of getting to know each other before the war. Tang Dao carefully wrote them down.

Even if the time was short, Tang Dao had to remember them almost, otherwise, when the battle started, he, as a platoon leader, couldn't even call out the names or nicknames of his subordinates, so how could he make tactical arrangements?

As for everyone's personality characteristics or specialties, they could only be discovered in battle.

Shangguan Yun also selectively introduced Tang Dao, such as the three squad leaders.

The second squad leader Lao Hei, whose original name was Yuan Erhei, was the most powerful grenade thrower in the third platoon. He once broke the grenade throwing record in the regiment and threw a wooden long-handled grenade 70 meters away. On the battlefield, he also had a record of throwing a grenade at least 50 meters away in the trench.

Relying on this unique skill, he became a squad leader after three years of military service. If it weren't for the fact that the second squad leader Liu Datou had been in the army for a long time, he would also be a strong competitor for the third platoon leader.

As the squad leader of the first squad, Liu Datou is a typical veteran.

The 88th Division was reorganized from the former National Guard Division in the 20th year of the Republic of China, and Liu Datou's military service was more than three years at that time, and it has been almost ten years now.

From the National Guard Division to the 88th Division, he has been in such an elite force for nearly ten years. With such training alone, even the dullest knife has become extremely sharp.

Apart from other things, he may be the undisputed first in the grassroots command of the squad and platoon level, looking at the entire third platoon, so it is no wonder that he has some complaints about Tang Dao taking the position that will soon belong to him.

Compared with the two squad leaders he just met, Tang Dao's old acquaintance, the old soldier, surprised him even more.

Although the old soldier Li Jiujin is a little slick, he can be the squad leader of a combat squad, especially in the first company, which is generally a sharp knife, and he must have outstanding skills.

Tang Dao really didn't expect that Li Jiujin, an old oil stick, was actually a cold gun master in the first company.

He has been at the Songhu front for two months. His ability to survive is beyond words. In addition, he is also lucky enough that he has not even had a scratch on his body.

However, this person not only lived longer than others, but also had great military merits.

He killed nearly 10 Japanese soldiers with a cold gun. The nine scratches on his rifle recorded his merits.

He was also the only one among the three infantry squad leaders who was equipped with both a rifle and a Mauser pistol. Although he said that he would feel at ease if he had more weapons, Tang Dao knew that more equipment meant better physical condition. Li Jiujin, an old soldier, was much better than his superficial laziness.

Another acquaintance, Yang Xiaoshan, a private, surprised Tang Dao even more. Not only was he passionate and a good candidate, but he also performed well on the battlefield.

As a new recruit drawn from a local unit to join the company, he participated in a brutal hand-to-hand combat and survived. He even killed two devils with a bayonet, which is a result that many veterans have never achieved.

Those who have been to the battlefield understand that compared with the artillery fire and fierce shooting between the two sides, the most brutal battle is the hand-to-hand combat between the two sides.

Facing the glaring bayonet, people's minds are just blank, and you can't remember any of the extremely familiar tactical moves on the training ground.

The only thing you can do is to stab your bayonet before the enemy's bayonet pierces your chest. If the enemy doesn't die, you will die.

There is no third choice.

That requires a strong body, bayonet fighting skills, and more importantly, courage to face death.

This is easier said than done, especially when facing the Japanese army, which has extremely harsh training in bayonet fighting. Many soldiers were stiff all over because of fear at that moment, which also led to the fact that facing a Japanese soldier often required two or three Chinese soldiers to deal with it, and even that might not necessarily win.

How confident the Japanese army was in bayonet hand-to-hand combat was reflected in many battle reports that were gradually disclosed in the future. When the attack was blocked, they would choose this trick; when launching the final general attack, they would still use this trick, which was their most common tactic to show their bravery.

And the fact is that their winning rate with this trick exceeded 70%.

Of course, hand-to-hand combat itself is a double-edged sword.

When they encountered the desperate Chinese army, such as the Red Army carrying the red tassel spears and experiencing a long-distance transfer, or the Chinese elite who had no way to retreat, they would also be killed and blood flowed, becoming their nightmare.

However, a rookie who had just entered the battlefield could kill two Japanese soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, which was definitely strong enough.

And he seemed to be the only supplementary soldier who survived the battle a month ago, otherwise Shangguan Yun would not have introduced him specifically.

There are several other soldiers, some are good at digging fortifications, some are good at machine gun shooting suppression, and some are good at carrying ammunition...

From Shangguan Yun's expression with a bit of pride and sadness, Tang Dao can easily understand that they should be the more outstanding soldiers in the third row, but there are not many such outstanding soldiers left after two months of bloody battles.

With fewer veterans, the only ones left are the new recruits. Among the more than 30 people left in the entire third row, less than half of them are veterans, and the rest are the ones left after several rounds of replenishment.

New recruits become veterans after more experience, but there are also new recruits who have only been here for five or six days and have only fought one battle. Fortunately, there is only one.

That timid recruit who must not be more than 20 years old saluted Tang Dao and retreated into the crowd.

Such recruits should have been added not long ago, and even the squad leaders themselves were not very familiar with him, so naturally there was no special introduction. Tang Dao hurriedly remembered his name---Niu Er.

That was because he saw Niu Er carefully put his rations in front of "Hammer" and helped the poor little guy bandage the wound on his hind legs with a bandage.

Maybe it doesn't mean anything else, but he definitely likes dogs.

However, this also shows the toughness of the original veterans. After two months of bloody battles on the battlefield, their survival rate was much higher than that of the recruits who were added later.

No wonder in the battle of Sihang Warehouse in the past time and space, the Japanese army mobilized an infantry regiment of more than 2,000 people to attack for three days, but failed to capture this solid fortress.

It is not enough for Sihang Warehouse to be able to carry 75-caliber field artillery, but it mainly depends on what kind of soldiers are guarding the fortress.

Undoubtedly, the remaining 400-odd people of the 1st Battalion of the 524th Regiment are already the elite of the elite among the millions of troops of China and Japan in Songhu after going through bloody battles.

Tang Dao is more confident now than before, not just because he knows the true trajectory of the giant ship of history.

God knows what kind of chain reaction will be caused by the flapping of his wings, a little butterfly that has come through the barriers of time and space?

Tang Dao is also uncertain about the future.

But what he can be sure of is that, just like before, with such a group of comrades standing shoulder to shoulder with him, his heart is very stable, and his hand holding the gun is even more stable.

"Okay, we all know each other, brothers in the third platoon, go back to your positions, Platoon Leader Tang, come with me to the command post for a meeting." Shangguan Yun took out a pocket watch to check the time, and ordered loudly with a bit of rudeness.

"Platoon Leader Tang, tell them what you have planned, and tell them to get out of here!"

The officers and soldiers present were stunned, and Liu Datou, a veteran with nearly ten years of military service, couldn't help but flash a trace of relief in his eyes.

As a veteran, he knew too well what it meant that a small platoon leader like Tang Dao could attend a meeting that only company-level officers and above could attend. It meant that the highest commander admired his new platoon leader very much. If the company commander died in the battle, it would not be a new thing for him to become the company commander directly.

Thinking of this, Liu Datou couldn't help but glared at the old soldier.

No wonder this guy called the superior directly in a clinging manner. He must have known about this kind of thing in advance. If he didn't tell him, he probably wanted to see him, the most senior squad leader, make a fool of himself!

Damn it, he is such a piece of shit.

Veteran Li Jiujin rolled his eyes in response to Liu Datou's anger. Who made you look down on me, a man who shoots coldly? Today, I'll show you who has more heart and eyes.

Tang Dao pretended not to see the "affectionate" look between his two squad leaders and smiled slightly:

"I'm not here. Squads 2 and 3 should listen to Squad Leader Liu. Everyone should be careful in the fortifications outside the warehouse. If I guess correctly, the Japanese already know we are here. It won't be long before the vanguard will come."

"Platoon leader, I..." Liu Datou probably didn't expect Tang Dao to make such an arrangement regardless of past grudges. He was so moved that he was speechless for a while.

Tang Dao's behavior almost confirmed his position as deputy platoon leader. Although he was like this before, after all, the emperor has his own ministers, right?

"Squad Leader Liu, I believe you!" Tang Dao smiled slightly and took the initiative to reach out and shook the old soldier's hand, which was as rough as a rock.

That was not only his recognition, but also his respect for a veteran.

After listening to Shangguan Yun's introduction, Tang Dao had already decided that if he was not there, Liu Datou would be his first choice to command the third platoon.

On the way to the third floor command post, Shangguan Yun looked at Tang Dao with a strange look. When Tang Dao wanted to ask, Shangguan Yun couldn't help but sigh:

"I don't understand, how could the commander of your 26th Division be willing to leave a treasure like you on the battlefield? If you were in our 88th Division, even if you only had one breath, the commanders would probably have to take you back."

It would be fine if Tang Dao was ordinary or slightly better, but whether it was his personal strength or leadership ability, he was almost shining, but he was still left on the battlefield. The captain of the National Army finally had some doubts in his heart.

Tang Dao grinned slightly: "Sir, you are too kind, but maybe my superior is also looking for someone from the war zone field hospital right now?"

"Haha! That's right! Fortunately, fortunately!" Shangguan Yun laughed out loud at Tang Dao's explanation and somewhat playful answer.

"Later, I will make the decision to let the signalman send a telegram to the 26th Division saying that you are here."

Cases like Tang Dao who was knocked unconscious by artillery shells for several days and looked like he was dying, but later became full of energy, are actually not unique on the battlefield. The fact that Tang Dao was sent to the war zone field hospital is enough to show that the 26th Division attaches great importance to him.

At this point, the last doubt about Tang Dao was gone.

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ps: There is only one chapter today, and the big chapter is 3,000 words. Fengyue cannot be updated too quickly, otherwise it will be put on the shelves before the first round of recommendations is over, which will be a failure. If there is a burst of updates, there will definitely be one after it is put on the shelves.