Inside Zhongtiao Mountain, in a forest near Shaoyuan.
"Have you figured out the situation ahead? Can you bypass the enemy's position?"
"I really don't know where those people came from. Why are there defensive positions halfway along the road? It's like they know our route in advance. It's terrible. Did the Eighth Route Army intercept the order from the headquarters?"
Hearing Major Nishikawa Shuichi's complaints, the Japanese infantrymen nearby couldn't help but feel despair.
When they first broke out of the encirclement, there were more than 900 people in their group. After experiencing layers of blockades from various units of the 129th Division, the troops had been beaten to pieces, and it was difficult to assemble a group of death squads to break into the enemy's position.
If they hadn't met friendly forces who had the same experience on the way, everyone would probably have gone into the mountains and lived like a savage.
When the Japanese soldiers were lamenting their fate, the news brought back by the soldiers who went to investigate rekindled everyone's hope of survival.
"Your Excellency, Major, according to my observation, the people stationed in the front position are not the Eighth Route Army."
"Although I didn't see the specific situation clearly, the defenders should be Guoju's troops. The soldiers' uniforms are all yellow and green. I judge that the enemy must be the 98th Army that we defeated."
"It's not difficult to break through this line of defense!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone from the major to the private showed excited expressions. The Eighth Route Army will definitely not be able to defeat them, but they are good at bullying the Central Army.
The cause of this Central Plains battle was to pick a weak enemy in North China, kill the preserved fruit troops, and liberate the three divisions of the First Army.
What's more, the 98th Army is an old rival, having been defeated by the 33rd Division and the 41st Division just two days ago. Facing their defeated generals, the Japanese's shattered self-confidence gradually occupied the high ground of reason.
"well!"
"Our luck is indeed very good!"
"It seems that the Preserved Fruit Troops want to take revenge, so let's show them why a skinny camel is bigger than a horse!"
Thinking that he had obtained important information, Nishikawa Shuichi immediately set off for the temporary headquarters.
The Japs' current troops are composed of several small troops that were broken up. Among these 1,700 people, there were fully five officers above the rank of major.
Whenever we encounter any major decision-making event, we must reach an internal consensus before we can act.
Obviously, although they were beaten to a pulp by the Eighth Route Army, they looked down upon the Central Army and even spoke out loudly about ending the battle in half an hour. After all, from the beginning of the campaign to now, there is no one who can fight on the entire Northeast Front.
"Nishikawa-kun, you will lead the two infantry squadrons to attack next, and the only artillery squadron will provide fire cover."
"Your mission is to feint, as long as you can attract the enemy's attention. Our remaining warriors will cut in from the enemy's flank positions and penetrate the frontal battlefield."
"Based on the army's current ammunition reserves, hand-to-hand combat is the best option."
"good!"
After speaking, the five officers came to a high ground and began to observe.
The defensive position in the distance looks a little different from Guozhou's style, and the firepower configuration and fortifications are arranged very cleverly. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no heavy weapons, not even large-caliber mortars.
A feint attack with two infantry squadrons and one artillery squadron is definitely more than enough.
Before the operation started, Yudai Motoyama asked the communications soldier behind him:
"Have you contacted Lieutenant General Harada Yukichi and Lieutenant General Tanaka Kuichi to confirm the positions of the 21st Division and the 35th Division?"
The communications soldier carrying electronic equipment stepped forward, took the map handed over by his major, and then used a pencil to draw a marching route on the map.
While the five majors were studying the route, he pointed to the position in the distance and said proactively:
"Contacted!"
"As long as we can break through the defense line, we can meet the supporting troops by walking southeast for another day. If we are lucky, we can rest in Henan Province in a day and a half."
As soon as he finished speaking, the five major officers looked fierce!
The 129th Division's offensive was so brutal that even the casualties on the battlefield in Shanghai were not that high. They have no other ideas now and just want to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.
Presumably, the troops in the defensive position in front of them had no idea that their own side would gather forces to outflank them.
"Let's go! If you don't succeed, you will succeed!"
······
Five minutes later, the Northwest Army was on the position.
"Brigadier! The Japanese are finally here! It looks like there are two squadrons!"
Following the communications troops' return, bursts of gunpowder smoke caused by explosions suddenly rose from the northwest army's position in the distance.
Gao Jianbai walked out of the field command post and came to the observation post. He saw more than 400 Japanese soldiers maintaining a skirmish line and rushing towards his position like locusts.
Coupled with the cannonballs that fell from time to time, it seemed that they were going to be dispersed in one wave.
"Huh, there's really no flexibility at all!"
"I thought I was the 251st Brigade of the 84th Division of the 17th Army. We had already replaced our guns with guns!"
In the past, Gao Jianbai's 251st Brigade did not even have a mountain gun with a diameter greater than 70 mm, and could only rely on an 82 mm mortar to support the field.
The heavy machine guns are only in single digits, so the number of bullets is pitiful.
Now after picking up a wave of airdrops, my back straightened up.
Li Yunlong not only assigned them a Type 92 infantry gun, but also eight Hotchkiss heavy machine guns and fifteen Czech light machine guns.
All the soldiers had an average of 38 caps each and nearly a hundred rounds of ammunition.
Not giving magic weapons is not because the division commander is stingy, but mainly because it takes a while to get used to new weapons, so it is better to just give the preserved fruit soldiers something they are familiar with.
It's a pity that there are no mines, but grenades and mortars are enough. The Japs from the two squadrons will never be able to break into their Northwest Army positions. If they dare to come, they will never come back!
However, the Japanese offensive was much more intense than he imagined.
In order to avoid a rout on the front line, he picked up the rifle beside him and decided to go to the front line in person to supervise the battle and boost the morale of the soldiers. When he just walked out of the headquarters, he stopped and said to the communications soldier:
"Is there any news from the Shaanxi Army and Commander Li? When are they planning to set off?"
"have!"
The communications soldier replied: "The 1st Marine Regiment and the 21st Marine Regiment have already set off. News also came from the Shaanxi Army. They determined that the enemy had no follow-up troops and immediately dispatched."
After ensuring that everything was normal with the friendly forces, Gao Jianbai rushed to the front line with peace of mind.
However, he had been betrayed by his comrades before, and he knew that it was best to take responsibility for his own life and front. In order to prevent being caught off guard by the Japanese attack, he said firmly to his most trusted subordinate:
"Move all my guard platoons to the high ground on the left for defense!"
"Old Zhang! Even if your platoon is exhausted, don't take a step back! Otherwise, I'll take advantage of you!"
At first, Gao Jianbai wanted to transfer a platoon from the reserve team. But considering the strength and credibility of the 1st Marine Regiment, he decided to keep the reserve team for counterattack!
"yes!"
After receiving the order, the guard platoon leader immediately led people to the high ground.
······
Boom boom boom!
Several mortar shells landed on the Northwest Army's position, splashing up a burst of sand and flying rocks.
The Japanese call mortars only those with a diameter of over 90 mm. The round of shelling just now clearly had the power of a 60 mm mortar. I don’t know which preserved fruit unit it was captured from.
A battalion commander shook the dust off his head, then put on a helmet and set up a Czech machine gun.
"Six hundred meters! Fire the light and heavy machine gun teams! Fire when you see the Japanese skirmishers! Don't let them get too close!"
In the past, their 17th Army was not rich in bullets. When facing hordes of enemy infantry, they could only move the enemy closer and then fight.
Today is different from the past. Each machine gun team now has ample ammunition, and there is no need to search for and save bullets. The closer the distance between the two sides, the more obvious the Japs' advantage in marksmanship becomes.
As the battalion commander shouted, the soldiers got out of the anti-gun hole with five Czech guns, and the heavy machine gun was also lifted to the predetermined firing position.
A series of sounds of gun bolts were heard from the position, and the black muzzle spurted out hot fire.
The firepower of light and heavy machine guns, coupled with the two calibers of mortars, made the Japanese charging pace seem to be stuck as if the frame was dropped.
However, the enemy's counterattack artillery shells soon fell continuously near the northwest army's firepower point.
The Japanese artillery is indeed very powerful, even the mortars that were just captured can be fired very accurately. The infantry and artillery coordination is very good, and will support the infantry advance once it sees that it is hindered.
Fortunately, neither the Type 92 infantry artillery nor the captured mortars posed a great threat to the solid fortifications that the Northwest Army spent a day and night building.
As long as it is not a direct hit, there will basically be no serious casualties.
Seeing that the Japs were only 400 meters away from the position, this distance was not only within the effective shooting range of Sanba Gai, but also the bullets fired by the soldiers would not go too far.
"Fight me! Revenge our 17th Army!"
In an instant, three different types of bullets were fired at the Japanese who were charging in a skirmish line.
Faced with the long-planned blockade, the forward speed of the two squadrons suddenly stalled. On small days, the infantry could only find bunkers nearby, and even several units were pushed back dozens of meters.
"Baga, what a powerful firepower!"
"How can these fruitless troops get so many rifles!"
Seeing a soldier beside him fall down, the Japanese squadron leader was so angry that he yelled! But after calming down, many questions gradually emerged in his mind.
It doesn't matter if there are several light machine guns on the opposite side. After all, the weight is relatively light and easy to carry when retreating.
But the number of heavy machine guns and rifles was unusual. Just by listening to the sound of the gunshots, he knew they were Type 92 heavy machine guns and Type 38 rifles. The previous defenders did not have these weapons.
What's more, judging from the firepower of the rifles and the number of enemies, there should be one gun for each person, and there is even no shortage of bullets. Even if the number of people is the same, our side will definitely be at a disadvantage in terms of firepower.
Although the Japs attacking the Northwest Army's position were just a feint attack, if the pressure was not enough, there would definitely be nothing good to gain after returning.
In desperation, the grassroots officers could only draw their samurai swords and roared orders to control the situation!
"Baga! Don't retreat!"
"Can you live up to His Majesty's expectations? Keep attacking!"
In order to keep the infantry under their attack momentum, several squad captains even personally led the team, and two squadron captains also supervised the battle at the end of the team. To outsiders, it looked like a jade charge.
Seeing the officers rushing out of the bunker first, the Japanese infantry followed closely behind.
There is no need for orders from superiors, everyone performs their duties. After the grenadier soldiers entered the effective range, they took the initiative to assume the task of suppressing the light and heavy machine gun firepower points of the Northwest Army.
The Japanese who used crooked weapons even used the familiar route to get to a good shooting position and used machine guns to suppress the infantry.
I have to admit that compared to the positions of the Northwest Army, the firepower configuration of the enemy's two squadrons is more reasonable.
Within a distance of four hundred meters, the grenade combined with the crooked handle is more lethal, not to mention that the Japs' marksmanship is much more accurate than that of the Preserved Soldiers.
More than a dozen grenade launchers fired continuously, and the grenades flew accurately to the fire points on the position with a whistling sound.
Fortunately, the soldiers of the Northwest Army had gone through the baptism of the big battle and were very skilled in dodging grenade launchers, so they would not be knocked out of all the light and heavy machine guns in one wave.
But the enemy's goal has been achieved. Without the cover of machine guns, rifles and 50mm guns alone can have limited effect.
By now, the two squadron leaders have become somewhat superior.
The superior's order was to attract the enemy's attention with a feint attack. If he led his own troops to overwhelm the defenders' positions, it would have the same effect.
As long as you rush into the forward position, the threat from light machine guns or mortars will be greatly reduced.
Even if the number of your own side is far less than that of the defenders, hand-to-hand combat depends more on skill and physical strength. The two squadron leaders didn't believe that the candied troops, who couldn't even get enough to eat, had the ability to compete with them with bayonets!
What's more, the large army was still circling around. Thinking of strong support, one of the squadron leaders gritted his teeth and shouted the classic charge slogan!
"What a black card! Onboard!"
As the distance between the two sides became closer and closer, even if the skirmisher line gradually lost its effectiveness, light and heavy machine guns and rifles caused a surge in Japanese casualties. But they braved the hail of bullets and charged like hungry wolves.
The Japs' hit rate is also not low, and there will basically be a harvest within three shots. Moreover, they are very experienced in each battlefield, and they often close the distance while changing the magazine of the machine gun.
The soldiers of the Northwest Army were killed by grenades and crooked handles from time to time, and the casualties on the position were not small.
The battle had only begun for ten minutes, and more than 200 soldiers had already died. If it weren't for Gao Jianbai who was also on the front line, the front line might have been defeated.
Suddenly, a sparse round of artillery shells fell on the path of the Japanese charge, and a violent explosion temporarily stopped their attack.
"idiot!"
"What is the artillery squadron doing? Did they calculate the distance wrong? Those bastards almost hit us."
With this power and gunfire, you don't need to think twice to know that it is a Type 92 infantry gun.
Even if the enemy can capture some guns and ammunition, lethal weapons like infantry cannons will certainly not fall into their hands. What's more, if there were cannons, the defenders would have used them long ago. Why wait until now?
The distance between the two sides is only more than 100 meters. Whose gunner is so confident in himself?
Just when the Japanese squadron leader was about to continue charging, a 7.62 mm bullet blew off his skull, followed by several infantry artillery shells and mortar shells.
In just a few seconds, the battlefield changed drastically.
I'll finish writing about Zhongtiao Mountain tomorrow and take a break to cover all of Shanxi.
(End of chapter)
