Chenjialing, independent battalion blocking position
After the Niu Dao Brigade left Anping City, they advanced to Liuzhen in full formation. In order to prevent being attacked by the Eighth Route Army along the way, they used a barrel formation to advance step by step to the camp. They only traveled less than 30 kilometers a day. The cavalry brigade was on guard along the way and did not give any warning. The Eighth Route Army could take advantage of this opportunity.
Chuxiong also went against the norm and did not send troops to harass the Japanese along the way, leaving the Japanese with the illusion of insufficient troops.
Ushijima old devil is not worried about the Eighth Route Army's attack at all. In the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are in vain!
Major General Udo was born in a field division, and the Udo Brigade was a field brigade. A field brigade can deal with more than a dozen divisions of the Central Army and Shanxi-Sui Army on the frontal battlefield, and a small independent battalion can Heaven is coming?
In his heart, Ushijima even thought that the Commander was making too much of a fuss, killing a chicken with a knife.
"Your Excellency, General, the front is Chenjialing. It is known as the Heartbreak Ridge of the Imperial Army. Many imperial armies have been stationed here before. As expected, Chu Xiong should be waiting for the imperial army in front!"
Chief of Staff Colonel Kitahara Akito reported to Major General Ushijima.
"Hey, Mr. Beiyuan, there is a saying in China that a lion fights a rabbit, so use all your strength to order the troops to camp on the ground. Send the first brigade out of Chenjialing to clear the obstacles, and the cavalry brigade will strengthen the vigilance!"
Ushijima is as crazy as he is, and when it comes to military affairs, he will still carry out tactics step by step without any carelessness. This is probably one of the reasons why he became a general.
As expected, the Kikuchi Battalion encountered resistance from the Eighth Route Army in Chenjialing. They built strong field fortifications in Chenjialing. In the first round of tentative attacks, the Kikuchi Battalion suffered a small loss and suffered dozens of casualties;
Of course, it's not without gain. At least I got a rough idea of the Eighth Route Army's troop and firepower configuration...
"Your Excellency General, there is news from Mr. Kikuchi that there is strong resistance from the main force of the Eighth Route Army in the direction of Chenjialing. There are about 500 troops, equipped with a large amount of machine gun firepower, which is equivalent to the number of the main force of the Eighth Route Army staying in Liuzhen according to the intelligence. At present, the Eighth Route Army The artillery unit has not been exposed yet!"
"Yoshi, order the First Battalion to increase the offensive intensity, force out the artillery units of the Eighth Route Army, and ask the First Field Artillery Battalion to reinforce Kikuchi-kun."
After receiving the latest enemy situation report from the Chief of Staff, Ushijima responded quickly and dispatched a field artillery brigade. Field battles are naturally inseparable from artillery. This is where the Japanese's confidence lies.
At the position of the Chenjialing Independent Battalion, Chu Xiong personally led the fourth company, fifth company, and machine gun company to block the Japanese in Chenjialing, creating conditions for the subsequent morning glory tactics.
The Sixth Company and the Artillery Company were lying in ambush on an unknown slope one kilometer behind Chenjialing, preparing to surprise the pursuing Japanese.
Chenjialing's field fortifications were reinforced on the basis of the original fortifications. They were three horizontal and four vertical, with three front, middle and rear trenches. The trenches were covered with a large amount of pine wood, which was stronger than any previous blockade. Zhan, put on a posture of fighting with the Japanese.
Chu Xiong placed three platoons from the Fourth Company on the first line of defense, a platoon from the Fifth Company on the second line of defense, the machine gun company on the third line of defense, and the other two platoons of the Fifth Company as reserves. He prepared Fight a good offensive and defensive battle with the Japanese in Chenjialing, and you have to spend enough money on fishing!
The first line of defense is also composed of three horizontal and four vertical ring fortifications. Several large anti-gun holes have been built and covered with three layers of pine wood and soil. As long as they are not bombarded by heavy artillery of 105 mm or more, there will be no big problem;
Many cat-ear holes were dug in the trenches to protect individual soldiers from artillery and store ammunition. The entire Chenjialing was dug into dense trenches, and the independent battalion took the prairie dog tactic to its extreme.
At this time, the people in the base area were already evacuating, and Liu Town had been evacuated. Only deputy battalion commander Zhong Guoliang was left to lead three platoons of the garrison company to transform Liu Town. They wanted to fight a small-scale street battle with the Japanese in Liu Town. .
This time, Chu Xiong wanted to lead the devil, the main force of the Japs, to Shenxian Ridge, and use the steel defense line of Shenxian Ridge to consume the Japs' troops and weapons...
"Company commander, the Japanese are coming!"
In front of the first position, a platoon commander whispered to the fourth company commander Tan Tao. Tan Tao, a seventh-generation student of Huangpu, has become a loyal fan of Chu's guerrilla warfare since he followed Chu Xiong as a rout soldier. He was the protagonist of other companies before. This time it was finally his turn.
"Old Ma, he's just a squadron enemy. Get closer and then fight. I'll leave this to you. I'll keep an eye on him from behind!"
"Company commander, don't worry, let's see how I, Ma Dayuan, deal with these sons of bitches!"
Ma Dayuan, the puppet battalion commander who rebelled on the battlefield, behaves more and more like an old Eighth Route Army soldier.
Captain Hirano Shichiro held a command knife in one hand and a tortoise box in the other, commanding more than a hundred Japanese from Hirano Squadron to attack the first trench defended by Ma Dayuan.
The Japanese's attack formation is also very particular. It is divided into three echelons. Two 92 heavy machine guns and several grenade groups are arranged in the third echelon;
The second echelon consists of several crooked machine gun groups and several grenade groups;
The first echelon is a strengthened squad of infantry. They pull a standard skirmish line, with two to three meters between people, with their waists crossed, and they constantly change their route forward, which is quite slippery.
After entering the 100-meter range, they became more cautious. The heavy machine gun team had stopped and was set up two or three hundred meters away to provide fire support for the infantry.
80 meters!
The Eighth Route Army's position was still quiet, and Ma Dayuan was getting more and more frustrated!
60 meters!
Ma Dayuan finally pulled the trigger of the box cannon, and a Japanese soldier fell down. He was different from other platoon leaders in that he was used to using box cannons.
"Ta-ta-ta!"
"Ta-ta-ta!"
Several crooked machine guns in Ma Dayuan's row fired almost at the same time. There was no need to aim at a distance of tens of meters. Just shoot at the Japs and you could always hit a few Japs.
After the Pingye Squadron suffered a sudden blow, the infantrymen who had not been mopped down lay on the ground and fired at the Eighth Route Army.
The heavy machine gun trailing behind also sprayed rain of bullets on the Eighth Route Army's position, causing dust to fly on the position.
The Japanese grenades began to be set up, preparing to find the Eighth Route Army's machine gun firepower points...
"Grenade!"
After Ma Dayuan finished shouting, he took out a melon grenade, knocked it on the helmet, and then threw it at the Japanese...
Almost at the same time, a black mass of grenades was thrown from the Eighth Route Army's position and fell into the group of Japanese soldiers.
Boom boom boom!
As the grenades exploded, the Japanese were killed and injured one by one, and it was useless to lie down.
The Japs attack from above, and it is good if they can throw their grenades 30 meters away. The grenades on the Eighth Route are thrown from a high position, and can easily be thrown fifty or sixty meters away. This is the advantage of the terrain.
The Eighth Route Army all lay down in the trenches and threw grenades, and snipers were arranged in the second trench. The Japanese would be sniped as soon as they raised their heads, and they could only be bombed by grenades while lying on the ground. This made the Pingye Squadron very frustrated.
In just ten minutes, more than half of the casualties were lost, but the number of Eighth Route Army troops eliminated was quite limited. It was not an option to continue fighting like this. This was originally a probing attack. Hirano promptly issued an order to retreat, and the Japanese's first round of attack was repulsed!
A sharp copper whistle sounded on the position, which was a signal to warn against artillery. The soldiers got into the artillery holes one after another, leaving only a few observation posts.
"Boom boom boom!"
The enemy's artillery fire preparations have begun...
