Time seemed to stand still, and the ears of all the soldiers on the artillery position were buzzing. Only then did they realize that they were being attacked and quickly fell down.
"Groan!" The sound of artillery shells neighed again in the sky. The Japanese Type 92 infantry gun fired shells at maximum combat speed, pouring ammunition towards the division's artillery battalion position, not seeking accuracy, but only speed of fire.
"Rescue the wounded immediately, and each company will immediately move to the anti-slope reserve position!" Zhao Zhangcheng gritted his teeth, not having time to feel sorry for the two mortars and soldiers, and quickly issued various orders based on the current situation.
Since he was not sure whether the Japanese army had other artillery threats besides the Type 92 infantry cannon, Zhao Zhangcheng had to suppress the anger in his heart and abandon the current mountain edge position with the best shooting angle and sight line, allowing the entire battalion to Retreat to the reserve position on the reverse slope.
As a typical arm with high attack and low defense, artillery is very vulnerable to counter-artillery attacks. Even though the Japanese army only has one Type 92 infantry gun, there is a huge disparity with the division's mortar battalion's 20 mortars. In fact, , the threat of just one cannon is very huge.
The reason is very simple. A considerable amount of ammunition is stored on the artillery position. When encountering artillery fire, it is very likely that the ammunition will explode.
This is not alarmist talk, but a real threat.
Once a suicide bombing occurs, the division's mortar battalion will bear huge irreparable losses.
As an individual, Zhao Zhangcheng could not wait to kill this Type 92 infantry cannon immediately and fight with it.
But as the supreme commander of the mortar battalion directly under the 115th Division, he must be responsible for the battalion's more than 400 soldiers and 22 mortars.
As for why the artillery positions are set up so close, the reason is simple. The maximum range of the 37-type 60mm mortar is only 1.5 kilometers.
The soldiers of the whole battalion wasted no time, and their hands and feet were quick. Many soldiers picked up the hot mortars and ran, going straight to the anti-slope to prepare for the transfer.
quick!
You have to move quickly!
Without artillery suppression, the Japanese troops on the highway would quickly break through the 686th Regiment's ambush area and move closer to the Laoye Temple Highlands.
"Warriors of the Japanese Empire, the time has come to break out, advance to the high ground ahead! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!" As the entire division's mortar battalion briefly lost its voice, the nightmare-like fire strikes on the battlefield disappeared, the captain Cangshan Yuanye stood up, drew out his standard command knife and shouted at the surrounding troops.
A Type 92 infantry gun can't delay for long. The enemy artillery can quickly reestablish its position. The third group must seize this precious opportunity to escape from the ambush area.
As a captain, Cangshan Yuanye is undoubtedly qualified.
"Onboard! Long live the Empire of Japan!" In an instant, the Japanese soldiers belonging to the 1st and 2nd Squadrons stood up brazenly, roaring fanatically and firmly with red eyes, not caring at all that they were exposed to the crossfire of light and heavy machine guns. Under the pressure, they fearlessly charged towards the Laoye Temple high ground ahead.
Staying here is just waiting for death.
Only by rushing out of the ambush area can you survive.
As the breakout order was issued, Japanese soldiers charged forward one after another as if they were desperate for their lives. The Japanese grenade squad fired smoke grenades wildly towards the forward position of the 686th Regiment, doing their best to obstruct the opponent's shooting field of view and cover the main force of the brigade's breakout.
The 686th Regiment tried its best to block the attack, but with the strong cooperation between various units and arms of the Japanese Third Battalion, the main force of the brigade still successfully broke through, broke out of the ambush area, and advanced towards the Laoye Temple Highlands.
"We have sent electricity to urge the Shanxi-Sui Army. The originally scheduled combat troops did not respond. The Mengxuanji Brigade at the Pingxing Pass Pass stated that they had not received combat orders from the peak and refused to attack." The chief of staff at the 115th Division Headquarters looked grim. , with a trace of anger in his eyes, he gritted his teeth and said: "Cooperate and cooperate, no cooperation, no cooperation, decisive battle, decisive battle, decisive battle, these Jinsui Army have really grown up on dry food."
He has a gentle temper, but now he can't help but want to scold his mother.
What these friendly forces did is disgusting.
Not to attack, no matter how urged, still not to attack.
You must know that the Shanxi-Sui Army initiated the battle plan to ambush the Japanese reinforcements this time.
The middle-aged man had an expressionless face and fell into silence without saying a word. He looked at the map and asked, "How was the fight in Caijiayu?"
It has been nearly an hour since the ambush started. In his opinion, the one with the greatest pressure in the entire ambush is the 687th Regiment. It has to face the offensive pressure of a Japanese army baggage team alone, and also has to face the reinforcements from Lingqiu County. Japanese army.
Although the 687th Regiment is equipped with a large number of medium and formal rifles and 1937-type mortars, the Japanese army's baggage team does not lack heavy firepower at all. There are a large number of light and heavy machine guns and infantry cannons, and the ammunition is extremely abundant.
For the baggage train, there is no shortage of everything except men.
After the initial chaos, the Japanese baggage troops who encountered the ambush immediately stabilized their formation. The two sides were evenly matched and the fight was inextricable.
"It's a bit tight at the moment. The Japanese army's baggage team attacked very fiercely. The 687th regiment suffered a lot of casualties. Many soldiers were not familiar with the Japanese army's fighting methods. They used the previous method of attacking the Central Army and suffered a lot." The chief of staff immediately said: "But , the position is still firmly in our hands."
The middle-aged man finally felt relieved after hearing this. He picked up the binoculars and went to the observation port of the headquarters. He looked at Guangou where the 685th Regiment and the Kurokawa Brigade were fighting fiercely. Soldiers wearing gray military uniforms who were attacking came into view. The soldiers rushed one after another. Some fell on the charging road, and some rushed onto the road, fired grenades, and died together with the Japanese army.
"Even if the friendly forces don't come, we can still win this battle." The middle-aged man suddenly said.
The chief of staff sighed: "But without friendly forces, our combat goal of annihilating 4,000 Japanese troops cannot be achieved."
Four thousand Japanese troops are really no joke. With the current combat effectiveness of the 115th Division, they can only achieve encirclement and heavy damage, but cannot achieve total annihilation.
"Just give it a try, just do your best." The middle-aged man sighed.
At this moment, the communications staff officer received an urgent telegram from headquarters, quickly recorded the translation, picked up the telegram and came to the observation port: "Report, urgent telegram from headquarters."
"Read it," the middle-aged man said.
"The headquarters instructed that a Japanese regiment and 3,500 puppet troops are coming from the direction of Laiyuan and are expected to arrive in 4 hours. There is an infantry regiment and a cavalry regiment from the Hunyuan direction and are expected to arrive in 5 hours. Wei The tank squadron of the Fifth Division is dispatched from the county direction and is expected to arrive in 8 hours." The communications staff read out the contents of the top-secret message: "If it is indeed impossible to completely wipe out the Japanese reinforcements, do not force it. You must ensure your own strength and the Shanxi-Sui Army will attack. It’s no longer possible.”
"Good guy, it feels like a hornet's nest has been stabbed. Even the tank troops have been sent out. This guy Seishiro Itagaki is really anxious." After hearing the content of the telegram, the chief of staff frowned and his face immediately became serious: "Laiyuan is heading towards the Japanese army. With Yang Wu's independent group blocking the attack, it can be delayed for more than four hours, but there is no one blocking the Hunyuan direction, leaving us with only five hours. We must fight quickly, and this battle cannot be delayed."
In the Japanese battle sequence, tank squadrons are usually equipped with only a small number of Class A divisions, which are serious ace forces. The fifth division is a part of the tank squadrons.
"If we continue to fight, we will suffer chaos. Since it is no longer possible to completely wipe out the Japanese reinforcements, then we should change our thinking and focus on wiping out the effective strength of the Japanese army. If we can kill one more little devil, it will be one more." The middle-aged man mused thoughtfully. Take a moment to make a decision.
The chief of staff nodded: "I agree."
"Report, about 600 people from the Qiaogou Japanese Army broke out of the 686th Regiment ambush area and advanced towards the Laoye Temple Highlands with the intention of occupying the commanding heights. The division's mortar battalion was attacked by Japanese artillery fire and lost 2 mortars. It has been moved Go to the anti-slope position." At this time, another correspondent hurriedly entered the division headquarters and came to the two men. He spoke quickly and reported the situation.
Break out of the ambush zone?
As the leaders of the entire division, the two men looked at each other. Instead of being angry and blaming the 686th Regiment for this battle situation, they were somewhat happy.
"Old man, please remember, I have made the following deployment adjustments: the 686th Regiment will send a battalion to bite the rear of the Japanese army and drive them towards Laoye Temple. The division's mortar battalion and the main force of the 686th Regiment will move towards Caijiayu, and join forces with the 687th Regiment." The regiment attacked the Japanese supply troops from the front and rear, killing and injuring the enemy's effective forces as much as possible."
The middle-aged man took a deep breath, and a temporary plan had already formed in his mind: "The 685th Regiment stopped attacking and switched to defense on the spot, with the primary goal of pursuing the destruction of Japanese troops. That's all."
"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away." The chief of staff nodded, immediately turned around and left, conveying combat orders to various units and making adjustments.
As for what to do with the more than 600 Japanese troops who went to the Laoyemiao Highlands, he did not ask.
because……
There's a trap there.
A trap set early and waiting for prey to come.
"It's dawn, and the Japanese planes are coming." The middle-aged man stared at the rising sun in the distance, and said slowly with a trace of worry in his eyes.
(End of chapter)
