Chapter 255 Progress of Lijiapo Operation
Yamazaki Jihei commanded the troops to conduct deep raids in the Eighth Route Base Area, and accidentally destroyed a field hospital.
This force was then surrounded in Lijiapo, and Yamazaki Jihei relied on his own powerful firepower to completely hold on.
The North China Front quickly mobilized more than 10,000 reinforcements from directly under the Central Government and directly under the Central Government. They set out from Hebei Province and quickly advanced westward along railways and highways.
The First Army Headquarters independently combined the three security divisions in southern Shanxi into the 9th and 16th Brigade and mobilized more than 10,000 reinforcements to advance directly eastward.
The total strength of these two lines of reinforcements is about 30,000. They are gradually approaching Lijiapo and are about to launch a counter-encirclement.
However, at a critical moment, the 48th Independent Brigade launched a series of combat operations.
After successive battles, at 12 noon on November 7, Chen Ziyun commanded the main force of the 358th Regiment to launch an attack on Gujiao.
Gujiao is too far away and is already very close. Once it is lost, it will be attacked at any time if it is too far away.
Under such circumstances, the First Army Headquarters hurriedly dispatched more than 10,000 reinforcements to quickly return the reinforcements to ensure absolute safety if they were too far away.
Li Yunlong originally had a smile on his face, but after hearing these words, his expression became serious.
The traffic trenches dug by Li Yunlong's new regiment still played a certain role.
The infantry artillery squadron hasn't been firing much, so they still have plenty of ammunition.
At the same time, Li Yunlong directly sent the official Zhao Gang to find the brigade commander, hoping that the brigade headquarters could replenish a batch of ammunition.
Dozens of little Japs seized the opportunity and quickly ran towards the highest position, trying to save their lives.
By 4:30 in the afternoon, the New Regiment captured the Lijiapo slope position and annihilated more than 400 Japanese troops.
The First Army also quickly adjusted its deployment, and the independent 3rd, 9th, and 16th Brigade units focused on Taiyuan.
Zhao Gang shook his head helplessly and started to look for the brigade commander along the traffic ditch.
Li Yunlong had a serious expression on his face and immediately made a promise.
The two 150MM mortars of the third mortar team have now become decorations.
Faced with the new group gathering dozens of grenade launchers to fire, the little Japanese troops could only hide.
"Old Zhao, you take Xizi and organize some sharpshooters to cover behind."
However, as the Japanese machine gun firepower was exposed, Zhao Gang, Xizi and other sharpshooters quickly took aim and locked, and quickly pulled the trigger.
"Second Battalion Commander, you are responsible for leading the troops to prepare to overwhelm them and engage in hand-to-hand combat."
"The more than 10,000 reinforcements dispatched by the First Army from the west have stopped advancing here and quickly returned to the Lijiapo battlefield."
Of course, these 800-strong troops are not entirely infantry.
"And according to the information we have, there is also a regiment between the two groups, and they have gradually opened up connections with each other."
The slope position is lost, and the highest position is their last barrier. Once lost here, their entire army will definitely be annihilated.
"The deputy commander-in-chief is very angry right now and is dissatisfied with how far we have been in the war."
The brigade headquarters, division headquarters, and artillery units directly under the general headquarters also gathered one after another at this time to focus their fire on the artillery bombardment and support the new regiment in the operation.
Eight 90MM mortars, four 75MM mountain guns, and four infantry guns fired shells at the slope position one after another.
It is now November 1940. At five o'clock, the sun has set long ago.
Li Yunlong's new regiment is currently responsible for the main attack mission. If they cannot take the position, they will definitely cause trouble to the brigade commander and division commander.
At this time, too far to the west, the 48th Independent Brigade and other troops continued to build momentum.
These troops make a gesture of attacking too far away, thus attracting the little Japanese troops.
The remaining more than 400 people are part of the artillery, and others are non-combatants such as communications troops, baggage troops, engineers, orderlies, etc.
Even if the Japanese air force came to the battlefield, it would not be able to carry out effective bombing.
As the surroundings became pitch black, Yamazaki Jihei frowned and began to arrange the grenade to continuously fire flares to prevent a new group from sneaking in!
In an instant, the Japanese position in Lijiapo began to be covered in gunpowder smoke.
"The infantry artillery squadron, rapid-fire artillery squadron, and machine gun squadron are ready to fire."
"Chu Yunfei commanded the Jinsui Army and three regiments of the Eighth Route Army to advance to the highlands west of Xin County, and gradually dispatched troops to conduct trial attacks."
At around three o'clock, the Broadsword team rushed to the slope position.
"Old Zhao, gather all the grenades in the regiment and hit all the grenades on the Japs' position."
Yamazaki Jihei planned to blow up these fortifications so that he could clearly observe the mobilization of the Eighth Route Army's follow-up troops.
The division commander and brigade commander who commanded the operation had no way to explain to the deputy commander-in-chief.
Yamazaki Jihei probably also speculated that the Japanese troops on the slope position might suffer a devastating blow, so he launched an intensive artillery bombardment.
On the other hand, Yamazaki Jihei's face in Lijiapo became solemn.
Yamazaki Jihei's firepower deployed at the highest position was unable to provide any support.
Especially in the past few days, they were attacked day and night by the 772nd Regiment and other troops, and their physical strength and other aspects were astonishingly exhausted.
Although there are still some shells for the eight 90MM mortars of the Ninth Independent Mortar Squadron, Yamazaki Jihei did not arrange for them to continue shooting.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, at the Lijiapo battlefield, Li Yunlong commanded a new regiment to continue a fierce attack.
Wang Gensheng of the guard platoon led dozens of soldiers to quickly advance along the traffic trench, and they quickly approached the Jaap position.
Brigadier Chen also came to the front line at this time. Li Yunlong got the news and hurried over to report.
"Tell the brigade commander that as long as you provide ammunition, the new regiment will be able to deal with the little Japs in Li Jiapo tonight!"
Some smoke bombs also began to be fired towards the high ground to cut off the support from the high ground to the slope position.
But unfortunately, the Yamazaki Brigade also lacked ammunition, and they did not capture much ammunition.
"We must not let their infantry attack our position!"
"But this little devil is not only cunning, but also very powerful in combat."
Grenades were fired one after another from the grenade, and deafening explosions came one after another.
Li Yunlong shouted loudly towards the official, Zhao Gang, for fear that Zhao Gang would not come with ammunition.
Everyone knows the temper of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and being able to utter harsh words about beheading no matter how big or small obviously shows how angry he is.
It was at this time that fire strikes were launched from the highest heights.
"The reinforcements from the west won't be able to come for a while. Now it depends on whether you can deal with the little devils like Li Jiapo as soon as possible."
"They are likely to organize troops to attack forcefully. Once they find their infantry, they will quickly fire to suppress it."
"Da da da."
The two sides fought fiercely in Lijiapo, but the new regiment gradually took control of the situation, and some troops even rushed to the Japanese positions.
However, with the continuous shelling from various artillery units and smoke cover, it was realized.
Because after the new regiment advanced, the aviation force was unable to carry out airdrops, and they had no way to obtain supplies.
As for the new regiment of troops, they are fast asleep now. Li Yunlong is preparing to launch a fierce attack on the high ground at midnight, so as to end the battle before dawn!
At this time, we are here in Taiyuan, in the headquarters of the First Army.
On the slope position, the Japanese troops showed no panic.
Several soldiers were unfortunately hit and fell in a pool of blood on the spot, dying heroically.
"The 1st, 5th, 7th, and 12th Infantry Squadrons should pay attention to concealment to avoid being bombarded and causing heavy casualties."
At the same time, various ministries would pay heavy casualties if they blocked the Japanese reinforcements.
"Boom boom boom."
Li Yunlong is planning to organize a whole-group attack this time and directly fight to the death with the little Japanese!
After the deployment, Li Yunlong came to the Broadsword Team, and he would personally lead the Broadsword Team to charge.
Grenades, shrapnel, high-explosive shells and other artillery shells were fired one after another.
The reinforcements dispatched by the First Army had already begun to return with full strength at this time and gave up advancing in the direction of Lijiapo.
At this time, the 1st and 5th Infantry Squadrons under Yamazaki Jihei were deployed on the slope position.
Li Yunlong began to come to the starting position and personally commanded the troops to fight.
The New Regiment and the Japanese troops were all affected. They were forced to stop fighting and went into hiding.
Chief of Staff Hanatani led the staff to Yoshio Shinozuka and quickly gave a report.
In the highlands to the west of Xin County, there are the reserve I2 regiment, the new second regiment, the independent regiment, the field artillery battalion, and the guard communication battalion.
The brigade headquarters, division headquarters, and artillery units directly under the general headquarters covering the rear carried out focused artillery attacks.
Several heavy machine guns opened fire first, and dense bullets were fired at the machete team.
Until now, the First Army was paying close attention to the developments in the far northwest and southwest.
After Li Yunlong took the slope position, he did not continue the attack, but arranged for the new regiment to rest on the spot.
After Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao saw the smoke appearing, they did not hesitate and directed dozens of people to quickly attack the slope position.
At three o'clock, each grenade squad of the new regiment fired all their grenades.
The 36th Division, 37th Division, and 41st Division mobilized troops to support Li Jiapo and gathered directly to the west of Taiyuan.
"Each squadron's grenade launchers must also conserve artillery shells."
The only real combat infantry is the 7th and 12th Infantry Squadrons. Their strength is only more than 300 and less than 400.
In addition, the Third Independent Brigade, part of the 16th Brigade, also advanced to the northwest of Xin County and southwest of Gujiao, making plans to contain the troops from the north and the south.
At the same time, they continued to advance towards the Lijiapo Highlands, and the combat distance between the two sides was significantly shortened.
"Yamazaki Jihei is a bitch, I have to kill him myself."
The First Army Headquarters has not yet issued an attack order, but wants to see the actions of the Jinsui Army and other units.
"As long as there are more of them and reinforcements can arrive quickly, we will definitely not be able to do anything against them."
The two mountain guns carried out precise shelling to suppress the Japanese artillery as much as possible.
These two large-caliber mortars used to be the main defensive firepower, so now their shells have been exhausted.
At about 3:45, the second battalion commander led his troops to the slope position.
Four 82MM mortars directly under the regiment continued the bombardment, firing grenades one after another towards the Lijiapo position.
He knew that the battle here could not continue to be delayed, otherwise the general headquarters would definitely not be able to accept it.
It was at this time that the new regiment's four infantry guns, two mountain guns, and four 82MM mortars began to conduct suppressive artillery attacks on the high ground.
Here in Xin County, there are also two mixed brigades of the Imperial Association Army to strengthen the defense.
The third battalion commander also immediately commanded the entire regiment's machine guns to launch suppressive fire.
"If the brigade commander provides ammunition and the new regiment cannot capture Li Jiapo, I, Li Yunlong, will twist off my head and serve as a night pot for the brigade commander!"
A deafening explosion sounded, and shrapnel quickly spread in all directions.
"Brigadier, don't worry, we guarantee to capture the Lijiapo position."
However, not long after the Japanese artillery fire, the sky gradually turned dark.
At 4:50, Yamazaki Jihei commanded four infantry guns to violently bombard the communication trenches dug by the new regiment and set out for their position.
Four infantry guns were advanced to the battlefield and directly targeted and bombarded, specifically targeting Japanese heavy machine guns.
They began to frantically throw grenades towards the position, and grenades continued to fall on the Japanese position set up on the slope.
It was just that he was completely lost, with his head completely lowered, and he stood aside in silence.
"Next to the defense, we must focus on light and heavy machine guns, infantry artillery, rapid-fire artillery, and rifles to intercept."
Each unit was in position one after another. At 2:40, the new regiment organized dozens of grenades and fired at the Japanese position in Lijiapo.
At present, their various units are fully equipped with troops, and there are only more than 800 people left.
The second battalion commander picked up the shell gun and kept shooting at the little devil.
After the grenade stopped firing, the little devils began to prepare for shooting.
"He has already made harsh words in the headquarters, and he will kill everyone no matter how big or small."
In the Gujiao area, there is the 358th Regiment. This is a strengthened regiment with six battalions.
"Zhang Dabiao, your sword team waited until Wang Gensheng threw the grenade, then immediately rushed to the position and chopped off the head of the little devil."
In addition, they were reinforced by the 1st and 4th machine gun teams.
The main force of the new regiment came to the slope position one after another, and a melee began.
Yoshio Shinozuka had no time to pay attention to him for the time being, but looked at the map with a thoughtful expression on his face.
After all, in the previous battle, the new regiment consumed a lot of ammunition.
A series of light and heavy machine guns opened fire, and the little Japanese who had just escaped from the slope position were killed one by one.
"Clang, clang, clang." The sound of metal collisions continued, and the ground was covered with the heads of little devils rolling down.
These troops include seven infantry brigades and three artillery brigades, with a total strength of about 10,000 people.
Brigadier Chen commanded the New 1st Regiment and other troops to encircle and annihilate the Lijiapo Yamazaki Zhiping troops.
"It is said that the 48th Independent Brigade of the Jinsui Army is about to reach too far. There are no reinforcements here in the east."
The battle in Lijiapo has progressed so far, and all the ministries have made some progress.
Gradually, there were more and more corpses of little Japanese in the trenches.
Yamazaki Jihei was hiding in a semi-underground bunker. After checking the situation, he immediately issued combat orders.
Yamazaki Jihei's troops have been fighting for several days and nights, and their supplies and ammunition have been consumed a lot.
The 60MM mortars equipped by each company also began to gather together and directly cooperate with the shelling.
Other troops are defending at the highest point of Lijiapo.
By four o'clock, there were few Japanese soldiers left who could continue fighting.
Lijiapo is a high ground, which is not conducive to cavalry operations, but Sun Desheng directly asked the entire company to dismount and attack.
"The division commander and the general headquarters have issued orders. Our division will cooperate with the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei troops to block the reinforcements coming from the western Hebei province."
"Old Zhao, don't hold it when you go to the brigade commander's side. If you should cry for poverty, cry for poverty, otherwise the ammunition will not come."
Before reinforcements arrive, they must keep some ammunition to ensure that they can hold on for a long time.
But at this time, Wang Gensheng and others had already reached a position less than fifty meters away from the position.
Brigadier Chen nodded, but he did not go back, but continued to stay on the front line.
"Brigadier, don't worry, our new regiment will take down the Lijiapo position for him sooner or later."
The more than 400 little Japs here were attacked by a new group and were completely defenseless.
And they seized a lot of weapons and equipment, including six heavy machine guns.
"Ask Wang Gensheng from the guard platoon to organize the whole regiment to throw grenades, and use the grenade cover to advance to within fifty meters of the position."
After the Eighth Route Army received relevant news here, they immediately adjusted their deployment and tried their best to block the Japanese troops rushing to help from Hebei Province.
"Third Battalion Commander, you will be in charge of commanding the entire regiment's light and heavy machine guns. Suppress the firepower of the little devils to ensure that all units can successfully break through the position."
Layers of smoke gradually rose, and a large amount of dust filled the air.
At the same time, Takeshita Ryuzo, the leader of the Takeshita detachment and the commander of the first section of the First Army, is also here at the headquarters.
A mortar of this caliber requires a large number of shells, and they don't carry many.
But the second battalion commander commanded the machine gunners and quickly started shooting.
Between the two departments, there is the 11th Reserve Regiment, and the machine gun battalion unit is responsible for the communication between the two departments.
After seeing Li Yunlong coming to report the situation, Brigadier Chen put down his telescope and said in a serious tone.
"Contact the various ministries and ask them to strengthen their defenses and be careful of night attacks by the Jinsui Army and other troops."
Naturally, Yoshio Shinozuka would not pay attention to Lijiapo's operations. According to the previous division with the Front Army Headquarters, Lijiapo was commanded by the Front Army Headquarters.
Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao rushed to the front, waving their swords and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the Japs.
Li Yunlong put the shell gun on his waist, drew out his sword, stared at him, and gave the battle order.
"You can go back and wait for the news of our victory with peace of mind. The new group will never let you down."
Although they no longer have war horses, their impact speed is still very fast.
Many soldiers in the second battalion followed suit, holding their rifles and pulling the triggers.
"Give them all the grenades and grenades. After the grenade stops firing, immediately throw the grenades towards the Japs' position."
"Chen Ziyun's 358th regiment advanced to Gujiao. At present, they have captured Gujiao, and their cavalry troops are gradually searching too far."
Sun Desheng of the cavalry company, carrying a Japanese Type 32 Type A saber, led his troops directly to the position.
"In addition, contact the aviation units and ask them to dispatch quickly after dawn to bomb these units."
"Zhongtiao Mountain... We must completely annihilate the troops here in Zhongtiao Mountain."
Yoshio Shinozuka looked at the map, his face was gloomy, and he said in a fierce tone.
Guys, is anyone still watching?
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!