Since the help of the 139th Division is needed, of course, the plan must be revealed to Commander Huang. However, only Commander Huang and a few close men of the 139th Division know about this plan. Even most of the officers and soldiers of the Model Brigade do not know about this plan.
So today at Position 1, the original garrison troops were transferred away by Commander Huang with excuses, in order to facilitate the secret passage of Zhang Huzi's Second Regiment.
"Thank you, Commander Huang, for your kindness. I have to bid farewell to my humble post." Zhou Wen saw that most of the troops had descended from the mountain, and turned around to salute Commander Huang and say goodbye.
Master Huang also solemnly returned the greeting and said: "Okay, I, Huang, will be waiting here for the news of your launch of the general offensive. Please take care of it all the way."
…
At 8 o'clock in the morning the next day after Zhou Wen led more than 4,000 officers and soldiers of the Second Regiment out of the customs to join the advance detachment, a ray of sunshine shined through the sparse clouds and shone on the main position of Fenghuang Mountain at Lenkou Pass.
Accompanying the arrival of this ray of sunshine was the first wave of artillery shells fired by eight Type 38 field guns and 12 Type 92 infantry guns from the artillery battalion of the 4th mixed brigade of the Japanese army.
"Boom boom boom..."
In just an instant, clouds of smoke rose up over a 400-meter wide area from the mountainside to the top of Phoenix Mountain, and the fierce explosion seemed to make the entire mountain shake.
The sun, which had just shown a glimmer of light, was frightened and hid in the clouds again.
Contrary to Zhou Wen and Meng Yuting's expectations, the Japanese army actually gave up their tentative attack and did not even conduct a test firing of artillery. They launched a covering artillery bombardment on the main position of Phoenix Mountain from the beginning.
In fact, it is not the fault that Zhou Wen overestimated the caution of the Japanese army, but that a telegram sent from the Chengde headquarters did not allow Colonel Jiro to hesitate any longer.
The content of the message was very simple. It had two meanings. One was that the original plan for Huncheng 14th Brigade to send a brigade to sneak attack Xifengkou was cancelled, and he was asked to concentrate his forces to conquer Lengkou Pass as soon as possible.
The second meaning is to remind Colonel Hattori Jiro that the Kwantung Army's most-lost unit since the September 18th Incident was his 14th Mixed Brigade. He should know his shame and then be brave. The 6th Division and the entire Kwantung Army are waiting for his victory.
information.
In fact, the telegram sent by Lieutenant General Masaemon Sakamoto did not have much malice. It was just a small provocation. But what he didn't know was that this small provocation touched Hattori Jiro and his subordinates.
The inferiority complex and sensitive nerves of an officer.
Yes, our 7th Division has always been disliked by others and has never received fair and just respect. We are said to be country bumpkins, farmers and unlucky people.
But are we incompetent? Are we not brave enough?
Look at how many of our hometown boys were crushed during the Russo-Japanese War. Did they die on the way to escape?
However, they ignored the enemy's situation and ordered the 15,000 heroic officers and soldiers of the 7th Division to withstand the bombardment of dozens of Russian artillery pieces and the fierce blows of hundreds of heavy machine guns, in the narrow place covered with barbed wire and ravines.
The supreme commander who launched the brainless Long Live Charge on the terrain became a hero of the empire and a military god revered by everyone in the imperial army.
Who should we lowly Hokkaido farmers go to reason with?
Also, was the destruction of the Mishan Brigade due to our incompetence? It was the incompetence of the intelligence agencies of the military department. They always claimed that the Lengkou garrison only had a few hundred old and weak soldiers, while the main force of the nearest Chinese army was still hundreds of kilometers away.
On the road.
However, now the Mishan Brigade has been annihilated by the superior Chinese army. Did these elite Chinese troops fly over?
Everyone blamed our incompetence and our unfortunate title of being the 7th Division.
This isn't fair!
This kind of discrimination needs to be corrected with a brilliant victory, and this shame needs to be washed away with the blood of countless straight people.
As a result, the trace of calmness and caution that Captain Jiro Hattori had maintained was completely shattered by the bloodshot-eyed captains and red-faced staff officers, as well as the passionate petitions and cries of avenging shame.
Yes, we can no longer hesitate. We must use the fastest speed, the most ferocious attacks, and the most tenacious fighting spirit to tear the cold-hearted Chinese defenders in front of us into pieces. Let everyone see the bravery of our Hokkaido children, especially
Let those proud little cocks of the 6th Division know that we are not farmers, but soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Empire.
Moreover, Hattori Jiro knew that this telegram also played a motivational role, reviving the low morale caused by continuous harassment and sneak attacks by small Chinese troops in the past few days.
So strike while the iron is hot.
Hattori Jiro's first order was to have twenty artillery pieces from the artillery brigade fire non-stop at the Phoenix Mountain main position of the Model Brigade for half an hour.
The width of the mountain on the north side of Phoenix Mountain is only a little more than 1 kilometer. The Japanese army started shelling from the defenders' first-line position halfway up the mountain and extended to the main position on the top of the mountain.
The entire upper half of Phoenix Mountain was shrouded in rising fire and smoke, and deafening explosions resounded across the sky.
Half an hour later, most of the mountain had been plowed by cannonballs like an old ox plowing a field.
Through Hattori Jiro's telescope, he saw that on the ruined position filled with gunpowder, the sandbags had been blown to pieces, and several conspicuous heavy machine gun positions had also been blown up. If there were heavy machine guns deployed on it before, then now
It must have turned into a pile of scrap metal.
If the fortifications were not built very solidly and carefully, the heavy firepower fortifications in the forward positions would be basically destroyed under such a scale of shelling intensity.
However, most of the Chinese army during the Republic of China did not have much to praise in terms of defense fortifications. The main reason was the lack of materials and tools. There was also no professional engineering officer team and no specialized soil work training.
They don't understand such advanced defensive tactics as anti-slope fortifications.
The moment the Japanese artillery stopped shelling, and before the smoke and flames from the explosion on the mountain had dissipated, densely packed shit-yellow figures appeared from the foot of the mountain, and the Japanese infantry began to attack.
In a command post built of thick logs and steel on the top of the mountain, Zhao Changshu was observing the enemy's situation with an artillery scope, while Xu Zhiqin, a regimental commander, was observing with a telescope through the observation hole.
"Hey, hey, Company 1, hey, Company 1..."
A staff officer put down the phone on the table and reported to Zhao Changshu: "Report to the brigade, there is no response from the 1st company. I guess the phone line was blown."
"Send out the telephone soldiers quickly and be sure to contact the 1st Company." Zhao Changshu ordered, but still did not raise his head, still observing the Japanese attack formation.
"Brigade, the situation seems to have exceeded previous expectations. The Japanese artillery was fierce, and two squadrons of troops were sent out as soon as they came up. It doesn't look like a test attack."