"It's finally over!" General Baitou felt relieved the moment he received the telegram.
As he later wrote in his memoirs, if the most heartbreaking battle he fought in his life was Niangzi Guan Fuliling, then in terms of the entanglement, hesitation, anxiety and other complex emotions, it really has to be the Battle of Southeast Shanxi
.
Because the battle at Niangzi Pass must be fought. If not fought, the flanks of Niangzi Pass will be completely exposed. Without Niangzi Pass as an important pass, the east gate of the original city will be opened, and the safety of millions of soldiers and civilians in the hinterland of Shanxi Province will be almost completely
It was sent to the hands of 60,000 Chinese soldiers at Niangziguan.
But now the newly formed 17th Division does not have to fight the current battle, or to be more precise, at least it does not need to fight this battle with the current tactics.
The underlying logic of the "Starfall Battle" is that there is no opening statement, no fire test, and it is purely a matter of consumption.
What is consumed is human life!
The lives of both China and Japan!
The Chinese were guarding the high ground. Unless everyone was dead, the Japanese would not be able to pass through the mountains and forests below the high ground smoothly. The Japanese were forced to attack one high ground after another.
The Chinese soldiers died on the mountain, and the Japanese died at the foot of the mountain, on the mountainside, or on the top of the mountain. Neither side had any luck.
Each infantry company that lost the high ground was not actually wiped out, but that did not mean that they could evacuate smoothly. Rather, before going to the battlefield, according to the requirements of the commanders of each regiment, each infantry company left 3 infantry squads.
As a framework for the future reconstruction of the infantry company.
The company commander is not eligible to stay, but one platoon leader and three squad leaders can be retained. The remaining places will be determined by drawing lots by the whole company.
Whether you survive or not is all decided by God!
This actually means that those who go to the battlefield will basically die.
After six days of painful fighting, the 17th Division lost 18 highlands. There was no need to wait for the staff to show him the long list and number of casualties. General Baitou could also estimate that of the 8,000 men he had just regrouped, nearly 1,800 were killed, an average of 1,800.
600 people were killed every day.
The Sichuan Army has not yet communicated with him, but it is estimated that the number of casualties is only a lot higher, because they have more troops and a larger area to defend.
If the death rate of one quarter is said to be acceptable to General Baitou, who has already gone through the bloody battle at Fululing, what makes this general who once again drives his officers and soldiers on the road to death even more painful is that he
I wonder if such a sacrifice can bring about the results planned by the young regiment leader.
If something unexpected happens, it is very likely that the young men under him will die in vain.
It can be said that because of this knot, the famous general has suffered extremely in the past few days, even if he ordered in an almost cruel way: "Cover the high ground with artillery fire for 20 minutes. I don't want to see a tree on the high ground."
!”
In six days, the 3,000 rounds of artillery shells sent by Tang Dao, plus the 1,000 rounds of artillery shells originally in stock of the 17th Division, had been empty by four-fifths, and they were at the end of their war effort.
Fortunately, since yesterday, he heard the good news that the 108th Division 40 kilometers away behind him had escaped.
At least, we no longer have to worry about being attacked from both sides. Even if the powerful enemy in front of us did not fall into the trap as expected, the two divisions were able to block them, and the blood of more than 1,800 soldiers was not shed in vain.
The rest can only be left to God's will.
"Instruct all regiments in the division to follow the original plan. The artillery does not need to be stingy with artillery shells. Each unit will take turns to cover and withdraw from the existing positions!" General Baitou exhaled a long breath and issued the military order.
As the military order from the 17th Division Headquarters was issued, green flares flashed in the night sky above the mountains!
........
Among the mountains, there is a high ground belonging to the 17th Division.
"Company Commander! Company Commander! Look, there's a green flare." A soldier in ragged clothes and a dark face pushed the infantry company commander who was sleeping in the trench, his voice was so excited that it was a little out of tune.
That was the first time in six days that a green signal flare appeared. The ones that appeared before were all blood red. It was a military order to continue fighting to the death.
"The bastard Japanese devils don't let you sleep in late at night!" The infantry company commander who was pushed awake climbed up quickly, grabbed his own rifle, and cursed in his mouth.
Apparently, the two consecutive days and one night of fighting had alerted the army captain and instinctively thought that the Japanese were coming.
Last night, the Japanese troops who were forced to jump over the wall started a night attack that they were not good at. However, the Chinese troops in the high mountains had always maintained a high degree of vigilance and did not set up any sentries at all. Instead, they slept in shifts, with half of the people sleeping.
Half of them kept their eyes open and alert.
In one night, they actually repelled four Japanese attacks in a row, which was only half as strong as during the day.
"No, not a Japanese. Company commander, look at the green flare in the sky. What do you mean, sirs?" The soldier looked at his company commander with hope.
A young life longs to live. Even when he steps onto the battlefield, he knows that this is a battle to the death. There are nearly a hundred people who have won the death lottery. Everyone has asked someone to write their last words in advance and write down their home address and regimental headquarters.
He also told everyone that after he died in the war, he would receive a pension of one hundred oceans. This one hundred oceans could at least guarantee the family's expenses for four to five years.
However, Xiao Bing still wanted to live. He had not yet married his aunt. He heard that his hands and breasts were whiter and tenderer than tofu!
"Green flare?" The confused army captain looked up at the sky, his eyes widening suddenly.
Because the highlands are often 100 meters or even 300 to 400 meters apart, and the defense area is too large, the division headquarters cannot guarantee that every highland is connected to a telephone line and equipped with a telephone, and the field radio station is even more unthinkable.
The regiment is only equipped with one, so the two sides must rely on signal flares to communicate.
Because of the particularity of the tactics of this battle, all infantry companies that took to the high ground were basically fighting to the death. There was no need to accept military orders before the battle was over.
Therefore, each infantry company basically uses a few specially distributed signal flares to request fire support from the regiment headquarters. As for how to express the specific meaning, it is mainly expressed by the number of flares. For example, one indicates that a mortar is about to be used.
For fire support, two are 75 mountain guns. If there are three, they are to provide fire coverage to the high ground where the signal bomb is fired.
And those kind of flares are all blood red, there will never be green flares.
At this time, green flares were rising in the sky, and it seemed that there were still green flares rising into the sky thousands of meters away. This could only mean one thing.
The army captain will never forget what their seven company commanders, with a thick Shaanxi accent, told them before they were about to lead their troops onto the high ground:
"This battle is a life-and-death battle. Every infantry company must be nailed to the high ground like nails. I have already explained the positions of people and positions to all of you brothers, so I won't go into details again.
What I want to say now is that if you have the opportunity to see the green signal flare, it means that our unit has successfully completed the combat mission and can retreat. At that time, artillery and friendly forces will cover you, and everything except weapons and necessary ammunition will be available.
No, if there are still Japanese troops surrounding you, then fight your way out, I will wait for the brothers at the regiment headquarters!"
The Japanese army numbered 10,000 people. This was a danger that even the army captain had never experienced in the Battle of Fulule Ridge. That time, they had an infantry division with more than 10,000 people to carry an infantry regiment and an artillery regiment of the Japanese army alone, and it cost them 8,000 yuan.
The remaining men suffered huge losses in battle.
The army captain had actually given up hope of survival long ago, but now, the green signal flare that could be evacuated was flashing fiercely in the night sky in front of him.
"It's time to evacuate, Erdan, inform all the brothers in the company to take the guns and all the bullets, the remaining grenades, and all the grenades you can carry, and evacuate for me." The army captain showed joy on his face and lowered his voice to order.
road.
"It's time to retreat, okay, okay!" The soldier named Erdan had a happy face. He bent down and ran two steps in the trench when he suddenly turned around hesitantly. "Company commander, where are the wounded?"
"What nonsense? I'll carry all the wounded. If there's not enough manpower, I'll carry them on my back. Then why should I give special orders?" the army captain glared.
"But, but, there are only 18 people who can still move on the position." Erdan looked sad. "But there are 24 brothers in the border artillery hole."
The army captain suddenly froze.
This infantry company on the highlands, labeled 7324 (4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 17th Division), originally had a total strength of only 102 people. After two days and one night of fierce fighting, although the Army Captain had fired a red flare and two consecutive
A red signal flare was fired to request fire support from mortars and mountain artillery, but the number of troops was still sharply reduced.
As long as soldiers who were bandaged and still able to fire were not counted as wounded, those placed in the only gun-proof hole on the entire high ground were seriously wounded who had completely lost the ability to move.
There are two boxes of hand grenades in the anti-gun hole, which are reserved for the seriously wounded soldiers to make a final counterattack against the Japanese invaders after their position is lost. This is almost a routine operation of all infantry companies on high ground.
But this does not mean that they can be abandoned.
For soldiers, dying in battle and being abandoned are two completely different concepts.
"Go and inform the brothers to pack up and be on standby. The Japanese troops at the foot of the mountain may also be alerted, and they will certainly not allow our troops to evacuate easily. We still have 20 minutes at most." The Army Captain took out the crumpled army from his chest pocket.
He took out a cigarette box and lit a match with a slightly trembling hand.
"Let me think about the rest."
"In order to protect our troops from quickly evacuating from the Japanese invaders, all mountain artillery and mortars of our divisions, regiments and battalions will conduct shelling around the highlands still surrounded by the Japanese army. The shelling time will be 20 minutes after the green signal flares are fired.
The time is 15 minutes. Those of you who are company commanders must remember it for me! If necessary, you can write it down on paper and keep it close to you. If you die in battle, the successor commander will also know it." This is also what the commanders of each regiment said before leaving.
secret confession.
These are all hidden deep in the memory of the army captain, and he dare not forget them for a moment. But what bothers him now is, what to do with the wounded?
As a commander, he knew very well that 18 soldiers, all of whom were injured, could not take away 24 people, or even half of them.
Because, not only were there Japanese troops at the foot of the mountain, but they were also three hills away from the regiment headquarters. Even if there were friendly forces to support them, it would still be an 800-meter-long mountain road.
Carrying an adult weighing at least 120 pounds on his back and fighting with a gun almost sent these 18 people to hell.
After quietly smoking a cigarette, the army captain stood up resolutely. He knew that the 20 minutes mentioned by the regiment leader would soon be up, leaving him no more time to struggle.
Bending down and walking into the small shell-proof hole, the smell of blood mixed with the stench rushed into the Army Captain's nose. He knew that another seriously injured person had died.
Only dead people cannot control their bowels and bladder, which is the real source of the stench.
"Company commander!" A soldier saw the army captain coming in and hurriedly stepped forward to say hello.
The soldiers turned out to be health soldiers, but what's the use of having health soldiers at this time? Yesterday, the health soldiers took off the white cuffs on their sleeves to join the ranks of fighting soldiers, but at night, the health soldiers who were lucky enough to survive still remained
He did not forget his own job and went into the bomb shelter to take care of the seriously wounded who were groaning in pain.
"How many more died?" the army captain asked, his face unchanged.
"Three! Platoon leader Cha, Er Mazi, and Zhang Laosan didn't even get through." The health soldier replied with a gloomy face.
The army captain's face twitched severely.
In addition to what the health soldier just said about Platoon Leader Cha, two of his platoon leaders were killed in the battle. Er Mazi and Zhang Laosan were both from the same county as him. They were both promoted to the rank of superior without sacrifice in Fululing last time.
Sergeant squad leader, he died here this time.
By now, the two platoon leaders who had followed him to the high ground, and more than half of the six squad leaders were dead, leaving only two squad leaders, and here, there was still one lying among the seriously wounded.
The occurrence of this situation has something to do with the way the 17th Division has always fought. At the battalion, company and platoon level, as long as the commander goes to the front line, he must take the lead.
"If all the officials are afraid of death, then the soldiers must be even more afraid of death. The soldiers under me, Zhao Shoushan, are not cowards. This is a war for the country and the nation. No matter who it is, including me, Zhao Shoushan, will not go to the front line."
Come on, if you are afraid of death on the front line, the division commander and regiment commander will be dismissed on the spot, and the battalion commander, company commander, and platoon commander will be shot on the spot." This is what Zhao Shoushan said when he took the oath before leading the 17th Division to cross the Yellow River.
Zhao Shoushan always treated the officers and soldiers clearly, and he did not drink the blood of the soldiers. His prestige in the 17th Division was extremely high. Even if his old base was almost exhausted and the more than 5,000 new soldiers he recruited had only joined the 17th Division less than 4 months ago, his prestige was still there.
.
Therefore, on the battlefield, the death rate of the bottom commanders of the companies, platoons, and squads of the 17th Division was extremely high, far higher than that of ordinary infantry divisions, but their combat effectiveness did not decrease but increased. Otherwise, they would not have fought for six days and nights. With Yamashita's ability
, and supported by hundreds of fighter aircraft, they only managed to capture 18 of the dozens of highlands deployed by the 17th Division, less than half.
If the fight continues like this, there will be no need for the Four Troops to take action, and the Second Mixed Brigade will be defeated by itself.
"You go out first, I'll talk to Heipi and the others." The army captain waved his hand and asked the medical soldier to leave.
Heipi is the army captain's friend from the same village. The difference between the two is that the army captain first joined the army and then became a second lieutenant and platoon leader. He returned to his hometown to recruit troops and recruited his own subordinates. After the last battle, the lieutenant
The platoon leader was promoted to captain and company commander, and the original private became a sergeant and squad leader.
The squad leader's treatment was better, and the space left for him was larger. He was located in the innermost part of the bomb hole. The army captain sat next to the seriously injured soldier who kept moaning in pain.
"Brother Shanzi, haven't the Japanese come yet?" The army sergeant whose head was covered with bandages and whose face was swollen beyond recognition heard the army captain's voice, stopped moaning in pain, and asked in a low voice.
He was injured by an infantry artillery shell. Not only did the shrapnel cut off one of his legs, the huge shock wave also knocked him seven or eight meters away. He suffered several fractures on his body and severe damage to his internal organs. He could survive.
It's a miracle that I'm even conscious and able to speak now.
"The Japanese didn't come." The army captain shook his head, put a cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and then gently stuffed it into his small mouth. "It was the regiment headquarters that sent the order, we can withdraw."
"Can we evacuate? That's a good thing! While the brothers are still strong." The eyes that were swollen to the point that they could barely open their eyes were much brighter at this time. "When will we evacuate? Has the regiment headquarters announced?"
The army captain knew that it was not his illusion.
The army captain did not speak, but lit a cigarette and took a long puff.
The sudden silence made the seriously injured sergeant pause.
Just as the army captain understood him, he also understood this little boy who was only one year older than him and had grown up naked with him.
If he doesn't speak, it means he has encountered a problem.
Before the great success of being able to evacuate the entire company without continuing to fight to the death, there is still a problem. Besides these seriously wounded people, what else can there be?
"How many brothers can still move?" The seriously injured sergeant's voice became much softer.
"18!" the army captain replied dully.
The eyes of the seriously injured sergeant dimmed instantly.
He understood that there were at least 20 seriously wounded people who were still breathing in the shell-proof cave, even though many of them, like Platoon Leader Cha who had just left, would never see the rising sun or the setting sun of the next day again.
, but they are still alive and breathing.
As company commanders and brothers, no one can abandon them.
But, can I take it with me?
If you leave them behind, you will die! No matter whether you can take them with you or not, if you take them with you, everyone will die together! No one will be spared.
The Japanese soldiers at the foot of the mountain are not rabbits, but jackals!
No wonder the big brother in front of him, who has always been bold and courageous, also looked gloomy and silent in the face of such good news.
It is easy to face death on your own.
But he cannot decide the death of others, even those who are already dying.
This is an unsolvable problem.
This chapter has been completed!