What caused such heavy losses to the 10th Division must be the MG42 general machine gun that bore the brunt.
This is not the first time that a general-purpose machine gun has been used on the battlefield. The soldiers of the Japanese 10th Division had already experienced the power of the MG34 general-purpose machine gun in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. In that battle, Longyan used a general-purpose machine gun to kill nearly a thousand people.
The Japanese infantry who did not believe in evil were all killed on that hillside.
But the dead can't tell their colleagues how terrifying a high-speed machine gun hidden in a fortified building can be.
This time, the Japanese infantry who adopted the wave-style attack finally realized it.
The three-man team with bipod-mounted MG42 squad machine guns located in the third trench of the front line did not use flexible shooting positions this time.
Because the Japanese army gave them enough time, the three-person team, with the assistance of each squad of infantrymen, dug an 'L'-shaped fortification. The entire fortification sank nearly 8 meters into the ground, and was covered with crossbars as beams above it.
Cover the raincloth with loess, and pile three layers of sandbags around the shooting hole. The entire light machine gun fortification will never be more than 5 meters above the ground!
Unless a light machine gun fortification that is strong enough to withstand heavy machine gun fire is hit frontally by a 70mm infantry cannon, only super marksmen can cause damage to the machine gunners inside.
As for this kind of low-profile machine gun fortification, no one can guarantee that the Japanese infantry artillery can hit it with one shot unless it gets as close as 600 to 700 meters to the front line.
However, China also has 60-guns in the front-line trenches with a range of up to 1,300 meters. Although this small artillery is not very powerful individually, its rate of fire is astonishing. A skilled artillery team can fire 20 shells in one minute.
When two infantry artillery pieces were bombed into the sky by three Chinese 60-guns as they approached the front line and fired 50 rounds of artillery shells, the Japanese infantry artillery recently only dared to get closer to within a thousand meters.
After discovering that the threat from infantry artillery was greatly weakened, the fortifications with hidden MG42 machine guns spewed out tongues of fire unscrupulously, killing all Japanese infantrymen who came within 300 meters of the first Chinese trench.
object.
The Fourth Line Regiment once again refreshed the Japanese infantry's inherent impression that the Chinese army usually waits until the infantry reaches more than 100 meters before shooting. If they want to reach the Chinese trenches, they have to crawl on the ground from more than 300 meters away.
When they finally advanced to an area about 150 meters away from the Chinese defense line in a hail of bullets, they entered the range of the infantry again.
It was the first time that the infantrymen of the 10th Division had seen the precise shooting skills of the infantrymen of the Four Lines Regiment. Even though they had lowered their bodies as low as possible, they still did not know how many people were hit by a single shot from the Chinese infantry while they were crawling forward.
Even though there are many brave veterans who choose to lie on the ground and shoot at the Chinese, hoping to use their precise shooting skills to cause damage to the Chinese infantry, the Chinese soldiers' shooting skills are not inferior to them in the first place, and secondly, they are not inferior to them.
There are trenches for protection, and there are many precision shooters hidden in the Chinese trenches. Once they find a target that poses a threat to their defense line, they will often aim several guns at it, which is simply a matter of life and death.
Yoshio Shinozuka, who had enough tanks, certainly would not let his men die in vain. After completing two consecutive rounds of probing attacks at noon, he dispatched 18 tanks as the vanguard.
In this kind of plain, tanks with sufficiently thick steel plates are the undisputed kings. No matter how ferocious the firepower of the MG42 machine gun is, and how fast the rate of fire of the 60mm gun is, the Type 89 tanks on the front line are not afraid at all.
In addition to the sufficient protection provided by the 30mm armor at the front of the tank, the short-barreled 57mm artillery equipped on the tank is also indestructible, and there are no fortifications that can block its bombardment.
After carefully observing the battlefield, Yoshio Shinozuka’s first choice was the frontal position of the Chinese army!
The trenches on the frontal position are crisscrossed, and there are many fortifications visible to the naked eye, which are far stronger than those on the flanks and rear.
After careful consideration, Yoshio Shinozuka did not choose to avoid the edge and use the two wings as a breakthrough point. However, this time it was not a matter of pride. If he wanted to fight, he would fight the strongest one, but Yoshio Shinozuka was very suspicious that this was another imperial confidant.
Big trouble dug a hole for him.
The trench fortifications on the frontal position looked perfect, but in fact the main troops were placed on the wings, just waiting for him to get into the trap.
"I'm going to catch you by surprise." Yoshio Shinozuka, who had become wiser, decided on tactics and put three infantry brigades, six 89 tanks and four 94 tanks on the frontal position.
Therefore, Yoshio Shinozuka and his 3,000 infantrymen and 10 tanks, who took it for granted, ran into the copper wall as a matter of course.
The six 89 tanks were indeed majestic. The roar of their engines at full power resounded throughout the battlefield, and you could feel the ground shaking violently dozens of meters away from the tanks.
The 57mm short-barreled tank gun fired several rounds, blasting smoke from the machine gun fortifications that protruded more than 1 meter from the ground behind the defense line.
Six tanks led four squadrons of more than 700 Japanese troops to 150 meters in front of the first trench!
The first trench was within easy reach, and the machine gun fortifications and 7mm heavy machine gun fortifications behind the defense line suddenly erupted into flames.
At a distance of 500 meters, it has completely entered the range of the 20mm machine gun and 7mm heavy machine gun.
The 30mm armor is indeed thick and strong enough. When a 7mm heavy machine gun's finger-thick bullet hits it, sparks will only appear. If it is in the dark, it will definitely be comparable to brilliant fireworks.
But for the Japanese armored soldiers, this "ding" sound hitting their ears is tantamount to the grim smile of death.
If you can’t get through now, it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get through later!
"Fight back! Fight back!" Tank 89's radio was filled with the slightly panicked roars of the Japanese armored soldiers.
However, tanks like iron-skinned turtles have to rely on the observation window in front of the tank to confirm the target, and they are too close to the Chinese front-line trenches.
"Bang!" Yang Bicheng, who was hiding in the second trench, fired his first shot on the battlefield today.
What he was hitting was not a person, but a tank!
This precise marksman who has become a top-notch sharpshooter only used one shot to hit the extremely narrow observation window of an 89 tank 250 meters away. The bullet accurately shot through the observation window and penetrated a man who was putting his face against the observation window.
The eyes of the unfortunate guy looking out the window.
There was no scream or struggle. The high-speed rotating warhead penetrated the fragile eyeball and the brain tissue behind it, then blew a big hole in the back of the head and hit the steel plate inside the tank. A cloud of blood mist exploded in the small interior of the tank.
, sprayed the remaining three Japanese armored soldiers all over their faces.
Because of great fear, the Japanese tank driver instinctively braked, and the stopped tank suddenly became the best target.
The two 20mm cannons adjusted their muzzles and fired their respective projectiles at the Type 89 tank in one go.
More than 60% of the bullets as thick as a cigar were deflected by the arc of the steel plate, but six or seven bullets still penetrated the steel plate.
The large warhead penetrated the steel plate at high speed and entered the tank, causing a terrible splash inside the tank. The death of the three Japanese armored soldiers who had not yet awakened from the fear of their companions being shot was even more tragic. They were almost killed by the flying huge warhead.
Shred!
If the presence of an 89 tank was not enough to cause panic among the Japanese army, then when the four 40mm anti-aircraft guns on the Mo Songzi Air Defense Company position 1,000 meters behind the position also opened their muzzles under Tang Tuanzuo's order,
Laying it flat and using it as a flat-fire cannon would be a nightmare for armored soldiers.
Anti-aircraft guns are used as anti-tank guns, which can be seen everywhere on the battlefields of World War II. For example, the 88mm FLAK anti-aircraft gun made by the German Empire was praised as one of the best anti-tank guns after the war, capable of penetrating at a range of 2 kilometers.
Transparent to 840mm armor.
Although the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun is not as powerful as its big brother, the 88mm anti-aircraft gun, it has a combat record of penetrating 50mm armor at a distance of 1,000 meters after being equipped with armor-piercing projectiles in actual combat.
Sure enough, when the four 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns were flattened to participate in anti-tank combat, the Type 89 tank was like a chicken and a dog, with no resistance.
In less than a minute, a turning Type 89 tank was hit on the side and rear, revealing a hole the size of a fist. The high temperature caused by the friction between the high-speed warhead and the steel plate instantly ignited the fuel. In less than 10 seconds, the entire tank
Thick smoke billowed from the tank, and flames shot out nearly two meters high.
A Japanese tank crewman escaped from the top of the tank with his body covered in flames. He jumped off the tank and rolled on the ground wailing. The Japanese infantrymen who followed behind tried to help him extinguish the flames on his body, but it was obviously in vain.
It's not that the fire was too big, but that there was no mercy on the battlefield. Once the Japanese infantry broke away from the protection of the tanks, bullets rained down immediately. At least four Japanese infantry were swept down, and they could only watch helplessly as their bodies were on fire.
The tank soldiers gradually became motionless, and a burnt smell with a strange aroma spread to their noses along with the smoke.
In the end, only two 89 tanks were able to escape. The four 89 tanks stayed in front of the position. They were either gradually burned into steel frames by the ignited fire, or they were silent and motionless, like turtle shells with their flesh and blood hollowed out.
.
This is true for the 89 tank, not to mention the Type 94, a light tank that strictly cannot even meet the standards of an armored vehicle.
Under the crazy pursuit of the 7mm heavy machine guns and 20mm machine guns, the four Type 94 light tanks basically shot holes everywhere, leaving them all on the position.
The situation of the 4 Type 89 tanks and 4 Type 94 tanks invested on the two flanks was slightly better, at least half of them were returned.
"Attack, attack again!" Yoshio Shinozuka, who suffered continuous blows, could no longer maintain a calm attitude. He did not believe that any Chinese army could stop his offensive at all costs.
Throughout the afternoon, Tietou's Yoshio Shinozuka and Tietou's Japanese troops conducted as many as 4 rounds of attacks on the front positions of the Fourth Army Regiment.
At the cost of losing an average of 2 infantry squadrons per attack round, it will not end until the bloody dusk.
The 28 MG42 machine guns belonging to the seven infantry platoons of the Fourth Line Regiment consumed a total of nearly 80,000 rounds of ammunition. On average, each machine gun fired more than 2,800 rounds of ammunition, and the barrel alone was replaced as many as seven times.
If the infantry is included, the total ammunition consumption of the seven infantry platoons in this afternoon alone was roughly 150,000 rounds, while the ammunition consumption of the more than 3,000 officers and soldiers of the 80th Group on both wings was only a quarter of theirs.
It can be said that the Japanese army, which lost nearly 2,000 infantry, was completely defeated by the crazy bullets this time. In addition to air superiority, the Chinese side was no longer weaker than the 10th Division regardless of light or heavy firepower.
Even if Yoshio Shinozuka doesn't want to admit this in his heart, he can only accept this reality in the face of facts.
But what can we do if we recognize the facts?
Yoshio Shinozuka, who lost nearly 4,000 troops in the battle, is now riding a tiger. To withdraw now is to completely admit the defeat. If you accept the fact of defeat in this battle, the consequences may be more serious. The Chinese people inspired by this will only get worse in the future.
It has become more and more unscrupulous in the countryside, and has even spread from southern Hebei to the entire northern China.
Not to mention that he, the lieutenant general and commander of the division, cannot bear such consequences, Commander Tianjun will also be implicated.
Therefore, Duo Tianjun, who received the report of Yoshio Shinozuka's loss, strictly ordered the 10th Division to continue to encircle and consume the enemy forces in the encirclement. The two mixed brigades from Baoding and Shimen will set off to attack the 10th Division in the future.
The division provides support.
Moreover, a heavy artillery regiment will be dispatched from Pingbeicheng and will arrive on the battlefield in 6 days at the latest.
This is a reassurance for Yoshio Shinozuka, who is seven or eight years old!
Even if the two mixed brigades have to leave two cities to garrison, they can still have ten thousand troops, and the heavy artillery regiment is even more powerful.
You must know that in the early stages of the war, the entire Japanese Army had only 6 heavy artillery brigades, and the Japanese North China Front had only two in total. Among them, the 6th Heavy Artillery Brigade was blown up by the Chinese in a sneak attack at the end of the Songhu Battle.
At present, the North China Front Army only has one heavy artillery brigade, which is kept in Pingbeicheng like a treasure and will not be dispatched unless it is an important battle.
The heavy artillery brigade has two heavy artillery regiments. Each heavy artillery regiment has 2 brigades and 6 squadrons, equipped with 24 150mm howitzers.
As long as these 24 heavy artillery pieces arrive at Zhaojiazhuang, no matter how many and deep trenches the Chinese dig, they will be blown to pieces!
Instead of being scolded by the commander of the front army, he received strong reinforcements. The haze of the 18th was gone, and His Excellency Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio lay down on the camp bed happily.
Unfortunately, it didn't even last an hour. Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio's good mood disappeared with several earth-shaking explosions.
Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, who had already looked angrily at the sky in the distance as his unlucky chief of staff hurried in, finally realized that the small elite troops left by the Chinese on the outer battlefield had indeed begun to act like monsters.
Ten minutes ago, they carried out a sneak attack on an artillery regiment position defended by an infantry brigade, and used small-caliber mortars to bombard the artillery shell storage points from a distance of 500 meters.
That must have been something they lurked nearby and peeped during the day, so in a premeditated and despicable sneak attack, two 500-round artillery shell storage points were detonated.
Although the position was safe, the disaster caused by the exploding shells destroyed five mountain cannons and killed more than 140 imperial artillerymen.
"According to the order issued by your Excellency the Division Commander during the day, three infantry squadrons from the Morita Battalion have gone to support." Colonel Chief of Staff had just finished speaking.
The eyes of the two people looking at the distant night sky were stung by the sudden appearance of brilliant tracer bullets, followed by the faint sound of blazing gunfire.
"No, there's an ambush!" The faces of the two Japanese generals looked ugly at this time, so they opened the door for Nan Kan - Nan Kan was at home.
‘Surround the point and call for reinforcements!’ This tactic the Chinese had performed countless times on the battlefield in North China actually appeared again this evening.
Moreover, it is still necessary to use a small number of troops to defeat a superior force.
"The Chinese are really a bunch of lunatics!" Yoshio Shinozuka really finds it difficult to understand how the Chinese think.
"Immediately order the Kurokawa Brigade and the Riverside Brigade to go to support and kill all the Chinese who dare to attack. I will hang all their corpses in front of this position as wind chimes!" Shinozuka Yoshio angrily hammered on the
On the trenches.
Then, the unlucky Japanese Lieutenant General with a broken finger was also on the injured list.
But obviously, the Chinese did not intend to engage in a fierce battle. After less than 10 minutes of fierce bombardment, they took advantage of the cover of night and their familiarity with the terrain to escape.
The two Japanese infantry brigades that hurriedly rushed in were missed. After searching in a circle unwillingly, they carried the dead and wounded back to the position. The Chinese appeared from the artillery position again like immortal Xiaoqiang.
Japanese Infantry: Is it over yet?
Japanese Artillery: You guys should hurry up! I’m the one who’s going to get beaten, okay?
Therefore, the wise Japanese army, this time armed with two infantry brigades and tanks, attacked the artillery position 3,500 meters away.
Naturally, the Chinese slipped away again.
The Japanese infantry will not return this time. They will camp nearby. If anyone dares to come again, they will be surrounded by the cliffs.
As a result, field trenches were dug in the middle of the night, and the tired and desperate Japanese infantry became the target of attack.
The Chinese almost all came here at a pinch. At 4 o'clock in the morning, less than 30 minutes after the Japanese infantry fell asleep, a row of mortar shells came. I don't know how many people were killed, but the sleepiness that had just brewed was gone.
Existence is real.
Of course, nothing is important compared to their lives. The more than 5,000 Japanese troops far away from the main position stared until dawn.
But they are not at a loss. The two dark circles under the eyes of Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, the commander of the division, who committed suicide and broke his finger with one punch, can almost pretend to be a future national treasure of China.
As the sun rose, Yoshio Shinozuka, who had listened to the sound of gunfire all night, felt even worse.
As if they knew that the 10th Division was planning to call a truce today and wait for the arrival of reinforcements, the thousands of Chinese troops staying 8 kilometers away actually made some changes.
Fortunately, there were only three to four thousand people, and Yoshio Shinozuka, who quickly sent two infantry brigades to deal with it, looked calm.
"It was discovered that a Chinese army was advancing at high speed, with a strength of not less than 5,000. It was less than 30 kilometers away from the Zhaojiazhuang battlefield!"
But before 9 o'clock later, an aerial reconnaissance plane sent a message after returning, which left Yoshio Shinozuka stunned.
Zhaojiazhuang is already home to the main force of the Chinese regular army. Is there any regular army with a strength of 5,000?
If there is, there is only one possibility: it is the one that just appeared at the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain the day before yesterday.
But then, wouldn’t there be an infantry brigade of Okuma Konosuke responsible for containing and blocking the attack?
Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio's mind was really buzzing at that moment. ()
This chapter has been completed!