Today is the third day of the 41st Division's attack. Yes... this is the last day of the three-day deadline given by Yoshio Shinozuka to Yukio Koizumi.
During these three days, Koizumi Yukio urged the 41st Division to launch a desperate attack. In order to deal with the two artillery battalions of the militia, the Japanese Army Air Forces bombed Qixia Pass indiscriminately, even though they had already suffered losses.
Twenty-eight bombers and sixteen battles never stopped.
After losing 40% of the artillery, Gao Hongming had to order the two artillery battalions to temporarily hide.
Fortunately, although the artillery battalion of the militia was unable to function, the field artillery regiment of the 41st Division lost more than half in the first day of artillery battle, and they were also afraid of the hidden artillery of the militia, so they did not dare
The bombardment of Cangyun Ridge was carried out unscrupulously, and such a strange scene happened.
It was clear that the infantry on both sides had been fighting to the death, but the artillery on both sides remained silent. Occasionally they fired like thieves and then ran away after firing a few rounds, not daring to stay longer.
Faced with such a situation, both Koizumi Yukio and Gao Hongming were helpless.
But in the final analysis, overall, the Japanese army, which had a numerical advantage and aircraft support, had the upper hand. Although Japan failed to capture Qixialing in these three days, the successive attacks of the three infantry regiments still caused damage to the militia.
suffered a great loss.
As mentioned before, after Gao Hongming ordered to shrink the defense line, there were only two lines of defense left in front of Qixia Pass.
The first line of defense is dozens of meters down the mountainside, only more than 200 meters away from the road.
Don't underestimate the two hundred meters. For infantry, the distance of more than two hundred meters is as far as heaven to hell. In the past three days, there have been more than one Japanese corpse lying on this small slope.
Brigade.
The Japanese army also gritted its teeth against this long-defensible line of defense and vowed to make the Chinese people pay the price.
*** was leaning in the trench, with the submachine gun placed next to him. He touched his body with both hands, took out a shriveled cigarette box, took out a cigarette from it, lit it and took a deep breath.
I inhaled the slightly pungent smoke of Marlboro and held it in my lungs for a while, then exhaled, along with a long line of smoke.
There was a sound of heavy footsteps, and then a figure sat down next to him, and then a slightly hoarse voice sounded next to him, "Okay, you kid actually has some private goods, why don't you hand it over quickly? Don't force me."
I'll do it."
*** rolled his eyes and threw the cigarette case to him casually, "You are a dignified battalion commander, but you come here to smoke cigarettes with me, a small company commander, how embarrassed are you."
The person who came was none other than Nong Tiancai, the commander of the fourth battalion. There was no trace of shame on his face: "I only lit up so many cigarettes in a month. Otherwise, I wouldn't smoke your cigarette."
."
Seeing the shameless look of his parents, *** immediately got angry and said, "If I smoke three cartons a month, you are already considered a rich man, right? Then what if you smoke five cartons a month?"
What kind of?"
"Nonsense, you can't just see my monthly quota of five cigarettes, but you also have to consider the people who come to my place to smoke cigarettes." Nong Tiancai snorted: "I have three company commanders and more than ten platoons under me.
Long, if each person smokes one cigarette from me every day, how much will it cost in a month?
Look at how many platoon leaders you have under your command. Can you compare with me?"
*** was stunned for a moment and found that he was speechless.
"Well, now is not the time to discuss this, because no matter how much we discuss it, it won't change the fact that they are going to stop eating."
However, Ma Zhan rolled his eyes and said, "Don't be discouraged in the camp. I know there is a person. Even if the entire group has no cigarettes, he will definitely have more. As long as you go to his place, you can get some back."
Package, maybe even one of them."
Nong Tiancai was not stupid, he laughed and scolded, "You kid, don't think of using me as a gunman. I know you want me to go to Tuanzuo to fight in the autumn wind. It wouldn't be impossible if it were normal, but the fighting has been fierce these days. I
I heard that everyone in the group was so anxious about the Japanese plane that I went over to scold them."
***, who had his little abacus exposed, didn't look the least bit embarrassed. He smiled and said: "Our battalion can retreat to the back to rest tonight. You will definitely report to the team then. That's just a matter of course."
."
"By the way..." Nong Tiancai suddenly smiled and looked at the noon sun.
Today, in just one morning, the Japanese army launched three charges. Although they were all repelled, the casualties of their battalion after these days of fierce fighting have exceeded 30%. If it happens a few more times, the fourth battalion may be really in trouble.
will be maimed.
At this moment, a burst of melodious music came from the side. When the two of them looked back, it turned out that a wounded soldier with a bandage on his left arm had obtained a camphor leaf from somewhere and put the leaf to his lips with his right hand and blew it.
When I started to sing, I never thought that he could actually play a melodious tune.
Not far away, a veteran in his thirties with a slovenly beard saw this and started to yell: "Brother, please go to the west exit. I really can't keep my little sister, so I took my brother's hand and walked him to the gate."
Brother, please go out of the village. Little sister, I have a message to say. If you walk to the entrance of the main road, there will be many people and horses to relieve your worries."
To be honest, the veteran looks sloppy and has a very rough appearance, but combined with his hoarse voice and emotions that seem to have seen through the world, this desolate and sad ditty has a particularly attractive roughness.
The smell immediately attracted the attention of many soldiers around him.
"I pulled my brother's sleeve tightly, tears streaming down my face. I only regret that I can't go with you, sister. I just hope that you will come home early.
Brother, please go to the west exit. Little sister, I am worried about this. It will take a long time to go there, and I hope you will also grow old."
Many soldiers who did not cry even in the face of hail of bullets or even death heard tears suddenly flowing out of their eyes.
Yes, who doesn’t have an unforgettable girl in their heart? This woman may have an ordinary appearance and even a rude temper, but in their hearts she is the most beautiful woman in the world. Maybe at this moment, she is waiting for them to go home safely at the entrance of the village.
.
Seeing more and more soldiers humming, *** was a little worried that continuing to sing would affect morale, so he looked at his battalion commander for instructions, but Nong Tiancai shook his head and whispered.
"The brothers have been fighting too hard these days. It's good to let them vent."
*** nodded, and was about to say something when he suddenly froze for a moment. After listening attentively, his face changed, and he shouted loudly: "Shell attack... Hurry up and hide... Hurry up and hide..."
"boom..."
As soon as *** finished speaking, the first shell fell with a huge explosion, and then the second and third...
After these days of baptism of artillery fire, the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion have been trained to be extremely agile. These soldiers can quickly determine the impact point of the artillery shell from the sound of the artillery, and they can also do a push-up before the shell falls and then rush into the bunker.
There is no way, he is so agile and clever, because those who are not clever on the battlefield will either go to the field hospital behind or go to heaven.
Continuous artillery shells fell in front of the fourth battalion's position, raising dust and fire all over the sky. All the soldiers of the fourth battalion hid in the shell holes or trenches, huddled up and prayed not to be directly hit by the shells.
The bombardment was short, lasting only two or three minutes.
When the smoke and dust in the sky slowly dissipated, the *** finally got out of the shell-proof hole and began to loudly greet the soldiers to come out and enter the position.
"Hurry up, all of you...the machine gun...Where's the machine gun...Hurry up and set it up for me..."
Soon the shouts and curses of the policemen and platoon leaders could be heard on the battlefield.
The militia group with almost a full set of German equipment also inherited part of the German tactics. Whether offensive or defensive, they all use the MG42 machine gun as the core, supplemented by the 98K rifle and MP40 submachine gun.
"Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick..."
At this moment, bursts of charging horns suddenly came from the front obscured by dust and smoke, followed by a burst of rapid horse hooves.
"No...it's the cavalry...the devil's cavalry!" ***'s face suddenly changed color.
As the thick smoke gradually dissipated, a large group of black cavalry suddenly appeared from the front, holding 38-style rifles and shouting "Half a decade!", and launched like a sloping flood from the hillside towards the fourth battalion's position.
Counterattack.
The Japanese cavalry on horseback first fired a round of guns, and then rushed over with gleaming sabers. They shouted excitedly while galloping on their horses and waving their sabers.
"Fire quickly...fire..."
Not only ***, Nong Tiancai was also surprised.
It was not unusual for the Japanese army to launch a charge, but what surprised him was that it was cavalry who launched the attack this time, and judging from the scale, it should be a regiment-level charge, which was extraordinary.
In the establishment of the Japanese army, a standard infantry regiment should have about 3,800 men, but the cavalry regiment does not have that many people, generally between 1,400 and 1,700 men.
Although the number of cavalry regiments is smaller than that of infantry, their attack power is even greater than that of infantry.
Due to the lack of mechanization, throughout World War II, the Japanese Army's Class A and Class B divisions were equipped with a large number of cavalry units. On the North China Plain, the mobility of these cavalry was extremely powerful when facing the Chinese army.
Obvious mobility advantage.
The Japanese army suddenly dispatched Japanese troops, which greatly surprised Gao Hongming.
In the 21st century when he lived, the cavalry unit could be said to have almost disappeared. In the huge Chinese army of several million, except for a symbolic cavalry battalion, other cavalry units had been established as early as the 70s of the 20th century.
They were all canceled by the end of the decade.
So to be blunt, Gao Hongming has a very vague concept of cavalry. In addition, in the more than half a year since he came to this time and space, he has never fought against the Japanese cavalry, so he never thought that the Japanese army would dispatch cavalry.
Attack his position.
However... although Gao Hongming was unfamiliar with cavalry, this did not prevent him from understanding the power of cavalry. In desperation, he shouted loudly, "Mortars... hurry up and support the fourth battalion... we must not let them
Although the soldiers of the fourth battalion were startled by the sudden charge, they immediately pulled the trigger as a reflex when they discovered the cavalry. The automatic firepower provided by the newly set up more than a dozen MG42 machine guns and dozens of MP40 submachine guns
It is the best weapon to block cavalry attacks. After firing the bullets in the chamber, the riflemen took out the M24 long-handled grenades from their waists and threw them out.
Looking at the cavalry rushing in like a torrent, *** quickly rushed to the communications soldier and grabbed the microphone.
"Hello... I am the third company commander ***, I use mortars... mortars..."
When they discovered the enemy's situation, the cavalrymen who took advantage of the sound and smoke of the shelling to reach their positions were less than 300 meters away from the fourth battalion's position.
The short distance of more than two hundred meters is not even a warm-up for the war horses. The cavalry only needs more than ten seconds to rush to the target.
Although the fourth battalion's stormtroopers, machine gunners and rear mortar troops poured a dense rain of bullets on the enemy cavalry when they first appeared, they still failed to stop the Japanese cavalry's approach.
Before the first magazine could be reloaded, the first Japanese war horse had already jumped into the trench of the fourth battalion.
The cavalrymen on horseback wielded their sabers and slashed hard. With the impact of the horses, the head and body of the soldier who had not reached the reloading station were separated.
Then dozens or hundreds of horses carried cavalry on horseback, waving sabers, and jumped into the trenches. The Japanese soldiers on horseback slashed and killed them with sabers. The soldiers of the four battalions who came up to meet the enemy were not cut down.
He was trampled to the ground by the rushing horses' hooves.
At this moment, the Japanese cavalry were like a group of ferocious gods emerging from hell, killing without scruples on the ground of the fourth camp. Their excited shouts resounded throughout Qixia Pass.
"ah!"
A soldier with his arm cut off lay on the ground and used his teeth to pull the safety catch of the grenade. Then he jumped up and jumped towards the nearest cavalry with a roar. With a violent explosion, the wounded soldier and the cavalry who were hacking and killing were killed.
They died together, and the war horse, whose stomach was blown open, lay on the battlefield trembling.
However, although the soldiers of the fourth battalion desperately used bayonets and submachine guns to fight back the cavalry that rushed into their own positions, they completely lost their sense of direction as the cavalry regiments surrounded and killed them. They could only fight back blindly and powerlessly. The original defense line was being destroyed.
After the cavalry was torn apart, the soldiers fighting on their own became targets for slaughter.
*** led his correspondent and two riflemen back to back in a trench and fired desperately outside. At this time, he only hated why he only had 32 bullets in his magazine. If there were 60 or even 600 bullets,
It would be great if he could kill a few more Japs before dying.