Many years later, when someone asked those Japanese soldiers who participated in this war who had witnessed the battle tonight, the vast majority of them remained silent, and in the end only a handful of people were reluctant to answer.
"It was a tragic experience that I will never forget until my death. To this day, I still think it was Amaterasu's punishment for this unjust war."
"When we captured China...the first line of defense of the Chinese, all of us were overjoyed. Our commander even promised us that he would give us all two days off and overtime after we captured Qixia Pass.
meal.
Our entire regiment had high morale and increased the intensity of the attack, but then the Chinese sent reinforcements, and they used large-caliber machine guns made by the Americans.
This is the first time we have encountered this kind of weapon. According to past experience, we have always hidden behind big trees, sandbags or mounds, but the power of this machine gun is too great, and those hiding bunkers cannot stop this kind of weapon.
A bullet as thick as a thumb.
I saw with my own eyes that our squad leader was hit in the chest by a large-caliber machine gun bullet. The bullet shattered his entire chest, leaving only a few pieces of flesh on both sides. Logically speaking, we should snatch his body back.
Yes, but we were so scared at that time that we all lay on the ground and did not dare to move.
Originally, I planned to wait for the Chinese firepower to weaken a little before snatching back the squad leader's body, but then...but then they...they actually used anti-aircraft guns to attack us from behind.
attack...
Our squad leader, squadron leader and group leader were all killed in action... In the end... our entire group only lasted less than ten minutes before collapsing...
You don’t know that once a person is hit by that kind of anti-aircraft artillery, the whole person will explode like an exploding watermelon. There is no way to collect the body, and only a pile of minced meat will be left..."
The interviewee could not continue talking and almost collapsed.
Looking at the 80-year-old man who was crying so hard, the interviewers looked at each other. Before they could decide whether to continue the interview, they were violently kicked out by the old man's family.
In fact, the brutality of this battle far exceeded the description of the parties involved.
When the remaining eight Dongfeng self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and ten Tornado self-propelled anti-aircraft guns of the armored battalion's anti-aircraft company lined up and fired at the hillside, the firelight from the cannons alone illuminated a large area around them.
In just a few minutes, eighteen self-propelled anti-aircraft guns screened the hillside in front of them. Facing the fire coming from behind, the Japanese troops on the hillside had no place to hide.
More than ten minutes later, when the air defense battalion stopped firing, no Japanese soldiers could be seen standing on the entire hillside. The only thing that could be heard was the screams and groans of wounded Japanese soldiers.
Faced with this appearance, even the soldiers of the fifth battalion responsible for the defense were shocked by the tragic situation of the Japanese army.
"My dear..."
Looking at the battlefield opposite that seemed to have been swept with a big broom, Yan Xiaofu's mouth was open so wide that he could almost stuff an egg into it.
"I originally thought that the armored battalion's gang of bastards could only sit in a tortoise shell and run rampant. We infantrymen were no worse than them. Now it seems that we are still ignorant. These turtle bastards really have a lot of tricks."
The other soldiers of the fifth battalion were not much better. Various expressions such as shock, surprise, and stupidity appeared on the faces of the soldiers.
In fact, not only them, but even Gao Hongming, who had been paying attention to all this, was shocked by this scene.
It was said that anti-aircraft artillery was overqualified for fighting mosquitoes, so it was not the same for using anti-aircraft artillery to attack infantry. But he had to admit that this devastating scene was really shocking.
An entire regiment with thousands of people attacking them was shot down by more than a dozen self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. In just over ten minutes, they were swept away like autumn leaves swept away by the autumn wind.
He made a rough estimate and found that in just over ten minutes, the Japanese casualties were at least one thousand.
Readers should not think that Ating is making it up. According to historical records, in another time and space, in the Third Battle of Courland in 1945, the Soviet army with a numerical advantage launched a charge against two companies of the German army.
Originally, the situation of the German army was already precarious. Then the nearby air defense troops arrived. Several of their Tornado self-propelled anti-aircraft guns squared the muzzles and started a burst of fierce shooting at the Soviet army. The Soviet army suffered heavy casualties and finally had to
Leaving behind more than 700 corpses, they retreated in disgrace.
Facing the direct fire of anti-aircraft fire, the infantry will have no way to withstand the attack if they do not construct a well-constructed bunker for cover.
At the observation post a few miles away, the telescope in Yukio Koizumi's hand slipped from his hand with a clatter. If his dignity as a general hadn't supported him, he might have sat down on the ground.
Even so, his lips were moving quickly and unconsciously, but no sound came out. But if you put your ear to his mouth, you can hear:
The words "これは悪魔の魔だ(This is the devil's weapon)".
As a soldier who has been in the army for more than 20 years, Koizumi Yukio has never seen artillery. Not to mention the small 20-caliber artillery, he has also seen the firing of the 400-mm cannon on a battleship.
.
But this was the first time he had seen a dozen self-propelled anti-aircraft guns equipped with 20mm small-caliber anti-aircraft guns penetrate an entire regiment.
Facing this situation, his body felt helpless for the first time in his life.
"Am I going to be the first division commander of the 41st Division to be dismissed from his post and escorted back to the mainland by the military police?" He was very unwilling to do so.
It is not terrible to suffer defeat. There has never been a general in this world who has never lost a battle. But he led a reorganized division and had several times the enemy's strength. Not only did he fail to capture the position held by the enemy, but he was severely defeated by the opponent.
Escape, this is too unreasonable, and might make the 41st Division the laughing stock of the Japanese Army.
Don't blame him for this. I'm afraid even his immediate boss, Commander Yoshio Shinozuka, can't handle it.
"No...we can't just let it go. I still have a chance."
Thinking of this, he steeled himself and called to Chief of Staff Ogiwara Toda, "Immediately order the field artillery regiment to cover the Chinese tanks at the foot of the mountain with artillery fire. They must destroy all the Chinese tanks."
"
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, our field artillery regiment is currently engaged in an artillery battle with China's artillery and may not be able to support the infantry's battle." Ogiwara Toda reminded in a low voice.
"Then let them withdraw from the battle and use all their strength to deal with the Chinese tanks, even if the entire field artillery regiment is involved!" Koizumi Yukio suddenly roared, and with the help of the infuriating wind lantern next to him,
Ogiwara Toda clearly saw the lust flashing in Koizumi Yukio's eyes.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, as the Chief of Staff of the 41st Division, I have to remind you that it is very dangerous for you to do this."
Ogiwara Toda couldn't bear it anymore. He stared at Yukio Koizumi and said: "Once the Chinese artillery is freed up, they will definitely bombard our infantry. The threat level will even be higher than those of small-caliber artillery."
,Don’t forget...the Chinese are equipped with 155-caliber heavy artillery!"
As the chief of staff, Ogiwara Toda still has a lot of experience, and the suggestions he puts forward are very reasonable, but Yukio Koizumi, who has long been dominated by fear and unwillingness, still can't listen to him.
Not only that, he also stared at him with disgust and said: "Ogiwara-kun, you should understand that if the Chinese tanks and those artillery with terrifying rates of fire are not eliminated, all our troops participating in the attack will be threatened by them.
, don’t you even know this?
So...please carry out my order immediately!"
Looking at Koizumi Yukio's red eyes, Ogiwara Toda knew that no matter what he said, the other party would not be able to listen. Moreover, what Koizumi Yukio said was not unreasonable. It does not mean that the larger the caliber of the artillery, the greater the threat. It depends.
It depends on the situation.
However, what Koizumi Yukio and Ogiwara Toda didn't know was that after more than half an hour of artillery battle, the losses suffered by the field artillery regiment of the 41st Division had far exceeded their estimates.
After the artillery battle, the entire field artillery regiment has less than ten artillery pieces left. In addition to three Taisho 14th-year-old 105mm field cannons, there are only five 95-type 75mm field cannons left.
When the field artillery regiment received the telegram from the division, they were shocked and could only curse.
Originally, they were at a disadvantage in the artillery battle with the militia, and now they had to relocate their positions to attack the opponent's tank troops. The risks involved could be imagined with your knees.
Colonel Takahashi, the commander of the field artillery regiment, was so angry that his heart ached. However, this was a direct order from the division commander. How could he disobey it? He could only hold back his anger and ordered the artillery to withdraw from the position and start moving forward, preparing to attack the intruders from behind.
Chinese tanks attacked.
Logically speaking, although Koizumi Yukio's plan was a bit risky, it cannot be said to be completely unreasonable, but he forgot one thing, and that was the observation balloon rising behind Qixia Pass.
The Japanese field artillery unit was discovered by the observer on the observation balloon as soon as it moved its position. Although he did not know where the opponent had retreated in the dark night, he understood that the Japanese artillery wanted to enter the preset position and fire again.
It would take at least twenty to thirty minutes, and there was so much they could do during that time.
Sure enough, when Gao Hongming received the news of the observation balloon report, he was overjoyed and immediately ordered the two artillery battalions to turn their guns to cover the Japanese troops who were attacking the 1st and 2nd Battalions from the left and right sides.
Unable to help but do so, Gao Hongming also issued new orders to the armored battalion.
"Ka ka ka... ka ka ka..."
The machine guns on the Panzer IV tanks were firing loudly, and any possible target would become the target of their strafing fire.
A Japanese soldier with a white strip of cloth tied on his head fell hard to the ground, a ball of scarlet blood gushed out from under him, and the explosive bag in his hand was thrown several meters away.
"Bring a grenade..."
After hearing the squadron leader's order, a Japanese sergeant ran over not far away and took out two bundles of cluster grenades from the dry ditch on the side of the road. They were five 98-type wooden handles wrapped with strips of cloth.
Made of grenades bundled together.
The sergeant wiped the dirt off with the hems of his clothes and placed them in front of the squadron leader.
The squadron leader coldly gave an order to a Japanese soldier: "Hey... Private, now it's your turn to blow up the Chinese tanks. If you succeed, you will become a hero... Do you understand what I mean?"
?Private Xiao Cao!"
The Japanese soldier whose name was called trembled and his face instantly turned pale. He looked at the officer who asked him to die with some confusion.
"Crawling forward, stuffing cluster grenades under the tracks, destroying the damn Chinese tanks, your mother and brothers and sisters will be proud of you..."
The squadron leader warned, and at the same time grabbed the grenades and gave them to the young private. The latter mechanically reached out and took them, as if touching red-hot chromium iron, and almost dropped them to the ground. At this moment, his face was pale, and his hands were pale.
With trembling legs and sweat dripping from his forehead, using a cluster grenade to blow up a tank is no different from committing suicide.
"Do you understand the mission? Remember... jump along the crater, crawl forward, and don't look back!"
The squadron leader gave categorical instructions, and his right hand that was holding the command knife slowly raised, staring coldly at the trembling soldier. If he didn't come forward, the squadron leader would kill him with his saber without hesitation.
.
"Why are you hesitating? Come on!" Hearing the roar of the tanks getting closer and closer, a trace of anxiety flashed in the squadron leader's eyes and he pushed the young soldier hard.
The young soldier who was pushed by the squadron leader licked his dry lips and looked at his companions around him. However, he was disappointed to find that they were all looking at him expectantly, obviously hoping that he could succeed. In that case, they could avoid continuing.
Facing death, the young soldier reluctantly crawled out of the bunker.
At this time, he could only keep comforting himself, as long as he could blow up the opponent's tank, he would survive.
He carefully crossed the craters one after another and crawled down in a crater more than 20 meters away from the tank, waiting for the tank to approach.
Amidst the rumbling sound of the tank, the tank was getting closer and closer. When the tank was only four or five meters away from him, he arched his body in the crater and huddled up. After seeing the right moment, he jumped suddenly
He stepped out, pounced towards the behemoth, and threw the cluster grenade with all his strength with his right hand.
Although he acted very bravely, but...he threw it wrong, and the cluster grenade exploded on the right side of the Panzer IV tank. At the moment of the explosion, the machine gun on the tank rang, and the brave Japanese soldier was shot.
They formed a nest and then fell heavily to the ground.
"Cluster grenades, go to three groups!"
After witnessing the fate of the young private, the squadron leader issued another order.
With the deafening sound of the motor, the clang of the steel tracks and the weird creaking sound, the tank was getting closer and closer to them. A few minutes later, the steel tank tracks were still driving slowly but firmly, and the few tried to use cluster grenades.
The Japanese troops who attacked the tank were knocked to the ground by the heavy firepower of the tank's machine gun and the infantry following it.
Under Gao Hongming's order, the armored battalion began to move around Qixia Pass, and took advantage of the armored forces' mobility, thickening, and fierce firepower to continuously attack the Japanese troops participating in the attack from the back. Not only that, the two artillery battalions also used
Artillery fire covered it.
Half an hour later, when the field artillery regiment of the 41st Division rearranged its artillery positions and prepared to bombard the armored battalion, they found that the battle situation was on the verge of collapse...