Chapter 311 Never let the Japanese cross the river
After two rounds, the Japanese cavalry suffered heavy losses.
The Japanese captain Okazaki was killed on the spot, leaving dozens of remaining cavalrymen fleeing in panic. When the Chinese cavalry was about to pursue them, they were stopped by Liu Fengsheng.
"Okay, stop chasing." Liu Fengsheng reined in his horse and stopped, then turned around and shouted, "3rd Battalion Commander, lead your men to gather up the horses. The little devil's cavalry is not very good, but the horses are all Japanese horses. They are better than our cavalry regiment."
The Mongolian horses are too strong. After gathering the Japanese war horses, we can take the whole regiment of war horses to the rear and wait for orders."
"Yes!" The commander of the 3rd Cavalry Battalion immediately led his men to collect the horses that had escaped in the wilderness.
In this battle, the 28th Japanese Cavalry Regiment was almost completely destroyed, but more than 400 horses were almost unscathed. Although Liu Fengsheng's cavalry regiment had more than 2,000 people, it only had more than 700 horses.
There are three cavalry battalions, but with these Japanese horses, the cavalry regiment can form two more cavalry battalions.
Liu Fengsheng said again: "1st Battalion Commander, you lead people to install explosives and prepare to blow up the bridge."
"Yes." The commander of the 1st Cavalry Battalion agreed with a bang, then turned around and shouted, "You guys, bring explosives and follow me!"
Liu Fengsheng shouted to the remaining officers and soldiers: "Brothers, the cavalry just now is just the vanguard of the little devils, and there will definitely be a large force next. Before the big troops of the little devils arrive, hurry up and repair the fortifications. Brothers, we
It must be nailed to the north bank of the Muma River like a nail, and the little devil will never be allowed to cross the Muma River even half a step!"
"Yes!" The entire regiment's officers and soldiers responded loudly, and immediately dismounted to repair the fortifications.
Ten miles south of the Muma River, the Japanese Motorized Rifle Brigade directly under the 20th Division was rolling northward along the highway.
Although the Motorized Infantry Brigade set out from Yangqu County at the same time as the 28th Cavalry Regiment, the highway to the north had been damaged by the Eighth Route Army guerrillas and had to be repaired by engineers before cars and tanks could pass normally. Therefore, the Motorized Infantry Brigade's maneuvers suffered.
When there was a huge lag, the movement was not as fast as the cavalry regiment.
At this moment, Major Shimada Jiro, the captain of the motorcycle brigade, was already very anxious.
Ten minutes ago, the 28th Cavalry Regiment was strongly blocked by the Chinese cavalry on the banks of the Muma River. The entire army was actually wiped out. Now the Chinese Cavalry Regiment has seized control of the Muma River Highway Bridge. This is a big blow to the imperial army.
It is quite disadvantageous. Once the Chinese blow up the bridge, the main force of the First Army heading north along the highway will be in trouble.
The Chinese must be prevented from blowing up the bridge, and the retreat channel for the main army must be ensured to be smooth.
Shimada Jiro gritted his teeth, then turned to the deputy captain behind him and shouted: "Order, all squadrons should immediately speed up their marching speed and move forward at full speed."
North bank of Muma River.
The explosives have been installed, and the cavalry regiment is currently repairing the fortifications.
Since the north and south sides of the Muma River were open plains, there was no danger to defend them. Liu Fengsheng could only order the officers and soldiers of the entire regiment to dig two internal and external circular trenches on the north bank of the bridge.
Whether the Japanese First Army can be blocked south of the Muma River depends on whether the cavalry regiment can hold the bridge.
Just blowing up the Muma River Bridge is not enough to stop the Japanese army, because the Muma River is now in the dry season and the water surface is not wide. If the bridge is just blown up, the Japanese engineers can definitely erect it within 12 hours.
There are two pontoon bridges that can accommodate tanks under five tons, but it will take at least 24 hours for the main infantry force of the Baoshan Division to arrive.
Therefore, the cavalry regiment not only had to blow up the bridge, but also had to guard the northern end of the bridge to prevent Japanese engineers from erecting the bridge.
As long as it lasts for 24 hours and the main infantry force of the Baoshan Division arrives, the Japanese First Army will never cross the river.
"Brothers, work harder!" Liu Fengsheng shouted to encourage all the officers and soldiers in the regiment while waving his engineer pickaxe crazily.
As soon as he finished speaking, a gunshot was heard from the south of the Muma River Bridge, which was a warning signal from the guard post.
The little devil's infantry came so quickly!
Liu Fengsheng felt a slight shiver in his heart, and immediately jumped out of the trench and raised his telescope.
Looking out through the telescope, he saw billowing smoke and dust rising on the road south of the Muma River. A large Japanese convoy was heading north along the road. Liu Fengsheng's mouth suddenly twitched and he whispered softly.
He said to himself: "What a fool, look at this posture, it turns out to be a motorcycle brigade?"
"1st Battalion Commander, blow up the bridge!" Liu Fengsheng gave the order to blow up the bridge without hesitation.
If only the Japanese infantry brigade came, Liu Fengsheng would not be afraid, but if it was the motorized infantry brigade, Liu Fengsheng would not dare to be careless. The Japs' iron bastards are not easy to deal with, and the cavalry regiment does not have combat artillery. Once it is surrendered,
Once the Japs' iron bastards cross the bridge, the cavalry regiment's defense line will immediately be crushed to pieces, so there is no need to fight this battle.
"Yes!" The commander of the 1st Cavalry Battalion agreed loudly and immediately pressed the detonator heavily.
Just a loud bang was heard, and more than a dozen bundles of explosives installed under the bridge exploded at the same time. The more than 200-meter-long highway bridge running through the north and south sides of the Muma River was immediately blown into more than a dozen pieces. The smoke and dust were filled, and it was destroyed.
The broken bridges fell onto the river beach one after another, leaving only dozens of lonely bridge piers on the river bed.
South of Muma River, on the highway.
Hearing the faint explosion from the front, Shimada Jiro quickly leaned out of the tank turret and looked forward through the telescope. He saw billowing smoke and dust rising in the direction of the Muma River Bridge, although he could not see clearly.
It's true, but Jiro Shimada can guess with his toes that the Chinese must have blown up the bridge first.
"Bagagaru!" Jiro Shimada punched the turret hard and immediately retracted into the carriage.
"Order, the tank squadron and the rapid-fire artillery squadron line up along the south bank of the Muma River and shoot directly!" Jiro Shimada retracted the tank compartment and immediately issued a combat order, "Infantry 3rd and 4th Squadrons
Cross the river on foot immediately, and seize the China position on the north bank within half an hour. In addition, notify the engineering unit to repair the bridge immediately."
On the north bank of the Muma River, the cavalry regiment position.
When Liu Fengsheng was observing the enemy situation on the south bank through the telescope, there was a sudden buzzing sound above his head, and immediately the adjutant beside him shouted: "Regiment seat, enemy plane!"
"Huh?" Liu Fengsheng raised his head when he heard the sound, and sure enough he saw more than a dozen Japanese aircraft appearing in the sky.
The six planes in front were slightly smaller and formed two arrow formations. They were probably reconnaissance fighter jets of the Japs. However, the ten planes in the back were huge and were probably bombers of the Japs! The corner of Liu Fengsheng's mouth suddenly twitched again.
The little devils in Japan really thought highly of the cavalry regiment, and they actually dispatched sixteen planes to bomb them!
Liu Fengsheng looked around anxiously, but found that he was surrounded by plains and there was no hiding place at all!
Gritting his teeth, Liu Fengsheng roared: "Put up all the light and heavy machine guns and shoot into the sky. The remaining brothers, ignore the Japanese planes in the sky and continue repairing the fortifications!"
At this juncture, Liu Fengsheng could no longer think too much.
Evacuating the troops at this time can certainly reduce the threat of the Japanese aircraft and minimize the casualties of the troops, but the consequences are disastrous. After the cavalry regiment is evacuated, the Japanese infantry who are coming from the south can easily capture the enemy.
It will be difficult for the cavalry regiment to regain the position on the north bank!
If the North Bank position cannot be recaptured, there will be no way to prevent the Japanese engineers from building the bridge.
If the Japanese engineers could not be prevented from building bridges, they would not be able to block the First Army south of the Muma River.
Once the Japanese First Army successfully breaks through, it will definitely be a heavy blow to the Thirty-ninth Army. Even if all of Shanxi is liberated, the battle will still be lost, because the most important thing in the war is to destroy the enemy.
If you can't destroy the enemy's effective force, it will be meaningless to regain more lost ground.
Liu Fengsheng's thoughts suddenly changed, and the three Japanese planes in the front group had already swooped down.
The machine gun under the belly of the Japanese plane opened fire violently, dragging out three long barrages on the ground, and quickly stretched forward. Wherever the barrages passed, the officers and soldiers of the cavalry regiment fell into a pool of blood. Only the first
In one round of dive and strafing, sixteen *** officers and soldiers fell to the guns of the Japanese plane forever.
More than a dozen light and heavy machine guns of the cavalry regiment fired heavily, but failed to hit the target. The Japanese planes were flying too fast, and it was too difficult to rely on infantry suppressive firepower to deal with the Japanese planes.
After the three Japanese planes in the front group barely passed the cavalry regiment's position, they suddenly pulled up again.
Immediately afterwards, the three Japanese planes of the second group swooped down from the sky with ear-piercing screams.
The dozen or so machine guns of the cavalry regiment could not turn around, and the dense rain of bullets had already poured water on the machine gunners of two of the heavy machine guns. The shooters, deputy shooters and ammunition handlers of the two heavy machine guns immediately fell into a pool of blood.
One of the heavy machine gun shooters had half of his neck blown off by the bullet, and his head was twisted at a weird angle and stacked on his chest.
The three Japanese planes of the second team were able to pull up, and the five bombers of the third team swooped down from the sky...
This time, what fell from the sky were not machine gun bullets, but aerial bombs. Five Japanese bombers dropped fifty aerial bombs in one go, moving forward continuously in five straight lines on the cavalry regiment's position.
With the extended explosion, the cavalry regiment's position, which they had managed to build with great difficulty, was immediately plowed into five huge gaps.
Before the smoke and dust from the explosion cleared, the fourth group of five Japanese bombers dived down again.
Immediately there was another continuous huge explosion. This time, the entire position of the cavalry regiment was blown into pieces.
Liu Fengsheng struggled to get up from under the thick soil, shook his dizzy head again, and when he looked around again, Liu Fengsheng's eyes suddenly turned red! With this round of bombing, the cavalry regiment at least
Nearly a hundred brothers were lost! These are all elite veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles. Liu Fengsheng had a hard time training them into cavalry!
"You bastard little devil, fuck your grandma..." Liu Fengsheng was like a wounded wild wolf, holding a crooked gun and shooting violently at the sky, but the Japanese aircraft that swooped down again escaped unscathed.
Liu Fengsheng's head passed over, and the machine gun under the belly of the aircraft once again pulled out a long barrage on the ground, passing Liu Fengsheng by a hair's breadth.