Time seemed to stand still, and all the soldiers on the artillery position had their ears buzzing. Only then did they realize that they were being attacked by a sneak attack, and they quickly fell down.
"Yan!" The sound of artillery shells neighed again in the sky. The Japanese Type 92 infantry gun fired shells at maximum combat speed, pouring ammunition towards the division's artillery battalion position. It did not seek accuracy, but only the rate of fire.
"Rescue the wounded immediately, and each company will immediately move to the anti-slope reserve position!" Zhao Zhangcheng gritted his teeth, not having time to feel sorry for the two mortars and soldiers, and quickly issued various orders based on the current situation.
Since he was not sure whether the Japanese army had other artillery threats besides the Type 92 infantry cannon, Zhao Zhangcheng had to suppress the anger in his heart and abandon the current mountain edge position with the best shooting angle and sight line, allowing the whole battalion to
Retreat to the prepared position on the reverse slope.
As a typical arm with high attack and low defense, artillery is very vulnerable to counter-artillery attacks. Even though the Japanese army only has one Type 92 infantry gun, there is a huge disparity with the 20 mortars of the divisional mortar battalion. In fact,
, the threat of just one cannon is very huge.
The reason is very simple. A considerable amount of ammunition is stored on the artillery position. When encountering artillery fire, it is very likely that the ammunition will explode.
This is not alarmist talk, but a real threat.
Once a suicide bombing occurs, the division's mortar battalion will bear huge irreparable losses.
As an individual, Zhao Zhangcheng could not wait to kill this Type 92 infantry cannon immediately and fight with it.
But as the top commander of the mortar battalion directly under the 115th Division, he must be responsible for the battalion's more than 400 soldiers and 22 mortars.
As for why the artillery positions are set up so close, the reason is simple. The maximum range of the 1937-type 60mm mortar is only 1.5 kilometers.
The soldiers of the whole battalion wasted no time, and their hands and feet were quick. Many soldiers picked up the hot mortars and ran, heading straight to the anti-slope to prepare for the transfer.
quick!
You must move quickly!
Without artillery suppression, the Japanese troops on the highway would quickly break through the 686th Regiment's ambush area and move closer to the Laoye Temple Highlands.
"Warriors of the Japanese Empire, the time has come to break out, advance to the high ground ahead! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!" As the entire division's mortar battalion briefly lost its voice, the nightmare-like fire strikes on the battlefield disappeared, the captain
Cangshan Yuanye stood up, drew his standard command knife and shouted at the surrounding troops.
A Type 92 infantry gun can't delay for long. The enemy artillery can quickly reestablish its position. The third group must seize this precious opportunity to escape from the ambush area.
As a captain, Cangshan Yuanye is undoubtedly qualified.
"On board! Long live the Empire of Japan!" In an instant, the Japanese soldiers belonging to the 1st and 2nd Squadrons stood up brazenly, roaring with red eyes, fanatically and firmly, not caring at all that they were exposed to the crossfire of light and heavy machine guns.
Then, fearlessly, they charged towards the Laoye Temple high ground ahead.
Staying here is just waiting for death.
Only by rushing out of the ambush area can you survive.
As the breakout order was given, each Japanese soldier charged forward as if desperate for his life. The Japanese grenade squad fired smoke grenades wildly at the forward position of the 686th Regiment, doing their best to obstruct the opponent's shooting field of view and cover the main force of the brigade's breakout.
The 686th Regiment tried its best to block the attack, but with the strong cooperation between various units and arms of the Japanese Third Battalion, the main force of the brigade still successfully broke through, broke out of the ambush area, and advanced towards the Laoye Temple Highlands.
"We have sent electricity to urge the Shanxi-Sui Army, but the originally scheduled combat troops did not respond. The Mengxuanji Brigade at the Pingxingguan Pass stated that they had not received the combat order from the peak and refused to attack." The chief of staff of the 115th Division Headquarters looked grim.
, there was a trace of anger in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Cooperate and cooperate, no cooperation, no cooperation, decisive battle, decisive battle, decisive battle, these Jinsui Army really grew up on a fucking diet."
He has a gentle temper, but now he can't help but want to scold his mother.
What these friendly forces did is disgusting.
Not to attack, no matter how urged, still not to attack.
You must know that the Shanxi-Sui Army initiated the battle plan to ambush the Japanese reinforcements this time.
The middle-aged man had an expressionless face and fell into silence without saying a word. He looked at the map and asked, "How was the fight in Caijiayu?"
It has been nearly an hour since the ambush started. In his opinion, the one with the greatest pressure in the entire ambush is the 687th Regiment. It has to face the offensive pressure of a Japanese army baggage team alone, and also has to face the reinforcements from Lingqiu County.
Japanese army.
Although the 687th Regiment is equipped with a large number of medium and formal rifles and 1937-type mortars, the Japanese army's baggage team does not lack heavy firepower at all. There are a large number of light and heavy machine guns and infantry artillery, and the ammunition is extremely abundant.
For the baggage train, there is no shortage of anything except men.
After encountering an ambush, the Japanese baggage troops immediately stabilized their formation after the initial chaos. Both sides were evenly matched and the fight was inextricable.
"It's a bit tight at the moment. The Japanese army's baggage train attacked very fiercely. The 687th Regiment suffered a lot of casualties. Many soldiers were not familiar with the Japanese army's fighting methods. They adopted the previous method of attacking the Central Army and suffered a lot." The chief of staff immediately said: "However,
, the position is still firmly in our hands."
The middle-aged man finally felt relieved after hearing this. He picked up his binoculars and went to the observation port of the headquarters. He looked towards Guangou where the 685th Regiment and the Kurokawa Brigade were fighting fiercely. Soldiers wearing gray military uniforms who were attacking came into view. The soldiers rushed one after another.
Some fell on the charge road, and some rushed onto the road, fired grenades, and died together with the Japanese army.
"Even if the friendly forces don't come, we can still win this battle." The middle-aged man suddenly said.
The chief of staff sighed: "But without friendly forces, our combat goal of annihilating all 4,000 Japanese troops cannot be achieved."
Four thousand Japanese troops are really no joke. With the current combat effectiveness of the 115th Division, they can only achieve encirclement and heavy damage, but cannot achieve total annihilation.
"Just try it and try your best." The middle-aged man sighed.
At this moment, the communications staff officer received an urgent telegram from headquarters, quickly recorded the translation, picked up the telegram and came to the observation port: "Report, urgent telegram from headquarters."
"Read it," the middle-aged man said.
"Headquarters instructed that a Japanese regiment and 3,500 puppet troops are coming from the direction of Laiyuan and are expected to arrive in 4 hours. There are an infantry regiment and a cavalry regiment from the Hunyuan direction and are expected to arrive in 5 hours. Wei
The tank squadron of the Fifth Division has been dispatched from the county direction and is expected to arrive in eight hours." The communications staff read out the contents of the top-secret message: "If it is indeed impossible to completely wipe out the Japanese reinforcements, we must not force it. We must ensure our own strength and the Shanxi-Sui Army will attack.
It’s no longer possible.”
"Good guy, it feels like a hornet's nest has been stabbed. Even the tank troops have been sent out. This guy Seishiro Itagaki is really anxious." After hearing the contents of the telegram, the chief of staff frowned and his face immediately became serious: "Laiyuan is heading towards the Japanese army.
With Yang Wu's independent group blocking the attack, it can be delayed for more than four hours, but there is no one blocking the Hunyuan direction, leaving us with only five hours. We must fight quickly, and this battle cannot be delayed."
In the Japanese battle sequence, tank squadrons usually only equipped a small number of Class A divisions, but they were a serious ace force. The fifth division was a part of the tank squadrons.
"If we continue to fight, we will inevitably suffer chaos. Since it is no longer possible to completely wipe out the Japanese reinforcements, then we should change our thinking and focus on wiping out the effective forces of the Japanese army. If we can kill more little devils, it will be one." The middle-aged man mused thoughtfully.
Take a moment to make a decision.
The chief of staff nodded: "I agree."
"Report, about 600 people from the Qiaogou Japanese Army Division broke out of the 686th Regiment ambush area and advanced towards the Laoyemiao Highlands with the intention of occupying the commanding heights. The division's mortar battalion was attacked by Japanese artillery fire and lost 2 mortars. It has been moved
To the anti-slope position." At this time, another correspondent hurriedly entered the division headquarters and came to the two men. He spoke quickly and reported the situation.
Break out of the ambush zone?
As the leaders of the entire division, the two men looked at each other. Instead of being angry and blaming the 686th Regiment for this battle situation, they were somewhat happy.
"Old man, please remember, I have made the following deployment adjustments: the 686th Regiment sent a battalion to bite the rear of the Japanese army and drive them towards Laoye Temple. The division's mortar battalion and the main force of the 686th Regiment moved towards Caijiayu, and joined forces with the 687th Regiment.
The regiment attacked the Japanese supply troops from the front and rear, killing and injuring the enemy's effective forces as much as possible."
The middle-aged man took a deep breath and formed a temporary plan in his mind: "The 685th Regiment stopped attacking and switched to defense on the spot, with the first goal of killing Japanese troops. That's all."
"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away." The chief of staff nodded, immediately turned around and left, conveying combat orders to various units and making adjustments.
As for what to do with the more than 600 Japanese troops who went to the Laoye Temple Highlands, he did not ask.
because……
There's a trap there.
A trap set early and waiting for prey to come.
"It's dawn, and the Japanese planes are coming." The middle-aged man stared at the rising sun in the distance, and said slowly with a trace of worry in his eyes.