Chapter 147 Wu Ziqiang almost cried after being beaten
The 1st Battalion of the Harada Battalion Mountain Artillery advanced rapidly. They had already measured the relevant data and found a suitable location.
Now, taking advantage of the cover of night, they arrived at the designated area and quickly built a mountain artillery position.
One by one, the Type 94 mountain cannons began to be assembled, and not long after, the black muzzle was aimed at the Suohe Town area.
The 13th Independent Infantry Regiment is the first infantry brigade with the strongest combat effectiveness. The attached regiment is directly under the artillery brigade.
Otherwise, more than 1,800 troops would quickly make a detour towards the north of Suohe Town.
When attacking, the Lunar Army troops are very good at launching breakthrough attacks from the flanks, which is their usual combat method.
Usually attacking troops on the flanks have a strong overall combat effectiveness and are often reinforced with heavy weapons, thereby enhancing their breakthrough capabilities.
Colonel Harada did not repeat his old tricks this time. He not only dispatched the strongest First Battalion under his command to undertake the flank attack mission.
At the same time, all twelve Type 41 mountain guns directly under the regiment were assigned to the first brigade for combat.
The Type 41 mountain cannon was developed more than thirty years ago, but apart from its range, its performance in other aspects is not very good.
In particular, the mountain cannon is very light and can effectively follow the infantry in attacking operations.
The more than 1,000 troops attacked from the flank. They had to cross the high ground and attack Chen Ziyun's troops by surprise.
At the same time, in addition to the twelve Type 94 mountain guns on the front, there are two infantry brigades of the 13th Independent Infantry Regiment.
The Second Battalion and the Third Battalion are responsible for launching attacks from the front to attract and contain the Jinsui Army and effectively cover the movements of flanking troops.
Colonel Harada sent the engineering brigade to be directly responsible for the position security of the Mountain Artillery First Battalion, while he went to the Jinshan Detachment Headquarters to conduct unified command of the operations.
The roundabout troops on the north side advanced rapidly, and more than a thousand troops quickly arrived in the area north of Suohe Town.
The packhorses transported the spare parts of the Type 41 mountain gun, while the infantrymen carried various weapons and equipment.
The infantry major captain used the dim moonlight to check the map. They locked the location of Yangpo Village, began to browse the highlands, and advanced towards the highlands of Yangpo Village.
It was at that time that the main force of the 13th Independent Infantry Regiment, which was attacking frontally, had already begun to contact the guards and cavalry companies.
The two troops were arranged by Chen Ziyun in the northwest area to the north of the battlefield. They paid close attention to the movements of the Moon Army.
Of course, after Chen Ziyun received Zhang Wu's report, he directly begged them to quickly evacuate north after being attacked by the Moon Army and wait for follow-up combat orders.
At half past nine, the Moon Army assembled eight infantry squadrons, two machine gun squadrons, and two artillery squadrons to launch a fierce attack.
Four infantry guns continued to bombard, and twenty-four Type 92 heavy machine guns launched burst fire one after another.
More than a thousand infantrymen quickly advanced towards the position. The guard company and cavalry company resisted briefly, and then quickly executed the order and moved towards the north.
The two major captains who commanded the battle did not expect that the Shanxi-Sui army in front of them would be defeated so quickly, and they were very surprised.
Not daring to delay, the two people immediately contacted the detachment headquarters via radio and asked if they wanted to launch a pursuit.
After Colonel Harada received the report from the front line, he pondered for a moment and directly asked the troops to continue the attack on Sosuohe Town.
As for the troops evacuating towards the north, Colonel Harada ignored them.
He felt that the more than 400 Jinsui Army, even if they retained the main force, would not have much influence on his troops.
What's more, he can arrange for the withdrawal of frontline troops at any time to ensure the absolute safety of artillery positions and detachment headquarters.
The most important thing is that beside them, there are more than 2,000 people from the Sato detachment.
Although Lieutenant Colonel Sato was wrong that Colonel Harada did not support some of his ideas, if there was a crisis on the Harada detachment, they would definitely rush to help quickly.
"Have you seen that the Jinsui Army is completely vulnerable to them? The warriors of the empire, rush to Suohe Town and take over all the positions in the east."
"Let the Jinsui Army know how powerful their 26th Division is. In that battle, they wanted to completely annihilate all the Jinsui Army troops in the Suohe Town area."
"It is up to them to annihilate the invincible Jinsui Army of the First Army. Their 26th Division will be the strongest imperial force in Jin Province!"
"Warriors of the empire, kill them all!"
The two major captains of the 2nd Brigade and the 3rd Brigade of the East Branch of the 13th Independent Infantry Regiment were as if they had been beaten to death.
They drew their sabers and roared loudly.
The little devils heard the battle order from their captain, and they quickly advanced towards Suohe Town to attack.
The 13th Independent Infantry Regiment, from the commander of the regiment, Colonel Harada, to the lowest level second lieutenant squad leader, all knew that this battle was a rare opportunity.
They all want to gain military exploits to improve their positions.
Colonel Harada has served as the commander of the regiment for a long time, and the commander of the 26th Division, Kuroda Shigenori, did not want to promote him.
And he asked whether he could be transferred out, because many officers in the 13th Independent Infantry Regiment had opportunities for promotion.
So those officers all wanted to perform, and they fought extremely recklessly.
Especially after easily defeating the guard company and cavalry company, those little devils felt that the so-called elite of the Shanxi-Sui Army was not like this.
They felt that if they launched an all-out attack, they would surely be able to capture Dongsuohe Town and completely annihilate the Shanxi-Sui Army troops there.
By ten o'clock, the Type 94 mountain artillery pieces had begun to fire fiercely in the Suohe Town area.
Twelve Type 94 mountain cannons were first concentrated on bombarding Suohe Town, and a large number of shells continued to be fired there.
Immediately afterwards, they began to shell Yangpo Village and Xihui Village respectively.
Fifteen minutes later, the Moon Army's mountain artillery began an extended bombardment.
The two infantry brigades of the Little Devils have been advancing rapidly with the help of artillery cover.
Did Osaka Harada draw up relevant combat plans in the early morning, so did the Yue army have a complete combat plan?
The second brigade all stormed Suohe Town, preparing to seize it as a base to cooperate with the troops on the north side in attacking the highlands of Yangpo Village.
The troops of the third brigade were divided into two groups. They went to Yangpo Village and Xihui Village respectively to conduct diversionary attacks and cover the operations of the second brigade.
An expert will know if there is one as soon as he shows his legs.
Can Colonel Harada of the Harada detachment serve as the captain of the combat unit for a long time?
Whether he has more actual combat experience, his commanding ability is obviously not comparable to that of Lieutenant Colonel Sato, who has been a staff officer at the military headquarters for a long time.
There are reinforced troops on the north side of the Moon Army that are secretly advancing, preparing to attack from the flanks.
The two brigades on the front have a clear division of labor. They support the artillery in the east and quickly advance to the position.
At about 10:20, fierce gunfire began to ring out in Suohe Town.
The four infantry squadrons of the second group launched a wave-like tactical charge. Behind them were infantry artillery and heavy machine guns to provide cover for them.
The two infantry artillery pieces of the Moon Army launched a mobile bombardment, and then moved away after the attack, using the cover of night to hide their whereabouts.
As for the Type 92 heavy machine gun, solid bunkers and communication trenches should be built so that it can be transferred at any time.
I have to say that the little devil is quite rigid to a certain extent.
As for whether the pursuit of accuracy is too high, although the Type 92 heavy machine gun is not an air-cooled heavy machine gun, its total weight is about 110 kilograms.
I would like to know if the water-cooled Type 24 heavy machine gun currently commonly equipped by the Central Army weighs about one hundred kilograms.
Therefore, it is not very convenient to move the heavy machine guns of the Moon Army, and it usually requires a lot of people to serve them.
Of course, that heavy machine gun also has its advantages, the hit rate is super high.
Especially if the Moon Army shoots and controls the enemy, it will be locked by them, and it is almost impossible to bite the flesh with the gun.
"Capture Suohe Town quickly without wasting too much time there."
"Light machine guns and grenade launchers kept suppressing their fire."
"Special-class leg shooters don't charge, but look for a favorable position to shoot."
"Please be careful with the heavy machine guns and be careful not to be shot down by their artillery."
The Major Captain of the Second Battalion was personally commanding from behind. With a calm expression on his face, he kept giving battle orders.
A large number of little devils kept advancing towards Suohe Town, and the closest one to Suohe Town was already less than a hundred meters away.
Currently stationed in Suohe Town are two infantry companies from the 5th Battalion of Wu Ziqiang Independent Infantry. Their total strength is currently about 300 people.
After the two company commanders discovered that a large number of Japs were attacking, they immediately organized their troops to launch a defense.
However, Fusuohe Town came under concentrated artillery fire from the Yue Army's mountain artillery. The positions were blown up and communication between the platoons was also interrupted.
And whether the Moon Army was fully prepared, each squadron of light machine guns had just started firing.
The Moon Army's light and heavy machine gun grenade launchers immediately suppressed the attack, and dense bullets and grenades were fired accurately.
The Japs had four infantry squadrons, dozens of light and heavy machine guns, and dozens of grenade launchers, giving them a complete advantage.
With two infantry companies armed with more than a dozen light machine guns, it was obviously not feasible to suppress the attack of the second group.
Especially the Yangpo Village Highlands and Xihui Village Highlands, which could have provided them with fire support, were attacked by the Third Battalion.
Naturally, those two highlands could not effectively support the Suohe Town operations, which caused the Suohe Town garrison to be under greater pressure.
In fact, although Wu Ziqiang and Shi Yu framed the two infantry battalions in the battle, they achieved results, but otherwise they could not fight smoothly.
During the battle, they did not encounter too strong attacks from the Moon Army.
And if the core of Sato detachment can be independently mixed into the third brigade, it is a defensive brigade, and the overall combat effectiveness is not too strong.
The situation of the Harada detachment is completely different. They are organized with the 13th Eastern Independent Infantry Regiment of the 26th Division as the core.
The 26th Division is one of the earliest three-armed field divisions organized by the Moon Army. They have rich combat experience.
When the battle progressed to 10:35, there were not only Lunar troops on the front of Suohe Town, but also Lunar troops on both sides.
The two infantry companies rely on the positions built in advance for defense. Can they face the suppression of the Lunar Army? They have already suffered dozens of casualties.
As people continued to die in battle, people continued to fall to the ground, looking for help with pain on their faces.
Will it cause a fatal blow to the morale of the troops that have just been formed?
Some of the new recruits who were able to shoot steadily suddenly became panicked.
They fired randomly, not knowing whether they could hit the target, and simply pulled the bolt of the gun repeatedly to fire.
After firing five rounds of ammunition, they hid in the bunker and reloaded shivering.
Of course, some of the new recruits were directly exposed when they were shooting randomly, and were directly attacked by the Moon Army, and died directly.
"Xin Bingdao Xuan, what does that mean? I think back when I was in Xinkou, I made more mistakes than hundreds of little devils."
"The high ground on both sides of them didn't lose their legs, but the artillery behind them didn't fire. How scared are they?"
"Each class of new recruits is responsible for loading bullets. Don't let them shoot randomly. That will make them die faster and waste ammunition."
"The veterans requested to start shooting, and each squadron's light machine guns prepared to fire concentrated fire. After the shooting was completed, they moved away and did not ask to stay on the spot."
"Commander Chen has never lost a battle since he commanded the troops. Other troops are in trouble. We can't start that way!"
"We have all heard that Commander Chen paid for the compensation for the fallen brothers out of his own pocket!"
"That alone makes it worthwhile for our brothers to work for Commander Chen!"
A platoon leader held a shell gun. He glanced to the left and right and shouted loudly.
"Platoon commander, I didn't say anything. We are here at the position. They will never make a mistake and will not embarrass Commander Chen."
"It's a blessing for them to be able to fight under Commander Chen's command."
"Hahaha, I've already killed three little Japs. I've already done my job. Even if I die there, there won't be any fuss."
"Commander Chen will not treat his fallen brothers badly. It may not be a bad thing to die there!"
The soldiers answered one after another and said that they began to fight with all their strength and would not retreat until they died.
The two company commanders who commanded the operations in Suohe Town made phone calls one after another, hoping to receive support.
After the phone line was blown up, they did not hesitate and went directly to the front line to direct the operation.
They know that now they have no other choice but to defend Suohe Town.
The Harada Battalion's frontal attack was very fierce, especially at Fosuohe Town, where the Second Battalion continued its attack.
The two infantry companies of the 5th Battalion of the Independent Infantry have suffered nearly a hundred casualties, but they are still holding on to their positions.
That troop gradually gained some morale.
In particular, the officers and soldiers had one thought: they must not lose their position, they must not lose the battle, and they must not embarrass Chen Ziyun!
"Commander, their battalion has suffered more than a hundred casualties, and Suohe Town has lost contact."
"Even if we can't send them reinforcements, can we give them some artillery support?"
"If Suohe Town falls, a large number of Japs attack Yangpo Village from the flanks. They will definitely fall."
"Commander Chen, for the sake of the brigade, can you give them some artillery support?"
At this time, at Chen Ziyun's headquarters, Chen Ziyun was holding a microphone with a solemn expression on his face.
The anxious voice of Wu Ziqiang, commander of the 5th Independent Infantry Battalion, came through the microphone. At this time, their battalion was under greater pressure.
On the high ground of Yangpo Village, they were directly attacked by two infantry squadrons of the Third Battalion, six heavy machine guns, and one infantry cannon.
In addition, at the far-off Moon Army artillery position, there were Type 94 mountain artillery, which carried out shelling from time to time to provide support.
Wu Ziqiang was beaten so hard that he almost cried. The combat strength of the 800-man army has now been reduced sharply to more than 600 people.
Could it be that Chen Ziyun never made any response or provided the slightest support.
