The day on the main battlefield of Jiuguan was actually very boring.
Although the Japanese artillery fire was still fierce, and aircraft and artillery took turns taking turns, after three days of hard fighting, the officers and soldiers of the 772nd Regiment became familiar with the Japanese army's routines and became more and more comfortable in dealing with them. As soon as the Japanese army retreated, they would immediately withdraw the main infantry force.
After leaving the position and entering the tunnel behind the mountain, there was first an infantry platoon left on the position, then an infantry squad, and then, just like the independent regiment, only four observation posts were left.
They are also growing, growing up under the fierce fire of the Japanese invaders.
No matter how powerful the howitzer is, it cannot threaten the slope behind the hillside. The Japanese aircraft in the sky have not gained much advantage in several battles with the independent regiment's three triangular anti-aircraft positions, and they dare not easily drop to the ground.
At an altitude of less than 1,000 meters, at that altitude, even if you want to drop a bomb into the tunnel behind the hillside, the accuracy will be almost negligible.
The hillside was blown into a sea of flames, but not a single powerful aerial bomb that could really threaten the tunnel was hit.
In this mountain defense battle, once the threat of aircraft and artillery was lost, the Japanese army would be unlucky. Although Liu Lang did not provide personnel support to the two wings, he used the night to quietly gather the fire squad with 60 mortars each.
Six small-caliber mortars were sent, that is, all six fire squads.
The 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment is the main battalion with 3 infantry companies and 2 firepower platoons. The 9 infantry platoons have 9 firepower squads. Liu Tuanzuo has provided more than half of the platoon-level firepower support.
The addition of these 12 60-caliber mortars to the left and right wing positions was a complete disaster for the Japanese army. The mortar positions hidden behind the mountains in the blind spots of the Japanese artillery fire had almost no blind spots for the Japanese troops at the front of the positions. No matter it was
The infantry is still the focus of light and heavy machine gun firepower and even grenadiers. Small-caliber mortars with a longest range of 1,500 meters and a nearest range of 40 meters can completely cover the entire battlefield.
There are soldiers with tenacious willpower and superb shooting skills on the position who are guarding the position. If you can't get in, just lie down and take a breath! Seven or eight mortar shells are pounding down every second, and the machine gun firepower points are constantly engaging in mobile warfare.
It is said that mortars also beat infantry. Anyone who attacks vigorously will basically be attacked by mortars.
At the end of the battle, the Japanese army also learned to be smart. If you want the Chinese mortars to not patronize you, then be more honest, attack slower, and let those brave warriors consume the Chinese artillery shells!
It can be said that during the two days when the Japanese offensive slowed down, not many Japanese soldiers were killed by bullets, but those killed by mortars accounted for 80% of the total casualties of the Japanese army. Even Liu Lang endured
I can't help but sigh, no wonder Japanese military history experts still called the mortar an artifact of the Chinese army for many years after the war. Although the structure is extremely simple, it is extremely practical.
However, the consumption is also staggering.
The Independent Regiment came to Shandong this time well-prepared. Only the Independent Regiment carried a heavy supply company and transported nearly 2,000 mountain cannon shells. Each of the six Bofors mountain cannons could fire more than 300 shells on average.
The independent regiment is mainly equipped with two calibers: 82 mortars and 60 mortars. The 60 mortars have more equipment and a full 5,000 shells are transported, ensuring that each gun can shoot more than 100 shells.
However, in these four days alone, the 20 60mm mortars equipped by the First Battalion of the Independent Regiment fired 2,200 mortars. On average, each gun fired madly at more than 110 mortars at the Japanese army. This is definitely an extremely terrifying number.
This means that every day, the Japanese army in front of the position withstands artillery fire from the Chinese army, plus the shells fired by 82-caliber mortars, can reach more than 700.
Although the Japanese army shelled the entire Jiuguan front line at least three times a day on average, 12 howitzers plus 12 field guns plus 3 mountain guns from the 77th Infantry Regiment and 5 infantry guns salvaged from the battlefield were still
The total number of shells fired by the 57mm tank gun fired by the tank brigade, which had only dared to hide 1,000 meters away as a fixed battery, was far more than 700 rounds.
According to statistics from artillery observers, the Japanese army dumped no less than 2,000 artillery shells of various types on the Jiuguan front line every day.
However, the Independent Regiment and the 772nd Regiment were protected by trenches as deep as 1.8 meters at last, and they could retreat to the reverse slope tunnel at any time. As for the Japanese army? The only thing that could provide them with cover was the natural rocks in the mountains.
And the crater caused by their howitzer, a small 3-kilogram shell can blow up people within five meters into a bloody sieve, and it can't be blocked no matter how hard it is blocked.
Although the caliber is much smaller than that of the Japanese artillery, the main type of artillery is curved artillery. Compared with the Japanese howitzers, mountain cannons, field guns, tank guns, etc., they are the younger brothers. However, the damage caused is no less than
The Japanese artillery was far superior in both power and quantity.
It can be said that Jiuguan is a meat grinder. Although the Independent Regiment and the 772nd Regiment suffered heavy casualties, the Japanese troops on the attacking side were even more miserable.
The number of enemy kills recorded by the Independent Regiment and the 772nd Regiment alone exceeded 800, not counting the wounded Japanese soldiers who were dragged back and those who were blown to pieces by artillery fire without leaving any residue behind that could not be counted.
Liu Lang estimated that the casualties of the 77th Infantry Regiment were at least 1,500. In fact, they were just at the end of their efforts.
However, Liu Lang was a little surprised by the Japanese army's logistical capabilities. The combat supplies and transportation capabilities prepared by the little Japanese during this period were far stronger than those described in war histories.
The Japanese army's baggage trucks transporting ammunition were in sight of the special forces team led by Cai Dadao, from Jingxing County to the station of its artillery regiment, day and night.
In Jingxing County, there were as many as five military trains transported from Shijiazhuang along the Zhengtai Line, with thousands of tons of various materials.
Two special teams, Niu Er and Cai Dadao, who were wandering in the Japanese-occupied areas, had asked Liu Lang for help several times. They wanted to start with the Japanese army's baggage troops. Even if they failed, they would destroy his transport convoy, so that the little devils would have to get supplies if they wanted to.
It can only be accomplished by deploying heavy troops to escort them, otherwise they will just be the prey of elite special forces lurking in the mountains and forests.
But Liu Lang rejected their request to fight. It is not the time for the special forces to be exposed yet. Their existence is like playing a game. They are responsible for lighting up the battlefields everywhere and becoming Liu Lang's eyes and ears, letting Liu Lang know the various aspects of the Japanese army.
The presence of garrison troops.
Instead of destroying some supplies, the Japanese commander sent a large number of elite teams to chase them all over the mountains. The Japanese army's current front line is not long enough, and their weak logistics can still support it. Even if part of it is destroyed, they are fully prepared for the invasion of North China.
The Japanese army will also quickly replenish supplies.
Moreover, it was not yet time for the decisive battle. The more painful the special forces team beat the kid, the more Liu Lang worried about beating the kid back. The purpose of the Independence Regiment and the 772 Regiment firmly blocking the old pass was to force the kid back.
The 20th Division, which was anxious to support Seishiro Itagaki's troops in the battle at Xinkou, sent its main force to make a detour, just like in the past in time and space, and then annihilated its main force. That was a stick that hit the snake seven inches in the face.
Unless a Japanese brigade on the right wing is killed, the 20th Division is a powerful force that the 100,000 troops on the eastern Shanxi front line dare not ignore. No matter how awesome the independent regiment is, it will not be able to swallow this piece of fat in one bite, and even
It's possible to chip your tooth.
The key to the entire Jindong campaign lies in whether the Japanese army can be buried in the big pit that has been waiting for several days.
Compared with that, the rest is not important. Even if it requires some sacrifices.
Although Liu Lang looked at the shocking casualty figures in the battle report late at night and asked himself, in five years, he had gradually grown into a qualified commander.
At least, he never again took the lead and carried a gun on the front line like in the Battle of the Great Wall. It was not that he became timid, but that he knew very well that the moment he left Guangyuan, his life did not belong to him or to others.
It belongs to my parents and my wife, but to the entire 4,000 officers and soldiers of the independent regiment.
If he dies, the combat effectiveness of the leaderless independent regiment will be reduced by at least 30%. Although Zhang Ruhao and Yu Xiancheng, the increasingly prestigious regimental officers, can control the troops, they cannot make the rebellious Zhao Ergou obey him like him, nor can they be like him.
He also made Zhou Shiyu, Ling Hong, Liu Dazhu and other infantry battalion commanders obey their orders. The decrease in combat effectiveness meant that more people would die.
A qualified commander must accept minimal casualties in exchange for greater victory.
It's cruel but realistic.
There is no pie in the sky, and there is no victory on the battlefield without losing a single soldier.
Only through sacrifice can we win.
On this day, I saw the Japanese troops on both sides of Jiuguan attack like a tide, and then retreat like a tide after not holding on for long. After two hours of repairs, they attacked again, and then retreated again.
It was very mechanical. For a day, the commanders on both sides could only watch the number of casualties on their side increase, but there was nothing they could do.
Both offense and defense must be carried out.
Under gunfire and bullets, death and injury are inevitable.
The Japanese troops who had been repairing Fululing for a day were not completely idle. Several valleys were filled with black smoke.
The Japanese army burned the remains of the Japanese soldiers who died in the battle from early in the morning until late at night. In the battle of Fululing, as many as a thousand Japanese soldiers were killed in the battle. They could not even load the trucks of their baggage squadron, so they had to be burned on the spot and then packed into
Urn.
Last month, Liangfu did not transport the urn back to Shijiazhuang. Instead, in front of the brigade soldiers, he hung the urn of a dead infantry squadron leader around his neck.
Taking his comrades to fight, Yoshio's move restored the morale that had suffered heavy losses in the bloody battle for several days and was somewhat depressed.
Thousands of Japanese soldiers hung the ashes of their close comrades around their necks, and they were once again highly motivated and ready to engage in tomorrow's military operations.
Undoubtedly, regardless of whether they are an invading army or not, they treat their comrades in life and death the same as Chinese soldiers.
In other words, this is also a very important cohesion of the army.
It must be said that the Japanese army also did an extremely good job in this regard.