While the bayonet battalion broke through the Shimen city defense, the defense line of the 26th Artillery Regiment on the Niangziguan front line had been completely breached.
It went much smoother than expected. After Zhang Ruhao led more than 400 troops to annihilate a Japanese squad, except for detaching an infantry company to resist the attack of less than fifty Japanese troops from behind the artillery position, no Japanese troops were found on the two flanks.
figure. Where is the Japanese infantry brigade shown in the early investigation?
At first, Zhang Ruhao was suspicious, thinking that the Japanese army was playing some trick. Could it be that this was not their main line of defense, but a second line of defense? But with the rapid follow-up, all the infantry battalions of the 771st Regiment were
After entering the defense line, he saw no large numbers of Japanese troops committing a counterattack, so he was completely relieved.
By this time, no matter what tricks the Japanese army played, the nearly 1,000 troops that were already within 500 meters of the Japanese artillery position and the more than 1,000 troops that were approaching were not something that the Japanese army could defeat in a short period of time.
In the distant dawn, the somewhat hectic roars and scurrying figures of the awakened Japanese soldiers proved that they were far more panicked than they imagined.
In these ten minutes, the Japanese field artillery did not fire, but as a cannon, its effective range is up to 10,000 meters. However, for targets that are very close...
The awesome cannon is simply weak at the moment. I'm afraid you have to call "Dad" when you see the mortar. In addition to exploding more than a dozen clouds of black smoke more than a thousand meters away, it is very difficult for the assault force to advance.
The 771st Regiment and the 386th Brigade Headquarters were not damaged at all. Bayonet fighting is obviously not the strong point of these modern artillery of the Japanese army.
Fierce gunfire also rang out from the mountains on both sides of the breach of the highway where Zhang Ruhao was. It was obviously the death camp and the Panshi Battalion launching an attack. The sound of muzzle and continuous explosions were unique to the 82 mortar shells.
The sound showed that they had the absolute upper hand.
Without waiting for the future general to arrive, Zhang Ruhao ordered all the blue officers and soldiers disguised as Japanese soldiers to take off their yellow military uniforms and wear only white shirts and red ribbons around their necks.
This is to prevent accidental damage. On such a battlefield with poor visibility, everyone is highly nervous and will shoot subconsciously whenever they see someone who is not in uniform of their own. Not to mention the upcoming melee, it is the one who just broke through the gap.
At one point, a guard battalion soldier became nervous and fired bullets at the Blue Army 1st Company soldiers who wanted to jump out of the trenches just like the Japanese in terms of military uniforms and tactical movements. If the soldier hadn't reacted quickly, he quickly got back into the trenches and shouted loudly.
Reminder, he almost died at the hands of his own family.
At this time, when we are fighting hand to hand, you die or I live, so naturally there is no need to hide it anymore.
In addition to leaving an infantry platoon and two heavy machine guns to guard the fortifications on both sides of the road, Zhang Ruhao gathered two infantry companies of the Blue Army, the first company of the 129th Division Guard Battalion, and the first battalion of the 771st Regiment. They were divided into three lines and charged towards the Japanese artillery position.
Their combat mission this time was not only to raid the Japanese artillery positions, but more importantly, to seize these cannons and not to allow the Japanese army time to blow up the cannons.
...
From the moment he heard the gunfire in the distance and received the news that the front position was attacked by the Chinese army, Takagi Yoshito's head grew bigger.
When is it difficult for the Chinese to come, but they chose this time? If it were before yesterday, he really wouldn't be so afraid. However, at this time, the Japanese Army Major General was really afraid.
Just as Zhang Ruhao was once surprised, there were too few Japanese troops defending the outer positions of the Japanese 26th Artillery Regiment. To be precise, they were pitifully few.
Originally, Yoshito Takagi attached great importance to the safety of the 26th Artillery Regiment. In addition to the existing infantry guard squadron of the 26th Artillery Regiment, he also placed his brigade headquarters in the 26th Artillery Regiment.
Near the team, an infantry brigade from the 78th Infantry Regiment was also mobilized to protect the perimeter of the artillery position.
Not only was the opponent an independent regiment, but the heavy artillery battalion of the Eighth Division was raided a few years ago and the lessons learned before him, Yoshito Takagi was already cautious enough.
In addition to 36 field guns, the 26th Artillery Regiment also has 12 105 howitzers. They are all big guys. Moreover, the Japanese artillerymen abide by the artillery regulations. The straight-line distance between each gun is 40 to 50 meters away. If all 48 guns are
When placed like this, it can cover an area of several hundred acres. Moreover, it is still on flat land.
In mountains like Niangziguan, there is not much flat land, and the area where these 48 cannons are placed exceeds 2,000 acres. In other words, the area where the cannons of the entire 26th Artillery Regiment are placed is very large.
It is by no means smaller than the campus area of a later comprehensive university.
To defend such a large-area position, let alone an infantry brigade, even an infantry regiment cannot defend the entire position tightly.
Of course, because this is a mountainous area, the Japanese army adapted measures to local conditions. They mainly used points to lead areas. Four points were established in the southeast, northwest, and other locations. The remaining locations were either cliffs, ravines, or dense forests, but they were basically within the range of his firepower.
Barbed wire fences, patrols, and military dogs can also basically ensure the safety of the defense area.
There are few people, so you may have a chance to sneak in, but it's of no use. Even the elite special operations team can't face thousands of Japanese troops and quietly blow up cannons and then get away with it. They can't
Sun Wukong, who resists the fire of Taishang Laojun Dan, has too many bullets and cannot dodge.
There are so many people that it is difficult to survive in the face of such fortifications. If they want to get through, they can only attack the defense line with more than a thousand defensive troops. For the Japanese army, they believe that an infantry brigade is strong enough to fight in the field.
A Chinese brigade can match it, especially when they are still on the defensive side. With the assistance of field artillery, even if the Chinese dispatch a division, they may not be able to capture it in a short time.
The other two infantry regiments are only eight kilometers away from here, and it will take at most an hour and a half for the entire army to return and support them and defeat the incoming army in one fell swoop.
In fact, Takagi Yoshito is not blind in thinking this way. In the future Battle of Guanjianao, with complete defenses, more than 500 people from the Okazaki detachment were able to block the non-stop attacks of thousands of red soldiers for two days and nights. Although in the end,
There were heavy casualties, but they were not completely wiped out and more than a hundred people escaped.
If Liu Lang had not used Zhang Ruhao to lead the Blue Army troops to deceive the Japanese defense zone and successfully break through in one fell swoop, even if the entire independent regiment attacked, the casualties would have been heavy.
However, the current defensive force is not the force previously deployed by Takagi Yoshito, not even half of it.
As the war progressed, the 39th Infantry Brigade's battle on the Niangziguan front line has been at a standstill. The 48 cannons roared non-stop almost every day. The position that had been raging for several days was almost barren of grass, and the entire mountain was blasted bald.
But the Chinese in their position on the hill opposite were as if they were made of iron. As long as the infantry rushed over, they would come out of the trenches and shoot.
Repeatedly, although the Chinese must have suffered heavy casualties, the two infantry regiments also suffered considerable damage. The 77th Infantry Regiment on the Jiuguan front line had all three infantry brigades dispatched, and the casualties exceeded 45%. After all,
The opponent is an independent regiment led by Colonel Beast, so let's not talk about it.
However, the 78th Regiment at the main position of Niangziguan fought until yesterday and lost more than 700 people, accounting for 30% of the two infantry brigades. The 78th Infantry Regiment's Colonel Kobayashi Tsuneichi resigned and has been strongly committed to
The brigade headquarters requested that another of his infantry brigade be transferred back to participate in the war.
This had been going on for quite some time, and considering that the Chinese were all blocked in the position and being beaten, they never had the guts to send troops to attack in a roundabout way. Takagi Yoshito finally agreed yesterday afternoon, and used the cover of darkness to quietly attack the enemy in the evening.
The infantry brigade was transferred back to the Niangziguan front line, but for safety reasons, he still kept an infantry squadron.
Including the security squadron of the 26th Artillery Regiment, there are a total of 6 squads, 4 squads are placed on the periphery, each squad is responsible for the defense of one side. There are still two squads, one squad is responsible for the defense of the brigade and regiment, and the other is responsible for the 26th squadron.
Wing headquarters defense.
Because it was a quiet troop mobilization last night, the special operations team responsible for clearing Japanese patrols along the way did not pay attention. The Japanese army inadvertently performed a successful "tactical deception". Unfortunately, this tactical deception did not scare anyone, and attracted
On the contrary, there were more enemies. Otherwise, Liu Lang would not necessarily have sent a regiment, a battalion, and a security company to beat them. That would be too much for the two squadrons of little devils.
To put it bluntly, Major General Takagi's biggest problem right now is that the Chinese are coming, but he only has 400 infantrymen. Not to mention the more than 2,000 artillerymen of the 26th Artillery Regiment. One regiment can only have hundreds of guns.
, and most of them are Southern Fourteen pistols. Is that thing useful?
Facing Colonel Hosokawa Tadayasu who was running over in a hurry, Takagi Yoshito jumped up from the camp bed and issued three military orders as quickly as possible: "Report to the division headquarters that our army is under attack, report to the 77th Regiment and the 78th Regiment
The brigade asked for reinforcements and ordered each of them to dispatch an infantry brigade to return to the brigade headquarters and order two infantry squads to reinforce the peripheral troops. All artillery units that could not fire were reorganized into infantry squads to reinforce the peripheral troops. The remaining artillery troops were prepared to retreat to the direction of Jiuguan.
If it is impossible to tow away the cannon and blow it up immediately when the war is unfavorable, it must not be left to the Chinese. The personnel of the brigade and regiment headquarters and the 26th Regiment Headquarters are ready to evacuate at any time."
Although his head was big, as an infantry major general, Takagi Yoshito had remained calm enough to call for help, arrange defenses, and even think of the worst outcome.
However, he still didn't expect that the Chinese were much stronger than he thought, and they could break through the defensive positions much faster than he did.
Almost as soon as the messengers left, news came that the Chinese in front had broken through their positions.
Even without notification from the signal corps, the rapid firing of gunfire had already made the Japanese major general and Japanese colonel look ashen.