It is in the western suburbs of Nantong, on a hill.
Chiaki Shigeto and Nobuyoshi Oda, wearing raincoats and accompanied by more than a dozen staff officers, were standing on the top of the mountain watching the battle.
Through the field of view of the telescope, it can be clearly seen that dozens of Japanese soldiers retreated from the ruins of the urban area. During the retreat, Japanese soldiers continued to fall. When these defeated soldiers returned to the attack position,
There were only a dozen people left, and with just one attack, a full squad was basically crippled.
Moreover, this kind of thing has happened many times before.
In just one morning, the Second Infantry Regiment lost at least six infantry squads.
"Bagagaru." Veins suddenly protruded on the back of Oda Nobuyoshi's hand. Looking at his posture, he almost crushed the telescope in his hand. Of course, he did not have such ability.
Chiaki Shigedo looked normal, at least not as angry as Oda Nobuyoshi.
It can be said that Shigeto Chiaki has been mentally prepared for the current situation. If you think about it, the remnants of the temporary 79th Division can easily break out of the encirclement of the 6th Infantry Regiment, and can attack and kill Fushimi Miya Toshihiko with hundreds of people.
, and can easily escape across the river when being pursued and intercepted by three infantry regiments, how can it be easy to deal with?
Precisely because he knew that the remnants of the temporary 79th Division would be difficult to deal with, Shigeto Chiaki formulated the strategy of driving the opponent out of the city and annihilating them in the open ground early in the morning. Unfortunately, the Chinese commander on the opposite side seemed to have seen through him.
As a result, the remnants of the temporary 79th Division were hiding in the ruins of the city without moving.
Now, it's a bit troublesome to drive the Chinese out of the city.
The Chinese people were unmoved by the intimidation and remained unmoved.
The Chinese still refused to follow this trick in luring the enemy and could not retreat.
Due to terrain restrictions, the force cannot deploy too many troops in the front, so only two infantry squadrons can be deployed at most at one time. This has become a fueling tactic. Who knows how much it will cost in the end and how long it will take to annihilate the temporary number seventy-nine.
Division Chiaki Shigeto conservatively estimated that it would take at least ten days and result in two to three thousand casualties.
But such a high price, especially such a long time, is unbearable for the Chongteng detachment.
"Kurogi-san." Shigeto Chiaki suddenly turned around and looked at the deputy chief of staff of the detachment, Kuroki Tsuyoshi, and asked in a deep voice, "When will the tank squadron that the headquarters promised to allocate arrive?"
Shan Shanyuan was quite interested and assigned a tank squadron to the Chongteng detachment.
Moreover, this tank squadron is no longer equipped with Type 94 cavalry armored vehicles, but Type 97 medium tanks.
The Type 97 medium tank is the latest equipment that has just been equipped with the Japanese army. In terms of firepower, protection and quality, it has been greatly improved compared to the Type 94 cavalry armored vehicle. Putting aside everything else, the Type 97 medium tank is equipped with 57 main
Cannons are simply deadly weapons in street fighting.
As long as the Type 97 medium tanks are in place, the good days of the Chinese people will be over.
"Hai." Kuroki bowed his head and replied, "Your Excellency, Commander, the Front Army Headquarters responded that the tank squadron and additional ammunition have been shipped out from Shanghai Hongkou Wharf, and it will take up to twenty hours to arrive.
"
Chief of Staff Mi Kikuchi stayed in the northern suburbs to supervise the 1st Infantry Regiment because she was worried about Funakoshi's unauthorized actions. So now, only Deputy Chief of Staff Tsuyoshi Kuroki remains with Chiaki Shigeto to provide military advice.
"Yo Xi." Chiaki Shigeto nodded happily. The biggest difficulty for the Japanese army at the moment is the lack of firepower. After the previous continuous offensive operations, the ammunition consumption of Shigeto detachment was serious. Up to now, the artillery team's shells have been almost exhausted, and the tank detachment has also been exhausted due to the continuous offensive operations.
The ammunition was exhausted, and the quantity was so small that it became almost a display.
However, Chiaki Shigeto believes that after tomorrow, when the ammunition and tank squadrons are replenished, the offensive of the Shigeto detachment will become completely different from today. Let’s see, facing the overwhelming artillery fire coverage and powerful armored vehicles of the Imperial Army, what will happen on the opposite side?
How long can our squadron last?
Dividing line
Xu Rui crouched behind a pile of rubble, holding up the 38 cap and aiming at a Japanese soldier who had already run a hundred meters away. Then he gently pulled the trigger. Hearing a gunshot, the Japanese soldier fell immediately.
Sharp's shot hit the head directly. The high-speed rotating bullet penetrated the helmet and turned the Japanese's brain into a ball of paste.
However, when Xu Rui raised his gun again and looked for the next target, he found that the remaining dozen or so Japanese soldiers had all jumped into the trenches and disappeared.
"You're lucky." Xu Rui snorted coldly. When he looked back, he saw the veteran and a dozen remnant soldiers holding the 38-meter cover and chasing forward relentlessly. In such a posture, they were ready to chase in one breath.
The little Japanese's attack position, but he didn't think about how many Japanese were gathered in the little Japanese's attack position.
"Okay, stop chasing." Xu Rui quickly stopped.
If they really pursued forward, not to mention chasing into the Japs' attack position, they would not be able to pass through the nearly 100-meter open area in front of them. In the ruins of the city, due to the terrain restrictions, the Japs' superiority in troops and firepower
There is no way to take advantage of it, but once they reach the open space outside, it is their home court.
Xu Ruicai is not that stupid and fights with the Japanese in the open areas outside the city.
Xu Rui had already spoken, and the dozen remaining soldiers had no choice but to retreat in dismay.
However, the veteran was still squatting in the ruins of a house that was bombed with only the foundation left more than ten meters away, refusing to come back.
"Soldier, what are you doing?" Xu Rui said, "You are dawdling like a bitch, come back quickly, the little devil may launch a retaliatory bombardment."
However, the veteran still refused to come back. Instead, he waved to Xu Rui and said, "Old Xu, come here."
"What are you doing?" Xu Rui frowned, but still followed the veteran's wishes and bent down to go up to the ruins.
"Look, are there a few Japs up there?" The veteran pointed at something in front of him and said in a deep voice.
Xu Rui looked in the direction of the veteran's finger, and sure enough he saw a hill several kilometers ahead. He had not seen it because of the ruins just now, but he could see clearly in the ruins where the veteran was hiding. He raised his telescope and
It became clearer when he saw that it was indeed a group of Japs, about a dozen in number.
At this point in time and at this place, this group of devils is obviously out of the ordinary.
Even if he is not an old devil like Shigeto Chiaki, he should at least be an old devil at the level of captain.
The old soldier said in a dark voice: "Old Xu, tell me, is this old devil Shigeto Chiaki over there?"
"It's hard to say." Xu Rui stuck out his tongue and licked his chapped lips. His expression at that moment was as ferocious as a predator after discovering its prey. He put down the telescope and stretched out his right thumb to measure the distance. He found that
The distance is about 2,500 meters, which is beyond the range of the rifle.
The veteran also said: "The 38-year-old cover will definitely not be hit. We can still try with mortars."
Xu Rui immediately turned around and waved: "Where's Da Zhuang? Go and call Da Zhuang over."
Regardless of whether the person on the mountain opposite is Chiaki Shigeto, an old devil, or someone else, let's do it first.
A remnant soldier rushed away excitedly. After a while, Niu Dazhuang hurried over holding his Japanese 81 mortar. Ever since he was able to shoot the cannon, he and the cannon were inseparable. They hugged each other when they slept at night. Brothers
Everyone laughed at him for using a cannon as his wife, but Niu Dazhuang said that his wife could not have the heart for a cannon.
Xu Rui pointed at the Japs on the hill in front of him and said, "Dazhuang, have you seen those Japs?"
Niu Dazhuang hummed, indicating that he had seen it, and then before Xu Rui could say anything, he continued: "At the camp, those Japs are 2,500 meters away and have exceeded the maximum range. I'm afraid they won't be able to hit them. If
If I can advance another five hundred meters, I will be confident that I can kill these Japs."
The maximum range of the Japanese 81 is 2000 meters.
The maximum range refers to the maximum effective range, not the limit distance of the cannonball flight.
In other words, the 81 light mortar's shells can hit farther, but there is no accuracy beyond 2,000 meters.
"You are just talking nonsense." The veteran said angrily, "If you push forward another five hundred meters, you will have already pushed to the enemy's attack position. You think the enemy is dead. Besides, the maximum range is not the ultimate range.
, it’s just that you can’t hit it accurately from two thousand meters away, but there is no problem if you hit it.”
Xu Rui also said: "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and shoot."
Niu Dazhuang said nothing more and quickly started to set up the cannon.
Dividing line
Two thousand five hundred meters away, on a hill.
The orderlies had already brought over the mounts of Shigeto Chiaki and Oda Nobuyoshi. The slope of this hill was gentle and could be climbed up and down by horse. Shigeto Chiaki was naturally unwilling to walk.
"Oda-san, let's get here first today." Chiaki Shigeto walked towards his mount and said, "The soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Regiment have worked hard. There is no need to attack again in the remaining few hours. Wait until tomorrow.
It won't be too late to attack after the squadron of tanks and artillery shells have arrived."
However, before Chiaki Shigeto could finish his words, a short and sharp scream of an artillery shell suddenly sounded.
Because Chiaki Shigeto was old, his reactions were no longer as fast as those of young people, so he was stunned and didn't respond. However, Tsuyoshi Kuroki, the deputy chief of staff of the Shigeto detachment, was a veteran who had participated in the 128th Shanghai Anti-Japanese War, and he immediately reacted.
With a roar, he rushed over and threw Chiaki Shigeto to the ground.
"Commander, be careful."
Kuroki just roared, followed immediately by a loud "boom".
The huge explosion almost shattered Shigedo Chiaki's eardrums, and even made him dizzy and unable to get up for a long time.
After a long while, Chiaki Shigeto finally came to his senses. He first struggled to push away Kuroki Tsuyoshi who was pressing on him, then stood up unsteadily with his saber in hand, then patted the dust off his head and body, and then
Wiping the mud and gunpowder smoke from his face, he heard a low groan in his ears.
Looking back, Shigeto Chiaki saw that his beloved war horse had fallen into a pool of blood.
"Baga, Baga Yalu" Shigeto Chiaki immediately had bloodshot eyes and cursed angrily, "Baga Yalu, Baga Yalu, Baga Yalu"