However, this plan is relatively dangerous, and there are many uncontrollable factors.
The biggest danger is that the Japanese army is not a brigade or a regiment, but an entire division with nearly 20,000 troops deployed around. Once the raiding force is bitten by the Japs, other Japs will inevitably surround them from all directions.
No matter if you are a strong martial artist or an unparalleled soldier, the chances of you evacuating safely are much lower.
Zhou Wen didn't put much thought into his choice, he just adopted the easy method first and then the difficult one.
If the Japanese artillery positions could be destroyed in the safest way, who would be so stupid as to take the risk?
Moreover, the purpose of purchasing German-made howitzers before the Great Wall War was because of the accuracy and range of this artillery. Its main function was to counter Japanese heavy artillery.
Zhou Wen would only consider leading a small team to raid Japanese artillery when artillery suppression failed.
Some people would say that a few 150mm heavy artillery pieces of the Japanese army scared Zhou Wen, who had modern tactical thinking, into this state. As for that?
Let me explain here that it is precisely because Zhou Wen has the knowledge and experience of later generations that he can better understand the threats posed by the role of large-caliber heavy artillery in battle.
In the current era when aircraft bombing is not very accurate, the role of artillery is irreplaceable, which is why the course of the war often depends on the number of artillery.
In all history books, any description of a battle in World War II will always first mention the number of aircraft, tanks and artillery on both sides.
Because the quantity of these weapons basically determines the outcome of a battle.
Of course there are examples of using less to win more, but they are in the minority after all.
There was once an unofficial statistic that more than 60% of casualties on the battlefields of World War II were caused by artillery.
For example, you will know why artillery is the god of war.
After a 155mm howitzer shell falls, no one on the ground as large as half a football field can survive. They will either be killed by the explosion or shocked to death by the shock wave. Unless you squat in a shell-proof hole.
Spared.
On the Soviet-German battlefield, when a German battalion was retreating to rest, a 203mm artillery shell fell in the middle of the battalion. Afterwards, the battalion was directly deactivated, because hundreds of people were either killed or injured, and they were completely lost.
combat effectiveness.
All the power of the artillery will ultimately be transmitted to the warhead. The weight and speed of the warhead hitting the target are the ultimate expression of power: speed determines the penetration, and weight reflects the destructive power of the explosion.
If the Japanese army had a 150 mm caliber heavy artillery, the shells alone would weigh nearly 40 kilograms. If they fell on any of the fortifications and bunkers built by the Phoenix Mountain Model Brigade, even if these fortifications had been graduated according to the engineering experts of the mercenary regiment,
Lin Ling, who works at the Engineering Corps Command Department of the Kuibyshev Military Engineering Academy of the Soviet Union, designed multi-layered logs/covered soil and even steel plate fortifications based on currently available materials. The 150mm caliber artillery shells dropped by the Japanese army also had enough penetration.
Use force to penetrate the fortifications to a certain depth, and then allow enough explosives to detonate where they should be.
In other words, currently on Phoenix Mountain, any fortifications on the front and top of the cannonball impact range are in danger of being destroyed, and as long as they are hit by these Japanese heavy artillery, there will be no grass within a few dozen meters.
Only tunnels built on reverse slopes are relatively safer.
However, if the two sides enter the battle for anti-slope fortifications, it means that the Japanese army has occupied all the mountaintop positions.
Speaking of anti-incline tunnel tactics, we have to mention the Battle of Shangganling in the Korean War that occurred more than ten years later, which was incorporated into classic tactics by military academies of various countries in later generations.
At that time, our young republican army used reverse slope tunnel tactics to defeat the American soldiers who had an absolute advantage in aircraft and artillery.
In the Battle of Shangganling, the two highlands guarded by the volunteers were about 2.7 kilometers long, but they were rained down with artillery shells and bombs by more than 300 heavy artillery pieces and hundreds of aircraft from the American soldiers.
Among them, the largest number of artillery shells dropped in a day was more than 300,000 rounds, the maximum number of aircraft dispatched on that day was 250 sorties, and a total of more than 500 500 kilogram bombs and napalm bombs were dropped on the ground.
The amount and frequency of this kind of artillery shells dropped were very large, far exceeding any battle during the entire World War II. Even at that time, the Soviet Union's attack on Berlin and Germany's attack on Stalingrad did not reach the firepower density in the Battle of Shangganling.
Under such fierce firepower, the mountains in our military area were blown down two meters, but our volunteers still did not give up the territory in the end. The surface positions were blown away, so we resisted in the tunnels.
During the day, the top of the mountain was occupied by the enemy.
At night, we rushed out of the reverse slope tunnel and recaptured the position.
This is the essence of backslope tactics.
However, the terrain of Fenghuang Mountain and the layout of the Great Wall defense line determine that the Lengkou offensive and defensive battle is not just a battlefield in Fenghuang Mountain. Once the Japanese army captures the Lengkou Pass on the top of Fenghuang Mountain, they can completely send their troops to the east and west along the Great Wall.
The direction was expanded, and the troops were divided to attack the 139th Division stationed in Cherry Orchard and Baili Mountain in a roundabout way.
The 139th Division only has a strength of more than 5,000 men, and its equipment and weapons are even more primitive. Moreover, it is impossible to build any defensive positions on the side of the friendly forces. How can it withstand the Japanese army's two-sided attack? It is only a matter of time before these two important highlands are missed.
If this is the case, then the anti-slope tactics of the Model Brigade will become a war-fearing behavior to preserve strength.
Therefore, the ridgeline on the front of Phoenix Mountain and the position on the top of the mountain must be defended.
The tactic adopted by Zhou Wen was that during the Japanese artillery bombardment, most of the defensive forces retreated into the anti-slope fortifications to avoid the Japanese artillery bombardment. When the Japanese infantry attacked, the troops quickly entered the hilltop position for defense.
This tactic requires a considerable number of observation posts, and they have to brave enemy artillery fire and stay on the mountain top to observe the movements of the Japanese infantry. The survival chances of these soldiers who serve as observation posts can only depend on luck.
Because even an observation bunker built according to the standards of the strongest fortifications cannot withstand the bombardment of 150mm artillery shells. Not to mention the bunker's endurance, even the strong vibrations generated during the explosion will shake the lives of those in the bunker.
die.
If this threat is not eliminated, how many more people will die in the Model Brigade holding the Lengkou position?
Not to mention the officers and soldiers of the 139th Division who were guarding the positions of Cherry Orchard and Baili Mountain with simpler fortifications.
The defensive battle at Lengkou Pass is a defensive whole formed by countless passes and highlands. If any point is broken through, it means the failure of the defensive battle. This is the current status of the entire Great Wall defense line, and it cannot be changed by Zhou Wen alone.
However, what Zhou Wen can change is to let these heroes who used their flesh and blood to perform the tragic and tragic Battle of Lengkou in history have fewer people die and let the Japanese die more.
Although I cannot change the course of the war, I can change the course of the battle.