This time the artillery attack on the 39th Infantry Brigade once again set a new record for the amount of ammunition dropped in a single round on a local battlefield in North China!
The reason is that the clever little guy from the 21st Division ran so fast and hastily that many of the materials previously planned for blasting were still intact at various storage points. [.\nCOM Situ’s updated chapter is the most complete and comprehensive, without any
Wrong content is repaired in the most timely manner. Due to caching reasons, browser access is recommended. \nCOM official website]
Not to mention other ammunition, more than 3,000 shells used in the 41-type 75 mountain gun alone were seized by the Fourth Army Regiment!
Coupled with the storage of artillery shells previously captured from the artillery positions, the total number of mountain artillery shells reached a staggering 7,000!
For the artillery officers and soldiers of the Fourth Line Regiment who have captured 14 75mm mountain guns, what else do they have to worry about?
That was really from early morning to sunset. Each of the 14 captured mountain cannons fired an average of 300 rounds. We were not worried about the quality of the barrels or fearing that too much output would blow up the barrel. Maybe the 500 rounds allocated to each gun would be fired.
Got hit empty.
During the artillery bombardment that started at noon, the Fourth Army Regiment fired as many as 7,000 rounds of various types of artillery shells! More than half of them landed on the heads of the Japanese infantry.
This afternoon alone, more than 1,800 Japanese infantrymen were killed or injured in this fierce bombardment, not counting the two artillery brigades that were beaten even more severely.
The word "beating" does not apply to this moment, rather "killing" should be used!
Even the commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade, Major General Yoshito Takagi, spent the entire afternoon hiding in a cave in disgrace, staring blankly at the constant flashes of artillery fire outside the cave.
The 17th Division, which fought a bloody battle with the 39th Infantry Brigade for a week and suffered more than 4,000 casualties, was even more determined to fight back. Zhao Shoushan ordered his artillery battalion to carry out shelling regardless of cost, and also used infantry to fight against the flying artillery shells.
Counterattack from the lost high ground!
He must keep his promise before the war, and this time he will never give up any of his brothers, even if he has died on the high ground.
The 12 mountain guns and 12 105 howitzers belonging to the 39th Infantry Brigade did not counterattack, but they sadly discovered that the heavy firepower advantage they were once proud of was lost in this artillery battle initiated by the Chinese.
, actually disappeared.
Not only in terms of the number of artillery, but even in terms of caliber, they all lost!
What's even worse is that because they were flanked from front to back, the entire infantry brigade was surrounded in the mountains with a radius of less than 2 square kilometers. As soon as the artillery position fired back, the thick smoke rose into the sky and could be seen from a long distance away.
.
The Chinese Bofors mountain artillery, Type 41 mountain artillery, 105mm howitzer, 150mm large-caliber mortar, together with the 80mm howitzers belonging to the two infantry battalions, all focused their fire on the artillery positions.
It would be easy to say if the ADs of both sides are shooting each other. Before you kill me, I can also output a wave of blood to give you residual health. But the terrible thing is that the area of the Four Elements Regiment staying outside Fulu Ridge is obviously very dangerous.
It's much vaster, with artillery positions placed on every hilltop!
Just tell me, did you get a fat beating?
The Japanese artillery positions only exchanged fire with the artillery positions of the Fourth Army Regiment for less than an hour, and then they completely started to destroy the mode and stopped fighting!
It is not to save artillery shells, but to be completely defeated. Takagi Yoshito can no longer sacrifice the few cannons needlessly. Instead, he must hold his position and wait for support to arrive. By then, the entire army will need to use these artillery pieces when they break out of the encirclement.
In fact, this consideration was not wrong for the war situation at that time!
After all, the 39th Infantry Brigade, which still has 5,000 or 6,000 people, is not more than 5,000 pigs. Even though the Chinese side turned against the guests and attacked them from both front and back and trapped them in a mountainous area with a radius of only 2 square kilometers, there is no one who wants to eat them in one bite.
Don't even think about it for three to five days.
In particular, the Japanese North China Front still completely occupies air superiority. If the 24 aircraft fleet is not enough, then 48 will be used. If 48 cannot be used, then 96 will be used! This is what Lieutenant General Okabe Saburo, Chief of Staff of the North China Front, did for him.
Guaranteed.
Yes, Saburo Okabe immediately realized the seriousness of the problem after receiving the news that the 21st Division had withdrawn and sold his mate of the 39th Infantry Brigade.
That was not just a matter of a Class A division with nearly ten thousand people being surrounded and severely damaged by Chinese counterattacks, but that the important town of Shimen was in danger.
Niangziguan is only 30 kilometers away from Jingxing County, which is still controlled by the Japanese North China Front. For an army, it only takes most of a day to reach 30 kilometers.
The two infantry squadrons and a baggage squadron that had just arrived in Jingxing County totaled only 700 people. If you think about it, you also know that the morale of the Chinese army that had just defeated the 21st Division was high. The 700 defenders without heavy fire support were just
Their side dishes to go with wine.
40 kilometers behind Jingxing County is the important town of Shimen. It is said to be an important town because of its geographical conditions. This city is the most important transportation hub from North China to Shanxi and Henan provinces.
In order to better support the battle in Jin Province, the Japanese North China Front Army also has a large amount of combat materials stationed there. If the Chinese eat up the 39th Infantry Brigade, they will send troops to Shimen, as they did in their previous combat posture.
The 3,000 defenders, consisting of two infantry brigades and one heavy infantry brigades, will take the lead in defending?
People can evacuate, but what about the supplies? Who would be willing to blow up the mountains of supplies in the station? Those are the wealth saved from the teeth of the people of the empire by eating only one full meal a day!
If Shimen was captured by the Chinese, Saburo Okabe knew very well that he, the lieutenant general and chief of staff who was in command, would basically be left in the cold.
The army base camp must find someone to take the blame for this major defeat no matter what. General Gen Sugami was appointed as the commander by His Majesty the Emperor. For the sake of the Emperor, he is not suitable; Nagano Kameichiro, Takagi Yoshito and other gangs
The guy with poor command on the front line was too young, and his shoulders couldn't withstand such a big calamity. There were several people in the entire North China Front, but he seemed to be the only one who was suitable!
Baga! If I had known better, I would not have been this unlucky lieutenant general. Saburo Okabe really regretted it at that moment. If he could, he would even continue to be his army's left winger in the Kwantung Army.
Therefore, while they were furious and wanted to hold Nagano Kameichiro accountable, who had shut down the field radio, remained silent and was still running for his life, on the other hand, he quickly contacted the Major General Commander of the Provisional Aviation Corps, Tokugawa Yumei.
"Tokugawa-kun, the face of the front army this time depends entirely on our colleagues in the aviation regiment. If we cannot rescue the 39th Infantry Brigade or let them persist in the encirclement for 5 days, then this battle of Jindong will become the Imperial Army's
One of the most shameful battles in recorded history!" Saburo Okabe told the crisis frankly without any unnecessary nonsense.
"Hi! Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, all the Imperial officers and soldiers of the Provisional Aviation Corps will do their best!" Tokugawa, who had a civilized beard on the other end of the phone, nodded expressionlessly and accepted the order.
"In this case, I will wait for your good news, Tokugawa-kun!" Saburo Okabe said and hung up the phone.
"Command, except for the fighters that are under maintenance at all airports of the Provisional Aviation Corps, all other fighter planes are equipped with bombs and participating in the war!" Tokugawa hung up the phone and walked to the window in silence. He looked at the row of fighter planes parked on the apron for a long time, and finally
Order.
Staff officer Shao Zuo, who was standing behind him and waiting to record the military order, was startled: "Your Excellency, Corps Commander, is that all fighters?"
According to Army aviation regulations, each airport must have fighter planes on combat duty. Otherwise, if enemy planes appear, the pitifully few anti-aircraft anti-aircraft guns on the ground will not be able to stop the bombing of enemy planes.
"Of course it's all fighters. Otherwise, what do you think Chief of Staff Okabe means when he calls me?" The Japanese Army Aviation Major General looked back at his war room staff officer, his face gloomy.
Tokugawa was in a very bad mood, not because his fighter planes and pilots had suffered heavy losses since the war, but because he, a major general who had not had a strong presence in the front army, was suddenly put on the fire.
Saburo Okabe didn't mention the word Sugamamoto in the phone call just now, but in fact, he said it in every sentence. He just didn't say clearly that if the battle of Jindong fails, his Provisional Aviation Corps will bear a heavy burden.
part of the responsibility.
The 21st Division and the 39th Infantry Brigade were beaten like dogs by the Chinese. What does Baga care about our Provisional Aviation Corps? If he hadn't exercised enough restraint, Tokugawa would have wanted to spray him with spit from the air.
But this Major General of Army Aviation also knew that the reason why Saburo Okabe dared to say this was that, on the one hand, if he failed, he would already be guilty and would simply drag everyone into the water. On the other hand, he could represent Yuan Shishanshan this time.
General, as long as the Provisional Aviation Corps cannot exert its full strength, he will not be able to deal with the Provisional Aviation Corps. The similarly disgraced Shanshan Yuan will not give anyone face.
This person, once he has nothing left, he lets go of all scruples. As long as you don't save me, then I will drag you with me to taste what dada tastes like.
This is what Saburo Okabe actually wanted to express!
As for the 39th Infantry Brigade, they have actually been abandoned. Holding on for 5 days is the greatest expectation of the North China Front Army Headquarters.
As long as there is a five-day buffer, the North China Front Army, which is already stretched thin, will mobilize enough troops from the occupied garrison of major cities in North China to reach Shimen!
Therefore, this time, the North China Front Army's Provisional Aviation Corps will be able to gather up to 78 fighter planes!
It will also be the largest bomber group that has been deployed in the North China battlefield since the war began. Even under the strict orders of Tokugawa, every fighter plane taking off will reduce the amount of bullets and fuel carried by the airborne machine gun, and load as many bombs as possible!
Just like what he said in response to his combat staff: "What kind of combat duty is needed? How many days have you not seen Chinese aircraft in the sky of North China? Last year in the Southeast War, the Chinese aviation power had been completely destroyed.
Even if the Soviet Union in the north supports them and a batch of fighter planes arrives, do they have enough pilots?"
The confidence of the Japanese Army Aviation Major General is not without reason. War history records that China started the Songhu Battle on August 13, 1937 and invested 314 fighter planes of various types. By the end of December 1937, only 7 could take off.
Combat.
The equipment lost can be repurchased, but the losses of Chinese Air Force pilots are even more tragic. Several ace pilots known as the Four Heavenly Kings of the Chinese Air Force died one after another in less than half a year after the war began.
The Hangzhou Jianqiao Aviation School, known as the Huangpu Military Academy of the Chinese Air Force, lost almost all of the 500 pilots it trained before 1937!
Moreover, at this time, the Battle of Central China was in full swing, and aerial battles were staged over Jiangcheng from time to time. Where did the Chinese fighter planes come from to North China?
Even if there is, it can only be in southern Shanxi, where nearly 400,000 troops from both sides are fighting. The battle in eastern Shanxi, which involves less than 200,000 people on both sides, is just a small scene compared to those battlefields where hundreds of thousands or even millions of people are often involved.
.
Since Okabe Saburo put him, the Army Aviation Major General, on the fire, he could only throw the damn Chinese into the fire.
But Tokugawa was so lucky that he never dreamed that it was his anxiety and arrogance that caused the Japanese North China Front troops to be hit by Chinese soldiers on the ground and then shot out in the air!
Yes, this opening kill came from the blue sky, not the earth! It has nothing to do with the anti-aircraft anti-aircraft artillery group that the Four Lines Regiment is waiting for.
In the largest air battle since the war began over the North China battlefield, which broke out at 4 p.m. on September 15, the air defense company of the Fourth Army Regiment was completely fooled.
Because, China actually sent a whopping 5 air fleets and 60 Yin-15 fighters!
These 60 Yin-15 destroyers were not conjured by Tang Tuanzuo. He traveled through time and did not bring a portable arsenal. With that system, 10 J-20s would be enough to dominate the entire China.
In the sky, fighting the 96 battle with the Army Air Force's main equipment in the early days, isn't it the same as hunting turkey?
But the arrival of the 60 Yin-15 fighter jets here is inseparable from Tang Tuanzuo.
Before the war started, he had a casual chat with Brigadier Cheng Da. Talking about the small oil field in the northwest, Tang Dao wondered if he could get some gasoline and diesel from the oil field that provided a large amount of military expenditures to the Eightyth Army. The Dakouzidong station was now filled with factories.
The more power there is, the greater the power required. It will take at least half a year for a small hydropower station to be put into use. The oil stolen from the Japanese army alone is no longer enough to provide power.
When he heard that the Tang Dao could be purchased at the market price, Brigadier Cheng Da naturally agreed. He also complained about the oil field and the boss was thinking about it. No, the 60 fighter planes purchased with a loan from Mao Xiong were still needed.
When I was transferring to the airstrip in Anyan, I took some fuel with me to exchange for aviation kerosene with an American, and the price was less than half of what it was on the market.
One fighter plane may only be able to carry half a ton, and 60 of them can only carry 30 tons. And the small oil field located deep in the Gobi Desert only produces less than 400 tons a year. Just these few hundred tons of crude oil need to support 80 tons.
Who wouldn’t be annoyed if the living expenses of nearly 100,000 people in the Army Group were replaced?
60 fighter planes? Tang Dao kept this in mind at that time.
The clock hand was turned back to 12 hours ago, and the area around the quiet alley in Linfen City was suddenly heavily guarded. Dark blue military uniforms and gray military uniforms were almost densely packed around the entire alley.
A middle-aged soldier with simple clothes and a simple face suddenly arrived, but the stingy old man, who had always been aloof and superior, unexpectedly came out of the alley to greet him.
That was the deputy commander of the Second War Zone. He was originally supposed to be stationed in southeastern Shanxi to command the battle of eastern Shanxi, but he suddenly left his command post and quietly arrived in Linfen. This made the stingy old man a little confused.
No one knew what the two men talked about in that heavily guarded study. All they knew was that the lights in the entire study were on until dawn, and several confidential officers and staff officers from the Second Theater Communications Department and Staff Department were in another room.
He waited in a small conference room, and was not allowed to return to his dormitory until the evening of September 15th.
In other words, no one left the entire small courtyard. There were as many as an infantry battalion of soldiers with live ammunition. Hundreds of people surrounded the entire small alley. Mosquitoes and flies could fly in, but no living person could even think about it.
It was not until many years after the war that the battle reports of that year were declassified, and people who followed the battle in Shandong knew how important the stingy old man made that night.
He personally called the person who had evacuated to the mountain city and requested the 60 fighter planes arriving at Anyan Airport to support the battle in Shanxi Province. He notified the person of the current situation in Jindong one by one and assured that the second theater would use all its strength.
Delay the Japanese North China Front Army so that it will not have a single soldier to reinforce the Central China Battle.
Perhaps it was this reason that finally moved him, and he finally agreed to 60 newly received Yin-15 destroyers to participate in this battle, but the conditions were that the Anyan area would provide 200 tons of crude oil at half price this year and that the second theater would not retreat under any circumstances.
Yellow River, and if the fighter fleet suffers battle damage, the Second Theater and the Eightyth Army will offset the military expenses.
These conditions, not to mention that day, would be a bit chilling to look at more than ten years later. At first glance, one would think they were not an army of one country!
Given the stingy old man's stubborn temper, this tactic of using fighter planes to fight the Japanese was basically a fantasy.
"Our unit will offset all losses in the war zone with the capture of Shimen!" The boss of the 80th Group Army boldly gave the stingy old man reassurance.
Once Shimen was captured, the Japanese's mountain of supplies could make up for the damage to the fighter planes, but if it could be captured, it would only be a piece of pie drawn by a certain regiment to the commanders.
After all, that night, the 21st Division was still on the front line attacking the Four Elements Regiment!
But the stingy old man actually believed it like crazy and gritted his teeth and accepted the harsh conditions proposed by the elder.
So, on the afternoon of September 15, when Japanese fighter planes began to refuel and hang bombs at airports in North China, radio waves rippled in the airspace.
The 60 ready-to-go Yin-15 fighter jets located at Anyan Airport roared onto the simple runway and then flew into the sky with their heads held high!
At that moment, 60 Chinese fighter planes also covered the sky and the sun, no less than the 78 Japanese fighter planes that were about to merge in the air!
