What Tang Dao said about attacking halfway across the bridge was not just to make the Japanese lose the bridge and have to endure the cold!
The Ming River seemed to cross in front of the position of the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion, but the Japanese army would certainly not be stupid enough to cross the river under the gunpoint of the Chinese soldiers.
The Japanese army chose to cross the river at a corner eight miles away from the hillside position. The river bed there was narrow and far away from the mountainous area. It might be hit by artillery shells, but at least there was no need to worry about being targeted by machine gun fire.
However, the First Division still underestimated the density of the artillery equipment of the Fourth Line Regiment.
That area far away from the battlefield cannot be reached by the 60-mm guns of the 3rd Battalion, but that does not mean that the 3 80mm dual-purpose guns equipped with the 3rd Battalion cannot reach it.
Moreover, after the Panghai Artillery Battalion now has 28 150mm howitzers, the original core heavy firepower of 12 Bofors Mountain Cannons has been relegated to the second line. The 12 artillery squads and 4 artillery platoons are simply equipped with 4 guns each this time.
The infantry battalion and artillery battery are commanded, which can be regarded as reducing the intermediate links in communication.
After receiving Tang Dao's military order, Leng Feng not only ordered the six long-range artillery pieces currently owned by his artillery company to target the two bridges that the Japanese engineers had worked hard to build 8 miles away, but also made contact with the 4th Battalion on the flank, which was affiliated with the 4th Battalion.
The six artillery pieces also raised their muzzles, waiting for orders from Leng Feng.
After sending about five to six hundred Japanese infantry across the river, six artillery pieces launched a barrage of bombardment, destroying the Japanese crossing bridge.
Half of an infantry brigade has crossed the river. Major Seiichi Yamashita can't let the more than 500 infantrymen go back just because the infantry artillery and heavy machine guns have not crossed the bridge because the bridge has been damaged, can he?
Of course, one can only bite the bullet and set an example, take off his pants, only wear crotch pants, and drive the packhorse across the river with the remaining hundreds of Japanese soldiers!
Fortunately, the Minghe River is not a big river, only about 40 meters wide, and hundreds of people are scattered along the river channel of more than 1,000 meters. Apart from being a little colder, with the artillery strength that China has just shown, the harm should not be particularly great.
Yamashita Seiichi thought so, so he only felt cold, not fear.
So, when the 12 artillery pieces roared in unison, the shells fell into the water and the water columns rose into the sky, and the Japanese infantrymen who were struggling to cross the river were instantly bloody and bloody, Yamashita Seiichi's balls almost retracted into his abdominal cavity.
The suddenly doubled artillery fire made him realize that the despicability of the Chinese was far beyond his imagination. When they just blew up the bridge, they didn't use all their strength at all. It wasn't until the remaining several hundred officers and soldiers of his infantry brigade entered the water that they fully opened fire.
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"Baga! Cross the river at full speed!" Yamashita Seiichi yelled heartbreakingly.
It seemed that the cold just now was not that cold anymore. The urgency of death gave the 35-year-old major commander endless motivation. He used both hands to move forward quickly in the water, and his speed was not much different from that of a 20-year-old boy.
But anyone who has walked in the water knows that due to the huge resistance, the power of the water flow and the natural buoyancy of the human body, no matter how skilled a human being is, he cannot move much faster in it, especially if he is holding a rifle and ammunition with both hands.
In case it is damaged by water.
On the river surface of more than 40 meters, the Japanese infantry were "squirming" inside for at least a minute, and this minute was enough for 12 artillery pieces to pour out 160 rounds of artillery shells.
The biggest feature of the Bofors series of artillery is that it is accurate enough. After the bombardment coordinates are determined by test firing, the error will never exceed 15 meters.
This is really excellent for an artillery with a range of more than 9,000 meters.
The artillery fire of the Fourth Line Regiment was extremely accurate, so the Japanese troops in the river were out of luck.
At least 300 Japanese soldiers fell under this round of artillery fire in just one minute, and the clear water of the Ming River was dyed red!
This is all because the huge resistance of the river water weakens the explosive power of the artillery shells. If placed on land, these 160 artillery shells alone can make the infantry brigade of Yamashita Seiichi lose their combat effectiveness.
But this is just the beginning, not the end!
Hundreds of Japanese troops who had crossed the river had already dispersed in front of the river beach. They were already considered safe, but they watched helplessly as their colleagues were struggling in the enemy's fire, especially those who were only seriously injured but not dead.
If you go and help them, you still have a chance to survive. As soldiers, how can they turn a blind eye?
As a result, more than a hundred Japanese infantrymen ran frantically from their hiding spots to the river bank, trying to save their comrades while the Chinese artillery fire weakened.
As everyone knows, this is also a trap!
"One minute after focusing fire on the target river, each gun position will fire at full speed and change to one-third of the rate of fire!"
Three minutes ago, Leng Feng, who arrived at his artillery observation post in person, observed the battlefield with an artillery observer imported from Krupp Company and gave orders in a cold tone.
"Captain Leng, are you afraid that we don't have enough artillery shells? Squad leader, do you want me to call back and say that we can fire at full speed for 10 minutes to kill the Japanese who can't kill the dog grass?" A corporal gunner at a gun emplacement still didn't understand.
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As early as a year ago, Tang Tuanzuo keenly sensed that the Japanese army was about to make a big move, so he increased material storage in advance.
Of the 80,000 rounds of various artillery shells and 2 million rounds of various bullets produced by the Dakouzidong Arsenal in the past six months, fully two-thirds were shipped to Zishan before the war began.
Artillery squads such as the Bofors 75 mountain gun have long dug tunnels deep into the mountains according to each battalion's defense line. The artillery with wheels can be pushed out of the tunnels and fight at well-equipped gun positions outside the tunnels, or directly on the ground.
Shelling was carried out at the entrance of the tunnel, but the range of fire was much smaller.
In the tunnel to which each gun position belongs, there are at least 500 shells stored, which is roughly 20 bases, which is 10 times the usual number.
Not to mention firing 10 rounds of artillery shells, even if we let them fire 10 times more, each artillery position can guarantee to complete the combat mission within 10 minutes.
"You know a thing! Just follow the orders given by Battalion Commander Leng. If you are so capable, why don't you go to the front line to command?" the artillery squad leader stared.
One of the most stringent military regulations of the Si Xing Regiment is to enforce orders and prohibitions. Those who disobey orders and cause serious losses during war often have only one way to go and will be executed on the spot!
But so far, no one has been executed for violating this military rule.
The army sergeant who followed Tang Dao from a mortarman to a mountain artillery squad leader did not want to be the first to try something new.
"Instruct all artillery positions to fire at the fire beach at full speed according to the coordinates sent back by the artillery observers, for 5 minutes!" Leng Feng looked at Shi Huang rushing to the river beach from various hiding spots in the distance, and ordered with a cold face.
This is the inspiration Leng Feng got from the sniper battlefield. Snipers leave infantry lives behind in order to harvest more infantry lives. Can artillery groups do the same?
The wounded Japanese soldiers struggling in the river were the bait he threw.
I heard that the Tang Tuanza First Division was quite radical in the Japanese army and even killed Japanese cabinet ministers. How could such passionate young men ignore their seriously injured comrades struggling in the water?
Leng Feng made the right bet!
As soon as the Chinese artillery fire stopped, more than 130 passionate young people embarked on the road to save their comrades.
That's a dead end!
The bombardment of artillery fire lasted five minutes and fired more than 580 shells, flooding the unprotected Japanese troops in the river and on the river beach.
Those who were already dead were torn to pieces even more, those who were seriously injured but not dead were also dead, and those who wanted to save others became grave goods!
This also included Major Seiichi Yamashita, whose leg was broken by gravel thrown up by an artillery shell explosion after he stepped onto the river beach.
He had a chance to summon the soldiers who escaped from the Death River to help him escape, but unfortunately, those Japanese infantrymen who bravely rushed to save him killed him.
In an area 50 meters away from the river beach, a grenade exploded 8 meters away from Major Seiichi Yamashita. Using a palm-sized shell, it was like a sharp knife peeling a carrot, and it was easily cut off with two big hairs.
The head of the Japanese Army Major with legs!
If he does not arrive in North China, according to the rut of history, in another two years, Yamashita Seiichi will be promoted to the captain of the 501st Infantry Regiment.
Unfortunately, there is no if.
The artillery fire finally stopped, the thick smoke cleared, and corpses were everywhere in the Ming River and on the river beach!
Not one in a hundred is still alive!
The commander of the 501st Infantry Regiment, Colonel Yoshio Miyauchi, who was staying 800 meters away from the bank of the Ming River, had a livid face.
Known as the great fortune teller of the First Division, he completely miscalculated.
The Chinese in the mountains had a 150-caliber heavy artillery, which he knew after receiving telegrams from the division headquarters. However, the 150-caliber heavy artillery was not that threatening to the infantry because of its heavy gun body and problems with its firing range and range, especially with the mountains in front of it.
big.
He wanted to know the strength of the Chinese small-caliber artillery, which would also be helpful for his next attack deployment on the current position.
The 501st Infantry Regiment is not an ordinary 3,800-man infantry regiment, but a strengthened infantry regiment.
The infantry wing has three full infantry brigades of 1,100 people and four squadrons directly under the wing. The combat infantry alone reaches 4,100 people. Another mountain gun squadron with 4 mountain guns, a 4-gun rapid-fire gun squadron and a 4-gun 92
mortar, 4 infantry artillery squadrons, and if we add 6 infantry artillery pieces from 3 infantry brigades, the entire regiment has a total of 22 artillery pieces, which can be used for 5,000 combat personnel.
The Chinese heavy artillery is terrible, but it will be solved by the artillery wing of the Army Aviation Corps and the division. What he needs to solve is the Chinese army on the position in front of him.
Therefore, this great fortune teller who would have served as the Major General Brigade Commander of the First Division in time and space sent his most elite First Infantry Brigade to build a bridge across the river 4,000 meters away from the Chinese position.
He calculated that the Chinese would definitely bombard the area crossing the river with artillery, and this was indeed the case.
But he only reached the beginning, not the end.
The number of Chinese artillery pieces with a range of over 5,000 meters far exceeded his imagination.
What made the hair on the inside of the palace stand up was not just the number of artillery pieces, but the Chinese people's profligate attitude toward artillery shells.
This wave of saturation bombardment lasted no longer than 10 minutes, and the Chinese fired at least 600 rounds of artillery shells.
Is this still the Chinese army in his impression? The Imperial Army Base Camp seems to have written in the "Operation Discussion on China Theater Operations": The Chinese army has few artillery and even lacks artillery shells, so its heavy firepower cannot be sustained. If it encounters artillery fire, it must move its troops
Luring them to attack and consume them can reduce infantry losses.
But at this point, the Chinese smashed out 600 artillery shells. It looked like there weren't many artillery shells there?
Could it be that the Chinese commander opposite him is a weak-headed man? He will lose all his money as soon as he comes up?
If it were in the past, Miyauchi Yoshio might not hesitate to choose the former, but since he carefully studied the performance of the Four Troops in the North China battlefield on the way to Handan, if he chooses the former again, he will be lacking in strength.
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It was a fluke that the Four Lines Regiment could defeat the Imperial North China Front Army once or twice, but they must win every battle. Regardless of whether the strength of the troops is similar or there is a huge difference in strength, the Imperial North China Front Army is in the position of being beaten unilaterally.
Yes, out of the pride of the Imperial Army, he was not very willing to admit that the other side was very strong. It was possible that the Imperial North China Front Army was weak. But there was one thing that he had to admit no matter how unwilling he was. The man who commanded the Four Lines Regiment was named Tang.
The guy with the knife is definitely a murderer.
Whether it is Sihang Warehouse or Songjiang, Guangde, the imperial army is at a crushing level in terms of strength and strength, but Tang Dao can still lead his troops to escape, and also uses the imperial army to pursue and encircle them.
At that time, he opened a bloody wound to the imperial army.
Facing such a terrifying commander, if Miyauchi Yoshio still thinks that he is lacking in strength, then he has spent 18 years in the army in vain.
That only shows that the Chinese on the opposite side not only have enough artillery, but also have sufficient reserves of artillery shells!
It didn't matter that he tried this test. Not only did he cripple his elite infantry brigade, he also tried out a piece of information that made his head buzz.
This person actually miscalculated. Leng Feng's 3rd Battalion fired more than 700 artillery shells in this wave, killing 400 of the leading troops of the 501st Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division that he faced.
Basically, the shell-to-man ratio is achieved at which every 8 shells kill an enemy.
This ratio is actually very exaggerated. According to post-war statistics, every time the Bear Kingdom kills a German soldier, it requires about 1,300 rounds of ammunition, 30 artillery shells, or 230 kilograms of aerial bombs, and 9 grenades.
For example, during the famous Battle of Stalingrad, the Bear Nation transported a total of 300,000 wagonloads of military supplies to the combat area, including artillery shells and bullets. The bullets alone accounted for 9,568 wagonloads, consuming a total of 640,000 tons of ammunition.
Compared with those two countries that use full power to activate their tanks, Japan, with a division of 30,000 people and a total of more than a hundred artillery pieces, is simply a piece of cake in the legend.
The Fourth Army Regiment, which has adopted the artillery doctrine, has completely surpassed the Japanese army in terms of heavy ground firepower and artillery fire intensity.
"Instruct the 1st Infantry Group ahead to arrive at the preset position and stand by. No attack is allowed without an attack order.
The rest of the ministries re-select the crossing point, preferably 6,500 meters away from the enemy position! In addition, the baggage team and the medical team are ordered to go to the battlefield to find the wounded and collect the remains of the imperial officers and soldiers who died in the battle!" Miyauchi Yoshio tried his best to keep his tone calm,
Order in an orderly manner.
A mere one-tenth of the battle damage was not enough to make this veteran who had been in the army for 18 years lose his composure.
But an hour later, Yoshio Uuchi completely broke his guard.
"Requesting support, the Chinese are attacking our unit!" The 1st Infantry Battalion, which had just arrived at the preset position, used a field radio to send a message to the wing headquarters.
"Baga! Didn't I tell them not to attack? Wait for the main force to arrive?" Miyauchi Yoshio, who was crossing the river in the distance, obviously hadn't reacted yet, and he couldn't help but look angry for a while.
"Your Excellency, Wing Commander, it is not the First Battalion that is attacking the Chinese, but the Chinese who are attacking them while my main force is far away!" an army lieutenant colonel could only remind in a low voice.
"What? Did the Chinese take the initiative to leave the mountainous area and attack our troops?" Miyauchi Yoshio looked in disbelief.
What gave the Chinese the courage to leave their positions on their own initiative?
Even if the First Infantry Battalion had just suffered a loss, it still still had six to seven hundred people. Who would dare to besiege them without more than three times the number of troops?
"Baga! Quickly order the 2nd Infantry Brigade to speed up and arrive at the battlefield! Order the mountain artillery squadron to cover the front of our position with artillery fire! Order the rest of the troops to speed up crossing the river! The Chinese dare to leave their positions, and our troops will make them pay a heavy price.
!" The good husband in the palace ordered almost blushing.
Miyauchi Yoshio was angry not because the 1st Infantry Battalion would suffer losses due to the attack, but because he felt slighted by the Chinese. Are the Chinese confident that they would kill his 600 elite soldiers in 30 minutes?
Miyauchi Yoshio was worthy of his good fortune. Due to the threat of Chinese artillery fire, the main force of his regiment had to choose to cross the river 6 kilometers away from the battlefield.
At this distance, it would take a fully armed infantry group 30 minutes to reach the 1st Infantry Group position less than 800 meters away from Leng Feng's position.
30 minutes is too short for the battlefield. Even if the Chinese are given another 10 30 minutes, he does not believe that the Chinese can defeat his 600 elite soldiers in a pure field battle.
Obviously, Miyauchi Yoshio's 30 minutes and Camp Commander Leng's 30 minutes have different understandings.
Battalion Commander Leng believes that 30 minutes is enough for even a relatively fast man to take a shower and then smoke an after-hours cigarette to vent his emptiness.
It didn't take him even 30 minutes to eat these 600 people.
As early as 30 minutes ago, Leng Feng had ordered his 7th and 8th companies to dive into the mountains and hide in the bushes at the foot of the mountains, waiting for the remaining Japanese soldiers to cross the river to arrive.
When he piled up the guns and started digging field fortifications with a single shovel, all 60 of the battalion's 20 mm machine guns and 7 mm heavy machine guns under the protection of the permanent fortifications attacked the Japanese positions more than 800 meters away.
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The Japanese army would have thought that even though the distance was almost 2 miles, the Chinese could still use mortars and large-caliber heavy machine guns to attack them. This was completely beyond their common sense.
While they were passively being beaten, more than 500 elite infantrymen of the Fourth Line Regiment were quietly approaching them. When the panicked Japanese army discovered it, the Chinese soldiers attacking from both sides were already less than 300 meters away from them.
Then, the 75-meter mountain gun and 80-mm howitzer that had just rested for a while came again!
The infantry who lost their trenches were just cannon fodder under artillery fire!
The request for help message sent to Yoshio Miyauchi was also the last evidence that the First Infantry Battalion had ever existed in this world.
Because, not long after that, a cannonball turned the field radio and the two signal soldiers into scum!
People and things were all shattered all over the ground!
The nightmare from an hour ago reappeared again, which was absolutely devastating to the psychology of the infantrymen of the 1st Infantry Group who were lying on the ground.
The elite infantry brigade of the First Division, consisting of more than 600 men, only lasted 15 minutes before entering the stage of rout.
