Ever since he knew that the position in front of him was garrisoned by the Four Elements Regiment, the commander of the 27th Division, Ochiai Jinkuro, felt a sense of ambition rising in his heart.
He finally had a chance to take revenge.
If we want to say that the division that suffered the worst defeat at the hands of the Si Xing Regiment on the North China battlefield, I am afraid that no less than six Japanese divisions would jump out and say that they are qualified.
There must also be the 109th Division among them. Ever since this unlucky boy was stationed along the Chang-Han Highway, he and his unlucky brother the 108th Division were beaten to a pulp by the Four Elements Regiment, so that in the end there was nothing to say about mopping up.
, as long as the Fourth Army Regiment does not join forces with the 683rd Brigade of the Eightyth Army to covet the county where they are entrenched, they will be quite satisfied.
Even in the end, the 109th and 108th divisions changed their minds after hearing about the Four Lines Regiment. They caught some guerrillas or intelligence personnel who claimed to be under the leadership of the Four Lines Regiment, but they did not dare to hang them at the city gate like before. Many simply decided to
Just let it go.
The Four Elements Regiment is a devil to other divisions, but to the two divisions stationed closest to them, it is even more of a nightmare!
Unfortunately, Jinkuro Ochiai, who graduated from the Imperial Army Military Academy in 1914, was serving as the Chief of Staff of the 109th Division during what he considered to be the darkest period of his life.
Can you imagine? An outstanding imperial soldier who has served as the captain of the Shanhaiguan Corps of the Chinese garrison in 1934 and has always regarded China as a fat man, actually watched a Chinese infantry regiment crush the imperial division and suffocate.
What kind of frustration is it to be powerless?
But everything on the battlefield has to rely on strength. The 109th Division just can't beat it. It will lose every battle. Even if it feels aggrieved, it has to endure it.
Fortunately, there was someone behind Jinkuro Ochiai, who only lasted for a year in that extremely dark day, and was transferred to the senior staff officer of the Eastern Defense Force Headquarters, and then to the deputy director of the Central China Liaison Department of Koyain.
The Koya Institute is a specialized agency responsible for handling the affairs of aggression against China. It is the commanding agency for Japan's economic aggression against China. The Prime Minister of Japan serves as the president, and the Foreign Minister, Tibetan Minister, Land Minister, and Maritime Minister concurrently serve as vice presidents.
Because of this experience, Ochiai Jinkuro was promoted to the deputy chief of staff of the China Expeditionary Forces Staff 2 years ago. Until 2 months ago, the 27th Division succeeded Takeshita Yoshiharu as the acting division commander of the 27th Division, and in June
On the 10th, he was promoted to Army Lieutenant General and officially served as division commander.
What Jinkuro Ochiai didn't expect was that the first opponent he faced as division commander was actually the opponent who woke him up from nightmares countless times.
It's just that one moment and another, this time, the Fourth Army Regiment no longer has the rugged Taihang Mountains as a barrier, nor does it have the powerful friendly force of the Eightyth Army to rely on. Instead, they have to face the siege of 100,000 imperial troops.
But at this time, he was a lieutenant general and division commander with an army of 22,000 troops.
There is an old Chinese saying: Cause and effect cycle!
Therefore, the Japanese Army Lieutenant General, who was extremely excited but still remained calm enough, sent out four infantry brigades in the first attack.
Two infantry brigades were on the front battlefield of Huangcha Ridge, with two infantry squadrons as one round, forming a total of four rounds, and launched an uninterrupted attack on the front battlefield.
An infantry brigade was deployed on each of the left and right wings of Huangchaling. They were also organized into four rounds at the infantry squadron level and launched attacks on both wings.
Providing fire cover for them were 48 Type 92 heavy machine guns, 160 Type 96 light machine guns, 16 infantry guns, 24 mortars, and 130 grenades.
Of course, there are also the tank units that the Japanese army is most proud of, including 12 Type 97 tanks and 6 Type 95 light tanks belonging to the 13th Regiment of the 3rd Tank Division.
About 3,600 infantrymen rushed towards Huangcha Ridge from three sides. They looked like a swarm of locusts as Li Jijin saw!
And just as Jinkuro Ochiai thought, at this moment, the strength of the Japanese has been greatly strengthened, but Huangchaling suffered at least 1,000 rounds of heavy artillery, more than 20 heavy aerial bombs and other large and small artillery shells
After more than 4,000 shots, it was completely unrecognizable.
Dozens of 3,000-meter-long man-made cliffs have been demolished in dozens of places. The collapsed loess has formed slopes that can be accessed at will. The deep trenches where 3,000 Japanese soldiers were buried are now intermittent. It is no longer possible to rely on these fortifications to save the people as before.
The Japanese infantry drove them into deep trenches and killed them wantonly.
The position was densely covered with craters of various sizes. Many trenches supported by logs were destroyed by the 150-meter heavy artillery. Even three 12.7mm heavy machine gun bunkers were hit by heavy aerial bombs, leaving only a black hole.
A big, dark pit.
If Li Jijin had not judged that the Japanese army would not be short in preparation for this artillery fire and would not launch an infantry charge in a short period of time, he would have transferred most of the personnel and firearms on the position to the anti-slope tunnel.
With only 10 hours of shelling, the strong 3rd Battalion could be beaten to a semi-mutilated state.
Even so, the observation posts that remained on the front line also lost 6 people and seriously injured 8 people. They were all still in permanent fortifications that could protect against 105-mm howitzers. This shows how terrifying the Japanese army was in preparing for this round of artillery fire.
To some extent, the fortification defense strength of the Huangchaling position is less than half of the previous one.
Faced with such terrifying Japanese fire cover and repeated attacks by 3,600 infantrymen dispatched at once, Li Jiujin, a veteran who had been in the army for almost 20 years, felt a little unsure.
This feeling was the first time since the Four Elements Group had firmly established itself in the Taihang Mountains.
On the Zhangjiashan side, Iwa Yongwang personally visited the front line. This time, the Japanese Army Lieutenant General once again prepared 15 infantry brigades with nearly 11,000 infantrymen.
To a certain extent, Iwanei was more eager to capture the position in front of him than Jinkuro Ochiai, who had just arrived here.
After all, the sense of humiliation deep in Jinkuro Ochiai's heart was left five years ago. Time is a good medicine that can change any pain. Jinkuro Ochiai, who has been getting higher and higher in the military, did not put down his division as soon as he came up.
All 10 infantry brigades were pulled up and placed on the gambling table. It was already obvious that although he wanted to take the position in one fell swoop, he still had reservations.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! For Yan Yongwang, the position in front of him swallowed up nearly 10,000 lives of his 116th Division in less than a month. This is
He had never experienced a defeat in his military career.
This Japanese army lieutenant general knew very well that if the army base camp had not been temporarily changing generals to avoid the continued low morale, he, the division commander, might have reported his duties on home soil long ago.
If he wanted to have a nice place to stay after the war without having to return to his hometown to retire, his only chance was to conquer the southern position and attack Hengyang City.
Therefore, Yan Yongwang chose to make a desperate move and brought all the main forces of the replenished 116th Division to the front line to form a terrifying 6-wave attack group. This could guarantee that within 2 hours, there would be continuous attacks in front of the highlands of Zhangjiashan.
Infantry assault.
Iwa Yongwang did not believe that that unit could withstand such a high-intensity and large-force infantry advance after a day of shelling with 150 and 105 large-caliber grenades.
Indeed, at this time, the highlands of Zhangjiashan were already devastated. The bushes that originally covered the hillside had long been blown to pieces. Looking around, everything was black.
The soil on the hillside has become so soft that when people walk on it, the floating soil can reach their ankles!
The Pre-10th Division placed a total of 3 infantry regiments, the 28th Regiment, the 30th Regiment, and the 31st Regiment on the main front-line positions such as Zhangjiashan and Huxingchao, with a total of 6,300 troops. In this day's artillery attack, more than 800 troops were lost.
The number has been reduced sharply to 5,500, only half of the strength that is about to begin the attack on the Japanese army.
There are only 30 heavy machine guns, 90 light machine guns, and no more than 30 artillery pieces of various types used for defense. They are far inferior to the 40 infantry guns, 40 mortars and more than 130 infantry guns invested by the 116th Division to cover infantry charges.
2 heavy machine guns and 290 light machine guns.
It can be said that the number of Chinese soldiers in the south position of the city at this time was only about 6,600, and they were also lagging behind the Japanese army in terms of light and heavy firepower. Their only advantage was that they were in a commanding position and had trenches that had not completely collapsed.
As for the Hengyang Artillery Headquarters at this time, facing the Japanese army's three-sided attack on Hengyang, it was also stretched. It had to put all its mountain and field artillery on fire support for the plain areas to the west and north of the city, leaving only those in the south of the city.
32 Type 81 mortars assembled.
If it is an infantry division-level battlefield, having the artillery support of 32 mortars is definitely a blessing for a commander. However, at this time, Master Ge, who was at the division headquarters, heard that there was no mountain artillery support.
His face was full of deep bitterness.
"Get Director Tang for me." Ge Youcai said in a heavy tone.
The artillery headquarters could not count on it. Ge Youcai could only wait and see if Tang Dao could help. Although the 12 mountain artillery pieces of the Sixing Regiment were placed under the unified command of the artillery headquarters, the artillery battalion of the Sixing Regiment could still be used.
There is a heavy press company with 12 guns and 150 heavy guns. Even if it is evenly distributed to 4 guns in the Zhangjiashan area, it will be a big help.
"The heavy force company cannot move. I promised Li Jijin and his 3rd Battalion that whenever the Japanese army has 3,000 infantry attacks, the heavy force company's 12 mortars will provide full fire support to them." Tang Dao was there.
Mr. Ge, who was extremely rare on the phone, firmly refused to ask for help.
The bitterness in Ge Youcai's eyes became even stronger, but he knew that Tang Dao also had his own difficulties. The Japanese troops deployed in the Huangcha Ridge direction definitely exceeded 3,000 troops, and the total strength of the 3rd Battalion of the Sixth Regiment in Huangcha Ridge was only more than 1,100 troops.
, the strength ratio of the two warring parties was 1:3, which was even more disparate than the more than 10,000 Japanese troops he expected the 10th Division to face.
If he were Tang Dao, he would definitely make such a choice.
"However, my artillery battalion just imported a few new artillery pieces from the Americans before the war, and I haven't been willing to use them. Today the Japanese have invested a lot of money, so of course I can't hide them anymore. Mr. Ge, since you
If you open your mouth, I promise you that 9 guns and 6 volleys will attack the Japanese troops in 6 positions from Zhangjiashan to Huxingchao.
However, the accuracy of this new type of artillery is poor. When reporting the coordinates of artillery strikes, it is better to be 300 meters away from our position, otherwise it is easy to accidentally injure our officers and soldiers!" Tang Dao changed the topic and said again.
"Then thank you, Director Tang. I will request artillery support from your regiment's artillery battalion based on the real-time battle situation." The bitterness in Ge Youcai's eyes did not diminish, and he tried his best to express his gratitude.
Although we finally got the promise of artillery support from Tang Daoliao, 9 small-caliber artillery and 6 volleys were of little use. It was just better than nothing.
After hanging up the phone, Ge Youcai did not call Fang Xianjue. He knew the personality of the commander and knew that the positions on both sides of the west and north of the city must be extremely difficult. Otherwise, he would not have known that the Japanese army in the south of the city had invested so many troops.
I still chose to place the 30 most capable mountain field guns on the two battlefields.
"Ma De! If you die, just do it! Tell Zeng Jing and the other group leaders that this mountain is our graveyard. They don't have to be afraid of being alone after they die. I, as a division commander, will never live alone and will stay here with them."
It's over." Ge Youcai, who was holding fire in his heart, slammed his helmet on the table and issued a battle declaration that the Pre-10th Division would fight to the end.
The Second Battle of Hengyang has only begun for one day and has already reached a fever pitch.
The 3rd Division has invested more than 4,000 troops; the 27th Division has invested more than 4,000 troops; the 116th Division has invested more than 11,000 troops; and the 68th Division has invested more than 6,000 troops.
This is only the infantry. If you include artillery, armor and other auxiliary arms, the Japanese army invested more than 30,000 troops in the attack at dusk on July 9th.
It accounted for nearly one-third of the total force of the Japanese army besieging the city, but it far exceeded the total force of the Chinese side.
The Hengyang Garrison Regiment, which was originally responsible for the defense of the city, was forced to gather and go to the north of the city to serve as the reserve team of the 3rd Division. The 2nd Battalion of the Sihang Regiment also arrived in the west of the city to serve as the reserve team in the west of the city. The 1st Battalion of the Sihang Regiment, which had completed its rest, became independent in Taihang.
The company has also assembled at Yanhui Peak, ready to support Zhangjiashan at any time.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! On this day, the Hengyang Command was forced to use 90% of its strength under the heavy pressure of the Japanese army.
The first ones to enter the attack line were those belonging to the 27th Division. There are still some machine gun bunkers on Huangcha Ridge, and the flames spouted by the MG42 machine guns are still a nightmare for the Japanese infantry.
It's just that as an old rival of the Four Troops, Ochiai Jinkuro had already expected this. His response method was not to let the infantry launch a 'board charge'. He knew that in the face of this Germanic high-speed machine gun, he could use military orders to drive the infantry.
It is undoubtedly suicide for a soldier to charge.
He transferred almost all the infantry artillery of the division and placed them in an area 1,300 meters away from the front line to cover the Chinese firepower points with artillery fire. He did not expect that this kind of direct-aimed artillery could destroy those annoying machine gun bunkers, but only wanted to continuously fire
Shelling can interfere with them, and they cannot continue to fire, even if they use smoke to block their sight.
As for the Chinese infantry who had continuous firepower such as submachine guns and assault rifles in the trenches, Ochiai Jinkuro also played the tricks used on Western battlefields.
Of the nearly one hundred heavy machine guns he deployed on both wings, only one-third fired directly, while most fired projectiles from a distance of 1,000 meters.
There is no need for precision, just rely on the large number of machine guns and use probability to kill the Chinese soldiers in the trenches. Even if they cannot be killed, the Chinese soldiers must not be able to lie down on the upper edge of the trenches and shoot at their own infantry without any scruples.
These two tricks are indeed useful. In the face of continuous bombardment from dozens of infantry cannons, even if the bunker is strong enough to withstand direct direct bombardment from 70mm infantry cannons, the flying shrapnel is not a joke, it is constantly produced.
The thick gun smoke even obscured the sight, making it difficult for the soldiers in the machine gun bunker to maintain continuous fire.
Even though the soldiers in the trenches were not afraid of death, they were more or less wary of the rain of bullets thrown from thousands of meters away by the Japanese army.
The casualties of the Japanese infantry at a distance of 300 meters were greatly reduced, and the forward speed was also increased a lot.
Fortunately, the Four Lines Regiment is not a newbie on the battlefield. When you see the Japanese actually playing like this, you are not polite. All the 60-meter guns are combined with three 80-meter howitzers to attack the infantry artillery positions and heavy machine gun positions a thousand meters away.
Conducted artillery bombardment and completely gave up suppressing the infantry.
Smoke continued to rise from the mountain forest where the Japanese army was located. In the first 20 minutes of the battle, the Japanese artillery and heavy machine gun positions suffered more losses than the front-line infantry.
"Order them to continue suppressing firepower on the Chinese positions at all costs. This is the last desperate effort of the Chinese." After receiving the casualty reports from the infantry artillery positions and heavy machine gun positions, Ochiai Jinkuro looked cold.
Still unchanged.
He knew very well what kind of army his opponent was. If they couldn't even fight back, then why were they suppressing the two master regiments in the Taihang Mountains and huddled in the county town, unable to move?
If you want to defeat such a terrifying opponent, just having more people is useless. The Imperial Army has proven this in the Taihang Mountains for several years and with the blood of tens of thousands of Imperial soldiers.
Need to use consumption!
Yes, it is to use the advantage of numbers and materials to carry out a war of attrition!
No matter how strong the buffalo is, if its wounds continue to bleed, it will eventually collapse and become the lion's dinner.
If a complete Four Elements Regiment were here, even if Jinkuro Ochiai was now the commander of the 27th Division, he would have no confidence in winning.
But here, there is only one Si Xing Regiment, and he is facing the enemy with a division of 20,000 troops. He has enough manpower and material resources to compete with the opponent.
Moreover, he is still waiting for the heavy caliber force from the Four Lines Group.
He knew that that was the trump card of the Four Elements Group. Only when that thing appeared could he finally reveal the true strength of the Four Elements Group.
As the Japanese army lieutenant general who wanted revenge wished, 12 150-gun guns appeared on the scene, and shells fell on the battlefield one after another, sending up plumes of black smoke. From time to time, Japanese troops flew up with violent explosions.
However, compared to the attack line with an overall width of 3,800 meters on three sides of Huangcha Ridge, the firepower of these 12 150-gun guns is still too weak.
Jinkuro Ochiai can fully afford this loss, even if 12 more mountain cannons are added, he can accept it.
Then, a strange roar suddenly sounded in the air. It was a sound that had never appeared on the battlefield. The sound was so loud that it suppressed the already extremely fierce sound of guns and artillery on the battlefield.
The Japanese Army Lieutenant General couldn't help but look up and saw dozens of white traces flashing in the sky, just like the waves caused by a group of sharks fighting for food in the sea.
What is that? The Japanese soldiers who were startled by the strange sight in the sky and raised their heads collectively had the same thought flashing through their minds!
The next moment, dozens of white traces pierced the sky and hit the ground hard...
