Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

Chapter 219 Stud Master

Although the dead ghost Yamamoto Kazuki was beheaded by Kong Jie, his combat concepts have successfully taken root in the North China Front.

 With the intelligence provided by Tegako, the command system and large targets of the northern defenders suffered devastating blows.

 From a military perspective, this beheading operation was very beautiful. The Japanese only paid a price of more than 200 people to leave the two armies on the northern front without a command.

This style of play, Sandezi, was also used in the future Ardennes Counterattack. It was regarded as a silent tacit understanding between the Axis powers.

 The rear has achieved numerous results, and the front is naturally not to be outdone.

 After receiving the request for tactical guidance from Nori Shimizu and Kenkichi Ikegami, Neji Okamura flew directly to the headquarters of the 41st Division by plane without saying anything.

"Shimizu-kun, your performance has disappointed me so much. I heard that because of the failure of the frontline attack, you often spoke ill of me in front of your subordinates."

Without giving the other party a chance to refute, the old devil waved his hand to signal everyone to calm down and continue his personal show.

"Okay, I know you have a lot of complaints. I didn't think carefully about this battle and didn't take into account the unexpected variable of the Eighth Route Army."

“I have transferred all the land aviation forces from the western, eastern and northeastern fronts. Together with your divisions and brigades, it will definitely be enough to capture Yuanqu County.”

 “Follow the order! Don’t let me down!”

To put it bluntly, the tactical guidance means that the current battle situation has reached a stalemate and has exceeded the capabilities of the top commander of the troops on site. It can be understood as an elegant way of saying that the blame is passed on.

Although he was skeptical about the next arrangement, Qingshui Rules still decided to carry out the order. After all, it was not his responsibility if anything happened.

"Hi!"

  ·······

 It is well known that both the navy and the army like stud command.

 This is because our country is small and has few resources. Once a foreign war is launched, the domestic economy will be under great pressure and will collapse if not careful.

 So their generals always like to risk everything and strive for a quick victory.

　　If you win, you will be promoted and make a fortune; if you lose, you will commit suicide. It’s no big deal.

 The northern defense line of Zhongtiao Mountain has a relatively flat terrain.

Okamura Neiji decided to take advantage of the preparation time of the Eighth Route Army Air Division to gather all the remaining aircraft of the 3rd Flying Group, the 32nd Flying Group, and the 83rd Flying Group.

This was a stud, he was betting that the enemy air force would not bomb an area frequently in a short period of time, and he was also betting that there would be no contact between the defenders and the Eighth Route Army.

 Facts have proved that the old devil’s bet was right.

The 1st Air Division dispatched nearly a thousand sorties in twenty-four hours. All pilots were exhausted physically and mentally and needed to rest. Will they launch another air strike soon?

 After the defenders lost the command of their superiors, the Japanese army on the northern front launched an unprecedented and fierce attack.

 The direction of advancement chosen by Neji Okamura was naturally the position of Zhao Shiling's 43rd Army.

As a veteran of the Republic of China, the old Japanese knew that the Jinsui Army did not listen to the Central Army's command at all, but only followed Yan Laoxi's orders. Once the pressure on the frontal battlefield is too high, the opponent is very likely to abandon the front.

Twenty thousand infantrymen, coupled with heavy artillery and dozens of tanks, immediately defeated the two divisions of the 43rd Army in a miserable manner.

With air support before, the Jin troops were still able to hold their position with all their might. Now facing the stud attack of the 41st Division, their true colors were suddenly revealed.

 Under heavy pressure, internal problems also occurred in the defenders. The first problems that broke out were supply problems such as lack of water and food.

Zhongtiao Mountain is located in the Luliang Mountains, which is the poorest area in the province. The area is vast and sparsely populated, so relying on the local area for food supplies is simply a pipe dream.

 Generally, transportation troops need to use rafts and wooden boats to transport military supplies across the Yellow River, and then soldiers carry them up the mountain manually.

Before the war began, the preserved fruit defenders had to dedicate up to one-third of their soldiers to collect firewood, carry water, and carry food. A round trip took 2 to 4 days.

 The front line is now tight, and no food has been transported for more than a day.

Even if each army desperately stores food, they will only have three days' worth of supplies at most. If we continue fighting like this, the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain will be defeated without the enemy attacking them.

 The problem of drinking water is similar to that of food. Areas with slightly higher altitudes generally do not have spring water and can only rely on wells.

The water level in Zhongtiao Mountain is very low, and the wells are often tens of meters deep, and at most half a barrel can be dug up at a time.

Although the defenders dug many wells, they were obviously unreliable. When there is no war, each army needs to arrange a large number of soldiers to fetch water from the Yellow River every day.

 Since the war started, the inventory has become less and less.

Soldiers at the grassroots level are complaining, and their morale is falling every minute and every second. As time goes by, they will naturally collapse.

What's more, the attrition phenomenon of the 43rd Army is also very serious. Due to long-term combat, death from illness and escape, the front-line troops in Zhongtiao Mountain are mostly understaffed.

 A company may have as many as seventy or eighty soldiers, as few as fifty or sixty, or even thirty or forty soldiers.

 Faced with the Japanese's desperate attack, the defeat of the Northern Front was certain.

  ·······

 Several rounds of 105mm heavy-explosive high-explosive bombs landed on the pitiful simple position of the 43rd Army's Temporary 47th Division with a death scream.

 Under the ravage of heavy artillery, the defense line was bombarded with piles of rubble everywhere. The remains of some soldiers who had not had time to restrain themselves were also blown to pieces.

Immediately afterwards, the Jinsui Army, who was preparing to fight back at the artillery position, was horrified to find that more than a dozen artillery shells were flying towards them.

Six 75mm mountain guns were overturned to the ground, and the precious artillery could not escape the fate of being blamed. With just one round of shelling, an artillery battery lost its combat effectiveness.

The soldier who was lucky enough to escape huddled up in the artillery fortifications stupidly. Facing such a large group of Japanese artillery, he had no ability to resist at all.

Before the smoke and dust caused by the first round of shells had dissipated, the second round fell again, followed by the third and fourth rounds.

In just a few minutes, the Japanese used heavy artillery of various calibers to plow the positions of the 47th Division over and over again.

The other party seems to be determined to stud and does not consider the loss issue at all.

 The entire 43rd Army has been stunned. After losing air supremacy, many commanders were temporarily confused.

In the absence of effective air defense means and a tunnel bunker system, the North China Front Army's intense air strikes caused huge casualties to the officers and soldiers of the Shanxi Army.

Since the beginning of the war, ten officers above the battalion level have been killed in bombings, and the defense at the grassroots level has become increasingly weak.

 In the command post on the front line, a regiment commander’s eyes were red. He just took a look at the intensity of the enemy's shelling and knew that the soldiers on the position must be in danger.

 In order to request support from his superiors, he constantly urged his staff officers.

 “Why haven’t you contacted the master yet! What on earth are you doing for food!”

“If we keep fighting like this! All our wealth will be wiped out! This is simply asking me to fill the line with human lives!”

“Send all the communication troops to me! Even if you have to crawl, you must crawl to the division headquarters command post! If there is no more support, just wait for me to collect the corpses!”

Facing such an angry commander, the staff officer shook his head helplessly. In just half an hour, more than half of the regiment suffered casualties, and everyone was under great pressure.

 The most fatal thing is that they have completely lost contact with their superiors. Neither the directly subordinate 47th Division nor the 43rd Army gave any instructions.

"Regiment seat, all the telephone lines have been blown up by the Japs. With such fierce artillery fire, the communication soldiers can't do anything!"  "How about we withdraw, anyway, we are not the only regiment on the defense line. Even if the superiors pursue it, it will be very unfair. The battle is over!"

Finding that his staff member had the idea of ​​​​escape, the red-eyed leader directly took out the gun from his waist and put it on the opponent's head without saying anything!

"Are you a soldier or not? Are you from Shanxi? You boneless coward!"

“Wouldn’t it be possible to fight without the support of the Eighth Route Army? Isn’t that how the battle in Taiyuan was fought?”

"Pass my order! No one is allowed to take a step back before receiving instructions from superiors! Even if they die, they must die on the battlefield!"

"yes!"

 Originally, there were three solid stone dams at Hengling Pass, which stretched for more than ten miles. According to the terrain and defense needs, the defenders built more than 200 bunkers with stone strips and stones.

This kind of fortification has certain defensive capabilities against the Japanese light infantry.

 But now we are facing the heavy artillery of the 41st Division, and all the fortresses will be shattered at a touch. The defenders who lost their fortifications were beaten back step by step by the enemy.

 In order to stabilize the front, the soldiers could only salvage some temporary fortifications under the moonlight on the night of the 7th. After all, you have to be suppressed by enemy artillery during the day, and you can't do any work at all.

 But even if you build such an unpopular thing, you still have to pay a high price.

As one situation ebbs and flows, the Japanese army almost advances on the corpses of the defenders.

  ·······

In a broken position, a young soldier dug his battalion commander out of the soil.

 "Batalion Commander! Wake up! The Japanese artillery fire is over!"

Hearing the call, Jiang Dakui reluctantly opened his eyes. He stood up slowly while holding his comrade's shoulders, and then patted his head painfully.

 An hour ago, this veteran was the platoon leader.

Only ten minutes after the war started, the battalion commander who stood firm on the position was martyred, and a company commander rushed to act as the battalion commander.

 After an hour of fierce fighting, all three company commanders were killed, and he, the oldest platoon commander, could only act as battalion commander.

 In fact, the remaining soldiers are barely enough for one platoon. Facing the Japanese armored troops, the soldiers tried their best to hold their positions.

 The smoke on the battlefield slowly dispersed, and the surviving people had already seen the tank. They could even see the dozens of crouching Japanese soldiers clearly.

 “Quick! Let brothers take their positions! Get ready for battle!”

 “Get me an explosive pack! Leave that tank to me!”

“This time should be the last wave. It’s an honor to fight alongside you. See you in the next life!”

 After giving the order, Jiang Dakui walked towards the heavy machine gun without hesitation.

 This is the location with the greatest casualties in the entire battalion. Several machine gunners and ammunition handlers have fallen on a position of less than three square meters.

 After briefly cleaning up the pile of shell casings nearby, he loaded the last 250-round canvas ammunition belt on Maxim.

Facing the extremely vicious Japanese, Jiang Dakui fired all the remaining bullets and waited quietly in the crater.

The vibrations on the ground let him know that the tank was getting closer, and then he suddenly pulled the fuse and launched the last charge in his life against the Japanese tank.

　　Boom!

 The nearly personal explosive pack easily destroyed the Type 95 light tank.

At the same time, the remaining soldiers of the whole battalion also chose to follow their commanders.

Although the soldiers had just suffered a heavy shelling, many of them were unable to stand firmly. But after seeing the battalion commander attack, they instinctively pulled out their bayonets and inserted them into the card slots.

More than thirty soldiers, holding bright bayonets, tried their best to quickly approach the Japanese.

Different from the Jinsui Army who had just suffered an artillery bombardment, the Japanese infantry were all energetic. As long as they did not face the Eighth Route Army's air attacks, they would regain their confidence.

Hand-to-hand combat, brutal hand-to-hand combat was staged again.

 The sacrifice of one battalion only delayed the enemy's advance for an hour.

  ·······

 North line of Zhongtiao Mountain, 43rd Army temporary 47th Division command post.

“There are only four thousand men left in our division, and there are very few usable artillery pieces left. It is not an option to continue fighting like this.”

"The Japanese offensive is too fierce. I cannot bear this responsibility without the order of the commander. If it is not possible, let's retreat alternately!"

Hearing the old man’s suggestion, the commander of the 70th Division shakily lit a cigarette. After taking a long puff, he angrily threw the cigarette **** to the ground.

 “Okay! Then let’s retreat!”

"Without the help of the Eighth Route Army, this battle would not have been possible. It has only been two hours, and I only have 3,000 men left, not counting the seriously wounded who cannot be moved!"

“Retreating is also considered as obeying the president’s order! I will make arrangements right away!”

To be fair, the grassroots officers of the two divisions of the 43rd Army are very good. Without orders from their superiors, the soldiers rushed forward and held their positions for two hours.

Although the position has changed hands many times, overall it is still a good fight. After all, the will to fight cannot make up for the gap in strength.

It's a pity that the two division commanders were not good people. Seeing the fierce offensive of the 41st Division, they wanted to retreat.

 In fact, as long as they persist for half an hour, the Kongyi Division will be able to reach the battlefield. With the addition of the 17th Army on the flanks, there is a high probability that the front can be pushed back.

In the final analysis, this still has to be blamed on a certain miser.

 After all, Egg Dancer had ordered his subordinates not to fight head-on with the Japanese army. For him, the soldiers in his hands were everything. If he only used them all, he would completely lose his qualifications to compete in Shanxi.

 After a brief discussion, the two men immediately abandoned their position and retreated north. They decided to march west between Fushan and Yicheng and cross the Fen River to break out.

 After taking the position of the 43rd Army, Okamura Neiji did not order a pursuit to take advantage of the victory.

For the Jinsui Army, a potential ally, the old Japanese still want to win over it. The opponent not only gave up his position, but also accepted the bait he had dropped.

After this battle, even if Yan Laoxi didn't want to surrender, his reputation in the Republic of China was ruined.

As for the 17th Army that is still resisting stubbornly, Okamura Neiji also has arrangements.

Although there are tens of thousands of defenders there, taking advantage of the favorable terrain and solid fortifications, they are resisting steadily. However, due to the escape of friendly forces, they were fighting alone and were attacked from both sides.

 With superior troops and superior firepower, if the opponent does not give up its position, it will be eaten by the 41st Division sooner or later.

Okamura Neiji used the stud strategy to successfully separate the 5th Army and the 14th Army, and even cut off the supply and communication lines of the preserved fruit defenders.

Soon, the news spread to the southwest capital and Luoyang.

The news of the defeat made the bald man extremely angry. While cursing Xipi, he asked the commander of the first theater of defense to come up with a solution as soon as possible.

I will update two more chapters during the day

 (End of this chapter)