Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

 Fifteen minutes later, the North China Front Army Joint Command Post.

Looking at the request for help telegram from the artillery position, Mamoru Iinuma took a deep breath to suppress his inner anger. But the gloomy look on his face still betrayed his indignation.

 The awkward atmosphere lasted for a full two minutes, and finally it was Nishihara Kazusa who broke the silence.

 “Iinuma-kun?”

 “What happened?”

In fact, the old devil was asking questions knowingly. After all, the commotion the Eighth Route Army and Air Force had just made was quite big. Anyone who was not blind or deaf could have foreseen the tragic situation at the scene.

As the division commander of the same lieutenant general, he really didn’t want to add salt to the wounds of friendly forces.

However, if Mamoru Iinuma continues to waste time, thereby slowing down the advancement of the main frontal battlefield, then the senior Eighth Route Army general in Datong County is likely to slip away.

Between falling short of success and offending his colleagues, Nishihara Issaku chose the latter without any hesitation.

"What happened?"

Hearing his companion's inquiry, Iinuma Mamoru took a deep breath again, and then slowly exhaled it. After repeating this cycle several times, he reluctantly answered:

“Our division was attacked by the Eighth Route Army Air Force.”

“According to telegrams from the front line, almost 70% of the equipment of the mountain and field artillery regiments was lost, and only three 105mm howitzers at the division level were left.”

“Without the support of heavy weapons and anti-aircraft weapons, I am pessimistic about the coming battle.”

The 110th Division was a force formed from the Japanese base camp with the remaining personnel of the Himeji Division as the core.

 Because it has the foundation of a Category A, standing division, the division has almost never suffered a major blow since its establishment in June 1938 until yesterday.

 In this battle of Datong, the 110th Division lost an artillery regiment in just half an hour.

  Such exaggerated battle losses once made Iinuma Mamoru, who usually had a smooth sailing, lose the courage to attack.

Seeing his teammates thinking about quitting and selling out, Nishihara Issaku couldn't sit still.

If the 110th Division cannot break through the frontal positions outside Datong, the idea of ​​entering the city can only be a fantasy, let alone capturing the senior commanders of the Eighth Route Army alive.

 After thinking for a moment, the old devil decisively tried to persuade him:

“Iinuma-kun, there is an old saying in China that once you make a big effort, it will weaken and then you will be exhausted.”

“Now, both our troops stationed in Mongolia and your troops directly under the North China Front have lost a lot of troops and heavy weapons.”

“If we don’t attack with all our strength this time, we will not be able to complete the mission assigned by our superiors. You don’t want General Okamura Neiji to doubt the abilities of the three of us.”

 Hearing the name of his immediate boss, Iinuma Mamoru shuddered involuntarily.

 That general is a fanatical radical, and those who are targeted by the other party will basically not have any good results. When he thought that he might be wearing small shoes, he immediately said:

 “Thank you, Nishihara-kun, for your guidance. I will reflect on the mistake I just made.”

“The next attack will require the joint efforts of your cavalry group and Shi Yejun’s 26th Division!”

“Pass my order and the whole army will launch a general attack in five minutes! At any cost, we must blow up the city wall of Datong and rush in to capture the senior commander of the Eighth Route Army alive!”

 During the next preparation time, the three lieutenant generals reported their combat plans together and asked the Army Aviation of the North China Front to use their maximum cooperation to contain the enemy.

Everyone here has personally experienced the ruthlessness of the Eighth Route Army Air Force, and the officers and soldiers at the grassroots level have been psychologically shadowed by the ground-licking machine.

 Whenever an enemy plane flies over, even soldiers who have been brainwashed by Bushido will experience obvious fluctuations in combat effectiveness and morale.

If the opponent's close support aircraft cannot be held back, all plans will become empty talk.

  ·······

 After receiving the order from the commander of his own division, the 108th Brigade, which was responsible for the main attack, sent the 139th Regiment and the 140th Regiment to take the lead.

The 133rd Brigade, which suffered relatively large casualties, was forced to contribute its subordinate 110th Regiment, while the half-disabled 163rd Regiment became the reserve team for this general attack.

 Before the attack, the Japanese sent artillery observers and infantry to conduct close reconnaissance.

 The tasks of these people are simple. They only need to plan and distinguish the shooting areas and targets of mountain and field artillery, and specify the shooting range for the three 105 howitzers.

 “Boom, boom, boom!”

 The artillery opened fire, and the stud of the 110th Division officially began.

The remaining artillery provided a barrage of fire before the infantry moved from the assault position. Compared with an hour ago, the shelling at this time was sparse and completely lost its former glory.

 “What a black card! Onboard!”

With the shouts of the squadron and battalion captains, the Japanese infantry jumped out of the trenches one after another.

 Compared to the artillery who could barely fight back, the experience of these infantrymen was miserable, even worse than some kind of black farm tools from the ugly country.

The Japanese infantry had to launch a feint attack first, using themselves as bait to lure out the Eighth Route Army's hidden fortifications.

Only in this way can the artillery in the rear use a few artillery shells to open an attack channel for them. Since most of the mountain and field artillery in the brigade have been transferred by the artillery regiment for unified use, at this moment, only twelve Type 41 mountain guns and fifteen Type 92 infantry guns can provide supporting firepower for the infantry.

  If we really want to engage in confrontation, the Eighth Route Army's regimental 120mm mortars can completely destroy the enemy in terms of range, power and maneuverability.

The 81mm mortars at the battalion level can even chase down the Type 92 infantry, not to mention the company-level units also have a huge number of 60mm mortars.

 The disparity in strength of the artillery fire made it difficult for the three attacking regiments.

For every ten meters the Japs advanced, they had to pay the price of half a unit's casualties.

This situation made Kaho Ishii of the 108th Infantry Brigade and Mitake Tsuda of the 133rd Infantry Brigade very painful.

"We can't continue fighting like this. The casualties now far exceed the limit that you and I can bear."

“Even if our troops can rush to the foot of the city wall, the brutal street fighting will cause our division to suffer heavy losses. The structures have been destroyed, so what’s the use of taking credit.”

 “Use your trump card, don’t hesitate!”

As soon as these words came out, Tsuda Mitake hesitated for a moment and nodded.

At present, the strength of the North China Front Army is seriously insufficient, and the two major general brigade commanders have no room for promotion even if they have made meritorious service. Rather than working for your superiors in vain, it is better to protect your base as much as possible.

If the soldiers are gone, they will probably all have to go to a certain division to work as useless staff officers without real power.

“Give me the order! Let the two artillery squadrons go up and follow the three infantry regiments to fight together!”

“Don’t be reluctant to part with ammunition. As long as we can defeat the Eighth Route Army and advance into Datong, then I will personally take you to seize the enemy’s 81 and 120 mm mortars!”

 With the promise from their superiors, the artillery squadron, which was regarded as a secret weapon, officially rushed to the battlefield.

 The weapons used by these two artillery squadrons are Type 97 90mm mortars.

Japanese soldiers rarely equip mortars. After all, this thing violates the ideological program of forced militarism: to achieve maximum results with the minimum ammunition consumption.

  In contrast, they believe more in using grenades based on experience and feel.

However, after the Eighth Route Army was equipped with a large number of mortars, the Japanese base camp learned from the painful experience and urgently produced Type 97. As the strongest Class B division in North China, the 110th Division was naturally assigned to a group.

 “Boom, boom, boom!”

Mortar shells suddenly rose into the air from the rear of the infantry and landed in the defensive positions of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.

 The sudden attack really disrupted the comrades' defense plan. But there was no trace of anxiety in the eyes of every Eighth Route Army soldier. Instead, they were full of jest.

It’s as if the enemy is here to die.

  ·······

 In Tiger in the Forest’s plan, the urban peripheral warfare was divided into two parts.

In order to lure the enemy deeper, all the columns in the first stage tried to stay as close as possible and did not even use the magic weapon of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region: landmines.

 In the second stage, the enemy has been dazzled by the benefits, and the comrades can naturally use all their firepower.

In front of the second line of defense outside Datong, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region prepared an unprecedented minefield, which took almost half a year's production of major military industrial regions.

 “Boom!”

 After a loud noise, the first lucky person appeared.

 During the charge, a Japanese squad leader stepped on a landmine. The heavily drugged landmine blew him up more than three meters high, and his remaining limbs and broken arms caused a **** mess to his team members.

  No matter what the obstacle is, there must be a key prerequisite, which is the combination of firepower and obstacles.

 Take the minefield as an example. It can be regarded as a combined combat system. Among them, there are mines to deter the enemy, and rear fire support to attack the blocked enemy.

 The most taboo thing when attacking is to slow down. Once the pace stops, the defender will have a hundred ways to kill you.

"Da da da!"

Just when the Japanese team leader stepped on the mine, several heavy machine guns in the fortifications opened fire suddenly, and the sound of Hotchkiss heavy machine guns echoed along the entire defense line.

The metal storm enveloped the stunned Japanese group, and more than a dozen heavy machine guns fired crossfire at tricky angles.

 Bloody bullet holes bloomed on the infantry, and from time to time, 60- and 81-force artillery shells fell among the crowd.

All this scene is like the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region constantly urging the subordinate troops of the 110th Division to attack. Either they stay still and become a living target for us, or they charge headlong into the defense line that combines fire and obstacles.

 At this moment, every Japanese infantryman showed a desperate expression.

Although these people did not have high academic qualifications before joining the army, the famous Battle of the Somme is a classic battle that every soldier must know.

The combination of landmines, barbed wire, heavy machine guns and mortars was the main culprit that caused 60,000 casualties in one day in the Battle of the Somme. (End of chapter)