Rise From Eight Hundred

The Japanese artillery was well prepared. The power of the 24 75mm mountain guns shrouded the 1,800-meter defense line on the north bank of the Zhuozhang River in thick smoke.

In half an hour, the 24 mountain guns actually poured more than 1,200 shells on the position of the 772th Regiment. Such artillery preparation was extremely rare even in the Japanese army.

Moreover, the position area chosen by the Japanese artillery was also very tricky. They were around a small hill about 1,000 meters behind Zhaozhuang, a stronghold on the rear wing. The woods on the hill became the camouflage of the Japanese artillery, making it impossible to figure out where the Japanese artillery was placed.

And its infantry began to arrange the defense line 600 meters away from the location of the artillery position. There was no need for a circle. As long as it faced a semi-circle of mountains 1,500 meters away, it could block all enemies who dared to rush out of the mountains.

Even if the 683rd Brigade Supplementary Regiment could see the smoke rising 2,000 meters away from the mountain peak and had several mortars in hand, they could only sigh in vain! After all, the current 683rd Brigade is not so luxurious as to aimlessly and rely on luck to launch retaliatory artillery bombardments on the Japanese artillery positions.

Therefore, the Japanese artillery was very comfortable, and the Japanese vanguard infantry also began to attack the Zhuozhang River at the infantry squad level under the cover of their own increasingly sparse artillery fire. More than 8 Type 94 armored vehicles rushed to the front.

Of course, before finding out whether the Chinese army had anti-tank guns, the Type 94 armored vehicles were not cannon fodder to send heads. According to the order of the mountain text that arrived at the front-line command, the armored vehicles dispatched by the tank squadron must stay 200 meters before the Zhuozhang River and must not advance easily.

Armored vehicles cannot be cannon fodder, so the cannon fodder must be the first batch of infantry to advance.

Although they were cannon fodder, they were not casually lost. 1,200 rounds of artillery shells paved the way for them, 8 Type 94 tanks provided cover for them, and there were 16 heavy machine guns on the flanks to provide fire support for them.

A total of more than 300 Japanese infantrymen bent over and trotted forward, and a total of 8 infantry squads attacked on the left and right banks of the river.

The first wave of Japanese infantrymen who launched the attack were actually almost scared. The battles in the past few days had already made them know that the Chinese in Taihang Mountains were completely different from the Chinese who collapsed at the first blow on the North China Plain.

Although the bombers had bombed several times and the imperial artillery had come to wash the ground again, the Chinese must not have died out, and they would definitely stay in the trenches, just waiting for them to get closer and closer.

But the more timid the Japanese infantrymen were, the less likely they were to be hit by the rain of bullets they imagined, even if they had rushed to a position less than 100 meters from the river.

This made Lai Gu Yinan, who personally arrived at the trench 700 meters away to supervise the battle, look uncertain. Based on his understanding of the Chinese army that lacks heavy weapons, the Chinese rarely shoot to suppress the attacking troops at a distance of 200 meters, but they will never let the opponent easily cross the 100-meter life and death line.

At a distance of 100 meters, if a fully armed soldier charges, it only takes about 16 seconds. Once a sufficiently strong firepower network cannot be formed, it is easy for the imperial infantry to rush to the 30-meter position, which is also the attack area of ​​the melon grenade. Once there, countless melon grenades are thrown over, and the probability of rushing into the trench is basically greater than 70%.

But the Chinese position is still quiet, as if they are collectively asleep. Could it be that the Chinese have been swallowed by the surging artillery fire?

This beautiful wish flashed in Lai Gu Yinan's mind. As a mature soldier, he knew very well that fierce artillery fire might inflict heavy damage on the opponent, but it would be extremely stupid to pin all hopes of annihilating the enemy on artillery shells.

In the history of the Empire and the Chinese army, there has never been a case of artillery killing all the Chinese.

The final solution to the battlefield still depends on the muzzle and bayonet of the infantry.

There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. Looking at his own infantry getting closer and closer to the Zhuozhang River, which is more than 20 meters wide, Lai Gu Yinan is getting more and more uneasy. The "half-crossing attack" in the Chinese Sun Tzu's Art of War keeps flashing in his mind.

In the water, people's flexibility is bound to be limited, and they can't lie down quickly to avoid. The death rate is much higher than on flat ground. Lai Gu Yinan can almost foresee that the casualties of his subordinates who rushed into the river must exceed one-third.

But as a commander, what can he do? He must know how deep the river is, how fast the water flows, and the layout of the opponent's heavy firepower points. All of these need to be found out by using bloody lives as bait.

"Order the chariot squadron in front to go out to fight the chariot, and must ensure the suppression of enemy firepower and the strongest firepower cover for the infantry." Lai Gu Yinan ordered with a serious face.

This was the greatest support he could give to his subordinates.

As a result, a shocking scene appeared. Even though the vanguard of the Japanese infantry had already stepped into the cold river, as they moved forward, the river was waist-deep, and the other side was still quiet.

What are the Chinese doing? This question was almost the voice of all the Japanese soldiers on the battlefield.

The strange silence from the opponent made every Japanese soldier who watched this scene hold his breath involuntarily. If it weren't for the artillery fire of the 75 mountain gun still extending forward, blasting smoke three or four hundred meters away, the Japanese would even involuntarily have an illusion: In fact, there was no one else on this battlefield except them, and the Chinese had already been blown away by the imperial fighter planes and artillery.

But obviously, this is also just a good hope.

Not to mention that criss-crossing trenches have been dug on the north bank of the Zhuozhang River. There are more than 20 artillery-proof holes alone. When the Japanese artillery fire began to test, the three infantry battalions of the 772nd Regiment passed through the communication trenches in platoon units. Withdrawing to the artillery-proof holes that had been designated long ago, two infantry companies were left in the trenches as security forces.

The Japanese artillery fire was fierce enough and caused some losses to the two infantry companies remaining in the trenches. However, if it could kill all the more than 200 Chinese officers and soldiers scattered in the 1,800-meter trench, the intensity of the Japanese artillery fire would have to be at least Take 5.

When the Japanese artillery fire gradually became sparse and extended a hundred meters away from the river, each battalion sent two infantry platoons out of the anti-gun holes and provided support to the front line through the communication trenches.

Although not all the main force of the 772nd Regiment is currently on the front line, there are as many as 4 infantry companies with nearly 540 people, which is slightly more powerful than the Japanese army.

Not only that, some heavy machine guns and mortars from the respective fire support companies of the 3rd Battalion also entered their respective fighting positions at the risk of being shelled. If they wanted to fight, they could fire at any time.

However, Battalion Commander Xiao Ding, who served as the front-line commander, was slow to give the order to fight back. Even though the captain and company commander who was following him asked twice in a row with sweat on his face, he shook his head firmly.

"Wait, let everyone wait!" Battalion Commander Xiao Ding was lying behind the sandbags in the trench, carefully looking at the Japanese troops trudging on the river through the specially left gap. "The little devil is just waiting for our machine guns to fire! The grenadiers and infantry artillery should have been prepared long ago, but this time I didn't get what he wanted and didn't use the machine guns."

As he was talking, the eight Type 94 tanks on the other side began to fire wildly. The machine gun bullets hit the soil in front of the position like raindrops, making a popping sound!

"The Japanese are about to start crossing the river on a large scale." Battalion Commander Xiao Ding leaned against the trench wall, his face still calm. "Tell the officers and soldiers that according to the original plan, half of them will use guns and the other half will be responsible for dropping bombs. We don't need machine guns this time, and we can still kill the stubborn Japanese."

Before he finished speaking, a dozen meters in front of the position, ‘Boom, boom, boom! ’ There was a cloud of smoke. It was the Japanese melon grenade.

The reason why melon grenades are basically thrown in front of the positions is because the trenches are dug along the river, but not next to the river. The far distance is 50 meters from the river, and the short distance is about 40 meters. Crossing the river The Japanese army wanted to throw hand grenades into the trenches, but that was a dream.

And the reason why the Japanese army started throwing grenades as soon as they crossed the river instead of continuing forward was because they really didn't want to move forward, but they couldn't.

The terrain on the north bank of the river is relatively high. Perhaps due to the perennial erosion of the river, a natural ridge is formed, which is more than 2 meters high.

After some Japanese troops crossed the river, they couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded. They had to set up human ladders if they wanted to climb this hurdle.

In the past, one person would make the ladder, and the other person would run all the way with the gun, using the momentum and the shoulders of his companions to jump up.

But now, they have already spent a lot of energy trudging in the mud, and after crossing the river, half of their energy has been lost. The completely soaked leather boots and military uniforms have gained more than ten kilograms in vain. You let them continue With such strong skills, he still has to cross a ridge of more than 2 meters with a height of less than 1.6 meters. It is really a strong man to lock a man!

But staying here all the time is not a problem, and when more and more colleagues cross the river, it is dangerous to crowd in here.

Not having enough sense of space on the battlefield is what worries soldiers the most.

Therefore, many Japanese troops who had already arrived at the gully chose to throw grenades outside the gully, which could be regarded as strengthening their momentum. What if the Chinese were killed?

As everyone knows, this is a signal sent to Battalion Commander Xiao Ding in the trench. Based on the density of grenade explosions, he determines that the Japanese army has reached at least one-third.

"Fire!" Battalion Commander Xiao Ding held up his shell gun and fired along the gaps in the sandbags.

Suddenly, gunshots sounded like exploding beans on the battlefield.

This is not a targeted shot at all, it is a random shot.

Because the smoke caused by the grenade explosion made it impossible for those in the trenches to see the front clearly. The bullets fired simply told the Japanese army that even if they climbed over that hurdle, they would have to stay on their backs. The bullets would hurt them if they hit them. If you die, you will die.

The 772nd Regiment had all been re-equipped with Japanese weapons before the war. Faced with such a big battle, Brigadier Cheng Da naturally did not dare to hide it. Not only were the two main regiments all re-equipped with Japanese weapons, but even the supplementary regiment was also re-equipped with half of them. The Jin-made firearms even carried all the ammunition in stock.

In his words, if we lose this battle, we will not be able to stay in the Taihang Mountains anymore. Our oath when we crossed the Yellow River has been fed to the dogs, so why do we need guns and ammunition? The average soldier carries up to 100 rounds of ammunition.

Of course, the grenade is still an imitation of the German long wooden handle grenade, which is much more powerful than the Japanese melon grenade. The 683 Brigade is not short of that for the time being.

Therefore, this wave can be regarded as Japanese weapons versus Japanese weapons. In terms of light firepower, the two sides are almost the same, except for grenades.

Several Japanese soldiers who had just appeared in more than a dozen places fell instantly. Those who were lucky enough not to be hit by bullets either lay on the ground or rolled down the ditch quickly.

"Drop the bomb!" Battalion Commander Xiao Ding ordered again.

As the infantry company beside him threw sixty or seventy grenades in one breath, they exploded by the river, and the other infantry companies also began to throw grenades wildly.

This was a tactic that had been formulated long before the war. The first wave of Japanese troops tested the enemy and would not expose the firepower of heavy machine guns unless absolutely necessary.

But we cannot let these cannon fodder Japanese troops just run back. A large number of casualties are inevitable.

Neither rifles nor light machine guns can achieve this goal, so grenades are the only option.

The timing of using this grenade is also very important. It must wait until the Japanese army has finished crossing the river and gathered under the natural gully. It is stuck at the time when they want to go up but cannot.

The melon grenade cannot be thrown at a distance of 40 meters, but the wooden handle grenade equipped by the Chinese army can.

Even if only half of the four infantry companies dropped bombs, there would still be more than 200 people. One wave would throw more than 200 grenades. Even if only half of them crossed the ditch and exploded below the ditch, there would have been nearly 600 grenades in four waves. Bar!

The river bank is nearly 2,000 meters long, with an average density of 3 meters. When a grenade explodes, the key is that there is nowhere to hide. Even if you lie down on the gravel ground by the river, there is a high chance of being hit by the blue-smoke grenade. , do you think there is still a way to survive?

Nearly 150 Japanese soldiers gathered under the ditch. They were blown up to the point of howling like ghosts! The scene of broken limbs and bloody flesh stunned the Japanese soldiers who were still trudging in the river.

A Japanese soldier felt his face being slapped hard. After looking around, he found that his nearest comrade was still 10 meters away. He instinctively reached out and touched it, but he pulled out a piece of skin with curly hair from his face. .

The skin and flesh could no longer show any specific features to the Japanese infantryman as to which part of the human body it belonged to, but it definitely belonged to his colleague.

The Japanese infantrymen looked at the bloody flesh on their hands in fear. After staying for nearly five seconds, they screamed strangely and ran back. At least seven or eight Japanese infantrymen followed the same example and followed the deserter with crazy steps. Run backwards with short legs.

"Baga!" A Japanese officer with the rank of second lieutenant held a Southern Type 14 pistol and prepared to shoot at his subordinate who was the first to escape.

But as a crisp gunshot rang out, the Japanese officer's arm dropped weakly, and the tortoise box fell into the roaring river, becoming a real tortoise.

The light machine guns on the Chinese position began to take this opportunity to shoot towards the river through the shooting holes made of sandbags.

The characteristics of the pistol in the hand of the Japanese officer were so obvious that he was discovered by a Chinese machine gunner and a hail of bullets was fired directly at him. Therefore, he was not the first Japanese lieutenant to die on this battlefield, but he was definitely the first. A team leader feeding the fish.

With just this fat, the fish in the Zhuozhang River will have to eat it for many days.

As the saying goes: No matter how fast you run, you can't outrun the bullet! What's more, it's still in the water. Although the Japanese Type 94 armored vehicles have tried their best to provide fire cover, and there are also Japanese grenadiers not far away who are bombarding them, the Chinese light machine gunners and riflemen with two layers of sandbags can still stand down. Enjoy killing the Japanese soldiers who started to flee in the river!

According to post-war statistics, in this first wave, 4 out of 8 infantry squads were declared out of commission. More than 200 Japanese troops remained in the river and under the ditches beside the river, but there were surprisingly few wounded soldiers. No more than 20 people in total.

Because if you are injured in the river and lose the ability to walk, you will basically be swallowed up by the surging river water very quickly. Those who can survive are basically the chosen ones.

"Baga!" Yoshitani Laigu watched helplessly as his soldiers were being ruthlessly harvested by the Chinese. It was extremely rare for him to take the initiative to retreat. And this was the result of the Chinese not using heavy machine guns. You can imagine the anger in his heart.

"Asshole! Give me the order to Yoshio Laitani. The artillery will continue to bombard the Chinese position in five minutes. The fire preparation time is 15 minutes.

During these 15 minutes, he immediately organized a second wave of attacks. This time the tank squadron could follow his infantry, and the engineers would also carry enough equipment to accompany the infantry. Tell him, I don’t want any more difficult terrain, China Excuses like man's fierce firepower! "Yamashita was equally furious when he learned over the phone that the front line was frustrated but failed to implement even the most basic tactics.

At this moment, a thunderous 'bang' sound suddenly came from the distance, and Yamashita's eyes, which were already angry, were even more fierce. He knew that the noise could only be caused by the artillery group, and he did not order the artillery brigade to fire. .

How could the artillery group skip his command and provide artillery support to the rear flank? Even if the military situation is urgent, it is still against the order.

In other words, the artillery battalion was still two kilometers away from him. Otherwise, the furious Yamashita might have pointed out some loudmouths.

But Yamashita obviously didn't know that the artillery captain who had taken the blame for some reason was looking into the distance with his mouth wide open.

Although the muzzles of the 24 mountain cannons under his command are still emitting green smoke, this is the heat dissipation phenomenon of the previous firing and has nothing to do with the rumbling sound of the cannons.

Moreover, hearing that movement, it was not something that his 24 mountain cannons could have caused.

That belongs to the Chinese, and the number of artillery pieces may not be less than that of his artillery brigade. The heart of the Japanese artillery brigade is slowly sinking.

The experience of the old artillerymen is very correct.

The artillery fired this time were 6 150-meter heavy guns and 16 75-meter mountain guns, totaling 22 artillery pieces. The number was roughly the same as that of the Japanese artillery brigade.

However, the 150-weight shell weighs 18 kilograms, which is nearly three times that of the 6.5-kilogram mountain cannon shell. Its power is obvious.

In just the first round of shelling, the Japanese troops in the Zhaozhuang area were beaten to the point of crying for their fathers and mothers. The captain of the infantry brigade asked Yamashita for reinforcements three minutes after being shelled.

If the Chinese artillery fire was allowed to continue like this, his already somewhat incomplete infantry brigade would be bombarded to the point of paralysis before nightfall, and its combat effectiveness would be less than half of its previous state.

On the one hand, the Chinese artillery is very powerful, but what is even worse is that their soldiers do not have decent trenches to protect them.

The major captain who originally stayed in the village did not dare to stay any longer. He had reason to suspect that the Chinese would open fire on the village.

Rich combat experience saved the Japanese army major. Within 5 minutes, the Chinese artillery group that found the coordinates of the village extended its artillery fire to the village. The entire village was reduced to powder in 5 minutes.

After the war, according to the captured Japanese battle reports, the infantry brigade lost 166 people in the first wave of artillery, almost an infantry squadron. If there were two more waves, the infantry brigade with more than 700 soldiers would be almost the same.

Facts have proved that not only Chinese soldiers were unable to withstand artillery, but neither were the Japanese.

"What? The Chinese have artillery groups no less numerous than ours?" Yamashita's face turned pale after receiving the telegram, and he sat down on a chair in the small courtyard and remained silent for a long time.

As an army general, he was very aware of the destructive power of artillery.

There are not enough bunkers, and his rear wing army is the meat on the Chinese chopping board, which can be cut however they want.

"Instruct Lieutenant Colonel Yin Teng to the rear. The artillery brigade will give him maximum support and ask him to drag him until the sun sets no matter what. Then he will use all his strength to build fortifications overnight and tell the officers and soldiers of the brigade that this is a time of life and death for the entire brigade. If If you don't try your best, you will die!" Yamashita tried his best to calm down.

It is no longer that important when to break through the Zhuozhang River. What is important is that the rear wing must not be broken, otherwise, the entire army will be destroyed.

Perhaps, if he survives this night and waits until the Army aviation fighter planes find the enemy's artillery position tomorrow and destroy it, he will be able to hold on for a few more days even if he is trapped.

This is the only countermeasure the Japanese general can think of at the moment.

But the Japanese Army Major General who was at the end of his rope may not have thought about one question: Why do the Chinese dare to expose their artillery and strength in such a big way?

Or perhaps, Yamashita had thought of it, but now he was drinking poison to quench his thirst. No matter what the Chinese were up to, his hope of survival for the Second Mixed Brigade lay with the Imperial Air Force.

Captain Sasaki, who was hundreds of miles away, felt a slight chill in his vest!