Rise From Eight Hundred

Faluling!

Compared with the Niangziguan position eight kilometers away, where the sound of artillery was deafening, the Faluling area, where the terrain was even more complex and changeable, seemed peaceful.

But only the officers and soldiers of the 17th Division, who were still busy on the main peaks and adjacent high ground, knew that this peace would not last long.

All battalions and companies had conveyed the notice from the division headquarters: an infantry brigade of the enemy's 20th Division, with more than 10,000 artillery, engineers, and cavalry, was coming from the direction of Jingxing with great momentum, and all units were on the highest wartime alert!

The 20th Division was an old rival. In October last year, the 17th Division had a bloody battle with the 20th Division at Faluling!

Xuehua Mountain, the gateway to Faluling, is a highland composed of the main peak of Xuehua Mountain with an altitude of more than 700 meters and nearly 10 large and small mountains around it.

Their side is the only passage in this mountainous area. People and vehicles can enter Faluling through this passage, and then travel 8 kilometers to enter Niangziguan!

Since ancient times, if you want to enter Niangzi Pass from the North China Plain, this place is the only way to go except the main road.

The 17th Division will naturally deploy heavy troops here.

The 102nd Regiment under the 17th Division was ordered to garrison Xuehua Mountain!

The reason why it is the 102nd Regiment is that the 102nd Regiment took the initiative to ask for battle. In October last year, this was also their defense zone.

Zhao Shoushan, wearing a steel helmet and military uniform, followed by only a guard squad, walked to a high ground about 800 meters away from the main peak.

A major infantry battalion commander who had been notified long ago hurried over to greet him with his three captain company commanders, but was blocked by the accompanying lieutenant colonel adjutant.

Standing on this hill with an altitude of more than 500 meters, overlooking the various fortifications and bunkers that the soldiers were constantly reinforcing a hundred meters away, a trace of pain flashed in the eyes of the white-haired general.

If Falu Ridge is his sad place, then Xuehua Mountain is his heartache!

In the battle of Faluling last year, an infantry regiment under the 17th Division suffered 70% casualties, and no one in the three infantry companies survived. Its colonel commander Zhang Jun had to order the troops to abandon the position. The result of the fall of the Xuehua Mountain position led to the main force of the Japanese army stationed in the main battlefield of Faluling, and divided and surrounded several high grounds, causing all the members of the two infantry battalions to die on the high ground.

Zhao Shoushan, who was furious, ordered his trusted general to be shot, and he did not relent even when a group of officers from the division headquarters knelt down to beg for mercy.

Thinking of the scene that day, tears welled up in the eyes of the white-haired general.

As a division commander, how could he not know that when an infantry regiment can still hold on after more than half of its casualties, it is already extremely powerful.

With 70% casualties, it is even a strong army among strong armies.

But that battle was different from an ordinary battle. He and the entire 17th Division could not retreat, and could not retreat. Behind them was the flank of Niangzi Pass. If Niangzi Pass was lost, the hinterland of Shanxi Province would be opened to the Japanese invaders, and tens of millions of people in Shanxi Province would fall into the flames of war.

Zhang Jun, but he followed his guard squad leader when he was a company commander. The two of them have been together for fifteen years, and have long surpassed the ordinary relationship between superiors and subordinates. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are as close as brothers.

But he retreated at such a critical moment!

If he is not killed, how can we be fair to the more than a thousand soldiers who died in the battle because of the loss of Xuehua Mountain and were divided and surrounded by the Japanese army? How can we be fair to the tens of millions of people in Shanxi Province?

Colonel Zhang Jun did not ask for life, but asked them to bring a message before the firing squad opened fire: "I deserve to die, but I beg the division commander to take my brothers from the 102nd Regiment home for the sake of our old friendship!"

However, he failed to fulfill the request of the army colonel who was ordered to die!

When retreating, the 17th Division, which had less than 3,000 people, could only carry away the living people, and those who died could only return to the mountains and fields!

In this battle, the 17th Division came to Falu Ridge again. The first thing all the officers and soldiers of the 17th Division did was not to build positions, but to search for corpses all over the mountains and fields!

The local people had buried most of them in the spring, but there were still thousands of corpses lying in the shallow bushes.

The most serious one is Xuehua Mountain!

Xuehua Mountain has no snow, but there are white bones everywhere. His soldiers have to suffer from wind and rain even when they die!

If their parents knew about this, how heartbroken would they be?

Even the white-haired general, whose mind is as hard as gold and stone, always feels heartbroken when thinking about it!

The white-haired general stood there in silence and looked down. After an unknown period of time, the adjutant came up and reported softly: "Commander, the commander of the 102nd Regiment and the battalion and company commanders of each battalion have arrived, waiting for your lecture!"

"Then let them all wait at the martyrs' cemetery! I'll go there right away! Let the brothers on the 521 highland stop for a while, I have something to say to them." The white-haired general waved his hand and said.

The martyrs' cemetery was just completed yesterday. All the remains that can be searched in the entire Xuehua Mountain are concentrated here. It is a joint tomb for more than 800 people.

The address was chosen by Colonel Cheng Pengjiu of the 102nd Regiment guarding Xuehua Mountain. It is on the side of a high ground below the main peak of Xuehua Mountain.

In his words, the heroic spirits of the brothers are not far away and will fight side by side with the rebuilt 102nd Regiment!

There are 138 infantry companies stationed on the 521 high ground. Together with the regiment commanders, battalion commanders, and company commanders who came from various high grounds of Xuehua Mountain, the officers and soldiers of the 17th Division standing in front of the martyrs' tomb are arranged in three rows. The first row is officers, and the two rows behind are soldiers.

The white-haired general stood in front of them.

"Brothers! I know that not many of you have been to this place called Xuehua Mountain, because most of those who have been here will stay here forever.

At this time last year, our 102nd Regiment had a full strength of 1,890 people. When we left, there were only 700 left, and everyone was injured! The 1190 people who have not left are all in front of you! "

The white-haired general's tone was not as passionate as Kang's, but rather calm.

But whether people are familiar with him or not, they can clearly feel the pain in the heart of the Army Lieutenant General when he talks about this number from the bits of white hair exposed when he removes his helmet.

In the officer queue, most of the officers' eyes were red.

Because in the past, 80% of the 102nd Regiment, from the colonel commander to the lieutenant platoon leader, died in battle. These people were all promoted after surviving the war.

In the queue of soldiers, there were many who bowed their heads and wept. In the tomb opposite, all their robes were buried.

"And now, our 102nd Regiment of the 17th Division is still defending Snow Flower Mountain, and when the enemy comes, we are the 20th Division. I ask you, do you want to avenge such a bloody feud?"

"want!"

"If I don't avenge this revenge, I am ashamed to be a man of Sanqin!"

.....

Under the leadership of the commander of the 102nd Regiment, more than a hundred officers and soldiers roared in unison!

"Okay! This battle in Eastern Jin Dynasty is not like the last time when the defense line was broken and there were tens of millions of people behind it, but it is still a matter of great importance.

If the defense line is broken, the triangle of our 70,000-strong army in eastern Shanxi will be broken up, and the Japanese army can march straight in to threaten the flanks of friendly forces. Our 70,000-strong army in eastern Shanxi will be completely destroyed!

Therefore, this battle is more dangerous than last year, and it is a fight to the death!

I, Zhao Shoushan, swear an oath in front of the heroes who died in the battle of our 17th Division. In this battle, the 12,000 officers and soldiers below me and Zhao Shoushan of our 17th Division will live and die together on the battlefield!

Those who retreat will be killed! Those who are afraid of war, kill them! Anyone who refuses will be killed!

In addition, please rest assured that all the brothers of the 102nd Regiment, neither I nor the division headquarters will go to this battle. It is right behind your Snowflake Mountain. If you are gone, I, Zhao Shoushan, the division headquarters personnel and everyone in the guard camp will fill in. !

You leave before me, and I will not shed tears, because I know that I, Zhao Shoushan, will soon join you!

If I die before you, then please don't be sad, please continue to hold the gun in your hand and kill the enemy! "

The white-haired general whose tone was calm just now was now like an angry lion, and the sound of cracking rocks echoed in the mountains!

"Kill the enemy!" Seeing that the division commander was so determined that he actually moved the division headquarters to Snowflake Mountain, the officers and soldiers of the 102nd Regiment were also filled with enthusiasm. They raised their guns one after another and started fighting at the division headquarters where they were determined to fight to the death. In front of the commander, he shouted wildly!

The courage of a general is greater than that of a soldier!

"Kill the enemy!" The roar of more than 100 people reached another high ground, and the soldiers on the high ground also raised their arms in response!

"Kill the enemy!" The entire Snowflake Mountain position was filled with rumbling roars.

The war hasn't started yet, but the fighting spirit is already surging on Snowflake Mountain!

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"What are the Chinese doing!" Less than 3 miles away from the Snowflake Mountain position, the leading Japanese soldiers of a hidden team were startled by the sudden rumbling roar and hid in the dense forest.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that they realized it was the Chinese shouting slogans. Although they couldn't hear clearly what they were shouting, they could still feel the determination of the Chinese soldiers on the opposite side.

Chinese people, this is a demonstration!

The information was quickly passed back to the ears of Yoshito Takagi, commander of the 39th Infantry Brigade of the 20th Division, who was still eight kilometers away from Snowflake Mountain.

"Haha! How dare you speak up for a defeated general? You're just cheering yourself up before the battle! Don't worry about them." Takagi Yoshito put down the information in his hand, his eyes full of contempt.

Unlike the 21st Division who didn't know their opponent at all, Takagi Yoshito already knew the number of the opponent he was about to face.

The 17th Division also learned from the Four Elements Regiment and formed its own reconnaissance force. Takagi Yoshito even sent out up to 200 leading soldiers before the main force arrived at Jingxing.

This also means that the main forces of the two sides have not yet met, but the reconnaissance elite have already fought in mountains and dense forests.

In just 24 hours, the reconnaissance troops of both sides exchanged fire more than ten times, with each suffering casualties.

Relying on a captured Japanese soldier, the 17th Division learned under torture that its opponent was the 39th Infantry Brigade of the 20th Division. The Japanese also discovered the 17th Division's serial number from the armbands of the Chinese scouts who died in the battle, which also made Takagi The Righteous Man determines the opponent he will face this time.

In the battle of Niangziguan of the 20th Division last year, the 39th Infantry Brigade mainly faced the enemy head-on. The 40th Infantry Brigade of the 20th Division fought against the 17th Division at Fulule Ridge. In the heart of the arrogant Yoshito Takagi, the 40th Infantry Brigade The combat effectiveness of the brigade was far inferior to that of the 39th Infantry Brigade, but it was still able to defeat the 17th Division.

Moreover, all the elite members of the 17th Division were killed in the last battle, but one year was not enough to recover. This time, he and the 39th Infantry Brigade carried three artillery brigades from the artillery wing of the division. What can the 17th Division do to fight against his tens of thousands of troops?

Takagi Yoshito is not arrogant out of thin air. This time the 20th Division seems to be divided into two. The 40th Infantry Brigade is mainly composed of the 18th Division on the eastern front to attack the Chinese army's defense line. The 39th Infantry Brigade was mainly responsible for attacking Niangziguan, but due to time constraints, the 40th Infantry Brigade only carried an artillery brigade, a tank squadron and part of the engineer regiment.

The 20th Division is a permanent division, and its artillery wing can have four artillery brigades, three 75mm mountain artillery brigades and one 105 howitzer battalion.

This means that the 39th Infantry Brigade will have heavy firepower support from 24 75mm mountain guns and 12 105mm howitzers, plus the 8 75mm mountain guns, 8 90mm mortars, and 20 70mm infantry guns owned by the two infantry regiments of the Infantry Brigade. The total number of artillery available to the entire Infantry Brigade is as high as 72!

If we add the air support that can arrive at any time, as well as most of the baggage regiment he brought with him this time, two engineering squadrons, and two cavalry squadrons, the total strength of the army is as high as 12,000. He wants to ask, can the defeated generals of that division just rely on slogans to withstand the dense firepower of such a large army.

Indeed, theoretically and logically, no flesh and blood can survive such terrible artillery fire!

But if this confident Japanese major general had the opportunity to see the battle on the ice field, he would know that miracles are always created by people.

At that time, the Chinese soldiers were not facing them, but the American cowboys who were armed to the teeth. The 72 artillery pieces that made Takagi Yoshito confident were just typical small Karami in front of the American cowboys!

Even if it was to attack a small hill, the Americans had at least dozens of guns, and at most hundreds of guns, plus dozens of bombers dropping bombs in the sky.

That was a serious bomber, with a single bomb carrying more than five tons. I don’t know how many Type 96 fighters of the Japanese North China Front Army with bombs of only one thousand pounds were killed in seconds!

After the artillery fire, the rock layers on the high ground would become softer than mud, and the peaks would be cut down by several centimeters!

Can anyone still survive?

There are still, and they are still fighting!

There is an old Chinese saying that man can conquer nature! It can only be people themselves, not equipment, that determine the direction of victory in war.

Shells and bombs can shatter flesh and blood, but they can never blow up people’s spiritual will!

It’s just that sacrifice is inevitable!

The choice made by the arrogant Takagi Yoshito was exactly the same as that of the fat lieutenant general who was about to be roasted. As soon as he came up, he started with a big stick!

For him, it didn't matter whether he had a trump card or not. He just played an open card. What could the Chinese do?

Isn't it just bombed?

He just wanted to use his own big killer to smash the so-called will of the Chinese!

Truth is only within the range of artillery! Takagi Yoshito is a big fan of Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister in German history, and he highly praised this iron-blooded theory.

Just when the two infantry battalions of the 21st Division began to attack the main defense line of Niangzi Pass on a large scale, the Xuehua Mountain position was also hit by the first round of artillery fire from the 20th Division.

12 Type 91 105 howitzers with a range of up to 10,500 meters took the lead!

The main peak position of Xuehua Mountain and nearly ten high grounds on its flanks were all included in the attack range. All positions were bombed into a sea of ​​fire and filled with smoke.

The Type 91 105mm howitzer is the largest caliber artillery of the Japanese division. The shell weighs 18 kg and has a charge of 2.52 kg. The projectile runs thousands of meters in the air at an initial velocity of 454 meters and has a killing radius of up to 32 meters.

Do a simple calculation problem and calculate the area of ​​the circle, and you will know that the killing area of ​​the shell is as high as more than 3,200 square meters.

And how big is a basketball court? 28 meters long, 15 meters wide, and an area of ​​420 meters. 3,200 meters is close to the area of ​​8 basketball courts.

When a 105mm caliber shell falls, a sea of ​​fire will appear within 3,200 square meters. What will it be like if the twelve guns fire at the same time?

In the morning, the Niangziguan defense line was bombarded by only four 105mm howitzers, and no protrusions could be seen.

With nearly 20 minutes of firepower assault, each howitzer fired at least 40 shells, and the several highlands of Xuehua Mountain, which were ravaged by 500 shells, were simply horrible.

The trenches with a depth of 1.8 meters collapsed in more than a dozen places, which were not hit directly by the shells. Even if the impact point was still more than ten meters away, the trenches were squeezed inward and deformed and collapsed completely due to the violent energy.

If there were people hiding inside, they might be squeezed to death by the earth wall!

The heavy machine gun fortifications that the soldiers spent two days to build with three or four layers of sacks and logs to prevent grenade launcher attacks had already been blown into a white land, and both people and machine guns were turned into a pile of parts.

The autumn sun in the afternoon was actually quite warm, but the temperature on the position at this moment was at least ten degrees higher, because not only the corner wood of the fortifications on the position was burning, but also the surrounding woods and shrubs were burning.

The Japanese army not only used blooming grenades, but also sulfur bombs, which were simple versions of incendiary bombs!

The main purpose of turning the entire mountain forest into a sea of ​​fire is not to burn many Chinese soldiers to death, but to clear the trees and shrubs on the high ground, so that the subsequent infantry can have more vision when attacking.

The Japanese army will regret it soon.

Because their infantry has a much clearer vision, but the Chinese soldiers have the same vision, and they are in a high position, which makes it easier to kill people!

After the artillery fire, except for the crackling sound of burning wood, there was miraculously not much crying on the 489 high ground, 300 meters away from the 521 high ground!

There is a whole infantry platoon of 50 people stationed there.

This seems a bit weird!

The Xuehua Mountain Highland is different from the main defense line of Niangzi Pass. Because of the terrain, the Japanese artillery can only fire in the direction of the side slope, which leads to the main defense line of Niangzi Pass having a long enough reverse slope, which is the blind spot of the Japanese artillery.

But the terrain of Xuehua Mountain is in the shape of a plum blossom, and there must be defenders on each high ground, which means that not every high ground has an area that can be used to avoid artillery fire on the reverse slope.

When artillery fire comes, the only things that can protect the soldiers are anti-artillery holes and trenches!

Under this round of fierce artillery fire, losses are inevitable!

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PS: I went to the county yesterday because of something. Wow, the wine in the mountains is really strong. Fengyue is a dregs of wine. Just smelling it makes me feel drunk, not to mention that I drank at least 3 taels. I don’t know how I got home, so I didn’t even ask for leave.

Although I don’t have to go to class in June, I have too much official business. I have to visit and study in several universities in Jinling, Hangzhou, and Shanghai in the second half of the month. Let me tell you in advance that the update will not be satisfactory, but after the holiday in July, Fengyue will definitely work at full speed.