Rise From Eight Hundred

After quickly dealing with the enemy in Zhaojiazhuang, Tang Dao did not leave, but moved his front-line command post to Zhaojiazhuang.

About 1,500 people from the Four-line Regiment and the 80th Army Group, who were originally sent to block the enemy 10 kilometers away, were also transferred back to the Zhaojiazhuang battlefield. Together with the 3,000 militiamen mobilized from the surrounding villages, a total of about 9,000 people were deployed in a 260-degree fan-shaped defense position with Zhaojiazhuang as the center point, relying on the original road trenches and fortifications built by the Japanese army, facing the direction where the Japanese army must attack.

Each defense position not only needs to build three layers of defense trenches nearly 100 meters apart, but also has a communication trench connected to the rear second-line position. The entire battlefield area exceeds 3 square kilometers.

The remaining gap of more than 90 degrees may seem flat, but if the Japanese army wants to pass through it, it would be like a bat looking at the sun - blind!

Bai Sheng sent an engineering platoon to plant more than a thousand mines in this seemingly peaceful area without even trenches. These mines were not only anti-infantry mines, but also anti-tank mines. Even the 9-ton Type 89 tank, which is currently the main equipment of the Japanese army, could be blown upside down by this 5-kilogram anti-tank mine with "cyclone explosives".

To put it bluntly, that place was not only a death trap set by Tang Dao for the Japanese army, but also saved at least 1,000 troops.

Tang Dao could deploy all the main forces of several infantry companies of its Four-Line Regiment on a front position with a width of 2,000 meters and a depth of 800 meters. The left and right wings were mainly composed of 5 infantry companies with nearly 3,000 people gathered from the 80th Army.

Before the arrival of the Japanese army approaching from the XT city, the 3,000 militiamen evacuated 2,000 people through the ditch, leaving only 1,000 people temporarily as stretcher teams and reserves.

The three elite infantry companies led by Tang Dao personally, except for the guard company used by Tang Dao as his own reserve, the reconnaissance company and the mountain infantry company left Zhaojiazhuang early and disappeared in the wilderness.

Those who are familiar with Tang Dao's tactics know that these two elite infantry companies must be waiting for an opportunity outside the battlefield area. They will wait for the most suitable opportunity to show their fangs like wolves and give a fatal blow to the unsuspecting prey.

The 12 150-caliber mortars of the heavy mortar company are also located less than 1,000 meters away from the front line, and their own sunken gun positions are built.

Each gun position is in a deep trench of 8 meters deep, with traffic trenches on both sides for artillery to enter and exit. To prevent the stored shells from being detonated, the shells are placed in a semi-open anti-gun cave 30 meters away from the artillery squad.

In addition, to prevent the Japanese reconnaissance aircraft from discovering the position, camouflage nets were covered above each gun position. Fortunately, it was midsummer now. Although the Zhaojiazhuang area had experienced a round of war, there were still trees. Unless the Japanese reconnaissance aircraft flew at low altitude, it would be extremely difficult to find the most important fire support location of the Sihang Regiment.

The 12 40mm anti-aircraft guns and 12 quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns of the air defense company also adopted this method. Unless the gun positions on the flat ground were hit by artillery shells or aerial bombs, even 500-pound aerial bombs could not cause fatal damage to these heavy weapons that could knock the Japanese unconscious.

The 20mm machine guns and 7mm heavy machine guns brought by various units were not placed in the rear, but on the third line of defense. The top of the semi-sunken fortifications was covered with solid logs and nearly one meter thick loess, and the front was covered with 15mm thick steel plates and three layers of sandbags inside and outside. Unless the 92 infantry guns could fire continuously at the front of these fortifications, it would be difficult to destroy this strange "earth bag" that was only less than 5 meters above the ground!

On the three battlefields, there were as many as 26 such fortifications, 12 on the front and 7 on each wing, which also meant that there were 26 heavy firepower points that could penetrate the Japanese main battle tanks at a distance of 500 meters.

Before the Japanese destroyed all these heavy firepower points, their tanks that could once roam the North China Plain were destined to be difficult to show their former prestige.

If these heavy firepower points were used to fight infantry, it would become a nightmare for the infantry of the Japanese 10th Division.

Even if it is bitten by the smallest caliber 7mm bullet, it will be a hole as big as a bowl. I just want to ask you if you are afraid!

The officers and soldiers of the independent regiment affiliated to the 683rd Brigade have heard about how powerful the heavy firepower of the Four-Line Regiment is, but what really opened their eyes was the civil engineering operation capability of the entire army of the Four-Line Regiment.

In theory, the ability of the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Group Army, who have long been fighting against the Japanese army with insufficient firepower, to build fortifications is already first-class.

An infantry platoon of 80 people can even dig a simple field trench of 150 meters long, 8 meters wide and 1 meter deep on this plain in just 15 minutes.

But this is only a miracle of great strength, far less than the understanding of the officers and soldiers of the Four-Line Regiment on civil engineering operations. Even a second lieutenant platoon leader can quickly plan a trench system that is not only wide and deep, but also has sufficient defense against artillery according to the terrain.

The officers and soldiers of the Four Lines Regiment, who have been constantly growing on the battlefield, have already surpassed their opponents in civil engineering operations. Otherwise, they would not have been able to complete such a large and complete defensive fortification system project within 7 hours.

Of course, the Tang sword and the skills of the Four Lines Regiment did not come from others, but from the officers and soldiers of the Eighth Group Army who now admire the officers and soldiers of the Four Lines Regiment.

They didn't know that they would train this skill to the pinnacle in a few years after gradually growing up in the flames of war. Even if the American cowboys in the future ice field war could drop hundreds of tons of bombs on a mountain in half a day and flatten the entire mountain by dozens of centimeters, they could not destroy them.

China may not produce steel, but it has the will to produce steel and the terrifying learning ability!

The current level of the Four-Line Regiment in civil engineering operations is far from comparable to the peak of the Chinese army 11 years later.

But it is enough to deal with the 10th Division that is coming with great momentum.

Until four o'clock in the afternoon, the late Japanese 8th Brigade Commander Sewu Heisuke stood on a hill 3 kilometers away from Zhaojiazhuang, looking at the criss-crossing trenches 1,000 meters ahead, full of disbelief.

Yes, he was a little late, but it was not his fault. The Chinese had buried too many mines on the road leading to this place. In order to ensure the smooth passage of vehicles transporting materials and personnel, he had to wait with the main force of the infantry until the road was completely cleared.

It took him and more than 5,000 men seven hours to reach the road of less than 50 kilometers.

Although this was also due to the fact that Colonel Numata Taku and more than 1,700 imperial officers and soldiers had all died five hours ago, and he was psychologically unable to catch up with the heat even if he ate shit, the Chinese minefield did create a great obstacle for him.

Originally, Heisuke Sembu thought that the Chinese who had taken advantage would most likely flee, so he would use 5,000 heavy troops to sweep the Chinese villages along the way one by one.

Heisuke Sembu believed that under the pressure of 5,000 troops, any resistance from the Chinese would be futile. He even set a goal for himself: if the brigade lost nearly 2,000 officers and soldiers, he would kill 20,000 Chinese.

For this reason, the baggage train carried more than two weeks of rations. In the next half month, he would let the Chinese in Lincheng, no, the entire Xingtai, know the consequences of going against the empire.

But obviously, he was wrong. The Chinese not only did not run away, but were still waiting for him.

However, Heisuke Sezaki was not happy at all. The criss-crossing trenches in the telescope had already let him know that this was definitely a tough nut to crack. With the four infantry battalions under his command, once the war started, they would definitely be hit and bloodied.

Thinking that the division commander had already led the main force of the division to come to the rescue, there were also 28 tanks and 36 mountain guns. Heisuke Sezaki, who was shocked by the Chinese fortifications, ordered to scout the battlefield first, and then wait until the main force of the division arrived before besieging it.

As the No. 3 figure in the 10th Division, Heisuke Sezaki felt that he, the highest commander on the front line, was fully qualified to make this decision, so he called back to Yoshio Shinozuka: Thousands of enemy troops have been surrounded by our army, and the enemy has built trenches to resist stubbornly. Our troops are conducting reconnaissance on the enemy's positions and formulating attack tactics!

To ​​put it bluntly, this telegram is a panacea-type telegram. No matter whether to fight or not, no one dares to say that he is wrong.

Chinese military books all say "know yourself and know the enemy, and you will win every battle." If you don't even know the situation of the opponent's position, how can you fight a base?

However, before the reconnaissance report came out, it was dark.

Night battles are the Chinese's strong point, and Heisuke Sezaki will naturally not attack stupidly.

So, the 5,000 Japanese troops and the 7,000 Chinese troops led by Tang Dao met before sunset, and then the two armies spent the night in peace. At most, there were a few cold shots fired from the front line, and a few Japanese scouts who were too close were killed.

When Shinozuka Yoshio arrived at dawn the next day, he knew that the 8th Brigade, which had arrived at the battlefield 14 hours ago, had only slept for a night except digging trenches, and had not even fired a single shot. His eyes went dark.

The Chinese were able to build such a complex trench in 7 hours. If they were given another 14 hours, who knows how many more fortifications they would have improved?

Shinozuka Yoshio really couldn't find any other word to define his general except stupid.

But what could he do? He was a major general, not a major, who was only one level lower than him. Shinozuka Yoshio could only bear it for the time being even if he was furious.

Shinozuka Yoshio was indeed smarter than Senwu Heisuke. When he saw that the Japanese army that arrived did not directly launch an attack but only conducted reconnaissance and built their own trenches, Tang Dao almost laughed three times like Cao Cao.

Fortunately, Tang Dao didn't like to plant flags!

But this precious night was a great help to the Chinese army on the battlefield.

The originally imperfect anti-artillery holes for individual soldiers and infantry squads were further improved. Almost every 60 meters, there would be an anti-artillery hole that could hide 16 people.

The anti-artillery hole with a 3-meter loess layer and wooden support can not only protect against 75mm mountain artillery, but also will not collapse even if it is bombarded by a 105 howitzer. In addition, there is an 8-meter-high fortification with steel plates in front of the hole to prevent the explosion of shells from rushing into the hole and causing casualties to officers and soldiers.

Carrying a large amount of steel plates to reinforce fortifications during wartime has become an important material carried by the engineering company and the baggage company. Although these things are very heavy and cannot kill more Japanese invaders, they can protect their own officers and soldiers to the maximum extent.

Statistics have been made in the battle of eastern Shanxi. The casualty rate of officers and soldiers in fortifications reinforced with steel plates and steel beams is 15 percentage points lower than that of officers and soldiers in fortifications with only sandbags and logs as materials.

However, in the whole of North China, only the Four Lines Regiment could carry these steel plates and steel beams during the march. Even the Type A divisions of the Japanese Army could not do it. That required sufficient steel production and transportation capabilities.

The Japanese army that occupied major cities in North China did have steel mills, but with that pitiful steelmaking capacity, how could it support more than 300,000 Japanese troops? Moreover, the Japanese army's logistical supply capacity was so-so, and it was difficult to transport food and ammunition. They were often attacked by small Chinese troops active in the countryside. In addition, the Japanese army mainly focused on offense, and naturally would not consider defensive steel plates too much.

In addition to the further improvement of various underground fortifications, the various reinforcements ordered by Tang Dao basically arrived in the afternoon or evening.

On the front line of more than 2,000 meters, Tang Dao deployed 7 infantry platoons of the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 7th companies, totaling more than 560 officers and soldiers. It also had a total of 4 infantry platoons of the 4th and 9th companies and a guard company with a total of 600 reserve troops.

In addition, the independent battalion of the Ji'nan Division of the 80th Army arrived 5 kilometers away from the battlefield as early as 5 pm yesterday.

However, Tang Dao did not let them enter the main battlefield. The troops on the main battlefield were already as high as more than 8,000 people. There was enough troops, and there was no need to waste this independent battalion with 3,000 troops.

The military order given to them by Tang Dao was to find a suitable area outside the battlefield to build positions!

The Japanese were not stupid. The reconnaissance plane had already flown over Zhaojiazhuang again and again, not only to provide the Japanese troops on the ground with information about the Zhaojiazhuang battlefield, but also to scout the situation within a dozen kilometers around the battlefield for Shinozuka Yoshio.

In such a plain area, how could the whereabouts of an independent battalion with more than 3,000 troops be so easily avoided?

Since they could not avoid it, they would not hide or hide, and built positions in an area less than 7 kilometers away from the main battlefield, becoming a thorn in the eyes of the Japanese army!

The leader of this independent battalion was the former battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 772th Regiment, Xiao Ding. Although this young man, whose fate was changed by Tang Dao's arrival in Taihang Mountain, was transferred from the main battalion commander of the main regiment to the independent battalion commander, the strength of his battalion was comparable to that of a regular infantry regiment.

Moreover, the ratio of veterans in the independent battalion is as high as 20%, which is the elite among the elites in the 921st Division.

Even if the Japanese army wanted to remove this thorn before the war, they had to send at least three infantry battalions to join the forces of an artillery battalion.

The 80th Army is best at mobile warfare. If the Japanese army was powerful, they would have run away long ago.

The 80th Army is better than anyone else at playing the guerrilla warfare strategy of "the enemy retreats, we advance, the enemy is tired, we harass".

With this external containment, Shinozuka Yoshio would feel weak if he did not have two infantry battalions in his hands as a reserve, and there would never be more than 6 infantry battalions that could be deployed on the battlefield.

So, although Heisuke Sawa waited for a night and indeed waited for his main force, including infantry, artillery, and tanks, and the smoke and dust were overwhelming, it was really impressive, but in fact it was more helpful to the Chinese army.

When Shinozuka Yoshio saw that things had come to this, he simply did not launch an attack immediately. If there were too many lice, they would not be afraid of biting. They had already given the Chinese more than ten hours, so they were naturally not afraid of giving them a few more hours.

The 8th Brigade did not bring high-altitude balloons when it set out, but Shinozuka Yoshio brought three.

At 9 a.m., three reconnaissance balloons were launched at a distance of 8 kilometers from the front line.

This thing is one of the killer weapons of the Japanese army. It can hover at an altitude of tens of meters, observe the battlefield 360 degrees, and detect targets up to 20 kilometers away through observation instruments. The balloon is also connected to a telephone line, which can transmit intelligence to the front at any time. It can be called the artificial eye of the sky of the Japanese army.

If it is allowed to guide the artillery group to fire, the shells will be fierce and accurate!

Shinozuka Yoshio's plan is to use balloons to guide the artillery group of the artillery regiment to cover and destroy valuable tactical targets with artillery fire first, and then launch an attack with infantry.

However, because of the fear of the anti-aircraft artillery displayed by the Fourth Regiment last time, the Japanese balloon vehicle stayed 8 kilometers away from the battlefield.

But that big guy, flying so high, let alone 8 kilometers, even 10 kilometers, can become a conspicuous bag on the entire battlefield.

One of the big balloons was targeted by the mountain infantry platoon led by Long Yan.

This kind of balloon that can hover at high altitude weighs 5 tons for the tethered vehicle alone, and there are more than 10 tethered ropes. When it is launched, it is necessary to first unfold the heavy airbag and then fill it with hydrogen. This requires more than 40 soldiers to operate, plus an infantry squad responsible for protecting them, the number is as high as 100 Japanese soldiers.

If Long Yan's mountain infantry platoon wants to wipe them out, it will take at least half an hour, and the main force of the Japanese army will have already rumbled over.

So, Long Yan played the simplest and most brutal trick!

Just blow up the tethered vehicle under the balloon, and the balloon can fly with the little devils as much as it wants!

The range of the three 60-mm guns under Long Yan's command is 1,300 meters!

Simply, just 800 meters away, under the guidance of the artillery observer who was less than 200 meters away from the Japanese balloon unit, three 60-caliber mortars fired 30 shells in one breath, blowing up the five-ton tethered vehicle.

The hydrogen balloon that lost its traction flew higher and higher with the desperate Japanese observer, and the Japanese soldiers on the ground could only lie on the ground in pain and look up at the black spot in the sky.

This time, they flew higher and farther, but the telephone line was broken, and their colleague who was destined to be smashed into a meat pie could no longer share the scenery in the sky with them.

What made Shinozuka Yoshio's face purple was that there was not one such attack, but three!

In less than half an hour, the small Chinese force lurking behind the battlefield destroyed its three balloons in almost the same way.

Not all of them, for example, Shen Laoliu used an MG42 machine gun to fire wildly from 600 meters away, blowing up the hydrogen balloon in mid-air, and the falling fire seriously injured more than a dozen Japanese infantrymen directly below.

Then, this group of Chinese ran very fast, and not even a shadow could be seen before the infantry squadron arrived.

The only information that Shinozuka Yoshio, who paid such a painful price, obtained was that the Chinese had a 1,000-meter-wide position without digging trenches.

"Baga! That must be a trap left by the Chinese!" Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio, whose face turned from purple to blue, still maintained a relatively clear mind.

But how do you know if you don't try?

Most people in this world have a certain fluke mentality! ()