Rise From Eight Hundred

11 a.m. on July 18, 1939!

Following Yoshio Shinozuka's order, more than 70 artillery pieces fired at Zhaojiazhuang's defensive positions.

The Battle of Zhaojiazhuang, known as a paradigm of defensive warfare in the history of the Sino-Japanese War, officially began.

In terms of the strength of the Chinese and Japanese troops arriving on the battlefield, the 10th Division dispatched a total of 9 infantry brigades and various auxiliary arms totaling 70,000 people, as well as a security army infantry regiment of more than 2,000 people. The Chinese side was in the Zhaojiazhuang defensive position. There are more than 7,800 people, including 1,000 militiamen, and more than 3,700 people outside the position. The total force is about 20,000. The Japanese army has a complete advantage.

In terms of heavy firepower, compared with the 36 75mm mountain cannons, a large number of 70mm infantry cannons and about 16 90mm mortars owned by the Japanese army, China does not have mountain cannons with a longer range, but it has different calibers of different sizes. There are more than a hundred mortars, and 12 150-caliber heavy mortars are the best in the field within a range of 3,000 meters. There are also 12 Bofors 80mm howitzers, which can also pose a threat to Japanese artillery 6,000 meters away. .

If you also count the 12 40mm anti-aircraft guns and the 9 20mm machine guns deployed on the infantry defense line specifically for flat-firing tanks, the Japanese army did not take advantage of anything unprecedented.

The Chinese side, which spent a day and night using the soil structure of Lincheng to build relatively complete defenses, now has a relatively strong 'shield', which in disguise fills the gap in the strength of the two sides.

If Yoshio Shinozuka had been more sober and realized that this was a tough nut to crack, he would have requested reinforcements from the North China Front Army Headquarters at the beginning of the war and transferred mixed brigades from Baoding, Shimen and other directions. Only two mixed brigades would be needed. Supplemented by the bomber group of the Aviation Corps, the balance of victory in the Battle of Zhaojiazhuang will undoubtedly tilt towards the Japanese side.

To use the evaluation of this battle by professors from various Chinese Army military academies in the future: "Based on the comparison of the military strength of China and Japan in North China at that time, Commander Tang Dao, who was then the commander of the Si Xing Regiment, made a military adventure, and more than 100% of the There is an 80% chance that most of the elite members of the Four Lines Regiment and part of the Jinan Division will be consumed in this decisive battle on the plains.

From a tactical perspective, such a military adventure is wrong! But in terms of the national war situation, this is a great adventure.

It was from this battle that China realized that the Japanese army was not as powerful as imagined, and the military across the country lost all fear of the Japanese army.

The exciting significance of this battle to the army across the country is far greater than the military significance on a single battlefield! "

The War of Resistance Against Japan has been over two years, and there are many examples of millions of Chinese troops defeating Japanese divisions and brigades in the battle against Japan, such as the Battle of Jindong a year ago, and the Battle of Wanmen in October 1938. In the Battle of Jialing, China has records of wiping out more than 20,000 Japanese troops in defensive battles and killing the Japanese Lieutenant General's division commander. However, this was either done by gathering the strength of the entire theater to encircle with superior forces, or by relying on extremely difficult geography. The advantage and the commander's brain-racking calculations finally led to victory.

But on the North China Plain, when the Japanese army's artillery, armor, and air superiority were fully utilized, China still won such a victory.

What does that mean? Not only has the Japanese army become weaker, but also the Chinese soldiers have become stronger during the war.

It can be said that the Battle of Zhaojiazhuang was the first time that millions of Chinese troops realized that the gap between the two sides was shrinking visibly to the naked eye.

This is actually an objective fact. The Japanese army in the early days of the war was very strong, not only in terms of equipment but also in terms of the quality of its soldiers. However, as the war timeline lengthened and the veterans were gradually depleted, their combat power was naturally weaker than in the early days of the war.

For example, when the 10th Division was fighting against Tang Daobu on the battlefield, when it entered the Chinese battlefield, the proportion of veterans accounted for 80%. Even the recruits were soldiers who had been trained hard for 10 months. They were not trained soldiers at all. It was unmatched by Chinese officers and soldiers who had not even fired a few rounds of live ammunition in a month.

However, in the Battle of Taierzhuang, nearly 10,000 people were killed in one detachment, which seriously damaged its vitality. In order to restore the vitality of this old division, the Japanese Army headquarters quickly replenished nearly 10,000 soldiers and more than 200 officers, and then recruited another brigade. The brigade was reorganized using veterans as its skeleton, but its combat strength was actually one-third lower than its peak period.

Later, after the Battle of Xuzhou, the Battle of Central China, the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, and the mopping up battle in southern Hebei, the 10th Division continued to lose veterans and replenished new recruits. Less than a quarter of its veterans in the early days of the war were still alive, and its combat strength was even higher. It is further weakened, and it is already good to be half of what it was at the beginning of the war.

And this situation is not limited to the 10th Division, but is prevalent in all major divisions of the Japanese army.

Looking back at China, although China suffered heavy losses in several large-scale battles, especially its elite troops, the Chinese people's learning ability is really unparalleled in the world. The threat of death allows recruits to quickly become veterans, and veterans continue to learn and grow into qualified officers during the war. , the overall combat effectiveness is actually a bit stronger than at the beginning of the war.

However, every time there is a war, the fact that Chinese soldiers try their best but still fail makes the Chinese army still struggle to hold on to the defense line and are not aware of this phenomenon at all.

But the Battle of Zhaojiazhuang was like a bolt of lightning in the dark night, breaking through the fog that shrouded the hearts of Chinese soldiers!

However, these are all hindsight. For Tang Dao at this time, he must use a tough battle to clearly tell the Japanese North China Front Army that if they want to attack my compatriots, they must first kill the corpses of my Chinese soldiers. Cross over.

No matter whether it is behind enemy lines or not, or on a plain or not, as long as the Chinese soldiers are here, they are just fighting!

Of course, Tang Dao is not blindly iron-headed. He is very familiar with his opponents Shinozuka Yoshio and Duo Tianjun.

Duo Tianjun is simply a guy with great ambitions and little talent. He is probably reluctant to be a lieutenant general division commander. It is really beyond his ability to command the North China Front Army with more than 300,000 soldiers;

And Yoshio Shinozuka is much more capable than this one, otherwise he would not have served as the commander of the 1st Army of the North China Front in September 1939 in the past time and space, and became the supreme commander of the Japanese army in Shanxi Province. Japan The Army evaluated him as loyal and brave, but during his nearly two years of combat with the 921st Division in Jin Province, he revealed a huge flaw. He was headstrong, arrogant, and rarely listened to the opinions of his subordinates. It's always as long as I want it or not.

Such a person, especially when he leads a division whose main force far exceeds the opponent's strength, will naturally not easily ask for help from the front army headquarters.

It's like the Chinese men's national football team playing against an amateur team. If they win, there's nothing to brag about. If they lose, they'll lose their face to grandma's house.

In terms of knowing oneself and the enemy, Tang Tuanzao studied his opponent thoroughly, but Yoshio Shinozuka only knew from the intelligence that Tang Dao was as fierce as a tiger, but he did not know that Tang Dao was so cunning that even a group of tigers could not keep up with him.

Therefore, Yoshio Shinozuka, who had a sense of luck, sent an infantry squadron to make a tentative advance on the open area with 12 mountain guns for 30 minutes.

As we all know, minefields may be detonated by clusters of artillery fire, but it has never been said that a minefield can be cleared by covering bombardment alone. If artillery really had this ability, then the profession of minesweeper would not exist at all.

More than 180 Japanese soldiers in an infantry squadron just bent forward for less than 150 meters. As anti-infantry mines were stepped on one after another, they exploded, and the Japanese soldiers howled like ghosts!

It's not terrible to have his legs blown off. At most, he will be a cripple. Compared with losing his life, it is already good, but what if the eggs are blown to pieces? The anti-infantry jump mine, copied from the German Empire's S-Mine-35/44, will jump to a height of nearly 1 meter on the ground and detonate after being triggered!

This thing can be called the most dazzling existence in the family of anti-infantry jumping mines. During the Normandy landing, the German Empire even planted S-type jumping mines together with anti-tank mines, which effectively slowed down the rapid advancement of armored infantry groups. The United States Cowboys hate to call her Bouncing Betty, because even if she doesn't die, she may no longer be a man.

During the entire World War II, the German Empire produced a total of 1.93 million S-type jumping mines. These "living widow makers" shot 360 steel balls 360 degrees without blind angles, destroying the dreams of many families to continue the future generations. Therefore, at the end of the war Later, the Gallic Rooster also sent nearly 50,000 German prisoners of war to the mine clearing fields without mercy: Come, have a taste of your own mines.

During World War II, the heavy shadow created by S anti-infantry jump mines caused countries that suffered greatly to begin to imitate or develop jump mines. For example, the American M2 and M16 anti-infantry jump mines, Mao Xiong's ОЗМ jump mines, etc. The Chinese military industry has also launched two types of anti-infantry jump mines, Type 69 and Type 72, which have shown their talents in the jungle wars in the southwest.

By the end of the century, more than a hundred countries had signed the "Ottawa Mine Ban Convention", which prohibited the manufacture and use of inhumane anti-infantry landmines. However, several countries, led by Mao Xiong, refused to sign because anti-infantry jumping mines have extremely serious consequences. important tactical position.

These injuries should first have been suffered by the Gallic Rooster soldiers in September. Because of the arrival of Tang Tuanzuo, the Japanese infantry enjoyed them two months in advance.

Although only two anti-infantry jump mines were tripped and detonated, and the distance between individual Japanese soldiers was relatively loose, at least 10 meters apart, the jump mines that jumped to waist height and suddenly performed the coquettish and dazzling "Tiannu Sanhua" move still caused a lot of damage. The Japanese army blew up the eggs and smashed them into pieces.

The bloody crotches of seven or eight Japanese infantrymen frightened the Japanese infantrymen so much that they no longer dared to move forward even if the other side did not fire a single shot at them.

"Sure enough, there is a minefield!" Yoshio Shinozuka didn't have much surprise on his face when he heard the news from the front line.

Over the past month or so, one of the important reasons why China has been able to cause considerable damage to the division in its "Operation Clearing the Countryside" is the large number of landmines laid on the roads.

"Order the minesweeper to dispatch, and tell Zheng Sang at the same time that when it's time for him to serve the empire, I will watch his performance from behind." Shinozuka Yoshio's eyes flashed coldly.

The Zheng Sang that Yoshio Shinozuka mentioned was none other than Zheng Yunqiu!

This guy is really a talent. After using a thousand taels of gold to get into Saburo Kuroda's lap, and relying on the recommendation of the acting captain, he was appreciated by Yoshio Shinozuka 20 days ago and was promoted to stationed in Handan. Deputy Commander of the Infantry Regiment of the Security Army.

Unexpectedly, less than a week after he took office, he was back on the battlefield before he could even sit down. Perhaps the only good news for this unlucky boy was that he did not bring his direct troops in Guangping County with him this time. The more than 2,000 security forces were not familiar with him.

Therefore, after receiving the military order from Yoshio Shinozuka instructing him to serve as the frontline commander of the security army infantry regiment, Zheng Yunqiu did not panic at all. He discussed with his immediate superior and set off with an infantry battalion and three minesweeper trucks. .

The so-called minesweeper is also a modified truck made by the Japanese army after they were scared of mines. It uses an ordinary 5-ton transport truck, installs steel plates around the chassis and cab, and then installs a large shovel in front of the car.

After a simple test, the steel shovel cannot be easily destroyed by ordinary anti-personnel mines, which basically meets the needs of Japanese infantry. It is a typical scum product that has not been used in actual combat before being pulled into the battlefield.

But you have to say, just looking at the large steel shovel that extends two or three meters in front of the front of the car, it still has a sense of muscle, and it also gives confidence to the hundreds of puppet soldiers following behind.

More than 600 security troops followed the four crudely modified trucks and began to break through the minefield. Over there, the Japanese infantry also began to make tentative attacks in the left, middle and right directions. The main point is that we have too many people and you can't take care of it.

"This is to let the second devils come as cannon fodder!" Tang Dao, who was in the underground command post in Zhaojiazhuang, received the battle report sent by Xia Dayu, and his face was calm.

"Order the guards to not rush to activate the manual bombs, but to let the Japanese invaders in first. When more of them come, it will be a wasteland! Let the blood of the Japanese invaders irrigate the land, and we will surely be able to grow food next spring!"

Most of the more than 1,000 mines buried in the minefield are anti-personnel mines, which are mainly used to kill personnel. Although the Japanese army's makeshift "mine sweeper" is simple, it still plays a certain role. It continuously detonated dozens of mines with a large steel shovel and led more than 300 puppet soldiers to advance nearly 300 meters into the gap.

"Brothers, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka said that if there is any victory this time, there will be a great reward after returning!"

Zheng Yunqiu, who was on the front line, held a loud speaker 200 meters away and used the old trick of "money to lure" the puppet soldiers.

It's not that money is tempting, but that if you don't take the money, you will die. 300 meters behind the puppet army infantry battalion, there is a Japanese infantry squadron that was killed and injured in the minefield. Six machine guns and nearly a hundred rifles are lined up. Anyone who dares to retreat without listening to orders will be killed.

Although most of the puppet soldiers' calves are trembling, they have already come to this point. They can only fight for their lives and money. Moreover, there is an open space in front. The ruined Zhaojiazhuang has clearly appeared in the puppet army's field of vision. The straight-line distance will never exceed 700 meters.

Many puppet soldiers have stood up straight. After the minesweeper has advanced for dozens of meters without detonating mines, the two puppet company commanders who have determined that they have walked out of the minefield shouted and ordered their puppet soldiers to get out of the minesweeper's track and form a scattered line to approach Zhaojiazhuang in the field of vision.

As they were running happily, a crack suddenly appeared in the extremely empty wilderness ahead. It was a ditch from Zhaojiazhuang to Chenjiazhuang, but it was covered with wooden boards and some loess. Not to mention that it looked no different from the wilderness from a distance, it was not easy to find any clues even if you looked closely.

A crack in the earth was not scary, a ditch that was only 1 meter wide could be jumped over by even a child, but when there were nearly a hundred fully armed soldiers hiding in the ditch, and they were all equipped with continuous-fire firearms, that was scary.

The running puppet army was only about 80 meters away from the ditch. After this incident, before their brains could react, the black muzzles that appeared opened fire fiercely.

That was a firepower network composed of 3 MG42 machine guns, more than 30 submachine guns, and 50 semi-automatic rifles.

Even though the width of the skirmish line had been stretched to 600 meters, the more than 300 puppet soldiers were like huge waves hitting reefs, and they scattered into a ball with a bang!

In this first wave of attack, at least more than 50 puppet soldiers were swept to the ground, wailing and rolling.

"Fight back, fight back!" The puppet army officer crawling on the ground shouted desperately.

But obviously, the firepower of the first row of the guards of the Fourth Regiment was far beyond the imagination of this wave of puppet soldiers, and the dense rain of bullets seemed endless.

One side was on the plain without any shelter, and the other side was in the trench. With the asymmetric firepower ratio, the consequences of the two sides shooting at each other were self-evident. Any brave man who dared to raise his head and shoot would become a dead man in a few seconds.

"They only have light weapons, and their heavy firepower is placed on the front line. We have a chance!" Zheng Yunqiu found a chance after observing the battlefield through the telescope.

Until now, the Chinese have not used that terrible small-caliber mortar. In fact, even if they use it, it is no big deal. He still has more than 300 security troops under his command. If they use people, they can pile up these Chinese soldiers who are no more than an infantry company to death.

As for the casualties of the Security Army, they were not within Zheng Yunqiu's consideration at all. What he wanted to gain now was the trust of Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka. He must hold on to this big and thick leg.

"Come on, all of you, crush them with numbers. Whoever dares to escape in the battle, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka will not let him go." Zheng Yunqiu made the decision easily.

Anger flashed in the eyes of the Security Army Major Battalion Commander, but this did not prevent the Japanese captain from giving Zheng Yunqiu a thumbs up to express his appreciation.

"Yo, Captain Zheng, you are so excellent!"

Except for the Imperial Army, this Japanese Army Captain named Morikawa rarely saw this trait called bravery in the Chinese, of course, except for the opponents he was facing.

So, under the order of a deputy commander of the Security Army Lieutenant Colonel who did not care much about the lives of his subordinates and the threat of a Japanese Army Captain who would not care even more, the last 300 puppet troops were also thrown into the battlefield.

More than 12 light machine guns, 6 heavy machine guns and 12 grenade launchers also began to provide full fire support to the front line, causing smoke in front and behind the ditch.

The puppet army, which received support, gradually became more courageous and crawled towards the Chinese position. As long as they advanced 30 meters, they could throw Japanese melon grenades.

Although the puppet army's firearms were all domestically made, there were not many long-handled grenades, so the puppet army was equipped with Japanese melon grenades, with a maximum attack distance of more than 40 meters.

The puppet soldiers were still tenacious, but they didn't know that every step they climbed was a little closer to the abyss of death.

Since Tang Tuanzuo dared to set a trap blatantly in this open land, how could there only be passively triggered mines?

If the wasteland wants to become fertile soil, in addition to the necessary fertilizer, the land must be turned over well.

There were nearly 20 explosive points buried in the area about 100 meters away from the ditch. Each explosive point contained an average of 20 kilograms of cyclone explosives, all connected by wires buried more than 40 centimeters below the surface and manually detonated.

The reason why they had to be nearly 100 meters away from the disguised ditch was that the explosive power of cyclone explosives was too terrifying. If they were not far away, the ditch would be shaken down. ()