Rise From Eight Hundred

"First-line infantry company, each person has two grenades, throw them at me!" Wang Xiaoqiang, who had already approached less than 400 meters from the front line, ordered coldly.

The 772nd Regiment is also equipped with long-handled grenades, and the standing throwing distance is about fifty or sixty meters away, which is basically the distance between the most advanced trench dug and the Japanese trenches.

Therefore, the frontline officers and soldiers did not need to aim at all, they could just stand in the trench and throw forward as hard as they could.

Of course, most of the grenades were thrown at the front of the Japanese trenches. Hundreds of grenades were thrown over, causing a mess at the front of the Japanese trenches.

Only about one-tenth of the grenades fell into the Japanese trenches, but just these dozens of grenades, no matter how many Japanese infantry were killed by each one, caused great psychological pressure on the Japanese infantry.

Because this means that from this moment on, they can only be beaten passively, and even hiding in the trenches cannot guarantee their life safety.

Due to its light weight and shape, the melon-type grenade equipped by the Japanese infantry can only be thrown from a maximum distance of 40 meters, which poses no threat to the Chinese trenches 60 meters away.

What's even worse is that they don't dare to retreat to the second-line trenches because of this. The distance between the two sides is really too close, and the Chinese have always had the 'bad habit' of using grenades to clear the way and then charge. If the first-line trenches are lost like this, it will be quite a disaster. Yu Baisong.

"Baga! The Chinese have limited grenades. I don't believe they can keep throwing them like this! Order the entire army to strictly guard their positions. If the Chinese dare to rush over, let them see the power of our empire's permanent divisions!" Lieutenant Colonel Saburo Kuroda, whose headquarters was located less than 500 meters away from the front line, gave the order with a cold face.

Don't tell me, at least in terms of moving the headquarters forward, Lieutenant Colonel Saburo Kuroda has the same courage as the 'Mad War General'.

Even though they are only one mile away from the front line, in the era of hot weapons, the difference between 500 meters and 50 meters is actually not that big. As long as the opponent attacks with artillery fire, the two top commanders of China and Japan are facing a high chance of being destroyed. More than sixty percent.

Unfortunately, neither party did this.

The Japanese side was because the distance between the infantry trenches on both sides was too close. If the artillery shells hit them, the probability of them all being destroyed was greater. It was not cost-effective to use this move before the last moment.

The Chinese side is because their 'artillery' range is not that far, or the elimination of the Japanese army's effective forces is what they value, and what commander is not a commander is not among their key considerations.

Wang Xiaoqiang's real tactical intention was to "snake the enemy" by throwing grenades into the Japanese trenches to make the Japanese soldiers highly nervous and want to escape but dare not.

Of course Saburo Kuroda and the Japanese infantry did not know that dozens of large oil barrels were half-buried diagonally into the soil under the ridge in an area of ​​nearly 180 meters behind the Chinese front line trenches.

Needless to say, that was the 'Flying Thunder Cannon' technology taught by Tang Tuanzuo. In the past, the 683 Brigade was limited by the shortage of explosives and could only be used for training. This technology was rarely used in actual combat.

But this time it was different. Before the 772nd Regiment set out for the expedition, the Sixings Regiment Military Factory sent more than 500 5-kilogram explosive bags overnight. This was the most important reason why Wang Xiaoqiang uncharacteristically dug wildly after arriving on the battlefield and did not attack by force.

Everyone in the world has seen the madness and madness of the 'Mad Warrior General', and only those who know him very well know that he has an extremely smart mind, and his ability to assess situations is ranked among the top three in the entire 683 brigade!

This time, his craziness was to use 36 "flying thunder cannons" that quietly came within 150 meters of the Japanese position to bury the Japanese infantry in the trenches of the Japanese army.

The attack was so unexpected that the Japanese infantry and artillery had no time to react.

"Captain, everything is ready!" A captain and company commander ran over and reported to Wang Xiaoqiang, who was staring ahead with a telescope.

"Let all the front-line commanders and fighters throw another round of grenades and then all retreat to 300 meters away. After 3 minutes, using the Charge as the number, each thunder cannon will fire 5 explosive packets, and then all personnel will evacuate!" Wang Xiaoqiang He nodded, a chill flashing in his eyes.

He had used the 'Cyclone Explosive' developed by the Sixings Regiment Military Factory in small quantities during the Japanese Army's 'New Year's Day Offensive' half a year ago. The destructive effect of the explosion of the same weight of explosives was several times that of ordinary gunpowder. This time he I just ordered the throwing of nearly 1,000 kilograms of explosives. I didn’t know what kind of effect it would have. I was really looking forward to it!

However, it is still a pity to say that this kind of local artillery with oil barrels as barrels is very powerful, but the range is too short and has no accuracy at all, and it has no maneuverability. Once it is targeted by the enemy's long-range artillery group, , almost equivalent to disposable items.

Therefore, after quickly firing the prescribed explosive package, all personnel had to evacuate quickly, but the hot barrel could not be taken away.

Fortunately, for this battle, the 772nd Regiment's supply battalion prepared more than 150 large empty oil barrels. During the march, they contained explosive packages and were transported on horseback. They could also be used as explosive storage. They naturally served as barrel handles during the war. After the explosives are blasted out, the oil barrel can be filled with sand and soil to serve as temporary fortifications in an emergency. It is a universal treasure.

Sure enough, when they heard the charge horn that resounded throughout the position from the Chinese side, all the Japanese infantry entered the front-line trenches and were on high alert. Even the light machine guns were set up, regardless of the danger of being attacked by grenades again.

Nearly 1,600 Japanese infantry soldiers are waiting in full formation!

Then, a series of muffled "bang bang" sounds came from the Chinese position. In the vision of the Japanese infantry and Kuroda Saburo, who had been staring at this position with a telescope, small black dots fell from the sky.

"What is that?" Lieutenant Colonel Kuroda Saburo's frozen eyes showed a gusher of doubt and fear.

The black dots that he could see hundreds of meters away could never be grenades, and they couldn't be stones thrown by a catapult!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The earth-shaking explosion filled the ears of all the Japanese at the scene.

Looking at the fireballs rising from the front line a mile away, Lieutenant Colonel Kuroda Saburo, who had lost both ears, had a blank mind.

Under the surging air wave, Lieutenant Colonel Kuroda and his immediate superior Yoshio Shinozuka were both hit hard, but he was not as majestic as Yoshio Shinozuka and had no guards to protect him. When he climbed out of the trench, his mouth was already full of blood. When he touched it, a white thing fell into his palm.

Those were the few front teeth. Lieutenant Colonel Kuroda, with flames shining in his eyes, felt helpless as if he had returned to his childhood when he held his fallen front teeth.

On the more than 2,000-meter defense line, fireballs were still rising. Even if they were 500 meters away, the hot air waves still hit them. One can imagine what kind of hell the imperial officers and soldiers of the half-infantry battalion who were waiting there were in.

"The Chinese used a homemade mortar!" Kuroda Saburo is indeed a commander with rich battlefield experience. After being stunned for more than ten seconds, he bit his back teeth and made the most accurate judgment.

"Notify the artillery regiment to immediately fire at the 300-meter, no, 200-meter area in front of our position!"

"But, Commander, there are all the officers and soldiers of my front-line troops there." A major infantry battalion commander looked extremely ugly.

With such a close-range artillery attack, I don't know how many shells will fall on our own positions. The level of those guys in the artillery regiment is very clear to these infantry commanders.

"But Xueluo Jun, you must know that if I don't do this, when the Chinese rush into the trenches like a tide, they will all die, including you and me!" Kuroda Saburo's face was almost distorted.

"As commanders and imperial soldiers, we can accept death in battle, but we can't die in vain. I admit that the Chinese homemade mortars have dealt a heavy blow to our army, but the gun body that can throw such heavy explosive packs is definitely heavy. If we don't take the opportunity to annihilate them at this time, are we waiting for them to throw explosives on the heads of the imperial warriors in the next round?"

The Japanese Army Major was speechless.

Kuroda Saburo's decision was wise and decisive. In less than 5 minutes, the 20 mountain artillery pieces that received the request from the front-line command center bombarded the front of the Japanese positions without regard for exposing the target again, covering the trenches of both China and Japan.

If Wang Xiaoqiang had not ordered it in advance, all the front-line officers and soldiers would have retreated more than 300 meters away, and the Flying Thunder Cannon operation team would have run away without caring after launching five explosive packs. The loss of this wave of desperate artillery fire by the Japanese army might have been more than one infantry company.

The soldiers of the independent regiment ran away, but the front-line infantry of the Japanese army did not run away.

In fact, 90% of the nearly 200 5-kilogram explosive packs fell outside the trenches. Just as Wang Xiaoqiang regretted, the "Flying Thunder Cannon" had no accuracy at all, and it was just a blind attack.

Some flew only 150 meters before falling to the ground. The special delayed fuse often exploded after two or three seconds. Some flew more than 200 meters and exploded in the air before landing. Some flew to the left, some flew to the right, and even one explosive pack did not explode, but directly hit a Japanese soldier holding his head in the trench, knocking him unconscious.

But no one cared where these explosive packs flew, as long as they flew forward, it was considered to have realized the future combat idea of ​​"fire and forget" in advance.

And it was precisely because of the "free flying" characteristics of the explosive packs that made the Japanese infantry miserable. The veterans could completely judge the approximate type of shells and the approximate landing area by the whistling of the shells that broke through the sky, but it was impossible to judge the explosive packs flying around like this.

The only thing they could do was to curl up in the trenches and wait for the judgment of fate!

As long as the explosive packs did not explode in the trenches or were more precisely in the trenches within 50 meters of them, they would have a chance to survive.

The trenches of the Japanese army were actually built in a very standard way, with right-angle corners at intervals to resist the impact of the air waves caused by the shells falling into the trenches, which directly saved the lives of many Japanese infantrymen.

The air waves of the crazy explosion of explosives swept away 90% of the protrusions on the Japanese positions, but the explosives that fell into the trenches actually only killed and injured more than 300 Japanese soldiers, accounting for only one-fifth of the total number of Japanese soldiers!

To put it bluntly, this round of crazy firepower output, to a greater extent, cleared all kinds of fortifications on the Japanese positions, and the damage to personnel was not actually destructive.

But what the Chinese did not do, the Japanese did.

The output of 20 mountain cannons regardless of cost, 80% of the shells fell on the frontline positions of the 772nd Regiment, where there were not many people, and few people were killed. The trenches were blown down in more than a dozen places. In addition, 80% of the 38 "flying thunder cannons" buried in the loess were destroyed, but 20% of the shells fell on their own heads.

This is good. The Japanese infantrymen who were still shivering after enjoying the air wave massage can only hopelessly endure another wave of sharp mountain artillery shells from their own army. The Japanese soldiers who were originally buried or stunned by the soil of the collapsed trenches could still be rescued. When this wave of shells came, they didn't even need to dig a pit, and were buried directly in it.

According to the post-war inventory, just in this round of "If you hit me, I will fight you back even if I die" Lieutenant Colonel Kuroda Saburo's desperate operation, more than 1,600 Japanese infantrymen lost more than 500 people!

Before Kuroda Saburo could breathe a sigh of relief, the Chinese came back in less than half an hour!

Not long after a round of grenades, the charge sounded again.

"Everyone go to the front-line trenches, the Chinese are coming." Kuroda Saburo made a quick judgment.

However, it was still the familiar formula and the familiar taste, and another wave of small black dots hit.

Japanese Army

Kuroda Saburo

This time, Kuroda Saburo's brain suddenly worked well and he took the initiative to lie down.

There are only two front teeth in total, one is gone, and the last one must be saved no matter what!

In the face of the flying explosive packs of Xia Jiba, experience cannot save lives, it all depends on luck.

But with the reduction of troops, it is true that the anti-artillery cave does not need to be so crowded. At most, only more than 200 people were killed or injured in this wave of bombardment, and the casualty rate is much lower than the previous round.

"I don't believe that the Chinese still have homemade mortars! Inform the artillery to continue to cover the front positions!" Kuroda Saburo almost roared and ordered again.

That kind of mortar is really too terrible. He has to destroy it even if both sides are injured.

Lieutenant Colonel Kuroda Saburo's order was not criticized after the war. Even the most demanding soldiers could not criticize his decisiveness and bravery. Not everyone can be a commander who can coldly discard his troops from the chessboard as chess pieces on the battlefield, even for more people to survive.

But Lieutenant Colonel Kuroda Saburo did it. He has regarded the trenches of both sides as the boundary between Chu and Han, and the soldiers of both sides as chess pieces that can be exchanged, even himself.

Because from beginning to end, he never left the command post which was only 500 meters away from the front line, and even lost a precious front tooth because of it.

But he was paralyzed by the so-called exchange after all.

So, when the Chinese launched the third round of almost identical attacks, he did not let the more than 800 remnants of the army enter the first-line trenches again.

Then, when the Chinese charge horn sounded, the eyes of Lieutenant Colonel Saburo Kuroda went dark.

At least four infantry companies jumped out of the trenches less than 100 meters away and rushed to the first-line trenches of the Japanese army like lightning.

Dozens of mortars fired crazily, forming a barrage between the first-line trenches and the second-line trenches of the Japanese army. The awakened Japanese infantry only had time to fire a few shots, and the first-line trenches with less than 100 people left were already jumped into by Chinese soldiers.

The Chinese soldiers who cleared the trenches with submachine guns and grenades did not give the Japanese army holding the Type 38 rifle much time to resist. It only took ten minutes for the battle in the first-line trenches to end completely.

The Japanese infantry who attempted to counterattack were either killed on the way to the front-line trenches or killed in the passages of the communication trenches. The Chinese soldiers with submachine guns were completely overwhelmed in close combat.

In less than 3 hours, the front-line trenches led by Kuroda Saburo were completely lost. There was only one trench left to protect the Japanese army. The two sides were less than 100 meters apart again, but behind the Japanese army was nothing but wilderness.

The 772nd Regiment, which occupied the front-line trenches of the Japanese army, stopped attacking and continued to dig, connecting the captured trenches with their original trenches. The entire position was like a huge spider web, surrounding the precarious Japanese trenches.

Compared with Lieutenant Colonel Kuroda Saburo, who looked ashen, Shinozuka Yoshio, the highest commander of the 10th Division, was like an ant on a hot pot, extremely tormented.

Kuroda Saburo only suffered a defeat, and there was still a fragile defense line and more than 700 soldiers, but an infantry battalion on the left wing defense line was attacked by a group of Chinese lurking inside the 10th Division's position, resulting in the death of an army major and five captains who were holding a combat meeting on the spot. The highest rank of the 800-man infantry battalion was actually an army lieutenant.

Moreover, this news was delivered by a communications soldier who risked his life to cross the battlefield. The Chinese had already cut off the telephone line over there, turning the position over there into an information island.

Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio, who was furious, had to send out the last reinforced infantry squadron in his hands, escorting his lieutenant colonel deputy chief of staff to the infantry battalion to take over the command.

Who knew that in broad daylight, the small group of elite Chinese troops lurking in the position actually gathered together to besiege this reinforced infantry squadron with 6 infantry squads.

That was the Black Tiger Heart-Diggering "siege and attack" led by Gu Xishui. The mountain infantry company and reconnaissance company scattered in the battlefield of more than ten square kilometers were originally designed to be a harassing existence, which would restrain the Japanese army's movement in the battlefield.

But with the changes in the battlefield situation, especially with the arrival of the 772nd Regiment and the Independent Battalion of the South Hebei Division, after nearly 9,000 people formed an outer siege on the Japanese army, Gu Xishui keenly realized that the opportunity for the two elite infantry companies had come.

The Japanese army had to divide at least half of its troops to prevent the outer attack, and the main force of the Four-Line Regiment in the direction of Zhaojiazhuang was not made of clay, and the 10th Division did not dare to relax. There were many troops deployed on the front line, and the search troops on the battlefield were certainly insufficient.

Mingxin and Niu Er followed Shen Laoliu and his reconnaissance platoon and just happened to find the headquarters of a Japanese infantry battalion. Perhaps because of the fierce fighting on the front line, the Japanese officers who were in a meeting placed two small teams of Japanese soldiers on guard outside the headquarters.

Niu Er, known as the best marksman of the Four-line Regiment, once again demonstrated his god-like shooting skills. With 10 shots, he killed 8 Japanese machine gunners, making the four light machine guns become eunuchs from the beginning of the battle.

More than 20 Japanese soldiers who lost their firepower support were hit by a group of submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles. The entire defense line was broken in less than 3 minutes, and all the Japanese officers who were in a meeting received lunch boxes on the spot.

After knowing the rank of the Japanese officer who was killed, Gu Xishui keenly judged that the Japanese army must send a higher-level officer to take over the command. Killing him prevented the Japanese army from increasing its combat effectiveness and continued to consume the Japanese infantry's manpower.

Therefore, six platoons, which gathered most of the strength of two elite infantry companies, boldly ambushed more than 300 Japanese soldiers about 1,000 meters away from the Japanese defense line.

No one knew that this small battle, which lasted only 20 minutes and involved only more than 700 people from both sides, would become the last straw that broke the camel's back for the 10th Division. ()