Rise From Eight Hundred

The Japanese army was busy planning how to rescue 2,000 officers and soldiers and a colonel who was worried about not being able to eat.

However, more than 6,000 officers and soldiers of the Four-line Regiment, no, more than 10,000 officers and soldiers, were busy building fortifications around the Japanese army in the encirclement.

That was because after the Battle of Zishan started, more than 4,000 recruits who were still training at the Four-line Regiment also set out for Zishan in batches under the leadership of their respective recruit companies and platoon leaders. When the Battle of Zishan was in full swing, 4,000 recruits had already entered Zishan from Taihang Mountain.

These 4,000 recruits were the last reserve troops in Tang Dao's hands. If the Japanese army increased its troops, these 4,000 recruits would take over. At the same time, the headquarters of the 921st Division in Xingtai ordered that the two regular infantry regiments of the Ji'nan Division had also been assembled and could support Zishan at any time.

In other words, not only the Japanese North China Front Army could increase its troops, but the Chinese side could also deploy more than 10,000 troops to the battlefield at any time.

The 80th Army Headquarters was also determined to show morale and prestige in this battle. If the battle was stalemate, they would not hesitate to use the 686th Brigade, the main force of the 511th Division, which was hundreds of miles away.

It can be said that before the Battle of Zishan, Tang Dao and the 80th Army Headquarters had already regarded this battle as a campaign-level battle, while the Japanese North China Front Army only planned it as a division-level battlefield, and had already lost in terms of the pattern.

Before the battlefield scale could be expanded, the Japanese army had already admitted defeat and retreated. The 4,000 recruits who were eager to fight could only watch the big brothers beat the Japanese army to pieces while they could only stay behind and wait for military orders.

It was not until Tang Tuanzuo returned that he waved his hand and ordered the 4,000 recruits to also walk out of Zishan and participate in the encirclement of the 2,000 Japanese troops as a unit of recruit companies.

Originally, Ye Chenghuan and Shangguan Yun had doubts about the new recruits' participation in the encirclement battle as a whole. They planned to split the new recruit company into new recruit platoons to supplement the four major infantry battalions. This would not only replenish the troops for each infantry company, but also allow the old to lead the new to accumulate combat experience.

"Back then, the Sichuan Army's new recruits were able to fight the Japanese Army's Type A Division head-on with pure new recruits. Why can't they? The title of the Iron Back New Recruit Company is still there. I believe they will not let me down!" Tang Dao insisted on his decision.

It is a tradition for the Four Lines Regiment to lead the new, which can greatly reduce the death rate of new recruits, but it does not necessarily have to become a fixed pattern. New recruits are not children. One day, they will face life and death alone. Such a battlefield will accelerate their growth.

Tang Dao, who comes from the future, has a longer vision than his colleagues. It is almost May, Japan's war against Southeast Asia is imminent, the Pacific War is about to begin, and the situation in the Chinese theater is about to usher in new changes.

This change may not be felt by combat troops of the level of the Four-Line Regiment, but Tang Dao knows that the mentality of the man who embraced the thigh of the Americans must be different from that of two years ago. At that time, he might have the need of "brothers united, their strength can break metal" under various pressures, but when the Americans sent an olive branch, the poor brother would be like a worn-out shoe.

Tang Dao had a hunch that since the man must have such a heart, the Four-Line Regiment, which was very close to the 80th Army Group, would definitely be transferred out of the Second War Zone by him.

The stingy old man in the Second War Zone was not the righteous generals Wu, Guo, and Zhang. He was a pure businessman. As long as he could get the benefits he wanted, let alone Tang Dao and the Four-Line Regiment, he could sell the women around him without hesitation.

Tang Dao could cooperate with him, but he never regarded him as a big tree that could provide shade and shelter.

Even, the planning of the Four-Line Regiment began from the moment Tang Dao took office as the deputy director of the Ji'nan Office and the Four-Line Regiment was transferred from the 22nd Army Group Command to the direct jurisdiction of the War Zone Command.

From that moment on, the Military and Political Department no longer had to consider the feelings of the Sichuan Army. It only had to convince the stingy old man.

After all, even if the Four-Line Regiment was a special regiment, its regular establishment was only 5,000 people. Even if the one who knew the current size of the Four-Line Regiment and could not resist the order of the Military and Political Department, only 5,000 people would leave North China, and the rest would be the seeds left by the Four-Line Regiment in North China.

Even if the Four-Line Regiment was completely wiped out on a battlefield somewhere one day, the Four-Line Regiment's firm spirit and fighting will to resist the war would still remain on the battlefield in North China.

The Four-Line Regiment, which had rich field fortifications, dug out two deep trenches of more than 12 kilometers almost overnight, and deployed a total of 32 infantry companies, 14 veteran companies, and 18 new recruits in them. According to the geological characteristics of the hilly area, the bottom of the hill was excavated, and more than 30 large air-raid shelters were dug before the arrival of Japanese planes.

Colonel Shigenobu Yoshitsugu, who was so worried that he couldn't eat, never expected that he would soon not be unable to eat because of worry, but because he had no food to eat as time went by.

His division commander did not really give up. After two days of rest and negotiation, the Japanese army in Handan City sent 70,000 reinforcements led by Okuma Konosuke of the 4th Division, with a strength of 4 infantry regiments and 5 artillery battalions with 60 artillery pieces, two tank squadrons with 34 tanks, and 4 bomber squadrons sent by the Japanese North China Front Air Corps in the sky for air cover.

In terms of strength, the combat effectiveness of this Japanese reinforcement is almost comparable to that of a division, which fully demonstrates Okabe Saburo's determination.

But such a large army has not even seen the shadow of its own trapped officers and soldiers. It is about 2 kilometers away from the encirclement and is blocked by four regiments of the 683 brigade and two regiments from the Jinan Division. .

The Chinese side invested more than 20,000 infantrymen, and the defense line deployed along the hills was 10 kilometers long. Four infantry regiments under the personal command of Okuma Konosuke attacked for three days without making any progress.

Of course, the main reason for this result is that the six Chinese infantry regiments fought bravely and had strong firepower. Any Japanese infantry who wanted to advance would be mercilessly attacked. However, the four infantry regiments led by the 4th Division and the 10th Division fought It is also critical that the will is not firm.

The most common situation on the battlefield is often when the Japanese army starts to attack, and the Chinese infantry has not yet come online. When the mortars fire back, the Japanese army immediately retreats like their buttocks are on fire. With this kind of attack, let alone not making an inch of progress in three days. Even on the 30th, I'm afraid we won't be able to get to the edge of the trapped Japanese troops.

Daxiong was lucky enough to help those 70,000 people. Handan City could continuously transport supplies. They attacked three times a day and stopped working to eat after the attack. However, the Japanese army in the encirclement did not have supplies.

Originally, the battle of Zishan could be resolved in half a month or a week in the Japanese plan, and the logistical baggage was basically based on the materials carried at this time. That's okay. According to this baggage ration, the Japanese army in the encirclement could support at least one more person. It took a week, but it was hard to escape. In order not to waste materials during the evacuation five days ago, the evacuating Japanese troops took great pains to take away most of the baggage.

Therefore, on the third day after being surrounded, the Japanese troops in the encirclement were completely out of food.

As the saying goes: People are like iron rice or steel. If you don't eat one meal, you will be hungry! So what does it feel like to be hungry for 9 meals in a row?

The eyes must be blue. The Japanese army in the encirclement finally fully understood this.

There was nothing on the hills that were no more than seventy or eighty meters high except for short trees and shrubs. That was wrong. When the Japanese infantry dug trenches, they still found a lot of voles.

So, on the first day after food was cut off, the Japanese army, from captain to private, began a vigorous rat-catching operation, but not to get rid of the four pests, but to eat meat.

Colonel Shigenobu Yoshigu, who was too worried to eat, ate his first meat meal in three days that night, a field mouse that was roasted until blackened.

In order to make the colonel eat more happily, the kitchen staff of the wing headquarters also thoughtfully sprinkled precious salt.

It was extremely disgusting to the senses, but the taste buds on his tongue reminded the Japanese Army Colonel that this was the most delicious taste he had ever tasted in his life.

While eating, the Japanese Army Colonel cried, not because he was moved by the delicious food, but because he knew that even with such a field mouse, I am afraid that even the 2,000 imperial officers and soldiers would not be able to share one branch with each other.

This is indeed true. According to the battle report of the unit captured after the war, the Japanese army captured a total of 1,246 voles that day. Except for one vole per person for officers above the corps commander level, the other officers and soldiers from Cao Commander below shared one vole.

On average, less than 80 grams of meat per person!

But this was the last delicacy that the Japanese army could eat. From that night on, the Japanese army could only feed on wild vegetables and tree bark.

The key is that their activity area is less than 5 kilometers. No matter how many small trees there are, they can't resist the hungry 2,000 Japanese troops peeling them off like this!

By the sixth day, all the wild vegetables and tree bark had been harvested, and the Japanese soldiers were about to eat the soil. Some Japanese soldiers even looked at the bodies of their colleagues who died due to lack of treatment. Colonel Shigenobu Yoshigu was also anxious. Suddenly, he no longer begged Saburo Okabe to speed up the rescue, but directly confessed the current situation of his department.

"Food and water were completely cut off four days ago. The officers and soldiers were starving to death all over the field. They are about to feed on the corpses of their comrades. If this scene falls into the eyes of the Chinese, the consequences will be disastrous. Whether it is war or surrender, I hope the division commander will make a decision as soon as possible." !”

So far in the Battle of Zishan, the Japanese army has suffered setbacks and blows at every turn, but this is the first time that someone has announced the word surrender on paper, which shows the despair of the Japanese Army Colonel at that time.

If the Chinese launched an attack, he would rather lead more than 2,000 troops to fight to the death with the Chinese, even if the entire army was defeated, at least he would not lose the name of the 1st Division.

But the Chinese prefer to use this kind of soft knife to kill people. Instead of attacking, they just let 2,000 people hold on in the mountains.

As the Japanese Army Colonel said in the telegram, in addition to the lack of food, what is even more terrible is the lack of clean water. Southern Hebei belongs to the north and is not rich in water resources. It is not like southeast China, where you can dig a meter No matter how deep a trench is, water can be dug out.

In order to solve the water source problem, Colonel Shigenobu Yoshigu has organized an infantry squadron to dig more than a dozen pits up to 10 meters deep, but he has not seen any water vapor.

Fortunately, there is a stream less than half a meter wide under a certain hill. Although the water flow is small, if you use military kettles to get water diligently, it is barely enough to sustain the lives of 2,000 people.

However, the small mountain stream is less than 300 meters away from the Chinese blockade, and is within the range of the Chinese rifles.

The damn Chinese also discovered this very quickly, so they used this stream, which was only 150 meters long, exposed outside the dense forest, as their shooting range.

Even at night, they would fire flares from time to time, and under the illumination of the flares, shoot at the soldiers crawling to get water. For this, more than 30 imperial officers and soldiers have paid their lives, and the water they retrieved was carried with them. A faint smell of blood.

But even so, the hungry blue-eyed Japanese infantry still looked at those comrades who sacrificed their lives for them. How could this not make the Japanese army colonel feel heartbroken?

No wonder he put the taboo word "surrender" on the table.

"You can fight, but you must not surrender, otherwise you will become a shame for the division, the Kwantung Army, and the Imperial Army!" Okabe Saburo's reply was equally fierce, with three severe "shame".

However, Okabe Saburo also knew that his military order might be able to restrain Shigenobu Yoshitsugu and most of the middle and senior officers, but what about those hungry lower-level officers and soldiers?

The most urgent task is no longer the issue of ground support, but to solve the problem of food and water for the 2,000 officers and soldiers surrounded by the Chinese.

The largest airdrop operation in the history of the Japanese North China Front Army started on the 7th day of the end of the Zishan Campaign.

More than 60 fighter planes took off from various airports in North China, but this time, they were not carrying bombs under their bellies, but parachutes carrying supplies, which contained biscuits, canned food, candies, and medicines.

All fighter planes began to drop supplies at an altitude of 3,500 meters, with the goal of igniting a large bonfire area.

The altitude was too high, and if the pilots only relied on the visual airdrop area, it would be a so-called blind drop.

But the Japanese army's trick was soon discovered by the Four-Line Regiment!

The main reason was that the Japanese army in the encirclement was too eager. There was still half an hour before the arrival of the aircraft group, and they were impatient to light bonfires in various places on their own positions according to the agreement, making the entire position filled with smoke, which really scared the various units of the Four-Line Regiment. They thought that the hungry Japanese army was going to fight to the death.

With the help of the lookout, we found a pile of bonfires on the Japanese positions. In such a sunny day, there would be no need to keep warm. It was too abnormal. Although we didn't understand what the Japanese wanted to do, it didn't prevent the commanders at all levels of the Four-Line Regiment from slapping their heads and thinking, I'll also light a few fires and have a little barbecue.

So hundreds of bonfires were lit outside the encirclement.

Sure enough, more than ten minutes later, the huge roar of the Japanese aircraft group resounded through the world.

"It seems that this is airdrop supplies! This is a good thing! Tell Cheng Tieshou not to scare away the God of Wealth, let them drop, and see whether we pick up more or the devils pick up more!" Tang Daoyao looked at the small black dot in the distance. Combined with the abnormal situation on the Japanese positions today, for the first time, he didn't have the idea of ​​shooting down the planes when he saw them.

This may also be the first time that Captain Sasaki flew over the Chinese position without experiencing ground artillery fire, but what troubled him was that when he looked down with a telescope, there were dots of fire everywhere. That was an area of ​​more than 4 square kilometers, which was nearly ten times larger than the 5 square kilometers mentioned above.

"Drop supplies, all planes pay attention, try to drop them to the central area agreed with the Imperial Infantry before takeoff!" Captain Sasaki was a smart man, and he quickly realized that this might be the Chinese playing tricks. Dropping supplies to the central area was his last stubbornness in order not to blindly drop supplies.

Unfortunately, cleverness backfired. The encirclement was not a regular circle. Because of the terrain, the Japanese position was actually located in the upper right corner of the entire combat area. The central area that Sasaki could see was actually the Tang Dao's headquarters.

What's more terrible is that the northwest wind was blowing at the time. After the Japanese planes entering the battlefield from the north dropped supplies, even the supplies that fell to the Japanese position area would drift to the Chinese position area under the power of the northwest wind.

The Japanese soldiers on the battlefield watched the supply packages, which were only a hundred meters above their heads, slowly glide over their own positions and land on the Chinese positions hundreds of meters away.

Tears of shame slipped from the corners of their lips!

It's okay that the Chinese don't have martial ethics, but why are the Imperial Army Air Force so stupid? We are starving to death, not asking you to starve the Chinese to death!

"Less than one percent of the supplies can fall into our positions!" Colonel Shigenobu Yoshitsugu suppressed his sadness, ate his first bite of biscuits in seven days, and sent the following telegram to Okabe Saburo.

This bastard is going to bankrupt the front army! Duo Tianjun, who received Okabe Saburo's telegram, almost jumped out of anger.

If possible, he really hopes that Shigenobu Yoshitsugu will die quickly with 2,000 people, and don't torture him before he leaves office.

The more than ten tons of supplies dropped by air are not made out of thin air. They are the savings from the front army's reduction of supplies in the front-line divisions, okay?

If he had not been familiar with Saburo Okabe, Duo Tianjun would have even suspected that he was planning to openly aid the enemy.

In the end, the commander of the Kwantung Army sent a telegram to Duo Tianjun in private. The stingy Japanese made three consecutive airdrops for the first time.

The dozens of tons of various supplies made the Chinese generals smile.

"We must fight more battles like this. Tell Captain Tang for me that it is best to loosen the Japanese in the encirclement from time to time, so that they don't starve to death all at once." Wang Xiaoqiang was very happy as he feasted on the Japanese beef can.