Rise From Eight Hundred

Through the telescope, Leng Feng's face turned grim as he looked at the Japanese troops being beaten down by waves of light and heavy firepower from his side.

As the top commander in charge of blocking Japanese reinforcements, Leng Feng knew that this was just the beginning of the battle, and the most difficult moment for him and his three battalions was yet to come.

Because the two infantry companies and one machine gun company under his command have to face far more than the Japanese infantry brigade in front of him.

In order to reinforce his colleagues who were still in dire straits a few hundred meters away, all the Japanese artillery fire might be poured on his third battalion's position.

At this time, the Third Battalion did not have two-meter-deep trenches or tunnels on the back of the mountain like Mouse Mountain. Not only did the infantry only have 1.5-meter-deep trenches to hide in, but the so-called heavy machine gun fortifications were only a few placed in front of the heavy machine guns. This earth bag is used as bulletproof for the shooter, and the Japanese infantry artillery and mountain artillery can easily blow it to pieces.

But Tang Dao had anticipated this situation before the war.

In the night of the wasteland, at the highest military meeting of the Four Lines Regiment attended only by the four giants of the regiment and the two infantry battalion commanders, Tang Dao turned his attention to Lei Xiong, Guo Shouzhi and Leng Feng, and fiercely marked the simple terrain map he had just drawn. A horizontal bar was drawn: "Encircling and annihilating the Japanese troops in the encirclement is very important. It is related to the outcome of our Fourth Army Regiment's attack on the 14th Division. But this line is more important. It is the life and death of the entire army of our Fourth Army Regiment." Wire!

You are all veterans who have been in the army for several years or even ten years. You know that if the Japanese army breaks through this life-and-death line and enters the flank where I am besieging the Japanese army, then our troops will have to divide our troops to fight against it. The Japanese army in the encirclement will most likely fight to the death. , although the continuous firepower of our unit is far superior to that of the Japanese army, everyone should not forget that the Japanese army's combat effectiveness is extremely strong. Once the battle cannot be resolved quickly and falls into a dogfight, the main force of the 14th Division will come with all its strength after receiving the news.

Then our army will have to choose to retreat, and the Japanese army completely occupies air superiority. Once an air attack is carried out on our unit, not only will our adventure be in vain, but we will also lose troops and generals, and even cause all subsequent tactical movement plans to come to nothing. !

Not only do we value this line of life and death, but so do the Japanese. They will not only attack with all their infantry, they will even use all their artillery to bombard this line of defense!

Therefore, I need to defend this infantry battalion, which is the life and death line of my entire regiment. No matter how heavy the losses are, we must not retreat even half a step. "

The three battalion commanders of the Four Elements Regiment were silent as they looked at the line drawn by Tang Dao.

Not because of fear, but because he was calculating whether he could stop it with the strength of his infantry battalion.

A Japanese infantry regiment is equipped with more than 20 artillery pieces. Can they stop it with only a shallow trench?

"I'll do it!" Lei Xiong and Leng Feng said almost at the same time.

Guo Shouzhi, who was caught in the middle and was about to open his mouth, had a wry smile on his face. Have these two made an appointment? He didn't save any face for Lao Guo, so he was half a second too late and became third place completely.

"I am the deputy commander of the regiment. You, Commander Leng, still obey the commander's orders and do what you should do. I am here to guard this life-and-death line with the first battalion." Lei Xiong put on a cold face, acting like a big brother.

"Hehe, Commander Lei, just because your battalion is the sharp knife battalion of our Four Lines Regiment, it is your battalion that must annihilate the encircling enemies. This seemingly dangerous but actually simple blocking task is still handed over to me, who is ranked lowest and has the most seniority. Let’s go to the third camp!” A smile appeared on Leng Feng’s usually stern face.

Leng Shitou’s emotional intelligence has become so high? Not to mention that Lei Xiong didn't know how to refute Leng Feng's words. Guo Shouzhi, who had been basically excluded, also glanced at Leng Feng curiously.

Tang Dao's expression did not change, but there was a hint of smile in his eyes.

This may be the power of love.

After being assassinated by a Japanese master on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Fujiwara was seriously injured and escaped. The Japanese spies in Zhengzhou City were wiped out. The first theater became the biggest winner, so the Four Troops also received the special privilege of the first theater. subsidy.

But personally, Tang Tuanzuo was not that good. Not to mention his head was broken and he was still lying in the hospital for two days. He was definitely a loser, especially when compared with this guy Leng Feng.

After that hard battle, Mrs. Yue, who may have a better understanding of life and death, lost all her usual reserve. Not only did she take the initiative to do laundry for Leng Feng, but she also took the three boys to the headquarters of the third battalion when nothing happened. Leng Feng had always been as cold as ice. The gentleness on his face was much more than before.

Looking at Lei Xiong and Leng Feng, Tang Dao finally made a decision: "Then let's let the third battalion come! There may be more Japanese troops in the encirclement than the reinforcements. The first and second battalions must resolve the battle within two hours. The combat mission It is by no means easier than blocking the Japanese army.

Moreover, since the two companies of Wei Donglai and Cai Yongguan have not yet been rebuilt, and the first and second battalions only have two infantry companies available, I will transfer the 9th company of the third battalion and the guard company directly under the regiment headquarters to the command of the first and second battalions, and add additional personnel 300 new soldiers served as bombardiers. "

Tang Dao stared at Leng Feng, "So, you only have two infantry companies and one machine gun company with less than 500 troops available. Leng Feng, can you guarantee to complete the mission? If you find it difficult, then I will personally lead the special agents The company and the New Eighth Division Engineer Company will serve as your reserve team to reinforce your third battalion at any time."

Leng Feng's face returned to its stern state, and he stood up and saluted: "Commander, I can't guarantee whether my unit can finally complete the blocking battle on the life-and-death line, but I can guarantee one thing, even if the soldiers of my third battalion fall, they are shot in the chest! The reserve you mentioned should be put into the annihilation of the Japanese troops in the encirclement! You and the brothers of the first and second battalions should kill all the devils in the encirclement first, which is the biggest reinforcement for my third battalion!"

This is Leng Feng, who never boasts, but is as hard as a stone. Any enemy who wants to cross his defense line must first smash this stone.

And now this stone is not just him, but also hundreds of people who have gradually become accustomed to his fighting style.

Even if the Japanese artillery fire is fierce!

Yes, as predicted by Chinese commanders such as Tang Dao and Leng Feng, the Japanese army poured all their artillery fire on the third battalion position.

Upon receiving the news of the attack ahead, the Japanese artillery squadrons at the rear of the 2nd Infantry Regiment stopped immediately and pushed the various types of artillery pulled by packhorses into the wasteland below the dirt road.

Because it was a forced march and they might encounter a battle with the Chinese army at any time, the artillery units of the 2nd Infantry Regiment did not split the infantry artillery and mountain artillery into several large pieces and then transport them with packhorses as usual, but marched by packhorses towing them.

In this way, it only takes five or six minutes for various types of artillery to be put into use.

The Japanese signalmen rode horses in the wasteland and reported the battle situation ahead and the artillery coordinates to the three artillery positions 400 meters behind the regiment headquarters.

The four mountain guns were curved guns that could fire at all targets within 500 to 6,000 meters; the four infantry guns were direct-aiming guns, but in an emergency, they could also raise the muzzle to be used as curved-fire guns; the six 37mm rapid-fire guns were completely direct-aiming guns, and they were anti-tank guns used mainly to destroy armor and fixed fortifications. The shells were solid shells instead of shrapnel shells, and they would lose their effectiveness if they stayed in the rear.

Therefore, the rapid-fire gun squadron quickly moved forward to the battlefield, leaving the mountain gun squadron and the infantry gun squadron behind the regiment headquarters. Because the battle situation at the front was unclear, the eight guns did not dare to fire at will. When the signal soldiers reported that their reinforcements were blocked and the Chinese positions were blocking the approximate area, the eight guns naturally poured all their firepower on the officers and soldiers of the third battalion.

The Japanese artillerymen were very skilled in tactics and techniques. It took no more than 6 minutes from setting up the guns to adjusting the muzzle angle and firing distance to firing.

"Order everyone to retreat to the trenches! Leave two observation posts in each platoon. If the Japanese army does not enter 100 meters, ignore them. Once they enter 100 meters, even if the Japanese artillery does not stop, I will shoot them!" Leng Feng, who had dry grass and branches tied to his helmet, gave the order in a cold voice after seeing the first shell explode less than 30 meters in front of him.

Although the 28 heavy machine guns stopped firing and the Japanese infantry continued to shrink the distance, Leng Feng was not worried about the density of his own firepower at all. On the contrary, the Mauser pistols and submachine guns can play the greatest role within a distance of 100 meters.

In order to defend this life and death line of the entire regiment, Leng Feng was not stingy with sacrifices, but he would never let his soldiers die in vain.

All infantrymen, including heavy machine gunners, retreated into the trenches. The temporary field trenches had no other protective functions except the curvature to protect people from the air waves caused by the explosion of shells falling into the trenches.

Everyone tried to curl up their bodies, cover their heads, and press the guns and ammunition under their bodies, leaving it to fate.

After three rounds of test firing, the Japanese army's eight indirect-fire guns began to bombard the third battalion's position at full speed. Shells bloomed in the wilderness, turning over the dark soil and igniting the dry grass around the position, turning it into a sea of ​​fire.

The Japanese army used incendiary bombs instead of shrapnel bombs.

That was Ishiguro Sadazo's idea.

"Order the third infantry battalion to temporarily withdraw to 400 meters away, and the mountain artillery squadron to use incendiary bombs against the enemy!"

The Japanese army officer who had been holding a telescope and watching the Japanese army hiding in the dry grass had a faint light flashing in his left eye!

The Chinese used the depth of the grass in the wilderness to ambush under the nose of his marching column. This move was indeed beyond his expectations and almost successfully completed their tactical conception.

He could fully imagine that the troops trapped in the encirclement would suffer heavy casualties because they had no fortifications to cover them and encountered a sudden change.

But Ishiguro Sadanzo had enough confidence in his subordinates. He believed that even if the Chinese sent an infantry division, it would not be possible to completely defeat his two surrounded infantry battalions within half a day.

That confidence was not blindly obtained. It was the experience of the Imperial Japanese Army in long-term combat against China.

Even the Pingxingguan Battle in Shanxi Province, China, which was touted by the Chinese official media half a year ago, that Chinese army surrounded a baggage battalion of the Fifth Division with three infantry regiments, with 5,000 against more than 1,000, and it took almost a whole day!

The regular army fought against the second-line soldiers for 10 hours before the victory was completely determined. It is said that the infantry division was the main force of the main force of the 18th Group Army of China.

Ishiguro Sadanzo had every reason to believe that even if he lost the initiative, his infantry regiment would have no problem holding on for a day or two.

Moreover, he had just immediately asked for help from the division headquarters. The division headquarters had ordered the 59th Infantry Regiment closest to the Bihe River and the 18th Cavalry Regiment directly under the division headquarters to quickly move closer to the 2nd Infantry Regiment, and requested air support from the front army headquarters. The fighter planes taking off from Taiyuan Airport would arrive at the battlefield in less than an hour.

He might not lose this battle.

The calmness of Ishiguro Sadazo Ohsa, the highest commander of the Japanese side at that time, was also praised by many military scientists after the war as the biggest highlight of the performance of the 2nd Infantry Regiment in this battle, but that was only the Japanese side's opinion.

In the eyes of most Western military scholars and Chinese, this calmness was the catalyst that pushed the entire 2nd Infantry Regiment into the abyss of death.

If he was afraid or terrified, and took the regiment headquarters, the 3rd Infantry Battalion and several artillery squadrons and ran away, the Tang Dao and the Four-line Regiment might not have a good solution, and could only eat up the two tightly surrounded infantry battalions in one bite.

But unfortunately, this is almost impossible. No matter whether it is smart or stupid, no commander will easily abandon nearly 2,000 colleagues and run away without caring. It is not only a problem of their own lives, but from the bones, they have never looked down on the Chinese, which is the root cause of not running away.

Moreover, the Japanese believed that Western and Chinese scholars laughed at Ishiguro Sadazo, but they judged heroes based on the outcome. In the battle situation at that time, keeping calm was the best choice for Ishiguro Sadazo.

Ishiguro Sadazo, who was calm enough, not only decided to fight to the end with the Chinese army that dared to ambush him, but also saw the biggest disadvantage of the Chinese position responsible for blocking his reinforcements.

There were too many dead grasses on and around their positions. If they were given a combustion accelerant, they could be roasted directly with flames without the infantry's effort to attack.

The mountain artillery squadron of the 2nd Infantry Regiment happened to carry a lot of incendiary bombs.

It must be said that Ishiguro Sadazo, who was calm enough, made this move very vicious.

A large number of incendiary bombs were thrown on the position of the third battalion. The rather dry dead grass naturally caught fire at a touch, and the flames jumped several meters high, reflecting the redness on the telescope lenses in the hands of the commanders of both sides.

Not to mention the temperature at the center of the burning, the scorching heat wave could be felt hundreds of meters away.

Indeed, the temperature of the Third Battalion's position continued to rise, so that the officers and soldiers of the Third Battalion not only had to bear the threat of shrapnel and air waves, but also the scorching fire.

But this shortcoming was also taken into consideration by Tang Dao. Because of the need for concealment, the Third Battalion's position could not remove the dry grass. This weakness was likely to be exploited by the Japanese army. The high heat and smoke formed by a large amount of fiercely burning dry grass were enough to pose a fatal threat to the officers and soldiers.

Therefore, Tang Dao gave a large number of gas masks obtained from the secret arsenal of the Northeast Army to Leng Feng's Third Battalion, and dumped a large amount of river water around before the war to make the soil moist enough, and a large amount of river water was also equipped in the trenches.

When the heat wave was felt, Li Jiujin gave an order, and the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company did not care about the cold winter, and took water from the helmet to the soles of the feet.

The same was true for the 8th Company and Mo Songzi's machine gun company. Even the heavy machine guns were poured with clean water. Because of the high heat, the water evaporated quickly, and the entire position seemed to be shrouded in a white mist, like a fairyland.

However, everyone knows that this seemingly beautiful picture may be full of the cruelty of death.

Ishiguro Sadazo was very satisfied with this situation.

"Order the Third Infantry Battalion to wet the whole body with clean water, and when the fire is slightly smaller, immediately attack the Chinese position with all your strength, and tell Shenmu Dazuo that the imperial warriors in front are still fighting hard with the Chinese. He must break through the Chinese position in the shortest time. The artillery colleagues have done everything they can. The rest depends on them." Ishiguro Sadazo looked at the front and gave the order with a grim face.

The Third Infantry Battalion Captain Shaozuo, who received the military order, looked extremely ugly.

He knew that although his lieutenant commander did not say the four words "Long live charge", the implication was actually the same.

Long live charge is often a tactic used at the last moment of a war to break through the enemy's position in one fell swoop. Although it is very inspiring, the casualties are huge. No commander is willing to choose this unless it is a last resort.

Unexpectedly, he was not given the opportunity to choose himself. The battle just started, and the Third Infantry Battalion was going to use this.

But could he refuse? Or dare to refuse?

We can only hope that the Chinese in the center of the fire will be burned to death! The Japanese young left looked at the battlefield painfully, where the fire had been reduced a lot because the dry grass was almost burned and the air wave caused by the replacement of shrapnel shells was swept, and he could only give a stern order: "Order, three minutes later, the first squadron, the second squadron, the captains of each infantry squadron and the captain of the squadron, lead the team, long live charge!

Those who retreat without receiving the order to retreat will die!"

This may be the most tragic "Long live charge!" in the history of the Japanese war. It is not a question of how many people died in the battle.

Rather, when others charge for a long live, they each have a bowl of wine, and they each have a pot of water, pouring from head to toe.

In the winter, it feels so comfortable!

However, there are still heroes.

Two captains of the infantry squadron took the lead, and about 20 to 30 Japanese officers such as lieutenants, second lieutenants, and sergeants took off their uniforms and bare their arms, showing their muscles and their fearlessness of cold and death.

If they were not afraid of getting their eggs caught on the dry grass branches that were not completely burned while running, they might have even taken off their pants!

In the words of Li Jiujin, the captain of the company who saw this scene: Damn! The Japanese are really thrifty! They are sending themselves to die without even wanting to dirty their uniforms!

That was probably the happiest moment for Li Jiujin, who felt like he was about to be steamed.

In front of his 7th Company equipped with 30 semi-automatic rifles, 60 submachine guns, and 60 Mauser pistols, he was not afraid of such live targets, let alone more than 100 people, even if they were multiplied by 10.

More than 300 Japanese infantrymen were ready to fight to the death and rush into the fire scene, but they were not the most unlucky ones.

Most of Gu Xishui's special operations squadron withdrew from the north bank of the Bi River after that battle, but it did not mean that his special operations squadron had nothing to do in this battle.

On the contrary, there were at least five groups of special forces lurking in the grass of this wasteland, including himself and Shen Laoliu and Mingxin who had made great contributions!

Gu Xishui's ambush point was less than a kilometer away from the Japanese army brigade headquarters. His eyes were always searching for the most valuable target he thought.