Chapter 798: The Tragic First Division
"Boom boom boom boom..."
More than a dozen mortar shells fell into the Japanese tank group, which was the primary target of the artillery battalion;
The frontal armor thickness of the Japanese Type 94 Dou Chariot is 5 to 12 mm. The front end of the turret has the thickest armor at 12 mm, while the side armor is only 5 to 6 mm. It cannot even defend against 12.7 mm large-caliber machine gun bullets, let alone the cannon.
The 90mm "small steel cannon" equipped by the battalion.
In order to destroy the four enemy tanks, the artillery battalion did not care about the cost. The artillery battalion covered them with two rounds of artillery fire. Nearly 30 mortar shells accounted for one-third of the inventory of artillery shells.
Under such intensive artillery fire, all four tanks were blown to their knees, and the tank team that posed the greatest threat to the New Fourth Army was annihilated.
Then the artillery fire was transferred to the Japanese infantry group, and a few more rounds were fired, all the artillery shells in stock were used up. At least seventy or eighty people in the first Japanese detachment were killed and injured, and other Japanese soldiers were blown up like headless flies.
Same, running around;
A group of Japanese soldiers, under the command of a squadron leader, attacked the defense area of the new regiment, hoping to break through from the front.
"Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta..."
"Bah hook bah hook bah hook..."
The new regiment opened fire on the battlefield, raining bullets on the Japanese. The enemy's corpses were scattered all over the field, and then they retreated;
Commander Zhang Zhiyu decisively issued the order to charge:
"Comrades, rush!"
More than a thousand officers and soldiers of the new regiment jumped out of the trenches and rushed towards the Japanese like an overwhelming force.
Thousands of ambushes on both wings also rushed into the group of Japanese soldiers. They used light and heavy weapons in their hands to greet the Japanese soldiers. The Japanese soldiers fell down one by one in the chaos. It was difficult to organize effective resistance. They were all fighting on their own.
Although they also caused a lot of casualties to the New Fourth Army, they could not change the outcome of a crushing defeat;
The remaining more than a thousand Japs were quickly dashed to pieces, and they were divided and surrounded and annihilated one by one. The New Fourth Army's killing cries resounded through the sky!
More than an hour later, it gradually became dark. Except for a small number of Japanese who took advantage of the darkness to break out, all other Japanese were wiped out, and the battle at Sunset Ridge ended successfully.
Each regiment cleaned the battlefield all night long. Because of the great victory, everyone in the military headquarters was very excited;
This should be the battle that killed the most Japs since the New Fourth Army was formed. The weapons and ammunition captured should be enough to replenish consumption.
"Political Commissar, Commander Ye, and Brigadier Chu, the results of the battle have been calculated. In the battle of Sunset Ridge, more than 2,480 Japanese were killed, 57 were injured, and 32 were captured. Some were blown to pieces and cannot be counted;
We captured 5 intact 92 infantry guns, 3 damaged ones, 13 small steel cannons, more than 1,800 long and short guns (guns), and more ammunition and supplies than can be counted..."
Deputy Chief of Staff Zhou's battle report received a burst of cheers. With these seizures, the military department will have an easier time in the future.
Political Commissar Xiang held Chu Xiong’s hand and said:
"Chuxiong, you and the comrades of the action team deserve the most credit for achieving such a major victory this time. I would like to send a message of thanks to the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army to thank you and the comrades for their great help and to ask for credit for you and the comrades.
."
“Commissar Xiang is a revolutionary comrade who helps each other and just asks for credit;
The battle was fought by the comrades of the New Fourth Army, especially the old regiment in the direction of Spring Valley City. They paid a lot of price. We only fired a few cannons at the Japanese. The victory should belong to all the commanders and soldiers of the military department!"
Chu Xiong's humility once again won the favor of Xiang, Ye, Zhou and others. This is the real revolutionary.
Political Commissar Xiang has already thought about it. The first contributor to this battle must be Chu Xiong. As one of the Standing Committee members, he must report it to Yanzhou;
Chu Xiong can be upright and honest, but he will not let honest people suffer, and he no longer dwells on this. Revolutionaries are open-minded, and talking too much will make them inferior.
"Chu Xiong, do you have any good suggestions for the next step?"
"Political Commissar Xiang, after defeating the Japanese in Wucheng, the conditions are ripe for crossing the river and heading north;
In order to confuse the Japanese and hide the true intention of our army to cross the river and go north, I suggested that the old regiment on the Spring Valley City side continue the feint attack and the main force maneuver towards the river overnight to find a suitable ferry to cross the river;
After the old regiment completes its mission, it can stay and fight guerrillas. Their goal as a regiment is not big, so they will not attract the attention of the Japanese and stubborn troops, and they retain the back-up for further development southward in the future.
An advance team was sent to find a suitable ferry. I led the action team to follow the advance team, and the military headquarters followed up. We crossed the river at dawn to avoid bombing by Japanese planes.
In addition, only weapons and ammunition should be seized, and those miscellaneous things should be discarded. If you are willing to give up, you will gain something if you give it up. Time is life."
Political Commissar Xiang and Commander Ye looked at each other and agreed to Chu Xiong's suggestion. It would take at least several hours for thousands of people to cross the river, so they must hurry up.
According to Chu Xiong's temper, there shouldn't be any wounded Japanese soldiers. Fortunately, there were only a small number of wounded soldiers, so they were carried by the Japanese prisoners together, which did not take up much manpower.
He would not dare to mention the humane elimination of wounded Japanese soldiers and prisoners. Political Commissar Xiang was very principled and would definitely not agree to this.
After the general policy was decided, Chu Xiong went with the new regiment to the riverside to find a ferry;
The military headquarters has also reorganized its troops and prepared to follow up. It is only safe to cross the river. The stubborn army has not yet reacted, and the military headquarters only needs to face a small number of Japanese.
At about 11 o'clock in the evening, the military headquarters began to set off;
After leaving Sunset Ridge, the first squadron of the action team, led by comrades who were familiar with the terrain along the river, went straight to Linzhen Ferry, where there was a small group of Japs, and the new regiment followed.
At Linzhen Ferry, the leader of the Japanese squad, Second Lieutenant Nakata, had ordered all ferries to be sunk into the river. There was no ferry available for more than ten miles around.
Lin Town is a small town with a population of only more than 1,000 people. It was gathered into a town because of the ferry. Most people make a living by transporting goods at the dock or ferrying;
Since the recalcitrant army prepared to attack the New Fourth Army, the Japanese have strengthened the management of the ferries along the river;
When the order came to Second Lieutenant Nakata, this boy did an even better job. He grabbed all the ferries and sank them into the river.
"Baga Yalu, you have a very bad conscience. Who asked you to work while sleeping?"
When Second Lieutenant Nakata checked at night, he found the officers on duty sleeping and slapped them twice.
"hey-hey!"
Chapter completed!