The main force of the Si Xing Regiment against the 108th Division was the 1st and 2nd Battalions led by Lei Xiong and the 1st Artillery Battalion led by Cheng Tietsou.
Although the four major infantry battalions of the Si Xing Regiment have never been ranked in terms of strength, it is actually recognized within the Si Xing Regiment that the strongest infantry battalion is none other than the First Battalion.
Even Li Jijin, the old veteran, once said in private that if others dared to brag that the infantry company was stronger than him, he would be the first to jump out and refuse to accept it, but Zhao Daqiang and Wei Dong said this
, he must be convinced.
However, the two infantry companies that could convince Captain Li Dal with great military exploits can all be concentrated in one battalion. From this, you can imagine how strong the combat effectiveness of one battalion is.
The Second Battalion was an inconspicuous presence in the Four Lines Regiment, but whether it was Leng Feng's Third Battalion or Shangguan Yun's Fourth Battalion, even though they each showed their own prestige in the First Battle of Jindong, they never felt that their own battalions were inferior.
Stronger than the Second Battalion.
The second battalion also has awesome teams, whether it is Qian Dazhu's infantry company or Cai Yongguan's infantry company, they were both the ones who caused the Japanese army bloodshed.
Lieutenant General Sakai of "Newborn Calf" encountered such a group of people, you can tell whether he is uncomfortable or not.
Lei Xiong's personality has always been "the soldiers will stop the water and the soil will cover it", but he is very good at it. The two infantry battalions did not play tricks with the Japanese army. With the fire support of the artillery led by Cheng Tietsou, more than 3,000 infantrymen were on the move.
Zhongyang Mountain has set up a blocking position, let's fight.
Of course, although Lei Xiong and Ye Chenghuan are both fierce generals, they are by no means lacking in wisdom. In addition to the two infantry battalions and the Japanese army, there are two reconnaissance platoons in the reconnaissance company, the mountain company that has begun to take shape, and the cavalry battalion.
A company of cavalry was all sent to the outside.
This battle lasted for seven days and nights, and it should also be the seven most painful days and nights in Lieutenant General Sakai's life.
Every time you take a step forward, you don't know how much you have to pay, so forget it, at least you can still see some results.
However, the rear was also unstable. The Chinese took advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, and small groups of troops continued to harass the logistics, artillery and other departments, causing more losses than the front line for two days.
At the most exaggerated time, three baggage trains were attacked in one day, 40 trucks and more than 300 pack horses were burned and killed, and more than 400 baggage soldiers were killed.
Even one night, a small group of Chinese troops actually touched the vicinity of his division headquarters. If he hadn't been cautious enough, there was an infantry brigade guarding the division headquarters, and the head of the lieutenant general's division commander might have been lost.
They all became the spoils of war for the Chinese.
On the third day of the war, Lieutenant General Sakai not only did not continue to increase troops to the front, but even withdrew two infantry brigades to the rear to ensure the safety of the baggage train. Although Lieutenant General Sakai never admitted it, everyone believed that,
This change in tactics may not be without the intention of guarding one's own retreat.
It can only be said that a rookie in the Japanese army who can cross two levels in a year still has some brains, and he will gain experience after being beaten.
It was later proven that if these two infantry brigades had not defended their way back, the infantry brigade that disappeared in northwestern Shanxi would have probably blocked the rest of the 108th Division in the Taihang Mountains. When the 80th Army was freed up, the 108th Division
The division establishment can be completely eliminated from the order of Japan's North China Front.
Lieutenant General Sakai, the flower of the Imperial Army, also withered as soon as it bloomed!
However, the result of this was that the troops fighting against Lei Xiong's troops were no longer so abundant. By the 4th day of the Battle of Zhongyangshan, Lei Xiong's troops realized that the Japanese troops were insufficient and even began to use nighttime to launch counterattacks against the Japanese troops.
Several peaks and highlands that the 108th Division spent countless lives to conquer changed hands almost overnight!
Lieutenant General Sakai may have realized from that moment that the third fire of his "three fires as a new official" was probably no longer possible, at least not on this battlefield.
His only hope can only be pinned on the infantry regiment that raided Dakouzidong Town!
According to the current strength displayed by the Si Xing Regiment, if the main force is not used, he will change his name to "Jing". If an infantry regiment cannot even enter the station of the Si Xing Regiment without the main force, he will kill people.
The one responsible for attacking Dakouzidong Town was the 132nd Regiment of the 25th Brigade of the 108th Division. This infantry regiment was the only infantry regiment that was not beaten by the Four Lines Regiment. This was the main reason why Sakai chose them.
In the first three days, the progress of the 132nd Infantry Regiment was also unsatisfactory. Under the interception of small groups of troops from the Fourth Army Regiment based on mountain fortifications, they could only advance less than 4 kilometers in three days and nights.
This was all within Sakai's expectation. With the capabilities of the Four Elements Regiment, it would be a disaster if the imperial army were allowed to march straight in!
By the fourth day, perhaps because the resources of the remaining militiamen and recruits of the Fourth Line Regiment had been exhausted, the 132nd Infantry Regiment made great progress in one day, marching 4 kilometers, which was as much as the total of the previous three days. It was not far away from Dakouzidong Town.
to 6 kilometers.
Standing on the top of the peak, the captain of the Major Corps could even see the faint scenery of Dakouzidong Town through his telescope.
Lieutenant General Sakai was in a very good mood at that moment when he received the telegram from his subordinates. He even slept well for the first time in the middle of the night.
No matter how powerful the Four Elements Group is, I can't swallow up your main force, but I can steal your home, burn it all, loot it all, and kill it all, so that you can't survive this New Year.
In his dream, Lieutenant General Sakai saw a mountain town full of Chinese heads, and what he saw was the desperate faces of the Chinese who were fighting bravely on the opposite side.
Until early in the morning, a sleepy Sakai received bad news.
The 132nd Infantry Regiment was blocked by the permanent fortifications built by the Chinese on the mountain!
At this time, Lieutenant General Sakai obviously did not realize the seriousness of the problem. He believed that it was the last stubborn resistance of the Chinese people, just like the membrane. As long as you get through it, it will be a smooth road from now on.
But at noon, the message sent by the 132nd Infantry Regiment made Lieutenant General Sakai's head feel like it was getting bigger.
In the whole morning, only three permanent Chinese fortifications were removed, but the 132nd Infantry Regiment suffered nearly 300 casualties, which had never happened in the past few days.
A vague and unpleasant thought came to Sakai's mind, but he was suppressed by Sakai.
After all, the 132nd Infantry Regiment is his last hope. If the 132nd Infantry Regiment cannot make any achievements, then he, the new commander of the 108th Division, will be outshone by the decentralized commander of the 109th Division.
Although Anami is much older than Naoji Sakai in terms of qualifications and has a strong backing, Naoji Sakai is also the one who clings to the prince's lap, so he will naturally want to compete with each other.
It's just that at this moment, Lieutenant General Sakai could not have imagined that his imaginary competitor would be scared away by the famous Chinese general's "empty city strategy", which has become an enduring joke in the Japanese army, otherwise he would definitely choose a safer option.
We don’t seek no merit but seek no fault. We will never do something so radical.
Following Lieutenant General Sakai's order to continue advancing, the 132nd Infantry Regiment fought hard for another half day. It was this half day that completely cut off the 132nd Infantry Regiment's last chance of survival.
You should know that although the Security Battalion of the Sixings Regiment is mostly composed of disabled veterans and new recruits, its strength is as high as 3,000, which is second only to the supply battalion in the entire Sixings Regiment.
How could a mere Japanese infantry regiment advance 8 kilometers in three days with strong fortifications?
That was a strategy led by Ye Chenghuan. Most of the bunkers hidden in the mountains were actually not used. The security battalion, with Lao Hei as the battalion commander, only used less than 300 regular troops in the early stage. It was just to paralyze the Japanese army and lure the enemy.
Go deeper!
It was not until the area was less than 6 kilometers away from Dakouzi Cave that Lao Hei activated all bunkers and fortifications built in the mountains to completely block the way forward for the Japanese army.
If the 132nd Infantry Regiment knew how to advance and retreat during the day, they would still have a chance to escape from this mountain densely covered with bunkers and fortifications.
It's a pity that they didn't. In the mountains that they couldn't see, there were countless Chinese soldiers waiting silently in caves, waiting to take advantage of the night to enter the bunker that the Japanese army hadn't discovered along the way.
By then, whether the Japanese army is advancing or retreating, they will be hit by fire from the cliffs and the permanent fortifications that the Four Troops spent more than half a year digging between the cliffs.
In each fortification, there can be at least one light machine gun, rifle, and submachine gun to form a long and short range firepower.
By that time, the Japanese army would either not move or not take a single step, and would have to pay the price in blood.
Moreover, this is not reinforced concrete, it is a naturally formed stone mountain. The engineers of the Fourth Line Regiment completely hollowed out the mountain wall to form a bunker. The granite with unique geology in Dakouzidong Town cannot be hit by grenades and infantry cannons.
Even a 100mm cannon is too powerful to penetrate.
The 132nd Infantry Regiment's journey home was destined to be bloody. Even at Naoji Sakai's earnest request, Japan's North China Air Force sent six 96 fighter jets to provide aerial fire support.
The people did not have perfect anti-aircraft firepower, so they did not hesitate to descend to low altitudes and use machine guns to clear the way for the infantry.
However, there is no use for the eggs.
The 132nd Infantry Regiment walked for 4 days before entering the 8 kilometers, but when they wanted to go out, the main force of the 108th Division had withdrawn. The 132nd Infantry Regiment was still 3 kilometers away from the mountain pass where it came from.
At that time, of the 3,862 people of the 132nd Infantry Regiment when they entered the mountain, only 1,537 remained, and more than 2,300 people died during the long journey in and out.
Wounded soldiers were as rare as rare animals, and medicines had long been used up. What made the Japanese army most desperate was that they had run out of rations.
The 132nd Infantry Regiment, which originally wanted to fight quickly and was as lightly equipped as possible, only carried five days of rations. As long as they conquered the headquarters of the Fourth Army Regiment, what would they have to eat? But they never dreamed that this battle would last ten days.
Seemingly unable to get out, the reinforcements promised by the division commander have not arrived for a long time. The Imperial Eagles do not care about bombs or machine guns. The Chinese hiding in the cave fortifications have no use, and the remaining Japanese troops are also useless.
Completely desperate.
In a few days, even if they are not killed by the Chinese, they will die of hunger and thirst in this stone mountain.
It was okay to be hungry, but there were still pack horses that could be killed for meat, and the Japanese infantry were all fat and strong. Even if they didn't eat for two days, they wouldn't starve to death.
The key is thirst! It is not that there are no springs in this mountain, but the Chinese seem to have expected this. Not only are sharpshooters guarding the springs, but there are also artillerymen. Whenever there is a gunshot, there must be artillery shells roaring in.
.
I don’t know how many infantrymen died trying to get water!
If you exchange your life with blood, then you have exchanged it, but even if you exchange your life for water, it may not be safe.
I don’t know what the Chinese did to the spring water. Even if they boiled the water, many people and horses fell ill with the most undesirable dysentery in this cold winter month.
The Japanese soldier, who had loose stools and became seriously ill, no longer planned to take off his pants.
There will always be times when you poop your pants anyway, so why bother freezing your butt again?
It only took two days, and the smelly excrement-making machine was nothing new in the Japanese army.
If the Japanese had the opportunity to go to the upper reaches of these mountain springs, they would see many rotten pig and sheep carcasses soaked in the water. This was artificially created by Tang Tuanzuo from Dakouzidong Town before the New Year's Day offensive.
'Biological weapons'.
Although it is winter now and animal carcasses are not easy to rot, as long as you think about it, there are more solutions than difficulties. Anyway, what Tang Tuanzuo wants is whether the Japanese soldiers can eat well or not, and make them feel worse than being shot.
However, the security battalion's current record was far beyond Tang Dao's expectations, and it also allowed him to worry less about the Sizhou Mountain defense line.
Zhongtiao Mountain is important, and Taihang Mountain is even more important. It is one of the starting points for the millions of troops that will sweep across China in the future.
Of course Naoji Sakai did not want to give up this infantry regiment, and he also tried to make an effort, but before he could send reinforcements, he received bad news.
A large number of Chinese troops showed up in Shecheng and Licheng area!
That almost scared the shit out of the Japanese Army Lieutenant General, who was famous for his cruelty. It didn't matter if the two county towns were lost, even if Changzhi was lost. Since the main force of the division had all entered the Taihang Mountains, only a few people were left in the three cities.
With hundreds of troops garrisoned, the maximum number in Changzhi is only 800.
But the division's retreat cannot be blocked. The 16th Division and the 109th Division over there are still fighting hard. If you want to count on them, it is better to hope that your legs and feet will be more flexible.
Fortunately, he had saved a trick before. Two infantry brigades had deployed defense lines on two important traffic roads. The Chinese's violent attack failed to achieve the purpose of cutting off traffic.
Let's protect the main force first! Lieutenant General Sakai didn't hesitate for more than three seconds before abandoning one of his main infantry regiments.
Leaving an infantry regiment on the front line against the Four Troops, Sakai Naoji led nearly 8,000 troops to return to support his rear wing overnight to prevent his rear route from being cut off.
Sakai Naoji's decisive decision should be the only highlight of the Japanese army's "New Year's Day Offensive" in the battle of Taihang Mountain.
The Chinese army that penetrated directly into the rear flank of the 108th Division was the independent regiment of the 511th Division and the main division of the 80th Group Army.
The teaching brigade, consisting of nearly 6,000 people, was personally led by the No. 2 figure in the division. They marched at night and in daylight for 12 days, marching nearly 700 miles to reinforce the Taihang Mountains.
That was the foundation for the future development of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area. Thirty percent of the soldiers participated in that great movement of thousands of miles, and their combat effectiveness was not much inferior to that of the 683rd Brigade.
If it weren't for the fact that they had to travel lightly, the unit only brought heavy machine guns and didn't have much attack capability. The two infantry brigades of the 108th Division were really not impressive.
Instead of directly reinforcing the 80th Army, they targeted the 108th Division. That was a wise decision made by the boss of the 80th Army.
It would be better to cut off one of his ten fingers than to cut off one of them. He should cooperate with the Si Xing Regiment to repel the weakest 108th Division, and then attack the strongest 16th Division and 109th Division with the whole army.
The commander of the 80th Group Army with a distinctive personality wanted to fight not just a defensive battle, but to teach the Japanese a lesson.
In other places, the Japanese army may have an advantage, but in the Taihang Mountains, the dragon is coiled or the tiger is lying down. Who are they following?
Perhaps even the famous generals of the Eightyth Army did not know that their mentality had been quietly changing since 1938.
Facing the increasingly large-scale raids by the Japanese army, their strategy was no longer just about movement and defense, but also about head-on attack.
Not only did they have the confidence brought by continuous victory, but also because they had a strong comrade who was trustworthy.
Thanks to Naoji Sakai's decisiveness, the main force of the 108th Division was able to escape, but the 'wrist' that was severed by them was completely thrown into the vast mountains.
The 132nd Infantry Regiment, which had been fighting hard all the way, finally realized that the firepower points hidden on the cliffs also had shooting ranges, and most of them blocked the mountain roads. So instead of taking the mountain roads, let's go to the wild road headquarters!
Heavy weapons can't climb mountains and ridges, so I'll pack lightly! We can climb mountains that the Chinese can climb!
In order to survive, the 'smart' Japanese soldiers abandoned almost all their heavy weapons, and their pack horses were slaughtered as alternative food. They crawled into the rugged mountains and never took those mountain roads filled with death again.
Heavy weapons that were regarded as life were abandoned, not to mention those seriously wounded soldiers who needed to be carried on stretchers? All seriously wounded soldiers, after the infantry colonel made that difficult decision, all seriously wounded soldiers were required to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor.
In the desperate and pleading eyes of the seriously wounded Japanese soldiers, the desperate Japanese infantry opened a dark chapter in their lives with the rifles in their hands.
But the Japanese army never expected that this was just the beginning of the darkest days of their lives, and it was by no means the end.
The dangers of Taihang Mountain are far beyond their imagination!
Even the most experienced hunters are not willing to set foot in this stone mountain for a long time.
It's not because there are any leopards, jackals and other ferocious beasts inside, but because there are so many cliffs and cliffs that even monkeys are intimidated and accidentally fall into the abyss of 100 meters.
Because the terrain is so complex and difficult, even the security camp did not send anyone to set foot in it.
The 132nd Infantry Regiment, who was forced to panic, chose to enter. Lao Hei, who used his binoculars to watch the Japanese troops disappear behind the cliff, could only say something awesome to them!
After this battle, only 2,600 officers and soldiers of the 3,000 security battalion remained. Lao Hei left a few people to continue stationed in the bunker to prevent the Japanese army from coming back. 1,000 of the remaining 2,000 people returned to defend the area around Dakouzi Cave, and the other 1,000 people were distributed near the mountain road.
In the mountains, the Japanese troops who entered the mountains were closely monitored to prevent them from bypassing the base. That would be a shame.
Lei Xiong, who returned victoriously, even ordered, "Lock them up! Let them spend the New Year chewing stones in the stone mountain!"
Until the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain came to an end on the 24th, this miserable remnant of the Japanese army was still firmly locked in the stone mountain within a radius of 20 miles.
The Japanese Army Aviation also made efforts and airdropped food and medicine, but Lei Xiong deployed all the anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns in the Four Lines Regiment to the area.
The Japanese fighter planes did not dare to fly too low, so they had no choice but to leave the supplies to fate. In all likelihood, the supplies dropped by the air were picked up by the officers and soldiers of the Fourth Line Regiment and the militiamen who wandered in groups outside the area.
The canned beef tastes very good and adds a lot of energy to the Chinese soldiers in the cold wind.
The Japanese troops trapped in the mountains were in dire straits. The 1,500 people who entered the mountains were reduced to less than a thousand after half a month. Hundreds died of cold, illness, and hunger.
However, the Four Troops mobilized nearly a thousand people to blockade it until the end of the New Year, which was March 19, 1939. Nearly 80 days had passed since the remnants of the Japanese army entered the mountains.
How they managed to survive with more than 370 people without supplies, I am afraid only God knows.
Perhaps the surviving Japanese soldiers are the best hunters!
