Following Yoshio Shinozuka's order, more than 70 artillery pieces opened fire on Zhaojiazhuang's defensive positions.
The Battle of Zhaojiazhuang, known as an example of defensive warfare in the history of the Sino-Japanese War, officially began.
In terms of the strength of the Chinese and Japanese troops arriving on the battlefield, the 10th Division dispatched a total of 9 infantry brigades and various auxiliary arms, totaling 70,000 people, as well as a security army infantry regiment of more than 2,000 people. The Chinese side was in the Zhaojiazhuang defensive position.
There were more than 7,800 people, including 1,000 militiamen, and more than 3,700 people outside the position. The total force was about 20,000. The Japanese army had a complete advantage.
In terms of heavy firepower, compared with the 36 75mm mountain cannons, a large number of 70mm infantry cannons and about 16 90mm mortars owned by the Japanese army, China does not have mountain cannons with a longer range, but it has different calibers of different sizes.
There are more than a hundred mortars, and 12 150-caliber heavy mortars are the best in the field within a range of 3,000 meters. There are also 12 Bofors 80mm howitzers, which can also pose a threat to Japanese artillery 6,000 meters away.
.
If we also count the 12 40mm anti-aircraft guns and the 9 20mm machine guns deployed on the infantry defense line specifically for level-firing tanks, the Japanese army did not take advantage of anything unprecedented.
The Chinese side, which spent a day and night using the soil structure of Lincheng to build relatively complete defenses, now has a relatively strong 'shield', which in disguise fills the gap in the strength of the two sides.
If Yoshio Shinozuka had been clearer and realized that this was a tough nut to crack, he would have requested reinforcements from the North China Front Army Headquarters at the beginning of the war and transferred mixed brigades from Baoding, Shimen and other directions. Only two mixed brigades would be needed.
Coupled with the bomber group of the Aviation Corps, the balance of victory in the Battle of Zhaojiazhuang will undoubtedly tilt towards the Japanese side.
To use the evaluation of this battle by professors from various Chinese Army military academies in the future: "Based on the comparison of the military strength of China and Japan in North China at that time, Commander Tang Dao, who was then the commander of the Si Xing Regiment, made a military adventure, and more than 100% of the
There is an 80% chance that most of the elite members of the Four Lines Regiment and part of the Jinan Division will be consumed in this decisive battle on the plains.
Such a military adventure is wrong from a tactical perspective! But from a national war situation perspective, this is a great adventure.
It was from this battle that China realized that the Japanese army was not as powerful as imagined, and the entire country lost all fear of the Japanese army.
The inspiring significance of this battle to the army across the country is far greater than the military significance of a single battlefield!"
The War of Resistance Against Japan has been over two years, and there are many examples of millions of Chinese troops defeating Japanese divisions and brigades in the battle against Japan, such as the Battle of Jindong a year ago, and the Wanwan Battle in October 1938.
In the Battle of Jialing, China has a record of wiping out more than 20,000 Japanese troops and killing the Japanese Lieutenant General’s division commander in defensive battles. However, this was either done by gathering the strength of the entire theater to encircle with superior forces, or by relying on extremely dangerous geography.
Advantage, the commander racked his brains and calculated to finally win.
But on the North China Plain, when the Japanese artillery, armor, and air superiority were fully utilized, China still won such a victory.
What does that mean? Not only has the Japanese army become weaker, but also the Chinese soldiers during the war have become stronger.
It can be said that the Battle of Zhaojiazhuang was the first time that millions of Chinese troops realized that the gap between the two sides was shrinking visibly to the naked eye.
This is actually an objective fact. The Japanese army in the early days of the war was very strong, not only in terms of equipment but also in terms of the quality of its soldiers. However, as the war timeline lengthened and the veterans were gradually depleted, their combat power was naturally weaker than in the early days of the war.
For example, when the 10th Division was fighting against Tang Daobu on the battlefield, when it entered the Chinese battlefield, the proportion of veterans accounted for 80%. Even the new recruits were soldiers who had been trained hard for 10 months. They were not trained soldiers at all.
The Chinese officers and soldiers who had not even fired a few rounds of live ammunition in a month could match this.
However, in the Battle of Taierzhuang, nearly 10,000 people were killed in one detachment, which seriously damaged its vitality. In order to restore the vitality of this old division, the Japanese Army headquarters quickly replenished nearly 10,000 soldiers and more than 200 officers, and then recruited another brigade.
The brigade was reorganized using veterans as its skeleton, but its combat strength has actually fallen by one-third compared to its peak period.
Later, after the Battle of Xuzhou, the Battle of Central China, the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, and the mopping up battle in southern Hebei, the 10th Division continued to lose veterans and replenish new recruits. Less than a quarter of its veterans in the early days of the war were still alive, and its combat strength was even higher.
It is further weakened, and it is already good to be half of what it was at the beginning of the war.
And this situation is not limited to the 10th Division, it is common in all the Japanese army's master regiments.
Looking back at China, although China suffered heavy losses in several large-scale battles, especially its elite troops, the Chinese people's learning ability is really unparalleled in the world. The threat of death allows recruits to quickly become veterans, and veterans continue to learn and grow into qualified officers during the war.
, the overall combat effectiveness is actually a bit stronger than at the beginning of the war.
However, every time there is a war, the fact that Chinese soldiers try their best but still fail makes the Chinese army still struggling to hold on to the defense line, and they are not aware of this phenomenon at all.
But the Battle of Zhaojiazhuang was like a bolt of lightning in the dark night, breaking through the fog that shrouded the hearts of Chinese soldiers!
However, these are all hindsight. For Tang Dao at this time, he must use a tough battle to clearly tell the Japanese North China Front Army that if they want to attack my compatriots, they must first kill the corpses of my Chinese soldiers.
Cross over.
No matter whether it is behind enemy lines or not, or on a plain or not, as long as the Chinese soldiers are here, they are just fighting!
Of course, Tang Dao is not just a tough guy, he is very familiar with his opponents Shinozuka Yoshio and Duo Tianjun.
Duo Tianjun is simply a guy with great ambitions and little talent. He is probably reluctant to be a lieutenant general division commander. To command the North China Front Army of more than 300,000 people is really beyond his ability;
And Yoshio Shinozuka is much more capable than this one, otherwise he would not have served as the commander of the 1st Army of the North China Front in September 1939 in the past time and space, and became the supreme commander of the Japanese army in Shanxi Province. Japan
The Army evaluated him as loyal and brave, but during his nearly two years of combat with the 921st Division in Jin Province, he revealed a huge flaw. He was headstrong, arrogant, and rarely listened to the opinions of his subordinates.
It will always be as long as I want it or not.
Such a person, especially when he leads a division whose main force far exceeds the opponent's strength, will naturally not easily ask for help from the front army headquarters.
This is like the Chinese men's national football team playing against an amateur team. If they win, there is nothing to brag about. If they lose, they will lose their face to grandma's house.
In terms of knowing oneself and the enemy, Tang Tuanzao studied his opponent thoroughly, but Yoshio Shinozuka only knew from intelligence that the Tang sword was as fierce as a tiger, but he did not know that the Tang sword was so cunning that even a group of tigers could not keep up with him.
Therefore, Yoshio Shinozuka, who had a sense of luck, sent out an infantry squadron to make a tentative advance on the open area with 12 mountain guns for 30 minutes.
As we all know, minefields may be detonated by clusters of artillery fire, but it has never been said that a minefield can be cleared by covering and bombardment alone. If artillery really had this ability, then the profession of minesweeper would not exist at all.
An infantry squadron of more than 180 Japanese soldiers just bent down and advanced less than 150 meters. As anti-infantry mines were stepped on one after another, they exploded, and the Japanese soldiers howled like ghosts!
It's not terrible to have your legs blown off. At most, you will be a cripple. Compared with losing your life, it is already very good, but what if your eggs are blown to pieces? An anti-infantry jumper copied from the German Empire's S-Mine-35/44
After the mine is triggered, it will jump to a height of nearly 1 meter from the ground and detonate!
This thing can be called the most dazzling existence in the family of anti-infantry jumping mines. During the Normandy landing, the German Empire even planted S-type jumping mines together with anti-tank mines, which effectively slowed down the rapid advancement of armored infantry groups. The United States
Cowboys hate it and call it Bouncing Betty. After all, even if you don't die, you may no longer be a man.
During the entire World War II, the German Empire produced a total of 1.93 million S-type jumping mines. These "living widow makers" fired 360 steel balls 360 degrees without blind angles, destroying the dreams of many families to continue the future generations. Therefore, at the end of the war
Later, the Gallic Rooster also sent nearly 50,000 German prisoners of war to the mine clearing fields without mercy: Come, have a taste of your own mines.
During World War II, the thick shadow created by S anti-infantry jump mines caused countries that suffered greatly to begin to imitate or develop jump mines. For example, the American M2 and M16 anti-infantry jump mines, Mao Xiong's ОЗМ jump mines, etc., China
The military industry has also launched two types of anti-infantry jump mines, the Type 69 and the Type 72, which have shown their talents in the jungle wars in the southwest.
By the end of the century, more than a hundred countries had signed the "Ottawa Mine Ban Convention", which prohibited the manufacture and use of inhumane anti-infantry landmines. However, several countries, led by Mao Xiong, refused to sign because anti-infantry jumping mines have extremely serious consequences.
important tactical position.
These injuries should first have been suffered by the Gallic Rooster soldiers in September, but due to the arrival of Tang Tuanzuo, the Japanese infantry were able to enjoy them two months in advance.
Although only two anti-infantry jumping mines were tripped and detonated, and the distance between individual Japanese soldiers was relatively loose, at least 10 meters apart, the jumping mines that jumped to waist height and suddenly performed the coquettish and dazzling "Tiannu Sanhua" move still caused a lot of damage.
The Japanese army blew up the eggs and smashed them into pieces.
The bloody crotches of seven or eight Japanese infantrymen frightened the Japanese infantrymen so much that they no longer dared to move forward even if the other side did not fire a single shot at them.
"Sure enough, there is a minefield!" Yoshio Shinozuka didn't have much surprise on his face when he heard the news from the front line.
Over the past month or so, one of the important reasons why China has been able to cause considerable damage to the division in its "Operation Clearing the Countryside" is the large number of landmines laid on the roads.
"Order the minesweeper to dispatch, and tell Zheng Sang at the same time that when it's time for him to serve the empire, I will watch his performance from behind." Shinozuka Yoshio's eyes flashed coldly.
The Zheng Sang that Yoshio Shinozuka mentioned was none other than Zheng Yunqiu!
This guy is really a talent. After using a thousand taels of gold to gain access to Saburo Kuroda's lap, and relying on the recommendation of the acting captain, he was appreciated by Yoshio Shinozuka 20 days ago and was promoted to stationed in Handan.
Deputy Commander of the Infantry Regiment of the Public Security Army.
Unexpectedly, less than a week after taking office, he was back on the battlefield before he could even sit down. Perhaps the only good news for this unlucky boy was that he did not bring his direct troops in Guangping County with him this time.
None of the more than 2,000 security forces were familiar with him.
Therefore, after receiving the military order from Yoshio Shinozuka instructing him to serve as the frontline commander of the security army infantry regiment, Zheng Yunqiu did not panic at all. He discussed with his immediate superior and set off with an infantry battalion and three minesweeper trucks.
Already.
The so-called minesweeper truck is also a nondescript modified truck made by the Japanese army after being frightened by landmines. It uses an ordinary 5-ton transport truck, installs steel plates around the chassis and cab, and then installs a
Big shovel.
After a simple test, it was found that the large steel shovel could not be easily destroyed by ordinary anti-infantry mines and basically met the needs of the Japanese infantry. It was a typical scum product that was put on the battlefield without actual combat.
But don't tell me, just looking at the big steel shovel extending two or three meters in front of the front of the car still gives a sense of muscle, and it also gives confidence to the hundreds of puppet troops following behind.
Here, more than 600 security troops followed four crudely modified trucks and began to break through the minefield. Over there, from the left, center and right directions, the Japanese infantry also began probing attacks. The main thing was that there were many of us, so you could take care of them
Don't come.
"The two Japs are here to be used as cannon fodder!" Tang Dao, who was in the underground command post in Zhaojiazhuang, received the battle report from Xia Dayu, his face unfazed by the past and present.
"Order the platoon of guards to stop activating the manual bombs and let the Japs in first to fight. When more of them come, it's a wasteland! Then let the blood of the Japs water this land. Next spring,
We will definitely be able to grow food!”
Most of the more than a thousand landmines laid in the minefield are anti-infantry mines, which are basically designed to kill personnel. Although the Japanese army's improvised 'minesweeper vehicle' is crude, it still plays a certain role. It continuously uses large steel
The shovel detonated dozens of landmines and led more than 300 puppet troops into the gap for nearly 300 meters.
"Brothers, Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka said that if there are any results this time, there will be a big reward when we return!"
Zheng Yunqiu, who was on the front line in person, held a big loudspeaker 200 meters away and used the same old trick to 'lure' the puppet soldiers with money.
It's not the money that touches people's hearts, but it's life if you don't take the money. 300 meters behind the puppet infantry camp, there is the Japanese infantry squadron who was killed and injured dozens of people in the minefield supervising the team. Six machine guns and
Nearly a hundred rifles were lined up in a row, and anyone who dared to retreat without obeying orders would be killed.
Although most of the puppet soldiers were trembling in their calves, they were already like this. They could only fight for their lives and money. Moreover, the front was empty. The dilapidated Zhaojiazhuang had clearly appeared in the puppet army's field of vision. The straight-line distance would never be
More than 700 meters.
Many puppet soldiers had already stood up straight. After the minesweeper truck continued to advance for dozens of meters without detonating any more mines, the two puppet company commanders who judged that they had walked out of the minefield loudly ordered their puppet soldiers to get out of the minesweeper's rut.
Form a skirmish line and approach Zhaojiazhuang within sight.
While running happily, a crack suddenly opened in the extremely empty wilderness ahead. It was a ditch leading from Zhaojiazhuang to Chenjiazhuang. However, it was covered with wooden boards and covered with some loess, not to mention it was far away.
It looks no different from the wasteland, and even if you look closely, you won't find any clues easily.
It's not scary if there is a crack in the ground. Even a child can jump across a ditch that is less than 1 meter wide. But there are nearly a hundred fully armed soldiers hiding in the ditch, and they are all equipped with continuous-fire firearms.
That would be terrible.
The puppet soldiers who were running were only about 80 meters away from the ditch. After this incident, before their brains could even react, the muzzles of the black holes that emerged started to fire violently.
That was a firepower network composed of 3 MG42 machine guns, more than 30 submachine guns, and 50 semi-automatic rifles.
Even though the width of the skirmisher line had been stretched to 600 meters, the more than 300 puppet troops were like huge waves hitting the rocks, and they suddenly scattered into a ball!
In this first wave of attacks, at least more than 50 puppet soldiers were swept to the ground, writhing and wailing.
"Fight back, fight back!" the puppet army officer lying on the ground shouted desperately.
But obviously, the firepower of the guard platoon of the Fourth Army Regiment was far beyond the imagination of this wave of puppet troops, and the dense rain of bullets seemed to be endless.
One side is in an unobstructed plain, and the other side is in a trench. Coupled with the asymmetrical firepower ratio, the consequences of the shooting between the two sides are self-evident. Any brave man who dares to raise his head and shoot will be turned into a dead man in a few seconds.
"They only have light weapons, and their heavy firepower is placed at the forward position. We have a chance!" Zheng Yunqiu observed the battlefield through the telescope and found a fighter jet.
Until now, the Chinese have not used those terrible small-caliber mortars. In fact, even if they do, it is not a big deal. He still has more than 300 security forces under his command. With a mass of people, they can kill no more than an infantry company of Chinese soldiers.
It was piled to death.
As for the casualties of the security forces, Zheng Yunqiu did not consider them at all. What he wanted to gain now was the trust of Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, and he must hold on to this thick leg.
"Give them all to me and crush them to death with numbers. If anyone dares to escape before the battle, His Excellency Lieutenant General Shinozuka Yoshio will not let him go." Zheng Yunqiu made the decision easily.
Anger flashed in the eyes of the security army major and battalion commander, but this did not prevent the Japanese captain from showing his thumbs up to Zheng Yunqiu to express his appreciation.
"Yo Xi, Captain Zheng, you are so outstanding!"
Except for the Imperial Army, the Japanese Army Captain named Morikawa Kamigata rarely saw this trait called bravery in Chinese people, except of course for the opponents he was facing.
So, under the orders of a lieutenant colonel and deputy commander of the security forces who didn't care much about the lives of his subordinates, and under the threat of a Japanese army captain who didn't care much about the lives of his subordinates, the last 300 or so puppet troops were thrown into the battlefield.
More than 12 light machine guns, 6 heavy machine guns and 12 grenade launchers also began to provide full fire support to the front line, causing smoke to burst out in front and rear of the ditch.
The puppet troops who received support gradually became more courageous and crawled toward the Chinese position. As long as they advanced 30 meters further, they could throw Japanese melon grenades.
Although the firearms and equipment of the puppet army are all national weapons, long-handled grenades are somewhat rare, so the puppet army is equipped with Japanese-style melon grenades, and the longest attack range is more than 40 meters.
The puppet soldiers are quite tenacious, but they don't know that every step they take is getting closer to the abyss of death.
Since Tang Tuanzuo dared to set a trap blatantly in this open land, how come there were only passively triggered landmines?
If the wasteland is to be turned into fertile soil, in addition to necessary fertilizers, the land must also be plowed.
In an area about 100 meters away from the trench, nearly 20 explosive points were buried, each with an average of 20 kilograms of cyclone explosives. They were all connected by wires buried more than 40 centimeters below the surface and detonated manually.
The reason why we have to be nearly 100 meters away from the camouflaged ditch is that the explosive power of the cyclone explosive is so terrifying that the ditch can be collapsed even if it is not far away. ()
