He and his 86 brothers in the infantry platoon have been trapped in this small village for seven days and eight nights!
Running out of ammunition and food was no small matter. The important thing was that Cao Yingchong had already felt that his consciousness was getting blurry. It was obviously not because of hunger, but because of the lack of oxygen supply to the brain due to massive blood loss.
Forget it, let's do it! In the past week or so, I have killed no less than 20 Japanese. I have tried my best. No one has recorded the military merit record as early as 3 days ago.
The two sergeants in the platoon who were part-time clerks had both died in the battle. Before he died, the platoon leader had the record book recording everyone's military achievements in the previous days buried in the tunnel and marked. He didn't know if it would be safe.
It will be discovered by the brothers later.
After all the people were dead, Cao Yingchong could think of nothing else to do with his military exploits.
With difficulty, he took out the cigarette case from his jacket pocket, took out one and was about to put it in his mouth, when he heard a weak voice coming from the other side of the tunnel.
"Fuck, it hurts me to death!"
Cao Yingchong turned his head with great effort, and saw Lu Daqiu, whose arms were blown off by a Japanese infantry cannon, raised his head with difficulty from the pile of corpses where the remains of his brothers were piled. When he saw the cigarette in his hand, his eyes were already red.
His eyes lit up, and then he moved his head toward him with a twisted expression.
"You damn old Cao, I'm going to die. You can't bear to get me one. Now I've caught you! Hurry up and give me some. It will stop the pain. I really can't bear the pain."
." Lu Daqiu scolded as he moved closer.
Lu Daqiu is the squad leader of another class in the platoon, and he and Cao Yingchong are "old rivals". Neither class obeys the other in training, and the performance of the two classes is about the same, so when the platoon needs a sharp knife class, he
Both classes come in turns.
But what's good now is that of the two sharp knife squad leaders, one was covered in blood, and the other's arms were cut off by shell skin. Just looking at the injuries, it was clear that these two men would not survive long without the Japanese army attacking.
Moreover, the two of them had something even greater in common: they both became mere commanders, and all their soldiers died in battle.
This may be the largest battle loss at the infantry platoon level since the establishment of the Fourth Line Regiment. The full strength was 90 people. Except for 4 people who were injured and were sent back to the field hospital in Zishan for treatment, the remaining 86 people and 71 people's remains are in the tunnel.
Most of the flesh and blood of the two panting people and the remaining 13 people have been integrated with this village!
To put it bluntly, except for the two severely wounded Cao Yingchong and Lu Daqiu who had basically lost their combat effectiveness, the main infantry platoon belonging to the 2nd Battalion and 4th Company still had at most four or five people alive who were still fighting in various parts of the village.
Moreover, it is impossible to survive tonight under such a situation.
By the time dawn comes, the whole army should be considered wiped out!
Cao Yingchong's nose was sore, and he put the cigarette into the mouth of Lu Daqiu who was approaching him. He found a match and lit it for Lu Daqiu.
Lu Daqiu took a deep puff, then smacked his lips with satisfaction: "Damn it, we have to smoke our own cigarettes to be strong! The little devil's cigarettes are too weak."
As he spoke, he coughed. With the help of the weak lantern light in the tunnel, Cao Yingchong could clearly see blood pouring out of the corners of Lu Daqiu's mouth with every cough.
Cao Yingchong felt miserable again!
He knew that Lu Daqiu could not survive. Not only were his arms cut off by the infantry shells that exploded five meters away, but his internal organs were severely impacted. His ability to survive until now must have a lot to do with his extremely strong will to survive.
.
This guy's brains are not as good as his own, but he is naturally ruthless, and Cao Yingchong is ashamed of himself.
"Lao Lu, I'm sorry!"
"Speaking of those idiots, if your old Cao dies, all of you in Class 1 will be gone. Where will I find opponents during training in Class 3?" Lu Daqiu replied angrily, and continued to lean on the tunnel.
Enjoy the last moment of your life with a cigarette on the wall.
Yes, if Lu Daqiu hadn't knocked away the already-killed Cao Yingchong at the last moment when the Japanese infantry shelled the fortifications, then Cao Yingchong might not even have had the chance to leave his body in the tunnel.
Because, like the temporary fortification made of loess and sandbags, he would be torn apart by infantry bombardment.
Cao Yingchong was lucky to survive except for a shrapnel scratch, but Lu Daqiu's arms were broken. At that time, he also had more air in and less air out, and he was about to die.
Cao Yingchong led the last three soldiers of the two squads to engage in a wild exchange of fire with the Japanese troops. He used an MG42 machine gun and an MP38 machine gun to repel the crazy attacks of more than a hundred Japanese troops, and finally lasted until nightfall.
The price was that all three soldiers died in the battle, with only Cao Yingchong surviving, who was wounded by eight melon grenade shrapnel splashes.
The Japanese army was not intact either. Just in front of these houses, the Japanese army left more than 70 corpses.
If these eight days are included, the Japanese troops who attacked this village suffered losses of more than 600 people, and an infantry brigade was already crippled.
The main platoon under Qian Dazhu achieved such a record without any heavy firepower support, which is already shocking in the past.
Cao Yingchong dragged Lu Daqiu, who was not moving much, into the tunnel. He used the first aid method taught by the medical company to perform artificial respiration for a long time. He hammered and pressed the guy's chest. Lu Daqiu, who originally thought that his breathing was so weak that he could not hear it, was already gasping.
He planned to howl twice to express his sorrow, but who knew that Lu Daqiu miraculously lived again.
Facing this guy who could talk and wanted to smoke, Cao Yingchong firmly refused. He was afraid that this guy would not be killed by the shell, but would choke to death on the cigarette.
There are only two of them left on this battlefield. It's a good thing to have someone to catch your breath and see the sun with you today, isn't it?
But now, Cao Yingchong also figured it out. He was going to die anyway, so it was important to have a ball sooner or later.
Hearing Lu Daqiu talk about the competition between the two squads in the platoon, Cao Yingchong's eyes dimmed!
Not to mention the infantry squad, the infantry platoon is gone, and there is still little competition!
Seeing that Cao Yingchong was silent, Lu Daqiu also remembered that all members of his infantry squad had been killed in the battle, and he was the only squad leader left who was seriously injured and dying, and he burst into tears.
Those brothers who had known each other day and night, especially those who had never slept within five meters of each other for two years, all died and became part of the pile of cold remains.
That's why Lu Daqiu asked Cao Yingchong to put him there before he fell into coma. He wanted to accompany his brothers and fulfill the promise he made in the infantry squad to "live together and die together."
"Old Cao, tell me, can we be saved this time? Regiment commander, when an infantry squad was besieged, he personally led an army of ten thousand people to come to the rescue. Will we have to come to the rescue this time?" Lu Daqiu, who cried a lot, leaned on the ground.
The wall asked softly.
"They can't come. It's not the regimental commander, battalion commander, or company commander who don't want to come, but they can't come!" Cao Yingchong sighed, destroying Lu Daqiu's hope.
The Japanese army used an entire infantry brigade to attack the village, and used two infantry brigade to completely block the surrounding roads to prevent reinforcements from arriving.
This means that the Japanese army almost used an infantry regiment to encircle their infantry platoon, with more than 30 times the strength.
But this is not the reason for Cao Yingchong's despair.
On today's battlefield, the Japanese army holds the absolute initiative.
It's not that the main force of the company can't break through the Japanese blockade, but it's not in this area at all, let alone expect the main force of the regiment to go all out to fight the Japanese army in a decisive battle on the plains like they did last time to support Zhaojiazhuang.
Because, after half a year of lying dormant, the Japanese army finally took action and took advantage of the Chinese New Year to launch the largest military operation in southern Hebei since 1938.
The Japanese army actually used two and a half divisions this time. The First Division, known as the oldest division of the Japanese Army, arrived in Handan by special train in mid-February, and its troops were directed at the headquarters and regiment of the Fourth Army.
In the direction of Zishan where the Jinan Administrative Office is located.
At the end of February, an infantry brigade from the Japanese 3rd Division also appeared in Xingtai. Together with the 10th Division stationed in southern Hebei, not counting the puppet troops, the Japanese North China Front had more than 50,000 troops in southern Hebei.
.
In fact, the Chinese intelligence was wrong. The 1st Division commanded by Saburo Okabe entered the customs with as many as 30,000 troops. If you add in the 10th Division and the 3rd Division, which had roughly 40,000 troops, that
With an infantry brigade of 6,800 people, the strength of the Japanese regular army has exceeded 60,000. Adding in the 4 regiments of puppet troops, the total strength of the Japanese army in southern Hebei has reached 50,000.
In terms of military strength alone, it is no longer something that the Sixings Regiment and the Jinan Division can resist.
Therefore, as early as early February, the Tang regiment issued a military order for the infantry companies, platoons, and squads scattered throughout southern Hebei to return to their Zishan garrison.
Tang Tuanzuo judged that after more than half a year of reconnaissance, the Japanese army should have determined that Zishan near Handan was the location of the headquarters of the Sixings Regiment. Otherwise, they would not have chosen to borrow troops from the Kwantung Army regardless of face.
Duo Tianjun is giving it a go this time.
As long as Zishan can be conquered and the most important command structure in southern Hebei is removed, all the lost face can be regained.
Tang Dao, who counted Duo Tianjun to death, after several telegrams with the leaders of the 921st Division and the 683rd Brigade, did not choose to avoid the danger temporarily, but firmly chose to stay in Zishan and fight the decisive battle with the Japanese army.
There are many reasons for this. One is that after a year of construction, Zishan already has a sufficiently complete defense system. More than 160 kilometers of tunnels have been excavated. The Sixings Regiment Headquarters and Field Hospital were deployed as early as years ago.
has been moved underground;
Secondly, Rostav, who was tempted by Tang Tuanzuo's crazy waving of checks, was incredibly efficient. In just 2 and a half months, the 28 150mm howitzers and modified TKS tanks on Tang Tuanzuo's order were transported thousands of miles across the ocean.
Arriving at Fengfeng Coal Mine.
Today's Sihang Regiment can fully rely on Zishan's natural geographical advantages and existing fortifications and heavy artillery to compete with the Japanese division-level troops.
Of course, the more important reason is that the anti-Japanese war situation behind enemy lines in southern Hebei is now developing favorably. If the Fourth Army Regiment withdraws into the Taihang Mountains, the Japanese army, which cannot find its target, will definitely vent its anger on the people in the occupied areas.
Just relying on the 30,000 people and landmines in the Jinan Division, the tunnels cannot stop the Japanese army from sweeping away tens of thousands of troops!
Instead of just watching the good situation of the Anti-Japanese War be ruined, it is better to break the cauldron and engage in a fight with the main force of the Japanese army.
It is better for one family to cry than for a hundred families to cry!
What's more, the 683 brigade has now been fully redressed, and it also has the capital to compete with a Japanese army division. Coupled with the tens of thousands of people in the southern Hebei division, the Japanese North China Front Army Headquarters can draw more troops from the Zhongtiao Mountain front line if they can.
soldiers, then they don’t think the more than 200,000 Chinese troops in Zhongtiao Mountain are just paper.
They dare to reduce their troops by a large amount, and a counterattack with more than 200,000 troops might make them lose sight of their head and tail.
Therefore, except for a few platoons and squads, most of the rest of the main forces have returned to the Zishan defense line to prepare for a decisive battle with the Japanese army.
Tang Tuanzuo's judgment was correct, and the Japanese army dispatched division after division and brigade and two puppet infantry regiments with more than 40,000 troops to encircle Zishan.
But no one expected that the 10th Division, which was defeated last time, was also ready to move. They did not know the intelligence of their reconnaissance there, and knew that an infantry platoon of the Fourth Line Regiment was assembled in Hanjiazhai, intending to return to Zishan to aid.
In order to regain the ground where he had been defeated in the past, Yoshio Shinozuka actually mobilized three infantry regiments, two tank squadrons and two artillery brigades. The two infantry regiments pretended to be raiding, attracting more than 50,000 people from the southern Hebei subdivision.
The main force assembled, while another infantry regiment went directly towards Hanjiazhai.
After knowing the Japanese target through the intelligence obtained from Zheng Yunqiu, the platoon leader of the infantry platoon where Cao Yingchong and Lu Daqiu belonged was very clear about the outcome, but he also knew that there was no way to leave, otherwise the Japanese army would definitely use large forces to raid the surrounding villages and massacre the villagers.
They could leave quickly, but thousands of villagers couldn't move very far.
After quickly evacuating the surrounding villagers, the infantry platoon decided to stay in Hanjiazhai, intending to use the wall, tunnels, and minefields built in a year to confront the Japanese army.
The original plan was to wait for two or three days, and after the reinforcements from the southern Hebei Division arrived, the Japanese troops would retreat.
Unexpectedly, for their infantry platoon, Yoshio Shinozuka was so ruthless that he used the main force of the division to contain the main force of the southern Hebei division, and used two infantry brigades to blockade the surrounding area. As a result, the more than 3,000 reinforcements that arrived were unable to break through the Japanese army.
Encirclement.
The firepower of the Jinan Division troops is far inferior to that of the Fourth Army Regiment and the 683rd Brigade. It is normal that 3,000 men cannot break through the more than 2,000 Japanese defense lines, unless the Fourth Army Regiment comes with a main infantry battalion, even an infantry company.
But obviously, facing more than 30,000 Japanese troops and more than 6,000 puppet troops, even today's Si Xing Regiment must go all out.
This battle lasted for seven days and eight nights, draining the blood of this main infantry platoon without seeing a single reinforcement arrive.
"Hey! I'm dead. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just that you, Old Cao, have just agreed to get married, and you haven't even married a wife yet. You're dead like this. I'm sorry for you, Old Cao!" General Lu Daqiu said.
The cigarette in his mouth was directed towards Cao Ying and Nunu's mouth.
That means: Come on, take a sip too!
"Can you not mention this? You are going to die, and you still come to stab me in the heart. I would have known that I would not give you such a bad temper at that time. I haven't even kissed Yingzi's mouth.
Why don’t I kiss you, Lao Lu, on the mouth first." Cao Yingchong took the cigarette from Lu Daqiu's mouth angrily, took a strong drag, and then put it into his comrade's mouth again.
In view of the changes in the situation, the Fourth Army has gradually revised its military regulations to allow officers above the sergeant level to marry local villagers if they agree with each other, but they must have the consent of the girl's parents and the signature of the company commander.
This is also a further step to promote the relationship between the military and civilians and show the attitude of the Four Corps to take root in southern Hebei. It also dispels the concerns of many people.
The soldiers of the Sixth Regiment settled their homes here. How could they withdraw when they encountered the Japanese, leaving the common people alone to face the bloody bayonets of the Japanese army?
In this way, Cao Yingchong got engaged to a local girl in December. He originally planned to get married in March, but when the wedding was approaching, the Japanese called again.
Now it seems that this marriage is definitely dirty.
After all, the groom's official position is almost gone.
Of course, Cao Yingchong also knew that Lu Daqiu sincerely wanted him to survive, otherwise he would not have knocked him away at that time, but he suffered the injury.
However, Cao Yingchong felt a pang in his heart when he thought of his daughter-in-law's blushing cheeks when she saw him.
The title of widow may follow that woman for the rest of her life, and the promise she made to her was that if she quit fighting and retired from the army that day, and she would cook for her for the rest of her life, it would be all in vain.
Seeing Cao Yingchong's silence, Lu Daqiu also knew that he was talking about his comrade's sadness, and for a while he didn't know how to comfort him.
There was a silence in the tunnel!
In order to prevent the Japanese army from hearing the sound, the tunnel the two of them were in was located at the deepest point underground. The 'radiophone' that could hear the outside world was destroyed by Japanese artillery shells during the battle yesterday afternoon. In addition to hearing
There was gentle breathing and silence in the tunnel.
Two seriously injured and dying soldiers were quietly waiting to die!
I don’t know how much time passed, but suddenly there was a loud noise from the tunnel entrance above!
"It's dug!" A burst of cheers came from outside.
"Damn it, the Japanese have found the entrance to the tunnel. Old Cao, move over there!" Lu Daqiu, who suddenly woke up, stared angrily.
I don’t know where this guy got the strength, but he actually kicked his legs and leaned on his back against the wall to stand up, and started running along the tunnel that way.
"Old Lu!" Cao Yingchong watched as his 'old enemy' who usually liked to quarrel with him rushed towards the other end of the tunnel without hesitation, his eyes were splitting, but he could do nothing.
Although Cao Yingchong looked more intact than Lu Daqiu, his injuries were by no means inferior to him. One of the eight shrapnels was deeply embedded in his thigh bone, dragging Lu Daqiu into the tunnel. This was actually the result of the explosion of his small universe.
In terms of mobility, he is actually not as good as Lu Daqiu, who has both arms broken but both legs intact.
Of course Cao Yingchong knew what Lu Daqiu was going to do. He was going to blow up the upper entrance of the tunnel with a "glory bomb" tied around his neck to save the remains of himself and 71 brothers.
