According to the previous battle plan, each regiment took advantage of the darkness to move to the predetermined location.
Among them, the 28th Regiment and the 4th Regiment had the longest march and were the first to set off.
At five o'clock, the sky was already bright.
The first and second regiments simultaneously cleared four large strongholds outside HD City.
To the west of Handan City, countless black shadows came out of the mountains and forests on both sides of the Handan-Changchang Highway. The soldiers of the Second Regiment lined up without any cover-up, walking directly on the road leading to Handan City, followed by pack horses.
What was carried on the back was clearly a disassembled artillery piece.
The large stronghold at the intersection is clearly visible.
"Move quickly and destroy their stronghold and fortifications as soon as possible. Don't let the enemy escape to HD City!" Xu Dali said loudly.
The battalion commanders in front of him all nodded to indicate their understanding.
Xu Dali, commander of the second regiment, waved his hand, and the soldiers of the entire second regiment were divided into three parts. The first battalion of the main force rushed to the west gate of Handan City, the second battalion and the regiment security company, and the mortar company raided the train station, and the third battalion rushed to the south of Handan City.
Gate, accompanying the second regiment was the Type 92 Infantry Artillery Battery of the artillery battalion.
The Type 92 infantry gun was quickly assembled by the artillerymen of the artillery company, and then pushed to a flat area in front of the intersection stronghold.
The puppet troops in the bunker outside the stronghold were the first to discover the whereabouts of the Second Regiment. At this time, the black muzzles were already aimed at the two three-story gun towers in the stronghold.
"Damn it, has the Eighth Route Army taken its ammunition? There will be no peace for a moment!" the puppet platoon leader in a bunker cursed.
"Platoon commander, let's run. They are a living target in the bunker. I heard that this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers is very evil, but they have artillery!" a puppet soldier continued.
"You think I don't want to wait to die? I'm running away now. The Japanese in the gun tower will not be merciful to us. They will be bombarded with bullets. You kid will make sure you survive?" said the puppet platoon leader.
"Then you can't just sit and wait for death, right?"
"It's okay. The Eighth Route Army will definitely attack these two gun towers first. My legs and feet are quick. When the time comes, I will slip out and remember not to run into the city. I guess the Japanese in the city can't stop the Eighth Route Army's attack. Run away.
Even after entering the city, they were treated as cannon fodder.
If you can run, run, if you can't run, surrender to the Eighth Route Army. It's hard to stay alive these days, as long as you have enough to eat!" The puppet platoon leader's words were a bloodbath, as he anticipated the fate of the Japanese troops in the city in advance.
When the seven puppet soldiers in the bunker heard what their platoon leader said, they all nodded in response.
"Da da da!" A little Jaap placed on the top of the turret also discovered the whereabouts of the Second Regiment and hurriedly fired a warning shot.
The piercing sound of gunfire was extremely harsh in this quiet morning, and the little Japs in the two gun towers were alerted.
At the same time, the two Type 92 infantry guns deployed in the direction of the west city gate had adjusted their muzzles, and the flag soldiers were waving flags.
"Boom!" Two artillery shells flew straight towards the two gun towers.
Under Chen Feng's training, the artillery battalion already had a high level of tactical literacy and had experienced repeated battles. Although its artillery skills were not as good as those of the Little Japanese, they were still somewhat advanced.
In fact, the Japanese artillery's tactical literacy ranks among the top three in today's world in terms of level.
It has been three years since the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Although the overall combat effectiveness of the Japanese army's infantry is still stronger than that of the National Army, the Shanxi-Sui Army, and the Eighth Route Army, it is no longer at the level it was at the beginning of the war. A large number of retired veterans and new recruits have been recruited into the army, and their tactical literacy is clearly visible to the naked eye.
The speed decreases.
There are only two branches of the Japanese army that are not included in this list, one is aviation and the other is artillery.
During World War II, Japan did not have an independent air force like the Soviet Union, Britain and Germany, but like the United States, it had an Army Air Force and a Naval Air Force.
Judging from a series of actual combats, Japan's aviation strength was not weak at that time. Especially before the Pacific War, through training and hard work on the Chinese battlefield, Japan established an elite team of pilots with rich practical experience. At the same time, there was also a group of
Batch outstanding designers such as Jiro Kagotsu and Te Koyama.
In the subsequent Southeast Asia and Pacific Wars, the Japanese naval aviation defeated the American and British air forces.
It is a pity that the Japanese army has not established a corresponding training system and has too few pilot reserves.
When the United States mobilized as a whole and equipped a large number of excellent fighter aircraft, the moment Japan was dragged into a war of attrition, the outcome was already doomed.
Relatively speaking, few people know that the tactical literacy of the Japanese artillery is extremely high.
Due to the war on the Chinese battlefield, the Japanese army rarely suffered defeat in large-scale battles. Even if the war went unfavorably, the Japanese artillery force rarely lost strength.
Although the use of artillery is not as good as that of the US military, and it does not have developed communication capabilities to direct artillery fire on call, the Japanese army's artillery quality is indeed higher than that of the US military.
Tactical-level support artillery fire is quite accurate. The main reason why campaign-level cluster artillery support is not as good as that of the US military is the quantity and quality of artillery.
In the subsequent Pacific War, the Japanese army taught the US military a vivid lesson by using artillery that was obviously at a disadvantage, especially the Type 89 grenade.
"Boom!" Before the kid in the turret could react, two shells hit the turret one after another.
A gap was forcibly knocked out of the turret in the stronghold, and then two more shells hit the turret, and the little Japanese in the turret was buried alive.
Seeing that the gun towers in the stronghold were knocked down and the Eighth Route Army infantry did not launch a charge, the puppet platoon leader in the bunker immediately ordered: "Run!"
A few people greased their feet and rushed out of the turret.
"Commander, the puppet troops in the stronghold are running away!" Xu Dali's guard said.
"Comrades, charge!" Xu Dali didn't hesitate at all. He didn't have time to let the bugler blow the charge horn and directly took the lead in charging.
The soldiers of the Second Regiment and the First Battalion rushed out like a tide and surrounded the stronghold. Upon seeing this, the puppet platoon leader simply threw away his gun and took the lead to set an example.
In Handan City, the 104th Japanese Infantry Brigade, brigade commander Tomimidi was awakened from his deep sleep on the fourth floor by the sound of artillery outside the city.
At the same time, Chief of Staff Yuzo Onodera, who was on duty at the brigade headquarters, broke in.
"Commander of the brigade, a large number of Eighth Route Army troops have appeared outside Handan City. It is roughly estimated that there are four to five thousand people, and they are equipped with a large number of artillery!" Onodera Yusanhui reported.
"Nani? Eighth Route Army? Hurry, go to the city wall fortifications immediately!" said the fourth floor of Tammidi.
Not long after, two people from the fourth floor of Tomzhan Midi, together with their adjutant, arrived at the west gate tower.
The reason why I came to Ximen is because there is a train station outside the city, which still stores a lot of materials that have not been shipped out.
"This group of Eighth Route Army should be the Eighth Route Army that was active in the south of Handan yesterday. I didn't expect it to be so bold that they dared to attack Handan City!" said the fourth floor of Tammidi in a ferocious voice.
"Commander of the brigade, the current situation is very unfavorable to our army. This group of Eighth Route Army has artillery to attack the city. Now that the city is empty, I am afraid that it cannot withstand the Eighth Route Army's offensive!" Onodera Yuzo said worriedly.
By pointing their binoculars to the west, the two men soon saw that the Eighth Route Army outside the city had captured the gun towers and was clearing out the bunkers outside the city.
The Eighth Route Army attacking the station had successfully raided the station under the cover of artillery fire. Both of them understood that Handan City had become an isolated city.
"The Eighth Route Army never fights unprepared battles. If there are 3,000 people attacking a city, there will be at least 3,000 people fighting for reinforcements!"
"Commander of the brigade, the next offensive and defensive battle will be more difficult than ours. On the premise that the Eighth Route Army has a large number of artillery, I suggest that only a small number of troops be deployed on the city wall." General Onodera Yuzo explained the plan in his mind.
"Yo Xi, you're right. The Eighth Route Army is a group of guys who only know how to run around, but they don't have the guts to fight, so let's give them a big surprise!" A man from the fourth floor of Tamamidi suddenly laughed out loud.
