The three trenches on the north bank are in a semicircular shape. The first trench is located more than 300 meters away from the river, and each trench is two or three miles apart.
In order to ensure that they were not discovered by the Japanese army, a large number of weeds and bushes were transplanted at the front of the trench to cover them, and every soldier wore a knitted straw hat.
The Zhanghe Bridge is about 800 meters long and 5.2 meters wide. The bridge deck is about 12 meters from the water surface.
Zhou Weihan arranged a heavy machine gun company on the Zhanghe Bridge, equipped with twelve Type 92 heavy machine guns.
It's around two o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun is shining brightly.
Before the battle, the entire position was filled with a murderous atmosphere.
"Company commander, why haven't the Japs arrived yet? We won't be discovered by the Japs on the bridge, right?" asked a soldier from the heavy machine gun company on the bridge.
"Bullshit, the front is blocked by rubble. Just lie down and don't move. Can you see anything?"
"What's the matter, Erbangzi, are you scared?" Shi Desheng, the commander of the heavy machine gun company, glanced at the thin Erbangzi and said.
"Who is cowarding? Whoever is cowarding is a bastard!" Erbangzi's face turned red all of a sudden, and he said with a smile on his neck.
Shi Desheng has a beard on his chin. Even if he is lying on the bridge, it is not difficult to see that he is tall.
Erbangzi's original name was Meng Baojiang, which was a majestic name, but he was as thin as a bamboo pole.
The reason why he was called Erbangzi was because when he first joined the army, he drank cold water and ate sixteen sticks in one go.
In the independent detachment, each company is organized separately, and the soldiers' meals are rationed.
When the commander of the first regiment, Jing Dagang, assigned new recruits to join the company, no company wanted Erbangzi because he was good at eating and skinny.
But this guy still had to be a machine gunner, and eventually ended up in a heavy machine gun company.
Shi Desheng looked at Erbangzi, who was looking yellow and skinny, and suddenly became interested: "I haven't asked you yet, why do you have to come to the heavy machine gun company?"
"Before joining the army, my father asked around and found out that machine gunners are the best-fed, so they should be well-fed!" Erbangzi said with a smile.
When Shi Desheng heard this, his nose was twisted with anger, and he cursed and said: "I tell you, the machine gunners eat well, but this is also what the machine gunners paid for their lives. After every battle, I count the number of machine gun companies I have
The largest number of casualties has been lost in combat, and your boy has been here for almost a month, don’t you know that?”
"I know, I'm not afraid of death!" Erbangzi said without fear: "As long as I can eat enough!"
Shi Desheng was about to praise Erbangzi a few words, but when he heard the second half of the sentence, he couldn't say anything.
Not long after, the roar of trucks was heard from across the river.
A Japanese Type 94 military truck was parked on the south side of the Zhanghe Bridge. A dozen Japanese soldiers jumped out of the truck. They were obviously a Japanese detachment that had come for reconnaissance in advance.
The leading Japanese sergeant looked around with a telescope, then waved his hand and the small group of Japanese soldiers dispersed.
A Japanese machine gunner held a crooked handle and fired at the north bank of the Zhanghe River. Seeing that there was no movement at all, he couldn't help but nodded.
"Contact the commander immediately. No abnormalities were found on both sides of the Zhang River!"
North bank of Zhanghe River.
In the first trench, Ding Wei and Jing Dagang were lying together.
"If you take off your pants and fart, little devils can also cause trouble. I see that the distance between the two sides of the bank is almost beyond the range of a crooked machine gun. What use is the fire detection?" Jing Dagang said.
"Then what do you think we should do? The little devil can't grow wings and fly here!" Ding Wei said teasingly.
After saying that, both of them were happy.
"You can rest assured now. The Japanese army crossed the river at the Zhanghe Bridge. Not to mention, my 28th Regiment's two battalions are in the west, and your regiment's three battalions are in the east. Keep an eye on their respective positions!" Ding Wei finished.
The cat hunched over and headed west along the ditch.
After receiving news from the reconnaissance team, the large Japanese troops staying in the rear marched north again.
"Mizuno-kun, you lead a large group to cross the river first!" Kuroda Yuzo said.
"Hi!"
The Japanese army carried a total of fifty-two large and small boats, the small ones could carry six or seven people, and the large ones could carry a small detachment.
The leading Japanese crossing team appeared on the south bank of the Zhang River in a manner that Zhou Weihan did not expect.
I saw the Japanese unloading the boat from the carriage, and then several people lifted the boat and walked towards the river beach.
The Japanese army's large forces, each squadron gathered together, were on guard on the south bank of the Zhang River.
"Hey, I thought the Japanese army would hide the river-crossing boats in some reed swamp, but I didn't expect that the damn little devil would carry them here!" Zhou Weihan couldn't help laughing.
"Maybe this group of Japanese soldiers are also afraid that the boats crossing the river will be blown up by our Eighth Route Army!" Zhao Gang said from the side.
At this time, the first wave of Japanese troops crossing the river, about 400 people, took boats and rowed slowly towards the north bank.
Seeing the Japanese troops landing, a soldier of the 28th Regiment subconsciously pressed his hand on the detonator.
"Don't worry, wait a moment, the little Japanese who came ashore haven't completely entered the mine array yet!" Ding Wei stopped him.
As soon as Ding Wei finished speaking, the Japanese troops who came ashore quickly dispersed along the slope of the river beach, and some even stood on
"Captain, what are you waiting for?"
"What are you waiting for? Let's help the little devils behind us come ashore. Stay calm!" Ding Wei comforted the soldiers around him.
The second wave of Japanese troops crossing the river quickly approached the shore. The Japanese troops standing on the river beach jumped into the water and tried to get the boats to dock.
Seeing that the second wave of Japanese troops had landed, the soldier responsible for pressing the detonator suppressed his inner excitement and waited for Ding Wei's order.
"Do it!" Ding Wei ordered.
The river beach spanning 1.5 kilometers from east to west and more than 300 meters long from north to south instantly turned into a sea of flames.
In order to cause damage to the Japanese army, Ding Wei planted all the mines, explosive packets, and most of the grenades carried by the 28th and 4th regiments in this area.
After Zhou Weihan arrived, he learned that Ding Wei had deployed the mine array, and immediately ordered to replenish the explosives captured in Handan City, thus greatly increasing the power of the mine array.
More than 800 little Japs scattered on the river beach were blown up.
The little Japanese at the center of the explosion looked even more miserable, his body was blown to pieces.
More Japanese soldiers were hit by flying iron fragments or gravels, causing the little Japanese soldiers to roll on the ground in pain. Most of the more than 800 small Japanese soldiers who came ashore were immediately wiped out.
"beat!"
Some of the light machine guns deployed in the first trench opened fire immediately. A dozen light machine guns and more than 800 rifles opened fire at the same time.
A dense barrage of bullets was fired at the remaining Japanese soldiers on the river beach.
The remaining little devils on the river beach were completely stunned and had not yet recovered from the aftermath of the explosion.
The little Jaap who was farthest from the position was more than 300 meters away. Every time the little Jaap regained his composure, the soldiers beat him up one by one!
Jing Dagang personally controlled a Czech light machine gun and fired all the bullets in the magazine in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the remarkable results of the battle, Zhou Weihan in the rear turret couldn't help but said: "Okay, this wave has wiped out at least one-third of the Japanese reinforcements!"
"It must be more than 800 at least. Don't tell me, the explosives made by the Japs are more powerful than those made by our Eighth Route Army!" Zhao Gang joked at the side.