"Chief of Staff, Comrade Mao Zedong, and Commander Dong called. The Japanese troops of the 16th Division are less than ten miles away from the ambush circle. The Cavalry Regiment of the Southwest Shandong Army Division has cut off the Japanese troops' retreat. All participating units are ready!"
After hearing the telegraph operator's report, Zhou Weihan nodded and emphasized again: "Before dark, this group of Japanese troops must be wiped out, and no one should be allowed to escape!"
"yes!"
There is a combat map on the table, which clearly marks the current locations of various Japanese troops. A Japanese army of the 35th Division has been pursuing the border area between Dongming and Heze. Currently, the 35th and 36th regiments are in charge.
To block the attack, the third regiment withdrew to the rear to rest and recuperate. The fifth regiment and the first battalion of the 29th regiment headed north to join the main force of the 29th regiment.
The Japanese troops of the 21st Division are still in the Huxi area. Immediately, Zhou Weihan used a black pencil to mark the offensive route of the Japanese troops of the 16th Division with a cross.
"Chief of Staff, the target of the Japanese army is very clear, it is Heze or the main force of our Eighth Route Army gathered around Heze!"
"The Japanese and puppet troops in the Liangpu area were annihilated by the 29th Regiment. Now the Fifth Regiment and the 29th Regiment are operating in the Liangpu area. It is impossible that the Japanese army of the 35th Division did not discover this, but they did not divide their forces to pursue them. This shows that the Japanese army
Determination!" Zhou Weihan couldn't help but sigh.
The more than 5,000 Japanese troops dispatched by the Thirty-fifth Division experienced fierce battles on the old route of the Yellow River. Although they lost troops and generals, the main force still remained. With the Eighth Route Army troops currently west of Heze, it would be difficult to defeat this group of Japanese troops in one go.
The Japanese and puppet troops in the Liangpu area were completely wiped out, and the defense forces in Puyang and Pu County were empty. The 5th Regiment and the 29th Regiment split up to seize the two cities and captured them without any effort. However, the Japanese troops of the 35th Division were unable to do so.
How could Zhou Weihan not feel regretful if he turned a blind eye.
The deputy chief of staff heard this and smiled: "The pre-war deductions can only be deductions. Although the current battle situation is unexpected, it is still under our control. As long as we kill the Japanese troops of the 16th Division, we will have the initiative."
It’s in our hands, and the Japanese troops who enter the base area can eat whatever they want!”
As soon as the scene changed, the supply battalion of the Southwest Shandong Military Division rushed to the ambush circle first and entered the prepared position. Not long after, a large amount of smoke and dust rose again in the distance, but the guard battalion that had been hanging the little devil appeared.
Within the field of vision.
Jing Dagang looked serious, turned to the correspondent and said: "Receive the west wing artillery group!"
The correspondent responded, fiddled with it a few times, and handed the high-power walkie-talkie to Jing Dagang: "Commander, okay, you can talk now!"
"Hey, Battalion Commander Cui, I'm Jing Dagang. The Japanese army is about to enter an ambush. Please be prepared!"
"Copy that, Brigadier Jing!" The voice of Cui Zheng, commander of the heavy artillery battalion, came from the other end.
On the east side of the position, Dong Jiang was making the same contact. One of the artillery commanders on both wings was named Cui Zheng and the other was named Zong Congren.
In terms of rank, it is far inferior to Jing Dagang, a brigade-level cadre of the Eighth Route Army. The artillery battalion is directly under the military region. In terms of foundation, the battalion commanders of the two artillery battalions were led by Chen Feng, and the personnel were all from the Tainan Military Region Artillery Corps, which has a stronger foundation.
Selected from the artillery section of the regiment and the cadre school.
This time, we are assisting in the battle. Even the brigade commander Jing Dagang needs to be polite when issuing orders.
The west wing artillery group position is about less than ten kilometers away from the main battlefield. Twelve 150-caliber howitzers are in the front, and six 105-caliber cannons are in the rear. Behind the two artillery positions, shell boxes are neatly stacked.
.
It was inconvenient to move heavy artillery. In order to prevent bombing by Japanese aircraft, both the artillery and the storage points of the shell boxes were covered with camouflage nets.
At the same time, more than ten fake positions were set up in the surrounding areas. The positions were filled with wet firewood and straw. Once a Japanese aircraft was discovered, the troops stationed here would set fire to it to confuse the Japanese aircraft.
The east and west artillery groups were specially equipped with high-power walkie-talkies. They had completed the calculation of shooting parameters yesterday and were waiting for the little devils to enter the ambush circle.
While the ambush troops were waiting, the leading troops of the 16th Division rushed into the ambush circle.
"Hit me!" the guard battalion commander ordered, and the soldiers started shooting at the pursuing Japanese troops.
The sound of gunfire immediately alerted Mitsuo Nakazawa, who was still at the rear. He hesitated a little, but before he could give the order, he saw his troops starting to take action spontaneously.
The little devils had chased for sixty miles and were already exhausted. They were hanging on with only one breath. Then they heard the sound of gunshots and rushed towards the battlefield one by one as if they had been given blood.
Originally the one at the forefront of the march was I Toshiaki's brigade. Now, in order to compete for military glory, Noda Takeshi immediately ordered the troops to bypass Itoto's brigade.
This act of fighting for merit immediately made the Japanese army's already loose formation even more chaotic, leaving only the headquarters, Morimoto Battalion and Artillery Battalion behind.
Seeing that the situation was out of control, Nakazawa Mizuo did not bother to blame I Toshiaki. Noda Takeshi and two others rushed forward in a hurry and immediately ordered the Morimoto Battalion to press on. The artillery brigade chose a suitable location to build an artillery position.
Separated between the Eighth Route Army's artillery positions and the ambush circle were hills that served as infantry positions, and with a distance of nearly ten kilometers, there was no trace of the Japanese army at all.
However, at the forward position, forward observation posts are placed on both the east and west artillery groups, and the impact point of the projectile can be modified at any time through the walkie-talkie.
"Okay! I understand!" Cui Zheng put down the walkie-talkie and shouted: "Prepare each artillery position to cover the predetermined target with firepower!"
The heavy artillery battalion is the only heavy artillery unit of the Eighth Route Army. Since its establishment, Zhou Weihan has repeatedly ordered the heavy artillery battalion to take shape as soon as possible. However, the Eighth Route Army has always been frugal. How dare the soldiers spend so much on daily training?
Cannonballs.
After hearing Cui Zheng give the order to cover the fire, everyone's eyes gleamed, and even the third gunner who was responsible for carrying the shells wanted to find a chance to have fun.
"Quick, be quick with your hands and feet, this is our first opportunity for actual combat!" shouted the person in charge of each artillery position.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The Japanese heavy artillery fires 3-4 rounds per minute. This is what the soldiers usually practice the most. They carry the shells, load them, close the breech, etc.
It only took a few seconds for the gun position to be ready.
"Cannon No. 1 completed!"
"Cannon No. 2 completed!"
.......
"Every artillery position is ready to fire!" the flag commander shouted.
"Let go!" The flag signaling the launch of an attack suddenly waved down.
The first gunner at each gun position pulled back the match rope, and 40 to 50 kilogram shells were ejected. Each gunner squatted on the ground, covered his ears, and opened his mouth.
With the booming sound of artillery fire, large amounts of yellow smoke rose up from the entire artillery position, and hot air waves swept through everyone's body. An uninformed person might even think that the artillery position had been shelled just by hearing the sound.
Without waiting for the forward observation post to report the results of the battle, the flag commander once again signaled to continue the bombardment, and several gunners at each gun position continued to start the previous set of procedures.
In the ambush circle, more than 2,000 Japanese troops gathered in one place, launching an offensive like a tide along the road and the fields on both sides towards the reserves holding their positions. However, the first regiment and the assault regiment on both sides remained motionless.
While all the little devils were having a revelry, a harsh scream suddenly came from the sky. Mitsuo Nakazawa looked up and saw dozens of artillery shells flying in the direction of him.
"Bombardment, shelling!" The adjutant on the side reacted very quickly and pushed Mitsuo Nakazawa to the ground.
As dozens of artillery shells fell to the ground, huge balls of fire rose up, followed by deafening explosions, and the entire earth seemed to be overturned.
Although Mitsuo Nakazawa was not at the core of the bombardment, the vibrations from the ground seemed to shift his internal organs.
The more than 2,000 Japanese troops who were attacking only felt their eyes go dark and immediately lost consciousness.
"Fuck!" On the battlefield, Jing Dagang held his trembling hands and looked into the distance to observe the movement of the battlefield ahead. He had never seen the power of heavy artillery before. The fire engulfed the Japanese army, and the spreading air waves tore apart the little Japanese on the periphery.
"Damn it, no wonder Cui Zhengrang arranged his position farther away from the road. I was worried that the little devil would escape. This is a piece of iron and it has to be melted!" Jing Dagang said to himself, a group of soldiers next to him
His behavior became even more unbearable, and he even stood up from the trench and was immediately pulled back by the soldiers around him.
Heavy artillery is a strategic weapon, but it still assists infantry in combat. The Eighth Route Army has never seen the power of heavy artillery. Zhou Weihan also familiarized the soldiers with it in advance.
The east wing artillery group and the west wing artillery group launched attacks in no particular order. The latter was responsible for attacking the front part of the Japanese army in the ambush circle, and the latter was responsible for attacking the second half of the Japanese army, and then extended the artillery fire.
From time to time, the forward observation post reports the shooting parameters that need to be modified based on the impact point situation, and continuously makes corrections.
With each shell falling, the Japanese troops within half a football field disappeared on the battlefield. Dong Jiang looked at the battlefield in front of him. He didn't know how much time had passed before he saw artillery fire extending toward the rear.
"Caliber is truth!" Dong Jiang's mind suddenly came to the words that Chen Feng often said.
Previously, Jing Dagang complained about the too many artillery pieces deployed on both sides of the ambush circle. Dong Jiang also gave Jing Dagang an ideological lesson. Now Dong Jiang felt sour in his heart.
"After the bombardment is over, our assault group will probably only need to go up and bury the bodies. Are we equivalent to being spectators here?" Dong Jiang said to himself.
"Commander, we are not needed to bury the corpses or clean the battlefield. This is the task of the local comrades!" the correspondent on the side shouted.
The Eighth Route Army's artillery bombardment was so sudden that it accurately covered the attacking Japanese troops. Although the Mountain Artillery Brigade, which was left behind to set up positions, was not within the range of the bombardment, it was invisibly disrupted.
"Sir, according to calculations, the approximate locations of the Eighth Route Army's east and west artillery positions have been determined. However, based on the current location of our unit, the shooting distance has exceeded the range of the mountain artillery. If we want to destroy the Eighth Route Army's artillery positions, we need to move forward at least three meters.
Kilometers!" a Japanese officer reported.
"Baga, do you want us to die?" The captain of the Japanese Mountain Artillery Battalion glanced three kilometers ahead, which happened to be the location of the Japanese headquarters. The Eighth Route Army artillery fire was currently within the coverage area, and there was continued artillery fire.
As the trend continued, anyone who fled to both sides was driven back by the ambush troops of the Eighth Route Army deployed here.
Thinking of this, the captain immediately stepped forward and gave the person who reported the report a slap in the face. The life and death of the attacking infantry regiment was unknown, and the headquarters lost contact. The Japanese captain suddenly lost his backbone and did not know how to counterattack.
Just when he was hesitating, a red signal flare suddenly rose from behind the Japanese artillery position, followed by the sound of horse hooves suddenly coming from all around.
The Southwestern Shandong Cavalry Regiment had been following the Japanese troops of the 16th Division. It had been conducting reconnaissance to guard against any other moves by the Japanese troops. As the signal flare was raised, it meant that the cavalry regiment began to poke the little Japanese in the eye.
Cavalry appeared in the southeast and southwest sides of the Japanese artillery position. Previously, some members of the Japanese Mountain Artillery Battalion were equipped with infantry weapons and directly acted as escorts.
At this time, the Japanese army had not yet had time to deploy defensive fortifications around the artillery position. Under the sun, the sabers emitting cold light were already close to Chi Chi.
"Comrades, kill, don't let the little Japs blow up the artillery!" Sun Desheng was still at the forefront, leading the soldiers to rush in front of the Japanese artillery. He immediately raised his knife and knocked down the two Japs in front.
There was no suspense from the beginning of the battle. The Japanese artillerymen were so distracted by the shelling from the front that they did not even notice that the Eighth Route Army cavalry had approached them.
The artillery fire coverage lasted for about ten minutes. The heavy artillery battalion alone fired nearly 700 rounds of artillery shells. The entire ambush circle was plowed. This was Jing Dagang's request.
"Stop shelling from all artillery positions!" Cui Zheng shouted.
When the smoke dissipated in the ambush circle, huge craters could be seen everywhere, and the air was filled with a pungent smell, which was also mixed with a disgusting smell, but there was no completed body in sight.
"Commander ***, this time I have truly experienced the power of heavy artillery. If the Kwantung Army had attacked us in Changzhi, our entire regiment would have been wiped out!" the soldier on the side said with a heart.
Jing Dagang trembled after hearing this, thinking that he would definitely ask for advice on how to defend against heavy artillery bombardment.
The results of the battle were quickly reported to the headquarters, and Zhou Weihan and the deputy chief of staff had been waiting for the good news.
"Hey, to be honest, I really want to go to the battlefield and see the power of heavy artillery. I feel like a cat is scratching my head!" the deputy chief of staff laughed.
Although Zhou Weihan had witnessed the power of the Japanese heavy artillery with his own eyes, he had never seen the spectacular scene of dozens of artillery being launched into battle.
"Chief of Staff, since the Japanese troops of the 16th Division have been completely wiped out, I think we can move the artillery and the 1st Regiment and the Assault Regiment to the west of Heze. The next target is the Japanese troops of the 35th Division!"
"Since these little devils dare to invade the base area, they cannot be allowed to leave alive!" Zhou Weihan said loudly.