Chapter 738: Breaking through the Shimenwai Shiggou Defense Line
At 4:40 in the morning on April 1, 1942, with less than half an hour before the general attack, Zhou Weihan felt a little nervous. From time to time he raised his wrist to look at his watch, and from time to time he raised his head to look at his watch.
Battle map on the wall.
"Has the flight team set off?" Zhou Weihan asked in as calm a tone as possible.
"Commander, you just asked, the flight team has already set off!" the combat staff replied.
"Why haven't we arrived yet? The sky is already bright. Are you going to lose your way?"
In the trenches, the supplementary regiment of the first echelon was at the forefront, the assault regiment of the second echelon, and the 22nd Regiment followed closely behind. The two regiments of the New 10th Brigade were placed on offensive positions as reserves to prevent the enemy from attacking if the battle did not go smoothly.
The enemy suddenly launched a counterattack.
The artillery position is divided into two places. All field guns and command posts are set up at the top of Yunpan Mountain, and all mountain guns are set up at the foot of the mountain. In this battle, in the direction of Zhou Weihan's attack, there are a total of 34 Japanese-style and Shanxi-style mountain guns and 12 field guns.
There are 18 American mountain guns organized into 11 artillery batteries, and 15 Type 92 infantry guns directly provide direct firepower on the front line.
Artillery was the decisive force in this battle. Before the war, Zhou Weihan specifically considered the issue of the artillery commander. The artillery commander was Guan Xinguang, the political commissar of the headquarters artillery regiment, who had served in Big Brother's military
He studied in a college and majored in artillery.
"Each artillery battery reported the situation of each artillery position!" Guan Xinguang held a walkie-talkie in his hand and asked about the situation at the scene.
"Everything is normal in the first company, and all artillery positions are ready!"
"Everything is normal in the Second Company, and all artillery positions are ready!"
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"Okay, wait for the order!" Guan Xinguang turned off the walkie-talkie and looked at Xiong Renshan, the commander of the American mountain artillery battalion: "Comrade Renshan, to be honest, this is the first time I have commanded such a large artillery group in actual combat.
I’m still a little nervous, but thanks to the guidance from my brother troops!”
"Political Commissar Guan, you are an old-timer, I am showing off my embarrassment in front of Guan Gong!" Xiong Renshan said embarrassedly.
"Hey, the masters come first. No matter how many theories there are, they still need to be implemented in practice!"
During this battle, Guan Xinguang was the commander-in-chief of the artillery, and Xiong Renshan was in charge of the artillery reconnaissance station, reporting position parameters at all times through walkie-talkies.
Not long after, the roar of the plane's engine suddenly came from the sky. Xiong Renshan looked up and saw that the plane was circling in a long snake formation in the sky.
"It's our plane!"
Upon hearing this, Guan Xinguang immediately turned on the walkie-talkie: "Commander, the flying team has arrived. Do you want to launch an attack in advance?"
"Initiate an attack immediately!" Zhou Weihan's voice came from the walkie-talkie.
After receiving Zhou Weihan's clear order, the eighteen mountain artillery pieces belonging to the American mountain artillery battalion at the foot of the mountain began to conduct ground guidance, firing red smoke bombs in the planned attack direction.
Under the guidance of the ground troops, the flying team changed their formation and formed two rows. In a dive attitude, they slightly lowered their flying altitude. Aerial bombs fell on the defenses in front of the outer city ditch and the inner city ditch.
Since Shimen was an important town for the Japanese army, anti-aircraft machine guns must have been deployed for air defense. Therefore, Zhou Weihan gave instructions in advance that the flying team should not descend too low and bomb areas outside the guidance range.
In the blink of an eye, the Japanese position opposite was shrouded in soaring flames. Nearly forty Japanese bunkers within the explosion range collapsed in the explosion. The Japanese and puppet troops inside were buried in the ruins before they could react.
After the flight team completed the bombing mission, they did not continue to circle in the sky. The planes in the two queues turned their noses outward and flew towards Yama Mountain.
At the same time, the 64 mountain guns on the artillery array fired in unison, and the shells fell on the enemy's position one after another. A burst of earth-shattering explosions shook the earth and resounded through the sky.
The artillery fire illuminated the sky red, and the sound of artillery and machine guns intertwined, ringing the death bell for the enemy on the opposite side.
The western barracks on the western outskirts of Shimen is the primary target of this attack. The offensive positions of the two regiments of the New 10th Brigade are less than 800 meters away from Shimen Waishigou. Heavy machine guns continue to suppress the enemy's firepower in the bunker.
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Under the deliberate attack of our army's artillery fire, the Shimenwaishi ditch, which was six to seven meters wide, was suddenly blasted with two gaps about 10 meters wide. The ditch was basically filled with collapsed loess.
Replenish the communication trench where the regiment is located, and the regiment headquarters is located in an observation post.
The guard said excitedly: "Captain, the power of this aircraft's aerial bomb is really too great. I just saw that the little devil's bunker opposite was like paper, and it broke at the first touch!"
"Hey, before the war, the Communist Party members said that the bombing must be denser, just to open a breakthrough for our regiment. Let's see, how is the situation up front?" Zhang Hao said
With the bright light in the sky, the guard poked his head out of the traffic trench and observed the situation ahead: "Captain, the deep trench of the little devil directly in front has been flattened, and we can launch an attack!"
"Blower, blow the charge horn!" Zhang Hao, the leader of the supplementary regiment, immediately ordered.
The loud charge horn sounded, and the soldiers of the first battalion of the supplementary regiment bravely came forward and filed out of the hidden tunnel. Under the cover of the smoke screen caused by the explosion of machine guns and artillery shells, they crossed the outer city ditch in one fell swoop. When the first battalion arrived at the enemy's
When the position was established, a long and narrow position in the east-west direction seemed to be in ruins.
After the 1st Battalion of the Supplementary Regiment successfully broke through the West Barracks, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions approached the Waishigou ditch again along the communication trench, and the soldiers of the next two battalions quickly expanded the breakthrough to both wings.
"I am the 1st Battalion of the Supplementary Regiment. Our unit has occupied point 1. Please extend artillery fire to point 2 immediately to cover our advance!" The first battalion commander took a walkie-talkie and communicated with the artillery observation post in a timely manner.
Immediately, the artillery fire that had just stopped began to cover the intended target with artillery fire.
At this time, the enemy was completely stunned. The Eighth Route Army, like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, cut into half of the Waishigou position outside Shimen City.
Just when all the supplementary regiments broke into the outer city ditch, the second echelon assault regiment and the 22nd regiment, which were still in the traffic trench, took action after hearing the news. According to the established combat plan, the assault regiment quickly advanced along the path of the supplementary regiment, and the 22nd regiment moved forward.
Guards were on both sides of the Assault Regiment, and on the north side of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Supplementary Regiment, they blocked the Japanese puppet troops who were reinforcing on both sides.
The two regiments needed to pass through the outer city ditch at the same time. In order to meet the first battalion of the supplementary regiment, more than a thousand soldiers of the assault regiment passed through the filled passage, while the soldiers of the 22nd regiment passed through the trenches on both sides.
The soldiers of the 22nd Regiment quickly extended the ladder to the inner edge of the trench and were about to catch it. Suddenly, there was a pull and the ladder fell into the ditch. The outer ditch was seven or eight meters deep.
Plop, plop, without any hesitation, the two soldiers jumped into the ditch seven or eight meters deep. The two quickly raised the ladder, and other soldiers took it over and set it up on the edge of the ditch. The soldiers from the demolition team and the commando team
They were like a flood, rushing through the outer city ditch.
The soldiers of the demolition team raised the big iron shears and quickly cut off the power grid, and the soldiers swarmed forward.
The Japanese defenders in Waishigou were mainly puppet security forces, with only a small number of Japanese troops supervising the operations. Although this group of puppet troops was not weak in combat effectiveness, due to the threat of artillery fire from the Eighth Route Army, the speed of the reinforcements on both sides of the breach was far slower than that of the puppet troops.
As fast as you can imagine.
In the blink of an eye, the assault regiment and the 22nd regiment joined the supplementary regiment.
"Quick, expand the breach, find favorable bunkers, and block the enemy!" shouted Liu Tianming, the leader of the 22nd Regiment, who was on the front line to command the operation.
Under the command of Liu Tianming, the soldiers of the 22nd Regiment used infantry artillery to occupy Xijiao Village and Xili Village successively. After the assault regiment also quit, they occupied Chengjiao Village and used anti-aircraft machine guns seized from Daguocun Airport to destroy the Japanese troops.
An armored train.
Then the assault regiment and the supplementary regiment advanced together from the north and south to launch a pincer attack on Zhengtou Town in front of them.
"Hurry up and throw more grenades made in the border area!" Liu Yuzhu, from the 2nd Platoon and 5th Platoon of the 3rd Company of the 22nd Regiment, shouted.
Then several hand grenades made in the border area were thrown towards the enemy's machine gun position in front. The power was not strong, but the smoke produced was not small. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Yuzhu rushed to the enemy's machine gun bunker in two or three steps from the side.
In front of him, he grabbed a machine gun that was firing randomly into the air.
The puppet machine gunner who was operating was stunned, and the two looked at each other. The puppet machine gunner said in panic: "What are you going to do?"
It turned out that the machine gunners of the puppet army saw the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire continuously exploding near the fortresses behind them. They were so frightened that they did not even raise their heads when they fired. They just kept shooting randomly. Only then did they realize that the Eighth Route Army had broken through in front of them.
"What are you doing? Bring it over. Squat down and be careful. I'm going to jerk you off!" Liu Yuzhu said as he grabbed the machine gun with all his strength. Then he immediately turned the muzzle of the gun and lay on the bunker, pointing at the enemy in front of him.
The bunker was strafed.
At the same time, seeing Liu Yuzhu succeed, the entire third company, second platoon and fifth squad quickly pressed forward.
Big Lu, the squad leader of the fifth squad of the second platoon, scolded: "It depends on what you can do. If you have a mortar, don't use it. If you have to be a personal hero, you are not made of iron. Be careful to lose your life!"
"The machine gunner suppressed the enemy's firepower, and the mortar used grenades to block the enemy's sight in the bunker!" After speaking, the big man Lu picked up an explosive package and rushed towards the bunker in front of him.
"Squad leader, let me go. My target is small and it's not easy for the enemy to find me!" Liu Yuzhu grabbed the squad leader, Big Man Lu.
"Go away, what's the matter with you while I'm here? Machine gun cover!"
"Yes!" Liu Yuzhu responded helplessly, then squeezed the trigger and kept firing bullets into the bunker's shooting hole. The grenade exploded near the enemy's bunker at the same time. Although it could not kill him, it was enough to deter the enemy.
Taking this opportunity, the big man Lu bent down and slipped out of the bunker, and then crawled towards the bunker. The enemies in the bunker were busy counterattacking, and no one noticed that someone was quietly approaching the bunker.
The distance between the two sides was not far. When they were less than twenty meters away, the big man Lu pulled off the pull ring and threw it towards the bunker's shooting hole. The smoking explosive bag fell into the bunker.
As an explosion sounded, the bunker rose into the sky together with the enemies inside.
With the cooperation of artillery firepower, the artillery was responsible for pulling out the bunkers that had broken out of the encirclement, while the infantry was responsible for pulling down the bunkers that were half buried in the soil. It only took more than half an hour from the start of the attack to the outer city, which was seven or eight meters deep.
The trenches, power grids, and hundreds of bunkers and stone bunkers behind them were swept away by the Eighth Route Army soldiers, and the west gate of Shimen was opened.
"Commanders, the Waishigou in the offensive direction on the west side of Shimen, as well as the strongholds and bunkers behind it, have all been demolished!"
Zhou Weihan held the walkie-talkie tightly and said loudly: "Okay, all attacking troops will find bunkers on the spot, suspend the attack, and do not rush to attack the Neishigou. The blocking troops can extend to the north and south with the cooperation of artillery fire!"
Afterwards, Zhou Weihan ordered the two regiments of the New First Brigade and the militia to serve as reserves, and the people moved to transform the terrain and advance towards the inner city ditch according to the opportunity.
"Comrade Weihan, our battle went surprisingly smoothly. How long did it take for us to capture the heavily defended Waishigou in Shimen?" Wu ** said in surprise as he smashed his mouth.
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"The hard part is still behind. You have also heard the news that has been collected from the front line just now. Most of the people in the outer city are puppet troops, and there are only a few real Japs. In addition, our army is a key breakthrough, and in the aircraft and artillery
With the cooperation of the enemy, the enemy was caught off guard!" Zhou Weihan said in a deep voice.
"But now the little devils in the city must be in a hurry to ask for help from above. It's time for the little devils to withdraw their troops this time. If they don't withdraw, we may really break into Shimen!"
"Should we send a telegram to the division headquarters to report the good news?" Wu** suggested.
"Send the report to make the leaders happy!" Zhou Weihan said.
With the fall of Waishigou, the Japanese troops in the city could no longer sit still.
"Bagaya Road, how could the Eighth Route Army break through so fast!" Shan Zhongchao cursed angrily.
"Your Excellency, General, the Eighth Route Army broke through too quickly under the cover of aircraft and artillery. In addition, the security forces on both sides were too lazy to reinforce. This gave the Eighth Route Army an opportunity to take advantage of it!" the adjutant explained.
"Baga, the security army's useless work is dead, dead, dead. Are the additional troops to the west in place?"
"Hey, it has been enriched into various bunkers. The bunkers are mainly composed of imperial troops and expatriates, and the security forces are deployed in the trenches connecting the bunkers!"
"What's the situation like in the south?" Yamanaka Koichi asked again.
"The Eighth Route Army in the south is also advancing very fast, but since there is no bombing by planes, the security forces are performing well and are resisting the Eighth Route Army!"
Before the fall of Waishigou, Yamazaka Chaoichi knew that the natural moat surrounding the stone gate was related to life and death. If the natural moat existed, there would be a stone gate. If there was no natural moat, there would be no stone gate.
Therefore, Yamanaka Tokaichi ordered the reserve team to take back Waishigou before the Eighth Route Army had a firm foothold in Waishigou. Unexpectedly, the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire kept covering the advance route of the Little Japanese reinforcements, causing the Little Japanese to lose Waishigou.
He has never arrived at the battlefield before.
In this battle, the artillery unit played a decisive role, but when the main force of the 110th Division went out for mopping up, the entire artillery regiment was taken away. There were not many artillery units left in Shimen City, and they were mainly infantry artillery. They were unable to attack them at all.
