For the Eighth Route Army, Motou Town was a prominent position used to kill the Japanese army. For the Japanese army, compared with the plains, occupying Motou Town could give them a chance to breathe.
As Zhou Weihan expected, Motou Town became the focus of contention between the enemy and ourselves. The Japanese army took the baggage regiment as the vanguard, and more than a thousand Japanese troops from the 163rd Regiment acted as cover troops on both sides, moving closer to the direction of Motou Town.
The heavy machine gun positions surrounding Motou Town were arranged in a semi-arc shape, with more than a dozen anti-aircraft machine guns in the middle. The soldiers watched coldly as more than 600 Japs from the supply chain slowly approached Motou Town.
One thousand meters, eight hundred meters, five hundred meters, four hundred meters, the distance is getting closer and closer.
"Hit!" Following the commander's order, nearly 90 heavy machine guns opened fire in unison. The dense firepower network completely enveloped the nearly 2,000 Japanese troops in front of them. More than a dozen anti-aircraft machine guns sprayed hot bullets.
It penetrated the bodies of several Japanese soldiers one after another, beating the Japanese soldiers in front of them into pieces.
A hell-like scene unfolded in front of the little devils. Some of the little devils in the rear watched helplessly as the soldiers in front of them fell mutilated in front of them.
This was a naked massacre. Even the soldiers on the heavy machine gun position did not expect that the Japs would be so cooperative and send nearly 2,000 Japanese soldiers to the slaughterhouse at once.
The battle ended quite quickly. Not only did the Japanese attacking troops fail to react, but even Mamoru Iinuma did not expect that an Eighth Route Army unit was ambushed in the seemingly deserted Motou Town.
"Nani? It's an anti-aircraft machine gun, it's the Eighth Route Army attacking Shimen! How could they appear here?" In Iinuma Mamoru's impression, the Eighth Route Army troops attacking Shimen should still be staying in the suburbs of Shimen at this time.
"Your Excellency General, the position we are in now is still within the range of the anti-aircraft machine gun. It is better to move to a safe area!" the adjutant on the side reminded.
Mamoru Iinuma was excited after hearing this. The Japanese army had to avoid the artillery bombardment and also be prepared for the firepower network coming from Motou Town. However, the artillery regiment of the 110th Division was unable to build a position to counterattack at all.
The artillery shells continued to shoot towards the location of the little Japanese, and the Japanese army was unable to carry out an effective counterattack. The 110th Regiment in the front and the 140th Regiment in the rear organized their forces many times to try to break through the Eighth Route Army's ambush circle, but they were all driven back.
Just when Mamoru Iinuma was about to give the order for the division and regiment headquarters to be moved immediately, the heavy machine gun position deployed in Motou Town aimed its target at this place.
The distance was about two to three miles. Although the specific position of the Japanese army could not be seen clearly because the Japanese army extinguished their torches, it still did not affect the soldiers in the heavy machine gun position from effectively killing the Japs.
The little devils with the division headquarters include the artillery regiment, the 163rd Regiment and the field hospital, with less than 4,000 people in total. At the front are the remaining Japanese troops of the 163rd Regiment, which protects the division, with less than 2,000 soldiers.
.
Having just witnessed the attacking troops being ruthlessly harvested by the Eighth Route Army's heavy machine guns, the little Japs from the 163rd Regiment reacted very quickly, either hiding behind the carriages carried by the baggage regiment, or digging bunkers on the spot.
Within a few words, the soldiers in the heavy machine gun position changed their ammunition and fired at the little devil again. Dozens of tongues of flames were especially dazzling in the dark night, shooting towards the little devil. This scene of being beaten passively made the little devil...
The devil only felt his scalp numb.
The bullet hit the carriage with a loud bang, and the remaining bullet penetrated the body of the little devil hiding behind the carriage, leaving a wound as big as a palm.
"Baga, this is an anti-aircraft machine gun used for air defense. How could the Eighth Route Army have such powerful firepower?" The speaker was a Japanese second lieutenant from the 163rd Regiment.
When the anti-aircraft machine gun is used for horizontal fire, it can easily penetrate the so-called tanks of the Japanese army. However, how can the carriages, ammunition boxes, and food bags blocking the little Japanese at this time be able to reach the bullets of the anti-aircraft machine gun.
As soon as he finished speaking, a bullet hit his head, and a white-tinged red liquid was sprayed on the faces of the Japs around him. The Japs stood up and ran towards the south as if they were crazy.
"Come back, come back quickly!" a Jaap veteran shouted, but he could only watch as the upper bodies of several escaped Japs were torn to pieces in the hail of bullets.
From the start of the battle, the bombardment lasted for about five or six minutes. For the Japanese troops of the 110th Division in the encirclement, it felt like days passed, and people around them fell every second.
A high-power walkie-talkie was placed in front of Zhou Weihan, and sounds kept coming from it.
"One minute later, three red flares rose in the sky again. All artillery units stopped shelling, and all troops moved forward to wipe out the Japanese troops of the 110th Division!" The serious voice of the division commander came from the walkie-talkie.
Thanks to walkie-talkies, the various units of the Eighth Route Army participating in the war are more closely connected. As can be seen from the Battle of Shimen, whether it is an attack or a long-distance raid by the troops, after having walkie-talkies, the overall combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army seems to have increased.
Two levels.
The monk stood on a temporary high platform, using a telescope to observe the situation on the battlefield ahead: "Comrade, the little Japs don't seem to be as strong as imagined, and they haven't formed any decent resistance!"
"What is decent resistance? How can the little devils have decent resistance? The strength of the enemy and our forces in this battle is at least 1:3. The number of artillery of our army is approximately equal to three artillery regiments of the Japanese army, not to mention light and heavy machine guns. In terms of
In terms of individual combat capabilities, to this day, if you randomly pick some soldiers from the main regiments participating in the war, they are no worse than the little devils from the 110th Division in front of you!" Zhou Weihan said with a smile.
As Zhou Weihan said, during the many years of fighting by the Japanese army, the various military districts of the Eighth Route Army were tempered in blood and fire into an elite force.
With the passage of time, the fighting has transformed from guerrilla warfare and ambush warfare at the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War to mobile warfare, annihilation warfare or fortified warfare.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Taking the 17 regiments in front of you as an example, they have gathered fist troops from the four secondary military regions of Taibei, Tainan, Jiluyu, and Jinan. After this battle, perhaps
It can be called the seed of a field army.
Both the weapons and equipment and the combat effectiveness are not inferior to the Japanese army, but the Eighth Route Army is currently limited by logistical supplies and cannot support such a large-scale operation.
Perhaps, it only takes a year. Once the Eighth Route Army base areas have passed through the disaster years and each base area has digested the machinery and equipment shipped from Tianjin, then it will truly have the ability to compete with the Japanese army.
"Commissioner, I have a request!" The monk jumped down from the high platform in one step and squatted next to Zhou Weihan.
"explain!"
"Since I became a guard for you, I haven't fought with the Japs on the battlefield for a long time. Can you let me go up and stretch my muscles this time? This Garand rifle has become a decoration in my hands.
Yes!" the monk said with a naive smile.
Monk and Wan Jingang met each other. When Monk was alone, he could only stay by Zhou Weihan's side obediently. As soon as the battle started, Wan Jingang hurriedly ran around in place, and Monk felt anxious.
It's like grass, but you can only enjoy it standing on a high platform.
"Yes, *** member, I have only been with you for a few days. I have seen a lot of big scenes, but I can only watch. If I had known this, I might as well have stayed in the secret service. At least I could have done more.
What a little devil!"
"Okay, now you two are settling an old score. It's not impossible to let you go to the battlefield, but I have conditions!" Zhou Weihan said.
"Commander **, I agree to any conditions!"
"Yes, me too!"
"Monk, you have to kill at least ten little devils this time, otherwise you won't think about it next time!"
"Wan Jingang, aren't you thinking about the Garand rifle in the monk's hand? As long as you kill fifteen little Japs, I can share it with you after the war!"
"Yes, *** member, don't worry, as long as there are enough little devils and the monks cooperate, I can kill them three in and three out!" After Wan Jingang finished speaking, he took out the iron rod he carried with him and gave it to him quickly.
Wrap both palms with cloth.
"Okay, let's go report to the assault group!" Zhou Weihan said.
After hearing this, Wan Jingang turned around and was about to leave, but was grabbed by the monk.
"Commander, let me and I follow to replenish the regiment. Although the assault regiment has a small number of people, I'm afraid we won't be able to eat meat if we follow the assault regiment!"
Although the monk looks simple and honest, he is very cunning. Wan Jingang arrived here for the first time and did not understand the fighting methods of Zhou Weihan's troops, so he thought it was traditional hand-to-hand combat.
If he really followed the assault group, I'm afraid that the little Japanese on the opposite side would have been killed by bullets before Wan Jingang's iron rod hit him.
"Okay, as you wish!"
As three more signal flares rose in the sky, the artillery bombardment of each artillery regiment stopped. However, the 17 infantry regiments of the Eighth Route Army ambushing in the surrounding area were divided into the Eighth Route Army and launched an attack in unison.
More than 30,000 soldiers flew towards the Japanese army from eight directions like eight loose arrows. As soon as they made contact, a regiment on the northwest side prevented the Japanese army from escaping north. The third regiment immediately inserted into the junction of the 110th Regiment and its division headquarters.
, severing the connection between the two Japanese armies in one fell swoop.
The 110th Regiment was surrounded by the 358th Brigade, the New 10th Brigade, the First Regiment, and the Third Regiment for a while, and then small groups of troops in company units continued to intersperse and strangle the 110th Regiment.
The assault regiment and the supplementary regiment took advantage of the situation and rushed out from Motou Town. The little Japanese from the 163rd Regiment, who had just suffered a heavy blow, had not yet taken a breath. When they raised their heads, they found that the Eighth Route Army was already close in front of them.
The commando teams of the two regiments were composed of light machine guns and submachine guns. The soldiers of the commando team stood on the carriage that the little Japanese used as a bunker, and poured out firepower at the little Japanese. The remaining 1,500 Japanese troops of the 163rd Regiment were like cutting wheat.
Generally fall down.
The 163rd Regiment, together with the division headquarters and artillery regiment, fled southward in a hurry, but the three main regiments of the Luxi Military Region formed a large net to intercept the Japanese troops.
On the westernmost side of the battlefield, the six regiments of the Southern Hebei Military Region deployed here implemented similar tactics. First, they cut off the connection between the 140th Regiment and its division headquarters. Then, after the six regiments formed an encirclement, small groups of troops first
50 small artillery opened a breakthrough, and then interspersed to disrupt the already chaotic formation of the 140th Regiment.
Listening to the gunshots coming from all directions and the increasingly fierce shouts of killing, Mamoru Iinuma, the commander of the 110th Division, discovered that the Eighth Route Army had actually buried several times more enemies in Motou Town, specifically to ambush the 110th troops returning to Shimen.
division.
Seeing that two small units of the Eighth Route Army had broken through the formation of the 163rd Regiment and rushed towards the direction of the division headquarters, the little devils from the Artillery Regiment also gave up the idea of attaching bayonets to the cannons and were fighting with the Luxi Military Region
The troops engaged in close combat, and the situation of the battle took a turn for the worse.
"Unexpectedly, Motou Town turned out to be the burial place of our 110th Division. It must be that the Eighth Route Army's attack on Shimen was a fake, and the annihilation of our 110th Division is its real purpose!"
"If we had concentrated all our troops to break out to one side from the beginning, there might have been a glimmer of hope. I underestimated the strength of the Eighth Route Army!" Iinuma Mamoru murmured to himself with a pale face.
In fact, after the Eighth Route Army completed the encirclement in Motou Town, the fate of the more than 10,000 Japanese troops of the 110th Division was already doomed. Even the Japanese Emperor's personal command could not save the defeat.
"Your Excellency, General, please cheer up. There is still hope of breaking out of the encirclement while the night is dark!" the adjutant said, handing over an ordinary Japanese military uniform.
A look of struggle flashed in Iinuma Mamoru's eyes, and he immediately said: "No, I want to live and die with His Majesty the Emperor's warriors, and use my death to wash away the guilt on my body!"
"Send a report to the dispatch army headquarters immediately!"
"Hi!" Seeing that he could not persuade Iinuma Mamoru, the adjutant obediently took out his notebook and recorded the contents of the telegram.
"General Gangcun is at the top, and Iinuma is at the bottom. I led the 110th Division back from the hinterland of southern Hebei today. Unexpectedly, the Eighth Route Army learned about the time and route of the retreat. The Eighth Route Army was marching at an unprecedented speed. It was like a divine soldier.
Surrender and give our troops a fatal blow. Our troops were besieged by enemies several times larger than the Eighth Route Army in Motou Town. We have no hope of breaking through and are about to be destroyed!"
"This is my sole responsibility, and I am determined to live and die with the 110th Division. Shimen is an important town of the Imperial Army. The Eighth Route Army attacked Shimen to force the Imperial Army's mopping up troops to withdraw, which actually annihilated our 110th Division. It is expected that the other mopping up troops will also have
In this crisis, please General Gangcun make arrangements as soon as possible!"
After Iinuma Mamoru finished speaking, he pulled out his command sword and wiped it carefully. When he looked up, he saw two majestic Eighth Route Army soldiers rushing forward.
Wherever they passed, the Japanese troops guarding a small group near the division headquarters were all turned upside down, making them no match for their combined enemies.
Wan Jingang and the monk were back to back, with more than a dozen little devils surrounding them, but there was no trace of timidity on their faces.
These two people originally launched the attack with the supplementary regiment, but they did not follow common sense and did not join the large force of the supplementary regiment. Instead, they formed a group and charged and killed the Japanese army.
"It's so nice, monk, it's so damn nice to be your partner!" Wan Jingang wiped the blood on his face and pointed the iron rod in his hand at the little devil in front of him.
A dozen little devils looked at the two fierce and strong men in front of them, but they did not dare to attack.
"How many are there?" the monk asked.
"I can't count. There are more than a dozen, right?" Wan Jingang replied.