Chapter 912: Penetrating into the depths of the Japanese army
It was night, dark clouds covered the moonlight, and the weather became increasingly dull.
Behind the position of the 13th Brigade, behind the reverse slope of a small high ground, several bonfires were lit all around. About three hundred commanders and soldiers of the commando team gathered here, with several baskets of bowls and unopened wine jars placed next to them.
After Zhou Weihan issued the order to capture the partial divisions of the Japanese army, Jing Dagang immediately started preparations. The advantage of the 13th Brigade was that its strength was twice that of the enemy.
The 1st Regiment, which was the first to confront the Japanese army, withdrew to rest. The 2nd Regiment and the 3rd Regiment relied on their positions to block the attack, constantly pulling the Japanese army away from the railway line.
The firelight turned the face of 13th Brigade Commander Jing Dagang red. What he wanted to do now was to ignite the fire of war in the hearts of the soldiers. Although Jing Dagang was tall and thick, he also had his own way of leading troops.
"Are you all full?"
"Eat enough!" the soldiers responded in unison.
"It's good to be full. Only when you are full can you have the strength to fight with the Japanese!"
"After this day's battle, everyone can see that the enemy on the opposite side is not weak, but our 13th Brigade is the fifth column, and we are fighting the elite of the enemy. I really don't look down on the ordinary enemy!"
"The brother troops of the 16th Brigade are holding down the main force of the Japanese army in Shangqiu. The enemy in front of us is just a partial division. The *** members are waiting for news of victory, and the folks in the base area are waiting for our triumphant return!"
"What we have to do is to completely eliminate the enemy in front of us and let the little Japanese know how powerful they are. I have only one request. Wherever the artillery shells hit, you will attack wherever they hit!"
"Pour the wine!"
The commando soldiers held filled wine bowls in their hands and looked at Jing Dagang. Jing Dagang smiled and said: "Our Eighth Route Army emphasizes discipline, but we also emphasize camaraderie and brotherhood!"
"The Communist Party member specially asked me to toast the brothers for him, let's do it!"
The situation of the 14th Brigade south of the Longhai Railway was basically the same. They also selected a commando team of 300 people, each equipped with a submachine gun, six grenades, and a broadsword.
The 13th Brigade and the 14th Brigade will launch surprise attacks on the enemy in front of each other at 11 o'clock at night, so the two brigades are always in contact.
Jing Dagang came up with the idea of using the enemy's fatigue tactics to take advantage of his strength, and Wu Qin also came up with a clever trick, which was to bombard the Japanese army's position for ten minutes every hour after dark to paralyze the Japanese army.
The direction of Shangqiu was the first to make a move. After dark, Li Yunlong followed Zhou Weihan's order and launched another artillery bombardment on the Japanese positions.
However, the artillery shells did not cause many casualties. Only a few Japanese troops were left on the front line to act as guards, while the main force was scattered on the second line.
"Commander, you are so predictable that the Eighth Route Army indeed took advantage of the darkness to launch an artillery attack on our army!"
"Search Daisino!" A smile appeared on Yamashita Fengfumi's face. This guy was famous for his cunning and wisdom among the Japanese army. He once beat the shit out of a British guy in Malay Island.
Although the Japanese army suffered losses during the daytime battle, it did not gain anything. From the sound of artillery fire from the 16th Brigade, they were keenly aware that the artillery used by the Eighth Route Army was the M1 American mountain gun.
"Commander is wise, under your command, we will definitely achieve a major breakthrough tomorrow!" Nobuhiro Okayama, commander of the 57th Division, said with great compliments.
"The Eighth Route Army has wasted artillery shells in vain. Now that it is trapped in the isolated city, the number of artillery shells will only gradually decrease!"
Yamashita Fengwen shook his head and said: "Gentlemen, you only know one but not the other. The Eighth Route Army cannot be underestimated, otherwise it will suffer losses!"
"The Eighth Route Army has the home field advantage in this battle. From the layout of its artillery positions and the use of tactics, it shows that it already has a relatively complete combat system!"
"The Eighth Route Army's artillery can accurately hit our artillery positions underground. Isn't that enough to show how terrifying they are?"
"Perhaps, at our current location, the artillery of the Eighth Route Army also marked the shooting parameters here!"
All the Japanese officers present were shocked when they heard this: "Nani? If according to the commander, as long as it is within the shooting range, doesn't it mean that there is no safe place around Shangqiu?"
"No need to panic!" Yamashita Fengwen suddenly stood up after hearing this: "Although the specific location of the Eighth Route Army's artillery cannot be found at present, the performance of the mountain artillery they use has been known to our army!"
"Once the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side discovers that the artillery fire has not had the expected effect, if it dares to move its artillery forward to the front line position, our artillery can cover its front line position with artillery fire!"
Inside Shangqiu City.
"Brigadier Commander, the command clearly stated in the telegram that our unit must not attack blindly!" Xin Tiebing persuaded.
"Chief of Staff Xin, can you explain to me what a blind attack is? The telegram from the headquarters also pointed out that we must create momentum to attract the main force of the Japanese army!"
"It's just shelling. The thunder is loud and the rain is light. What the hell is it good for?"
Li Yunlong, the commissar and political commissar of the 16th Brigade, did it alone. As the chief of staff, Xin Tiebing could only make suggestions, and others did not dare to stab Li Yunlong.
Not long after, the phone at the brigade headquarters rang, and Xin Tiebing picked up the phone: "Hello, I'm Xin Tiebing, what do you mean?"
"What? There are only scattered Japanese troops, okay, I understand, waiting for the next order!"
Xin Tiebing put down the microphone and immediately reported to Li Yunlong: "Brigadier Commander, the 11th Regiment reported that the Japanese army did not deploy many troops in the forward positions adjacent to our army!"
"I guess the Japanese army may be worried that our army will shell after dark, so they only deploy a small number of troops in the forward position!"
Li Yunlong looked very ugly after hearing this. In fact, he felt sorry for the cannonballs. He was trapped in Shangqiu and could not get supplies. Every time he fired the cannonballs, he lost one.
Originally, according to his idea, as long as the Japanese army did not move at night, the 16th Brigade would rest and prepare for tomorrow's battle. However, Zhou Weihan gave the order and it must be carried out.
"What do you think if the artillery positions are moved forward and the firing range is extended?"
"Brigade Commander, doing this will put the artillery battalion in danger. When we first built the fortifications, we mainly concentrated on building second-line positions. Although the first-line position where the 11th Regiment is located has tunnels, they are not perfect!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Once the artillery battalion reaches the front line position, the Japanese army can easily push back the location of the artillery battalion based on the shooting distance. When the time comes..."
"Damn it, you little devil has learned to be smart!" Li Yunlong scolded his mother.
What people fear most is not suffering a loss, but what they fear most is that they could obviously take advantage but failed to take advantage in the end. This is due to human nature.
Yamashita Fengwen was well versed in human nature, so he waited for Li Yunlong to take the bait and then counterattacked with artillery.
"This time I really lost a lot of money. The bombardment continues. Don't disturb my rest if you have nothing to do!" Li Yunlong simply acted as a hands-off shopkeeper.
As time passed by, the situation on both sides fell into a strange state. The Japanese army changed from its normal practice of actively attacking during the day and chose to retreat at night, while the Eighth Route Army chose to conduct intermittent shelling.
"Brigade commander, the artillery battalion reports that the fourth artillery bombardment will be carried out in fifteen minutes!" the combat staff of the brigade headquarters reported to Jing Dagang.
"Pass my order and all regiments and battalions will execute it immediately according to the established combat plan!" Jing Dagang said.
When the pointer reached 11 o'clock, the two artillery battalions of the 13th Brigade and the 14th Brigade began shelling the Japanese positions again. The fire caused by the explosion of the artillery shells was especially obvious at night.
At the same time, the commandos were in the first echelon of the attack as sharp knives. The 1st Regiment, the main force of the 13th Brigade, followed closely. The 2nd Regiment and the 3rd Regiment jumped out of their positions to outflank the two flanks.
The noise caused by the explosion concealed the sneaking movements of the Eighth Route Army, but the Japanese army still thought that this shelling was just like the previous ones, just for simple harassment.
When the commando sneaked into less than 300 meters from the Japanese forward position, the commando's action came to a sudden halt.
"Commandos request extension of artillery fire, request extension of artillery fire!"
"The artillery battalion has received it and will start shelling the second-line targets in one minute!"
The commando leader looked at his watch and saw that only thirty seconds had passed before he immediately led the commando team towards the Japanese position.
At this time, when the Japanese troops on the position realized that the shelling was over, they couldn't help but relax their vigilance, and even slumped down in the trenches, unaware that the Eighth Route Army was approaching them.
"The Chinese people here are so cunning that they don't even get a break at night!"
The kid on the side shook his head: "Yamaguchi-kun, have you noticed that the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side has extremely high combat literacy? During the day's battle, although it was repeatedly pursued by the imperial army, it was able to maintain its formation during the rout!"
"I even suspect that they were an organized retreat, not a rout as the officer said. This is a Chinese armed force with considerable combat effectiveness!"
In an instant, there was loud gunfire around the position, and the firelight after the explosion served as lighting. The three-hundred-person commando team dispersed in an instant, forming a combat team of three.
Two people held submachine guns and fired at the place where the figure was shaking. They did not want to hit the target, but they wanted to suppress the fire. The other person threw the six grenades he carried with him towards the Japanese position.
Although the Japanese troops in the forward position did not suffer many casualties in the shelling just now, they were all dizzy after being bombed. Facing the fierce offensive of the commandos, the Japanese troops in front of them were unable to form effective resistance at all.
With powerful firepower, the commando team quickly tore a hole of more than 300 meters in the Japanese frontline, without any hesitation, and plunged directly into the Japanese army.
The task of the commando is to tear open the opening. Wherever the artillery shells hit, the commandos will hit. The artillery shells are the guide.
The shelling started again, this time the target was a section of the Japanese second-line position.
"Comrades, follow me and charge, kill the little Japanese!" The commando leader was like a bow and arrow, firing and charging to maximize the firepower of his submachine gun.
The Japanese troops in the second-line position reacted quickly and immediately organized a counterattack. Commandos continued to arrive along the way, and the remaining team members instantly formed a new three-person combat team, thus continuing to suppress the Japanese army's firepower.
The Japanese army was about to outflank the commandos at the front-line position that was torn open, but unexpectedly a large number of soldiers from the 16th Brigade poured in through the opening.
The role of Jing Dagang's arrangement during the day was concretely reflected at this time. The tug-of-war of the 2 and 3 regiments during the day not only exhausted the Japanese army's energy, but also caused the Japanese army's formation to stretch to both sides, and the strength of the troops became scattered.
Fighting during the day can provide a clear insight into the battlefield situation, and the Japanese commander can dispatch reserve troops for reinforcements at any time, but the current situation is simply a mess.
A location in the second-line position was on the verge of a breakthrough under the shelling and the fierce offensive of the commandos. The 1st Regiment expanded the gap in the first-line position with the pace of the commando attack, while the 2nd Regiment and the 3rd Regiment were separated from the first-line position.
The Japanese troops were fighting together.
Because the battle broke out so suddenly, the Japanese command system temporarily lost its function. Many Japanese soldiers could tell by the sound of gunfire alone that the leading troops of the Eighth Route Army had penetrated very deep.
The Japanese army is also a human being, and being a human being will produce fear. The Japanese army on the front line is the most panicked at this time.
"Sir, I think we should reduce our troops immediately at this moment, otherwise our squadron will be completely wiped out by the Chinese!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Japanese who made the suggestion to the superior received a slap in the face.
"Baga, you are a coward, you must withstand the Chinese attack!"
However, not all Japanese troops were so resolute in resisting. Multiple openings appeared in the front-line positions one after another, and the Japanese army was defeated. The 2nd and 3rd regiments took advantage of the situation to pursue and drove the defeated Japanese troops to the second-line positions.