"The warriors of the Japanese Empire crushed the Chinese defense line!"
Just a moment after the 52nd Wing took over the front-line position, Wing Commander Yokoyama Keisuke did not wait for the construction of the fortifications to be completed and directly sent several search teams to advance along the traffic trenches.
The first-line position and the second-line position are about one kilometer apart, and the connecting communication trenches are not simply straight lines. The winding communication trenches can effectively prevent Japanese artillery fire.
At first, the Japanese army advanced very smoothly, and the traffic trenches served as a good cover. However, while walking, Japanese troops from several search teams discovered that the communication trenches had collapsed.
The soft loess slowed down the advance of the Japanese troops. Some Japanese troops tried to send troops to the ground through the collapse, but were immediately scolded.
"Baga Ya Lu, you are so stupid, doing this will expose our whereabouts!"
A group of little Japs passed through the collapse in fear, fearing that the Eighth Route Army would suddenly appear in front of them and fire a hail of bullets at them.
The last hundred meters of the traffic trench became straight, and the Japs at the head of the row tiptoed their heads out from around the corner, trying to see if there was any ambush ahead.
"Sir, no abnormality has been found, but there must be a Chinese position ahead. There should be many Chinese stationed there. I think there will definitely be someone guarding the exit!"
The leader of the team was a Japanese second lieutenant: "This is inevitable. Our mission is to disrupt the Chinese defense deployment and create fighter opportunities for our army's follow-up attack!"
"The Chinese people have a good saying, strike first to gain the upper hand. If we hesitate now and wait until other teams take action, the Chinese people will definitely be alert and their whereabouts will naturally be exposed!"
"Warriors, it's time to show the Bushido spirit of the Japanese Empire and tear apart the Eighth Route Army's defense line with bayonets!"
More than fifty Japanese soldiers belonging to this team installed bayonets in unison, and then quickly rushed around the corner.
According to Yokoyama Keisuke's combat deployment, as long as a few search teams engage in firefights with the second-line Eighth Route Army, the main force of Japanese infantry and tanks will immediately launch an offensive.
"Sir, is this move too risky? According to infantry drills, the safest way is to stabilize the position first and then launch an attack!"
Yokoyama Keisuke shook his head: "Commander Yamashita once said that war should break through common sense. The imperial army's tactics are sometimes too rigid!"
"What we should do now is to go all out and tear apart the Chinese people's defense line!"
"Cooperating with our regiment is the 24th Tank Regiment, which provides fire support during the attack. Even if the battle is unfavorable, and the Chinese on the opposite side dare to jump out of their positions and launch a counterattack, the powerful firepower of the tanks is enough to defeat the Eighth Route Army!"
While he was talking, gunfire rang out from the 10th Regiment position.
The leader of the Japanese search team found two Eighth Route Army soldiers suddenly appearing on the opposite side. There was a burst of fire from the muzzles, and they were shot and fell to the ground.
"Little devil, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
Two soldiers from the 10th Regiment held submachine guns, pulled the triggers with their fingers, and kept pouring out firepower. After a round of bullets was fired, two more soldiers immediately blocked the exit.
During the trench warfare, the automatic firepower of the submachine guns was brought to its fullest. The advancing Japanese troops could not form their formation at all, and the rifles in their hands became completely like fire sticks.
There is only about a hundred meters from the corner to the exit of the traffic trench, but this distance has become a red line of death that is difficult for the Japanese army to cross.
The grenade launchers of the Japanese search team were at the very back of the formation, and they could only judge the approximate position of the Eighth Route Army through the sound of gunfire, which was of no use.
The Japanese infantry kept pouring out from around the corner, and almost all of them were killed or injured in just over twenty seconds. Only then did the Japanese grenadiers have the opportunity to poke their heads out of the corner to measure their bearings.
Unexpectedly, in the next second, several rounds of 50-gun shells exploded around the corner, and the remaining ten Japanese soldiers were also killed in the shelling.
It took less than half a minute from the start of the battle to the end, and there was no movement from the Japanese search team.
"Haha, this battle was really comfortable. Don't tell me, Staff Officer Cheng of the brigade headquarters really has two tricks to plot against the Japanese!"
"Commander Cheng is from the Anti-Japanese University. I heard that he went to school before joining our Eighth Route Army. This scholar has a bright mind!"
The function of trenches is to serve as bunkers, shorten the attack distance, and avoid enemy fire suppression. The 16th Brigade made full use of the role of trenches.
The soldiers of the 16th Brigade were familiar with the situation in the trenches. They only needed to block the exit with their submachine guns and aim the 50-meter cannon at the corner with the distance calculated in advance. Whenever the Japanese army tried to advance through the trenches, they would fail no matter how hard they came.
Several Japanese search teams were killed one after another by the gunfire of soldiers from the 16th Brigade because they were too stubborn, but this did not affect the main attack of the Japanese army.
A distance of only 1,000 meters was not too far for the Japanese troops covered by tanks. A large number of Japanese troops jumped out of the trenches on their short legs along the temporarily dug earth steps.
Some Japanese troops advanced along the communication trenches and jumped out of the communication trenches from the collapse. For the Japanese army, this undoubtedly shortened part of the attack distance.
However, all this was calculated. Several collapsed locations were only more than 300 meters away from the 10th Regiment's position. As soon as the Japanese troops showed up, they deployed firepower points to suppress them immediately.
The Japanese army had more offensive options through the communication trenches. On the other hand, it also reduced the strength of the Japanese troops on the ground faced by the 10th Regiment, thus reducing the pressure in disguise.
The battle between the two sides became intense from the beginning, with the Japanese tanks charging recklessly, but the Eighth Route Army was not a vegetarian either.
Nearly twenty infantry artillery pieces from the 10th and 11th regiments were dispersedly deployed, constantly causing damage to Japanese tanks and forcing Japanese tanks not to move too far forward.
The Japanese infantry fell down row after row, but they still approached the 10th Regiment's position like a tide. The distance between the two sides was less than 200 meters.
"The regiment headquarters ordered the first battalion to evacuate the position immediately!"
More than 700 soldiers on the position quickly evacuated the first position along the communication trench. The Japanese army was surprised to find that the gunfire of the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side had disappeared inexplicably.
"Sir, our army is making good progress. The Chinese only resisted for less than five minutes!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The adjutant's report made Keisuke Yokoyama overjoyed. He continued to issue orders, and the offensive troops directly launched an offensive on the follow-up positions of the 10th Regiment.
The Japanese troops who had been suppressed in the communication trenches also had a good memory and followed the main force to launch an attack from the ground. The tanks once again rushed to the front to act as cover for the infantry.
However, a shocking scene appeared for all the little devils. During the charge, the remaining thirty tanks all disappeared from sight.
"Nani?" Keisuke Yokoyama, who was watching the battle ahead, rubbed his eyes and couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Where are the tanks that cooperate with the infantry attack?"
Immediately afterwards, overwhelming artillery fire enveloped the area where the Japanese tanks disappeared.
"Haha, well done!" Li Yunlong witnessed the disappearance of Japanese tanks with his own eyes, and his face burst into laughter.
"Comrade Jiwu, you have made great achievements this time. Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"Brigadier Commander, the defense system is the result of the joint efforts of all comrades, not my alone!"
"Well, that's true, but if you have merit, you will be rewarded!" Li Yunlong thought about it, and suddenly an idea came to his mind: "I think the health worker at the brigade, Xiao Chen, is a good person. Can I introduce him to you?"
Cheng Jiwu was only 21 years old and was a young boy in front of Li Yunlong. How could he withstand this interrogation? His face suddenly turned red.
"Brigadier, why are you talking about this? I have no idea in this regard!"
"Nonsense, if you ask me to tell you it's better to get married as early as possible. Only when your mind is settled can you work better. From now on, you can stay in my 16th Brigade with peace of mind!"
"By the way, you told me before, which class did you graduate from the Anti-Japanese University? How many people were in your batch?"
Li Yunlong had a smile on his face. Anyone who knew him well knew that this guy must have made a crooked idea again.
"Brigadier, I graduated from the Anti-Japanese War class. During my enrollment, I focused on urban offensive and defensive warfare. There are 62 people in total. In addition, there are also communications classes and intelligence classes."
"Hey, let's talk about it, there are quite a few of you in this group? Have you all been allocated?"
Cheng Jiwu didn't understand what Li Yunlong meant yet, so he answered honestly: "When I graduate, the school has already drawn up the allocation list of military regions, military divisions and brigade-level combat units!"
Cheng Jiwu and his group of anti-college students are very different from ordinary accelerated students. First, special personnel are sent to the place of residence to conduct background checks. Secondly, they have high school education or above. The final schooling lasts for one and a half years, specializing in training combat staff, intelligence staff, and communications staff.
After graduation, he was assigned to serve in a brigade-level unit. The 16th Brigade was assigned a total of three staff officers, one for each.
If it weren't for the special instructions from his superiors, Li Yunlong almost assigned Cheng Jiwu to train at the grassroots level, but now he was thinking about other students.
"In this way, when this battle is over, I will give you a special amount of funds, and you can get together with your classmates to enhance your relationship!"
"When the time comes, ask if any of them have served in our 16th Brigade. Can they compare with the combat troops in the military region? All combat troops are counted together. Which one can compare with our 16th Brigade?"
"As long as they agree, I will ask for them later!"
It’s easy to use, it’s so damn easy to use, this is Li Yunlong’s truest thought at the moment.
Li Yunlong was the supreme commander of the Shangqiu Campaign, and all relevant deployments required his nod, but this does not mean that he personally drafted and deployed them all.
Objectively speaking, this is the crystallization of the collective wisdom.
Zhou Weihan had considered at the beginning of the establishment of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Anti-Japanese Army that the strength of the Eighth Route Army would only grow stronger, but the current army lacked experience in urban offensive and defensive warfare, especially defensive operations.
Therefore, Cheng Jiwu's group of students began to learn some classic urban battles at home and abroad from the beginning of their enrollment, but now they have put them to use.
Shangqiu is the best example. The outer position combines trenches and tunnels, which can play a great role in both defense and offense.
The reason why the Japanese tanks suddenly disappeared was because the 16th Brigade dug an inverted trapezoidal tunnel between the first trench and the second trench in the second-line position.
The top of the tunnel is covered with wooden boards and decorated with loess, and the joints of the wooden boards are supported by wood.
After more than 700 soldiers in the first trench evacuated, the Japanese tanks rushed to the front because they needed to provide cover for the infantry. As a result, they all fell into the tunnel.
Inverted trapezoidal tunnels have been used in European battlefields for a long time, specifically to deal with advancing tanks. The Japanese army did not expect that the Eighth Route Army would use this method.
After the tank fell into the tunnel, because the tunnel was too narrow, the front edge of the tank hit the bottom and the rear edge pressed against the tunnel wall, making it unable to move forward or backward.
The two artillery battalions of the 16th Brigade only needed to cover the tunnel with artillery fire to cause heavy damage to the Japanese tanks.