Chapter 198: The Painstaking Arrangements of the Japanese Army
In fact, Su Yingqi's prediction was quite accurate. At this time, the three platoons of his reconnaissance company not only failed to reach the mountain, but were basically trapped at the foot of the mountain. As soon as the reconnaissance company arrived at the foot of the mountain, they discovered several objects at the foot of the mountain. An extremely concealed firepower point, as well as a large minefield.
Just observing this minefield from the surface, it almost spread from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain. On the mountain, through closer observation, they discovered more than one Japanese machine gun fire fortification. The surface of each hilly mountain was only what they observed. There are more than ten firepower points, extending from the foot of the mountain to the machine gun fortification at the top of the mountain.
This does not include those firepower points that are too hidden and have not been discovered. Needless to think about this, among the fortifications built by the Japanese army, the number of hidden firepower points has never been lower than the apparent fortifications. In the Battle of Tongliao, the hidden firepower points there were There were even more firepower points than the exposed fixed firepower points. This was one of the main reasons why Chen Hanzhang's troops suffered heavy casualties in the battle of Tongliao.
Judging from the structure of the Japanese military fortifications on the surface, the layout of the firepower points, the width and density of the minefields, and the fact that no communication trenches were found exposed on the surface, the reconnaissance company commander immediately determined that the three in front of him were connected to each other by two ridges. The altitude is not high, and the mountains are very flat. There are even light tanks in many places, and the hills that can be rushed up must be hollowed out.
Because the reconnaissance company searched several times, they did not find that the Japanese army had reserved a passage through the minefield at the foot of the mountain on the surface of the hill. If there were no passage in the mountain, the Japanese army would not be able to go up or down the mountain in such a dense minefield. This is not In line with military common sense, and not in line with the style of the Japanese army, the Japanese army, which advocates attack, will reserve a starting point for counterattack when building fortification groups, and the setting up of this attack point is quite concealed.
Although it is determined that the Japanese army must have a passage in the minefield, there is not much time to find it. The only way is to rely on the daily demining training of our own soldiers in the minefield to find a passage. Scouts, demining is Required subjects.
After hesitating for a while, the company commander still ordered his three subordinates to clear the mines first, at least to open a passage from the foot of the mountain to a bunker where people can enter. There was no other way. The machine gun firepower point at the foot of the mountain had a look at the shooting direction. After careful calculation, they only shoot in one direction, and the shooting opening is quite narrow, so no one can get through.
If you just want to use the Japanese army's firepower points to penetrate into the mountain, you have to find a place where you can get in. I don't know if there are other channels for the firepower points at the foot of the mountain, but the size of the shooting port can only allow one person to get in at most. Put the head without the helmet in. With the helmet on, the head can't go in.
Because Su Yingqi tried not to alarm the Japanese army as much as possible, the troops could not use explosive equipment to clear mines. They could only rely on people to clear mines bit by bit from the bottom of the mountain and upwards. Naturally, this speed could not be fast. Although the reconnaissance company in order to speed up the progress, Three people were sent in each direction to clear mines simultaneously.
Moreover, the laying of landmines in the Japanese minefields is not very complicated. It is just an ordinary laying method. It is far from the tricks used during the Anti-Japanese War. The types of mines used are also very simple. They are all ordinary pressure mines. Even trip mines are No, but because the area of the minefield is too large, the density of mines is also quite high.
In just two or three square meters, five or six anti-infantry mines were cleared. With such a high density of mines, the demining soldiers had almost no place to set their feet if they leaned forward slightly. They could only step forward from the edge of the minefield. I checked inside bit by bit and eliminated them one by one, barely daring to step even a step beyond the boundaries.
What's more serious is that the Japanese army dropped a large number of empty tin cans on the entire mountain, whether intentionally or accidentally. The soldiers demining the mines had to be careful to deal with these things that acted as alarms in disguise. If you touch it accidentally, it will make a noise.
The most important thing is that the entire periphery of the mountain and all the Japanese firepower points are also covered with mines. If you want to touch a firepower point, you can't even get close to the periphery of the firepower point without clearing the minefield first. And when clearing mines, The movement was slightly louder, and there were no dead Japanese soldiers in the immediate firepower point, so it was impossible not to be alerted. These problems all caused the demining progress to be quite slow.
The reconnaissance company participating in the war, in order to open the passage, almost moved up to clear the mines bit by bit. The cleared mines did not dare to be detonated. They could only fumble bit by bit under the night to remove the detonators and detonators. , half an hour passed, and they had only advanced more than fifty meters. Just the three channels opened in the middle had eliminated hundreds of mines.
The troops at the front were nibbling bit by bit, making the company commander at the back quite anxious. If the delay continued like this, even if the Japanese army didn't find it, they wouldn't be able to open a passage until dawn. However, the ones scattered everywhere on the hills were used as alarms. The tin cans made him afraid to add too many manpower to clear mines at the same time.
There are too many people. Before the minefield is cleared, judging from the superficial distribution of Japanese firepower points, they will act as living targets for others. Those cross-firing machine guns will immediately throw themselves into the attacking troops, front and rear. Beat them into honeycomb briquettes.
Watching the time on the watch go by minute by minute, a full forty minutes have passed since the launch of the general attack. The sound of artillery fire from the southern front can be vaguely heard here. Su Yingqi at the foot of the mountain is very calm. He could hold his breath, but the reconnaissance company commander on the mountain could no longer hold his breath when he looked at the soldiers who were still climbing up the mountain.
Just when he was about to order the use of the improvised explosive equipment at the foot of the mountain, the previously peaceful mountain suddenly changed. Among the demining soldiers, the one who made the fastest progress was confronted by a man who suddenly appeared on his lips. Encounter with Japanese soldiers smoking cigarettes.
Fortunately, this soldier was a veteran and reacted extremely quickly. He didn't wait for the enemy to suddenly appear in front of him. The Japanese soldier was stunned and screamed. He stood up as quickly as possible and used his height advantage to quickly cover the enemy with one hand. The guy's mouth and the demining stick in his hand pierced his neck smoothly, and he was killed cleanly before the guy had time to issue a warning.
When the company commander saw this scene at the foot of the mountain, he immediately understood that there was a secret entrance and exit for the Japanese army. Otherwise, on this mountain covered with mines, a Japanese army would not have appeared out of nowhere. Thinking of this, the company commander followed The road that has been opened quickly leads to the place where the accident occurred.
The veteran who had solved emergencies quickly with quick hands and eyes, when he saw his company commander coming up, he immediately gave up a position to the right where the mines had been removed, and pointed towards the mountain with a glimmer of light in front of him. Then he handed him a landmine he had just removed from here.
Following the direction pointed by the veteran, and looking at the mines in his hand that were not equipped with depressors at all, the company commander understood everything. Things were going as he judged. These three interconnected hills were all It was opened up, and this was a secret passage for the Japanese army to enter and exit the mountain.
However, when the fortifications were being built, the entrance and exit were carefully disguised. It can be said that if the Japanese second lieutenant hadn't suddenly appeared, it would have been difficult to find it even if he walked up to it. Considering the overall battlefield environment, this hidden entrance There were two landmines without depressors hung on the soil layer as camouflage.
It is true that there are minefields here, but there must be a passage for the Japanese troops to enter and exit the minefield here. However, this passage must have been carefully disguised. I have not found it yet. But judging from the layout of the Japanese troops here, It is not very difficult to find the passage through the minefield. Just check to see if the minefield there is fake.
The Japanese army seems to have put a lot of thought into the fortifications here. In order not to expose the target, they even buried two mines without depressors at the entrance and exit to confuse enemy troops that may appear in their direction. Delay the opponent's time to launch an attack, because during wartime mine clearance, no one will have that time and spend too much time distinguishing real and fake mines.
If you infiltrate secretly, there will be no time to distinguish the authenticity of the mines. No one can secretly infiltrate during the day, and it is impossible to distinguish the authenticity of these mines at night. These genuine and fake minefields can delay the enemy's infiltration. time and efficiency, giving the troops considerable reaction time.
Even if the sneak attack opponent finds a warning gap and actually touches it, these two fake landmines will not be noticed. At least it can ensure that the secret firepower points and reserved counterattack channels are not discovered by the opponent. The minefield's The layout is really well thought out.
And he judged that not only this entrance and exit, but also all the fire points on the mountain surface and the surrounding minefields were probably fake, and they were all mines without depressors. Of course, there were still some real mines in the front direction. But it will never be that close to the shooting hole.
I have to say that this method of the Japanese army, although it is not complicated and the idea is very simple, but I have to say that this method of the Japanese army is very clever. It used real and fake minefields to successfully deceive myself, an old scout. His eyes not only successfully concealed the entrance and exit passage, but also delayed his own time.
The Japanese soldier who was killed by the veteran was about to go out to smoke, but unfortunately he collided with his vanguard. As a result, he was intentional and unintentional. Not only did he lose his life, but he was also directly exposed to the anti-union scouts who climbed up the mountain. The location of the entrance and exit of the tunnel.
Looking at the entrance and exit of the Japanese army's mountain fortifications exposed in front of him, and looking at the time, the company commander gritted his teeth and took advantage of the fact that the Japanese army had not discovered that the entrance to the passage had been exposed, and quickly mobilized all the platoons under Yamashita's direct command. He reached the entrance of the passage and penetrated quickly.
Perhaps the attention of the Japanese army here at this moment has been attracted by the battle in the southeast. The vigilance here is obviously not as tight as the feint attack over there, otherwise the Japanese second lieutenant would not be so bold as to attack at this juncture. Think about coming out to smoke and get some fresh air. The air outside must be much fresher than the turbid air inside.
But think about this independent mixed ninth brigade. Although it was often dragged out by the Japanese army to fight in the field, it has been fighting in North China since its formation. Before being transferred to Dagukou, Tianjin, it was stationed in Shanxi for a long time, where I'm afraid the troops of the 18th Group Army will be tortured a lot.
Otherwise, we would not have thought of so many ways when building fortifications. The minefields here are not so much to protect the opponent from a strong attack, but more to prevent the enemy from touching one's own night screws and face the big enemy. In a force attack by the troops, these minefields are actually not very useful.
After a burst of artillery fire, the minefield can only play a very small role, but it can play a big role when facing the opponent's sneak attack at night. With this minefield, the enemy will either sneak attack If it turns into a forceful attack, it can only be eliminated bit by bit, which creates a great opportunity for you to discover the enemy's actions, and at least gain a certain amount of reaction time.