Although in addition to strengthening a heavy artillery regiment for the East Aid Detachment, two of the three heavy artillery regiments currently assigned to the Sixth Division were assigned to the military region directly under the first column as soon as the counterattack fire started. The maximum range is up to Twenty kilometers of 122mm rocket launchers suppressed them with all their strength, and soon died down.
Except for the occasional remaining cannon that occasionally fired one or two counterattack shells, most of the heavy artillery was either being moved by the busy artillery, or was reduced to parts along with the artillery, but the division survived the artillery fire. However, the relatively light mountain field artillery of the genus and each regiment showed a high level.
It's just that the artillery of the Sixth Division was embarrassed to find that although the lethality of the 120mm howitzer they were equipped with was very powerful, this old artillery with a maximum range of only more than 5,000 meters was really no match for the 100mm howitzer and 100mm howitzer in terms of range. The opponent of the 105 field artillery.
Although the Sixth Division, which mainly comes from the poor Minami Kyushu, has strong combat effectiveness, the middle and upper levels of the Japanese Army, which are heavily nepotistic and dislike the poor and love the rich, have never been able to find a qualified person to take care of them. Finally, a man who was regarded as a Japanese army came out. Although the Prime Minister's division commander has a high prestige among lower-level officers, he is very disliked by the upper-level army officials.
Although the Sixth Division, which had no one to take care of it, had repeatedly acted as a vanguard and took the lead in the Japanese invasion of China due to its strong combat effectiveness, in terms of replacement of weapons and equipment, compared with other standing divisions, it was not only inferior to the so-called Jade Division, but also the replacement of weapons and equipment. The first division of the regiment cannot be compared with the second division of the brave division. Even compared with other standing divisions of the Japanese army, they are always a step behind.
Even the Fourth Division, recognized by the Army as a soft-legged crab, was much better than the Sixth Division when it came to changing equipment because it was cared for by a prince who had served as Chief of Staff for many years. The artillery wing of the Fourth Division was earlier than It has been replaced with 91-type 105 field guns and Taisho 14-year-old type 105 cannons.
Originally, when the Sixth Division was transferred to Manchuria, it had been told to equip it with the latest Type 99 Type 105 mountain gun. However, it turned out that it received the Type 38 120mm gun that had long been eliminated by other divisions. Howitzers are cumbersome and have a range of only more than 5,000 meters. They are old antiques that no one wants.
Although the base camp installed 120mm howitzers for two of the four artillery brigades of the Sixth Division Artillery Wing this time, this replacement made the Sixth Division even more dissatisfied. , Otherwise, this kind of antique artillery is not as powerful as the Type 94 mountain artillery and Type 38 field artillery of the two brigades that were transferred.
Although the commander of the Sixth Division protested, the reply given by the base camp was: "The production of new artillery is slow, and priority must be ensured to ensure the use of main front combat divisions. The Sixth Division is currently transferred to Manchuria for standby and rest, and does not need to participate in large-scale participation for the time being. combat operations, so the new artillery cannot be used for the Sixth Division for the time being.
"As for using these artillery for now, let's wait until the production of new artillery reaches a sufficient number, and then it will not be too late to re-equip the Sixth Division. Although these 120mm howitzers have a shorter range, they are still better than the 75th Mountain Artillery. The power is much greater. The Sixth Division will temporarily equip it first. If necessary, the base camp will equip it with new artillery before changing the equipment."
Since being transferred to Manchuria for rest, the division commander Machijiri Yuki watched the 5th, 10th, and 14th divisions who were also transferred have successively begun to install the new 99-type 105 mountain artillery, 90, and 9th divisions. Type 5 field guns, the Sixth Division is also equipped with Type 94 mountain guns and old 38 modified field guns. Several applications were made but they never received a satisfactory answer.
Before the start of the war, the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division watched helplessly as they suffered successive defeats. Even the division commander was lost. The Fourth Division, which had lost all its artillery that had been reinstalled, once again prioritized the replacement of new artillery pieces. The Type 90 field artillery, the Type 99 heavy mountain artillery, the Type 91 105 field artillery, and the new Type 96 light machine gun were later transferred to the China Expedition Army and transferred out of the Northeast, but I just continued to use these antiques.
After an artillery battle, a brigade of twelve 120mm howitzers, although they tried their best and tried their best, had only a range of less than 6,000 meters, but they were still unable to deploy the opponent at a deep range. The artillery that surpassed his own was suppressed, but he suffered heavy losses in the exchange of fire.
The artillery battle was only halfway through, and the artillery originally used to suppress the opponent's artillery could only be used to support the infantry. The original suppression task was quickly handed over to the 10th Independent Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, which survived the opponent's artillery coverage. Fifteen Taisho 4th-year type 150 howitzers served as the.
On the contrary, the Type 38 improved field artillery of the two brigades equipped by the Sixth Division showed their skills, but the number was not large. When covering the remaining troops of the Forty-fifth Regiment and the tanks launching a counterattack, they were in close contact with the First Column. The brigade artillery fought a wonderful artillery battle.
At 4 a.m., the Japanese Sixth Division launched a counterattack under the cover of all the surviving artillery pieces and the remaining artillery shells on hand. By 7 a.m., in order to stabilize the position and cover the infantry and tank troops, they regrouped. Due to the reorganization, in just three hours, the artillery of the Sixth Division, which was fighting for its life on the Yilan and Boli lines, consumed tens of thousands of artillery shells.
In addition, Yang Zhen deployed a large number of artillery on the western front to cover the first-line positions of the Japanese Sixth Division and the Fourteenth Division and spread out in depth for an hour and a half, as well as the artillery fire from the two Japanese divisions. .
In the battle that lasted less than seven hours, both sides went back and forth. Adding them together, not counting small-caliber infantry artillery, rapid-fire artillery and mortar shells, only artillery shells with a caliber of more than 75 mm consumed at least 1,000 people. One hundred thousand rounds, the entire area where the two armies were facing each other, especially the southern mountainous area of Yilan where the 6th Division was mainly fighting, averaged more than 30 rounds per square kilometer.
This artillery battle, which lasted until daybreak, consumed 70% of the artillery shells that Yang Zhen concentrated on sending to the troops on the Western Front, and most of the reserves were destroyed by the opponent's surprise artillery fire. The artillery of the two divisions of the Japanese army had not only fired all the artillery shells with a caliber above 75 mm, but also all the Type 92 infantry artillery shells and mortar shells of various calibers.
At dawn, in the Yilan territory of the battlefield where the artillery battle was mainly taking place, the commanders of both sides, Wang Guangyu and Machijiri Liangji, unanimously did the same thing, which was to apply for artillery shells from the rear, and they also added more and more shells. The four words "better" are better.
On the flank of the Sixth Division, an infantry brigade and a cavalry brigade of the puppet Manchukuo army serving as reconnaissance and security saw this fierce artillery battle that was thrilling and terrifying.
Especially after seeing that the Japanese army, a powerful and invincible friendly force in their eyes, was covered by artillery fire. After seeing piles of human body parts that could no longer be pieced together, facing the attacking regiment of the 2nd Column and 5th Brigade, they were The frightened puppet Manchukuo army, led by a major general brigade commander and a brigade chief of staff, did not hesitate to kill or tie up the Japanese officers in the army, and surrendered without firing a shot.
These two brigades were stuck on the Sixth Division's march westward to reinforce the Tenth Division. It didn't matter that the Puppet Manchu Army surrendered, but they intercepted the Japanese Thirteenth Regiment, which was locked in a bitter battle with Li Mingfeng's troops on the front line of Daqing Mountain in Boli. The only way to retreat westward.
The deputy commander of the fifth brigade, He Zhishan, who commanded the fifth brigade and one regiment to launch an assault on the flank of the sixth division, did not care about these more than 4,000 puppet Manchukuo troops, leaving only one company to command two brigades of puppet Manchukuo troops. The brigade disarmed, designated an assembly area, and allowed them to move to the rear to find men to surrender, then turned around and pounced on the flank of the 6th Division.
The two puppet Manchukuo troops surrendered without a fight. The right wing of the entire Sixth Division was completely opened and suffered heavy losses in the bombardment. A reinforced regiment was entangled by Li Mingfeng on the way to the western aid and was unable to advance or retreat, and the Tenth Division was unable to advance or retreat. Not to mention that the troops transferred by the Fourth Division have not yet been able to fully take over the defense. With the main force unable to protect itself, only two infantry brigades were left, and the rest were all returned to Founder's territory.
After receiving the report that the Manchukuo army on the flank had mutinied and that his right-wing defense line had been completely opened, Machijiri Yuki, who had no troops to send, could only mobilize two infantry squadrons from the front, plus the division, even if he was reluctant. The guard squadron and the last two and a half squadrons on hand as reserves were all deployed on the flanks.
After the only reserve team in hand was dispatched, in order to ensure that he had a reserve team that could respond to emergencies, Machijiri Ryoki used the officers from the division headquarters as the basis, plus the grooms from the division headquarters, to shoot out all the artillery shells. The artillerymen and even their own adjutants were sent out. Those who had guns were issued with guns. When the guns glowed, each man fired two grenades, and a temporary infantry brigade was barely cobbled together.
There was only one and a half regiments of the Sixth Division left. Although the resistance was still fierce, with support from the left and right, especially in the repeated battles, it gradually drained its blood, and the fight continued until the afternoon. At four o'clock, the situation was gradually showing signs of decline. Although the aviation force that was urgently transferred by Namada Juichi wanted to do its best to support, the two armies on the ground were too entangled.
The Japanese aviation force was helpless. Although it dispatched a rare large formation, it could only carry out deep bombing on Yang Zhen's headquarters. It had a limited effect on the front-line battle. It only cut off the logistical supplies of the front-line troops and could not play a big role in the aviation force. Under the influence of the situation, Lieutenant General Machijiri Yuki, who was passive, put all his hopes on the tank regiment assigned to him.
Among the four tank regiments assigned to him, the fifth tank regiment was assigned to the 13th regiment of the 10th East Aid Division, but it was entangled in the front line of Daqingshan and could not return at all.
As the fourth tank regiment at the front of the assembly area and within the best range of the opponent's heavy artillery was hit by the opponent's firepower and was disabled, he could only place all his hopes on barely holding on. With the completed Tenth Tank Regiment and the Ninth Regiment with more than ten tanks remaining, together, the remaining tanks of the two tank regiments were less than 60.
Although Lieutenant General Machijiri Yuki devoted all the strength of the 43rd Regiment to the counterattack, and all the men who could hold guns in the Engineer Regiment, even the Baggage Regiment, which suffered the most heavy losses in the bombardment, was involved in the counterattack. The remaining more than 100 people, together with the division's cremation team, devoted themselves to the attack.
Although he could not hold on after only fighting for a whole morning, Machijiri Yuki knew that the Sixth Division, which had been basically depleted of all its strength, would be unable to restore its original situation with its existing strength before the troops from the east came back. , we are lucky to be able to barely maintain the current defense line.
But he also understood that if the Sixth Division, which had used up all its artillery shells and lost all heavy weapon support, stopped to counterattack, it would only be pressed harder and harder by its opponents after dark. If it lost its room for maneuver, the Sixth Division would All we can do is sit back and wait for death.
When the opponent's aviation forces stop their activities after dark, those heavy artillery that inflicted heavy damage on them in the early morning will definitely become active again. With no room for maneuver and heavy fire support, can the Sixth Division, which can only rely on simple field fortifications, stop it? If you can withstand the firepower of the opponent's heavy artillery, then there are two issues.
Fighting against the opponent can delay the deterioration of the war situation and buy time for the arrival of reinforcements. It is also the only effective way to avoid damage from the opponent's artillery fire. Therefore, even if he is reluctant, Machijiri Yuki can only bite the bullet and attack the opponent. The battle continues.