Yang Zhen, Guo Bingxun and Tao Jingfei have discussed the tactics for the next period of time, especially to deal with the 63rd Regiment. They were preparing for a night attack and failed in the first attack. If they failed to steal the chicken, they would lose a lot of rice. Colonel Tsutsumi Sanshuping was furious, but he didn't know that he and his 63rd Regiment had already wandered around the gate of hell in just a moment.
It’s no wonder that Colonel Tsutsumi Sanshuping was dissatisfied. A night attack that should have been successful and could even become a classic example failed because the opponent had placed mines in front of the position. Not only did he suffer heavy losses, the battle didn’t end until dawn. After the night attack battle, not counting the two squadrons that had penetrated deep into the opponent's depth but were no longer seen, his 63rd Regiment lost nearly a brigade of troops on the front alone.
I originally thought that my scout, who was peeping in secret, had clearly seen the opponent's deployment, especially that I thought that the opponent was extremely tired. However, when the fight actually started, Colonel Tsutsumi Sanjutsubo discovered that although his opponent had already He was extremely tired, but his reaction speed was still astonishing.
Moreover, without the use of lighting equipment, his scouts also made errors in estimating the depth and width of the minefield deployed by the opponent. The most important thing is that neither he nor the scouts could have expected that the opponent would be able to do so in such a way. Within a short period of time, the firepower on duty was arranged, and the firepower on duty was even strengthened to an abnormal level, and trip-like flares were set up in the minefield.
I originally thought that when the opponent deployed the minefield, it would be only a few dozen meters deep at most, but I didn't expect that the opponent's minefield was actually deployed a full hundred meters wide, and the density of the minefield was much higher than I thought with two teams. It was unexpected to go to Sanshuping on the dike and open a channel for the attacking troops.
Since this time it was a light pursuit and the artillery equipment was still marching slowly behind, Disanshuping only carried an infantry artillery squadron and a mountain artillery squadron this time. The number of artillery shells they carried was also limited, so naturally they would not use artillery shells liberally. They went to clear mines, but under the heavy pressure from above, Colonel Tsutsumi Ping, who was eager for success, gritted his teeth and took out two small teams to carve out two attack routes for the main attack force from the minefield.
As a result, before the first wave of charges was even halfway through, the two teams tasked with mine clearance were collectively blown up by a seemingly endless variety of mines under their feet, and it was the one that detonated just after stepping into the minefield. An anti-infantry jump mine caused the opponent's troops, who were extremely tired and almost sleeping soundly, to react.
Accompanied by the explosion of landmines that could wake up the dead, and guided by several bright flares that rose into the air and illuminated the attack area of the 63rd Regiment, the opponent's on-duty firepower swept across the area at the first opportunity. Coming over, more than a dozen light and heavy machine guns formed a crossfire, mixed with at least five light and heavy mortars. In a short period of time, the first wave of attacking troops following the two teams that were patrolling the mines were hit. The casualties were heavy.
The attack has been launched, and the infiltration troops over there have begun to attack the opponent's flank. Colonel Tsusan Shuping has no way to retreat. Even if he has the intention to retreat at this moment, he can only bite the bullet and fight on. At least in his opinion, he The painstaking design and extra efforts cannot be in vain.
The few artillerymen covering the attacking force were also in a hurry. They didn't know whether to assist the infantry to open a passage in the minefield after the two teams became mature, or to suppress the opponent's machine gun firepower that was sweeping across their own infantry.
When the artillerymen asked for instructions whether to assist the infantry to open a passage in the minefield, they were refused by the stubborn Colonel Tsutsumi Sanshuping. In his opinion, no matter how wide the hastily deployed minefield was, it would still be useless. A large number of them, especially the two infantry squads who were ordered to clear mines with human ammunition, should have opened nearly half of the gap.
Even if the remaining ones will cause some trouble to the infantry, they will not be too big. The number of artillery shells I carry is not large. I must give priority to suppressing the opponent's machine gun firepower to create conditions for the infantry's follow-up attack. As for the minefields, They also let the infantry use human bodies to go there.
What Di Sanshuping didn't expect was that his decision caused unforgettable losses to him and the 63rd Regiment. The opponent's minefields were wide in front, and they were all full of traps. He had never seen the density of mines and pressure mines and the variety of mines he had seen in the Guanci Civil War.
Accompanied by bursts of almost endless mine explosions, the first wave of attacking troops, who had just touched the edge of the minefield and were beaten back by the opponent's intensive machine gun and mortar fire, launched a new attack. The squadron, after finally breaking through the opponent's fire blockade, was bombed in the minefield and their flesh and blood flew everywhere.
The Japanese soldiers who were knocked down by the landmines under their feet often detonated more landmines in the painful struggle. The landmines detonated again by these wounded soldiers who were rolling and struggling, killing more of their comrades, and some landmines exploded at the same time. , the secondary damage caused by the explosive tubes and grenades tied to the body caused more Japanese soldiers to die.
What caused the greatest mental stress and casualties to the Japanese troops in the minefield were not ordinary pressure and trip mines, but an extremely weird mine that would automatically jump up after being stepped on and explode on a person's upper body. Colonel Tsutsumi Sanjutsubo saw one of these mines explode in the waist of a second lieutenant officer, and the second lieutenant's entire upper body was blown away.
Facing the scene in front of him, and the battles around him that were bombed with numerous casualties, holding the mutilated body that was blown up by landmines, the pain was so painful that it almost made people laugh. Even if the Japanese soldiers had a strong will, they couldn't bear this. With almost boundless fear, even Colonel Tsutsumi Sanshuping, who always thought he had a heart of iron, closed his eyes, not daring to look at the evil consequences he had created.
Landmines beneath their feet and intensive machine gun fire from the opposite side made it almost impossible for the Japanese troops trapped in the minefield to advance or retreat. When a squadron that launched the charge dropped a full two-thirds of its troops in the minefield, it finally managed to get close to the opponent's forward position. At that moment, they were beaten by an overwhelming barrage of grenades, grenades, and a huge number of submachine guns. The remaining few Japanese soldiers who were stunned and unable to advance or retreat were neatly taken prisoners. .
In fact, facing the minefield that brought them endless troubles, whether it was the Sixty-third Regiment, which had suffered heavy losses, or even the Kwantung Army, they really cared about eating rather than fighting.
Both the 104th Division in Guanmenzuizi Mountain and the 24th Division in Tangyuan suffered heavy losses in the minefields deployed by their opponents, but they still did not attract the attention of the Kwantung Army's top brass. It is not that there are no mine-sweeping engineers, but the number of professional engineers is already insufficient. However, the number mobilized for this battle is very limited. The entire 8th Division and the 63rd Regiment are only equipped with two squadrons each.
Moreover, these engineers had very few professional mine-clearing equipment, only simple minesweepers. In order to deal with the Japanese engineers, Yang Zhen specially made a mine-sweeper made of wood that was available all over the Northeast without synthetic resin or hard plastic. The outer shell can effectively deal with the wooden mines of mine sweepers. The engineer squadron originally assigned to the 8th Division was blasted to pieces by such wooden mines and had to withdraw from the battle.
In the previous confrontation with Tao Jingfei, both the 8th Division and the 63rd Regiment had encountered minefields made of extremely cheap and mass-produced weapons such as landmines, but at that time The 8th Division or the 63rd Regiment were very generous, either using artillery fire to clear mines, or dispatching tanks to directly crush a path through the minefield.
These anti-infantry mines are highly lethal to infantry and engineers, but when faced with tank tracks, their lethality is extremely insufficient. Coupled with the Japanese army's overwhelming artillery fire and mine clearance, most of the minefields laid out by Tao Jingfei were lost. effect.
This time, in order to achieve his own tactical goals, Colonel Di Sanshuping, while quietly following Tao Jingfei's retreat, kept the troops at hand as lightly as possible. Not to mention the minesweeper engineer squadron, even the artillery was equipped with nine pieces of artillery equipment in addition to each brigade. In addition to the Type 2 infantry artillery brigade and squadron, he only carried four Type 41 mountain guns from a regiment. Even the regiment's rapid-fire artillery squadron was left behind at the starting point.
Without the previous tank cooperation and the capital for artillery and mine clearance, and with the mine clearance engineers still staying in place waiting for reinforcements from the 11th Division, Colonel Tsutsumi Sanshuping had no choice but to use his men to forcibly cut a path through the minefield. There is no other way besides the route.
However, although more than one squadron was filled in the minefield, Disanshuping finally opened two passages in the minefield. However, in the subsequent battle, the progress was still not smooth. Although the opponent except some important Apart from occasional tactical counterattacks, they almost only maintained a tenacious defense and did not carry out any counterattacks.
However, the artillery mass it responded to cooperated with the machine guns, rapid-fire cannons and mortars in the forward positions, specifically to hit his follow-up troops and artillery positions. Several infantry cannons and mountain cannons brought by Colonel Tsutsumi Sanshuping this time, After losing half of the artillery, the remaining artillery was forced to move positions after firing a few rounds from the opponent's artillery. Even when they got to the back, they simply remained silent and refused to fire despite the infantry's pleas.
As for the Japanese artillery that followed, those artillery pieces with long range but heavy enough were still slowly moving their positions. As for the artillery of the Eighth Division, which had been the main force some time ago, they were addicted to drugs like the infantry. Unable to participate in the war, the two independent field artillery squadrons, an independent mountain artillery squadron and an independent mortar brigade temporarily transferred by Shigeichi Hatada are still on their way here from Muleng.
The Sixty-third Regiment, which had lost its artillery support, became increasingly frustrated. The more it fought, the weaker its offensive became. When Lao Hei's back was frustrated, the Sixty-third Regiment shifted its attention to other positions, trying to find another place to attack.
After the 13th Regiment enjoyed similar treatment in all areas along the Laoheibei and Jinshahe lines, by daybreak, the offensive of the 63rd Regiment, which could no longer bear the casualties, ceased.