It was already past two o'clock in the morning, and the most stalemate part of the battle was still in the "mud". At this point in the battle, there was no technology left to speak of. All He Zhengjiang could do now was to fight with the support of artillery fire. Organizing manpower to carry out attack after attack, Yamashita Fengfumi, who was already known to be an outcast, was fighting against the mechanized infantry brigade with all his strength.
Two hours passed quickly. The first regiment of the mechanized infantry brigade to enter the battle suffered more than 30% casualties, and it soon became unable to fight.
The losses of the Japanese army were no less than theirs. Ten of them fell under shelling. The artillery of the Xuebing Army never stopped from the beginning of the sneak attack. The continuous shelling almost flattened the "mud" completely. One team after another fired The Japs were crippled, or even the whole team was destroyed, and then another team came to fill in. It is not an exaggeration to describe this "mud pit" offensive and defensive battle as a meat grinder.
This is not the whole story of the battle tonight. On the two wings centered on the "mud", the small assault troops of both sides were intertwined and entangled from time to time. There was always a platoon (student army) and a small team (Japanese army). ) Ji Mo’s battle report was sent back to the headquarters of both sides,
The battle situation was unprecedentedly tragic, and this level of tragedy was unprecedented in the history of the Xuebing Army. The root cause was the reversal of the roles of offense and defense. When the vanguard regiment led by He Zhengjiang lost almost half of its strength, Several young staff officers on the military staff couldn't calm down. Someone tentatively suggested to Ouyang Yun: "Commander, we can't continue fighting like this. The casualties are too serious. If we continue like this, I'm afraid it will affect the morale of the entire army." .”
Ouyang Yun was as still as a mountain at this moment. He raised his head from the map. He glanced at the staff officer coldly and asked, "Has Brigadier He asked for help?"
"No."
"That means they can still hold on. Well, have the mechanized infantry brigade and the tank regiment directly under the army come over?"
"We have reached the assembly point."
"If He Zhengjiang calls for reinforcements, let the first chariot regiment go up, and let Cheng Gang wait for the second chariot regiment."
Since the Second Great Wall Anti-Japanese War, the student army has not actually fought any tough battles. This is not necessarily a good thing for the young student army. Ouyang Yun is not a god, and the young student army is not always victorious. For an ever-victorious army, defeat will happen sooner or later. The key question is whether the troops are mentally prepared to digest and absorb defeat. If a defeat is overwhelming, the consequences will be unimaginable. In this case, let the mechanized infantry brigade be equipped and built like this It is not necessarily a bad thing for troops with advanced military thinking to fight tough battles.
In the current war in North China, it is obvious that the Xuebing Army has the advantage and has taken the initiative, and the 57th Army has not made much move. However, considering the scale of this battle and the areas affected, then this advantage is actually It’s very one-sided, Chahar, if any mistake is made anywhere in Shandong, it will definitely destroy the advantages that Hebei has gained.
Ouyang Yun was meditating when a figure appeared at the door of the tent, saluted loudly and said: "Report, the reconnaissance force has discovered the main force of the Japanese army, ten miles away from Lijia Village."
"Here we come." Ouyang Yun threw away the cigarette butt in his hand and shouted: "No need to wait for He Zhengsheng to ask for help, the chariots will come directly."
"Yes." The staff officer on duty immediately responded loudly,
Ten minutes later, the rumbling sound of the motor was faintly heard. Ouyang Yun walked out of the tent, picked up the telescope and looked in the direction of the "mud puddle".
Behind a simple fortification under the "Niwa" highland, the roar of the motor was heard. He Zhengjiang spat and said fiercely: "The stubborn Geng Changshu is finally here. Brothers, prepare to fight for the brothers who died in the battle." Revenge, fill up the magazine for me."
For Brigadier He Da of the mechanized infantry brigade who has become accustomed to being able to stabilize the battle situation as long as he attacks, today's battle was a wasteful one. He clearly thought that he could win it several times. However, he was only ten meters away from the top of the highland. In that place, densely packed Japanese soldiers showed their heads again. Amidst the gunfire and the explosion of melon grenades, the charging troops had to withdraw again, and it was inevitable that several or even ten soldiers would be left behind in one round trip. several corpses,
At first, Brigadier He Da didn't believe in evil, "Could it be that our 1st Infantry Regiment is nothing if we leave the Chariot Regiment?" He asked Qiu Hongming, the leader of the 1st Infantry Regiment, loudly.
Qiu Hongming's eyes had already turned red because of the heavy casualties suffered by his subordinates. Hearing this, he shouted: "Bullshit, I will personally lead the team. I don't believe it..." Before he could finish his words, a stray bullet flew towards him. He said, "Uh-huh." With a sound, he hugged his left shoulder and lay down.
He Zhengjiang hurriedly called to the medical staff, then helped him up and asked, "Are you okay?"
"It's okay, I was bitten by a mosquito." After a pause, Qiu Hongming asked unwillingly: "Brigade, why was this battle fought? Why didn't the army just let the cannons flatten this place?"
This problem actually troubled most of the officers and soldiers of the 1st Mecha Infantry Regiment. Of course He Zhengjiang had thought about it a long time ago. He bit his lip and said, "Maybe the military officer wants to save artillery shells."
"Shit, brothers' lives can be exchanged for a few shells, I..."
Seeing his rude words, He Zhengjiang's expression changed and he shouted: "Qiu Hongming, watch your words, you want to disturb the morale of the army." He quickly looked around and found that not many people were paying attention here, so he calmed down a little. , whispered: "There's something wrong with your kid's thinking. Why, we can't defeat the Japanese without cannons? Your kid has forgotten all the lessons he took in the military academy."
Qiu Hongming felt something was wrong as soon as the words came out of his mouth. At this time, he said sadly: "I just feel sad. What a good brother. I'm leaving now." As he said that, his eyes were red and he was about to shed tears.
He Zhengsheng felt very angry and uncomfortable when the 1st Infantry Regiment suffered such heavy casualties. Originally, he had a lot of complaints about the commander's arrangement this time. In his opinion, such a head-on attack on the 40th Brigade was There was really no need for the regiment. He even thought, why not just bite it and wait for dawn to let the Kongyi Division deal with it. It was just a matter of hundreds of bombs. Now, seeing Qiu Hongming say the heart-wrenching words, Realizing that this was not just his idea, he began to seriously consider this issue, and later said: "Lao Qiu, I don't agree with your statement. There is still a war between us and the little devils, but We don’t always have the support of tanks and artillery. Think about it, if one day we lose tanks, planes, and artillery, won’t we stop fighting? In the same way, if we don’t have trucks to transport us, then Then you can’t march with your feet.”
Qiu Hongming didn't expect so much. He murmured: "Traveler, I just feel useless. How will I face the families of my brothers in the future? Many people paid me a special visit before the expedition. I I also promised them that I would bring all my brothers back safely."
"Don't be stupid. There are no immortals in a war. Didn't the military commander say that when the day comes that we can drive away the little devils, I don't know how many of us will survive. Maybe we will all die in the battle." Maybe, why, in that case you won’t join the army to fight the Japanese."
While the two were talking, Wang Dayou ran over and saw He Zhengjiang and said hurriedly: "Brigade, this battle can't be fought. Only the ninth company of our third battalion is still intact. The seventh company, There is no platoon left in the eight companies combined."
The Third Battalion already suffered a certain amount of casualties due to the previous battles. This time, they fought the hardest in the tough battle, so it was inevitable that such casualties would occur.
He Zhengsheng's face became even more gloomy, and he shouted: "If you can't fight, you have to fight if you can't. If the soldier dies, the squad leader will go up. If the squad leader dies, there will still be a platoon leader. There is really no one left. Why don't we still fight?" You and I, please tell brothers, don’t expect to retreat. If the Japs from the 40th Brigade dare to attack us with gas bombs, we must pay with blood." Xu Shi felt that his tone was a bit harsh, so he paused and softened it. With a gentle tone, he said: "Okay, the chariot regiment is coming up, let the brothers prepare for revenge."
"Geng Changshu and the others are coming up. That's great. Host, I would like to ask that our third battalion be allowed to go up first."
He Zhengjiang saw that as soon as he heard the tank troops coming up, he immediately changed from "Yang Bailao" in the military seat to "Huang Shiren". He laughed and cursed: "Go away, let's go together, grandma, I have to chop it myself." You can’t take Wen’s head down the mountain.”
While He Zhengsheng and other cadet army officers felt indignant and heartbroken over the huge casualties on their side, Major General Yamashita Fengwen, the commander of the 40th Brigade, also felt as uncomfortable as a hundred claws scratching his heart at this moment. If possible, He now wants to shoot out all the remaining mustard gas bombs in his hand. Of course, because the artillery unit he belongs to was attacked by the artillery of the Xuebing Army at the beginning, it is impossible to realize his desire now.
The Xuebing Army's attack was unprecedentedly fierce, and its tactics were quite simple. Except for some tricks they had played before, they were shelling and infantry charges. This kind of tactical quality was not in the eyes of Yamashita, who considered himself a master of military art. However, The meaning he wanted to convey aroused his alarm. The Chinese people were probably expressing a kind of determination. This was different from what he thought the Chinese people were. In his original impression, the Chinese people were hypocritical and overjoyed at success. Selfish, stupid, and snobbish, he will definitely not make such a head-on confrontation, and it is obvious that he will suffer a loss. Ordinarily, he should feel lucky that the Chinese people made such a stupid tactical arrangement, and should deeply despise it. , However, when the troops suffered huge casualties under this simple tactic, he was scared, really scared. How many Chinese people are there? If all Chinese people dare to ignore life and death, then the so-called empire Is it still possible to implement the China strategy?
For the first time, he felt deeply suspicious,
While he was thinking wildly, he heard the rumbling sound of motors from the Xue Bing Army position. He immediately realized that this was the dispatch of Chinese chariot troops. He couldn't help but trembled in his heart and said to himself: This time, it seems that he The abandoned son is destined to be abandoned. Okay, then it will be as defined by the commander. For the great cause of His Majesty the Emperor, let’s break it to pieces.