As night fell, the sound of guns and artillery in Yuanping County basically stopped. The officers and soldiers of the New Fifth Division, the New Sixth Division, the tank battalion, and the air defense battalion were checking the results and respective losses, and replenishing ammunition consumption, while the fierce battle north of Xinkou continued.
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After emergency repairs, the Anjia Army's blocking position was once again repaired and reinforced. Under the leadership of grassroots non-commissioned officers and company platoon leaders, the soldiers began to dig anti-gun holes.
Major Tang Wen, commander of the seventh battalion of the third regiment of the first brigade of the 170th Division, who is responsible for the front-line defense of Xiaogang Village, is observing the movements of the Japanese army. In the evening, the division headquarters conveys an order. The Japanese army is frightened by the power of our air force and will inevitably use the cover of night.
To carry out a breakout, all ministries are required to brace themselves and be on full alert.
"Batalion Commander, look! What is that?" Guard Zhou Xiaoquan pointed to the sky.
Tang Wen, who was looking at the Japanese defense line in the south with a telescope, raised his head and saw that under the bright moon, on a small hill about a kilometer away opposite, a huge thing was slowly rising into the sky.
"Hey, what is that? Why is it different from our plane?"
The soldiers who were constantly transporting soil from the excavated cave stopped what they were doing and looked curiously at the thing rising higher and higher in the distance.
Tang Wen, who was extremely experienced in combat, was shocked. He had seen this thing during the battle in Jixian County, East Hebei Province. It was a device used by the Japanese to calibrate artillery attacks. It was called a hot air balloon.
"No, the Japanese are about to launch a bombardment. Be careful to hide!"
Tang Wen's roar frightened the soldiers who were still pointing. The scene that happened in the afternoon has become a nightmare for many recruits.
At this time, warning shots rang out from various positions, and there was a brief panic on the defensive positions of the 170th Division. All the officers and soldiers were looking for places they thought were safe to hide.
Five minutes later, amid earth-shattering explosions, orange fireballs soared into the sky near the several-kilometer-long position of the 170th Division. The grenades that fell into the trenches exploded loudly, mixed with continuous
There were endless screams, lumps of sand, gravel and soil flew up one after another. The fragile body of flesh and blood was swept into the air by the huge shock wave, and then turned into a rain of mud and rocks mixed with blood mist, falling to the ground.
The Japanese artillery fire didn't stop from the moment it started. The artillery shells rained like meteors and fire towards the blocking position of the 170th Division!
The entire defense line was trembling horribly. Thunder-like explosions were heard continuously. Every area was shrouded in thick smoke and fire. The entire ground was plunged into a sea of fire. Crazy and raging air waves rolled everywhere.
with, into pieces
The bombs roared and fell, creating clouds of orange flames on the ground. Fireworks spread out with air waves, whistling shrapnel flew in all directions, swallowing up all targets within the killing range, and yellow-red fires rose into the sky.
, the sky was illuminated blood red.
Amidst the continuous explosions, waves of invisible sound waves piled up, like hammers, hitting the officers and soldiers hiding in the trenches.
Many Anjia Army soldiers at the center of the explosion had their eyes suddenly bloodshot and dizzy. Their bodies were hit by the violent invisible sound waves and bounced around in the traffic trench. Finally, they were pressed hard to the bottom of the trench, helpless.
When they moved, some officers and soldiers even began to bleed from their faces, eyes, and ears!
Some of the countless artillery shells always fell into the trenches accurately, and violent explosions were heard. The officers and soldiers around the explosion points did not even have time to scream, and they were instantly torn into pieces. Some officers and soldiers were directly killed.
The grenade hit and was blown into a shower of blood and minced meat, flying in all directions.
The position was littered with gun parts, small pieces of flesh and blood, and many charred corpses.
Tang Wen, who was lying in the trench with his mouth wide open, looked up in despair. The originally clear night sky with bright moonlight and sparse stars was now illuminated even brighter by the bullet marks in the air that shone with blazing light.
However, the focus of the enemy's shelling is not Xiaogang Village, which is also in a mountainous terrain, but Yuanping Village, which is located between several hills and hills. This village is an important passage to Yuanping County, covering an area of two square kilometers.
Inside, there is a vast plain. Once this section of the defense line is wiped out, the Japanese army can break through.
At this time, the Yuanping Village position, under the intensive care of the Japanese heavy artillery, was like a hell on earth. Wherever the dense grenades hit, there was a sea of fire, and the few trees and bushes in the plain area were quickly stirred up.
The heat dried it up, and was immediately ignited by the sparks shooting out.
The violent explosion caused the entire earth to tremble horribly, and the trees burned into torches, fell down in the explosion, and were burned into charred wood in the blazing fire.
Entire trenches collapsed in front of the brutal shock wave. The firepower points, each made of huge stones moved by trucks from Ruzhuang, Nangang and other mountain villages, looked like they were made of sand under the power of the large-caliber grenade explosion.
The castle was instantly reduced to ruins.
Yuanping Village, which had all its fortifications destroyed within half an hour of shelling, was still enduring massive bombardment by the Japanese army! 75 mm, 105 mm, 120 mm, and 150 mm grenades, with sharp whistling sounds, plowed the village over and over again.
On a flat land, countless corpses, countless human body parts, together with the fertile soil in the Jinzhong area, flew into the sky and turned into flesh and blood all over the sky.
Lu Yixuan, who was checking the documents left by the Japanese army in Yuanping County, received an urgent report from the front line and immediately ordered the artillery troops to go south for reinforcements. Before that, Yang Jiuxiao and Qu Muchen had ordered the artillery battalions of each regiment to mobilize all 75
Millimeter mountain artillery and field artillery fought back bravely against the Japanese attack.
After receiving the order, the howitzer batteries of the nine artillery battalions (the artillery battalion also included two 6-gun 120mm heavy mortar batteries) quickly launched a counterattack. Fifty-four 75mm howitzers fired revenge shells at the Japanese artillery.
position!
However, due to the cunning Japanese army's artillery placement on the mountain, there were serious problems with the shooting angle, and the Anjiajun's artillery was unable to accurately hit the Japanese artillery positions.
The Japanese artillery school shooters on the observation balloon quickly discovered the location of the nine artillery positions of the 170th Division. The news was quickly fed back to the ground. The Japanese army quickly mobilized 120mm and 150mm howitzers to attack the artillery units of the 170th Division.
An artillery bombardment was launched.
The Anjia Army artillerymen who chose to bombard the Japanese infantry positions did not abandon their artillery and retreat because the Japanese artillery fire began to move towards their positions!
These artillerymen, who were determined to use their own sacrifices in exchange for the opportunity for their infantry brothers to eliminate a few more Japs, seized every moment to shoot out the shells. The ammunition handlers continuously sent grenades to the gun emplacement, and the deputy gunners quickly stuffed the grenades into the gun barrel.
, amidst the sound of "boom, boom", the tongue of flames of revenge rushed towards the Japanese army's position.
Starting from the Japanese artillery bombardment, the Japanese soldiers who were hiding in the trenches two kilometers to the south and preparing to launch the charge climbed up to the position one after another and enjoyed the artillery performance. When they saw the entire 170th Division position filled with smoke, several officers
Under the leadership of Zuo, they sang "Ki no Dai" loudly.
"Blow up the nasty China pig!"
A short Japanese soldier raised his hands and shouted loudly. Just as the soldiers around him were about to respond, dozens of flames with sharp whistling sounds were thrown at the triumphant Japanese soldiers.
"boom--"
Amidst the violent noise, a bunch of orange fireballs soared into the sky on the Japanese position. Before the Japanese soldier who was shouting could scream in agony, he and his forty or fifty companions were densely covered in a space of hundreds of meters.
ruthlessly dismembered by sharp shrapnel.
The rest of the Japs stared dumbfoundedly at the dirty blood and internal organs splashed in the air, as well as the scattered limbs and broken arms, and their minds were confused - they never expected that the artillerymen of the Anjia Army would dare to stand in front of such powerful artillery fire.
Fight back.
When another round of whistling came from far away and came closer, the Japanese screamed strangely and rushed towards the trench.
Amidst the deafening explosions, some Japanese who were too slow to evacuate fell into a pool of blood.
...
The first one to suffer a devastating blow from the Japanese army was the howitzer company of the artillery battalion of the first brigade and regiment. When the deputy gunners stuffed the twelfth grenade into the barrel, the "hissing" sound that only occurs when the artillery shell breaks through the air at high speed came in.
It caught the ears of the gunners, and none of the gunners who knew what this meant evaded, and pulled the gun rope in their hands calmly!
"Boom——"
"boom--"
The sound sounded almost at the same time. The gunners who fired the last grenade were blown into a honeycomb by countless screaming and sharp shrapnel flying in all directions. When the second round of artillery fire was covered, there was no standing officer or soldier in the entire artillery position.
, the blood-stained twist-shaped mountain cannon was dumped on the ground among the minced meat.
Where there were originally piles of grenades, there is now only a huge deep pit left. The aftershocks of the Japanese heavy-caliber artillery and artillery shells exploded, making the pit look hideous and terrifying. The blood that the ground had no time to absorb gathered into several blood streams.
It slowly flowed to the bottom of the pit.
The nearby artillery positions, which understood what was happening, were still roaring with angry grenades, scrambling to complete their righteous judgment.
The Japanese soldiers lying in the trench with their heads in their hands were silently praying to Amaterasu to bless them. However, this is Chinese land and Chinese gods. How can the little gods of Japan be allowed to show their power? So, one grenade after another,
As if it had eyes, it fell into the Japanese trenches without fail, taking away a large number of lives.
"No!"
Amidst the screams, there was a flash of lightning, shock waves, and shrapnel in the semi-enclosed trench. Although the killing range became smaller, the killing power was greater. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers were directly turned into a pile of flesh and blood.
A Japanese soldier's head was cut off by sharp shrapnel. When flying in the air, the mouth of the head was still moving, and his eyes were full of unwillingness!
...
When the Second Regiment Artillery Battalion's position was filled with black and red pillars of fire, Yang Jiuxiao finally couldn't sit still. He rushed to the telephone, took the intercom from the operator, and ordered the artillerymen to move immediately.
Let the Communications Office
Changjiang Tiedan sent a telegram to the Air Force, questioning the Japanese bombardment for so long, why no fighter planes have flown in to help? Even if it is impossible to take off and land safely at night, at least a fighter plane must be sent to knock out the Japanese observation balloons.
Bar.
The Air Force immediately restored power, and each brigade was taking the time to replenish ammunition. Today, from sunrise to sunset, almost all the ammunition in stock was used up, but soon a batch of replenished ab26 bombers will arrive on the battlefield.
Yang Jiuxiao was slightly relieved, but then Lieutenant Colonel Feng Xiaoyun, the intelligence chief, told him bad news. The artillery battalions from the 4th to 9th regiments were retreating in accordance with the order, but the officers and soldiers of the howitzer company of the 3rd regiment artillery battalion called back and said that in order to
Create conditions for the evacuation of brother troops and decide to fight to the end and never retreat.
Yang Jiuxiao felt his nose feel sore and asked: "Where are the artillery regiments of each division now?"
Feng Xiaoyun replied: "The artillery units have been deployed to Kugeng Village in the southeast of Yuanping County. The area is on hills. Although the mountain is only two hundred meters high, it can well shelter our artillery positions. Commander Lu said that the Japanese artillery is better than
I
We imagined more. The Japanese artillery was very tenacious. After a day of bombing, so many artillery pieces were still preserved, so we must be careful. Now the Japanese army in the north is accelerating southward, and every cannon is precious."
Yang Jiuxiao nodded. He originally thought that after the Japanese army was encircled, their confidence would be shaken and they would not be so brave in fighting. But now he suddenly discovered that the Japanese army's fighting will was much stronger than imagined.
The battle turned out to be a mixed meal. The bravery of the Japanese army was far beyond imagination.
At this moment, the position of the artillery battalion of the third regiment was filled with smoke.
Due to the extreme speed of firing, the six 75mm howitzers had begun to emit green smoke. The assistant gunner, who had reached the limit of his physical strength, stuffed another grenade into the barrel. The sweat on his face dripped on the gun body, and he could only hear "steaming"
"With a sound, it turned into water vapor.
The high-intensity continuous bombardment has seriously exhausted the artillerymen's physical strength. Everyone only knows how to mechanically transport the artillery shells to the gun positions, stuff them into the cannons, and then fire them.
As expected, the Japanese army was attracted by the shelling, and the overwhelming shells flew towards the place where the shells were fired.
When the third huge plume of smoke rose into the sky, the counterattack artillery fire from the Anjia army in front finally disappeared, but the Japanese army's shelling, which had been continuing for almost two hours, was still in progress.