Episode 56 Meeting the Eight Banners Division Again
"Is the People's Guard opposite?"
On the dilapidated city wall of Dinghuai Gate, Guni Yinbu, commander of the Fourth Division of the Eight Banners of the Qing Army, stepped on a city brick with his big leather boots and looked into the city through a telescope.
"yes!"
As soon as the adjutant beside him finished speaking, a scream passed through the air, and he immediately pushed the division commander to the ground. An explosion occurred nearby, and the two men's backs were covered with dirt.
There were constant explosions nearby, and the feet were shaking. The 75-meter anti-aircraft guns in the city had learned to fire straight. There were also the People's Guard's own howitzers, which smashed shells into the gaps in the defense line from the streets and alleys of the city. They were hidden in
Among the buildings in the vast city, it is impossible to figure out where they are. But for them, it is very simple. They only need to attack the gaps in the fixed defense line.
In the mist, the visibility of a few hundred meters is quite difficult for field battles, but for urban warfare, it is enough. Gu Niyinbu lay on the rammed earth of the city wall, patted the soil on his head, and continued to observe with a telescope
.
In the field of vision, a brick wall in the distance fell to the ground from the second floor, and a cloud of smoke filled the air. In the thick dust, a dozen Qing soldiers escaped in embarrassment, dragging their guns, their bodies turned gray and white, and two were limping.
He turned around and was dragged by his companions, running desperately in his own direction.
"Well, the People's Guard, the People's Guard," Gunyinbu smiled slightly and muttered softly, "I didn't know the Ming Army had this team before. It was indeed a new dark horse...annihilate them all.
Of course these Han troops are no match for our Sixth Division of the Eight Banners. However, our Fourth Division is not the Sixth Division, and I, Gunyinbu, am not Hafenga."
The street in the distance is filled with rubble. On both sides are dilapidated two- and three-story buildings with no doors or windows. Some of the balconies are half-stretched and suspended in the air by steel bars. The floor slabs have been exposed, and you can still see them above.
Broken furniture, sheets and bedding, and occasionally blue-grey human hands and feet.
At the corner at the end of the street, the smoke and dust subsided, and a tank emerged. Its machine gun chased the remnants of the Qing army in front. Behind it were some People's Guard soldiers holding submachine guns and following closely.
The Qing soldiers in front ran less and less, and the tanks behind them also chased closer and closer to the city wall.
"Waitabu," Gunyinbu was unfazed, still lying on the city wall, holding a telescope and adjusting the focus while saying to the adjutant, "the textbook says that tanks are very disadvantageous in urban warfare...
Haha, do you think what the book says is right?"
Adjutant Waitabu looked towards the approaching tank and said nervously:
"It can be seen...it can be seen that some things in textbooks are not...not reliable..."
"Haha," Gunyinbu said with a smile, "Waitabu, Waitabu, how dare you suspect that our Qing textbooks are wrong, how brave you are!"
Waitabu was startled. The approaching Ming tanks made him turn pale. Now that the officer said this again, he was so frightened that he could not speak.
Gunyinbu smiled and said:
"Let me tell you, the textbook says that tanks are disadvantageous in urban warfare. It's not wrong at all. It's the cowards who are wrong."
He stretched his hand forward, pointed at the fleeing Qing soldiers, and said contemptuously:
"If those Han troops were as calm, calm and courageous as our Eight Banners Division, how many Ming tanks would not be able to destroy them in this environment? ...But they would only run, leaving the Ming tanks as if they were in
It's just as easy on the plains. Look at those People's Guardsmen, following the tanks, just like walking on the street."
Waitabu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled:
"Yes, this kind of coward is only worthy of being used as bait by our Eight Banners soldiers."
"That's right," Gunyinbu said with a smile, "We can show them right away that tanks are not invincible."
The tank in the distance was getting closer and closer, and was only more than a hundred meters away from the city wall. The top cover of the tank was opened, the commander leaned out, looked at the city wall with his binoculars, turned around, waved to the infantry, and shouted
What? Suddenly, the People's Guard soldiers cheered, the tanks puffed out a burst of smoke, and rushed towards the city wall with the infantry.
Suddenly, two soldiers came out from the dilapidated two-story buildings on both sides of the street, and two bundles of grenades were thrown down. After two loud noises, the tank was submerged in fire and thick smoke.
Immediately afterwards, four light machine guns stretched out from the surrounding windows and fired fiercely below. Soon, all the surviving People's Guard soldiers fell down, and no one ran out.
A bright yellow flag of the Eight Banners and the Fourth Division was picked out from the window of the dilapidated building.
Suddenly, cheers came from far and near. The defeated Han army nearby also cheered.
"Did you see Waitabu?" Gunyinbu stood up, patted the dirt on his body, and said with a smile, "What the textbook teaches is correct."
…
"Sir Li," a staff officer in the command car held a phone and turned to Li Gensheng and shouted, "We have lost another tank near Stone City!... The observer reported that more than 40 brothers were killed along with the tank.
, I had almost seen Dinghuai Gate at that time!”
Li Gensheng personally used a red pencil to draw a cross on the map near Stone City near Dinghuai Gate. Then he dropped the pencil, holding his sweaty forehead, and stared blankly at the other four nearby crosses.
"Sir, we lost five tanks in one hour."
He raised his head and murmured to Xiaoqiang.
Xiang Xiaoqiang repeatedly warned himself: Don't be impatient, don't be impatient, stay calm...
He smiled slightly and said:
"Yes, five tanks and one platoon... But we didn't let the enemy push any further into the city. Instead, we almost pushed them out of the city wall."
Li Gensheng said with a wry smile:
"Sir, it seems that the enemy has suddenly become more powerful."
Xiang Xiaoqiang bit his pencil and murmured:
"Well, it suddenly became more powerful... It should be said that the enemy is not as weak as before... Yes, we need to be clear-headed. The reason why we advanced to the city wall so easily is not because we are too powerful, but because the enemy is too weak.
…Now the enemy has become stronger.”
Xiang Xiaoqiang drew a circle on the map and said:
"The area that is facing fierce resistance now is this area, a narrow strip of about two square kilometers along the city wall. Now we know that this area is mainly composed of dilapidated small buildings with two to three floors. The streets are relatively narrow and the roads are spider webs.
Crossing is very suitable for infantry anti-tank. Now it seems that they have ambushed a lot of anti-tank fighters here, and they seem to deliberately lure our tanks to this area to eliminate them."
As he spoke, he threw the pencil on the map and spread his hands:
"This is the situation. You can tell me what to do."
Rommel spoke first. He advocated withdrawing the tanks first, mobilizing heavy artillery to dismantle this piece, and then it would be much easier for the tanks to advance. Gao Dayi, the commander of the machine division, and several headquarters staff also expressed their opinions.
They are roughly the same.
He turned to Xiaoqiang and said:
"Gensheng, what do you think?"
Li Gensheng pondered and said:
"Although the area is not large, it is relatively narrow and long, only a few hundred meters wide. The impact points may not be very concentrated. The effect is..."
Rommel smiled and said:
"Chief Li's concern is very reasonable. But obviously, we do not expect the artillery to do all the work. The main task still depends on the infantry."
Xiang Xiaoqiang knew it well. He knew that no matter how effective the bombardment was, it could not be regarded as "annihilation", but only as "fire preparation". He nodded and said:
"Then give the order."
…
The People's Guard heavy artillery position deployed in the eastern suburbs of Nanjing opened fire.
The shells of 36 105mm howitzers and 12 150mm howitzers roared across the sky over Nanjing and landed in the Stone City area.
The 105mm and 150mm howitzers are indeed quite efficient at demolishing houses. When a shell falls, the entire building collapses. In the dilapidated ruins of several square kilometers, the ground shook and the sun was covered with smoke.
However, there were too few artillery shells that actually landed in the ambush area of the Qing army. In addition, the People's Guard only had a rough estimate of where the boundary of this area was. Therefore, a large number of artillery shells either fell on the river beach or on several riverbanks.
The People's Guard outside the streets and alleys were almost accidentally injured under their noses. The tanks and armored vehicles that had retreated far away quickly reversed their tracks and continued to retreat.
After bombing for twenty minutes, according to the reports of frontline observers, the main bomb impact areas were marked on the map.
It really doesn't look ideal.
Xiang Xiaoqiang bit his tongue, stared at the map for a long time, and ordered:
"It's almost time to cease fire."
"grown ups?"
"Bring the heavy mortar closer and continue bombarding. This way you can hit it more accurately."
…
The howitzer fire stopped.
The 60mm, 80mm, 100mm, and 120mm mortars of the People's Guard were loaded onto armored vehicles and pulled to a place only two or three streets away. They adjusted and fired at Zhu Yuan on the open carriage, and then there was a call on the phone.
On command, thick cannonballs slid into the barrel one after another.
"Tum! Tum! Tum!..."
The artillery fire created circles of fire, and the mortar shells hit the sky almost vertically and fell with a sharp whistling.
This time, the shots were relatively accurate, and they basically hit within the set area... Only 60mm and 80mm mortars accounted for the majority. The number of 100mm and 120mm mortars was limited, and the explosive power in the target area was obvious.
Not as good as before.
Since the mortar was relatively close this time, a few streets away was the Manchu and Qing army. They did not dare to stay any longer. After quickly firing the shells they carried, the armored vehicle reversed its tracks and quickly withdrew.
…
"Okay," Tank Battalion Commander Shi Shengli hung up the field phone, waved his hand forward, "Go forward."
More than two dozen tanks and armored vehicles started up, followed by infantry, and pushed back towards the ruins of the wall in front of them.