Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1098 Smell!

Niangziguan has existed since the Warring States Period and played an extremely important role in China's thousands of years of history.

It is this pass built on the slope of Taihang Mountain that has guarded the North China Plain from being harassed by nomads for thousands of years!

A year ago, it was also this grand pass that blocked the Japanese invaders from entering Jin from the North China Plain!
Only when Tang Dao, who has been a man for two generations, set foot on this grand pass in person, will he know why this pass has written so many rich and colorful stories in the history of China.

The terrain of Niangziguan is really special!

The only road from Jingxing to Jin Province must pass through the pass. Under the west wing of Guancheng is a cliff, and under the cliff is a Tao River, while the east wing of Guancheng extends a wall leading to the cliff. Through here, you must pass through the pass.

Moreover, standing on the slope of the pass, you have an excellent line of sight, and you can clearly see the activities of people outside the pass.

However, on the battlefield that is still smoking everywhere, perhaps because of the terrible shelling three hours ago, or the heavy artillery bombardment of the Japanese army a year ago, there is not much left of the bluestone brick city wall that used to be, replaced by a There are dilapidated blockhouses and sandbag fortifications, as well as caves for Tibetan soldiers dug under the rocks.

Niangziguan was captured by a battalion led by Lei Xiong.

The reason why the Japanese army, which had the advantage of the terrain and was already on the alert, only persisted for 3 hours before being attacked by the first battalion was that the artillery fire of the Four Elements Regiment was too fierce.

Although for this tough battle, the mountain artillery company and the heavy mortar company of the Artillery Battalion of the Four Elements Regiment, as well as the three 80mm howitzers of the first battalion all participated in the artillery preparation.

12门博福斯山炮、12门150口径重迫和3门80毫米榴弹炮炮击了近40分钟，投掷了超过1000发炮弹，在方圆不过一万平米的关口阵地上造成的杀伤令人目眩。

However, the Japanese troops of the two infantry squadrons had five hiding holes in the pass positions, because they were dug under the rocky surface, and their anti-aircraft capabilities could even resist 5-caliber howitzers.

It can't be wiped out completely with the power of artillery alone.

The most important reason is that for the first time, the first platoon of the engineer company marching with the same battalion put the "poison gas bomb" developed by itself into actual combat.

That was the inspiration that Bai Sheng, the commander of the engineering company, got from an actual combat training of the whole company's "Thunderbolt" artillery.

If the Japanese can make gas bombs, why can't they?

Therefore, with the strong support of Tang Dao, the engineer company brainstormed and experimented continuously, and finally made a "gas bomb" with its own characteristics.

Unlike the chemical weapons such as mustard gas used by the Japanese, the engineering company uses pure biological raw materials.

All irritating substances such as chili pepper and Chinese prickly ash were tested, and finally a millet pepper produced in the Taihang Mountain area was successfully selected.

This kind of millet pepper, which is only as thick as a baby's finger, is known as "a fire" in the mountains, which means that taking a bite is like swallowing a ball of fire. Some people who are not very resistant to capsaicin can eat it on their lips. If it can swell up, even a few Hunan officers and soldiers in the engineering company can only eat one or two at most.

The all-red "one mouthful of fire" is dried with fire, then ground into chili noodles, and then mixed with a part of the powder that irritates the nose and mouth, it becomes part of the "gas bomb" made by the engineer company.

Because, the other part is dynamite!
A 5kg heavy explosive pack, 2.5kg is explosives, and 2.5kg is chilli noodles that can kill people.

At the beginning of the explosion, no one knew how the nearly 1-square-meter human body covered by pepper noodles felt. After all, no one was so stupid as to conduct live ammunition surveys. However, a minute later, Commander Bai Dalian bravely walked into the center of the explosion.

Then, the brave Dalian Commander Bai not only quickly coughed out his lungs, but his black face was flushed with tears, and he soaked in cold water for an unknown amount of time before he could get rid of the burning feeling Lose.

But after three days, many places on the face were still peeling, as if they had been sunburned!
The strong capsaicin may not be able to kill people, but the stress damage caused in a short period of time is by no means less than that of real chemical poison gas.

And Tang Dao knew that this was definitely not whimsical.

Once in time and space, the [-]th Group Army used this kind of mortar shells mixed with chili noodles to fight the Japanese artillery towers, and the effect was very good. The Japanese and puppet troops knew that there was a hail of bullets outside, but they still ran out in tears, and then suffer death.

Because it was the first time to use this kind of "pure natural gas bomb", the engineer platoon was afraid that the effect would not be enough, so they used the cover of artillery fire to quietly move the three "shocking thunder" to the hillside 300 meters from the left front of the Niangziguan position, and breathed a sigh of relief. 15 Dynamite Packs are fired.

Although due to the problem of accuracy, only 8 large and small explosive packages fell on the Japanese positions in the end, and the terrible air waves caused to sweep up the remaining fortifications of the Japanese positions. At the same time, more than 20 kilograms of chili noodles spread all over the Japanese positions.

The Japanese soldiers hiding in the fortifications or hidden artillery holes were almost choked to death by the small chili peppers from the depths of the Taihang Mountains. Many people exclaimed that "the Chinese used poison gas" and ran out of the bunkers, and then were ruthlessly fired. Torn to shreds.

Even if the Japanese army, who was holding back his lungs and was about to be coughed out, was still hiding in the depths of the bunker, his combat effectiveness on the battlefield after the entire shelling was reduced by at least [-]%.

The officers and soldiers of a battalion and a company ordered to attack from three directions crawled to the area where they could throw grenades, and they could also hear coughing and coughing from the Japanese positions.

Therefore, after two consecutive offensive setbacks, 30 mortar shells filled with chili noodles fell from the sky, which continued to make the Japanese infantry 'restless'.

The artillery fire, the rain of bullets, and the additional damage of millet pepper finally made nearly 500 Japanese troops wiped out before they could hold out for 3 hours!

Of course, this kind of "poison gas bomb" does not mean that it is very effective at any time. It must be placed on the open ground when the opponent's position is not so wide and the weather is good and the wind is low. It dissipated in a few seconds and was useful but not much.

It just so happened that the weather was fine today, and the Japanese army reconnaissance yesterday saw that there were a large number of Chinese troops arriving, so they adopted a shrinking defense, abandoning the hills and highlands on both sides of the pass, trying to use the advantageous terrain of Niangziguan to wait for reinforcements.

As a result, its position area is only more than [-] square meters, which is just suitable for artillery and "gas bombs" to maximize their power.

This is why the Japanese army did not expect that the artillery fire of the Chinese army in front of them would be so fierce, otherwise they would not have made such a stupid choice.

"Sir, should we immediately take advantage of the victory to pursue and defeat Jingxing County?" Lei Xiong, who had won a big victory in the first battle, suggested to Tang Dao vigorously.

"It's better to ask the front-line command first, and send a power call to the front-line command to ask where the rest of the divisions have arrived." Tang Daoyao looked ahead and chose to be cautious.

In the past week since the counterattack was dispatched, all divisions except the 921st Division, which was chased and intercepted by the reinforcements sent by the 20th Division, and finally successfully defeated one of its infantry regiments, and the other four divisions and one regiment, including the four-element regiment that was lurking forward, all went smoothly. .

In other words, the combat plan for the first 7 days was basically realized.

But the smoother the battle, the more cautious Tang Dao was.

The battlefield is changing rapidly, so what is the best thing in the world?

Even until the Niangziguan was conquered, the number of Japanese soldiers who could escape into the deep mountains on the entire battlefield could only be described in single digits. The number of Japanese defenders lying dead exceeded 500. The Tang Dao who walked up to Niangziguan still did not greet those who held their steel guns high and cheered for victory. The subordinates cheered like that.

Anyone can cheer for victory, but he alone cannot.

Because, like them, fighting deep into enemy-occupied areas, any negligence will wipe out the entire army. He must remain calm enough not to be dazzled by the temporary victory.

Seeing that Tang Dao didn't directly approve his battle plan, Lei Xiong grinned and didn't say much, but waved Xia Dayu to go to the regiment's communication company to generate electricity.

Just as Tang Dao understood him, he also understood Tang Dao.He knew that Tang Dao had always been resolute and resolute on the battlefield, but before the battle, he was calm and clear-headed, and he would never make a decision easily without enough confidence.

"Brother Lei, do you think our battle is going too smoothly?" Tang Dao took out a cigarette, gave Lei Xiong one, lit one on his own, and asked softly.

"According to the reaction of the enemy at Niangziguan, at least three groups of vanguard soldiers sent by them were discovered and killed by our scouts in a row, and they immediately retracted their defenses after finally detecting the enemy's situation. Jingxing also showed signs of sending troops to help. All reactions It's all normal." Lei Xiong frowned slightly, carefully recalling the battle process and the opponent's reaction before contacting the enemy.

"Furthermore, according to the insider intelligence of the 921 Division at Shimen, the 20th Division was very nervous about our army's sudden arrival in eastern Jin. Last night, Shimen imposed a curfew, and Chinese residents were not allowed to enter and exit the city gate. The city defense has dispatched The double patrols patrolled, which fully shows that the 20th Division did not clearly foresee our army's sudden attack on Jindong and Niangziguan.

This morning, Brigadier Cheng also called. The first part of the 20th Division, which was chasing them, suddenly changed its marching route, probably to return to Shimen.

If the 20th Division really predicted that we would be so bold and hit Shimen's idea, then they would certainly not be in such a hurry. "

"The reaction of the 20th Division is normal, but it does not mean that the entire Japanese North China Front Army is normal. With the strength of our current five divisions and one regiment, let alone the 20th Division, we need to add one or two divisions. I am not afraid of them in battle, but what if the North China Front Army mobilizes heavy troops?" Tang Dao knew that what Lei Xiong said was the truth, but still shook his head slightly.

"Tuanzao, what do you mean to say that this is a big net laid by the Japanese, just waiting for us to drill into it. In order not to leak the news, even the division-level troops are hiding it? And even at the expense of being wiped out by us. Thousands of people?

The Japanese are too patient!If they don't come to Niangziguan, wouldn't their people be killed by us in vain?This kind of loss-making business, I don't think the arrogant Japanese can do it. Lei Xiong shook his head, and took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"Besides, what if the Japanese come? That's what I came here for this time. At worst, I'll fight them."

Tang Dao knew Lei Xiong's unstingy temper well, even if he encountered difficulties, he would be fearless, otherwise he would not have chosen to stay with him in Sixing Warehouse and defend the Jedi until the end with more than a hundred people, so he smiled slightly: "Brother Lei The last sentence is true, if the Japanese really spend so much money to lure me into the bait, then it should be clear that the chariots and horses have done a good job with them."

Yes, although Tang Dao's intuition is somewhat abnormal, as a commander, he can't just rely on intuition to judge, but must rely on reconnaissance and intelligence.

For this battle, not only did the second war zone put forward intelligence requirements to the military command, but the [-]th Army also took out the intelligence system at the bottom of the box, requesting intelligence personnel lurking in the two cities of Pingjin, Shimen, Licheng, and Lucheng. It is necessary to monitor the movements of the Japanese army more closely and provide timely feedback.

Although many of them have time differences due to lack of radio stations, they can basically give the frontline headquarters some judgments about the movements of the Japanese army.

On the side of the Four Elements Regiment, even before sending out troops at the end of August, they had already dispatched their own reconnaissance company. There were nearly 8 groups in total, each with 10 people and a radio station.

Moreover, the reconnaissance direction of the reconnaissance company is not only Jindong in the tactical plan, but the west of Jindong, Xingtai, and HD are all within its reconnaissance range.

The furthest reconnaissance team was even more than [-] kilometers away from the main force of the Four Elements Regiment.

Asking for help is never better than relying on oneself, Tang Dao understands this truth well!

These ten groups of scouts are like his eyes, allowing him to know the movements of the Japanese army and changes in their strength, so as to judge what the Japanese army is trying to do.

So far, the Japanese army does not seem to have changed much except for being a little confused.

"The front-line headquarters called. The Japanese army in Changzhi has changed. The Japanese troops in Lucheng, Licheng, Shecheng and other places are gathering! The commander-in-chief of the front-line headquarters, Mr. Liu, please go to the headquarters in person." Xia Dayu ran away quickly. come over.

"Is there any change between the 108th Division and the 109th Division?" Tang Dao's eyes froze.

"This shows that the Japanese North China Front Army Command responded very quickly! Is this their idea of ​​besieging Wei and saving Zhao?" Lei Xiong's gaze also became cold. "However, relying on these two frightened divisions, they really think too much."

"Perhaps, it's not just that!" Tang Dao looked up at the sky. "With Mr. Liu's personality, he will never go to war just because the little devil uses this little force to send me to the headquarters dozens of kilometers away. He may have discovered something!"

"Brother Lei, order the entire regiment to build field fortifications on the spot with the Niangziguan position as the core, and no one should slack off, otherwise military law will be followed.

In addition, there are only a few hundred little devils left in Jingxing, and if they are kept for a day, no more flowers will grow. Let them be left for now, and I will talk about it when I return from the frontline headquarters. "Tang Dao ordered decisively.

"Okay!" Lei Xiong nodded. "However, this place is already a battlefield, take a cavalry company with you when you leave!"

"No, I'll try to return before 12 o'clock at night, let Niu Er, Ming Xin, Shen Lao Liu, and Lao Lu join me, and let Lu Sanjiang lead a cavalry squad. The heavy rain is waiting at the regiment headquarters." Tang Dao strode away, leaving a word from afar.

"Deputy, what should we do?" Xia Dayu looked at Lei Xiong with a bitter face.

Before sending out troops, Tantai Mingyue had told him in private that whenever Tang Dao left the army, he had to persuade him to bring at least one platoon for protection.

This is good, he brought a dozen or so people with him at most, and Tantai Mingyue found out that he, as a personal orderly, would definitely be criticized, and the most important thing was, what if he was in danger?

"Don't you know the temper of Tuan Zuo? But with Niu Er and the others and Lu Sanjiang as a cavalry squad, it's not a problem even if you come to the dozens of Japanese troops, maybe Tuan Zuo is still looking forward to it now They're here to catch some alive."

Lei Xiong shook his head with a wry smile, and waved at Xia Dayu, meaning to let him hurry up and prepare belongings for Tang Dao, and follow orders for the rest.

Soon, Tang Dao and his team of 14 people and 28 horses ran along the mountain road to the frontline headquarters located 35 kilometers away. The empty horses carried mortars, MG34 machine guns and ammunition boxes on their backs.

Obviously, Tang Tuanzuo is not blindly confident. He has also made full preparations for encountering the enemy. Reaching two cavalry companies was not a problem.

If there are few people, it is naturally very good. Who is Tang Tuanzuo and his gang of old sixes?
On the side of the Four Elements Regiment, as the military order was issued, the three infantry battalions stopped advancing, and began to build various field fortifications along the mountain in the mountains around Niangziguan.

The rest of the battalions and companies also deployed positions in the valley behind according to field standards. Although the military order was for field positions, the Four Elements Regiment was fought out of blood and fire. I knew that no matter what the reason was, the whole regiment did not follow the previous plan to continue toward 35 There must be a reason for the officers to stay here instead of advancing in Jingxing, which is [-] kilometers away.

So, they all worked hard!
The heavy machine gun fortifications that could have been surrounded by sandbags, the infantry also asked the engineering platoon to remove the steel plates, and insisted on building a semi-permanent fortification that could at least withstand infantry artillery.

The officers and soldiers who had just transferred from the special training camp were a little confused, didn't they just stop for a long time or a night to rest, you repaired the machine gun fortifications enough to block shells, as for?

The thing that stunned them is still behind, because this area is mostly rocky mountains, the soil layer is very shallow, the trenches cannot be dug too deep, and they will encounter hard rock layers.
Even a non-combat organization like the Sanitation Company, which is behind the protection of the infantry battalion, has dug trenches around the slopes where it is located and built defensive firepower points, except for the doctors and other personnel who are busy setting up digitally camouflaged field tents, including female nurses Inside, they are all put into fortification construction.

Fortification construction is not only integrated into the blood of all officers and soldiers of the Four Elements Regiment, but also one of the most important training subjects, covering all arms of the Four Elements Regiment.

It won't be long before those officers and soldiers who feel that their comrades are making a fuss will know the effect of building fortifications desperately.

When the shells fell and the shrapnel splashed and swept everything, you might even think that you should try your best not to eat or sleep and then dig a little deeper, even if it is five centimeters?

At the moment when the Four Elements Regiment began to build fortifications, on the North China Plain tens of kilometers away from what they could not see, there were two divisions with tens of thousands of Japanese troops gradually completing their assembly. Will come straight here.

. . . . . . . . . . .

ps: Today is the 5.12th anniversary of the 15 earthquake, and we would like to express our condolences to the compatriots who died in that disaster!

(End of this chapter)