Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1432 Shipai No. 2 Meat Grinder (Part )

The battle on Hill No. 13 lasted no more than half an hour, and ultimately resulted in the 231st Infantry Regiment experiencing the highest casualty rate on the battlefield.

According to the battle report captured by the 231st Infantry Regiment after the war, the Imperial officers and soldiers who attacked Hill No. 13 under the command of Major Yoshizo Sano numbered as many as 860 infantrymen. If the heavy machine gun squadron and artillery are included, the total force reached 1280 people.

The casualties counted that night included more than 13 infantrymen and more than 640 artillery and machine gunners killed in the battle on Hill 60 alone. 700 deaths would have been fine, but there were nearly 300 seriously injured soldiers, which means that the 13st Infantry Regiment suffered thousands of casualties in the attack on Hill 231 alone.

This was not the worst loss the 231st Infantry Regiment had ever suffered since entering China. In the Zaoyi Campaign, the 231st Infantry Regiment suffered nearly 1500 casualties, which was considered a heavy blow. But who was their opponent at that time? It was an infantry division of the 33rd Army Group plus a guard battalion of the Army Group Command.

  But what about now? It was just a small hill on the Chinese defense line with no more than a hundred soldiers stationed there. What do you think Masayoshi Yamada felt when he saw the casualties?

If he knew that there were only 13 Chinese officers and soldiers on Hill No. 37 that day, including a second lieutenant deputy platoon leader, and that after a day of fierce fighting, only 4 people were killed and 8 were injured. If we have to talk about the casualty ratio, the ratio between China and Japan is 1 to 80. Wouldn't this Japanese Army colonel be so angry that he would vomit blood on the spot?

In fact, Masayoshi Yamada had already vomited blood.

Because on that day, the 231st Infantry Regiment suffered a total of more than 2800 casualties, almost one-third of the main force of the division he led.

  At any other time, Yamada Masayoshi would have to run away after vomiting blood, and the loss was more than 30% in one day. Does that mean that after two more days of fighting, he would be the only one left in his main force of 7,000 to 8,000 people?

But the Japanese army colonel, who was so depressed that he wanted to vomit blood, not only could not run away, but he even had to continue to participate in tomorrow's attack and risk becoming a commander without troops.

"Mr. Yamada, the characteristics of the army you mentioned are most likely the so-called German-equipped division that those idiots from the Germanic tribe helped the Chinese train before the war. What does that mean? It means that the Chinese have given their all. As long as they can annihilate this elite Chinese army in this mountain, the Chinese no longer have an army that can compete with the imperial army.

You have to cheer up. Even if we have to use all our strength to drag them into these mountains and prevent them from supporting the already precarious front defense zone, my division will have done a great job.

In addition, the empire is doing its best to investigate the important intelligence, and there will be news within the next two days." Murakami Kisaku tried his best to encourage his trusted subordinates in the telegram.

Although Yamada Masayoshi's troops suffered unprecedented casualties, the 9000-man army led by him achieved a breakthrough on the central battlefield of Shipai and completely broke through the first line of defense of the 11th Division. In addition, on the right wing battlefield, through cooperation with the naval aviation, they completely defeated an elite infantry regiment of the 18th Division of the Chinese 18th Army.

In other words, there has been no progress in the several battlefields where fierce fighting is currently taking place in Shipai except for the heavy casualties on the left wing, but there have been some achievements in the other two directions. From a global perspective, the merits outweigh the flaws.

What Yamada Masayoshi's troops had to do now was to delay the elite Chinese troops on the left wing battlefield and prevent them from supporting the central position.

This is what is meant by waiting for the flowers to bloom.

Of course, if you want to hold back these elite Chinese troops who have beaten the 231st Infantry Regiment badly, it is not enough to just deploy troops on the side of the defense line. You still have to attack and continue the attack.

Use your life to drag it!

  Masayoshi Yamada really wants to cry!

He didn't know how long he had studied the topographic map of Shipai. The so-called breakthroughs in the central position and the right wing mentioned by the division commander were actually several mountains away from the core of the Chinese position. Obviously, it was not something that could be captured in a day or two, especially since the defenders were the 18th Army, one of China's five elite infantry armies.

Murakami is definitely painting a rosy picture for him! It depends on whether he has the life to eat this rosy picture.

In fact, Lieutenant General Murakami Kisaku was also helpless, because Lieutenant General Yokoyama Isamu, the commander of the 11th Army who came to Yiling in person, was also making big promises to him and strictly ordered him not to order anyone to retreat.

Standing in the courtyard of the temporary headquarters, gazing at the starry sky, the short-legged Japanese Army lieutenant general had a grim expression on his face, because he knew too well the importance of this battle to the entire empire.

The strategic focus of the empire has shifted, and the army is preparing for Southeast Asia. In less than half a year, a large number of elite divisions will be transferred from the Chinese theater to the Southeast Asian battlefield. They will be replaced by Type B and Type C divisions that have less than half a year of training time.

The navy is even more daring. No longer satisfied with dominating inland seas such as the East China Sea and the South China Sea, they have already set their sights on the vast Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

The eyes of the empire's top leaders are no longer limited to East Asia, but are overlooking the entire Asia.

Once this grand strategic goal is achieved, the island nations will take off completely, and their descendants will no longer live in a corner, but will become the rulers of the world's largest continent.

The glorious Chinese civilization and the resource-rich Southeast Asian countries will all become a thing of the past. All history will be written by the island nations. Hundreds of years later, those slaves will only know that their masters are the Yamato people.

Before these grand strategic goals can be achieved, these generals must first resolve the Chinese resistance.

Once Shipai was broken, the gateway to Sichuan Province, the most important logistics base for the Chinese, was completely opened.

With such a wonderful prospect, what's the big deal if thousands or tens of thousands of people died? Their death in battle will create a better and happier life for tens of millions of future generations.

To some extent, the notorious Lieutenant General Isamu Yokoyama was actually an idealist who was willing to go through fire and water for his imagined beautiful future.

Of course, it was the grassroots officers and soldiers under his command who jumped into the boiling soup and onto the volcano, not him.

From another perspective, Yokoyama Isamu also had his own plans. The former commander of the 11th Army, Okamura Koji, had been transferred to the commander of the North China Front Army and promoted to general, and his successor had launched two Tanzhou battles in the past year but both failed. Although the opponent was strong and even he admired the Chinese General Xue, there were many people in the headquarters who had complaints about his command ability. Even if it was not for his future, just to gain a foothold in the position of commander of the 11th Army, he had to make some achievements in the Battle of Shipai.

Even if all the 39th Division, the 13th Division, the Nogou Detachment and others were killed, Shipai must be captured in this battle. These were the original words in the telegram that Yokoyama Isamu sent to Murakami Kisaku.

Little did people know that China’s Ministry of Military Affairs also sent similar telegrams to the general commanders of China’s two major war zones.

Even if all 7 troops in the mountains are wiped out, we must defend Shipai.

As a result, the headquarters of the two lieutenant general division commanders of the 18th Army were basically less than 3 kilometers away from the front line.

The will of the highest commanders on the front lines of both sides has determined that regardless of success or failure, the Chinese and Japanese soldiers must shed their last drop of blood in this mountain!

The battlefield known as Shipai No. 2 meat grinder was not Zhujiaping where nearly 3000 Japanese soldiers were killed and wounded in one day.

Instead, the first battalion was responsible for garrisoning Sifang Bay.

On the third day, the Japanese army captured several local villagers in a cave through reconnaissance scouts. Under the threat of their lives, they finally forced the villagers to confess that there was a mountain road 4 kilometers flank of Zhujiaping, which could bypass Zhujiaping and reach Shipai directly.

This is also one of the reasons why Murakami Kisaku insisted that the main force of his 39th Division remain on the front line.

The 231st Regiment was fighting fiercely at Zhujiaping, the Yegou Detachment was blocked by the Chinese positions at Niuchangpo, and the 40th Division was fighting hard on the right wing with the 18th Division. The only one who could complete this task was the Jingu Detachment.

The so-called detachment is composed of infantry battalions, cavalry, artillery, engineering, and logistics troops. Although the detachment is only a brigade-level organization, it actually has a complete range of arms and its overall combat capability is stronger than many infantry brigades.

For example, the Jingu Detachment was formed by the main force drawn from the 34th Division. It had three infantry battalions, one independent infantry battalion, two mountain artillery battalions, three baggage squadrons, two cavalry squadrons, two engineering squadrons, plus a field medical team, etc., with a total strength of more than 3 people, and was fully qualified to compete with the two Chinese Type B divisions.

Hengshan Yong placed high hopes on the Zhengu Detachment. Taking advantage of the fierce fighting in Zhujiaping and Niuchangpo, the Zhengu Detachment quietly assembled in the mountainous area and quietly bypassed Zhujiaping and went straight to the main position of Shipai.

  Logically speaking, Tang Dao had known that there was such a road on the flank of Zhujiaping. Once upon a time, the Japanese army almost broke through the Sifangwan position from here and approached Shipai. How could he make the same mistake again?

But this time, the Tang Dao seemed to be ineffective, allowing 7000 Japanese troops to spend a day marching to reach Sifang Bay. There was no ambush or mine attack, and the Japanese troops who had been defending their positions all the way arrived intact.

That's because the appetite of the Tang sword is much bigger than the top commanders of both China and Japan imagined.

  The strategic purpose of Hengshan Yong in launching the Battle of Shipai was to capture the East Gate of the Chinese capital, and the tactical purpose was to kill as many Chinese elites as possible in the mountains, paving the way for his future attack on Tanzhou. The Chinese military and political departments had a simpler plan: for the safety of the southwest, they would do whatever it took!

Tang Dao's plan was to bury more Japanese troops in pits on the V-shaped battlefield on the left wing of Shipai.

Tang Dao did not take the thousands of people in the 39th Division seriously, and they alone were not enough to satisfy Tang Tuanzuo's appetite.

One of the 231st and 232nd Infantry Regiments was wiped out, and the other was seriously injured. In Tang Dao's eyes, although the 231st Infantry Regiment still has four or five thousand people, most of the elite infantry have been consumed, and the rest are just second-line soldiers to make up the numbers. Their combat effectiveness is no longer half of what it was before, and is almost the same as dying people.

After three days of fierce fighting, the Yegou Detachment, relying on their so-called steel army background, rushed forward and attacked fiercely. They were also covered in blood. They were like a toothless tiger. They could roar a few times, but if they really wanted to fight, the 3th Temporary Division of the 18th Army, which had been eyeing them covetously, would probably beat them to death.

Tang Dao had already set his sights on the Zhengu Detachment, which was the last to arrive at the battlefield.

This detachment is not a good thing either. In 1943, it was this detachment that was responsible for the Changjiao Massacre that shocked China and the world.

In North China, because of the existence of the 80th Army Group, the Japanese army did not dare to enter the countryside unless they were conducting mopping-up operations at the brigade or division level, and large-scale massacres were rare.

However, on the battlefields in central and southern China, faced with the fierce resistance of the Chinese military and civilians, the Japanese army still attempted to destroy the will of the Chinese military and civilians through massacres, and large-scale massacres occurred repeatedly.

The Changjiao Massacre was another large-scale massacre by the Japanese army that shocked China and the world after the Nanjing Massacre.

The total number of Chinese soldiers and civilians massacred exceeded 3. In the Dian'an Ya River, where the most brutal killings took place, corpses piled up like mountains. The Japanese army threw more than 4000 people who were massacred into the river. The 2.5-kilometer-long and 200-meter-wide section of the river was blocked and became a "river of the dead."

It is difficult for any Chinese to see the details of this massacre, but it was the Hariya Detachment, led by its commander Hariya Itsuhara, that became such a group of beasts.

You say, how can Tang Dao let such a beastly army leave alive? Not even a dog can be left alive.

In order not to disturb the 7000-strong Japanese army and prevent them from falling into this big pocket, Tang Dao withdrew the two infantry companies that were originally ambushed on the two heights, and almost in a "welcoming" manner, let the Hariya Detachment into the mountains.

The Hariya Detachment was extremely arrogant. It arrived at 4 p.m. without even digging a field trench. Just as dusk was approaching, it launched an attack on the 12st Battalion's heights under the cover of bombing by 1 Japanese planes.

This may not be an impatient attempt to capture the position, but mainly a test of the garrison strength on the high ground and the distribution of various heavy firepower points. However, it can also be seen that Major General Jingu is eager to make a contribution and wants to launch a general attack in the early morning of the next day to capture the Sifang Bay position in one fell swoop.

But he was obviously overthinking it.

At the two positions of Niuchangpo and Zhujiaping, the Japanese army had basically figured out the Chinese side's trump cards, which were roughly a dozen light tanks and less than ten large-caliber heavy mortars, as well as some anti-aircraft guns. The rest were solid fortifications and light weapons with fierce firepower.

But that was only the battalion's heavy firepower that Commander Tang showed them. The 8 Type 4 mountain guns and Bofors mountain guns belonging to the Fourth Regiment's artillery battalion had not fired a single shot since the start of the war.

The Zhengu Detachment was so arrogant that they didn't even dig simple field trenches and just attacked the high ground with great momentum. They were really doing somersaults on the back of a tiger - they were courting death!

"Aim at the Japanese's baggage troops first. Let those bastards chew tree bark for me first!" Pang Dahai looked at the coordinates of various Japanese troops reported by the reconnaissance company and chose the baggage unit with the weakest combat effectiveness but extremely important.

  Pang Dahai’s move was truly vicious!

The Japanese army's ammunition, rice for people, fodder for horses, etc. were all in the hands of the 3 supply soldiers of the three supply squadrons.

Before entering the mountains, the Japanese army prepared ten days' worth of rations. According to the Japanese army's daily supply standards for a single soldier, there were 640 grams of rice, 200 grams of noodles, and 150 grams of canned meat. These alone weighed 1 kilogram, and for 7000 people that meant 70 tons in ten days.

Excluding some supplies carried by individual Japanese soldiers, there were still 60 tons of food supplies carried by 1800 baggage soldiers and about 900 pack horses.

All the food was blown up. It would be strange if the Japanese army didn’t go crazy as they needed 7 tons of food every day just for food.

Twelve mountain cannons were pulled out from their respective hidden positions, with their muzzles raised high, shining with a faint blue glow under the setting sun.

The shells fired by the four Bofors were incendiary shells, and the shells fired by the eight Type 4 mountain guns were shrapnel shells. Pang Dahai was planning to blow up the food bags, but it was not perfect enough. What if the Japanese army picked up the rice from the dust? He simply set fire to it and burned it.

  If the Japanese chewed and swallowed the coke in order to fill their stomachs, then Pang Dahai could only call them "ruthless people"!

The bombardment of 12 mountain cannons was so earth-shaking that it directly confused the entire Jingu Detachment, which was still attacking the high ground.

  Why didn't the Chinese artillery attack them, but instead attacked the cave in the mountain behind them?

Perhaps only senior commanders such as Jingu Yiyuan were terrified. The Chinese were trying to cut off the source of the problem!

The Japanese army still had 12 fighter planes in the sky, but in order to help the infantry, they had already dropped all their bombs. If they dropped more bombs, they would only be turned into a pile of flesh and blood and fall to the ground.

As for asking them to descend in altitude and use their onboard machine guns to help the army's millipedes, that must be something they are crazy about.

Their colleagues risked their lives to remind them that there might be large and small caliber anti-aircraft guns hidden in these broken mountain ravines. Just because they didn't fire now didn't mean they would lower their altitude and stop firing.

The 12 Japanese planes that completed their combat mission did not even circle, but flew straight into the sky.

Only a group of officers from the Zhengu Detachment had gloomy faces as they looked at the valley 3 kilometers away where smoke and flames were rising into the sky.

Hopefully, the Chinese artillery only hit the baggage squadron’s base by luck.

But as time went on, the Chinese artillery fire continued, firing at least 15 rounds of artillery shells. Jingu Yiyuan knew that this was a deliberate effort by the Chinese.

His wish now was that the baggage squadron would be smart enough to move its position immediately when the bombardment began, so that the loss of food and ammunition would not be too much, at least leaving him enough for three days.

Major General Jingu's prayers were in vain.

When night fell, after the Lieutenant Colonel Chief of Staff reported to him with a bitter face, Hariya Itsuhara looked dazed.

The Chinese artillery is not only fierce, but also terrifyingly accurate.

The three baggage squadrons lost 3 people and 308 horses, but these were nothing. The most important thing was that the loss of military rations was as high as 489%. Because of the incendiary bombs, less than % of the food that fell on the ground could be rescued.

This means that after three days, his Zhengu Detachment will have to rely on the northwest wind.

"Order the baggage squadron to collect the horse carcasses. It's ridiculous that the Chinese want to use this trick to lower the morale of my troops. Tomorrow we will make them pay the price for their short-sightedness!" Jingu Yiyuan, who was worthy of being a general, quickly calmed down and said with a fierce look in his eyes.

Since we only have three days of food, we can use one day to capture this place and two days to capture Shipai and end this battle.

What's more, there are nearly 500 carcasses of pack horses and more than 7000 kilograms of horse meat, which will not rot even in the cold winter and are enough to feed people for a week.

However, in the early morning of the next day, just as the Jingu Detachment had finished cooking, a new attack arrived.

This made poor Major General Jingu become autistic.

(End of this chapter)