The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 267 The one looking for death is coming

Just as He Wei led the special agent battalion to rush to the 48th Division position, the attacking Japanese army also made further moves. In the joint headquarters of the Sasaki Detachment and Kunizaki Detachment, several main officers of the two detachments looked at the front Looking at the fighting situation in the position, all faces looked satisfied.

"Compared with yesterday, this Chinese army has made some progress, and its spiritual combat power is pretty good. Unfortunately, their combat quality is really poor, and their firepower is also greatly lacking."

The commander of the Kunisaki Detachment, Major General Noboru Kunisaki, commented disdainfully on the counterattack reinforcements of the 48th Division.

Through the artillery mirrors and binoculars, several people could clearly see the fighting situation on the 48th Division's position. Amidst the thunderous sound of gunfire and shouts of death, the densely packed officers and soldiers of the 48th Division attacked the Japanese troops who were relying on the fortifications. Wave after wave, round after round of intensive charges were launched.

In the eyes of these elites who graduated from the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, the tactical level of the Chinese army in front of them is even inferior to that of the Japanese Army during the Sino-Japanese War of 19th Century. The only thing worthy of praise is The courage to attack the Japanese army's firepower network over and over again.

"Not bad. Yesterday, it was the same Chinese army. They collapsed at the first touch. Today, they can attack the positions captured by our army so relentlessly. It can be seen that there are many brave men among their troops."

Sasaki Toichi sighed with a solemn expression.

At this time, an adjutant trotted over and reported: "Sir, the two mountain artillery brigades of the Third Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment are about to arrive at the captured Chinese army position."

"Oh?"

Sasaki Toichi, Kunisaki Noboru, as well as Yamada Tetsujiro, the captain of the 41st Infantry Regiment and the captain of the 38th Infantry Regiment who had just arrived at the command post, all raised their binoculars to observe the front.

I saw two mountain artillery brigades belonging to the third independent mountain artillery regiment slowly moving forward on the passage between the starting position of the Japanese infantry attack and the Chinese army's first line position where a fierce battle was currently taking place.

Twenty-four mountain guns, a large number of mules and horses, and ammunition trucks loaded with large amounts of shells formed a dense marching column and approached the positions of the five Japanese infantry brigades at the front.

So far, the five attacking Japanese infantry brigades have captured the front-line positions of the Chinese army, which can be regarded as opening up the situation. The advance of these two mountain artillery brigades is to provide fire support for the forward troops and cover the further progress of the infantry. of moving forward.

Looking at the successive attacks by the Chinese troops in the forward position, like a tidal wave, and then looking at the artillery marching column slowly advancing, Sasaki nodded at one point, thinking, this is the time to take the battle a step further.

"Kunizaki-kun, the enemy's first line of position has been captured by me. Now it's time to continue to advance forward. Although the five infantry brigades at the front have made great breakthroughs, if they want to go further, they still need unified command. , I think a wing headquarters should be dispatched as a command center to strengthen command, what do you think?"

"That's how it should be!"

Kunisaki Noboru said, and then Tetsujiro Yamada of the 41st Infantry Regiment volunteered to fight: "Two officers, please hand over this task to this regiment. Our regiment already has a brigade of warriors. Guan's entire army has been wiped out, please give me this opportunity for revenge!"

After Yamada Tetsujiro finished speaking, the captain of the 38th Infantry Regiment on the side straightened up and was about to say something. Yamada Tetsujiro's immediate superior, Kunizaki Noboru, said to Sasaki: "Sasaki-kun, just let him go. Well, a whole group of samurai in the 41st Regiment have been wiped out. They are eager for revenge, so we should give them this opportunity. Please ask Sasaki-kun."

In order to give his subordinates the opportunity to take command, Kunisaki Noboru once again showed a low profile to Sasaki Daichi. Sasaki hesitated slightly, but finally nodded to Yamada Tetsujiro.

This nod was to hand over the establishment of the forward command post and the command of the forward troops to the 41st Infantry Regiment under the Kunisaki Detachment. Of course, this also gave the authority to the thousands of Japanese officers and soldiers in the forward positions. Life and death were entrusted to Tetsujiro Yamada.

"In this case, the task of opening the forward command post will be left to your department. The two infantry brigades of your regiment, the three infantry brigades of our 38th Infantry Regiment, the armored vehicle unit and the two newly opened All the mountain artillery brigades are under your command. We must consolidate the positions we have captured. If it is safe, we can continue to send troops to advance towards the deep positions of the Chinese army. "

"Yes!"

After receiving permission to open a forward command post to command the frontline troops, Tetsujiro Yamada bowed heartily to Sasaki, and then left excitedly, leading the 41st Infantry Regiment's headquarters toward the captured The Chinese army came out of position.

In the previous attack, the troops directly under the 41st Infantry Regiment had already been assigned to the two subordinate infantry brigades, and had captured the first line positions of the 48th Division with them. Therefore, the 48th Division The 41st Regiment has only a small number of command personnel at its headquarters.

Tetsujiro Yamada, who was eager to rush to the forward position and command the heavy troops at the front to avenge yesterday's revenge, took more than a hundred officers and soldiers of the regiment headquarters and drove all the way in a dozen various cars looted from Jinling City. Full horsepower and full throttle.

Soon they arrived at the first line position of the 144th Brigade of the 48th Division of the Chinese Army, which was captured by five Japanese infantry brigades.

On the way from the starting position to the forward position, two Japanese 75mm mountain artillery brigades were also advancing as fast as possible.

However, compared with the 41st Regiment headquarters personnel riding in cars, the speed of these two mountain artillery brigades, which relied entirely on mules and horses to move them, was much slower.

These two mountain artillery brigades are under the command of the Third Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment. Each mountain artillery brigade has 999 officers and soldiers, 720 horses, and 12 mountain artillery. Each mountain artillery squadron has 195 officers and soldiers, 138 horses and 4 mountain artillery. The two mountain artillery brigades have more than a thousand officers, soldiers and horses. They have a large organization, a lot of equipment and people, and the speed of the advance is naturally not fast.

For a car, the marching path is only ten minutes or even less. For the artillery march column composed of more than a thousand officers and soldiers and more than a thousand horses, it is a difficult road. After all, the horseshoes The legs and feet are incomparable to the wheels of a wheel.

Therefore, when Tetsujiro Yamada led the headquarters of the 41st Infantry Regiment to the forward position extremely smoothly, he successfully captured five infantry brigades and the 41st Infantry Regiment, as well as several of the 38th Infantry Regiment. Directly under the unified command of the troops and successfully opened the forward command post.

The following two Japanese mountain artillery brigades were still struggling to drive mules, horses and artillery carts towards the forward position.

At this point, the combat command sequence of the Japanese attack force has once again changed. Two infantry brigades of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army and the 38th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army's 48th Division were captured. The three infantry brigades and two infantry regiments directly under the command, as well as the two 75mm mountain artillery brigades, were unified under the command of the 41st Infantry Regiment.

The forward command post opened by the 41st Infantry Regiment also means that the Japanese organized and unified attack force has further penetrated into the 48th Division's positions, and further caused damage to the Chinese army's defensive positions in Shimonoseki. threatened.

Just as the Japanese army's frontline was further pointing towards Xiaguan, He Wei also successfully led the special agent battalion to the command post of the 48th Division. Accompanying the special agent battalion were the tank company and tank defense of the Army Armored Corps. Artillery platoon, and although He Shaozhou's 103rd Division is also rushing to transport, the number of trucks that can be used for transportation is limited, and the total strength of the 103rd Division is more than 5,000, and it will not be able to pull it up for a while.

Therefore, the only reinforcements to the 48th Division are the Secret Service Battalion.

"Brothers, you are finally here. If you don't come, all of our division will be dead." "If we continue to fight, our division will be completely destroyed."

"All the old soldiers have been exhausted. If we continue to fight like this, all the new recruits will also die. Brothers, please think of a way quickly."

In the command post, He Wei was observing the battle situation at the forward position in front of the artillery mirror, while the chief of staff of the 48th Division, with tears streaming down his face, kept telling He Wei about the brutality of the battle situation and constantly urging He Wei. Wei tried to find a way to change the tragic war situation that now cost lives.

The battle situation that He Wei saw through the artillery mirror was indeed very bloody and tragic. Most of the entire 48th Division's front-line positions had been captured by the Japanese army, and the 48th Division's counterattack troops were in full swing. Wave after wave launched an attack on our own positions occupied by the Japanese army.

"Kill!"

"Go up, go up, don't retreat!"

The 48th Division's counterattack troops screamed and killed one after another. The troops that rushed to launch a counterattack were mopped down in rows by the dense firepower net projected by the Japanese troops in the position. After being mopped down, the troops behind them followed one after another. Then, one after another, the Japanese army launched attacks. Now the firearms fired by the Japanese army were not limited to rifles and light and heavy machine guns in the hands of the infantry. The Type 92 infantry artillery directly under the brigade and the Type 41 mountain cannon of the wing artillery squadron were all firing. .

In the artillery mirror, He Wei could even see that the corpses of the dead Chinese officers and soldiers had been piled into a hill. The surrounding land was dyed dark red with the flesh and blood of the fallen officers and soldiers. Some injured and undead officers and soldiers were lying twisted and twisted. On the ground, he crawled backwards with difficulty.

The officers and soldiers who faced the Japanese firepower were extremely brave, but the Japanese army had too many troops and the firepower was too fierce. The airtight firepower network was like a wall, and the Chinese officers and soldiers who rushed up There was no gap to break into.

He Wei also felt his heart twisting when he saw it. Based on the actual combat situation he observed, he initially judged the approximate strength and firepower of the Japanese army, then punched the wall hard and shouted: "That's enough, that's enough. Let them stop attacking. This motherfucker is not fighting, she is feeding people’s lives into a meat grinder.”

"Stop attacking! Stop attacking!"

"Stop fighting and withdraw the troops!"

The staff officers in the command post of the 48th Division who had already lost their patience immediately called their troops to stop the attack. When the Chief of Staff of the 48th Division heard the words "stop the attack", his face had been pale. With blood color, he immediately stood up and came to He Wei's side, asking: "Brother, do you have any good tricks?"

He Wei pulled up a chair and sat down heavily. He did not answer him immediately, but thought about the next countermeasures amidst the sound of gunfire that gradually became sparse in the forward position.

At this time, he already knew the strength and firepower of the Japanese army. The Japanese had at least three thousand troops, and their heavy firepower was even more powerful. What he had just seen with his own eyes were the Type 41 mountain artillery and cannons directly under the regiment. In addition to the Type 94 37mm rapid-fire cannon, there were also Type 92 infantry guns directly under the brigade, and he saw more than a dozen armored vehicles.

The Japanese army has so many troops and powerful firepower. What's more terrible is that it has occupied the position of the 48th Division. It is not easy to drive them away. Now the Japanese are already in the position of the 48th Division. If they directly attack the Japanese army, it will be a real field position attack operation, using flesh and blood to fill the Japanese army's firepower network.

Therefore, the idea of ​​directly attacking to regain the position was immediately rejected by He Wei in his heart. If he forced it on at this time, even if the secret service battalion took the lead, the battle would be very difficult.

Moreover, the prerequisite for offensive operations is to form an absolute and several-fold strength advantage over the defenders. The Japanese army invested a lot of money this time, with at least 3,000 people in the position.

The troops at He Wei's disposal only had one special agent battalion. The 103rd Division had not yet been dispatched. The 48th Division had suffered heavy losses just now. Most of them were disabled. The number of troops was not enough to defeat the Japanese army. The absolute advantage is unrealistic.

Just as He Wei was struggling in his mind about the next method of attack, the sound of guns and artillery in the forward positions gradually stopped. The troops of the 48th Division who had just attacked the Japanese positions also successively called the command post to report the battle situation.

Amidst the ringing of the phone one after another, the tragic casualty figures one after another reached He Wei's ears along with the reports and recitations of the staff officers.

"Reporting to the Chief of Staff, the 142nd Brigade reported that the regiment they were attacking just now suffered more than 1,100 casualties. One battalion commander and five company commanders were killed."

"The 144th Brigade reported that the entire brigade suffered 1,300 casualties!"

"Chief of Staff, the division's special agent company has retreated. Counting those who failed, there are still thirty people left in the company."

Behind the brief reports were huge numbers of casualties. After hearing the report from his unit, the Chief of Staff of the 48th Division first took a breath of cold air, and then beat his chest, howled, and cursed. Everyone in the command post The staff officers and adjutants either sighed in astonishment or cursed angrily.

In just a few hours of fighting, the entire division suffered nearly 2,000 casualties and lost almost a field infantry regiment. This rate of casualties was almost the same as the most tragic Battle of Songhu.

Suddenly, the phone rang again. Just when everyone in the command post thought it was another call from the troops below reporting casualties and losses, the staff officer who answered the phone repeated a piece of news that shocked everyone in the command post.

"Report to the Chief of Staff, the 142nd Brigade reports that a large number of Japanese troops have appeared in front of the position!"

"what?"

Many officers in the command post asked in unison. Suddenly, an atmosphere of surprise and panic began to spread in the command post. The Japanese army that had invaded the position was already a headache. If the Japanese army continued to send troops, with the existing strength If you continue to increase your pressure and continue to attack, the consequences will be simply unimaginable.

"Give me the phone!"

He Wei, who was racking his brains to think of countermeasures, rushed to the staff officer who answered the phone, grabbed the transmitter of the phone, and shouted: "What is the situation of the new Japanese troops in front of the position? The details of the report." Some!"

The reporter on the other side of the phone seemed to be startled by He Wei's suddenly raised voice. He was stunned for a moment before replying: "It was our group who saw it when they were retreating. The exact number of people is unclear. It seems that there are more people at least." Thousands of people are not like infantry. The team is full of horses, and they are also carrying cannons, like artillery. "

He Wei grabbed the transmitter of the phone and said with a confused look: "Artillery? Artillery? Thousands of artillery troops marching in column?"

All the officers in the command post also looked at He Wei who was talking to himself with strange eyes. It was not until half a minute later that He Wei's expression suddenly changed from confusion to excitement and joy, and then he lost it under the gaze of everyone. He picked up the transmitter of the phone, walked excitedly behind the artillery mirror, and yelled viciously: "If you dare to let the artillery move in alone, you are asking for death! The one who is looking for death is here!"

(End of this chapter)