Chapter 152 Are We Going to Attack the County Town?

I have to admit that the enemy's firepower is indeed fierce.

Under the attack of twenty-three aircraft of the Army Aviation and ten mountain artillery pieces, the 385th Brigade on the Shi Nao Mountain position was beaten to the point where they were unable to fight back, and the battle came to the familiar style of fighting in their childhood.

The shells flew toward the mountain one after another, and the sound of explosions continued. The 75mm caliber mountain artillery is very powerful, and the outer positions look like they have been gnawed by dogs.

Looking at the top of the mountain where gunfire was flying, the chief of staff of the Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade, Kodera Katsato, had a strange expression.

This is not because he feels sorry for the artillery shells. As the headquarters of the brigade, Yangquan has sufficient reserves of various ammunition. Just a few hundred rounds, not even a waste.

He just felt that this style of play was very unreasonable. A mountain artillery brigade did not even test fire, but just covered it with artillery fire. Under normal circumstances, a small group of troops should be sent to attack first to test out the enemy's firepower.

Even if you want to buy time, you have to follow the tactics manual, otherwise if the infantry goes up directly, it will be for nothing.

Thinking of this, Kodera Katsari decided to persuade his brigade leader. Several infantry squadrons are still in the preparation stage. If we can hold on to Katayama Shotarō, we can avoid losses.

"Your Excellency, Major General, I know you are in a hurry, but don't worry yet. After we capture Shi Nao Mountain, the rescue work on Zhengtai Road cannot be carried out without infantry."

"With our current fighting style, it is easy to defeat all the warriors of my brother's country."

Obviously his persuasion was of no use, and even Katayama Shoutaro was kind-hearted and thought he was being a donkey. The old devil waved his hand nonchalantly, as if the foot man was just a consumable, and then said with murderous intent:

"We don't have that much time to waste here. If Lieutenant General Shinozuka knew the current situation, he might send us to the reserves."

"And we have a total of 2,000 people here, as well as a mountain artillery brigade. I have the advantage! In an hour, I will see the body of the commander on the opposite side, otherwise I will take you for granted."

"It would be great if the Army Air Force could bring some incendiary bombs. I really don't know what these guys are thinking."

Although the last sentence was about complaining about the pilots who came to support him, Katayama Shoutaro's tone was full of the flavor of Versailles, and he even had a confident smile on his face.

In his opinion, if these two thousand people cooperate with Lu Hang, even if all the officers and soldiers of the 129th Division come to defend in person, he can penetrate the opponent's position.

It's a pity that I can't see the specific situation on Shi Nao Mountain in this small day, otherwise there is a high chance that I will be so angry that I will suffer from brain congestion.

Due to Brigadier Chen's foresight, the overall situation of the 385th Brigade was much better than expected, and the number of casualties was less than fifty.

The soldiers relied on the fortifications built overnight in the early morning of the 19th. These waves of artillery shells and bombs washed the ground without causing serious casualties to the comrades of the two regiments.

Moreover, if someone really regards the 129th Division as a simple Preserved Fruit C Division, everyone from the division commander down to the soldiers will laugh at that person for not understanding what the characteristics of the Republic of China are.

In an anti-artillery fortification similar to a cat's ear hole, Commander Zheng of the 769th Regiment shook the dirt on his helmet. He curled his lips helplessly and then said to himself:

"These little devils are so damn rich, the cannonballs are like those blown by the wind."

"How can anyone fight like this? Isn't this blowing up the air? None of the six sons of the old Zhang family would be so prodigal."

Although he envied the enemy's firepower, Captain Zheng soon thought of the logistics magician Deputy Minister Huang, and then his envy turned into a longing for the future.

When the enemy's artillery fire ended, he immediately climbed out of the fortifications. After scanning the messy position around him, he shouted to the surrounding soldiers:

"Everyone is ready to fight! The enemy will come up as soon as the shelling stops! Hurry, hurry, Hurry! Health workers! Rescue the wounded quickly! Give priority to the seriously injured."

Although some people often complain about the Japanese's style of play, thinking that charging the infantry after the artillery bombardment is brainless.

But when facing the Eighth Route Army and even the preserved fruit troops that lack heavy weapons, this type of infantry-artillery coordinated combat is the simplest and most effective.

Under normal circumstances, the Japanese infantry will lurk in the safe position closest to the enemy.

The artillerymen used barrel guns or mortars to open a suitable assault channel for the infantry.

Waiting for the bombardment to end, the infantry will launch a charge before the enemy can react, and use light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers to suppress the opposing firepower points on the way.

But Katayama Shoutaro, an old devil, seems to have forgotten one thing, that is, this style of play requires close tactical coordination and requires soldiers to unite and trust each other.

If it were the wave of soldiers from 40 years ago, even the subordinate units of the C Division could be considered proficient in mountain warfare. After all, the training was rigorous at that time and he had a lot of combat experience.

But after entering the stalemate stage, the quality of the Japanese soldiers gradually declined.

Many soldiers don't know how to use the terrain when attacking from the rear. Even the medical soldiers don't know how to choose a mountain hideout to receive, bandage and treat the wounded.

But what's more, these soldiers were patchworked together, and there were also some messy expats and puppet troops.

And there was another thing he didn't consider, which was what to do if these shells didn't have the expected effect.

After hearing the order from their regiment leader, the soldiers of the 769th Regiment immediately performed their duties. They got out of the artillery hole and ran along the communication trench to their own position.

Although many of the trenches and fortifications dug yesterday were blown up, there was no choice at this time.

Through the smoke, the comrades at the frontline could clearly see that groups of Japanese soldiers maintained a scattered line and formed a wave formation to press forward towards the west side of Lion Head Mountain.

There was the highest point in the terrain. Xiao Rizi planned to occupy it and strengthen the defense to make a breakthrough in the center. When this goal was achieved, the main force could launch a general attack from both sides.

The idea was very full, but the reality was very skinny.

The 769th Regiment and the 14th Regiment were the main forces. With the perfect firepower points and the advantage of high attack, they directly hit the Japanese soldiers head-on.

Because these Japanese soldiers who were put together had no unified command, even if they charged fearlessly, they could not touch the Eighth Route Army's position.

The precision shooters in the troops specifically targeted the enemy's grassroots officers, and their command knives flashed like targets under the moonlight.

This caused the Japanese soldiers to be shot out of the yellow stripes as soon as they had a little improvement in organization.

With the cooperation of various firearms, grenade launchers and mortars, the remaining 300 meters were like a natural moat. These days, the attack lasted for nearly ten minutes, but there was no significant effect.

However, it was a pity that the mines buried by the 385th Brigade were blown up by the mountain artillery. Otherwise, with the current situation, more than a hundred beasts would have been killed.

Katayama Shotaro almost fainted after seeing the gunfire on the Lion Head Mountain position through the telescope.

As a major general of the army who graduated from a regular military academy, he naturally saw that the enemy was not affected by the artillery fire at all.

The old man now regretted not listening to his chief of staff, but just pretended to be calm for the sake of face.

However, benefiting from the unsuccessful attack of his own side, Katayama Shotaro finally realized one thing. What he was facing was not some daring guerrillas, but the main force of the enemy who had been planning for a long time.

Although the chief of staff withdrew the attacking soldiers without informing him, the old devil was not angry, nor did he use the ancestral big fight of the army.

After all, the other party was also trying to preserve its strength, and this judgment was correct.

At this moment, the disadvantages of this concentrated superior firepower and manpower were reflected. The whole army has not taken down the enemy, which has a great impact on morale.

Katayama Shotaro knew that if he did not do something, he might be dragged to death by the enemy here. Fortunately, after calming down, the IQ of this old devil was back online.

He first gathered the officers who participated in the attack and survived in a temporary command post, and asked these people to communicate with the artillery battalion to avoid the situation of air explosion.

At this time, a staff officer ran in from outside. He held a piece of paper in his hand, and the casualties just counted on the paper.

"Report to the brigade commander, we lost 300 people in the attack just now! Among them, there is a lieutenant and five second lieutenants!"

After the report, the staff officer closed his eyes slightly, ready to face the big fight. But after waiting for more than ten seconds without success, he opened his eyes and saw the red eyes of his major general.

This casualty report made Katayama Shotaro realize the seriousness of the situation, and the group of dragons cannot be without a leader. These soldiers must have a unified command, so he said to the people in front of him:

"Go back to the headquarters now and call Major Nikaido over. The next attack will trouble you two."

Although these two have been in the position of staff for a long time, their command on the battlefield may not be as good as before.

But after all, they are officers who have served as battalion captains, and their military ranks are convincing. It is no problem for each of them to lead a few hundred people.

Five minutes before the second wave of attack began, Katayama Shotaro thought he had made all preparations. The old devil showed a ferocious smile, as if the two previous defeats had nothing to do with him.

"Nikaido-kun and Nagasaki-kun, I don't want to see any accidents happen in this attack. Once the artillery fire stops, your bayonets must be stabbed into the enemy's body!"

"I will provide you with all available support, remember to wear your gas masks."

Seeing their brigade commander's sinister order, the two majors quickly drew their command knives and said in unison:

"Hey! I will personally command!"

Five minutes later, the artillery fire came to the Lion's Head Mountain position again, but this time the devils conducted a test fire first.

Thirty seconds later, the ten Type 94 mountain guns fired at the position just communicated at a rate of 15 rounds per minute. This artillery fire lasted for four minutes.

Hundreds of shells fell on the Lion's Head Mountain position, and the explosions roared continuously. And this time it was not just the outer positions, the artillery fire continued to extend forward, and the mountain peaks seemed to be wailing.

Katayama Shotaro understood the principle of making a strong start and then declining. In order to prevent any chaos and to take Lion's Head Mountain.

The old devil specifically ordered the artillery battalion to use the Type 92 red bullet containing diphenyl cyanide, and also used the Type 90 smoke bomb to assist the infantry to advance.

The command of the devils in this attack was obviously improved. They took advantage of the smoke and moved step by step.

First, more than a dozen Type 92 heavy machine guns were placed on the side, and grenade launchers were used to suppress the western position defended by the 769th Regiment.

If the cooperation in these days could be better, maybe this Lion's Head Mountain would really let them tear a hole.

Facing the enemy's attack again, all the Eighth Route Army soldiers put on gas masks. Since the 385th Brigade had the heaviest burden on its shoulders, the logistics department gave them priority in supplying support equipment.

Then, under the command of the platoon leaders, the firepower points used a large number of light machine guns to counterattack.

Grenade launchers are not only the tactical core of the devils, but our army's gunners are also not bad at using them.

But in the face of this level of firepower, the two majors still ordered all soldiers to charge. They firmly believed that the enemy on the hilltop could not last too long in the poison gas.

The information gap has already caused Xiao Ri a lot of losses.

When they finally approached a position of about 100 meters, through the vision provided by the flares, they found that the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side not only wore helmets, but also gas masks that looked more exquisite than theirs.

This position is already within the range of grenades, 7K2 defensive grenades.

With the help of gravity, these killing weapons flew into the enemy's attacking queue. Although the enemy was somewhat scattered, the prefabricated fragments of the egg-shaped grenade would teach them a lesson.

The failure of the attack again completely broke Katayama Shotaro's defense. He drew out his command knife and slashed it hard on the table in front of him.

At the same time, Brigade Commander Chen called the two regiment commanders to the command post.

"Think of a way to see if we can fire a cannon at Katayama Shotaro's headquarters. Our Type 92 infantry guns are not kept for reproduction. If the location is suitable, the Type 20 may also work."

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Since Lujiazhuang is 55 kilometers away from Yangquan, in order to provide timely support to the 385th Brigade, Li Yunlong ordered the troops to march quickly at the moment of departure.

Thanks to the daily training of the new Second Regiment, and the physical fitness of the soldiers, they have greatly improved because of the food.

Otherwise, this kind of long-distance raid that requires both speed and marching time may not be able to be sustained by ordinary people.

Four hours later, more than half of the journey had passed.

Li Yunlong chose a forest and asked the troops to hide here for half an hour to rest and replenish their physical strength and water. Taking advantage of this time, he sent Wei Heshang to call Zhao Gang and the three battalion commanders over.

Sometimes we have to admit that there are differences between people. Although Hu Zi's physical fitness is not bad, it is not as good as Monk Wei.

This guy is simply a pervert. He marched on the broken road in the mountains for four hours as if nothing happened.

After everyone arrived, Captain Li drew a sketch of Yangquan on the ground based on his memory.

"I called you here to discuss something. If there is a chance, I want to take our regiment to attack Yangquan County."

Ask for everything!