Chapter 240: If We Can’t Defeat the Eighth Route Army, Can We Still Defeat Your Central Army?

Inside Zhongtiao Mountain, in a forest near Shaoyuan.

"Have you figured out the situation ahead? Can we bypass the enemy's position?"

"I really don't know where those people came from. How come there are defensive positions halfway along the way? It's like they knew our route in advance. It's terrible. Did the Eighth Route Army intercept the order from the headquarters?"

Hearing the complaints of Major Xiuyi Nishikawa, the nearby Japanese infantry couldn't help but feel desperate.

When they just broke out of the encirclement, their battalion had more than 900 people. After experiencing layers of resistance from various units of the 129th Division, the troops had been beaten to pieces, and it was difficult to put together a group of death squads to break into the enemy's position.

If they hadn't met friendly troops with the same experience on the way, it is estimated that everyone would have to go into the mountains and live a life of savages.

When the Japanese were lamenting their ill-fated fate, the news brought back by the soldiers who went to investigate rekindled the fire of hope for everyone to survive.

"Major, from my observation, the Eighth Route Army is not stationed in the front position."

"Although I didn't see the specific situation clearly, the defenders should be Guofu's troops. The soldiers' uniforms are all yellow-green. I judge that the enemy must be the 98th Army that we defeated."

"Breaking through this line of defense is not difficult!"

As soon as this was said, everyone from the major to the private showed excited expressions. The Eighth Route Army is definitely not defeated, but they are good at bullying the Central Army.

The cause of this Central Plains Campaign was to pick on the weak in North China and kill the Guofu troops to liberate the three divisions of the First Army.

What's more, the 98th Army is an old rival, which was just defeated by the 33rd Division and the 41st Division two days ago. Facing the defeated generals, the Japanese's shattered self-confidence gradually occupied the high ground of reason

"Yoshi!"

"We are really lucky!"

"It seems that the preserved fruit troops want to take revenge, so let's show them what it means to be a lean camel is bigger than a horse!"

Thinking that he had obtained important intelligence, Xichuan Shuichi immediately set off for the temporary command post.

The current Japanese troops are composed of several small troops that were scattered. Among the 1,700 people, there are five officers above the rank of major.

Whenever there is a major decision-making event, it is necessary to reach an internal consensus before taking action.

It is obvious that although they were beaten to a pulp by the Eighth Route Army, they looked down on the Central Army and even boasted that the battle would end in half an hour. After all, from the beginning of the battle to now, there has not been a single capable fighter in the entire Northeast Line.

"Mr. Nishikawa, you will lead two infantry squadrons to launch an attack, and the only artillery squadron will provide fire cover."

"Your mission is to feint, as long as you can attract the enemy's attention. The remaining warriors will cut in from the enemy's flank position and intersperse the front battlefield."

"With the current ammunition reserves of the troops, hand-to-hand combat is the best choice."

"Okay!"

After speaking, the five officers came to a high ground and began to observe.

The defensive position in the distance looks a little different from the style of the preserved fruit, and the firepower configuration and fortifications are very cleverly arranged. It's a pity that there seems to be no heavy weapons, not even large-caliber mortars.

It is definitely more than enough to feint with two infantry squadrons and one artillery squadron.

Before the operation began, Motoyama Yudai asked the signalman behind him:

"Have you contacted Lieutenant General Harada Yukichi and Lieutenant General Tanaka Hisaichi to confirm the location of the 21st Division and the 35th Division?"

The signalman carrying an electronic instrument stepped forward, took the map handed over by his major, and then drew a marching route on the map with a pencil.

When the five majors were studying the route, he pointed to the position in the distance and took the initiative to say:

"Contact!"

"As long as we can break through the defense line, we can meet the support troops in the southeast for another day. If we are lucky, we can rest in Henan Province in a day and a half."

As soon as the voice fell, the five majors showed fierce light!

The offensive of the 129th Division was so brutal that even the casualties on the battlefield in Shanghai were not so great. They have no other ideas now, and just want to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

Presumably, the troops in the defensive position in front of them could not have imagined that their side would gather troops to bypass from the side.

"Let's go! If we don't succeed, we will die!"

······

Five minutes later, on the Northwest Army's position.

"Brigade Commander! The devils are finally here! It looks like there are two squadrons!"

Accompanied by the signalman's report, smoke from explosions suddenly rose from the Northwest Army's position in the distance.

Gao Jianbai walked out of the battlefield command post and came to the observation post, where he saw more than 400 devils maintaining a skirmish line, rushing towards his position like locusts.

Adding to the shells that fell from time to time, it seemed that they were going to be dispersed in one wave.

"Hmph, there's really no flexibility at all!"

"I thought I was the 251st Brigade of the 84th Division of the 17th Army. We've already upgraded our guns to artillery!"

In the past, Gao Jianbai's 251st Brigade didn't even have a mountain gun with a caliber greater than 70 mm, and could only rely on an 82 mm mortar to support the field.

There were only a few heavy machine guns, and the bullets for such a thing were pitifully few.

Now after picking up a wave of airdrops, his back straightened up.

Li Yunlong not only assigned them a Type 92 infantry gun, but also eight Hotchkiss heavy machine guns and fifteen Czech light machine guns.

Each soldier had a Type 38 rifle and nearly a hundred rounds of ammunition.

The reason for not giving the French weapons was not because the division commander was stingy, but mainly because it took some time to get used to the new weapons, so it was better to give the preserved soldiers something they were familiar with.

It was a pity that there were no mines, but grenades and mortars were enough. The two squadrons of Japanese soldiers could never rush into their Northwest Army's positions. As long as they dared to come, they would never return!

However, the Japanese offensive was much more fierce than he imagined.

In order to avoid a rout on the front line, he picked up the rifle beside him and decided to go to the front line to supervise the battle in person and boost the morale of the soldiers. When he just walked out of the command post, he stopped and said to the signalman:

"Is there any news from the Shaanxi Army and Division Commander Li? When are they going to set off?"

"Yes!"

The signalman replied: "The 1st and 21st Marine Regiments have already set off, and there is also news from the Shaanxi Army. They will immediately set out if they are sure that the enemy has no follow-up troops."

After ensuring that everything was normal for the friendly forces, Gao Jianbai rushed to the front line with peace of mind.

However, he had been betrayed by his comrades before, and he knew that it was best for him to take responsibility for his own life and front. In order to prevent being caught off guard by the Japanese surprise attack, he said to his most trusted subordinates in a decisive manner:

"Move all my guard platoons to the high ground on the left to deploy defenses!"

"Lao Zhang! Even if your platoon is wiped out, you are not allowed to retreat a step! Otherwise, I will hold you accountable!"

At first, Gao Jianbai wanted to withdraw a platoon from the reserve. But considering the strength and reputation of the 1st Marine Regiment, he decided to keep the reserve for counterattack!

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, the platoon leader of the guard platoon immediately led his men to the high ground.

······

Boom boom boom!

Several mortar shells landed on the Northwest Army's position, splashing a burst of sand and flying stones.

The Japanese called mortars above 90 mm, and the previous round of shelling was obviously the power of 60 mortars. It is unknown which preserved fruit unit it was captured from.

A battalion commander shook off the dust on his head, then put on a helmet and set up a Czech machine gun.

"Six hundred meters! Light and heavy machine gun groups, fire! Open fire when you see the Japanese scattered soldiers! Don't let them rush too close!"

In the past, their 17th Army did not have enough bullets. Facing groups of enemy infantry, they could only let the enemy get closer before shooting.

Things are different now. Now each machine gun group has sufficient ammunition, and there is no need to save bullets. The closer the distance between the two sides, the more obvious the Japanese's gunmanship advantage.

As the battalion commander shouted, the soldiers got out of the anti-artillery hole with five Czech-style, and the heavy machine guns were also lifted to the designated shooting position.

A series of bolt pulling sounds were heard in the position, and hot flames spewed out of the black muzzle.

The firepower of the light and heavy machine guns, combined with the two caliber mortars, made the pace of the Japanese charge like a frame drop.

But the enemy's counterattack shells soon fell continuously near the Northwest Army's firepower point.

The Japanese artillery was indeed very powerful, and even the mortars that had just been captured were very accurate. The infantry and artillery coordinated well, and they would provide support once they saw that the infantry's advance was hindered.

Fortunately, neither the Type 92 infantry gun nor the captured mortars posed much threat to the strong fortifications that the Northwest Army had spent a day and a night to build.

As long as they were not directly hit, there would be basically no serious casualties.

Seeing that the Japanese were only 400 meters away from the position, this distance was not only within the effective range of the Type 38 rifle, but the bullets fired by the soldiers would not be too far off.

"Shoot for me! Avenge our 17th Army!"

Instantly, three different bullets swept towards the Japanese who were charging in a scattered line.

Faced with the long-planned blockade, the speed of the two squadrons' advance suddenly stagnated. The infantry could only look for shelter nearby, and even several squadrons were beaten back dozens of meters.

"Baga, what a powerful firepower!"

"Where do these candied troops get so many rifles!"

Seeing a soldier beside him fall, the Japanese squadron leader was so angry that he cursed! However, after calming down, many questions gradually emerged in his mind.

It's OK that there are a few light machine guns on the opposite side, after all, they are relatively light and easy to carry when retreating.

But the number of heavy machine guns and rifles is very unusual. Just by listening to the gunshots, he knew that they were Type 92 heavy machine guns and Type 38 rifles. The defenders before did not have these weapons.

Moreover, judging from the firepower of the rifles and the number of enemies, there should be a gun for each person, and even bullets are not lacking. Even if the number of people is the same, the enemy will definitely be at a disadvantage in firepower.

Although the devils attacking the Northwest Army's position are just feints, if the pressure is not enough, there will be no good results after returning.

In desperation, the grassroots officers can only draw their samurai swords and roar to give orders to control the situation!

"Baga! Don't retreat!"

"Are you worthy of His Majesty Tianhuang's expectations? Keep attacking!"

In order to keep the infantry under their command The momentum of the attack, several squadron leaders even led the team personally, and two squadron leaders also supervised the battle at the end of the team. To outsiders, it really looks like a jade charge.

Seeing the commander rush out of the bunker first, the Japanese infantry followed closely.

No superiors were needed to command, and everyone performed their duties. After the grenade launcher entered the effective range, they took the initiative to suppress the light and heavy machine gun firepower points of the Northwest Army.

The Japanese using the crooked handle rifles were more familiar with going around to a position with a good firing range and suppressing the infantry with machine guns.

It must be admitted that compared with the Northwest Army's position, the firepower configuration of the two enemy squadrons was more reasonable.

Within a distance of 400 meters, the combination of grenade launchers and crooked handle rifles has greater lethality, not to mention that the Japanese's shooting skills are much more accurate than those of the preserved soldiers.

More than a dozen grenade launchers kept firing, and the grenades flew accurately to the firepower points on the positions with whistling sounds.

Fortunately, the soldiers of the Northwest Army had been baptized by the great battles, and they were very skilled in dodging grenade launchers, so they would not be knocked out of all the light and heavy machine guns in one wave.

But the Japanese's goal had been achieved. Without the cover of machine guns, the role of rifles and 50 mortars alone was limited.

Up to now, the two squadron leaders have been a little overwhelmed.

The superior's order was to make a feint to attract the enemy's attention. If they led the team to break through the defenders' positions, it would have the same effect.

As long as they rushed into the front positions, the threat of both light machine guns and mortars would be greatly reduced.

Even if their own number was far less than that of the defenders, hand-to-hand combat still depended more on technology and physical strength. The two squadron leaders did not believe that the preserved troops, who could not even get enough food, had the ability to fight with them with bayonets!

What's more, the main force was still circling around. Thinking of the strong support, one of the squadron leaders gritted his teeth and shouted the classic charge slogan!

"It's a black card! Load on board!"

As the distance between the two sides got closer and closer, even though the skirmish line gradually lost its effect, the light and heavy machine guns and rifles also caused a surge in casualties among the Japanese. But they charged forward like hungry wolves under the rain of bullets.

The Japanese's hit rate was not low, and they would basically get something within three shots. Moreover, each of them was full of battlefield experience, and they often closed the distance while the machine guns were changing magazines.

The soldiers of the Northwest Army were killed by grenade launchers and crooked handles from time to time, and the casualties on the positions were not small.

The battle had only started for ten minutes, and more than 200 soldiers had already died. If Gao Jianbai had not been on the front line, the front line might have been defeated.

Suddenly, a sparse round of shells fell on the way the Japanese charged, and a violent explosion temporarily stopped their attack.

"Baga!"

"What is the artillery squadron doing? Did they miscalculate the distance? Those bastards almost hit us."

With the power and the sound of the gun, it is clear that it is the Type 92 infantry gun.

Even if the enemy can seize some guns and ammunition, the infantry gun will definitely not fall into their hands. Moreover, if there is a barreled gun, the defenders would have used it long ago. Why wait until now?

The distance between the two sides is only more than 100 meters. Which gunner is so confident in himself?

Just when the Japanese squadron leader was about to continue the charge, a 7.62mm bullet blew off his skull, followed by several infantry gun shells and mortar shells.

In just a few seconds, the situation on the battlefield changed dramatically.

I will finish writing about Zhongtiao Mountain tomorrow, and then I will take a break and write about all of Shanxi.