Chapter 1438: Sinking Into Darkness (Asking for Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month!)

"The Chinese are surrounding us from all sides. I will lead the 39th Division to fight the enemy to the end. I hope the division commander and Commander Isamu Yokoyama will send support as soon as possible!"

"There is no way for us to retreat. I will serve His Majesty the Emperor with my life!"

"Please tell my wife Hanako that I will watch over her and the children in heaven."

These are the three telegrams that Masayoshi Yamada sent to the division headquarters and the 11th Army headquarters during the three days of fighting in Beidou Mountain.

From them, we can fully see the whole process of this Japanese Army colonel from hope to despair.

On the morning of the 24th, the 40th Infantry Brigade was ordered to set out from Taishi Bridge to the Beidou Mountain area to meet the 231st Infantry Regiment. The two areas are about 30 kilometers apart. According to Murakami Ikko's estimate, the two armies should meet at dusk.

But at 10 o'clock, the mountain infantry company of the Four-line Regiment stationed on Beidou Mountain blocked the last retreat of the 231st Infantry Regiment.

If they did not pass through here, the 231st Infantry Regiment would be forced to abandon all the baggage, artillery and seriously injured soldiers. For the 231st Infantry Regiment, it was no longer a question of honor or not, but a question of the survival of the entire unit.

Losing ammunition and artillery only made them unable to fight, but losing food would starve thousands of people to death in such a mountain.

The 231st Infantry Regiment was forced to bombard Beidou Mountain for half an hour with the remaining 20 artillery pieces, and organized a terrifying long live charge. Nearly 1,800 Japanese infantry launched a suicide charge on Beidou Mountain.

Beidou Mountain, as the name suggests, has 7 small peaks arranged like a spoon. The main peak position is 680 meters high and the most steep. The other peaks are much shorter, with the highest being only 418 meters.

Gu Xishui adapted to local conditions and deployed a total of 14 squads of 269 combat-capable soldiers in the mountain infantry company on 6 peaks.

The main peak position named Hill 680 has an infantry platoon of Long Yan, which is the position with the most troops. Hill 389 has only two squads.

Gu Xishui did not prepare any reserve troops. He knew that the Japanese army would not give up the road to survival, and he had no shortcuts to choose from. He could only fight with all his strength.

The morale of the Japanese army should have reached the bottom. The so-called long live charge collapsed across the board in just 25 minutes.

Nearly one-third of the 1,800 Japanese infantrymen who attacked were lying on the hillside.

In a critical moment, Platoon Leader Long once again demonstrated the myth of the "machine gun god of war". In the same simple fortifications, Long Yan used an MG42 machine gun and three ammunition handlers. In 25 minutes, he emptied two ammunition boxes, a total of 5,000 rounds of bullets!

The main peak position that firmly locked the path to the outside world on Beidou Mountain was densely packed with feces-yellow corpses. Here alone, the Japanese army lost an entire infantry squadron.

Most of them were killed by Longyan's MG42, which was spitting flames like crazy. In order to quickly cool down the replaced barrels, the three ammunition handlers used up all the clean water they carried and urinated directly on the barrels.

The natural machine gun fortification with a tilted boulder weighing several tons as the top after the war was filled with a mixture of gunpowder smoke and urine, which was extremely strange.

It was also Longyan's luck. If it weren't for this natural boulder as the top of the fortification, his firepower point that never stopped would have been blown into pieces by the Japanese infantry artillery.

It was unknown what the boulder weighing several tons was made of, but it actually blocked several rounds of direct fire from the infantry artillery. After the war, it was checked that there were six basin-sized dents on it, which meant that 6 rounds of infantry artillery shells hit it directly.

The nearest hole was no more than 5 meters away from Longyan's position, but fortunately, the boulder not only did not break, but also blocked all the shrapnel and air waves with its heavy body, protecting the 4 Chinese soldiers inside.

After the war, Longyan specially lit a cigarette and placed it on the boulder to share the rare quiet moment after the war with it. In his words, "I am the son of the mountain, so Brother Lianshi loves me so much. It's fun to smoke a cigarette and watch the sunset with Brother Shi!"

The 231st Infantry Regiment, which lost 600 infantrymen in just one battle, was completely scared. No matter how angry Masayoshi Yamada roared, it was difficult for the Japanese army to organize a decent attack. Even Masayoshi Yamada, who was eager to get away, could only pin his hopes on the more than 6,000 imperial officers and soldiers of the 40th Infantry Brigade who were rushing to Beidou Mountain.

With the arrival of 6,000 troops, with the cooperation of aircraft and artillery, under the mode of internal and external attack, no matter how many Chinese there were in Beidou Mountain, they would definitely break it!

It can only be said that Masayoshi Yamada's imagination is beautiful, but the reality is extremely cruel.

In the afternoon, the 40th Infantry Brigade was the first to have trouble. It was not that they got lost in the mountains, nor that they did not want to rescue their colleagues, but they still decided to return.

Because the 74th Army of China suddenly sent an infantry division to attack Taishi Bridge. If these more than 10,000 people conquered Taishi Bridge, then, let alone the 231st Infantry Regiment, even the 40th Infantry Brigade would be surrounded by the Chinese in this mountainous area.

Seeing that the active evacuation was about to turn into a chain of traps that were constantly filled with people, Yokoyama Yong could no longer sit still. He immediately ordered the 40th Infantry Brigade to return to defend Taishi Bridge, and at the same time ordered the three independent infantry battalions stationed in Jingmen to immediately rush to the 40th Infantry Brigade. This was the only thing he could do for the 231st Infantry Regiment.

If Taishi Bridge is lost again, the 231st Infantry Regiment will be completely surrounded by the Chinese army in the Wushan Mountains. Not to mention running away, hunger and cold alone can make this elite force with thousands of troops collapse.

So, after receiving the news that the 40th Infantry Brigade could not arrive as scheduled, Yamada Masayoshi suddenly realized and immediately used the last strength in his hands to attack Beidou Mountain.

But the Japanese infantry who were still gathering finally gave up this move because the scouts brought news that made Yamada Masayoshi completely desperate.

The Chinese army is pouring into this mountainous area, and the number of troops is unknown.

If he bets all his troops on opening up this road, it is very likely that the road will not be opened, and even the existing 5-kilometer position will not be able to be defended.

Yamada Masayoshi had no choice but to make an order to temporarily hold the position and wait for reinforcements.

Logically speaking, the Japanese Army Colonel's tactics of seeking stability were not a big problem. After all, the 231st Infantry Regiment still had nearly 4,000 troops. Not to mention Yokoyama Isamu, even General Nishio Hisaha, the then commander of the China Expeditionary Army, did not dare to say that he would completely abandon the 231st Infantry Regiment for the sake of the overall situation.

And this is also the case. The battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion, Zhao Daqiang, and Gu Xishui were comrades who had a very good personal relationship. After receiving the order to reinforce the mountain infantry company that was fighting against the Japanese army alone, the major battalion commander personally led his sharp knife company, abandoned all the baggage, and each soldier had only the necessary guns and ammunition. The only additional equipment was a pot of water, and began to march quickly.

According to regulations, they had to reach the 20-kilometer journey within 6 hours. As a result, this infantry company, which did not even bring half a grain of rice, actually reached the rear of Beidou Mountain in just 5 hours.

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More than half of the officers and soldiers of the infantry company that arrived at the battlefield burst into tears when they arrived. They were exhausted and cried.

Moreover, with the usual training intensity of the 2nd Battalion's Sharp Knife Company, 13 soldiers actually fell behind. You can imagine the intensity of the 20-kilometer mountain road march.

It was an unprecedented forced march, and at least 5 kilometers of the road was completely without a road, and it was a dead end to cross the mountain by cutting through thorns with a big knife.

The time when the 2nd Battalion's Sharp Knife Company arrived was just when Yamada Masayoshi was planning to attack again. If the 231st Infantry Regiment had another long live charge, the Chinese side, which had a force of 500 people, would be able to beat them to a pulp.

Without the threat of heavy artillery, with the light weapons firepower of the current 4th Regiment and the mortars equipped, the Japanese army would need at least 6 times more troops to have a chance of success.

Of course, the Japanese army did not have heavy artillery at this time, but they still had fighter planes to help.

Under the personal call and plea from Hengshan, the Japanese Navy also gave him the greatest support. At 11:00 and 3:00 pm on the 24th, 24 sorties of fighter planes were dispatched to bomb the high ground occupied by the Chinese side in Beidou Mountain.

However, the mountain infantry company had experienced many such things. As soon as they heard the roar of the aircraft engine in the sky, they immediately organized the soldiers to withdraw to the natural caves on Beidou Mountain.

This is really a good fortune for the mountain infantry company. Wushan is different from Taihang Mountain. Taihang Mountain belongs to northern China. The weather is dry and mainly granite. There are few caves. Wushan is located on the side of the river. It has abundant rainfall all year round and there are enough water resources in the mountains. There are really many such natural caves, and there are different distributions on this Beidou Mountain.

Some large caves can accommodate an infantry company, let alone a dozen soldiers.

The two consecutive waves of bombing by the Japanese Navy caused very little actual damage to the mountain infantry company except for the collapse of some trenches.

This is also the main reason why the mountain infantry company, which had experienced two fierce battles in a row, could still maintain 80% of its structure after the war.

You know, in Tang Tuanzuo's estimation, the mountain infantry company might need half a year to recover after this battle, but unexpectedly, they became the regiment-affiliated unit with the least losses among all the units of the Four-Line Regiment.

At 4 pm, when another wave of Japanese planes attacked, 12 40mm anti-aircraft guns of the Four-Line Regiment Anti-aircraft Battalion had been transported to the front line. With Cheng Tieshou's character, no matter how many Japanese planes you have, our anti-aircraft battalion is responsible for protecting the sky of our infantry.

The 12 anti-aircraft guns were fully fired, and the sky within a radius of ten kilometers was full of white mushrooms. The Japanese fighter planes had to drop bombs at an altitude of 3,000 meters, and the power was much smaller.

But the Chinese still had anti-aircraft guns, which was not the most desperate for the Japanese in the encirclement.

The scene that made them truly despair happened 10 minutes later. Before the Japanese naval fleet that dropped the bombs had time to fly away, a huge fleet of 36 Chinese wildcat fighters came from the direction of Yamashiro.

The Chinese actually dispatched all their fighters for their "small force" of less than 5,000 people?

The Japanese infantry on the ground almost cried.

They still underestimated the current Chinese Air Force.

The Chinese Air Force after another half a year is not the Chinese Air Force with 100 wildcat fighters and more than 100 old fighters in the middle of last year.

After being continuously criticized by the Japanese diplomatic department, the Japanese government continued to increase troops in Southeast Asia and flirted with the bear country, etc., the US side probably entered the role of "broken jar and broken jar" and couldn't extricate itself.

In just half a year, with China using three large mines in Yunnan Province as collateral and Rockefeller Company as a guarantee, the United States actually approved two low-interest loans to China totaling 300 million US dollars. What was the 300 million US dollars used for? What else could it be used for besides purchasing weapons and equipment?

Another 150 Wildcat fighters modified according to China's requirements and various accessories including a large number of Thompson submachine guns and ammunition were continuously shipped to Afghanistan, and then transported to China via Burma by land.

In addition, after the recruitment of Colonel Chennault, a volunteer aid flight team composed of Chinese, overseas Chinese, and retired American pilots and pilots was established.

The flight team headquartered in Kuncheng, Yunnan Province has 200 pilots, more than 60 fighters and more than a dozen transport planes.

After the New Year, the Chinese Air Force is not so strong that it scares itself, but at least it has improved a lot compared to a year ago.

36 fighters were dispatched in the first war, which can still be pieced together, and it is not all China's fighters.

But no matter what, the might of 36 Wildcat fighters roaring in was extremely rare on the Chinese battlefield.

The 231st Infantry Regiment was pleased to receive such treatment.

The commanders of the 5th and 3rd Chinese war zones, which were destined to win this battle, jointly requested the Ministry of Military Affairs to ask the Air Force to cooperate in keeping the enemy 231st Infantry Regiment in this mountain, giving the 11th Army a heavy blow and putting a perfect end to the Shipai Defense War.

The man who had originally planned to hold a press conference in the evening and announce the great victory of the Shipai Defense War naturally nodded and agreed immediately when he heard that there was such a good thing.

Perhaps, it is not only that person who would pursue the enemy with the remaining courage. Anyone who encounters the matter of beating the drowning dog will be excited.

Although the enemy and our losses have not been fully counted, according to the rough figures reported by various departments, our losses in the Battle of Shipai were about 30,000, while the Japanese losses were at least more than 30,000. If the 231st Infantry Regiment and the Hariya Detachment were left behind, the number would exceed 40,000.

A medium-sized battle with a loss ratio of 1 to 2 is enough to push that person's reputation up.

Moreover, the timing of the Chinese Air Force's attack this time was extremely clever. Through the intelligence agencies in Jiangxia area, they observed the time when the Japanese aircraft took off and calculated the time when they ended the bombing. That is, when the Japanese aircraft fleet had no psychological preparation, the 36 wildcats that had a complete advantage emerged from the clouds and chased the 24 Zero fighters.

One came prepared, and the other was hasty. The difference between the two sides was 12 fighters, and there was a full height difference of more than 2,000 meters.

Needless to say, the outcome of this battle.

As thousands of Japanese infantrymen looked up, the Empire's naval fighter planes fell one by one, and only less than 10 fighter planes left the battlefield.

The loss of fighter planes did not really matter to the Japanese infantrymen, but it meant that the last hope of the 231st Infantry Regiment was shattered.

The 11th Army of the Japanese China Expeditionary Army fell into the darkest moment since entering China.

A full 6,000 troops were surrounded and killed by the Chinese in the beautiful Wushan! ()