Rise From Eight Hundred

Seeing that it could not catch up with the 108th Division, the 683rd Brigade did not immediately return to the front line to face the 16th Division.

Because when it comes to fishing in the river, one fish often escapes, and there are others. If you want to catch them all in one net, it is something that even gods cannot do.

In the morning, they waited for Tang Dao, who led the reconnaissance company and guard platoon to arrive. Except for the necessary security troops, the three regiments of the brigade were hiding in the mountains waiting for news from the front lines of the 17th Division and the 104th Division.

Japanese reconnaissance planes have passed over this area at low altitude more than four times during the day, which shows that the Japanese military headquarters is concerned about the whereabouts of the elite troops of the 683rd Brigade.

It's a pity that the 683 brigade, which is used to fighting ambushes, has already put on camouflage. They wear hats made of branches and leaves on their heads, and their backpacks are also covered with branches and leaves broken from the mountains. As long as they lie down in the grass, let alone still be there. Reconnaissance planes at an altitude of 300 meters cannot see it. Even if people are 30 meters away, if they don't pay attention, they may not be able to find thousands of soldiers hiding in the grass.

Finally, in the evening, Lei Xiong reported that the Second Mixed Brigade stopped advancing and began to occupy the high ground left by the 17th Division and the 104th Division.

"Yamashita has three options. First, the entire army should turn around immediately. No matter how many of our troops are on the rear wing, break through with all our strength. Even if the breakthrough fails, throw away all baggage and equip the entire army lightly. The mountainous area is vast and crisscrossed by small roads. Just rely on the established It cannot be completely blocked by the defense line.

Secondly, the entire army is based on the positions abandoned by our army. The highlands are easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we want to swallow them up, we will fall into the same predicament they were in before. Every time we take down a highland, we will pay an unimaginable price;

Third, the entire army went against the grain and moved forward resolutely. Before our army's encirclement was formed, we jumped out of the encirclement to avoid being besieged. "

In a cave, under the dim light of the lantern, Tang Dao helped Yamashita, who was covered in cold sweat, to set three options, and asked the previous question to the brooding Brigadier Cheng and the two colonels.

"In my personal opinion, Yamashita would choose the second path and defend according to danger. It may seem like a dead end, but it may be the only way to survive.

Because, looking back, Yamashita doesn't know how many troops our army has on the rear wing. If our army's lurking troops are as high as 20,000, then if his second mixed brigade wants to break through in a short time, he can only The delusion is that when the 17th Division and the 104th Division catch their breath, they will also surround him. 40,000 people can beat him but less than 10,000 people. Even if he throws away all the baggage and escapes with light equipment, it will probably be too late.

Commander Tang just said that he was going forward. It seemed that he was jumping out of the encirclement of our army before it was closed, but in fact the risk was even greater than the risk of going backward.

Because, even if Yamashita knew that our 3rd Army had an additional 30,000 people in the southeastern Shanxi region, he could not accurately judge where these 30,000 people were placed. What if these 30,000 people were placed on his way forward? ? In addition to my 683rd Brigade that has disappeared and the Four Lines Regiment that has never left, as well as the two infantry divisions that were ordered to evacuate and repair, nearly 70,000 people may be able to surround his small mixed brigade in less than a day. The water is blocked.

The tragic defeat of the Japanese army in the Battle of Taierzhuang that day is still vivid in our minds. After 20,000 Japanese troops were surrounded by more than 100,000 troops from our three infantry corps, they were helpless to resist. Yamashita should not make this mistake.

On the contrary, we are defending based on danger. Even if our troops reach 50,000 or even 67,000, it will not be easy to capture these highlands that they will have to spend great efforts to conquer.

The Japanese army can also mobilize aircraft to support the battle. It is probably no problem to defend for seven or eight days. But even if the Japanese reinforcements cannot arrive, we will have to pay terrible battle losses if we want to eat them.

To be honest, I least expect this old devil like Yamashita to choose this path, but this may be his most correct choice. "Captain Xu threw away the cigarette butt in his hand and said with a serious expression.

As the oldest commander in the 683 brigade, Commander Xu may not be considered a strong soldier, but he is definitely calm enough. It can be seen from his expression that if Yamashita chose the second path as he expected, , that is definitely a headache.

It is gratifying to be able to rely on pre-war planning to surround tens of thousands of Japanese troops, but when you think about attacking the high ground under the defense of Japanese troops who are good at field fortifications, the casualties paid may be the most painful since the 80th Army entered the war. .

"Yes, what Commander Xu said makes sense, and I don't want him to choose this option." Tang Dao nodded. "If that's the case, the casualties of our army compared with the Japanese army would be at least 1:1, or even more."

Brigadier Cheng and the two regiment leaders both looked solemn. They knew that Tang Dao might have underestimated.

Tang Dao's battle damage ratio was not obtained out of thin air. It was calculated based on the current strength and weapons and equipment of both sides.

If the Fourth Line Regiment were not equipped with a large number of infantry artillery and 37mm combat defense artillery, mortars, and mountain artillery, the 683 brigade currently also has 4 mountain artillery and 30 mortars. Tang Dao's estimate could even reach 2 to 2. 1.

The level of Japanese field fortification construction is so high that it is undoubtedly the first in Asia and at the forefront in the world.

The most representative battle that reflected the level of the Japanese army's field fortification construction was the Battle of Guanjianao that took place two years later in time and space.

In that battle, the Japanese army was an unsatisfied infantry brigade, the Okazaki Brigade, with a total strength of only more than 600 people. They used tens of thousands of Japanese troops to attack the lone army in the Taihang Mountains and penetrated deep into Dakouzi Town, in an attempt to launch a sneak attack on the 80th Army's arsenal here.

As a result, the only defense group of the arsenal fought back bravely, and the Japanese army was repulsed after three days and two nights of fierce fighting. However, the huge losses it caused to the arsenal made the boss of the Eightyth Group Army furious.

He went to the headquarters of the 921st Division in person, convened a meeting with the division and brigade chiefs, and dictated the headquarters' combat orders, requiring the 921st Division to completely annihilate this Japanese army.

The defeated Okazaki brigade did not flee quickly towards Licheng, but hid in a stronghold they had occupied for a long time - Guanjianao.

Guanjianao is located in the center of the Taihang Mountains. The terrain is difficult and easy to defend but difficult to attack. After long-term construction, the Japanese army formed a complete fortification system based on cave dwellings.

Each cave dwelling can not only constitute a firepower point on its own, but can also cover and support each other with other cave dwellings to form a cross firepower network. Moreover, a bulletproof trench was dug in front of the cave dwelling. If the grenade was not thrown accurately enough and fell into the trench, it would be difficult to pose a threat to the Japanese army. The Japanese army also dug cave dwellings into each other to form a network-like fortification system.

The 921st Division mobilized its main brigade, the 683rd Brigade, to surround the entire Guanjianao. The strength ratio was at least 8 to 1. According to common sense, it was a win.

But the battle process was jaw-dropping. The 683rd Brigade lacked anti-fortification artillery and had no choice but to take down the fortifications. Rows of brave soldiers fell down on the way to the charge.

At that time, the main force of the 1st Battalion of the 772nd Regiment of the 683rd Brigade had only more than 80 people left after two days of bloody battles. There was an infantry company of 164 people. Only 15 people could still stand and walk out of the battlefield after the war. Through these casualties, it is enough to see that Show the brutality of this offensive and defensive battle.

In the end, before the Japanese reinforcements arrived, by digging tunnels, the 921 Division finally broke through Guanjianao and killed more than 400 Japanese invaders. Only 60 people were left to resist. However, the 2,000 Japanese reinforcements had arrived 3 kilometers away, and the 921 Division could not Not giving up the plan to annihilate this Japanese army, they finally retreated.

This battle was not the one in which the 80th Group Army killed the most enemies in the Taihang Mountains, but it was definitely the most brutal one. More than 2,000 casualties were suffered, which directly injured the 921st Division. Even so, it was not completely wiped out. A remnant army of no more than 500 people.

If you say that without these fortifications, with the combat power of the 921 Division, it would take less than three hours for thousands of people to defeat hundreds of Japanese troops. However, with the support of these fortifications, the Japanese army held on for two full days.

Of course, this is not a myth about the strength of the Japanese army's field fortifications. The main reason is that the 921st Division has too few artillery. If they are equipped with infantry artillery that can counter fortifications, instead of 10 or 20 guns, just give them two or three guns, and the Japanese may not be able to defend them for a whole day.

However, what determines victory or defeat on the battlefield is not equipment, but people. Even with artillery, it would still be a fantasy to win without making enough sacrifices.

The current strength of the Second Mixed Brigade is at least 7,000 to 8,000 people. Even if the battle loss ratio is 1:1, that is still 10,000 casualties, which means that thousands of fresh lives have been lost. When a commander thinks of this number, his heart will suddenly twitch!

"On the contrary, I think that the old devil, Yamashita, will choose the third way. I don't have as many reasons as Old Xu, it's purely intuition." Comrade Wang Xiaoqiang took a long puff of cigarette and looked at the map with burning eyes.

"Eh? You, the kid, usually talk the most. Why do you just give an intuitive prevarication when you are analyzing?" Brigadier Cheng glanced at his capable subordinate in surprise.

It is true that Wang Xiaoqiang has a fiery temper, but this man is definitely smart enough. Although he speaks a little rudely, many things are to the point. Otherwise, with the intelligence of Brigadier Cheng Da, how could he be transferred from the Four Elements at Ye Chenghuan? After the regiment, he was used as the commander of the most powerful infantry regiment under his command. Bravery and strategy were the only criteria for being the commander of the 772 regiment.

"Hey, brigade commander, didn't you notice? Commander Tang just answered Lao Xu without a grimace like Lao Xu when he talked about battle losses. From what I know about him, let alone 10,000 casualties among officers and soldiers, Even if it's a thousand, he will frown in distress, so I judge his judgment and Yamashita will definitely not choose the second option." Wang Xiaoqiang grinned.

"Haha!" Hearing what Wang Xiaoqiang said, Brigadier Cheng and Tang Dao looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

Although it was a joke, this man's ability to observe words and emotions was really good, and he was telling the truth.

If there were really so many casualties, Tang Dao's expression might be so indifferent.

Besides, if this is the case, why did the 17th Division and the 104th Division retreat? Wouldn't it be better to hold on for another day or two and wait for reinforcements to arrive?

Thinking of this section, Captain Xu, who guessed that the Japanese army would definitely choose the second path, also felt that he seemed to have overlooked some important factors.

"Haha, let me tell you my point of view. This old devil, Yamashita, will definitely choose what he thinks is the best strategy and move forward. Moreover, they will march all night. Tonight, they will march along the road towards Licheng and Shecheng. " Brigadier Cheng smiled and expressed his opinion.

“The main reason why from Yamashita’s perspective, moving forward is the best strategy is that the 17th Division and the 104th Division took the initiative to abandon the high ground and evacuate.

Think about it, there is already a large-scale activity of our troops on the rear wing. Our 683rd Brigade and the Fourth Army Regiment are nowhere to be seen. There is also a rumored 30,000 extra people from the 3rd Army, and a large army is secretly surrounding them. The 17th Division and the 104th Division have been resisting for so long. There is no reason that they can't hold on for even one or two days. They only need to hold on for two more days. With the army surrounded like this, where will they go? Not only was there no place to run, there were not even a few decent positions. It was almost a desperate situation where death was inevitable.

But what is unreasonable is that the 17th Division and the 104th Division withdrew, leaving them with a position where they could hold on and wait for reinforcements.

As the saying goes, there must be a demon when something goes wrong. If it were you two, would you dare to stay here for a long time? Our Chinese army does not have Scuds. It will go where it says it will. It also takes time to reach the combat area, especially when there are Japanese reconnaissance planes in the sky from time to time.

If this is just a bait, a bait to tempt them to stay."

"I understand what the brigade commander means. Yamashita will definitely think that this is intentional by our army, just to make him feel that it is safest to stick to it and wait for reinforcements. In fact, it will take some time for our army to complete the deployment of this encirclement. Therefore, it is best to stay. It's extremely stupid." The words woke up the dreamer, and Captain Xu woke up like a dream.

"No wonder even the Japanese shouted the slogan: If you want to fight, fight the 683rd Brigade. Sure enough, Brigadier Cheng is worthy of being our number one general in the southeastern Shanxi region. You can clearly understand the thoughts of this old devil Yamashita." Tang Dao shook his head and sighed, but he clearly flattered him.

"Go away, you kid, stop wearing your hat on me." Brigadier Cheng rolled his eyes. "Your child is a typical conspirator. Yamashita's current situation is not all due to your child's design. Now he can even guess his final decision clearly. Who has your child's heart? "A lot of eyes?"

"Brigadier, please tell me what Commander Tang has planned!" Wang Xiaoqiang looked eager.

His military rank is the same as that of Tang Dao, but he is not qualified to be a member of the theater staff. He is not qualified to know the plans of those big guys.

"Do you think that the Four Lines Regiment has been hiding out and is just eating dry food! The main force of their regiment, Chen Bing, is now mixed into the rear wing of the second brigade. Not only did he destroy a convoy, he also killed seven of his reconnaissance squads. Seven or eighty-eight, doesn’t that mean telling Yamashita if he wants to live his life from now on?

Even if Yamashita is a fool, he knows that if he turns around and fights like the Northwest Army and Sichuan Army, he will most likely lose his life in this mountain. do you know? This is plain intimidation.

Also, the news about the 3rd Army's subversion, do you really think that the Japanese spies suddenly became more powerful? That was deliberately leaked by the theater headquarters. Hey, good guy, this is something serious. It is a trivial thing for the Japanese to know so quickly. Commander Yan is probably numb. There are at least a few people around him who are worthy of suspicion. His way of looking at people! It's true.

In addition, do you think that our 683rd Brigade is really planning to engage in the 108th Division after its urgent march? We can eat 10,000 Japanese troops, but 20,000 Japanese troops will really stretch our stomachs. Even if we add the 3rd Army, it won't work. The 16th Division has not yet gone all out! The three infantry divisions on the 109th Division also had a hard time carrying it.

We are all here for the 2nd Mixed Brigade. An infantry division of the 3rd Army defended the 16th Division on our behalf, while the other infantry division was to guard against Japanese reinforcements from Liao County, Licheng and other places. of.

And these are all the ideas of the big group in front of us.

I was not involved. Even I only made the connection and fully understood it after seeing the news that the Second Mixed Brigade had stopped marching.

Just now, he was still taking pictures of my horses. Even if I wanted to be photographed, I didn't dare to be photographed by him! I was really afraid that he would slap me in the face. " Brigadier Cheng said with a sigh.

"Captain Tang, I'm really convinced by you. In terms of mind and eyes, both me, Old Wang and Old Xu, are far inferior to you!" Comrade Wang Xiaoqiang gave Tang Dao a thumbs up with sincerity.

"I'm talking about Commander Wang, what Commander Tang calls wisdom, what you call smartness, and don't be too self-effacing. In terms of smartness, your child is the number one in our 683 brigade. Who came to see you secretly this morning? Brigadier, you volunteered to be the main attack group? Let me tell you, the 771st regiment has never served anyone in the war." Commander Xu curled his lips and exposed Wang Xiaoqiang's little thoughts.

"Hey, Lao Xu, our 772 and 771 are both good. They are both main attackers. I didn't mean to hope that the brigade commander could give me more ammunition!" Wang Xiaoqiang was not embarrassed when his little mind was exposed, grinning Happy mouth.

"Bah! What do you mean by a little bit? Your child can open his mouth with 800 mortar shells. Do you think I have an arsenal or something?" When talking about this, Brigadier Cheng almost spat at his capable subordinate. Face it.

"Brigadier Commander, our regiment fought an infantry regiment of the 16th Division for two days and nights at Heishankou. As you know, the inventory of artillery shells now will never exceed 200 rounds. If you do the math, our regiment has 8 mortars. , the average is only 20 shots per shot, which is enough to fight bandits, let alone Japanese." Wang Xiaoqiang called out to Tianqu.

"Yes! Our regiment has less than 300 rounds left. No matter what the Japanese choose, this battle is not that easy to fight!" Speaking of artillery shells, Captain Xu also began to sigh.

"Come on, don't be miserable, it's just artillery shells! Can our regiment support the 683rd Brigade with 1,000 rounds?"

Tang Dao is such a smart man. He saw that the steady and honest old commander Xu had started to perform, especially the pair of thick eyebrows were tightly knitted, and the traces of performance were quite obvious. On the other side, the brigade commander Cheng smiled and looked like he didn't instruct him anyway. He was obviously here to fight the local tyrants.

If he didn't express his position, Comrade Wang Xiaoqiang would definitely start to talk about casualties with snot and tears, and it was not easy to talk about it. He would also wipe his snot on his shoulders.

Blood can be there, and snot can be there. Tang Dao wisely "surrendered".

Even Tang Dao understood that even if there were no shells, the name of the three-gun Tu Ba was not called for nothing. After the three shots, the rest was hand-to-hand combat.

"Good brother! In this battle, our 683 Brigade will fight the devils with our lives." The three chief officers of the 683 Brigade patted their chests and laughed happily.

Fighting the local tyrants of Tang without bloodshed, it must be very refreshing!

And Shan Wenwen over there finally made his own choice: "The whole army, throw away unnecessary baggage, set off at about 8 o'clock, march all night, and pass through this mountainous area."

. . . . . . . . . . .

ps: I would like to recommend Feng Yue's new science fiction book "I Can Bury Everything" again. It has 500,000 words. I hope everyone will support it. Thank you. I also recommend my friend's new fairy tale book "I Have a Charity House". The performance is not bad. Everyone also supports it.