Rise From Eight Hundred

"Great victory!"

"Great victory in the air war in North China!"

On the morning of September 16, a newsboy carrying a big bag on his shoulder shouted loudly on the streets of Jiangcheng.

The streets of Jiangcheng, located in the center of the Central China Defense War, were originally a little deserted. Even if someone walked by, their faces were full of worry!

The dark cloud of war had shrouded the largest city in the six provinces of Central China as early as the end of May.

Now Jiangcheng no longer has the bustling scene of a few months ago.

The countless refugees who fled from Jiangnan, as long as they have some mobility, fled to the south or southwest, and the main military and political departments moved to the important mountain city in the southwest two months ago.

The ones who stayed were basically the natives who were unwilling to give up their homes.

But under the newsboy's hard shouting, many people still gathered around, took out the few copper coins on their bodies, bought a freshly baked newspaper, and read the so-called great victory in the air war!

Although people need to eat, they also need spiritual comfort! Otherwise, where is the hope?

"North China air battle, 48 to 17! Our Chinese Air Force attacked with 60 fighter planes from five aviation squadrons, and shot down and damaged 48 Japanese planes at the cost of 17 losses on our side, defeating the Japanese invaders! Haha, it's a good fight! Our Chinese Air Force, great job." A middle-aged man in a suit holding a newspaper stood on the street and roared in an almost inappropriate voice.

The cold street gradually boiled up as more and more people cheered loudly!

The victory in the North China air battle seemed to have little to do with the battle in Central China, where China and Japan gathered nearly one million troops to fight, but for China, which was constantly losing the war at this time, especially for the people in the important towns in Central China that were deeply trapped in the war, it was like a shot of cardiotonic!

That means that China has not completely lost air superiority, and the hundreds of thousands of troops on the ground may not get much help from the air, at least they don't have to worry about the threat from the air every day, and the Japanese army can no longer come to Jiangcheng to drop bombs from time to time like they did a few days ago, making the people living in it feel insecure!

This is the effect of the news of victory!

"Okay! Brother, take me to Dadongmen, I'll pay double the fare today!" The middle-aged man in a suit folded the newspaper and put it in his pocket, and got on a rickshaw excitedly.

"Hey! Master, do you think this is true? Is it fake news from above to fool us ordinary people?"

Perhaps because of the news of victory, or because one trip is worth two trips, the rickshaw driver was also full of excitement and started jogging the rickshaw, but after holding back again and again, he still couldn't help but wonder in his heart.

In fact, the news of victory was a bit too shocking. When did China have so many fighter planes? I won't say it. The key point is that a group of people shot down 48 Japanese planes. This is probably the amount in the past six months!

Even if the rickshaw driver didn't have much experience, he always felt that this was a bit too scary.

"Hey, brother, what about those people here! They like to report good news but not bad news, and they like to make some false achievements to deceive people, but have you ever heard of anyone who dares to report such a big false achievement? Two days ago, General Xue led the army to fight the Japanese invaders in Wanjialing and severely damaged the Japanese 106th Division. The newspaper did not dare to say that the division was completely annihilated, but only said that more than 10,000 enemies were annihilated!" The middle-aged man in a very good mood explained with a smile.

"Master, your words make me feel more at ease. My family of eight or nine people are all in Jiangcheng. There is nowhere to run. I can only hope that the national army will win this battle." The rickshaw driver smiled brighter and his steps felt much lighter.

"Don't worry, we Chinese will definitely win!" The middle-aged man who cast his eyes to the sky nodded affirmatively.

His nephew is the eagle soaring in the sky. At this moment, he should return triumphantly with his comrades!

As an employee of the British Empire Bank, he didn't even go to work at this time, just rushing to tell his brother and sister-in-law the good news. His intuition told him that the nephew who had disappeared for two months must have contributed to it.

The middle-aged man with keen intuition might not have thought that by tonight, there would be a more exciting piece of good news that would hit Jiangcheng, which was at the center of the battle, and make the whole Jiangcheng completely boiling.

Victory belongs to China, but sadness is left to his family!

In the battle of East Shanxi in North China, the Second War Zone repelled the 18th Division, the 20th Division and part of the 5th Division, defeated the 21st Division and annihilated the 39th Infantry Brigade of the 20th Division!

Yes, Tang Dao did not break his promise and did not let the nearly 7,000 people of the 39th Infantry Brigade in the encirclement see the sun on the 16th!

Not only did the six infantry companies and two fire support companies of the two infantry battalions of the Sihang Regiment all go into battle, but the Third Battalion responsible for defending Niangzi Pass also transferred Li Jiujin's Seventh Company to join the battle overnight. The guard company and the engineer company of the special service battalion directly under the Sihang Regiment's headquarters, as well as two companies of the baggage battalion, also entered the battlefield around 10 pm!

Except for the mountain artillery company and the heavy mortar company of the artillery battalion, which continued to provide fire support to the front-line troops with heavy firepower, the air defense company withdrew from the air defense position to accompany the infantry forward, and the 20mm machine guns and 7mm heavy machine guns fired horizontally to cover the Japanese fortifications.

The 20mm machine gun fired horizontally and could penetrate 17mm armored steel plates within a distance of 500 meters. In just one day, no matter how excellent the civil engineering works of the Japanese army were, how could they build an artificial bunker that could defend against such artillery?

Moreover, the 4th Regiment had nearly 30 such machine guns at once, not to mention nearly 60 7mm heavy machine guns. Two of them formed a cross-fire group. Not to mention the Japanese infantry, even the 89 tanks would be beaten to tears!

This was the full strength that the Four-Line Regiment had not shown when facing the aggressive offensive of the 21st Division, but it was all used this night.

Lei Xiong personally led Zhao Daqiang's company to go nearly 1,000 meters deep into the position of the 39th Infantry Brigade to establish a forward command position. In order to facilitate the call for artillery support from the artillery battalion, he carried the most advanced American wireless communication device and directly communicated with Pang Dahai, who was in charge of the artillery battalion!

That should also be the first typical battle example in the Asian battlefield where the infantry company level directly called for artillery support. The completely divided and surrounded Japanese army could not form a complete command system at all. They could only watch one position after another being bombarded by mountain artillery and large-caliber heavy mortars, and then a large number of Chinese soldiers swarmed in and used a rain of bullets to beat the infantry in the trenches into a bloody mess!

The tactics of the 17th Division were slightly different from those of the Four-Line Regiment on the right wing. They sent a total of 3 infantry regiments with nearly 5,000 people to counterattack the Japanese invaders, and each regiment was responsible for three high grounds defended by the Japanese army.

That was also the key defense direction of the 39th Infantry Brigade, with a total of 9 infantry squadrons and nearly 1,400 troops. In terms of manpower, it was at an absolute disadvantage.

No, it should be said that it was also in terms of firepower!

The 17th Division concentrated all its artillery to provide artillery support to the three infantry regiments. The 4th Regiment also divided 4 Bofors mountain artillery squads and 4 150 heavy mortar squads to provide fire support. The 39th Infantry Brigade lost 70% of its artillery in the artillery battle in an afternoon!

The military order received by the three infantry regiments of the 17th Division was to attack at all costs. From dusk to 11 o'clock in the evening, the three infantry regiments launched more than 6 rounds of infantry attacks, locking the main force of the Japanese army approaching two infantry battalions firmly on the left battlefield. Li Dengxing knew that this was a poisonous way to quench thirst, but still dispatched nearly 1,000 second-line soldiers such as baggage soldiers, engineers, and medical soldiers to support the left wing under the desperate call of his subordinates.

This also led to the reduction of its reserve force to less than 1,500 people, which was completely unable to cope with the interception of the small flexible mobile forces of the Four-line Regiment that were interspersed with the battlefield at the platoon level. The entire right-wing defense line was completely shattered by 9 pm!

In the end, they could only watch in despair as the Four-line Regiment sent out three infantry companies of nearly a thousand people again, and swallowed up the defenders in the divided hills and valleys one by one with the support of artillery fire.

And what was Tang Tuanzuo doing on the front line?

Since he led a guard platoon into the gap and ambushed three Japanese squads that were marching in the mountains to reinforce their own positions, Tang Dao did not go deep into the enemy's territory alone, but appointed Yang Xiaoshan, who had been following him, to lead the guard platoon to meet Gu Xishui's squadron who was looking for the remains of his own air force, and he returned to the main position with Xia Dayu and five guards.

Pulling the somewhat confused Deng Guihai, the two got into the Type 89 tank that had been parked there!

"Tonight, I'll be your driver, you just fire the gun, let me see the strength of the elite gunner!" Tang Dao patted the army sergeant's shoulder roughly.

"I'll be the observer!" Xia Dayu, with an excited face, also got into the tank.

"I'll be the ammunition carrier and machine gunner!" The reconnaissance company commander Lao Hei had a dark face and was helpless.

Originally, the guard company was responsible for the safety of Tang Tuanzuo, but Yang Xiaoshan was sent to the battlefield to perform tasks by Tang Tuanzuo's order. The job of protecting the safety of the commander of the regiment can only be handed over to him, the commander of the reconnaissance company. This is a regulation of the regiment. If there is no one in the reconnaissance company, it should be the turn of the cavalry battalion!

But to be honest, facing this commander of the regiment who goes to the front line at the slightest disagreement, whoever takes this job will have a headache. Look, the commander of the regiment finally returned to the main position, but something unexpected happened again. What kind of tank is he going to play with!

This thing looks strong with steel plate protection, and no bullets can work, but it is too heavy, and it is pitch black outside, so you can't see anything clearly. If you are targeted by infantry, you will be in trouble!

Many veterans in the reconnaissance company have experience fighting against this kind of iron turtle. They hide in the dark corners of the trenches and quietly put a pack of explosives. Even if they can't penetrate the tank, they can completely make the tank lose its mobility. Two heavy machine guns and a short-barreled cannon alone cannot guarantee absolute safety.

"Haha, Lao Hei, don't worry, there are two reconnaissance squads outside! Let the little devils taste the power of their tank guns today!" Tang Dao laughed and started the 89 tank.

This 89 tank captured from the 21st Division did not have a new paint job because of the tight time. It just painted a white five-pointed star on the turret with white dye outside the original red sun, and notified the whole regiment.

This is also to avoid being accidentally injured by our own officers and soldiers. It is not that we are afraid that infantrymen will come and throw explosive packs and Molotov cocktails. Now each infantry battalion of the Four-Line Regiment is equipped with a 20mm machine gun. If there is a shot from a few hundred meters away, even the steel-clad Tang regiment will have to kneel down!

The officers and soldiers of the Four-Line Regiment knew that the 89 tank with a red sun inside and white stars on the outside on the turret was theirs, but it did not mean that the Japanese knew it.

The 21st Division did not even tell the 39th Infantry Brigade that they had run away, and they sent a telegram saying that the tanks were captured?

So, when the 89 tank first appeared in front of the Japanese position at a mountain pass and rumbled towards the position, the Japanese infantry were all confused.

Were the idiots in the tank squadron confused by the Chinese? Why are they still rumbling towards their own position? Also, what do you mean by lowering the muzzle?

It wasn't until the 57mm short-barreled gun blew a heavy machine gun bunker into pieces that it was firing desperately, that the Japanese infantry realized that this was a Chinese tank!

The strange machine gun and the 38-meter cover desperately greeted the 89 tank, which was already less than a hundred meters away, but obviously, it had no effect.

The level of Japanese military industry is average, but it will never be able to build a tank that can be penetrated by machine rifle bullets!

If it were in its heyday, the 39th Infantry Brigade would still be equipped with a 37mm rapid-fire cannon to deal with this steel behemoth, but now, there really is no such thing!

Under the crazy bombardment of the Chinese, not even a few 92 infantry guns were left! Even if there were, the infantry squadron-level position in front of us had no equipment. The only heavy firepower was almost all transferred to the left battlefield by Li Dengxing to deal with the fierce impact of the three infantry regiments of the 17th Division.

Therefore, the Japanese army, which had only light weapons on the battlefield, could only use machine guns and rifles in vain to deal with the steel behemoth that was spitting out artillery fire and bullets, and watched in despair as it got closer and closer, and then the infantry following behind began to throw Grenade, the damage caused by the rain of grenade bullets falling into the trench is even more terrible than the 150 heavy force!

Although there is no solution for the large 150-weight artillery shells that can spread nearly a thousand square meters with air waves, the chance of falling into the trench is extremely low. As long as you keep your body as low as possible and have good luck, you can still save your life.

But the chance of a grenade falling into a trench can be as high as 20 to 30%, which is something you can't avoid no matter how hard you try!

The Japanese army is also tenacious enough. Some Japanese soldiers use their quick hands and eyes to quickly pick up the grenades thrown at their feet and throw them away quickly. Others dropped two or three grenades in a row at a glance. They are not Nezha with three heads and six arms. He gritted his teeth and pounced on the grenade, using himself as a human shield to protect his colleagues.

Don't tell me, it's quite touching. Seeing my colleagues being riddled with grenades, their whole bodies flew up one meter. The Japanese infantry roared wildly, opened the bayonets on their guns, jumped out of the trenches, and planned to carry out the attack. The final heroic fight!

But this time, what greeted them was not the same sharp bayonet!

Instead, it is a nearly 20-ton steel behemoth!

"Fight with me on the bayonet? Okay!" Tang Dao's eyebrows and eyes were ferocious!

Stepping on the accelerator, the 89 tank engine roared loudly. The tank was accelerated to 40 yards on the mountainous terrain, and it rammed fiercely towards the Japanese infantry who were trying to fight to the death.

Thus, the most brutal scene on the battlefield occurred.

Even though most of the elite members of the reconnaissance company have experienced the meat-grinder-like battlefield of Songhu, they have seen many scenes of flesh and blood mold lakes, and they have even experienced the fear of flying severed limbs and debris hitting their bodies during the battle, but more than 15 After the war, the soldiers still couldn't eat for two days in a row, especially the lack of meat.

In the exact words of a corporal from the reconnaissance company: "Don't say I'm not strong enough. That's because you didn't see the scene at that time. We are all farmers. Everyone has seen the stone roller in the rice field! Just think about it. If the roller is ten times bigger and a person is crushed, what will it look like in the end?"

"Then it can't be turned into a piece of paper?" Someone thought carefully and said with certainty.

"Paper?" the corporal curled his lips disdainfully.

"So you can't think of it just by thinking about it. Let me tell you this! A person has become a piece of skin, just like paper, but the internal organs in a person's stomach will squirt out due to squeezing. Squirt out. It must be seven or eight meters away!" Corporal Xu recalled with his eyes narrowed. "That's when I realized what a person's kidney looks like, like a big soybean, and that liver! It's not the same as pork liver."

"The key thing is, there is still the sound of someone being crushed, Peng! It's just like the cannon we fired during the Chinese New Year! It's still a barrage of fire! Really, the little devil is not afraid of death, but if you want to die, don't play with the tanks in the group. Fight with a bayonet!

The old man from Class 3 knows, right? It was Ming Yueye who charged with a machete and chopped off the heads of three little Japs, with a Japanese captain's head hanging from his waist. Is it dangerous or not?

He was the closest to the tank at the time. The guy's head and face were covered with blood, and there were several lumps of meat hanging on his body. He vomited on the spot, including gall water!

He was so smelly that I didn't dare to get close to him most of the night! Even when celebrating the victory, I didn't dare to hug him, and even now Lao Ming still ignores me when he sees me. "

"Why is it so smelly?" Some soldiers asked blankly.

"Where do you think human feces would be stored?" the corporal asked, squinting. "By the way, do you want to know how long it took to wash Tuanzuo's tank before it became odorless? That thing stinks even more, and those seams are full of fat!"

"Ugh~~~Brother, stop talking, I'm going to vomit too!" There was a sound of retching all around.

"You little brat, if you dare to mock me for not being able to eat, I will drag you into trouble no matter what! Ugh~~~" the corporal mocked, but he couldn't help but retching from his throat!

As a person who has experienced it personally, it is difficult for him not to return to the battlefield that was a bloody mill that night when he mentioned it again.

The steel behemoth driven by Tang Tuanzuo himself coldly and mercilessly crushed the Japanese infantry who were rushing over, carving a bloody path!

The infantrymen who followed closely behind used automatic firearms to harvest the remaining Japanese infantrymen who tried to make a last-ditch effort with bayonets, and shot them all in the mountains.

A small hill position garrisoned by nearly 150 Japanese troops was captured in just 5 minutes. All the defenders were wiped out, while the casualties of our own infantry were in single digits!

And this was just a small test of Tang Tuanzuo's skills in the mountain attack war as a tank driver!

What really made Tang Tuanzuo and Lieutenant Deng Guihai, who was promoted to the first tank platoon leader of the Fourth Regiment after the war, famous was the encounter with the Japanese army's 5 Type 94 tanks and 3 Type 89 tanks, which was a battle of steel behemoths.

That was also the first tank battle on the Taihang Mountain battlefield!

The Type 89 tank, named 001 Taihang after the war, fought 1 to 8!