Rise From Eight Hundred

As the top frontline commander of the Kunisaki Detachment, Colonel Masayoshi Oshima of the 11th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Brigade was actually very hesitant when he received the order from the detachment leader Major General Kunisaki to pursue the fleeing enemy at full speed.

It's not that he has insufficient troops. There are 4 infantry brigades of infantry alone gathered in the Hexi Village area. If you add in auxiliary units such as engineers, baggage troops, armored troops, etc., the number of troops under his command can be as high as 5,000. In fact, he has The pinnacle of military career is commanding troops.

In addition, there are 8 105 howitzers and 12 75 mountain guns in the distance to provide fire support. Major General Kunizaki even promised him that if the war does not go well, he can coordinate at least one bomber squadron from the North China Front Army Aviation Corps to provide fire support.

With such strength, he was not afraid at all of a Chinese infantry division, let alone an infantry regiment.

What made him hesitate was the terrain in front of him!

Judging from the map, Hexi Village is only a few miles away from Black Dragon Pond. The commander sitting at the rear only needs to wave his baton, and it seems that these few miles of mountain road are nothing to worry about.

But in fact, to reach the Black Dragon Pool, you have to climb two mountains with an altitude of more than 800 meters. The jungle is densely covered with thorns. Not to mention that the Type 94 armored vehicles and horses cannot move forward. Even the personnel will have a hard time walking. If this is the case, After going over the mountains and ridges, not to mention the four-egg group, the pheasants and rabbits were probably gone.

If he wanted to carry various heavy equipment and increase his marching speed to catch up with the fleeing Four Elements Regiment, there was only one way in front of Oshima Masaki, which was to take Heilonggou.

Heilonggou, as the name suggests, is a ravine. It is actually a canyon formed by crustal movement in ancient times!

Viewed from a high altitude, nature's miraculous craftsmanship is like an angry god splitting the entire mountain with a sword. It's just that the sword of this great god is not sharp enough and his swordsmanship is not good. The split is slightly crooked, and the entire canyon is It is bent like a bowstring stretched to the full moon.

Although you can reach Black Dragon Pool directly from here, and the gravel road there is accessible to large vehicles, the length of the entire canyon is as high as 4,000 meters.

Anyone walking in this extremely gloomy canyon, which is shrouded by mountains on both sides, will involuntarily feel a sense of fear, let alone this kind of wartime.

If someone were to ambush on the highlands on both sides, the people in the canyon would almost have to be beaten passively.

Oshima Masayoshi was cautious enough. Under the urging of his immediate superior, he did not immediately send troops forward. Instead, he sent four infantry squads as vanguards to search the interior of Heilonggou. In addition, he also sent two infantry squads. Climb up to the high ground warning on both sides of Heilonggou with light equipment.

It wasn't until most of the infantry squads that had passed through had fired green flares representing safety that Oshima Masayoshi waved his hand and ordered all the troops to set off and quickly pass through Heilonggou.

Oshima Masayoshi stood on the high ground not far from Heilonggou and continued to observe the surroundings of the canyon with a telescope. Although the soldiers he sent had passed through more than half of the canyon and found nothing unusual, the hazy weather The dark entrance to the canyon below always made the Japanese army commander a little frightened.

If the Chinese ambushed above the canyon and shot below, the imperial warriors below the canyon would not have much power to resist.

Even aerial reconnaissance and intelligence from the front line showed that the Chinese in Heilongtan had fled like their vanguard troops.

In short, the Si Xing Regiment is by no means an ordinary Chinese army. Their speed is so inconsistent with the characteristics they have shown on the battlefield in the past. No matter how high you value them, you cannot overestimate them.

Don't tell me, it's not for nothing that Oshima Masayoshi has reached his current status.

It means "strategically despising the enemy and tactically paying attention to the enemy".

At least at this moment, there was nothing wrong with the tactical arrangement he made.

However, he still didn't understand his opponent and overestimated his friendly forces.

The so-called large number of people and horses seen by the Japanese reconnaissance planes were the first baggage company and the first mountain artillery company following them. The demonstration-style anti-air shooting of the two machine guns prevented the Japanese planes from entering the low altitude of 1,000 meters. 'Thousands of people were found to be retreating' was actually just a bold guess made by the Japanese pilots to cover up their cowardice.

It was this conjecture that led Kunisaki to greatly misjudge the battlefield situation. Even a cautious man like Oshima Masayoshi gritted his teeth and started his own military adventure.

Military adventures generally have two outcomes, one is a great success, the other is a great defeat and loss, and there are very few situations where the outcome is average.

His opponents, however, were more radical than him and chose more thrilling military adventures.

Not only did Leng Feng not retreat but advance instead and take advantage of the Japanese army's misunderstanding to ambush the Japanese army, he did not even invest all his main infantry forces in this nearly perfect ambush battlefield.

The two main infantry battalions of the Fourth Line Regiment have a total of 6 infantry companies and 2 artillery companies. In addition to the 4 infantry companies that sneaked into the mountains and forests, there are only 2 infantry companies and 2 artillery companies, plus a supply platoon and two heavy forced platoons. Waiting for them around Heilonggou.

An elite infantry company, an artillery company, and a supply platoon were hiding in the forest 800 meters away from the ridge of the canyon. They waited until the Japanese search for the leading soldiers passed and the Japanese infantry brigade began to enter the canyon. Only then did they take command of the battlefield here. Following Shangguan Yun's order, he quickly trotted into the position in a latent posture.

Their position was on the canyon ridge, which was nearly 3,000 meters long, from 500 meters from the exit to 800 meters from the entrance. Because there would be Japanese scouts searching, there were no trenches or fortifications on such a long ridge, and everything remained the same.

In fact, the so-called trenches and fortifications were useless when shooting into the canyon from a high position.

The real position was in the forest at the exit of the canyon in the direction of Heilongtan. There was an iron gate blocking the Japanese army's crazy forward advance. As long as it was locked, the Japanese army could only passively take the beating in the long canyon.

Leng Feng personally led an infantry company and an artillery company with nearly 600 people there.

Oshima Masayoshi was more cautious than Leng Feng had imagined. Even if there were scouts searching, he was extremely cautious to divide his troops into three parts.

The first batch to enter the canyon was 4 of the 5 Type 94 armored vehicles plus an infantry battalion. The bottom of the canyon was only five or six meters wide, but it was enough for driving.

The infantry battalion that entered the canyon was divided into three parts, with an infantry squadron leading the way, two infantry squadrons in the middle, and another infantry squadron accompanied by a heavy machine gun squadron and the battalion headquarters at the end. The front and back three parts were separated by more than 200 meters.

The Japanese officers and soldiers lined up in two rows, with more than 1 meter between each soldier in front and behind. The 1,100-man infantry battalion advanced for more than ten minutes before it was considered to have completely entered the canyon.

Then, the second part of the Japanese army entered the canyon. It was not until the last soldier of the second infantry battalion disappeared completely at the entrance of the canyon that Oshima Masayoshi finally showed a relieved smile on his serious face.

Two fully equipped infantry battalions with 2,200 people, plus armored soldiers and a baggage squadron that followed the army, a total of 2,700 people entered the canyon, enough to fill the entire 4,000-meter-long canyon.

If nothing unexpected happens, the vanguard of the first infantry battalion has reached the exit now. So far, no warning signal has been issued, which means that his previous caution was a bit unfounded.

It seems that he really overestimated the Four-Line Regiment. They just thought they were defeated and ran away.

Although he has always been opposed to chasing the enemy in the mountains, the Japanese Army Colonel also understands his immediate superior's eagerness for revenge.

Since entering the Chinese battlefield, the Fifth Division has won nine out of ten battles. The only two battles it lost were in Guangde and Taierzhuang. However, the battle of Taierzhuang was lost because it was mainly based on the 105th Division of the reserve division. The troops involved in the battle of Guangde were all the real elite of the division. Anyone in his position would probably want to prove himself again, especially when facing an opponent who had once tricked him.

The glory of victory is enough to cover up all the ugliness, and that's what the Fifth Division did.

"Yoshi! Order the artillery squadron directly under the rear regiment to withdraw from the position, dismantle and load the mountain guns, and be ready to march at any time." Oshima Masayoshi, who was about 300 meters away from the entrance of the canyon, put down the telescope in his hand and issued a military order.

To prevent accidents, when the infantry arrived at the canyon and prepared to enter, Oshima Masayoshi ordered his artillery squadron directly under the 11th regiment to seize the favorable terrain and set up the guns. The four 75-caliber mountain guns were aimed directly at the mountain ridge and the canyon exit. The range of 6,500 meters was enough to protect the imperial officers and soldiers in the canyon.

The commander was cautious and could save his life. That was the idea of ​​the infantry, but for the Japanese artillery, who always said that I only fight you and never you fight me, this military order was hard for them.

Wangwu Mountain is steep, and it is tiring for people to climb the mountain, not to mention carrying hundreds of kilograms of mountain guns up the mountain. Fortunately, the packhorse division is equipped with a large number of packhorses, otherwise these artillery bastards would be exhausted and unable to carry the mountain guns to the top of the mountain.

But what, is it not laborious to disassemble and assemble the mountain gun? Can you just put the nearly 100-kilogram mountain gun parts on the packhorse and lift them by hand? And the shell cart, is there an engine or something? That thing must rely on manpower, okay?

But the Japanese army has always been strict in military discipline. The commander said a word, even if they knew they would be exhausted, these artillerymen had to obey orders obediently.

In the words of Huaxia Future: "If there are conditions, we must go up, if there are no conditions, we must create conditions and go up." From the moment the infantrymen began to march into the canyon with vigorous steps, the artillerymen were tired like bastards, jumping up and down to move the 600-kilogram mountain gun up the mountain in pieces, and they had to find a flat enough place to be the gun position. The artillery observer calculated the approximate data based on the approximate direction and directed the adjustment of the muzzle.

That man shouted, "The horse neighs!" The artillery squadron was busy and happy. The Japanese soldiers of an infantry squadron that was on guard for them were cheering beside them, but they didn't come forward to help.

Not to mention that the military order did not allow it, even the mentality of the spectators watching the fun would not let the infantry move a finger.

They had to fight the Chinese face to face, but the artillerymen were setting off big firecrackers in the back without any danger. It would be a lie to say that the Japanese infantry had no resentment towards the artillerymen.

Then, the infantrymen were very happy to see that the artillerymen had just spent an hour busy, but as a military order was issued, they began to disassemble and assemble the mountain artillery and repeat the busyness just now. The infantrymen were so happy that they felt like they had eaten several popsicles in the dog days of summer.

The spectators in the mentality of eating melons did not realize that in the bushes only 300 meters away from them, pairs of hateful eyes were staring at them, and the black muzzles of the guns had been firmly locked, waiting for the signal flares of the battle to be sent out, and bullets far beyond their imagination would pour towards them.

They were two infantry companies and a mortar squad of the 4th Battalion that left in the dark. Under the leadership of their guide, they actually went around to the mountains around Hexi Village. Their original plan was to harass the Japanese rear after the battle started, but they didn't expect it. The Japanese army actually deployed a mountain artillery squadron next to them, and this wave of Japanese troops only had an infantry squadron protecting them.

At a distance of 300 meters, in almost one minute, hundreds of Chinese elites could rush to the Japanese army's loose defense line.

In the words of the company commander Tang Li after the war: "I have never seen such a big piece of fat meat. I can swallow it in one bite."

However, the Japanese infantry had already begun to set off in formation, the artillerymen had dismantled the mountain cannons and mounted them on horseback, and no general attack signal flares appeared in the sky.

The two elite infantry companies could only look at the big piece of fat that was delivered to their door helplessly and couldn't take a bite.

More than 40 minutes have passed since the Japanese infantry entered Heilonggou at 10 o'clock in the morning. The trotting Japanese forwards have even arrived at the entrance of the valley. At least two infantry squadrons have begun to establish temporary field positions at the entrance of the valley, four miles away from the ambush at the entrance of the valley. The closest Japanese army to the group's blocking position was only 200 meters away.

Oshima Masayoshi has almost successfully completed his military adventure, as long as he is given 10 more minutes.

This situation is also a huge psychological torture for the troops of the Four Elements Regiment in an ambush state.

What kind of soldier is Shangguan Yun? Even in combat missions such as defending the Sihang Warehouse, where he was almost certain to die, he entered the battlefield with no hesitation. However, in his post-war memoirs, this battle was far more detailed than the Sihang Warehouse, and he mentioned it several times. Speaking of being in such a cold weather, his forehead, vest, and palms were covered in cold sweat.

Obviously, in his mind, this battle was more dangerous than Sihang Warehouse.

Leng Feng's dangerous recruitment strategy was really dancing on the edge of a knife. Even if there was a slight mistake, thousands of people would lose their lives.

This is true even for commanders like Shangguan Yun, who have an extremely mature and tough mind, let alone ordinary officers and soldiers.

More and more Japanese troops are pouring out of the canyon. At the exit of the canyon, they are wielding ordnance shovels to dig trenches. They join the main force of the two teams and are ordered to continue searching. Dozens of Japanese top soldiers have even arrived to where the Chinese soldiers are hiding. The position is 100 meters away from the dense forest position.

Even their low-pitched conversations, somewhat relaxed, could be clearly heard by the soldiers hiding in simple trenches in the forest with their helmets covered with dead grass.

The soldiers were so nervous that they almost stopped breathing. Their faces were pressed against the cold soil, with only a pair of eyes staring at the Japanese soldiers through the gaps in the grass. The knuckles holding the guns looked a little pale due to the extreme exertion.

However, Leng Feng, the top commander at the end of the canyon, still did not order an attack, even though the signal soldier on the side was reporting to him in a low voice the distance of the Japanese infantry: "100 meters! 90 meters!"

Leng Feng still looked ahead with cold eyes, unmoved.

It wasn't until the Japanese infantry had entered 50 meters in front of the position and glanced at his watch that it was already 10:50 in the morning. Leng Feng gave a low order: "Order all units to launch an attack according to the plan!"

Following his command, three red flares rose high into the sky.

4,000 meters away, Oshima Masaki, who had just mounted his tall horse and was slowly heading towards the canyon surrounded by nearly 2,000 people, suddenly stiffened.

Compared to the MMP that the Japanese commander was screaming crazily in his heart, his subordinates who had just successfully walked out of the canyon and breathed a sigh of relief were almost shaking.

It's not that I'm frozen hard by the cold winter weather, but I'm going to shit.

In a day like this, if a person burps, he will become hard in less than half an hour.

"咻~~咻~~咻~~~"

The unique roar of mortars echoed through the valley mouth!

The blocking force at Taniguchi fired not the first shot, but the first shot!

Then, there were various gunshots that were so dense that it made people feel numb.

It was a combination of submachine guns, semi-automatic rifles, shell guns, Czech light machine guns, and MG34 heavy machine guns. It was more exciting than the performance of a large symphony orchestra in a theater.

Caught off guard, the Japanese infantrymen who were only a hundred or ten meters away from the soldiers of the Fourth Army suddenly fell on their backs. Dozens of Japanese soldiers did not even make an evasive reaction, but fell in a pool of blood, trembling and on the verge of death.

The Japanese troops who were further away still wielding individual engineer shovels to build temporary field positions were not doing well. Not to mention that the individual bunkers in the temporary field positions less than half a meter deep were of little significance. In fact, even if they were 5 meters deep, Regular trenches could not stop the overwhelming fragments of mortar shells flying from the sky.

The artillery companies affiliated to the infantry battalions of the Fourth Line Regiment currently have not many 82 mortars, and they are basically issued to the infantry companies. However, the two Bofors double-barreled 80mm howitzers they are equipped with are definitely for the infantry. Nightmare.

Not only is its power far greater than that of a mortar, but its accuracy is less than 2 meters, which means it can hit almost anywhere.

The 4th Battalion Artillery Company located on the ridge did not need this level of artillery to deal with the Japanese troops in the 100-meter canyon below, so the mortars and other powerful weapons were left in the blocking position.

The roar of four howitzers on the mountains was earth-shattering. The power of one shell was no less powerful than that of a 105 howitzer for the Japanese army who had almost no bunkers.

In just 30 seconds, the temporary field position where the Japanese army had not even dug a few shovels of soil was a bloody mess!

If the Fifth Division used the dimension difference to beat the Chinese army in Shanxi Province, then the Fourth Division was also using a higher dimension to crush the Japanese army, at least within one minute before the attack led by the Fourth Division.

The Japanese army in Taniguchi was beaten and fled, without even a decent counterattack.

To use a common saying, the army was completely defeated!

The so-called "Steel Army" of the Empire, in front of a thick enough stick, the steel cracked! ()