Rise From Eight Hundred

"After you platoons have checked the terrain, what do you think we should do?" Standing on a cliff with a slope of nearly 90 degrees, Gu Xishui stared into the distance.

The Japanese army was advancing faster than anyone imagined. According to the battle report from the regiment headquarters to the war zone, at least two infantry regiments had already stationed on the banks of the Qingjiang River and were about to launch an attack on the Changyang defenders.

That means that in at most ten days, the Japanese army will march from Changyang to the Shipai defense zone, and the mountain infantry company will have only so much time to deploy here.

But the mountains here are very different from those on Taihang Mountain. They are not only high, but also steep, and there are cliffs with slopes of nearly 90 degrees.

Don't think that you can defend against thousands of people with one man. It is extremely difficult for infantry to attack on such a cliff, but the Japanese artillery is not vegetarian, especially with the threat from the air. A series of bombs dropped down are simply fatal to the infantry who are close to the civil engineering works on the cliff and shoot at the passage below.

What's more terrible is that this natural barrier is very painful for the attackers, and for the defenders, there is no way out.

The Japanese can easily bypass the two wings and cut off the only retreat on the mountain. The defenders on the mountain will become completely isolated. Reinforcements and supplies cannot be sent up, and they can only let the Japanese planes and artillery bombard them, and eventually die one by one.

If the war reaches that point, this kind of attrition war of burning both sides can only be implemented. Of course, there is no doubt that Gu Xishui will not hesitate to scatter all his 4 platoons and 16 squads in this mountainous area like nails, and the Japanese will have to use human lives and a large number of artillery shells and bombs to pull out these nails one by one.

But now the war has not started. Tang Tuanzuo's tactical intention is to eliminate a large number of Japanese troops in this mountainous area, rather than fighting with the Japanese.

So, you still have to use your brain more, and you can't act recklessly.

"Company commander, I found an interesting place 3 miles ahead. I think we can use it!" Long Yan pointed to a mountainous area in front.

"Then let's go and have a look!" Gu Xishui glanced at that direction and made a decisive decision.

There is the only passage from the outside world to Shipai, but everyone instinctively thinks that the Japanese will never be so stupid. There are cliffs on both sides of the passage. Mountain people walking on it can't help but look up at the sky from time to time, for fear that a stone will fall and kill them.

If a troop is ambushed on it, let alone throwing grenades and shooting with machine guns, even using stones can kill a large number of people below.

How could a large army enter it?

When the Third Battalion of Heilongtan in Wangwu Mountain fought against the Kunisaki Detachment of the Fifth Division, a similar battle was fought, but the crack passage was much shorter than this one, and the Japanese army was eager to pursue, so they made a fatal mistake.

Therefore, after taking a general look at the terrain of this area, the other three platoon leaders all tended to believe that the Japanese army would definitely choose to cross the mountains instead of taking the canyon passage that seemed easier to reach but was a dead end.

But now Longyan has brought it up again after a field investigation, and Gu Xishui agreed.

Gu Xishui understands Long Yan. Although Long Yan is usually careless and a little out of tune, he is actually very delicate. Especially since he joined the army, he has grown rapidly. He is no longer the young man who was given the rank of second lieutenant symbolically to appease the people of Yeyue Village. He is now a very qualified infantry platoon leader.

He said it was interesting, which must be to find a place that can be used.

Several people approached the mountain road called Pai Cao. The overall length is about 3 miles. There are dangerous stone walls on both sides, which are steep as if cut by a knife and an axe. The narrow passage in the middle is less than four meters. People at the bottom of the valley are like being at the bottom of a well.

The peaks on both sides of the mountain road are even hundreds of meters high at the highest point. Looking up, the neck is sore, and the appearance of the peaks cannot be seen clearly.

"If I were the commander of the Japanese, even if the main force decided to pass through this passage, I would definitely cover the peaks on both sides with heavy firepower first, and then send a large number of scouts to climb these peaks from other places for reconnaissance. In this way, not only will my brothers who are ambushed here suffer losses, but the main force of the Japanese army will not be able to attack. We can't do this kind of loss-making business." A lieutenant platoon leader looked up at the mountain and shook his head.

The lieutenant platoon leader was one of the veterans who followed Tang Dao and Lei Xiong to fight all the way out of the Sihang Warehouse. Not only was he old enough, but he also had extremely rich battlefield experience. He was the second commander in the mountain infantry company, and the company commander Gu Xishui respected him very much.

He said no, and Long Yan's suggestion before he spoke was basically sentenced to death.

"Hehe! Brother Zhou, I didn't say that I would ambush the Japanese on the mountain peak. Look over there!" Long Yan was not in a hurry, but smiled and pointed to the cliff about tens of meters above his head.

There are many natural stone caves on the cliffs on both sides, and you can see with the naked eye that there are boat-shaped coffins placed by locals in them.

That's called a hanging coffin, a unique burial method used by the ancient Ba people in the Three Gorges area.

After a person dies, his or her family will choose to bury him or her halfway up a cliff along a river, using a natural cave on the cliff or a specially dug cliff cave to place or hang the coffin in the cave. These coffins are usually made in the shape of a boat, so they are also called boat coffins or rock coffins.

Although this area is not near the river, it is only a few miles away from the Yangtze River, which is also an excellent location.

Most of the officers and soldiers of the mountain infantry company came from the north and had never seen such coffins hanging in the stone caves halfway up the mountain. When conducting terrain surveys, a group even used a walkie-talkie to report to the platoon. The horrified tone made Gu Xishui next to him laugh.

These guys have experienced countless battlefields with blood and flesh flying everywhere, but they are still afraid of the coffins of dead people who have been dead for who knows how many years. I don’t know if they are brave or timid.

Of course, this is mainly due to the factor of awe for ancestors in the Chinese heritage, not how much the officers and soldiers are afraid of the dry bones in the coffins.

“What do you mean?” Gu Xishui’s eyes suddenly lit up.

"That's right, I want to use these natural caves where coffins are placed as firing points. Company commander, Brother Zhou, you see, the shortest of these caves is 30 to 40 meters from the ground, and the highest is 60 to 70 meters, which is almost straight up and down from the ground. The Japanese can't even reach us with grenades and grenade launchers, let alone climb up. As for infantry artillery, they can just carry that thing on their shoulders.

Don't say that firing can shock people to death. With their small bodies, they thought it was me!" Long Yan laughed and stretched out his arms to bulge his muscles.

"Besides! Just now, Brother Zhou was worried that the Japanese would definitely conduct firepower reconnaissance and personnel inspection on the mountain. We hid in such a cave, blocked the cave entrance with a big stone, and made some camouflage. With the IQ of the little devils, how could they think that we were hiding on top of their heads and preparing to open their heads for them!"

"Good idea! Long Yan, you are really good." The lieutenant platoon leader who opposed at the beginning directly gave a thumbs up to praise Long Yan and took the initiative to help Long Yan supplement.

"It is estimated that there are no less than 30 caves with hanging coffins here. We only need to put a three-person team in most of the caves, with two rifles and a submachine gun as firepower, and then put a machine gun team in the cave with a suitable firing range, so that we can form a perfect firepower network for this passage.

If any Japanese dare to pass through here, they will be beaten to death!

Moreover, a rough calculation shows that it is about the strength of a platoon. Our other three platoons just happen to be guarding the other two mountain passes. The Japanese have been frustrated on our side, so even if they don't want to choose this road, they have to choose this road.

It's like we drive fish in the river, drive the little devils here, and kill them all at once."

"Haha! Brother Zhou, you understand me, and you said exactly what I was thinking. There is no need for mortars here. I will give you all the mortars in my platoon. The harder you fight the little devils on the periphery, the more little devils will get here." Long Yan laughed out loud.

"What about food and drink in the cave, platoon leader Long? Have you considered the issue of evacuation?" Another lieutenant asked after careful consideration.

"Food and drink are easy to solve. Prepare 10 days of dry food and water in each cave. In addition, each rifle should carry 300 rounds of bullets, submachine guns 1,200 rounds of bullets, pistols 70 rounds, and 90 grenades!" Long Yan obviously had a plan for this.

"As for the issue of evacuation, hehe! That depends on you. If there are still some of you alive, they will naturally drop ropes from the mountain to pull us up. If there are no more, then what else can we say? Let's all go to hell together!"

These words made several lieutenants dumbfounded. This guy is really a ruthless person. Others put themselves in a desperate situation and then survived. He not only put himself in a desperate situation, but also completely handed his life over to his comrades.

He really interpreted the idea of ​​living together and dying together to the extreme.

"Okay! Since you, Long Yan, and the brothers of the 2nd Platoon have this awareness, then all the brothers of my mountain infantry company will take a gamble with you. I will try my best to equip each cave of your platoon with a walkie-talkie. If you need anything, you can use the walkie-talkie to ask for help. Don't let us survive in the end, but your platoon leader Long Da starves to death in the cave.

Then I will be chased and beaten by Platoon Leaders Long Ying and Shen in front of the regiment commander. The couple, one plays with a knife and the other with a gun, I really can't beat them!" Gu Xishui is also a courageous person. In the discussion of his subordinates, the platoon leaders agreed with Long Yan's tactics.

It is really not easy to enter the cave. It is definitely not possible to go up from the bottom at a height of dozens of meters. It can only be suspended from the top.

It took a full three days to send more than 80 officers and soldiers and the required weapons and supplies into each cave.

The height of the rappel was tens of meters at the shortest and more than a hundred meters at the longest. Even the villagers of Yeyue Village who grew up in the mountains and picked herbs on cliffs felt dizzy when hanging in the air more than a hundred meters in the cold winter wind.

But that was not the most difficult part. It was that the soldiers in groups of three had to stay with the dead bones in the cave for many days.

In that era, the countryside was full of talk about gods and ghosts. The thought of not only moving the coffins of the ancestors of the Ba people, but also staying with them in a space of only a few square meters made the soldiers, who were basically farmers, feel their hair stand on end.

"Put all the bones somewhere, light three incense sticks, or three cigarettes if you don't have any, kowtow to the ancestors, and tell them that the descendants will fight the devils and occupy their land. Tell them not to blame us. If possible, just lie down and watch us kill the devils." It was Long Yan who gave such an order after hearing the soldiers who picked up broken arms and legs on the battlefield without frowning and kept asking for instructions on how to deal with the coffins that took up space and were eye-catching.

After hearing this, the hurdle in the hearts of the soldiers who were troubled by ghosts and gods was leveled.

Yes! If our ancestors knew that they were fighting Japanese pirates who invaded their homes, they would definitely not blame them, and maybe they would be able to protect them!

Morale rose inexplicably.

Sure enough, within three days, news came from the regiment headquarters that Changyang County had fallen!

In two days, Yuyang Pass will be lost!

A Japanese division headed straight for Shipai along the mountain road between Changyang and Shipai.

At the same time, the Japanese 13th Division and the 39th Division have gathered in Yiling. There are more than 20 Japanese warships coming from the Jiangxia direction, including four 2,000-ton destroyers and 700 There are eight ton and 600-ton gunboats, and up to 15 armed transport ships.

All this has shown that the Japanese army cannot wait for the Chinese New Year and hopes to break through the east gate of the most important city in China before the arrival of the Chinese New Year.

In the past, the Japanese army assembled heavy troops to attack Shipai. This was because the Japanese navy had repeatedly failed in the Pacific battlefield. The military headquarters in Japan hoped to mobilize the army and navy forces from the Chinese battlefield to the Pacific battlefield.

Capture Shipai, threaten to attack the mountain city, and force the Chinese government to surrender to quickly resolve the war on the Chinese battlefield.

That was affected by the entire grand strategy, otherwise the Japanese army would not have rashly invested tens of thousands of troops into this high mountain.

But in this era, the Chinese dispatched troops resolutely made this deployment two years in advance. To be honest, it still has something to do with Tang Dao, a little butterfly from the future.

The main reason is that Yamashiro relied on the relationship of the Rockefeller family to receive assistance from new fighter jets and a large number of anti-aircraft guns in 1940.

This may be a prelude for the Americans to join the war, and whether they have already privately concluded an alliance with China is a question that must be considered by the Japanese senior leaders who have already deployed their troops to direct their troops to the battlefield in Southeast Asia.

They have the idea of ​​Southeast Asia, a fertile land with extremely rich products. The first one who won't agree is naturally the old empire. However, the empire where the sun never sets is currently in a fierce battle with the German Empire, and it is hard to protect itself. How much energy can it pay to pay attention to the distance? A colony thousands of kilometers away from the mainland?

Japan, which has already expanded, does not take the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets seriously. What deserves their most vigilance is the United States, which has remained neutral so far.

It can be said that what the Americans did in 1940 was like a coquettish beautiful woman, constantly teasing the extremely fragile nerves of this short, rough-looking man in Japan.

In the constant guessing and guessing, the senior officials of the Japanese base camp finally made up their minds to deal with the stubborn enemy of China first, and then mobilize the whole country to kill the Americans.

China still has millions of troops and a vast land. Considering that China’s current dispatched troops are only one million, if they want to eat them up in one bite, no matter how arrogant the Japanese are, they feel that it is not possible.

The simplest and easiest thing to do is to directly attack the mountain city and force the Chinese government in the mountain city to surrender. As long as its command center surrenders, the millions of troops will be nothing more than a piece of scattered sand. Their destruction is only a matter of time. Unlike now, the Chinese army is getting more and more. The more they fought, the more they fought, so much so that even a strong warrior like Itagaki Shiro felt a little desperate.

. . . . . . . . . .

January 13, 1941!

The 232nd Infantry Regiment of the 39th Division of the Japanese 11th Army, led by its infantry commander Saji Naokage, set out from Yiling, crossed the Qingjiang River, crossed Changyang, and rushed along the mountain road towards Shipai.

This may not be the first Japanese force to approach the central defense zone of Shipai in what will be known as the Shipai Defense War in the future. The blocking battle they eventually encountered was not the first battle that broke out in the Shipai Defense War.

But this is definitely the first wave of Japanese elites that the Chinese army faced in the Shipai Defense War!

Although the 39th Division is only a B division organized by the 3rd Infantry Regiment, in the Battle of Zaoyi not long ago, the reason why General Zhang died was because he was besieged by this division. Its division commander Murakami Qi Zuo is also a product of Japan's "elite education", and his strategy and courage are not bad in everything. In order to catch up with the West, Japan has gone through a series of reforms and formed a unique "elite" education system. Those who are outstanding first enter the infant school to study, then the outstanding people enter the sergeant school, and finally those who can graduate from the Army University are what Japan calls "Elite" talents!

Murakami Saisaku, who will become the commander of Japan's Third Army in the future, may not make it obvious, but those who have the same educational trajectory as him, such as Okamura Koji, Anami Yuki, Doi Madoka, Taten Shun, etc., all studied in China. Heinous crimes were committed on the land.

The combat effectiveness of the 39th Division is comparable to that of many veteran permanent divisions!

Even the proud commander surnamed Hu, after learning that the 39th Division who took the lead from Changyang to attack the central position of Shipai, called Tang Dao specifically: "Do you have the confidence to stop this Japanese army? If there is a lack of troops, 34 The division can support one or two infantry battalions at any time!"

And this, Tang Dao didn't tell him that he only sent one mountain infantry company. Although the strength was more than that of an ordinary infantry company, it was nothing compared to the elite infantry regiment of the Japanese army.

Tang Dao chose to trust Gu Xishui and rejected the kindness of the division commander named Hu. However, during the period of caution, he also sent reinforcements to the mountain infantry company, but only sent a heavy force platoon and a baggage platoon to support, a total of 4 150 caliber mortars, 400 rounds of artillery shells and 150 second-line combatants!

At noon on the 15th, the snipers of the mountain infantry company fired the first shot on the peak 400 meters away from the Japanese army!

Kill one Japanese lieutenant!

The battle begins!