Chapter 654 Forward, Forward, Forward (2)

Lei Ming, commander of the Fourth Brigade, Zhu Rui, political commissar of the Fourth Brigade and commander of the New Fourth Brigade, and Zhang Haitao, commander of the Tai'an Detachment, commanded the Eastern Group of the Taixi Campaign of the Eighth Route Army.

Zhang Haitao, commander of the Tai'an detachment, has been particularly angry recently.

Last time, Liu Yimin's plane formation was intercepted by Japanese planes, and Li Chengyi, head of the instructor's guard regiment, Lu Wen, deputy director of the radio station, and six pilots were killed, and four fighters and one transport plane were destroyed by the Japanese army, resulting in heavy losses. The culprit of all this is a high-ranking Japanese killer codenamed Sakura and alias Tang Xiu'er, and Tang Xiu'er and Zhuang Yulian once participated in the village militia of Culai Village, and later joined the Eighth Route Army and served as soldiers in the Tai'an detachment. At that time, due to the vigilance of Wang Shangwu, the captain of the second sniper squadron, the instructor security department notified the Tai'an detachment to monitor Tang Xiuer and Zhuang Yulian. In the end, he had to agree that Tang Xiuer would go to Jinan to see a doctor, and as a result, Liu Yimin's landline formation was intercepted by a Japanese plane.

After knowing that Tang Xiuer was really a high-level killer in Japan, Zhang Haitao regretted that he couldn't sleep for several days and nights, scolding himself for not being vigilant enough, and then he began to write and check non-stop. It wasn't until Liu Yimin came back from Xi'an and talked to him that he untied the knot in his heart.

Zhang Haitao intuitively thought that Tang Xiuer would definitely appear and carry out an assassination operation against Liu Yimin. He gathered the cadres above the platoon level of the Tai'an detachment and held a meeting, telling everyone that only the cadres and soldiers of the Tai'an detachment in the whole division were familiar with Tang Xiu'er and Zhuang Yulian, Zhuang Yulian was already dead, don't talk about her, Tang Xiu'er is still on the run, she must not be willing to fail, and will come to assassinate the division commander again. The last time she successfully escaped to Jinan to create a shocking case, it was the shame of the Tai'an detachment. Find her again this time, don't say a word, just talk with bullets. Tang Xiu'er has high martial arts skills and good skills, so there is no need to have any scruples to deal with her, so she concentrated machine guns and rifles, and covered her with a fire net, so that she had no ladder to go to the sky and no door to enter the ground, and died under the indiscriminate guns. If not, I will be sorry for Li Chengyi, Lu Wen, and Wu Le who sacrificed themselves

After the order for the Taixi Campaign was issued, Zhang Haitao sent a telegram to Liu Yimin asking for battle, asking the Tai'an detachment to serve as the main force of the blocking group, on the grounds that the Tai'an detachment was familiar with the terrain, the backbone troops came from the main force of our army, and the combat effectiveness and equipment level were higher than those of the garrison brigades. In the end, Liu Yimin did not agree, mainly because the Tai'an detachment had always been at the forefront of defending the central base area of Taiyi, and had participated in the southern front operation, and the troops suffered heavy casualties.

Zhang Haitao was indignant at Liu Yimin's arrangement, and felt that the division commander underestimated the Tai'an detachment. Yes, in the previous stage of the operation, the Tai'an detachment cooperated with the Fifth Brigade to fight and fought hard with the Japanese army, and the casualties were indeed not small. However, the cadres and soldiers of the Tai'an detachment, except for the eastward detachment brought by Zhang Haitao, were originally four detachments, which were standard Taiyi soldiers. Now it is a big battle to completely solve the enemy in Lunan, and the Tai'an detachment cannot undertake the most arduous combat mission, how can it explain to the fathers and villagers?

I feel indignant, but I still have to carry out orders, don't I? Zhang Haitao couldn't fight for the task of blocking the attack, so he was bent on playing the prestige of the Tai'an detachment in the general attack. Therefore, at the pre-war mobilization meeting, Zhang Haitao changed the gentleness and elegance he learned from Liu Yimin, and his words were full of murderous spirit: "After the general attack order was issued, the whole detachment, including me, launched a charge. Take the company as a unit, and hit and rush. It doesn't matter what the system is, and it doesn't matter if it's a disruptive war, wherever there are devils, they will rush there. Infantry guns, small steel cannons, and heavy machine guns followed. Far away with small cannons, heavy machine gun sweeping, close with grenades bombing, light machine guns and rifles. In a word, forward, forward, forward, until the commander of the 35th Division, Masamu Maeda, the commander of the 13th Independent Mixed Brigade, Morita Masaho, and the commander of the 14th Division, Takamasa Sekii, are killed, and all devils who dare to resist are eliminated."

It's not that Zhang Haitao doesn't know how to fight, he is the head of Liu Yi's guard regiment, and he has a very high military cultivation, so he doesn't know how to fight this battle. He saw it through and knew that as soon as the powerful artillery group of the Eighth Route Army fired, the little devils would inevitably blow up the camp. The Tai'an detachment is not comparable to the 1st Brigade and the Cavalry Brigade, they are tanks, armored vehicles, cars, and war horses, and the attack speed is fast. If the Tai'an detachment moves slowly, it will only have to visit the battlefield.

In response to the cadres' question of whether the little devils should be attacked and eliminated by force or surrounded first, and called for artillery fire to eliminate them, Zhang Haitao's answer was very simple: "Go down to the tunnel, go into the village and fight with the little devils in the streets, and resolutely destroy the enemy."

At half past five in the afternoon, after Liu Yimin gave the order to enter the position, the Fourth Brigade, the New Fourth Brigade, and the Tai'an Detachment took advantage of the cover of night to rush towards Jinpu Road. When the order for the general offensive was given at half past six, the troops began to initiate their operations. Zhang Haitao took the lead and led the Tai'an detachment to bypass Tai'an City and kill the flank of the little devil from the south of the city.

Fighting side by side with the Tai'an detachment is naturally the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Battles Elite Teaching Fourth Brigade and the newly formed New Fourth Brigade.

When the Eastern Group of the Battle of Taixi launched the attack, the artillery group was extending the shelling.

Zhu Rui, like Li Chang, studied artillery in the Soviet Union and had a deep understanding of the Soviet army's artillery idea. But even the Soviet army did not have such a precedent for such a large-scale concentrated use of artillery for the time being. Watching the swarms of artillery shells streak through the air and burst into brilliant fireworks, Zhu Rui was so excited that he couldn't help but say to the commander of the Fourth Brigade beside him: "I dare to say that the establishment of an artillery headquarters at the division level is the first time in the history of the construction of various armies in the world; Such a large-scale artillery group shelling is also the first time in the history of human warfare that little devils have died at the hands of our army, and in terms of tactical guiding ideology, they are much more backward than our army. ”

Compared with Zhu Rui, Lei Ming does not have such a profound military theoretical cultivation, and his knowledge comes from actual combat, from Liu Yimin's training after arriving in the Red Eighteenth Regiment. Fighting with a large corps like this, what Lei Ming knows is the infantry contract tactics taught by Liu Yimin. As for the history of artillery development, he really doesn't know much.

However, now is the time for our army to launch a general offensive, and it doesn't matter if we don't know those military theoretical knowledge, the important thing is to seize the fighters, attack fiercely, and completely destroy the will of the little devils to resist.

Seeing that the artillery group was roaring, the troops of the Fourth Brigade, the New Fourth Brigade, and the Tai'an Detachment pounced on the little devils in a mess like tigers going down the mountain.

Liu Peiyi, a young man from Dongdawu Village who led the troops when the Eighth Route Army captured Dawenkou, made rapid progress because he had participated in the military training organized by Han Fuqu when he was in school, and he had cultural knowledge. After the recruit training was assigned to the troops, Liu Peiyi and the five Tai'an soldiers who joined the army with him changed their names at the same time, Liu Peiyi changed his name to Liu Zhenhua, and the other four people were renamed Zhenxing, Zhenzhong, Zhenmin, and Zhenguo respectively. Liu Zhenhua also joined the party and paid the first party fee with the silver dollar he gave him.

Now, Liu Zhenhua is already a squad leader of the Tai'an detachment, and Li Zhengyu, an underground party member who took him to join the Eighth Route Army, has become his company deputy instructor.

When the artillery group began to shell, Liu Zhenhua and the whole squad of soldiers had already touched the side of the Jinpu road. This is a war at the door of the house, every grass and tree Liu Zhenhua is familiar with, and he can touch Tai'an City with his eyes closed.

Countless car lights suddenly lit up in the north, Liu Zhenhua saw it, and knew that it was the only armored regiment of the Eighth Route Army guiding the assault group to attack, tanks and armored vehicles guiding countless cars, turning on the lights, and lined up on the north side of the highway from the north of Tai'an City to Feicheng, and launched an assault towards the little devil. Tanks, armored vehicles, and automobiles were followed by the cavalry brigade holding torches alof, and the cavalry and infantry of the 1st Brigade, the 1st Brigade, the 1st Brigade, and the 3rd Brigade

Liu Zhenhua is not very old and has a lot of knowledge. Know to speed up your attacks. Because the assault group has strong mobility and is the absolute main force of the whole army, it will soon crush the little devils.

Liu Zhenhua led his comrades-in-arms to cross the Jinpu Road, passed south of Tai'an City, and rushed to the north side of the Japanese 35th Division together with the blocking group troops who jumped out of the position.

Liu Zhenhua didn't know that at this time, the surroundings of Tai'an were already boiling.

For a whole day, the little devil fought from Yanzhou to Tai'an City. From the porcelain kiln to Tai'an, the sound of guns and cannons shook the sky along the way, and the blocking troops of the Eighth Route Army fought to the death with the little devils, and the local armed forces and militias covered the villagers to move into the mountains and tunnels, and also entered the battle, using the earthen villages and tunnels in the villages and towns to fight fiercely with the devils. Defensive points such as Dawenkou and Beijipo are all battlefields that the two sides have repeatedly fought for.

Tai'an is at the foot of Mount Tai, and the residents of the city enter the mountain early. These evacuated villagers could not have imagined that the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army was stationed in Tai'an City, the Shandong Bureau was stationed in Tai'an City, the field hospital of the Eighth Route Army was in Tai'an City, and Liu Yimin's wife and children were also in Tai'an City. In order to avoid losses to the villagers, the Eighth Route Army let them transfer early.

The little devil didn't know that the head of the Eighth Route Army was hidden in Tai'an City. It may be that it is to concentrate ammunition to bomb the blocking positions of the Eighth Route Army, or it may be that Jinan and Tai'an will be reoccupied immediately, or it may be that it has long known that the Eighth Route Army is accustomed to strong walls and clear fields, and the people of Tai'an City have long run out, and the little devil plane did not carry out key bombing of Tai'an City and Jinan City. Their bombing targets were set on the blocking positions that the Eighth Route Army was fighting one after another, and aerial bombs were also dropped on the blocking positions of the Eighth Route Army. The camouflaged and real blocking position of the Eighth Route Army was drowned in the sea of fire.

The roar of the cannon has already alarmed the villagers who have implemented the strong wall and cleared the wilderness. Only then did they know that the Eighth Route Army had already laid out the battlefield here, and the arrogant little devil jumped into the trap headlong, and it seemed that he would not survive.

So, under the organization of the cadres and militiamen, the stretcher team and ammunition team that had been prepared for a long time followed the attack force of the Eighth Route Army and set off. In the ancient land of Tai'an, in addition to the roaring of artillery groups, the singing of charging horns, and the crying of Japanese soldiers calling their fathers and mothers, the squeaky sound of wheelbarrows transporting ammunition and the footsteps of stretcher teams running sounded sound.

The lights on the walls of Tai'an were lit, and the Eighth Route Army used searchlights captured from the Japanese army, and also lit countless torches to illuminate the battlefield and guide the troops to attack.

According to the instructor division and the troops of the New Eighth Brigade who were guarding Tai'an City, with a loud charge, they rushed out of Tai'an City and rushed towards the little devil who was suffering under artillery fire.

Under the command of Zhao Xiaoman, the Eighth Route Army Instructor Art Troupe climbed the Tai'an city wall, and sang military songs and majestic March of the Volunteers in the rumbling cannons. The soldiers of the Art Troupe dressed in the cotton uniforms of the Eighth Route Army all had solemn faces, singing loudly, and they were as holy as the snow lotus flowers blooming on the Tianshan Mountain.

At this time, the 13th Brigade of the Japanese Army on the front line of Dawenkou and Beijipo and the 35th Division under Tai'an City had been blown to pieces by the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army, and began to retreat in the direction of the 14th Division of the Japanese Army, which was on the front line of Feizhong Mountain.

It's no wonder that the little devil doesn't have a strong will to fight, the key is that the Eighth Route Army's artillery group is too strong. The Japanese Eighth Division and the Tenth Division, which were so strong and domineering, were still wiped out under the blows of the Eighth Route Army's artillery group, not to mention the 35th Division and the 13th Independent Mixed Division?

This situation is not a blind fool of mountain people, and this is the fact in the history of our army's war. At that time, General Su Yu commanded the Battle of Jinan, and 70% of the 100,000 defenders died under the powerful artillery fire of Huaye. The Liaoshen Campaign conquered Jinzhou and the Pingjin Campaign conquered Tianjin, and the defenders' strong city defenses were destroyed in the hands of our army, which concentrated on the use of artillery fire. During the Huaihai Campaign in history, our army's mountain artillery and field artillery were mainly used for melee artillery fire to attack the enemy's pillboxes and trenches. The long-range strikes against the defenders were American-made 105 howitzers and Japanese-made 105 howitzers. ** It was said that since our army had artillery and engineers, Chiang Kai-shek's planes, tanks, and artillery seemed insignificant.

In fact, the instructor's artillery is now strong, but it lacks heavy artillery. The caliber of 75 field artillery and mountain artillery is small and the firing range is also short, which is also a major reason why Liu Yimin has to preset the battlefield and conceal troops in advance in every battle. In this Taixi Campaign, what Liu Yimin wanted most was the Japanese army's heavy artillery brigades, which were all 105 howitzers and cannons, which could be used to suppress enemy artillery fire and long-distance artillery coverage.

The commander of the 35th Division, Osamu Maeda, is now in despair.

This old devil, after sending the telegram, found that his 35th Division had collapsed. After the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army destroyed the position of the 35th Field Artillery Wing, the shells fell on the heads of the infantry wings like hail, blowing up the 35th Division and all wings of the 35th Division, which had just completed assembling and preparing to launch an attack, into a cake that was torn apart.

Maeda couldn't understand why the artillery of the Eighth Route Army was like having eyes, hitting so accurately and so ruthlessly, and every time the shells fell, they brought up a puff of blood mist and pieces of stumps of imperial soldiers.

Maeda Osamu hates Morita Masatomi the most, if it weren't for Morita Masafu's idea to concentrate all his efforts to carry out a strong attack on Tai'an City, and test whether the main force of the Eighth Route Army is in the Jinan area, he would not have ordered all wings to gather troops and place the main force under Tai'an City. Now it was unlucky, the positions of the 35th Artillery Wing were destroyed, and even the opportunity to launch special smoke at the city of Taean was lost. The infantry wing has become the target of the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army, and the blood is flowing like a river

As soon as he thought of this, Osamu Maeda wanted to pull out his knife and slash Morita Masahomi alive. But in the blink of an eye, Morita Masaho also looked sad and looked at him helplessly.

Maeda Osamu sighed and said lightly to Morita Masahomi: "Morita-kun, the top priority is to order the troops to retreat quickly and move closer to the 14th Division. The original order for the troops to build positions on the spot and hold on to them is withdrawn, and you go and command the retreat of the 13th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade."

Morita Masahomi hung his head and said, "I'm sorry for the trouble." The Eighth Route Army has already rushed up, and it is impossible for me to return to the 13th Brigade of the Independent Mixed Brigade. Unexpectedly, we were still fooled by the calls. Maeda-kun, order a retreat immediately. As long as we join up with the 14th Division, we can still gather our troops and hold on to them. As soon as the day dawns, we will be saved. ”

The reason why Osamu Maeda, who had been the commander of the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade, wanted to order the troops to withdraw in the direction of the 14th Division was because he knew that the 14th Division was attached to the Heavy Artillery Brigade that originally belonged to the First Army. He wanted the heavy artillery brigade under the command of the 14th Division to carry out a counterattack and destroy the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army. He is an artillery expert, and he already knows from the artillery bombardment of the Eighth Route Army that the Eighth Route Army has a total of two artillery groups, each of which is divided into six small artillery groups, each of which is the strength of an artillery wing, except for a small number of German-made medium mortars, the others are Japanese-made 75 mountain artillery and field artillery. If the heavy artillery brigade launched a counterattack, it would be able to strike at the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army from a long distance and cover the troops to hold or retreat.

Maeda Osamu turned to his chief of staff, and his tone was indescribably lonely: "Chief of Staff, send a report to Lieutenant General Takamasa Sekii, requesting that the heavy artillery brigade be sent for urgent tactical guidance, and it is necessary to destroy the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army and cover the retreat of our department." It is recommended that the 14th Division abandon the plan to attack Jinan in the north, hold the line of the Wen River, and respond to the retreat of our troops. ”

The chief of staff replied directly: "Your Excellency Division Commander: The 14th Division, like us, was attacked by the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army, and the casualties were bound to be heavy. It is certainly not possible to get them to accept our retreat. It is recommended that His Excellency, the commander of the division, retreat immediately, it will be too late if it is too late. ”

The chief of staff of the 35th Division was really right, and it would be too late if it was too late. But what if you retreat right now? The Eighth Route Army was ambushed on all sides, attacking from all sides, from east to west, north and south, where can the little devils go? Therefore, without waiting for the chief of staff to say more, Osamu Maeda let out a roar: "Does Baga listen to you or to me?" Execute the command quickly"

Only then did the chief of staff of the Japanese army go to ask the telegraph operator to send a report to Takamasa Sekii.