The First Field Heavy Artillery Brigade is one of the earliest field heavy artillery units formed by the Chinese Army, and as a strategic force, the First Field Heavy Artillery Brigade and Regiment also have a part of self-protecting infantry units in addition to artillery, and the number is about one wing. At the same time, this infantry wing is also responsible for the transportation of ammunition during the battle, the guard and other work.

This time, the army transferred the first brigade of field heavy artillery from Jinan to Saibei, both infantry and artillery have suffered a lot, Saibei is a bitter place both at this time and in the distant future, the transportation is extremely backward, here is the world of horses and knights, a slightly smaller car is fine, but there is still no standard road like the one used by field heavy artillery. Although the march of the protective artillery units with infantry units along the way was relatively smooth, it was only a few days before the start of the battle.

Since the Beijing-Zhangbei railway branch line can only reach Zhangbei at the farthest, the journey of more than 70 kilometers from Zhangbei to Xinghe has become an extremely thorny problem, and some of the equipment stranded in Zhangbei County, including the train used during the retreat, must be protected, so Lieutenant General Niu Dao left an infantry brigade with strong combat effectiveness of the First Brigade of Field Heavy Artillery in Zhangbei County as a defender to prevent a possible attack. The rest of the troops spent four and a half days transporting all the heavy equipment of the field heavy artillery brigade to Daqingshan on a dirt road in the countryside that was not suitable for field heavy artillery at all.

But Ren Niu Dao never imagined that the counterattack of the Inner Mongolia Military Region would be so crazy, and every unit was an elite unit with extremely strong combat effectiveness. Originally, according to the predictions of the top brass of the North China Front, the total number of troops in the Inner Mongolia Military Region might be between 100,000 and 150,000, and if they were all mobilized, they could even reach more than 200,000. The reason why the North China Front dared to use 150,000 troops to attack Saibei was, on the one hand, because all the senior officers of the North China Front Army believed that the strength of Han Yunhua's unit was only a few individual units and not the entire Inner Mongolia Military Region, just like the 300th Integrated Division, which was equipped with infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineering, communications, mechanization, medical and other arms, although it was only a division. However, all the senior officers of the Chinese army, including General Binshan Yuan, unanimously agreed that there was no problem at all in the combat effectiveness of the reorganized 300th Division against the two infantry divisions under the command of the North China Front Army, and that if it were a third-class division like the 32nd Division and the 35th Division, the three would not necessarily be the opponents of the reorganized 300th Division.

However, no matter how powerful the integrated 300th Division is, it is only one, not to mention the Inner Mongolia Military Region, that is, among all the troops led by the entire [***], there is only one unit equipped with such a luxurious unit for the integrated 300th Division, and although the 77th Division of Reading Power that is frequently reported to the outside world is famous, it is far inferior to the 300th Division in terms of the number of troops and equipment, so General Binshan Yuan's evaluation of the 77th Division is much lower, if the 300th Division can be worth three divisions, Then the 77th Division of Reading Power can only compete with the Yamashita Division, and the victory or defeat of the two is still unpredictable. As for the Eighth Brigade of the Eighth Brigade of the Reading Power Mix, which was the last unit under the jurisdiction of the Inner Mongolia Military Region to enter the eyes of the Yue Army, it was not in the eyes of Bin Shanyuan and others, so General Bin Shanyuan believed that the overall combat effectiveness of Han Yunhua's unit would also be equivalent to four to five infantry divisions and regiments of the North China Front Army.

Besides, the Chinese troops in the north of the Inner Mongolia Military Region are not all field troops, and the jurisdiction of the Inner Mongolia Military Region is so vast, there are nearly 100 county towns alone, and it is definitely necessary to keep some elites in the inner part of the jurisdiction, otherwise it is very likely that there will be chaos inside before the outside has made a name for itself. As a result, the Inner Mongolia Military Region had fewer troops at its disposal, so all the officers of the North China Front Army, including General Binshan Yuan, believed that the worst result of this attack on Saibei would be to "recover" eastern Hebei.

But ideals are often beautiful, but reality is cruel. General Binshan Yuan never thought that there would be more than 400,000 troops in Han Yunhua's hands, and even if more than 100,000 of them could not directly go to the battlefield to fight the field troops of the North China Front, it would be no problem to stay in the jurisdiction and act as a defender. In this way, a large number of elites of Han Yunhua's department were liberated, and Han Yunhua also used the strategy of Tian Ji in horse racing, and used the 1st Field Division composed of the backbone of the 8th Brigade of the Inner Mongolia Military Region, which was not strong in combat effectiveness, and the small guerrillas, county brigades, and district squads in eastern Hebei, and the large army composed of small guerrillas, county brigades, and district squads in eastern Hebei to contain all the field troops with the strongest combat effectiveness in eastern Hebei, while the strongest units of the Inner Mongolia Military Region attacked in all directions in central Hebei, northern Hebei, southern Hebei, and southern Chanan. The Fourth Brigade, the Xishiyuan Brigade of the Yamashita Division, the Eighth Infantry Wing of the Fourth Division, and the Cavalry Group, Han Yunhua waved his pen very chicly, and the nearly 50,000 troops of the army were wiped out.

Moreover, after receiving the telegram that Han Yunhua was in danger, almost all the troops of the Inner Mongolia Military Region that could arrive in a short period of time were dispatched. Even the mechanized brigade was on its way back, and in addition to the reinforcements of the troops directly under the military region in Xinghe County, as many as 70,000 troops rushed to the territory of Xinghe County at 5:10 p.m. on 1 September, of which more than 30,000 were reinforcements from the direction of Guisui and Jining, and more than 38,000 were from the 300th Reorganized Division and the Fifth Field Division from northern Shanxi and northern Hebei The original garrison of Xinghe County also had 7,000 people, and at the same time, about a regiment of infantry and mechanized troops from Zhangbei County were also on their way back, and it was expected that they would arrive in the evening of the 1st.

In order to rescue Commander Han Yunhua as soon as possible, almost all the troops adopted the tactic of breaking through at all costs, regardless of casualties to break through the blocking line of the Japanese army, on August 31, Ushijima did not feel anything unusual, but on the morning of September 1, Ushishima rushed to obvious pressure, almost all the blocking troops were asking for reinforcements, and the Ushijima attack group with headquarters under Daqing Mountain also felt that something was wrong, but in order to complete the task assigned by His Excellency the commander, even if he knew that there was no good fruit to eat if he stayed, But Ushijima still decided to catch Han Yunhua first. Besides, now that the battle on the mountain has reached the most critical time, the mountain must hold on to whatever it says.

Wave after wave of troops were sent out, but the troops in charge of blocking the attack were still complaining, and the defensive line was broken through one by one. Originally, Ushijima thought that after dark, the Chinese troops might stop attacking, and he could also withdraw the wounded to a safe place in the rear, and at the same time he could withdraw the troops in some areas to rest. But the squadron did not stop attacking, but launched an even more frantic assault.

Since the guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army were under the control of the guerrillas after dark, and the guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army could exert their combat effectiveness of 200 percent in a dark environment, Ushijima felt the pressure increase sharply after dark, and if he continued to fight at this rate, his 20th Division would not be able to hold out for even a day. In the morning, he received a telegram from the headquarters saying that the defenders of Zhangbei County were routed by Han Yunhua's chariot unit yesterday, and that Zhangjiakou was lost in the evening.

However, the frenzier the attack of the [***] team, the more revealing it is, Ushijima knew that Han Yunhua must be on the mountain, otherwise the Chinese troops would not have attacked so fiercely, and even the 20th Division, which had been in battle for a long time, was also bitter. Ushijima knew very well that the [***] general on Daqingshan was the only hope for him and the nearly 30,000 people under his command. As long as Han Yunhua is captured alive, then he and his troops will have a guarantee of survival. Otherwise, there will be nothing but death that awaits them.

Ushijima, who was anxiously wandering in the command headquarters, was in an extremely bad mood at this time, and the news had just come out that the blocking line in the direction of Xinghe County, which was in charge of the Yamashita Division, had just collapsed, and the First Wing of the Paratroopers of the Great Empire had been wiped out, and the only remaining infantry brigade of the Yamashita Division had only more than 2,000 people left, and the rest of the troops were either captured or missing. A few of the troops missing on the battlefield survived, so although Ushijima didn't want to believe it, he had to believe that the Yamashita Division was finished.

What's more, the strength of about four infantry divisions in China was coming towards Daqingshan, which was already less than ten kilometers away from his headquarters. If Ushijima can't come up with a way to deal with it within an hour, the consequences will be unimaginable. At this moment, a huge explosion was suddenly heard in the distance, and the dull and loud sound overturned all the water glasses on the table of the command headquarters and wet a military map spread on the desk.

Violent explosions followed one after another, and after four or five minutes it was quiet again. At this time, Lieutenant General Ushijima was pale and fixed in the command headquarters, and soon Ushijima, who was over fifty years old, completely collapsed in his chair, muttering in his mouth: "It's over", "It's over", "Heavy artillery, my heavy artillery"

Soon, a newspaper soldier ran in in a panic and reported loudly: "Report to Your Excellency Commander, I have just received a telegram that the 1st Brigade of Field Heavy Artillery has been attacked by the special forces of China, and all the shells have been detonated, and at the same time, 18 heavy artillery pieces have been blown up, and all the troops responsible for protecting the heavy artillery have been shattered...............

What the next report soldier said Ushijima did not remember at all, he knew that this time his troops were completely finished, without the assistance of heavy artillery, the plan to capture Daqingshan could not be completed, the smooth progress of the troops in the past two days was completely the credit of heavy artillery, until after blowing up the cliff west of Daqingshan, the troops finally attacked Daqingshan. However, the steep terrain on the mountain was still not conducive to the attack of the troops, and after more than two hours of fighting, there was no progress at all, and at this time, the heavy artillery unit, which would not have much effect outside of it, once again went into a frenzy.

With the help of forward observation posts, the heavy artillery units marked the Chinese positions in the west and south with the artillery bombardment, and soon the fierce artillery fire landed accurately on the heads of the Chinese defenders, and under the attack of the field heavy artillery, no matter how strong the fortifications were, they would not last long before they were completely destroyed, so the heavy artillery troops became the hope of Ushijima, and the only hope for capturing Daqingshan and capturing Han Yunhua alive.

However, due to his negligence, the main forces of the infantry, which protected the heavy artillery units, were transferred to the blocking positions at the front. In Ushijima's opinion, his troops have checked all the places near Daqingshan where people can hide, and found no trace of the [***] team. Moreover, the heavy artillery position was not far from the headquarters, so Ushijima did not believe that the [***] team would have the courage to shoot heavy artillery attention under his nose, so the tragedy happened.

After about ten minutes of delay, Ushijima finally gave a breakthrough order to all the officers in the command with difficulty: "Gentlemen, at this time, all the shells of the heavy artillery brigade have been blown up by the special forces of China, and the heavy artillery brigade has lost its combat effectiveness since then, and our mission to capture Daqingshan and capture Han Yunhua alive has failed." Moreover, the army of China has already surrounded it, and our department can only break through for now. ”

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, I was accused of not agreeing to break through, not to mention that we have suffered so many casualties and have no results at all, and we will definitely be blamed and punished by the military department when we go back. Let's just say that we are not without a little way in the current war, now we are in an absolute advantage in the battle on the mountain, the position in the south of China has been broken through by our army twice, and the last line of defense is already crumbling, and at the same time, the position in the west of China has just been occupied by our army, and our army can capture the entire Daqingshan in two hours at most, so we have not yet reached the last opportunity to break through. What's more, we can ask the front command for operational guidance, and when the aviation units can be dispatched tomorrow, the lost ammunition can be airdropped, so we do not agree to retreat and break through. Shinohara, a senior staff officer at the command, objected loudly.

At this time, Lieutenant General Ushijima no longer had the energy to be angry with this famous stinky temper in the army, and he knew that there were many things that these staff officers were not clear, so it was useless to blame him.

"Now I tell you some top-secret information that the army of China defeated the defenders of Zhangbei yesterday and robbed us of all the baggage we had placed in Zhangbei, including the train we used to retreat. Zhangjiakou was also lost last night, Lieutenant General Yamashita Fengwen led the remnants to flee back to Beiping City, and Beiping, the base camp of our front army, was also besieged by four or five infantry divisions of Zhina, and the outer positions of Beiping have been lost, and His Excellency Binshan Yuan has been besieged in Beiping City by the Eighth Route Army of Zhina, so we have no hope. Now, while the Chinese army has not yet completed the encirclement, according to the intelligence sent by the intelligence department, the Chinese army in Zhangbei has only one infantry regiment, as long as we highlight the heavy encirclement of Daqingshan, the Chinese army will not want to completely annihilate our army, so we must withdraw, withdraw immediately, I personally bear the responsibility if something happens, and it will definitely not involve the kings. Lieutenant General Ushijima said loudly.

This is not that Ushijima deliberately said this to win the sympathy of his subordinates, he knew that this time the front army was defeated, and someone had to come out to take responsibility for the loss of a large number of elites, and it was needless to say that General Binshan Yuan, as the supreme commander of the North China Front at this time and also the person who formulated and implemented the plan for the Battle of North China, Binshan Yuan had an unshirkable responsibility for this battle.

However, this does not mean that they, the lieutenant generals and division commanders, have no responsibility, such a major disaster, yes, it is true that this battle can only be described as a disaster. Someone must be responsible for such a fiasco, and such a heavy responsibility is definitely not something that General Binshan Yuan can bear alone, even if he and his troops can break out of the encirclement this time, he, the commander of the lieutenant general's division and the direct commander of this attack on Daqingshan, will definitely not have good fruit to eat, and it is already the best result to retire safely without going to a military court, and it is even very likely that he will be ordered to commit suicide by disembowelment.

Therefore, what Ushijima could do at this time was to withdraw the troops that were semi-surrounded by Han Yunhua's army as much as possible, and the more he withdrew, the lighter his "sins" would be, so he said this.

Seeing Ushijima say this, all the officers in the command said loudly: "Hai! ”

Ushijima was also not polite, he knew that he would not have too many opportunities to give orders like so many officers like today, so he cherished this opportunity and said loudly: "Order: The troops attacking Daqingshan immediately cover each other and withdraw from the battle, the heavy artillery brigade immediately blew up all the heavy artillery, and the remnants of the troops immediately assembled at the headquarters." The brigade commander of the heavy artillery brigade, Major General Tensei, was killed by the Shina special combat team in the raid just now, and the command of the entire heavy artillery brigade was also taken by the Shina special combat team, so now I order Shinohara, Nakasa, temporarily command the remnants of the entire heavy artillery brigade, and the rank is promoted to Daisa. The 39th Infantry Brigade and the 40th Infantry Brigade were ordered to immediately withdraw from the battle, leaving one infantry squadron each behind, and the main forces immediately retreated in the direction of Zhangbei. The remnants of the heavy artillery brigade and the remnants of the Yamashita Division were unified under the command of Shinohara, and they were at the forefront; The command and all the troops who withdrew from the mountain were in the center, and the 39th Infantry Brigade and the 40th Infantry Brigade immediately retreated, did you hear clearly? ”

"Hay! Hear me clearly! ”

The efficiency of the Yue army was still very fast, and as soon as Ushijima's order was issued, almost all the Yue army troops began to move. In order to prevent the squadron from seeing their intention to retreat, the army on the front line could also organize two counter-charges, and although there were many casualties, the "arrogant" arrogance of the Eighth Route Army was finally defeated.

But soon Yang Chengwu and Zuo Quan, who were commanding the battle on the front line, discovered the abnormality of the Yue army, but by the time their orders reached the troops, it was too late, and the large army had already fled. However, Yang Chengwu and Zuo Quan don't care about this, as long as Han Yunhua is fine, everything else is easy to say.

At the same time, Han Yunhua, who was compressed to the ammunition depot by the Yue army, also received the news that the Yue army had retreated, and at the first time after receiving the news, Han Yunhua gave an order to all the troops on the front line to pursue the enemy, except for the defenders of Xinghe County, the remaining troops immediately pursued the Yue army, and the mechanized brigade that had arrived in Shangyi also received Han Yunhua's order, Han Yunhua ordered the mechanized brigade to immediately cut off the way of the Yue army, and encircled and annihilated the Niudao headquarters together with other troops in the military region.

(To be continued)