When the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Brigade captured Yunpan Mountain, the 3rd Tank Battalion of the 1st Brigade Armored Regiment was directing a torrent of steel composed of armored vehicles and automobiles, and was crushing the Japanese army's outer defense line.

The order of the commander of the 1st Brigade Gao Yuan was clean and concise: "Use tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, flat-fire mortars, and rocket launchers to destroy all the devil turrets, pillboxes, and bunkers that can be revealed!" Shred the little devils who dare to shoot with a vehicle-mounted machine gun! Flatten the trenches of the little devils with tank tracks! ”

The orders of the plateau were resolutely carried out.

Before capturing Japanese tanks and armored vehicles, Liu Yimin rarely fought tough battles under normal circumstances.

Since it had a powerful artillery group and a strong armored assault force, the Eighth Route Army easily broke through the heavily fortified city of Jinan. Compared with Jinan, the city of Shimen is small in scale and does not have a strong city wall, and for the instructors of the armored assault force and artillery group, it is a sure thing to break through Shimen.

The outer defense line of the Japanese army at Shimen was actually basically destroyed after the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army attacked. By the time the armored group came up by surprise, it was all destroying the remnants of the Japanese army's outer defense line.

Yuan Guoguang, commander of the first company and one platoon of the first armored battalion of the armored regiment, led the three tanks of his platoon, and still served as the attack arrows of the armored regiment.

At night, the Panzer Group assault was more powerful than during the day. The little devil who tried to blow up the tank with grenades and explosives was like a rabbit under the light of a hunter's miner's lamp, his eyes could not be opened, and the on-board machine gun hit it, and the figure of the devil shook back and forth in the cold night and fell to the ground.

An artillery tower in front of him was cut in half by the Eighth Route Army's artillery bombardment. The remaining little devils crawled out of the rubble at this time, and the machine gun bullets made Yuan Guoguang's tank deck clangle.

Yuan Guoguang's eyes flashed at the blazing light, and after aiming, a cannonball hit it directly, only to see that half of the remaining turret collapsed.

At this time, Yuan Guoguang's ears heard the order of the regiment commander Zhao Dahe: "No. 1 car, No. 1 car, I am Zhao Dahe, break through, speed first, cut the Japanese defense line, cut the Japanese defense line!" ”

Yuan Guoguang replied "received" and ordered the driver to run over as straight as he could.

Tanks rumbled over the Japanese trenches. Behind Yuan Guoguang, the other two tanks that followed him with the same roar of motors ran over the Japanese trenches.

After the armored group broke through the outer defensive line of the Japanese army, the armored vehicles and automobiles followed closely behind, and the wilderness outside Shimen was illuminated by the headlights of the Eighth Route Army as if it were daylight, and the remnants of the Japanese army's position were so clear in front of the armored assault group of the Eighth Route Army that it was like hitting a fixed target.

Only half an hour after the attack was launched, all units reported breaking through the Japanese outlying positions and were advancing in depth. Liu Yimin strictly ordered the North Group and the South Group to develop every north and south after cutting off the Pinghan Road, arrange an ambush circle, adjust the artillery position, and prepare to attack the Japanese troops who rushed to reinforce from the direction of Zhengding and Yuanshi counties, and ordered the troops attacking Shimen to advance rapidly and swing into Shimen City.

Luo Ronghuan said: Depending on the situation, it will not take long to take Shimen, and all units should be ordered to take advantage of the situation to develop in all directions, expand their achievements, and expand their room for maneuver.

Liu Yimin shook his head and said: "The purpose of our army's capture of Shimen is to mobilize the Japanese heavy army group out of Shandong, not to capture much territory. After capturing Shimen, we look at the situation, if the little devils on the Pinghan Road do not come to reinforce, we will attack Zhengding to the north to threaten Baoding, and to the south to capture Yuanshi County to threaten Xingtai: to capture the Jingcheng mining area and threaten Yangquan, we must transfer the Japanese heavy army group in southwest Lu back to Shimen. Once we have achieved our goal, we must move quickly to avoid being glued by the Japanese heavy group. When Li Qing and the others take Qingdao, the little devil heavy army group will pounce on Qingdao again, and I estimate that the Japanese army's heavy encirclement and suppression of Shandong will cease. Next, we have to rest for a while, restore the base area, and let the base area have a period of rest and recuperation. This battle can't be fought like this all the time,

If we continue to fight like this, we will win tactically, but we will have a big problem strategically. The better we fight, the more the little devils will stare at us, and after a long time, not only will the little devils not be able to free up their hands to attack Britain and the United States, but even Chairman Chiang will probably take advantage of the fire and find trouble for us. ”

Cai Zhong answered: "It's still the original policy, mobilize the devils, drag the devils into a tired division, let them shrink on the traffic line, and be our transport team." Whenever we want to beat them, we beat them hard. Waiting for the little devil heavy army group to turn in other directions, we are on a full-scale counteroffensive. However, if you fight hard, you will have to recover the whole of Shandong in one go, and you will never be able to let the little devils enter Shandong in the future. This time, our losses were great. ”

Luo Ronghuan interrupted Cai Zhong and said, "Okay, let's take down the stone gate first." Act fast,

lest the little devil dog jump over the wall in a hurry and set fire to the supplies. 、。

Luo Ronghuan is this idea, and Liu Yimin is also this idea. You must know that it has been a year since the Shijiazhuang garrison was formed, and the recruits have become veterans. After the start of the battle tonight, the little devils did not abandon their positions and flee, which shows that these devils have been tempered for a year, and their combat effectiveness and will to resist have improved. Once they find that they can't hold the stone gate, they are likely to adopt the method of burning all the jade and stones, setting fire to the materials, which is equivalent to running away in vain.

Liu Yimin strictly ordered the 1st Brigade to make a quick assault, quickly attack Shimen, control the railway station and the Japanese warehouse, and hand over the remnants of the outer defense line to the follow-up troops to deal with.

Battle plan... The stipulation is to teach the 1st Brigade to take the lead in breaking through the stone gate and occupying the big stone bridge, railway station, and other key points. As for the remnants of the enemy in other directions on the periphery, the units will continue to clear them.

After receiving Liu Yimin's strict order, Gao Yuan also knew that speed came first, and constantly ordered the armored regiment, the first regiment, the second regiment, and the third regiment to hurry up, hurry up, and use the powerful armor advantage to break through the urban area and control all the key points.

When the armored regiment rushed to the Pinghan Road blockade ditch, the firepower points opposite the Japanese blockade ditch were basically cleared by the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army because they were clearly marked on the city defense map. The only trouble was the delay, because there were few bridges on the blockade ditch, and tanks, armored vehicles, and cars had to pass through the bridges one after the other.

The Japanese garrison in Shijiazhuang was a standard garrison, and its armament was far from that of the field troops, it was not equipped with anti-tank weapons, nor heavy artillery, but only some infantry guns, which were also put into battle at this time and opened artillery to intercept. With this blow, the artillery position was violently attacked and captured by the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army. One test firing and one salvo covered the infantry artillery position of the Shijiazhuang garrison.

Crossing the blockade ditch, two ironclad trains came one after the other, blocking the way of the armored cluster of the Eighth Route Army. The muzzles and muzzles of the guns on the vehicles ignited on the tongues of fire, damaging two armored vehicles and three vehicles on the bridge across the blockade ditch.

The commander of the Japanese ironclad vehicle was very clever, and he did this to block the follow-up troops of the Eighth Route Army with the armored vehicles and car wrecks on the bridge, and to concentrate artillery fire on the tanks and armored vehicles that were crossing the Pinghan Road.

The anti-aircraft guns of the air defense brigade and the bazookas on the cars opened fire, all of which were armor-piercing grenades, and as soon as the cannon body trembled, the shells came out of the muzzle and rushed to the Japanese ironclad train. Boom, boom, boom, after a few shots, the Japanese army's ironclad train was knocked down. The on-board machine guns on the tanks and armored vehicles of the Eighth Route Army were like a wind, and the intestines of those little devils who jumped from the countryside on the ironclad train hung on the board of the car, and they looked like a mess.

The ironclad train of the devils was killed, the destroyed armored vehicles, the martyrs and the wounded on the cars were carried away, the Eighth Route Army tank pushed the destroyed vehicles across the bridge, and the follow-up convoys continued to cross the bridge.

When the armored group of the Eighth Route Army crossed the blockade ditch and Pinghan Road, it was equivalent to entering the city. The armored regiment began to disperse the attack formation, with companies as units, six companies of two light tank battalions and two companies of heavy tank battalions, a total of eight tank companies, like eight sharp swords shooting at various points in Shimen City. Behind them, the armored vehicles and automobiles of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd regiments were also separated from each other, closely following the tank company, and launched a fierce attack on the key points of the Japanese army in Shimen City.

When you enter the city, so many cars have become a burden. At the sound of the Gao Yuan's order, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd regiments all jumped out of the car, and the soldiers ran, shot, and shouted, followed behind tanks and armored vehicles, and launched a fierce attack on various key points in the urban area.

Major General Kokurihara, commander of the Japanese garrison in Shijiazhuang, although his heart sank uncontrollably, he still dreamed of guarding the stone gate. There is no way, Shimen is too important. The platform and warehouse of the station were full of supplies for the First Army and the troops under the Kwantung Army. If these materials fell into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, the offensive of the First Army and the Kwantung Army would come to an abrupt end.

Major General Kokurihara did not know that the six divisions of the Kwantung Army had already received orders to assemble and board the ships in Lianyungang, and that the Second Division and the 23rd Division had boarded the ships and left Lianyungang this morning.

At this time, the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 24th Divisions were also rushing towards Lianyungang, and the vanguard troops had already begun to board the ship. The food, ammunition, medicine, and other supplies left behind by the Kwantung Army were originally going to fall into the pockets of the North China Front.

Major General Kokurihara kept calling the brigades, and with all his might ordered to stand by for reinforcements, and asked the chief of staff to send a telegram to the 22nd Division and the rebuilt 35th Division stationed in the wing, requesting urgent reinforcements. A report was sent to the North China Front Headquarters that Shimen was besieged by a large force of the Eighth Route Army and requested urgent tactical guidance.

The artillery fire of the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army was so fierce that before all sides could call back, the outer positions of Shimen had lost contact, and even the Daguozhuang Airport had lost contact. By the time the huge armored cluster of the Eighth Route Army rushed towards the city of Shimen, Major General Kokuriba finally understood that his Shijiazhuang garrison was not the opponent of the Eighth Route Army, and Shimen was about to be lost.

Major General Kokurihara sent a telegram to Tada Jun, commander of the North China Front, reporting in an unmistakable tone that the Eighth Route Army besieging Shimen was not the Tuba Road in the southern Hebei region, nor the Tuba Road in the central Hebei region, let alone the Tuba Road coming down from the Taihang Mountains, but the main force of Liu Yimin who came from Shandong. The huge artillery group, the huge mechanized group composed of combat vehicles, armored vehicles, and automobiles, looking at the whole of China, only the Liu Yimin Department of the Eighth Route Army in Shandong has the strength of this. It is true that it was Liu Yi's main force that suddenly appeared in Shimen and launched an attack on Shimen.

This telegram was a farewell telegram, in which Major General Kokurihara said that he would fight to the last man and be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor.

After sending the telegram, Major General Kokurihara ordered the troops left behind in the city to blow up the material warehouse, burn the materials on the platform, burn the military flag and code book, and blow up the radio station.

Ogurihara woke up a little late. If he had ordered the bombardment of the Eighth Route Army's artillery group to blow up the warehouses and the materials on the station platform at the beginning of the shelling, the Eighth Route Army's losses would have been great. If you want to destroy the materials at this time, you have to ask the steel gun of the Eighth Route Army if you agree.

The area of Shimen City is not large, the tanks and armored vehicles of the Eighth Route Army are driving at full speed in order to seize time, and the Japanese soldiers are desperately shooting and intercepting in the barricades fortifications with machine guns and grenadiers, but these are useless to the tanks. The tanks of the Eighth Route Army rumbled upward, crushing the little devils and their barricades into garbage heaps.

At this time, the sound of artillery and gunfire in Shimen City rang out, except for the little devils of the Shijiazhuang garrison, the devil gendarmes, special service teams, and the bosses of the commercial houses in Shimen City all joined the battle.

These guys knew the consequences of the Eighth Route Army's incoming, and desperately carried pistols, rifles,

Raising a grenade to pounce on the tanks and armored vehicles of the Eighth Route Army, Zhao Dahe, the commander of the armored regiment of the Eighth Route Army on the command vehicle, shook his head.

The puppet army, Han jiān, and puppet personnel in Shimen City blew up their nests and turned into headless flies, cleaning up one by one, drilling through the streets and alleys, trying to sneak out of Shimen City and escape a way to live.

Since Kokurihara had the intention of death, he ordered the headquarters personnel and guards to organize defense, and he held a tǐng machine gun himself, set it up on the window of his office, and began to shoot wildly at the Eighth Route Army that was rushing towards the Japanese headquarters.

The headquarters of the Japanese garrison in Shijiazhuang was located in a three-story western-style building, and the windows of Ogurihara's office were facing the street. As soon as he fired, the Japanese headquarters guards also fired, and the machine-gun bullets whizzed.

It was Yuan Guoguang's platoon, the pioneer of the Eighth Route Army's armored regiment, who came at a gallop. A good Yuan Guoguang, seeing that the Japanese army relied on the reinforced concrete building to resist, turned the turret, and aimed at the window of the machine gun is a cannon. The shell flew in through the window and exploded in the room, killing the commander of the Japanese garrison in Shijiazhuang, Major General Kokurihara, on the spot.

The two tanks that followed Yuan Guoguang's chariot fired one shot each, blowing up the machine gun bunker made of two sandbags at the entrance of the Japanese headquarters. The sound of the on-board machine gun on the tank harvested the lives of the little devils who rushed out of the building, holding explosives bags and preparing to blow up the tank.

Under the cover of tanks, the 1st Battalion and 1st Company of the Church rushed into the Japanese headquarters.