432 Jinan Defense Battle Four Ask for Subscription Tickets

As expected, the two small hills of Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain were the focus of the Japanese attack. In the past half an hour of artillery bombardment, the Japanese army's two and a half artillery wings (the artillery wing of the second division lost most of the air raids) had 24 Taisho four-year 150mm field howitzers, and a total of nearly 3,000 shells were fired at these two small hills, and Wu Huawen's 1,500 officers and men could get an average of two rounds each. The entire Maoling Mountain has been unrecognizable, and huge craters are all over the mountain. On the eastern slope of Maoling Mountain, where the Japanese shelling was most intensive, it seemed that the entire mountain had been plowed by artillery fire, and the barbed wire and mine arrays that had been carefully arranged had long since disappeared, and it was finally cut into a steep slope and collapsed by artillery shells into a gentle slope that could be used for infantry charge. It is clear that the Japanese had cleared a passage for the infantry with artillery shells, and the heaviest assault of the night would have taken place.

"Attention begins ...... Offensive Forward Forward"

With a voice that seemed to tear through his throat, the voice of the password squeezed out of his chest. The Japanese troops in the trenches all stood up with a bang, and the junior officers wielding command knives were the first to jump out of the trenches, followed by nearly seven or eight hundred Japanese infantry. The first wave of the attack organized by Hideki Tojo was actually tentative, and only an infantry brigade was put in. The purpose was to attract machine-gun fire from the Kuomintang forces on Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain. As soon as these machine guns were fired, they immediately exposed their targets, and were usually fired by Japanese mortars or grenadiers after 20 to 30 rounds

Seven or eight hundred well-trained Japanese soldiers, organized by the officers, quickly formed an offensive formation in waves, and then slowly approached at the speed of marching. From time to time, someone stopped and fired a few shots at the positions of the opposite Nationalist Coalition forces, as if they were firing at the other side. More than a dozen heavy machine guns were also erected to cover the infantry attack with non-stop side-fire fire......

At this time, on an open flat ground about 3,000 meters behind the main positions of Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain, a Red Army artillery unit with a red flag, a blue-gray military uniform, and an octagonal hat had quietly unfolded. This artillery unit is currently the only artillery division in China, officially designated as an artillery division directly under the Military Commission of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, with 114 75mm mountain guns of the 13th type.

A tall and tall Red Army officer with a dignified Chinese face, a slightly high nose bridge, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses was standing behind the artillery position, looking at the Red Army artillerymen who were a little busy in front of him with his eyebrows twisted.

He is Zhu Rui, a top student of the Eastern University in Moscow and the Krasin Artillery School of the Soviet Union, a member of the Soviet GCD and the Chinese GCD. A loyal GC ist and military expert, as soon as he returned to China, he was reused by the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, was by-elected as a member of the Central Committee, and served as the commander and political commissar of the newly formed Red Army Artillery Division.

In fact, I was very dissatisfied with the fact that the time for the formation of this artillery division was too short, only a few days, and there were too few professional artillerymen, most of whom had never touched artillery before, and only a small part of them were transferred from the artillery brigades of the former Red Army in various fields. However, it also looks like a very amateur artilleryman in Zhu Rui...... As an amateur, he had no way to send artillery observers to the artillery observation posts on Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain, so he had to send the deputy division commander, the North Korean Wu Ting, to the cement bunker on the top of Yanchi Mountain to act as the eyes of the artillerymen, but these eyes are probably a little short-sighted. Wuting graduated from the Northeast Lecture Martial Arts Hall, and came out of a crash course, and this craft is inevitably a little ......

In addition, the artillery assigned to this artillery division also displeased him. These guns are all 75mm mountain guns, with a range of 6,300 meters, and it is okay to use them for regimental fire support, but it is really difficult to form an artillery division to provide fire support for the entire campaign. Their range is too short for the entire battlefield, and their caliber is also a little smaller. It would be ideal to have thirty-six 105mm or 150mm heavy guns.

At this time, the Red Army artillerymen, who had been in a hurry for a long time, finally lined up the one hundred and fourteen cannons. The guns of Yimen shook slowly, and the muzzles of the guns were raised high, pointing in the direction of the main positions of Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain. The gunners were all in position, and the ammunition men were holding the shells, nervously waiting for the order to reload and fire.

Seeing that the artillery division was finally ready, Zhu Rui sighed softly. He straightened his uniform, strode back to his command position, stretched out his hand to take the command flag from his orderly, held it high in the air, and after a moment's pause, he waved it down violently: "Prepare - fire"

The artillery group composed of one hundred and fourteen mountain guns suddenly shook at the same time, bursts of fire spewed out, and then there was a muffled thunderous cannon sound, and the smoke was filled, and in the blink of an eye, huge orange-red fireballs rose in front of the main positions of Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain.

When the explosion sounded, Hideki Tojo, who was watching the battle behind the Japanese position, unconsciously trembled. Although he had long known through intelligence that the Chinese defenders in Jinan City also had a certain number of mountain artillery. However, he never imagined that the Chinese would organize more than 100 mountain guns into an artillery division, and they would fight indiscriminately without test firing, but the shot was quite accurate, and almost all of them were smashed on the head of the infantry brigade that was attacking the main position of Maoling Mountain.

The encounter with that infantry brigade was catastrophic, with hundreds of 75mm mountain artillery shells whizzing and rushing down. Almost instantly, the entire line of the Japanese attack was overwhelmed by a ball of fire. Almost all of the shells exploded in the ranks of the Japanese troops, and the hot air swept through everything with countless tiny metal fragments, causing the Japanese attacking infantry to scream and be swept down in a strange way. In just a few seconds, more than half of the elite brigade belonging to the Japanese Fourth Wing suffered casualties, and the remaining officers and soldiers who were not killed or wounded by the first round of artillery fire also lay on the ground and looked for concealment nearby, enduring the enemy's shells exploding around them.

This ferocious shelling lasted only three minutes before it came to an abrupt end, so it was later called "Three Minutes of Hell by the Fourth Wing" during the war. In just three minutes, an entire brigade was disabled, and the first round of attacks organized by Hideki Tojo was also repulsed...... and his arrogance.

……

The main positions on the front line of Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain were temporarily stabilized because of the wonderful performance of the Red Army artillery divisions or good luck. However, as far as the entire eastern suburbs of Jinan is concerned, the first wave of the Japanese attack still made a considerable breakthrough. It was mainly the defensive line about five kilometers south of the Xiaoqing River north of Maoling Mountain. The two brigades of the 2nd Division of the National Alliance Army were guarding here, and the Japanese army in charge of the attack was the Kumamoto 6th Division, which was known as the two elite Japanese divisions along with the Sendai 2nd Division, and they were the ones who caused the Nanjing Massacre in another time and space

Unlike Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain, where there are dangers to follow, the five-kilometer defense line guarded by Liu Yufen's Second Division of the National Alliance Army is as flat as a table, and there is no danger to defend at all. Moreover, due to the lack of time for preparation, a sufficiently strong defensive position was not built, but only a few trenches were hastily dug and several barbed wire fences and more than 10,000 mines were laid outside the first trench.

Today, Liu Yufen was on the front line and defended by the Third Brigade of the National Alliance Army under the command of Sun Liangcheng, one of Feng Yuxiang's thirteen Taibao. As soon as the Japanese bombardment stopped, this famous "rebel general" in history led the team to the line of fire. Although he knew that his defense line would not survive tonight, he still had to grit his teeth and work hard...... That unreasonable Commander-in-Chief Feng is now supervising the battle on the tower of Dongguan in Jinan, if he sees that his position has been broken through in the first wave of the Japanese offensive, I am afraid that what awaits him is really to be shot, right?

As soon as Sun Liangcheng arrived at the front line, he was stunned by the scene in front of him, the hastily dug trench was already dilapidated at this time, and the inside of the trench was full of bloody corpses, some of which were still emitting green smoke, emitting bursts of stench of burning human bodies. A large stretch of land in front of the trench seemed to have been completely torn off, densely packed with large and small craters, and barbed wire and mine arrays had long since disappeared.

"Brothers, all rise up and prepare for battle......, prepare for battle," a heart-rending cry reverberated throughout the entire front. The officers of the National Coalition who survived the Japanese shelling did not have time to cry for their dead brothers, so they gritted their teeth and shouted the order to fight. The death-filled position seemed to come to life in the blink of an eye, and every trench, every foxhole, and every firing point was filled with national officers and soldiers who came out of nowhere. They wore steel helmets with large ear brims, and held rifles and submachine guns tightly in their hands, and some were lying on the back of machine guns, their hands tightly gripping the triggers. Others unscrewed the back caps of each grenade and placed them neatly within their reach. A kind of tragedy and heaviness that can only be found on the battlefield quickly spread across the entire front, and even Sun Liangcheng, who was about to turn around and flee for a while, was infected, gritted his teeth and stood behind the battle line, acting as the backbone of the officers and soldiers.

Flares rose into the air one after another, illuminating the earth, the sky, the entire front of the Nationalist Alliance, and the thousands of officers and men of the Japanese 13th Wing who had gone on the offensive.

A whole wing of Japanese troops formed a dignified battle formation in front of the front line of the Nationalist Army, with all their rifles loaded with bayonets, and marched forward under the leadership of the officers. The attack was directed by Toshiyoshi Ando, a graduate of the 16th Infantry Section of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and unlike Hideki Tojo, who cautiously tried to probe, the Daisa, who had one of the most popular mustaches in Europe in the 19th century, also seemed particularly fascinated by the dense skirmishers of the 19th century. Under his command, thousands of bayonets of the 13th Wing of the Japanese Army also discharged a shining dense skirmish line, more than ten columns in depth, rolling forward.

At the same time, all the heavy firearms owned by a Japanese wing were fired together. Dozens of heavy machine guns were erected, and strings of hot fire chains swept across the positions of the Nationalist army. Four Meiji 41-year 75mm mountain guns were also pushed to the front line and bombarded the exposed Nationalist firepower points with direct aiming. In addition, more than a dozen mortars and hundreds of grenadiers also frantically poured ammunition on the positions of the Nationalist Army.

The position of the 3rd Brigade of the National Alliance Army was immediately enveloped by balls of fire and smoke rising from the ground, and unlike the situation just now, this time the Japanese army was attacking with infantry and artillery support at the same time. As long as the two sides were not tangled together, these well-trained Japanese artillerymen and grenadiers were sure to accurately deliver their firepower to the heads of the Chinese defenders. However, the Chinese defenders could not crawl into the trenches to avoid artillery fire, so they could only grit their teeth and endure huge casualties, desperately returning fire with rifles and machine guns in their hands

What is even more heartbreaking is that the Japanese mortars and grenadiers in positional offensive and defensive battles are extremely powerful mortars that were originally born for positional warfare, and these 60mm, 80mm mortars and 50mm grenadiers seem to be so small that they cannot be compared with 150mm heavy artillery at all. However, in real positional warfare, they may be more useful than those large-caliber suppression artillery, of course, this is not to say that large-caliber heavy artillery is useless, in fact, these artillery pieces are used to destroy fortifications and suppress the opponent's infantry support artillery in positional warfare. If the army defending Jinan tonight had been replaced by the Nationalist Army, these mountain artillery, grenadiers, and mortars of the Japanese would have been bombarded into slag by the heavy artillery of the 16th and 17th Mins long ago.

Only a dozen minutes later, dozens of machine guns of the 3rd Brigade of the Kuomintang Coalition Army were completely silenced under the heavy care of the Japanese mountain artillery, mortars, and grenadiers. All that remained was rows of firing rifles, firing sporadic bullets into the slowly approaching jungle of bayonets. At this time, the Battle of Jinan had just begun, and the position of the Third Brigade of the National Alliance Army was in danger under the pressure of the Japanese army's absolute superior firepower.

On the city wall of Dongguan in Jinan, all the people held binoculars and watched the death fight that took place on the position of the Third Brigade of the National Alliance. I also saw the powerful firepower and attack power of the Japanese army. Deng Yanda, who was standing beside Feng Yuxiang and acted as a senior staff member, shook his head gently: "No, the defense line of the second division is about to collapse, the Japanese attack is too strong, hurry up and send reinforcements, or shrink it." ”

Deng Yanda is just a "high staff" and does not have the final decision, everyone has their eyes on Feng Yuxiang, who is pale, waiting for his decision.

Feng Yuxiang's eyebrows were tightly twisted, although he was silent on the surface, but his heart was so painful that his heart trembled. The Japanese were so powerful, but it greatly surprised Feng Yuxiang's expectations. At this time, the people who are desperately working in front are all his Feng Yuxiang's old roots and descendants...... The Kuomintang and China G are basically still watching the drama at the moment, if his blood money is exhausted, what will he use to mix the market in China's political arena in the future? Even if he keeps Jinan and becomes a national hero, what can he do? Can a bare-bones commander still own Shandong territory? Looks like this one is going to be ...... again

Feng Yuxiang put down the binoculars in his hand and said in a cold tone: "Let the second division retreat to the second line of defense." ”

Then he turned his head to look at Deng Yanda beside him, and smiled bitterly: "It seems that we can't hold Jinan with our strength, so ask Commander-in-Chief Luo in Xuzhou for help." We also do not require the Nationalist Army to obey the orders of the Anti-Japanese Allied Army...... That's all right, right? ”

……

Shandong, Weixian. The headquarters of the Japanese Shandong Dispatch Army is now set up in the dilapidated and low Weixian County Ya. While the Chinese and Japanese armies were fighting to the death on the Jinan front, the headquarters of the dispatch army in Weixian was full of singing and dancing. In the hall of the back hall of the county government, a banquet is reaching its climax.

The table was filled with exquisite Chinese dishes, accompanied by Japanese sake, and a few Japanese geisha wearing heavy makeup and elaborate kimonos to cheer up.

"Miss Fangzi, this time the imperial army was able to take Weixian so smoothly thanks to your credit." Muto Nobuyoshi's old face was full of smiles, and he approached Yoshiko Kawashima, who was also wearing a kimono.

Yoshiko Kawashima just smiled faintly, and bent down slightly at Muto Nobuyoshi: "Your Excellency has said it, it is all due to the prestige of the empire, and Yoshiko is just at the right time." ”

"Hahaha." Muto Nobuyoshi looked up to the sky and laughed and waved his hand: "Who doesn't know Miss Yoshiko's ability?" You are a person who can be worthy of a division of the empire, this time the empire wants to end decently in the Shandong Incident, I'm afraid it is still inseparable from Miss Fangzi. ”

Kawashima Yoshiko frowned, as if she heard a hint of strangeness from Muto Nobuyoshi's words, she glanced at Muto, and said with a smile: "Your Excellency Earl, what is the use of the little woman, just speak." ”

Muto smiled slightly, sat up straight, and didn't speak, just glanced at Rihachiro Sakanishi, who was sitting next to him.

Banxi immediately smiled and took over the topic: "Miss Fangzi, do you have some special relationship with Luo Yaoguo, the god of the Chinese army?" ”

Yoshiko Kawashima raised her eyebrows, flattened her mouth and shook her head: "If you want me to do Luo Fuwen's work and make him agree to make peace with the empire on preferential terms, I'm afraid it will be difficult to have an effect." ”

Muto took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "Oh, can't Miss Fangzi's peerless beauty tie this Luo Yaoguo's heart?" ”

"Peerless beauty?" A sarcastic wry smile slipped across Yoshiko Kawashima's face: "Do you really think he's a lustful man?" ”

"Isn't it?" Rihachiro Sakanishi smiled deeply: "Actually, the conditions proposed by the empire this time will not be too difficult for Luo Yaoguo, I hope Miss Yoshiko can give it a try." ”