While the air battle was going on, in front of Cutler Hill, the Japanese soldiers under the command of Kuichi Tanaka had already begun a strong attack.

For this strong attack, Kuichi Tanaka can be said to have worked hard. In Tanaka's Kuichi's view, the naval resistance army was nothing more than a fierce artillery fire, and there was nothing unusual about the tactics. In order to prevent his artillery group from being counterattacked by the naval resistance army, he almost personally went into battle to designate artillery positions one by one.

DURING THE RAINY SEASON, THE JAPANESE BUILT NEW ARTILLERY POSITIONS ON THE PERIPHERY IN ADVANCE, AND TWELVE 150-MM CANNONS AND TWELVE 105-MM CANNONS WERE ALL FORTIFIED AND CONCEALED. As for the deployment of other field artillery with a relatively close range, Tanaka Kuichi also spent a lot of thought, and he dug all these artillery holes for deployment, and only the barrels of the guns were exposed to the ground. In such a deployment, although the firing range of artillery is limited, the advantage is that it is not easy to be destroyed by the artillery fire of the naval resistance army.

More than 100 barreled artillery pieces and a larger number of mortars, this kind of force was already an overwhelming force in Tanaka's eyes. I even think it's a bit overkill.

Not only that, in the process of preparing for nearly a month, the Japanese army adopted the method of tunnel operation, taking advantage of the heavy rain to continue excavating, and built the tunnel to a position less than 200 meters before the position of the naval resistance army under the artillery fire of the naval resistance army.

The Japanese army's tunnel operation was quite successful, and even the naval resistance army, which was an opponent, had to be admired. It's not that I admire that the devil can come up with such an offensive method, but I admire the devil for being vicious enough. In the whole excavation process, while the Japanese army paid a considerable number of casualties, in less than a month, 20,000 Ceylonese civilians who were forcibly requisitioned by the Japanese army died in these winding tunnel trenches.

From early in the morning, Japanese heavy artillery began to bombard the Cutler Hill position to suppress the machine-gun fire of the naval resistance army.

Hisashi Tanaka looks like he's really going to play the groundhog spirit to the end. I have already reached a distance of 200 meters from the front line of the Naval Resistance Army, but I still feel that it is not ideal. Under the cover of artillery fire, the excavation of tunnels continued. Such a scene is useless for the people of Ceylon. Those people would rather be shot and stabbed to death with bayonets than dig any more tunnels.

In the artillery battle, the Naval Resistance Army suffered a slight loss. You must know that the range of the heavy artillery of the Naval Resistance Army was about the same as that of the Japanese heavy artillery, but the artillery position of the Naval Resistance Army was deployed behind Cutler Mountain, so that it suffered a lot of losses in the firing range and it was difficult to suppress the Japanese artillery. What is even more serious is that the artillery has a straight trajectory and cannot hit one or two hundred meters in front of the position of the naval resistance army, where is the dead angle of the artillery.

The Japanese army's tunnel operation not only reduced casualties. It also limited the power of the machine guns of the Naval Resistance Army, but it could not affect the performance of the mortars of the Naval Resistance Army. The Naval Resistance Army was built on the mortar position on the anticline of Mount Cutler, and the mortars did not stop for a moment throughout the morning's fighting.

The proportion of mortars in the Naval Resistance Army is extremely high, and the only artillery shells that can meet their own needs and have a surplus are mortar shells. And because of that. The level of mortar gunners of the Naval Resistance Army is also the highest, plus months of fighting. The gunners were even more proficient in shooting.

So close distances. The curved mortar trajectory came into play, as shells continued to crash into the tunnels, and the Japanese infantry dug through the mud like rats, blood and mud mixed together, and stumps and severed arms mixed in the pile of dirt.

It was noon, and the Japanese suffered more than 500 casualties. But heavy casualties are not without gain. The tunnel has approached the forward position of the sea resistance army less than 100 meters away.

Only then did Tanaka think that the time was ripe for an attack, and at a distance of 100 meters, the Imperial Japanese Army only needed one charge to seize the position of the Naval Resistance Army.

The only regret of the ambitious Tanaka Kuichi at this time was that dozens of Japanese fighters had been destroyed. It is impossible to show the kind of unbridled air strikes on the Chinese battlefield.

However, in Tanaka's opinion, the absence of a fighter is nothing. In World War II, many generals had such views. There are many generals who attach more importance to artillery than to fighters, whether it is a European battlefield or an Asian battlefield, after all, the amount of ammunition delivered by fighters is insufficient, and the strike accuracy is far inferior to artillery.

After another round of heavy artillery preparations, Tanaka Kuichi shouted to boost his morale, "Rush forward and let the people of China see the bravery of our imperial army." ”

Kuichi Tanaka's methods put a lot of pressure on the navy, and the two armies were so close that the Japanese could attack at any time. The fortifications of the Naval Resistance Army have been strengthened in recent months, and they have not moved under the powerful artillery fire of the Japanese army. Japanese small-caliber shells only damaged the surface, but could not destroy. Although more than 20 heavy artillery pieces can destroy some of the fortifications, it is impossible for the little devil's artillery to be without interruption and cannot stop the timely reinforcement of the Naval Resistance Army. Therefore, throughout the morning, the casualties of the naval resistance army were not small, but all the fire points were on standby.

But that's it. This is Li Guang's evaluation of Kuichi Tanaka.

In the 21 st century, Li Guang once heard that the Japanese army's offensive methods were nothing more than the artillery bombardment of the infantry attack, and so on. Originally, it seemed that Tanaka Jiuichi also played a trick of digging tunnels, and Li Guang paid a lot of attention to it. Now it seems that a lieutenant general of the Japanese army is at such a level. It's time for the little devil to see the defensive level of the Naval Resistance Army.

In one afternoon's fighting, the Japanese artillery fire was fierce, and nearly 100 artillery pieces bombarded round after round. The Japanese infantry dared to charge one round after another. The fighters of the Maritime Resistance Army are also gritting their teeth and fighting hard, relying on perfect fortifications, not giving an inch.

The carefully deployed fortification group structure enabled the firepower of the Naval Resistance Army, especially the firepower of the machine guns, to form a dense firepower network, which became an insurmountable steel barrage for the Japanese army.

On the white-hot battlefield, both sides were desperate, and the corpses of the Japanese soldiers at the front of the position had been piled up, and the dirty blood stained the entire hillside.

Outwardly, the Japanese artillery had an advantage on the battlefield. The naval resistance army had enough artillery to deal with, but it could only hit the light artillery of the Japanese army in the distance. And for the Japanese artillery in the tunnel, it could not be completely destroyed.

However, under this circumstance, the mortar of the Naval Resistance Army became the main artillery to stop the Japanese attack.

In the high-intensity battle, the shells were consumed extremely quickly, hundreds of mortars, and two bases of ammunition were exhausted in one day. Although the firing of the Japanese large-caliber artillery did not cause too many casualties to the soldiers on the position, it blocked the Black Kunlun battalion, which was responsible for transporting ammunition.

On several occasions, Lieutenant General Kuichi Tanaka even saw a glimmer of hope for victory, and the mortar fire of the Naval Resistance Army was noticeably sparse. --All it takes is one charge for the Japanese to capture the position.

But in fact, this way of attacking the Japanese army. It didn't consume much of the strength of the Naval Resistance Army, but it just sent a lot of unjust ghosts to Aunt Amaterasu.

In such a face-to-face fight, it is not the number of people who fight, but the firepower. In the Catler Mountains and Seas, the anti-Japanese army deployed more than 200 light and heavy machine guns alone, and the rifles were American-made MI semi-automatic rifles with powerful firepower. With 2,000 men defending, the light firepower has exceeded the sum of a division of the Japanese army. More than 200 light and heavy machine guns formed hundreds of firing points, which were staggered and completely blocked the Japanese army's offensive line.

Although the barreled artillery of the Naval Resistance Army was not able to destroy the Japanese heavy artillery in the distance. However, the extremely concentrated artillery fire was destroying the Japanese mountain artillery and field artillery round after round. In just one afternoon, the Japanese lost more than twenty artillery pieces.

The infantry loss of nearly a thousand people was still able to withstand by Kuichi Tanaka. But the loss of more than twenty artillery pieces and hundreds of artillery pieces was extremely heavy for the Japanese army. At this rate of attrition, Tanaka Kuichi did not know that his artillery would be able to support it for several days.

Evening. Kuichi Tanaka again organized an attack, throwing two infantry brigades at once. In a vain attempt to take Cutler Hill in one fell swoop.

This is the time to wait.

Command. Li Guang did not directly command the operation, and the command of the Naval Resistance Army was still under the command of Bao Gang, commander of the second column.

Fighters of the Navy, Air Force, and Army Aviation, which had been waiting for a long time, appeared almost suddenly over the battlefield.

You must know that the fighters of the Naval Resistance Army have actually been prepared for a long time, and have even been hovering in the air for almost an hour. The wait was for the Japanese army to make a big move.

The arrival of the group immediately shattered Tanaka's dream. Dozens of warplanes dropped large quantities of napalm and cluster bombs in front of the positions, more than forty fighters, plus twelve heavy B17s. One bomb drop is nearly 100 tons. The front of the two-kilometer-wide position was completely covered by a sea of fire, both on the ground and in the tunnels, and the Japanese infantry was bombed to the ground.

Under the heavy blow, Tanaka Kuichi had to interrupt the attack, and Tanaka's month-long preparation for the attack was frustrated. In this day's battle alone, the Japanese casualties reached nearly four thousand, and Tanaka almost vomited blood. Bombing by a group of planes of this scale, Kuichi Tanaka had never seen it at all, especially since it was the Japanese army that was bombed.

If, the two armies can talk on the phone. Li Guang will definitely tell Tanaka Kuichi: It will not be far away. In less than a year, not to mention the Japanese generals, even Japanese soldiers and even civilians will see even more barbaric aerial bombardment.

In the following three days, the Japanese offensive was repeatedly crushed by the air power of the Naval Resistance Army, and Tanaka Kuichi's concealed artillery positions withstood one blow after another, and the artillery suffered heavy losses.

After several days of fierce fighting, one division and two mixed brigades of the Japanese army took turns to fight, and the attack was almost non-stop.

On the battlefield, although it is impossible for Tanaka Kuichi to get an accurate figure of the strength of the Naval Resistance Army, the battle-hardened Tanaka Kuichi can also see an approximate figure. He affirmed that the Naval Resistance Army deployed no more than two thousand troops at Mount Cutler. However, it was these 2,000 troops that caused more than 6,000 Japanese casualties in just a few days.

Tanaka Kuichi's judgment was a bit of a standard, and the Naval Resistance Army had indeed deployed only 2,000 troops in the forward position of Kattler Mountain.

This is Qi Ruixuan's unit of the Xuanjia Regiment of the Naval Resistance Army. Qi Ruixuan not only gained the reputation of the Xuanjia Regiment because of his exploits in the previous stage of the battle, but also had just been promoted to a lieutenant colonel commander.

Qi Ruixuan was deployed on a position more than two kilometers wide, and the establishment was only a field battalion, but the strength was strengthened according to one to one, and the number reached 2,000. The light firepower of the Naval Resistance Army is powerful, and there is no need for the kind of dense manpower defense in the trenches.

Although Tanaka Kuichi's artillery position layout and tunnel operation tactics greatly limited the firepower of the Naval Resistance Army, the weak light weapons firepower of the Japanese army limited the Japanese army's ability to break through.

Bao Gang, the supreme commander of the Tanggang Army and the commander of the second column, was not a person who underestimated the enemy.

Qi Ruixuan, who was the most capable of fighting tough battles under Bao Gang, naturally would not be careless enough to send only 2,000 people. The Xuanjia Regiment also has a battalion of troops behind the mountain, which can be reinforced at any time.

The Naval Resistance Force now has more than 17,000 troops, and it is no longer in the same state of embarrassment as it was in the previous two months. During the battle, the Naval Resistance Army rotated the strength of a company almost every day, and after a few days of fighting, the fighters just changed their stubble, and they were not very tired.

The Naval Resistance Force has just transferred a lot of troops from Madagascar, and there are casualties on the front line at any time, and they can be replenished at any time. After several days of fierce fighting, the two battalions of Qi Ruixuan's Xuanjia Regiment were still fully loaded.

As for weapons and ammunition, in addition to the more than 200 light and heavy machine guns on the forward positions, in the cat's ear hole behind the mountain, the Naval Resistance Army has prepared 500 pieces. Other shells may not be sufficient, but mortar shells are now not equipped according to the base, and each gun has at least a ton of shells in reserve.

This kind of extravagant configuration, Tanaka Kuichi could not have imagined at all, even the wealthy US military could not have such a configuration, let alone the little devil who was not even willing to configure the submachine gun.

Kuichi Tanaka couldn't understand why he had already come up with the strongest lineup and the strongest firepower of the Japanese army, but he couldn't capture the opponent's position that was not dangerous.

Can't afford to lose. All generals, whether in the Japanese Navy or the Army, have this mentality. It is not surprising that a poor, semi-industrialized country has such a mentality. Because, for Japan, losing once is almost losing the country.

Under the heavy blow, Tanaka Hisashi lost his mind at first.

The fierce battle lasted until the evening of the 9th, and Kuichi Tanaka, who was already red-eyed, decided to make a desperate bet, and the naval resistance army was bombed by fighter planes during the day, and the Japanese army could hardly organize an effective attack, so it was a night battle.

In the previous few days of fighting, most of the time the 21st Mixed Brigade and the 70th Mixed Brigade were attacking. However, these two brigades, one of which has been replenished with a large number of new recruits, and the other is not a field establishment in the first place, has been crippled in a few days, and is in urgent need of rest.

Therefore, Tanaka Kuichi mobilized his descendants, the main force of the 21st Division. He divided the three wings into three echelons and prepared to launch a large-scale assault at night.

Among all the Japanese troops in Ceylon, although the 21st Division suffered heavy losses in the early battles, it was after all a regular Japanese field division, and the proportion of veterans was still quite high.

Tanaka Kuichi personally lectured and made a large number of "meat bombs" with explosive bags and grenades strapped to them, preparing to take the positions of the Maritime Resistance Army in one fell swoop.

The Japanese army's combat style is tenacious, and they are not afraid of death under the influence of bushido. But this kind of meat bomb attack is actually not common, and it is often the backbone of a unit that dares to attack with meat bullets, and it is also the bravest part. This tactic, which is almost certain to death, once it is used and the backbone is gone, it will be difficult for this army to regain its combat effectiveness. So even in the Japanese army, the commander would not use this tactic lightly.

So, under the madness of Kuichi Tanaka, the most fierce attack began. (To be continued......)

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