Less than a minute after the explosion, the sharp knife company of the 1st Battalion of the 688th Regiment jumped up with the sound of the charging horn in accordance with the predetermined plan, and rushed towards the devil's position with a shout.

At that time, the smoke and dust were billowing and the sky was dark, even if there was no light in sight, but the soldiers felt that hope and the future were so close that they were almost within reach. When the sharp knife company rushed to the vicinity of the devil's earthen fortress, he found that the original bulging mound had collapsed, and the surrounding soil layer had been loosened by the explosion, and cracks one finger wide could be seen everywhere.

At this time, the devils who were blown up came to their senses a little, and the devils in the bunker on the southwest side began to shoot desperately, but they were soon burned to char with flamethrowers by the flamethrowers of the Eighth Route Army who followed. According to the surviving ghost soldiers, after the explosion, some people who were not killed desperately climbed out of the bunker, and the Eighth Route Army was also frightened in the face of the tide rushing over, and immediately fled backwards in a swarm.

At this moment, the squadron leader who came to reinforce Captain Manabe Okato blocked the devil in the rout, and I saw him waving a battle and threatening loudly: "Go back, go to battle immediately!" There were only Great Japanese Samurai who died in battle, and there were no Great Japanese Samurai who escaped! ”

However, this effect is not very big, the devils who were frightened by the explosion really can't raise the desire to fight, and in desperation, the people of Manabeoka can only swing their knives and hack to death a few devil soldiers who took the lead in escaping, which stabilized their position. It can be seen that the devil is not really afraid of death, and in the violent panic, this group of scum will be like a fart.

The Manabe people tried to lead the team to fight back, but when they collided headlong with a company of sharp knives armed with submachine guns, they were killed by ferocious fire, and the Manabe people were directly beaten into a sieve, and their intestines flowed to the ground, and they died tragically and painfully.

Of course, this does not mean that the battle behind is very easy, the three largest fortresses of the devils were blasted, but there are still many small fortresses around these big fortresses, although the devils in these fortresses were stunned, but the combat effectiveness is still there, these damn ground rats refuse to surrender, and are still resisting stubbornly, causing some casualties to the Eighth Route Army. It was not until noon the next day that the remaining enemies were swept away by flamethrowers.

However, in the records of the Japanese army, this explosion seems to be just like that, and its effect is generally downplayed in a frivolous or even sour tone. It is said that the casualties caused by this explosion were not large, and most of the soldiers were burned to death by the artillery and flamethrowers of the Soviet Red Army. Even in the writings of many Japanese journalists, who are known for their fiction, the explosion did not destroy the earthen fortress at all, saying that "it is impossible for the fortifications carefully constructed by the Imperial Japanese Army to be destroyed by a mere blast," and that "the Imperial Army in the fortress has resisted to the end and inflicted heavy casualties on the Eighth Route." Even under the pen of these reporters who "have a conscience" and "only record historical facts", the next counterattack of the imperial army hit the Eighth Route Army hard, and it was the imperial army that was finally outnumbered and defeated under the crowd tactics of the Eighth Route Army.

So what are the facts? The commanders and fighters of the Eighth Route Army generally recalled that they had indeed been counterattacked by devils, but what outnumbered and crowd tactics were pure nonsense.

A veteran of the Eighth Route Army recalled: "In the middle of the night, the enemy rushed up silently, and they all went crazy and rushed up regardless of life or death. Many devils were hit by us, fell down and rolled a few times, and then struggled to rush towards us, insisting on fighting with us. We are also provoked by the madness of the devil, and we will be the hard one, who is afraid of whom! ”

"Those with spears were inserted with bayonets, and those without spears picked up sapper shovels, and under the leadership of the platoon commander, we also rushed out of the trenches and fought with the devils! I knocked down a devil with the butt of a gun, and he was still rolling on the ground, and I went up and nailed it to the ground with a knife, and then I backhanded it with the butt of a gun, and when I landed, the devil's brain exploded, and all the red and white flowed out...... When fighting a war and defeating madness, there is a sense of pleasure, and people who do not go through ruthless fighting will never be able to experience this kind of taste. I am a man, the greatest happiness, the most comfortable, the most hateful time, is the night to kill the devil, after decades, as long as I think of that scene, I am full of energy! ”

When it's useless for the devil to go crazy and explode, it's not far from rout. Especially when the Eighth Route Army didn't plan to let go of these devils at all, they were defeated. Beginning in the early morning of the next day, the 115th and 129th Divisions concentrated their forces to attack and rush violently, and it only took one day to rush the 37th Division that was blocking the road.

That is, the 37th Division's blocking on that day was declared a complete failure, and its remaining two wings retreated in a panic in the direction of Anyang, rushing Okamura Ninji's ass into chaos. At this time, Okamura Ninji still has the momentum of the past, his face is black, and his eyes are not bright, completely like a defeated rooster. Without him, General Chen has taught him a lesson in the past few days, allowing him to understand the tenacity of the Eighth Route Army in fighting a blocking war!

Vasily of the Advisory Corps of the Red Army of the USSR. Sergeant Denisov also took part in this blocking battle, and as a veteran artilleryman, his task was to direct his Chinese counterparts in the use of battle defense artillery. He later recalled:

"We received an order in the morning to move in the direction of Anfeng to support the 129th Regiment of the 770th Division there, and it is said that a large number of Japanese tanks appeared in front of this regiment, and the pressure was very high...... We spent a lot of time through the fields into the predetermined position, the main reason is that the road is too difficult to walk, there are almost no asphalt roads in China, they are all loess roads, it rains for a few days or the cars and horses run a few more times and it becomes potholes, fortunately, the Eighth Route Army is equipped with 37 mm anti-aircraft guns very light, Rao is so, we also have a stinky sweat. ”

"When I arrived in Anfeng, I quickly realized that the situation was indeed dire. The tanks of the Japanese devils constantly attacked, and although the 770 regiment had some anti-tank guns and destroyed some tanks, the devils' offensive was too fierce and charged forward almost at any cost. ”

"I hurriedly ordered to dig up a position, the young men of the Eighth Route Army are all good, hard-working and hard-working without complaints, and the most important thing is that they have a strong learning ability, and the technical essentials taught to them can be mastered quickly, and then they can be fully integrated. Compared with some of our domestic boys, they are even a little less culturally educated, but they are more malleable and obedient. ”

"The small arms of the Japanese army have caused some trouble for us to arrange our positions, these devils have good marksmanship, and the rifles they use are also very suitable for accurate shooting because of their relatively small recoil, and they are all sharpshooters, so they must not be given a chance to take advantage of them in battle. My good friend Barinov was shot by the devil because of his carelessness and almost lost his life. ”

"Most of the 37mm infantry guns we supported the Eighth Route Army were very small in conscience, much weaker than the 37mm anti-aircraft guns we had ever equipped. Fortunately, the devil's tanks are not very strong, and they are not far worse than the German tanks we encountered in Europe. In general, even without armor-piercing shells, with grenades, we can stop their tanks, and their armor technology is still at the level of the early thirties. As for the application of the devil to the armored troops, it is even more at the level of World War I, if it were not for the limited anti-tank capabilities and heavy firepower of the Eighth Route Army, these tanks should not be much stronger than toys. ”

"Our firing speed is very fast, on the one hand, the 37-mm infantry gun is really simple and dexterous, on the other hand, the artillery of the Eighth Route Army has worked hard, I have to give them full marks for every technical action, except for the lack of actual combat experience, there are no other shortcomings. I was especially impressed by their will. ”

"These class brothers in the East are not afraid of death, dare to fight bayonets on the battlefield, and in order to maximize the hit rate, they will deliberately put the devil's tank down at a very close distance before fighting. To tell the truth, this is almost a suicidal distance, in the face of the rumbling tanks, these young men who have just become artillerymen for a long time have a tiger face, do not say a word, extremely serious, no one escapes, everyone sticks to their posts in accordance with the requirements of technology and tactics, waiting for the final shooting order to be given. ”

"I think I'm a veteran, I'm used to seeing the scene of fighting with Nazi tanks in Europe, and I think I can be calm in battle, but in China, in this extremely difficult battlefield, in the face of the rolling Japanese army and its tanks, I inevitably still have some panic, even if I don't show it, but I know that I am still scared in my heart. And they really don't see this tendency. ”

With the order to shoot, all the artillery of the Eighth Route Army was active in an instant, and in the face of the enemy's machine guns and artillery fire, they completed a series of tasks such as loading, latching, firing, and shelling extremely quickly and meticulously. This set of actions is so pleasing to the eye that you can't help but want to praise them. ”

"These lads really deserve praise, they play accurately and hard. Works perfectly like a precision machine gun, harvesting enemy lives with ease and comfort. The Japanese devils, on the other hand, were not as tenacious as they advertised, and after destroying seven or eight tanks, they retreated in disarray, under the cover of infantry and artillery. ”

This is just a very brief fragment on the battlefield, from this fragment we can also see how the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army used backward weapons to confront the enemy, there are no bad weapons in their hands, only stupid melons who can't fight.

When Okamura Ninji's tank troops were stopped again, the devils had no more way than to use artillery to bombard and use the tactics of the sea of people to rush, but their way of fighting regardless of cost simply did not last long, as the loss of personnel became greater and larger, and the consumption of ammunition was also increasing, and gradually the momentum of the devil was not as good as day by day.

And after General Chen and the 386 Brigade survived the most difficult period, they suddenly felt a light pressure, and the onslaught of the devils seemed to them like tickling. Especially after the 129th Division assisted the 115th Division in breaking through the defensive line of the 37th Division of the Devils, the pressure on the front was almost swept away!

Okamura Ninji was surprised, this was the first time in his life that he was surrounded by the Eighth Route Army, and even he couldn't believe that this was true, he was actually surrounded by a group of guerrillas? This Nima is not scientific!

However, it is no longer a question of science or not, and for Okamura Ninji, he is now faced with the question of survival or death. After stabilizing his position, he tried to break through again, but the 386th Brigade remained unmoved. Seeing that he couldn't break through the defense line of the 386th Brigade, he resolutely turned to the east and tried to make a fuss about the defense line of the 120th Division, but after two attempts, he found that the 120th Division was not good at stubble and was not easy to mess with.

At this time, Okamura Ninji had a sense of crisis for the first time, and it seemed impossible to break through, he was surrounded by iron walls on all sides, and there was only one result when he hit it, that is, his head was full of bags.

"Call for help from the base camp, we need reinforcements!" Okamura Ninji had to lower his arrogant head, admitting that he had fallen into absolute passivity, "Tanaka-kun, immediately order all wings to step up the repair of the fortifications, this battle of the Eighth Route is coming at us!" Can't be sloppy anymore! ”

Kuichi Tanaka also agreed, and now only fools can't see the battle attempt of the Eight Roads, that is, to fight a war of annihilation and eat them in one bite. In this case, it is no longer advisable to blindly break through, and you can only stick to it and wait for help. Tanaka Jiuichi believes that as long as they can hold their positions, it will be difficult for the Eighth Route to eat them, and after a long time, there may not be no chance of breaking through, not to mention that the base camp will never watch them annihilated, and will inevitably organize troops to go to the rescue.

Okamura Ninji is determined to hold on to the reinforcements, and there is no problem in terms of strategy, but it is not so easy to implement, the Anyang area is a plain with no danger to defend, and it is difficult for the defending side to do without geographical advantages. In particular, at present, the Japanese army not only does not have a geographical advantage, but also does not even have an advantage in firepower. In the past, they could hold on and wait for rescue, which was nothing more than bullying the Eighth Route Army's poor ability to attack fortifications, but now, when this short board was made up by the Soviet Union, it is difficult to say whether it is a good idea for Okamura Ninji to make up his mind to hold on.

At least, when the T Communist Military Commission and Peng Shuai heard that Okamura Ningji was determined to hold on, it was a long breath, why? General Chen and the 386 Brigade did fight well before, but objectively speaking, it is still unrealistic to expect the 386 Brigade to hold the devil. After all, there are almost 100,000 devils in the encirclement, and these madmen are really crazy to play with their lives, I'm afraid that General Chen and the 386 Brigade will really not be able to withstand it.

Therefore, both the T Communist Military Commission and Peng Shuai are very worried that the devil will die and the net will be broken, so they have not dared to push too quickly, because they are afraid that the devil will jump off the wall in a hurry. And now the devil himself has given up the breakout and stayed in the encirclement honestly, which makes the big guy's heart count into his stomach. Because it was already obvious that the devil had given up jumping over the wall, and all he needed now was to cook it slowly and eat a good meal.

So when the devil chose to "sit and wait to die", the three main divisions of the Eighth Route Army did not choose to rush and fight, but chose to slowly boil it with a small fire. On the one hand, the encirclement was locked and the devil was really locked in a cage, and on the other hand, it was constantly harassed by artillery fire and bombarded by the air force to consume its sharpness. Wait for the devil to be consumed, and then eat meat!

Of course, there is a problem here, that is, what to do when the devil's reinforcements come. Objectively speaking, the devil still has the ability to reinforce Okamura Ningji, for example, the 11th Group Army under the command of Toshiroku Hata in Henan and Hubei still has eight divisions and regiments, although it is necessary to continue to confront the scraping army, it is entirely possible to transfer two or three divisions to the north.

Not only on the side of Shunroku Hatata, but also the devils who cooperated with Okamura Ningji's auxiliary attack force in Shandong also had a certain strength, and if they no longer chose to play hide and seek with Marshal Chen and General Su, and single-mindedly reinforce Okamura Ningji, it could also bring variables to the battlefield.

So after some discussion, T made a decision to pull the main force of the 115th Division out of the battlefield and go to the area north of Xinxiang to rest, on the one hand, the 115th Division really needs to rest, and on the other hand, it is also to let the 115th Division monitor the activities of the Japanese invaders, once the Japanese invaders are ready to go north for reinforcements, then the 115th Division needs to be resolutely blocked.

The remaining 129th and 120th Divisions were responsible for annihilating Okamura Ningji's troops, and as for Marshal Chen and General Su, they could continue to play hide-and-seek with the Japanese invaders in Shandong, but once this Japanese army was ready to reinforce Okamura Ningci to the west, then the task of the New Fourth Army would become interception and blockade, and the requirement of the Military Commission was that this group of Japanese invaders should not be allowed to enter Henan!

After the completion of the operational concept, I am afraid that the 120th and 129th Divisions will be under the greatest pressure, and whether or not they can eat the encircled Japanese invaders as soon as possible has a great deal to do with it. If they are not strong enough, once the 115th Division and the New Fourth Army cannot withstand it, the consequences will be unimaginable.

In order to annihilate the Japanese invaders as soon as possible, He Shuai and Liu Shuai made an all-round arrangement, first of all, to concentrate the heavy firepower of the two divisions and unify their subordinates, and secondly, to immediately start trench operations. Because the actual combat has proved that even if the Eighth Route Army has relatively strong firepower, it is difficult to kill the devil in one go, the devil's ability to resist in a desperate situation is unprecedented, in order to reduce losses, but also in order to take down the enemy as soon as possible, the old method still works!

The Soviet advisers also agreed with this, and Kulikov thought that this method was very pragmatic and should be promoted. Of course, he also truthfully reflected the difficulties of the Eighth Route Army to Blyukhel, hoping that the Far East could provide help within its capacity.

Kulikov was also quick to react, immediately sending over a dozen 160-mm heavy mortars by air, in addition to supporting a large number of explosives. The most important thing was the allocation of another batch of B17s and aerial bombs weighing one and a half tons. Looking at this posture, I'm only ready to blow up the devil to the bottom.

After ten days of preparation, the general attack of the 129th and 120th Divisions on Okamura Ninji finally began...... (To be continued.) )