The first to be attacked by the Japanese army was the 273rd Regiment of the 91st Division, because Yangcun (Wuqing), where the division was stationed, was an important passage from Tianjin to Beiping, and the two railways between Pingjin and Tianjin (one went north from Yangcun and arrived at Beiping East Station via Tongzhou; The other is from Yangcun to the northwest, through Anci, Daxing, Fengtai, and then to Beiping South Station) and a highway must pass through Yangcun or its vicinity. In other words, if the Japanese army in Tianjin wants to reinforce Beiping, they have to fight here!

Bang, bang, bang...... It was night, just after midnight, and a few red signal flares suddenly crossed the dark sky, and the Japanese attack finally began! I saw the shadows and shadows in the night, and everywhere there were the figures of Japanese soldiers running wolf-like and rushing, and the bayonets and helmets showed a touch of reflection from time to time, which looked murderous, and the shouting of "onboard" was even more deafening.

In stark contrast, the position of the 273rd Regiment was silent, and even the breathing of the comrades around him could be heard quietly. The Japanese skirmishers were getting closer. Poof, poof, poof! More than a dozen flares suddenly rose into the air, illuminating the position of the 273rd Regiment as bright as day, and the soldiers were still lying motionless in the trenches, coldly watching the frantically charging Japanese troops.

Two hundred meters, one hundred and fifty meters, and one hundred meters, the Japanese fired as they marched, and bullets hit the front of the position from time to time. Burst! One soldier was lying a little higher, unfortunately hit by a stray bullet, and the blood quickly flowed to the ground, but he gritted his teeth and held back without saying a word.

Regiment Commander Zhao Weibin looked coldly at the rapidly approaching Japanese army, and the voice of the observation post suddenly came from the radio: "Report, the little devil is approaching fifty meters." ”

"Fire!" Regiment Commander Zhao Weibin finally gave the order to fight back. In a flash. The submachine guns arranged at the front of the position suddenly opened fire, and the dense rain of bullets caused the Japanese soldiers to scream again and again, and a large number of corpses were quickly laid down in front of the position.

However, the Japanese attack was not trivial, and the group of people in front was just a decoy, specially luring the defenders to expose the fire points, and then destroying them one by one through the grenadiers and infantry guns arranged in the rear. Boom Boom Boom ...... After determining the location of the defenders, Japanese shells and grenades rained down. Fortunately, the fighters in the forward positions had long since moved along the communication trenches.

Han Shengtao, the commander of the third battalion, slapped the position excitedly, and said adoringly: "Tuanzuo, you are really old, how do you know that the little devil wants to use this trick?" ”

Head Zhao Weibin smiled slightly. said indifferently: "The little devil teaches it well!" ”

Like many generals of the Northeast Army. Mr. Zhao also studied in Japan. However, the school he attended was neither the Zhenwu Academy (Comrade Chang Kaishen was a famous alumnus of the school), nor the famous army noncommissioned officer school, but a Chiba Army Infantry School that was somewhat unfamiliar to Chinese.

The purpose of the formation of the Chiba Army Infantry School. The purpose is to carry out the study of infantry combat methods and tactics and popularize them in military training. Compared to Lu Shi. More emphasis on teaching and research. Liu Fei, who was deputy director of the Military Command Department of the Military Commission of the National Army, and General Song Xilian, commander-in-chief of the 11th Group Army, were also cadets of the Chinese general academy class.

Bang! Bang bang bang...... After the Japanese infantry artillery and other firing points were exposed. The Makqin Bang Bang artillery of the 273rd Regiment Fire Battalion also began to return fire. After only one test shot of the grenade, the gunner accurately corrected the firing point and pulled the trigger. Shoot all the remaining twenty-four grenades in one go!

Boom Boom Boom ...... A series of dense explosions sounded, and the Japanese infantry artillery positions were suddenly blown to pieces. The members of the two artillery squads were either killed or wounded, and none of them were spared.

"Yaga!" A Japanese commander scolded in annoyance and shouted: "Quick, get in touch with the wing headquarters and ask for artillery guidance!" ”

"Hello!"

The Japanese retaliatory artillery fire soon arrived, and a full 36 artillery pieces were concentrated, including eight Type 96 150mm heavy howitzers. Dense shells soon covered the positions of the 273rd regiment. However, the Japanese army failed to determine the exact location of each position, and could not do the "carpet covering" or "sea of fire tactics" like the American army, so the actual casualties were limited.

After more than ten minutes of artillery bombardment, the Japanese infantry attacked again. This time, however, the Japanese were more cautious and more careful to conceal than before. Soon, the front line met the enemy, and a fierce battle broke out at the front of the positions of the two armies. Despite the fierce Japanese offensive, the battalions and companies of the 273rd Regiment did not panic, but based on positions and fortifications, fighting skillfully and tenaciously. Although the Japanese army had a large amount of artillery support, the coordination of infantry and artillery was not good (the coordination of Japanese infantry and artillery was already very poor, and it was even worse at night), and the losses were large.

Division Commander Lin of the 115th Division summed up in 37 years: In the night battle, the enemy's planes, artillery, tanks, and cavalry were almost useless, and the enemy's officers and men had no experience in night fighting, so our army should make every effort to use the night battle to annihilate the enemy. Large-scale night battles can be fought on moonlit nights, small-scale night battles can be fought on nights with Starfire, and night battles can be fought to harass enemies in dark nights. It is also necessary to coordinate night operations with day operations, and to expand the results of night battles during the day.

Other generals of the national army also had similar views, so many of the victories achieved by the Chinese army were related to night battles, such as the night attack at Xifengkou, the surprise attack on Yangmingbao, the counteroffensive at Taierzhuang, and so on. At that time, night fighting, close combat, and white-knuckle combat were the three magic weapons of the Chinese army to offset the Japanese army's firepower advantage with weak equipment.

In the victory of De'an, the 90th Division of the 4th Army of the Nationalist Army attacked the important position of the Japanese army Biandanshan overnight. Due to the darkness of the night, the 90th Division specially organized death squads. All of its officers and men were naked, each with a bayonet in his hand, and he reached for the mountain. When you meet someone, you touch your upper body, as long as you touch the Japanese army wearing a military uniform, it is a knife, so repeatedly rush to kill, five up and five down, and finally annihilate the 500 Japanese troops, kill the Japanese captain Terakawa Shaosa, and seize Biandan Mountain. This kind of bravery and fearlessness of taking advantage of the dark night to fight shirtless is really a shame for our descendants.

It's a pity that most of the Chinese army can't play night battles, and lack of training is one aspect, as is undernutrition (Chinese soldiers generally have night blindness) is also an aspect. Fortunately, these two points did not exist in the 63rd Army, not only did they have special night combat training, but their nutrition was completely fine.

On the other hand, the Japanese army's fighting style in night battles was still the same as that of fighting during the day. It looks extremely clumsy in the night. In parallel space, the Japanese army was also a master of night warfare. However, it was in the middle and late stages of the Anti-Japanese War, when the domestic economy of the Japanese army became difficult. At that time, the supply of ammunition to the Japanese army was already in trouble. In order to compensate for the lack of firepower, the Japanese base camp began to advocate night fighting.

This can also be reflected in the teaching materials of its "exemplary order". In the August 1940 textbook on the tactics of the Japanese detachments, there was a section "Operation at Night, Twilight, and Dawn" in the first chapter "Attack", and a section "Night Battle" in the second chapter "Defense". In August of the same year, in the infantry tactical training of squads, squadrons, and brigades, "night combat" became a special chapter in addition to attack and defense.

The first section of the attack includes the preparation for the attack, the obstacle destruction squad, the approach marking and inducement, the surprise attack, and the securing of the seizure site; The second section of defense includes the occupation of positions, the change of equipment during the day and night, the preparation for the occupation of positions during the day, and the implementation of battles. By the time of the July 1941 edition of the United Tactical Coach, the chapter setting placed more emphasis on night combat. Chapter 1 "Combat" (including attack and defense). The second chapter is "Night Fighting". The setting of the night chapter in these infantry tactics textbooks. It fully reflects the view that the "Bible" of Japanese combat and training at that time - the "Infantry Drill Code" attaches importance to night combat.

However, it is only the beginning of the 39th century, and although the Japanese army is also beginning to explore the way to fight at night, it has not yet formed a systematic understanding. The two sides fought fiercely for more than an hour, because the Japanese army was not good at concealing and protecting their own targets (including personnel, fire points, artillery positions, etc.). Casualties soon followed. I had to retire and recuperate.

Meantime. The Japanese army dispatched two more brigades and began to make a detour to the flanks of the 273rd regiment's position. The experienced regiment commander Zhao Weibin immediately sensed a hint of danger, and hurriedly ordered: "Get in touch with the military department immediately." The Japanese army in Tianjin seems to have more troops than we thought! ”

Han Shengtao, the commander of the third battalion, said with some doubts: "Tuanzuo, there are not many little devils!" You see, the most that attacked just now was a reinforced brigade, counting the devils who were detouring to the two wings, and it would be only one wing if they died! If it weren't for the artillery support, one of our main regiments would really not be afraid of him! ”

Regiment Commander Zhao snorted and explained: "The defenders of Tianjin are only one 27th Division, with a total of only three wings, one wing is in Tangshan, and Jinnan should also go to a wing in order to prevent our army's offensive." Could it be that in order to reinforce Beiping, Honma Masaharu still sent all the troops on hand? ”

Battalion Commander Han suddenly realized, hurriedly ran to the communications platoon, and got in touch with the military headquarters. At this time, the main force of the 91st Division had already moved north, so the 273rd Regiment was temporarily under the direct jurisdiction of the military headquarters.

Yan Mingzhi, chief of staff of the army, put down the intercom, turned his head and said: "Military seat, the 273rd regiment indicates that the enemy army opposite is a reinforced wing, with no less than three infantry brigades and no less than thirty artillery pieces, among which there is even the sound of heavy artillery bombardment. ”

Captain Feng Zhan was slightly surprised, and said, "Honma Masaharu, this is desperate?" Don't you care about Tianjin's defense dogs! ”

Chief of Staff Yan said: "It is indeed a little strange! After thinking for a while, he said: "Maybe in addition to the 27th Division, Tianjin also has some field supplementary troops, or the soldiers in the township and the Japanese overseas Chinese have been organized, resulting in a surge in troops." ”

Commander Feng sneered: "It's better to organize, and when the time comes, it's time to kill happily, so as not to be charged with slaughtering civilians!" Then he asked: "Did the little devil send tanks or armored vehicles?" ”

Although the 63rd Army has a lot of anti-tank weapons, and the troops have practiced anti-tank tactics many times, relatively speaking, the Japanese tank units are still the number one danger. After all, this is all plains, and once the enemy's armored forces are soaring, they can travel dozens of kilometers in a day's effort, and the threat is too great. So commanders at all levels are emphasizing this.

Chief of Staff Yan shook his head and explained: "Not yet, it may be that the enemy's combat vehicles are not capable of fighting at night. However, the two Japanese brigades were making a detour to the flanks of the 273rd Regiment, and they were afraid that they would deal with the unfavorable situation after dawn. Commander, should we use the artillery fire of the military family to support it, so as to strengthen the combat determination of the 273rd Regiment! ”

Admiral Feng Zhan pondered for a moment, but still refused, and explained: "At night, the artillery is easy to expose its position, and our artillery is not easy to come by, and it cannot be easily consumed with the enemy. ”

Chief of Staff Yan nodded and said, "What about the 273rd Regiment?" ”

Commander Feng waved his hand and smiled: "Don't worry, don't you feel at ease with Lao Zhao here?" ”

Chief of Staff Yan smiled and said, "That's right! ”

As soon as the words fell, a burst of gunfire suddenly came from outside. Immediately after, southeast, northwest. There was a fierce exchange of fire in all directions.

Chief of Staff Yan hurriedly picked up the phone and asked the guard battalion commander, "What's going on outside?" ”

The battalion commander hurriedly replied: "Report to the staff, there is a small group of Japanese troops infiltrating. ”

Chief of Staff Yan breathed a sigh of relief and instructed: "Act according to the plan, don't be careless!" ”

The battalion commander hurriedly promised: "Please rest assured, the little devil will not be able to eat and walk around." ”

Putting down the phone, Chief of Staff Yan couldn't help but smile and said: "Military seat, those people in the General Staff are really accurate, the little devil really used this trick!" ”

Commander Feng asked, "Is it the infiltration of a small group of enemy troops?" ”

Chief of Staff Yan smiled: "Not bad! But this time, I'm afraid they're going to steal chickens and rice! ”

In order to prevent small Japanese troops from penetrating our defense line, all units made careful arrangements. Especially at night. There are not only passwords, passwords, and other identification methods. All units have also set up defense zones and forbidden areas, and it is strictly forbidden for troops to move at will. As soon as they detect an army in strange motion, the defenders will immediately open fire.

Commander Feng waved his hand and said, "Don't be careless, report to the headquarters immediately." Let the commander-in-chief, too, be on guard! ”

Chief of Staff Yan responded. Outside, there was another burst of gunfire.

Commander Feng frowned slightly. He said with some doubts: "The scale of the battle seems to be not small, how many troops did the little devil use to infiltrate?" ”

Chief of Staff Yan's face also became solemn, and he was about to speak. Suddenly, there was a voice outside the door, "Report!" When I looked up, it was a confidential telegraph operator from the military department.

Commander Feng took the telegram, glanced at it a few times, and then casually stuffed the telegram into Chief of Staff Yan's hand, and said in a deep voice: "The 276th Regiment of the 92nd Division has also been besieged by a large number of Japanese troops!" Commander Li Shutang believed that the Japanese army had a large number of troops, at least one brigade. ”

Chief of Staff Yan was stunned for a moment and said, "Two infantry wings!" Where did you get so many troops? Could it be that Masaharu Honma also transferred the wing stationed in Tangshan? ”

Commander Feng frowned and said suspiciously: "This possibility can't be ruled out, but it seems to be too late in terms of time!" No, I think I have to report to the head seat immediately! ”

In fact, the troops of this attack were mainly troops of the 27th Division. The attack on Yangcun was the 2nd Wing of the Garrison and the 1st Brigade of the Artillery Wing of the Garrison; It was the 27th Division Search Team and a large number of Japanese puppet spies who infiltrated the operation; The attack on Jinnan was the Third Wing of the garrison troops, as well as one of the Engineer Wing and one of the Baggage Wing.

Of course, the reason why Honma Masaharu dared to come out of the nest was that the 33rd and 34th divisions of Tanggu were advancing towards Tianjin. In order to prevent the early exposure of the target, the two divisions also waited until 11 p.m. to start their operation. After all the troops boarded the bus in unison, they divided their troops and advanced to the destination in two directions. Among them, the 33rd Division advanced to Beiping, preparing to attack the main force of the 41st Group Army with the defenders of Beiping inside and outside; The 34th Division advanced to Jinnan, then turned westward, trying to penetrate the Daqing River and cut off the retreat of the 41st Group Army, and then joined forces with various units to annihilate it in the "Beijing-Tianjin-Bao" triangle.

Due to the lag in intelligence, Zheng Weiguo and the others did not realize that danger was coming. When the headquarters received the telegram from the 63rd Army, Chief of Staff Zhou and they were discussing how to attack Beiping City. In fact, some troops, such as the 341st Regiment of the 34th Division, the 271st Regiment of the 91st Division, and the 388th Regiment of the 130th Division, were closing on the outskirts of Beiping, and some small units had even launched attacks on the defenders.

Chief of Staff Zhou smiled: "I think Tada Jun is really scared!" Some small detachments of our army attacked the defenders, and they did not even have the courage to counterattack, so frightened that they all retreated into the city, and the nine gates were closed. ”

Zheng Weiguo was also a little happy, and said: "I didn't expect the morale of the Japanese army to be so low. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said with a smile: "Yes, the Japanese army has always been arrogant and thinks that it is invincible in the world, but this time we seized the opportunity to fight under the city of Beiping, and the morale of the army will be in chaos." ”

As he was talking, the confidential correspondent suddenly walked over and reported: "General seat, staff seat, the 63rd Army emergency telegram!" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou hurriedly signed and took it, looked at it for a while, couldn't help but change his face slightly, and said to Zheng Weiguo: "General, the 63rd Army has discovered some new situations, it seems that the enemy's strength is indeed more than we imagined!" ”

Zheng Weiguo hurriedly took the telegram and read it, and said with some surprise: "It seems that the 27th Division is attacking on all fronts, which really exceeds our expectations." However, it is not too outrageous, although the 27th Division is very strong, our 63rd Army is also not what it used to be, even if it is slightly down, it is still not a problem to block for five or six days. ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said: "Then don't send reinforcements?" ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said, "Well, it is not appropriate to transfer at night, so as not to hit the deployment." After daybreak, if there is a real need, a few reserves can be brought up. Our key now is still in Beiping City, if we can enter Beiping City, then the enemy of Tianjin is not to worry, and in turn we can even threaten Tianjin! ”

He asked again: "I checked, the city wall of Beiping is still very strong, we lack siege artillery, can we be sure to break into the city early tomorrow morning?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou said: "All artillery units have made adequate preparations. However, it is definitely not enough to rely on the troops outside the city alone, and the key to this battle is how well the troops inside the city are progressing. ”

For this siege operation, the General Staff also made careful preparations, not only mobilizing a large number of troops, but also seeking the assistance of both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. At present, the underground party, military commanders, and central commanders in Beiping City, as well as the anti-resistance groups organized by patriotic students, have all taken action, and each has secretly organized action teams and divided targets.

At that time, as soon as the 41st Group Army moves outside the city, they will immediately take action and attack the Japanese headquarters in the city, the munitions warehouse, the hospital, the Japanese puppet administrative organs, and so on. These places are all key departments of the Japanese puppet, and even if they cannot be defeated, they can cause great panic to the enemy army. In addition, the Japanese army was insufficient, and it was difficult to take care of both the inside and outside at the same time after guarding the nine gates, so it was very important to succeed in grasping it.

It's just that the Beiping underground party, as well as the military commanders and the central commanders, are all based on intelligence, and military operations like this are not what they are good at. Not to mention the anti-Japanese group, they are all hot-blooded young people, and they are extremely lacking in organization and training. In order to ensure the smooth operation, the 41 st Group Army also specially sent quite a number of special combat personnel to infiltrate Beiping City, and while contacting various operational teams, it also formed several special combat teams to prepare for the targeted elimination of important targets.

Zheng Weiguo nodded, agreed, and asked, "Then are our special combat teams all arranged?" ”

Chief of Staff Zhou inquired and reported: "There are a total of five action groups, two of which are ready to act at any time. The other three are also in the pipeline! ”

Zheng Weiguo was about to speak, when the old clock next to the wall suddenly sounded. Everyone was busy looking, and it turned out that it was already one o'clock in the morning!

Chief of Staff Zhou smiled: "It's time for a while!" ”

At the same moment, the commander of the 33rd Division, Lieutenant General Shigetaro Kazu, was sitting in a bumpy high-class passenger car. He turned on the flashlight and looked at his watch, and couldn't help muttering, "Soga! Is it already one o'clock in the morning? Taigu-kun, you go and check, see where you are now, and the troops must rush to the outskirts of Yang Village in two hours! ”

Adjutant Yuichi Taigu nodded hurriedly and said, "Haiyi! As he spoke, he stretched out his head and looked out the window, only to see that it was an endless night outside. Only two long rows of headlights lit up on the front and rear roads, and there were more than ten miles of road...... (To be continued......)

PS: Saorui, it's later!