Episode 59 Outwitting the Red Sixth Division (Part I)

The 1st Blue Division was about 800 meters away from Xinmengzhuang, but the four tanks and six armored vehicles of the vanguard were scattered on both sides of the road, and slowly and carefully drove to a position 200 meters away from Zhuangzi and stopped.

The four tanks retreated to a low-lying area on the south side of the roadbed, and with the help of the half-meter-high roadbed and the low-lying terrain, they hid their bodies, exposing only the turret, lowering the muzzle, and aiming at Zhuangzi on the other side of the road.

The commander showed only one head, and watched carefully with a telescope.

The 60 infantry on it came down, holding submachine guns and light machine guns, squatting down on the road, and using the baggage and vehicles thrown by the Red Sixth Division on the road as cover, they quickly checked these carriages and cars to make sure that there were no ambushes, mines, bombs, and the like inside.

The four fighters overhead kept circling and diving, trying their best to observe the situation in Shonai.

"There are thousands of enemy soldiers exposed, digging on the roads and open spaces in the village, either digging trenches or laying mines, and they are still pulling telephone lines...... Enemy troops and local residents were mixed...... Residents estimate that there are also nearly 1,000 ......"

"Understood. What about the firepower configuration in the shonai? ”

"There are more than a hundred artillery pieces in Zhuangzi, of which 70 to 80 are mortars...... Most of them are now hidden in the building, with a handful of heavy artillery and 20-30 mortar groups in the open, but the enemy is also camouflage, digging gun pits and building makeshift bunkers...... Now it can be seen that there are 6 heavy howitzers, about 150 mm caliber, three of which have been pushed to the three intersections, and the other three they are trying to push...... There were also about ten guns, ranging in caliber from 75 mm to 105 mm...... Ah, they fired! Mortars, hide quickly - !! ”

There was a muffled "tom ......tom" in the village, followed by a shrill hiss in the air.

In the command vehicle of the 1st Blue Division in the east, the division commander covered his headset and shouted on the radio:

"Mortars - all concealed - "

Without saying a word, the tank commanders scattered in the field immediately got into the turret and closed the roof. A few seconds later, the air whistled overhead, and more than thirty light and heavy mortar shells rained down.

These mortar shells hit the field hard, and they did not explode, but only smoke.

Some commanders were slow to react and did not retract into the turret in time. It happened that shells fell next to several more tanks, and the commanders were immediately judged dead.

Immediately afterward, there was another whistling in the air, and the second batch of dozens of mortar shells fell again. This time all the commanders retracted into the turret and closed the top cover.

Soon, the mortar shells were no longer in batches, mixed together and whistling down non-stop.

"When !!"

A 60-mm mortar shell was hit on the top of a tank. The cannonball bounced and rolled to the ground, sending smoke out.

There is no need for the referee to say that there should be a slit in the top of the turret of this tank, and one arm is consciously stretched out, and a red ribbon is clamped on the top cover, indicating that the tank is destroyed.

Mortar shells rained down, and from time to time a tank or military vehicle was hit. When the military vehicle was hit, it stopped there, and the soldiers on the vehicle were all killed. And when tanks and armored vehicles were hit, immediately a repair company of repair tanks drove over and dragged the "blown up" tanks away. Because if a 60-mm mortar shell hits a car, it can completely blow up the car, while hitting a tank can generally only injure the tank and can be repaired.

……

A few seconds later, Rommel's command was heard on the radios of the ground and air units:

1: All light mortars of the 3rd Regiment immediately fired smoke bombs at the village, blocking the view of the Red artillery observers.

2: The plane dives into the village and strafes the mortar group that suppresses the enemy troops.

3: Be ready to attack.

At the sound of the order, the soldiers of the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Blue Division, that is, the 1st Motorized Infantry Regiment, jumped out of the military vehicles, removed all 60 mortars, and set up their artillery mounts. The smoke bombs were also removed and set aside. This kind of smoke bomb is different from the "high-explosive bomb" used in exercises, although it also emits smoke after landing, but it lasts for a short time, mainly to mark the bullet point. Now what is ready to fight is a real smoke screen.

In the middle of the road, one of the Blues' sidecars sped in the direction of the village entrance. From time to time, the mortar shells of the Red Army whizzed and fell nearby, and both men on the motorcycles lowered their heads, for fear that the top of their steel helmets would be hit at once.

Soon, no shells fell around. This is already close to Zhuangzi and exceeds the minimum range of mortars. On the other side of the road at the entrance of the village, several tanks and armored vehicles of the Blue Army reconnaissance were trapped here, and dozens of soldiers huddled behind shouted at them:

"Danger - Hide - "

As soon as the sidecar stopped, a soldier jumped out, quickly climbed onto the top of a tank, stood on it generously, pulled out two signal flags and waved them at the village.

Only then did the dozens of Blue Army soldiers see that he was wearing an armband and was a drill referee.

……

In a private house in the center of the village, Huang Shuliang set up the division headquarters here. At this time, several radios in the room were listening to the radio communications of the Blues from a distance of a thousand meters. Huang Shuliang also listened. How much his subordinates know about Rommel's order just now, and how much Huang Shuliang also knows.

"Inform all units to prepare," Huang Shuliang took off his headphones and ordered, "They are going to attack the village." …… Sure enough, they were afraid of civilians and did not dare to bombard them with heavy artillery and bombs. Good, good, that's exactly what I wanted. In this case, we will have a very good exchange ratio depending on the excellent geographical conditions. Heavy damage to the Blue First Division is certain. If the enemy dies, it is not impossible for everyone to die together. …… We can afford it, the Blues can't. Now it's four to two, and after fighting the Blue First Division, it's three to one. The Blues will have only one division left, not yet an armored division. In this exercise, we almost won. ”

At this time, a field phone that had just been answered in the house rang. Huang Shuliang grabbed the microphone, and inside was the voice of the observer:

"Report to the division, on the side of the reconnaissance unit of the Blue Army at the entrance of the village, a referee of the exercise came to us with a flag, saying that they were about to use mortars to fire smoke bombs at the village, and gave us five minutes to let the civilians into the house, saying don't smash the civilians, don't let the civilians get injured in the exercise."

Huang Shuliang put down the phone and told the herald to do it with a smile.

There was a commotion outside, and in less than three minutes, the entire Zhuangzi people hid in the building.

A drill referee from the Red Sixth Division climbed to the top of the tallest three-story building and raised a flag outside the village, telling the Blues that all the villagers had withdrawn into the house.

More than 1,000 meters to the east, more than 20 60 mortars of a regiment of the Blue Army began to throw bombs non-stop, and dozens of smoke bombs pierced the air and fell into Zhuangzi with a scream.

Suddenly, there was a smoke screen everywhere in the Zhuangzi, and white smoke was spewing white smoke. Soon, the entire few square kilometers of Zhuangzi were filled with smoke screens, almost to the extent that "you can't see your fingers".

There was no wind, and the smoke screen was rising steadily. As more smoke bombs kept coming down, after a few minutes, even some of the observation posts set up high up were nowhere to be seen.

However, the Blue Army planes hovering above could not see anything about the situation in the village.

……

In the thick smoke screen, Huang Shuliang passed another order: more than a dozen heavy guns that had been exposed to the noses of the Blue Army planes just now immediately changed their positions, quickly pretended to be on the march, and pushed to another designated position. The original empty gun emplacements continued to be camouflaged, with branches and firewood to a similar height, covered with camouflage nets, and covered with branches and straw. At the same time, a large number of soldiers were sent to lay mines on all roads on the perimeter.

There seemed to be more planes coming overhead. Originally, there were only four, but now there are at least two dozen of them. Those planes flew low, and it sounded at least more than 100 decibels in Zhuangzi, which was deafening and so noisy that people's eardrums were about to burst.

Huang Shuliang sat in the room, looking up at the ceiling, biting a grass stick in his mouth, and muttered something.

The staff officer next to him immediately leaned into his ear and shouted with all his might:

"Master--what did you say-???"

Huang Shuliang scolded, and also shouted into his ear:

"I said - they deliberately put so many planes overhead - so that we couldn't hear their tanks - so that we wouldn't know they were attacking from that side-"

The staff officer nodded vigorously and shouted loudly:

"Teacher's view—"

Huang Shuliang shouted again:

"They used smoke screens -- to turn us blind -- and now they use airplane sounds -- to turn us deaf—"

The staff officer nodded vigorously again, and shouted into his ear:

"Then we'll respond to all changes with the same—"

"What did you say-??"

"I said--we--not change--should change-"

Uncle Huang nodded brightly and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

……

Now, almost a few steps into the open air in the village, you will step on a broken smoke screen. Several soldiers have already been wounded. In order to avoid more casualties during the exercise, Huang Shuliang ordered all the soldiers in the open air to enter the house first and wait for the smoke bombs to pass before coming out.

In order to make more noise, the planes flying overhead flew low and slow, and they were very unscrupulous. In normal times, they would never dare to fly so low. In this way, not to mention anti-aircraft guns, even machine guns can knock them down. Anyway, now the entire Zhuangzi has been surrounded by smoke screens, and the people below can't see three feet when they look up, and no matter how low or slow they fly, it's safe. As long as it doesn't hit those two-story buildings.

But Huang Shuliang raised his head and squinted his eyes, as if he felt that something was wrong. In addition to fighters and dive bombers, it seems that there are also large two-engine and three-engine aircraft. That deeper, louder roar.

He immediately remembered that among the large aircraft of the Blue Army, in addition to the twin-engine "Swan" bomber, there were still several three-engine Junkers 52s.

It's a great tool for parachuting.

Huang Shuliang immediately bounced up and shouted loudly. In the loud noise, none of the staff officers heard him shout. He simply threw himself in front of the table, grabbed his pencil, and wrote a large line of words on the paper:

-- Immediately give an order to guard against the enemy's airborne troops.

……

Shots rang out. There is the sound of machine guns, and there are also the sounds of submachine guns.

Huang Shuliang immediately received a report that the east, west, and south sides of Zhuangzi were all under tentative attacks by the Blue Army's infantry. The two sides engaged in sporadic exchanges of fire in a cloud of white fog. Several Blue Army infantry stepped on the mines, and now their sappers have come up and are clearing mines. Due to the good setting of machine-gun fire points at various intersections, the Blue Army sappers were constantly killed, and they were never able to successfully clear the mines.

The report also said that although the Blues were unable to enter Zhuangzi, they also placed a number of machine-gun teams outside the Zhuangzi, as if forming a blockade, and the scouts sent by the Red Army were killed one after another. The Blues' "woodpecker" is fast, poisonous, and lightweight, and it is lifted and left after a few hits, like a light machine gun, elusive. And because Zhuangzi was also surrounded by a white fog, it was difficult for the red artillery to see and clear these machine gun points.

"They're completely trying to make us blind."

Uncle Huang paced, touching his chin and muttering to himself.

The smoke bombs kept falling without the slightest sign of stopping. Huang Shuliang took out his pocket watch and stared at the dial.

It's been almost an hour since the Blues were shooting smoke screens outside the village.

At first, it was very intensive, but then it was a little less, and the smoke screen was not so thick, but Zhuangzi was still shrouded in white fog, and nothing could be seen outside.

"*** They have too many smokescreen bombs, right? ...... 'Fox of the Fog', I'm really addicted. ”

Huang Shuliang scolded and walked angrily.

He knew that Rommel had arranged for several Junkers 52 transport planes to be airlifted for the Blues to carry much-needed supplies. This includes smoke screens.

Of course, it is not possible to drop smoke bombs from the rear so quickly, but Rommel relies on the sky and can supply special ammunition by airdrop at any time, so he can now smash all the smoke bombs brought by a division without any scruples.

Rommel knew that he was the attacking force, and the smokescreen was the attacker's best ally. When your own tank cluster rushes to the opponent's artillery position, there are two ways to reduce losses most effectively. One is speed, the other is a smoke screen.

……

For more than an hour, neither the Blue Army Airborne Forces nor the Blue Army launched a large-scale attack in Zhuangzi. At first, the Blue Army sappers also came up to clear mines, but now they don't even clear mines.

Huang Shuliang had a feeling that the Blues were not so much a "tentative attack" as they had pulled a blockade on the outskirts of the village, preventing their scouts from going out and letting them know what was going on outside the smoke screen.

Overhead, the Blues alternated planes, with planes flying away and planes coming, always keeping a dozen and a dozen, keeping the pressure low. The loud noise caused by this made it impossible for you to determine the movement of the Blue Army tanks outside the village.

The villagers couldn't stand it anymore, it was quite fresh at first, and now they are clamoring for them to leave. Half of the chickens in the entire village were scared to death by the noise, and according to the villagers, the other half of the chickens would not lay eggs in the future.

Huang Shuliang irritably promised that he would pay double compensation for all losses, except for the government's share of compensation, and he could also find the military to pay for it. Only then did some of the villagers be appeased.

He bit on the grass stick, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong.

…… How can there be such a thing? Dry thunder does not rain...... The smoke screen was thick enough to minimize their offensive losses. Besides, they have limited time, and there are not many mines buried on the village roads, and they are mainly anti-infantry mines, and there are not many anti-tank mines.

Huang Shuliang thought that if he were Rommel, he would fight to lose a few tanks, roll out two or three roads, and then use Junkers 52 to parachute into the village with 100 people. In that case, it would be difficult to distinguish between the enemy and the enemy in the smoke screen, and the village would have to be in chaos, at least half of the attention would have to be taken back to deal with the hundred and ten paratroopers. At that time, the Blue Army infantry took advantage of the smoke screen to rush in, and the Red Army was in a very dangerous situation.

But right now, the Blues are doing nothing but taking their time.

…… Time-consuming, yes, that's what it feels like...... Huang Shuliang suddenly woke up and realized:

The Blues are wasting time!!

Rommel had no intention of attacking this Zhuangzi at all! The purpose of putting these smoke screens and playing these tricks was just to pass the road in front of the village without any damage under the guns of the Red Sixth Division, and continue to advance westward!

At the beginning, he ordered on the radio to prepare for an attack, but he simply guessed that he would definitely eavesdrop, and deliberately said it to himself!

……

Uncle Huang went crazy and walked around the room a few times, then grabbed a pen and paper, wrote an order in the deafening sound of airplanes, and ignored the stunned eyes of the staff officers, and the order was carried out immediately.

A whole company of Red Army soldiers shouted with guns in hand, and after heavy casualties under the attack of infantry guns and grenades, they managed to kill several machine gun points of the Blue Army and rushed to the outside of the smoke screen area.

They were all stunned by the scene in front of them.

Outside the village, instead of thousands of troops and horses waiting for a big attack, it was empty, and the entire division of the Blue Army was gone. On the road outside the village, only the last few armored vehicles, a few tanks, and two dozen mortar crews remained, constantly firing smoke screens into the village.

The remaining handful of Blue Army, seeing that the 100-odd Red Army had rushed out, immediately loaded all the mortars onto the armored vehicles and drove away along the road to the west.

A hundred or so Red Army soldiers who rushed out of the village had only small arms, and infantry artillery also lagged behind. Faced with several tanks in the back, they could only lie down and hide, lying in the crops and watching.

At some point, the plane above also flew away. The smoke screen gradually dissipated.

Now, everything is quiet.

Huang Shuliang stood on the road at the head of the village in a daze, looking at the direction of the Blue First Division in the west, chewing grass sticks in his mouth.

His own Red Sixth Division was saved from annihilation and survived temporarily. But Huang Shuliang had a feeling of wanting to cry without tears.

…… I was tricked by others, and I didn't play it lightly. His wishful thinking of fighting street battles in residential areas and using one of his infantry divisions to consume one of the armored divisions of the Blue Army was completely ruined.

Now people are taking Nanjing at a galloping speed. Now to the west of the 1st Blue Division, only the 1st Red Division remains.

"Rommel, Rommel," Huang Shuliang muttered, "you old fox...... You're not taking my old Huang Shabu lightly......"