Thin red lines

After sunset, the general attack of the field troops of the North China Theater on the 5th Division of the Japanese Army in Xishan began.

With the rise and fall of three signal flares, the small earthen bun with an area of less than five or six miles in Xishan resounded with an earth-shattering shouting of killing.

Level 1 Offensive Order! In addition to a small number of logistical troops, hundreds of thousands of people from the three armies and one infantry division surrounding the Japanese Fifth Division all participated in the attack, and even the guard battalion of the pre-war command headquarters was transferred to the next wave of reserves, and now only one company of men is left in the division headquarters to guard.

After the bombardment by the dive bombers, the artillery positions began to roar. Two artillery regiments and a mountain artillery battery began to conduct pre-firing. After a short pre-firing of the artillery, the artillery fire began to extend into the heart of the Japanese army. A 152-mm cannon, a 105-mm* gun, and a 75-mm mountain gun began to adjust the artillery elements according to the landing point situation in the early stage; This was followed by another burst of fire, and the large-caliber guns were so powerful that the muzzles of the guns flashed with dazzling white light when they were discharged, and at the same time, the position made a loud noise like thunder.

The main targets of this shelling were Japanese artillery positions and ground bunkers, and under the rain of artillery fire, they estimated that the purpose of the shelling should have been achieved.

Before the shelling was over, the attacking troops began to attack forward under the cover of artillery fire. The attacking force consisted of armored troops and infantry, and the "Benniu" tanks and "Zhongshan-style" armored vehicles carried the soldiers and began to march towards Xishan.

Soldiers wearing steel helmets, cigarettes in their mouths, staggering on tanks, this kind of hitchhiking behavior is extremely common on the battlefield, when the attack, when the enemy's effective range is not reached, such a way of marching will be taken, which can greatly speed up the march of the troops.

A veteran of the Northern Expedition had a cigarette in his mouth and the officers and soldiers giggling, and he couldn't help but sigh when he saw the intensity of the plane bombing and the intensity of the artillery fire just now.

"Fuck! After so many years of fighting, I can finally get back to the little devil! ”

When the attacking troops entered the uphill route, the tanks began to march in a row from the original column, and the officers and men carrying the vehicles also jumped off the tanks one after another.

It had just rained, the ground was still muddy, the tracks of tanks and armored vehicles began to advance on the muddy ground, and the tanks made a sudden muffled sound of engines.

Tata! Bang bang!

The Japanese soldiers in the fortifications were the first to open fire, and the bullets hit the steel plate in front of the tank, making a ping-pong sound.

The marching "Benniu" tanks also began to fire at the Japanese troops, and for a time there were traces of light and shadow everywhere up and down the mountain, like thin threads dancing in the dark night, and these thin threads were so dense that these thin red threads were like a woven thin net.

Tata Tata! In front of the attack, many Japanese soldiers dug a hole of more than one meter and drilled into it, and when the attacking troops approached, they leaned out and began to shoot, which caused a lot of casualties to the attacking troops in the past, but this time the officers and soldiers hid behind the tanks, and the tanks and armored vehicles would run directly over the Japanese heads. The steel tracks were just stained with blood on the march.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! As flares rose with a long sound, the positions of the two armies became as if it were daylight, and the two sides continued to attack.

Although the air force knocked out many of the Japanese firing points, there were still many hidden firing points, and the Japanese even fired anti-aircraft guns at the lower part of the mountain.

When they reached the predetermined position, the infantrymen who had been following behind left and scattered, attacking forward with the tanks and armored vehicles around the tanks. Tanks and armored vehicles provided them with fire cover, and soon the attacking troops rushed halfway up the mountain.

While the progress was advancing rapidly, there were bursts of babbling shouts from the Japanese positions.

Under the effect of the flares, I saw a large group of Japanese infantry daredevils with their heads wrapped in military flags and covered in * rushing towards the attacking troops like crazy with bayonets and rifles.

These were Japanese death squads, and their goal was to die with the tanks or armored vehicles of our attacking forces. Before this, although they had fought several times with many units of the Japanese army, and had seen a lot of Japanese soldiers' will to fight under the influence of bushido fanaticism, for most officers and soldiers, it was the first time they had seen the Japanese army carry out such a suicidal charge.

When they saw a large number of Japanese officers and soldiers rushing over, the officers and soldiers did not react at first, and when they hesitated, these crazy Japanese soldiers had already rushed to the front. They lay on the ground when they approached the tank, and when the tank was about to roll over them, they rang*.

The weakest point of tanks and armored vehicles is the bottom, where the armor steel plates are pitifully thin, so if they are blown up, the car will be destroyed and people will die.

Although most of the Japanese soldiers in the "Banzai Charge" were killed by the tank's machine guns or infantry before they could get close, the few who approached the tank still posed a considerable threat.

The frenzied actions of the Japanese army slowed down the attack, and at this time the Japanese army organized a counter-charge. The attacking troops and the Japanese counter-charging troops were mixed together, and the two sides even engaged in a white-knuckle battle. It was not easy to repel the Japanese troops who were counter-charging, but when they continued to attack, they were blocked by strong Japanese firepower.

The 5th Division, which was good at civil engineering, built the fortifications very well, the trenches were not only quite standard, the firing points were also well arranged, and the culverts and bunkers were dug underneath, so that they could preserve their full strength in the air raids and artillery bombardments.

While advancing, the Japanese put up stubborn resistance. The first attacking troops suffered heavy casualties, often a tank was hit, and before the soldiers behind could dodge, the Japanese machine guns were pointed at them.

The attack lasted more than an hour, and the troops advanced very slowly, far below the expected effect of the previous estimates, but the casualties were greatly exceeded estimates, three infantry battalions were forced to withdraw from the battle early because of heavy casualties in more than an hour, and the commander of the main regiment colonel died during the attack.

The situation was not very optimistic when the attack was just beginning, which also put a lot of pressure on everyone.

The fierce battle continued, and the courage of the attacking officers and men was not inferior to that of the Japanese troops, and they did not flinch in the face of the rain of bullets and bullets, and still attacked forward.

The pressure from the front was unreservedly transmitted to the rear. In the pre-war command post, Su Ye, the commander of the group army of this campaign, paced back and forth.

The situation of the attack continued to converge on him, and the news of the front-line offensive was blocked and the casualties were constantly transmitted. This made the senior generals of the command have some wavering at this time when they made up their minds in the first place.

"Commander Su, if you continue to fight like this, I'm afraid it will not be good for us. Now that it is difficult to attack at night, and the Japanese army's firepower is too little exposed, I think it is better to postpone the next wave of attacks and launch an attack at dawn tomorrow morning? "The chief of staff spoke out his proposal.

"Yes, I agree with the Chief of Staff. It had only been more than an hour of fighting, and the casualties of the troops had already exceeded 1,500, and the commander of the 15 th Provisional Regiment had also been killed, and the officers at the battalion and company level had also suffered many casualties.......

Su Ye smoked a cigarette and thought, and all the generals focused their eyes on him.

Su Yetou turned to look at him and said: "The Fifth Division is the elite of the Japanese army, and our combat effectiveness is obvious to all, but the more this is the case, the more we have to destroy them, and now their reinforcements are dozens of miles away, and when their reinforcements converge tomorrow morning, it will be difficult for us to have a chance to eliminate the Fifth Division like today, more than 100,000 troops have fought for several months to have today's situation, if we slacken, then the deployment of several months will be null and void." ”

"They launched a death squad charge, which shows that the Japanese army is already fighting the trapped beasts. We must annihilate the Fifth Division in one go! ”

Su Ye knew that behind these cold numbers were fresh lives, and some of the young men who were still alive just now were missing arms and legs, and some could not even wake up.

As a general who came up from the grassroots level, he can understand the hardships paid by the officers and men at the grassroots level on the front line better than anyone else, but he knows more deeply that war is a cruel survival law of survival of the fittest.

If there is the slightest wavering at this time, then not only will all the previous efforts be in vain, but the Fifth Division, which has breathed its breath, will take Puyang directly, and as soon as the oil fields are lost, the Japanese army will move south, and if the Japanese army's North China Front and East China Front converge, most of China will be lost.

After thinking for a while, in the face of the persuasion of the generals, he had already made up his mind at this time.

"Signal soldier, now telegraph to Commander Liu Jian and report the real situation on the battlefield to him." Our army has launched an attack on the 5th Division of Xishan according to the original plan, and now the Japanese army is relying on superior firepower to resist stubbornly, and the attacking troops of our army have suffered many casualties, but they are still continuing to attack, hoping to prevent the enemy's reinforcements from the fraternal troops to hold out until early tomorrow morning. 'Send it out!' ”

"Yes!" The Signal Corps recorded a detailed trail.

After speaking, he turned his eyes to the generals in front of him again, and said categorically: "I order, the attack is carried out according to the original plan, and the encirclement of the Japanese army in Xishan must be completed tonight." Su Ye gave the battle order, and after the order was given, he took the steel helmet from the guards and said: "I want to go to the front line, and I and the soldiers will not take half a step back until the encirclement is completed." ”

After speaking, Su Ye put on a steel helmet and adjusted his belt, and walked forward with strong steps.