The effect of the piercing and armor shells was not the same immediately, and the piercing and armor shells easily penetrated the stone wall dozens of centimeters thick and exploded in the fortifications, and the Japanese troops in the fortifications were miserable, and there was nowhere to hide. There was a scream, and the heavy machine guns in several fortifications were silent. Without the suppression of heavy machine guns, the officers and men of the 2nd Battalion jumped up from behind the bunker and once again rushed to the Japanese position at the foot of the mountain.

Without much effort, the Japanese position at the foot of the mountain fell into the hands of the second battalion, and the Japanese troops on the position, except for those who lost their resistance after being seriously wounded, were killed. The Japanese troops on the foothill position had only two squadrons, only half of the Japanese troops on the position, and the other half of the Japanese troops were still stationed on the mountainside and the top of the mountain.

The next attack on the mountain position was a tough job, but fortunately, there was a lot of artillery support, and the officers and men of the 875th Regiment not only did not have a bad quality of individual soldiers, but also the weapons in their hands were not bad. The task of attacking the mountain was won by the third battalion under the efforts of Wang Songlin, the commander of the third battalion. This kind of attack on mountain positions has been practiced many times by the troops during training in peacetime, and the soldiers are no strangers to it.

The officers and men of the 875th Regiment are all from Guangxi, and those who grew up in the mountains are more familiar with the mountains. Wang Songlin, commander of the third battalion, gave an order, and the entire third battalion was divided into dozens of combat groups as squads and launched attacks on the mountainside positions from all directions. There is a reason for taking a squad as a unit, a squad of 12 people, equipped with a light machine gun and two rushing and forward guns, the firepower is sufficient, and the target of a squad in the mountains and forests is small, so they can not only respond to each other, cover each other, and cooperate with each other, but also effectively avoid the large-scale killing and injury of the enemy's heavy machine guns, mortars, grenadiers, and other weapons.

I saw that the officers and men of the third battalion were agile and nimble, and they quickly got into the mountains and forests. At the foot of the mountain, dozens of mortars lined up in several columns, ready to provide fire support to the attacking fighters. Only the heavy machine gun crew walked at the rear, carrying the heavy machine gun and the bullet box to the hill without speed or slowness. Heavy machine guns are not so flexible as a suppressive weapon, but during the attack, it is necessary to suppress the enemy's position, and the heavy machine gun must follow.

Soon there were gunshots in the forest, first in one place, then in several places, and finally to fierce gunfire everywhere, and the mortar positions also received calls for artillery support from time to time, firing a triple round on the hill and then stopping. Wang Songlin, who was pressing down at the foot of the mountain, observed halfway up the mountain with a telescope while listening carefully to the gunshots.

The difference between the weapons of the Japanese army and the weapons of the officers and men of the third battalion is still quite large, and with Wang Songlin's combat experience, even if you close your eyes, you can tell who has the advantage. Just looking at Wang Songlin's expression gradually changed from nervous to relaxed, and finally showed a hint of a smile, he knew that the battle was going relatively smoothly. It is true that the third battalion first had an advantage in numbers, and although it was unfavorable in terms of ground shape when attacking from the back, the officers and men of the third battalion, who were familiar with fighting in the mountains, had brought back a lot of disadvantages, and coupled with the absolute superiority in weapons, the attack would naturally not be too difficult.

More than an hour passed, the gunfire on the mountainside stopped, and some soldiers returned to the foot of the mountain to report to Wang Songlin that the third battalion had taken the Japanese army's mountainside position and was preparing to attack the last position of the Japanese army on the top of the mountain. Wang Songlin couldn't stay at the foot of the mountain, so he said hello to the head of the regiment, Zhang Sanli, and went up the mountain with the guards. Zhang Sanli saw that it was not early, and hoped that the troops would be able to take the position before dark, so he sent a battalion as well.

The first battalion suffered considerable casualties in the beginning of the battle, and now only two companies can take part in the battle. However, the officers and men of the first battalion suffered a big loss, and they all held their breath, and after receiving Zhang Sanli's order, the commander of the first battalion, Jin Keqing, immediately personally led two companies into battle. The last squadron and headquarters of the Japanese army were on the top of the hill, preparing for the last resistance with the steep terrain.

The 3rd Battalion launched a second charge against the hilltop position, but all of them retreated because the terrain was too unfavorable, and more than 30 soldiers were also killed. Wang Songlin stood behind and scolded his mother anxiously, but there was nothing too good to do. It wasn't until Jin Keqing also brought the troops up that the number of troops increased greatly, and even more than a dozen mortars were brought in.

With mortars, they were not afraid of the Japanese grenadiers and heavy machine gun fire points, and under the command of Jin Keqing, the mortars first cleared the exposed Japanese heavy machine gun fire points, and then plowed the entire position. This bombardment lasted for half an hour, and several mortars even fired red barrels.

Seeing that there was not much movement on the Japanese position, all the soldiers of the third battalion once again launched a charge to the top of the mountain. This time, although there were still people blocking the Japanese position, the firepower was obviously much weaker. The officers and men of the 3rd Battalion rushed to the Japanese position in one breath despite the bullets flying indiscriminately. Half an hour later, in the afterglow of the setting sun, a military flag was planted on the top of the mountain, marking the complete occupation of the mountain by Chinese troops.

The battle report of the 461st Brigade was sent to Tang Hongming, who was also surprised by the speed of its attack. In one day, he successively captured the two lines of defense of the Japanese army with the strength of one regiment, one of which was still a relatively steep mountain defense line, and either the combat effectiveness of his own troops was too strong, or the small Japan became too weak. Tang Hongming was not arrogant enough to think that he could capture Qinzhou City on his own, so it was a fact that the Japanese army had weakened.

In fact, the troops guarding these two positions were the troops of the former Taiwan brigade. The most combat-effective unit of the Taiwan brigade was organized into the 48th Division, and a new Taiwan brigade was formed with supplementary troops, but the newly formed Taiwan brigade was crippled in the Chongzuo Campaign, and the Qinzhou garrison was formed after replenishing the new recruits again, so the combat effectiveness dropped very badly. If it was the veteran A Division of the Japanese Army that was guarding the position, how could the 875th Regiment be so easy to capture two lines of defense in one go.

The 461st Brigade was ordered to rest and recuperate, and the loss of two lines of defense in one day in the Qinzhou City Defense Headquarters made Major General Itada Jiro, the commander of the city defense, restless. When Major General Jiro Itada received the news, he invited Major General Yumasa Takasaki, commander of the 17th Brigade, to come over to discuss the defense of Qinzhou City. At present, there are only 15,000 troops available in Qinzhou City, plus the remainder of the 17th Brigade, of which one-third are logistics and baggage troops, so it can be said that the strength is seriously insufficient.

Major General Yumasa Takasaki has been fighting for many years, and he still has some ideas, and under the inquiry of Itada Jiro, he said to Itada Jiro: "Your Excellency, Commander, in my opinion, the top priority now is to organize more guard forces. I wonder if Your Excellency the Commander can organize the surplus baggage troops and integrate them into the combat units. Although these baggage soldiers are not strong in combat, they are also imperial soldiers, soldiers who have received military training, and they can still be used when they are incorporated into combat units. ”

Major General Takasaki Yumasa's words made Itada Jiro's eyes light up, it is true that these baggage troops are much worse for attack, and they can be used for defense It is different, and the morale of the more people they have, will be higher. Thinking of this, Itada Jiro nodded and said, "Yo Sai, Takasaki-kun's proposal is very good! I immediately ordered the reorganization of the baggage troops. However, now there are only two lines of defense left in the north of Qinzhou City, Shiniuling and Maogongling, and if the troops are insufficient, I am afraid that they will be lost soon. If these two lines of defense are lost, the Chinese army can directly attack Qinzhou City. That's what worries me the most!"

Major General Yumasa Takasaki also understood this, and at this time he had to take the initiative to say: "Your Excellency Commander, I am willing to lead the 17th Brigade to garrison these two positions, and as long as the 17th Brigade is still there, I will never let the Shina army cross these two lines of defense!" Major General Itada Jiro was overjoyed when he heard this: "Great, with Takasaki-kun and the 17th Brigade stationed in these two lines of defense, I have nothing to worry about, and I will send someone to send the weapons, ammunition and military supplies that the 17th Brigade needs to be supplied immediately." ”

With Major General Yumasa Takasaki taking the initiative to ask for battle, Major General Jiro Itada was in a much better mood, and his task now was to immediately organize troops and fill the positions vacated by the 17th Brigade after it left. Early the next morning, Major General Yumasa Takasaki led the 17th Brigade, which consisted of only more than 3,000 men, to rush to the two lines of defense. The Shiniuling defensive line, which was farther away from the city, was only 14 kilometers away from the city, and it was originally garrisoned by two Japanese squadrons.

The Maogongling position was only eight kilometers away from Qinzhou City, and was garrisoned by an infantry brigade of the Japanese army. Major General Yumasa Takasaki led his troops directly to the Shiniuling defense line. The Shiniuling defense line is similar to the Shamaoling defense line, both are located on the mountain next to the road, but the height of Shiniuling is only about 400 meters, and there are not many plants on the mountain, which is a stone mountain.

The Japanese army spent a lot of time building positions at the foot of the mountain and on the mountain. The position at the foot of the hill had not only a trench, but also a stone wall of one and a half meters high, made of stones, which was very strong, reaching thirty centimeters thick, and had numerous shooting holes in the wall. Behind the stone walls there were several artillery positions fenced with sandbags, with four Type 92 infantry guns and twelve mortars.

The position was very strong, but originally there was only one squadron of more than 100 Japanese troops defending here, and the strength was very thin. When the 17th Brigade arrived, Major General Yumasa Takasaki admired the position, and not only threw in the strength of an infantry brigade, but also placed a heavy machine-gun squadron in the brigade. However, all the artillery was carried up the mountain, and he knew that these small cannons could not compete with the powerful artillery of the Chinese army.

In order to prevent the fierce artillery bombardment of the Chinese army, Major General Yumasa Takasaki again asked the troops to strengthen the fortifications and dug two very wide anti-tank trenches a few hundred meters in front of the position. In addition to the position at the foot of the mountain, this defense line also built a circular fortification halfway up the mountain, and this fortification was basically built after using the original terrain and then repairing.

Here Major General Yumasa Takasaki put the strength of a squadron. At the end of the hill there is a large natural stone cave, which became the headquarters of the 17th Brigade. Major General Yumasa Takasaki put the strength of the last three squadrons, as well as one of his own escort squadrons, here. On a platform outside the cave, all the artillery was erected.