Suddenly encountered, the brigade commander and Wang Ye were anxious and angry.

But Ishiguro Sadazo on the opposite side was very happy, glad that he still listened to the persuasion of Isamu Tone and kept a hand, if he hadn't left the 36th Infantry Wing at the commanding heights on both sides in advance, their 28th Division would have really been finished tonight, and it was not until this moment that Ishiguro Sadazo really recognized the combat effectiveness of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army.

It must be admitted that the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army can really eat their 28th Division.

Thinking of this, Ishiguro Sadazo's attitude towards Isamu Tone was much kinder.

"Tonegawa-kun, this time it's really thanks to you." Ishiguro Sadazo patted Tonegawa Isamu on the shoulder, and said, "If it weren't for your advice this time, our 28th Division would really be finished." ”

Tonegawa said worriedly: "Division commander, the situation of our 28th Division is probably still not optimistic. ”

"I know that." Ishiguro said with a dark face, "In the fierce battle just now, the 3rd Infantry Wing and the 30th Infantry Wing were almost killed and wounded, and what is even worse is that we have lost control of the battlefield, so the wounded left on the battlefield can basically be judged dead." ”

"In other words, our 28th Division has less than 6,000 people left."

"And most of them are engineers, baggage soldiers, artillery, medical soldiers and other technical arms, and there are less than three brigades of real combat infantry left!"

Speaking of this, Ishiguro Sadazo said: "But the good news is that because we have seized the two commanding heights on both sides of the pig killing mouth in advance, relying on these two commanding heights, it will become a highland attack for the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, and the difficulty will be greatly increased, not to mention, after dawn, His Excellency the General will definitely send the 3rd Flying Division to help in the battle, so there should be no problem in holding on until this evening, and by that time, reinforcements should arrive." ”

"I hope so." Isamu Tonegawa is clearly not so optimistic.

"Tonegawa-kun, we can." Ishiguro Sadazo Road.

Isamu Tonegawa looked at the top of the mountain, his eyes gloomy.

……

Beiping, No. 11 Iron Lion Hutong.

Okamura Ninji paced back and forth in the battle hall with his hands behind his back and an anxious expression.

The chief of staff of the North China Front Army, Miji Oshido, the deputy chief of staff, and several section chiefs and more than a dozen staff officers were also silent, and none of them dared to make a sound easily.

Everyone was waiting for the second telegram from the 28th Division.

After the first telegram informed about the losses suffered by the shelling, there was no more news.

Therefore, Okamura Ninji was really worried that the 28th Division had been annihilated by the 386th Brigade.

Sano Nakazawa, Ishiguro Sadazo and others, who have been serving in the Kwantung Army and have not been to the battlefield in North China, may have contempt for the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, and even Sanji Oshido will have contempt, but Okamura Ninji and Yusue Seizo will never have the slightest contempt for the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army.

If last year's 386th Brigade was just a wolf, ferocious and cunning, it would pounce on you and bite you and tear off a piece of meat from you, but it wouldn't kill you!

But this year, the 386th Brigade has grown into a tiger.

This tiger's appetite has grown several times greater, and it is no longer satisfied with tearing a piece of meat from you, but wants to bite you to death and eat it, and it really has this strength!

Therefore, the 28th Division is really likely to be annihilated.

Now it depends on whether the 28th Division can seize the commanding heights on both sides of the pig killing mouth in time.

As long as the 28th Division can seize the commanding heights on both sides of the pig killing mouth in time, then relying on these two commanding heights, it can still break hands with the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, and there is still a chance to wait for reinforcements to arrive.

Time passes slowly in a suffocating wait, and the unsettling atmosphere gradually thickens.

Because the longer it drags on, the worse it becomes, and the 28th Division's chances are gradually being lost.

Seizo Arisue clearly saw that the expression on Okamura Ninji's face had dimmed, because the time window for the 28th Division to seize the commanding heights on both sides of the pig killing mouth was about to close.

If you haven't seized the high ground at four o'clock in the morning, you basically won't have a chance.

And now the time is already 3:50 a.m. on June 28, and it will be 4 o'clock sharp, and the time window of the 28th Division will soon close.

However, at this moment, a communications staff officer walked quickly into the combat hall.

"Brush!" Including Okamura Ninji, everyone's targets looked at the communications staff officer in unison.

The communication staff officer's expression remained unchanged, and he strode up to Okamura Ninji and paused: "Your Excellency, the 28th Division is in an emergency, and in the previous more than three hours of fighting, the 28th Division suffered huge casualties. ”

"The 3rd Infantry Wing and the 30th Infantry Wing were almost completely killed."

"The 28th Search Wing and the Independent Tank Brigade were also lost."

"And the 28th Wing of Field Artillery has also lost all its artillery."

"Now there are less than 6,000 people left in the whole division, less than 30 Type 92 heavy machine guns, and only more than 100 Type 96 and Taisho 11 light machine guns."

Hearing this, a low inhalation suddenly sounded in the battle hall.

Okamura Ningji also looked solemn, he really didn't expect that in less than three hours, the 28th Division was actually ravaged by the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army!

You know, this is the 28th Division!

It is known as the 18th permanent division!

On paper, the strength is second only to the seventeen permanent divisions!

However, what Okamura Ninji was most concerned about was whether the 28th Division had seized the commanding heights on both sides.

At that moment, Okamura Ninji asked eagerly: "Kono-kun, just say how the 28th Division is now?" Did you grab the commanding heights on both sides of the pig killing mouth? ”

"Hello." The communications staff officer paused.

"Since the 28th Division left the commanding heights of the 36th Infantry Wing on both sides of the pig killing mouth in advance, they have now successfully built fortifications on the commanding heights on both sides."

"Good!" Okamura shook his fist vigorously, as if he had won a battle.

There are Sue Seizan and a few young staff officers cheering even more, only Oshido Sanji is inexplicable, the 28th Division was obviously beaten into a dog, what is there to be happy about, is there something wrong?

"Let's go down." Seizo motioned to the communications staff officer to go down.

He said to Okamura Ningji again: "Your Excellency, this is really surprising, I originally thought that I had overestimated the combat effectiveness of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, but I didn't expect to underestimate them. ”

"yes." Okamura Ninji said awe-inspiringly, "The performance of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army is simply chilling. ”

After a pause, Okamura Ninji continued: "Even if the 1st Division is sent, I'm afraid it will be impossible to defeat the 28th Division in just three hours." ”

Yousue Jingsan analyzed: "There are three main reasons why the 28th Division was defeated so quickly this time, one is that it has been fighting hard for three days before, not to mention the serious attrition, and the soldiers are already very tired; The second is that neither we nor Ishiguro-kun thought that the 386th Brigade would suddenly appear outside the pig-killing mouth, so that they were caught off guard by the 386th Brigade; Third, the artillery group of the 386th Brigade carried out precise artillery bombardment under the guidance of special forces, and the first round of firepower coverage destroyed the artillery positions of the 28th Division and a large number of fortifications, and the subsequent battles were difficult to fight. ”

"You, you have a very reasonable analysis." Okamura Ninji nodded happily and said, "In this battle, the artillery group of the 386th Brigade is the key, Napoleon once said a classic saying, I like it very much, he said that artillery is the god of war, and the goddess of victory will always stand on the side with more artillery!" ”

Yusue Seizan thought and said: "Artillery is the god of war? That's a wise saying! ”

"So if you want to defeat the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, you must first destroy their artillery group!" After saying this, Okamura Ninji turned his head to Nakamura Moritaka and said, "Nakamura-kun." ”

Nakamura Moritaka paused: "Your Excellency, General." ”

Okamura Ningji said: "After dawn, we must send more reconnaissance planes from the 3rd Flying Division, we must find this artillery group of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, and then dispatch all the attack planes and fighters to destroy it, and we must not let this artillery group see the sun tomorrow!" ”

Speaking of this, Okamura Ninji nodded to Nakamura Moritaka again: "Nakamura-kun, please!" ”

"Hello!" Nakamura Moritaka also paused and responded, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency, just wait for dawn, our 3rd Flying Division will definitely find the artillery group of the 386th Brigade and destroy it!" ”

……

Kill the pig's mouth, the forward observation post of the northwest column of Jin.

As the battlefield moved forward, the forward observation post could no longer see the battlefield and had lost its observation role, so the brigade commander simply regarded this place as a command headquarters.

In the sound of footsteps, Cao Sanlian hurriedly walked in. ”

"Brigadier Commander." As soon as Cao Sanlian walked in, he asked, "Is the artillery position about to move forward?" ”

The brigade commander snorted and said, "The artillery position must be moved forward, otherwise you won't be able to fight the devils, but now what you have to do is to find a place to hide." ”

"Oh yes." Cao Sanlian suddenly said, "It's about to dawn." ”

The brigade commander said: "You must camouflage it well, and don't let the devil reconnaissance plane find out." ”

"Brigadier Commander, don't worry." Cao Sanlian patted his chest and said, "Although there are bare mountains and ravines around here, it is no problem to find a few places to conceal the cannons." ”

"Even if you can't find a place to hide, it doesn't matter."

"Because we also have a cannon jacket for each cannon."

After a pause, Cao Sanlian said again: "When the time comes, take a cover of the gun jacket and sprinkle some loess on the gun jacket, even if the devil reconnaissance plane passes over it, it will not be able to find it." ”

"Go ahead." The brigade commander waved.

After sending Cao Sanlian away, the brigade commander said to Wei Dayong again: "Monk, come here." ”

Wei Dayong hurried to the brigade commander and his eyes fell on the map spread out on the ground.

The brigade commander pointed to the map and said: "Monk, come and see, these are the two hills on both sides of the pig killing mouth, and they are also the commanding heights within a radius of several kilometers, and the 28th Division has seized these two commanding heights, so it has a condescending terrain advantage. ”

Wei Dayong's face once again had a look of guilt.

"Monk, don't feel guilty." The brigade commander hurriedly said, "Actually, Xiao Wang really blamed you just now, even if Duan Peng didn't neglect his duties at that time, reported the situation to you in time, and then you reported it to us, it was useless, because the devil had already sent heavy troops to occupy the commanding heights on both sides, no matter how we fought, it was impossible to prevent the 28th Division from retreating to these two commanding heights, so this has nothing to do with you." ”

What the brigade commander said was also true.

At that time, even if Duan Peng reported it in time, it couldn't change anything.

Because the Northwest Column of Jin could only choose one target to attack.

After choosing the main force of the 28th Division, it is bound to fail to take into account the Japanese troops at the two commanding heights.

If you choose two Japanese troops on the commanding heights, it will be like picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons.

If the 28th Division loses the first-mover advantage of the surprise attack and allows the 28th Division to give full play to the advantages of artillery firepower and armored troops, then even if the Northwest Column of Shanxi Province can win the victory, it will inevitably pay a very heavy price.

But Wei Dayong didn't think so.

Wei Dayong shook his head and said, "If I can report this situation in time, Commander, you will at least have a chance to cancel this battle and not take this risk." ”

"Cancellation? It is not possible to cancel. The brigade commander said, "We have made so many preparations, and even paid a huge price, to win such an opportunity to annihilate the 28th Division, how can it be easily canceled?" Even if you have to take a certain risk, the battle of killing the pig's mouth must be fought. ”

Hearing this, Wei Dayong felt a little better.

The brigade commander said again: "But you made a mistake this time, this is a fact. ”

"Yes, I recognize it." Wei Dayong said with a tiger face, "I must try to make up for it." ”

"You have a chance to make amends now." The brigade commander pointed to the map and said, "The 28th Division occupies the commanding heights on the left and right sides of the pig killing mouth, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. ”

"Both an advantage and a disadvantage?" Wei Dayong said, "Commander, I don't understand this. ”

The brigade commander said: "There is a way that the rafters rot first, and the 28th Division occupies the commanding heights and occupies a condescending advantage, but it also completely exposes its position to the muzzle of our artillery!" ”

After a pause, he said: "So the task of your reconnaissance team is to find at least sixteen artillery positions for the artillery regiment during the day today, and these sixteen artillery positions must be distributed around the two commanding heights, and we must ensure that every Japanese position on the commanding heights is under the artillery fire of the artillery regiment!" ”

After another pause, the brigade commander finally emphasized: "Whether it is a frontal or anti-slope of the high ground, each defensive position of the 28th Division must have one or more artillery positions that can be hit!" ”

"Yes!" Wei Dayong responded, "Guarantee to complete the task." ”

……

On the commanding heights on the left side of the pig killing mouth.

Ishiguro Sadazo has already walked around with Isamu Tonegawa.

But after walking a circle, Ishiguro Sadazo couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

"Tonegawa-kun, these two mountains are really tricky." "The height is enough, and the slope of the mountain is enough to affect the movement of the Eighth Route Army, but it lacks protection." ”

"yes." Tonegawa said, "And there is no vegetation on the mountain. ”

To put it bluntly, these are two bare loess mountains, which look like two big steamed buns that are buckled upside down in the mouth of the pig, although there are wrinkles (ravines) on the surface, but there are no starry moon-like hills around.

The absence of hills around the main peak means that it is difficult to find the anticline.

The absence of an anticline meant that all fortifications would be covered by direct fire from the Eighth Route Army.

Fortunately, the soil on the mountain is still soft and easy to excavate, and in just one day, it should be possible to dig a circular trench around the main peak, with which the next battle will be much easier.

Moreover, the 36th Infantry Wing has also built a number of fortifications on the two main peaks.

Although these fortifications did not form a system, they were more than enough to deal with the war at hand.

In any case, it was impossible for the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army to transfer their artillery group so quickly.

At that moment, Ishiguro Sadazo instructed Tonegawa Yudao: "Tonegawa-kun, send a telegram to the other side, and ask them to hurry up and dig a trench around the main peak, and if possible, dig two or even three, in short, the more the better!" Hold on no matter what, until reinforcements arrive! ”

As soon as the words fell, fierce gunfire suddenly rang out at the foot of the mountain.

Immediately, the streamers of bullets roared towards the top of the mountain.

Without looking down, Ishiguro knew that the Eighth Route Army had attacked again.

These damn Eighth Route Army are really endless, don't let them have a moment of respite.

"Division Commander, let's go inside and hide." Isamu Tonegawa hurriedly motioned for Ishiguro to hide in the ravine next to him.

Although hiding in a ravine is not absolutely safe, because the firepower of the Eighth Route Army at this angle can still shoot bullets into the ravine, but at least the probability of being shot will be much lower.

Ishiguro Sadazo didn't do it, and he got into the ditch in a bit of embarrassment.

Isamu Tonegawa, with a few staff officers and guards accompanying him, built a simple fortification as quickly as possible, which was actually a trench half a meter deep that was only used for squatting.

Although it is only more than half a meter deep, it is enough to hide.

This wave of attack by the Eighth Route Army lasted about half an hour.

The end result was the same as the previous two.

With the advantage of the terrain, the 28th Division held its position.

As soon as the gunfire stopped, Isamu Tone hurriedly escorted Ishiguro down to the halfway point of Tsuchiyama.

Because the fortifications built by the 36th Infantry Wing were located halfway up the mountainside, Ishiguro Sadazo also set up the temporary headquarters of the 28th Division on the mountainside.

The Engineer Wing has widened the former "Wing Headquarters" and covered it with canvas.

The telecommunications section has also set up a radio station, and the telecommunications corps is sitting in front of the radio station wearing headphones, transcribing the dots and marks they have heard, filling a piece of paper and handing it to the section chief.

After a while, the head of the communications section walked towards Ishiguro Sadazo with a translated telegram.

"Division Commander." The head of the communications section paused, "The front army headquarters has called and ordered all the reconnaissance planes of the 3rd Flying Division to take off urgently and are coming in the direction of killing pigs. ”

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