In the early morning of May 8, 1941, the Japanese army campaign command post.

Looking at the casualty and loss reports sent back from the front, Okamura Ninji's heart was gradually filled with anger. There seemed to be a line written on his face, that is, he came and returned with a happy life.

Thirteen hours have passed since the battle officially began.

Accidents occurred in all four of the originally planned offensive routes, but none of them were opened, and their heavy weapons and army aviation suffered heavy losses.

Gangmura Ninji prides himself on being an iron-blooded soldier, and he can not care about the lives of grassroots soldiers and officers, after all, every once in a while, the local army will be replenished as needed.

But with the loss of such a large number of armored troops and aircraft, Rao is the commander of the North China Front is also a little unbearable.

Moreover, everyone in the command post knew one thing, if the progress of the offensive dragged on like this, then the cost of the six divisions would be more and more.

All this was because Okamura Ninji miscalculated the relationship between the Eighth Route Army and the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain, which directly led to the strategic defeat of the North China Front.

The old devil never thought that there were really people in the world who repaid grievances with virtue.

Tactical failures can be compensated for by one's own hard power, but strategic failures are often difficult to remedy.

Now the six divisions are upright, and they can't push the two group armies, which makes it difficult for Okamura Ningji, who has always regarded himself as a high student, to accept.

If Amaterasu could give him a chance to do it all over again, the old devil would definitely choose to use six divisions to launch an unprecedented sweep in Jin Province.

At this point, I can only think of a way to break the situation.

"Tanabe-kun, how is the attack of the 41st Division? Now we must take Yuanqu County at all costs, and only by successfully dividing the two group armies of Zhongtiao Mountain can we carry out the division and encirclement. ”

"If you can't do this, don't mention the gradual annihilation."

Tanabe Moritake looked at the information in his hand, and then showed a very embarrassed expression.

As the previous division commander of the 41st Division, he clearly knew how much the troops had in their families.

"Your Excellency Commander, if the air force of the Eighth Route Army does not continue to sort, with the existing heavy firepower on the northern front of Zhongtiao Mountain, it will take at least three days to break through the enemy's defenses."

"Having lost artillery coverage, most of the armored forces and army aviation, the soft attack and breakthrough of the 41st Division has been reduced to the lowest point."

"No matter how fierce the warriors of the younger country are, they are brave and good at fighting, they still need to tear their mouths with human lives."

Although Okamura Ninji had already guessed the answer to the question, it was a different feeling to hear his own chief of staff say it himself. He rubbed his brows and said very tiredly:

"How many fighters and bombers do we still have in Taiyuan? When support will be in place. ”

Moritake Tanabe was silent for a few seconds, and he silently calculated in his heart.

"There are still 21 Type 97 fighters that can be used on the whole line, and there are still 67 bombers of various types that can be dispatched."

"It will take half a day for the army aviation to arrive at the battlefield from Central China, and it is expected that there will be a flying regiment. Contains two flying warring fighters and one flying squad light explosive. ”

"The army stationed in Mongolia will also send a batch of air defense weapons, depending on the transportation situation by railway."

After listening to the report, Okamura nodded helplessly. Losing so much equipment is worse than killing him. After thinking for a moment, he came to the strategic situation map.

"We can't put it off any longer, we'll act as soon as dawn. Today, we must take the county seat of Yuanqu, and then the main force of the Eighth Route Army will come to support. ”

"Once we are attacked on our backs, the consequences will be unimaginable. Prepare to use our secret weapon, the younger country never raises idlers, it's time for them to be loyal to His Majesty the Locust. ”

"Hey!"

Although he verbally agreed to his own commander, Tanabe Moritake obviously had some scruples. When there was no one around, he turned sideways and whispered:

"You should know that it was an experimental unit, and I was always skeptical about how they performed on the battlefield."

"I'm sure you've heard some of the negative comments about the Air Force."

After hearing this, Okamura Ninji's face darkened.

It's really not because the chief of staff questioned his orders, but mainly because the paratrooper unit under his command is really not something to compete for.

When it was first formed, the top of the army was put together by the north and the ugly country, and all kinds of jokes emerged one after another.

Although all the soldiers and junior officers were drawn from the elite of the North China Front, Dazuo, who was in charge of training, often boasted about the so-called new tactics.

But almost no one in the entire dispatch army is optimistic about them, saying that they have a bad reputation, and it is not too much to be disliked by people.

"Tanabe-kun, we have no choice now. If we can't take Yuanqu County, even if we win the battle, we will have to pay a huge price, and neither of you and I can afford this responsibility. ”

"Mobilize all the fighters and send transport planes and paratroopers to the rear of the enemy. As long as half of the soldiers can reach the designated location, the chances of breaking the game will be doubled. ”

Seeing that the commander had already made the final decision, Tanabe Moritake had no choice but to carry out the order. But considering his future career, he still kindly reminded:

"Your Excellency, Commander, it is said that those guys are bound to lose their personnel every time they train."

"The advisors who came to the aid gave very low a rating, saying that their skydives were mechanical and stiff. And the thinking is very solidified, and the hardened infantry thinking in the bones can't be changed. ”

"He also said that the samurai were very good as infantrymen, and that they were by no means qualified as paratroopers, and that we should be pessimistic about whether they could achieve results on the battlefield."

Okamura Ninji's old face is getting worse and worse, why don't he know these things.

As an army general, he studied the paratroopers, a new branch of the military. The problem of their own troops is not only training, but also weapons.

The paratroopers of the military powers of Europe, armed with a large number of submachine guns.

However, the Japanese army's submachine guns only began to be equipped in February this year, and they don't know when it will be their turn to be the North China Front.

The paratroopers armed with Type 38 rifles, Taisho Type 11 light machine guns, and Type 89 grenadiers are simply not good enough in terms of firepower, and they can play a very limited role in the battlefield behind enemy lines.

"Tanabe-kun, carry out the order! I've made a different move! ”

"The 43rd Division in the defenders of the northern line of Zhongtiao Mountain has a very low will to fight, and I am ready to concentrate my forces to break through forcibly."

"As for how useful the secret weapon can be, you and I don't have to think about this kind of thing, if it doesn't work, we should send an infantry brigade to the north bank of the Yellow River.

"Hey!"

······

Taiyuan Airport, the base of the air support force of the North China Front.

Koseki Takahei finally waited for the order from the front, and he rushed out of the lounge with his katana in his extreme excitement, shouting at the soldiers who were training to fight the stab:

"In Nakajo Mountain! His Excellency Ninji Okamura has arranged a full six divisions! But their offensive situation is not ideal! For a whole day, the front actually advanced only a third of the plan. ”

"Now! We are the saviors of the entire North China Dispatch Army! Next! The battlefield will be taken over by our air support forces! ”

"Gentlemen! Let's do it! In five minutes, everyone should be ready to go! ”

Although this devil Dazuo's eloquence is good, the pre-war mobilization was well done. But one by one, the soldiers were like walking corpses, and they only responded to the call of their own commanders mechanically.

Who made this unit not only train weekdays, but also have a surprisingly high mortality rate, and there is no morale at all.

Fortunately, Okamura Ninji did not make it difficult for them, and the difficulty of the orders given was not very high.

The Air Force was only required to disrupt the communication system between the defenders of the Nakajo Mountain Defense Line based on the information available in their possession.

If there is still room for strength, try to encircle the enemy's division-level command post as much as possible.

Five minutes later, all the soldiers were assembled.

In order to successfully complete the task and live up to Okamura Ninji's trust in him, Koseki Takahei can be regarded as having made a bloody investment.

This devil Dazuo decided to throw all the paratroopers under his command into the battlefield at once. In a sense, the quality is not enough to make up the quantity.

As we know from our own family, the entire air support team has not been established for a long time, and the members have only conducted two high-altitude parachute trainings. On top of that, this emerging unit does not yet have any real combat experience.

Nakajo Mountain, which was about to reach a stalemate, was their first battle, and he, the commander, was a little unsure.

Looking at the samurai who were ready to go, Koseki Takahei threw away the distractions in his mind.

He waved to the side and motioned to the ground staff at Taiyuan Airport to bring out what he ordered.

At the same time, the devil took out a white turban with a saluted flag from his pocket. Then he took out oil paint and painted his face with the color of a samurai from the Warring States period.

After all the preparations were completed, Koseki Takahei took the small wine bowl sent by the ground staff.

"Samurai! The time has come to be loyal to His Majesty the Locust! I hope you can put aside the fear in your hearts, and join me in taking up the weapons in your hands and taking out the enemies who stand in our way! ”

"Let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a sip of the wine in the bowl.

Due to the suddenness of the incident, there was no sake prepared at Taiyuan Airport, so the ground staff could only find Fenjiu to make up the numbers.

Accustomed to low-degree sake, the first time he drank white wine, Koseki Takahei choked enough, and his face quickly turned red.

The soldiers of the Air Stand Brigade also followed suit, basically following in the footsteps of their own commanders, and their faces turned unhealthy.

Under the leadership of Takahei Koseki, everyone "orderly" landed the transport plane and the partially modified Jiuqi heavy explosion.

If nothing else, the unexpected is about to happen.

Because of the fighters of the Eighth Route Army, a large number of army bombers were killed, and the pilots were also sent to meet the locusts.

In addition, the number of transport planes at Taiyuan Airport was far from enough, so they could only temporarily transfer the 97 heavy explosion emergency of the Army Airlines.

The problem is that the pilots of different types of aircraft are separated by mountains, and even Erich Hartmann had an accident when he changed planes for the first time.

Pilots who had never been in contact with twin-engine heavy bombers drained their energy just by letting the ninety-seven heavy bomb take off smoothly.

As soon as the huge formation left the airspace of Taiyuan, it collided at an altitude of 3,000 meters.

A 97 heavy explosion staggered out of its own course, and under the circumstances that no one expected, it collided with a transport plane solidly.

The accident also forced an escort Type 97 fighter to turn back, and the short-lived paratroopers had achieved the achievement of loyalty to the locusts before they could participate in a single actual battle.

Looking at the wreckage that fell into the sky, Koseki Takahei swallowed his saliva, his hands clenching the katana trembled a little.

"Yaga, I almost crashed into it! How did these pigs fly planes, they didn't even have the interference of anti-aircraft guns, and they could actually collide together. ”

"Don't be nervous, everyone! It's just a little accident! ”

In the prayers of the devils begging their grandfather to tell their grandmother, the pilot finally drove the fighter plane to the airspace of Nakajo Mountain.

Probably because the pilots of the bombers were so nervous, they actually opened the hatch without saying a word and threw all the weapons boxes placed in the bomb compartment to the positions of the preserved fruit defenders in one go.

It was not easy to reach the designated area, but the pilot's 97 Heavy Explosion misjudged the airborne landing site due to flight illusions, and actually threw the entire air support team into the mountain col.

Hundreds of devils could not even open their parachutes in time, and they fell into the mountains like dumplings. The sound of wailing resounded throughout the sky, and many soldiers were still wrapped in parachutes before they died.

After landing safely, Xiao Guan Longping's face was as ugly as pig liver.

Although the entire air force had not yet had time to assemble, he conservatively estimated that the non-combat attrition was at least two-fifths, and it was his luck to be able to make up 500 men in the end.

In fact, when the first soldiers were airborne, he had a bad premonition.

It's just that the machinery didn't fail, and the hatches were open, so there was no reason not to jump at the door.

However, the difficulty of actual combat is not one or two points worse than that of ordinary training.

After Xiaoguan Longping got out of the cabin, he understood one thing, how much survival rate he had when he landed almost depended on the creation of the soldiers.

In order to ensure that there was a certain combat effectiveness after landing, he personally ordered some veterans to jump with rifles on their backs.

However, according to his observations, many soldiers had their parachute lines entangled in their rifles, and when they jumped, they fell into broken flesh. Even if you are lucky enough not to get entangled, the rifle can hit the ground and stab yourself.

Even the family heirloom katana he carried with him almost made a mistake and almost killed himself.

After all the soldiers assembled according to the position provided by the signal flare, the old devil almost suffered a cerebral congestion. There were more than 800 samurai at the time of departure, but now there are less than 500 left.

And the weapon box has also lost a lot, either falling into the mountains or not being found.

In the event of a battle, their air support team could only survive on the Southern Fourteen in their hands. Nearly two squadrons, there were only one hundred and twenty rifles, five light machine guns and five grenadiers.

"Yaga! Damn Army pilots! Wait for me to return to Taiyuan! I must crush you to ashes! ”

"What a daze! Hurry up and confirm our current location! What's wrong with the lack of weapons? I'll take you to grab the preserved fruit troops! ”

······

Even though the parachute operation of the North China Front was full of jokes, these air support teams that fell from the sky still took the 43rd Army near Yuanqu County into a big shock.

The combat effectiveness and fighting will of this army were not strong, and if it were not for the air force of the Eighth Route Army and the 17th Army on the west flank, they would probably have been scattered by the enemy in the first wave of attacks.

As a non-preserved army, most of the soldiers of the 43rd Army came from the bottom of society.

Fortunately, the foundation was laid down by Yan Laoxi, and there were relatively fewer things to catch strong men.

However, it is still a fact that the average level of education of the troops is low, and the soldiers have been exposed to folk tales since childhood, so it is easy to be misled by things that they have not seen.

After a bunch of strange things descended from the sky that day, the soldiers at the bottom soon panicked, and even their morale dropped a lot for a while.

Fortunately, the northern defense line of Zhongtiao Mountain was the junction of the Fifth Army and the Fourteenth Army.

After patient communication between the two army commanders, they decided that the 43rd Army would send a regiment of troops to the rear to see what was happening.

As the saying goes, there is no army without Sichuan.

The commander of this unit transferred to the rear was a Sichuanese.

Since Wang Dahai left Sichuan in 1937, he has been traveling to various war zones. Participated in almost all the battles, large and small, which is why he can be the commander of the regiment.

The 21st Regiment itself was a supplementary regiment, and ninety percent of the regiment were recruits.

After half a day of fighting, only 800 fighters remained in their regiment. This is still the credit of the regimental commander, without his teaching, the number of casualties would have at least doubled.

However, the ammunition in their hands is not rich, and basically an encounter is the limit.

On the way to the destination, Wang Dahai kept whispering to comfort the soldiers around him.

"I don't know which treasure it is, but I shouted that the little devil would ask God. It's such a big fart, and it almost blew up the camp? ”

"Gua babies, don't look at where this is! This is China, they can ask for a hammer! Even if they were invited, they would definitely help us. ”

"I've been blogging up all day, where am I! Don't be afraid! Squatting on that card head every day, how like a soldier! ”

In the entire 43rd Army, not a single person has heard of the new thing of paratroopers.

At that time, many recruits in the army, when they saw Bai Huahua's parachute, thought that the devils had used something evil and crooked. Inexplicably, an atmosphere of fear spread on the battlefield.

As a veteran, Wang Dahai is naturally impossible to be afraid of these ethereal things.

In order to stabilize the fighters in the regiment, he could only conduct reconnaissance while enlightening the soldiers. Although the wording is a little bold, it is vaguely like an instructor.

After hearing the words of the regiment commander, the expressions of the soldiers were noticeably better. There was even a young man who took the initiative to speak up and say what he had seen and heard.

"The head of the regiment is right! I hear the sound of airplanes! Those devils must have been transported by plane, what is there to be afraid of? ”

As soon as he finished speaking, an Arisan rifle bullet hit him in the shoulder at a strange angle.

The little warrior fell to the ground, but he gritted his teeth and tried not to make a sound! At this time, if you shout, it is to tell the enemy devil that there is someone here.

"Everybody's lying down! There are enemies ahead! Disperse! Watch out for enemy grenadiers! Medic! Carry the wounded to the back! ”

Just when Wang Dahai issued the order, a sharp-eyed soldier in the regiment saw the devil at the front. They used trees and rocks as shelter and kept approaching them.

At the same time, the sound of grenadiers echoed in the mountains and forests, and the reconnaissance unit had already seen the wounded.

"Give me the light machine gun! Give me another helmet! First battalion commander, take your men to the northern hillside, let the devil get close to us and we will all die! ”

"Find a way to knock out the grenadiers! Can't be held down by them! There are so many of us! Don't be afraid, dolls! ”

Listening to Wang Dahai's voice, the warriors seemed to have found the backbone. They began to pick up their weapons and began to fight back with the few bunkers they had.

But compared to these well-trained Japanese troops, a crippled supplementary regiment is still not enough.

As the five grenadiers cleared, the Devil Heavy lay on the ground with crooked handles and began to return fire. Every accurate short shot can cause casualties to the preserved fruit troops.

Even Koseki Ryuhei took the Southern Fourteen style and kept shooting behind a tree to cheer.

The two sides had only been fighting for five minutes, and the twenty-first regiment had already fallen to a small hundred people, and the situation was becoming more and more unfavorable for them.

"The barrel is too hot! Watering! Prepare me a few more magazines, this light machine gun can't stop! As soon as it stopped, the devil came up! ”

It stands to reason that the Czech light machine gun can be replaced.

But at this time, the battle was fierce, and the distance between the enemy and us was only 400 meters. And this distance is closing every second, and there is no time to change the barrel at all.

What's more, the two machine guns of the 21st Regiment were given by their superiors before departure, so how can there be such a thing as a spare barrel.

Just as the water was poured on the barrel of the gun, a grenade from a grenade hit Wang Dahai's vicinity. The conscientious regimental commander was transferred several times with a machine gun, but the enemy seized the opportunity.

Fortunately, his injuries were not fatal, but he would not be able to participate in the battle for a while.

At the same time, dozens of devils holding bayonets with 38 big covers quietly touched the side of the 21st regiment. At the moment when the light machine guns were turned off, they launched a charge.

"It's dark! Onboard! ”

The drugged devils worked in pairs and kept charging forward with everything that could be used as cover. This kind of devil elite with a murderous aura made the recruits panic for a while.

At the critical moment, the sound of Czech light machine guns once again echoed in the mountains and forests. The commander of the second battalion took Wang Dahai's position and began to shoot at the ghosts who rushed over with a machine gun.

"Don't be stunned, get ready to change the magazine."

"What's the panic, we veterans aren't dead yet."

"Everyone prepare grenades! Listen to me! I say throw it whenever you want! ”

When the devils were about to rush into this position that was not considered a position, more than thirty grenades with wooden handles were thrown into their path, and the crisis of white-knuckle combat was temporarily lifted.

The soldier next to the commander of the second battalion, who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, stumbled over and over again, and said in a voice so small that no one else could hear it:

"If there really are immortals, please come and save us!"

The time of the new chapter is very underworldly, but a 6k!

I'm going to get ten thousand days today!

(End of chapter)