On the outskirts of Datong, the 26th Division attacked the position.

Looking at the Japanese soldiers around him who were silent and checking their equipment, the commander of the Fourth Division of the First Army of the puppet Mongolian Army, Gui Ting, silently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Without him, the sense of oppression is too strong.

After all, you can't expect a person who surrenders to be a puppet army to have any backbone.

"Division, it seems that this time the Japanese are determined to kill the Eighth Road, and they actually dispatched two divisions and regimental troops at one time."

"At this level of fighting, we must not rush into it. When the fight breaks out later, let the brothers find a safe corner to hide. “

"When immortals fight, mortals will die."

In order to complete the task assigned by Okamura Ninji, Gansu Shigetaro mobilized a large number of puppet Mongolian troops in this campaign.

In addition to the three local garrison divisions scattered throughout Suiyuan, the puppet army, including an artillery regiment and six cavalry divisions, was fully assembled.

Hearing the words of his deputy division commander, Precious Ting glared at the other party a little angrily.

"Hide? What good things are you thinking? ”

"Look at the Japanese around us, as long as someone dares to run, they will definitely turn into a warlord, and you will die faster than you go to the battlefield."

"Fuck, Jutaro Kanji isn't a thing. After collecting Lao Tzu's horse and taking away the artillery regiment's artillery, do you want me to fight the Eighth Route Army with my fists? ”

As soon as these words came out, all the officers of the 4th Division fell silent.

Their horses were temporarily requisitioned by the Mongolian army as early as a month ago. The reason given by the devils is also very simple, only saying that it is difficult for cavalry to exert mobility during the siege.

The transition from cavalry to infantry angered the incompetence of the precious court, who claimed to be a descendant of Genghis Khan, for several days.

There is no way, who has made him a traitor who betrays his ancestors for glory. It's not a matter of course for your own master to take something away.

As for the mountain and field artillery of the artillery regiment?

It's a meat bun beating a dog, and there is no return.

Previously, the Mongolian army was very wealthy, whether it was the 26th Division, the cavalry group or the independent mixed second brigade, they were all equipped with a sufficient number of body cannons.

According to the urine nature of the devils, they naturally don't look down on the tatters made by the puppet Mongolian army.

However, the current situation is different, the artillery equipment of the 26th Division is not fully equipped, and the higher authorities will not be able to come up with new equipment to replenish it for a while and a half.

In desperation, Otozaburo Yano had no choice but to collect the artillery of the puppet Mongolian army.

It's better than nothing, not to mention that twenty-seven mountains and wild cannons are not a number that can be ignored for the current devils.

Looking at the silent subordinates, Precious Ting hesitated for a moment and then spoke again:

"Brethren, although this battle is very dangerous, if you are not careful, you will lose your life. But since ancient times, high risk will be accompanied by high return, and today may be a good opportunity for us to become bigger and stronger! ”

"What's more, the main force of the battle is the Japanese! We are only responsible for auxiliary! ”

"Don't look at their stumbling when they sweep on weekdays, but as long as they concentrate their forces and launch a general attack, they are definitely a powerful army."

It seems that the above words have played some role, or it may be that the Japanese have been standing in the hearts of the puppet army for a long time, and the two devils have regained the feeling of the fox and fake tiger in the past.

But what they don't know is that the devils intended to use them as cannon fodder from the beginning.

······

The perspective comes to the artillery position.

In order to ensure the safety of artillery and various types of artillery, the 26th Division made great efforts to build positions.

The devils first dug down more than a meter from the ground, and then used the excavated earth to build an arc-shaped protective wall.

To facilitate the transfer, a ramp passage was left directly behind each position for artillery entry and exit.

Considering that the troops had lost air superiority, they also dug a number of rectangular bomb shelters, each of which could accommodate twelve people for concealment.

With the above-mentioned series of operations, the devils thought that it would be difficult for the Eighth Route Army to discover their own artillery positions.

"Attention squadrons! Your Excellency the Lieutenant General has an order! Three minutes later, the general offensive officially began! ”

Hearing this, the 26th Independent Field Artillery Wing and the 27th Independent Mountain Artillery Wing immediately took action.

The artillerymen first removed the camouflage net from the artillery and pointed the muzzles of the guns at the Datong Wuding Gate in the distance. Immediately after that, he began to check the various data and the elements, and strive to gain something in the first round of shelling.

"Put!"

As soon as the three minutes came, the artillery commander vigorously waved down the flag in his hand, and 18 Type 94 mountain guns, 12 Type 38 field guns, and 27 Wanguo guns opened fire first.

With a deafening sound, balls of fire rose in the smoke of gunpowder.

"Boom, boom!"

Looking at the positions that were bombed indiscriminately in the distance, the puppet soldiers showed stunned expressions.

For these uninformed wastes, the full-speed salvo of nearly sixty barrel cannons may be a spectacle that they will never see a second time in their lives.

"It's so powerful, so many cannons are firing together, even if the Eighth Route Army is strong, it has to peel off its skin."

"After the artillery bombarded the infantry charge, the rhythm of the battle completely fell into the hands of the 26th Division."

"It seems that Shiza is right, the Japanese who are serious are too strong! Maybe today is really a good opportunity, maybe our First Army can restore its former glory. ”

The first army of the puppet Mongolian army originally had four main cavalry divisions.

However, due to the death of the army commander Li Shouxin and his attempt to tie up with the bald head behind the back of the Japanese, the first three divisions are now reduced to local guard units waiting for death.

If the Fourth Division had made a contribution in this battle, the Japanese would have given it a reward.

The current situation on the battlefield made the precious court quite reassuring. While observing the battlefield with the binoculars in his hand, he said to his men:

"Where is this, now it's just small-caliber mountain and field artillery, and there are ten 105mm howitzers behind that haven't fired, and then you will know what it means to plow!"

"Give me a spirit point for a while, and rush forward with the Japanese at the beginning of the battle! Forget about playing seven roads and half grinding foreign workers, you must go all out to fight the Eighth Route Army! ”

"If anyone dares to cheat and cheat, don't blame me, who is a big brother, for killing relatives!"

"Yes!"

The brigade and regiment commanders of the Fourth Division expressed their determination one after another, and they all appeared to be full of morale.

While the two devils were talking, the artillery of the 26th Division was still continuing to output, and the main position of Datong seemed to have fallen into a sea of fire.

Divisional and regimental Type 105 howitzers on the rear artillery positions were also put into battle, and more powerful shells from time to time bombarded the fortifications in front.

At this moment, a young man wearing a plaster flag came to the station of the 4th Division. Before the puppet army could say hello, the devil said to himself:

"Baosang, when the first round of attacks is over, your division needs to launch a charge with my brigade."

"Our mission is to destroy the walls of Datong and open an offensive channel for the follow-up troops. I hope that you can summon up the courage to sacrifice your life for His Majesty the Locust. ”

"Special equipment will be delivered to you in a moment. If you have any questions, you can ask my chief of staff. ”

"Hey!"

When his own master spoke, of course the precious court had no right to refuse. And the words of the devil Shaozuo just now made him full of confidence in the next war.

The so-called Imperial Allied Army, including their puppet Mongolian army or puppet Manchurian troops, is no different from cannon fodder to put it bluntly.

Under normal circumstances, when there is a battle, it is necessary to rush to the front to clear the way for the regular army. The Japanese followed them and waited for the first wave of enemy fire to finish before charging.

But today he actually attacked with his master, and this is the first time this kind of thing has happened.

After the devil Shaozuo left, Precious Ting said to the subordinates in front of him with a happy face:

"Look at it! The fact that the Japanese actually invited us to attack together shows that they have the confidence to cut through the positions of the Eighth Route Army in one wave! ”

"What's more, they also have special equipment! This must be compensation, I will say that the locust army will not take our horses and artillery for nothing! ”

"Brothers, you must play well, and you must not lose the reputation of our First Army! When the battle is over, I will personally ask the commander to ask for credit for you! ”

Hearing this, the middle-level commanders instantly climaxed, and one by one they rushed to the position of the main attack.

Suddenly, a devil captain with glasses came to the command post. His eyes were full of fanaticism, and he carried so-called special equipment in his hands.

"Baosang, this is the secret weapon of our Japanese brother. As long as it is subdued, even the most ordinary samurai can perform exceptionally in attack, even fearless of life and death. ”

"This is a gas mask, I'll show you how to wear it later."

"The last one was a dynamite pack, which contained twice as much as it normally would. Whether it can break through the wall of Datong after a while depends on whether it can play a role. ”

"Rest assured, Lieutenant General Yano has prepared a sufficient amount of equipment according to the head. Everyone has it, quality and quantity. ”

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the command room of the Fourth Division instantly dropped to a freezing point.

Even the most stupid people now know what the Japanese are going to do. The combination of lollipop + gas mask + explosive pack, which clearly wants to use all of them as death squads.

If you refuse, you will die on the spot, and if you promise, you may survive, after all, there is a brigade of regular troops acting together.

After a moment, Guiting squeezed out an ugly smile.

"Hey!"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

······

At the same time, Kazuhiko Kumagai, the commander of the 11th Independent Infantry Wing, who was in charge of the first round of the attack, also had a bitter face.

By this time the shelling had ended, and the offensive of their wing had officially begun.

Through the gap between the artillery fire and smoke, he could see that many firepower points suddenly appeared on the main position on the periphery of Datong, which had been plowed several times by mountains, fields, and howitzers.

The enemy's infantry even returned to the trenches first, and those dense muzzle fireworks were devouring the lives of their own samurai.

"Damn, are these Eighth Route Army all rabbits? How can you make holes so well? ”

"In just over a week, they have built a huge group of fortifications, and the first round of shelling just now doesn't seem to have worked."

"Is the rumor true? Is it the Eighth Route Army that can dig through the center of the earth? ”

The scene in front of him made Kazuhiko Kumagai's face more and more solemn.

Judging by the current situation, the fortifications prepared by the enemy can withstand the attack of 75-mm guns. And the 105-mm howitzer is the hole card of the division and regiment, and the position cannot be easily exposed.

In the face of the dense firepower of the Eighth Route Army, both the infantry of the main attack and the Imperial Association Army that followed the samurai to charge together were basically pressed on the way to charge.

The defensive line composed of 60 mortars and 81 mm mortars seemed to be an impenetrable barrier, completely blocking the offensive pace of their wing.

In just half an hour, the 11th Separate Infantry Regiment was forced to withdraw.

Otozaburo Yano is not a madman, so naturally he can't do anything to smash the fortification group with light infantry with insufficient firepower.

In terms of firing range, the grenadiers of their own troops are not even as good as the 50mm mortars of the Eighth Route Army, and the hard thing is to send the soldiers under them to death.

Although continuing to fire artillery is likely to expose the artillery position, and now only the 105 howitzers can deal with the turtle shells of the Eighth Route Army, you can't just attack for one round and give up.

The 105 howitzers opened fire again, naming the bunkers and firepower that the infantry had just discovered.

But Kazuhiko Kumagai was keenly aware that the bunkers that had been opened by howitzers were empty, and it seemed that the Eighth Route Army had predicted what was about to happen in advance.

This feeling of being led by the enemy by the nose made the old devil angry.

A few 105-mm shells, in exchange for an empty civil structure bunker, this deal is a loss.

Just as Kazuhiko Kumagai was about to give the next order, his chief of staff came to the command post with the casualty statistics that had just been released.

"Your Excellency Dazuo, in the attack just now, our wing suffered a total of two hundred and seventy-three casualties. Among them, 152 people were seriously wounded, and they were sent to the divisional field hospital. ”

"The Fifth and Sixth Divisions together suffered three hundred and ninety casualties. Their morale is low, and there is a high probability that there will be deserters if they continue to fight. ”

After seeing the data, Kazuhiko Kumagai directly gasped.

In just half an hour, the troops suffered nearly 700 casualties. According to the current casualty situation, it is very likely that his wing will not be able to hold out for even a day.

"Yaga, how did you fight like a war? What kind of meat grinder is this Datong! ”

"Pass my orders! Ten minutes later, the second round of the offensive begins! If Li Shouxin's troops dare to run, then I will be killed on the spot! ”

After giving the order, Kazuhiko Kumagai took a deep breath and forcibly stabilized the anger in his heart.

The task given to him by the commander of his own division was very simple, that is, to find out the firepower of the Eighth Route Army through the attack. Then let the artillery in the rear destroy it, and so on.

To put it bluntly, the 11th Independent Infantry Wing is also cannon fodder, but it is relatively advanced.

The attack just now did make a difference. But with 273 casualties, almost a tenth of a full infantry wing, the price was too great.

(End of chapter)