Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 889

"Sprinkle it!"

"Warriors of the Empire of Japan, crush the Chinese defenses!"

Just moments after the 52nd Regiment took over the front-line position, the regiment commander Keisuke Yokoyama did not wait for the fortifications to be completed, but directly sent out several search teams to advance along the communication trench.

The first-line positions and the second-line positions are about one kilometer apart, and the connecting communication trenches are not simply straight lines. The winding communication trenches can effectively prevent Japanese artillery fire.

At first, the Japanese army advanced very smoothly, and the communication trench served as a good cover. However, as they advanced, several Japanese search teams discovered that the communication trench had collapsed.

The soft loess slowed down the Japanese army's advance. Some Japanese soldiers tried to get to the ground through the collapsed area, but were immediately rebuked.

"Bakayalu, you are so stupid. This will expose our whereabouts!"

A group of Japanese soldiers passed through the collapsed area in fear, fearing that the Eighth Route Army would suddenly appear in front of them and fire a volley of bullets at them.

The last hundred meters of the communication trench became straight, and the Japanese at the front tiptoed out from the corner, trying to observe whether there was an ambush ahead.

"Sir, I didn't find anything unusual, but the front must be the Chinese position. There should be quite a few Chinese stationed there. I think there must be someone guarding the exit!"

The team leader was a Japanese second lieutenant: "This is inevitable. Our mission is to disrupt the Chinese defense deployment and create opportunities for our subsequent offensive!"

"The Chinese have a saying that goes, 'Strike first, gain the upper hand.' If we hesitate now and wait until other teams take action, the Chinese will surely be alert and our whereabouts will naturally be exposed!"

"Warriors, it's time to demonstrate the Bushido spirit of the Empire of Japan and tear apart the Eighth Route Army's defenses with bayonets!"

More than 50 Japanese soldiers belonging to this team installed their bayonets in unison and then quickly rushed across the corner.

According to Keisuke Yokoyama's combat deployment, as long as a few search teams engaged in a firefight with the second-line Eighth Route Army, the main force of the Japanese infantry and tanks would immediately launch an offensive.

"Sir, isn't this too risky? According to the Infantry Manual, the safest way is to stabilize the position first and then launch an attack!"

Yokoyama Keisuke shook his head: "Commander Yamashita once said that war should break common sense. The tactics used by the Imperial Army are sometimes too rigid!"

"What we should do now is to tear down the Chinese defense line in one go!"

"The 24th Tank Regiment is cooperating with our regiment to provide firepower support during the attack. Even if the battle is unfavorable and the Chinese on the opposite side dare to jump out of their positions to launch a counterattack, the powerful firepower of the tanks is enough to defeat the Eighth Route Army!"

As they were speaking, gunshots were heard from the 10th Regiment's position.

The vanguard of the Japanese search team discovered that two Eighth Route Army soldiers suddenly appeared on the opposite side. Fire burst out from the muzzle of the gun, and then they were shot and fell to the ground.

"Little devils, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Two soldiers from the 10th Regiment held submachine guns, their fingers pulled the trigger, and continued to fire. After a magazine of bullets was finished, two more soldiers came up to block the exit.

In trench warfare, the automatic firepower of the submachine gun was brought to its full potential. The advancing Japanese troops were simply unable to deploy their formations, and the rifles in their hands became nothing more than firewood sticks.

The distance from the corner to the exit of the communication trench is only about a hundred meters, but this distance became the red line of death that the Japanese army could not cross.

The Japanese search team's grenade launchers were at the rear of the formation and could only determine the approximate position of the Eighth Route Army by the sound of gunfire, which was of no use.

Japanese infantry continued to pour out from the corner, and in just over twenty seconds, almost all of them were killed or wounded. Only then did the Japanese grenadiers have a chance to stick their heads out from the corner to calculate their position.

Unexpectedly, the next second, several shells from the 50mm cannon exploded at the corner, and the remaining dozen or so Japanese soldiers were killed in the shelling.

The battle lasted less than half a minute from the start to the end, and the Japanese search team did not make any movement.

"Haha, this battle was so enjoyable. You know what, the brigade's Staff Officer Cheng is really good at what he does. He has the Japs in his hands!"

"Staff Officer Cheng graduated from the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. I heard that he went to school before joining the Eighth Route Army. This educated man has a smart brain!"

The function of trenches is to serve as cover, shorten the attack distance, and avoid enemy fire suppression. The 16th Brigade made full use of the role of trenches.

The soldiers of the 16th Brigade were familiar with the situation in the trenches. They only needed to block the exits with submachine guns and aim the 50mm cannon at the corners after calculating the distance in advance. Any Japanese army that tried to advance through the trenches would be defeated.

Several Japanese search teams were destroyed by the guns of the soldiers of the 16th Brigade because they were too stubborn, but this did not affect the attack of the main force of the Japanese army.

A distance of only 1000 meters was not far for the Japanese army with tank cover. A large number of Japanese soldiers jumped out of the trenches along the temporarily dug earthen steps with their short legs.

Some Japanese troops also advanced along the communication trench and jumped out of the trench from the collapsed area. This undoubtedly shortened the attack distance for the Japanese troops.

However, all this was calculated. Several collapsed locations were only 10 meters away from the th Regiment's position. As soon as the Japanese troops showed up, the arranged firepower points immediately suppressed them.

The communication trenches gave the Japanese army more attack options. Conversely, it also reduced the number of Japanese troops on the ground faced by the 10th Regiment, thus alleviating the pressure in disguise.

The battle between the two sides became fierce from the very beginning. The Japanese tanks rushed around recklessly, but the Eighth Route Army was no pushover.

Nearly twenty infantry guns of the 10th and 11th Regiments were deployed in dispersed positions, constantly causing damage to Japanese tanks, forcing them not to move too far forward.

The Japanese infantry fell row after row, but they still approached the 10th Regiment's position like a tide, and the distance between the two sides was less than meters. "The regiment headquarters ordered that the first battalion evacuate the position immediately!"

More than 700 soldiers on the position quickly evacuated the first position along the communication trench. The Japanese army was surprised to find that the gunfire from the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side had inexplicably disappeared.

"Sir, our army is making good progress. The Chinese only resisted for less than five minutes!"

The adjutant's report made Keisuke Yokoyama overjoyed. He did not need to give any more orders. The attacking force directly launched an offensive against the follow-up positions of the 10th Regiment.

The Japanese troops who had been suppressed in the communication trenches before also learned their lesson and followed the main force to launch an attack from the ground. The tanks once again rushed to the front to provide cover for the infantry.

However, a scene that shocked all the Japanese soldiers appeared. The only remaining thirty or so tanks disappeared from sight one after another during the charge.

"What?" Keisuke Yokoyama, who was watching the battle in front, rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Where are the tanks that support the infantry attack?"

Immediately afterwards, overwhelming artillery fire covered the area where the Japanese tanks disappeared.

"Haha, well done!" Li Yunlong witnessed the disappearance of the Japanese tanks with his own eyes, and his face was full of smiles.

"Comrade Jiwu, you have made great contributions this time. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

"Commander, the defense system is the result of the joint efforts of all comrades, not just my own credit!"

"Well, that's true, but meritorious service deserves reward!" Li Yunlong pondered, and suddenly an idea popped into his head: "I think Xiao Chen, the medical officer at the brigade, is a good person. How about introducing him to you?"

Cheng Jiwu was only 21 years old, a greenhorn in front of Li Yunlong. He could not withstand such questioning and his face turned red immediately.

"Commander, why are you saying this? I don't have any such idea!"

"Nonsense, I think it's better to get married early. You can work better when your mind is settled. From now on, you can stay in my 16th Brigade peacefully!"

"By the way, you told me before, which class did you graduate from in the Anti-Japanese University? How many people were in your batch?"

Li Yunlong had a smile on his face. Those who were familiar with him knew that this guy must be up to some evil idea again.

"Brigade Commander, I graduated from the combat class of the Anti-Japanese University. During my enrollment, I focused on urban attack and defense. There were 62 people in total. In addition, there were also communications and intelligence classes."

"Oh, come to think of it, there are quite a few of you in this group? Have you allocated all the people?"

Cheng Jiwu didn't understand what Li Yunlong meant yet, and answered honestly: "When I graduated, the school had already drawn up a list of assignments, including military regions, military sub-districts, and various brigade-level combat units!"

Cheng Jiwu and his group of Anti-Japanese University students were very different from ordinary crash-train students. First, special personnel were sent to their registered places to conduct background checks. Secondly, they had to have a high school degree or above. Finally, the course lasted one and a half years, and they were specifically trained to be combat staff, intelligence staff, and communications staff.

After graduation, I was assigned to a brigade-level unit. There were three staff officers in the 16th Brigade, one for each.

If it weren't for special instructions from his superiors, Li Yunlong almost assigned Cheng Jiwu to the grassroots level for training. At this time, he was thinking about other students.

"Well, when this battle is over, I will grant you a special fund so you can get together with your classmates and improve your relationship!"

"When the time comes, ask them if they have served in my 16th Brigade. Can the military district headquarters compare with the combat troops? If we take all the combat troops together, which one can compare with our 16th Brigade?"

"As long as they agree, I will go and get them later!"

It’s useful, it’s really useful. This is Li Yunlong’s most real thought at the moment.

Li Yunlong was the supreme commander of the Shangqiu Campaign, and all related deployments required his approval, but that did not mean that all of them were drafted and deployed by him personally.

Objectively speaking, this is the wisdom of the group.

When the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Anti-Japanese Military and Political University was first established, Zhou Weihan had considered that the Eighth Route Army's strength would only grow stronger, but the troops currently lacked experience in urban offensive and defensive warfare, especially defensive operations.

Therefore, Cheng Jiwu and his group of students began to learn some classic urban battles at home and abroad from the beginning of their enrollment, and now they are coming in handy.

Shangqiu is the best example. The outer positions combined trenches and tunnels, which played a huge role in both defense and offense.

The reason why the Japanese tanks suddenly disappeared was that the 16th Brigade dug an inverted trapezoidal tunnel between the first and second trenches in the second-line position.

The tunnel is covered with wooden boards and decorated with loess, and the joints of the wooden boards are supported by wood.

After more than 700 soldiers evacuated the first trench, the Japanese tanks rushed to the front because they needed to provide cover for the infantry, but they all fell into the tunnel.

The inverted trapezoidal tunnels had been used on the European battlefield a long time ago, specifically to deal with advancing tank groups. The Japanese army never thought that the Eighth Route Army would use this method.

After the tank fell into the tunnel, because the tunnel was too narrow, the front edge of the tank touched the bottom and the rear edge hit the wall of the tunnel, unable to move forward or backward.

The two artillery battalions of the 16th Brigade only needed to cover the tunnels with artillery fire to inflict severe damage on the Japanese tanks.