The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 201 Bloody Battle in Tangshan 2

Boom boom boom

One after another, the 96th Land Attack and the 95th Land Attack 333 lowered their altitude and dropped bombs on the Chinese army's positions. When those 800 kilogram bombs fell to the ground and exploded, the earth seemed to tremble.

Aerial bombs fell on the position. Although they did not destroy the permanent defense fortifications on the position, the exploding shrapnel and huge shock waves lifted countless turf and soil into the air, and exploded a diameter-long diameter on the ground. A large crater up to ten meters.

Some lakes and swamps near the position were also hit by aerial bombs, exploding water columns more than ten meters high and mixed with all kinds of dead fish that had their bellies turned upside down. Even if they were hiding in the hidden parts of the defense fortifications, they would feel a tremor that seemed to come from underground. And the terrifying shaking feeling is still extremely violent.

When the bombers dropped bombs, some Type 96 carrier-based fighter jets also rolled down and began to circle and fire. The sound of the 7.7mm airborne machine gun piercing the air mixed with the scream after the bomb exploded, forming a commanding force. A disgusting shock wave and a large amount of air mixed with hot air and the pungent smell of gunpowder penetrated into the fortifications along the gap between the observation post and the machine gun nozzle, scorching the Chinese officers and soldiers in the bunker.

Even He Wei, who is a time traveler, is somewhat overwhelmed. The density of bombs dropped by these bombing Japanese naval aircraft and the number of aircraft are not comparable to those of the Japanese Army Air Force aircraft he encountered on the North China battlefield.

The fighter aircraft equipped by the Japanese Army Air Force in North China are far inferior to the various types of fighters of the Japanese Naval Air Force, and most of their bombing operations are single-point bombing and small-scale bombing. At Xinkou, the Japanese air attack left He Wei with a The impression and deterrent effect are far inferior to the Japanese artillery.

And he had never experienced this kind of scene in his previous life. The air strikes at that time were more about precise strikes and targeted elimination, but what he encountered today was actually the most primitive and roughest high-density large aircraft fleet that had been eliminated in later generations. Although the iron bomb bombing was not very efficient, the shock it brought was indescribable.

In the bomb-proof cave, Cai Rubai, who was next to He Wei, was very calm. He even took out a can of Platinum Dragon cigarettes and gave them to the officers and soldiers in the cave to smoke. He Wei asked carefully about the original situation, but the answer he got was also very bitter. It turned out that They had to endure such intense bombing every day in Songhu. After three months in Songhu, they had already become accustomed to it.

The violent bombing lasted for more than ten minutes. After the ground shook, the sound of landing and explosions on the position became smaller and smaller. Cai Rubai blew out a smoke ring, looked at He Wei and said: "Brother, the plane has left, and it will probably be here soon." It’s going to be bombarded with artillery.”

He Wei nodded, minding his own business and pacing in the artillery cave.

Suddenly, the roar of the aircraft engine, which had already started to work, became louder again, and the pressure came over. It was also accompanied by the messy and intensive sound of machine gun shooting and the sharp sound of breaking through the air when the aircraft dived and rolled to attack. The intensive sound of machine gun shooting But it was completely different from the sound of gunfire when Japanese fighter jets fired machine guns.

He Wei and Cai Rubai were shocked. Cai Rubai threw away the cigarette butt, turned pale, and cursed: "It's broken, maybe someone opened fire in advance."

"You mean your soldiers are shooting in the air?"

He Wei was surprised.

"Damn it, the French Hotchkiss heavy machine guns equipped in my regiment have a full set of anti-air sighting equipment. These guys may not be able to calm down and pull the heavy machine guns outside to fight the Japanese planes."

Cai Rubai cursed loudly.

With that said, the two of them climbed up the stairs of the bomb shelter, preparing to go to the top of the command post to observe the situation. However, before they could rush out, they collided with the Major of the 956th Regiment. The regimental commander looked excited. He said to the two men: "Sir, it's our plane. It's our plane that crashed down."

"Our plane?"

He Wei and Cai Rubai quickly rushed to the observation port of the regiment command post. Several soldiers had removed the sandbags near the observation port and opened a small gap. He Wei raised his telescope and looked up.

It turned out that the gunshots were not caused by the machine gunners of the 956th Regiment disobeying orders and firing into the air, but coming from the air. Now an extremely shocking scene was taking place above the position.

I saw that the sky had become a mess. Two green Chinese fighter planes rushed toward the Japanese military aircraft group along the back of the sun. One of the planes painted with the blue sky and white sun logo was the Hawker III, the main biplane fighter of the Chinese Air Force. .

The other one was a single-winged fighter plane with retractable landing gear, compact appearance and no military emblem. He Wei also recognized it. It should be an Il-Sixteen fighter jet made by the Soviet Union. Obviously, that Hawker 3 is currently almost The only remaining original fighter planes of the Chinese Air Force were wiped out, and the Soviet fighter plane without the military emblem was obviously an aircraft of the Soviet International Volunteer Team.

I saw two planes swooping down and firing, scattering the huge formation of more than twenty Japanese attack planes. The sky was like a pot exploding. The machine gun turrets on the Japanese attack planes rotated around in a panic and opened fire. The Type 96 patrolling around The fighter also began to climb upwards.

The two Chinese aircraft insisted on biting the Japanese attack aircraft and attacked a milky white Japanese Type 16 attack aircraft with four machine guns. The mm and mm Browns on the Hawker The Ning machine gun and the two mm machine guns on the IL- made a loud bang against the Jiu Liulu.

The sky was full of machine gun trajectories composed of tracer bullets. Dozens of trajectories interspersed with each other, which was very spectacular. The Chinese Air Force's Hawker III steadily and firmly pursued the Japanese aircraft to attack, while the Soviet Il-16 fighter jet looked like a The wild donkey swayed left and right, dodging bullets and firing.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and the hit 96 Land Attacker made a short "click" sound. A long line of thick smoke began to appear on the tail of the aircraft. The nose of the aircraft dived downwards. The pilot seemed to be still exerting force. Struggling, but the plane kept flying downward.

He made several extremely difficult flying movements in succession, but was scurrying around like a headless fly. Finally, the Nine-Six Land Attacker fiercely hit the ground with fierce fire, just above He Wei. The regiment's command post passed by at a height of tens of meters, and the hot air flow followed the gap in the observation port and hit He Wei and Cai Rubai's faces.

Finally, it hit the wilderness behind the 956th Regiment's position, making a huge explosion.

"well played."

In the command post, some soldiers who witnessed the explosion of the Japanese plane cheered loudly.

The air battle in the sky was still continuing. At this time, the Japanese Type 96 fighter jets had already surrounded them. The two Chinese fighter jets faced off without fear. The Hawker III fighter jet with poor performance was first hit and caught fire and began to fall.

However, the pilot used his last strength to fly the plane over the Japanese attack aircraft group, rushed straight towards an attack aircraft, and finally hit the wing of the attack aircraft. The two collided aircraft flew into the air on the spot. Explosion, the Chinese pilot completed his last shot down record by dying together.

The Il-16 fighter piloted by a Soviet pilot was simultaneously besieged by more than a dozen Japanese Type 96 carrier-based fighter jets. In a few minutes of fighting, the Soviet-Russian fighter jet with the nickname Huangying suddenly climbed up. It rolled for a moment, leaving bullet holes in the Type 96 carrier-based fighter bodies that besieged it. After shooting down a Japanese Type 96 carrier-based fighter jet, the fighter jet piloted by a foreign pilot also burst into flames in the air, fell from the sky with thick black smoke, and hit the ground diagonally. The nose of the aircraft touched down first and turned into a ball of fire. Finally, it rolled continuously against the ground and landed in a lake behind the 956th Regiment's position. It was torn apart by a violent explosion.

A short but fierce air battle ended.

In the command post, He Wei silently put down his telescope and took off his helmet facing the direction where the Chinese fighter plane crashed. The officers and soldiers in the command post also lowered their heads.

He did not expect to see the Chinese Air Force's war eagle in the sky over Nanjing at this time. Perhaps this was the Air Force's way of expressing to the Japanese that they would not surrender until the end and fight to the end. At this time, He Wei could only pay attention and take off his hat. We also pay tribute to the Chinese Air Force pilots and Soviet Air Force pilots who died heroically.

He Wei and other Chinese officers and soldiers were not the only ones to witness this air battle. At almost the same moment, the commander of the 16th Division, Nakajima Kongo, left the high-magnification air telescope with a gloomy face and suppressed his mouth. Obviously, he was concerned about the situation. He was very dissatisfied with the appearance of the two Chinese aircraft and the tragic combat performance. In his opinion, this kind of courage and will that would rather be broken than destroyed and die together should belong to Japanese soldiers alone.

"Hmph, let's get started."

Nakajima sat down glumly, and at the same time nodded to Colonel Nakazawa Mizuo, the chief of staff of the 16th Division. Colonel Nakazawa Mizuo bowed his body slightly, and then walked to the field telephone that had just been set up by the division's communications team. Picked up the microphone and shouted: "Start the general attack!"

"Start attacking."

At the front, at the artillery position of the 22nd Field Artillery Regiment of the 16th Division, the commander of the regiment, Colonel Naofuku Mikuni, after receiving the order from the chief of staff of the division, issued the general attack order to his subordinates in the same way. Three field artillery battalions and one howitzer battalion, the first to take action was the artillery responsible for attacking the left wing position.

At the Japanese artillery position on the left wing, the same situation also occurred at the artillery battalion captain and artillery squadron leader. Various firing orders and combat orders were continuously issued to each artillery squadron. Next to the grass-green pine forest, the soldiers responsible for attacking the 956th Regiment's position were A modified Type 38 75mm field artillery battalion and a Type 91 105mm howitzer battalion have been fully deployed.

Twelve modified 38-type 75 field guns and twelve type 91-type 105mm howitzers were lined up in squadron units. Each gun had completed its initial loading. The Type 93 artillery team mirrored , Type 93 telemeters, and air telescopes are everywhere. Field telephones and artillery communication networks have been established. Truckloads of 75mm field artillery shells and 105mm grenades are placed in the pine forest, waiting anytime and anywhere. Replenish.

The observation officers of each artillery squadron were looking at the Chinese army positions on the mountain ridges and highlands in the distance through the Type 93 artillery mirror. The raging fires burning on the highlands shot straight into the sky, and there were 800 kilograms of aerial bombs everywhere. The crater created by the explosion looks like a white ground from a distance. The fire and the black smoke produced after the fighter plane crashed and exploded are intertwined, making it look like a hell on earth.

"Charge number -! - grenades! A transmitter tube! A steering wheel! Four thousand nine hundred - to be released on command."

A Japanese second lieutenant observer left the artillery team scope and issued the firing parameters to the squadron's benchmark gun based on the observed parameters. The Japanese gunners of the base gun immediately set the height and direction according to the shooting parameters. As the second lieutenant observer The shooting command pulled the hair rope of the modified 38-type 75mm field gun.

A cloud of white smoke came out of the muzzle of the 75th Field Artillery. The fired 75th Field Artillery shell rubbed against the top of the 956th Regiment's highland position, flew over the mountain ridge and exploded. Soon the Japanese second lieutenant observer came again New firing parameters were issued, and the Japanese army's benchmark artillery fired again. The second shell landed 500 meters at the foot of the hill where the 956th Regiment was positioned. The two shells hit the 95th Regiment one after the other. The position of the Sixth Regiment was sandwiched in the middle, realizing the fork composition in artillery tactics.

Then came the third and fourth rounds, followed by the fifth and sixth rounds. After the six rounds of the benchmark gun were fired, the 300-meter gap to the 956th Regiment's position was finally achieved.

The firing parameters obtained through the benchmark gun firing were quickly communicated to each gun position. Subsequently, under the command of the artillery battalion captain’s cluster firing command, the twelve modified 38-type field guns and twelve modified 38-type field guns that attacked the 956th Regiment’s position were quickly transmitted to each gun position. The Men 91-type howitzers began to fire in clusters almost at the same time, unleashing an overwhelming rain of bullets. They were followed closely by two modified 38-type field artillery brigades that attacked the position of the 959th Regiment of the Chinese Army on the right. The 15mm field artillery and twelve 105mm howitzers began to fire in full force, kicking off the 16th Division's general attack.

The heat generated by the Japanese bombing on the Chinese military positions has not dissipated, and the rolling soil has not yet settled. The ensuing 75mm field artillery shells and 105mm grenades once again transformed the Chinese military positions on the highlands. It became a sea of ​​fire and shrapnel.

After the 22nd Regiment of the 16th Division Field Artillery gathered fire, the four infantry regiments that had already deployed in the forward position also joined the battle group. More than a dozen guns from the four infantry regiments were directly under the regiment's artillery squadron. The Type 41 mountain gun also opened fire.

75mm instant fuze grenade, 75mm delayed fuze grenade, 75mm shrapnel, 75mm incendiary bomb, 105mm instant fuze grenade, 105mm delayed fuze Grenades, 105mm shrapnel, 105mm incendiary bombs, Japanese artillery shells of various calibers and types fell on the positions of the 956th Regiment and the 959th Regiment, and there was a sudden sound of shells. It was deafening and the flames shot into the sky.

The Japanese infantrymen on the front line were squatting in the trenches, admiring the fireworks feast. Many of them had the same idea in their minds, that is, there would be no living people in the Chinese army's positions. After a night of concealment operations, The gray cement fortifications on the high ground were all covered with camouflage netting, turf, sandbags and loose soil.

Therefore, if you look from a distance, if you don't observe carefully, you can only vaguely see the communication trenches on the high ground, and you can't see any solid fortifications, machine gun nests, or fire support points. Therefore, the Japanese infantry who witnessed this shelling were all I don't think anyone would survive such a bombardment.

In order to attack Nanjing, the 16th Division had reserved sufficient ammunition. The fierce shelling lasted for more than an hour. The two infantry brigades were also prepared for the attack during the shelling.

In the left-wing position, Major General Tatsuki Kusaba, commander of the 19th Infantry Brigade, looked with satisfaction at the Chinese army position that had been beaten into ashes. He said to the adjutant beside him: "Communicate to all infantry regiments to prepare for the attack and come up with weapons." To seize this position with the momentum of Baoding, the 16th Division will be the first division to enter the Chinese capital, and our 19th Brigade will be the first infantry brigade to enter the Chinese capital. Tell the 16th Division to be the first to enter the Chinese capital. Ninth Regiment, work hard, work harder, and avenge their Third Brigade."

After the preparatory attack order was issued, the brigade adjutant conveyed the preparatory attack order to each infantry regiment under the 19th Brigade. In the trenches of the first line position, the 9th Infantry Regiment and the 20th Infantry Regiment The four infantry brigades were ready to attack. In order to capture the Chinese army's position in one fell swoop, the two infantry regiments each dispatched two infantry brigades as the main attack force.

Among them, the 9th Infantry Regiment has invested almost all its troops. For no other reason than the 9th Infantry Regiment's 3rd Infantry Brigade has been killed by the cooperation between the Special Agent Battalion and the 956th Regiment, so it only has two remaining Infantry Brigade.

In the trenches on the front line, nearly three thousand Japanese infantrymen who were preparing to launch an attack were squatting and kneeling in the starting position, holding Type 38 rifles in one hand. The slender Type 30 bayonets on the rifles made a strange sound in the sun. In the light, the light machine gunners held the Taisho 11-year-old light machine gun, and the heavy machine gunners clung to the tripod of the Type 92 heavy machine gun.

The Type 94 37mm rapid-fire cannons of each wing's rapid-fire artillery squadrons turned their barrels and stared at the ridges on the high ground. Some newly recruited recruits couldn't help but couldn't help seeing the bombed, rolling and smoking Chinese army positions. They were left in cold sweat, while the veterans and sergeants who had fought all the way from North China and Songhu were calmly calculating the attack route. The squadron leaders and squad leaders also drew out their sabers from their waists and looked at them ferociously. The position of the Chinese army, and the direction of Nanjing, the Chinese capital.

The artillery bombardment of the 22nd Field Artillery Regiment ended with a salvo attack of forty-eight artillery pieces from almost the entire regiment's four artillery brigades. When the last round of artillery bombardment was fired and the shells had not yet hit the ground, the 22nd Field Artillery Regiment The team's communications officer immediately communicated the news of the end of the shelling to each regiment via telephone.

At the wing headquarters of the 9th Regiment, Captain Katagiri Gorō of the 9th Infantry Regiment, who received the news of the end of the bombardment, raised his signal gun high with a ferocious face, fired a red flare into the sky, and shouted hysterically: "Infantry Ninth Regiment, attack, avenge the warriors of the Third Battalion, avenge the warriors of the Regiment Artillery Squadron, start the attack!"

(End of this chapter)