The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 406: Four Thousand People Against Six Thousand People

On the afternoon of September 1929, on the back side of the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights, amid the roar of engines, more than a dozen British Vickers five-ton steel-wheeled crawler tractors and more than twenty German-made trucks towed four Bofors M75 mm anti-aircraft guns, large anti-aircraft searchlights, firing directors, searchlights, anti-aircraft listening warnings, altimeters, rangefinders and other firing observation equipment and a large amount of ammunition, and slowly drove to the back side of the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights.

In the command post on the reverse slope of the highland, He Wei looked at the four mighty anti-aircraft guns and the anti-aircraft gun company's convoy, and he felt a little relieved.
The fighting in recent days has been extremely fierce, whether it is the warships and artillery bombardment on the river or the attack and defense of the ground forces. However, the sky is very quiet. Since He Wei led his troops to Banbi Mountain to set up defenses, for some reason, the Japanese army has not carried out large-scale air raids and bombings until now.

He Wei didn't know the reason, but now, He Wei was about to lead the main force of the assault corps to attack the Japanese army. In the field attack operation, the threat from the air had to be guarded against. If the troops of the assault corps were suddenly attacked, bombed and strafed by the Japanese army during the attack, then He Wei's capital might be completely gone.

Therefore, He Wei transferred the 75mm anti-aircraft artillery company originally stationed in Banbi Mountain to provide a certain amount of air protection for his own attacking troops when the attack was launched.

However, He Wei had no choice but to transfer the 75mm anti-aircraft company stationed in Banbi Mountain to serve as field air defense. He Wei was also quite familiar with the Bofors anti-aircraft guns equipped by the anti-aircraft gun company.
These four Bofors anti-aircraft guns are indeed quite advanced. They are products jointly developed by the German Krupp Company and the Swedish Bofors Company. They have a strong German bloodline, and even the funding was provided by the German Wehrmacht. They are a very excellent large-caliber anti-aircraft gun with 4-degree omnidirectional shooting capability and are equipped with a full set of shooting command equipment. The famous mm anti-aircraft gun of the German Army in history also referred to the design of this type of artillery.

However, the size of this type of artillery is too large. It needs to be towed by a tracked tractor when maneuvering, and the artillery itself also needs to be towed and dragged by wheeled mobile equipment when in a maneuverable state. When entering a combat shooting state, the artillery needs to be replaced with a cross-shaped base gun mount for shooting and deployment operations. The overall structure is relatively bulky.

In general, this type of anti-aircraft gun is very powerful and has a large caliber, but its mobility is relatively poor. It is more suitable for deployment in cities and fortresses to perform key air defense tasks, and is not suitable for accompanying field troops to perform mobile field air defense tasks.

If He Wei had several other lighter and smaller-caliber anti-aircraft guns of the National Army, such as the Surotong 20mm anti-aircraft gun, the Madsen 20mm anti-aircraft gun, or the German-made 37mm anti-aircraft gun, he would definitely not use this large-caliber anti-aircraft gun to provide field anti-aircraft fire cover for his attacking forces.

Even for this 75mm anti-aircraft gun, which was a helpless choice, He Wei only had one company under his command, and the number was relatively small. Using it temporarily as field anti-aircraft firepower in field attacks was also a helpless measure.

Retracting his gaze, He Wei turned to look at Zhao Zhanhai, the chief of the combat training section of the General Staff Office, and asked, "Are all the people gathered?"

"Captain, the main officers for this attack have all arrived. I have also notified Captain Huang of the anti-aircraft artillery company. The attack plan has been revised and improved according to your requirements. The pre-war preparation meeting can begin now."

"Okay! Let's have a meeting!"

Soon, in a small hidden unit at the command post on the reverse slope highland of the Big and Small Bear Mountains, all the chief officers of the various units participating in He Wei's planned attack gathered there.

The proactive attack plan proposed by He Wei was extremely bold from its conception to its execution and the predetermined tactical objectives. Although the Japanese Hata Detachment in front of them had suffered heavy losses, it was after all a heavy force group with two infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, an engineering regiment and a large number of baggage and logistics transport troops.

Generally speaking, a heavy military group like the Japanese army often requires one or even several armies of the National Army to deal with it in a field offensive and defensive operation, and there is no guarantee that the National Army can suppress the Japanese army in a field battle.

Therefore, the proactive attack proposed by He Wei was to use relatively inferior forces to launch an attack on a heavy Japanese force group with several regiment-level units, which had suffered heavy damage but whose strength could not be underestimated, with the tactical goal of defeating, severely damaging, or even annihilating the Japanese army. This was indeed an extremely bold and even crazy action.

If He Wei made his offensive plan public, many high-ranking commanders of the Nationalist army would have directly labeled him a "madman".

Therefore, to carry out such a difficult and risky offensive combat mission, elite combat troops are required. For example, the friendly 385th Brigade and the 18th Division are obviously not qualified.

Not to mention the 18th Division. There were too many new recruits, the overall combat effectiveness of the unit was poor, and it had been severely damaged by the Japanese army before. Letting them go out to charge was simply because they were worried that they would not die fast enough.

The 385th Brigade is not much better. Judging from the defense battle of the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights a few days ago, this brigade has too many new recruits and its tactical quality needs to be improved urgently. It is good at fighting the "building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle" type of battle relying on solid fortifications, but it is probably not feasible to be deployed for field attacks.

Therefore, this proactive offensive operation will have to be led by He Wei's assault corps. As for the friendly forces, they should stay where they are, rest if necessary, and hold their original positions if necessary.

More than twenty people crowded the small shelter. The hot weather and the nearly semi-closed structure of the shelter made everyone in the shelter feel stuffy and uncomfortable. However, all the officers in the shelter sat upright, looking at He Wei with excitement and expectation.

The officers attending the meeting included the three infantry battalions of the assault corps, the company commanders of the artillery battalion, the platoon commanders of the special service company, the engineering company, and the communications company, the battalion commander Hu Rizhen of the 150mm heavy artillery battalion assigned to He Wei's command, and the company commander Huang Diaoqi of the 75mm anti-aircraft artillery company newly transferred to the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights, as well as all the staff officers of the Combat Training Section of the General Staff Office.

The excitement on the faces of these key officers has already demonstrated their attitude towards this proactive offensive operation. Just as He Wei formulated this proactive offensive operation plan because of the great victory in the defensive battle a few days ago, the combat confidence, combat enthusiasm and combat initiative of the officers attending the meeting also rapidly expanded because of the great victory a few days ago.

The brilliant victory of annihilating more than 3,000 Japanese troops in one battle had made the officers forget about the huge strength of the Hata Detachment. After learning the general goal of He Wei's "risky" offensive operation plan, the officers present were not overly shocked or backed down. They only had strong fighting will and fighting enthusiasm, and they wanted to rush out directly and tear the Hata Detachment in front of them to pieces. In the sultry shelter, what was more eager than the air was the burning fighting passion of the officers!
He Wei never needed to specifically mobilize the combat morale of the officers and soldiers of the assault corps, because repeated victories, fruitful results and dazzling achievements were the best medicine to maintain morale.

He Wei nodded to Zhao Zhanhai and said, "Let's get started."

Zhao Zhanhai nodded, saluted the officers present, and said in a deep voice: "Commanders, colleagues, our army has repelled a fierce attack by the Japanese army a few days ago. Now, under the order of the commander-in-chief, our corps has decided to take the initiative to attack and launch an offensive against the Japanese army. We now report the enemy situation and attack plan as follows."

"In recent days, the Third Battalion of our Assault Corps has been continuously harassing the Japanese troops in front of us with small units. Through the confessions of the captured Japanese soldiers and the battle experience and reconnaissance results of our Third Battalion's attack troops, we have determined that the enemy in front of us is the Japanese Hata Detachment, which has two infantry regiments, a heavy artillery battalion, an engineering regiment, a mountain artillery regiment and a large number of logistics troops."

"In the battle a few days ago, the unit suffered heavy losses. Its heavy artillery battalion was completely wiped out by us, and its two infantry regiments were also severely damaged. It is very likely that only three infantry battalions are left of its main infantry units. The total strength of the infantry units is about 3,000 people. After taking into account the strength of the enemy's artillery, engineers, baggage, and logistics units, its total strength is about 6,000 people."

"Its artillery units currently have a mountain artillery regiment and an artillery unit directly under its infantry regiment. It is estimated that the number of artillery units equipped is more than 75 mm mountain cannons."

"At present, the enemy's main force has stopped attacking our army after the disastrous defeat a few days ago. Under my harassing artillery bombardment and attacks over the past few days, the enemy has withdrawn from the original attack starting position and retreated to an open area about 4.5 kilometers away from our Big and Small Bear Mountain Highlands. The enemy has built a basic defense position at its current station and deployed a considerable number of obstacles such as stakes and chevaux de frise in front of the position."

"As for its overall situation, the enemy seems to have suffered too much loss after attacking the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights. It has temporarily stopped the offensive operations against our defense line centered on the Big and Small Bear Mountain Heights, and has switched to temporary local defense operations. As for its next combat intention, our army is still unaware."

Zhao Zhanhai paused for a moment, glanced at He Wei, and raised his voice suddenly: "In view of the current situation of the enemy, the commander has decided that our army will launch an offensive against the enemy's Hata Detachment. The participating troops include the three infantry battalions of our assault corps, the artillery battalion, the corps' direct engineering company, the communications company, the special forces company, the friendly 150mm heavy artillery battalion, and the 75mm anti-aircraft artillery company."

"The entire combat plan is as follows. The second and third infantry battalions of our corps will be used as the main attacking forces. The engineering company directly under the corps will be assigned to form an attack team. Under the cover of the corps artillery battalion, they will gradually approach the enemy's position and directly attack the enemy's position."

"The special forces company, communications company, and temporary forward command post of the corps will work together with the 75mm anti-aircraft artillery company of the friendly forces to form a cover command team. The anti-aircraft artillery company will be responsible for the battlefield air defense cover mission, the communications company will be responsible for establishing the communication network between the command post and the participating troops, and the special forces company will be responsible for the cover mission of the command post and the anti-aircraft artillery company. In addition, the first infantry battalion of the corps will serve as the reserve team."

"In the use of artillery firepower, the artillery battalion of our corps is responsible for directly covering the attack of the attacking force, and the 150mm heavy artillery battalion of the friendly forces is responsible for suppressing the depth of the enemy's positions and the enemy's artillery. It is imperative to use fierce artillery fire to destroy their fortifications, counter their artillery, disrupt their order, and interfere with their rest and recuperation."

Zhao Zhanhai paused, then continued, "The operational goal of this attack is to further inflict heavy damage on the enemy's Hata Detachment as the basic tactical goal. On the premise of achieving the basic tactical goal, if the attack goes smoothly, we can continue to expand the results to further achieve the tactical goal of defeating or even annihilating the enemy. When the battle is over, our army must at least break through the enemy's position to achieve the basic tactical goal."

"After this meeting, the 150mm heavy artillery battalion will launch a fierce artillery attack on the Japanese defensive positions from its original position. The remaining units will begin to move to engage the enemy at a.m. tomorrow! In addition, the specific actions of each unit, the deployment plan, and the organization and organization plan of the troops' advance and the specific timetable will be collected from the Combat Training Section of the General Staff Office after the meeting."

"Captain, this battle plan report is complete!"

He Wei walked over and nodded to Zhao Zhanhai who had finished his report.

At this time, the shelter was extremely quiet. Only the slight "hissing" sound from the burning lanterns hanging in the shelter was extremely clear. The officers were all silent, standing upright and looking at He Wei with great energy.

After learning about the specific plan of the attack, everyone's excitement and desire to fight reached a new level.

He Wei smiled and said, "Everyone, the battle plan is out and I have informed you. To be honest, I find this tactical plan crazy. Our participating troops are only about 4,000 people, but we have to actively attack the Japanese army of more than 6,000 people. The worst tactical goal is to inflict heavy damage on the enemy again. However, if it is allowed, we are actually trying to defeat or even annihilate the Japanese army, which has far more troops than us. Not to mention you, I find it absolutely unbelievable and crazy."

"But think about it, just a few days ago, this heavy army in front of us was beaten to a pulp in front of our solid position, and we killed more than 3,000 people in one breath. This shows that as long as the tactics are right, the Japanese army is not difficult to defeat. What we have in front of us now is just a group of turtles who hid after being beaten by us. What we have to do is to rush out and use your good tactics and command to break through their positions, defeat the enemy, and kill them all!"

He Wei raised his hand, pointed in the direction of the Japanese position, and shouted, "Kill!"

The officers also stood up and shouted, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

He Wei's offensive operation plan was carried out in an orderly and smooth manner. At the same time, the current top commander of the Japanese Hata Detachment, Hata Shigekazu, was also planning an offensive operation.
(End of this chapter)