The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 442: Annihilation and Submergence
At the top of Hill 201, the 9th Division Commander Zheng Zuomin, accompanied by his adjutant, the division chief of staff and other staff members, guards, and communications soldiers carrying telephones and double-wire lines, stepped onto the hill.

Zheng Zuomin looked down at the height and saw that below Hill 201, troops from both sides were fighting in a melee everywhere.

At this time, the battle underground at 201 Hill had reached a climax. No artillery fire could be heard on the battlefield, only the deafening shouts, the sounds of fighting, and all kinds of chaotic gunfire. The officers and soldiers of the 9th Division and the devils of the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army were wrestling, stabbing, and shooting at each other in a melee.

The officers and soldiers of the 9th Division, dressed in grass-green uniforms and German-style steel helmets, and the Japanese soldiers in khaki uniforms intertwined and collided with each other, and the shouts, screams and curses of both sides mixed together.

At the same time, the flesh and blood of countless Nationalist officers and soldiers and Japanese soldiers blurred together, and the bayonets of the officers and soldiers of both sides flashed in the sunlight.

The sounds of gunfire, shouting, and fighting mixed together, and the sound was astonishing due to the echo from the high mountains.

The fight between the two sides was extremely brutal!
However, on Hill 201, Zheng Zuomin, who was observing the battle situation below through a telescope, frowned worriedly.

In the attack just now, the attack force composed of three infantry regiments of the 9th Division, a direct special service company and an engineering battalion successfully broke through the Japanese defense line and dragged the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army into the melee. However, after breaking through the Japanese army, the subsequent battle situation was not satisfactory.

Although the attacking force of the 9th Division used its superior strength to turn the battle situation into close combat, using more than three regiments of troops to engage in a melee with a crippled Japanese infantry regiment, close combat, bayoneting, and fighting together, and even broke the command system of the Japanese infantry regiment, turning the battlefield into a mess, the combat effectiveness of the 13th Infantry Regiment was indeed extremely fierce.

With the entire regiment's command system almost collapsed, the battlefield situation extremely chaotic, and the troops completely dispersed, the Japanese officers, non-commissioned officers, and even veterans spontaneously took on the responsibility of gathering and commanding the troops. They gathered the scattered Japanese soldiers together to fight to the death, and actually maintained the battle order of the 13th Regiment in the all-round melee, showing quite powerful organizational ability.

Thanks to the strong command and organization of these Japanese officers and non-commissioned officers, the various units of the 13th Infantry Regiment, which had lost unified command, did not collapse or fall despite being divided and surrounded.

At this juncture, the Japanese soldiers fought desperately with the officers and soldiers of the 9th Division like crazy. They fought with their lives and were very ferocious. Not only did they fight with the officers and soldiers of the 9th Division with bayonets and hand-to-hand combat, but there were also many wounded soldiers who were dying and detonated grenades to die together with the officers and soldiers of the National Army.

Whether it is its officers, non-commissioned officers, or soldiers, they do have the combat effectiveness and fighting spirit commensurate with the 6th Division being the top elite division of the Japanese Army.

The 9th Infantry Regiment, which was besieged by the superior forces of the 13th Division, relied on its desperate organizational ability and extremely fierce combat effectiveness that broke out at the last moment to fight to a stalemate with the 9th Division.

As for the attacking forces of the 9th Division, although their fighting spirit was no less than that of the Japanese army, there were still gaps in the soldiers' fighting quality, physical fitness and various combat techniques compared with the Japanese army. These gaps could not be made up by fighting spirit. Therefore, although the attacking forces of the 9th Division fought bravely, they could not resolve the battle in a short time.

As a result, the close combat between the two sides lasted for more than half an hour. Although the 9th Division had superior manpower, it was unable to defeat the 13th Infantry Regiment due to the gap in combat quality and tactical proficiency after fighting for such a long time.

This was not a good thing for the 9th Division. Although the attacking force of the 201th Division had an absolute advantage in the local battlefield under the 9 Heights and launched a siege on the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army, the various units of the 9th Division of the Japanese Army were still watching them covetously in other positions in front of the 6th Division.

The 9th Division had a total of 4 regiments. In order to attack the 13th Infantry Regiment, 3 of them were destroyed in one go, leaving the other positions empty. If the 6th Division launched a full-scale attack on the 9th Division and even the high ground outside Tianjia Town at this time, the situation on the battlefield would be reversed in an instant!
In a word, the longer the siege and annihilation of the 13th Infantry Regiment lasted, the more unfavorable the situation would be for the 9th Division.

Apart from anything else, if the 6th Division sent a reinforced battalion-level unit to launch a surprise attack on the 9th Division's defense zone at this time, it would have an extremely bad impact. If the Japanese army sent more troops to attack the 9th Division, then the victory might turn into a major defeat.
Seeing that the 9th Division and the Japanese army were in a stalemate, the friendly 57th Division and Li Yannian, the supreme commander in charge of the defense of Tianjiazhen Fortress, called Zheng Zuomin and asked him to resolve the battle as soon as possible to prevent the Japanese army from making any unusual movements that would affect the overall situation of the defense of Tianjiazhen Fortress.

Zheng Zuomin also keenly sensed the danger. After receiving Li Yannian's order to resolve the battle as soon as possible, he became anxious. He immediately drove to Hill 201 with a forward command post and personally came to the front line to inspect the battle situation. He was ready to annihilate the Japanese troops underground at Hill 201 as soon as possible. However, how could such a large force of Japanese troops who fought desperately be easily resolved?
On Hill 201, Zheng Zuomin pursed his lips and looked for a long while, looking at the two armies fighting in a stalemate below the hill, and couldn't help but curse in a low voice: "Damn it, these devils are really good at fighting."

The chief of staff of the 9th Division said anxiously: "Division Commander, we can't go on like this. The 57th Division and Corps Commander Li Yannian have called and asked us to resolve the battle as soon as possible. If other Japanese troops are desperate and launch attacks on other positions, we will be completely passive!"

Another staff officer interrupted and said, "Sir, the Japanese army is really strong. Why don't we send the 50th Regiment to fight them with four regiments?"

The chief of staff shook his head and said, "No, if four regiments are sent up, our division won't even have any reserve troops. If there is an emergency, won't it be difficult to deal with it?"

Zheng Zuomin's adjutant gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, we have already dealt a heavy blow to the enemy in front of us. In fact, even if we stop now, although we have not achieved the tactical goal of completely annihilating the enemy in front of us, we have at least dealt a heavy blow. It would be better to let the troops stop the encirclement and annihilation operation and defeat and drive away the Japanese in the high ground."

Indeed, more than a thousand people of the 201th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army that attacked Hill 13 had been annihilated by the artillery fire of the Banbishan Artillery Group, and the attack force of the 9th Division also inflicted heavy damage on the 13th Regiment in the melee. The result of severely damaging an infantry regiment of the Japanese Army was actually an excellent record.

If the 13th Division troops currently engaged in a melee with the 9th Regiment no longer aim to encircle and annihilate the 13th Regiment, and instead give the Japanese a way out and change the battle of annihilation into a battle of crushing, they can quickly resolve the stalemate in the battle.

When the 13th Regiment retreated, the troops of the 9th Division could take the opportunity to pursue with manpower and firepower and bite off another piece of meat from the 13th Regiment. Given the current situation, quickly terminating the annihilation war is indeed a good way to quickly stabilize the situation.

Zheng Zuomin shook his head unwillingly: "No, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we can't let it go easily." Then, Zheng Zuomin became ruthless and said to the chief of staff loudly, "I have made up my mind to annihilate this group of Japanese troops. Order the 50th Infantry Regiment, which is the reserve, to immediately join the battle. We must eat up this group of Japanese troops today, and I will bear all the responsibility!"

Zheng Zuomin's tone was full of determination. Obviously, with the temptation to annihilate a Japanese regiment before him, there was no way he would easily let the besieged Japanese troops go. This was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

And as the chief of staff of the 9th Division just said, sending the 50th Regiment, which serves as the reserve, forward also has great potential harm and is indeed an extremely risky approach.

But Zheng Zuomin was determined to wipe out this group of Japanese troops. Therefore, after suppressing the objections of the chief of staff and several staff officers, Zheng Zuomin immediately sent someone to convey the order to the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 50th Division, which served as the reserve force, to take a risky move and send in this most powerful infantry regiment.

But before the accompanying staff officer could get through to the field telephone of the 50th Regiment, the phone to Banbi Mountain rang.

Zheng Zuomin picked up the phone and heard He Wei's urgent voice: "Brother Zheng, what's the situation over there? I see that the battle is still very fierce after more than half an hour. Have you not defeated the enemy yet?"

Zheng Zuomin said anxiously, "As you judged, the enemy's force is about the size of a regiment. This group of devils is very strong and difficult to deal with. My three regiments have been deployed but they can't defeat them. The battle has been stalemated. Commander Li has called me and asked me to resolve the battle as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the battle continues like this and other enemy troops take action to attack, it is very likely to shake the entire battle situation."

"However, I don't want to miss the opportunity to wipe out an enemy regiment. I have made up my mind to throw the last regiment of my division into it. I don't believe that four regiments can't wipe out his damn infantry regiment! If something unexpected happens, I will commit suicide to apologize!"

Immediately, Zheng Zuomin informed He Wei of the current battle situation and his next intentions.

When Zheng Zuomin resolutely finished explaining the specific situation, there was a moment of silence on the microphone in his hand. Then, He Wei's decisive and firm voice came again: "Brother Zheng, just fight according to your tactics. Let your staff report the positions and approximate positions of other Japanese troops. I will use artillery fire to suppress them as much as possible and disrupt their actions, so that they will not dare to take action against you easily before your troops completely wipe out the Japanese troops on the high ground! I will use artillery to bombard them hard here, and you push all the troops up. We will definitely be able to wipe out the enemies on the high ground!"

After the Banbi Mountain artillery group stopped bombarding, He Wei had been paying attention to the battle situation of the 9th Division. Although he could not see the specific situation of the fierce battle between the two sides, he could clearly hear the fierce shouting and fighting of both sides.

After seeing that the two sides had been fighting for more than half an hour and the battle seemed still fierce, He Wei felt something was wrong. Now after learning the details from Zheng Zuomin, He Wei realized that he had overestimated the combat effectiveness and tactical qualities of the 9th Division. He thought that it would be enough to send three regiments to fight against a severely damaged infantry regiment of the 6th Division, but he did not expect that it was still a little short of what he could do.

The troops of the 9th Division broke through the Japanese positions, surrounded the Japanese, and engaged in a melee with the Japanese, but they still couldn't defeat them in one fell swoop!
Not all troops have the equipment and quality of the Assault Corps, not even the elite 9th Division of the National Army. Moreover, the one they encountered today was the elite Japanese 6th Division, which they could not defeat in one bite!

He Wei did not object to Zheng Zuomin's risky decision to send the last infantry regiment at his disposal into battle. Taking down the Japanese troops underground at 201 Hill was a tactical goal decided upon jointly by him and Zheng Zuomin, and he did not want to let the Japanese troops underground at the hill go easily.

What He Wei can do now is to use the Banbishan artillery group to support the actions of the 9th Division, so that Zheng Zuomin's 9th Division can devote all its forces to deal with the Japanese troops under the 201 high ground with peace of mind. The Banbishan artillery group will do its utmost to suppress and interfere with the remaining Japanese troops in front of the 9th Division to ensure that it will not be stabbed in the back by other Japanese troops before achieving the tactical goal of annihilating the Japanese army.

Soon, the staff of the 9th Division quickly informed the staff office of the assault corps of the confirmed or suspected departure positions and hidden positions of the various units of the Japanese 9th Division in front of the 6th Division's defense zone.

After emergency calibration and processing by the General Staff Office, the location information of these starting positions and hidden positions was conveyed by the General Staff Office to the artillery command post on Banbi Mountain, becoming the targets of a new round of artillery fire by the Banbi Mountain artillery group.

So, after more than half an hour of silence, under the unified command and deployment of artillery commander Chen Xinsheng, the artillery group on Banbi Mountain roared again!

The various mountain artillery howitzers and naval guns of the entire artillery group once again launched rapid fire, and with a loud rumbling sound, they fired deadly steel and energy at the various positions of the Japanese 9th Division facing the 6th Division.

75毫米山炮弹，76毫米山炮弹，120毫米舰炮炮弹，150毫米榴弹炮弹持续不断的在已确定的第6师团阵地亦或是疑似第6师团的阵地上爆绽出绚丽的火花。

Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, wave after wave of artillery shells flew across the Yangtze River, creating wave after wave of explosion points in the artillery group's firing targets, smashing into the various firing targets provided by the 9th Division. All firing targets within the range and firing range of the Banbi Mountain Artillery Group were hit by the Banbi Mountain Artillery Group's indiscriminate bombardment.

Under the cover of such fierce artillery bombardment, Zheng Zuomin decisively ordered the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 50th Division, which served as the reserve, to immediately engage in an encirclement and annihilation operation against the Japanese troops underground at 201 Hill. And it was not only the 50th Regiment that pressed forward. The ruthless Zheng Zuomin even ordered the 9th Division's direct cavalry company to dismount and fight on foot. They also rushed forward waving sabers and holding rifles, changing into infantry. It was a completely crazy way of fighting with the intention of destroying the Japanese army's descendants and investing all available troops.

At this point, the four main infantry regiments of the 9th Division were all involved in the siege of the Japanese 13th Infantry Regiment. When the 50th Regiment, a fresh force, joined the battle, the 9th Infantry Regiment, which had been struggling to hold on in the melee with the powerful forces consisting of the 13th Division's four main regiments, a direct special service company, a direct engineering battalion, and a cavalry company, finally could not withstand such a fierce attack from the 9th Division, and gradually collapsed after its manpower was gradually exhausted.

The balance of victory in this annihilation battle completely tipped towards the 9th Division.

Below the 201 high ground, the mountains and plains were covered with smoke and dust, and the sound of killing was deafening. Waves of nationalist soldiers in grass-green uniforms surged in waves, gradually drowning the 13th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army.
(End of this chapter)