The artillery squad of the Piancunli brigade quickly deployed. Two 92 infantry guns and six 81mm caliber light mortars were deployed at a distance of two thousand meters from the Chinese army's defense line. The artillery was quickly in place, and then , the captain of the artillery squad raised his saber high, and then slashed it down.
Immediately afterwards, the gunners of each gun waved the triangular flags held high one after another.
The next moment, two 92 infantry guns and six 81mm light mortars trembled at the same time, and then a dazzling red light burst out from the muzzle. The little devils didn't even test-fire and started directly. There was a cluster of shelling, and in an instant, rows of shells roared forward with a squeaking sound.
The next moment, huge explosions burst out from the Chinese ** team's defensive position. Among the rolling flames and air waves, you could vaguely see the wood that was thrown into the air, as well as various firearms. , in an instant, the entire defensive position of the Chinese ** team was completely enveloped by continuous explosions.
Wan Zhongshan held his head in his hands and stuck his butt out, lying like an ostrich in the trench.
Due to the rush of time, the Second Battalion had no time to build complete fortifications, so it only dug two main trenches at the front and rear. Even the communication trenches between the two main trenches were not completely dug, let alone the anti-gun holes. Therefore, when the Japs launched a fierce bombardment, the officers and soldiers of the second battalion could only pray in the smoke.
Pray that the shells will not fall into the trenches, and even if they fall into the trenches, they will not fall around you.
Unfortunately, there were always shells falling into the trenches, and officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion were constantly being blown up into the sky.
However, the officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion were not frightened. They were all fought on the Songhu and Wuxi battlefields, and almost all of them crawled out of the dead. Back in Shanghai, they were not even able to fight with the Japanese Navy. I have experienced large-caliber naval guns. It is a huge cannon with a caliber of over 3oomm. When a shell is hit, a building will collapse directly, and the ground will be a huge crater the size of a football field. When you are unlucky, One shot and a company was gone.
Compared to the Battle of Songhu, the current intensity of the bombardment by the Japs was like a child playing house. It was simply wishful thinking to expect that this intensity of bombardment would destroy the morale of the veterans of the Second Battalion.
Therefore, even though the entire position was blown into pieces, the Second Battalion remained unmoved.
The Japanese artillerymen did not carry many artillery shells, and the rapid fire attack stopped after ten minutes.
After the bombardment ended, before the smoke cleared, more than a hundred Japanese soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Squadron of the Katancunli Brigade swooped over from the center with shining bayonets. Accompanying the more than a hundred Japanese infantrymen advancing, There is also the heavy machine gun squadron of the Katamura Brigade, and the 1st and 2nd Infantry Squadrons are taking a detour to the left and right flanks.
However, the Japanese who detoured from the left and right wings soon encountered a problem.
Not far after they had detoured, they were blocked by a cliff. They detoured forward, only to find that the cliff was also extending forward. They could not open the distance between them and the Japs in the middle, so they detoured from the flanks. It was completely meaningless, so the two groups of devils had no choice but to turn back.
"Nani, can't you make a roundabout way?" Katamura's adopted man was dumbfounded after receiving the report.
After being stunned for a moment, the righteous man in the village roared: "Map, bring me the map!"
The combat officer who was carrying the map quickly took it out of the map bag, spread it out, and turned on the flashlight. Katamura Yoshio looked at the map for a long time, but he couldn't see where he was. It wasn't that he couldn't understand the map, but the sky. It was too dark, and he really couldn't see the surrounding frame of reference clearly. Without a reference, he couldn't judge his current exact position.
At this time, Adjutant Ogasawara suddenly said: "Captain, are we here?"
After finishing speaking, Ogasawara pointed at the map. Yoshio Katamura looked in the direction of the adjutant's finger and saw the three words "Teapot Pass". Looking at the shape on the map, it really looked like a teapot.
Looking at the teapot in the picture, Katamura Yoshio's heart continued to sink.
Although there was no frame of reference around him, Katamura Yoshio had already concluded in his heart that this was Teapot Pass.
Due to the restriction of the terrain, Katancunli's brigade could not deploy its troops at all, which meant that he could only devote troops one squadron after another to attack the mouth of the teapot. In this way, he became the stupidest Tian Using oil tactics, the opposing squadron only needs a small number of troops to guard the teapot exit.
Katamura Yoshio turned his attention to the entrance of the teapot and the long spout.
The entrance of the teapot is from the direction where Katamura's brigade came from. The width is also limited and can accommodate at most one squadron. As for the long spout, it is even narrower. It is a bit reluctant to unfold an infantry squad. Now it is troublesome. Katamura Yi The man's face immediately darkened. It seemed that there was little hope of breaking out!
"Order! All infantry squadrons retreat immediately and switch to defense!"
Realizing that there was no hope of breaking out, Katamura Yoshio immediately changed his mind.
It must be admitted that Yoshio Katamura's emergency response was quite correct. Having already been lured into a desperate situation by the Chinese, it was foolish to rush into the troops for a hopeless breakout. The result would only be a loss of precious troops. In a breakout battle that is destined to be unsuccessful.
Therefore, the wisest approach is to shrink our troops and shift to defense.
Although there is no usable terrain in Teapot Au, the terrain is still open. If the team in the village shrinks into a group, they can still hold on for a long time, at least until reinforcements arrive. What's more, they and the human race are The famous prairie dogs can build a fortress even in open areas!
Katamura Yoshio gave an order, and the 3rd Infantry Squadron, which was attacking the exit of Teapot Col, immediately retreated, and then repaired the fortifications together with the other two infantry squadrons and the heavy machine gun squadron, but whether to ask for help from the detachment headquarters, Katamura's righteous man was still a little hesitant, because he suddenly realized that there was still a chance to turn defeat into victory.
When the Japanese army switches to defense, the Chinese ** team will most likely switch to attack, because as soon as daybreak, the Japanese aviation force and the main force of the detachment will arrive. By then, the Chinese ** team will have no chance at all, so the Chinese ** team will The * team will definitely switch from defense to offense, so the opportunity for their team in the village will come.
Defend first, then counterattack, and you might be able to turn defeat into victory!
Therefore, Yoshio Katamura did not immediately ask for help from the detachment headquarters, because asking for help from the headquarters would confirm his previous mistakes in command. But if he did not ask for help from the headquarters, then after the battle, After solving the Dameishan Independent Regiment, he could describe his previous mistakes as bullying the enemy.
Until now, Katamura Yoshio is still dreaming of a great victory.
(Dividing line)
On the right side of Teapot Col, diagonally upward along the long spout, is a piece of high ground.
At this moment, on the high ground, Tiegang's cavalry battalion was waiting quietly, with more than 300 people riding on it, but there was actually no sound under the night.
Last time in the Huaihe River, in addition to the infantry, the remnants Xu Rui gathered included many cavalrymen who were injured or lost their horses. After these cavalry veterans recovered from their injuries, Xu Rui immediately added them to Tiegang's cavalry battalion. Now Tiegang's cavalry battalion The cavalry battalion already has four cavalry companies with more than 300 cavalry!
Of course, war horses are a big problem.
The Independent Regiment has no shortage of horses, having captured quite a few from the Japanese before.
The problem is, not all horses can be used as war horses.
In other words, it takes at least three months of hard work to train an ordinary horse into a war horse. During these three months, the cavalryman must eat and sleep with his war horse, and then go out for training at the same time. He has to wait for the war horse Only by forming conditioned reflexes to various military commands and being able to respond accurately and promptly to different commands can one truly be considered a war horse.
Therefore, the newly formed cavalry company cannot be regarded as a real cavalry company. At best, it is a dragoon company. The so-called dragoons, as loud as they sound, are actually mounted infantry. They usually march on horseback, but in war they dismount and fight on foot. They can't charge on horseback like real cavalry. It's not that people can't do it, but that the horses can't do it.
But then again, the cavalry battalion is in line with international standards.
Because in today's world, it has become an international practice for cavalry units to be equipped with a certain number of mounted infantry.
For example, the cavalry wing of the Japanese field division had, in addition to two cavalry squadrons, a mounted infantry squadron, and a mounted machine gun squadron.
Tiegang's cavalry battalion is now in line with international trends.
Looking down from the high ground, the view is very good, and every move of the little devil in the mountain col can be seen clearly.
Seeing that the Japanese turned from attack to defense and began to build fortifications in the open mountain col, Tiegang's guard Tie Xiaogang said: "I didn't expect that this little Japanese was not stupid enough to stop attacking."
Tiegang said: "Of course the little devil is not stupid, otherwise, what would we be like?"
Indeed, if the little devils were all fools, what had become of them? Isn't he worse than a fool
Tie Xiaogang said: "Batalion Commander, why don't we fight now? Otherwise, when the Japanese build fortifications, we can fight again, but it won't be that easy."
"What's the hurry?" Tiegang shook his head and said, "This teapot depression is full of sandstone. It's not easy to build fortifications. The guys from the second battalion were busy for most of the day and only dug two holes less than one meter apart. Trenches? So let’s not be in a hurry, wait for the little devils to dig there for an hour, and wait until they are almost tired before rushing in. "
"Yes." Tie Xiaogang scratched his head and said, "Batalion Commander, you are really cunning."
Tie Gang said: "What is cunning? This is resourcefulness! Can you kid speak?"
"Yes, you are very resourceful." Tie Xiaogang said, "Batalion Commander, you are really resourceful."
"Boy, take your two brothers to the front and watch. Don't let the little devils touch you." Tie Gang knocked Tie Xiaogang away, then turned around and shouted, "I have them all, dismount and rest!" (To be continued.)