Chapter 873: The Battle of Lunan (6)

Wan Yi is a famous general in the Yu Xuezhong Department, and he made a name for himself when he defended Lianyungang.

Looking at the menacing appearance of the Japanese army, Wan Yi calmly ordered the front line to pay attention to concealment, and was not allowed to fire without an order.

By the time the rearguard troops withdrew to the position of the 667th Regiment, they had already collapsed, and the brethren rushed through the position of the 667th Regiment in a panic like a group of rabbits being chased, and retreated in the direction of Wansong Mountain.

Wan Yi and the others were in a hurry and didn't know what position camouflage, several trenches were clearly placed there, and the little devils who were chasing the rearguard troops could see clearly at a glance and knew that this was the blocking position of the Chinese army. However, the little devil was chasing the rear guard of the Chinese army, and seemed to feel that the Chinese army had been dispersed, so he simply ignored the position of the 667th Regiment, holding a gun, screaming, and rushing towards Xiaohua Mountain.

200 meters, 100 meters, 70 meters, seeing that the little devil striker was about to arrive in front of him, the 667 regiment opened fire. Suddenly, there was a loud burst of gunfire on the position, machine guns and rifles aimed at the devil's front, bullets swished, and flew towards the little devil.

The Devil's Forward Unit suffered a big loss at this time, and was beaten by the brothers of the 667th Regiment, leaving behind the corpses on the ground, and receding like a tide, for fear that they would be caught up by bullets if they ran slowly.

As soon as the devil retreated, Wan Yi hurriedly ordered the troops to pay attention to concealment to prevent the little devil's plane bombing and artillery shelling.

Wan Yi did have combat experience, and as soon as they fought, the devil's planes pounced, and eight Japanese planes circled over Xiaohua Mountain and began to bomb and strafe.

This Xiaohua Mountain, Ershen Mountain, and Wansong Mountain are all dirt mountains, especially Xiaohua Mountain, which is the smallest of the three mountains.

Under the cover of the aircraft, the Japanese began to attack.

Wan Yi held a telescope to observe the movements of the Japanese army, and saw that the Japanese army was fierce this time, not only attacking head-on, but also making detours on both flanks, and even tanks were driving up.

Wan Yi knew that his position was not strong, there was not even an anti-tank trench, and he could not stop the large-scale attack of the Japanese army at all, so he hurriedly reported to the division commander Huo Shouyi, asked for reinforcements, and asked the artillery to open fire to intercept the devils.

There is no need for Wan Yi to report to Huo Shouyi, the artillery observers of the Eighth Route Army who acted with the 667th Regiment have already begun to use the radio to report the shelling data to the Second Field Artillery Regiment and the Mountain Artillery Regiment.

Soon, the 100 cannons of the two artillery regiments of the Eighth Route Army deployed between Wansong Mountain, Ershen Mountain, and Xiaohua Mountain let out an angry roar, and the shells fell towards the devil's attack formation like eyes, and the cannon rumbled, shrapnel flew, and the devil's offensive collapsed at once.

Unfortunately, the artillery bombardment of the Eighth Route Army artillery regiment could not last, and after only five rounds of artillery fire, the Japanese planes pounced on the artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army.

The four divisions of the 51st Army and the 57th Army each had an antiaircraft machine-gun battalion, but unfortunately their tactics were backward and they did not know such anti-aircraft tactics as concentrated fire, and the results of anti-aircraft shooting were not good. At this point, in order to cover the artillery transfer position, the anti-aircraft machine gun fire deployed between Xiaohuashan and Ershen Mountain and Wansong Mountain resolutely opened fire.

The artillery regiment opened fire, the anti-aircraft fire was fired, and the commander of the 10th Division, Fan Zhao, immediately determined the position of the main force of Yu Xuezhong's department, and kept calling on the aviation to organize a large group of aircraft to reinforce intensively, and he must destroy the artillery positions and anti-aircraft machine gun fire of the Chinese army.

Like buzzing flies, Japanese planes circled, bombed, and strafed over Wansong Mountain, Ershen Mountain, and Xiaohua Mountain without interruption. The Second Field Artillery Regiment and Mountain Artillery Regiment of the Eighth Route Army, which cooperated with the Xuezhong Army's operations, saw the opportunity early and moved under the cover of anti-aircraft fire. However, the anti-aircraft fire positions that were on cover duty did not have time to be transferred, and after shooting down three Japanese planes, they were targeted by a group of Japanese planes that were frantically retaliating and drowned in the smoke of Japanese aerial bombs, causing heavy losses.

After destroying the artillery positions and air defense positions of the Chinese army, the Japanese aircraft group did not leave, but launched a comprehensive bombardment of the defenders' positions, and Xiaohuashan and Ershenshan were all shrouded in blood and fire.

After the Japanese fighters were raised, Fan Zhaoshou ordered the artillery wing pulled up by the cover of the aircraft to open artillery and cover the infantry to launch a fierce attack on the line of Xiaohuashan and Ershen Mountain.

With such a high-intensity bombardment by the Japanese army, the position of the 667th Regiment had already been bombed to the ground. Wan Yi got up in the third trench, shook off the dirt on his head, and when he looked up, he saw that a dozen brothers in the first-line trench were bending down and retreating along the communication trench connecting the first-line and second-line trenches to the second-line trench.

Wan Yi scolded, took two guards and ran down the low traffic trench with a shell gun, stopped a big man led by him and shouted: "Stop Zhang Da, you *** want to be a deserter?" Lao Tzu killed you"

Zhang Da led a dozen brothers to run deep and shallow in the traffic trench with a cat waist, and when he heard the roar, he was frightened, and when he looked up, the muzzle of the shell gun in the hand of the regiment commander was almost on his head, and he hurriedly said: "Report to the regiment commander, the devil's plane was bombed too hard, and the brothers are about to die." Hurry up and leave, you'll have to die here if it's too late. ”

Wan Yi's eyes flashed, and he scolded, "Mom, you dare to shake the army's heart and be a deserter, Lao Tzu will send you on the road", and the shell gun in his hand opened fire with a "bang".

Zhang Da stared at his eyes full of disbelief and fell to the ground.

Wan Yi roared loudly: "Ma Lazi has no order not to retreat, who dares to evacuate the position, Zhang Da's fate is his fate brothers, not Lao Tzu's hands are black, Commander Yu is on Wansong Mountain, who dares to let the little devil pass through here, Lao Tzu recognizes him, the gun in his hand does not recognize him, he will give me the position, aim at the little devil and beat him fiercely"

The stubborn resistance of the 667th Regiment could not stop the blow of the devil's artillery fire and tank fire no matter what, and the battle reached two o'clock at noon, when the position was broken through by the devils, and Wan Yi had to lead the brothers to retreat to the defense line of Wansong Mountain.

At this time, there was already a lot of noise in Yu Xuezhong's headquarters.

Miao Zhengliu, the commander of the 57th Army, asked Yu Xuezhong to order a retreat to the east bank of the Jun River, the reason was very simple, the Japanese planes were too powerful, and if they continued to fight like this, the 57th Army would have to give all the explanations here.

The commander of the 51st Army, Mu Zhongheng, did not agree to retreat, and the reason was also obvious, retreating at this time, the troops would become the target of the Japanese aircraft, and the losses would be greater.

Wang Jingxuan, chief of staff of the Sulu Theater of Operations, also agreed to retreat because there was a strong fortified defense line on the east bank of the Jun River and the Yi River, which could allow the troops to rely on. Unlike this Wansong Mountain, Ershen Mountain, and Xiaohua Mountain, they are all dirt mountains, and our army has no time to build a strong position, and the Japanese army can blow up a section of trenches with a bomb.

Zhou Fu, director of the Political Department of the Sulu Theater, resolutely supported the evacuation of the Jun River, and said that this battle was purely to make wedding clothes for others, and to dye Liu Yimin's crown with the blood of the brothers, and it should not have been mixed with the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army let the theater launch a counterattack first, just to consume the strength of the 51st Army and the 57th Army, and the intentions were very sinister

Yu Xuezhong's face was pale, and he didn't say a word. In fact, he also had a trace of regret in his heart, and felt that he should withdraw the main force across the Yihe River and the Junhe River before dawn, leaving a division to stick to the area of Wansong Mountain. In that case, retreat can be defended, advance can be attacked, and it is not like now, putting the troops in danger.

Wang Jingxuan asked whether to send a telegram to Liu Yimin and let the Eighth Route Army launch in advance to reduce the pressure on the 51st Army and the 57th Army.

Mu Zhongheng said that allowing the Eighth Route Army to be launched ahead of schedule is tantamount to exposing the campaign target in advance. In that case, it would be possible for the main force of the 10th Division to escape under the cover of aircraft, and the goal of the Lunan campaign would not be achieved.

Yu Xuezhong knew in his heart that the retreat was extremely risky, and it was not good that the blood of the brothers would dye the Jun River and the Yi River red. However, if they do not retreat, according to the current situation of Japanese planes so rampant, the casualties of the troops will be very large, and they will even be surrounded and wiped out by the Japanese army before dark.

Yu Xuezhong couldn't make a decision, and ordered to send a report to Liu Yimin to see if the Eighth Route Army had any way to alleviate the crisis on the battlefield.

Liu Yimin received Yu Xuezhong's telegram, thought for a while, and then called Yu Xuezhong back, if he could retreat safely, he could retreat across the Yi River and Jun River. If the safety of the retreat cannot be guaranteed, it is necessary to resolutely hold on to Wansong Mountain. The troops should be ordered to take advantage of the verdant trees of Wansong Mountain, cut down branches, and use branches, dry firewood, hay, and grass to make thick smoke and cover the battlefield. Before the smoke rose, the troops were ordered to concentrate their firepower on the air to fire, forcing the Japanese planes not to drop bombs and strafing at low altitudes, thus reducing the accuracy of the Japanese planes' bombing. As long as the smoke is together, the troops can be covered for battle, and the artillery regiment can also give full play to the advantage of artillery fire. In the end, Liu Yimin encouraged Yu Xuezhong: "Our army's strength is twice that of the Japanese army, and the artillery is also twice that of the Japanese army, so it is not a problem to defend a small Wansong Mountain, Ershen Mountain, and Xiaohua Mountain." ”

After reading Liu Yimin's telegram, the generals of the Sulu Theater Command all looked at each other, and they could actually use the method of smoke to deal with the Japanese plane. This Liu Yimin is too good at nonsense, right? As for ordering the troops to concentrate their firepower on the air fire, the Nationalist troops at this time did not have this method of operation, and only on the Songhu battlefield and the Wuhan Battle battlefield, the Nationalist army had a record of using modified heavy machine guns to shoot down Japanese planes. Rifle-to-air shooting has never been tried.

Yu Xuezhong actually wanted the planes of the Eighth Route Army to be dispatched the most, but he didn't know that the ammunition had run out after the First Air Brigade of the Eighth Route Army had run out of ammunition after covering the southbound troops over Longhai Road last time. Otherwise, Liu Yimin would have let the first aviation brigade participate in the war a long time ago.

Yu Xuezhong was determined to be a dead horse and a live horse doctor, and ordered the troops to organize anti-aircraft shooting and smoke control, and be sure to hold out until dark.

Not long after Yu Xuezhong gave the order, he received a report from the 113th Division of the 51st Army that the New Fourth Division was retreating to the Junhe Bridge and the pontoon bridge.

Yu Xuezhong was shocked, as soon as the New Fourth Division withdrew, the right flank of the 113th Division of the 51st Army was exposed, and the entire defense line was incomplete.

Chief of Staff Wang Jingxuan didn't know why the New Fourth Division suddenly retreated without reporting, and he was so angry that he was about to take someone to chase after him, and found Wu Huawen to ask what was going on.

Zhou Fu said unhurriedly that the retreat of the New Fourth Division is also a good thing, first, it can consolidate the defense line on the east bank of the Jun River and respond to the retreat of the main force at any time. Second, you can also take a trip to test the feasibility of the main retreat.

Zhou Fu said this, it was because this was a strategy formulated before the war, and the new Fourth Division suddenly withdrew from the battlefield to cooperate with Zhang Liyuan to seize Linyi. This is the principal's secret order, and Zhou Fu naturally wants to secretly urge Wu Huawen and Zhang Liyuan to implement it.

Yu Xuezhong couldn't help it, the New Fourth Division was Shen Honglie's descendant, but when Shen Honglie left, he verbally said that he would hand it over to the command of the Sulu Theater, and the Military Commission did not order the New Fourth Division to be included in Yu Xuezhong's group army sequence, and he may not listen to Wu Huawen when he said it. Besides, the New Fourth Division was retreating, and the radio could not be contacted.

Yu Xuezhong did not dare to slack off, and asked Mu Zhongheng, the commander of the 51st Army, to send the 114th Division of the 51st Army as a reserve to the defense line of the Wuhua Ministry of Culture, and let Mu Zhongheng personally go to the front line and command the 113th and 114th Divisions to consolidate their positions.

The retreat of the New Fourth Division was soon targeted by Japanese aircraft. Fortunately, the foundation of the New Fourth Division was Han Fuqu's pistol brigade, which was the old foundation of the Northwest Army, and the troops had strong cohesion, and they ran across the Junhe Bridge and pontoon bridge under the bombing of Japanese planes. Standing on the east bank of the Jun River, looking at the blood red of the river, Wu Huawen shed a few tears and turned away.

Not to mention, Liu Yimin's tricks really worked, and the concentrated firepower of the 51st Army and the 57th Army fired at the air, so frightened that the Japanese planes did not dare to strafe the low-altitude bombs anymore. When piles of firewood and grass are lit and wisps of smoke drift into the air, the threat of Japanese planes to the battlefield will be significantly reduced.

With this effect, Yu Xuezhong was not worried, and the troops under his command began to fight with the Japanese army again.

The rumbling of artillery could not hide the shouts of killing.

The commander of the 10th Division of the Japanese Army, Fan Zhaoshou, commanded the troops to fight for a day, and from the morning to the afternoon, seeing that Yu Xuezhong's troops had lost Xiaohua Mountain and Ershen Mountain, and even the Tuling between Ershen Mountain and Wansong Mountain, the Japanese army could occupy Wansong Mountain with more efforts, forcing Yu Xuezhong's troops to flee and completely eliminate them in the rout. But suddenly, the situation changed, and Yu Xuezhong's troops began to concentrate their firepower on the air, and the imperial fighters had to be pulled up. Later, smoke drifted over Yu Xuezhong's position, more and more, and it slowly sheltered the battlefield, and the bombing accuracy of the imperial fighters was greatly reduced. Fan Zhaoshou was so angry that he scolded the Chinese army for being cunning and cunning.

Unexpectedly, it was this inexplicable smoke that supported the defense line of Yu Xuezhong's department without collapsing.

Now that it was getting late, the sunset was gradually dissipating, the twilight was gradually rising from the wilderness, and the Japanese planes were beginning to return home.

Although Fan Zhaoshou was unwilling, he was still satisfied with today's battle, the imperial army not only besieged Wansongshan, but also blew up the Junhe Bridge and the pontoon bridge erected by Yu Xuezhong's department, Yu Xuezhong's department has been unable to escape Besides, the number of corpses abandoned on the battlefield of Yu Xuezhong's department and the number of wounded soldiers captured are there, they have reached the verge of collapse, as long as tomorrow morning, the imperial army's large-scale fleet will take advantage of Yu Xuezhong's department before the smoke is still in the smoke to make another large-scale bombardment of Wansong Mountain, you can capture Wansong Mountain. Sulu Theater, hehe, it's time to draw an end

After saying so, he ordered to gather troops and build positions to prevent Yu Xuezhong's department from organizing a breakthrough at night. Then, Fan Zhaoshou returned to the county seat of Fei County and began to enjoy dinner.

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Chapter 873: The Battle of Lunan (6)