UGB #282 - Destruction of the Eighth Division (Part 2)
#282 - Destruction of the Eighth Division (Part 2)
Longhu Township.
The air was thick with the smell of barbecue. The 25th Regiment emerged almost simultaneously from all sides, continuously launching fuel-air explosives at the Aomori Regiment. After overcoming their initial discomfort, the soldiers discovered that this new tactic was incredibly effective. They didn't need much aiming; they just pulled the trigger towards the Japanese crowd, and with a 'boom,' a large group of Japanese soldiers would be gone.
Colonel Takashina Utatake, commander of the Aomori Regiment, watched as the Eighth Route Army's 25th Regiment advanced, using fuel-air explosives to push forward the battle line. His heart sank to the bottom of the ice.
"Takagi-kun, the cavalry unit will charge on the flanks. You must stop the Eighth Route Army's advance. The artillery unit will aim and fire as quickly as possible. We cannot allow the Eighth Route Army to reach the infantry battalion. Our situation is too passive right now; we are constantly under attack. We must counterattack and disrupt the Eighth Route Army's offensive rhythm."
Although Colonel Takashina Utatake had never encountered this kind of battle, his basic combat skills were still intact. The most important thing now was to cut off the enemy's entanglement with the main force and quickly counterattack to engage the Eighth Route Army in close combat, in order to avoid that terrifying lethality!
The Aomori Regiment had a cavalry squadron of about a hundred horses. In their prime, this cavalry squadron could chase and defeat a whole regiment of the National Revolutionary Army!
But today, seeing the huge fireballs rising one after another, their faces turned ashen. The advantage of cavalry was already difficult to utilize in this mountainous area. If they were crowded together, just one launch of the enemy's terrifying weapon would turn them all into grilled meat!
"Hai!" However, not advancing now was the same as waiting for death. Captain Aoki replied loudly and turned to mount his horse.
"Banzai!" Captain Aoki roared with all his might.
"Banzai!" The Japanese cavalry shouted back frantically in unison.
However, it was useless. In the narrow mountainous area, the cavalry couldn't spread out their formation to charge. These Japanese soldiers lined up in two rows like they were waiting to receive awards. When they charged to the front of the 3rd Battalion of the 25th Regiment, the 3rd Battalion didn't even consider using fuel-air explosives. They directly formed a crossfire with more than a dozen machine guns, turning this team of Japanese cavalry, men and horses, into sieves!
The Type 56 light machine guns, modified from the MG3, had amazing firepower when firing at full strength, giving the Japanese cavalry no chance at all.
The Japanese Type 92 infantry guns' counterattack was somewhat powerful, causing considerable casualties to the charging soldiers of the 25th Regiment. Now, Eighth Route Army soldiers were charging from all directions, and the Japanese gunners didn't even need to aim; they just fired randomly around and reaped the rewards.
However, once the muzzle flash appeared and exposed their position, the snipers of the 25th Regiment would target these threats!
In addition to the snipers, mortar observers were also constantly searching for targets. Once the approximate location of the Japanese artillery was determined, they would immediately call in the mortar group through the radio to carry out a covering bombardment!
Now, they were fighting on their home turf, with convenient logistics and abundant ammunition. The firepower was so extravagant that even if the accuracy was a little off, a salvo from four or six guns would cover hundreds of square meters, leaving no grass growing. The Japanese soldiers couldn't escape at all.
As the local hosts, the soldiers had scouted every plant and tree here in advance. They even knew the approximate location of the Japanese soldiers just by looking at a tree.
For the small groups of Japanese soldiers they encountered, the Type 56 semi-automatic and Type 56 submachine guns fired bullets like pouring water. The advantage of automatic rifles over bolt-action rifles was like two centuries apart. In close combat, they wouldn't give the bolt-action rifles any chance at all.
Once the Japanese 'pheasant neck' and 'crooked handle' machine guns opened fire and showed their heads, the soldiers in the vanguard, carrying rocket launchers, would not hesitate to fire a rocket backhand!
At this distance of two or three hundred meters, the power of the RPG rocket launcher was fully utilized. As long as they dodged quickly after firing and moved a few meters away, the safety threat to the rocket launcher operator would not be too great. Following the Japanese attack attracted by the rocket's muzzle flash, it was likely the 'crooked handle' machine gun掃射 directly in front of them. As long as they dodged quickly and lay on the ground, avoiding the first wave of Japanese fire, the rocket launchers of the fraternal units would soon take out the exposed Japanese machine gunners!
They alternated covering each other, allowing the entire team to move forward continuously!
When they encountered large groups of Japanese soldiers, the soldiers carrying RPG-80 rocket launchers would launch a fuel-air explosive, instantly annihilating a company of Japanese soldiers!
Although there had been no prior drills, the introduction of the powerful mass destruction weapon, the fuel-air explosive, was quickly adapted to by the soldiers. The 16th and 25th Regiments had originally planned to harass the enemy, take a bite out of the 8th Division, and then return to the mountains, using the terrain advantage to strike another blow at the Japanese pursuers.
In this way, through night battles, they would deplete some of the Japanese army's strength. From here to Shexian County, there were still dozens of kilometers of mountain roads, and several other regiments were hidden in the mountains ahead, waiting for the passing Japanese soldiers.
However, they had not expected the power of the fuel-air explosive to be so great. Facing the Japanese infantry battalion, it was like cutting melons and vegetables, completely changing the pattern of positional warfare!
The 16th and 25th Regiments immediately changed their battle plan, preparing to launch a sustained attack on the Japanese soldiers until all the fuel-air explosives carried by the soldiers were used up!
This time, the Taiyue Military Region Headquarters had invested heavily, sending a large stockpile of portable rocket launcher fuel-air explosives to the front-line troops in Shexian County. Each squad had two soldiers carrying a disposable RPG-80, each carrying two fuel-air explosives. The 16th and 25th Regiments were solid Class A regiments, with a full twelve squads in a company!
"Retreat! We must immediately disperse and retreat!" Kobayashi Masanari looked pale as he watched the huge fireballs continuously rolling into the 8th Division's ranks, turning the Japanese soldiers into ashes on a large scale like divine punishment. Turning the premonition in his heart into reality, Kobayashi Masanari's hands and feet were icy cold, and his voice began to become hoarse due to excessive fear.
Yokoyama Shizuo no longer had the calm and composed demeanor he had just had. He looked at the firelight constantly rising in the sky and the loud noises coming from it with fear. Without a doubt, this was the Eighth Route Army's mysterious weapon that Kobayashi Masanari had mentioned before, but he had never expected the power of this weapon to be so great!
It was completely like divine might, not something that human power could resist!
"Order the artillery regiment, the supply regiment, and the engineering regiment to immediately turn back. The Akita Regiment and the Hirosaki Regiment will alternately cover the troops' dispersed retreat!" Yokoyama Shizuo said hoarsely.
"Order the Aomori Regiment to abandon the original plan and alternately cover the retreat!"
"Report to the headquarters of the Front Army that our army has encountered the enemy's mysterious weapon of mass destruction. Currently, there is no information or countermeasures for this mysterious weapon. It is recommended that the headquarters cancel the operation plan. It is recommended that the 9th Division, the 25th Division, the 28th Division, the 29th Division, and the Independent Tank 1st Brigade retreat, withdraw from the mountainous area, and disperse for defense!"
After Yokoyama Shizuo came back to his senses, he quickly issued a series of orders to the operations staff.
Now, there was no room for hesitation. The enemy was too strong, and his troops had no resistance against that unknown mysterious weapon.
Almost every second, hundreds of Japanese soldiers could be swept away by that terrifying weapon!
"What? The 16th and 25th Regiments launched a very successful attack and are expected to annihilate the 8th Division in front of them? The cloud bombs have tremendous killing power and must be launched from beyond 200 meters, otherwise they may accidentally injure our own troops? Are there already frontline units that miscalculated the distance and injured their own troops?" Chief of Staff Chen of the brigade looked at the latest telegram, his face full of question marks, almost stunned.
Although the higher-ups had already conveyed the precautions for the use of cloud bombs, emphasizing that this weapon has a very large killing range and must be controlled to be launched beyond 200 meters, accuracy is not important, but before using it, who would have thought that the power would be so unbelievably great?
"This is the latest technology from the Dawn Research Institute. Since they have warning instructions, it proves that this weapon is indeed powerful. Notify all units using cloud bombs that they must strictly follow the instructions. When alternating charges, rear units must not use cloud bombs!" The brigade commander took it and glanced at it, immediately issuing instructions to the operations staff.
"Since this thing is so powerful, we don't need to wait any longer. Immediately start the general offensive! Order Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Kong Jie's mechanized infantry brigades to move out immediately with the latest vehicle-mounted 107mm artillery battalion and launch a night attack on the little devils' 1st Division and the 3rd Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, with annihilating the enemy with cloud bombs as the top priority! If there is spare capacity, Li Yunlong and the others are allowed to freely seek opportunities to attack other divisions of the little devils!"
The brigade commander had an extraordinary sense of smell for opportunities and never procrastinated in seizing them. Seeing that the situation had changed and the first use of cloud bombs had an extraordinary effect, possibly scaring the little devils away and increasing more variables, he immediately ordered a general offensive to be launched ahead of schedule!
"Order the regiments in Shexian County to abandon the original combat plan. The 38th and 59th Regiments will rush to the vicinity of the Fengfeng Mining Area overnight to block the little devils' escape route to the south. The 20th Regiment will enter the Jiulong Mining Area to block the escape route to the east. The 54th and 57th Regiments will block the little devils' escape route to the north in the Datong Township and Anle Township area. In terms of logistics, replenish the 16th and 25th Regiments with cloud bombs overnight, and be sure to ensure that these two regiments can continue to attack. This time, we will encircle all the little devils' divisions attacking Shexian in Wu'an and eat them all!"
Wu'an is a north-south valley, and the brigade commander didn't originally have such a big appetite to eat the little devils in one bite.
In the original plan, they would rely on the advantageous terrain of the mountains and forests to resist and consume the little devils step by step, and then launch a general offensive in Shexian County to eliminate the exhausted little devils in the mountains.
This was based on the original weapon system, where the troops had very favorable infantry automatic firepower, as well as small artillery fire such as mortars and rocket launchers, in mountain warfare. It was difficult for the little devils' heavy troops to deploy, and even heavy artillery had little use.
However, the amazing performance of the cloud bombs made the brigade commander keenly realize that the little devils might not even be able to withstand the first round of attacks and would run!
So he simply and decisively ordered all field troops to attack, encircling the little devils in the Wu'an area and using the huge advantage of the cloud bombs to annihilate them in one fell swoop!
This was a risky move. The brigade commander had to bet that before the little devils had time to effectively counter the cloud bombs, he would take advantage of this weapon as quickly as possible to deal a fatal blow to the little devils' heavy troops!
In the battle in Jizhou in the south, because the area was all plains, the brigade commander did not expect to be able to stop all the little devils, but only asked Li Yunlong and the others to act according to the situation and use the powerful mobility of the mechanized infantry brigade to see how many little devils on the southern front could be eliminated.
Judging from the current situation, although the decisive battle was forced to start ahead of schedule, it also foreshadowed that the decisive battle could be ended ahead of schedule and reduce the losses of the people in the war zone.
The powerful cloud bombs could speed up the process of the war like a fast-forward, turning the little devils directly into ashes to fertilize the fields!
This battle, due to the change in weapons, suddenly moved towards a completely unpredictable new process.
Yangyi, the retreat of the little devils' 8th Division was a bit chaotic. The little devils of the辎重兵 (Zu Chong Bing) and engineering regiments rarely entered face-to-face combat. This time, when they encountered an attack, their performance was completely different from that of the infantry regiments. Most of the 辎重兵 (Zu Chong Bing) little devils, after being attacked by cloud bombs and catching fire, began to be a little at a loss and scurried around.
The little devils' company and squad leaders could not gather the little devil soldiers running all over the world in the short term.
Compared with the little devils of the infantry regiment, the 辎重兵 (Zu Chong Bing) regiment was originally composed of the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Suddenly attacked, with flames soaring into the sky and livestock scurrying around, the entire barracks was like a hornet's nest.
The attack here was actually only carried out by a company of the Eighth Route Army. After they launched the attack, they were also stunned by the effect of the first cloud bomb. However, Company Commander Gao Laishun reacted quickly. Seeing such an effect, he ordered several deep strikes against the驻地 (Zhu Di) of the 辎重兵 (Zu Chong Bing) regiment!
Sure enough, the little devils' 辎重 (Zu Chong) materials were ignited at once!
Although the loss was great after the materials caught fire, which would reduce the spoils, the current main force's weapon system was completely different from that of the little devils. The little devils' ammunition was the same, and the main regiments could not use it for the time being, so they didn't care too much about these.
By directly blowing up the little devils' 辎重 (Zu Chong) regiment with a few cloud bombs, the little devils no longer had any organized resistance when they launched a platoon charge!
The company didn't even bother to use cloud bombs to attack the occasional small-scale resistance, and directly solved the battle with a conventional rocket. Each squad now has a rocket launcher team, which is designed to solve these small problems. This company had originally planned to rush to the vicinity of the little devils' 辎重 (Zu Chong) regiment, find a chance to fire all the cloud bombs and retreat, but who knew that things would turn out differently. Tonight, their attack was so smooth that it was completely unbelievable.
How could Company Commander Gao Laishun let go of such an opportunity when he blew up the 辎重 (Zu Chong) regiment with a few cloud bombs?
He rushed to the front, and through the burning flames, he immediately directed a cloud bomb at them once he found a group of little devils gathered!
In this way, with just over a hundred people in one company, he directly collapsed the little devils' 辎重 (Zu Chong) regiment of more than a thousand people!
In this way, the 16th and 25th Regiments chased the little devils' 8th Division, and after more than 2 hours of fierce fighting, they almost crippled the 8th Division's organization!
The three infantry regiments were at the forefront. These little devils were also ruthless in combat. Almost none of them ran away, and they all resisted being destroyed by cloud bombs!
The 辎重兵 (Zu Chong Bing) regiment was almost completely wiped out, and none of the artillery regiment was left due to slow movement. The engineering regiment was at the back and ran faster, escaping Yangyi with the division headquarters and directly under the division!
Yokoyama Shizuka and Kobayashi Masanari ran away quite quickly, but when they looked at the remaining troops around them at dawn, the two high-ranking officials of the 8th Division had already lost interest in life.
With such losses, they had no way to go back and survive!
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