Rise From Eight Hundred Chapter 1198

If the Battle of Wanjialing was the final battlefield to destroy the 106th Division, then the Battle of Zhanggushan in Wanjialing was the bayonet that penetrated the waist of the 106th Division. It is said to be the most critical battle in the entire large-scale battlefield of Wanjialing. Never an exaggeration.

How tragic was the Battle of Zhanggushan?

In order to break through the encirclement network of 100,000 Chinese troops, the 106th Division, which was trapped in a tight siege, began its final struggle.

Under the command of Matsuura Rokuro, the 106th Division gathered 6 infantry brigades and 40 artillery pieces to launch a "cone assault" on Zhanggu Mountain!

That was a more terrifying assault strategy than the "board charge". The Japanese troops in front fell, and the Japanese troops behind pushed the bodies of their fallen comrades in front as cover and continued to attack upwards.

In the end, the 58th Division belonging to the 74th Army on the defense line had only more than 600 soldiers who could fight. The 106th Division alone had more than 3,500 people killed in battle, and the battle damage rate of more than 6,000 infantrymen invested was as high as 100%. Seventy.

The fall of Zhanggushan gave the 106th Division some breathing space!

But then the 74th Army once again committed an infantry division to counterattack the Zhanggushan defense line. The two warring parties fought back and forth for three rounds on the Zhanggushan defense line that had been filled with corpses of soldiers from both sides. The 106th Division, which had no additional troops, finally had no choice but to Defeated.

One year after the war, the commander of the 141st Division of the 32nd Army of the First Corps returned to the battlefield. He wrote in his memoirs: The Wanjialing battlefield covers a total of about 10 square kilometers and is covered with low mountains and jungles. As one of the main battlefields, Zhanggu Mountain is actually just a small hill!

Surrounding this battlefield, where more than 30,000 Chinese and Japanese troops once gathered, are dotted with the tombs of the Japanese and our troops. The Japanese troops carried heavy loads of horse bones, helmets, saddles, ammunition boxes, grenade launchers, and gas masks. Other sundries are readily available.

In addition, along the foothills, along the roads, and along the streams, there are no skeletons of Japanese soldiers everywhere. One person takes five steps, and one horse takes ten steps. It's not too much!

The little Zhang Gushan almost crippled the elite 74th Army under Commander Xue, but it also completely extinguished the last vestige of vitality of the 106th Division.

"Since the corps headquarters has entrusted us with the important task of defending this area, we must fight this battle well. Wang Datou, your 149th Brigade will be the main force in this battle, and the 148th Brigade will be your reserve force!" 43rd Army At the pre-war supreme combat meeting, Comrade Lao Guo made tactical arrangements in front of all the chief officers of the first division, two brigades and five regiments.

Wang Datou, that is, Tang Dao's old uncle Wang, was promoted to major general and brigade commander six months ago because of the battles of Songhu and Songjiang. When he heard that the army commander handed over the main battlefield of the defense line to him, he naturally stood up with his head held high. He agreed with a loud voice: "As long as Fan Zhixia still has a breath, the position will not be lost!"

"Everyone, the war is about to begin. If you have any opinions, feel free to raise them. Once the war begins, the military orders will fall like a mountain. Anyone who disobeys the orders will be killed by me, the lieutenant general, down to the second-class soldiers, and the supervising team." His face was still calm! Comrade Lao Guo, who looked a little pale, looked around with a look of solemnity on his face.

In this temporary headquarters built of wood and camouflage nets, the senior officers of the 43rd Army were silent, but they could not conceal their excitement.

Before the start of the combat meeting, the commander of the army had already informed the general situation of the current battlefield. A total of about 8 infantry divisions and two independent brigades participated in the siege of the 106th Division. The total strength was roughly five times that of the Japanese army!

If we can't beat them at five to one, then everyone here will be embarrassed. No matter what, we will have to crush the Japanese and swallow them.

“Ahem!” After a long time, Tang Dao, who was standing to the left of Comrade Lao Guo and was simply listening, coughed lightly.

"What? What do you think, Director Tang?" Comrade Lao Guo was such a perceptive person and immediately turned his head to Tang Dao.

"Zhanggushan is the only way for the Japanese army to escape north, so this line of defense must be defended. There is no problem with the deployment of the commander, but the 106th Division is a trapped beast. Our department needs to be careful to prevent the Japanese aggressors from fighting against the trapped beast. We will fight hard. Our department has suffered too much loss." Tang Dao's voice was not loud, but it was enough for everyone here to hear.

“Director Tang, your caution is fine, but have you forgotten how our 26th Division of the 43rd Army gained its reputation?” The major general commander of the 148th Brigade, sitting opposite Lao Wang, grinned.

"In the battle at Songhu, were Guizi's Japs fierce? But half of my two regiment commanders died, and three and a half of the seven infantry battalion commanders died. My soldiers only ate the porridge sent by the people of Songhu. After eating half full of noodles, he rushed out of the trench with the explosive bag and perished with Guizi's tank!

At that time, none of us were afraid of turtles. At this time, would I be afraid of the 26th Division? If you dare to risk your life, I will let them all stay in the fertile land for me! "

It's not that this person has an opinion about Tang Dao and wants to ridicule Tang Dao, but after the battle in Songhu, even though the 26th Division only had a thousand swordsmen left, the strong spirit was through these thousands of swordsmen. After being replenished, the entire division regained more than 10,000 troops. In the last battle, more than 3,000 casualties were incurred in exchange for more than 1,800 Japanese battle losses. This is an example.

The 43rd Army today is only stronger than during the Battle of Songhu!

"Zhou Wuxian, you are such a good person that you are almost a grandfather. Why did you bully my eldest nephew? Isn't it because you didn't become the main brigade! Come on, come on. If you are angry with me, Lao Wang, I can always be famous. Face, I will take your surname!" Uncle Wang still had the same fiery temper. When he saw his colleagues starting to brag about his record in the Songhu battle to counter Tang Dao's advice to fight cautiously, he was willing to comply.

We call him Zhou Laoji because this major general brigade commander originally came from a humble background and has been used to hardship since he was a child. Even when he became a brigade commander, he had to eat porridge or pickles for three meals a day, and this was no exception during the holidays. Senior officers privately This nickname was given to this 43rd Army general, but it was not mentioned on the stage on weekdays, especially in such high-level military meetings.

As for Brigadier Wang's big-headed nickname, he had been given the nickname since he was the company commander until he became the brigade commander, but he had long been used to it.

“What are you talking about, Mr. Wang? Believe it or not, when the war stops one day, I will pluck off your fat head and use it as a ball to kick!” Zhou Laojiu almost ran out of breath and vomited blood.

Even if it is not regarded as the main brigade, it is the commander's choice after all, but this guy still refuses to open and lift certain pots.

This kind of behavior of two brigade commanders bowing to each other is not strange in the 43rd Army. The lieutenant general and division commander and the five colonel commanders were like old monks sitting in meditation. They seemed not to hear or see it.

"If you two quarrel again, get out of here. Look, you still look like a major general and brigade commander?" Comrade Lao Guo was almost killed by his two brigade commanders. He almost missed his life with a slap. The simple conference table fell apart.

The entire 43rd Army actually consists of one infantry division plus an infantry regiment directly under the military headquarters, a total of 5 infantry regiments. These two commanded 4 of them, absolutely important generals.

The result is good! One said that if I get angry, I will take your surname, and the other said that I will rip off the opponent's head and kick it with a ball. It would be strange if Comrade Lao Guo's blood pressure doesn't soar.

The two of them completely calmed down and glared at each other but stopped talking.

"I will consider Director Tang's suggestion. Now let's adjourn the meeting and let each department make preparations. Even the temporary fortifications must be reinforced by me to prevent the Japanese from jumping over the wall in a hurry!" Comrade Lao Guo waved his hand, which was considered the end of the meeting.

"Eldest nephew, if you have any other suggestions, please tell me directly. I am not a stubborn person like Mr. Zhou. My soldiers can die, but they cannot die in vain. Those idiots in the 106th Division are already dead. I I don't want to be buried with them!”

After the meeting, Uncle Wang waited until the end, grabbed Tang Dao, who was also walking at the end, and asked in a low voice.

"Uncle, didn't I just say it! The Japanese are going to fight to the death, and we will suffer huge losses if we fight hard!" Tang Dao glanced ahead and said calmly.

"Don't talk to me about anything else. I don't know how many holes in your baby's heart are like a honeycomb. Just tell me if your baby glanced at me during the military commander's meeting. Then I will know. "You, my dear, have something to say to me." Despite his fiery temper, Uncle Wang may look like a fierce general like Zhang Fei at first glance, but in fact he is full of evil intentions.

“Okay, uncle, you've said so. Let's deduce how the Japanese attack and how our troops defend. What do you think?”

Both uncle and nephew were veterans. They immediately marked out defensive and offensive terrain on a piece of land and conducted offensive and defensive drills.

While you were coming and going, Tang Dao took out the "cone assault" that the 106th Division had deployed in time and space. Uncle Wang's face instantly became extremely ugly.

Just under the Japanese artillery fire, his two infantry regiments had already lost up to a thousand people. If the Japanese really tried this again, his brigade of nearly 5,000 people would be almost wiped out in less than a day.

Perhaps as he promised at the meeting just now, he must fill in all the brigade commanders.

“You idiot, no wonder you let me have the 43rd Army to guard here. This kind of idiot treats us like cannon fodder!” Uncle Wang's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he couldn't help scolding his mother.

He is also a veteran, and he knows that if the Japanese, who have been beaten to death, really fight like this, not to mention his brigade, even the entire 43rd Army may not be enough.

And the probability that the Japanese will actually fight like this is really very high, because if they cannot break through this line of defense, the probability that the Japanese army will break through the entire encirclement is zero. For the Japanese army, either they would die if they charged, or they would die if they did not charge. What if it happened?

You must know that in the past, this line of defense was defended by two elite infantry divisions, and one of them was disabled.

When Tang Dao knew that the commander surnamed Xue handed over this important line of defense to the 43rd Army, he felt chills all over his body!

He didn't believe that the famous general didn't know the importance of this line of defense, but he also didn't blame it all on the commander's malice. But there must be some reason that he couldn't guess, maybe it was due to factional strife. He has not disappeared, or maybe he simply wants to see the combat effectiveness of one of the five best infantry divisions in the Battle of Songhu. In short, even if the 43rd Army successfully completes this battle, it will inevitably be crippled and will have no combat effectiveness for half a year.

Tang Dao did not believe that Comrade Lao Guo's mind and the city government would not know, but whether as a military commander or as a Chinese soldier, this battle would not allow him to retreat at all, so he could only face the difficulties. .

Even if he already knows the outcome!

But Tang Dao was not him. Tang Dao knew that even if the 106th Division occupied Zhanggu Mountain, it would only have more space to stand and wait for reinforcements, and it would be difficult to take a step forward.

What's more, the battle situation has changed now. Less than 15 miles away from Zhanggu Mountain, the 30,000 men of the 74th Army, deployed by the famous general, are already waiting for the reinforcements of the 27th Division to arrive. .

Even if Zhang Gushan is lost, it will be easy to deploy three infantry regiments to block the path of the 106th Division. If the 43rd Army gathers the main force and makes a cross-cutting attack, the 106th Division will also have no way to survive.

This is the best way to fight, but Tang Dao cannot be used because of military orders!

The mountain of military orders is no joke. Just as Comrade Lao Guo said, anyone who does not respect military orders will be beheaded, from the lieutenant general to the private soldier!

Brigadier Wang's head, even though it has the aura of a major general, is fat enough, it doesn't take much effort to cut it off even if it really needs to be chopped off.

“It's useless to scold, uncle, let's think about how to fight this battle!”

"Yes, yes, please save my eldest nephew, who has more than 4,000 brothers in the 149th Brigade. I lost more than a thousand brothers in Songhu back then, and I haven't had a good night's sleep this year. If these brothers continue to be beaten because of following Lao Wang, I will I can't go back to my hometown, and I don't even dare to bury him anywhere!" Uncle Wang was confused.

"Uncle, do you think we can fight like this?" Tang Dao expressed his thoughts.

Brigadier Wang's eyes almost popped out of their sockets and fell to the ground. After a while, he said bitterly: "My nephew! If you do this, I don't have to wait until I think about where to bury myself. The commander will really I gave this head to Mr. Zhou to play as a ball.”

"Then I have no choice. It's up to you. Either you die of old age and don't dare to return to your hometown, or you lose your head before the battle. These are the two choices!" Tang Dao spread his hands.

To put it bluntly, the strategy Tang Dao just mentioned is not to use Zhanggu Mountain, which is not actually a dangerous terrain, as the decisive battle point, but to place the decisive battle point at Leiming Gorge, ten miles behind Zhanggu Mountain.

That, in Tang Dao's opinion, was the most comfortable place for the Japanese army to bury their bones! In that canyon with a width of less than 400 meters, the Japanese army, let alone carrying out a "cone assault" with the corpses of their own people, could not escape even with dozens of tanks as shields.

As for why the 74th Army wanted to fight Zhang Gushan, firstly, it was because they did not want the 106th Division to have too much room for survival; secondly, Commander Xue was probably afraid of long nights and many dreams. The half-cooked duck flew away.

"It's just that I'm afraid that the commander will chop off my head as soon as I get out of the defense line!" Brigadier Wang Da's forehead was already covered with hot sweat at the thought of having to move his head so soon.

"Don't worry, you run away with the brigade headquarters. The battlefield is in chaos. Not to mention Commander Guo, even the supervising team can't find you for a while. When the Japanese enter the Thunder Gorge, you can beat the Japanese at once. Cry, and re-attack Zhang Gushan, the defense line has returned to its previous state, who can still yell at you to kill you?" Tang Dao said in confusion again.

"Okay, that's what I'm going to do? However, don't discount your promise to me. Whether I'll still have my head on my shoulders tomorrow depends on you." Brigadier Wang encouraged me. Cheeks, clenched his molar teeth and agreed.

“Don't worry, I will let the Japanese know what it means to ignore the head and the body. I have fought this kind of battle eight times if not ten times!” Tang Dao said with a relaxed smile.

"Sure enough, it doesn't matter if the head you want to chop off grows on someone else's shoulder! After all, the eldest nephew is still not as good as my own son! Even if he is a little stupider." Brigadier Wang Da looked at Tang Dao's relaxed and happy look, and his face Sad!

Tang Dao

On September 23, the trapped 106th Division launched a frantic attack on the Zhanggushan defense line in front of them.

The 'cone assault' was actually used in the second round of attacks. Facing the two infantry battalions on Zhanggushan's defense line with nearly a thousand people, more than 4,500 Japanese troops were densely packed like a nest of yellow ants, rushing forward one after another!

Brigadier Wang Da, who was leaning in a bunker 800 meters away, watched through the telescope as the Japanese troops carrying explosive bags rushed forward like crazy. Even if they were hit by machine gun bullets, they still struggled to throw the explosive bags forward. Fortunately, they survived. He just lit the fuse and jumped into the trench, causing a **** storm and his eyelids twitching wildly!

With this kind of intensity, not to mention two infantry battalions, even the seven infantry battalions under his command were really like a chess game, not enough for a day, no, it took most of the day.

In just twenty minutes of brutal offensive and defensive battle, more than a thousand Japanese soldiers fell on the position, and only less than 500 people in the two infantry battalions were still alive!

“Order the 3rd Battalion to respond, and the 4th and 5th Battalions to carry off the wounded and help me evacuate the defense line!” Brigadier Wang Da was forced to make a decision.

The 106th Division occupied the Zhanggushan defense line at 9 a.m. at the cost of 1,200 casualties.

"What? Wang Datou actually ordered the entire brigade to retreat? This is impossible?" The moment Comrade Lao Guo received the battle report from the front, his face was first full of disbelief, and then furious.

"Where is that bastard? I'm going to chop off his head! Immediately send an order to the 148th Brigade to counterattack the defense line and stop the stupid little devil for me."

"It's too late. The Japanese army has occupied Zhanggu Mountain and its leading troops have moved forward to continue the attack. The 149th Brigade lost its position too quickly. The 148th Brigade is still five miles away and has no time to react." The Lieutenant General of the 26th Division also had a bitter look on his face. .

Comrade Lao Guo looked blank and silently pulled out his pistol.

"Comrade, don't leave! We can still regroup at the rear defense line to block the Japanese's escape north." Lieutenant General and Division Chief were horrified and rushed forward to hold down Comrade Lao Guo's hand.

“Even if I'm going to die, I have to take the dog head off Wang Da's head first!” Comrade Lao Guo waved his gun. "Where is Tang Dao? Let him accompany me to the front line!"

"Didn't Tang Dao set out with his men and the guard battalion directly under the military headquarters in the early morning? Didn't you forget the military seat?"

"Tang Dao" Comrade Lao Guo suddenly seemed to calm down.

“After yesterday's meeting, did Tang Dao say something to Wang Datou?”

"Yes, it's just that they haven't seen each other for almost a year, so it's normal for them to show off the dragon gate array."

“I understand. I just said that Wang Da Nao is not that bold. It must be Tang Dao, this bastard's idea.”

“Report, there's a call from the regiment headquarters!” The captain's communications staff hurried into the field command post.

"read!"

“Anyone who loses his position, be it a general or a colonel, kill him!”

“Reply the call, I, Lao Guo, will personally lead the team to the front line. If the Zhanggushan defense line cannot be recovered by evening, I will kill myself to thank the people!” Comrade Lao Guo waved his hand and dismissed the communications staff officer.

“Immediately use the Tang Dao to generate electricity, and just say one thing: All the great heads of my two uncles, Laozi and Wang Datou, are in his hands!”

The lieutenant general and division commander was speechless. This army colonel was really awesome. He could influence the life and death of a lieutenant general and a major general without leading troops.

Chapter end

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