Chapter 11: Raid on the Japanese Artillery Position!

  Thank you for the starting coin rewards from "Gu Zhong Dao Ren" and "Zui Ai Lv Feng Xian" brothers! Extremely grateful!

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  At the same time, inside the headquarters of the Japanese Army's 4th Brigade.

  The commander of the 4th Division, Toshitsune Kusunose, and his chief of staff, Hyoe Yamauchi, were all present. The atmosphere in the command center was extremely oppressive due to the failure of the daytime attack.

  Suzuki Yoshito's face was as long as a donkey's, and the several regimental commanders and battalion commanders of the Fourth Brigade were all sitting upright with serious expressions, not daring to relax in the slightest.

  Seeing his subordinates one by one being silent, Suzuki Mitsuo couldn't help but feel a little angry, and coldly said: "Shame! It's simply shame, it's the shame of the entire Great Japanese Empire! Today's attack ended in failure again and again, don't you all feel ashamed? The great Japanese Imperial Army, with the blessing of the Emperor and the Sun Goddess above, and the brave imperial soldiers fighting bravely below, the excellent equipment is far beyond what those Chinese pigs can match! With thousands of imperial warriors plus air support and artillery fire, attacking fiercely for four days, not even a small Xifengkou was taken down! Isn't this shame? How can you all live up to the Emperor's expectations?"

  "Hai! Commander, you are right. Although the Imperial Army's attacks in the past few days have not been successful, they have also caused significant damage to the Chinese defenders. Under the firepower of the Imperial Air Force and artillery, the Chinese troops at Xifengkou are about to collapse. I believe that by tomorrow at the latest, our brave Imperial troops will break through the Chinese defenses and completely defeat the 29th Army!"

  "Sakai-kun! Never underestimate your opponent! The fact is, the troops we're facing are not just ordinary miscellaneous units as reported, they have strict discipline and strong combat power. Even the Central Army of the National Government in Nanjing would not be a match for them." said Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe Masa-o with some cold sarcasm.

  "Watanabe, why did you raise the morale of the Chinese army and destroy the prestige of our Imperial Army? Was it because the failure of yesterday's attack left a shadow on your mind? Are you afraid of the 29th Army of China?" retorted Sakai Saburo.

  "Hey! I'm just stating the facts, the 29th Army in front of us is not to be underestimated! The loss of No. 1 High Ground and No. 2 High Ground is the best proof!" Watanabe Masao retorted somewhat indignantly.

  Sakai Saburō was furious upon hearing this, as Hill 1 and Hill 2 had been lost to the 17th Infantry Regiment. Watanabe Masao's words were undoubtedly a severe slap in the face for him.

  Just as Sakai Saburō was about to explode in anger, Suzuki Mitsumune suddenly flew into a rage and bellowed: "Enough! No more arguing! Each of you return to your units and get them in order. Tomorrow the 17th Infantry Regiment will attack Hill One and the 5th Infantry Regiment will attack Hill Two. I order you to capture Hills One and Two by tomorrow evening!"

  "Ahai!" Watanabe Masao and Sakai Saburo hastily bowed their heads in response, then turned around and left separately.

  After Sakai Saburō and Watanabe Masao's group left, Suzuki Yoshitsugu turned to Chief of Staff Hata Shunroku and said: "Hata-san, issue the order, all units must be on high alert and strictly prevent the Chinese army from launching another night raid against the Imperial Army."

  "Ah!" Huo Yizhen hastily bowed his head and quickly walked out of the command center to deliver the orders.

  …….

  The Japanese army's camp was about three miles away from No. 1 and No. 2 highlands, and the brigade headquarters was ten miles away. Because Suzuki Mitsuo would go to the front line command post during the day attack, he would only return to the brigade headquarters at night to rest.

  In addition, the location of the brigade headquarters was already in the depths of the Japanese army, so the entire brigade headquarters had only one company's worth of guards.

  During the daytime attack, two infantry squads will follow Suzumiya to the front line as escorts. They will return to their units at night.

  The Japanese artillery positions were built just behind their attacking troops, and the distance between the two sides was no more than 2 li. The Suzuki Brigade was a reinforced brigade, especially in terms of artillery. Except for some anti-war cannons left at the division headquarters, all the 70mm Type 92 infantry guns, 75 mountain guns, and field guns were equipped to the 4th Brigade under Suzuki Mitsutomo's command. It can be said that the artillery firepower of the 4th Brigade was very strong.

  It was almost the artillery firepower of a division, so it could cause such great harm to the 29th Army at Xifengkou, which also prompted General Zhao Dengyu and others to decide to destroy it, and thus took the risk of launching a night raid on the Japanese artillery position.

  The artillery troops of the Fourth Division, mainly composed of divisional artillery brigades, were equipped with a battalion of guard forces in addition to three artillery battalions.

  ……….

  Japanese Army Artillery Position, Artillery Brigade Headquarters.

  Commander of the artillery regiment, Major General Rai Iwajirō was having a meal with several battalion commanders in his command post. Since their artillery regiment was a direct unit under the division, and it was an artillery unit, they were treated much better than ordinary infantry regiments.

  Dinner was also quite rich, and Rai Gantetsu, this old devil, was a drunkard. Every time he finished fighting, he would pull his own subordinates to drink heavily. Although there were written regulations within the Japanese army that soldiers were not allowed to drink during wartime, few high-ranking commanders in the Japanese army followed them. Rai Gantetsu's military rank was only Colonel, but his family background in Japan was considered aristocratic, with a long history of meritorious service, and no one supervised him, so this situation of drinking during wartime was not unusual.

  Actually, this is nothing unusual. From ancient times to the present, which general leading troops into battle does not drink alcohol? Of course, drinking and getting drunk are two different things. Some famous generals in history have been able to discipline themselves, although they drank but did not neglect their duties. Moreover, wine can boost morale, and having a drink before going into battle has some benefits for the soldiers' spirits.

  However, some people also lost their lives due to excessive drinking, and Zhang Fei, a famous general of the Three Kingdoms, is a good example.

  Rai Gantetsu and others were drinking and chatting with several subordinates, when a communication soldier walked in big strides, suddenly stopped, stood upright and reported: "Colonel, the division headquarters called to ask our unit to raise vigilance and prevent the Chinese army from launching a surprise attack at night!"

  "What? Chinese troops? Night raid?" Rai Gantaro, who had already been drinking for a while, couldn't help but laugh scornfully: "Haha, Suzuki-san is really overthinking this. We have the 17th Infantry Regiment and the 5th Infantry Regiment in front of us, how could the Chinese army possibly get here? Even if those Chinese pigs could make it here, our defense unit would annihilate them all!"

  "Colonel, you're absolutely right! Those stupid Chinese have already been intimidated by the mighty artillery fire of our Imperial Army during the day. How could they possibly dare to come out and commit suicide on their own initiative? On the other hand, those infantrymen are a bunch of good-for-nothings. Under the cover of our intense artillery fire, they still couldn't defeat the Chinese army that had already lost its nerve! I think they must have wasted all their energy on some woman, so during the attack, they were so lacking in combat effectiveness. Haha!" A lieutenant colonel said with a loud and brazen laugh.

  "Ah, I see! Lieutenant Ono was right! You can go ahead and drop it! The Chinese won't show up after all, no need to scare ourselves." Rai Gantarō nodded in agreement, his eyes slightly dim as he waved his hand at the communications soldier.

  "Ah hai!" The communications soldier heard this and immediately lowered his head in response, then turned around and quickly walked out.

  "Come, Ono! Today we'll drink with all our might! Tomorrow our artillery regiment will show off its prowess again and let those damned Chinese pigs taste the ferocity of the Great Japanese Empire's cannon fire! Haha!" Raisuke Iwata said with a triumphant smile, holding up his sake cup.

  "Cheers! Haha!" Several Japanese officers raised their glasses and laughed obscenely.

  ………..

  The night was pitch black, and General Zhao Dengyu led six hundred brave warriors down the No. 1 high ground and rushed straight to the western Maotian Ridge. The Maotian Ridge was steep and rugged, and it was difficult to move forward even during the day. At night, the darkness made it impossible to expose themselves, and they couldn't light torches, so walking became extremely difficult, and one misstep could lead to falling into a mountain gorge.

  The warriors were almost hand in hand, supporting each other as they moved forward.

  The ones who walked in the front and led the way were Zhang Xinghan, Hou Wanshan, and an old soldier nicknamed "Lao Maozi". He was not tall, but his movements were quite agile, especially those big hands of his, which had incredible strength. He used to be a hunter in the mountains and was extremely skilled at walking on mountain roads at night, so he volunteered to lead the way.

  Zhang Xinghan and Hou Wanshan were appointed by General Zhao Dengyu as guides, after the previous joint bloody battle, Zhao Dengyu had noticed this capable and young soldier, Zhang Xinghan was good at both literature and martial arts, which made him likable to General Zhao, who intended to reuse and cultivate him. However, with a big war imminent, there was no time for that.

  The reason for going to Motian Ridge is that, based on daytime observations, the Japanese artillery positions are at least a few miles away. If we launch a frontal assault, we may not be able to find the enemy's artillery positions and will likely encounter their main force first.

  So, we can only bypass Motian Ridge, bypass the vanguard of the enemy's main force, and raid the artillery positions behind the enemy.

  ………….

  Xifengkou Pass wall, after General Zhao Dengyu led the troops to depart, Deputy Commander of the 109th Brigade He Jishen brought a battalion of cavalrymen to rush here overnight.

  In the command center.

  Upon learning that General Zhao Dengyu had already set out with the Big Sword Team, He Jiguo hastily said to General Wang Zhicang: "General Wang, if our troops launch a surprise attack on the enemy artillery, even if we succeed, we will inevitably be surrounded by the main force of the Japanese army. It won't be easy to break through the encirclement."

  "Hmm! I'm also worried about this matter, what's your good plan, He brother?" General Wang Zhibang asked with a frown.

  "Commander Wang, I suggest that after the enemy artillery position is destroyed, we take the explosion as a signal and launch an immediate full-scale attack on the Japanese devils in front of us, forcing them to be unable to retreat, thereby relieving the pressure on the Big Knife Squad's side and coordinating with the Traveling Seat to break out of the encirclement!" He Qiwen spoke out his own thoughts.

  "Good! Let's do it! He brother, you immediately go gather the troops!" General Wang Zhibang heard this and agreed at once.

  "Yes!" He Jikun stood up straight and saluted with a loud "crack", then immediately turned around and quickly walked away.

  ……….

  About two hundred meters southwest of the Japanese artillery position, after nearly two hours of marching, General Zhao Dengyu arrived with 600 members of the Big Knife Squad. Due to the guidance of Lao Maozi, the soldiers did not encounter any accidents such as falling into mountain gullies, and only two soldiers accidentally bumped their legs on rocks and got bruises.

  In the mountain pass, General Zhao Dengyu was resting with his soldiers. After a while, Zhang Xinghan and two others, Lao Maozi and Hou Wanshan, returned from scouting ahead.

  Seeing the three men, General Zhao Dengyu hastily asked: "How is it? Is there a target nearby?"

  "Ah, yes!" Lao Maozi replied in a coarse voice, "About 200 meters from here, behind that mountain ridge in front of us, there's an open area with firelight. Due to the darkness, we can't confirm if it's indeed the enemy artillery position. Afraid of startling them, we didn't dare get closer for reconnaissance."

  "Oh, so that's it?" General Zhao Dengyu furrowed his brow upon hearing this. Right in front of them were the Japanese troops, but it was unclear whether they had reached the Japanese position or not. If they continued to move forward to search for it, there was a high possibility of startling these Japanese troops, which would render all their previous efforts useless.

  At this point of being stuck between advancing and retreating, even Zhao Dengyu, a seasoned general with rich combat experience, was somewhat at a loss, and couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

  Just then, Zhang Xinghan said: "Comrade, I think there must be a ghost cannon position in front."

  "Oh? How did you know?" General Zhao Dengyu, Lao Maozi and Hou Wanshan all looked at Zhang Xinghan with surprised eyes.

  "I just carefully observed, the terrain here is extremely conducive to building artillery positions. First of all, the mountain ridge in front provides excellent concealment for the enemy's artillery and also enhances their concealment. The mountain ridge has no effect on the enemy's curved trajectory cannons."

  Moreover, this place is located in the heart of the enemy's sphere of influence, and it is at least four or five miles away from our position. If we go any further, the enemy's artillery will be out of range, so it can be confirmed that this is indeed the enemy's artillery position." Zhang Mingyu replied.

  "Hmm! Zhang Xinghan's analysis makes sense." General Zhao Dengyu's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he nodded in agreement. His eyes, filled with deep meaning, looked at Zhang Xinghan. In his heart, he thought: Such an outstanding talent, both literary and martial, is only a private? Once the war is over, I must report to the military seat and reuse him.

  "Let's go! Are we going to fight?" Hou Wanshan exclaimed excitedly after listening to Zhang Xinghan's analysis.

  "Pass the order down! Everyone prepare for battle immediately! Grenadiers in front, Big Sword Squad in the middle, brothers carrying explosive packs follow up! Ambush the enemy!" Zhao Dengyu said with a stern expression.

  "Yes!" Hou Wanshan agreed with pleasure.

  The order was quickly passed down, and all the members of the Big Knife Squad stood up and closely followed General Zhao Dengyu, quietly approaching the enemy's artillery position.