Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 324: War breaks out and the scale gets out of control; progress is smooth and waiting for battle reports.

The headquarters of the Eighteenth Army Group.

Telegram delivered.

The headquarters, which had just returned to the Taihang Mountains, received a report from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region.

The main force of Chu Yunfei's troops has moved to the Wutai area and engaged in battle with the Japanese troops stationed outside.

The intention of the 3rd Mixed Brigade is actually very clear.

If you want to occupy a key position in advance, you must rely on the advantages of terrain and location.

Forcing Chu Yunfei's troops to attack them in the mountainous area.

The fighting between the two sides was very fierce.

No temptation, just go all out from the start.

The explosions continued almost non-stop.

It is said that a Japanese military station was razed to the ground by large-caliber artillery.

The wording in the telegram was exaggerated.

It was enough to see the excitement and nervousness of the officers when they were drafting the telegram.

The commander-in-chief frowned slightly.

Prior to this, the Japanese army had no intention of attacking the Wutai area.

Actively invade the Wutai area and switch to a defensive posture.

What kind of weird play style is this?

The deputy commander also stepped over and said: "The Japanese are much faster than we expected. Chu Yunfei's troops are not bad either. It's only April 3rd and the battle outside has already begun."

Several people walked quickly to the battle map.

The deputy chief of staff pointed to Yuanping City and said, "Chu Yunfei's target seems to be Yuanping. The Japanese have already transferred part of the 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade to the north and handed over the defense work to the 20th Division. The elite 4th Infantry Regiment under Chu Yunfei is also engaged in fierce fighting with the enemy at the Changcheng Ridge. If this unit is defeated, his first choice will be either Fanshi County or Yuanping."

"They have rich combat experience in the battles around Fanshi County, and it is also one of their options. But I always feel that Chu Yunfei's troops want to win Shanxi in one battle, and it is unlikely that they will adopt the same tactics this time."

"The analysis makes sense, but Chu Yunfei is best at taking the enemy by surprise. It's hard to say how to attack and how to fight for the time being."

The deputy commander-in-chief sighed, "But once this fight starts, the scale is a battle involving tens of thousands of people. This Chu Yunfei really doesn't want to stop for even a minute."

"Jin Cha Ji's intention is to ask the headquarters whether to send troops to assist in the battle?"

The commander-in-chief nodded and said, "They are already fighting in the border area. What else is there to cooperate with?"

"Order Liu's detachment to cooperate with friendly forces and launch a feint attack on the Nanzhuang line to attract the enemy's attention and reduce the pressure on Chu Yunfei's troops."

"Yes!"

The scale and intensity of the battle temporarily exceeded the expectations of all parties involved.

Chu Yunfei himself didn't expect this.

The mere attempt to eliminate the Japanese army's outer military bases was met with such fierce resistance.

The Japanese looked like they were ready to have a decisive battle with him.

For a moment, Chu Yunfei was really hesitant.

Could it be that these damn Japanese devils have reinforcements?

It can be clearly seen in the three-dimensional combat map.

Part of the newly formed 37th Division was still holding on to the railway line, with basically no unusual movements.

This is strange.

Within the headquarters.

The phone rings.

Zhao Pengcheng stepped forward and picked up the phone.

Zhang Fugui's voice came from the microphone: "Command Headquarters, Command Headquarters, we have figured out the enemy's number. It is the Third Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Shanxi First Army."

"Okay, got it." Zhao Pengcheng turned around and quickly conveyed: "The opponent is the Third Mixed Brigade."

Chu Yunfei nodded slightly.

Consciousness quickly immersed in the three-dimensional combat map.

From his perspective.

The Japanese army made emergency mobilization.

The 3rd Mixed Brigade, which was originally stationed on the Shouyang front line, went north to reinforce the Yuanping front line and fought against them as the main force in the field.

The 39th Infantry Brigade of the 20th Division separated a field infantry regiment to continue the defense mission of Shouyang in order to protect Taiyuan.

【Unit name: 3rd Independent Mixed Brigade】

【Organization: 78%】

[Current number of combat officers and soldiers: 6781 (7883)]

[The main light weapons currently equipped are: Type 38 rifle and Type 38 carbine. ]

[The main machine gun models currently equipped: Type 96 light machine gun; Type 92 heavy machine gun. ]

[Currently the main equipment support weapon model: Type 97 mortar. ]

[Currently the main heavy weapon equipped: Type 75 mm mountain cannon. ]

[Current equipment status: good]

[Current logistics supply situation: good]

[Current training level of the unit: well-trained]

The light machine guns of this mixed brigade have undergone corresponding adaptation upgrades.

The junk machine gun, the Type 99 light machine gun, was eliminated and replaced by the Type 97 light machine gun.

The firepower of small arms has been increased.

Support weapons have also been specially adapted for mountain terrain.

The Type 97 mortar was originally developed by the Japanese army as a support firepower for mountain warfare.

Indirect fire is tantamount to a massacre when facing an enemy force without complete defensive fortifications.

However, the Type 41 mountain cannon it is equipped with does not pose much threat to Chu Yunfei's troops today.

Judging from the upgrade of weapons and equipment of these troops.

It seemed to be because of him.

This group of Japanese devils began to abandon some of the broken equipment that was still in use.

Instead, they began to equip themselves in large quantities with the Type 1936 light machine gun, which was finalized and produced in .

This thing is indeed much better than the Type 99 rifle.

But there are also problems.

Firearms designer Kijiro Nambu was unable to solve the size tolerance problem between the bolt and the barrel.

This caused the gun to frequently malfunction due to spent cartridge cases getting stuck in the chamber.

In order to ensure (theoretically) reliable reloading, Nambu had to use an oil pump installed in the magazine loader to oil the bullets.

In actual operation, the problem is often made worse because oiled bullets are easily stuck with sand and dust.

This is the environment in Shanxi in winter, when the northwest wind brings a lot of sand from the Loess Plateau.

Due to wind and sand, this gun often malfunctioned due to used cartridges getting stuck in the chamber.

On the battlefield, such a tiny flaw can be fatal.

"Boom~!"

"boom!"

The sound of gunfire and artillery fire continued. The Second Battalion of the First Infantry Regiment launched its third attack that morning.

Without any hesitation, he went all out.

The power of the 12 107mm mortars of the regiment's heavy mortar company's simultaneous fire is very considerable.

The continuous explosions made it difficult for the Japanese to resist for a while.

"Boom boom boom~!"

As the 105th Artillery Regiment was deployed, one mm howitzer after another hit the Japanese positions at the same time.

The enormous power easily turned fortifications that were difficult to destroy with mortars into ruins.

The Japanese soldiers understood it in an instant.

The enemy's main artillery has arrived.
The standard of their field fortifications was to be able to withstand the bombardment of 75mm mountain artillery.

Therefore, trench fortifications and the like basically only need to be reinforced with wooden boards.

To withstand the bombardment of 105mm howitzers requires long-term reinforcement, careful repairs, and even the use of reinforced concrete.

Otherwise, it would be a pipe dream to want to block the fire of 105mm howitzers.

The 3rd Mixed Brigade was completely at a disadvantage.

The news was delivered to the Shanxi First Army Headquarters.

Yoshio Shinozuka couldn't help but feel worried.

Although the battle in Shanxi had already begun, Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko still did not change his itinerary.

According to the previous report.

We will land at Taiyuan Airport this afternoon.
If we receive the news that the 3rd Mixed Brigade has been defeated as soon as we arrive.

How would Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko feel?
Yoshio Shinozuka's gloomy eyes were fixed on the battle sand table not far away.

At this point, in fact, everyone knew that no matter what combat orders were given, it would be of no avail.

It would be better to continue sending air force units to provide support.

1st Infantry Regiment.

After the second battalion attacked and captured the hill, they took turns to rest.

Their positions will be taken over by friendly forces.

The precision shooters equipped with optical sights performed perfectly in this battle.

The 1st Infantry Regiment did not have time to fully equip itself with American weapons.

But the precision shooters were now equipped with the Springfield M1903 sniper rifle.

According to their personal habits, each of them is equipped with a corresponding optical sight.

After killing a Japanese soldier, a soldier laughed excitedly and said, "This gun is really easy to use. Not only is its accuracy much better than our Type 65 rifle."

"The weapons and equipment that Commander Chu specially ordered for us, can they be bad? Old Cat, your gun skills are already good, and with this thing, it's like a tiger with wings."

“It’s like adding wings to a tiger.”

"Yes," the soldier smiled and said, "Our squad leader is really educated."

"What culture? I never said that."

"Who said that?" The soldiers turned around and looked in the direction of the voice.

Grass green woolen coat.

"stand at attention!"

"Your Second Battalion fought very well. Who is your squad leader?"

"Reporting to the officer, the squad leader of the 17th squad, Kang Huojian."

"From your accent, you're from Shanxi?"

"Yes." Kang Huojian nodded.

Chu Yunfei smiled slightly: "Just now I heard from your company commander that your squad was the first to rush to the top of the mountain. You performed very well and there will be a reward."

At Chu Yunfei's instruction, Zhao Pengcheng handed bills of French currency to each soldier.

Although it is not much, it is also two months' salary for the soldiers.

"Perform well and stay alive. Although charging and being brave are essential, it is equally important to preserve yourself. The Japanese are good at shooting, and you should have experienced that."

Just as Chu Yunfei was inspecting, the roar of an engine suddenly sounded in the distant sky.

Zhao Pengcheng's face changed: "It's the devil's bomber."

"Commander Chu, please follow me."

Chu Yunfei did not dare to be arrogant and nodded immediately.

He followed the second battalion commander into hiding in the anti-artillery cave before he finished his lecture.

His consciousness quickly immersed itself in the three-dimensional combat map.

A formation of four light bombers was about to wreak havoc on the front line.

The anti-aircraft battery opened fire.

Suddenly, dense anti-aircraft gunfire sounded.

The Japanese were like mice seeing a cat, and they were instantly frightened.

He immediately pulled himself away from the battlefield.
"It's strange, why are these damn Japanese devils so cowardly?" Zhao Pengcheng crawled out of the trench and looked up at the sky in the distance.

"Many of these little Japanese soldiers were hit by our anti-aircraft guns. I guess we can't afford the losses now."

Chu Yunfei naturally knew what was going on.

At this point in time, there is an acute shortage of pilots in all countries.

Especially for a country of Japan's size, it is naturally impossible to make up for the losses in a short period of time.

If a fighter plane is lost, it can be replaced.

The Japanese had no way of replenishing the pilots they had lost in the short term.

These Japanese airmen also knew what was going on.

When there are no anti-aircraft artillery positions, they can easily perform their tasks and provide maximum support to the front-line troops.

And when the sound of anti-aircraft guns rang out, no Japanese soldier in the North China Aviation Corps dared to gamble his life.

In the sky, whether they are performing close support missions or strategic bombing missions.

There is a higher probability that they will be shot down by the anti-aircraft guns of Chu Yunfei's troops.

For this reason, relevant mechanics, theoretical experts, and even ace pilots gathered together to analyze for a long time but failed to find any problems.

In the vast majority of cases.

The anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns of Chu Yunfei's troops were not that accurate either.

After much thought, I can only attribute it to luck, or "the blessing of ancestors" or "help from the gods."

There is no other explanation besides this.

As for the plane parked on the ground.

That goes without saying.

Some of their planes were destroyed by artillery shells and their pilots were killed.

Some pilots were killed by machine guns, or even by explosions of grenades, explosive packs, or even gasoline barrels.

More than half of the fighter planes and pilots of the entire North China Flying Corps died at the hands of Chu Yunfei's troops.

"The First Infantry Regiment fought well. If the Fourth Regiment fights just as well, our army can continue to push the front line forward. Let's make a phone call and ask how the Fourth Regiment is doing."

(End of this chapter)