I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 95 A Feast Intertwined with Blood and Fire

The section of the Ping-Sui Railway from Suiyuan to Datong, from Suiyuan to the Yinshan Mountains, is laid on the Tumote Plain.

The Tumed Plain is a plain formed by the alluvial deposits of rivers flowing down from the Yin Mountains.

Because it is fan-shaped, this type of plain is also called an alluvial fan plain in geography.

From the Yinshan Mountains, west of the western railway exit, lies the seemingly endless Tumed Plain.

There are seasonal rivers on the plains. During the rainy season in July and August, the water flowing down from the Yinshan Mountains nourishes this fertile land.

When the dry season arrives in September, these rivers begin to dry up slowly.

Not far from the railway exit at Yinshan, there is a small village.

There aren't many houses, maybe thirty or forty. This is a small stop after leaving the mountains.

It was originally a place to replenish coal and water, but later a population gradually gathered there.

Some farmland has been cultivated around the village, but now the crops on the farmland are no longer being tended to.

The entire village is now deserted. Everyone here knows the Japanese are coming. If they don't run now, are they waiting to be killed?

Even the railway tracks were torn up and messed up by people from Suiyuan, who brought the local residents with them.

Forget about building a train line; let's find the tracks and lay them first.

Commander Chen and his men, who had come down from the mountains south of the railway, were doing one thing at that time: digging pits.

It begins about 15 kilometers from the railway exit.

Organized into platoons, with the mortar as the central fire support, two general-purpose machine guns were positioned about 500 meters to the left and right of the mortar, forming a crossfire that provided cover for the mortar.

When the Type 1 general-purpose machine gun is mounted on a tripod, its effective range will be stabilized at around 1,000 meters.

Such a platoon can control an area with a frontal width of nearly three kilometers.

Especially in this flat plain, such a firepower deployment is highly efficient.

Although this line looks very thin, once the firepower meets the requirements.

Any enemy attempting to break through such a line of fire would have to pay a heavy price.

Especially behind these three platoons, there were also two 82mm mortars and one 70mm infantry gun from the company headquarters as supporting heavy firepower.

Although Commander Chen wanted to gather all the anti-aircraft machine guns in the regiment to create an ambush for the Japanese air force.

However, when launching the first wave of attacks against the Japanese, the two anti-aircraft machine guns in the company should be temporarily kept in the company as backup support firepower.

If the Japanese wanted to launch a desperate charge...

Those two 12.7mm heavy machine guns, which can be used for both high-altitude and low-altitude operations, will show them what an insurmountable barrage of fire looks like.

Such a company can control a frontal width of nearly ten kilometers.

There are three such standard infantry companies in a battalion.

Commander Chen had three such standard infantry battalions under his command.

These three battalions are more than enough to fulfill the massive encirclement designed by Commander Chen, which is 20 kilometers deep and 15 kilometers wide.

In order to completely conceal themselves on this vast plain where the horizon stretches as far as the eye can see.

Then we'll have to dig a hole in the ground.

Commander Chen ordered all those digging the pits to preserve as much of the turf as possible in one piece while digging.

Then they dig up the soil from underground, load the soil they dig up onto a tricycle, and haul it to the riverbeds behind them, which are large and small and are almost dry, to dump it.

When dumping this soil, do not pile it up; spread it out as much as possible.

After the pits for hiding personnel, artillery, and three-wheeled vehicles were dug.

Cover it with a lid made of twigs and ropes, and then put the turf that is preserved as well as possible back on the lid.

In this way, not to mention aerial reconnaissance, even if infantry come to reconnoiter, they won't discover that there are people hiding underground unless they step on the lid and break it.

As for the cavalry battalion and directly subordinate cavalry company under Commander Chen, as well as the three hundred cavalrymen supported by the headquarters cavalry regiment, there were a total of more than nine hundred cavalrymen.

Commander Chen put them all in the valley south of the railway line.

Their mission was to rush out quickly through the rugged valleys to the south when the Japanese troops emerged from the mountain pass.

Cut off the Japanese troops' retreat route along the railway line, and firmly block their possible escape routes.

The 1,000-strong armed supply and logistics unit behind the regimental headquarters.

When they left the mountains, they were assigned to the mountainous area south of the railway line to hide there. Their main task was to protect the supplies they had.

The entire encirclement looks huge, but the overall amount of work involved is not that large.

In just one night, under the arrangement of their respective battalion commanders, the deployment and concealment of all the firing positions were completed.

By the next morning, all traces of the work had been cleaned up.

The thousands of people, vehicles, and artillery that were working on the Tumet Plain last night seemed to have vanished into thin air.

That afternoon, after the covert work was completed.

The scouts at the front sent back a message.

The Japanese cavalry have already advanced nearly halfway into the mountains along the railway line.

The exact number is unknown.

Because the sentries on both sides of the railway line were sent out very far, they could not get close.

However, from the distant mountains, they could vaguely see that the dust and smoke were rising very high above the railway line.

Judging from the smoke and dust, it was clear that a large cavalry force was marching through the valley.

Judging from the nearly 20-kilometer-long trail of smoke and dust, the cavalry that entered the Yinshan Mountains numbered approximately 5,000 men.

The cavalry was marching very fast and was expected to emerge from the valley with the railway by tomorrow morning.

After learning about the general situation of the Japanese, Regiment Commander Chen, Political Commissar Liu, and other military officers in the regiment discussed the battle plan again to see if there were any loopholes.

Finally, after everyone concluded that there were no loopholes, they all went to their respective combat posts, waiting for the Japanese soldiers to walk into the huge encirclement on their own.

The next morning, around 7 a.m., the buzzing sound of airplanes could be heard in the sky.

From the hidden pit, he watched the Japanese reconnaissance plane fly away in the direction behind him.

Commander Chen knew that his covert operation to encircle the enemy had succeeded.

At least the reconnaissance planes in the sky did not find their troops on this vast plain.

If it discovers any suspicious area, it will definitely circle in a certain airspace to confirm whether there is an enemy ambush.

Anyone standing on this flat ground can see the vast plains on the horizon, which is incredibly advantageous for reconnaissance aircraft.

There are no mountains or dense forests here that can obstruct the view.

Even in the distant woods, the trees were sparse and small, not enough to hide anyone.

The Japanese reconnaissance plane didn't stay in the sky for long. It just circled three times and then returned.

It wasn't nearly as thorough as when they were reconnaissance in the mountainous areas.

In the mind of that little Japanese pilot.

On such a plain, it is impossible to hide a large force.

Even if this large force were to disperse, in this completely unobstructed area, it would be impossible to escape the eyes of the ground observer in the back seat of the aircraft.

So the reconnaissance plane flew three times and then returned to base. Before returning, the observer in the back seat sent a telegram to Kobo Shigeaki, who was about to leave the mountains.

Tell it that there is nothing on the plains outside, not even a soul in sight, and it is perfectly safe.

When Kobo received the telegram from the reconnaissance plane, it was already riding towards the exit.

This short distance of just over 100 kilometers left Xiaojue exhausted.

Perhaps influenced by Seishiro Itagaki, who deliberately showed it that newspaper again.

In addition, before it set off, Itagaki Seishiro specifically told it to be careful when passing through the mountains.

This made Koju extremely nervous when he was passing through this Yinshan mountain area.

When it gets stressed, its subordinates only get even more stressed.

Meanwhile, the German cavalrymen who followed along saw that the Japanese were sending out reconnaissance planes and deploying sentries ten or twenty kilometers ahead and to the left and right.

These people were filled with fear and unease.

They were unaware that Xiaojue was Fan's idea.

They would only assume that the Japanese might have obtained some intelligence.

They may be ambushed as they pass through the Yinshan Mountains.

If it weren't for this, the Japanese would have to be crazy to be so cautious.

In a normal march, sending out scouts ten kilometers ahead and five kilometers to the left and right is already considered very good.

That was the distance needed when marching across the grasslands.

Sending out scouts so far into these mountains is no easy task. The scouts at the front have it a little easier.

But the scouts on the left and right sides suffered greatly.

They had to patrol back and forth in the rugged valleys while keeping up with the speed of the main force.

This is no easy task.

Not all valleys in mountainous areas are so regular and flat.

Those are all uneven and winding.

In the short distance of less than three days, these Japanese soldiers and Prince De's cavalry scouts...

They didn't see a single enemy, yet more than a dozen people were injured in the uneven valley.

Now they are finally about to leave this mountainous area.

No more of this damn reconnaissance.

When the first Japanese soldier and Prince De's advance scout squad ran out of the mountains and entered the Tumed Plain.

They finally let out a sigh of relief that they had been holding in for three days.

After three days of tension and stress, the feeling of relaxation upon seeing the vast, boundless plains ahead was extremely pleasant.

This kind of pleasure can also make people extremely lazy.

After they left the mountain pass, they ran for less than ten kilometers before stopping.

Since there's no need to run anymore, you can sit here on horseback and see the scenery dozens of kilometers away, so why bother running?

Once Xiaojue had emerged from the mountain pass, its mood immediately brightened considerably.

It would be impossible to say that it wasn't oppressive during these three days; it's not a celestial being.

After the main force had all emerged from the mountain pass, the cavalry unit had to regroup.

The scouts sent out on both sides also had to return to their posts.

Including the cavalry and their baggage, this cavalry force of four or five thousand men stretched out in a long line, five or six kilometers long and one or two kilometers wide.

More than two hours later, around noon, all the cavalry units finally emerged from the mountain pass and completed their formation.

After the troops were assembled, Kobo was ordered to lead a thousand-strong cavalry brigade under Prince Toku.

He himself led the central army of two thousand cavalry, while the remaining less than one thousand cavalry were responsible for protecting the supplies at the rear.

This time, the scouts on both sides were not sent out too far.

However, some sentries were still dispatched to patrol the area within a five-kilometer radius to the left and right.

It's no wonder that Kobori Shigeki let his guard down.

Rather, it was because a reconnaissance plane had already conducted reconnaissance over it, and now it was on a vast, open plain.

There wasn't a single person in sight; there couldn't possibly be any ambushes.

Even if cavalry were to surround us from afar, we would have enough time and space to deploy our troops as needed.

But when it and its main force had traveled less than ten kilometers along the railway line...

Suddenly, an explosion was heard in the distance ahead.

After a moment of surprise, Kobo Shigeshi quickly stood up straight on his horse, took out his binoculars and looked ahead. He saw that the cavalry brigade of the Prince of De, three kilometers ahead, was in an uproar.

Commander Chen, who was personally in charge of blocking the road ahead, paid no attention to the dozens of enemy scouts and cavalrymen who were gradually getting closer and closer, and let them all pass.

Cavalrymen exhibit path dependence when running.

Once the warhorse starts running, it will try to avoid obstacles and run through areas without obstacles.

And to allow those scattered scouts from the past to return.

When Commander Chen and his men were creating hiding spots, they would place some obstacles in front of them.

For example, a pile of not-so-high rubble, or some dead trees that have been lying on this plain for who knows how many years.

The term "plain" simply means that the land is generally flat, not that it is as smooth as a mirror.

Dead trees and scattered rocks were still everywhere.

Moreover, the distance between the two firing points in the encirclement set up by Commander Chen was still quite large.

The distance between each point was five or six hundred meters, enough for these dozens of sentries to run over.

There are designated people to handle dealing with these sentries.

Commander Chen waited until the large cavalry force in front approached the ambush position at a slow pace, within 200 meters.

He then used his sniper rifle, with a scope attached to the barrel, to shoot down a rider in the cavalry formation ahead, who was dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking officer.

His gunshot was the signal that the battle had begun.

As his gunshot rang out, one after another, the covers were overturned on the Tumet Plain.

Machine guns emerged from the ground and immediately unleashed long streaks of fire at the cavalrymen within their firing range.

However, in some of the pits, instead of machine guns protruding, 60mm and 82mm mortar shells were constantly flying out.

Under the direction of the artillery observers, the shells landed precisely on the cavalry in front.

In some pits, a 70mm infantry gun was pushed out. Once it fired, a bloodbath would inevitably fall among the cavalry in front.

Once the battle at the forefront began, it was like a domino effect, triggering a chain reaction.

From west to east, like a large pocket, the firing points that had surrounded all of Kobo Shigeshi's cavalry units began to speak.

Some of them were close enough to the enemy that they could open fire on the spot.

Those who are farther away can only jump out from their hiding places.

Then followed the three-wheeled vehicles that had already crawled out of the hiding pits, their bodies fitted with bulletproof steel plates, and whose cargo compartments were equipped with 12.7mm heavy machine guns or general-purpose machine guns.

They began to rapidly approach the distant enemy.

At that moment, a hot air balloon was slowly rising behind Commander Chen.

It stopped when it rose to a height of twenty meters.

Once the artillery observer located the area where a large number of enemy cavalry were gathered through his gun scope, he immediately began to report the coordinates of the location.

His communications officer relayed the coordinates reported by the observer directly to the artillery positions below via wired telephone.

The eight mountain guns that had remained trapped in the pit all raised their muzzles and began loading and firing according to the coordinates transmitted by the ground commander.

A feast of blood and fire has begun.

Kobo was completely taken aback; he never expected to be ambushed on this vast plain.

It had just seen the King's cavalry, now in complete disarray, through its telescope.

Before it could even order its headquarters to go to the rescue, fierce gunfire erupted from its flanks.

At this point, it realized it had been ambushed and that the King's cavalry ahead had no chance of rescuing it. It had to retreat quickly back to the mountains to hold its ground and await reinforcements.

In this place surrounded by vast plains, a cavalry unit that gets trapped is no better off than an infantry unit; they are doomed.

Now that there are gunshots in front of him and to his left, there must be an ambush on his right as well.

Its only way out now is from the rear.

It must quickly retreat to the mountains to establish defensive positions before the enemy who ambushed it has blocked its retreat route.

As for attempting to break through the encirclement from both sides, it never even considered it.

As a veteran, he could tell the enemy surrounding him just by the sound of gunfire, and that the density of their firepower was extremely high.

Using cavalry to charge an enemy with such a high density of firepower is suicidal.

"Retreat, retreat immediately."

"Retreat to the mountains and establish defensive positions." Kobori's order was short and clear.

All the cavalrymen around it who had just realized what was happening immediately turned their horses around and prepared to retreat.

However, cavalrymen on the march were already very crowded because they suddenly stopped.

Before the orders were even relayed to the rear, the cavalry at the front had already begun to turn around.

Meanwhile, the cavalry behind were still unaware of what was happening ahead.

This caused the entire central army to be crammed together here.

Just then, Kobo Shigeaki, who was loudly reprimanding Kobo Shigeaki to retreat immediately, suddenly heard a sharp whistling sound from the sky—it was artillery fire.

Just as he was about to order everyone to scatter, a 75mm shell landed right next to him.

Xiaojue was the last thing Fan Feiqi saw: a large group of cavalry charging out from the mountains.

"It's all over," were Kobori Shige's last words.

(End of this chapter)