Chapter 88 hero mountain

According to the "anti-Tianfu tactics" used by the Japanese army, Qiu Weida judged that the main attack direction of the Japanese army would be concentrated in the middle section of Xuefeng Mountain, that is, the Guidong and Jiangkou lines where the Seventy-Fourth Army was firmly defending. On April 17, the Iijima advance team arrived at Guidong in the pass of Xuefeng Mountain.In some places in Hunan, people are used to calling the flat land on the mountain a cave.As a relatively large mountain range in western Hunan, there are many such "caves" in Xuefeng Mountain, and Gui Cave is one of them.

The original direction of the 51st Division of the 74th Army was not on the line of Guidong. On the way, it learned that the Japanese army had occupied Guidong, so it moved overnight and headed for Longtan Town, which is only three kilometers away from Guidong. It is commonplace in the Chinese army to march day and night with feet as carts.During the march, people often dozed off while walking, and would not wake up until their heads hit the muzzles of the soldiers in front. On the afternoon of April 17, the 152nd Regiment of the 51st Division took the lead in rushing to Longtan, and used the original mountain fortifications and newly strengthened positions to block the Iijima advance team.

The weapons equipped by the Iijima advance team were also considered excellent, but they found that their opponents were even more extraordinary-there were many light weapons that could be fired in bursts, and there was also a special shell that had an unusually sharp sound when it exploded. It soon became clear that the burst was a Thomson submachine gun, and the one that could fire special shells was an American rocket launcher. Although the Seventy-Fourth Army was identified as American equipment, the weapons and equipment have not had time to be completely replaced.This is the case with the 51st Division, and this is one of the reasons why the Japanese army was eager to launch a battle.However, compared with the past, no matter whether it is heavy weapons, light weapons or ammunition, they can all be provided with enough, at least there is nothing particularly lacking in war.

The "semi-American weapon configuration" of the 51st Division at that time was that each company had six Browning light machine guns, three Thomson submachine guns, and four grenade grenades, and the remaining soldiers all used Springfield rifles.The bazooka is only available in the battalion, and the regiment headquarters will also be equipped with four mortars. The Thomson submachine gun is known as the "trench broom", and the Japanese soldiers who swept the bayonet did not have to blink their eyes.The destructive power of the rocket launcher is very strong. When a shell falls, it can blow up a deep pit about two meters in diameter and one and a half meters deep.

It is conceivable that the Japanese army could not even dream of such a firepower configuration, and what made it even more difficult for them was the good supply status of the opponent. The Fourth Front Army has a depot supply command in Zhijiang, which can receive a large amount of supplies from the US airlift and send them to the supply sub-stations on the first and second lines by car.After the supplies arrive at the supply substation, they will be delivered to the front by the supply battalion. The front-line troops can always keep five days' worth of food and ammunition, and if the key combat troops lack ammunition, they can also carry out aerial supplies at any time.In a word, I only worry that you can't use it up, but I'm not afraid that you don't have it.

Even if you hold a golden mountain with both hands, you still have to find a place to put it.In the training of American weapons, the 74th Army is quite proficient, and has formed a new tactic that focuses on firepower. Each unit is particularly good at concentrating firepower and launching surprise attacks.When the Iijima advance team attacked the defenders' positions, the 152nd Regiment not only fired from the front, but also concentrated sideways and oblique firepower at the same time to eliminate the blind spots in front of the positions. The fire coordination between the positions was very ingenious.

The most feared opponent in war is this kind: don't smile and don't talk, smile with two dimples.In front of the Seventy-Fourth Army, the Iijima advance team could not take advantage of the score, so they had to deploy defenses on the spot south of Kyu-dong, waiting for the main force of the division that came later. On April 18, the 109th Regiment of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army arrived at Kyu-dong and joined forces with the Iijima Advance Team.Lieutenant General Hishida Motoshiro, head of the division, was similar to Sakanishi in judging the enemy's situation. They both believed that the Chinese army's defensive will was not strong, and as long as the offensive pressure was increased, they would turn around and retreat.His wishful thinking was the "achievement" of rapidly expanding the Iijima advance team, cooperating with the Japanese army on the South Road, encircling the defenders and annihilating them in the Xuefeng mountain area.

The 109th Regiment of the Japanese Army had not yet started, and the other two regiments of the 51st Division arrived near Longtan Town at dawn that day.The Second Battalion of the 153rd Regiment was ordered to recapture the Yingxingshan position, and the seventh company of the battalion will be the main attacker. The shoes of a soldier from the Seventh Company were worn out during the march, so he had to go quietly to the door of the common people's house and begged for a pair of shoes for him.The other party asked him to enter the house to choose a pair that fit his feet, but the 74th Army has strict military discipline, and officers and soldiers are not allowed to enter civilian houses without authorization.So the master took off a pair of half-new cloth shoes he was wearing and gave them to him.

The soldier was very grateful. He said that he was going to be on the line of fire soon, and he didn't know if he would come back alive. What the Seventh Company is about to face is indeed an extremely harsh battle.There are two highlands near Guidong, namely the Eagle-shaped Mountain in the east of the road and the Niu-shaped Mountain in the west of the road. The two mountains are like the claws of a crab, firmly holding the passage leading to Longtan in the middle, so both of them have become strategically valuable. stronghold.The difference is that Niuxingshan was first occupied by the 51st Division after returning to the division, while Yingxingshan still fell into the hands of the Japanese army.

The company commander Wen Chenghai ordered to prepare enough grenades to prepare for the attack on Yingxing Mountain.Afterwards, 120 officers and soldiers of the whole company launched several charges along the ridge to the top of the mountain. Every time they charged, many officers and soldiers fell to the ground amidst the sound of Japanese machine gun fire and grenade explosions. The Seventh Company finally obtained a forward position on the top of the mountain, but the Japanese army was so arrogant that they retreated and advanced repeatedly, even fighting hand-to-hand in order to drive the opponent out again.The battle was very fierce, with gunshots, explosions, and shouts of killing one after another. The migrant workers who helped the troops carry the ammunition boxes first helped the soldiers remove the cover of the grenade, and then directly threw the grenade at the Japanese army.The telephone line of Seventh Company had already been dragged up Yingxing Mountain. Wen Chenghai grabbed the microphone and shouted an emergency down the mountain: "The ammunition is almost exhausted! The ammunition is almost exhausted!"

The battalion commander Jiang Qiyong replied: "The ammunition will be delivered immediately, we must stick to the forward position!" Ammunition is sufficient, but it is not easy to send it to the position.More than a dozen mules and horses carried ammunition boxes and marched along the stone road, and the iron horseshoes stepped on the stone road to spark sparks. Then Battalion Commander Jiang heard Wen Chenghai's emergency again on the phone: "The casualties are serious, please reinforce, please reinforce!" Jiang Qiyong told the other party: "Patience until the last five minutes!" At noon, when Jiang Qiyong led the reinforcements to arrive, there were only seven officers and soldiers left in the Seventh Company. Wen Chenghai himself was injured, but he still commanded the battle with his wounds. The bloody charge of the Seventh Company and its subsequent persistence laid the foundation for the 51st Division to take the initiative in the Battle of Longtan.The former migrant workers who had witnessed the entire fighting process were still excited whenever they recalled the scene back then.They praised Wen Chenghai, commander of the Seventh Company, for his determination and composure, for being a tough soldier who is not afraid of death.Later, the folks in Longtan area unanimously called Yingxing Mountain Hero Mountain.