The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 197 Night March

The reorganization work of the 956th Regiment lasted longer than expected, and it was not completed until dark. On the night of December 4th, riding on the spirit of having just won a battle, through annihilation Food and drink trophies captured by the Third Infantry Brigade, including the special agent battalion, tank company, automobile unit, the attached mountain artillery company of the 66th Army and the officers and soldiers of the 956th Regiment butchered pigs and chickens, various chickens, ducks and fish, Japanese biscuits, canned bread, etc. With the creation of strength, Haosheng sacrificed to the temple of the five internal organs.

After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, the Secret Service Battalion and the 956th Regiment quietly set off towards the first line of defense.

In this operation, in addition to the 956th Regiment, the troops dispatched also included all of He Wei's special agent battalion, as well as the tank company of the Armored Corps, the tank defense artillery platoon and the attached mountain artillery company of the 66th Army. After being fed, the morale of the officers and soldiers in all departments was very high. Today's battle was the first battle of the Secret Service Battalion in the battle to defend Nanjing, and also the first battle of the 956th Regiment. The morale and morale of the officers and soldiers were completely mobilized by this glorious victory. The officers and soldiers planned to teach the Japanese a lesson from the front, so each unit carried a large amount of ammunition. They had the momentum of killing a brigade today and killing a Japanese regiment tomorrow.

Ye Zhao, commander of the 66th Army, was overjoyed after confirming that the Secret Service Battalion and the 956th Regiment had eaten up a Japanese brigade. He sent a large amount of ammunition that day, including shells from the Guangshi Naide 75mm Mountain Cannon. Just replenished 300 rounds.

He Wei also took out all his wealth. He Wei took all the inventory of ammunition that the special agent camp had stored at the Tangshan Army Artillery School, and a large number of artillery shells found in the Tangshan Artillery School were also taken out by He Wei. null.

This batch of legacy artillery shells from the artillery school includes 1,500 rounds of 81mm mortar shells, 500 rounds of 82mm mortar shells and 10 rounds of German-made 150mm heavy explosive grenades. The secret service battalion is not equipped with 82 caliber mortars, He Wei simply gave the 500 rounds of 82 mortar shells to the 956th Regiment. As for the ten 150 mm grenades, He Wei planned to change them into landmines or bombs.

There was no reason to let go of the newly captured Japanese trophies today. The two Type 41 mountain cannons were incorporated into the artillery company of the secret service camp by He Wei. All the captured mountain artillery shells and infantry artillery shells were also taken with him. After all, they were finally captured. Of course, the two Japanese mountain cannons should be used to give the enemy some color by using the enemy's cannons.

As the saying goes: repay the enemy with his weapon.

This time, because the distance was relatively short and the traffic accident rate was high at night, all the troops drove in on foot instead of in cars. In the vast darkness, more than 3,000 officers and soldiers drove towards the 66th The army's front line position.

In the dark night, He Wei personally led the special agent battalion to take the lead, advancing forward in the cold night. The sound of artillery in the direction of Chunhua on the horizon had stopped. After nightfall, the attack power of the Japanese aircraft and heavy artillery was greatly reduced, and there were only sporadic gunshots. Came from afar.

The special agent battalion searched forward in full accordance with the standards of combat readiness march. All forward search troops were sent out on the front and flanks to conduct alert searches. They were ready to encounter the Japanese army at any time and to be ready to fight at any time. The main force of the battalion in the rear was Marching silently, black German-made M35 helmets gathered into a torrent in the dark night, like a black python moving in the abyss.

In the marching column of the secret service camp, there was no other sound except the rustle of footsteps. Although the night was cold, the hearts of the officers and soldiers were hot.

On the road behind the Secret Service Camp are the tank companies and tank defense artillery platoons of the Army Armored Corps, a motorized mixed march column composed of tanks, cars, and motorcycles, and the motorcycle-pulled tank defense guns of the Secret Service Artillery Company. He Wei's car was also among them.

The search troops of the tank company on motorcycles led the way to guard the road, followed by German-made trucks filled with fuel and ammunition, off-road vehicles towing the Sanqi tank defense cannon, and the 47mm tank defense cannon. The motorcycles and the steel-framed No. 1 tank, the truck headlights and the tank's front searchlights emitted dazzling beams of light, and the convoy was majestic and moved forward in an endless stream.

Behind this motorized marching column is the marching column of the 956th Regiment. Although the marching column of the 956th Regiment is not as neat as that of the secret service battalion, and the security and search are not as complete as the secret service battalion, but Their steps are equally determined.

In the cold winter night in the south of the Yangtze River, several teams gradually merged into a torrent, and this torrent will eventually turn into an iron stream.

At about two o'clock in the morning, the special agent battalion serving as the vanguard finally arrived at the designated position. When He Wei saw the officers who came to contact him, the nerves that had been tense all night finally relaxed. Because of the vacancy in front, during the march, He Wei had been worried about a small group of Japanese troops infiltrating, so he had been on high alert. Now he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hello, sir, I am the staff officer of the 480th Brigade Headquarters. Our brigade commander is at the command post. Please follow me."

In the cold night, a captain officer saluted He Wei and whispered in a low voice. He Wei nodded and temporarily handed over the troops to the command of Deputy Battalion Commander Fu Chen. He then took the reins of the war horse from the captain officer and the two got on their horses. , together with several Cantonese soldiers, rushed to the brigade command post of the 480th Brigade of the 160th Division.

Under the guidance of the captain officer, He Wei finally arrived at the field command post of the 480th Brigade. Unexpectedly, the brigade command post was not a hidden place on the ground, but was set up in a reinforced concrete structure. In the underground fortifications, when He Wei entered the underground fortifications, he was immediately dazzled by the dazzling lights. This underground command post consists of two layers, the upper layer is the warhead, with three shooting holes, and the lower layer is Hidden Section and Observation Post.

There were not many people in the command post, only about thirty officers and soldiers. He Wei just followed the captain officer and walked through the command post.

The current organization adopted by the Chinese army is a square division organization. The so-called square division means that one division is subordinate to two brigades, and one brigade is subordinate to two regiments. The same is true for the Japanese army. One division is subordinate to two brigades, and one brigade is subordinate to two infantry groups. Alliance.

This organization is completely inherited from the First World War. To some extent, the brigade headquarters is actually just a small dispatching agency of the division headquarters. It is embarrassing and small in scale. The brigade headquarters of the 480th Brigade is actually nothing more. Wei saw so few people, but there were no direct troops. Unlike the division headquarters, which had a special agent company, engineer battalion, communications battalion and other directly subordinate troops, the brigade headquarters was just a bunch of officers and a bunch of orderlies. The brigade headquarters of the Japanese army's brigade is also very different. The manpower list of the brigade headquarters only has 75 officers and soldiers and 22 horses. In fact, the current position of the brigade-level headquarters is already very embarrassing. The division commands the brigade. , brigade command group, this kind of stacked bed-and-frame command system is actually very problematic, and it is also very inconvenient to command.

When He Wei was discussing with Situ Fei, he basically only mentioned the regiment, but the brigade was not mentioned at all. This can be seen from now on. However, in the original history, in another two years, both the National Army and the Japanese Army would invariably agree. Realizing this problem, the brigade-level units were gradually cancelled, and a three-unit division-level unit with three infantry regiments and three infantry regiments was established.

"Sir, this is our tour commander Chen Pei."

"Hello, sir, I am He Wei, commander of the Nanjing City Defense Special Agent Battalion. I have been ordered to lead my battalion to coordinate with the 956th Regiment of your division to reinforce your position."

He Wei had just met the major general brigade commander, who was not even familiar with him, when he saw the brigade commander, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, grabbed his hand and kept saying: "Just come, just come." Well, finally it’s what you’ve been waiting for.”

Seemingly anxious, He Wei got straight to the point and asked Chen Peizhi to introduce the current situation. Then, several people came to the map. Chen Peizhi also immediately explained the brigade's deployment to the combat map: "Our brigade is currently along two sides of the road. The purpose of side defense is to prevent the enemy troops from advancing suddenly towards the capital along the highway. The two infantry regiments under the brigade's jurisdiction, the 959th Regiment and the 960th Regiment, are deployed on both sides of the road. The dividing line between the two regiments' combat situations is the road. , but yesterday, because of the sudden order to reinforce the 74th Army in the direction of Chunhua, the 960th Regiment deployed on the right position was removed, leaving the position empty. Fortunately, you arrived in time, and our brigade has not yet Engage with the Japanese army."

The situation is very clear, that is, He Wei and the others are asked to go up and fill in the line, but He Wei has already thought about it. There is no problem for the 956th Regiment to go up and enter the position to fill in the line, but his spy battalion cannot be in vain in the battle. After the damage was done, He Wei then said: "Brigadier Chen, I wonder if there are any Japanese raids or scouts advancing on the right position now, and what is the construction situation in the position?"

"Don't worry about this. After the 960th Regiment was transferred, I detached an infantry company from the 959th Regiment and went forward to block the sentry cordon. So far, no enemy troops have been found, and the highway is also under construction. With the help of the barracks, the blasting was completed. In a short time, those trucks and heavy artillery of the Japanese army will no longer be able to come over."

"The fortifications of the position are also strong enough. There are defense fortifications built by the central government before the war. There are many reinforced concrete bunkers, concealed areas and communication trenches. Before the 960th Regiment withdrew, a large number of communication trenches had been strengthened, and sandbags and circles were used. The fortifications have been strengthened, and as soon as your troops arrive, they can enter the position."

He Wei was quite surprised to hear that there were actually defense fortifications here. When he first came to the 66th Army, he thought that this place was not like the Purple Mountain, Xiaolingwei and Yuhuatai where the Teaching Corps and the 88th Division were garrisoned. The core position was equipped with many defense fortifications built before the war. Unexpectedly, there were also some on the outskirts of Jurong. This relieved some pressure on the upcoming bloody battle.

Thinking that he had another chance of winning, He Wei added: "Commander Chen, I believe you already know our situation. The 956th Regiment is originally an infantry regiment within your army's sequence, so it is natural to take over the vacancy. However, my special agent battalion has fewer troops and more close-combat firearms, so it is not suitable for positional operations, so this battalion is prepared to serve as the reserve of your brigade."

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, a lieutenant colonel officer frowned and said: "Reserves? Where are the reserves now? Such a vast front is guarded by a brigade of our troops. It is already too weak to hold up against the front line. The infantry regiment almost spread out the infantry battalions and companies below them on the position, and there is no reserve team at all. This arrangement seems inappropriate."

The lieutenant colonel's words were full of guns and sticks, and his tone was very unfriendly. He Wei thought to himself that the brigade commander, a major general, was polite to him, but a lieutenant colonel was in trouble with him.

He Wei glanced at this man's badge. It turned out that this man was the chief of staff of the brigade, so He Wei also showed his trump card: "Sir, although the strength of this battalion is more than a thousand, but The infantry only has three companies and one special agent platoon, and the equipment in the unit is mostly close combat and automatic firearms. It is more suitable to serve as a reserve team for assault support. However, our unit is not not participating in the war. The artillery company of this battalion is equipped with four August 1st guns. artillery and two 47mm tank defense guns, and have recently incorporated two Type 41 75mm mountain guns captured from the Japanese army."

"In addition, our battalion is also equipped with a tank company and a tank defense artillery platoon from the Army Armored Corps, as well as a company from the 66th Army's Mountain Artillery Battalion. Although the main force of our unit serves as a reserve force, they are infantry , I plan to combine the artillery of my battalion and the attached artillery into a mixed group to cooperate with your troops in combat. This does not mean that my battalion will not participate in the war at all."

As soon as He Wei said this, the lieutenant colonel and chief of staff shut up. Brigadier Chen Peizhi then asked: "Brother, I wonder how much artillery firepower you have in your hands?"

He Wei said calmly: "Our battalion's artillery company has four August 1 mortars, two 47mm tank defense guns, and two Type 41 75mm mountain guns, which are assigned to our battalion's tank defenses." The artillery platoon is equipped with two 37mm tank defense guns, and one company of the 66th Army Artillery Battalion is equipped with four 75mm mountain guns. I plan to mix all the artillery units to form a temporary artillery group to support While your unit is fighting, the main force of our battalion and the tank company will serve as reserve forces in the rear, ready to support counterattacks anytime and anywhere."

Chen Peizhi was immediately overjoyed and said anxiously: "That's great. We don't lack light and heavy machine guns. What we lack is artillery. One regiment only has six 82 mortars, and none of the infantry cannons, mountain cannons and tank defense cannons." Ah, now that there are so many cannons, this battle will be much easier to fight."

After Chen Peizhi's words, the tone of the combat deployment of the Secret Service Battalion was set. The infantry of the Secret Service Battalion, which played the leading role in the previous battles, would take a back seat in the upcoming battle and act as a reserve force, while the artillery of the Secret Service Battalion would replace the infantry. , becoming the protagonist in the battle that follows.

Soon, He Wei and Chen Peizhi completed the coordination, and nearly an hour later, the main force of the 956th Regiment also drove to the designated location one after another.

(End of this chapter)