The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 222 Beheading 1

"One, two, let's go!"

"One, two, let's go!"

"Pull up, pull up, push the wheel!"

There was a commotion on the position of the 301st Regiment of the 51st Division. More than 300 officers and soldiers from the artillery battalion of the 58th Division of the 74th Army were pushing and pulling artillery pieces under the firelight in the dark night.

Wang Yaowu was very efficient. After just a little communication, he borrowed an artillery battalion from the friendly 58th Division. This battalion of artillery quickly arrived at the position of the 301st Regiment.

Behind the position of the 301st Regiment, the officers and soldiers of the 58th Division Artillery Battalion unloaded six Shanghai-made 75mm mountain guns from the pack horses. After assembly, they began to move forward. Six more than 20 years ago The Shanghai-made 75mm mountain cannon, which still bears the regimental dragon emblem of the Qing Dynasty, glowed strangely under the light of the torch.

Under Wang Yaowu's unified command and planning, the 51st Division quickly made preparations to launch a small-scale assault on the frontal enemy. All four infantry regiments of the division and the division's directly affiliated troops were ready for battle.

This was also beyond He Wei's expectation. Although he had already known that Wang Yaowu, a strong general, would naturally not have any weak soldiers, the combat readiness speed and performance of the 51st Division were still much faster than he expected. , looking at it this way, it is indeed worthy of being called the Anti-Japanese Iron Army in the future.

Since the various units of the 51st Division were gradually preparing for battle, He Wei was also speeding up. It was originally planned that the artillery company of the Secret Service Battalion would use the two captured 41-type 75mm guns from the Japanese army for cover and harassment shooting missions. The mountain artillery was delivered to the 51st Division in advance.

This is done to show goodwill to the 51st Division, and to reduce the trouble of command and personnel scheduling. If these two guns are still operated by the Special Agent Battalion Artillery Company, they will have to be combined with the newly arrived 50th Division. It was too troublesome for the Eighth Division Artillery Battalion to cooperate, so He Wei simply generously delivered the two cannons to the 51st Division in advance.

Not far from the 58th Division Artillery Battalion, Chen Xinsheng, the artillery company commander of the Secret Service Battalion, was delivering the goods to the major officer sent by the 51st Division to pick up the artillery.

"Sir, there are a total of two Type 41 75mm mountain guns and two gun carriages. I leave them all to you. The shells are just a little short, only about forty. You'd better let the infantry unit search for the loot. Or the seized items, see if there are any Qiwushan cannon shells, and the other thing is that our cannons are all pulled by cars, there are no pack horses, you have to find your own horses."

The major officer who received the artillery kept saying thanks: "It doesn't matter if there are fewer artillery shells. At least there are artillery. Our division was ordered to set up a divisional artillery battalion on the Songhu battlefield and appointed me as the battalion commander. Unfortunately, there is no such artillery battalion." The cannon can be used, and it's fine now. Thanks to you guys, my artillery battalion is no longer empty. Horses are no longer a problem. We still have a few packhorses to pull the cannon. Anyway, thank you."

The two completed the delivery quickly. Dozens of officers and soldiers of the 51st Division Artillery Battalion received the two Japanese-made 75mm mountain cannons from the Secret Service Battalion Artillery Company. For the Type 41 75mm mountain cannon, the 50 The officers of the First Division Artillery Battalion are all familiar with this.

As early as the Beiyang Army period, China had introduced a large number of mountain artillery pieces of the same type from Japan. Yan Xishan's Shanxi-Sui Army was equipped with this type of mountain artillery in large quantities, so only a brief delivery procedure was carried out. The officers and soldiers of the 51st Division Artillery Battalion They took over and mastered the two mountain cannons with familiarity, pulled in a dozen pack horses, and then joined forces with the artillery battalion of the 58th Division.

The artillery unit consisting of six Shanghai-made 75mm mountain guns and two Type 41 75mm mountain guns began to cautiously advance towards the position under the cover of infantry and set up artillery positions.

In the center of the 301st Regiment's position, He Wei was also preparing for battle with his temporarily formed monkey version of the special forces.

His Monkey Squad Special Forces is organized entirely according to the organization of the infantry squad of the 36th Infantry Regiment provided by Kanjiro Nishi. It is divided into six eight-man infantry squads, plus a squad leader and a squad to support the two squads. There are exactly fifty-two people named as messengers.

He Wei had collected the serial numbers on the Japanese corpses in front of the 301st Regiment's position and found that the second infantry squad of the 1st Squadron of the 36th Infantry Regiment was almost completely wiped out, and the squad leader was also killed by the 301st Regiment. .

After discovering this situation, He Wei was overjoyed, because Nishi Kanjiro was the third team leader of this squadron, and he was naturally familiar with the situation of another team in the same squadron.

Since you have to pretend to be fake, you have to be as close to reality as possible. It is especially difficult to pretend to be a Japanese army, because almost all the soldiers of an infantry regiment of the Japanese army come from the same county. Many of the soldiers are fellow villagers, and they have serious regional colors and regions. Customs and culture, so the probability of pretending to be a Japanese soldier and going deep behind enemy lines to reveal the secret is very high.

Accents, customs, nostalgia, etc. are all prone to mistakes. Fortunately, He Wei now has several Japanese prisoners who are loyal to him, which greatly reduces the possibility of mistakes!

"Come on, come on, pack your things!"

"Squad leader, this idiot's clothes don't fit. They were torn from corpses. Why the hell do they smell so bad."

"Stop talking nonsense and get dressed quickly."

More than 40 officers and soldiers of the special agent battalion gradually changed into Japanese military uniforms under the urging of the squad leader and sergeant. The main force of He Wei's team was Yang Biao's special agent platoon. In addition, a group of veterans were transferred from the entire battalion to supplement. Six infantry detachments were organized completely according to the organization of the 36th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Army.

These six infantry detachments are divided into two machine gun detachments, each equipped with a light machine gun, two grenade detachments, each equipped with a Type 89 50mm grenade, and two rifle detachments fully equipped with rifles. Except for the light machine gun shooters, everyone was equipped with a captured Japanese Type 38 rifle, 150 rounds of 6.5 mm bullets, and two Japanese-made hand grenades. The machine gun shooters of the two light machine gun units were also equipped with A Czech light machine gun borrowed from the 51st Division.

Originally, He Wei planned to completely follow the Japanese army's configuration and equip them with Taisho 11-year-old crooked light machine guns captured from the battlefield, but the brothers below were somewhat reluctant to do so because they didn't know how to use them. Crooked.

It’s too late to learn and sell now. The main reason is that the method of using the crooked light machine gun is too complicated whether compared with the Czech type or the Belgian-made Browning FND light machine gun equipped in the secret service camp. Just that one requires one by one. The loading method of loading five rounds of bullets into the hopper ammunition supply bridge clip makes many brothers extremely angry.

However, Nishi Kanjiro told He Wei that the Japanese army is currently equipped with many captured Czech light machine guns. Because this kind of machine gun is easier to use than the Japanese machine guns, many troops after the Czech light machine gun was seized from the Chinese army. Will be retained.

Not only the infantry of the Japanese army, but also some Japanese baggage and artillery units will also retain the Czech light machine guns lost and discarded by the Chinese army. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the Japanese army to reuse Czech light machine guns. Therefore, He Wei ordered the use of Czech light machine guns from the 50s. Two Czech light machine guns borrowed from the First Division replaced the crooked light machine guns.

Both grenade detachments were equipped with a Type 89 grenade captured from the Japanese army. The grenade handlers were those Japanese prisoners. If you want to use the grenade well, you must rely on it. It was experience, and we could only let these Japanese prisoners fight.

In addition, in order to enhance the close combat firepower, He Wei drew machine guns and twenty-shot machine pistols from the entire secret service battalion. Wang Yaowu also transferred a batch of speed machines from his guard platoon to supply He Wei.

He Wei then equipped each of the Chinese officers and soldiers in the beheading team with a fancy machine gun and four twenty-round magazines, as well as a speed machine pistol and four twenty-round magazines. Each person had a fancy machine gun and a speed machine. The pistols and ammunition were all hidden in the backpack. At the same time, He Wei also issued three additional long-handled grenades for each soldier, which were also hidden in the backpack.

Since then, this team of fifty-two people has been equipped with a total of forty-eight flower machine guns, forty-eight fast and slow machine pistols, forty-eight Type 38 rifles, two Czech light machine guns, and two Type 89 50mm throwers. The cartridge can also be said to have complete firepower for both close combat and long-range combat.

"hurry up."

He Wei, who had finished changing uniforms, kept urging his officers and soldiers to change uniforms. At this time, He Wei had the rank of Commander Cao of the Japanese army, a Commander Cao command knife and a Southern Type 14 pistol hanging on his waist. It's a field backpack, with a Type 38 rifle with a bayonet slung across the shoulder. He wears a Japanese-made 90 steel helmet on his head, looking exactly like a Japanese non-commissioned officer.

"Captain He, what do you think of my appearance?"

Staff Officer Huang with the rank of sergeant came over. He was the staff officer of the 51st Division who knew Japanese. After learning that He Wei was trying to kill King Jiuyan of Chaoxiang Palace, Staff Officer Huang volunteered to Wang Yaowu and asked to join him. Come in.

He Wei naturally had no reason to disagree. Although he boldly used Nishi Kanjiro and other four Japanese prisoners, he could not be completely relieved after all. If there was a person like Staff Huang who knew Japanese by his side, he could keep an eye on him anytime and anywhere. Those Japanese prisoners seemed much safer.

"That's right, Brother Huang, keep an eye on Kanjiro Nishi for a while to prevent this guy from playing tricks. You don't have to worry about the rest. Just watch my eyes and act."

"I see."

Staff Officer Huang said with some excitement. This Staff Officer Huang is a graduate of the ninth phase of the Infantry Department of Huangpu. After graduation, he was admitted to the Ministry of Military Affairs as a public military student. He was sent to the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School to study in the Chinese team, but he just entered the school not long ago. When the All-out Anti-Japanese War broke out, Staff Officer Huang and several of his classmates dropped out of school and returned to China. After being assigned to the 51st Division, they never served as a company platoon leader and directly participated in the battle. Instead, they served as a staff officer at the division headquarters. Therefore, he was unable to directly fight against It is a pity that the Japanese army fought. It was not easy to come across a good opportunity today, so naturally they would not let it go.

In fact, when Staff Officer Huang learned from the letter of thanks seized from Kanjiro Nishi that King Asaka Palace Hatohiko might be not far from the 51st Division's position, he began to think of killing King Asaka Palace Hatohiko. , otherwise he wouldn't be so excited when he saw the letter of thanks. He even thought of it earlier than He Wei, and it can be said that he is also a militant.

"He Sang, Huang Sang, my people are all ready. Do you want to know when we will start taking action?"

After the brothers of the beheading team had almost finished arranging, Nishi Kanjiro, who had changed into a Japanese lieutenant uniform, approached He Wei and asked.

"Well, everything is arranged?"

"It's been arranged, it's been arranged. Two of the three of them have been incorporated into the grenade unit to serve as grenade shooters, and one person will follow me as a duty messenger." "Okay, tell them not to play tricks. Mind you, I have arranged for people to keep an eye on them anytime and anywhere, and this Staff Officer Huang understands Japanese. If they want to survive, they must cooperate honestly and not make small moves underneath."

"He Sang, don't worry, I have already made arrangements."

"Damn it, I'm watching right behind you. If you dare to do anything, I'll kill you first without the battalion commander saying anything."

The spy platoon leader Yang Biao said fiercely to Kanjiro Nishi, Yang Biao also put on a Japanese army uniform, and he would pretend to be an orderly soldier next to the Japanese squad leader.

Kanjiro Nishi was startled by Yang Biao, and he smiled and nodded.

"Okay, go down and get ready. You will be my immediate boss in a while, so behave well."

He Wei smiled and waved away Nishi Kanjiro.

His beheading squad pretended to be an infantry squad of the Japanese army. He Wei pretended to be a squad ally of this infantry squad, and Nishi Kanjiro pretended to be a lieutenant squad leader. Of course, he could not impersonate with his own identity, and He assumed the identity of Lieutenant Miyake Tsuyoshi, the captain of the second squadron of his squadron. Kanjiro Nishi was the third squad leader of the first squadron of the 36th Regiment.

The deceased Lieutenant Miyake was the captain of the second team. He had bullied Kanjiro Nishi a lot in the past. Kanjiro Nishi also knew this person's situation very well. Therefore, it was logical that Kanjiro Nishi would serve as Lieutenant Miyake Tsuyoshi. He became the apparent captain of this beheading team.

Kanjiro Nishi actually didn't have much objection to He Wei and dozens of people pretending to be the second team, and he himself pretended to be the team leader Tsuyoshi Miyake. First of all, he definitely couldn't and didn't want to directly use his own identity. He swaggeringly led He Wei and the others deep into the rear of the Japanese army. After all, if he did this, even if the operation was successful and the Japanese army tracked them down, Kanjiro Nishi would inevitably be exposed. By then, he would have nothing to do, but he My family members who are still in Japan will be in trouble.

But carrying out this mission as Lieutenant Miyake Tsuyoshi, who often bullied him, Nishi Kanjiro was happy to see the success and even gloated a little. When he thought of the guy who had been killed in battle, he died, but his family was still unexplainably implicated. , Nishi Kanjiro felt secretly happy.

"Batalion Commander, the brothers are all here..."

At this time, Fu Chen, the deputy captain of the special agent battalion and the commander of the first infantry company, ran up, followed by the main officers of the first battalion of the special agent battalion, Fang Jing, the commander of the second infantry company, Hu Zhaowu, the commander of the third infantry company, and the artillery company commander. Chen Xinsheng, communications platoon leader Sun Xisheng, and attached tank company commander Zhao Huzhen.

Everyone felt very uncomfortable when they saw He Wei, who had put on the Japanese military uniform. He Wei gathered everyone and squatted in the trench, and the messenger Tao Heiwa unfolded a combat map near Chunhua with a flashlight.

"Come here, let me say a few words."

The officers came closer, and He Wei pointed to the position of the 301st Regiment's position on the map with the scabbard of the command knife on his waist.

"Everyone, what's the plan? I've already told you. I'm going to pretend to be a Japanese army and infiltrate into their rear. The brothers of the 51st Division will use a full-line harassment attack to cover my actions. I'm going to lead people in personally. In my absence, the troops were unified under the command of Deputy Battalion Commander Fu, and the entire battalion, together with Battalion Commander Zhao’s tank company, escorted us three kilometers in front of the Japanese frontline position.”

"When we get here, I will lead my people and continue to move forward. You will take cover on the spot and be ready to respond to us. If you see two red and one green flares and hear fierce gunfire, that will be my signal to request support. Look. After receiving the signal, immediately move forward along the highway to attack and meet us. You can be bolder when attacking. The Japanese are very cautious in fighting at night, so you can open up and fight."

After He Wei finished speaking, Fu Chen asked: "Battal Commander, could you please think about it again? It's too risky. It would be better if you could break out. But if you are trapped inside, you can't even send out a signal for help." , what will we do then?”

"Nothing in this world is perfect. I don't dare to take any risks and still want to win the battle. I'm afraid I haven't had one yet. Don't worry, I'm free to think about it. You just have to do what I say."

He Wei said with a smile.

Seeing that He Wei had made up his mind, the officers stopped talking and immediately went down to prepare. The main force of the secret service battalion and the attached tank company also took action, starting to collect ammunition, inspect vehicles, and make final preparations before the attack. .

The prepared beheading team, led by He Wei, took the lead in crossing the 301st Regiment's position and drove to hide near the highway, quietly waiting for the 51st Division's cover attack.

When he just held a meeting with the main officers of the secret service battalion, He Wei saw the worried look in their eyes. Indeed, his beheading operation was carried out in a very hasty manner. He went into danger alone and went deep behind enemy lines with hasty preparations. It can be said that It was very dangerous, and the intelligence preparation was very insufficient. He Wei could not even guarantee that his target, King Jiuyan of Chaoxiang Palace, would be in the target area.

Even if he and these dozens of brothers successfully infiltrate into the rear of the Japanese army along the highway, there is no guarantee that he will meet the real master. Once he is exposed behind the Japanese army, he will face at least two The Japanese troops of the infantry regiment, let alone killing King Asaka Palace Hatohiko, may not be able to save their own lives. It will be almost impossible for dozens of troops to break out of the encirclement between the two infantry regiments.

However, although it was very dangerous, when He Wei thought that he might have single-handedly created the culprit of the Jinling Massacre, the worry and anxiety in his heart disappeared instantly. Even if there was no way to kill King Jiuyan of Chaoxiang Palace, even if Being alone in danger and unable to break through, I have to pull in a few back-up people and mess up the Japanese rear!

At the command post of the 301st Regiment of the 51st Division, Wang Yaowu, the commander of the 51st Division, sat quietly on a marching chair, looking at the dark night sky. He was quite uneasy and somewhat hopeful. This new officer who graduated from the third phase of Huangpu Since graduating from the military academy, he has been fighting for nearly ten years and has fought countless big and small battles, but today's battle gave him a feeling he had never experienced before.

Wang Yaowu felt a little excited when he thought that the rising star in the army named He Wei might kill the Japanese Emperor's uncle. After all, the so-called Emperor's uncle was the Emperor's uncle in Chinese. The temptation to kill such a number one figure was too great. , and He Wei's method of infiltrating makeup and going deep behind enemy lines was a tactic that Wang Yaowu had never seen before.

Such a high-value goal, coupled with unprecedented tactics and tactics, also made Wang Yaowu full of expectations and excitement for tonight's extremely hasty action.

"Division Commander, Li Tianxia, ​​commander of the 153rd Brigade, also called just now to report that his 306th Regiment and 305th Regiment are ready to attack and have entered the designated position and can start harassment attacks at any time."

Zhou Zhidao, commander of the 151st Brigade of the 51st Division, ran over and reported to Wang Yaowu.

"How was your trip?"

"The 302nd Regiment is ready for battle, and the 301st Regiment is also ready. Acting commander Ji Hongru personally led three infantry companies up."

Wang Yaowu nodded slightly and asked thoughtfully: "Where are the artillery?"

"The artillery units are not in place yet. It's no wonder they are there. Our front-line positions are relatively far away from the Japanese army's first-line positions. The artillery battalion of the 58th Division is equipped with the 75 Mountain Cannon made in Laohu, with a maximum range of only four Kilometers, you have to rely on manpower to pull up the cannon before you can fire it. The two mountain cannons given to our division by Commander He of the Special Agent Battalion also have a limited range, so we have to wait."

"Send people to inform the artillery and each regiment that the artillery can open fire on its own after reaching the position where it can fire. Each regiment will take the artillery firing as a signal, and the artillery will launch an attack on its own after firing."

Wang Yaowu said.

Zhou Zhidao immediately went down to deliver the order. Wang Yaowu looked down at his watch, suppressing the anticipation and excitement in his heart. He exhaled a breath of turbid air in the cold winter night, slowly raised his head, and looked towards the horizon in the dark night in the distance.

Twenty minutes later, at the forward position, hundreds of officers and soldiers from the 58th Division Artillery Battalion successfully pulled six Shanghai orogenic cannons to an area only four kilometers away from the Japanese front-line position, and set up a mountain cannon shooting position. The Zhonghu Mountain Cannon is a copy of the 75mm retractable mountain gun developed by the German Krupp Company in 1904. It has a history of more than 30 years. The Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in Songhu Counterfeit production began in 1905.

The six Shanghai-made 75th Mountain Cannons of the 58th Division Artillery Battalion are still engraved with the Tuanlong emblem of the Qing Army. From the Beiyang Army in the late Qing Dynasty, to the Beiyang warlords, the Northern Expeditionary Army and the National Revolutionary Army, the six guns are unknown. It has passed through several hands and witnessed many vicissitudes of history. The Laoshan Cannon, which has been manufactured for more than 20 years, is still fighting on the front line of defending the motherland.

This kind of artillery has a very short range and is relatively heavy. Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the 58th Division could only use mules and horses to carry it, then unload the artillery and pull it forward manually. After a lot of effort, Finally, they finally successfully reached the release position.

At the same time, the 51st Division Artillery Battalion, equipped with two 75mm Type 41 mountain cannons, also kept pace with the 58th Division Artillery Battalion, and took the lead in opening up shooting positions based on the performance advantages of the Type 41 Mountain Cannon. The Secret Service Battalion The two mountain cannons given to the 51st Division actually have a short range, only six kilometers, but they are lighter and therefore slightly faster.

These eight mountain cannons were successively placed four kilometers in front of the Japanese army's front line position. Since the relatively backward Shanghai orogenic cannon could hardly perform indirect aiming and shooting, most of the time only the most primitive direct aiming shooting could be adopted.

Therefore, the six Shanghai orogenic guns almost flattened the muzzles. The gunners used the weak moonlight in the dark night and used the most primitive sight similar to the three-point and one-line sighting principle of a rifle to aim the guns several kilometers away. The faint Japanese military position.

Finally, with a low roar from the 58th Division Artillery Battalion Commander, a sweating artilleryman pulled the match rope, and immediately, a ball of orange flames burst out from the muzzle of an old Shanghai-made 75mm mountain gun. , a 75mm explosive grenade flew out with a loud response, breaking the quiet night sky

(End of this chapter)