In October 1937, Xinkou became"The gateway to the north of Jin", located in the north of Taiyuan, is the defense line between North China and Shanxi, and has always been regarded as a military fortress.
In order to occupy Xinkou, the Japanese army gathered more than 50,000 soldiers, 150 tanks and 25 artillery pieces to launch a fierce attack on Xinkou.
On October 13, fierce battles broke out between the 204 heights and the Hengshan positions, and the positions changed hands several times. The cunning enemy army used unconventional ** such as gas bombs and incendiary bombs, and the battlefield instantly turned into a sea of fire.
Chinese officers and soldiers resisted desperately in the blazing fire and poison gas, and the two sides were deadlocked for many days, with thousands of people every day. During this period, Hao Mengling, commander of the Ninth Army, and Liu Jialin, commander of the division, unfortunately sacrificed their precious lives.
Despite this, the squadron still insisted on resisting and showed a strong national spirit and heroic fighting spirit.
In the village of Nanhuaihua, northwest of Xinkou, it is known as the dragon's brain by the locals because of its steep terrain, and it is also the core of the Ninth Army's position. In order to occupy the commanding heights of this rocky mountain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the squadron gathered 10 regiments.
During the battle, the enemy used heavy ** such as aircraft, artillery and tanks to carry out frenzied bombardment of positions, while the ** squadron chose to launch a counterattack in the dark night. As soon as one regiment was eliminated, the next one was immediately thrown into battle, and as soon as the bullets ran out, the fighters engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, using bayonets, bare hands and even someone with grenades to rush at the enemy tanks.
After 10 hours of fierce fighting, not a single fighter survived. Local civilians described the battle as a meat grinder, with countless corpses piled up on the hill.
As the commander of the 2nd Brigade and 2nd Regiment of the 19th Army, Shi Zebo is well aware of the plight of the ** squadron under the enemy's high position. In the face of a moving target, the eight regiments sent out were almost completely annihilated, and the task of capturing the hill became very arduous.
However, as an officer who had fought countless tough battles under Yan Xishan, he was unwilling to accept such a defeat and was determined to change the situation as soon as possible. Years of combat experience have taught him that going down with devils will only lead to a bigger **.
He decided to take down the mountain as soon as possible to minimize **. Through careful analysis of the previous attacks, Shi Zebo gradually figured out the law of the enemy's firepower deployment.
He decided to divide the three remaining battalions into two groups and devise a new attack strategy. Although the road ahead is full of unknowns and challenges, Shi Zebo firmly believes that only through innovation and courage can the ultimate victory be achieved.
He will lead his team, with firm faith and determination, to move forward bravely until the mountain is conquered.
Shi Zebo devised an ingenious tactic in which the 1st and 2nd Battalions were to attack from the front, the slopes of the heaviest enemy fire, and their task was to attract the enemy's full attention and firepower.
The third battalion served as a reserve, outflanking and raiding from the enemy's flank after nightfall. After the tactical deployment was completed, Shi Zebo paired.
The commanders of the 1st and 2nd Battalions gave a clear order that they must withstand the enemy's attack and bite the enemy from the front, so as to gain the best chance of victory for the surprise attack of the 3rd Battalion.
However, the war began to be in a stalemate. After the first few encounters, the enemy also discovered the habit of attacking at night in the squadron. Therefore, at night, the enemy's defenses did not weaken.
Shi Zebo skillfully divided the fighters of the two battalions into nine phalanxes and attacked the hill in batches. This method not only lowers the fighters' **, but also keeps pushing forward between the enemy's ammo changes, while making it difficult for the enemy to judge how many opponents are down the hill, thus disrupting their position.
Front. The delaying tactics of the 1st and 2nd Battalions created opportunities for the 3rd Battalion to raid. Although the battle losses at the front were heavy, and the number of ** quickly exceeded a hundred, this did not stop the advance of the ** squadron.
One group of fighters fell, the second group took over, and when the offensive of the sea of people in front was carried out for the eighth time, the fire on the hilltop suddenly weakened, and the chaotic gunfire of the enemy positions confirmed that the fighters of the third battalion had successfully made a surprise attack.
Shi Zebo was elated, waving his arms at the dozens of remaining fighters behind him, shouting "Friends, rush!" With the support of the third battalion, the morale of the soldiers was greatly boosted, and they rushed up the hill with Shi Zebo in one breath and captured this hill that the eight regiments could not overcome, which won the battle opportunity for our army to seize the advantageous terrain and laid a vital foundation.
In this battle, our army captured four enemy machine guns, more than 100 rifles, more than 300 of our people, and the commander of the third battalion who was responsible for the assault unfortunately died.
Conquering the stone mountain is only the first step, but how to defend it next is a headache for Shi Zebo. He looked at the soldiers under his command and the ** equipment in front of him, and couldn't help but feel a little desperate in his heart.
The enemy stubbornly held on to it with its advanced equipment, while our equipment was unable to compete with it at the beginning. After a few days of fighting, there are even fewer ** left, and a hard encounter with the enemy is undoubtedly an egg hitting a stone.
The eastern sky has begun to turn white, and the sky is completely bright, and the enemy will certainly use tanks and planes to bombard the mountains indiscriminately, and at that time, I am afraid that no one will leave alive.
At this stage, it is wise to preserve combat strength.
Shi Zebo's order surprised everyone, and after capturing the stone mountain, he actually led his soldiers to hide in the cave for refuge. The senior generals were about to reward him, but such news came.
The commander-in-chief, Chen Changjie, was extremely dissatisfied with this, and he ordered Shi Zebo to return to Shishan with his men and horses, and desperately defend there, otherwise he would face military justice. However, Shi Zebo's bullish temper came up again.
He resolutely refused to go back, he believed that the lives of his brothers were also fate, and they did not want to be cannon fodder. Faced with Shi Zebo's decision, the command fell into chaos.
You have to cherish what you have achieved, Chen Changjie, don't give up easily. Your decisions may be punishable by military law, so be sure to think carefully. "Staff Officer Xie Peiru earnestly persuaded. "
What you want is Stone Mountain, and I can assure you that I can take it back again. However, I can't take my men to death. Please understand that I will accept any punishment. "
Faced with a mountain that would be difficult to recapture, he decided to take a risk. Sacrificing more than 300 soldiers and a battalion commander, he led his troops to retreat into the back mountains and wait for the enemy to attack again.
His strategy worked, and the enemy launched a large number of aircraft and artillery to launch a fierce attack on the rocky mountain, and the entire mountain was blown beyond recognition. He waited quietly in the cave for the enemy bombardment to end, and then took advantage of the cover of night to sneak back to the Shishan stronghold with the soldiers and quietly set up defenses.
This time, he had to wait for the enemy to fall into the urn.
As the morning light dawned, the enemy once again launched a frenzied artillery attack on the rocky mountain, but this time, the shells seemed to deliberately avoid certain places, and the accuracy of the attack was greatly reduced. The shells either rolled down the hill or crossed the hill, and none of them landed on the hilltop position.
After the first round of shelling, the trumpets of the enemy troops sounded at the foot of the mountain, and the enemy from all directions poured in like a tide. When the enemy rushed to the best shooting distance, Shi Zebo, who had already been hidden under the cover, gave an order, and the soldiers pulled the trigger one after another and swept the enemy under the mountain.
When the enemy thought that the squadron on the top of the mountain had been blown into cannon fodder by the previous rounds of artillery fire, the squadron hid on the top of the mountain unharmed and waited for their arrival. The first round of the enemy's charge was easily repulsed by the squadron, which occupied a favorable position.
The unwilling enemy attacked the top of the hill again with the help of artillery fire, but Shi Zebo had already prepared and quickly locked on to the position of the enemy's artillery camp in the gap of the enemy's shelling.
He commanded the mortars, using up the only five mortars in the ranks, each with 20 shells. At the sound of an order, five artillery pieces were fired in unison, and the enemy's artillery positions were instantly reduced to nothing.
The disappearance of the artillery fire greatly reduced the momentum of the Japanese attack, and continuing the offensive was tantamount to self-defeating. The Japanese generals realized the seriousness of the problem, brandished broadswords, and led the remaining Japanese troops to retreat.
It was as if they had discovered that there were strong defenders in the Stone Mountain position, and the Japanese army did not counterattack after that.
At the moment when Stone Mountain was completely conquered, Shi Zebo's punishment seemed to have become insignificant. He understands that every decision can affect countless lives.
He didn't blindly"Unconditional obedience to the orders of superiors", but according to the actual situation, he defeated the enemy with his own strategy, and his courage was not a blind impulse, but a deliberate action.
When the war entered a stalemate and could not be attacked for a long time, Shi Zebo showed wisdom and flexibility. He divided the troops into several forces and dispersed the battle, which not only increased the combat efficiency, but also reduced the number of **.
In the case of being at a disadvantage in terms of ** and numbers, Shi Zebo did not choose to fight hard, but chose a roundabout tactic to lure the enemy deeper, calmly respond to the enemy's artillery attack, and eliminate the enemy's firepower stronghold in one fell swoop.
These strategies were the key to his victory.
In the war against the Japanese invaders, countless brave Chinese soldiers, one after another, used their flesh and blood to build impregnable defensive lines to resist the fierce attacks of the enemy.
The exemplary actions of these high-ranking generals have inspired the courage and determination of the grassroots soldiers, and confirmed the will of Commander Hao Mengling that "he will serve the country with his life, and the soldiers will be fearless in life and death".