Major Inoue breathed heavily, as if no matter how much he inhaled, he could not fill his increasingly empty lungs, but blood foam continued to flow out of his mouth and nose.
He tried to open his eyes wide to see what kind of troops could be so brave and swift.
Previously, just when he had just reacted and was about to give the order to blow up the artillery, these people had already rushed to his brigade headquarters.
This place is nearly 1 kilometer away from the first defensive position, and he discovered that the artillery position was attacked just a few minutes ago. This sudden Chinese army drove in almost without any obstruction, which is why it was possible to be so short.
The time came in.
You must know that there are three defensive positions across the 1,000-meter area. There is also a complete transportation squadron of the artillery brigade with more than 180 people scattered on the position, and there are also five 92 heavy machine guns supported by the brigade and regiment headquarters.
Where.
However, the Chinese army seemed to regard these defensive forces as nothing, and broke in as easily as a knife cutting through butter. Are the nearly two hundred imperial soldiers and five heavy machine guns just decorations?
Captain Inoue of the Japanese army also found it a bit incredible that the time when these Chinese troops launched their attack was so precise that he still thinks it was a coincidence and an accident.
Just after he received the order to bombard the top of Fenghuang Mountain, and was about to order the artillery that had already been aimed at the top of the mountain to fire, the Chinese army began to bombard the military camp.
Moreover, he also witnessed with his own eyes the mushroom clouds held up by flames rising above the brigade headquarters. Of course he knew that this was a powerful effect that could only be achieved by large-caliber artillery.
The Chinese army has heavy artillery? The Chinese army actually has heavy artillery.
He instantly knew that the brigade headquarters was doomed. The seemingly solid underground bunker could not withstand the impact of the 105 howitzer. It was estimated that all members of the headquarters, including the brigade commander, had been killed or injured.
The fact that the brigade headquarters was destroyed made him feel panic, and he needed to make a decision in an instant.
Should we continue to carry out the order of the brigade commander, who was either dead or injured, and bombard the mountaintop position? Or should we quickly order the artillery observers to quickly calculate the location of the Chinese artillery based on the flight direction of the Chinese artillery shells and suppress it? Or should we quickly drag the troops?
These precious artillery pieces were quickly relocated.
Because he knew very well that since China's long-range heavy artillery could accurately destroy the brigade headquarters covering an area of only more than 200 meters, there was no reason why he would not know about his artillery position with a more obvious target. He did not confront the 105mm howitzer.
The courage to blast, not to mention whether the range of his 75mm field cannon can reach others is a matter of debate.
But just when he hesitated a little, the Chinese army's attack helped him make a choice.
The artillery shells suddenly launched by the Chinese army from the west onto the third defensive position and the information that the first position was attacked helped him make the final choice.
These Chinese artillery shells were closer and posed the greatest threat to his artillery position, but he was fortunate that these shells did not hit his artillery position directly.
So of course he had to order the artillery muzzles facing the north to quickly adjust the firing direction. Although these Chinese artillery were also numerous, he was confident that he could show them what professional artillery was in a few minutes.
Even without the calculations of artillery observers, he roughly knew the location of these Chinese artillery based on experience. It was less than two kilometers away in the southwest. There were few places where the artillery could be mounted. He was very confident that he could suppress it. These Chinese artillery units mainly use mortars.
However, he forgot that the central camp of the brigade was in dire straits. The explosions in the distance and the rising flames that almost completely illuminated the central camp made this well-trained artilleryman feel a little panicked. It can be a bit confusing to operate.
What's more, if the muzzle of the gun originally facing north needs to be adjusted to bombard the west, the gun body and gun position must be moved, and the shooting elements must be recalculated. The preparation time for the entire bombardment is slightly longer than usual by one minute, that is, It took less than 5 minutes.
If he encounters an ordinary Chinese army, let alone 5 minutes, even with the front three defensive positions, he can withstand the opponent's attack for at least half an hour or even longer.
According to Captain Inoue's understanding, even if the Chinese army attacks with a full division and nearly 200 Japanese troops stand firm in the three front and rear defensive positions, even if the final outcome is that the entire defense force is shattered, they can still defend for at least half an hour. , and you have to kill and injure an attacking force that is several times your own. It is hard to say if the opponent will feel that their bones are too hard and give up the attack.
This is not Major Inoue's overconfidence or arrogance. This confidence is based on his understanding of the Chinese military's equipment and combat effectiveness, as well as what has been proven in countless previous battles in Northeast China and Jehol.
And half an hour is enough for his twenty artillery pieces to shoot hundreds of artillery shells at the opponent's artillery and offensive troops, and then decide whether to leave or stay based on the battlefield conditions.
As for the idea of ordering the bombing of artillery, it had never occurred to him before the Chinese army attacked the third position. He would not even think about it because he thought it was impossible. .
However, the rapid advance of the Chinese army completely overturned all his perceptions, because he never thought that there would be such troops or such soldiers in the world.
From the time he heard the news of the failure of the first position to the time when gunshots like firecrackers came from the third position, less than three minutes had passed.
And the messenger sent by the captain of the transport squadron stammered that the third position could not withstand it, and before he could even finish asking the captain to blow up the artillery and evacuate quickly, black grenades came out one after another. The tent's ventilation window was thrown in.
This is equivalent to saying that the Chinese assault force almost rushed over right behind the messenger.
"Baga! Did they fly here? Are the nearly two hundred loyal soldiers of the Japanese Empire who are responsible for defense all pigs?"
This was a question that popped up in Major Inoue's head before the first grenade exploded.
The moment he was hit by the explosive fragments of the grenade, he actually had another question mark, that is, even if there are two hundred pigs, you can't kill them all in three minutes, right?
Although he was not killed on the spot due to the obstruction of the shell box and the subsequent explosion of grenades after he fell, the pain in his chest and the gush of blood made him know that he did not have much time.
But he kept holding on. Even though the suffocation in his lungs made him want to close his eyes and stop suffering, he still wanted to see what kind of people these Chinese people were and what kind of support they had.