Facing the rocks rolling down from the top of the mountain, no matter how well-equipped the two infantry squadrons were, they could only be beaten passively.
Under the heart-wrenching gaze of the commander, more than a hundred remaining soldiers left the battlefield in embarrassment.
Halfway up the mountainside, there were smashed soldier corpses and blood-stained stones everywhere, bloody and tragic.
"Captain of the regiment, why don't we use mortars to attack the Eighth Route Army on the top of the mountain..." the regiment chief of staff hesitated and reminded.
If it had been before the two squadrons were severely damaged, the wing commander would not have done this even if he was killed.
Until now, the opponent has been hiding on the mountain without showing his face. Whenever his soldiers launch an attack, they will throw rocks at the foot of the mountain without even hitting a single bullet.
It can be seen from this that the enemy on the top of the mountain may not even have guns and equipment, and is just a group of ordinary people or local troops of the Eighth Route Army.
Using mortars to deal with such a group of ordinary people would be overkill.
As a result, the two squadrons were hit by a pile of rocks and suffered heavy casualties, which forced him to pay attention to his opponents on the mountain.
According to the commander's explanation to himself before leaving, the best way to solve this problem is to bypass the Eighth Route Army's blocking troops and try to avoid fighting with them.
But this is a mountainous area with rugged terrain. Within a few kilometers, there is only one mountain road in front of you for everyone to walk on.
To bypass the mountains in front of them, the troops had to retreat several kilometers before taking another mountain road.
Considering the current battle situation faced by the troops, taking a detour is not only unrealistic, but will also take longer. It is better to use mortars to quickly defeat the enemies on the mountains and pass through here quickly.
The commander's mind was racing, and he quickly thought of a way to break the situation. With a raised brow, he began to issue orders: "Immediately deploy a mortar squadron to attack the enemy on the mountain, and then arrange for two squadrons to launch an attack."
"When the artillery fire cover is over, rush forward."
"Boom boom boom..."
The violent explosion of artillery shells soon sounded on the mountains. Countless pieces of soil and rocks were blown away in the explosion, and billowing black smoke also rose into the sky from the mountains in the gunfire.
The five-minute artillery barrage came and went quickly.
Before it was completely over, the two squadrons involved in the attack rushed towards the top of the mountain.
The subsequent attack went very smoothly. The attacking troops were not attacked, and no stones rolled down from the top of the mountain. It was as if there were no enemies blocking the way from the top of the mountain.
After a while, the squadron leader who participated in the attack ran to the wing leader: "Sir..."
"All the enemies on the top of the mountain ran away... We didn't even find a body."
"But judging from the traces left by the enemy on the mountain ridge, there were at least 300 enemies who blocked us just now..."
"Prepare a large number of stones on the top of the mountain in advance. When we rush to the mountainside, we will use the stones to counterattack... After throwing the stones, we will retreat from the battlefield and abandon the top of the mountain..."
The captain's face instantly turned ugly.
This report from the squadron leader means that the mortar squadron just exploded.
Even if there is no preparation for this artillery fire, the enemy who has run out of stones will take the initiative to retreat and abandon the top of the mountain.
Suppressing his anger, he ordered: "The troops continue to move forward and pass through here quickly..."
"I want to see what other methods the Eighth Route Army has to attack us..."
…………
What the Japanese captain didn't expect was...
The Eighth Route Army that had just intercepted them had only one infantry squad, and the remaining more than 300 people were all guerrillas and ordinary people.
They killed nearly two hundred Japs without firing a single shot, and at the same time blocked the main force of the Japanese army here for nearly half an hour.
Commander Huang of the Jinzhong Independent Regiment also had a reinforced battalion of mobile troops in his hands.
Without this half hour, this mobile unit would have been just like what the Japanese commander said, because it could not determine the specific marching route of the Japanese army and could only follow them and eat dust.
After half an hour of fighting with stones by the common people and the guerrillas, the mobile unit finally reached the flank of the Japanese army, and only waited for the commander's order to launch the attack.
"Commander, let's fight..." Seeing more and more little Japs passing by in front of him, the political commissar's eyes were full of anxiety, fearing that the cooked duck would slip away from his mouth, so he kept reminding them.
"Wait a moment..." Captain Huang replied seriously.
"Although the little devil is eager to reinforce Shijiazhuang, he will not easily fight with us."
"But if you are not afraid of 10,000, just be afraid of what happens..."
"If the Japanese are cornered by us and suddenly decide to fight us, the forwards and rearguards will directly flank us, and the troops will have no choice but to break away from the battle."
"Let's let go of the main force of the Japanese army and attack their rear troops."
"Even if the little Japs want to fight us desperately, the troops will have a chance to get out of the battle quickly."
After saying that, he ordered the battalion commander next to him: "Get ready to fight..."
At the same time, he raised the box cannon and aimed at a Japanese kid dozens of meters away.
"Pah, pah, pah..." The moment he pulled the trigger, he shouted an order: "Hit me hard..."
…………
The Japanese captain's anger has not completely dissipated, and he is following the troops forward with a calm face.
In order not to get angry and burn themselves, none of his subordinates dared to get too close to him.
After the sound of crossfire suddenly sounded from behind, the chief of staff had the opportunity to rush to the commander: "Sir..."
"The sound of the exchange of fire came from the rear troops. It seems that the rear troops were ambushed by the Eighth Route Army... I suggest that the main force go back immediately to meet them."
The captain retorted on the spot: "We can't kill him back."
"Listen to the sound of gunfire, the opponent has at least one reinforced battalion."
"The terrain here is difficult and very suitable for defense."
"Even if we send the main force to meet them, it will be difficult to do so in a short time."
"The Eighth Route Army that is raiding the rear troops must have been killed half an hour before we were blocked on the mountain ridge."
"If we stop advancing, divide our forces to reinforce the supporting troops, in case more main forces of the Eighth Route Army are recruited."
"Not only will it be impossible to bring out the rear troops, but it is also possible that the entire main force will be trapped on the battlefield."
"We must not do this kind of risky behavior that will cost you both your wife and your troops..."
"Pass my order...the troops continue to advance and leave the rear troops alone."
"Find a way to contact the rear troops, let them break out of the encirclement on their own, break out of the Eighth Route Army's pocket formation as quickly as possible, and catch up with the main force of the regiment."
The rear troops have a reinforced squadron with more than 200 elite imperial troops.
As a result, the commander gave up when he said so, and the chief of staff couldn't figure it out.
He subconsciously wanted to refute, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't think of any reason to refute. He could only reply with a long sigh: "Sir is wise..."
"We really cannot put the entire main force of the regiment in danger for the sake of the rear troops. I will send someone to contact the rear troops now and let them find a way to break out of the Eighth Route Army's pocket formation."
"The main force marched forward in a hurry to get rid of the surrounding Eighth Route Army as soon as possible and not give them a chance to stick to us."
