Seeing Major General Fujita's calm face and silence, the chief of staff next to him suddenly said: "General..."
"I think the key for the participating troops to save the defeat in street fighting is artillery..."
"If we can find a way to destroy the Eighth Route Army's artillery so that they can't strike first, our casualties will plummet..."
At this point, the chief of staff paused for a moment before continuing: "I've probably done some statistics..."
"Forty percent of the casualties in the street fighting troops were caused by the Eighth Route Army's artillery. If the Eighth Route Army's artillery troops could be eliminated, these casualties could be avoided..."
"Pah..." Major General Fujita suddenly punched the table. The heavy expression on his face was replaced by seriousness at this moment, and he snorted coldly.
"The Eighth Route Army has artillery, and we also have..."
"In previous city defense battles, although the mountain artillery and heavy artillery we equipped suffered devastating blows, the mortar unit suffered no losses."
"Head-on confrontation, mortars are definitely no match for mountain artillery and heavy artillery due to their range and power."
"But now we are fighting a street battle with the Eighth Route Army!"
"The two sides exchanged fire at close range, and it was useless no matter how far the effective range of the mountain field artillery was."
"As long as we strike first and the artillery fire from the surprise attack is strong enough, the Eighth Route Army artillerymen may not even have a chance to resist, and will be directly killed by the mortar squadron..."
"correct……"
"Didn't the Eighth Route Army that entered Shijiazhuang attack in company units along the streets and alleys towards the center of the city?"
"Shijiazhuang is our territory."
"They attacked us with such a big fanfare that they became a living target for the mortar squadron."
"Let the artillery counterattack the Eighth Route Army's mountain artillery and blow up the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops gathered together to increase their casualties in street fighting..."
The chief of staff continued his analysis of Major General Fujita's words: "The general is wise..."
"On the battlefield of street fighting: the Eighth Route Army is in the light and we are in the dark. The artillery can sneak up on them anytime and anywhere, and then move away after hitting them, without giving them any chance to counterattack."
"Those Eighth Route Army troops who climbed over the wall to attack us can immediately attack the street fighting troops exposed on the front line, but they cannot threaten the artillery troops hiding behind the battlefield..."
"In this way, the artillery can completely learn from the Eighth Route Army and use guerrilla methods to continuously consume the strength of the Eighth Route Army's offensive troops until they can no longer bear the heavy casualties caused by street fighting and have to withdraw from Shijiazhuang."
Major General Fujita looked at the Chief of Staff and said with approval: "Yoshi..."
"Guerrilla...these two words are used very well."
"We have suffered a lot when the Eighth Route Army used artillery to fight guerrillas against us..."
"We can do what the Eighth Route Army can do..."
"Let the artillery squadron blow up the mountain artillery and infantry artillery equipped by the Eighth Route Army's offensive troops and immediately divide the troops, and use the artillery squad as a unit to fight guerrillas with the Eighth Route Army's offensive troops..."
"I will retaliate with tooth and let the Eighth Route Army have a taste of being beaten by guerrilla warfare..."
…………
On the street about three hundred meters away from the east gate, the security company of the 16th Regiment was advancing rapidly in battle formation.
The three hundred meters of street they had trampled under their feet was the result of their victory in more than half an hour.
The distance may seem short, but there are many troops from the 16th Regiment participating in the battle.
Each main company attacks forward three hundred meters, and the ten companies of the entire regiment add up to three kilometers.
Shijiazhuang is so big. If we continue to fight at this rate, we will be able to reach the center of the city and capture the Japanese Shijiazhuang garrison headquarters in three days at most.
Of course, even if an accident occurs to the troops on the offensive road, judging from the current casualty ratio between the enemy and ourselves, the remaining strength of the Shijiazhuang garrison will be exhausted by the attacking troops in less than three days.
Without the troops, no matter how strong and concealed the street fighting fortifications built by the Japanese in the city are, they have no meaning.
"The yard in front is safe, there are no enemies..." An exclamation from the attacking troops instantly brought Commander Zhou back to reality.
The subordinate pointed to the courtyard where the wall had been flattened by two mountain artillery shells.
The courtyard was quiet, and the ground was full of bricks and stones blown up by artillery shells. There were also many stones stained red by the flesh and blood of the Japanese soldiers, which looked particularly scary.
After Captain Zhou confirmed that there were no Japanese and puppet troops in the yard, he waved his hand and ordered the troops to rush forward. He himself followed the attacking troops and rushed to the front of the attacking troops.
As soon as he arrived at the street next to the destroyed yard, a violent explosion sounded in Commander Zhou's ears.
His face suddenly turned pale, and he shouted out loud: "Artillery attack, quickly disperse and hide, get down..."
Captain Zhou himself also threw himself on the ground. Taking advantage of the gap between the explosions of the shells, he turned around and saw that the mountain artillery squad and mortar platoon, which had made great achievements for the attacking troops and thwarted a large number of sneak attacks by the Japanese and puppet troops, were covered in artillery fire.
Many soldiers protecting the artillery were affected and were blown up on the street. Their bodies were bloody and bleeding wounds were everywhere. Their lives and deaths were unknown...
"No, we were fooled..." Captain Zhou reacted very quickly, and in an instant he understood the real purpose of the sudden artillery attack launched by the Japanese and puppet troops.
Immediately ordered to the subordinates around him: "Everyone should disperse and retreat immediately, act in squad units, and never gather together."
"The Japanese artillery is in the dark, and we are in the light. Once we are targeted by them, more than a dozen shells will hit us at the same time. We will have to shed a layer of our skin even if we don't die."
"Quickly withdraw, we must not give the Japanese and puppet troops a chance to attack us with artillery fire..."
After saying this, Captain Zhou led a squad and rushed into the courtyard that had been reduced to rubble by the bombing.
This yard is closest to him.
Judging from the accuracy of the Japanese artillery fire, it was obvious that they had their eyes on the streets below them.
If the troops turned around and retreated along the streets, they would undoubtedly become targets for the Japanese artillery.
Captain Zhou wouldn't do anything stupid like this.
The courtyards on both sides of the street are complexly distributed, and there are a large number of houses where you can hide. Once the troops disperse and hide in, the Japanese artillery will be blinded and unable to find the attack target, and the crisis faced by the guard company will be relieved.
but……
Although Captain Zhou had a good idea, the Japanese gunners who attacked them were not vegetarians either.
Time is life on the battlefield, and it may determine the outcome of a battle. The more artillery shells fired in a short period of time, the wider the coverage, the smaller the chance of the Eighth Route Army escaping artillery fire, and the greater the casualties.
Japanese artillerymen know this truth very well.
After firing three volleys at the Eighth Route Artillery, they began to attack the infantry blocking the artillery.
As soon as Captain Zhou rushed into the courtyard with a squad, a violent explosion sounded behind him, and hot air waves swept towards his back, almost overturning him.
The two soldiers running at the end of the team were not as lucky as themselves. They were blown over on the spot, and several bloody holes were drilled into their backs by shell fragments. Blood gushed out like a fountain. No need to check to know that they were hopeless!
Captain Zhou became anxious and quickly urged his subordinates: "Hurry up... hide in the yard and stay hidden, and get out of the street..."
