At this moment, the two reinforced squadrons attacking along the city wall also stopped.
It was like running into an iron wall. No matter how steadily they rushed forward, they could not move forward one step.
"Boom boom boom..."
Several artillery shells suddenly hit the top of the city where they were, causing fire to fly and more than a dozen little Japs were blown away in the explosion.
The little devil who was desperately charging forward finally couldn't hold on any longer and began to retreat backwards under alternate cover...
"Bagheya Road, the Eighth Route Army in the city must have mobilized its reserves. They want to drive out our troops who entered Xiongxian County and rely on the city defenses to resist our attack..." The major general of the border city was also frightened by the sudden accident in front of him.
He arrived, but he was the brigade commander after all. He quickly recovered from his shock, stared at the gap in the city wall and gritted his teeth to make a judgment.
Then he ordered to the chief of staff on the side: "The mountain artillery unit and the heavy artillery unit will fire into the city immediately. Several mortar squadrons will also join the battle. Blow up the enemy's counterattack troops!"
"Move two more heavy machine gun squadrons to the city wall and resolutely block the Eighth Route Army's counterattack force..."
"We finally captured the city head, we must not lose it..."
"As long as we occupy the city, the initiative on the battlefield is in our own hands..."
"Whenever Xiang enters Xiongxian, he can attack at any time, and he can attack from wherever he wants to attack!"
"The artillery can also mount mortars on top of the city and attack the Eighth Route Army gathered in the city from a high position, further weakening their strength..."
…………
"Rumble..."
Violent explosions soon sounded in the city. Many soldiers participating in the counterattack were drowned by artillery fire, and many Japs who had not had time to retreat to the city were accidentally injured.
After all, there is a city wall between the impact point and the artillery position, so accidental damage is inevitable.
But no matter how accidentally they were injured, the Eighth Route Army's casualties far exceeded those of the Japs.
Huang Yu also received the news that the Japanese army used artillery fire to intercept his counterattack troops, and his face immediately showed a disappointed expression: "Let the counterattack troops stop attacking..."
"The city cannot be taken back..."
"We only have one chance to counterattack. We can only catch the Japanese troops by surprise, fool them, and then follow the retreating troops of the Japs to capture the city. Only then can we take the opportunity to drive all the Japs who entered the city out of Xiong County!"
"Now that the Japs have responded, a large number of heavy machine guns have been deployed at the top of the city. Continuing the counterattack has no other meaning than increasing casualties."
"Let the troops disperse and hide, and prepare for street fighting with the Japanese..."
"The Japs guarded the top of the city, commanding the city, and fired their mortars upwards, blowing up wherever they wanted."
"The troops will become a living target for the enemy in a single episode. We can't do such stupid things!"
…………
The former Japanese enemy headquarters outside the south gate of Xiong County.
Seeing the attacking troops stabilize the city and block the Eighth Route Army inside the city, everyone felt relaxed.
As long as the troops occupy a bridgehead to advance into the city, even if the attacking troops are temporarily defeated, they can launch a new round of attack on the inner city of Xiong County at any time.
"General... do you want to let the offensive troops recuperate a little before launching a new round of attack?" the chief of staff suggested standing next to the major general in the border city.
The troops' attack was frustrated and the Eighth Route Army killed them in a counterattack. Temporary repairs can replenish the soldiers' physical strength and restore the morale of the troops.
But Major General Biancheng refused: "No..."
"The offensive forces immediately organized a new round of attack, and then sent all the heavy machine guns and mortars equipped by each brigade to the top of the city, condescendingly providing close fire cover for the attacking forces..."
The chief of staff hesitated and reminded: "General..."
"Would it be too tiring for the troops to fight continuously like this... The casualties must be very high, please think twice..."
Major General Biancheng refused again: "Our offensive troops are indeed very tired... but the Eighth Route Army defending Xiongxian is also very tired..."
"The troops suspended the attack..."
"While we are being repaired, the Eighth Route Army left behind in Xiongxian County is also being repaired, and there is still time to readjust deployment."
"When our offensive forces are ready and launch the attack again, 80% of what we will face is a new battlefield that has been adjusted."
"You can guarantee that the casualties at that time will be smaller than in the current attack."
"Besides, we have the advantage of military strength..."
"We won't be afraid if we really have to fight to the death..."
"The only way is to win Xiongxian County quickly and decisively."
"If we fail to have an accident in a short period of time and let the battle drag on, if an accident occurs somewhere, it will be too much to gain..."
"And we have issued a military order to the front army headquarters to end the battle within two hours and capture Xiong County..."
"I can say with certainty... As soon as the attacking troops stop to repair, we will not be able to complete the military order to end the battle within two hours..."
The chief of staff was convinced...
In less than ten minutes, more than thirty mortars and thirty heavy machine guns were set up above the southern city of Xiong County.
They stared down at Xiong County City and fired artillery shells wherever there was activity of the Eighth Route Army.
Fortunately, Huang Yu gave the counterattack troops the order to disperse and hide in time, otherwise their casualties would not have been much smaller.
…………
On the Baoding battlefield.
Li Yunlong was very aggrieved.
Relying on Baoding's solid city defenses, a large number of Japanese and puppet troops stationed in Baoding were consumed on the city. This was the offensive method Li Yunlong formulated from the beginning.
The effect is very good.
In just two days, the garrison in Baoding dropped sharply from more than 5,000 to more than 2,000.
Although the remnants of the Japanese and puppet troops promptly adjusted their deployment, they recruited a large number of expatriates and traitor armed forces in the city, increasing the garrison to more than 3,000 people in a short period of time, in an attempt to use their familiarity with Baoding City to fight street battles with the Independent Brigade.
But Li Yunlong was not worried at all.
He is a veteran of street fighting and knows very well what are the key factors for the troops to win a street fight.
Become familiar with one aspect of terrain knowledge.
Because street fighting mainly involves close-range exchanges of fire between the enemy and ourselves, the requirements for the combat effectiveness and reaction capabilities of the soldiers participating in the battle are very high. Those temporarily recruited expatriates and traitor armed forces obviously do not have this ability.
Send them to the battlefield to engage in street fighting. No matter how familiar they are with the terrain, they will become living targets for the independent brigade.
Li Yunlong was confident that he could end the battle within two days, eliminate the remaining Japanese and puppet troops, and capture Baoding.
But just when he was about to attack Baoding in one go, Kong Jie actually sent him a telegram informing him of a delayed attack.
In order to cooperate with Huang Yu's annihilation of the southward reinforcements sent by Ningji Okamura, the independent brigade must be restrained by the Japanese army in Baoding and cannot go north to reinforce Xiongxian, otherwise the more than 10,000 Japanese puppet troops attacking Xiongxian will definitely be scared away.
It was equivalent to biting into the fat meat but not being able to eat it. You can imagine the frustration Li Yunlong felt in his heart.
