The Japanese and puppet troops who were left in the Pingjin area were all the best among the best, and the local garrison was no exception.
After the squadron leader gave the order, the artillery team fired the first round of shells in less than half a minute.
A large amount of fire quickly erupted outside the stronghold, and violent explosions were heard simultaneously.
The squadron leader breathed a sigh of relief.
He had great confidence in his gunners and believed that they would be able to hit and kill the Eighth Route Army's flying thunder artillery units.
In the beginning, the situation was indeed similar to what he expected.
Since the artillery team under its command began to counterattack, the torpedo cannons equipped by the Eighth Route Army have not fired a single explosive package onto the battlefield.
This result made all the Japanese and puppet troops feel that the threat to the stronghold was lifted, and their vigilance immediately began to deteriorate. No one paid attention to whether the artillery team of the stronghold would be attacked.
"Boom boom boom..."
Just when the squadron leader thought that all the thunder cannons equipped by the Eighth Route Army had been destroyed, several close-range explosions reached his ears again.
Turning around, I saw that the mortar position directly in front of the turret was under attack.
In the splashing fire, more than a dozen gunners were knocked over in the explosion, and a mortar was also blown to pieces.
Only then did the squadron leader realize that he had underestimated the enemy.
He immediately shouted with a frightened expression: "Bageya Road, we have been fooled."
"The Eighth Route Army that attacked us not only had thunder cannons, but was also equipped with mortars 6"
"The artillery team will move immediately, quickly... boom boom boom%..."
Just as the squadron leader issued the transfer order, the sound of shell explosions reached his ears again.
The chaotic artillery position was once again bombarded by six shells, and nearly ten more soldiers were killed and injured.
The total number of Japs in the entire artillery squad was less than thirty, and nearly twenty of them were killed in two rounds of artillery fire.
The remaining ten or so gunners were completely panicked. Faced with the shells that could hit them at any time, they stopped using their mortars. They got up from the ground and started to move, fearing that they would be left here by the third round of shells if they ran a little slower.
"Boom boom boom..."
The rate of fire of the mortars was very fast. The remaining gunners had just ran out about ten meters when the third round of shells had already arrived.
Although they have evacuated the artillery position, not every artillery shell hits the artillery position exactly, and the killing radius of mortar shells in open areas exceeds five meters.
As long as a shell hits the Japanese retreating troops, their lives can still be taken instantly.
As a result, four or five of the few gunners were killed.
The last two mortars left behind by the Japanese were also blown over in the explosion. One of the mortars was dismembered into parts on the spot. Only God knows whether it can still be used.
"It's over..." The squadron leader's face quickly turned pale, and he shouted with despair.
"Without the artillery squad, if all the torpedo cannons equipped by the Eighth Route Army are not destroyed, they can throw explosive packages at the strongholds without restraint."
"Even if our soldiers are hiding in bunkers and gun towers, the powerful shock wave generated by the explosion of the explosive packs can kill our soldiers alive."
"Rumble..."
The Eighth Route Army attacking them outside the stronghold seemed to have heard the squadron leader's call and once again threw four explosive packets towards the southeast corner of the stronghold.
The violent explosion sounded like thunder on the battlefield, and the turrets under the feet trembled twice in the explosion, which shows how powerful the explosion of these explosive packages was.
"The troops defending the southeast corner of the stronghold immediately retreated thirty meters to establish a temporary defense line and abandoned all machine gun bunkers..." This was the only solution the Japanese squadron leader could think of.
"If the Eighth Route Army takes the opportunity to launch an attack, the artillery tower will provide them with fire cover. All Eighth Route Army attacking troops must be driven back..."
“Dong dong dong… da da da…”
The sound of light and heavy machine gun fire soon sounded outside the stronghold. About one company of the Eighth Route Army rushed out of the bunker with guns in hand and formed a skirmish line to attack the southeast corner of the stronghold, which was already shrouded in artillery fire.
The squadron leader wanted to slap himself.
Too crow-mouthed.
As soon as they mentioned that the Eighth Route Army would launch an attack from the southeast corner of the stronghold, their attacking troops appeared on the battlefield. This was too embarrassing for themselves.
Quickly order: "Open all the light and heavy machine guns on the turret to suppress the Eighth Route Army's offensive firepower, cover the ground troops and establish a temporary defense line, and block the Eighth Route Army's offensive troops head-on."
Light and heavy machine gun bullets were flying back and forth on the battlefield, and the fighting was very lively.
Although all the Japanese and puppet troops in the artillery tower were firing desperately, they could still suppress the Eighth Route Army's offensive firepower from a high position.
But this condescending position completely exposed their shooting holes and firepower points in front of the first battalion.
With an attack target in mind, the light and heavy machine guns equipped by the first battalion can be used to counterattack.
One machine gun cannot suppress the firepower of the Japanese and puppet machine guns in the turret, so two or three light and heavy machine guns should be focused on one shooting hole and fired in a salvo.
Although it is difficult for the bullets fired by the Eighth Route Army to hit the shooting holes and fly into the gun towers, depending on the density of the bullets, a few bullets will penetrate the gun towers through the shooting holes.
Facing the powerful offensive firepower of the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese and puppet troops in the artillery tower also felt uncomfortable.
The machine gunner was constantly hit by bullets, shot between the eyebrows, and fell in a pool of blood.
If you are hit by a heavy machine gun bullet, half of your head will be cut off, and red and white brains will be scattered everywhere. The scene is both bloody and tragic.
As a result, the bullets fired from the stronghold's gun towers became intermittent, and the attacking troops took the opportunity to attack forward, approaching the southeast corner of the stronghold that was already covered by artillery fire.
Fortunately, the Japanese and puppet troops who had evacuated the bunker in the southeast corner of the stronghold had already built a temporary defense line.
As they joined the battle one after another, the Eighth Route Army's offensive force was finally blocked.
But before the squadron leader had time to be happy, a scene that made him despair appeared on the battlefield again.
The blocked Eighth Route Army offensive troops did not retreat immediately, but lay on the ground and dug bunkers.
I don’t know what the origin of these soldiers was, but they were very fast. In the blink of an eye, they dug a small pit in front of them. The dirt was piled in front of the pit to form a bunker. The soldiers immediately climbed into the pit and hid behind the pile to continue to expand.
Deepen individual soldier bunkers.
That location is only fifty or sixty meters away from the southeast corner of the turret.
If the Eighth Route Army was allowed to establish an offensive position there and mount its thunder cannons there to hurl explosive packets at the stronghold, the gun tower where it was located would not be spared either.
Once the turret is destroyed, or the soldiers inside the turret are killed and injured by the shock wave and lose their combat effectiveness, the Eighth Route Army's offensive troops will completely lose their threat and rush into the stronghold in one go...
The squadron leader felt scared just thinking about it, and quickly ordered: "We must find a way to repel the Eighth Route Army who dug bunkers outside the stronghold, otherwise our stronghold will be finished..."
"The first team will assemble immediately and lead a company of the Imperial Army to launch a counterattack against the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops, repel them, and destroy the individual bunkers they just dug. Hurry up..."
