Chapter 1193 The situation is getting worse and worse
"Keep shooting and block the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops at all costs..." The Eighth Route Army was so close that it was impossible to retreat. Although the squadron leader was worried about the casualties of the troops, he still gave the order.
"Boom boom boom..."
The sound of explosions kept ringing in his ears, and the Eighth Route Army's offensive troops were always lingering about 70 to 80 meters outside the city. Even if they found the right opportunity to launch an attack from the ground, they would only rush forward five or six meters before stopping.
After holding on at the top of the city for another two minutes, the squadron leader gradually realized something was wrong.
His face suddenly turned pale, and he shouted out loud: "No... we have been fooled."
"The Eighth Route Army wanted to force us on top of the city, use artillery fire to kill a large number of our effective forces, and then rush into Fangshan and capture Fangshan. We must not let their conspiracy succeed."
"Leave a hundred people to continue to defend the city. The others will immediately retreat behind the city wall with me to avoid the artillery fire. Quick..."
The squadron leader's reaction was very fast, but the total strength of the city defense troops in the east of the city was still sharply reduced from more than 300 people to 200 people in just two minutes.
Just when he quickly evacuated the city with a hundred people.
The artillery shells fired from outside the city continued to hit the top of the city, continuing to kill and injure the Japanese and puppet troops who stayed behind on the top of the city.
When the guerrilla brigade launched a new round of attack and the squadron leader returned to the city with his hundreds of men, the Bai Lai soldiers who stayed behind at the city were killed and injured forty or fifty more.
As a result, the number of troops in the east city defense force that can continue to fight has been sharply reduced to about 150 people.
This small amount of troops obviously cannot stop the guerrilla brigade from attacking...
…………
Fangshan County Japanese Army Regiment Headquarters.
Captain Kawaguchi, the commander of the regiment, was pacing back and forth in the war room, looking very anxious.
From the sounds of the exchange of fire, we can conclude that the Eighth Route Army's offensive outside the city must have been very fierce, and the preparations for mountain artillery and mortar fire almost never stopped.
Although the Peking Command sent several aircraft to reinforce Fangshan, the cunning guerrilla brigade released a large amount of smoke outside the city, and the black smoke almost enveloped the entire battlefield.
If the aviation force wants to provide air support to the city defense troops, it must break through the thick smoke and get close to the ground to launch an attack.
In this way, the aviation force will be exposed to the damage range of the guerrilla brigade's light and heavy machine guns.
When one plane was destroyed and another was seriously damaged, the remaining Little Devil planes no longer dared to break through the smoke to provide low-altitude cover for the city defense forces.
Faced with this critical situation, the few remaining troops in the Fangshan garrison will definitely not be able to hold on for too long.
While in the war room, Colonel Kawaguchi prayed that the city defense troops could hold on longer, and at the same time he prayed that the reinforcements sent by Neji Okamura could quickly reach the outside of Fangshan Castle.
"Jingle Bell……"
The rapid ringing of the phone suddenly rang in the war room, instantly attracting everyone's attention, including Colonel Kawaguchi.
The telephone soldier who was guarding the side quickly grabbed the phone. After listening for less than half a minute, his face turned pale. Then he covered the phone and reported in a trembling voice: "Your Excellency, the commander..."
"Chengdong City Defense Force Report..."
"They suffered heavy casualties under the fierce attack of the Eighth Route Army. The city defense force has been reduced sharply to less than 150 people. They can no longer defend the city and are requesting reinforcements."
Colonel Kawaguchi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned his attention to the chief of staff, and asked anxiously: "How much is left of the wing headquarters and not much maneuverability..."
"A squadron..." the chief of staff replied quickly.
After finishing speaking, he was afraid that the commander would be tempted to send all these troops to the east of the city, so he reminded again: "These are all the mobile troops that the headquarters can dispatch."
"In order to be able to hold on a little longer, I have transferred all the logistics soldiers, clerical personnel, baggage troops, and officers that the wing headquarters can draw away. Sir, please use them with caution."
Colonel Kawaguchi really had the idea of moving them all to the east of the city. After hearing the reminder from the chief of staff, he swallowed the order that had been spoken and then gave the order.
"Deploy two infantry squads to march urgently to reinforce the east of the city."
"Faster."
"Let the city defense troops in the east of the city block the Eighth Route Army's attack at all costs. One more minute will be enough to hold on."
"No one can take a step back without an order from the wing headquarters, otherwise military law will be engaged..."
Seeing the telephone soldier begin to relay the order he had just given into the phone, Colonel Kawaguchi immediately turned his attention to the telegraph operator on the side and continued the order: "Send a telegram to the reinforcements immediately..."
"Ask where they are now."
"Fangshan County can hardly be defended."
"If they don't get to the battlefield soon, we will be doomed."
When the radio operator heard the news, he immediately put on his earphones and began to contact reinforcements. The radio's signal light also began to flash continuously.
But no matter how he called, there was no response from the reinforcements.
Time passed by second by second, and a lot of cold sweat broke out on the operator's forehead due to nervousness.
It took a full five minutes before he put down the headphones. Colonel Chao Kawaguchi reported with a guilty look on his face: "Sir..."
"We are temporarily unable to contact the reinforcements..."
"They must be on the march, and the radio is not on."
Seeing that Colonel Kawaguchi was about to get angry subconsciously, the chief of staff quickly stepped forward to comfort him: "Sir, calm down..."
"Judging from the time, the reinforcements should arrive outside Fangshan City in half an hour. They must be marching in a hurry, and the radio cannot be turned on to contact us."
"Wait a little longer, and there will definitely be good news coming back soon."
"Although the city defense troops in the east part of the city suffered heavy casualties, with the addition of two squads of reinforcements, they will definitely be able to hold on for another half hour."
"As long as the reinforcements arrive on the battlefield in time and attack from behind the guerrilla brigade, no matter how fierce the Eighth Route Army's offensive is, it will be disintegrated or even collapse on the spot."
Colonel Kawaguchi could only suppress the anger that was rising out of his heart, take a deep breath, and try to stay as calm as possible before ordering: "Continue to contact the reinforcements, and report any news to me immediately."
"Chief of Staff, please work harder..."
"Concentrate all the garrison troops in the city to the headquarters and use them as reserves. As long as we hold the city head, we have hope of turning defeat into victory..."
Time passed minute by minute, and the battle on top of the city continued.
Just twenty minutes after the reinforcements sent to the east of the city set off, a call for help came from the city defense troops in the south of the city. Colonel Kawaguchi had no choice but to send out the last mobile force in his hands.
This wasn't what made him despair the most.
During this period, the radio operator kept calling for reinforcements, but they seemed to be missing, and there was no response from the beginning to the end.
The time agreed upon by both parties is coming soon. Logically speaking, the reinforcements should contact the Fangshan garrison first, then decide the direction of attack, and cooperate with the Fangshan garrison to attack the Eighth Route Army guerrilla brigade from both inside and outside.
