In order to avoid air attacks, the Japanese commander Colonel Nanguchi had to order his troops to disperse as much as possible on the battlefield.
But aerial bombs are too powerful.
The killing radius of up to thirty meters allowed them to blow up a large area. Even if the Japanese and puppet troops were very scattered on the battlefield, an aerial bomb could still kill nearly ten Japanese and puppet troops.
The six planes carried a total of thirty-six aerial bombs, many of which were dropped before the Japanese and puppet troops dispersed. On average, each bomb could kill twenty or thirty lives.
When the last aerial bomb fell, at least 500 of the more than 1,500 Japanese and puppet troops were killed.
The artillery brigade that Colonel Nanguchi had high hopes for was also destroyed in the battle.
More importantly, in order to avoid air strikes, the surviving Japanese and puppet troops were all scattered on the battlefield.
Military morale and morale also became very low.
Brigadier Tian did not miss this golden opportunity.
He pulled out the cannon and ordered to the Chief of Staff and Commander Chen beside him: "The entire army attacks..."
"Fight all the soldiers who can still move out with me, surround and annihilate the remaining Japanese and puppet troops, and end the battle..."
"Rush...tick-tock...tick-tock..."
The soldiers' shouts of killing and the loud charging horns soon resounded throughout the battlefield.
More than two thousand Eighth Route Army soldiers poured into the remnants of the Japanese and puppet troops from all directions.
Some people are holding rifles with bayonets, some are holding light machine guns, and there are soldiers holding ghost-headed swords...
The expression of despair on Colonel Nankou's face became more intense. He drew out his command knife with a swipe and pointed at the Eighth Route Army rushing towards him and ordered: "Block them..."
"The troops gathered quickly and prepared to retreat..."
"We can't get through here. If we want to continue going north to support the Tianjin Terminal, we must take other routes..."
"Da da da... boom boom boom..."
Gunshots, grenade explosions... soon sounded around the battlefield.
The scattered little Japs couldn't form a strong block at all, and they could only fight independently in the face of the Eighth Route Army that was rushing over quickly.
The Eighth Route Army that besieged them had twice the strength advantage. Even if some soldiers were killed by the Japanese and puppet counterattacks, the limited casualties would not affect the army's offensive...
In the blink of an eye, the two sides were strangled together.
The war situation also became one-sided and developed in a direction more favorable to the Eighth Route Army.
…………
The former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.
A huge map was spread out in front of the deputy commander.
The map marked nearly twenty Japanese and puppet troops heading north to support the Tianjin dock.
Those with a small number of troops have more than a thousand people, and those with a large number of troops have four to five thousand people.
Opposite to these Japanese and puppet troops are the Eighth Route Army's more than 30 blocking troops, with a small regiment and a large brigade. They are using all available terrain along the route to block the Japanese and puppet troops heading north.
The deputy commander kept his brows furrowed.
He was confident that he could block most of the Japanese and puppet troops heading north and surround the few supporting troops with more than 3,000 troops.
These Japanese and puppet troops not only had a large number of troops, but were also equipped with a large number of artillery, and two troops even carried armored fighting vehicles.
The Eighth Route Army was poorly equipped and could still fight positional warfare with some lightly-armed Japanese and puppet troops.
If we really encounter a large group of Japanese and puppet troops equipped with heavy weapons, and the two sides engage in head-on positional warfare on the battlefield, we will definitely be the ones who suffer in the end.
If the Eighth Route Army that intercepted them failed to complete its blocking mission and allowed the Japs to enter Pingjin, a large number of weapons, ammunition and supplies heading south would surely be destroyed by them.
The deputy commander-in-chief already knew how many weapons, ammunition and supplies Li Yunlong had seized at the Tianjin dock.
You can say that.
As long as they successfully return the loot to the base area, the Eighth Route Army will immediately be able to form a heavy artillery division, four or five mountain artillery regiments, and an armored division...
Not to mention ammunition.
Even on average, every Eighth Route Army soldier has dozens of rounds in his hand.
If we concentrate on replenishing some elite main force, it will not be a problem for two or three years.
It would be a great loss if an accident happened to these weapons and ammunition during transportation.
"Chief...good news..."
An excited exclamation suddenly sounded at the door of the war room. The deputy commander looked up and saw the chief of staff rushing in with a happy face, holding a telegram he had just received.
"A call came in from Peiping Airport just now. The aviation regiment's first air strike against the Japanese and puppet troops moving north to support the troops ended successfully..."
"Six planes dropped 36 aerial bombs on the enemy, all of which hit the target. They not only destroyed an artillery brigade of the Japanese army, but also killed five to six hundred infantrymen..."
"Six planes successfully returned to Peking Airport, requesting a second sortie..."
As soon as the chief of staff finished speaking, the radio operator rushed in and reported excitedly: "Chief..."
"Brigade Commander Tian, who besieged the Cangzhou garrison, just sent a successful report..."
"Under the cover of the flying regiment, they launched a counterattack against the Japanese and puppet troops sent by Cangzhou. After more than an hour of bloody fighting, they successfully inflicted heavy losses on the enemy..."
"Except for less than 300 Japanese and puppet troops who broke through and escaped, all other Japanese and puppet troops were wiped out by them..."
"They also captured six mountain guns on the battlefield that were not destroyed by aircraft, nearly ten mortars, a large number of light and heavy machine guns and rifles. There is no problem in expanding the army to another regiment."
The deputy commander's frown instantly relaxed, he punched the table abruptly and began to issue orders: "Since plane bombing is effective, then we will let the Japanese and puppet troops also have a taste of being bombed by planes."
"Call back to Peking Airport immediately..."
"Let them immediately dispatch all combat aircraft that can take off, rush to the battlefield immediately, blow up several of the largest Japanese and puppet troops, and cover the ground troops to block the Japanese and puppet offensive."
"If conditions permit, directly cover the ground troops and eat the little Japs heading north to support the troops."
"If one bombing is not enough, send out two..."
"When will we kill the Japanese and puppet troops heading north to support them, and when will we end the air raids?"
"Anyway, it is impossible to take away all the fuel and aerial bombs that Xiao Huang seized at Peking Airport. Instead of blowing them up, it is better to use them on the Japanese and puppet troops to kill more enemies."
"Let them blow up the large Japanese and puppet reinforcements first..."
"Go and blow up those small reinforcements."
"If there is still time and there are still many aerial bombs in stock at Peiping Airport, I will allow them to move freely and bomb all the Japanese and puppet military garrison and garrisons they can find to consume their troops and weaken their strength."
"Let's also take this opportunity to conduct some actual combat training."
The chief of staff did not expect that the deputy commander-in-chief had such a big appetite that he wanted to eat the reinforcements of the Japanese and puppet troops heading north.
This was definitely a fantasy in the past.
But now with air support, the impossible has become possible. He immediately ordered: "I will send a telegram to Beiping Airport now..."
"There are still five or six hours before dark, enough for the flight group to carry out two bombing missions."
