The Fourth Mixed Brigade temporarily set up camp, and the more than a thousand Japanese soldiers did not recharge their batteries in the village as Major General Miyazawa said.
Each one of them looked as if they had been frightened, feeling uneasy and not sleepy at all...
To put it more accurately: they dare not sleep because they are afraid that if they close their eyes, they will never be able to open them.
"Boom, boom..." A violent explosion sounded again, and seven fireballs rose into the sky in the middle of the village. The filled nitrate instantly enveloped the two courtyards, and the thatched hut was also turned into a pile of ruins in the explosion.
Less than half of the fifty or so Japs stationed in the yard were instantly blown over. The remaining Japs stood up from the ground as a reflex and rushed to the entrance of the yard. Each one ran faster than the other, wanting to leave the yard as soon as possible.
"Rumble..."
The second round of artillery shells followed, and the mortar fire rate was very fast. No matter how fast the Japanese reacted, there were still more than a dozen people who could not escape, and they were drowned in the artillery fire on the spot...
The Japanese artillery squadron immediately adjusted its mortar firing crews in order to launch a counterattack.
But the artillery company fired two rounds of artillery shells and then began to move the formation.
This is not Lijiapo, where the Japanese were trapped on the top of the mountain. The space was limited and they had no place to move. In the end, they were beaten by the brigade artillery battalion until they lost their temper.
As long as the artillery company is willing, it will be no problem to move to a few hundred meters away in one breath. When the Japanese attack the revengeful artillery shells out of the barrel, the artillery company of the independent regiment will have already withdrawn to a hundred meters away!
After firing five rounds of shells in a row, none of the Japanese knew whether the artillery fire coverage just now had any effect, so they could only stop.
As a result, less than half an hour later, the Eighth Route Army's artillery attack appeared again...
The Japanese went to great lengths to do this, and even if they wanted to take revenge, they couldn't find a target...
Major General Miyazawa was very irritable, his eyes were red from exhaustion, but he still didn't feel sleepy at all.
Major Yamada and Major Yaki, who were standing in the room, also had solemn expressions on their faces.
"General, I underestimated the strength of the Eighth Route Army. I didn't expect that they could launch seven mortars at the same time to sneak attack on us. There are still enough shells!" Major Yamada was the first to speak. His face was very ugly. It was obvious that he was hit hard by the Eighth Route Army.
"I made a rough estimate. Between the sudden artillery attack tonight and the shells we received during the day, the Eighth Route Army has knocked out more than 300 shells, and each gun has almost fifty rounds!"
"Isn't it said that the Eighth Route Army's equipment is inferior, ammunition is scarce, and heavy weapons are severely lacking?"
"Why did the Eighth Route Army we encountered have all kinds of weapons, equipped with mortars and plenty of ammunition? Is this still the Eighth Route Army we know?"
Major General Miyazawa believed deeply: "I also underestimated this Eighth Route Army..."
"But the matter has come to this. What we can do now is to reduce casualties, preserve our strength, and quickly return to Yangquan after dawn!"
"The effect of artillery counterattack is very limited..." Major Jiamu continued.
"Two artillery squadrons have used five to six hundred artillery shells, but not a single Eighth Route Army mortar has been destroyed!"
"They are particularly cunning...not only do they arrange their artillery pieces separately, but they also move their positions after firing only two rounds of artillery shells. Now it is night again, which greatly increases the difficulty for the gunners to observe. It is difficult for us to even lock on to them, let alone kill them!"
"We have to fight back even if the effect is not good!" Major General Miyazawa replied resolutely.
"Otherwise, the Eighth Route Army artillery troops will attack us more unscrupulously, and the casualties will increase!"
"Report..." The communications staff officer suddenly walked in with a particularly heavy expression.
Major General Miyazawa's face became even more ugly after seeing it, and he frowned and asked, "You haven't contacted the Fujiwara Brigade yet?"
The communications staff officer shook his head: "We started calling an hour ago, and there was no interruption in the process. There is still no response from the Fujiwara brigade!"
"According to your order: Both parties must contact each other every hour..."
"We've been out of contact for two hours now!"
"There must be something wrong with the radio station equipped by Fujiwara Brigade!" Major Yoshiki replied firmly.
"I remember that after the troops were divided, Mr. Fujiwara reported to the brigade commander: There is an Eighth Route Army that has been moving around to attack them... The radio operator is the key target of the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack, and the possibility of the radio station being destroyed is very high!"
"I agree with this analysis!" Major Yamada immediately stood up to support.
"The total strength of the Fujiwara Brigade exceeds 800 people...it is impossible to be wiped out instantly even if it is attacked, and it is impossible not to even have time to send a telegram!"
"But we did not receive a telegram that the Fujiwara Brigade was in danger, which means they just had a problem with the radio!"
The analysis of his subordinates was well-founded, and Major General Miyazawa could not find any reason to refute it, so he could only agree with their judgment.
After thinking for a moment, he said: "The communications team continues to use the radio to contact the Fujiwara Brigade..."
"Judging from the time, it will take Fujiwara Brigade two hours to fight back to Yangquan... When they return to Yangquan, all our questions will be easily solved!"
"General, there is a situation outside the village!" A captain rushed in with a face full of fear, forgetting to even knock on the door.
When he saw Major General Miyazawa, he began to report, regardless of Major Yamada and Yoshiaki standing aside.
"The guard post outside the village was suddenly attacked, and most of the light and dark sentinels have lost contact..."
"A large number of Eighth Route Army troops suddenly appeared around the village, with at least one battalion in each direction. We also found a large number of heavy machine guns and grenade launchers in their ranks..."
"and……"
Major General Miyazawa stood up from his chair at some point, walked quickly to the captain, looked into his eyes and asked anxiously: "And what? Tell me everything you saw..."
"Hurry up, I'm so anxious!"
"And they are digging trenches and building offensive positions outside the village!" the captain reported bravely.
"The trenches circled the village, as if they were going to surround us here!"
"Nani?" Major General Miyazawa did not expect that the situation he least wanted to face would happen so soon.
He raised his legs and ran outside the headquarters, climbed onto the roof, raised his binoculars to observe the surroundings, and ordered while watching: "Immediately launch two flares towards the south of the village..."
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."
The flare flew into the sky with a scream, reached its highest point, exploded into a ball of dazzling white light, and slowly fell to the ground.
The battlefield that was pitch dark just a moment ago was instantly illuminated into daylight!
The Eighth Route Army was everywhere outside the village. There were hundreds of people in the east side of the village alone...
Except for a few soldiers who were on guard with guns, most of the soldiers were digging trenches...
The location of the main trench has been revealed!
Three to four hundred meters away from the village, we dug a complete circle around the village...
Facing this scene, the fool also knew that the village was surrounded by the Eighth Route Army, and they wanted to continue their efforts and eat up the remaining two brigades of the Fourth Mixed Brigade.
"General...minus the casualties caused by the sudden artillery attacks just now, there are still 1,700 people in the two brigades..."
"Including more than 400 gunners and machine gunners, more than 100 heavy equipment, and more than 1,100 combat soldiers!"
"If the Eighth Route Army has enough ammunition and continues to attack us with mortars from a long distance, the army will lose at least 200 people before dawn, and the number of combat soldiers is likely to drop sharply to less than 1,000!"
"I heard that the Eighth Route Army dispatched an artillery battalion when they attacked the Yamazaki Brigade. If they move this artillery battalion here, our losses in the artillery fire will triple, and the number of soldiers who can actually fight will be reduced to less than 600.
, I definitely won’t last long!”
Major General Miyazawa is arrogant, but that doesn't mean he has no brains.
With a little analysis, you can see that you are in a dangerous situation. It will be difficult to break out of the Eighth Route Army base area with only the remaining troops on hand.
Immediately order: "Send a telegram to the military headquarters immediately!"
"We are about to be heavily besieged by the Eighth Route Army. The total strength has been reduced sharply to 1,700 people. We may be surrounded and annihilated by the Eighth Route Army at any time. Please ask the military headquarters to order the reinforcements of Li Jiapo to move closer to me immediately!"
"The Yamazaki Battalion failed to complete the task of blooming in the center and severely damaging the Eighth Route Army..."
"Our fourth mixed brigade will help him finish it!"
"Why don't you report the loss of contact between Yangquan County and the Fujiwara Brigade to the military headquarters and ask the military headquarters to send a plane to help us investigate after dawn?" Major Jiamu suggested.
"No!" Major General Miyazawa objected without hesitation.
"The Fujiwara Brigade just lost contact. There is no evidence that they had an accident. This is the result of your analysis just now. There is no need to make a fuss and alert the military."
"Although Yangquan County has lost contact, as long as the Fujiwara Brigade returns on time, we can control it again and minimize the negative impact of the Eighth Route Army's attack on Yangquan."
"If we report it to the military headquarters now, the entire North China Front Army will know that an accident occurred at the Fourth Mixed Brigade Regiment!"
"Even if we regain control of Yangquan, the face of the Fourth Mixed Brigade will be lost!"
"For the honor of the Fourth Mixed Brigade, this matter will not be reported if possible!"
At the headquarters of the Japanese First Army in Taiyuan, after learning that the Yamazaki Battalion was wiped out by the Eighth Route Army, Yoshio Shinozuka was very angry and dropped three teacups in a row to calm down his anger.
After giving the reinforcements the order to retreat, they began to study the sand table and look for the next opportunity to severely damage the Eighth Route Army.
"Your Excellency, Commander, there is an urgent call from the Fourth Mixed Brigade... They are under heavy siege by the Eighth Route Army. They plan to imitate the Yamazaki Battalion and wait for reinforcements, creating opportunities for the main force of the Imperial Army to encircle and destroy the Eighth Route Army, and complete the mission that the Yamazaki Battalion has not completed... Please ask the military department to immediately
Send troops and reinforcements."
"The telegram also said: Their total strength has been reduced sharply to 1,700, and there are only more than 1,100 combat troops left. The Eighth Route Army that besieged them is well-equipped and has sufficient ammunition. The subsequent losses of the troops will be heavy. I hope that reinforcements will be sent soon."
Kill it at once!"
"This is impossible..." Yoshio Shinozuka felt that he had heard a big joke.
"The Eighth Route Army has poor equipment, lacks ammunition, and has no ability to fight continuously!"
"Aviation report: Before the Yamazaki Brigade was eliminated, at least three of their main regiments were disabled. Do you think the Eighth Route Army that besieged the Yamazaki Brigade still has the strength to encircle and annihilate the fourth mixed brigade?"
"Then what's going on with the request for help telegram from the Fourth Mixed Brigade?" the chief of staff became more and more confused as he listened.
"Miyazawa-kun is a very stable brigade commander and will definitely not lie about the battle situation!"
"He said that the 4th Mixed Brigade suffered heavy casualties. The total strength has been reduced sharply to 1,700 people, and the combat troops are less than 1,100 people..."
"If the Eighth Route Army besieging them was not the main force, the Fourth Mixed Brigade would never have suffered such heavy casualties!"
"This is what I don't understand!" Yoshio Shinozuka shook his head, his brows furrowed into a big "Sichuan" sign, and he continued to analyze.
"The Eighth Route Army that besieged the Yamazaki Brigade certainly did not have the strength to fight continuously, but they took huge risks to besiege the Fourth Mixed Brigade. There must be a conspiracy that we don't know about!"
