Trying your best will definitely not work. Your opponent is equipped with twice as many artillery pieces as you and more heavy machine guns than you are. As long as the opponent has enough ammunition, you can cause heavy losses to your troops just by bombing them with artillery shells, let alone the other attack methods the opponent has.
As soon as his mind turned around, the captain thought of breaking out of the encirclement and leaving here.
"Charge forward...ignore the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire...rush out of their pocket formation, go faster, and kill them!"
The captain drew out his command sword and pointed in the direction of the breakout, stood up from the ground and ran forward.
Dozens of subordinates were guarding him, using their bodies to block the rain of bullets coming from all directions at any time.
"Speed up and rush forward...we can survive if we break out of the encirclement!" the captain ordered as he rushed, very anxious...
“Dong dong dong… da da da…”
Suddenly there was a firefight right in front of the team, and seven or eight machine gun flames suddenly appeared from a high ground more than 300 meters away.
Judging from the direction in which the flames were aimed, all the bullets they fired fell on the road at the foot of the mountain.
The captain had a bad feeling in his heart and immediately raised his binoculars to look there.
The two infantry squadrons walking in front of the artillery were charging forward, trying to break out of the pocket formation.
But the only way they could pass was tightly blocked by the Eighth Route Army's firepower.
Sixty or seventy corpses have fallen on the road at the foot of the mountain. No matter how hard the surviving soldiers try, they can't rush through and can only increase casualties.
"Attack the high ground... If you want to break out of the encirclement, you must first capture the high ground blocking the road..." The captain reacted quickly and immediately thought of a way to break the situation. He raised his eyebrows and started giving orders.
"Artillery and heavy machine gun cover, use the fastest speed to capture the high ground and break out of the encirclement!"
"If we leave one minute late, we will lose dozens more soldiers...kill them all..."
After the captain gave the order, the remaining dozens of gunners in the artillery squadron immediately set up three mortars. The four heavy machine gun teams that finally escaped here also began to set up machine gun positions.
There were about 300 Japs left in the two infantry squadrons. They all moved to the foot of the mountain and were ready to attack. They only waited for the artillery to open fire and launched an attack, intending to take the high ground in one assault.
"Boom boom boom..."
The Japanese artillery shells were extremely accurate, and the first hit hit the ground. All three shells hit the high ground, and a roaring heavy machine gun misfired on the spot.
The captain seemed to have seen the hope of successfully breaking out of the encirclement. He felt happy and happily ordered: "The artillery continues to fire...kill all the light and heavy machine guns on the high ground!"
"The heavy machine gun will fire now...cover the fire, send the attacking troops halfway up the mountain, and shorten the assault distance for a while..."
"As soon as the shelling stops, rush forward. Even if you stab me with a bayonet, you must take the high ground for me!"
At the enemy headquarters in front of the New Second Regiment, Li Yunlong was looking down at the entire battlefield.
Although he didn't know where the Japanese captain was hiding, dozens of Japanese soldiers huddled together and charged forward, followed by a large number of heavy machine guns and mortars. It was difficult not to attract attention.
Li Yunlong stared at this group of devils at a glance, feeling that there must be a big fish among them.
Seeing them suddenly stop, the artillerymen set up their cannons, and the heavy machine gunners set up heavy machine gun positions. They came up and fired on the high ground defended by the first battalion. I was even more determined that there was a big fish among these devils. I wanted to kill them out quickly, otherwise it would be impossible.
At the same time, he can command artillery and heavy machine gun troops.
The moment the first round of three artillery shells hit the high ground, Li Yunlong's counterattack order was also transmitted to the artillery position of the New Second Regiment.
"Mountain artillery company, machine gun company of the first battalion, aim at the artillery position and heavy machine gun position in front of the first battalion, destroy it!"
"The machine gun companies of the 2nd and 3rd battalions aim at the Japanese infantry attacking the 1st battalion, cover the 1st battalion and kill them!"
"Other troops speed up the closing of the net and attack the little Japanese who want to break through from the side and rear, reducing the defensive pressure on the first battalion!"
"Insert the troops faster. We must separate the two infantry squadrons at the back. We must not let them merge with the little Japs in front..."
The New Second Regiment was like a war machine. When Li Yunlong gave an order, the machine began to operate at high speed.
The first to respond were the artillery.
Six mountain artillery shells and six mortar shells roared into the artillery position and heavy machine gun position that the Japanese army had just established.
The gunners of the New Second Regiment were weaker than the Japs, but they were equipped with more artillery, with greater caliber and power.
With the numerical advantage, the blind cat killed the mouse, but three or four shells still hit the target.
"Boom boom boom..."
Fire shot into the sky, and it took two or three seconds for the violent explosion to reach Li Yunlong's ears.
The artillery position that the Japanese army had just built suddenly became a mess. The gunners who were not hit by the shells seemed to be frightened. They picked up the mortar parts and began to move...
As for shelling the high ground and covering the infantry to capture the high ground... they had long forgotten about it in the face of life and death.
"Just blow it up...the artillerymen will continue to fire and blow up all the little Japs you see..." Li Yunlong's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands.
In a hilly area fifteen kilometers southwest of Zhujiapo, a new group of more than 1,800 soldiers lurked quietly in the mountains, like a group of hunters, quietly waiting for their prey to crash into the pocket formation.
"Commander, here comes the little devil...he is in his early 1000s, equipped with two infantry cannons, eighty-nine mortars, and nine heavy machine guns!" The reconnaissance company commander suddenly ran to Ding Wei to report.
Ding Wei became excited upon hearing this and gave a serious order: "Let everyone prepare for battle..."
"After the blocking battle begins, the second and third battalions must encircle the Japanese army within twenty minutes!"
"Artillery, each battalion's machine gun company will attack the little Japanese in the encirclement in twenty minutes, and strive to end the battle within an hour!"
Half an hour later, a series of gunshots broke the tranquility of the night.
The Japanese were eager to reinforce Zhujiapo. After encountering an obstruction, their first thought was to use the strongest firepower to attack the blocking position, and then use the most powerful offensive to launch an assault. They would break through the obstruction in one attack and continue to reinforce Zhujiapo.
As soon as they came up, all mortars and heavy machine guns were used to provide fire cover for the attacking troops.
The chief of staff took one look and reminded him with worry: "Commander...the enemy's attack firepower is too fierce...I'm afraid the battalion cannot withstand it!"
Ding Wei was also worried at first, but soon regained his composure. He stared at the blocking position of a battalion that was already covered by artillery fire and replied calmly: "I believe them!"
"The First Battalion is the main battalion with the strongest combat effectiveness of our New Second Regiment... If even they are not qualified for this blocking task, our regiment will have no troops to stop the Japanese here!"
"Before the war, I reminded the commander of the first battalion that the Japanese would probably try their best to attack them and asked them to prepare for artillery defense in advance. The soldiers of the first battalion will definitely not let us down!"
"Inform the outflanking troops that their speed will be accelerated..."
"If we encircle the Japanese army a minute earlier, the casualties of the battalion will be reduced by one point!"
"The artillery troops immediately locked the Japanese artillery positions and heavy machine gun positions!"
"The First Battalion has created such a good opportunity for us to counterattack. We must seize the opportunity and surround their artillery and heavy machine gun troops..."
"In a word: the blood of a battalion of soldiers cannot be shed in vain...their sacrifice must be rewarded!"
Fifteen minutes later, the 1st Battalion of the New Regiment successfully repulsed the first Japanese attack.
As soon as the Japanese retreated, the blocking position was covered by a second round of Japanese artillery fire...
Three minutes later, the second and third battalions involved in the outflank finally came together...
"Commander... we can launch a general offensive!" As soon as the chief of staff received the good news, he looked eagerly at Ding Wei.
"Start the counterattack...artillery, grenade launchers, all fire..." Ding Wei bluntly stated the order...
The Japanese were shelling the positions of the new regiment and battalion, completely unaware that they were already hovering on the verge of death.
If you retreat immediately, you may still have a chance to survive.
Keep firing, even if the King of Heaven comes, I will not be able to save their lives.
But the Japs did not realize this and still concentrated on firing artillery shells at the blocking position.
"Boom boom boom..."
Until the explosion sounded in their ears, it was too late.
When they were carrying mortar parts and trying to move them, rounds after rounds of artillery shells fell from the sky like rain, instantly blasting the artillery position with artillery fire. They had nowhere to run if they wanted to escape...
"Comrades, rush..."
The second and third battalions that completed the outflank rushed out of their hiding spots at the same time, sweeping towards the Japanese like a wave.
The first battalion, which had been suppressed and beaten by the Japanese for twenty minutes, was not to be outdone and rushed out of the position with guns in hand...
At the Japanese military headquarters in Taiyuan, Yoshio Shinozuka was pacing back and forth in the war room, anxiously waiting for news.
Seeing the intelligence chief running towards him in a hurry, looking very anxious, he thought there was news from the direction of Zhujiapo, so he quickly asked: "Have the outflanking troops already reached Zhujiapo!"
The person in charge of the intelligence quickly shook his head: "Report to Commander... No news has come back from the Zhujiapo battlefield... But we have just discovered another situation!"
"Last night, more than 3,000 Eighth Route Army troops suddenly arrived in Jinzhong County..."
"It can be confirmed that they are not an independent group attacking the outer city of Taiyuan...the specific number is still under investigation!"
"It's still dark today. More than 3,000 Eighth Route Army troops have left Jinzhong, carrying a large amount of weapons and ammunition. They are divided into two groups. It is not yet clear where they are going!"
"If all the Eighth Route Army were added in, the number of Eighth Route Army active in Taiyuan would have exceeded 5,000!"
"I have always wondered: Where did the independent regiment come from with so many troops, which can not only attack Zhujiapo by force, but also set up an ambush in the outer city of Taiyuan to severely damage our counterattack troops!"
"I figured it out now..."
"It's not that the Independent Regiment has the ability to spread the beans into an army, but that they have reinforcements!"
"Report..." An officer from the intelligence department suddenly appeared at the door of the war room.
The person in charge of intelligence hurried over and the two of them exchanged a few words before seeing the person in charge of intelligence return to Yoshio Shinozuka with a solemn face and continue the report.
"Your Excellency, Commander, we have found out the specific numbers of more than 3,000 Eighth Route Army troops!"
"They belong to the same unit as the Independent Regiment, namely the New First Regiment and the New Second Regiment of the 386th Brigade. They have very strong combat effectiveness!"
"Our troops suffered a lot from them during this large-scale sweep, but in the end they were able to successfully break through!"
"I didn't expect these two regiments of the Eighth Route Army to come to Taiyuan... They are so courageous!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
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