The dead people and the sound of the exchange of fire cannot be faked. No matter how stupid Ando Daizuo was, he would not lie to the military about such a big thing, which means that the contents of the telegram are 80% true.
The independent regiment has limited troops and cannot conjure troops out of thin air. It can only tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall.
The problem probably lies in mopping up the troops on the left and right. The independent regiment has been attacking them with guerrilla warfare and mine warfare, and has never fought a tough battle with them face to face. If it is well prepared, it will have a chance to use a dummy soldier to pretend to be the main force and confuse them.
"The golden cicada escapes from its shell..." Yoshio Shinozuka suddenly said these four words.
The words awakened the dreamer, and the chief of staff also reacted from the shock at this moment and said in a voiceless voice: "Your Majesty Commander, are you saying that the left and right mopping up troops were deceived by the Eighth Route Army?"
"The Eighth Route Army that blocked them was not the main force of the Independent Regiment!"
Yoshio Shinozuka nodded and said: "Perhaps the Eighth Route Army that the left and right sweep forces encountered from the beginning was not the main force of the independent regiment!"
"Perhaps what they met at the beginning was indeed the main force of the Independent Regiment. As they fought, the Independent Regiment replaced those main forces with local troops..."
"In this way, the independent regiment can gather enough troops to besiege our mopping up troops in the middle!"
"I prefer the latter!"
"If the independent regiment uses local troops to pretend to be the main force from the beginning, no matter how well they perform, there will always be some flaws!"
"At the beginning, use the main force to sneak attack and block us. After we confirm their identity, we will gradually replace the main force with local troops. The risk of exposure will be much smaller!"
"The battlefield is located in the base area of the Independent Regiment. Our intelligence collection capabilities are very poor and we are not familiar with the terrain. The Independent Regiment is fully capable of quietly moving one or two thousand people dozens of kilometers away!"
"I also support this judgment!" The more the chief of staff listened, the more he felt that the commander's analysis was counterattacking, and said with a serious face: "The local troops managed by the independent regiment are very different from other local troops!"
"Although the combat effectiveness is not as good as the main force, the equipment is very good!"
"If we don't fight them face to face, it's really difficult to judge whether they are the main force or local forces through firepower!"
After saying that, he stared at Yoshio Shinozuka and asked: "Your Excellency, Commander..."
"Now that it has been confirmed that the middle mopping up troops are being besieged by the main force of the independent regiment, they are in danger! I suggest that the left and right mopping up troops immediately move closer to them, form a larger encirclement around the middle mopping up troops, attack from inside and outside, and eliminate all the Eighth Route Army attacking the middle mopping up troops.
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Shinozuka Yoshio stared at the sand table and began to give orders: "Ando Daizuo's decision is right!"
"The middle-route mopping up troops must immediately reach Baipogou and rely on the favorable terrain there to wait for reinforcements, otherwise they will not be able to hold on for too long!"
"Contact the aviation force immediately and ask them to send twice as many aircraft to reinforce the middle route sweeper troops and cover them to defend Baipogou for a longer period of time!"
"The mopping up troops on the left and right sides immediately turned to reinforce the mopping up troops on the middle route and wiped out all the Eighth Route Army active in Baipogou!"
"Let them immediately find out the specific identities of the Eighth Route Army around them, the more detailed the better!"
"The blockading troops must defend their position!"
"Now is the critical moment for our decisive battle with the Independent Regiment. We must not allow the New First Regiment and the New Second Regiment to join the battle one by one!"
"Da da da... dong dong dong..."
The Japanese and puppet offensive troops had already exchanged fire with the remnants of the first battalion. At this time, the first battalion had suffered more than half of its casualties, and had lost more than 60% of its light and heavy weapons.
Facing the overwhelming Japanese and puppet troops, the defensive pressure was extremely high.
Seeing the Japanese and puppet troops constantly approaching the blocking position under the cover of strong firepower, Shen Quan had no choice but to lead the last reserve team of the battalion to personally reinforce the battlefield!
"Woooooooooooo...boom..."
The scream of a string of artillery shells streaking across the sky suddenly sounded above everyone's heads. When they looked up, they saw a large amount of black smoke and flames rising from the Japanese offensive positions. Many Japanese and puppet troops who were watching the battle were blown over.
"Rumble..."
A series of more violent explosions without a scream sounded at the offensive position at the same time. The rising black smoke was higher and thicker. It was clear at a glance that the explosive power of this kind of artillery shell was very powerful.
"Comrades...the main force of the regiment has begun to counterattack, everyone, hold on..." Shen Quan was even happier than grabbing a life-saving straw in despair. He was holding a 38-meter cover, firing and shouting, with a smile on his face.
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Ando Daizuo's reaction was exactly the opposite.
The sudden artillery attack not only shattered his dream of taking Baipogou quickly, but also made him realize the huge crisis.
"Captain, there are at least ten artillery pieces that attacked us just now...basically infantry artillery, mountain artillery, and several large-caliber mortars..." the artillery staff officer shouted in disbelief as if he was frightened.
"The artillery unit of the Independent Regiment has taken action!" the adjutant analyzed calmly.
"The intelligence says they are equipped with seven or eight mountain cannons and infantry cannons..."
"The independent regiment definitely wants to inflict heavy damage on us through artillery raids, cover and block the troops to block our attack, and protect Baipogou!"
Ando Daizuo analyzed with a stern face: "I think the independent regiment not only wants to repel our attack and protect Baipogou, but also wants to annihilate us here..."
"The rear troops may be completely destroyed at any time, and the main force will be divided and surrounded by them... If the attacking troops on the battlefield are also repelled by them and suffer heavy casualties, we will lose the strength to continue the attack and can only be blocked by the independent group.
Here, defeat each one..."
"Large-caliber mountain artillery squadron, field artillery squadron, infantry artillery squad... counterattack immediately and kill the independent regiment artillery battalion. We must not let them affect our offensive!"
"Rumble..."
The artillery barrage's artillery raid continued, but all the artillery shells were concentrated in one area.
Looking down from the air, this area looks like a safe passage leading directly to the Japanese artillery positions.
Ando Dazuo only realized that the independent regiment wanted to use artillery raids to cover the blocking troops and repel his own offensive troops. He did not expect that the other purpose of the artillery raids turned out to be his artillery positions!
By the time he reacted, the cavalry battalion had already reached the edge of the artillery coverage area under the cover of artillery fire.
The artillery shells falling from the sky seemed to have eyes. They immediately split into two and extended the artillery fire to both sides, preventing the Japanese and puppet troops further away from coming to block the cavalry battalion.
The assault speed of the cavalry battalion has reached its extreme. The road ahead has just been bombarded by more than a dozen artillery pieces. There are corpses and broken limbs of Japanese and puppet soldiers everywhere. Even if a few Japanese soldiers escape the bombardment and survive by chance, they are still using their arms as a vehicle.
There is no impact.
"Cavalry battalion...charge with me...kill..."
More than two hundred cavalrymen, like a sharp arrow from the string, quickly inserted into the Japanese artillery camp along the safe passage blown out by the artillery camp...
In less than twenty seconds, the first dozen cavalrymen had already entered the artillery position. With their swords in hand, they killed the dozen Japanese artillerymen who came towards them.
Wielding the saber, he continued to kill other Japs...
Seeing the Japanese trying to destroy the artillery with grenades, a soldier immediately changed his saber into a submachine gun and pulled the trigger on the gunners...
This raid was much smoother than the raid on the Japanese artillery positions at Tutu Temple.
In that raid battle, the cavalry troops did not have any support and only relied on their speed advantage to force the assault. The casualties were very high. It took a lot of time on the road and many artillery pieces were destroyed.
The raid just now had artillery fire opening the way. The cavalry battalion seemed to be in an uninhabited land. It did not encounter any threatening resistance and easily entered the artillery position!
The speed was so fast that the Japanese troops did not even have time to destroy the artillery. They were either hacked to death with sabers or swept into pieces by submachine guns.
"It's over..." Ando Ozuo instantly changed from a sharp-edged commander to a little old man. He collapsed on the ground and shouted with a look of despair.
The adjutant was about to comfort the commander, but he swallowed his words again.
The cavalry's assault speed is too fast, and there is artillery fire cover. The chance of losing the artillery position is more than 99%...
Without the advantage of artillery fire, the infantry is like a group of hungry wolves without fangs. It looks very fierce, but the overall combat effectiveness will plummet!
After successfully raiding the artillery position, the cavalry troops of the independent regiment will definitely not stop and watch the show.
They already had every advantage in fighting the infantry and were able to match them in every direction.
Add artillery fire cover, and all the troops in the offensive position are no match for them...
At that time, even Amaterasu will be unable to save them.
Faced with such a critical situation, his mind was filled with confusion and he could not think of a reason to comfort the captain.
"Captain...if the artillery position is lost, the independent regiment will definitely concentrate artillery fire on our attacking troops..." a battalion captain reminded hurriedly.
"They are the only remaining mobile troops in the offensive position. There must be no accidents. Otherwise, the independent regiment cavalry troops can easily eliminate us with a single assault!"
"They must be pulled down immediately to join us..."
"We can't stay in the offensive position. It's best to join forces with the main force in the rear!"
"The more troops we gather together, the longer we can defend, and the longer we can hold on until reinforcements arrive!"
"As long as the reinforcements arrive on the battlefield in time, we can turn defeat into victory and capture the independent regiment."
After those words, Ando Dazuo regained some sense.
Although I still don't have much hope that I can turn defeat into victory, I still decided to give it a try. If I win, I can turn from a defeated general into a hero.
Clenching his fists, he forced himself to stand upright and ordered with a serious face: "The attacking troops will withdraw immediately..."
"Heavy machine gun squadron, mortar squadron, withdraw together and join us!"
"The whole army turns around and advances towards the main force!"
"Boom boom boom..."
Ando Daizuo reacted quickly, and after regaining his composure, he gave the order to retreat, but the artillery battalion responded even faster. More than a dozen artillery shells seemed to have eyes, screaming and flying towards the Japanese heavy machine gun position.
They are the greatest threat to the cavalry. Get rid of them and the cavalry battalion can gallop freely in the offensive position and raid whoever they want!
