Chapter 546 The Japanese dare not do this (first update!)
At one o'clock in the morning, except for a few Japanese guard posts and patrols, all the other Japanese soldiers fell asleep.
Colonel Miyazawa fell asleep more than three hours ago, and he is currently dreaming of recapturing Junpei.
A series of screams suddenly pierced the tranquility of the night sky and reached the ears of every kid in the station.
Colonel Miyazawa was very vigilant and sat up from the cot after a moment of rubbing.
Ordinary Japanese soldiers are not treated as well as he is. They sit in combat units and sleep around the campfire.
As soon as the screams started to sound, these Japanese soldiers stood up from the ground like a conditioned reflex. They held their rifles in their arms and stared at their surroundings with vigilance.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."
Cannonballs fell from the sky and instantly exploded into dozens of fireballs of different sizes.
When Colonel Miyazawa rushed out of the tent, the camp covered by artillery fire was already filled with smoke, and the air was filled with pieces of meat, soil, weapons and equipment...
The ground was full of craters caused by artillery shells, and his subordinates lay scattered around. Some soldiers who were still alive fell to the ground and howled and screamed... It was like a hell on earth, too miserable to behold.
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army has assembled at least forty artillery pieces to attack us, as well as one-third of its mountain field artillery!" the artillery staff officer ran over with a look of fear on his face.
Colonel Miyazawa reacted very quickly, and instantly thought of the field artillery brigade and mountain artillery squadron that were killed together with the chief of staff.
When the troops were dispatched, he had a special discussion with the brigade commander about these artillery pieces.
They feel that artillery is different from infantry and requires a long time of training to form combat effectiveness, especially mountain artillery and artillery, which are more demanding.
The Duer Regiment had just experienced a major defeat, and there were not many artillery left.
Although the Shunping Garrison Regiment has one or two thousand people, it is a new unit after all, and it certainly does not have much artillery.
Even if the Eighth Route Army captured all the artillery lost by the field artillery brigade and mountain artillery brigade, they would only be piled up in warehouses to rust, unable to form combat effectiveness in just three or four days.
If the attacking troops are efficient enough and the attack speed is fast enough, they might be able to take back all those mountain artillery pieces.
With this idea in mind, Miyazawa Osaka Satoshi didn't pay much attention to the opponent's artillery when he sent out troops.
When the station was suddenly attacked by so many artillery pieces, he realized that both he and the brigade commander had underestimated the strength of their opponent.
Not only did they equip the troops with the captured mountain artillery and mortars immediately, but they also formed combat effectiveness in just three or four days. This is too scary.
Colonel Miyazawa racked his brains and couldn't figure out how the Duer Group did it.
Little did they know that these artillerymen were brought by Kong Jie, and the field artillery battalions and mountain artillery batteries that made them fearful were not fully combat effective.
Taking advantage of the range advantage, the artillery was set up outside the range of the Japanese mortars.
Several experienced gunners have adjusted the shooting elements in advance, and new gunners who have not yet learned how to fire a gun only need to follow the steps of loading, firing, clearing the chamber, and reloading.
Anyway, the Japanese garrison is very large, so as long as the approximate direction of the shelling of the mountain artillery does not change, the shells fired will definitely hit the target.
As for accuracy, they didn't need it in Huang Yu's battle plan.
The shells of mountain artillery are much more powerful than mortars. Their main purpose is to scare the Japanese and destroy their base, followed by killing people.
What really played a role in killing the enemy were more than thirty mortars.
They are operated by the best gunners from the Duer Regiment and the Defense Regiment. Even if there are not that many gunners, there must be one veteran gunner for two mortars.
Working in platoon units, they moved around where the Japs were stationed and fired wherever there were more Japs.
If by chance the Japanese artillery troops were discovered, they would strike first and not give them a chance to fire.
Colonel Miyazawa did not know about this combat plan. He only saw that the station was attacked by forty or fifty artillery pieces, and countless soldiers were killed and injured in the artillery fire...
Of course, even if he knew that his opponent's artillery was vulnerable, he would not dare to face the artillery fire head-on.
The three thousand elites in hand are all the mobile troops that can be mobilized in the entire Baoding area, not just the mobile troops in Baoding City.
If an accident occurs and the troops suffer too many casualties, the entire Baoding area will fall into a dangerous situation without any available troops.
This responsibility was unbearable not only for Colonel Miyazawa, but also for the brigade commander who stayed behind in Baoding.
Otherwise, Major General Hase would not have explained to San before his departure that he must keep his troops, recapture Junpei at the minimum cost, and severely damage the Duer Regiment and Junpei Defense Regiment.
Just by glancing at the area covered by artillery fire, Colonel Miyazawa determined that the garrison had suffered more than 300 casualties.
If the troops are allowed to counterattack under artillery fire, even if they defeat the opponent, their own casualties will exceed a thousand!
This loss was something Colonel Miyazawa could not bear.
Without hesitation, he ordered: "The troops will evacuate the station immediately and retreat five kilometers directly back. Hurry up!"
On the blocking position less than one kilometer away from the battlefield, Kong Jie and Huang Yu were observing the battle situation under the illumination of artillery fire.
As soon as the Japanese army showed signs of retreat, Huang Yu's face flashed with disappointment: "Captain, the little devil is too cautious..."
"The cavalry company wants to run away before it even takes the field... Tonight's goal of killing the enemy will definitely not be achieved!"
Kong Jie doesn’t see it that way.
Regardless of whether it is the Duer Regiment or the Shunpei Defense Regiment, the most lacking thing now is time.
If he could defeat the Japs with hundreds of shells and give the troops a few months of peace, he would be smiling in his dreams.
Besides, more than 3,000 little Japs carrying a large amount of heavy equipment and ammunition cannot be evacuated if they want to.
Looking at the blazing battlefield, he looked happy and comforted: "Don't worry, as long as the mortars are fired accurately and find the right target, there will be a fierce bombardment..."
"Even if the Japanese retreat now, we can still cut off a big piece of fat from them!"
"The role of a cavalry company is to scare the Japanese. It can be anywhere, not necessarily here..."
At this point, Kong Jie suddenly raised the corners of his mouth, pointed to the northeast corner of the Japs' camp and said, "Xiao Huang, the Japs made a big mistake in their rush to evacuate the camp. Look over there!"
"They want to divide their forces and evacuate the station..." Huang Yu was stunned for a moment. At first, he didn't believe his eyes. After repeated confirmation, he said with a happy face: "This is too focused on one thing and not the other!"
"You're giving us all your military exploits for nothing!"
"Captain, I suggest that the seven assault companies reinforced by the regiment's main force and the two main companies of the garrison regiment that can still fight, bring heavy machine guns and grenade launchers, and dispatch them all to attack the lone Japanese!"
"The artillerymen accelerated their firing speed, which made the little Japanese feel the pressure and rush to evacuate the station..."
"The more anxious they are, the more chaotic they will be, and the troops will be more scattered..."
"Our troops just happened to be on fire, and we took the opportunity to train and prepare for the next full-scale attack!"
Kong Jie then nodded: "Let the cavalry company also participate in the battle!"
"Although they have not yet formed a fighting force, the little devils don't know...it's okay to go to the battlefield and scare them!"
"If you're lucky enough, you can disperse the gathered Japs so that the infantry can defeat them one by one!"
Colonel Miyazawa led two infantry squadrons to evacuate the station from the main gate. After running less than 500 meters, there was a firefight behind him.
At first, he didn't pay much attention to it. It wasn't until the sound of firefights became more and more intense, with gunshots coming from all directions from the north, south, southwest, and northwest of the station, that he realized something was wrong.
Before he could figure out the reason, he saw a second lieutenant rushing towards him in a panic: "Sir... the breakout force was attacked by the Eighth Route Army..."
"There are gunshots everywhere around the station... The Eighth Route Army also has cavalry to help!"
Colonel Miyazawa's face turned pale again, he patted his head and said, "No, we made a big mistake!"
"The Eighth Route Army wants to defeat our breakout troops one by one..."
"Immediately contact all the troops we can contact... assemble as soon as we leave the station, and march quickly to the predetermined location to assemble..."
"All troops who have not yet broken through the garrison retreat from the gate of the garrison... Do not give the Eighth Route Army any opportunity to take advantage of it!"
Colonel Miyazawa reacted very quickly, but no matter how fast he reacted, he could not save the troops that were already under attack.
In the wasteland 500 meters southwest of the station, more than two hundred Japs were marching in a hurry towards the scheduled assembly point. There were also people carrying mortars and heavy machine guns in the middle of the team, which was obviously a reinforced squadron.
Regardless of the Duer Regiment or the Junpei Defense Regiment, no company can be their match.
"Rumble..."
The sound of horse hoofbeats suddenly reached the ears of the Japanese. The squadron leader led by the Japanese quickly raised his telescope and looked in the direction of the sound.
The sound of horse hooves became louder and louder, and the blurry figure of the cavalry company finally appeared in the squadron leader's field of vision.
If the Japanese choose to wait for reinforcements and rely on heavy machine guns and mortars to fight to the end, the cavalry company is really no match for them, and they will not even dare to attack by force.
But the Japanese squadron leader did not dare to do this.
The artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army's shelling of the garrison was still fresh in his memory.
A round of dozens of artillery shells crashed down, and hundreds of soldiers were instantly submerged in the gunfire...
He only has more than 200 soldiers in his hands. If he stops here and is targeted by the Eighth Route Army artillery, at most two rounds of artillery fire will kill them all.
The constant sounds of firefights around him also made him worried.
If he stopped here and was surrounded by the Eighth Route Army infantry, he would be unable to escape.
Based on this analysis, it would be a bad idea to stop here and carry the cavalry hard.
Continue to retreat and dedicate part of your troops to block the attack. Although there will be losses, you can bring the main force back.
As soon as his mind flashed, he thought of a strong man breaking his wrist, and immediately ordered: "The heavy machine gun team and the first infantry team will stay behind to block the Eighth Route Army cavalry from the front and cover the retreat of the main force."
Ten minutes later, the squadron leader led more than a hundred of his men and ran forward for another eight or nine hundred meters. As a result, there was no sound of firefighting as expected.
Just when the squadron leader looked confused, wondering what the rear troops were doing, the sound of roaring horse hoofs reached his ears again.
"Captain, the Eighth Route Cavalry bypassed the rear troops and came towards us again!" A Captain Cao caught up and reported.
The squadron leader looked angrily and cursed: "Bageya Road, we are just an ordinary army. How come they only chase us and not others."
"I've already left two teams, why aren't they satisfied yet?"
The first update is delivered today! Please order in full!
