The battle scene in front of him was also beyond Miyazawa's expectations.
Although mortars are very powerful, their destructive power against fortifications is very limited.
As long as the Eighth Route Army's blocking troops hide in the trenches, mortar shells hitting them outside the trenches cannot hurt them.
As for artillery shells flying from eight to nine hundred meters away, the probability of successfully hitting a trench one meter wide is very low.
Even if the blocking position is bombarded by mortar fire, as long as the Eighth Route Army remains hidden in the trenches, casualties will be very small, and the planned bombardment effect will not be achieved.
The reason why the Japanese were able to match their opponents on the Chinese battlefield was that their powerful artillery fire played a big role.
Before the infantry attack, they should first bomb the opponent's position, destroy their fortifications, blow up more than half of the soldiers, and then destroy their morale. The infantry can easily defeat them.
If the pre-war artillery fire coverage fails to destroy the opponent's position or cause heavy losses to the opponent, even if the infantry wins the subsequent battle, it will pay a huge price.
This is definitely not the result that Colonel Miyazawa wants.
Staring at the blocking position, his frown deepened, and he asked anxiously: "The mountain artillery squadron and the infantry artillery squad are struggling with the Eighth Route Army artillery, and they can't distinguish the artillery attack blocking position. It's understandable. Where is the field artillery brigade, how long has it been going on?
Haven't you set up the cannon yet? Why haven't they fired yet?"
"I'm here to contact you now... Wuwuwu..." A staff officer had just received the order when the scream of artillery shells streaking across the sky sounded above their heads.
A string of fireballs larger than mortars soon erupted from the blocking position, and the sound of explosions reached Colonel Miyazawa's ears.
The staff officer who was about to pass on the order stopped decisively: "Sir, the field artillery brigade has joined the battle, and all the first round of artillery shells hit the target."
"Good fight, I saw it..." Colonel Miyazawa's frown finally relaxed and he said happily.
"Let them continue firing, and then stop when they level the blocking positions."
The good times did not last long, the field artillery brigade had just fired the third round of shells, and the same explosion sound came from the field artillery position.
Colonel Miyazawa frowned involuntarily again, and shouted out loud: "Bagya Road, it must have been the Eighth Route Army's Field Artillery Battalion."
"Inform the field artillery brigade and ask them to ignore the blocking position and kill the Eighth Route Army field artillery battalion as quickly as possible before supporting the frontal battlefield."
…………
When he arrived at the enemy command post in front of the blocking position, he learned that the Japanese field artillery brigade had joined the battle, and Kong Jie's heart suddenly rose to his throat.
"Rumble..."
A field artillery shell hit exactly thirty meters away from the command post, and a wave of hot air swept towards him. Kong Jie felt it even while standing at the observation port.
In the dazzling firelight, countless pieces of soil were blown into the sky, and three soldiers lying in the trench were blown away at the same time...
After the explosion, the impact point had turned into a large crater. The soil on the surface was completely scorched, and a large gap was opened in the trench next to it. Three soldiers who were blown away lay motionless around it, and another soldier was directly blown to pieces.
Flesh, blood and broken limbs were everywhere, making it as miserable as you want.
Kong Jie involuntarily clenched his hands into fists, with a look of heartache and worry on his face.
The field artillery was so powerful that it caused unprecedented damage to the fortifications.
If the bombing continues at the current speed, at most ten rounds of artillery shells will blast the blocking position riddled with holes.
The trenches are the soldiers' only hiding place. If they are destroyed by field artillery, mortars alone can cause heavy casualties to the blocking troops and lose their combat effectiveness.
"Let the reserve team prepare for battle. As soon as the enemy's artillery fire stops, they will rush forward and help the blocking troops defend the position." Kong Jie ordered with a solemn look on his face. He did not expect that the battle would be so fierce. The enemy had not started yet.
We need to put the reserve team on top.
Just in case, he added to the guard at the entrance of the command post: "The guard company will assemble immediately. If the reserve team can't withstand it, then we will come. We will stop the enemy here for an hour at all costs."
Just when Kong Jie was ready to sink the boat, the field artillery shells falling from the sky disappeared.
"Commander, good news, Deputy Chief of Staff Huang asked the field artillery battalion to suddenly join the battle, and was attracted by the Japanese field artillery battalion..." The observation post rushed into the command post and reported excitedly.
"The Japanese field artillery position received eight shells and suffered heavy losses. We are concentrating all our field artillery to counterattack."
"Now the two sides are fighting equally, and no one can do anything to the other."
"That's great..." Kong Jie said with a long sigh of relief.
"As long as the blocking position is no longer attacked by Guizishan field artillery, the remaining mortars will be unable to destroy the fortifications, and the casualties of the blocking troops can be minimized."
"The guard company is temporarily disbanded. It is necessary to gather them together. Don't be wiped out by a cannonball from the little devil."
"The reserve team is on standby for the time being. Maybe the blocking force won't be able to use them until they repel the first round of Japanese attacks."
"The ammunition notifies the mortar company behind to prepare for battle, aim at the area 150 to 200 meters in front of the formation, prepare the shells, and be ready to join the battle at any time..."
…………
The field artillery battalion was ordered to counterattack the field artillery battalion of the Second Regiment. No matter how unwilling Colonel Miyazawa was, he could only place his hope of severely damaging the blocking force on the mortar squadron.
Originally, he only planned to let the artillery fire for ten minutes. The mountain artillery was responsible for destroying the surface fortifications of the blocking position, and the mortars were responsible for destroying the Eighth Route Army exposed due to the loss of position. Several types of artillery cooperated with each other to severely damage the blocking troops in the shortest possible time.
Now the mountain artillery has no time to attack the blocking positions. Only mortars can participate in the battle, so the bombardment time will naturally be extended.
After twenty minutes of continuous shelling, one-third of the artillery shell reserves of the reinforcements were exhausted. The blocking position was completely shrouded in gunpowder smoke, making it difficult to see even the naked eye. Colonel Miyazawa finally regained a lot of confidence.
Although the destructive power of mortar shells on fortifications is limited, they can kill and injure the Eighth Route Army hiding in the trenches as long as they hit the trenches.
Although the probability of artillery shells hitting the trenches is very low, the artillery squadron fires a lot of artillery shells. A blind cat can hit a mouse and kill one or two hundred artillery shells. Not to mention annihilating the Eighth Route Army hiding in the trenches, the goal of severely damaging the enemy is definitely
has been reached.
Before he could give the order to attack, two infantry squadrons ready to attack had already rushed out of the battlefield.
Nearly four hundred little devils, holding various weapons in their hands, bent over and rushed up the hill quickly.
Taking advantage of the opportunity when the Eighth Route Army had not yet reacted to the artillery fire, they ran a few more steps forward to shorten the assault distance as much as possible.
"Da da da...dong dong dong..."
When the attacking troops were still a hundred meters away from the position, the blocking position began to fire machine guns.
The sound was not dense. It seemed that only six or seven light and heavy machine guns were firing.
The heavy machine guns mounted by the Japanese army at the foot of the mountain joined the battle at the same time. The two machine guns aimed at a light and heavy machine gun on the top of the mountain and fired in an attempt to destroy these firepower points with powerful firepower. At the very least, they should suppress these firepower points and reduce the pressure on the infantry to attack.
The effect was immediate. The already sparse gunfire from the blocking position became increasingly sparse, and soon there were only a few messy rifle shots.
This incident made the Japanese offensive troops full of confidence, believing that there were indeed not many Eighth Route Army troops on the blocking position, otherwise their blocking firepower would not have been suppressed so easily.
The speed of the assault was getting faster and faster, and the little devil at the front had already rushed sixty or seventy meters in front of the formation.
If you rush forward another twenty or thirty meters, you can use grenades to attack the blocking position.
"Boom boom boom..."
More than a dozen mortar shells suddenly exploded around them. The Japanese were caught off guard and fell in large numbers instantly.
Although the remaining Japs were aware of the danger, no one was willing to stop when faced with the blocking position so close at hand. They all wanted to try harder, and maybe they could rush into the blocking position in one go.
“Dong dong dong… da da da…”
As a result, there was an airtight rain of bullets, and the gunfire from the blocking position suddenly became intensive. More than twenty light and heavy machine guns suddenly appeared. The first two rows of attacking troops were mopped down one by one like ripe wheat.
There were shells falling overhead, and a hail of bullets flying directly in front of me.
Although the Japanese heavy machine gun squadron and mortar squadron fought back desperately, the casualties of the attacking troops still increased sharply.
The moment Colonel Miyazawa heard the explosion, he realized that the attack had failed, and quickly ordered: "Retreat, let the attacking troops retreat quickly, hurry up."
"The artillery continues to fire, I will blow up all the Eighth Route Army troops in the blocking position!"
"What are mountain artillery and infantry artillery used for? If I haven't killed my opponent for so long, what's the use of them?"
"This round of artillery fire covers them and they must join the battle and help the mortar squadron destroy the Eighth Route Army's blocking positions, otherwise military law will be imposed."
"Ask them to end the artillery battle as soon as possible. If that doesn't work, they will be divided into two. Half of the mountain field artillery and infantry artillery will continue to struggle with the Eighth Route Army artillery, and the other half of the artillery will attack the Eighth Route Army's blocking positions."
…………
Compared with Colonel Miyazawa's anger, Kong Jie's face showed more heartache.
The Japanese artillery fire just now was too dense. Although it failed to destroy the trenches, it caused more than 400 casualties to the blocking troops and almost wiped out a main battalion.
Looking at the blocking position filled with wounded and corpses before him, he knew that the blocking troops were exhausted physically and mentally, and the new recruits' endurance had reached the limit. If they continued to hold on on the position, they would collapse sooner or later.
Decisive order: "The reserve team quickly replaces the blocking force..."
"All health workers went to the battlefield to rescue the wounded, and no soldier could give up."
"The seriously injured were immediately sent to the rear field hospital and all the medicines in our inventory were taken out."
"Our losses have been great enough, and we must not allow any more non-combat attrition."
"The guard company is ready for battle: if the reserve team also suffers heavy casualties in the battle, we will immediately send reinforcements."
"It's still half an hour before Deputy Chief of Staff Huang's final attack. If everyone persists, victory will be achieved."
…………
"Boom boom boom..."
Several explosions suddenly came from the left wing of the main force of the Japanese army. From a high position, Kong Jie could clearly see the painful fireball caused by the explosion of the shells.
Before the explosion ended, the sound of light and heavy machine gun fire could be heard from the exchange point.
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