Chapter 825 Division Commander: I also want to pull out the teeth from the tiger’s mouth
The position cannot be lost, and the second line of defense has not yet been repaired. If the Eighth Route Army takes the opportunity to break through the first line of defense, pursue the victory and continue to attack the second line of defense.
If the position is not repaired, the troops there will certainly not be able to defend it for long.
This will create a chain reaction.
The second line of defense was captured by the Eighth Route Army in a short period of time. As a result, the third line of defense was not repaired and was quickly occupied by the Eighth Route Army... In the end, they were so unstoppable that they fought all the way to the headquarters and wiped out all the troops in the middle.
In order to clear the way for the troops in the middle, the first line of defense must not be broken through by the Eighth Route Army so quickly.
Soon another idea came to his mind: "Let the artillery gather a field artillery brigade to bombard the breakthrough just opened by the Eighth Route Army, block the gap with firepower, and block the Eighth Route Army's offensive."
After a while, a violent explosion rang out at the breakthrough point just opened by the Shunping Defense Regiment and the 26th Regiment. Flames shot into the sky and smoke filled the air.
Many soldiers who were passing through the breach were blown over, and there was no movement on the assault road.
Fortunately, at this time, more than two battalions had already crossed the breach and entered the Japanese position.
Although the retreat was cut off by Japanese artillery fire, this situation would certainly not last long.
The number of Japanese artillery pieces participating in the war was limited, and they could only block a gap of two to three hundred meters long.
As the breach extended to both sides little by little, it became larger and larger. No matter how dense the artillery shells fired by the Kwantung Army were, they could not block it. The follow-up troops of the two regiments could still cross the breach and continue to raid the Japanese second line of defense.
With this idea in mind, the two reinforced battalions that rushed into the Japanese army's station did not stop at the battlefield, and directly rushed towards the Japanese army's second line of defense in battle formation.
"Boom boom boom..."
When they were still two to three hundred meters away, violent explosions were heard from the second position where the Japanese army was repairing.
The fire splashed and many little devils were blown away in the explosion.
The blocking position that had not been repaired became even more dilapidated after the recent baptism of artillery fire.
At a glance, one can hardly find a complete trench with a length of more than 20 meters.
Wang Lin, chief of staff of Shunping Garrison Regiment, was happy on the spot and said with excitement: "Comrades, it is the regiment commander who provides us with artillery support..."
"The little devils in front of you are finished. Get ready for me to fight."
"The bullets are loaded, the light machine gun is used as a submachine gun, and the rifleman prepares grenades."
"After the machine gun is done firing, throw grenades. Once the grenades are gone, continue to fire with the machine gun. Try to capture the Japs' second line of defense in one assault and go straight to the Japs division headquarters."
"I haven't met the leader of the Little Devil Division yet."
"Let's try to see tonight, be the first to break into the Japanese division headquarters and kill the little Japanese division commander..."
Seeing that the artillery fire supporting him began to move behind the Japanese army, Wang Lin personally picked up a newly captured crooked gun, hung it on his chest, loaded the bullets, and rushed to the battlefield with a roar. The crooked gun in his hand simultaneously sounded the sound of rhythmic strafing.
.
At the Japanese division headquarters, Lieutenant General Sakuragi was observing the battle situation with a serious look on his face, returning to the map from time to time to analyze the latest battle situation sent by a unit.
His brows are sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed, and his expression is very complex.
"Division commander..." A messenger hurried to Lieutenant General Sakuragi, panting and reporting.
"The two breaches of the first line of defense that were torn apart by the Eighth Route Army have been blocked by artillery fire, and the defense has been temporarily stabilized..."
"Yoshi...I want to give the artillery a credit..." Lieutenant General Sakuragi's frown eased obviously, and he said happily.
It lasted less than three seconds, and the next report from the messenger made his nerves tense again.
"But two reinforced battalions of Eighth Route Army artillerymen broke through the blockade and entered our station before they opened fire."
"They are forming a battle formation to attack our army's second line of defense head-on. The two sides are about to exchange fire."
"Nani..." Lieutenant General Sakuragi was so angry that he punched the ammunition box hard.
"This Eighth Route Army is so arrogant. The two reinforced battalions dared to run rampant through our positions. They simply did not take our Kwantung Army into consideration."
"Chief of Staff: Immediately transfer an infantry brigade and an artillery brigade, and then transfer the remaining tanks and armored vehicles to me and eat them as quickly as possible."
"We have always suffered in the previous battles. Tonight, I will give the Eighth Route Army a hard time. They will eat two of their reinforced battalions right under their noses."
The Chief of Staff also felt that the two reinforced battalions of the Eighth Route Army were too arrogant.
The way back was cut off, and they should have immediately looked for a breakthrough to retreat, but instead they ran headlong into the second line of defense. They didn't know how they died, and they rushed out of the headquarters immediately.
As soon as the front foot left, a new messenger rushed in with the rear foot.
"Division Commander..."
"The second line of defense was attacked by at least sixteen mountain field guns of the Eighth Route Army."
"Our temporary repair position was almost destroyed, and the troops suffered heavy casualties. Two reinforced battalions of the Eighth Route Army were approaching us under the cover of artillery fire, asking for reinforcements..."
"It's too late..." analyzed a team leader next to him.
"The Eighth Route Army has artillery reinforcements, its combat effectiveness has greatly increased, and its assault capability must be very strong. The second line of defense will probably not last more than a few minutes."
"It takes time for the Chief of Staff to mobilize troops. By the time our troops are encircled, they have already broken through the second line of defense and are nowhere to be found."
"Then pull out their tiger teeth..." Lieutenant General Sakuragi quickly found a breakthrough to solve the problem and hit the nail on the head.
"Contact the artillery regiment and heavy artillery brigade immediately..."
"Destroy all the exposed mountain and field artillery units of the Eighth Route Army within five minutes, creating an opportunity for the Chief of Staff to encircle the Eighth Route Army."
"Without the artillery cover, I don't see how two battalions of the Eighth Route Army could run amok in our station."
"The division commander is wise..." The commander of the unit vaguely felt that something was wrong there, but he couldn't remember it, so he could only follow the division commander's words and flatter him.
Little did they know that while they were concentrating their efforts on encircling and annihilating the two reinforced battalions, the Eighth Route Army on other battlefields was also busy.
Although their attack ability is not as good as that of the Junpei Defense Regiment and the 26th Regiment, their night fighting capabilities are very strong.
Relying on his better familiarity with the terrain here, he continued to approach the Japanese first line of defense under the cover of direct artillery fire.
As more and more flying thunder cannons join the battle, Lieutenant General Sakuragi's first line of defense, which he had placed high hopes on, is slowly being exposed and full of holes.
A thousand-mile embankment breaks down in an ant nest.
In this situation, as long as one point is breached again, the entire defense will collapse.
At that time, the Eighth Route Army that broke into their position was not one or two reinforced battalions, but several main regiments.
Extracting teeth from a tiger's mouth not only requires opportunities, but also depends on whether he has such good teeth and can end the battle in a short time.
Otherwise, Lieutenant General Sakuragi would not only be unable to extract the tooth, but he might also trap the troops involved in the tooth extraction, and ultimately lose his wife and troops.
