On the battlefield where the Japs were ambushing the light infantry regiment, more and more Japs began to approach the regiment leader.
The artillerymen who could participate in the battle also set up their mortars, ammunition boxes were piled nearby, and the artillery shells were fuses, ready to fire at the besieging Eighth Route Army troops at any time.
The commander of the regiment was holding a telescope to observe the surroundings. There was about a reinforced battalion of the Eighth Route Army in the direction of the breakout, and they had already reached a position of 500 meters directly ahead.
They formed a battle formation and charged forward quickly. If they rushed forward two to three hundred meters, they would engage in firefights with their breakout troops.
The Eighth Route Army had the superiority in artillery fire. If they broke through rashly, the Eighth Route Army's concentrated mountain artillery blasts could destroy the fortifications of the breakout troops and block themselves in pocket formations.
In order not to give the Eighth Route Army an opportunity to take advantage of its artillery fire, he decided to wait until the two sides fought together before breaking through.
First, one or two squadrons were sent as bait to fight with the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops. When the two sides were fighting in full swing, the artillery suddenly entered the battle.
Although this kind of attack is a bit cruel, the two squadrons you sent will probably be blown up and die together with the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops.
But this is the best way to kill the current Eighth Route Army in a short period of time and open a breakthrough. As long as the main force of the regiment can break out of the encirclement and successfully arrive at Chenjiazhuang to join the Sakuragi Division, the cost of the two squadrons will definitely be worth it.
After the Eighth Route Army's besieging troops advanced another hundred meters, the regiment commander finally began to issue an order: "Let the two squadrons that have completed their assembly prepare to attack."
"The Eighth Route Army will advance another two hundred meters and start taking action. We must use the fastest speed to fight with them." The chief of staff still felt a little unbearable.
This order is tantamount to putting two squadrons on the muzzle of the Eighth Route Army. Once issued, the two squadrons are finished.
But in order to deal with the overall situation, he could only be cruel and bite the bullet and accept the order: "Ha Yi..."
"I'll make arrangements now..." Before anyone could move, the operator suddenly ran towards them, looking nervous and very anxious.
From a distance, they started shouting: "Captain, we can't break out from here..."
"The former enemy headquarters sent an urgent message: The Sakuragi Division has encountered an accident, and the sounds of firefights we heard are all fake."
"The commander asked us to turn around immediately and break out in the direction of Baoding."
"After breaking out of the encirclement, the troops gave up all their supplies and ammunition and marched back to Baoding."
"This order is extremely urgent."
"The commander told us to execute the order as soon as we receive it."
"The longer the delay, the tighter the Eighth Route Army's encirclement around us, and the harder it will be for the troops to break through."
"Nani..." The captain was shocked by the news. He had just heard the fierce exchange of fire coming from Chenjiazhuang. The scale of the battle was very large, with at least 10,000 troops from both sides participating in the battle.
There are still two to three thousand people in the Sakuragi Division holding on, otherwise it wouldn't be worth the Eighth Route Army's dispatch of so many troops to attack.
Now the commander actually told him that he had been deceived. This was too dramatic. His first subconscious reaction was not to believe it.
He took the telegram and wanted to see what happened with his own eyes. Then he fell silent. After a few seconds, he suddenly smashed it on the ground and said with regret on his face: "The commander is still thoughtful.
"I almost missed something big."
"If there are really tens of thousands of people fighting in Chenjiazhuang, the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong will not be able to spare three main regiments to besiege us."
"I ignored such a simple question. I shouldn't have done it." The chief of staff's face immediately flashed with surprise. He felt that the two squadrons that were supposed to be used as bait were saved and would not be killed by his own artillery, so he asked quickly.
"Captain, I will order the troops to turn around and break out now..."
"No..." the captain refused decisively.
"We continue to break out from the front, and the method of breaking out remains unchanged. We break out of the Eighth Route Army encirclement and then take a detour back to Baoding."
"Why?" the chief of staff asked in confusion.
"If there is an accident in the Yingmu Division, there will definitely be a steady stream of Eighth Route Army troops coming towards the battlefield from the direction of Chenjiazhuang."
"If we break out from here, wouldn't we just hit their guns?"
"This will take a lot of detours."
"If there are other Eighth Route Army troops around, if we are stopped, the troops will be surrounded by heavy Eighth Route Army troops."
"Isn't this how you break out of an encirclement and enter another pocket formation?"
"There must be far fewer Eighth Route Army troops operating in the south."
"As long as the troops break out of the encirclement, we have a great chance of withdrawing to Baoding." The commander of the unit analyzed seriously: "You are right, breaking out from here is indeed more dangerous than breaking out from the south."
"But you ignored the Eighth Route Army's mountain artillery unit."
"They have been using artillery shells to consume our troops. This is the only force left in the regiment. We fought to the south of the pocket formation under the artillery fire. How many people do you think are left to break through?"
"The breakout here is ready, and the artillery is ready."
"If we move now, all the previous preparations will be in vain. It is better to break out from here." After the commander finished his explanation, without waiting for the chief of staff to retort, he directly said in a commanding tone: "The Eighth Route Army offensive troops have rushed up and started to take action..." said
After that, he raised his telescope and looked at the battlefield.
Fighter planes are fleeting, and only by grasping the opportunity to fire can we destroy the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops in the shortest possible time and cover the main force to break out of the encirclement.
"Kill them..." More than three hundred little Japanese suddenly jumped up from the dead and wounded, and with rifles loaded with bayonets, they launched a countercharge towards the Eighth Route Army.
Facing the Japs who were so close to Chi Chi, the soldiers only had time to fire out the bullets in the barrels of their guns. They didn't even have the chance to reload the guns. The Japs soldiers were already killing them right in front of them.
A melee involving six to seven hundred people instantly broke out here.
"Captain, the battlefield advantage seems to be on our side. Why don't we ask the artillery to suspend firing and let the participating troops use bayonets to fight their way out?" The chief of staff also wanted to give the decoy troops another chance.
"No..." The captain refused very firmly.
"You are a woman of kindness."
"It is indeed possible for infantry units to fight their way out with bayonets."
"But it takes time. The Eighth Route Army's artillery can use this time to lock on to us and fire at us."
"Do you think the remaining strength of the wing can withstand a large-scale artillery fire coverage?"
"A small leak will sink a great ship."
"My order: The artillery immediately fires artillery shells towards the melee battlefield. Fire at a rapid rate within two minutes. The faster the firing speed, the better."
"After the attack, blow up the mortars and unused artillery shells, break out with the infantry and retreat."
"The main force of the alliance will start to break through in a minute and a half."
"Half a minute of shelling time was enough to reach the battlefield. Before the remnants of the Eighth Route Army could react from the artillery fire, they immediately joined the battle and opened a breakthrough."
"The entire army must break out of the pocket formation within five minutes, otherwise the Eighth Route Artillery will block our way with artillery fire and block us back into the pocket formation."
