Explosions soon sounded in the north of the pocket formation, flames shot into the sky, and within twenty seconds the melee battlefield was covered in artillery fire.
Such a big movement instantly attracted the attention of everyone on the battlefield.
…………
Huang Yu, the former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Yizhong, was also fooled by the Japanese commander.
The encirclement and annihilation battle has now progressed, and the Japanese captain should have guessed that the Sakuragi division was killed by him.
The top priority is to break out of the encirclement, evacuate the battlefield, and preserve our effective forces.
In Huang Yu's plan: the Japanese would probably break through from the south of the pocket formation.
It's the closest to Baoding, so there's no need to take a detour, just break out of the pocket formation and quickly march in the direction of Baoding.
It was precisely because of this judgment that Huang Yu arranged an entire main force group south of the pocket formation, intending to block them with heavy troops.
As a result, the Japanese did not follow common sense and broke through from the north where no one expected.
There was only one reinforced battalion there, which would certainly not be able to stop the Japanese army from attacking with all its strength.
Huang Yu immediately ordered artillery to support the battlefield, trying to use artillery fire to block the Japanese breakout troops and buy time for the infantry to plug the gap.
As a result, the Japanese captain didn't give him this chance.
More than 30 mortars were concentrated to fire artillery shells at the melee battlefield. In the blink of an eye, more than 700 people on both sides were overwhelmed by artillery fire, and their lives were uncertain.
Huang Yu was once again taken aback by the Japanese commander's ruthlessness and generosity. He said with shock on his face: "It's too late for the artillery to intercept."
"The Japanese Prime Minister, at the expense of two squadrons, ate up the reinforced battalion we blocked in the south."
"The two sides are fighting hand-to-hand. Hundreds of artillery shells are hitting them. No matter how powerful the troops are, they will be severely damaged."
"The main force of the Japanese army will break through in two minutes at most."
"Now we can only rely on cavalry?"
"Contact the cavalry immediately, reinforce the battlefield immediately, raid the Japanese breakout troops, and buy time for the infantry to re-encircle them."
"Although the artillery couldn't stop the Japanese breakout troops, they still had to chase them and blast them. Even if they broke out of the pocket formation, they couldn't assemble and cover the cavalry to launch the attack.
"The 21st Regiment on the south side of the defensive pocket formation immediately divided its troops to outflank them. We must block this group of little devils."
"The cooked duck must not escape from our mouths, otherwise it will be too embarrassing."
…………
The Japanese army attacked the position, and the commander of the regiment stared at his watch to count the time from the beginning of the bombardment.
As soon as the prescribed minute and a half was up, he drew his command sword and pointed it at the battlefield: "The main force began to break out..."
"Kill them out as quickly as possible, don't be too lazy to fight...Kill them..."
Excluding the two squadrons that were used as bait, there were less than a thousand soldiers left around the wing leader, all lying around in small groups.
As soon as the commander of the regiment gave an order, these Japanese soldiers jumped up from the ground, holding rifles and light machine guns, and rushed forward like a pack of wolves.
The scattered teams moved closer to the company leader at the same time, forming a powerful assault force and headed straight for the battlefield.
The explosions there continued, and all the surviving soldiers lay on the ground to avoid the gunfire, unaware that a group of Japanese troops had already reached the edge of the battlefield.
Half a minute later, the sound of artillery suddenly stopped, and the Japanese breakout troops rushed into the battlefield.
Many surviving soldiers had not yet reacted to the shelling, and the shining bayonets had already penetrated their chests.
"Da da da……"
The light machine guns held in the Japs' arms opened fire at the same time, and bullets flew across the battlefield, flying wherever there was movement.
"Kill me..."
The Japanese army shouted slogans and charged forward without hesitation. The surviving soldiers along the way were no match for them. It would not be an exaggeration to describe them as being defeated in one blow.
The artillery fire just now was too heavy and came too suddenly.
A battalion of more than 400 people has been blown into two platoons.
They were scattered on the battlefield and fought independently, unable to form an effective blockade. They could only watch the Japanese troops escape from under their noses.
"Captain, we have broken out of the Eighth Route Army's pocket formation..." the commander of the regiment said with excitement as soon as he passed through the melee battlefield.
"This is just the first step in our successful breakout..." The commander of the unit was also very happy, but he did not show it. He looked at the chief of staff and the surrounding subordinates and gave serious orders.
"The danger is far from over. The troops may be surrounded by the Eighth Route Army again at any time."
"Inform the troops to withdraw to the east, march forward quickly, get out of the range of their artillery fire as soon as possible, and get rid of the pursuers."
"Hayi..."
This time the chief of staff did not hesitate and started making arrangements after receiving the order.
The commander of the regiment was not idle either. After giving the order, he led the guards to move due east, running very fast.
"Woooooooo..."
After marching less than two hundred meters, the scream of artillery shells streaking across the sky reached the ears of the regiment commander again.
After so many years of fighting, this was the first time he hated hearing this sound.
In previous wars, the Imperial Army used artillery fire to suppress the Chinese army. Mountain field artillery shells were fired at the Eighth Route Army by its artillery. The louder the screams, the fiercer the bombardment, and the greater the damage caused to the Eighth Route Army.
The co-captain at that time particularly liked this sound.
Every time I hear it, I feel like I've been on stimulants. I get very excited, my hormones surge, and I want to go to the battlefield and fight the enemy to the death.
The artillery shells at this moment were fired at him by the Eighth Route Army. The louder the scream, the more artillery shells fired by the Eighth Route Army, and the greater the casualties of his troops.
As the captain of the regiment, he definitely doesn't want all his men to be killed by artillery shells.
If you really can't escape death, you will have to die on a head-on battlefield with the Eighth Route Army, so that at least one or two Eighth Route Army soldiers can be buried with you.
Unlike now, when a large area is blown up with one shot, you can't even see the shadow of the Eighth Route Army before you die.
I hate it, but no matter how talented the commander is, he can't change the trajectory of the artillery shell.
"Boom boom boom..."
Explosions soon sounded around him, fire splashed, and many Japanese soldiers who were in excitement were killed.
They had just broken out of the Eighth Route Army's pocket formation and thought they had escaped. Just when they were happy, artillery shells roared in and took their lives instantly.
When they died, many Japanese soldiers stared with big eyes and expressions of undying expression.
"The Eighth Route Army artillery shells are chasing us...speed up the transfer and get out of the artillery range as soon as possible..." This was the only way the commander could think of to break the situation in the face of the shelling.
"The troops march dispersedly and do not gather together to reduce the losses caused to us by the shelling." The commander of the regiment thought for a moment and added.
When he gave the order, his steps not only didn't stop, but actually ran faster and faster.
The artillery shell will not deliberately bypass it just because he is the captain of the regiment.
He was also afraid of death. Only by rushing out of the effective range of the mountain cannon could he have a chance of returning to Baoding alive.
"Rumble..."
It was raining all night, and the sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded from the side and in front of him, which made him feel extremely desperate.
The light infantry regiment was not equipped with cavalry, and the cavalry that suddenly appeared in front of us probably belonged to the Eighth Route Army.
The sound is getting louder and louder, which means that the cavalry is getting closer and closer.
The commander of the company was dumbfounded when he glanced at the surrounding troops, and the expression of despair on his face became more and more intense.
