Kong Jie used real fire this time, and the 8th Mixed Brigade happened to hit the hole of the gun.
Under the command of the howitzer, the mountain artillery company covered the area with full firepower at the intersection of Xicun and Northwest Xiangshan Road. A Japanese squadron was in the area, plus more than a hundred Japanese wounded soldiers, and the eighth
Nearly two regiments of troops deployed by the mixed brigade on the fortifications were severely bombarded by artillery fire.
The Japanese and puppet troops under the coverage of artillery fire would not be completely annihilated. After all, the density of the artillery impact points is limited.
However, the Japanese and puppet troops in the shelling area were completely unable to avoid casualties under the full firepower coverage. In less than five minutes, the Japanese and puppet troops suffered quite tragic casualties.
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The Japanese and puppet troops covered by fire suffered more than 70% casualties, and the number of casualties was simply too many to count.
A rough estimate is that the two regiments of the Eighth Mixed Brigade of the puppet army deployed about 2,000 troops, plus a Japanese squadron and more than 100 seriously wounded people.
The final number of casualties was around 1,500.
Among them, the number of killed accounted for about 40% of the casualties, which is about 600 people.
In less than five minutes, more than 1,500 casualties were caused to the Japanese and puppet troops. This data is shocking enough.
It was really a sudden bombardment from the mountain artillery battery, and Kong Jie managed it just right.
Unexpectedly, this Japanese squadron took the seriously wounded to the intersection area, and happened to meet up with the two regiments of the 8th Mixed Brigade.
No one thought at the time that the soldiers of the West Village Independent Regiment temporarily retreated just for subsequent artillery strikes.
This round of artillery fire completely frightened Yan Sanfu, commander of the Eighth Mixed Brigade of the puppet army, out of courage.
Yan Sanfu never dreamed that the Eighth Route Army, which had always been backward in equipment and scarce in ammunition, would be completely different when it came to the Independent Regiment.
Good guy, with the intensity of the artillery bombardment, the number of artillery pieces in the hands of this independent regiment is definitely not small.
The artillery strength of a Japanese regiment is no more than this, right?
This round of shelling also dashed the hope of Yamaguchi Shubian, commander of the Japanese Fourth Mixed Brigade, to break out from the west on the small mountain road.
Hiding behind the village, witnessing the bombed Japanese and puppet troops crying for their fathers and mothers under full firepower, comrades such as Zhao Dazhong, the platoon leader of the 17th company, were secretly speechless, and they all looked at the people of Niukou Village with strange expressions.
Thumbs up in the direction.
"This is our leader, in one word, awesome!"
"This battle was fought so happily. The regiment leader avenged the blood of our fallen comrades."
After the soldiers cheered, the platoon leader Zhao Dazhong ordered: "Comrades, the opportunity to beat the drowned dog will come soon. After the artillery bombardment is over, we will immediately make up for it. Taking advantage of the fact that most of the Japanese and puppet troops are wounded, we will hit them hard."
Beat these idiots."
"Yes!"
...Mountain Artillery Battery, it was close to the fifth minute when Kong Jie’s order to cease fire was conveyed.
Nearly five minutes of continuous bombardment, although the fighting was hearty, but seeing the shells being delivered one after another, the howitzer's heart was so distressed that it was about to bleed. As soon as Kong Jie's order came, he quickly issued a ceasefire.
command.
"Stop the bombardment, stop the bombardment, grandma, I feel so bad. In just a short time, we may have fired nearly two hundred rounds of artillery shells, right?"
The third platoon leader quickly counted the ammunition consumption and reported: "Reporting to the company commander, a total of 175 rounds of artillery shells of various calibers were consumed."
The howitzer complained incessantly: "This short-sighted Eighth Mixed Brigade of the Puppet Army, what do you think they did to offend our commander? When our commander got angry, most of our family was wiped out. Who should I ask to reason?"
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The third platoon leader looked at the intersection area covered by artillery fire and said with a smile: "Hey, company commander, our nearly two hundred rounds of artillery shells can be fired in vain, and the number of Japanese and puppet troops eliminated will definitely not be small. Besides, are you?
Wrong calculation? According to our company's financial situation, these shells only account for about 30%."
Howitzer glared and cursed: "Isn't it possible for you to be so humble? Don't you understand the principle of making a fortune in silence?"
"Whenever someone asks, how many cannons does our mountain artillery company have? If you say just one or two, how many shells are there? Just tell him, just a few dozen rounds, don't say anything more."
"Yes!" the third platoon leader responded.
The howitzer said: "Okay, our work is finally done. The regiment commander ordered us to seize the opportunity to pull the artillery to the air-raid shelter and hide it on standby in order to guard against Japanese bomber bombings."
"Yes!"
The howitzer led the team and pulled more than a dozen artillery pieces towards the air-raid shelter in the nearest area. On the way, the hand-cranked air-raid siren in the village suddenly sounded loudly.
In the battle against Japan, the independent regiment could capture the enemy's weapons and even artillery, and they could also use their own repair shop to repair or even transform some new weapons.
But one thing is absolutely impossible to achieve, that is to have its own aviation force and compete with the Japanese aviation force.
Considering the current industrial base of the Eighth Route Army and the complex enemy environment, this is simply a fantasy.
In Kong Jie's view, instead of going through the troublesome task of developing one's own aviation power at this stage, it would be better to spend some time studying air defense and anti-aircraft power.
Kong Jieshen knew what kind of fate the base would suffer once Japanese bombers attacked.
Therefore, since the construction of Niukou Village and surrounding base areas, Kong Jie has attached great importance to air defense construction.
Each village must prepare at least two to three strong air raid shelters.
These air-raid shelters were dug and built by the independent regiment soldiers for nearly half a year with the help of the already solid mountain.
Even if the Japanese had dozens of planes bombing each other in turn, with shells constantly falling on the same point, they would not be able to easily collapse such a strong air raid shelter.
With air-raid shelters to avoid Japanese bombers, it is natural to be equipped with corresponding air-raid warning facilities.
In response, Kong Jie ordered that wooden lookout towers be built at the head of each village and on the surrounding highlands.
Each of these air defense observation towers is nearly six meters high. They are guarded by soldiers in shifts and guarded 24 hours a day. They are equipped with hand-cranked sirens and reconnaissance telescopes.
The loud siren sounds from the top of the observation tower and can be quickly transmitted to all directions.
In addition, this siren can emit two sounds in total, one is an aviation alarm, and the other is an enemy attack alarm.
Propaganda cadres have popularized this common sense to the villagers, and the villagers are very clear about the specific corresponding situations.
Once the alarm sounds, the villagers will quickly make a judgment on whether to immediately move to the air-raid shelter for shelter or to move according to the evacuation drill.
This lookout also has the magical function of a siren, which not only prevents sneak attacks by Japanese planes, but also serves as a security warning for the village.
Very practical.
Hearing the noise at this moment, the howitzer's expression changed and he quickly urged: "Quick, hurry up and send all the artillery into the air-raid shelter immediately!"
The soldiers acted eagerly.
Sure enough, after the soldiers spent a while to transport all the artillery and artillery shells to the nearest air raid shelter, not long after, the roar of Japanese fighter jets was heard in the sky.
It took less than twenty minutes before Yamaguchi called for aviation support.
Artillery shells soon exploded in the area at the end of the village.
"Damn it, this Japanese bomber is obviously aimed at our artillery battery!"
The howitzer hiding in the air raid shelter cursed loudly.
"Fortunately we escaped in time."
More than a dozen Japanese bombers circled back and forth over Xi Cun three times, and their target was indeed aimed at the mountain artillery battery at the rear of Xi Cun.
As for the nodes outside the West Village, the Japanese have no intention of provoking them. The lesson learned last time is still fresh in our minds. The MG15 aircraft machine guns in the hands of the soldiers stationed at the nodes are not easy to provoke.
The intersection area between West Village and the northwest mountain road.
The Japanese and puppet troops were wailing to clean up the mess, preparing to evacuate from the intersection area while the Eighth Route Army's artillery was temporarily suppressed by the bombers.
The eighth mixed brigade of the puppet army was blown to pieces, and the commander of the fifth regiment was directly killed in the bombardment.
The two regiments were bombarded until only two battalions remained.
The bewildered puppet soldiers couldn't find a place to cry even if they wanted to.
The Japanese squadron that originally came over now has only fifty or sixty people left, and most of them are injured. As for the more than one hundred seriously wounded people who were transported, less than half of them were affected by the bombardment.
It's better now. Everyone is injured. It's still a question of who will carry the stretcher and who will lie on the stretcher!
Wherever they looked, everything was withered, and just as the surviving Japanese and puppet troops, with lingering fears, quickly looked for the wounded soldiers still alive on the battlefield, and were preparing to take the wounded soldiers to evacuate the battlefield, a sudden fire attack arrived.
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Zhao Dazhong, the platoon leader of the 17th Company of the Independent Regiment, led the county brigade and militia comrades to fight.
During the bombardment, two more platoons came from the direction of Niukou Village to support Platoon Leader Zhao and his party.
A group of nearly two hundred soldiers killed everyone with a single shot.
"Listen carefully to the Japanese and puppet troops, surrender your guns and not kill them. The Eighth Route Army will give preferential treatment to the prisoners!"
At the same time as Platoon Leader Zhao roared, the soldiers brought more than a dozen light machine guns and quickly built the low walls of the houses in the village.
A series of 50 small artillery pieces are also lined up in the rear area. As long as the Japanese or puppet troops on the position refuse to surrender, the firepower will immediately be tilted towards them.
Under the sudden pressure, looking at the machine gun muzzles protruding from the cracks in the houses, the puppet soldiers who had been blown to pieces by the shells and some who could not recover, felt uneasy and subconsciously thought:
Throw away your guns and raise your hands to surrender. Anyway, it has long been a common thing for their puppet troops to surrender to the Eighth Route Army.
The dozens of Japanese soldiers screamed and then raised their guns to fight back.
Platoon leader Zhao frowned and directly ordered: "Fire!"
Platoon leader Zhao had long expected the resistance of the Japanese. The Japanese had never had the habit of surrendering, which was completely opposite to the puppet army.
The 50 cannons lined up in a row have already locked onto the area where the remaining Japanese soldiers are.
In an instant, the only sound was heard as the shells streaked out of the barrel.
Immediately afterwards, artillery shells exploded in the area where the remaining 50 and 60 Japs gathered, and the fierce artillery fire instantly swallowed up the Japs who counterattacked.
Under the command of Zhao Dazhong, more than a dozen light machine guns fired at the Japanese.
The smoke from the explosion quickly dissipated with the cold wind.
The surrounding puppet troops looked towards the area where the Japanese troops were originally located. Where were the Japanese soldiers standing?
There are only corpses lying on the cold ground forever.
All the Japanese who resisted, including those wounded Japanese who fought back, were all killed.
This is probably the result of refusing to surrender and becoming the enemy of the Eighth Route Army.
The puppet soldiers who witnessed all this shuddered, and an angry roar came from the direction of Platoon Leader Zhao: "The Chinese will not fight the Chinese. The puppet soldiers on the opposite side listen carefully and surrender their guns without killing us. The Eighth Route Army
Treat prisoners preferentially."
The puppet troops don't care about preferential treatment for prisoners.
The Chinese don't fight the Chinese? The puppet soldiers even sneered. If they really don't fight, what happened to the previous bombardment?
At this moment, everyone threw away their guns and raised their hands to surrender. They were just frightened by the previous artillery fire and the violent methods of the independent regiment soldiers in front of them to quickly kill the Japanese army.
"Eighth Route Commander, don't shoot, surrender, we surrender!"
I don’t know who was the first to shout such a voice and throw away the gun because of the great fear in his heart. Under the chain effect, the other puppet soldiers were like hot potatoes, quickly throwing the guns on the ground, and then
Raise your hands above your head.
In fact, there are not many puppet troops still remaining on the position at this moment. Those puppet troops who had survived the bombardment earlier, after receiving Yan Sanfu's order, as long as their legs were intact, they would have already fled from the northwest.
The mountain road retreated.
It is a long-standing tradition of the puppet army for officers to abandon their soldiers and run away.
"You, you, take the wounded soldiers and follow the retreating team!"
Therefore, at this moment, platoon leader Zhao Dazhong and others quickly captured more than 200 puppet soldiers, plus more than 300 wounded soldiers, who were left behind by Yan Sanfu who quickly retreated.
Under the bombardment of the Mountain Artillery Company of the Independent Regiment, the retreat of the 8th Mixed Brigade of the puppet army was more like a rout, and they evacuated in a panic towards the mountain road northwest of the original route.
Yan Sanfu still has the courage to continue to deal with the independent regiment at this moment. He wishes he had two more legs. As for his mixed brigade, he can run as many as he can.
Yan Sanfu was afraid that the artillery of the Independent Regiment would turn around and bombard him on the mountain road northwest.
In addition, Platoon Leader Zhao also led his soldiers to capture more than a dozen seriously wounded Japanese soldiers.
Although this Japanese soldier has amazing combat awareness and will not surrender easily, the exception is the seriously wounded. He may not even be able to move his fingers, so how can he resist?
"For the seriously wounded Japanese soldiers, they must be fully searched and no weapons should be left for them. In addition, the soldiers carrying the stretchers must be careful about the weapons worn by the soldiers. They are not allowed to wear hand grenades or hand grenades on their waists to prevent them from being seriously wounded by the Japanese soldiers.
Take the opportunity to seize it."
These are all experiences gained from bloody lessons, Platoon Leader Zhao arranged everything in detail.
As time continued to pass, as more than a dozen Japanese planes roared away from the sky over Xicun, platoon leader Zhao Dazhong and his party reoccupied the defenses at the intersection of the northwest mountain road and Xicun.
Platoon leader Zhao sent sentries to continue to guard the northwest mountain road. The remaining teams of the 8th Mixed Brigade had already retreated in panic.
"Listen up to the surrendering puppet troops. Our Eighth Route Army treats prisoners preferentially. Since you choose to surrender, you are all Chinese and will naturally give you a chance to reform.
Please help me now and carry your wounded soldiers. When they reach the regiment, we will treat them."
After Platoon Leader Zhao finished his speech, the wounded soldiers of the puppet army all showed hope.
The uninjured puppet soldiers who chose to surrender felt relieved. Since they would treat the wounded soldiers attentively, it can be seen that the Eighth Route Army did treat prisoners preferentially.
A group of surrendered puppet soldiers became more honest.
Platoon leader Zhao sent a squad of soldiers, commanding more than 200 uninjured puppet soldiers, and transported more than 300 wounded puppet soldiers, plus a dozen seriously wounded Japanese soldiers, towards the village of Niukou Village.