"Chief of Staff, I disagree with what the engineer commander said. We cannot stop now. A lot of Eighth Route Army troops have gathered around us. According to the frequency of the attacks just now, at least one battalion of the Eighth Route Army has gathered around us.
If we stop advancing, the artillery and huge amounts of combat supplies in our hands will become a huge bait for the Eighth Route Army, which is short of these supplies."
"If this is the case, then the Tuba Road waiting for us along the highway will all gather around us like kittens that smell fishy smell. And by that time, what we will face will no longer be
A battalion of Tubal Road, but a regiment, or more..." After listening to the conversation of several people, Colonel Takeda Kaoru, captain of the Field Artillery Regiment, immediately put forward his objection.
After hearing what the field artillery captain said, the two captains who had just proposed to stay on the spot fell silent. Even the chief of staff didn't know what to do and fell into deep thought. Because in everyone's mind, they knew that Captain Takeda
The reasons are very good and very correct.
"Takeda-kun, since you don't agree to stand still and have good reasons, do you have any specific methods to solve the current situation our army is encountering?" the chief of staff asked with a frown.
"Hi, Chief of Staff. I think the biggest problem our army has right now is the lack of infantry cover. Therefore, I think we should select soldiers with certain combat effectiveness from the three regiments, form a temporary infantry, and equip them with
The best infantry light weapons are used for guarding and patrolling around the troops. With the cover of these specialized infantry, I think the surrounding Tubal Road should be restrained a lot. In addition, the patrol range of this infantry should be as wide as possible. In this case
, these Tubal Roads will have no place to hide, let alone launch a sneak attack on our general at close range." Colonel Takeda Kaoru, captain of the Field Artillery Regiment, suggested.
"Yoshi, Takeda-kun, this is a very good idea. We will start to form this temporary infantry now. Based on our current needs, I think we need to organize at least two reinforced squadrons of infantry with a total of 500 people. I don't know.
Do you have any different opinions?" The chief of staff nodded with satisfaction and asked the other two captains beside him.
"Hi, Chief of Staff, we completely agree with this decision." The two wing captains quickly replied.
"Yo Xi, now the three captains will return to their respective regiments immediately. I hope that in order for our entire army to reach Gongcun smoothly, you will not be stingy and use your best soldiers." The chief of staff nodded with a smile.
He nodded and ordered.
"Hi, Chief of Staff..." The three captains took the order and left.
In this way, in less than half an hour, 500 soldiers were selected. In order to maximize the combat effectiveness of these troops, the chief of staff specially removed a large number of light machine guns from the baggage regiment and strengthened them for two mixed groups.
Formation of strengthened squadron.
With two strengthened squadrons on patrol, the frequency of cold gun attacks on the troops was significantly reduced. However, the troops that had to pass through more than 3,000 people were entirely baggage and artillery, and the entire march dragged a distance of several kilometers.
Although the two reinforced squadrons of 500 people are a lot of fear to the guard battalion of the first division next to them. However, it is impossible for a small number of patrol troops to cover everything. Often, as soon as the patrol team passes by, the soldiers will quietly come over with weapons.
, continued to fight coldly. By the time the Japanese patrol troops arrived with reinforcements, the soldiers had achieved good results and quietly retreated.
But even so, the Japanese Chief of Staff was very relieved. Because in the past hour, although there were constant shots fired around, the casualties of soldiers were indeed reduced a lot due to the attack distance. More importantly,
His patrol team also promptly eliminated at least one platoon of troops on Tubal Road.
However, he didn't know that just when he was feeling lucky for his decision, the three main regiments of the Second Division led by Commander Plateau had already rushed over day and night. At this time, they were only a few meters away from the Japanese army's baggage and artillery units.
There is less than 10 kilometers away. In the blink of an eye, more than 3,000 little Japs and a large amount of weapons and ammunition will be completely surrounded by more than 6,000 main troops in the third division.
However, at this time, the three infantry regiments led by Itagaki Seishiro and nearly 10,000 infantrymen were separated from the artillery supplies led by the chief of staff. The march of the entire unit was completely exposed to the eyes of the surrounding special operations brigade soldiers.
.
After several hours of rapid march, nearly ten thousand troops finally entered the range of the howitzer battalion that had been deployed. The special operations team members who had been hiding next to the main force of the Japanese army were already on the first line.
time, the latest coordinates of the Japanese army's march route were transmitted to the howitzer battalion's position through the radio.
"Reporting to the battalion commander, the latest march coordinates of the Japanese army have been transmitted from the special operations brigade of the division..." On the busy artillery battalion position, a communications staff officer handed over a howitzer with a newly deciphered message.
In the hands of the battalion commander.
"Okay, great, comrades, the special operations brigade has sent us the latest coordinates of the Japanese army's march route. Now we order all artillery positions to immediately turn their muzzles and reset their artillery targets. Each gun will fire three times at a rapid rate.
Shoot, prepare to fire..." The artillery battalion commander took the telegram in his hand and quickly told the latest coordinates of the Japanese army to the gunners of every cannon.
In this way, under the skilled control of the soldiers, in less than half a minute, all 12 artillery pieces completed preparations for firing. Each howitzer shell weighing several dozen kilograms was pushed into the barrel by the soldiers.
Waiting for the battalion commander's order.
"Attention, all guns, three rapid fire rounds, start firing..." As the small yellow flags were waved one by one, all the gunners pulled the gun ropes almost at the same time.
"Boom, boom, boom..." A violent roar sounded on the battlefield, and 12 artillery shells flew into the sky with a huge roar. The artillerymen were deafened by the violent sound of the shells fired out of the barrel.
, without any hesitation. In the thick smoke, he quickly cleared the barrel and piled the hot shell casings next to him. He quickly pushed a brand new shell into the barrel and got ready for the next shot.
Just after the howitzer battalion fired a round of artillery shells, 12 artillery shells flew for about ten minutes. A huge roar finally sounded above the heads of the Japanese troops ten kilometers away. However, these little devils did not know
What was flying towards them were cannonballs. Each of them raised their heads and looked towards the sky where the whistling sound came. However, at this moment, 12 black spots appeared in their eyes.
"Baga, it's an artillery shell, an artillery bombardment, it's an artillery bombardment from the Eighth Route Army... Hurry, hide quickly... Get down..." The Japanese commanders at all levels who noticed the abnormality roared at the soldiers lying around in a daze.
However, it was too late by now.
"Boom, boom, boom..." 12 deafening explosions exploded in the marching column of the Japanese army. It was not until the shells exploded that the Japanese soldiers in a daze realized, holding their heads and lying on the ground.
.12 heavy artillery shells, almost instantly, blasted 12 large craters in the Japanese marching column.
And around the center of the pit, within a radius of nearly ten meters. As the smoke from the explosion cleared, there was almost no living soldier, not even a complete corpse. Because the surrounding soldiers were not killed.
The flying shrapnel was directly torn into pieces. They were thrown into the sky by the violent air waves and landed on the ground more than ten meters away, turning into cold corpses.
In the center of the crater, within a radius of 20 meters, although there are many Japanese soldiers lying down, when you walk in and observe, you will find that basically all these little devils have been killed. They were not killed.
He was not hit by the shrapnel of the artillery shell, but was shocked to death by the violent air waves and the thunderous explosion.
"Baga..." Just before these little devils lying on the ground could react from the explosion, another huge whistling sound reached everyone's ears. Faced with such a powerful shell,
, these Japanese soldiers all made a wise choice, lying quietly on the ground, praying to Amaterasu, hoping that these shells would not fall around them.
However, as another loud explosion sounded, many people's wishes were dashed.
"Baga, hurry up, disperse immediately, hurry up..." After two rounds of artillery fire, the Japanese commanders at all levels finally reacted from the shock. They ordered loudly to the soldiers around them, and even he hurriedly walked towards the road.
They were hiding in the cornfields next to them. Immediately, these little devils who were lying in dense groups on both sides of the road stood up one after another and fled into the cornfields on both sides of the road.
Just when the artillery battalion's third round of shells came, there were not many little Japs on both sides of the road. However, the huge explosion of the shells still killed more than a dozen little Japs.
"Baga...where did the Eighth Route Army get its heavy artillery? Bagaya Road, these artillery pieces are at least 105mm heavy howitzers, Bagaya Road..." After the bombardment, all the little devils quickly returned to the road.
On both sides, the bodies of the fallen soldiers began to be cleaned up. The Japanese division commander, surrounded by several company captains, came to a bomb crater nearly one meter deep. He roared loudly at the surrounding officers.
"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander. I remember that a month ago, the Independent Division of the Eighth Route Army captured the howitzers of a heavy artillery brigade of our Sakai Brigade in Baoding. If nothing else, these cannons should be the heavy artillery they just captured in Baoding.
." A captain replied carefully.
"Bagaya Road, now our heavy artillery is far away in Gongcun, and we are surrounded by the Eighth Route Army. We have no ability to fight back. Baga..." After hearing the explanation of the company captain, Itagaki Seishiro cursed.
"Yamada-kun, how are the casualties of the troops..." Itagaki Seishiro calmed down the anger in his heart and asked a commander next to him.
"Hi, division commander. According to statistics, the Independent Division just fired a total of 36 artillery shells at our unit. 16 of them directly hit our marching column, causing considerable losses to our army. Among them
, 108 soldiers were shattered, 38 soldiers were seriously injured and lost their combat effectiveness, and about dozens of soldiers were slightly injured. We have lost a squadron of Imperial Army soldiers in combat strength." Captain Yamada answered cautiously.
"Bageya Road. Mr. Yamada, send a telegram to Taiyuan immediately. Request aircraft support. We must find the Eighth Route Army's artillery position and destroy it. Now I order the troops to continue moving forward. We cannot give up total annihilation for the casualties of one squadron.
The opportunity for the main force of the independent division..." Seishiro Itagaki wisely ordered.
"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander..." Soon, after collecting the bodies of the soldiers who died in the battle, the Japanese army resumed their usual marching formation and began to continue marching.
However, what Seishiro Itagaki didn't expect was that at this time, the division's electronics unit, which had made great contributions in the Battle of Baoding, was marching simultaneously with the Japanese army under the protection of a battalion of soldiers. In order to prevent the Japanese Fifth Division from requesting aircraft support from Taiyuan
, the three high-power radio stations of the electronic detachment were activated almost simultaneously. The powerful radio signal almost enveloped the entire march of the Japanese army.
A few minutes later, just when the Japanese army thought that the shelling would not continue, another whistling sound reached everyone's ears. But this time, the little Japanese did not hesitate at all. Hearing the whistling sound of the artillery shells, he did not wait until
Following the orders of their respective commanders, they quickly drilled into the cornfields on both sides of the road. Just when the artillery shells landed, there was still an orderly marching column. At this time, only a few people who were slow to react were left. However, the shells were huge.
No matter how powerful it was, it still caused at least a dozen casualties very easily.
However, this situation was quickly noticed by the soldiers of the special operations brigade. They saw these little devils scattering into the cornfield nearby. In order to better eliminate these Japanese troops, the soldiers did not care about the common people.
losses, new bombardment coordinates were sent to the heavy artillery battalion.
Finally, the shells with corrected coordinates landed on the ground again with a huge whistling sound. However, the place where the explosion occurred was not on both sides of the road, but in the cornfield where countless little devils were hiding. Then
With the sound of explosions, countless Japanese soldiers hiding in the cornfields, who thought they were very safe, were thrown into the sky. By the time they landed, they had become limp corpses.
"Reporting to the division commander, in the shelling just now, 54 soldiers of our army were killed and 12 were seriously injured..."
"Reporting to the division commander, in the shelling just now, 39 soldiers of our army were killed and 15 were seriously injured...
"Your Excellency, the commander of the division... In the shelling just now, 68 soldiers of our army were killed..."
"Baga, that's enough... Where are our planes? Why haven't our planes found the enemy's artillery positions yet? Why?" Finally, after the troops were shelled for the fourth time, the division commander Seishiro Itagaki finally faced the enemy.
The captain who reported the loss got angry. He cursed at the captain Yamada who reported the loss.
"Hi, division commander, we have sent out all the rescue telegrams. However, we have not received any reply from Taiyuan." Yamada-kun answered carefully.
"Bagya Road, how could this happen? How could this happen... Yamada-kun, if we don't have the support of aircraft, we will always be exposed to the opponent's artillery fire. If we continue like this, when we reach Gongcun, we will all
How many soldiers are left in the division to fight..." Itagaki Seishiro asked with an angry look on his face.
"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander. In less than half an hour, we have lost a total of more than 300 imperial soldiers from two squadrons. If we cannot get support from aircraft, we can destroy the enemy's artillery positions. According to the current losses
At this speed, we will lose at least more than one regiment of troops by the time we reach Gongcun."
"Baga... the cunning Eighth Route Army... gentlemen, our fifth division is now in a dilemma. Let's think about it together and come up with a suitable tactic to lead our fifth division out of the current situation.
Dilemma..." After hearing the report from Captain Yamada, the division commander Seishiro Itagaki became frustrated and looked at the other two captains next to him for help.
"Hi, division commander. I think there must be a very important reason why the Eighth Route Army's artillery can hit the target every time, and that is that there are enemy artillery observers around us..." After listening to the division commander's words, the third
21st Wing Captain Hide Aamihara reminded.
"Yoshi, there must be enemy artillery observers around us. Otherwise, their artillery fire will not be so accurate. Mr. Sufan, if you have any good ideas, please tell us and we will discuss it together.
"After listening to the words of the captain of the Suifan Alliance, the division commander Itagaki Seishiro nodded, with a trace of excitement in his eyes, and asked eagerly.
"Hi, division commander. I think that the easiest way to solve the threat of enemy artillery is to make the enemy's artillery blind. And the best way to make them blind is to eliminate the Eighth Route Army artillery observers around us.
As long as the Eighth Route Army's artillery does not have bombardment coordinates, their artillery will become a display." Captain Sufan quickly explained.
"Yo Xi, Mr. Su Fan, this is really a good idea... If it can be done like this, then we will no longer be afraid of the threat of enemy artillery fire. Yo Xi, Mr. Su Fan, now I am ordering that at least 100 people from your regiment be transferred.
A brigade of troops will conduct a carpet-like search of the woodland surrounding the main force, and must find and eliminate the enemy's artillery observers..." After hearing the explanation of the regiment commander, the eyes of the division commander Seishiro Itagaki regained their consciousness again.
He regained his usual confidence and pride and ordered to the captain of Sufan in front of him.