Shigegawa Rikishi spent some time reorganizing the troops and discussed the new combat plan with Yoshida Chimori.
After suffering more than 400 casualties, they finally learned about some of the Eighth Route Army's troop arrangements and fortifications on the reverse slope.
"This is a new tactic!" Yoshida Chiumori said: "The Eighth Route Army built fortifications about fifty meters away on the reverse slope. If we fight according to conventional tactics, the firepower will not be able to be used at all!"
Rikishi Shigekawa can understand what Yoshida Chiumori said.
The several ridges of the mountaintop position were like a broken ruler, dividing the Japanese army into several parts that could not coordinate with each other.
Of course, when the soldiers at the front were charging towards the enemy's position, the soldiers on the front slope didn't even know what was happening in front, and were still nervously responding to the grenades flying in the air.
If it were before this, Shigegawa Rikishi would never have thought that such a tactic existed in the world, let alone that it could work.
But the fact is before his eyes, this tactic is real and it made him very embarrassed.
The only good news is that Shigegawa Rikishi doesn't need to worry about these Eighth Route Army troops escaping, because they are waiting there for the Japanese to put their guns to work.
"How long until the reinforcements arrive?" Shigekawa Rikishi asked.
Yoshida Chikumori looked at his watch and replied: "More than an hour!"
Rikishi Shigekawa found that he actually hoped that reinforcements would arrive early and take over the battlefield.
At the same time, Shigegawa Riki felt a little uneasy. He realized that the enemy in front of him was not the main force as previously imagined. They were probably just ordinary troops using a new tactic, and they did not have many troops.
But Shigekawa Rikishi finally decided to hide this idea. He could not face Okamura Neji's questioning, and at the same time he could not face his own failure... The Eighth Route Army in front of him, which was not the main force, actually caused heavy casualties to his troops.
This is simply a great shame and humiliation for Shigekawa Rikishi!
After thinking about it, Shigegawa Rikishi said: "With a distance of fifty meters, we may choose to quickly rush into their position and fight hand-to-hand!"
Before that, hand-to-hand combat had been something the Japanese army had tried to avoid because it would increase casualties, but now, hand-to-hand combat was what Shigegawa Rikishi pursued because it would reduce casualties.
"It's worth trying!" Yoshida Chikumori nodded in agreement: "If conventional tactics don't work, then try hand-to-hand combat!"
So the Japanese army launched another attack!
This time, they did not organize firepower from the position on the top of the mountain like before, but lurked on the slope in groups. Each soldier's rifle had a bayonet, and only one magazine was left behind, and the rest were handed over.
The reason why only one magazine was left was partly because the ammunition trucks of the Yoshida Brigade were either bombed or trapped in the encirclement, and the ammunition was slightly insufficient at this time.
On the other hand, they are worried about dying in the enemy's position and the ammunition will be used by the enemy.
The person leading this charge was Yoshida Chiumori. Seeing that he was almost ready, he waved his hand back.
With a roar, the grenade fired grenades one after another towards the opposite side.
There were twenty grenade launchers in total, and Yoshida Chikumori hoped that they could throw the grenades into the enemy trenches by feeling... Yoshida Chikumori believed that feeling was more important when the target could not be seen.
After hearing the grenade explode on the opposite side, Yoshida Chikumori pulled out his command sword and waved it forward, shouting: "Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"
"Long live!" The Japanese jumped up from their hiding places in groups, shouting and rushing towards the Eighth Route Army position like a tide with bayonets in hand.
This may be the tactic the Japanese army should most adopt.
The reason was that the Eighth Route Army did not have enough ammunition for machine gun fire, and it was precisely this kind of equipment that could fire a large number of bullets in a short period of time that was the nemesis of the cluster charge.
The Eighth Route Army soldiers did not hesitate. They immediately threw out a row of grenades and exploded a cloud of smoke at the front of the position. Then they turned around and got into the tunnel.
Wang Xuexin also got into the nearest tunnel.
Inverse slope fortifications are not just ground fortifications, but also a defense system that combines ground and underground.
When faced with a swarm of enemies charging under unfavorable circumstances, the best way is to hide in a tunnel.
The tunnel is a bit depressing and dull, and I am always worried that the enemy will throw a few grenades in from outside the cave.
But in fact, this kind of worry is unnecessary. The entrance of the tunnel is at the corner, and a gunman is placed with a hollowed bamboo slip just like the tunnel. The muzzle of the gun is facing the entrance of the tunnel. As soon as an enemy appears, it will go "bang".
One sound.
When necessary, grenades can also be slid out from the tunnel along the bamboo tube from the inside out.
Yoshida Chimori, who rushed up with the troops, was greatly surprised.
At first, what surprised him was that he was able to take down the defense line with hundreds of casualties in just one charge.
Then, to his surprise, the enemy disappeared out of thin air as if they had burrowed into the ground.
In the end, to his surprise, the enemy actually got into the ground, because he discovered several tunnel entrances.
"Continue the attack!" Yoshida Chikumori ordered without thinking: "Blow them out of the hole!"
The Japanese ignited the grenades one by one, struck them and threw them into the tunnel. After a "boom", they ducked into the tunnel.
As a result, before I had taken a few steps, I heard a gunshot, and then there was no more movement.
Yoshida Chimori felt confused and a little scared at the same time.
Because this was another tactic that he didn't know, it was conceivable that there must be a special structure inside this tunnel to deal with attacks from the outside.
You want to know these structures, but you don't know how much it costs.
What Yoshida didn't know was that this was just the beginning of trouble.
Suddenly, a soldier shouted: "Grenade".
After the "boom" explosion, several soldiers fell in a pool of blood... The semi-enclosed nature of the trench doubled the power of the grenade.
Yoshida Chimori thought this was just an accident.
It might have been accidentally set off by a soldier, or it might have been a booby trap, or it might have been a dying enemy...
But Yoshida soon discovered that he was wrong.
One after another, the grenades slipped from the small holes on the side of the trench. Amidst the successive explosions, the Japanese were either killed or injured, or crawled out of the trench in a hurry.
The trenches may be the enemy's hiding place, but they are not theirs.
However, climbing out of the trenches is also not a wise choice...
The second trench located in the middle of the reverse slope came into play at this time. It was a hundred meters away and still within the range of the rifle.
Moreover, because the slope of the highland descended in steps, the Japanese were once again exposed to the muzzle of the second trench without any cover.
Yoshida felt a little desperate.
He believed that these enemy fortifications were not something that his brigade could capture!