Lieutenant General Kato was in a particularly bad mood for several days in a row.
Especially last night, the sound of gunfire and the explosion of artillery shells started at eight o'clock in the evening and lasted until six o'clock in the morning without stopping.
If it weren't for the fact that the command post was in the blind spot of artillery fire, Lieutenant General Kato would have even worried that he would never wake up once he fell asleep.
At seven o'clock in the morning, just after breakfast, the chief of staff came in with a serious look on his face.
"How many casualties did the troops have last night? How far are we from Linfen City!" The chief of staff's routine report every morning was when Kato's division commander was in the worst mood.
Therefore, when he saw the chief of staff coming in, Kato Division Commander's face darkened.
"Division Commander, the troops suffered a lot of casualties last night!"
"In addition to the sneak attacks of the past few days, the Eighth Route Army also used mountain artillery and infantry artillery last night!"
"In just one night, we killed 296 people, seriously injured 121 people and lost their combat effectiveness, and suffered direct losses of more than 400 people!"
"Snapped……"
A cup on the table in front of him was instantly smashed to pieces by Lieutenant General Kato.
Then he stared at the chief of staff with big eyes and asked: "How many people? Say it again~"
The chief of staff replied bravely: "418 people were lost directly, including a major captain who was killed on the spot after being hit by a shell!"
Kato stared at the chief of staff and continued to ask: "With so many people lost, how many Eighth Route Army did we destroy?"
"I don't know!" the chief of staff replied, shaking his head so low that he could hardly see his face!
"Baga!" Kato became angry and cursed: "In other words, the Eighth Route Army that attacked us last night may not have had a single casualty, but it caused us more than 400 casualties... Are they all pigs? Hands.
Are all the guns in there fire sticks? Why don’t you fight back~"
"The Eighth Route Army has artillery, and we also have artillery. Not only mortars, mountain artillery, but also field artillery, large-caliber mountain artillery, and heavy artillery. The artillerymen are also a bunch of stupid pigs. Where is the arrogance they used to fight against the Jinsui Army?
went!"
The reason why the troops suffered losses was clear to the division commander in front of them.
But at this moment, the chief of staff did not have the courage to stand up and explain. He stood in front of him with his head lowered and said nothing.
After Kato finally stopped cursing for almost five minutes, the chief of staff seized the opportunity and continued to report: "Division commander, we are less than 40 kilometers away from Linfen City. We should be able to reach Linfen tomorrow afternoon!"
Captain Kato quickly regained his composure, and then asked: "What's the current situation in Linfen City!"
"According to intelligence, the Eighth Route Army has evacuated all the people in Linfen City. Now Linfen City has become an empty city!"
"I knew it would be like this!" Kato replied with a tone that he had already guessed.
"The Eighth Route Army here are too cunning and have no courage to confront the imperial army head-on. All the villages and towns we encountered along the way were empty and not a grain of food could be found. Even though Linfen City is an important town, it is no exception. The Eighth Route Army has no courage.
Let’s have a head-on battle with the imperial army on the frontal battlefield!”
"The troops will set off immediately and strive to have us stationed in Linfen City tomorrow night!"
"With the protection of Linfen City Wall, I believe our casualties will be much smaller tomorrow night."
"Also, after the troops occupy Linfen City, don't forget the deal between us and the Jinsui Army!"
After deploying many imperial troops to join the road construction army, the Japanese army traveled more than 20 kilometers a day.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese army arrived at the temporary camping site tonight.
The division headquarters occupies a village next to the road, with guard troops and an infantry regiment scattered around!
Other infantry, artillery, and Imperial Army troops set up camps one after another along the road, and one camp after another stretched for nearly five kilometers.
At eight o'clock in the evening, gunfire rang out outside the station on time, which upset Kato.
"Woooooooo..."
Suddenly, a very ear-piercing scream came over and lasted for a long time before a violent explosion sounded not far away.
Kato, who had just laid down, sat up from the camp bed after rubbing himself against it.
As a battlefield veteran, distinguishing the caliber of artillery by the sound of artillery is the most basic quality.
The ear-piercing scream made him realize that the cannonball that had just hit him was no ordinary cannonball.
"Sir, it's a heavy artillery, a large-caliber mountain cannon!" the artillery staff officer rushed in with shock.
"Just now, the Eighth Route Army used nine large-caliber heavy artillery to bombard the Jintian Regiment station in front. The artillery position is at least eight kilometers away from us. Unless heavy artillery is used, we have no artillery to counterattack!"
Kato had witnessed the power of large-caliber mountain artillery more than once. On the battlefield in southwestern Shanxi, he relied on these heavy artillery to defeat him.
With the protection of a large number of trenches and bunkers, a single heavy artillery shell can destroy a company of the Jinsui Army. Now there are no trench bunkers at the Jintian Regiment, and the Eighth Route Army hit nine heavy artillery shells at once.
Kato couldn't imagine how heavy the casualties would be for the Tsuda Regiment that was hit by the shell.
While his face suddenly turned pale, he ordered anxiously: "Then why are you still standing there! Contact the heavy artillery unit and launch a counterattack immediately~"
"Woooooo~"
As soon as the order was spoken, a familiar and harsh scream came over again.
This time, the artilleryman turned pale.
He waited until the explosion sounded one kilometer away before he realized: "Impossible! How could the Eighth Route Army have so many heavy artillery? I must have thought wrong!"
"What's impossible? The second round of artillery shells from the Eighth Route Army came over. Do you want to see all the Imperial Army soldiers killed by these heavy artillery pieces and then launch a counterattack?" Seeing the communications staff standing still, looking stunned.
He looked dumbfounded and cursed angrily.
"No, sir, the shells just now can't be the second round of shells fired from the Eighth Route Army's artillery position just now!" After confirming repeatedly in his mind, the artillery staff member hurriedly replied.
"The rate of fire of heavy artillery is very slow. Even the best gunners of the Imperial Army cannot fire two rounds of shells in such a short time, let alone the Eighth Route Army, which is rarely equipped with heavy artillery!"
"From my humble judgment, the Eighth Route Army also has a heavy artillery position with nine heavy artillery mounted on it!"
"If the Imperial Army's heavy artillery troops want to kill them in a short time, they must use all their heavy artillery and use their numerical superiority to overwhelm them!"
"Also, the current station of the heavy artillery unit is also outside the range of the heavy artillery. If they want to counterattack, they must move two kilometers forward to ensure the hit rate!"
"Then why don't you give the order?" Lieutenant General Kato also panicked.
Even if he was killed, he would not believe it. The Eighth Route Army, which could not even carry a rifle, was actually equipped with heavy artillery, and there were as many as eighteen of them!
He quickly ordered: "Tell the commander of the heavy artillery regiment that I don't want the process, only the results. Destroy these two heavy artillery positions for me within an hour!"
"Chief of Staff, order all troops to disperse immediately. The Eighth Route Army has heavy artillery. The more troops are concentrated, the greater our casualties will be!"
The second update is here today! Please collect it! Please subscribe! Please give me a monthly ticket! Please reward me.
