"Division commander, I will immediately mobilize the rapid-fire artillery squadron to reinforce the artillery position and destroy these two tanks!" the chief of staff reminded hurriedly.
"It's too late!" the division commander replied, shaking his head.
"The artillery is finished, and we can't make it in time now... The tank assault speed is too fast, and it's far away from the artillery position. By the time the reinforcements pass by, the artillery position has already fallen into the hands of the Eighth Route Army!"
"Then what should we do? Watch those field artillery and heavy artillery being snatched away by the Eighth Route Army!" the chief of staff shouted with a look of reluctance.
"Let them keep it for now, and wait until our reinforcements come back, especially the tanks, and then take back those heavy artillery pieces from the Eighth Route Army." Lieutenant General Ito made the decision with a look of helplessness.
Then he continued to order: "However, we must not let these Eighth Route Army attack our infantry station. Otherwise, no matter which line of defense they attack, our troops will collapse under the attack from the inside and outside of the Eighth Route Army, leading to the complete collapse of the three lines of defense!"
"Chief of Staff, you immediately mobilize your troops and reorganize a line of defense at the junction of the infantry and artillery stations to resolutely block the Eighth Route Army that attacks our artillery positions from continuing to attack us!"
"Also, the two artillery brigades will definitely return a lot of artillery. Although they are all technical arms, they can't control that many now. We can only survive if we block the Eighth Route Army's offensive. So, as soon as they come over, distribute infantry to them.
Weapons and let them join the fight!"
"Don't worry, division commander, I'll go report right away. In this way, we can at least have one more brigade of troops!" the chief of staff replied immediately.
As soon as he reached the tent door, a subordinate who was about to rush in bumped into him.
The communications officer who wanted to come in saw that he had bumped into the chief of staff, and his face turned pale.
However, the telegram in his hand prevented him from paying much attention to it. He rushed in and reported without seeing the angry expression on the chief of staff's face.
"Division commander~The tank brigade called back. When they were passing through the stone bridge, the Eighth Route Army blew up the stone bridge. The tank brigade lost one tank, and there was no way to return to the division headquarters through the stone bridge!"
"Also...the 136th Regiment received an urgent call. As soon as their reinforcements set off, they were blocked by the Eighth Route Army troops. Their marching speed could not be accelerated at all. They would not be able to reach the division headquarters until dawn at least!"
"It's over!"
The division commander who was ready to curse just now was so frightened that he sat down on his stool.
The chief of staff retracted his right foot that had just stepped out of the tent, and rushed to Lieutenant General Ito: "Division Commander, nothing can happen to you! The division is in danger, and we still need your command!"
"Don't worry...I won't die yet!" Lieutenant General Ito slowly opened his closed eyes and said with a cold light.
Then he stared at the chief of staff and asked: "Without the reinforcements of tanks and the 136th Regiment, how long can we hold on with just the troops in our hands!"
"I want a true answer. It cannot be exaggerated at all. This is related to the lives of all of us here?"
"Hi!" The chief of staff's face immediately became serious, and he answered when the division commander looked at him: "Two hours~ and this is when all the artillery is put into battle!"
"Originally we could have held on for three hours, or even longer. But after the artillery was lost, the Eighth Route Army artillery could bombard us unscrupulously and provide fire cover for their infantry. Therefore, the holding time was directly shortened to two hours!"
"No... we can only hold on for an hour!" Lieutenant General Ito shook his head and judged.
"Chief of Staff, you only calculated the shortened time after we lost all the artillery. You forgot to calculate the huge pressure that the Eighth Route Army may bring to us after the captured artillery from us is also put into battle."
The chief of staff was stunned for a moment before reacting: "That's what the division commander reminded me!"
"If the Eighth Route Army uses twelve field guns and twelve heavy guns to attack us, it will be a despicable job. We won't be able to hold on for even an hour!"
"The power of the heavy artillery is too great. If a shell hits it, all targets within a radius of tens of meters will be killed, and no one will be left alive!"
"As for the armored vehicles in our hands, although they can withstand mortar shelling, they are absolutely vulnerable to field artillery and heavy artillery shells!"
After saying that, he stared at Lieutenant General Ito and asked: "We can't hold it for even an hour, and the reinforcements will definitely not arrive within an hour... What should we do next? Let the division commander decide!"
"Withdraw troops~" Lieutenant General Ito said in shock.
After saying these words, the whole person felt as if he had aged several years, and he became weak and slumped on the stool again.
"It will still be several hours before dawn before the aviation force can arrive to reinforce us. And within a few hours, whether it is for us or for the reinforcements, we may suffer a large number of casualties under the attack of the Eighth Route Army, or even be completely annihilated by the Eighth Route Army.
possible!"
"At this time, only withdrawal of troops can minimize losses!"
"Order, leave one reinforcement team in each defense line to hold on, and all the others will gather at the division headquarters. Then, under the cover of all the remaining armored vehicles of the tank brigade, break out to the head, then turn directly and retreat to Linfen!"
"The reinforcements sent by the 136th Regiment quickly retreated. After dawn, all artillery units were protected and retreated directly to Linfen!"
"The cavalry regiment and the chariot brigade will continue to reinforce the 135th regiment. After rescuing the 135th regiment, the entire army will retreat to Linfen~"
"If I am not mistaken, after this night battle, neither the 135th Regiment nor the 137th Regiment has many people left. Apart from retreating to Linfen and ending this encirclement and suppression operation, if we continue to persist, not only will we not be able to threaten our
The opponent's new group will also create a lot of opportunities for them to attack us!"
It took more than ten minutes for more than 1,300 cavalrymen from two cavalry regiments to finally cross the mountain of corpses.
"The troops continue to advance forward and reinforce the 135th Regiment!" the captain of the Cavalry Regiment loudly ordered.
Soon, the roar of horse hooves could be heard on the road.
"Da da da……"
Suddenly, the sound of heavy machine gun fire sounded in front, and the rapidly advancing cavalry team suddenly stopped.
"Sir, there is an Eighth Route Army blocking position ahead. They are equipped with three heavy machine guns and three light machine guns. The specific strength of the troops is unknown!" The commander of the regiment was just about to send someone to the front to ask about the situation when a communications officer galloped over on horseback.
"It must be the blocking force sent by the Eighth Route Army to buy them time to eliminate the 135th Regiment!" the commander of the regiment frowned and made a judgment.
Then he ordered: "Didn't we also bring mortars and heavy machine guns? Let them come in and cooperate with the second group to break through the Eighth Route Army's defense line and kill them!"
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