The screaming heavy artillery shells looked like they had eyes, and they accurately hit the first line of defense of the Japanese and puppet troops.
Under the darkness of night, the splashing firelight instantly illuminated the position.
The black smoke rising into the sky, the blown-up Japanese and puppet soldiers, and the planks and logs used to reinforce the trenches were flying everywhere in the sky, making them very clear to see.
The puppet troops on the ground have always relied on the support of the Japanese to fight smoothly.
On the battlefield, under the cover of Japanese artillery fire and aircraft, they attacked the poorly equipped Eighth Route Army and watched the Eighth Route Army being bombed. They had never fought a tough battle, nor had they been bombed themselves. Moreover, they were still attacked by heavy artillery.
A heavy artillery shell hit the position, and a section of the trench that had been painstakingly built was instantly razed to the ground.
The soldiers guarding the trenches were either torn into pieces by artillery shells, with no bones left, or were blown away and turned into corpses when they landed...
The puppet soldiers on the position were frightened on the spot, and their faces turned pale.
If it weren't for the Japs behind them supervising the battle, with the black muzzles pointing at everyone's backs, these puppet soldiers would have dropped their weapons and started running for their lives.
The four heavy artillery fired only five rounds and twenty rounds before stopping, but it brought a devastating blow to the first line of defense.
There are twenty huge craters with a depth of more than two meters scattered on both sides of the defense line. Bodies are lying upside down in various postures around them. There are only sections of trenches left, with almost no use value.
Guarding here was a company of puppet troops. Before the attacking troops could be seen, more than half of them were killed in the artillery fire. The remaining soldiers were also blinded by the blast. Their ears were ringing, they were dizzy, and they temporarily lost their combat effectiveness.
The garrison took the opportunity to launch an attack, easily occupying the first line of defense and capturing more than twenty puppet soldiers.
South of Laiyuan City, on the high ground one kilometer away from the battlefield, the former enemy headquarters of the garrison was built here.
The phone kept ringing, the beeping sound of the radio station sending and receiving telegrams was not interrupted, and coupled with the voices of subordinates, various sounds came and went.
Communications staff officers, messengers, and correspondents from each battalion came and went, making it very lively.
The communications squad leader of the Second Battalion suddenly rushed in with a smile on his face. When he saw Li Hao, he reported excitedly.
"Commander, our second battalion has captured the first line of defense of the Japanese and puppet troops."
"Commander, the third battalion reported that they broke through the first line of defense of the Japanese and puppet troops and are attacking the second line of defense..." A communications staff officer ran over and said.
In the next half hour, Li Hao received all good news.
The fastest attack was made by the Third Battalion, which was advancing with overwhelming force. It had captured the third line of defense of the Japanese and puppet troops, and captured more than 100 puppet troops.
But Li Hao did not show the slightest smile on his face, but stared at the battlefield with a serious face.
Hong Linfeng was the same, with a serious expression. To be precise, there was a trace of worry and solemnity on his face.
The attack and defense are deep, so it is really easy to fight at the beginning.
But the further you go, the more difficult it becomes, and no one knows where the enemy has set up an ambush, and they suddenly come out to engage in a melee with the attacking troops, rendering the heavy artillery that covers the infantry attack useless.
"Order that all offensive troops stop after taking down the third line of defense. The flying thunder artillery troops can go up. All offensive troops in each battalion are replaced by main companies equipped with pistols, and be prepared for close combat with the Japanese and puppet troops." Li Hao.
Suddenly he ordered.
"Tell several battalion commanders that the next attack will be carried out according to the method I told them."
"When attacking the fourth line of defense, the regiment headquarters reinforced all their flying thunder cannons to aim at the open space between the fourth and fifth lines of defense."
"If we don't have mortar shells, we'll use thunder cannons."
"Use them well, and the effect is no worse than mortars."
"If any Japanese and puppet troops break out from the fifth line of defense and counterattack our attacking troops, the torpedo cannons will fire immediately and use explosive packs to kill part of their troops. Then they will engage in a melee with them and use pistols to deal with them."
On the fifth line of defense of the Japanese and puppet troops south of Laiyuan City, the squadron leader was also giving orders for the upcoming battle.
The commander of the Imperial Association Corps stood nearby. Although his rank was two levels higher than that of the Japanese squadron leader, he still bent down and stood in front of the squadron leader with a respectful look on his face. He spoke with a flattering smile, looking like a complete slave.
"Taijun, I have prepared a whole battalion on the fifth line of defense. After the Eighth Route Army launched an attack on the fourth line of defense, as soon as the shelling stopped, the battalion launched a counterattack on the fourth line of defense."
"The Eighth Route Army assaulted from the third line of defense, and we assaulted from the fifth line of defense. The distance is the same. We will definitely collide with each other on the fourth line of defense and fight hand-to-hand."
"And they only have one company of attacking troops. We have a battalion and a small group of imperial troops to attack together. With almost four times the strength advantage, we can definitely kill them."
"Yo Xi!" the squadron leader ordered with satisfaction: "Just fight like this."
"Order the troops to prepare for counter-attack. After the attack begins, no one can take a step back without my order, otherwise military law will be imposed."
"Woooooooooooo...boom..."
The sound of artillery once again enveloped the battlefield, and each shell exploded and rolled up a large amount of black smoke, taking away the lives of several Japanese and puppet soldiers.
Like the previous three attacks, the heavy artillery fired only five rounds before stopping.
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army has begun to attack, and its strength is a main company..." the observation post reported in a loud voice.
"Start counterattack..." the squadron leader stared at the battlefield and ordered with a serious look on his face.
The regimental commander standing nearby immediately said: "Tell the brothers to rush to the fourth line of defense and eliminate the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops. Each person will be seriously injured for five yuan, and the dead will be rewarded with an extra fifty yuan."
Money can make the world go round.
Many puppet soldiers were moved when they heard that there was a lot of money coming from Dayang.
It was like beating chicken blood, roaring and rushing out of the defense line.
The soldiers, who were still frightened in their hearts, were rushed out together with the screams of the Japanese behind them, and they couldn't help themselves.
Huang Sheng stared at the battlefield attentively at the third line of defense that had just been captured.
There are still two infantry companies around, all ready to rush out at any time.
Twenty thunder cannons were placed behind them, half of the cannon bodies already buried in the soil, with their thick barrels held high, ready to roar at any time.
"Battal Commander, the regimental commander is right, there is indeed an ambush of Japanese and puppet troops hidden on the fifth line of defense." The instructor stood nearby and shouted with excitement on his face.
"A battalion of puppet troops is counterattacking towards the fourth line of defense at a very fast speed."
Huang Sheng also saw it, his eyes slowly moving along with the Japanese and puppet counterattack troops.
After all the Japanese and puppet troops entered the area covered by the flying thunder cannons, they started to give orders with a heavy face.
"Fire all the thunder cannons!"
"Boom, boom, boom..." With a dull roar, twenty gunpowder barrels spurted out a ball of flame, and explosive packets the size of millstones were pushed out of the gasoline barrels, rolling and flying into the sky at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It first passed over the heads of the attacking troops, then crossed the fourth line of defense of the Japanese and puppet troops, and finally hit the middle of the Japanese and puppet counterattack troops.