Chapter 1082 Cheng also blocks the ditch, and defeat also blocks the ditch
"Rumble..."
The sound of heavy artillery shelling finally sounded, and the shells smashed into the stronghold with a screaming sound.
The moment the billowing black smoke rose into the sky, fire splashed everywhere, gunpowder smoke filled the air, and countless pieces of soil, stones, logs, and the unlucky Japanese and puppet soldiers were blown away like toys, flying everywhere in the sky...
"It's heavy artillery. The heavy artillery battalion of the garrison has fired. It was just a test firing!" shouted the subordinates guarding the lookout.
The colonel immediately ordered: "The whole army is ready for battle."
"Send a telegram to the neighboring troops immediately to request reinforcements!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the scream of "Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooongs" was heard in the turret. The sound was even harsher and denser than before.
A few seconds later, the "rumbling..." explosion sounded, like thunder, deafening.
The turrets under my feet were shaking from the explosion...
This time, at least eight heavy artillery pieces were fired at them. In the blink of an eye, the front line position was enveloped in smoke from the shells.
The garrison attacked the position, and Li Hao held up a telescope to observe the effects of the bombardment.
The more I looked at it, the deeper my frown deepened. The reinforced concrete bunker built by the Japanese was too strong. A round of artillery shells hit it and only exploded the sandbags and soil covering the surface. The bunker still stood in place intact.
The black shooting holes look like big mouths from a distance, waiting for the attacking troops to appear and swallow them whole.
"These bunkers are too strong to be blown up by heavy artillery alone," Li Hao analyzed with a frown.
"We can't produce heavy artillery shells yet, and the few shells we have in stock simply can't support such a large consumption."
"Order the heavy artillery battalion to reduce the frequency of shelling. The third battalion will launch an attack now, move the position forward three hundred meters, establish a new offensive position, cover the artillery and establish a flying mine gun position, use explosive packets instead of heavy artillery shells to continue the attack, and destroy those bunkers
, beat up the little Japs in the stronghold and force them to ask for help from the attacking troops on both wings."
"It is up to you, Chief of Staff, to give the specific instructions on how to attack the troops. While controlling the casualties of the troops, put the greatest pressure on the Japanese and puppet troops as much as possible."
"I'm going to command the reinforcements. Our real target tonight is them."
The strongholds built by the Japanese army were too strong. It would be too difficult to break the turtle shells where they were hiding and eliminate them, and it would cost a huge amount of money. The gain would not be worth the loss.
Only by luring them out of their turtle shells and engaging in night battles and ambush battles can the garrison eliminate them with minimal casualties.
More than 500 Japanese troops and more than 600 puppet troops, carrying guns and firing cannons, held torches and marched quickly along the road towards Linwu Town.
Next to the highway is a blockade ditch built by the garrison half a month ago, with many ambushes and guard posts hidden in it.
If the Eighth Route Army appears on the road, they will definitely warn themselves in advance.
Therefore, during these more than a thousand days, the puppet troops were so confident in their own safety that they did not even send forward search teams and marched directly into a group.
The target of the garrison's action tonight is them.
Five kilometers ahead is a small plain hidden in the middle of the hills, where fertile farmland with a radius of more than ten miles is concentrated.
Highways and blockade ditches pass through the middle of this plain, dividing thousands of acres of fertile farmland into two.
If it's daytime, the Japanese guard post stands on the blockade wall, and you can have a panoramic view of the entire plain.
No matter from any aspect, this place is not suitable for an ambush.
But Li Hao chose this place.
Under the cover of darkness, the two main battalions crawled forward to reach a position two hundred meters away from the road.
Nearly a thousand soldiers lay on the ground, holding weapons, waiting quietly for their prey to take the bait.
The mountain artillery, field artillery, infantry artillery, and mortars available to the garrison were all set up one kilometer away, facing the road directly in front of the lurking troops.
At one o'clock in the morning, fire began to appear at the end of the road.
Ten minutes later, the fire turned into a fire dragon nearly 700 meters long, quickly approaching the battlefield.
The Japanese troops, who were not very vigilant to begin with, became even less vigilant after entering this plain.
"Fire!" Li Hao ordered with a serious look on his face as he stood at the artillery position.
Six mountain field guns and infantry guns, eight heavy mortars, and nineteen light mortars roared at the same time.
The artillery shells traced different curves over the heads of the attacking troops and hit the road.
"Da da da...dong dong dong..."
As soon as the artillery fired, the heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft machine guns sandwiched between the attacking troops roared.
The plain without any cover allowed bullets to fly unimpeded, ensuring that all the bullets fired by the ambush troops would fly to the road, killing all the Japanese and puppet soldiers they encountered.
There were artillery shells falling overhead, and a large number of heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft machine guns were firing at the flanks. There was a plain in front of them, and there was no way to hide. The blockade ditch on the other side of the road immediately became the hope of the Japanese and puppet troops to avoid the hail of bullets.
"Go into the blockade trench and take cover!" a Japanese second lieutenant panicked and shouted without thinking.
The Japanese and puppet troops nearby seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and jumped in.
As for how deep the blockade trench was, whether they could get up after jumping in, and whether they could hide in the blockade trench and fight back... they didn't have time to think about it.
The priority is to survive the onslaught of enemy fire.
Only if their lives are saved can they consider other things.
Someone took the lead to jump into the blockade trench, and the rest of the Japanese and puppet troops jumped in like dumplings in a matter of seconds.
The surprise firepower of the garrison was too fierce, especially the bullets fired from the anti-aircraft machine guns, which were powerful and penetrating. As long as they were hit, they would be killed or injured.
It was not possible to lie down on the road. There was no cover in front of him, and the hail of bullets fired at him would still penetrate his body.
If he stayed on the road for one more second, death might be waiting for him.
Only by jumping into the blockade ditch and completely disappearing under the muzzles of heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft machine guns could there be a chance of survival.
In the blink of an eye, the 700-meter-long road was gone.
Except for one or two hundred corpses, not a single standing Japanese and puppet soldier could be seen.
"Comrades, follow me..."
The first and second battalions lurking two hundred meters away moved, in company units, like a sharp arrow that broke off the string and plunged straight into the road.
"Get ready for grenades!" The company commander who rushed forward held the box cannon in one hand and took out a grenade with the other.
"Stop advancing, lie down, throw grenades..." When we were still thirty meters away from the road, the company commander's order sounded again.
He plopped on the ground, bit off the grenade fuse with his teeth, held it in his hand for two seconds, and then threw it into the blockade ditch...
The little devil is going crazy.
The blockade ditch where they were hiding was so deep that the lurking troops brought small ladders so they could stand on them and fight.
Their purpose tonight is to reinforce Linwu Town. It is impossible for them to march quickly with a ladder.
Japanese people are generally not tall. Standing inside, they can't reach the outside with their hands.
Finally, someone thought of using a ladder so that half of the body could be stretched out of the ditch to see what was going on outside.
You won’t know if you don’t look at it, but you will be shocked when you look at it.
The densely packed Eighth Route Army rushed towards them like a tide.
"The enemy is attacking, the Eighth Route Army is coming." The little Japanese who first poked his head out of the blockade ditch shouted.
The Japanese commander already regretted ordering his men to hide in the blockade ditch, but there was no regret medicine to take.
Seeing that the human ladder was useful, he immediately shouted: "Continue to use the human ladder, and if you can shoot, shoot immediately!"
"The machine gunner immediately set up his machine gun and resolutely blocked them. They were not allowed to get close to the blockade trench."