Reason told Captain Ishida: reinforcements cannot be sent.
The army has already suffered a loss due to division of troops. If dozens of imperial troops are lost due to division of troops again, then I will really die here.
He decisively refused: "The most I can do is provide you with artillery support and air support."
"Go back and tell your squad leader to break through at all costs. If there is no chance, then fight the enemy to the end."
"We can't stay here any longer. More than half of our troops have been lost, and more and more Eighth Route Army troops are surrounding us."
"When they finish their attack on the roundabout troops, they will definitely concentrate their forces to besiege us."
"And the aircraft's support for us is very limited. Once our small force is blocked by the garrison here, we will definitely die."
"Send my order and the troops will assemble and retreat immediately."
Captain Ishida reacted quickly in the face of battle. When he realized the danger, he decided to cut off his wrist to save his own strength.
But Li Hao's reaction speed was faster.
As the attacking troops continued to approach them, the flying thunder cannons also followed suit.
"Boom boom..."
Captain Ishida and his troops were just preparing to retreat when two explosions sounded nearly 200 meters away from his left wing.
Because it was daytime, he only saw a cloud of white smoke rising from the explosion point, and then he saw two disk-sized explosive packets flying into the sky at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then tumbling towards him.
"It's an explosive package. A thunder cannon is throwing explosive packages at us. Everyone spread out and take cover!" Under the cover of his adjutant, Ishida rushed directly to a concave area next to him. He hugged his head and lay on the ground, motionless.
"Rumble..."
The explosive package exploded, and thick smoke rose into the sky surrounded by flames.
Mud, stones, grass and trees were blown up into the sky together with the splashing firelight, and then they were smashed everywhere like a goddess scattering flowers. Several rocks were smashed on Captain Ishida's body.
But he was lucky, because he was more than thirty meters away from the impact point. Although the huge shock wave almost knocked him out, his ears were buzzing, and he couldn't react for a long time, but his life was saved.
As soon as he stood up from the ground with the help of his adjutant, a tragic scene came into view.
A crater at least two meters deep was blasted on the barren slope next to the mountain road. The top layer of soil with a radius of four to five meters was blown away and was blackened by the flames.
The weeds and shrubs farther away seemed to have been combed out, and they all fell to the outside of the impact point. Moreover, many thatches and shrubs were set on fire, and were being burned to ashes little by little.
There was no trace of the Imperial Army and the Imperial Alliance Army within the crater, and only some broken limbs and pieces of meat could be seen lying nearby.
Soldiers farther away fell to the ground, including the Imperial Army and the Imperial Alliance Army.
All of them looked pale and their orifices were bleeding...
At a glance, it was obvious that the internal organs had been shattered by the shock wave in the explosion.
At a glance, there were at least thirty corpses and seriously injured people lying around the two bomb craters. As for the soldiers who had no bones left and were blown to pieces, there must be many soldiers.
Captain Ishida took a deep breath. If he had been ten meters closer to the impact point, he would have become one of them.
Thinking of this, Ishida became more determined to evacuate here as soon as possible.
Immediately shouted: "Everyone retreat... leave here as soon as possible, the Eighth Route Army has already come to kill us."
"Boom...boom..."
As soon as he finished speaking, another explosion sounded more than a hundred meters away. Before Ishida could give his subordinates a warning, he was thrown to the ground by a guard, and then a thunderous explosion sounded in his ears.
The men who had just stood up to retreat had to lie down again.
The explosive power is too great.
Lying on the ground with your hands on the ground can minimize the damage caused by the shock wave.
If you stand on the ground, even if it is forty or fifty meters away from the impact point, you will be pushed down by the shock wave and powerful air waves, and hit the ground heavily.
If you don't do it well, you might be seriously injured by the fall, and then it won't be worth it.
"boom……"
Captain Ishida was pressed down by the guard with his body. When the explosion was over, just as he was getting ready, a new explosion sounded again. The distance was still more than a hundred meters away, but in a different direction...
"Rumble..."
This time the impact point was very close to him, and the roar of the explosion almost knocked him out.
There is a saying called tit for tat.
Just now, he used artillery fire to slow down the retreat of the secret service company, giving him time to roundabout his troops.
This move happened to be seen by Li Hao, who decided to retaliate on the spot and used more than a dozen flying thunder cannons to hold back the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops to prevent them from slipping away.
Wait for the three main companies to kill the outflanking troops, then turn around and attack them, annihilating them all.
Captain Ishida was lying on the ground, his face gloomy and terrifying.
He has thought of this.
Facing the constant stream of explosive packets falling from his head, he was in a dilemma and didn't know what choice he should make.
No, to be precise, no matter what choice he makes, he will inevitably die in the end, because this is an unsolvable problem.
Retreating while carrying explosive charges will definitely increase the casualties of the troops, and there will definitely not be many people who can successfully rush out in the end.
It was still two or three hours away from the mountain. If there were not enough troops, the garrison could annihilate them all if they harassed them along the way.
There is no point in staying here anymore. When the battle ahead is over and the Eighth Route Army becomes free, they will definitely come and besiege you.
The advantage in strength and firepower lies with the garrison.
If you keep fighting hard, you won't be able to escape death either.
The only difference is that if the troops defend here, the casualties caused to the garrison will definitely be greater.
Since it was all about death, Captain Ishida would definitely choose the latter to make his death more meaningful.
Taking advantage of the gap between explosions, he decisively ordered: "The troops will form a defense line with me as the center, and fight the enemy to the death here."
"Operator, please send a telegram to the Chief of Staff immediately: Our unit was attacked by at least one strengthened battalion of the garrison. Because the enemy was scattered and camouflaged, the aircraft support for us was very limited. The troops suffered heavy casualties and decided to defend the position.
Fight to the death with the garrison and consume a lot of enemy troops."
Li Hao was less than one kilometer away from the battlefield. In addition to a guard squad, there were only a few communication soldiers and a telegraph team around him.
Seeing that the Japanese and puppet troops began to shrink their houses and stop running away, Shu Zhang's brows furrowed instead.
If they are allowed to establish a defensive line, the melee will turn into a strong attack, and the troops will inevitably concentrate their actions and become a living target for the aircraft.
Even if the remaining Japanese and puppet troops are captured in the end, the garrison will suffer heavy casualties under the aircraft attack, and the gain will not be worth the loss.
Therefore, he must prevent the Japanese and puppet troops from forming a ring defense.
The order was issued on the spot: "Send a signal to the troops attacking the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops, strengthen the offensive, and disrupt them."
"Order the special agent company, independent company, and guard company to end the battle as soon as possible, and then divide the troops to attack the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops."
