The gunfire sounded like thunder behind the garrison's offensive position.
Immediately afterwards, the artillery shells passed over everyone's heads with a scream of "Woooooooo..." and hit the mountainside accurately.
The fire was splashing and the gunpowder smoke was filling the air. Balls of thick black smoke rose into the sky under the light of the fire and shot straight into the sky, instantly covering the Japanese and puppet army positions halfway up the mountain.
Only then did the "rumbling..." explosion sound reach Li Hao's ears, and the ground under his feet also trembled twice.
The huge explosion power can definitely be described in four words: earth-shattering.
"Sir, it's a heavy artillery group. The Eighth Route Army has dispatched heavy artillery." A lieutenant and squadron leader rushed into the headquarters in panic and reported.
The captain's face also became serious.
This place is closer to the mountainside. Standing at the lookout, you can clearly feel the heated air waves generated by the explosion of the shells rushing towards you, and you can observe it more clearly.
The moment the cannonball exploded, he could clearly see the scene where soil, logs... were all blown away.
He replied calmly: "The Eighth Route Army dispatched at least one heavy artillery brigade."
The subordinate immediately said: "Our permanent firepower can withstand continuous shelling by ordinary mountain artillery, but cannot withstand such large-caliber heavy artillery."
"If the Eighth Route Army attacking us has enough ammunition, the stronghold will definitely be very dangerous."
"My humble suggestion is to report to the headquarters immediately and request for reinforcements."
"With any luck, we can attack from both inside and outside and kill or severely damage the Eighth Route Army that attacks us."
The captain slowly showed an expression of approval: "Signal soldier, contact the headquarters immediately. I want to have a phone call with the commander."
In the Japanese military headquarters in Taiyuan, the military commander was awakened from his sleep by the chief of staff.
"Your Excellency, Army Commander, something happened on the front line!"
"A stronghold of our blockade garrison was attacked."
The army commander scolded with dissatisfaction: "Bagh Ya Road, do you need to alert the military for such a small matter? What do frontline commanders do? If the garrison attacks, just push back."
"If I remember correctly, the military has issued several orders on this point."
"Before the sweep begins, all troops must not act rashly, and the main purpose is to blockade the garrison."
"Did they turn a deaf ear to the military's orders?"
The chief of staff explained bravely: "This is not an ordinary attack."
"The Gong Town stronghold reported that the Eighth Route Army attacking them dispatched at least one heavy artillery battalion, and the offensive was very fierce."
"My humble opinion is that our method of establishing a no-man's land and consuming a large amount of their food through the old, weak, women and children must have worked. Seeing that the situation was not good, the garrison wanted to break the situation before the no-man's land was established."
"Nani?" the army commander couldn't sit still. He stood up from the bed and stared at the chief of staff.
"Confirm that the Eighth Route Army dispatched heavy artillery, not thunder cannons."
"The Eighth Route Army often used thunder cannons to disguise themselves as heavy artillery, making us mistakenly believe that we were being attacked by heavy artillery, thus achieving the purpose of confusing us."
The chief of staff quickly replied: "It's definitely a heavy artillery!"
"The humble official answered the phone at the Gong Town stronghold and spoke with their commander in person to confirm."
"Go to the headquarters!" The military commander rushed out of the room wearing a military coat.
Walking into the war room, the location of the Gong Town stronghold had been marked on the sand table. The army commander found it at a glance and pointed to the no-man's land on the sand table for analysis.
"Chief of Staff, your analysis makes sense."
"The garrison must have realized that the situation is not going well, and want to capture the Gong Town stronghold, and then use this as a breakthrough point to destroy the no-man's land we are establishing."
The chief of staff replied: "The commander is wise."
"The frontline commander suggested that we take the opportunity to send troops to reinforce the Gong Town stronghold, attack from inside and outside, and take the opportunity to eliminate the attacking troops of the garrison, or at least severely damage them."
"Bizhi also agrees with this idea."
"This is a piece of fat meat sent to our doorstep by the garrison. It's a rare opportunity. If you don't eat it, you won't get it for free."
The military commander did not speak. He continued to look at the sand table, his expression becoming more and more serious. After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly shook his head and refused.
"no!"
"The garrison is too cunning."
"Even if their heavy artillery battalion is really at the Gong Town stronghold, their main force may not be there."
"We have suffered enough from their misfortunes. No one knows if they will repeat their old tricks tonight."
"Or they may stage a plan for us to seize the opportunity to attack the east and attack the west..."
"The original battle plan remains unchanged. We must not be impatient when dealing with cunning opponents like the garrison. Only by playing steadily can we avoid accidents and ensure that we win this battle."
The proposal was rejected, but the chief of staff did not show the slightest expression of disappointment on his face. Instead, he was very happy.
I was too anxious. I heard that I could attack from inside and outside to severely damage the enemy of the garrison, so I didn't think much about it and showed an expression of approval at that time.
Completely unaware of the huge risks that may be hidden behind this action.
As the old saying goes, the greater the result, the greater the risk taken during the action.
The imperial army has suffered enough losses in this regard and must not continue to make any progress on the same thing.
Upon analysis by the army commander, he also felt that the garrison's attack on the Gong Town stronghold was not as simple as it seemed.
He immediately agreed: "The commander is wise!"
"Just now, we were humble and neglected our duty. We really can't rush to send reinforcements to Gong Zhen. Otherwise, we might lose my wife and lose our troops, and we will suffer even greater losses."
The commander stopped talking nonsense and ordered directly: "Get through to the Gong Town stronghold immediately. I want to have a phone call with their commander in person."
At the Japanese Army Command Headquarters in Gong Town, after finishing the phone call with the commander, the captain was so nervous that his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
The squadron leader stood by with an anxious look on his face.
The bombardment by the heavy artillery battalion of the garrison regiment is still continuing. News has just been received that two machine gun bunkers halfway up the mountain have been completely destroyed, and contact with another bunker has been lost.
As expected, the soldiers guarding inside were either beaten to death or knocked unconscious.
If the war situation continues to develop in this direction, the stronghold will definitely be in danger.
So he urgently needed a letter from his superiors as to whether there would be reinforcements at the Gong Town stronghold tonight.
The captain didn't give him a chance to speak. He put down the phone, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and started giving orders.
"Your Majesty the Army Commander has judged that tonight's battle is probably a plan by the Eighth Route Army to divert troops away from the mountains. Once troops are sent out from nearby strongholds, we will be fooled. Therefore, there will be no reinforcements to reinforce us tonight. We must rely on our own strength to block the Eighth Route Army's attack and defend the strongholds.
.”
"I just promised your Excellency, Army Commander, that we will be able to hold on to the stronghold until dawn. I hope you can complete this task with me. Do you have confidence?"
"Hi!" After a brief shock, several subordinates in the headquarters shouted in unison.
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