"Captain, the commando team has opened a breach!" Hong Linfeng reported excitedly, staring at the black shadow on the battlefield.
"Upgrade the flying thunder artillery troops!" Li Hao forced himself to stay calm and ordered calmly.
"Set up the artillery one hundred meters away from the Japanese camp. When you see the attack signal, each flying thunder cannon fires two explosive packets. After the attack, move back fifty meters and re-set up the artillery. Continue firing according to the requirements of the attacking troops."
"The mortars were set up five hundred meters away from the station and bombed where there were many Japs to prevent them from gathering and to cover the attacking troops' assault on the station."
"The guard company of the garrison regiment, the second battalion and fourth company, the second and third companies of the independent regiment, plus a firepower company, form the east route assault team. Chief of Staff Hong, you will personally command, launch an assault from the easternmost part of the gap to the station, and attack the station at the end.
The more than 300 Japanese soldiers in the east were separated."
"If you can kill them, kill them. If you can't kill them, surround them. Contact the artillery and thunder artillery units for artillery support."
"The Seventh Company of the Third Battalion of the Garrison Regiment, a firepower company, the First Battalion and the First Company of the Independent Regiment, and the Five and Sixth Company of the Second Battalion form a middle assault team. Commander Zhou, you will personally take command and attack the little Japs in the middle of the camp head-on through the gap."
"There are Japanese artillery positions and headquarters there, among which the artillery positions pose the greatest threat to us. After the troops enter, they must destroy the enemy's artillery as soon as possible before they can attack other targets."
"If there is a problem, call for artillery support at any time."
"The 2nd Battalion, 4th Company, 3rd Battalion of the Independent Regiment, and a firepower company of the Garrison Regiment form the West Road Assault Team. Chief of Staff Chen, you are responsible for commanding. We will assault from the far west of the gap and separate out the hundreds of Japanese soldiers at the far west of the station."
"The independent regiment's guard company and heavy machine gun company serve as reserves and are ready to go into battle at any time."
"I order all units to move into position within twenty minutes and start attacking when they see the signal flares."
Thirty thunder cannons were lined up in a row. The barrels made of gasoline barrels pointed at the Japanese military station. They contained propellant packs and disc-sized explosive packs, ready to be fired at any time.
At the Japanese position a hundred meters away, all the Japanese soldiers were fast asleep, unaware that the danger had come over them.
"Bah, bah, bah..."
Three signal bombs suddenly exploded in the sky a few hundred meters away.
The brilliant white light it produces can be seen from miles away.
Many Japanese were awakened at this moment.
Subconsciously, he grabbed the rifle in his arms and lay on the ground.
But they were too tired, and none of them had slept enough. They had sleepy and tired expressions, and their movements were obviously a bit slower than normal.
Despite this, their subconscious reaction can still show their strong fighting power and vigilance that has gone deep into their bones.
Kato Lieutenant Colonel was also awakened and got up from the bed.
He rushed to the door of the tent and was about to ask his subordinates what happened when an explosion of "boom, boom, boom..." reached his ears.
"What's going on with the explosion? Find out immediately!" Lieutenant Commander Kato immediately ordered.
"Rumble..."
Before the subordinates could move after receiving the order, the sound of earth-shaking explosions rang in their ears.
More than a hundred meters away, groups of fireballs rose into the sky. In the splashing firelight, many soldiers were blown up into the sky like paper toys, flying everywhere, and finally smashed to the ground.
"It's a flying thunder cannon..." Lieutenant Colonel Kato shouted with his mouth open and a look of surprise on his face.
In the North China Front, every officer who had fought against the Eighth Route Army had seen this weapon.
Although it has many disadvantages, it is often used as a disposable weapon by the Eighth Route Army.
But it is undeniable that this weapon is very powerful.
Once a disk-sized explosive package hits the heads of the imperial army, the damage caused will be devastating.
At a glance, the fireballs and black smoke rising into the sky were all along the highway, right in the middle of the imperial army's station.
Cold sweat quickly broke out on Kato Nakasa's forehead.
He panicked and began to speak awkwardly: "There are at least twenty thunder cannons attacking us, right under our noses."
"Why are you still standing there? Order the troops to counterattack immediately and destroy them."
"Otherwise, the troops will definitely suffer heavy casualties."
As soon as his men left, Kato raised his binoculars and looked at the battlefield.
The explosions stopped, and more than fifteen huge craters could be clearly seen along the highway, one after another, densely packed.
There were a large number of corpses and wounded lying around each crater. The total number must have been 150 people.
This is what I saw.
Many craters are blocked by terrain and cannot be seen.
Including the soldiers who were blown to pieces in the center of the crater, the casualties among his subordinates in just one explosion exceeded 300.
Kato took a breath, and while continuing to observe the battlefield, he prayed in his heart that the troops would attack quickly and not prepare the enemy to launch a second round of explosive charges.
"Boom boom boom..."
The explosion went off again. Kato was startled and quickly looked towards the explosion point.
"It's a mortar, not a thunder cannon!" Kato exclaimed with a long breath.
Compared with the explosive packets fired by thunder cannons, mortar shells are much less powerful and their lethality is also very limited.
But within a few seconds, Lieutenant Colonel Kato realized that his judgment was wrong.
The lethality of a single cannonball is indeed limited, but if more than a dozen cannonballs are dropped at the same time, the power is equally great.
The mortars fire at a fast rate, and before the explosion of one round of shells has ended, the second round of shells has already followed, in a steady stream...
In less than half a minute, a fifty-meter area in the middle of the station was covered by artillery fire.
The splashing firelight and the diffuse smoke completely obscured the place, and nothing could be seen.
Judging from my own experience, the subordinates in this area must have suffered heavy casualties.
Lieutenant Colonel Kato became anxious again and shouted: "The artillery will counterattack immediately, find the enemy's artillery position and destroy it."
"Sir, there are enemies coming towards us. The uniforms look like they are the Eighth Route Army." A subordinate rushed over and reported.
Kato Lieutenant Colonel looked in the direction of his subordinate's fingers.
Under the firelight, the attacking troops were vaguely visible.
Holding a gun and holding a light machine gun, they rushed towards the station like a wave.
"All units counterattack on the spot and resolutely block them."
"The artillery immediately destroyed the enemy's artillery positions and then supported the infantry operations."
"We have twelve mortars, two infantry guns, and eight mountain cannons. We can definitely turn our defense into an offensive and defeat these Eighth Route Army troops."
Lieutenant Colonel Kato was very confident in his own artillery unit, but his opponent's artillery strength was not weak either.
The combined mortars of the two regiments already outnumbered them.
Although they did not bring infantry artillery or mountain artillery, they did bring thirty flying thunder cannons.
Divided into three, we focused on the three points where the infantry would attack and exploded, almost blowing up these three stations into no man's land.
After receiving the order to counterattack, more and more Japanese soldiers nearby gathered here again, setting up light and heavy machine guns and preparing to counterattack the attacking troops, when the second round of explosive packs fired from the flying thunder cannon happened to hit them.
The Japs who had just gathered here were immediately thrown into a pot.
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