As soon as the gunfire rang out, the two squadron commanders knew they were in trouble. They immediately rushed out of the tent, yelling and cursing at their subordinates to get into position and get ready for battle.
More than two hundred gunners rushed to the cannon in panic, pushing the cannon and moving the shells.
Twenty minutes later, all eight mountain cannons were set up, with their dark muzzles pointed directly at the outside of the stronghold.
The two squadron captains stood next to the artillery position, holding up binoculars to observe the surrounding battle situation, and the more they looked at it, the deeper their frown deepened.
The battlefield was so chaotic, with gunfire and gunfire everywhere, and it was impossible to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy under the cover of darkness.
Mountain cannons are very powerful. If you fire them rashly without specific shooting coordinates, you will definitely hurt your own people.
Therefore, no infantry asked for artillery support, and they could only wait.
There is no result in waiting.
The Japanese infantry in the east was completely defeated and was chased and beaten by the garrison. They kept retreating into the assembly area and had no time or opportunity to ask for help from the artillery.
There were too few Japanese troops in the other three directions. There were no more than twenty machine gun positions and patrols, and their firepower was no match for the independent regiments.
Facing the attack, they had no strength to parry, let alone the chance to withstand the attack of the independent regiment, and sent people to call for artillery support.
Captain Zhou of the Independent Regiment personally took action, and the two companies launched an attack at the same time with a overwhelming posture.
This way the casualties of attacking the attacking troops will be higher, but the little Japs at the gate of the camp can be killed in the shortest time.
After quickly entering the camp, he led two companies and rushed to the artillery position regardless of the situation.
The east side of the garrison's attack had the loudest gunfire, and the artillerymen were all focused on the east side. The independent regiment rushed more than fifty meters behind them before being exposed.
The two squadron leaders became anxious on the spot.
One person was the first to calm down, drew out his command knife and shouted murderously: "Why are you panicking? Anyone with a gun will be on my way to stop the Eighth Route Army and prevent them from charging over."
"Others moved four artillery pieces to aim at them and blasted them with artillery shells."
Another squadron leader also reacted and shouted quickly: "Those who don't have guns, come here quickly and move these four mountain cannons, turn around and bombard the Eighth Route Army attacking us, quickly!"
The artillery is equipped with too few self-defense weapons.
Only more than sixty people and the squadron leader rushed towards the Eighth Route Army. Half of the Japanese held rifles in their hands, and half held pistols in their hands. They launched a counterattack with a fearless attitude.
"Shoot them all and kill these little devils..." Captain Zhou knew he was exposed and shouted while holding up the box cannon.
The two companies of the independent regiment were equipped with fourteen light machine guns, and they fired together against the Japanese with more than thirty rifles and thirty pistols. The result was no suspense.
More than sixty Japanese were killed before they even reached the artillery position.
"Keep shooting, kill the remaining artillery, don't let them fire or explode the artillery." Commander Zhou continued to order.
In a village more than 20 kilometers away from the assembly area, the best house was selected to become the chief of staff's room.
Less than half an hour after I lay down, there was a rapid knock on the door.
The chief of staff quickly got up from the bed, but before he could say anything, the squadron leader who also served as his deputy pushed the door open and barged in, reporting in a panic.
"Sir, something happened at the assembly area!"
"They were attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army. The troops suffered heavy casualties and were almost unable to withstand it."
The chief of staff's first reaction was disbelief, and he rejected it without hesitation: "This is impossible."
"The remaining Eighth Route Army in the occupied area is dozens of kilometers away from the assembly area. Imperial Army reconnaissance troops and intelligence personnel are everywhere along the way. If we want to attack the assembly area, we will definitely know in advance. How could it suddenly appear outside the assembly area and launch a direct attack?
attack."
"This is too unrealistic. Could it be that they can't fly?"
The squadron leader couldn't figure out the reason, so he answered bravely: "Sir, it's true."
"The request for assistance was sent by the squadron commander of the infantry squadron at the assembly area."
"The Eighth Route Army that attacked them had at least one regiment, equipped with a large number of heavy machine guns and mortars."
"Sir!" the telegraph operator rushed over and added.
"Our radio contact with the assembly area was interrupted, and no matter how we called, they didn't respond."
The squadron leader's face turned pale quickly and he shouted out loud: "Something must have happened at the assembly area!"
Facts speak louder than words. No matter how suspicious the chief of staff was, he had to accept this cruel reality and immediately ordered.
"The troops will assemble immediately. They must set off within ten minutes and march back to the reinforcement assembly area."
"Contact the two brigades and they will go back together."
It took three hours of forced march to get back to the assembly area, but the chief of staff took four hours.
This is all the result of the three-pronged attack by the independent regiment.
Returning to the entrance of the assembly area, I glanced over and saw that there were burning tents everywhere.
Thick black smoke continued to rise, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and blood.
The chief of staff frowned and hurried in under the protection of the guards.
There were corpses of imperial soldiers everywhere at their feet. Their military uniforms, weapons and ammunition, and armed belts... were all stripped clean and lying on the ground in various postures.
The mountains of supplies, food, and artillery piled up in the assembly areas were all gone, and in many places not even a single bullet casing was left.
The investigation team leader, who entered the camp twenty minutes early, hurried over and reported with a serious look on his face: "Sir, I have searched everything, and there is not a single living person in the assembly area."
"Weapons and ammunition, food, supplies, artillery, and war horses were all controlled, and nothing was left."
"Look for..." the chief of staff was furious and shouted loudly.
"The Eighth Route Army cannot run far with a large amount of captured goods."
"All reconnaissance forces are dispatched. We must find where they are staying and kill them all."
At nine o'clock in the morning, a second lieutenant from the reconnaissance force hurried into the chief of staff's tent: "Sir, we found it."
"We found traces of the Eighth Route Army's retreat five kilometers southeast of the assembly area."
"After chasing them for nearly 20 kilometers, we found them in Hujiazhuang."
"The village is densely packed with Eighth Route Army troops. Except for a few security troops, most of the soldiers are sleeping."
"We also saw many boxes and war horses in the open space at the entrance of the village. They must have been thrown away by us last night."
"My humble position arranged for ten scouts to keep an eye on them, and I personally ran back to report them. I asked the commander to lead his troops to kill them immediately."
The two captains stood up from their positions together, looking eager to fight.
"Sir, fight!"
"Although we lost a lot of people when we returned to the reinforcement assembly area last night, there were still more than 1,300 people in total."
"It's daytime now, and we can still call for air support. We will definitely win."
"We must dispatch..." the chief of staff ordered through gritted teeth.
The Eighth Route Army was not killed, but instead lost its lair and all its artillery and supplies. If word spread about this, they would definitely become the laughingstock of their colleagues.
If you cannot produce some results to make up for the losses, the commander will look down on you.
In order to preserve one's honor and status, this battle must be fought and won.
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