In addition to the forward troops, other troops are also under his command.
The forward squadron was just covered by artillery fire, and the rear troops were also covered by artillery fire. The situation was no worse than that of the forward squadron.
As soon as the mortars equipped by the regiment counterattacked, the rain of shells from the sky stopped.
Before I had time to be happy, a new rain of shells came from other places.
The three mortar squadrons continued to fire counterattacks, and then adjusted new shooters to continue firing. They were very busy, but the shooting effect was very limited. The number of shells hitting the middle of the team did not decrease, but the position of the shelling changed.
Faced with this unpredictable bombardment, the three mortar squadrons were unable to do anything. They were completely led by the Eighth Route Army artillery and could not do anything to them.
The planes were also unreliable. They dropped three aerial bombs in succession and only destroyed two or three artillery positions, but their impact on the battle situation was very limited.
There are too many artillery pieces attacking us, and they are everywhere in all directions. They bomb here and ignore there.
"The troops march quickly out of the mountain pass and get out of here quickly!" the commander ordered with a stern face.
If you can't win, just hide. This is the most straightforward solution the team leader can think of to solve the problem.
Besides, now that my mission is to evacuate the garrison base, there is no need to have a fierce confrontation with the Eighth Route Army before leaving. If a piece of flesh is bitten off, it will be a big loss.
"Captain, commander of the regiment ordered: The troops continue to advance and march out of here." A messenger came running over on a fast horse and shouted.
The captain began to issue orders as soon as he got up from his hiding spot: "The troops will assemble immediately and march quickly through the mountain pass. Move quickly..."
The assembly order spread rapidly with the group leader as the center.
The soldiers scattered on both sides of the road quickly moved closer to the road, carrying weapons and ammunition, preparing to continue marching forward.
"Boom boom boom..."
The rain of shells came again, falling from the sky and exploding in the middle of the team. At least thirty shells flew from different directions around them, like eyes, and most of them hit the road.
In the fire and smoke that shot into the sky, many soldiers were blown away before they could react.
"On Bageya Road, we were targeted by the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army. We immediately dispersed and took cover!" the captain shouted with a heartbroken look on his face.
After he finished speaking, he was the first to lie down on the ground, holding his head to avoid the next rain of shells.
"Rumble..." The explosions kept ringing in my ears, getting denser and denser.
Several shells landed directly and exploded a few meters away.
The guard lying next to him was very responsible. He threw himself on his back and used his body to block the shell fragments flying towards him.
Amidst the rumbling explosions, the violent bombardment lasted for half a minute before it stopped.
The captain raised his head and saw half a corpse, less than two meters away from him.
The entire lower body was blown away. The bright red flesh and white bones looked particularly scary.
Other places are even worse.
At a glance, fifty or sixty bomb craters were densely scattered on the road, and around each crater were one or two corpses of the Imperial Army in various postures...
"Captain, the enemy's artillery fire was too fierce. As soon as we assembled, artillery shells hit us. We lost at least 200 people in the shelling just now." The deputy captain lying next to him reported.
The captain's face instantly turned red with anger.
The forward troops lost one squadron, and just now they lost more than 200 people. After deducting the losses of the brigade during the previous sweep, the entire brigade had less than 400 men left.
After subtracting the artillery and heavy machine gunners who cooperate with the battle, there is still one squadron of infantry left.
If this small force is assembled and bombed again, the entire brigade will be wiped out.
But the regiment commander’s order to retreat must be carried out.
Forcibly suppressing his anger, he ordered with a stern face: "The troops can no longer assemble. That is no different from committing suicide."
"We retreated in small groups and dispersed in small groups close to the mountain pass. Then we rushed over and left here with a rapid march. This way we can minimize the damage caused by artillery to us."
At the former enemy headquarters of the Wushan'ao Eighth Route Army, Commander Zhou and Hong Linfeng had shocked expressions on their faces. They looked at Li Hao with nothing but admiration.
The regimental commander was so powerful: he used only more than a hundred mortars to trap more than 5,000 Japanese puppet troops in pocket formations without using a single soldier, making them unable to advance or retreat.
This was a scene that neither of them had ever imagined.
Li Hao decided to explain to them: "Commander Zhou, Chief of Staff, don't underestimate the power of these mortars."
"More than a dozen mortars attacking more than 5,000 Japanese puppet troops may just scratch the itch, but we have more than a hundred mortars."
"If the Japanese continue to advance regardless of the situation, more than a hundred mortars can fire out a thousand shells in one minute, and in five or six minutes they can use up all the six thousand mortar shells we brought."
"The battlefield is so big, all the Japanese and puppet troops will definitely not be able to escape within five minutes."
"The artillery firing crews are all calculated in advance. As long as the artillery observers determine the specific location of the Japanese and puppet troops, the artillery can fire immediately and hit wherever they point."
"At least two-thirds of the 6,000 artillery shells can hit the Japanese and puppet troops. The total is 4,000 artillery shells. No matter how many people there are, there will not be enough for us to explode."
"The Japanese commander is not stupid, he must have known the price he had to pay for forcing a breakout, and then ordered the troops to stop and avoid artillery fire.
"Of course, more than a hundred mortars are scattered on such a large battlefield. If they are not under each other and fight independently, the effect of killing the enemy will be very limited."
"Only by concentrating the artillery fire to a single point and blasting fiercely can we kill a large number of enemies and inflict pain on the Japanese."
"Although our artillery is scattered, there are connections between positions. According to the combat plan, the five artillery positions are under the unified command of a company commander."
"There is also telephone contact between the company commander and the company commander, so two or three company commanders can work together to cooperate."
"Just like the shelling just now, a total of ten artillery positions shot at the little Japanese who were gathering together."
"Not only can it severely damage them, but it can also blow them up so that they can't assemble."
Hong Linfeng became more and more excited as he listened, and said with an excited face: "The Japs will not be able to move forward unless they gather, and they will have to be blocked here by us."
"It can also render the Japanese infantry useless." Captain Zhou also expressed his thoughts excitedly.
"I just saw that after the artillery bombardment started, many Japanese soldiers wanted to fight back, but we did not send out troops. The artillery was at least one kilometer away from them. If they wanted to fight back, they couldn't find the target, so they had to disperse in place to avoid the artillery fire."
At this moment, Hong Linfeng suddenly interrupted: "Captain, there is a problem here."
"What if the Japanese and puppet troops divide their forces and retreat?"
"You just said that the battlefield is too big. Once our artillery is dispersed, the killing effect will be reduced."
"After the Japanese and puppet troops disperse, our artillery fire will definitely disperse accordingly. Then can't they break out of our pocket formation at the minimum cost?"
"Although this is a bit unreasonable, as long as we can survive and reduce casualties, we can't rule out that the Japanese will do this."
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