"It's useless for them to divide their troops!" Li Hao replied confidently.
Then he explained: "This can indeed reduce the damage caused by mortars to them and reduce casualties, but in addition to artillery, we also have infantry."
"Everyone is scattered around the battlefield in company and platoon units, especially at the front and rear mountain passes, where two reinforced companies are hidden respectively."
"The Japanese and puppet troops killed so many people at once that two companies had to hold on at the mountain pass despite plane bombings to stop them. This is the last thing I want to see."
"It will be different if the Japanese and puppet troops divide their forces and kill them."
"They divided their forces and we divided our forces. We defeated them one by one and blocked them in the encirclement. Even if there were planes bombing overhead, the threat to us was very small."
"Besides, after the Japanese and puppet troops were divided, the artillery was not completely useless, but it was less lethal."
"With their cooperation, the two reinforced companies will definitely be able to block the Japanese who are rushing towards us at the mountain pass."
Cao Cao was about to arrive. As soon as Li Hao finished speaking, the Japanese and puppet troops on the battlefield began to take action.
The more than a thousand Japanese puppet troops closest to the mountain pass were no longer concentrated. They were divided into dozens of groups and divided into small groups, just like an insurrectionary army rushing towards the mountain pass.
"Captain, the Japs have really divided their forces!" Hong Linfeng shouted with a surprised look on his face. He didn't expect that he was right.
"Don't worry!" Li Hao was very calm.
"Immediately contact the 1, 2, 3, and 4 mortar groups and concentrate artillery attacks on the Japanese and puppet troops who want to break out."
"Other mortar groups fired freely and fired at places where the Japs were crowded, continuing to kill and injure their effective strength."
"Order the troops hiding at the mountain pass to divide into platoon units to block the Japanese and puppet troops who want to break through."
"If I remember correctly, the Japanese planes have already dropped four bombs. When the blocking troops appear, they will definitely force them to drop the remaining two bombs. The threat in space and time will be gone."
"Chief of Staff, be prepared. As soon as the two aerial bombs appear, launch a siege signal flare."
Inside the pocket formation, more than a thousand Japanese and puppet troops rushed towards the mountain pass like crazy.
Looking down from the air, it looks like a group of charging soldiers, and the formation is particularly scary.
The group leader, squadron leader, and squad leader were mixed in the middle of the team, shouting as they ran: "Speed up, the mortars of the Eighth Route Army that rush through the mountain pass will not be able to do anything to us."
"If you don't want to die, run away as fast as you can, the faster the better..."
"Boom boom boom..."
Fearing what might come, nearly sixty artillery shells fell from the sky, hitting the Japanese and puppet troops like rain.
Although the Japanese and puppet troops were scattered, they dropped too many artillery shells.
Many Japanese and puppet troops were blown away and knocked over while running.
Several more artillery shells hit right in the middle of the retreating infantry squad, causing a huge explosion in a violent explosion.
The captain was heartbroken and ordered hurriedly.
"The team is still too concentrated. Keep spreading out. The more dispersed the better..."
After the order was spread, the Japanese and puppet troops continued to disperse in small groups. More than a dozen Japanese soldiers formed a combat unit, with the machine gun team as the center, and ran towards the mountain pass in a combat formation.
Even so, more than fifty shells fell in one round, still killing and wounding dozens of people.
When we were still three to four hundred meters across the mountain pass, the scattered Japanese began to gather.
The mountain pass is less than fifty meters wide, and the road runs through the middle. The rest of the mountain pass is covered by hills with an altitude of tens to one or two hundred meters, and you must climb over it to leave here.
The Japanese all wanted to run out in a hurry and didn't want to stay here for a minute longer.
So no one wants to waste time going over mountains and ridges.
The artillerymen scattered around were worried that it was not cost-effective to fight the Japanese in this way. Not to mention wasting a lot of shells, but killing very few Japanese.
I didn't expect the Japanese to solve this problem by themselves.
The two mortar groups immediately adjusted their firing crews and concentrated thirty mortars on the fifty-meter-wide mountain pass to blast fiercely.
Only five rounds of artillery shells were fired, and the mountain pass was filled with smoke.
There were explosions everywhere, flying fire, and black smoke rising into the sky...
Looking at it, it's like a fire belt blocking the way of the Japanese. If they rush in, they will be blown to pieces.
We are all made of flesh and blood. No matter how well-trained we are, facing a hail of shells, we will only end up being blown up to death.
Seeing that nearly a hundred Imperial Army and Imperial Alliance troops at the front were instantly submerged by artillery fire and disappeared, the captain was shocked and shouted anxiously: "Don't go to the mountain pass. That place is being targeted by Eighth Route Army artillery fire."
"Let's climb over the mountain and get out of here."
"Everyone divides our troops and goes into the mountains. The surrounding mountains are not high, so it should be easy to climb over."
"After crossing the mountain, we gathered outside the mountain pass."
"Send some messengers to go to the back and report to the regimental commander that the mountain pass is blocked by the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army. We can't get out. We can only rush out over the mountains and ridges."
After the captain gave the order, he led the guards and ran towards the nearest forest.
Artillery can block mountain passes with shells, but it cannot block a forest that stretches for more than ten miles.
Everyone dispersed into the woods. Even if the Eighth Route Army had twice the number of mortars, it would not be able to trap everyone with shells.
With this idea in mind, the captain was confident in his decision.
"Da da da……"
The oncoming burst of gunfire shattered the captain's dream.
At least three machine guns were hidden in the woods and fired at everyone. Thick bullets flew over, and nearly ten of his subordinates were caught off guard. They didn't say a word and fell to the ground covered in blood.
"Enemy attack, get down!" the guard captain shouted loudly, and threw the shocked captain to the ground.
In order to reduce the casualties suffered by the troops during the shelling, the captain was accompanied by only about twenty guards.
Nearly half of the casualties were suffered at once, which can definitely be said to be a serious injury.
The remaining half of the soldiers reacted quickly, got down and started to fight back.
Rifles, light machine guns, shoot together.
But their firepower was too weak. Compared with the Eighth Route Army in the woods, they were not at the same level.
The Eighth Route Army in front of the captain only had half a platoon, but its firepower was not bad at all.
Two light machine guns and one heavy machine gun fired wildly at the oncoming Japanese soldiers, not caring how many bullets they wasted.
Seeing the Japanese begin to fight back, the three machine guns fired more vigorously.
The bullets were swept away as if they cost nothing.
Less than three seconds after the Japs' only remaining light machine gun fired, dense heavy machine gun bullets flew towards them.
The machine gunner and assistant shooter were instantly beaten into pieces.
The rifleman was even worse. As soon as he fired a bullet, a string of five or six bullets came back from the forest opposite.
If you react quickly, you can duck by lowering your head quickly, but if you react slowly, your head will be blown off on the spot...
In the blink of an eye, six or seven more of these Japs were dead. The remaining Japs were frightened and knew that it was impossible to rush through here, so they quickly protected the captain and began to retreat.
This scene was seen clearly by the platoon leader in the forest.
Pointing at the captain, he shouted: "There must be big fish there. The Japanese are obviously protecting someone. The light and heavy machine guns concentrated their firepower on them, shooting..."
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