The atmosphere at the headquarters of the Independent Battalion on the mountainside was very depressing. Everyone was frightened by the number of casualties reported by Jiang Tianhong.
Although there were no casualties in the artillery company and firepower company, the casualties in the first company were too great.
There were 89 men before the battle, but they could still breathe after the battle. In addition, there were only 21 lightly or seriously wounded, and the entire company almost lost its combat effectiveness.
"Cheer up, everyone!" Li Hao suddenly shouted.
"Our casualties are indeed great, but the Japanese casualties are even greater!"
"Preliminary statistics show that the little Japanese infantry we killed in the battle just now had a squadron of nearly 200 people. This does not include their artillery and heavy machine gunners!"
"Including them, more than 300 Japs will die in our hands in this battle. The casualty ratio is five to one. No matter where it is placed, it can be called a victorious battle!"
Several company platoon commanders slowly raised their lowered heads, and their eyes slowly became hot.
Li Hao continued to shout: "This does not include the weapons and ammunition that were blown up by us!"
"All I saw was a mountain cannon, three mortars, and at least five heavy machine guns!"
"Without these heavy weapons, the pressure on us to fight them in the future will definitely be greatly reduced. These are also the results of our battle!"
The instructor of the first company, Gong Wenshan, spoke at the right time: "Comrades, I think the battalion commander is right. We did not lose this battle, but won it, and it was a great victory!"
"Although more than sixty soldiers were sacrificed, their sacrifices were worth it!"
"With their efforts, when we fight against this Japanese army again, we will avoid at least hundreds of casualties!"
Gong Wenshan is indeed a political cadre. Although his words are a bit exaggerated, the effect of what he said at this time is very good.
After a few words, the solemn expressions on everyone's faces completely disappeared.
Even Jiang Tianhong's face calmed down, and then he stared at Li Hao and asked with a hot face.
"Battal Commander, how should we fight next?"
"I will continue to kill the Japanese and bring in a few more people to bury the fallen soldiers with them!"
Li Hao's serious face slowly relaxed, and he analyzed calmly: "In the battle just now, we have played all our trump cards!"
"The Japanese have a more intuitive understanding of us, and they will definitely not underestimate the enemy if they attack again!"
"So if you continue to fight head-on with the Japanese, you will die!"
"I have decided to abandon the mountainside position and the defensive troops will retreat immediately~"
"No fight?" Jiang Tianhong asked anxiously.
Li Hao shook his head and replied: "Of course we have to fight, but this time we have to change the way we fight!"
"The infantry withdraws from the position, the artillery plays the leading role, and we will retreat after this battle!"
At the Japanese position at the foot of the mountain, we were anxiously waiting for a call back from the brigade headquarters and Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe.
"Sir, the brigade headquarters has ordered us to quickly break through the Eighth Route Army defense line in front of us, march quickly to Lingqiu County, and join the Watanabe Brigade!"
"Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe called back: It is recommended that we concentrate all artillery to bombard the Eighth Route Army's blocking positions, use our firepower advantage, break through the Eighth Route Army's defense line, and rush to Lingqiu County!"
"During the battle, try to avoid close combat with the Eighth Route Army to prevent them from consuming a large number of our troops through close combat!"
After the report, the adjutant comforted him: "Sir, from the call back, the brigade headquarters did not hold us responsible for the defeat just now. It can be seen that the brigade headquarters also knows that the responsibility for the defeat by the Eighth Route Army just now does not lie with us. You can rest assured now!
"
The major's tense nerves finally relaxed.
Then he began to issue orders: "The mountain artillery squadron immediately withdraws from the mortar range of the Eighth Route Army, arranges artillery positions, and bombards the blocking positions on the mountainside!"
"The mortar squadron looks for suitable terrain to set up artillery, and is ready to counterattack the Eighth Route Army's exposed artillery positions at any time!"
"One thing to note is that the remaining mortars must be dispersed as much as possible."
"Even if you are attacked, you won't be wiped out by the enemy. There is still room for counterattack."
"Third Infantry Squadron, Heavy Machine Gun Squadron, prepare for assault!"
"This time I will level the mountainside blocking position and then attack again."
"Boom boom boom..."
After waiting for less than half an hour, the five mountain cannons fired.
The cannonballs were fired five times a round, hitting the mountainside as if they cost nothing.
Every time there was an explosion, there must have been a fireball mixed with a lot of black smoke rising into the sky, along with a lot of dirt and gravel being blown up and flying all over the sky.
In the blink of an eye, the mountainside position was completely enveloped in gunpowder smoke and flying sand and rocks, making it impossible to see even one's fingers.
Inside the independent battalion headquarters, Jiang Tianhong, who had just withdrawn, took a breath of cold air and shouted.
"Oh my God, it's a good thing that the troops withdrew, otherwise the big guys would have been blown to pieces."
Li Hao replied with a serious face: "The little devils gathered all the mountain cannons in their hands to bombard the mountainside positions. The mountain cannons have a long range, are powerful, and have fatal destructive power on civil fortifications. Their purpose is obvious, to use the mountain cannons to raze our positions to the ground."
, and then launch an attack!"
"Battal Commander, you thought of it right from the beginning, and then ordered us to abandon our position!" Jiang Tianhong suddenly realized and asked.
Li Hao did not deny it: "I don't know whether the Japanese commander would do this, but if I were asked to command this battle, I would definitely do it!"
"Try to use your firepower advantage to attack us. This way you can severely damage us while minimizing casualties. Why not?"
Jiang Tianhong continued to ask: "Then can we also order the artillery battery to fire!"
"The Japanese offensive troops have begun to gather, and now the artillery bombardment will definitely have the best effect!"
"What I want most now is to see the little devils being blown up by us and leaving corpses everywhere, with heavy casualties!"
Li Hao's face returned to seriousness: "The six mortars of the artillery battery will fire immediately. Each gun will fire five rounds rapidly to attack the gathering Japanese offensive troops. After the attack, we will retreat!"
"The mountain artillery platoon is on standby! The Japanese mortar squadron has not moved yet. It must be waiting for our artillery company to take action first, and then make a counterattack!"
"The mountain artillery platoon must find them for me and blow them up!"
"Each cannon fires three rounds rapidly, and then retreats after firing!"
"We will kill as many Japanese as we can in this battle, no forcing!"
"It's going to get dark. Even if these devils get wings before it gets dark, they won't be able to fly to Lingqiu City. We'll take care of them after dark!"
"Boom boom boom..."
Under the cover of the sound of mountain artillery shelling, the Japanese did not notice the six mortar shells coming towards them.
It wasn't until the artillery shell landed in the middle of the attacking troops and exploded, knocking over more than a dozen soldiers in an instant, that the major captain reacted.
Although he was heartbroken, he was prepared and did not panic and immediately ordered.
"The artillery squadron will counterattack immediately. We must kill them this time!"
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