At ten o'clock in the evening, as long as the Eighth Route Army troops still alive in Lingqiu City began to gather towards the west of the city!
All the artillery and ammunition that were not destroyed during the day were sent here!
"Captain, I have just completed the statistics here. So far, we have 246 people left! There are 9 mountain guns left, five infantry guns left, and 15 mortars left! Eighty percent of the ammunition captured has been saved.
There are still nearly 600 rounds of mountain artillery shells, nearly 400 rounds of infantry artillery shells, and nearly a thousand mortar shells!"
"enough!"
Li Hao answered with confidence!
Then he began to issue orders: "Gather all the remaining artillery of the whole regiment here, as many as you can. There are not enough artillery for the commandos and guard companies to make up for it. Make sure that all the artillery can fire!"
"We break out at two o'clock in the morning, when the little devil sleeps most soundly and is definitely the most exhausted!"
Hong Linfeng frowned and asked, "Are you going to attack the west of the city with the artillery battalion outside the city and use artillery shells to blow a hole in the Japanese defense line?"
Li Hao shook his head and answered mysteriously: "Let's attack the south of the city!"
"The south of the city is right opposite the base area. If we shell the Japanese defense line south of the city, the little devils will definitely regard the south of the city as our breakout direction!"
"Sound in the east and strike in the west!" Hong Linfeng suddenly realized and shouted!
Li Hao affirmed: "Let's attack the south of the city and fire first!"
"The infantry artillery will shoot out all the shells, leaving one hundred shells for the mountain cannon, and three hundred rounds for the mortars. When breaking through, the main force will each bring one mountain cannon shell or three mortar shells!"
"When the artillery broke out, except for taking away six mortars, all other artillery pieces were blown up!"
"In addition to helping the infantrymen carry artillery shells, each soldier must bring me 250 rounds of ammunition and three grenades!"
"Each infantry squad only brought one crooked weapon out of the city, and all heavy machine guns were abandoned. All the extra weapons and ammunition could be buried in the cellar. When we have the opportunity to fight back in the future, we can take them out to equip the troops!"
Hong Linfeng didn't speak. He frowned and thought for nearly a minute before reminding: "Commander, this means that each soldier's load will directly exceed forty kilograms!"
"With the cover of the artillery battalion, even if the speed is a little slower, it will definitely be no problem to break out of Lingqiu City!"
"But in the next battle, if each soldier carries nearly fifty kilograms of equipment and ammunition, not to mention whether he can fight against the Japs, even running away will be a problem!"
Li Hao answered confidently: "As long as we can take him out of the city!"
"Don't forget, we have an artillery camp outside the city. The artillery camp not only has people, but also mules and horses!"
"As long as we join them, these burdens won't be a problem!"
Outside Lingqiu City, almost one-third of the Japanese troops did not rest!
Holding the rifle in his hand, he stared at the surroundings very vigilantly, not missing the slightest movement!
"Woooooooo..."
The screeching sound of artillery shells streaking across the sky suddenly sounded, very harsh!
The Japs on duty were blinded for a moment, then their faces suddenly turned pale, and they fell to the ground subconsciously, shouting out loud: "Shells are coming towards us, shells are coming, take cover!"
The piercing screams were getting closer and closer, and in the blink of an eye, an explosion was ringing in my ears!
Mud, broken limbs, and the goddess were blown everywhere like flowers!
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army is about to break out, and the direction of the breakout is on our side!" his subordinates shouted as they rushed into Kimura Zhongsao's tent!
"Baga, I've heard such a loud noise a long time ago, why are you panicking!" Kimura Zhongsao forced himself to calm down, and then rushed out of the tent!
There is still a big gap between what the eyes see and what the ears hear!
As soon as he came out of the tent, Kimura Nakasa was dumbfounded!
The artillery fire was so fierce, there were black smoke columns rising everywhere, fireballs exploding constantly, soldiers blown up and their limbs broken, as well as craters everywhere and seriously wounded people screaming!
The artillery squadron leader rushed out of the artillery fire and ran towards Kimura!
"boom……"
Less than thirty meters away from Kimura, a mortar shell fell from the sky and hit him!
The shell exploded, and the whole person was blown away instantly. When he landed on the ground, he had turned into a dead body!
"Sir, it's too dangerous here. The Eighth Route Army artillery shells may come at any time. We must retreat!" the guard captain reminded anxiously!
An artillery staff officer then shouted: "The Eighth Route Army has assembled at least twenty artillery pieces to bombard us, including mountain artillery and infantry artillery. They are too powerful and our temporary defense line will definitely not be able to withstand it!"
"There is no difference between continuing to defend the line and risking death!"
"Retreat, all troops retreat, and re-establish a defense line a hundred meters behind, blocking the direction of the Eighth Route Army's breakout from the south of the city, and kill all the Eighth Route Army who want to break through from the south of the city!" Kimura Zhongsa ordered decisively!
It is not easy to retreat under the attack of more than 20 artillery pieces!
Soldiers kept being bombed while running and fell to the ground miserably!
Kimura Nakasa saw it and was anxious in his heart!
Although the final casualties have not yet been calculated, judging from his experience, the casualties will definitely not be too small!
As soon as we retreated to the temporary defense line under the protection of the guards, a second lieutenant on guard from behind rushed over: "Sir, we found the Eighth Route Army cavalry five hundred meters behind!"
"How many people are there!" Lieutenant Kimura asked nervously, his heart suddenly in his throat!
The second lieutenant replied without much thought: "Not many, just a few cavalrymen who have been scouting back and forth at a position of 500 meters. They can't be seen any further away!"
"idiot!"
Kimura's face darkened at that moment, and he frowned and judged: "They must be here to support the Eighth Route Army's breakout of the garrison!"
"I'm very familiar with this style of play. First it's covered by artillery fire, and then the infantry and cavalry make a surprise attack. Our troops often haven't recovered from the bombardment. They have already arrived in front of us, killing our troops and opening a breakthrough!"
"BaGeYa Road, if I hadn't experienced this style of fighting in advance, I would have been caught off guard and then watched the Eighth Route Army break through!"
"Pass my order and all the troops on the defense line will retreat one hundred meters. Set up a temporary defense line here to block the Eighth Route Army's breakout troops at all costs."
"Dedicate at least one squadron and three heavy machine guns to guard our backs!"
"When the garrison breaks out, the cavalry will definitely come together to attack us from both front and back!"
"Heavy machine guns are the trump card against cavalry. With three heavy machine guns and an infantry squadron supporting them, even a cavalry battalion from the Eighth Route Army can stop it!"
The adjutant hesitated and reminded: "But sir, we don't have that many troops available at all!"
"Three squadrons still don't know how many people can escape from the gunfire!"
"There are only three heavy machine guns in total. Even if we withdraw them all and guard the back, the front will be gone!"
Lieutenant General Kimura immediately replied: "Reinforcements will arrive soon!"
"Before dark, I made an agreement with several other brigades. No matter who is attacked and is selected by the Eighth Route Army to break out, the other three brigades will unconditionally send reinforcements!"
"All the imperial troops in Lingqiu now share weal and woe. Regardless of you and me, everyone has a common purpose, to trap the garrison in Lingqiu City!"
"As for the heavy machine gun, even if it is not enough, it will block the back!"
"The cavalry poses the greatest threat to us. We must not let them get close to our temporary defense line!"
"The front is to block the Eighth Route Army's breakout troops. They are infantry and their assault speed is slow. They have light machine guns and rifles, which are enough!"
"Hi!"
The adjutant breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that there were reinforcements!
In Lingqiu City, the artillery position has been completely shrouded in pungent smoke!
Dozens of gunners and commandos who are good at gunnery work in teams of two to operate an artillery piece. The guard company serves as ammunition carriers, rushing back and forth between the artillery pieces to deliver well-fused shells one after another to the gunners.
!
The deputy commander of the artillery battalion stood nearby and directed the bombardment!
Li Hao is also standing by!
Will the Japs outside the city be fooled? Can the casualties be minimized when the troops break through? The bombardment in front of us is crucial. We must show that we are going to break out from the south gate to make the Japs believe it!
"Report……"
Commando captain Xiao Yuan shouted from afar!
Rushing all the way from the south gate of the city, Xiao Yuan was still out of breath even though he was very powerful and physically strong!
Rushing in front of Li Hao, he hurriedly reported before he could take a breath: "Captain, the little devil guarding the south gate has retreated a hundred meters and is forming a temporary defense line there!"
"There are two squadrons of Japs in the east and west of the city to reinforce the south gate, and they are already on the way!"
"It's done, the Japanese have been fooled!" Li Hao shouted excitedly!
Then he stared at the deputy commander of the artillery battalion and asked: "How many artillery shells do we have? Can we also cover the Japanese's newly formed temporary defense line with a round of artillery fire?"
"Add more fire to make the Japanese more convinced that we will break out from the south gate!"
The deputy battalion commander quickly replied: "Don't worry, commander, there are still artillery shells. It shouldn't be a problem to fight for five minutes!"
Li Hao frowned and made a decision: "Okay, I'll give you ten minutes to aim at the Japanese temporary defense line and shoot all the shells you brought, then blow up all the extra artillery and bring six mortars."
Simon join me!"
"The speed must be fast, and you can't delay even a minute!"
"The remaining shells in the artillery camp outside the city can only be fired for five minutes. They will fire on time in ten minutes. As soon as the shelling is over, we will leave the city and break out!"
"So you and everyone must arrive at Ximen within five minutes to join me and fight out of Lingqiu City together!"
"One minute late will give the Japanese one more minute to react, and our casualties on the way to breakout will also increase by one minute!"
"It's now 2:15 in the morning. The artillery battalion started shelling at 2:25, and we broke out on time at 2:30!"
After saying that, Li Hao trotted towards Ximen!
As soon as Li Hao moved, the deputy battalion commander became anxious and immediately shouted: "Stop the shelling, everyone stop!"
"The firing distance of all artillery pieces has been increased by one hundred meters. Once the firing crews have adjusted the artillery fire, all remaining artillery shells will be fired in the shortest possible time!"
"Quick, everyone move, speed up!"
"The guard company is ready with grenades and will blow up the artillery when the bombardment is over. Except for the six mortars that have been separated, all other artillery pieces will be blown up!"
"Rumble..."
In less than a minute, the dull sound of shelling sounded from the artillery position!
"Retreat, the troops will retreat another fifty meters and establish a temporary defense line!"
In the Japanese position outside the city, Lieutenant Commander Kimura was being carried by guards through artillery fire. He ordered while retreating!
At this time, he was 100% sure that the garrison would break through from him, otherwise the artillery shells would not chase him and hit him behind, denying him the chance to establish a temporary defense line!
He rushed out of the artillery fire coverage area and started giving orders before he could even take a breath!
"Contact reinforcements, the Eighth Route Army will definitely break out from the south gate!"
"The defenders at the South Gate have suffered heavy casualties. Let them come here quickly. If they are too late, it will be too late!"
"Don't we still have two cavalry squadrons? Move them over and surround the Eighth Route Army's breakout troops!"
"The fate of all of us lies in this next battle. No matter how high the price is, we cannot lose!"
The Japanese reinforcements went crazy.
With the rifle on his back, he spread his legs and ran towards the south gate risking his life!
The light and heavy machine gunners carry heavy loads and are slow, so they are quickly distanced!
Once you encounter an enemy sneak attack, it is very dangerous!
But no one of the riflemen who rushed ahead turned back to wait for them and protect them!
Compared with the safety of those machine gunners, blocking the breakout troops of the garrison is obviously more important!
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