The squad leader was very jealous of the equipment of several people, and was full of doubts about their Eighth Route Army status!
But he is not without brains!
If these people were really enemies, just with the three submachine guns they were equipped with, they could have counterattacked and severely injured themselves when they first appeared, instead of obediently raising their hands and surrendering!
After thinking for a few seconds, he decided to send the five people to the company headquarters first!
"Rumble..."
The sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded in the night, and the cavalry correspondent rode into the village like the wind, and finally stopped at the entrance of a courtyard!
The correspondent jumped off the horse, took the reins and threw them into the hands of the guard nearby, then rushed into the yard!
"Battle Commander Wang, urgent order from regiment headquarters!"
"The first battalion will assemble immediately, bring all the equipment and ammunition, and set off now to rush to the Xinzhuang stronghold, and launch an attack on the Xinzhuang stronghold on time in the early morning!"
"Only one of our battalions should attack the Xinzhuang stronghold, or should several battalions attack together!" Battalion Commander Wang asked with a frown on his face!
"You are the only battalion!" the correspondent quickly replied!
Battalion Commander Wang frowned even deeper and continued to ask, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"There is a reinforced squadron and two companies of puppet troops stationed at the Jaap Xinzhuang stronghold. The total strength is more than 400 people! The total number of one battalion is more than 400 people, and they are taking the initiative to attack. How can we fight!"
The instructor stood nearby and frowned, then added: "Also, there are Japs gun towers five hundred meters on both sides of the Xinzhuang stronghold. Although there are not many Japs stationed in them, there are fifty or sixty puppet troops and equipment.
Got the machine gun!”
"Shooting from the turret can completely seal off the turret and the stronghold!"
"The troops can't outflank them even if they want to, so they can only attack from the front to block the little Japanese's guns!"
"The casualties of the troops must be very high. Maybe the entire battalion will not be able to get close to the stronghold!"
The correspondent replied with certainty: "The order is correct. This was given to me personally by the regiment leader!"
"In addition, I have a letter here. The regiment leader ordered that only Battalion Commander Wang and Instructor Zhou can read it, and that it must be read in front of me. After reading it, it will be burned. The contents of the envelope cannot be disclosed to anyone!"
After saying that, the communications staff officer took out a letter with his body temperature on it!
Soon the two of them finished reading, and the worries on their faces were wiped away!
After burning the envelope to ashes in front of the correspondent, he shouted directly to the door: "Commander, blow the assembly call immediately. All troops must gather and prepare to set off. We are going to have a feast with the Japanese tonight!"
"After the fight is completed, our first battalion will be able to replace our guns with cannons tonight!"
"Da da da……"
A string of gunshots broke the tranquility of the Xinzhuang stronghold!
"Da da da... boom boom boom..."
The sound of gunfire became thicker and louder, including many explosions.
The Japanese and puppet troops were like frightened rabbits, emerging from their barracks one after another and rushing into the defensive positions around the stronghold!
Inside the central turret of the stronghold, the Japanese squadron leader was also alerted!
"Sir, the stronghold has been attacked. The Eighth Route Army that has emerged now has a battalion, equipped with heavy machine guns!" the second lieutenant on duty rushed over and reported!
The squadron leader walked to the lookout, and with just a glance, he saw six tongues of flames lining up two hundred meters outside the stronghold. They were all fired by light and heavy machine guns!
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army is attacking our two wings in a roundabout way. They want to attack our defense line from three sides!" the deputy captain next to him reminded!
The squadron leader frowned and cursed: "Baga! We must not let their conspiracy succeed!"
"The troops will counterattack immediately and block their outflanking troops!"
"Send a signal to the gun towers on both sides of us, let them join the battle, and use firepower to block the open space on both sides of us!"
"Hi!"
Just as the deputy captain moved, shots were fired from the direction of the turret!
Under the darkness, the squadron leader could only see roughly through the fire caused by the explosion of the shell!
More than a hundred figures appeared outside the turret, firing rifles and machine guns at the turret. There were also people holding explosive packs and keeping close to the turret under the cover of fire behind them, hoping to blow it up!
"The gun towers on Bageya Road were also attacked by the Eighth Route Army. Who can tell me what the Eighth Route Army wants to do? Do they want to have a decisive battle with us when they attack so many places at once?" the squadron leader asked, frowning!
The deputy captain thought for a moment and reminded: "Could it be that the Eighth Route Army inside the mountain wants to withdraw to the base area, and the Eighth Route Army outside comes to respond?"
The squadron leader's eyes lit up and he shouted: "It's very possible!"
"Order the troops to pay attention behind us, contact the surrounding gun towers, and strengthen the security behind us!"
"If the Eighth Route Army really wants to withdraw to its base in the mountains, it will definitely launch an attack from behind, attack from the front and back, and create a gap in the blockade!"
"Boom boom..."
As soon as he finished speaking, two obviously more violent explosions came over!
The squadron leader's face suddenly turned pale, and he cried out: "Baga, I am now sure that tonight, the Eighth Route Army in the mountains wanted to withdraw to their base, and was attacked behind the gun tower. The Eighth Route Army was also equipped with mortars, and the gun tower must be on top.
Can’t stop!”
"Order our artillery squad to fire immediately to counterattack the Eighth Route Army attacking behind the gun towers and destroy their mortars!"
"Also, contact the headquarters, report the situation here immediately, and request reinforcements!"
"The blockade was attacked from both front and rear by the Eighth Route Army. Their offensive firepower was fierce and they also had heavy weapons. We definitely won't be able to hold on for too long!"
Datong Japanese garrison headquarters!
The lights are bright, combat staff are coming in and out, the phone is ringing constantly, and as soon as a call is completed, a new call comes in!
Major General Noda stood sullenly next to the sand table, and the chief of staff stood aside, constantly marking the latest battle conditions on it for the commander's reference!
"General, the Xinzhuang stronghold reported that their artillery towers were attacked from the front and rear by the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Route Army that attacked them was also equipped with mortars. It is definitely the Eighth Route Army in the mountains who want to withdraw from their base!"
Seeing that Major General Noda was still silent, the Chief of Staff hesitantly reminded: "General, six strongholds and more than a dozen gun towers have been attacked on this line!"
"According to the report, at least four regiments were dispatched from the northern Shanxi base area!"
"Their purpose is obvious. They launched an attack on this line of defense for more than ten kilometers at the same time, making it impossible for us to remove a single soldier from the artillery towers and strongholds on this line!"
"The Xinzhuang stronghold is right in the middle of this blockade. Once they open a breakthrough, we have no way to dispatch reinforcements nearby. There is only one result. The Eighth Route Army hiding in the mountains can safely return to the base area from Xinzhuang!"
Major General Noda finally spoke, and ordered with a serious face: "We must not allow these Eighth Route Army troops to return to the base safely. At the worst, we must keep the thousands of absentees they rescued!"
"Tonight the blockade was attacked from both sides by the Eighth Route Army. The troops must have suffered heavy losses!"
"If these absentees are allowed to join the Eighth Route Army, the front-line troops will immediately face thousands more opponents!"
"One goes off the other. If the Eighth Route Army seizes the opportunity to fight us decisively before our reinforcements arrive in Datong, our front-line troops will definitely suffer a devastating blow and the entire army will be destroyed!"
The chief of staff believed this, but he had no soldiers in hand and had no choice no matter how urgent he was. He could only shout with reluctance on his face!
"But we have no troops to reinforce the battlefield! Judging from the telegram, the artillery towers and strongholds that were attacked by the Eighth Route Army will definitely not be able to hold on for long!"
"There are still troops in Datong City!" Major General Noda replied after hesitating for a long time!
Before the chief of staff could react, he began to issue orders: "The Datong garrison will immediately assemble three infantry squadrons, an artillery squadron, and a heavy machine gun squadron to reinforce the battlefield!"
"The automobile transport brigade directly under the headquarters will set off now to deliver the reinforcements to the battlefield in the shortest possible time!"
At this time, not only the chief of staff, but also several other staff officers stared with big eyes, expressions of disbelief!
Major General Noda did not explain, but ordered decisively: "What are you still doing? Didn't you hear the order just now? Execute it quickly!"
"If the reinforcements arrive late and the Eighth Route Army passes through the blockade safely, will you be responsible?"
Several combat staff finally reacted, grabbed the phone and started giving orders!
The chief of staff also calmed down at this time and quickly asked: "General, think twice!"
"This is the last brigade in Datong City! With so many troops sent out at once, there is only one guard, one infantry squadron, and one gendarmerie left in the city. There are less than 400 imperial troops left in total!"
"If someone attacks Datong at this time, we will have to hand over many fortifications outside the city to the Imperial Alliance Army!"
"Without the supervision of the Imperial Army and assistance in defense, the Imperial Alliance Army will definitely be vulnerable and collapse on the battlefield immediately after encountering the enemy's attack!"
Major General Noda glanced at his watch and replied: "It's one o'clock in the morning, and there are still five hours until dawn. Even if someone wants to take advantage of Datong City, there will definitely be no problem in guarding it until dawn!"
"After daybreak, we will have planes to reinforce the battlefield. The battle on the blockade will definitely end quickly. Then the reinforcements can come back in cars and attack the enemies who want to attack Datong City from the front and back!
"Chief of Staff, don't worry, there won't be any problems in a few hours!"
The chief of staff was not persuaded by Noda's explanation. He still looked worried and reminded him bravely: "General, you are gambling!"
Normally, Noda would definitely be furious when he heard this!
But not today, and he was surprisingly calm!
He took a deep breath and replied: "Yes, I really bet!"
"But the possibility of us winning this battle was 80%! And as long as we win, the biggest crisis facing the Datong garrison will be solved at once!"
"Without those absentees, the Eighth Route Army will definitely not attack us at all costs. They cannot afford such heavy losses!"
"If we lose the bet, we will probably die!"
"But if we don't gamble and let those absentees join the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army will definitely take the opportunity to fight us. By then, the Datong garrison will still suffer a devastating blow!"
"So, even if we know that this is a gamble and we may lose, we still have to face the difficulties!"