"Company commander, the Japanese have begun to attack!" the second platoon leader reminded.
The expected attack finally came, but the company commander was not happy at all.
The caution of the Japanese is reflected here again.
Dozens of figures appeared outside the village, forming a skirmish line and slowly approaching the village.
But less than one-third of these people are real devils, and the rest are all puppet soldiers, obviously here to test their own falsehoods.
Not only that, the Japanese artillery is already in place.
Mortars, infantry guns, and mountain guns are placed in different locations according to different ranges.
If he exposes his light and heavy machine gun firepower for the dozen or so Japs and twenty dozen puppet troops, these artillery pieces will definitely fire immediately to destroy them, and then he will lose more than he gains.
Thinking of this, the company commander could only give up his idea of wiping out the Japanese army to test the attacking troops.
He ordered in a very low voice: "All light and heavy machine guns must retreat into the village, and the riflemen stay behind to fight, so that the Japanese cannot detect our true strength and find our firepower points!"
After saying that, the company commander also changed the box cannon into a rifle, lay down on the earth wall, and aimed at the Japanese sergeant in the middle of the attacking force.
When the puppet soldiers at the front were still less than fifty meters away from the earthen wall, the company commander decisively pulled the trigger on his rifle.
"Bang...bang bang bang..."
The sound of gunshots along the line of the earthen wall immediately rang out.
Although there were no light or heavy machine guns, more than two hundred rifles fired together, still creating a posture unique to machine guns.
Most of the thirty or so Japanese and puppet troops were killed or wounded in the blink of an eye. All the survivors lay on the ground and exchanged fire with the Seventh Company.
"Woooooooo..."
Just after the second bullet was fired, before he could even pull the bolt, the scream of a cannonball streaking across the sky was heard.
The company commander was confused. This was something he didn't expect.
Artillery must be used to attack valuable targets. If you remove the light and heavy machine guns yourself, there will be no target to attack.
Unexpectedly, the Japanese were willing to use artillery against a group of infantry.
His face instantly turned pale, and before he could speak, the sound of an explosion rang in his ears.
Black smoke plumes rose into the sky from behind the earthen wall not far away.
Under the firelight produced by the explosion, he could clearly see the scene of several soldiers being blown away.
"Hide, everyone, hide!" the company commander shouted anxiously.
"Boom boom boom..."
A series of more violent explosions suddenly sounded in my ears, interrupting the company commander's order.
Several obviously thicker black smoke pillars rose into the sky along the line of the earth wall. Under the light of the fire, the earth wall next to the explosion point had been blown into a pile of dirt, and several large gaps appeared in the earth wall that stretched for several hundred meters.
The bullets fired by the Japanese and puppet troops seemed to have eyes. They were all concentrated into a few gaps and flew into the village!
Several soldiers who were unable to evade were instantly beaten into pieces.
"It's mountain artillery and heavy mortars. They can destroy the earthen walls that help us!" the company commander cried out, his heart suddenly in his throat.
Just ordinary mortars and earth walls can protect everyone and save most of the soldiers participating in the battle.
The addition of mountain artillery and heavy mortars directly made this matter unknown.
They can destroy earthen walls.
Several gaps and the few soldiers killed instantly in the gaps are the best proof.
But the Japanese don't care about this. Their goal is to destroy the Seventh Company. The worse they beat the Seventh Company, the happier they will be.
Before one round of explosions ended, the screams of the second round of shells streaking across the sky had already reached the ears of the company commander.
At this time, the fool also understood that the little devil was determined to kill the chicken with a knife this time.
The seventh company commander lay on the ground holding his head and suffered for five minutes before the continuous sound of explosions in his ears stopped.
After shaking his head to shake off the floating soil covering it, the company commander's face turned pale just by looking around.
The battlefield was too brutal.
There are gaps everywhere in the several hundred meters of earth wall.
At least one-third of the more than two hundred soldiers fighting on the front line of the earth wall were hiding in these gaps.
With the earthen wall gone, they would definitely not be able to die well. They fell in various postures around the gap, motionless.
The company commander knew that they were finished. Although he was heartbroken, he did not forget the little Japs who were watching eagerly outside the village.
All this is caused by them.
Just now they were killing the chicken with a sniper, using artillery shells to aimlessly attack the riflemen. No one knows what more ruthless means they will use to attack them next.
Therefore, the front line of the earthen wall could no longer be defended, so he gave the order in a hurry.
"Retreat, everyone retreat into the village... quickly... we can't defend here anymore, we will go directly into the village to fight with the Japanese in the streets."
A team of more than a hundred people bent over and just started to retreat, when the Japanese and puppet troops' attack began.
Two platoons of more than 60 puppet troops rushed to the front, followed by more than 30 Japanese soldiers to supervise the battle, forming a skirmish line and quickly approaching the village.
The deputy company commander hesitated and reminded: "Company commander, the Japanese have begun to attack. Do you want us to fight again here?"
"The Japanese and puppet troops dispatched a hundred people this time. They will definitely not fire artillery during the exchange of fire like just now, including their own people."
"As long as we get them closer and hit them, we will definitely be able to catch them off guard, inflict severe damage on them, and avenge the soldiers who sacrificed their lives just now."
The captain of the district squadron also looked eager to try.
He also lost a third of his men in the shelling just now, which greatly affected both morale and combat effectiveness. He urgently needed a victory to take revenge and boost the morale of the troops that had just fallen.
The company commander shook his head and replied: "No, everyone must enter the village. There can be no more fighting here."
"Although the Japs dispatched nearly a hundred people, most of them were puppet troops, and the Japs were hiding at the end."
"If the Japanese really fire during our exchange of fire, the puppet soldiers at the front will definitely die."
"Do you think the Japanese would care about the lives of those dozens of puppet soldiers?"
"If the lives of dozens of puppet soldiers can be exchanged for dozens of lives of our garrison, I believe the Japanese will rush to do it."
The Japanese army attacked the position outside the village and after confirming that the garrison they wanted to deal with had been surrounded in Dongzhuang, Commander Major rushed here directly, intending to personally command the troops and eliminate the opponent.
It was he who decided to kill the chicken with a knife.
Although the Imperial Army is not rich enough to squander artillery shells, it can still support one or two high-intensity battles.
Now the opponent is surrounded by himself.
As long as the next battle is fought successfully, the troops will have no other battles to fight in a short period of time and will have enough time to wait for replenishment.
Therefore, the Major made a decisive decision and made a decisive decision to kill the chicken with a knife.
Fight quickly and kill your opponent with minimal casualties.
"Sir, the attacking troops have rushed fifty meters outside the village. There is still no movement in the village. The artillery fire coverage just now must have worked." A lieutenant squadron leader stood nearby and complimented.
"The Eighth Route Army that was guarding behind the earth wall just now must have suffered heavy casualties, and was then forced to retreat into the village. I saw with my own eyes the scene of the Eighth Route Army hiding behind being blown away when the earth wall was destroyed." Another squadron leader complimented not to be outdone.