"Battal Commander, the Japanese have begun to set up heavy machine guns and mortars!" the instructor warned, lying next to him.
"We don't have time to dig trenches. Everyone is completely exposed to the ground. If the artillery shells hit the troops, they will definitely suffer heavy casualties."
Zhang Yun shook his head and replied: "It's too late."
"I didn't expect the Japanese to think highly of us so much. They set up artillery when they came up and didn't even attack once."
"The mortar can fire very quickly, and it will be over in one go. Now retreat, if the shells hit us in a while, we will all be exposed in the open space behind us."
"It's even more exposed there, and the casualties will definitely be greater than here."
"Let everyone take cover. The combat effectiveness of those local troops and supplementary troops is still too poor. More than 300 people shot together and only killed less than 30 Japs. It's really embarrassing to tell anyone."
"I just saw that many soldiers' hands started to tremble when they saw the Japs from a distance. Under such circumstances, no matter how well trained their marksmanship is, they still can't hit the Japs."
"I plan to take this opportunity to practice their courage and kill two birds with one stone."
"It allows them to adapt to the battlefield as quickly as possible and gain more life-saving skills, so that they will not become a living target for the Japanese on the battlefield."
"It can also attack the Japanese, let them see our true strength, and then chase us to fight, bring them to the battlefield where we want to fight them, and hold them back."
“Boom, boom, boom… da da da…”
Mortars, heavy machine guns, light machine guns, grenade launchers... soon joined the battle.
The shells rained down on the mountain ridge, kicking up a large amount of soil, and at the same time, the soldiers lying next to them were also overturned.
It hit the ground hard and turned into a corpse with a scream.
Bullets clung to the top of the mountain ridge and flew overhead.
No matter who it is, as long as their head is exposed, a big hole will be punched out in an instant, and their brains will burst. It is terrible to see.
Facing the bloody scenes one after another around them, almost all the soldiers and supplementary soldiers in the local army turned pale and trembled all over, feeling nothing but fear in their hearts.
"Ah...I won't fight, I want to go home..."
One of the supplementary soldiers collapsed, yelled and tried to run back.
As soon as he raised his head and before he could move, a string of bullets flew towards him.
This is a string of heavy machine gun bullets, very powerful.
It penetrated through the right eye, penetrated the head, and flew out from the back of the head. In the blink of an eye, half of the supplementary soldier's head was gone.
The veteran squad leader lying next to him looked heartbroken and shouted anxiously: "You've all seen it! The enemy's firepower is too fierce. Even if you become a deserter, you have no chance to survive."
"If you want to survive, there is only one way. Follow the command, defeat the little devil in front of you, and retreat when your superiors tell you to."
"Otherwise, I might be the next one to be beaten to death."
"Listen to my order and lie down on the ground with your head in your hands and don't move. As long as you don't show your head and the enemy's shells don't hit you, I guarantee that everyone can survive."
The Japanese army attacked the position, and the captain always had a smile on his face.
After glancing at his watch, his expression quickly returned to seriousness, and then he ordered with confidence: "The artillery will stop in one minute."
"Then the heavy machine guns provided cover, and the infantry began to attack, trying to attack the mountain ridge in one attack and wipe out all the Eighth Route Army above."
The adjutant immediately complimented: "Sir, don't worry, the attacking troops will definitely win."
"The artillery squadron fought for ten minutes just now and fired at least 700 shells, which was enough to hit the mountain twice."
"The Eighth Route Army that was hiding on the mountain ridge just now must have been almost destroyed by the bombing."
More than a hundred Japanese and puppet troops lined up in a skirmish line, bent at the waist, rifles in hand, slowly approaching the ridge.
The machine gunner held the machine gun in his arms, mixed in the middle, ready to fire at any time.
Grenadier soldiers were also scattered among them, in groups of three, carrying grenade launchers and ammunition, ready to stop at any time to knock down exposed fire points on the ridge.
Heavy machine guns were set up on the high ground behind them, and the sound of gunfire never stopped from the beginning of the attack.
Strings of bullets fanned over the heads of the attacking troops and flew toward the mountain ridges, killing any Eighth Route Army troops that might show their faces.
"beat……"
When the first row of Japanese skirmishers were still a hundred meters away from the mountain ridge, Zhang Yun gave the order.
The soldiers still alive on the mountain ridge stretched out their rifles and fired at the blurry figure a hundred meters away.
The Japanese army was not to be outdone. The rifles, light machine guns, and grenade launchers equipped by the attacking troops all joined the battle.
Among them, the greatest threat to the blocking troops is the heavy machine gun.
As long as it is hit by the bullets fired by it, it will definitely be killed or injured, and the combat effectiveness will be instantly lost.
The blocking firepower on the mountain ridge became weaker and weaker. The Japanese who had been frustrated in their attack stood up again and started a new round of attack.
However, this time their offensive formation was obviously denser than before, and their attacking speed was getting faster and faster.
Zhang Yun stared closely at the battlefield, silently calculating the distance between the Japanese and the mountain ridge in his mind.
With the last fifty meters left, he decisively ordered: "Send a signal to the artillery and fire now."
"One minute after the bombardment started, the infantry retreated. Within one minute, they all evacuated the ridge. Within five minutes, they crossed the open space behind the ridge and then retreated into the mountain."
"Boom boom boom..."
When the explosion rang out among the attacking troops, the Japanese captain was still dreaming of annihilating his opponent.
After waking up from the dream, his face was replaced by shock and anger.
"BaGeYa Road, our opponent is too cunning. He has hidden so many artillery pieces to no avail."
"However, these artillery pieces once again proved our initial judgment."
"The Eighth Route Army on the mountain ridge is the opponent we have been looking for."
"The artillery squadron will counterattack immediately and eat the Eighth Route Army artillery."
"The offensive troops immediately retreated. The Eighth Route Army was equipped with heavy mortars. On the field battlefield, the lethality of heavy mortars to infantry offensive troops was fatal."
To the Japanese, this battle was inexplicable. It was in full swing just now, but suddenly it stopped.
The Eighth Route Army artillery fired for only two minutes and then stopped.
The artillery squadron counterattacked for five minutes. After confirming that there was no response from the opponent, they decisively stopped this counterattack that wasted artillery shells.
The attacking troops successfully withdrew, but only less than half of the more than a hundred people withdrew, and all the remaining soldiers remained on the battlefield.
The power of the heavy mortar is too great. It relies on the powerful shock wave to kill people and explode a large area.
No matter how well-trained the imperial army is and how well concealed they are during shelling, as long as they are within the damage range of the shells, everyone will be killed or injured.
The mountain ridge also became quiet, with no movement at all.
When a new round of attack began, the troops stormed the mountain ridge, but there were no living people except corpses.
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army retreated, but at least a hundred corpses were left on the ridge. The weapons and ammunition equipped by these soldiers were not taken away. They were all left on the ridge. They were all captured imperial army standard weapons, including a heavy
Machine guns, three grenade launchers, and four light machine guns, but they were all damaged." The squadron leader of the attacking force ran back panting and reported.
The leader of the reconnaissance team rushed over: "Sir, the Eighth Route Army has retreated. There are still more than 200 people left. We have determined their retreat direction."
"They also brought many wounded people with them. The troops will definitely be able to catch up with them if they march quickly."
Another officer ran over and reported: "Sir, we found the Eighth Route Army artillery position, and a heavy mortar and a medium mortar were blown up."
The captain looked suddenly enlightened and shouted: "I understand, the Eighth Route Army that blocked us just now must have taken advantage of the shelling to retreat."
"It took a lot of effort to find them. Keep an eye on them and we must not let them escape again."
"Order the troops to pursue immediately."
"In the battle just now, we suffered more than a hundred casualties, and the Eighth Route Army also suffered more than a hundred casualties. The battle losses were almost one to one."
"However, many of the troops we lost were from the Imperial Army. Excluding the Imperial Army, the battle loss ratio between the Imperial Army and them was about one to two, which is equivalent to one Imperial Army killing two Eighth Route Army."
"At this rate of loss, if we lose more than a hundred imperial troops, we can defeat them all in one fell swoop."
"We can still afford such a price."
On the path into the mountain, Zhang Yun was marching on foot like the troops.
As he ran, the instructor caught up with him, his face solemn.
"Battal Commander, the casualties have been calculated. Between the decoy troops and the blocking troops, we lost 189 people directly, including sacrifices and missing persons."
"In addition, there are 26 lightly or seriously injured people who have lost their combat effectiveness and are being carried on stretchers."
"The main force, local troops, and supplementary troops add up to 253 people left to continue fighting."
Zhang Yun fell silent.
This loss is not small, and it is only a loss in a battle.
But he also knew that if he wanted to hold back the Japanese, this battle must be fought.
If the Japanese are not allowed to see the possibility of annihilating themselves and are allowed to take advantage, they will definitely repeat their old tricks and directly capture the people as hostages, and then threaten the troops to go out and fight them.
In this case, the troops will be more passive and the price paid on the battlefield will be greater.
The most important thing is that civilians will definitely suffer casualties.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yun felt obviously better. Just as he was about to speak, the reconnaissance platoon leader rushed over, his face both nervous and excited.
"Batalion Commander, the Japanese are chasing us."
"The two Japanese and puppet armies in front and behind joined together. There were more than 500 people, and they marched towards us in a hurry."
Zhang Yun is in a better mood.
The battle just now was not in vain, and the soldiers' sacrifices were not in vain.
Immediately ordered: "Reconnaissance Platoon, Guard Company 1st Platoon, take action immediately, use guerrilla warfare to slow down the pursuit of the Japanese and puppet troops."
"The others speed up. If I remember correctly, there is a mountain pass five kilometers ahead, which is very suitable for blocking. I decided to give the Japanese another try there."
"Although the troops suffered heavy losses in the battle just now, I have a feeling that all the soldiers who retreated from the battlefield, whether local troops or supplementary troops, have obviously become calmer and are no longer as afraid of the Japs and the battlefield as before."
"It shows that our soldiers have adapted to the battlefield."
"The next thing we need to do is to continue our efforts, win a victory, and boost the morale of the soldiers."
"However, the scale of this battle cannot be too large, nor can it last too long."
"I thought just now that the Japanese planes did not appear. There will definitely be planes participating in the battle next. Everyone must be prepared for air defense."
"Communications squad, immediately contact the other four enemy-baiting units and ask them to prepare for air defense."
