"Chief, the Japanese and puppet troops attacking from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd regiments have begun to retreat!" Another communications soldier rushed over and reported.
"The little devil is trying to shrink the defense line!" Commander Yang made a quick judgment.
Then a pair of eyes began to shine, and he decisively ordered: "Tell the three regiment leaders to speed up the assault."
"The artillery fired with all its strength to block the retreat of these Japanese and puppet troops, and cooperated with the attacking troops to eat them, and they must not be allowed to retreat."
"Contact the air defense battalion to prepare for air defense."
"If I guessed correctly, the Japanese and puppet troops have already called for air support."
"This is their only way to turn defeat into victory and change the situation."
"The air defense battalion must give the Japanese enemy planes that come for reinforcements a heads-up, shoot down a few of them, and cover the infantry to annihilate all the Japanese and puppet troops on the battlefield."
"Also, notify the heavy artillery battalion of the garrison regiment to seize the time to move and hide it."
"After that, the air defense battalion of the garrison regiment rushed here quickly to participate in battlefield air defense."
"The mobile battalion of the garrison regiment serves as the reserve force of the entire army and is ready to participate in battle at any time."
At this time, Hong Linfeng, who had been standing by the side, suddenly said: "Chief, I have a suggestion!"
"explain!"
Commander Yang didn't talk nonsense and spoke frankly when he asked.
"Yes, Chief!" Hong Linfeng seized the opportunity and answered quickly.
"I suggest adding another sentence to the order given to the four-pronged offensive force: Increase firepower output during the battle. Never use bullets to solve problems that can be solved with artillery shells. Never use bayonets to solve problems that can be solved with bullets."
"Before we came here, the regiment commander specifically ordered us to bring all the ammunition in stock to support Commander Yang in fighting the Japanese."
"So the three cannon companies have brought enough artillery shells, enough to support them in two battles."
A flash of surprise flashed across Commander Yang's face, but he quickly responded: "Chief of Staff, add Comrade Hong Linfeng's suggestion just now to the order."
"This time we will also learn from the garrison regiment, regardless of ammunition consumption, and end the battle in the shortest time with the smallest casualties."
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the gunfire that had been ringing all day finally ended.
All Japanese and puppet troops were wiped out, three of the six coming for reinforcements were destroyed, and the remaining three fled the battlefield in disgrace.
Everyone in the headquarters had smiles on their faces.
After this battle, not only was the anti-mopping pressure on the first division gone, troops could be mobilized to reinforce other base areas, using the Japanese and puppet troops killed today as a breakthrough to completely crush the Japanese and puppet troops' large-scale mopping up.
"Commander, the battle results and battle losses have been calculated." Chief of Staff Xing hurried over to report, with a smile on his face.
"Including last night, we killed a total of more than 5,600 Japanese puppet troops, including three Japanese infantry brigades and three puppet regiments. We captured 1,153 puppet troops and 29 Japanese soldiers."
"In addition, a large amount of weapons and equipment were seized."
"Including two mountain guns, two infantry guns, 19 mortars, 18 heavy machine guns, 86 light machine guns, and 3,598 rifles of various types, all of which are intact and ready for use by the troops."
"About 1,500 rifles, 60 light and heavy machine guns, 24 mortars, and six mountain guns and infantry guns were damaged."
"I have ordered the troops to collect all the bullet casings and artillery shells used by the Japanese and puppet troops, and send them to the garrison for repair when the counter-mopping operation is over. Even if they cannot be repaired, they can be used as scrap metal and recycled into new guns."
Commander Yang's expression didn't fluctuate much and he directly asked the question he was most concerned about.
"Where are the casualties? With so many Japanese and puppet troops wiped out, the troop losses must be huge."
"Especially before the reinforcements of the garrison arrived last night, the troops did not have strong artillery support and did not have much ammunition. The fight must have been very difficult."
The smile on the chief of staff's face disappeared and he answered seriously.
"The casualties are indeed huge. The losses that have been calculated now are more than 1,500 people!"
Commander Yang's expression turned ugly at that time, and he interrupted directly: "Chief of Staff, you stay here to finish, continue cleaning the battlefield, and then retreat. The others will follow me to the field hospital to help."
"If I remember correctly, this was the battle with the heaviest casualties since the establishment of our first division."
"There are many injured people, few professional medical staff, and insufficient medicines. The hospital will definitely need a lot of manpower."
There were so many wounded that the temporary field hospital was simply not enough.
Many injured people were placed directly outside, waiting for doctors to determine the severity of their injuries and then determine the order of treatment.
There are still people being carried out from the field hospital.
Those were seriously injured people who died in the hospital bed because the rescue was not timely or the medicine was not enough.
The conditions of the field hospital were much worse than I imagined.
Seeing another soldier's body being carried out of the tent by two soldiers, Commander Yang became anxious and immediately ordered.
"What are you still doing? Go and help right away."
"Notify the guard camp, and the entire army will collect tents and send them to the field hospital. The wounded must not be exposed in the wild."
"Order the health workers and medical soldiers of each regiment to come to the field hospital immediately to help."
"There are also drugs seized on the battlefield, no matter how much they are, all are sent to the field hospital, and no one can withhold them."
After issuing a series of orders, Commander Yang walked directly into the field hospital.
The white coat on Dean Zhang's body had become stained with blood, which was all the blood flowing from the wounded.
When I saw Commander Yang walking in, I subconsciously prepared to salute!
"Commander, why are you here!"
Commander Yang waved his hand and replied: "Don't do these false courtesy, you continue to do your business. The casualties of the troops in this battle are unprecedented. There are nearly 500 seriously injured people. Don't you worry if you don't come?"
"They are all heroes of our Eighth Route Army. They did not die on the battlefield and must not die in the hospital bed because they were not rescued in time. Therefore, we must save them at all costs."
"If you have any difficulties in the hospital, just tell me. If there are conditions, I will meet them now. If there are no conditions, I will create conditions to satisfy you."
"Drugs, I need a lot of drugs, especially anti-inflammatory sulfonamide tablets, the more the better!" Dean Zhang blurted out.
This is a problem that field hospitals have always faced. The more wars are fought, the greater the impact of this problem.
Director Zhang pointed to the seriously injured people who had just been examined in front of him and continued: "These people are in urgent need of surgery, but if they want to survive, even if the surgery is successful, there is still a hurdle that must be overcome, and that is to prevent the wound from becoming inflamed."
"The weather is too hot now, and the effect of traditional Chinese medicine in this area is too slow. As long as the wound becomes inflamed, it means it is hopeless!"
"So I need a lot of special anti-inflammatory drugs, otherwise based on my experience, only 40% of these seriously injured people will survive."
"In addition, nearly 30% of the lightly injured patients had their limbs amputated due to wound inflammation, and in more serious cases, they may even lose their lives."