"What you just said, do you dare to issue a military order?" the commander asked, staring closely at the artillery company commander.
"Dare to stand!" the company commander answered decisively without any hesitation.
"Heavy mortars are definitely more powerful than everyone thinks, especially the 150mm caliber. If a shell hits it, as long as the enemy is within the coverage of artillery fire, even if he is hiding in bunkers and gun towers, the shock wave generated by the explosion will
It can also shock them to death."
The commander no longer hesitated and answered decisively: "I believe you!"
"Since you are confident that twenty heavy artillery shells will kill the Japanese artillery positions and then support the troops, then I will play a big game today."
"It will be dark in an hour, and Japanese aircraft will definitely not be able to visit the battlefield again. Therefore, after the six heavy mortars join the battle, as long as they can destroy the Japanese artillery positions as soon as possible, there will be no problem with safety."
"So I decided to use these six heavy mortars to break the situation and launch a major counterattack by the Japanese and puppet troops."
After making up his mind, the commander directly turned his attention to the leader of the main force who had not yet recovered.
"Captain Li, how many reserves do you still have?"
"A main company, a guard company, a reconnaissance platoon, and a baggage company, with a total strength of more than 430 people."
The commander became more confident and immediately said: "Add the guard battalion and the new barracks I brought, and the total strength will be more than a thousand people, which is enough."
Having said this, the commander's face became obviously serious.
He raised his telescope and looked at the battlefield. Two minutes later, he began to issue an order: "A new round of Japanese attacks is about to begin. Order the defenders to block it resolutely."
"Company Commander Zhou, immediately set up all our remaining artillery pieces and six large-caliber mortars."
"Six large-caliber mortars hit the Japanese artillery positions, and other artillery hit the Japanese and puppet attacking troops."
"After it was confirmed that the Japanese and puppet artillery had been killed, six large-caliber mortars immediately turned around and bombarded the Japanese and puppet assembly area."
"Captain Li, your reserve team will set off now, make a detour to the left flank of the battlefield, and lurk near the battlefield."
"Headquarters security battalion, detour to the right flank of the battlefield, and then lie in wait."
"The new barracks directly reinforce the blocking position."
"Based on the three signal flares fired by the signal gun. The frontal blocking troops and the lurking troops on both wings attacked at the same time, giving the Japanese army a three-sided attack posture and forcing them to retreat. Then we took the opportunity to defeat the Japanese and puppet troops.
The commander of the battle was a Japanese lieutenant, standing in the offensive position with a confident look on his face.
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army's blocking firepower is weaker than before. It must be out of ammunition. We will definitely be able to defeat them in this attack." A subordinate complimented.
Another subordinate was not to be outdone: "According to aircraft reconnaissance, the Eighth Route Army headquarters we are chasing is retreating into the mountains."
"They had a large number of people, and they brought a lot of wounded, plus the old, weak, women and children, so their marching speed was very slow."
"As long as we break through the Eighth Route Army's defense line and fight our way through, those people will definitely be caught by us."
"At that time, the first attack of this big sweep will be ours."
The smile on Lieutenant Colonel's face became even wider, and he looked at the attacking troops rushing faster and faster without blinking.
"Woooooooo..."
Suddenly, the scream of a string of artillery shells streaking across the sky reached Lieutenant Colonel's ears, getting closer and closer to him, and the sound became louder and louder.
After quickly passing over everyone's heads, it seemed like it had eyes and all of them hit the artillery position.
The Eighth Route Army has fewer artillery and fewer artillery shells, and every artilleryman cherishes the opportunity to fight.
If you are not 80% sure, you will never shoot rashly.
Therefore, the accuracy of the six mortars was very high, and all of them hit the target.
"Rumble..."
There was an explosion, and black smoke rose into the sky. Bodies, broken limbs, weapons and ammunition, as well as masonry and soil on the ground were blown up into the sky like toys, and then fell to the ground like rain.
The lieutenant colonel was frightened, with his mouth open and a look of shock on his face, and he didn't react for a long time.
The explosion that reached my ears was so loud that I knew it was not an ordinary artillery piece.
"It's a large-caliber mortar!" shouted an artillery staff officer not far away.
"Woooooooo..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the scream sounded again.
Several columns of black smoke rose from the smoke-filled artillery position, and soon after, the sound of explosions reached everyone's ears, as deafening as before.
Lieutenant Colonel's face turned pale as he was blinded.
Under the smoke, he could not see the specific damage to the artillery positions.
But with such a violent explosion, you can imagine that the shells are very powerful.
After five consecutive rounds of explosions, the screams that frightened Lieutenant Colonel finally stopped.
The smoke that filled the artillery position slowly dissipated, and a tragic scene appeared in front of everyone.
The rows of mortars and mountain cannons that were neatly mounted on the ground have now become tilted, and several mortar barrels have been blown into pieces, which shows how powerful those shells were just now.
More than two hundred gunners lay dead or wounded on the ground.
Many people were directly blown to pieces by the shells, and their limbs and arms were smashed everywhere. Some people were directly blown into pieces, and not even a single body part could be found.
"Sir, the artillery position seems to be finished!" the subordinate reminded with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Another subordinate added: "The power of the large-caliber mortars is too great. Just a few rounds of shells will level the entire position. If they are bombed at our attacking troops, their formations are so dense, they will definitely suffer heavy casualties."
Lieutenant Colonel reacted suddenly, his face turned paler than before, and he cried out.
"Your reminder is right."
"The Eighth Route Army can use heavy mortars to bomb our artillery positions, and it can also use them to bomb our attacking troops."
"Now that the artillery is gone, their heavy artillery will no longer be a threat, and they will definitely bombard our attacking troops without restraint."
"Why are you still standing there? Give me the order and the attacking troops will retreat immediately."
"We are also withdrawing, and everyone is focusing on the effective range of the mortars."
"Although I don't know where the Eighth Route Army got these large-caliber mortars, as long as they have enough ammunition and stare at us, they will definitely cause us a lot of casualties."
"Hi!"
The expressions of several subordinates also changed, and they quickly answered, then raised their feet and prepared to split up to give orders.
"Woooooooo..."
Before anyone could move, a scream sounded that frightened them.
The distance is getting closer and closer, and the sound is getting harsher and harsher.
The artillery staff member reacted the fastest, his face suddenly turned pale, and he shouted out loud: "Everyone, lie down, lie down, the artillery shells are flying towards us, and our assembly area is being targeted by the Eighth Route Army."
"Rumble..." The explosion sounded.
Lieutenant Colonel was very lucky that the shell did not hit him, but landed at the troop assembly area not far behind him.
It was also very heartbreaking. The moment the shell exploded, many imperial troops were blown up into the sky like paper toys.
Within the visible range, at least thirty imperial troops were blown away, either dead or injured.
Including those killed directly next to the impact point, the casualties must have exceeded fifty.