After the order was issued, the first thing was the heavy artillery division. All the large-caliber heavy artillery, mountain artillery, field artillery and heavy mortars opened fire at once.
In addition, the artillery brigades belonging to each column also joined in and launched an artillery bombardment towards the position of the 12th Corps.
This big scene immediately stunned the old brigade commander. He already knew that Li Qiufan had many cannons, but he didn't expect there to be so many.
The artillery brigades belonging to each column did not participate in the previous battles, and relied entirely on the heavy artillery divisions to provide artillery support to various positions.
This was naturally an order given by Li Qiufan, in order to hide part of his strength, fearing that the 12th Corps would simply run away.
Among them, the fourth column and the security brigade also had the same intention, so they were placed outside the battlefield and did not participate in the battle.
Since then, the old brigade commander had only seen the strength of the heavy artillery division, and did not know that in addition to the security brigade, each column of the first corps had an artillery brigade.
Li Qiufan's full-fire words not only stunned the old brigade commander, but also all the senior officials of the 12th Corps.
Looking at the position where explosions continued to occur and the sky above shrouded in black smoke, they all wondered whether such a violent bombardment would directly blast out a basin.
But before they could be stunned for long, after all the artillery fire was transferred to the enemy's position, the bugler of the first column blew the charge horn.
As the trumpet sounded, the offensive and defensive sides changed instantly. The soldiers of the first column rushed towards the enemy's two crippled divisions.
Immediately following the first column was the column of the old brigade commander, and then came the second column.
At the same time, the fourth column and the security brigade also sounded the charge horn and launched an attack on both flanks of the 12th Corps.
At this time, the soldiers who went to Weizhai Town for reconnaissance had not returned yet, but the commander of the 12th Corps felt that he could no longer leave.
Except for his own rear, the People's Liberation Army was attacking from all other directions, which made him feel like a dream.
After being confused for a while, he hurriedly began to mobilize troops to supplement defenses in various positions, and then summoned senior officials to discuss how to break the situation.
On the front line, under the charge led by the first column, the two divisions of the 12th Corps that were originally charging were completely wiped out in a short time.
At this time, the enemy's position was under heavy artillery fire, and the soldiers of the 12th Corps were so bombed that they could not even lift their heads.
"Inform the heavy artillery division to move in the direction of the attack, keep a distance of 150 meters, and fire barrages!"
After Li Qiufan saw through the telescope that the first column began to attack the enemy's main position, he once again gave the order to the heavy artillery division to launch a barrage of fire.
After receiving the order, Lao Ma immediately asked the observer to calculate the distance between the impact point of the artillery shell and the first column, and then advanced the barrage slowly to extend the artillery fire.
After seeing the cooperation between the heavy artillery division and the first column, the old brigade commander finally understood why Li Qiufan wanted his troops to take the lead.
As soon as the shells in front of them exploded, and the ground was probably still hot, a group of soldiers followed.
Moreover, the distance between the two is always controlled at about 150 meters. Whether it is the extension speed of the artillery fire or the advancement speed of one column, it is very accurate.
If they were to take the lead with their own troops, they would soon be in disarray and would not be able to cooperate at all.
"Qiu Fan, I underestimated you!"
The old brigade commander suddenly looked at Li Qiufan and sighed, which made Li Qiufan feel a little confused.
"Old brigade commander, what are you talking about? Why do you underestimate me?"
Li Qiufan didn't understand what the old brigade commander meant and asked him in confusion.
The old brigade commander did not explain, but shook his head at Li Qiufan.
"Notify the second column to break away from the team and rush to the enemy's right wing, cooperate with the fourth column to open an opening, and then divide the battlefield and eat part of it first!"
Seeing that the old brigade commander didn't say anything, Li Qiufan didn't ask any more questions, and then asked the correspondent to give the order again.
Although the first column advanced smoothly, it was impossible to keep filling it with artillery shells.
Now the first column has completely occupied the enemy's first-line position and is launching an attack on the enemy's second-line position.
The old brigade commander's troops behind him could provide support at any time, so Li Qiufan moved the second column away, preparing to eat up the 12th Corps one by one.
After receiving Li Qiufan's order, the second column immediately broke away from the team and moved closer to the fourth column, and then caught the enemy on the right flank by surprise.
Li Xiping also received orders from Li Qiufan. Of course he knew what the second column was here to do, so he immediately cooperated with the second column to attack the enemy's position.
Under the attack of the two columns, the enemy's flank defense line was finally torn open, and then the second and fourth columns plunged into the depth of the enemy's army.
After entering the depths of the enemy's army, the two columns instantly divided the 12th Corps into two sections, and surrounded the enemy's troops in the front section so that they could not be connected from end to end.
After seeing that his troops were divided into two sections, the commander of the 12th Corps did not care whether the retreat was cut off, and immediately gave the order to retreat.
Because if they don't withdraw, after the People's Liberation Army has eliminated the troops in the encirclement, it will be their turn next.
"Old brigade commander, you can ask the teacher and the others to close the net. You don't have to kill this half of the fish, just trap it!"
Seeing the enemy troops begin to flee, Li Qiufan knew that half of the battle was already won.
If the opponent fights to the death, the second and fourth verticals may not be able to stop them because they have to bear the pressure from both sides.
But the other party was obviously frightened, and they withdrew from their position without even rescuing them.
Upon seeing this, Li Qiufan immediately asked the old brigade commander to notify the teacher commander and asked him to block the retreating troops of the 12th Corps.
After the first two days of fighting, the 12th Corps lost nearly 30,000 people, leaving more than 90,000 people.
Now about 20,000 people are trapped in the encirclement, and only about 70,000 people have escaped.
Although there are 110,000 troops on the teacher's side, it is still impossible to eliminate these 70,000 people in a short period of time.
Because first of all, there is the issue of weapons and equipment. The teacher and the principal don’t have many heavy weapons at all, which is much worse than the 12th Corps.
In addition, the enemy troops are now running for their lives, and they will definitely try their best to break out.
The enemy has advanced weapons and equipment, and is supported by tanks and heavy artillery. Li Qiufan, the teacher and principal, does not dare to ask for too much.
As the large force of the Twelfth Corps fled, the more than 20,000 people left behind became lambs to be slaughtered. The four columns and the security brigade quickly eliminated them.
After taking care of more than 20,000 people, Li Qiufan asked the old brigade commander to inquire about the situation with the teacher and commander, and at the same time ordered the troops to rush towards Weizhai Town.
Now the Twelfth Corps has discovered its own predicament and knows that its escape route has been cut off. All the senior officials have begun to discuss how to escape.
