Although the enemy cleared most of the mines through shelling, the remaining ones also cost them a lot of effort.
After the enemy completely cleared the minefield, nearly half a day had passed, and this was the result of all enemy troops' engineers being dispatched.
"coming!"
As the enemy troops continued to penetrate deeper, Li Qiufan could already see the enemy troops through the telescope in his hand.
The enemy also discovered the First Army's position, and after clearing the minefield, they launched an attack.
As Li Qiufan's voice fell, the enemy's howitzer opened fire. Countless shells fell on the First Army's position in an instant, and the entire position turned into a sea of flames.
After that, the enemy's artillery fire did not stop, but continued to shell the positions of the First Army. The 37th Infantry Division of the United States, as the vanguard, took the lead in launching an attack on the positions of the First Army.
The enemy still used tanks and armored vehicles to clear the way and cover the infantry to launch a charge.
Seeing the enemy tanks and armored vehicles approaching, the combat artillery at the forward position opened fire brazenly, directly shelling the enemy's mobile troops.
Then there was the mortar position. Although there was no artillery support from heavy artillery this time, Li Qiufan brought many mortars and artillery shells.
Especially the heavy mortars. All the heavy mortars assigned to the armored division were mobilized by Li Qiufan and assigned to the three armies of the First Corps.
The artillerymen of the First Army had received the order long ago, and they did not pay attention to the tanks and armored vehicles opening the way in front. They directly launched artillery fire to suppress the infantry following behind them.
However, after three rounds of fighting, the artillerymen moved their positions with their guns and shells to avoid being locked in position by the opponent's artillery for attack.
As time passed, the enemy again invested eight howitzer battalions. The soldiers of the First Army who were directly suppressed could not even raise their heads.
"Correspondent, notify the Second Army and the Fourth Army to open fire immediately!"
Li Qiufan originally planned to let the First Army delay for a while, and then expose the Second Army and the Fourth Army when the enemy launched a large-scale charge.
But the enemy's artillery fire was so fierce that the First Army could not withstand it at all. If the Second Army and the Fourth Army did not take action, the First Army's positions would probably be flattened.
After receiving Li Qiufan's order, the Second Army and the Fourth Army opened fire brazenly, catching the 37th Infantry Division of the Beautiful Country by surprise.
As the Second Army and the Fourth Army opened fire from both flanks, the enemy's attack was immediately interrupted, giving the First Army a chance to breathe.
"Commander-in-Chief, the enemy's artillery fire was too fierce. We were beaten so hard that we couldn't even fight!"
After the enemy troops retreated, Erhu looked at the devastated First Army position, frowned and said to Li Qiufan.
"There is nothing we can do. Our three heavy artillery brigades are not here, and the mortars cannot reach their artillery positions, so they can only be beaten!"
After hearing Erhu's words, Li Qiufan shook his head helplessly. He was here to be beaten in this battle.
Moreover, the previous attack was just an appetizer. The enemy must be more anxious than them, and the next one is the main event.
So far, the enemy has only used howitzers from four infantry divisions, and the attack has only been carried out by the 37th Infantry Division of the United States alone.
Next, in addition to bringing all the enemy's artillery into the battle, the participating troops will also have at least three infantry divisions, and the enemy's air force will also join in.
As if to confirm Li Qiufan's conjecture, it didn't take long for the 40th Infantry Division and the 45th Infantry Division of the Beautiful Country to enter the position.
At the same time, new artillery positions were being built behind the enemy's rear. This time, all artillery from the six infantry divisions and the Second Cavalry Division of the United States were put in.
Moreover, the commander of the beautiful country also contacted the naval headquarters and ordered it to send carrier-based aircraft to Zhuyi Mountain for support.
This means that it is too far from the coast, otherwise it is estimated that the navy of the beautiful country will also participate and use the turrets on the warships to provide fire support.
Li Qiufan was looking worriedly at the direction of the enemy's position. Although the enemy had not taken action yet, the longer the opponent took to prepare, the harder it would be to fight the next battle.
"Correspondent, send a telegram to the deputy commander and ask them how much time it will take to complete the crossing!"
Feeling uneasy, Li Qiufan asked his correspondent to contact the old brigade commander and ask how long it would take for all the troops to cross the river.
The old brigade commander responded quickly after receiving the telegram, requiring Li Qiufan to fight for another forty minutes.
"Forty minutes, I hope you can withstand it!"
After receiving the old brigade commander's reply, Li Qiufan looked in the direction of the enemy's position and murmured.
“Boom boom boom boom………..”
As soon as Li Qiufan finished speaking, the enemy suddenly launched an attack, covering the positions of the three armies with artillery fire at the same time.
More than three hundred howitzers opened fire at the same time. All three armies were caught off guard, and many people were killed or injured in a single encounter.
But before they could take a breath, the enemy's tanks and armored vehicles were dispatched again. This time there was no intention of testing at all, and they just attacked with all their strength.
The three infantry divisions participating in the battle of the beautiful country launched attacks on the positions of the three armies respectively. There was no main direction of attack at all. The opponent wanted to directly knock down all three positions.
As the enemy army began to charge, the soldiers of the three armies began to counterattack under fierce artillery fire. The two sides fought extremely fiercely.
But the good times didn't last long. Just as the three armies were trying their best to resist the enemy's attack, the enemy's plane arrived.
More than fifty bombers flew directly towards the positions of the three armies, and immediately dropped aerial bombs after flying over the positions.
The positions of the three armies were once again transformed into a sea of flames. The explosion was more violent than the enemy's shelling, and all troops suffered heavy casualties in an instant.
"Damn! These stupid foreign devils!"
When Li Qiufan saw this, he immediately clenched his fist and hit the trench hard, and then he couldn't help but cursed out.
"Notify all armies and let the artillery fire back for me! Don't let the enemy troops rush to the position!"
After scolding, Li Qiufan asked the correspondent to notify the three armies, and immediately asked the artillery to counterattack to prevent the enemy from taking this opportunity to directly charge into the position.
As expected, the enemy had this idea in mind, and immediately launched a charge after the plane bombing, preparing to take the opportunity to break through the defense line.
Fortunately, Li Qiufan's order was issued in time, and the artillerymen of all armies opened fire brazenly. They suppressed the charging enemy troops with heavy artillery fire, buying the soldiers in the forward positions time to react.
The enemy's charge was pushed back again, but Li Qiufan was not happy at all. He just frowned and looked in the direction of the enemy and remained silent.
