The Japanese heavy machine gun position, which was targeted by Huang Yu and Kong Jie at the same time, had become a mess.
More than three hundred machine gunners and infantrymen gathered together in panic, waiting for the two squadron leaders to make up their minds!
The heavy machine gun squadron leader, Captain Eguchi, and the infantry squadron leader, Captain Okada, glared at each other, neither of them accepting the other's proposal.
"Eguchi-kun, there are only more than 200 people in the Eighth Route Army who attacked the artillery position. We have more than 300 people and more than a dozen heavy machine guns to provide fire cover. We will definitely be able to recapture the artillery position in one go!" Captain Okada once again expressed his thoughts. , hoping to convince Captain Eguchi.
Seeing that he was sullen but silent, Captain Okada added another sentence.
"The sound of the exchange of fire just now must have reached the pursuing troops. I also sent communications troops to contact the pursuing troops. They will be able to return here in an hour at most. Even if we cannot recapture the artillery position, we must hold back the Eighth Route Army and prevent them from taking it away. Our artillery!"
Captain Eguchi had already thought of the reason for his refusal. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a messenger running towards them in a hurry: "Reporting to the commander, the field hospital and the baggage train station have been attacked..."
"The Eighth Route Army's offensive is very fierce. There are only more than a hundred heavy soldiers in the baggage team responsible for guarding duties. The others are all helping to treat the wounded in the field hospital..."
"Firepower and military strength are no match. The Eighth Route Army stormed into the field hospital and the garrison station with a single assault..."
"The warriors are resisting desperately, but they certainly won't be able to hold on for long..."
"There is only one of your troops left nearby, sir, please send reinforcements immediately!"
The artillery position was behind the heavy machine gun position, and the field hospital and the transport team were behind the artillery position, separated by a ridge. The two places were attacked at the same time. The sound of gunfire coming from the field hospital was covered by the sound of crossfire from the artillery position. The two squadron leaders did not realize that the field hospital and the baggage train were also under attack.
Until the signal troops arrived.
Captain Eguchi's refusal became more solid. He stared at Captain Okada and asked, "There are more than two hundred Eighth Route Army troops at the artillery position. There must be more Eighth Route Army troops attacking the field hospitals and baggage trains. If we counterattack the artillery position, we will attack the field troops." What if the Eighth Route Army in the hospital goes around to the side of the army and launches an attack?"
"If the artillery position is not recaptured, we ourselves will be attacked by the Eighth Route Army and eliminated here!"
"Okada-kun, not only can we not counterattack the artillery positions, we should also evacuate here quickly and join the main force!"
"If the Eighth Route Army doesn't stop after taking over the artillery positions and field hospitals and continues to attack here, our small force will definitely not be able to hold on to the main force to return reinforcements!"
"Cannot withdraw!" Captain Okada once again expressed his dissent.
"Heavy machine guns are suitable for defense, not for rapid transfer!"
"If we are attacked by the Eighth Route Army when we move, the retreat will immediately turn into a rout!"
"The troops defend on the spot and establish a defense line based on favorable terrain!"
"The heavy machine gun is divided into four, defending in four different directions, and combined with a certain number of infantry and light machine guns to defend the position, even a regiment of the Eighth Route Army can't do anything to us."
Captain Eguchi knew that he was not as good as Captain Okada in positional warfare. If he wanted to save his life when the Eighth Route Army was stronger than him, he must listen to his ideas more.
Seeing that Captain Okada had given up the proposal to counterattack the artillery positions, he decided to take a step back: "I agree to switch to defense on the spot!"
"As long as you don't counterattack the artillery positions, the entire heavy machine gun squadron will be under your command!"
The argument between the two people finally ended. Captain Okada was just about to say a word of thanks when he saw his subordinate, Captain Cao, running over in a panic...
Before anyone arrived, an anxious report came over: "Sir, the Eighth Route Army is coming towards us..."
"How many people are there?" Captain Okada asked quickly, not expecting the Eighth Route Army to arrive so quickly.
"More than a hundred people... and they also brought two heavy machine guns!" Cao Chang quickly told what he saw about the enemy.
"Bageya Road, these Eighth Route Army troops are so arrogant. More than a hundred people dared to come and attack two of our squadrons. They are bullying people too much..." Captain Okada cursed after hearing this.
Feeling like he had been greatly insulted, he started to give orders with a sinking face: "Since these Eighth Route Army troops don't look down on us, then we will teach them a lesson and let them see the powerful combat power of the Imperial Japanese Army! "
"Heavy machine gun squadron and infantry squadron, move to defense on the spot, establish a defense line, and prepare for battle!"
"I want to severely inflict heavy damage on the Eighth Route Army attacking us here..."
The Sakata Regiment is worthy of being the elite of the Japanese army in the field. Although it has become a lone army, more than 300 Japanese soldiers still carry out the orders of the commander to the letter.
In just two or three minutes, there was not a single standing soldier on the high ground where they were.
The heavy machine gun was set up in the position with the widest field of vision. The infantry were scattered among the heavy machine guns, lying on the ground, holding the 38-inch cover, and staring motionlessly in front of them.
"Okada-kun, the Eighth Route Army is coming!" Captain Eguchi reminded him while squatting on the ground.
"There are not many Eighth Route Army soldiers, and they will never be able to withstand the crazy shooting of three heavy machine guns and three light machine guns..." Captain Okada said confidently.
"Everyone should stand still and wait until the Eighth Route Army rushes to a distance of 150 meters before opening fire. This will cause maximum damage to them..."
After Captain Okada finished speaking, he stared at the Eighth Route Army ahead with confidence.
Unfortunately, as soon as they rushed to 300 meters away, they all fell to the ground and became motionless.
Captain Okada's brows twitched. Before he could understand why, his subordinates' exclamations rang out again.
"Artillery attack, the enemy wants to attack us with mortars, take cover quickly!"
"Bageya Road, I forgot that the Eighth Route Army had just occupied the artillery position. They have artillery..." Captain Okada's face turned miserable and he cried out.
"Rumble..."
Seven artillery shells fell from the sky, and three shells hit the newly established defense line under the center.
Fire splashed and smoke filled the air. Many of his subordinates were lying on the ground and were blown into the sky.
Captain Okada was not spared either. Even when he was lying on the ground for the first time, the hot air waves still burned his back, and his ears were buzzing from the close-range explosion...
The gun platoon plus Chen Daliang had a total of seven gunners.
The artillery firing angle was adjusted in advance. A gunner and an infantryman were responsible for a mortar, and they fired at the Japanese positions together.
Captain Okada was very uncomfortable with the bombing. When he moved to a safe position in embarrassment, his position had been hit by four rounds of twenty-eight shells.
There are craters caused by artillery shells everywhere, corpses of soldiers, broken limbs... The air is filled with the pungent smell of gun smoke and blood...
He knew at one glance that he could no longer stay here: "Eguchi-kun, the troops must leave here immediately..."
"We were completely exposed to the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army, and they captured a large number of artillery pieces and artillery shells at the artillery positions!"
"If they keep bombing like this, no matter how many troops they have, they will blow them up!"
Evacuating the battlefield and joining the main force of the regiment has always been what Captain Eguchi has been looking forward to.
Seeing the fifth round of artillery shells of the Eighth Route Army knocking down more than a dozen of his subordinates, and a heavy machine gun being knocked over, I was so frightened that I nodded on the spot: "Retreat now..."
"Boom, boom..." The bombardment continued, taking advantage of the fact that the Japanese had not yet evacuated the hill, and continued to consume their troops.
Kong Jie led his team to hide more than 300 meters away, staring at every move of the Japanese army!
Seeing that only less than 200 of the more than 300 Japanese soldiers had evacuated their positions, and only six heavy machine guns were left, he stood up from the ground without hesitation.
