The captain who commanded the forward cavalry did not dare to continue the fight, and immediately called for the troops to retreat and join the captain.
Kuroki Daizuo's situation wasn't much better.
The light and heavy machine guns ambushed on both sides of the road can just hit the bullets onto the road. As long as they stay in the pocket formation, no matter where they hide, they can't avoid the rain of bullets flying from all directions.
At first, Kuroki Daizuo didn't take the pocket formation in front of him seriously.
They felt that the terrain here was flat and very suitable for cavalry raids. The Eighth Route Army chose to ambush them here as if they were going to die.
As long as the cavalry regiment makes a counterattack, they can break through their pocket formation, turn defeat into victory, and eliminate them.
Less than half a minute after being attacked, he sent two cavalry squadrons to launch counterattacks against the Eighth Route Army on both sides.
It started off very well.
Although the independent regiment concentrates most of its heavy firepower here, the pocket array is too long. Excluding the light and heavy machine guns used for interception and interception, it takes an average of thirty to forty meters on both sides of the road to allocate one light and heavy machine gun. The firepower was completely unable to stop the rapidly attacking cavalry.
When they were about to rush into the Eighth Route Army's ambush position, the dozen or so cavalrymen rushing forward were like dumplings, falling into the disguised horse trap one after another... Some of the cavalrymen behind did not believe in evil and tried to jump over on horseback, but they all fell into it. Falling into a trap...
There are also some cavalrymen who believe that the Eighth Route Army's horse traps cannot be dug everywhere, and plan to go around to other places to continue the assault...
As a result, without exception, they were all pricked with bloody holes by the barbs trapped in the horse pit.
The horse trap was forty or fifty meters away from the Eighth Route Army ambush position, and the Mauser pistol could fire bullets, but the Japanese were blocked on the other side of the horse trap and could not rush through.
The ambush troops did not miss such a good target shooting opportunity.
Heavy machine guns, light machine guns, rifles, submachine guns... and pistols took turns to fight, killing the Japanese attacking troops until they howled like ghosts and had to leave a large number of corpses and retreat in embarrassment.
Kuroki Daizuo's attack with great hope was disintegrated by the independent group.
Unfortunately, just as the attacking troops retreated to the road, the remaining remnants of the forward troops retreated.
"Sir, the Eighth Route Army has deployed at least twenty light and heavy machine guns in front, and there are horse pits blocking the road. No matter how hard we try, we can't get through!" the forward cavalry captain reported with a sad face.
"More than half of the four cavalry squadrons have been lost. I am afraid that if we continue to attack, there will be no one left, so I can only retreat temporarily. Please ask your Excellency, Captain, to avenge us!"
"Sir, there are horse pits on both sides of the road, and the horses cannot jump over them... The two squadrons that just participated in the counterattack lost more than half!" another captain reported.
Kuroki Daizuo didn't answer with a sullen face, and quickly raised his telescope to look around...
A huge pocket array was fully displayed in front of him. There was a ring of circular horse traps in front of the pocket array, which made him marvel at it again and again.
"Bageya Road, when did the Eighth Route Army build such a large fortification group here? We didn't receive any news. It's so scary!"
The captain who just spoke looked more solemn as he looked at it. He frowned and replied: "Such a large fortification group will take five or six days to build even if 2,000 people from the Eighth Route Army are dispatched. Are our reconnaissance troops and aerial reconnaissance blind? I didn’t find anything!”
"Sir, the fortifications here are obviously aimed at our cavalry regiment, otherwise the Eighth Route Army would not have bothered to dig so many horse traps..."
"We are completely within the range of their firepower. We must leave here immediately, otherwise they can wipe us all out with just light and heavy machine guns!"
"Stop talking such useless nonsense!" Kuroki Dazuo spoke again.
"The front team changes to the back team, concentrate the troops to break out from behind us, and use the fastest speed to get out of the pocket formation, otherwise all of us will die here."
"Rumble..." The sound of horse hooves once again sounded across the battlefield, and Kuroki Dazuo sent a large group to attack at once.
The mighty cavalry was like an unstoppable torrent, rushing straight into the entrance of the pocket formation.
"Fire...all machine guns fire..." Duan Yong, the commander of the guard battalion, personally guarded here to seal the silence. As soon as the Japanese rushed to 200 meters away, he gave the order to fire.
Nearly twenty light and heavy machine guns simultaneously fired an airtight net of bullets.
The first two rows of cavalry were like ripe wheat, being cut down to the ground in an instant.
This casualty did not affect the determination of the Japanese army to continue to advance forward. They waved their sabers and roared to continue advancing.
But the rain of bullets coming towards them was so dense that no matter how brave the enemy was, every step forward would cost them a huge price.
After finally advancing to a position 70 to 80 meters in front of the formation, the three cavalry squadrons had already suffered more than half of their casualties, and there were more than a hundred cavalry left who continued to attack forward, still showing no intention of stopping.
"Guard squad one, all open fire..." Duan Yong ordered while shooting. This was his ace in hand, specially reserved for turning defeat into victory at critical moments.
The ten submachine gunners who had been standing by for a long time pulled the trigger decisively.
In close firefights, submachine guns are as powerful as light machine guns.
Ten submachine guns suddenly joined the battle, which was equivalent to a guard battalion's blocking firepower suddenly increased by half...
The advance speed of the Japanese cavalry became slower than before, but the casualties became more and more serious...
When the two sides were still fifty meters apart, there were only thirty or forty cavalrymen left in the three cavalry squadrons and they were still struggling...
Kuroki Dazuo was frightened by the scene in front of him.
Three cavalry squadrons can defeat an enemy regiment on the frontal battlefield without any problem.
I was trapped here today, and all of them were killed before I could hold on for five minutes.
Looking at the more than 300 cavalrymen left around him, the shocked expression on his face slowly turned into despair.
"Sir, although the Eighth Route Army has left a forty-to-fifty-meter-wide breakout opening, it has concentrated at least twenty light and heavy machine guns there... The firepower density is too high. No matter how many troops we have, we can't deploy it. We can only Use the refueling tactic, bit by bit, and rush forward, no matter how many troops there are, they won't be enough to kill them!" A subordinate said the root cause of the failure of the attack just now.
At the reminder of his subordinates, Kuroki Dazuo quickly thought of another way.
Hope rekindled on his despairing face, and he opened his mouth to order: "Judging from the attack just now, most of the light and heavy machine guns equipped by the Eighth Route Army are concentrated at the entrance and exit of the pocket array..."
"The Eighth Route Army ambushing us on both sides of the road is equipped with a light and heavy machine gun only a few dozen meters apart. As long as we successfully cross the horse trap, the troops will be able to break through the Eighth Route Army ambush position..."
"But the horse pit is too wide and full of barbs. The cavalry can't rush through it!" a squadron leader reminded! "
"If you can't get past it, fill it up!" Kuroki Daizuo ordered murderously!
"First use the corpses of war horses to fill the horse pits. If there is not enough, then use the corpses of soldiers to fill in three safe passages as quickly as possible...The troops will be divided into three and simultaneously launch a counterattack against the Eighth Route Army ambush troops, inflicting heavy losses on them and turning defeat into victory!"
Although Kuroki Daizuo's method is a bit harsh, it is extremely effective...
After a while, several war horse corpses were thrown into the horse trap, but the soldiers of the independent regiment opposite were not vegetarians either.
Immediately raise a gun to fight back and prevent the Japanese from approaching the horse trap.
The squadron leader led by the Japs was so cruel that he directly ordered more than a dozen cavalrymen to launch a suicide attack, crashing into the horse pit himself, and filling the pit with his own body and that of the horses.
"Captain, the Japanese want to use their bodies to fill the trap and open a breakout channel..." The observation post reported to Kong Jie as soon as he saw this situation.
Kong Jie also saw this scene and snorted coldly: "Fill the horse pit with corpses... I dare you to think about it, I want to see how many lives are filled in!"
"The reserve team will immediately reinforce the battlefield and stop the Japanese breakout troops at all costs... No one can let go of a Japanese cavalry without my order!"
"Aren't the artillerymen always clamoring to go to the battlefield?"
"Now the opportunity has come. Concentrate all the mortars and blast the little devils' gathering place so that they can't fill the trap..."
Seeing the trap being filled up little by little, the look of anticipation on Kuroki Dazuo's face became increasingly intense...
Although the army lost dozens of cavalry for this reason, as long as the remaining cavalry can be brought back, the cost is worth it.
Just when he ordered his troops to prepare for an assault, a series of "boom, boom, boom..." explosions suddenly sounded next to the horse pit. Several of his men were knocked over in the explosion, and the remaining cavalry had to disperse and retreat to avoid gunfire.
"Da da da……"
The Eighth Route Army guarding the other side of the horse pit suddenly increased its firepower. The number of machine guns doubled from the previous round of attack. A cavalryman who was about to commit suicide to fill the pit was killed before he could rush into the horse pit...
"Boom boom boom..."
The explosion of artillery shells continued, and several more cavalrymen were blown over...
The remaining cavalrymen became visibly panicked...
"Da da da……"
The gunshots coming from the blocking position became more intensive, and they shot and killed the subordinates blocking the horse pit...
"The Eighth Route Army has artillery. We can't wait any longer. We must break out immediately, otherwise our casualties will increase!" Kuroki Dazuo ordered urgently...
Just two rounds of artillery fire killed most of the cavalry squad. If the Eighth Route Army were allowed to continue bombing, the loss of troops would probably be half a cavalry squadron, or even a cavalry squadron.
The remaining strength of the cavalry regiment is less than three squadrons. If the losses continue like this, it will be impossible to continue to break through...
He must take the gamble while he still has soldiers in his hand...
"Sir, there was a horse trap that we filled with corpses!" At the critical moment, good news reached Kuroki's left ear.
He drew his saber and pointed forward and ordered: "Everyone breaks out of the filled horse pit and fights out at all costs...kill them all..."
At the same time, Kong Jie discovered the direction of the Japanese breakout, frowned and ordered: "Notify the artillery, concentrate all mortars to blast the horse trap filled by the Japanese, to prevent them from breaking out!"
"The reserve team speeds up the reinforcements and must help the fourth battalion to stop the little Japs!"
"The cavalry company will fight together. If any Japanese protrude out of the pocket formation, kill them at any cost..."
"Kill...boom, boom, boom..."
The remaining Japanese went crazy, brandishing their sabers, and charged forward desperately.
Cannonballs continued to hit around them, overturning one cavalryman after another...
The ground was already filled with the corpses of Japanese soldiers and war horses, but they still had no intention of stopping and continued to move forward, stepping on the corpses of their former comrades.
"Shoot... everyone shoots... we must stop the Japs. Reinforcements will be here soon!" Guan Shanbei, commander of the 10th Company of the Fourth Battalion, was shooting at the Japs at his fastest rate of fire, shouting loudly and very anxiously.
