Lieutenant General Sato was very aggrieved.
From the moment they entered the base of the Independence Regiment, their opponents disappeared, and even the villages they passed along the way were deserted. The anger provoked by the Independence Regiment could not be vented without finding a target, so it could only be kept inside.
One day passed, and apart from the damaged roads proving that the Independence Regiment was still blocking them, there was still no Eighth Route Army figure seen on the march.
Just when Lieutenant General Sato couldn't help but get angry again, a captain from the reconnaissance force suddenly ran over: "Your Excellency, division commander, there is a situation in Duanjiabao ahead!"
"There seem to be a lot of troops stationed there. There are independent regiment scouts and patrols everywhere. Our people will be attacked as soon as they get close!"
"The investigation team has lost more than 20 investigators, and they still haven't figured out the internal situation of Duanjiabao!"
Sato suddenly became energetic, as if he had been given a shot of blood, and immediately ordered: "Where's the map? Find Duanjiabao immediately and judge whether the independent regiment is going to stop us in front of Duanjiabao!"
The chief of staff reacted very quickly. He glanced at the map and said with absolute certainty: "Division commander, the independent regiment will probably attack us head-on here!"
"Duanjia Fort is built on the mountain, and the only way to penetrate into the Independent Regiment passes right through the middle of Duanjia Fort!"
"As long as the independent regiment occupies the high ground behind Duanjiabao and the village, our army will be unable to move forward!"
"Although the terrain there is not particularly conspicuous, it is enough for the independent regiment to build several blocking positions based on the mountains to form a three-dimensional defense to block us head-on!"
"Yoshi!"
The anger on Lieutenant General Sato's face was immediately replaced by a smile, and he said happily: "After waiting for so long, I can finally have a good fight with the independent group!"
"Chief of Staff...immediately organize manpower to designate an attack plan!"
"If the Independent Regiment really intends to stop us here, the main force of the division must wipe out all the defenders at the minimum cost and capture Duanjia Fort!"
"When making a plan, the location of the artillery position must be chosen well!"
"The military report and the encounter with the Nakamura Regiment showed that the independent regiment is equipped with at least four 105 mm caliber mountain guns, twelve 120 mm caliber mortars, and more than twelve mountain guns and field guns!"
"Including the heavy weapons they seized in Longgong Village, there are more than thirty-six direct-fire artillery and large-caliber mortars!"
"This is an artillery force that cannot be underestimated. We must be cautious!"
"It's best to catch them all with the cooperation of the aviation force!"
"If we really can't do it, we have to ensure that the 12 howitzers of the heavy artillery brigade are flawless!"
"As long as they don't have any accidents, we can suppress the independent regiment's artillery bombing on any battlefield!"
The chief of staff understood: "Don't worry, division commander!"
"The effective range of the 120mm caliber howitzer is far greater than that of the 105mm caliber mountain cannon. As long as we place the heavy artillery brigade outside the effective range of the opponent's artillery, nothing will happen to them!"
At ten o'clock in the morning the next day, Lieutenant General Sato rushed to the foot of the highland where Duanjiabao was located.
He was anxious to have a decisive battle with the Independent Regiment. If the guards hadn't stopped him, he would have wanted to go directly to the Independent Regiment's blocking position to investigate and find out how many people the Independent Regiment had arranged to stop him here.
"Division commander, ahead is the blocking position of the independent regiment!" Colonel Noda, who served as the forward, pointed to the village and introduced.
"Although I disguised myself and hid it from aerial reconnaissance, I couldn't hide from the eyes of our scouts!"
"The first line of defense was built by the Independent Regiment based on the houses in the village!"
"The second blocking position is one hundred meters behind the village, which is equivalent to halfway up the back mountain!"
"Whether there is a third blocking position behind, we must capture the first two positions, and we can only determine it after close inspection!"
"Then we will attack one by one!" Lieutenant General Sato looked forward to the order.
"Are the artillery and offensive troops ready? The terrain here is not suitable for tank attacks... If the infantry cannot take it, consider dispatching tank troops again!"
"The aviation force also needs to be in contact!"
"I heard that the Independence Regiment likes to use bunkers to stop us!"
"After the attack begins, use heavy artillery and aircraft to blow up all the places on the position where bunkers may be built!"
"The Eighth Route Army has no steel and concrete, and the bunkers it builds are basically civil fortifications. They can only withstand the indiscriminate bombardment of ordinary artillery, but cannot withstand heavy artillery and aircraft!"
"If you're ready, we'll start attacking in ten minutes!"
"I want to see the attacking troops take Duanjia Fort here with my own eyes!"
"Rumble..."
The sudden explosion instantly broke the tranquility of the battlefield, which meant that the Duanjiabao blocking battle had officially begun.
Twelve 120 mm caliber howitzers, twenty-four mountain field guns, and sixteen infantry guns, belonging to five artillery positions, fired shells at Duanjiabao one after another.
In just half a minute, Duanjiabao became filled with smoke...
"Weng buzz..."
Three planes also came over to join in the fun, roaring down from high altitude with a huge roar. When they were about to hit the ground, they quickly raised their noses and climbed to high altitude.
The aerial bomb hanging on the belly of the aircraft simultaneously broke away from the restraints of the aircraft and continued to fly towards the ground along the dive direction of the aircraft.
"Rumble..."
In the violent explosion, a larger fireball rose into the sky from the ground, and thick smoke shot straight into the sky, forming a huge mushroom cloud thirty or forty meters high in the sky.
"Weng buzz..."
The second plane began to dive...
After a while, a second mushroom cloud appeared over Duanjiabao...
When the 1st and 7th Battalions were hiding in the artillery cave to avoid artillery fire, Chen Daliang was debating whether the heavy artillery battalion should take action.
"Batalion Commander, fire the artillery..." The deputy battalion commander was impatient. As soon as he saw the infantry struggling under artillery fire, he couldn't help but stand up and ask for a fight.
"The observation post has determined the specific locations of all the Japanese artillery positions. If our two companies deal with one artillery position, we will definitely be able to severely damage the Japanese artillery and greatly reduce the defensive pressure on the infantry of the army!"
"After the Japanese artillery is severely damaged, the battle we will take on will be much easier to fight!"
"You can't fire!" the instructor stood up and objected.
"You only counted the Japanese artillery, not the planes in the sky!"
"The troops are firing now, and the planes in the sky will definitely rush over to attack us!"
"No matter how fast the troops move, they can't escape the plane bombing!"
"Even if we succeed in severely damaging the Japanese artillery force, the heavy artillery battalion will be bombed by Japanese planes and suffer heavy losses. Maybe we will lose more artillery than the Japanese!"
"This is an artillery counterattack that pays off more harm than good!"
“Our family only has so much money, if we lose it, it’s gone!”
"If the infantry still needs artillery support in the next battle, what will we use to fight the little devils!"
The deputy battalion commander said unwillingly: "Then if the little Japanese plane stays here and doesn't leave, our heavy artillery battalion will always be a coward, watching helplessly as our comrades in the 1st and 7th Battalions are bombed by artillery fire!"
Chen Daliang suddenly interrupted: "These are not things we consider!"
"When accepting the mission, the regiment commander repeatedly confessed: Our heavy artillery battalion does not have to take care of anything. When and how to participate in the war is entirely up to us!"
"As long as the Japanese artillery can be severely damaged at the minimum cost, it will be the greatest victory!"
"It can be seen that although the 1st Battalion and the 7th Battalion were defending their positions and being bombed, the regiment headquarters was prepared for all this and there is no need for us to be overly cautious here!"
"The threat posed by the Japs' planes to us is indeed great, but it is not invulnerable!"
"Each aircraft carries a certain amount of ammunition and a certain amount of fuel. It cannot be cruising above us all the time and launch attacks!"
"When they finish dropping the bombs and run out of fuel, they have to return to replenish fuel and ammunition!"
"Determine the time interval between the return of the plane and find the pattern. Then we can use the gap between the plane's return to launch an attack. Once the attack is over, we will move immediately to prevent the returning plane from having a chance to lock on us!"
The instructor slammed the table and said excitedly: "What a great idea!"
"Without the air threat, if we strike first, the mountain artillery and infantry artillery equipped by the Japanese can only be bombed passively without any chance of counterattack."
"Their heavy artillery brigade is outside the attack range of our army. Although they don't need to be bombed, they can launch a counterattack immediately!"
"However, the number of artillery pieces is limited and can only threaten two artillery companies at most. Most of our artillery can still be withdrawn to the reserve position intact and on standby!"
The impatient deputy battalion commander also calmed down.
Thinking and analyzing: "At that time, the offense was indeed more reliable than the offense now!"
"I will go outside to observe now and find out the return pattern of the Japanese plane as soon as possible!"
"Rumble..."
Sato's division's artillery attacks on Duanjiabao continued.
Wherever you look, you can no longer see a complete house, there are broken walls and ruins everywhere...
If Duan Jiabao had hidden his troops, they would definitely be gone now.
Colonel Noda grabbed the main attack mission.
In his own words: In the battle at Longgong Village, the troops lost seven to eight hundred people without even catching the shadow of the independent regiment!
It's unbearable. I finally met the main force of the independent group today. I have to fight them no matter what!
Seeing that the artillery force was bombing harder and harder, Duanjiabao was almost razed to the ground. Colonel Noda was afraid that all the independent regiments in the village would be blown up and he would have no use for them, so he couldn't help but run to Lieutenant General Sato for instructions.
"Division Commander, it's almost done!"
"If the bombing continues, the attacking force will become a corpse collection team!"
Lieutenant General Sato had been observing the battlefield with his telescope. After confirming that all suspicious targets had been razed to the ground, he followed the expected order: "Extend artillery fire in two minutes!"
"The Noda Alliance launches an attack at the same time and strives to capture Duanjia Fort in one assault!"
"Hai!" Colonel Noda said with joy on his face: "I promise not to disappoint you in this humble position, and I will teach the independent regiment in the defensive position a lesson!"
"Battal Commander...the Japanese bombardment has stopped!" the observation post guarding the firing port of the bunker suddenly reported.
"One battalion and one company, seven battalions and one company, all machine gunners and gunners, all go into position...Other troops remain on standby!" Shen Quan ordered seriously.
At the same time, walk to the shooting hole, raise the binoculars and look outside.
There was gray smoke everywhere in the field of vision, and nothing could be seen.
Chen Quan had to prick up his ears and judge the specific location of the Japanese attacking troops based on the sound...
