"So many little devils..." A cry of surprise came from the mouth of the commander of the seventh battalion.
"Are you scared?" Shen Quan joked with a smile.
The seventh battalion commander shook his head: "It's not that I'm afraid!"
"It's just that when Leng Buding saw so many little Japs, he felt a little frightened. He was afraid that the soldiers would not be able to withstand such great psychological pressure!"
"The seventh battalion is just a new battalion. Most of the soldiers have never seen such a big scene!"
Chen Quan shook his head and comforted: "Don't worry..."
"There will always be a first time in a war, just get used to it... Besides, there are a battalion of veterans with them, so they can survive no matter how stressful it is!"
"The Japs are coming up, the riflemen are free to fire...the light and heavy machine guns in the bunker bring the Japs closer and then fire..."
"Grenade launchers, mortars, and thunder cannons. Specialized in attacking the Japs, heavy machine guns, and subsequent attacking troops!"
"Remember everything clearly: our mission is to use blockade warfare to kill and injure a large number of the Japanese and puppet troops, not to compete with them here!"
"Pa bang bang..."
Several rifle shots soon rang out in the village, which meant that not all the troops of the Independent Regiment defending Duanjiabao had been blown up.
Colonel Noda was very happy and began to issue orders: "Heavy machine guns, mortars, and grenades, all join the battle and help the attacking troops clear all the firepower points exposed by the independent regiment!"
"The First Infantry Brigade continues to advance forward..."
"We must capture Duanjia Fort and wipe out all the defenders..."
The sound of firefights on the battlefield suddenly became denser, but it was basically caused by the Japanese heavy machine gun squadron.
In the Duanjia Fort, which had been bombed into ruins, gunfire was still as sparse and chaotic as ever...
Shots were fired east and west, so chaotic that it was difficult to hear even the sound of light machine gun fire.
The Japanese heavy machine gun squadron was like a punch on cotton, without any effect.
Colonel Noda was not only not unhappy, but actually very happy. He looked at Lieutenant General Sato with a smile on his face and analyzed: "Division Commander..."
"The troops of the Independent Regiment defending Duanjiapu must have suffered heavy casualties in the shelling, otherwise their light and heavy machine guns would have opened fire long ago!"
"The attacking troops are so powerful that they can definitely capture Duanjia Fort in one assault!"
As he spoke, the attacking troops had already reached a position 70 to 80 meters in front of the formation.
Under the cover of heavy machine guns and grenade launchers, the sound of rifle shooting in Duanjiabao was much less.
As the attacking troops advanced, their morale increased, and their attack speed became faster and faster. Many soldiers unconsciously started to jog, holding a gun in one hand and a grenade in the other, ready to rush forward twenty or thirty meters before throwing it out.
The smile on Colonel Noda's face became thicker and thicker, feeling that he was bound to win the attack in front of him!
"Da da da……"
Intense light machine gun fire suddenly sounded inside Duanjiabao. The rain of bullets flying towards the attacking troops suddenly became denser, and the casualties of the attacking troops began to increase sharply.
Colonel Noda frowned, but didn't take it too seriously.
Pretending to be relaxed, he said: "The Independent Group is fighting against the trapped beasts...but it's no use!"
"Although more than ten light machine guns can cause considerable losses to the attacking troops, we have two or three times the heavy machine guns to suppress them... At most, they will be majestic for a while. When the heavy machine gun squadron locks the target, they will be finished!"
The war situation developed exactly as he said.
More than a dozen light machine guns came and went quickly. In the blink of an eye, they were suppressed by twice the firepower of heavy machine guns. They were hiding in the ruins and could not continue to fire.
A proud smile immediately appeared on Colonel Noda's face, but he didn't know that this was just an appetizer prepared by Shen Quan for him.
"Boom boom boom..."
A series of explosions suddenly rang out at the heavy machine gun position, fire splashed, and several heavy machine guns instantly misfired...
"Boom boom boom..."
Before Colonel Noda could react, several explosions were heard from the ruined Duanjia Fort. Several explosive packets the size of millstones flew into the sky at the same time, rolling and hitting the attacking troops.
"Dong dong dong..."
The dull sound of heavy machine gun fire also rang out at this moment, and there were more than one.
"Rumble..."
Explosive packs fell from the sky, making a series of earth-shaking explosions.
The moment the billowing smoke rose from the ground, the soldiers with a radius of 20 to 30 meters, centered on the impact point, were like paper toys, being overturned in an instant...
The three rows of soldiers charging ahead were not much better.
Facing more than a dozen heavy machine gun fire points that suddenly appeared in the village, they rushed to the open space in front of the village. There was no way to hide, and they were mowed down to the ground in pieces like living targets.
The smile on Colonel Noda's face froze instantly, his eyes widened at the same time, he looked at Duan Jiabao and muttered: "How could it be? How come there is such fierce firepower in the village!"
"The mortar squadron will counterattack immediately... Destroy all artillery positions and firepower points exposed by the independent regiment... Cover the attacking troops as they advance into the village..."
"All three mortar squadrons participated in the battle...the attacking force was almost able to enter the village..."
Lieutenant General Sato on the side suddenly interjected: "The mountain artillery brigade, the field artillery brigade, and all the infantry artillery squads are all aiming at the front line positions of the independent regiment and are ready to fire at any time!"
Colonel Noda thought that the division commander was worried that he would not be able to capture Duanjia Fort, so he would bombard Duanjia Fort again after the attacking troops failed and retreated, so he did not ask further questions and continued to stare at the battlefield.
"Boom boom boom..."
More and more Japanese artillerymen participated in the war, and countless mortar shells were thrown into Duanjiabao as if they were free of charge.
Each heavy firepower point took dozens of shells, but it was of no use.
The rain of bullets flying out of the village not only did not decrease, but became denser and denser. The casualties of the attacking troops were also increasing, and they had to lie on the ground and shoot with the independent regiment.
Just when Noda was confused and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper, Lieutenant General Sato interrupted again.
"The anti-gun caves and machine gun bunkers where the Independent Regiment is hiding must have been reinforced..."
"Order: The mountain artillery brigade and all infantry artillery squads once again cover the independent regiment's blocking position with artillery fire...the offensive troops retreat immediately..."
Colonel Noda was worried that the artillery could not destroy the fixed firepower points in the village. When he heard Lieutenant General Sato's order, he became even more anxious and said quickly!
"Division commander... the troops have already rushed outside the village... If you give me another ten minutes, I will definitely be able to enter the village and capture Duanjia Fort!"
"Didn't you hear what I just said? The machine gun bunkers in the village have been reinforced. Your mortars cannot destroy them. Mountain field artillery, infantry artillery, heavy artillery, and aircraft must be dispatched!"
"If we fight for another ten minutes, the attacking troops will not be able to enter Duanjia Fort even if they are exhausted!"
Colonel Noda had to compromise, and after thinking for a while he said again: "Can we wait until the attacking troops retreat fifty meters before firing!"
"The artillery position is far away from the battlefield, and the shooting error is very large... If the artillery is fired now, many soldiers in the attacking force will be accidentally injured."
Lieutenant General Sato shook his head: "Wait until the attacking troops retreat before firing. The exposed troops of the independent regiment will definitely hide in the anti-gun holes immediately. No matter how many shells we fire, we won't be able to achieve results."
"Only when the offensive forces continue to launch attacks, there will be enemies on the surface positions, and the artillery bombardment will be effective!"
"Although many of our own people will be accidentally injured, more Eighth Route Army troops can be eliminated."
"Excuting an order……"
"Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...
The ear-piercing scream suddenly overwhelmed the sound of firefights on the battlefield and reached Shen Quan's ears.
He was admiring the scene of the massacre of the Japanese attacking troops. His face suddenly turned pale, and he ordered anxiously: "Continue shooting from the machine gun bunker... The troops on the position will immediately withdraw to the artillery holes... The Japanese want to shell, hurry up... Bomb." Boom boom..."
Before the order could be heard from the bunker, a roaring explosion sounded outside.
A shell hit the bunker ten meters away.
The moment black smoke rose from the ground, the two soldiers hiding behind the bunker were blown away at the same time, and they fell to the ground without any movement...
Only then did the Japanese offensive troops begin to retreat...
They were not spared either.
Two artillery shells accidentally hit the attacking troops, instantly taking away five or six lives...
Chen Quan's eyes turned red when he saw it, he punched the rails on which the bunker was built, gritted his teeth and said, "It's still a step too late..."
"In this round of artillery fire just now, we lost at least a hundred soldiers..."
"What a cruel little devil. If you can't defeat us with a strong frontal attack, you'll start using dirty tricks to deal with us that will kill you both!"
"The little advantage we finally gained was gone in an instant after they launched a sudden attack with artillery fire!"
"Hit all fixed fire points hard!"
"Since the little devil doesn't even care about his own life, then we don't have to be polite!"
"Keep as many little devils as you can!"
"Avenge the soldiers who died in the shelling just now..."
"Rumble..."
The enemy's artillery fire became more and more fierce, and soon Duanjiabao was filled with gunpowder smoke again, making it impossible to see even one's fingers.
Lieutenant General Sato was not polite at all and continued to order: "The heavy artillery brigade has also joined in... This time the artillery fire coverage must destroy all the machine gun bunkers and anti-gun holes on the position!"
"Let the aviation force send more planes over..."
"In addition to ordinary aerial bombs, we also need to bring some napalm bombs..."
"Even if I can't destroy the machine gun bunker, I will burn all the enemies hiding inside!"
In front of the enemy headquarters of the Independent Regiment, Kong Jie was watching the battle from the observation port.
Although Shen Quan successfully repelled the Japanese's first attack, killing and wounding three to four hundred people, he did not show any smile on his face.
"Jingle Bell……"
The phone suddenly rang behind him. Li Wensheng picked up the phone and listened for half a minute before putting it down with a serious look on his face: "Captain, the Japanese's sudden artillery fire caused a lot of casualties to the 1st and 7th Battalions!"
"Since the war started, 128 troops have died and 21 have been seriously injured..."
"The Japs lost less than 400 people, and the casualty ratio was just over two to one, far from the three to one we estimated!"
"If the casualty ratio is this in the subsequent firefights, even if we complete the mission of annihilating the enemy, the troop losses will exceed the estimate, and even affect the subsequent ambush battle!"
Kong Jie frowned and analyzed: "The enemy's artillery fire coverage can be launched at any time and anywhere. We are unable to guard against it..."
"It is very difficult to reduce casualties and increase the number of enemies killed!"
"Tell Shen Quan..."
"When we continue to block the attack, the troops scattered on the surface must be dispersed to reduce the damage caused by the shelling!"
"We must also plan the retreat route of each soldier in advance, and retreat as soon as the Japanese bombardment begins!"
"New recruits are afraid of running away, veterans must take care of the recruits..."
"Strive to reduce the losses caused by shelling by 30%!"
