The sound of firefights on the battlefield suddenly weakened and the explosions stopped. The expression on Major General Fujita's face became more and more solemn at the same time.
The course of the battle was far beyond his expectation.
The Third Brigade stationed at the blockade seemed to have made no attempt to stop them, and watched helplessly as the Eighth Route Army strangled them.
He had previously been confident in the ability of his soldiers to fight with bayonets.
After attacking the second line of defense and losing four infantry squadrons at once, their confidence was suddenly destroyed.
The Kwantung Army is known as the army with the strongest combat effectiveness, and it is very good at fighting bayonets.
The Junpei garrison seems to have mastered a tactical method specifically designed for bayonet battles with the Imperial Army.
Several squadrons of elite Kwantung Army troops were killed by their opponents in the blink of an eye.
There were more Eighth Route Army troops participating in the battle at Taipingzhuang than there were blocking troops defending the second line of defense. The two sides were strangled together, and the troops under their command would definitely be in trouble.
The whole person suddenly became anxious, and quickly urged: "Let the outflanking troops hurry up, they must arrive at the battlefield within five minutes."
The chief of staff looked embarrassed: "General, it's too difficult to get to the battlefield within five minutes."
"The troops are scattered in the station to rest. It takes two or three minutes to assemble. We are almost one kilometer away from the battlefield. To outflank, we have to walk at least 1400 to 500 meters. No matter how fast we go, it will take ten minutes."
"Too slow..." Major General Fujita replied with a frown.
Although the battlefield is far away from the station and cannot be seen very clearly, the military uniforms of both sides can still be distinguished.
Under the firelight, almost everyone in the field of vision was the Eighth Route Army wearing earth-gray military uniforms, with at most 30% of the troops under their command.
This means that the Eighth Route Army has an absolute strength advantage on the battlefield and is likely to end the battle within five minutes.
There are tunnel entrances and exits everywhere on the battlefield. After the battle, the remnants of the Eighth Route Army can return to the tunnels within five minutes and get rid of the reinforcements.
My plan tonight will cost my wife and my troops.
Suppressing his anger, he ordered again: "Thirteen minutes is too long. The reinforcements must join the battle within ten minutes, otherwise the Eighth Route Army will escape from under our noses again."
"How is this possible?" the chief of staff asked with disbelief on his face.
According to the brigade commander, the Eighth Route Army could end the battle within ten minutes.
No, the battle should be over within five minutes. After all, it takes time for hundreds of people to evacuate the battlefield.
There is enough of a reinforced brigade on the blockade. Even if a lot of people were lost in the raid just now, there are still a few hundred people left.
That was the Kwantung Army, the most elite force of the Imperial Army. The brigade commander actually said that they would lose to the Eighth Route Army in a bayonet fight and that they would not be able to hold on for even five minutes.
If Major General Fujita was not the brigade commander, he would definitely stand up and refute on the spot.
"Nothing is impossible?" Major General Fujita answered anxiously, suppressing his anger.
"Our opponents are too mysterious. They must have mastered the secret tactics and tactics to deal with our bayonet battle. They can break our bayonet battle in a short time and turn defeat into victory."
"The four infantry squadrons attacking the second line of defense are the best proof."
"There are already less than 300 imperial troops on the blockade, and their strength is still decreasing sharply. They will definitely not be able to hold on for long."
"Hurry up and give the order. The reinforcements must arrive on the battlefield within ten minutes, otherwise military law will be imposed."
"Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...
The scream of artillery shells streaking across the sky suddenly reached Major General Fujita's ears, and the sound of explosions immediately sounded around him.
The fourth and fifth brigades were gathering, and more than twenty artillery shells roared in, and the fire splashed. Forty or fifty Japanese were blown up on the spot, and several people were blown away directly in the explosion, leaving no bones left.
Faced with the sudden artillery fire, the two brigades had to suspend their assembly and disperse in small groups to avoid the artillery fire.
"Baga, our opponent is indeed very tough. They fought for so long during the day without using artillery. They were waiting to attack us at this time."
"It's a good plan. Use artillery fire to hit the station, hold back the reinforcements, and buy time for the commandos to eliminate the third brigade.
"
The chief of staff also saw the endangered Third Brigade through the telescope. Seeing that the Fourth and Fifth Brigades in the station had to suspend their assembly, fearing that the Third Brigade would not be able to hold on, he quickly asked: "General, I will immediately ask the artillery to counterattack and suppress And destroy the exposed artillery units of the Eighth Route Army, covering the reinforcements and outflanking the battlefield."
"It's too late..." Major General Fujita shook his head and replied.
"The artillery counterattack will take at least a minute. By the time the fourth and fifth brigades have regrouped and reinforced the battlefield, the third brigades are already finished."
At this point, Major General Fujita's eyes suddenly turned red, and a strong murderous aura immediately emanated from his body. He clenched his fists and exposed his veins. He gritted his teeth and ordered: "The artillery should concentrate all artillery and attack the blockade surrounding Taipingzhuang immediately."
"This is our only chance to severely damage Junpei's defense regiment, otherwise the loss of the third battalion will be in vain."
It took the chief of staff two or three seconds to react. The anxious look on his face was instantly replaced by shock. He was frightened by the ruthless tactics of the brigade commander.
Once the artillery's indiscriminate bombardment begins, the Third Battalion will be completely destroyed.
But if the artillery is not fired and the reinforcements cannot actually arrive on the battlefield, the third brigade will also be completely destroyed.
The only difference is that the former will kill a large number of the Eighth Route Army so that the Third Brigade will not die in vain; the latter can only eliminate a very small part of the Eighth Route Army.
Regarding the entire battle situation, the former brought obviously greater benefits to the mopping up troops.
Although it was a bit cruel, for the sake of the follow-up battle, the second lieutenant, the chief of staff, hesitated and chose to accept the order.
…………
"Pah pah pah... pah pah..."
Huang Qi fired continuously with the box cannon in his hand. The first magazine was empty. After killing four little Japs again, the second magazine was also empty.
Just as he was about to change bullets, the scream of artillery shells streaking across the sky sounded overhead, and a ball of fire quickly rose on the battlefield fifty meters away.
Then came the second regiment. In the blink of an eye, a blockade more than fifty meters long was covered by artillery fire.
"No, the little Japs want to cover us all with indiscriminate artillery fire and keep us here..." Huang Qi's face suddenly changed and he cried out.
The speed of changing bullets is faster than before.
Insert a new magazine, open the safety, load the bullet, and pull the trigger again towards the few Japs left on the battlefield. While killing, he shouts: "Speed up, the Japanese want us to bury them here."
"The squad leader who has finished the battle will immediately lead his team to evacuate the battle. Don't clean up the battlefield. Hurry up. The kid's artillery fire will soon come..."
The new magazine was quickly emptied by him, and there were fewer "little devils" in his field of vision than before. He waved his hand to the guard squad behind him and ordered: "Everyone retreat with me. There are not many little devils left. Kill them if you can. Just forget it if you can’t kill.”
"The Japanese artillery fire is so fierce. Even if you survive in our hands, you won't be able to escape the artillery fire for a while. Let's leave now."
