The Yamaguchi Regiment deployed four infantry squadrons in the second round of attack. More than 700 soldiers lined up in four skirmishing lines and charged towards the blocking position. Anyone who saw this scene would feel that the Eighth Route Army's blocking force would be defeated.
The result is exactly the idea. Forty or fifty light and heavy machine guns suddenly appeared in the smoke-filled blocking position, which was almost the same as the first round of attack.
This means that although the artillery fire coverage just now successfully destroyed the blocking position, it did not destroy many Eighth Route Army troops, nor did it destroy many heavy weapons.
Of course, if the Eighth Route Army only had this few means of counterattack, with the strength of the Japanese offensive troops, it would probably lose a few more soldiers, but it could still reach the blocking position if it attacked by force.
Besides, the heavy machine gun squadrons and mortar squadrons of the Japanese army covering the attacking troops are not vegetarians either.
The shooting error of the mountain artillery was too large. In order to avoid accidentally injuring one of our own people, we could not continue to participate in the battle. Mortars have high shooting accuracy and can fire at close range.
With them suppressing the firepower on the blocking position, the attacking troops will be more confident in killing the blocking position, and casualties will be minimized.
As a result, as soon as the two mortar squadrons joined the battle, more than twenty artillery shells fell directly from the sky and smashed into their positions.
Fire splashed, and several mortars were blown away along with their gunners.
"Woooooooooo...boom, boom, boom..." More than a dozen mountain artillery and infantry artillery shells passed over the heads of the attacking troops with a screaming sound and smashed into the Japanese mountain artillery position.
The accuracy was not very high. Only two shells hit the target, killing seven or eight gunners. But the sudden artillery attack shocked the remaining little Japanese.
They are gunners, and no one knows the sound of artillery better than they do. Judging from the sound, he knew that the artillery that had just attacked him included eight mountain cannons and six infantry cannons, which was nearly twice as many as his own.
Moreover, the other party made the first move and had the initiative on the battlefield. Even if everyone immediately adjusts the muzzle of the gun to counterattack, it will still take more than half a minute to counterattack, and there is no guarantee that the first hit will hit. This time is enough for the opponent to fire three more rounds of more than forty shells.
According to the hit rate just now, at least six artillery shells hit the artillery position. Dozens of gunners were killed before they even joined the battle, and the remaining gunners could still control five mountain cannons at most.
Five mountain cannons faced off against the Eighth Route Army's 14 mountain cannons and infantry artillery. No matter how great the disparity between the two sides was, the two mountain artillery squadron captains did not have much chance of winning.
At most it would be a tie, with the Eighth Route Army artillery being completely wiped out. This result is obviously not what the mountain artillery squadron wants.
It would be different to move the position immediately. Although there will be losses, most of the artillery and gunners can be saved.
When the mountain artillery squadron moves to a new position and strikes suddenly with lightning speed, the initiative on the battlefield will return to its own hands, and the chance of winning will be obviously greater at that time.
Comparing the two, the Japanese squadron leader chose the latter without hesitation. The mountain artillery squadron was immediately ordered to move.
So this scene appeared on the battlefield. The artillery cover expected by the Japanese offensive force was unable to participate in the battle because it was attacked by mortars. The grenadier unit and heavy machine gun squadron were also harassed by the grenadier soldiers of the 26th Regiment and the Duer Regiment and were unable to provide full support to the attacking force. Providing fire cover, the infantry could only rush forward against the blocking fire from the Duer Regiment, and the casualties could be imagined.
Despite this, Yamaguchi Ozuo was still confident in the attack at hand and had no intention of retreating. He didn't realize something was wrong until the attacking troops rushed fifty meters in front of the formation, but it was too late.
"All 26 regiments joined the battle, withstood the Japs' offensive and prepared to counterattack." Kong Jie gave the timely order.
"Da da da... Dong Dong Dong..." The number of light and heavy machine guns on the blocking position suddenly increased to more than a hundred.
The intensive firepower instantly blocked the Japanese fortifications, and casualties began to increase sharply. The distance of fifty meters is like an insurmountable copper wall. No matter how hard the devils rush, they can't break through.
Soon a layer of corpses fell here, so densely packed that there wasn't even a place to set foot. Yamaguchi Daizuo started to panic.
The offensive force of more than 700 people has been reduced sharply to more than 400 people. Judging from the blocking firepower, there were at least two regiments of the Eighth Route Army on the position.
The artillery under his command was also restrained by the Eighth Route Army and could not immediately reinforce the battlefield. If we continue to fight, even if the attacking troops are lucky enough to reach the Eighth Route Army's blocking position, there will be very few left. Facing two regiments of the Eighth Route Army, there is no chance of winning. In the end, they lost both their wives and troops, and gained nothing.
The officers and men under his command were all elites of the Kwantung Army. They could not die in such a meaningless way, so they immediately made the decision to withdraw.
Major General Nakamura looked towards the offensive position at this time. About 400 soldiers suddenly turned around and retreated, and the Eighth Route Army blocking troops did not intend to let them go.
More than twenty heavy machine guns continued to fire at their backs, killing the little Japanese behind like chasing ducks. More than 3,000 soldiers from the two regiments rushed out of the blocking position at the same time. With the loud sound of charging horns, they formed a semi-encirclement and launched a counterattack against the attacking troops.
The 400 or so attacking troops withdrew less and less. The counterattack troops of the Eighth Route Army became more energetic and faster as they charged.
…………
"Unfortunately, the Yamaguchi Regiment is in danger..." Major General Nakamura analyzed with a calm face.
"Contact Yamaguchi Daizuo immediately. The Eighth Route Army wants to divide us into two and defeat each one."
"We must not let their conspiracy succeed."
"The Yamaguchi Regiment immediately moved closer to the brigade headquarters."
"We will switch to defense here, wait for reinforcements, and hold back the main force of the Eighth Route Army in the wing."
"Wait until the Kwantung Army arrives on the battlefield and then gather together to annihilate them and destroy them."
"The Fourth Battalion immediately dispatched two squadrons to launch a counterattack against the Eighth Route Army commandos, withstand their offensive, and support the Yamaguchi Regiment to move closer to the headquarters. Hurry up."
"If we don't take action, the Eighth Route Army commandos will take to the road."
"At that time, even the divine soldiers and heavenly generals will not be able to save us when they come down to earth."......
"The first battalion is charged for me. Those who follow the cavalry can only drink soup and cannot even eat meat. They must rush in front of the cavalry and confront the Japanese head-on..." Li Yunlong ordered as he rushed.
Looking at the corpse of the little Japanese who was killed by the cavalry at his feet, his expression became even more anxious. He picked up a rifle with a bayonet, took a deep breath, and strode forward.
"Commander, there are Japanese soldiers coming towards us. Their strength is about two squadrons..." A report suddenly reached Li Yunlong's ears.
More than two hundred meters to the side and in front, more than three hundred Japanese soldiers were charging towards the only group. The rifleman held the three-eight caps flat and fired while charging forward.
Several soldiers in front of him were shot and fell to the ground. Li Yunlong was furious when he saw it. At the same time, he raised his 38 cap and started grabbing at them. He pulled the trigger and ordered at the same time.
"The second battalion concentrated its firepower to meet me."
"Frontal assault, kill them with machine guns."
"The 1st and 3rd Battalions continued to assault the highway, expanding the gap created by the cavalry company for us, blocking all the little Japs who wanted to counterattack, and completely cutting off the Japanese army."
"Second Battalion, follow me..." the commander of the Second Battalion shouted at the top of his lungs. The box gun in his hand didn't know when it turned into a light machine gun that had just captured the Japanese.
He held it to his chest and used it as a submachine gun. As he ran, he shouted: "Machine gunners, move forward, riflemen, prepare grenades."
"I want to go head-to-head with the Japanese."
"After firing the machine guns and loading the grenades, we must wipe out these little devils, kill..."
"Da da da..." Gunshots sounded at the same time. The two sides attacked face to face, and the speed was so fast that the distance was shortened to one hundred meters.
More than a dozen light machine guns fired together, the bullets intertwined with each other, and hit the Japanese counterattack troops head-on, claiming dozens of lives in the blink of an eye.
The Japanese army was not a vegetarian either. Their gunfire was interrupted from the beginning, relying on the soldiers' good marksmanship and not using light machine guns intensively.
Seeing Li Yunlong playing like this, he temporarily adjusted his formation. But it was too late. More than a dozen machine gunners charged forward while holding fire. The distance between the two sides continued to shorten. The Japanese finally moved the machine gunner to the front of the team. As a result, as soon as he picked up the machine gun, the hail of bullets flying towards him had already swept him into a sieve.
"Boom, boom, boom..." Dozens of grenades suddenly passed over the machine gunner's head and hit the Japanese forward. The Japanese army, which had already suffered heavy casualties, once again suffered dozens of casualties, and its formation was also disrupted by the explosion.
"The machine gunner continues to fire...the rifleman throws grenades and continues to kill..." The second battalion commander threw away the light machine gun that had been loaded with bullets, and smoothly pulled out the box gun inserted in his waist. The bullets were loaded, and he gave orders while attacking. Quickly raise the box cannon to kill the two Japs who happen to be in range.
Li Yunlong happened to command the 1st and 3rd battalions to fight on the highway. After passing the baptism of the mountain artillery and the cavalry company, there was hardly a little Japanese standing on the more than two hundred meters long road in front of us.
There were craters everywhere underfoot, and almost every crater had one or two, or even two or three, corpses of little Japs lying around.
There were still many wounded Japanese soldiers lying on the ground screaming, staring at the only group of soldiers charging towards them with eyes full of anger and unwillingness.
There were also some little Japs who gritted their teeth and raised their rifles, hoping to kill one more Eighth Route Army soldier before they died. Li Yunlong raised his hand and used the box cannon to kill them. He raised his voice and ordered with a murderous expression: "Clear the remaining enemies on the battlefield immediately, don't let any one go."
"The little Japs will definitely not see themselves being cut into two by us. They will attack us desperately. This will be our next battlefield against the Japs. There must be no problem with our backs."
"The first battalion went to the left, and the second battalion went to the right. While the mountain field artillery can still fire, continue to attack the Japanese and puppet troops on both sides of the road."
"Strive to advance two hundred meters on one side to increase our room for maneuver."... At the Japanese offensive position, Yamaguchi Ozuo was about to be defeated by Kong Jie. His mind was in a state of confusion, and he suddenly froze on the spot. Forgot what you want to do next.
How dare they launch a counterattack against two to three thousand Eighth Route Army troops? After fighting in China for so many years, I have never encountered such courageous and life-threatening troops.
He didn't react from the shock until the chief of staff reminded him.
"Captain, we have lost almost five infantry squadrons, and the artillery is also targeted by the Eighth Route Army. Only one full brigade can continue to fight. If we go head-to-head with the Eighth Route Army's counterattack force, we will suffer heavy losses even if we win. Please Think twice.”
"You want me to retreat..." Yamaguchi Ozuo's eyes quickly widened and he stared at the deputy with disbelief and asked.
