During the attack, the 69th Regiment was covered by artillery fire from the Eighth Route Army's rocket artillery battalion. The Eighth Route Army only fired three rounds. The concentrated fire strikes of more than 100 heavy rockets taught the Japanese what it means to have a phobia of intensive firepower;
This was simply a nightmare for an infantry group to charge. More than 3,000 Japanese soldiers didn't even touch the Eighth Route Army's position, and more than half of them were killed or wounded. Even Japanese soldiers with a missing bone in their heads couldn't afford such battle losses.
Osamu Sasaki was so frightened that he immediately ordered a retreat. If he didn't retreat, he would become a bare-bones captain!
Captain Nakamura was completely stunned. After fighting in China for several years, he had never seen such fierce artillery fire. It blasted an entire area at once, leaving no place to hide. Whether he died or not depended on luck.
When the trumpet for retreat sounded, Captain Nakamura turned around and ran back as if he had been granted amnesty. He was not sloppy at all. He just hated his mother for marrying a father with short legs.
At the same time, the 107th Wing and the 119th Wing on both wings of the 69th Wing also suffered the same blow, and both paid a heavy price. Only the 136th Wing as a reserve team escaped.
Three regiments suffered a critical attack, and the most painful one was Lieutenant General Yamaoka Shichiro, the commander of the 109th Division. He had high hopes for this group charge, but he almost fainted after receiving the casualty report.
"Bagayalu, a bunch of trash! The empire has been completely disgraced by them!
In just one charge, more than 4,000 people were injured and killed, and they didn't even touch the edge of the Eighth Route Army's position. When did the imperial army become so weak? "
The chief of staff next to him, Colonel Shimizu Yasuhiro, could only stand aside silently, enduring the stench of his saliva. He had to wait for new instructions from the division commander.
I don’t know how long it took, but Lieutenant General Yamaoka finally used up all his saliva reserves and began to return to normal. He ordered with a gloomy face:
"Order the 109th Regiment of the Mountain Artillery to concentrate all artillery fire and blow up the Eighth Route Army's artillery positions so that they can feel the monstrous rage of the Imperial Army!"
Colonel Qingshui accepted the order with great relief. He breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the headquarters. He would have suffocated if he stayed for a while longer.
Qing Shui could only vent his grievances on the Eighth Route Army and ordered the Mountain Artillery Regiment to launch retaliatory firing.
Groups of artillery shells flew towards the position of the 2nd Brigade and the 3rd Regiment. The Wei Shen Cannon of the artillery battalion had already been moved, so it did not suffer any losses.
The soldiers of the Third Regiment hid in the artillery holes of the trenches and silently endured the ravages of Japanese artillery fire. From time to time, some were buried by the collapsed soil.
The Japanese artillery fire lasted for several minutes, and the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire also found their position. Rows of revengeful artillery shells smashed over, blowing the artillery pieces into scrap metal.
The two sides went back and forth, and the fighting was very lively, causing casualties on each other.
Due to the high mobility of the Wei Shen Cannon, it was difficult for the Japanese to lock their position;
The Japanese mountain artillery regiment had many artillery, a large position, and poor maneuverability. It suffered a lot in the battle with Wei Shenpao. The magic power of one of the three major artifacts of guerrilla warfare was fully displayed, and the firepower of the Japanese division was completely suppressed. live.
After the two sides fought for a whole morning, the Japanese's mountain artillery regiment lost most of it, and they only destroyed one Wei Shen cannon. The result was achieved by luck. A blind cat hit a dead mouse.
After a morning's attack, the Japanese did not achieve satisfactory results, but suffered heavy losses;
Due to the lack of air superiority, the Japanese heavy artillery brigade did not dare to show up during the day. The division's artillery regiment alone was no match for Wei Shenpao of the Eighth Route Army.
At the Far East Expeditionary Force Headquarters, information on the battlefield continued to gather. The situation was very pessimistic, and the situation was increasingly out of Xiangyue Qingji's control.
He told Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Utsunomiya Taro:
"Uto-kun, the attack from the front is not going well. The 109th Division's attack did not make any progress, but suffered heavy losses;
The Chinese were like a huddled hedgehog, leaving the imperial army with no way to bite them.
Without air superiority, the Imperial Army's aircraft, heavy artillery, and tanks would be useless during the day. The division's mountain artillery and field artillery alone could not suppress the Eighth Route Army's light rocket launchers;
This kind of artillery is very suitable for field battles, and the imperial army should also have it. I will report this idea to the base camp and strive to imitate this efficient artillery.
As soon as we take action here, it means that the Eighth Route Army will mobilize reinforcements from the left and right wings, leaving us only one week at most!
Do you have any good suggestions? "
Utsunomiya bowed and said:
"Your Majesty Commander, since we can't launch an attack during the day, let's attack at night!
Heavy artillery and tanks can be used. If the equipment of both sides is at the same level, the imperial army's strength advantage will be reflected;
With three times the enemy's strength, with the assistance of tanks and heavy artillery, using the cover of darkness to launch a fierce attack on the enemy in the encirclement, it would be enough to annihilate the Eighth Route Army in the encirclement within a week. "
Xiangyue Qingji's eyes lit up. He wanted to fight the Chinese at night and defeat them using the tactics that the Chinese were best at. This suggestion made him very excited. He said with a smile:
"Yo Xi, just fight the Eighth Route Army in a night battle to make their air superiority useless, and the Imperial Army's heavy artillery and tanks will play a decisive role in the night battle!
Lord Uto ordered all ministries to move to defense on the spot, except for leaving a small number of troops to continuously harass the Eighth Route Army;
It’s time to take a rest, recharge your batteries, and fight to the death with the Eighth Route Army after dark! "
As the Japanese headquarters adjusted its tactics, the intensity of the battle in the afternoon dropped significantly, and the pressure on the defense on the position was significantly reduced;
Every time the Japanese attack, the troops they put into the attack are at the brigade level or even the squadron level, and they are all in full force. Those who don't know better think that they have become vegetarians.
Naturally, the Japs' changes could not be hidden from Li Qing and others. Information from the front line continued to gather, and the Japs' purpose became clearer and clearer.
"Old Chen, have you seen what kind of medicine the devil is selling in the gourd?"
Li Qing asked about Chen Hao, the commander of Column 101. The two had been working together for a long time and had a high level of understanding.
Chen Hao nodded and said:
"The Japanese are playing harassment warfare. This is what our Eighth Route Army used to play.
We used to play harassing battles against the Japs, and we were holding back our ultimate move later. Needless to say, the Japs must be holding back their ultimate move. "
Li Qing nodded and said:
"Then do you see what the ultimate move is?"
Chen Hao smiled and said:
"Lao Li, you're taking a test on me!
The Japanese troops of 200,000 to 300,000 are surrounding us, which is tantamount to a clear sign;
What the Japanese are trying to do is to lure the enemy deeper, with the aim of encircling and annihilating our central corps before our left and right wing corps arrive.
Now that the war has started, my left and right wing troops will definitely come to support day and night;
The Japanese will either call for reinforcements or block reinforcements, or they will concentrate their forces to encircle and annihilate our Central Corps!
Time was the most precious thing to them now, and he had time to spend the day thinking about launching an attack at night;
At night, our planes can't help, so the Japanese's heavy artillery can be used, and they might even dispatch armored clusters to attack.
Once the devil takes action, he will definitely do it at night, and he will attack with all his strength! "
Li Qing shook his head and said:
"It's boring, you can't pretend you don't know, and then let me show it off!"
"Okay, Lao Li, you can ask again."
Chen Hao said seriously, and Li Qing asked very cooperatively:
"Old Chen, do you know what kind of medicine is sold in the devil's gourd?"
Lao Li shook his head very seriously and said:
"I don't know, please teach me."
"roll!"
