Artillery positions in the assembly area.

As soon as the guns rang out, the two squadron leaders knew that they were eating, and immediately rushed out of the tent, shouting and calling their subordinates to enter the position and prepare for battle.

More than 200 gunners rushed to the side of the artillery in a panic, pushing the cannon and carrying the shells.

Twenty minutes later, all eight mountain guns were set up, and the muzzles of the black holes were raised and pointed directly at the outside of the stronghold.

The two squadron leaders stood next to the artillery position, holding binoculars to observe the surrounding battle situation, and the more they looked at it, the deeper their brows wrinkled.

The battlefield was so chaotic that there was gunfire everywhere, and it was impossible to distinguish between friend and foe under the cover of night.

Mountain artillery is very powerful, and if you open fire rashly without specific shooting coordinates, you will definitely hurt your own people.

So none of the infantry asked for artillery support, they had to wait.

There is no result of this.

The devil infantry in the east was defeated, chased and beaten by the garrison, and constantly retreated into the assembly area, and it was impossible to have the time and opportunity to ask for help from the artillery.

There were too few Japanese troops in the other three directions, no more than twenty machine-gun positions plus patrols, and the firepower was no match for the independent regiment.

In the face of the attack, there was no power to parry, and there was no chance to withstand the attack of the independent regiment, so he sent people to call for artillery support.

The commander of the independent regiment Zhou personally went out, and the two companies attacked at the same time with the posture of Mount Tai.

In this way, the casualties of the attacking troops will be larger, but they can kill the little devils at the gate of the camp in the shortest time.

After quickly entering the camp, regardless of 3721, he rushed to the artillery position with two companies.

The artillery was most concentrated on the east side of the garrison regiment's attack, and the artillery attention was all focused on the east side, and the independent regiment rushed all the way to more than 50 meters behind them before being exposed.

The two squadron leaders were in a hurry on the spot.

One person calmed down first, drew his command knife and shouted murderously: "What are you panicking, I will go to anyone with a gun, block the Eighth Route Army, and stop them from rushing over." ”

"The others shifted four artillery pieces to them and bombed them with shells."

Another squadron leader also reacted and hurriedly shouted: "If you don't have guns, come and transfer these four mountain guns, turn around and shell the Eighth Route Army attacking us, quickly!" ”

The artillery was equipped with too few weapons for self-defense.

Only more than 60 people rushed to the Eighth Route Army with the squadron leader, half of the devils with rifles in their hands and half of them with pistols in their hands, launching a counter-assault with a fierce posture of not fearing death.

"Shoot them all and kill these little devils......" Commander Zhou shouted knowing that he was exposed, holding a box cannon.

The two companies of the Independent Regiment were armed with 14 light machine guns, and together they fired more than 30 rifles and 30 pistols against the devils, and there was no suspense in the result.

More than 60 devils were killed before they could rush to the edge of the artillery position.

"Keep shooting, kill the remaining artillerymen, don't let them fire and explode." Commander Zhou continued to order.

In a village more than 20 kilometers from the assembly area, one of the best houses was chosen to be the chief of staff's room.

Less than half an hour after lying down, there was a sharp knock on the door.

The chief of staff got up from the bed with a bone, and before he could speak, the squadron leader, who was also the deputy, pushed the door and broke in, reporting with a panicked face.

"Sir, there's something wrong with the assembly ground!"

"They were attacked by the main force of the Eighth Route Army, and the troops suffered heavy casualties, so they were almost unable to withstand it."

The chief of staff's first reaction was disbelief, and he did not hesitate to veto: "This is impossible." ”

"The remaining Eighth Route Army in the occupied area is dozens of kilometers away from the assembly area, and there are imperial reconnaissance troops and intelligence personnel everywhere along the way.

"It's so unrealistic, can't they fly?"

The squadron leader couldn't figure out the reason for this, so he replied stubbornly: "Sir, it's true." ”

"The telegram for help was sent by the squadron leader of the infantry squadron left behind in the assembly area."

"The Eighth Route Army, which attacked them, had at least one regiment, armed with a large number of heavy machine guns and mortars."

"Sir!" The telegraph operator hurriedly rushed over and added.

"Our radio contact with the staging area was cut off, and no matter how we called them, there was no response."

The squadron leader's face quickly turned pale, and he shouted in a lost voice: "There must be something wrong with the assembly area!" ”

Facts speak louder than words, and no matter how much you doubt it, the chief of staff has to accept this cruel reality and immediately order.

"The troops are assembled immediately, and they must set off within ten minutes, and they must march back to the assembly place in a hurry."

"Contact the two brigades, and they will go back together."

The rapid march took three hours to return to the assembly area, and the chief of staff took four hours.

This is all due to the three-way attack force of the Independent Regiment.

Back at the gate of the assembly area, I glanced at it, and there were burning tents everywhere.

Thick black smoke continued to rise, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke and blood.

The chief of staff frowned, and hurriedly ran in under the protection of the guards.

The corpses of the Imperial Army were everywhere at their feet, their uniforms, weapons and ammunition, armed belts...... They were all cleaned and lay on the ground in various postures.

Mountains of supplies, food, artillery ...... at the assembly sites It's all gone, and in many places there isn't even a bullet casing left.

The reconnaissance captain, who entered the camp twenty minutes early, hurriedly ran over and reported with a heavy face: "Sir, the lowly rank and others have searched all over the place, and there is not a single living person in the assembly area. ”

"Weapons and ammunition, food, supplies, artillery, war horses, all were manipulated, and there was nothing left."

"Find ......" the chief of staff shouted loudly.

"The Eighth Route Army will definitely not be able to run far with a large number of captures."

"All the reconnaissance units are dispatched, we must find their whereabouts and kill them all."

At nine o'clock in the morning, a second lieutenant of the reconnaissance unit hurriedly ran into the tent of the chief of staff: "Sir, I found it." ”

"We found traces left by the retreat of the Eighth Route Army five kilometers southeast of the assembly area."

"After chasing them for nearly 20 kilometers, I found them in Hujiazhuang."

"The village is densely packed with the Eighth Route Army, and except for a few vigilant troops, most of the soldiers are sleeping."

"There are still a lot of boxes and war horses in the open space at the entrance of the village, which must have been lost by us last night."

"The humble post arranged for ten scouts to keep an eye on them, and personally ran back to report, asking the commander to lead the troops to kill them immediately and kill them."

The two captains stood up from their positions together, and their faces were eager to try to fight.

"Sir, let's fight!"

"Last night, when we returned to the reinforcement assembly area, although we lost a lot of people, we still have more than 1,300 people in total."

"It's daytime, and you can call in air support, and you're sure you'll be able to win a big game."

"It must be dispatched......" the chief of staff ordered through gritted teeth.

The Eighth Route Army was not killed, but its nest was lost, and all artillery and supplies were lost.

If they can't make up for the losses with some results, the commander will look down on them.

In order to preserve their honor and status, this battle must be fought, and it must be won.

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