No one expected that just when everyone thought that there was only time left for the Japanese army to capture Star City. However, the Ninth War Zone tore a hole in Yue Yang's front line, and besieged all the Japanese troops stationed in Yue Yang in Yue Yang City.

After completing the siege of Yueyang City and defeating the Japanese defenses deployed outside the city, Xue Yue once again dispatched reserve troops to advance into Yueyang. The Japanese garrison, who originally planned to rescue Linxiang, immediately rushed to Yue Yang to rescue.

But the most shocking thing was that the main force of the Japanese army, which had already arrived at the outer defense line of Star City, actually made the decision to retreat quickly. Even took advantage of the fact that the Ninth War Zone was focusing on Yue Yang, and retreated dozens of miles overnight.

When the reconnaissance troops of the Ninth War Zone found that the main force of the Japanese army could no longer be seen outside the city, Xue Yue realized that the Japanese army planned to retreat. Sending troops to pursue again will undoubtedly achieve far less results than previously expected.

Seeing that the Japanese army was very decisive in giving up some occupied county towns, Xue Yue also said helplessly: "Okamura Ningji is really an old fox, realizing that the situation is not good, he would rather give up the fruits of victory that is about to be obtained, and also preserve his own strength." ”

"General, shouldn't we be happy that the Japanese army has given up the attack? Aren't we victorious in this battle? ”

Facing the inquiries of his subordinates, Xue Yue shook his head and said, "This time, the Japanese army sent heavy troops to raid Star City, and it was originally intended to encircle and annihilate the main force in our theater. If we continue to fight, even if we can win in the end, we will pay a heavy price.

But no one expected that General Flying Fox suddenly led his troops into the battle and stabbed the little devil in the back. On the front line of northern Hunan Province, with the recovery of Linxiang, the main force of the Japanese army on the front line may be cut off by us at any time.

If we can successfully recover Yue Yang, the situation of this battle will be reversed immediately. For us, it is our duty to defend Star City, and there is nothing to be happy about. If the main force of the Japanese army can be severely damaged, it will be called a real victory.

Presumably, Okamura Ninji also realized that the flanks were exposed and the battlefield situation had changed hands, so he decisively chose to suspend the attack. Even taking advantage of our inattention, we directly transferred back the main forces located on the front line to ensure that the rear was not lost.

The little devils failed to capture Star City, nor did they break through our defenses, but the Japanese still controlled some of the military cities on the outskirts of Star City. As long as these fruits of victory are held on the periphery, even if the Japanese army retreats, in fact, they still earn! ”

As the acting commander of the Ninth War Zone, Xue Yue naturally looked at the problem not as a gain or loss of one city or one place, but as an overall plan for the overall situation of the battlefield. It is indeed worth rejoicing to hold Star City, but after this battle, the losses in the Ninth War Zone are not small.

The most important thing is that some of the military towns that were previously defended in the Ninth Theater are now controlled by the Japanese army. As long as the Japanese army holds these important military towns, it will be much easier to make a comeback next time.

In contrast, without these perimeter defensive positions, the Ninth Theater of Operations would also become very passive. This is also the reason why his subordinates are happy, but Xue Yue is a little unhappy. If the Japanese army could have been inflicted heavy losses, perhaps the situation would have been different.

Judging the plan of the Japanese army, Xue Yue immediately ordered: "Send a report to the front-line troops, and order all units to seize Jiayue Yang City for me before dawn at all costs." Even if you can't stop the main force of the little devils, you have to bite them down! ”

"Yes, General!"

Hu Biao, who also received the front-line battle report, was also extremely surprised to see that the little devil decisively accepted it. Think about Okamura Ningji is also a well-known Japanese general in the Anti-Japanese War, and it is normal for him to have this kind of courage.

After thinking for a while, he said: "Send a report to the reconnaissance detachment, let it pay close attention to the enemy situation on the front line of the Ganxiang Highway, and report the situation immediately once a large number of Japanese troops are found to have retreated." Later, another group of people will be organized to send some explosives to the reconnaissance detachment.

The line in northern Hunan must have been unable for the Japanese army to open in a short period of time, and the main force of the Japanese army could only take the line of northern Jiangxi if it wanted to withdraw from the battle smoothly. Let Xu Sandao keep an eye on that side, find some suitable places for blasting, and be ready to blow up those roads at any time. ”

"Yes, wolfhead!"

Hu Biao, who brought the main force to northern Jiangxi, had already begun to plan to attack another rear military city of the Japanese army. This time, Hu Biao plans to spend some money to teach the little devil a profound lesson and let him know what pain is.

In order to ensure the smooth operation of the reconnaissance detachment's raids and interception operations, Hu Biao sent the First Assault Battalion commanded by Xu Mingzhi over. Coupled with the explosives and mortars he carried, Hu Biao believed that it would not be so easy for the little devil army to retreat smoothly.

Correspondingly, the guard platoon beside Hu Biao, as well as the accompanying task force company, have infiltrated Fenning City on the border of northern Jiangxi. This small county town is also located on the border of three provinces, so its strategic significance is naturally important.

Earlier, the Ninth Theater also deployed heavy troops there, but unfortunately it could not stop the Japanese surprise attack. After the Japanese occupied the city, this small county town became a transit material depot and barracks for the Japanese army, and there were many troops stationed there.

In addition to this, many prisoners of war captured from the front line were also held among them. It's just that after the Japanese army was stationed, this small county town had become a barracks, and it was impossible for idle people to enter the city at all, and it was extremely difficult to find out information.

Only the elite around Hu Biao can blend in at night. It took half a night to find out the map of the Japanese army's defenses, as well as the location of some important warehouses and core areas in the city.

Hu Biao, who had been on standby outside the city for a long time, looked at the defense map drawn by the scouts, and said very directly: "Let the little devil feel tonight, what is the feeling of roaring artillery!" All assault battalions, enter the attack position and stand by! ”

"Yes, wolfhead!"

After the order was issued, Hu Biao, who had already built a number of artillery positions outside the city, finally emptied the artillery stored in the space again. Among them, the extra batch of mountain artillery is also a good product that Hu Biao bought in Meinia before.

Although the caliber of the M1 75mm howitzer is not large, the firing range is not very advantageous compared to other mountain guns of 75 calibers. But in Hu Biao's opinion, this artillery is very light and suitable for jungle and mountain artillery battles.

In the future, the main area of Hu Biao's operations will be in the jungle and mountainous areas of the southwest, and this howitzer, which can be transported by pack horses, is very suitable for equipping combat units at the battalion and regiment level. The infantry wing that encounters the little devils can also have an advantage in artillery fire.

The officers and men responsible for operating the artillery were naturally the officers and men of the task force closest to Hu Biao. Looking at the artillery pieces placed in the artillery positions, many officers and men looked extremely excited. For them, there are not many opportunities to be artillerymen.

Tonight's siege battle, they shouldn't have much of a chance. In Hu Biao's words, tonight he was going to use cannonballs to destroy the fighting spirit of the defenders in the city. At this moment, there are only a small number of raiders lurking in the city.

Once the shelling began, Hu Biao would use artillery fire to continue to attack the Japanese troops in the city. Even after this battle, Fenning City may become a ruin. But in Hu Biao's view, it is better than being occupied by little devils and using it as a forward offensive position.

In addition to a large number of mountain artillery, the 105-caliber heavy artillery captured by Hu Biao earlier also joined the ranks of tonight's shelling. As for the infantry guns and mortars, they have been distributed to the assault battalions as a sharp weapon to attack the city.

It was still a silent night, and with the sudden arrival of a drizzle, the Japanese troops stationed in Fenning City in this weather slept more deeply and comfortably than before. A small number of Japanese troops on duty still did not dare to relax their vigilance.

The sneak attack on Linxiang City earlier really made the garrison troops of each city stationed in the rear deliberately strengthen their defensive vigilance. It's just that compared to Linxiang City, Fenning City, which seems to be smaller in area, was completely controlled by the Japanese army.

Before the occupation of Fenning City, the people living in the city had already moved away. Later, after the Japanese occupation, the damaged city wall was repaired, and the entire county town was controlled as a barracks.

No one expected that just when the Japanese army decided to start retreating, Hu Biao arrived outside Fenning City one step ahead of the main force of the Japanese army. Looking at the county town with some lights faintly lit in the distance, Hu Biao said calmly: "Let's start!" ”

"Yes, wolfhead! The gunner is in position, ready! Put! ”

No test firing was carried out at all, and according to the azimuth parameters provided by the scouts, the artillerymen had carefully adjusted the artillery before firing it. More than 20 mountain guns, plus a few heavy guns, hit in turns, and the results can be imagined.

When the first round of shells flew out of the barrel at almost the same time, the Japanese soldiers standing on duty on the city wall said with a sluggish face: "Baga! How is this possible? Shelling! Avoid! Shelling! Lots of artillery, hidden! ”

With the terrible roar of the sentries and the decisive warning shots of some officers, it was still impossible to keep up with the speed at which the shells fell. When the first batch of artillery, most of which fell straight into the barracks in the city, many little devils were dumbfounded.

The sound of explosions on this side of the barracks has not stopped, and the garrison headquarters set up in the city has also heard louder explosions. Judging by the sound of the explosion, it is not difficult to hear that the shells that flew to the garrison headquarters were more powerful than the shells that flew to the barracks.

Looking at the shells that kept flying into the city from behind, the officers and soldiers of the assault battalion lying on the front line said with great excitement: "Wow! Oh my mother! With so many artillery, I'm afraid the little devil is going to be unlucky now! ”

"Fried! Fry it hard! Blow up these dogs! The little devil used to have artillery, and he bullied us a lot! ”

Compared with the excitement on the faces of the officers and soldiers of the assault battalion, the officers and soldiers of the recruit battalion who had been screened from Linxiang earlier were extremely shocked in their hearts. They never imagined that the unit they joined would have such a large number of artillery.

But many officers and soldiers were curious, and on the previous march, they did not see the shadow of artillery at all. Where did the artillery currently deployed outside Fenning City come from? Fortunately, these officers and men know that this kind of military secret is not something they can inquire about.

Countless cannonballs fell into the city in batches, and the entire Fenning City instantly became a city baptized by artillery. Compared with the rest of the troops in the city, the Japanese troops who were in charge of garrisoning the city walls no longer knew what to do next.

Open the city gates and attack out, who dares to guarantee that there are no ambushes outside the city? Without going out of the city, in the face of such a large number of artillery, how long can they carry it? When the shelling is over, I'm afraid that the garrisoned Fenning City will also become a ruined city!