It took almost a lot of effort to withdraw from the Japanese counterattack artillery fire and save Zhou Tong, who was not knocked out by the Japanese counterattack artillery. After seeing Li Ziyuan, he could only shake his head gloomily and said, "Leader, we have done our best." Not only is there a big gap between the two sides in terms of the quantity and quality of artillery, but the quality of our artillery is not as good as that of the little devils. ”

"Those 94-type mountain cannons of the little devils have a much farther range than ours. Although the Meiji 38-year-old cannon has a range of only more than 5,000 meters, it is not as good as the 41-style mountain cannon in my hand. On the regular battlefield, let alone encountering new artillery, even if it encounters the old-fashioned 88-millimeter field artillery equipped by our Jin Sui Army, it is a cargo sent to death. ”

"But this old cannon and the Japanese army's long-range Type 94 mountain artillery, forming an artillery group is too much of a threat to us. Moreover, our troops lack observation and sighting equipment, and the accuracy of long-range shooting is not ideal, and the accuracy of hitting is too low if the distance is too long. The lethality of shells of at least one hundred and twenty mm is not comparable to that of the seventy-five mountain guns. ”

"Coupled with their numerical superiority, we simply can't fight back now. Regiment commander, withdraw it, the artillery fire of the little devils is too fierce, and our troops are dying if they rush like this. It won't take long for the battalion in front to be crushed by devil artillery fire. ”

"At the time of the Battle of Xinkou, a brigade of the Central Army had just launched, and it did not even fire a single shot, but it was blown up by the overwhelming artillery fire of dozens of artillery pieces used by the Japanese army. By the time the Japanese launched a formal attack, there were few people in the entire position who could still hold guns. ”

"It is said that a brigade of little devils can defeat how many of our divisions, but in fact, these troops were not overwhelmed by the little devils, and most of them were lost under the ground and air firepower of the Japanese army. Our troops are now holding on, and they have suffered too much in the face of Japanese artillery fire. Besides, our troops have not received much anti-artillery training. ”

"I took a look, and most of our troops have no experience of moving under artillery fire. If it weren't for Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang's quick reaction and rich experience, the first battalion would have completely collapsed with a sudden attack by the Japanese army just now. Regiment commander, I'll start now, even if I try my best, I will buy a certain amount of time for the troops in front, so you should withdraw quickly. ”

In fact, there is no need for Zhou Tong to say, Li Ziyuan also knows that as soon as this devil's counterattack comes out, he can no longer continue to work hard in front. As soon as the Japanese artillery fire began, he ordered the horn of retreat to be sounded. However, the Japanese artillery fire was accurate and fierce, and it was not easy for the troops to retreat.

Especially in the face of the fierce artillery fire of the Japanese army, both Zhou Tong and He Huizhang were unable to open fire to support the front battle, which made the Japanese army proudly smash all the artillery fire on the front battalion, making Zhang Zijian's retreat even more miserable. Unless they rush out despite the Japanese artillery interception, I am afraid that the price paid in this way will not be borne by a battalion at all.

Seeing that the first battalion could not be withdrawn, Li Ziyuan was also anxious at the moment. Zhou Tong put forward this suggestion, and Li Ziyuan agreed without saying a word. The cannon was lost, and it was possible to find a way to capture it. But if a battalion is defeated, the losses of the troops will be too great. If someone is there, there will still be weapons. But if there are no more people, what is the use of the best weapons?

Moreover, at this time, the Japanese army only used artillery fire to intercept and cover the first battalion, compared to other cadres who were worried about the first battalion, Li Ziyuan felt a little abnormal. According to the usual tactics of the Japanese army, its artillery bombardment has been going on for several minutes, and its infantry should have used artillery fire to cover their sorties.

But at present, the Japanese army only used artillery to intercept the retreat route of the first battalion and covered the first battalion with firepower. However, the infantry did not move for a long time, and even the light machine gun fire at Qiaokou stopped, and only the heavy machine guns with a longer range were used to cooperate with the artillery to carry out surface kills and wounds on the first battalion.

The intentions of the Japanese army in Qiaokou at this moment are obvious, don't you know how to play yin? Lao Tzu will smash your attacking force with cannonballs, and after defeating you, the infantry will come forward to clean up your remnants. As for your main force, either give up this battalion, if you come to save Lao Tzu, it will be a pot.

It is very likely that the first battalion of the Qiaokou Japanese army is hanging itself, waiting for other Japanese troops in the surrounding area to outflank and encircle it. Thinking of this, although he also felt a little sorry for his only mountain cannon. But Li Ziyuan, who knew that he was constantly suffering from it, finally agreed to Zhou Tong's desperate suggestion without hesitation.

After seeing Li Ziyuan nodding, he looked at the battalion that was pressed by the Japanese artillery fire at the bottom of the mountain and couldn't even lift his head. Zhou Tong next to him gritted his teeth, and immediately moved to one with his mountain artillery platoon, and the spare new position he had chosen before was re-deployed.

After re-erecting the mountain artillery, Zhou Tong roughly observed the position of the Japanese artillery group. Without the slightest hesitation, he directly ordered the cannon to be fired. The Japanese army's 94-type mountain guns had a long range and a long position deployment, and the 41-type mountain guns in their hands could not reach them. But it was enough to hit those mortar positions, and the 120 mm * guns.

After moving to the flank with his only mountain artillery, Zhou Tong braved the artillery fire of the Japanese counterattack regardless of the danger, and smashed the shells directly into the Japanese artillery position. At this time, the Japanese artillery inside and outside Qiaokou was still suppressing the positions of the first battalion.

Zhou Tong's first target was the 120 mm* gun in the Japanese artillery group. Although this old-fashioned* cannon is old, it is a full forty years old. The firing range is short, and the cannon itself is very heavy, but after all, the caliber is there. The threat of this cannon to the infantry, as well as the lethality was too great.

Therefore, Zhou Tong locked the first target on the artillery that posed the greatest threat to the infantry. He was very calm and hands-on, adjusting the firing range of the artillery. After some adjustments, he personally pulled the firing rope, and the first shell to reopen the fire hit the Japanese * artillery position.

But after all, with only an ordinary telescope, the observation accuracy is somewhat off. Zhou Tong's first shell hit a close-range shell and landed on the position of a 150-mm mortar in front of the 120 mm* gun to the right. Although it did not hit directly, it destroyed another mortar with a crooked hit.

This crooked shell blew up the Japanese mortar, which was in full swing, along with the 150-millimeter mortar. The shells that piled up around this mortar were detonated, and the detonation produced by the detonation blew up the entire 150-millimeter mortar position of the Japanese army.

The violent explosion on the heavy mortar position startled the artillery on the Japanese * artillery position. Knowing that the Japanese * artillery was targeted, they immediately stopped firing and prepared to shift their positions. This Japanese artillery force is not stupid, knowing that the Eighth Road, which has only one mountain gun and two mortars, will not engage in artillery battles with them.

But in order to cover the retreat of the infantry, they fought desperately to defeat the troops who were suppressed by artillery fire in front of them, and there was no problem with themselves who posed the greatest threat. Therefore, the Japanese soldiers who operated this * gun immediately began to shift their positions in a hurry. Although this cannon is a little older, it is also the largest caliber artillery of the 36th Division at present.

It's just that the lethality of this * gun against infantry is not comparable to that of ordinary small mountain artillery. However, the weight of this artillery designed and manufactured before the war is not comparable to that of the artillery produced after the First World War with new technology. The weight of one and a half tons also made it very difficult for the Japanese artillery to move their positions.

Fortunately, the Jiusi Mountain artillery deployed behind them reacted quickly. After being startled by the mortar blown up by this counterattack shell, he saw that the two mountain guns that dared to fight back in front of him and were embarrassed and angry, and immediately turned around and fired the counterattack artillery fire.

It cannot but be said that the quality of the Japanese army's artillery at this time was still quite excellent. Although Zhou Tong's first shot was sudden, the Japanese artillery reacted extremely quickly. After his first shell exploded, less than two minutes later, the Japanese troops on that side had already calculated the approximate location of his artillery position, and the counterattack shells blew up the perimeter of Zhou Tong's chosen position.

However, at this time, Zhou Tong was very calm, ignored the shells falling around him, and carefully readjusted the firing boundary. Only then did the loader order the loader to stuff a new shell into the chamber and fire a second shell. This shell did not disappoint Zhou Tong, and accurately hit the 120 mm * gun that was being retracted.

It is true that a 75-millimeter caliber shell is inferior to a 120-millimeter calibre, but this is not something that ordinary people can afford. The Japanese artillerymen, who were busy gathering and transferring artillery, were reduced to parts, along with their father's old guns.

The towing horse, which was being driven over, was also half knocked down by shrapnel flying in all directions. The bombed, torn artillery, completely lost its right to speak. Fortunately, this time, the artillery shells that the Japanese army originally placed on the position had been transferred first, and there was no detonation of the shells. Otherwise, just a few dozen rounds of 120 mm* would be enough to blow up half of the mouth into the sky.

At that time, Li Ziyuan will not have to attack. At this moment, the high-density Japanese troops who are hiding and waiting in the Qiaokou stronghold may only have to go home. But even so, one of the wheels of this * cannon was blown off, flew up and fell into a house in Qiaokou. The gun wheel that directly smashed through the roof of the house injured a small group of Japanese soldiers who were concealed.

Zhou Tong used his superb artillery skills to defeat the Japanese * gun with short range, but the greatest lethality and power in two cannons, and also carried a heavy mortar to remove the biggest threat to the infantry. Zhou Tong ignored the artillery fire from the opposite side, and smashed all the shells in his hand into the Japanese artillery position with the maximum rate of fire.

His head is very clear, and knowing how to cover the battalion in front of him at this time is the most important thing to do at this time. Compared to the first battalion, the pitiful reserves of artillery shells at hand were nothing. However, Zhou Tong did not choose to fight with the Japanese artillery, he knew that he was such a mountain artillery, and he was not an opponent anyway.

So when he chose the target, he marked the targets of all the shells as Japanese machine-gun fortifications, as well as mortar positions. Compared with the Japanese mountain artillery that was attracted by itself, these were a greater threat to the retreat of the battalion in front. If you don't suppress or even defeat these, even if you knock out one of the most threatening guns, you can't let a battalion withdraw safely.

Zhou Tong's mountain artillery on this side reopened fire, and the Japanese troops on that side also quickly mobilized artillery to counterattack. Especially after the destruction of the 120 mm* gun, all the Japanese artillery in the Qiaokou stronghold seemed to be completely enraged. even gave up suppressing Zhang Zijian's firepower in front, and concentrated all the artillery fire on Zhou Tong's side.