Whether or not we can block this path of the enemy has reached a critical moment.

Company Commander Jiang led the team to block the frontal attack, also to buy time for the main force, but he didn't know where the main force had arrived, how long it would take, and whether his company could complete the task?

Fortunately, in the midst of anxiety and hard work, there is finally exciting news. The vanguard battalion rushed to Chenzhuang to set up defenses and sent people to contact Company Commander Chiang.

Seeing Company Commander Jiang rushing over with some soldiers from a distance, Battalion Commander Li hurriedly greeted him, shook hands with Company Commander Jiang warmly, and said, "Old Jiang, thank you for buying us time to set up defenses, it's not easy." ”

"Hehe, Camp Commander Li is polite." Lian Chang Jiang asked anxiously: "How is it, the fortifications have been dug up?" When will the rest of our regiment arrive? ”

Battalion Commander Li pointed and introduced to Company Commander Jiang: "Relying on Chenzhuang, we are rushing to repair the fortifications, I put one company on the front position, the other company is a reserve, and the last company is on the flank, ready to flank to reduce the pressure on the main position." Our group will be there in three hours at most. Now that you have come, I have more confidence in my heart. ”

Company Commander Jiang said with a smile: "Replenish the troops I brought into the troops, this is a tough battle." ”

"The enemy is already quite tired, as long as it is dark, they have to stop attacking, we can gradually compress and turn defense into attack." Battalion Commander Li said.

"The Imperial Association Army is not to worry, mainly because of the more than 200 devils, but they have to deal with it seriously." Company Commander Jiang said thoughtfully: "The flank attack must be well organized, so that the devils can disperse their forces and contain their all-out attack." ”

……………

On the main road, the devils and the Imperial Alliance Army continued to search and advance, one by one covered with smoke and dust, and their faces were tired.

The Imperial Allied Army was even more unbearable, embarrassed, and staggering.

Carrying heavy equipment and wearing bulky spike boots, surrounded by the scorching sun and choking yellow dust, the long march and battle were simply physical torture for the devils and the imperial army.

As the soldiers of the Imperial Allied Army, who were in poor physical condition, fell down one after another and were thrown into the ditch by the side of the road, dissatisfaction and boredom grew among the Imperial Allied Army, and it was only because of the obscenity and ferocity of the Japanese devils that they continued to rush numbly.

Fujisawa's mood was no more relaxed than that of his subordinates, and he was very irritable when he saw the strength of his troops weakening.

He could naturally see the fatigue of the soldiers, and he also wanted to let the troops rest and reorganize for a while.

But time is of the essence, and if you can't join up with your allies before dark, sleep in the wilderness, and wait until the enemy surrounds you, and waits until the enemy is fully arranged, it will be a disaster.

Moreover, there should be no mercy for the soldiers, who exist only as a tool to fulfill the will of the commander. He commanded himself again and again in his heart: stay calm, strengthen your faith, and defeat the enemy in front of you.

There was a sudden commotion behind him, Fujisawa turned to look, and there were two devils who also fell to the ground from heat stroke, foaming at the mouth, their faces were pale, their hands and feet were spasms, and several health soldiers were giving first aid.

As soon as he walked in, the sour smell of vomit rushed into his nostrils, and he suddenly felt dizzy, and his stomach and intestines stirred sharply, and he almost vomited.

He supported himself, did not cover his nose with a handkerchief, and bent down to inspect the patient, and waved his hand to let him be lifted.

When he straightened up, his whole body couldn't help but shake slightly. The devils all stood still, their faces tired, their expressions palpitated, their eyes sluggish and cloudy, as if they were worried that this bad luck would also befall them.

Fujisawa pondered for a moment, and ordered the troops to slow down and take the opportunity to recover their strength, it is not possible to stop and rest, once they fall, they will not be able to get up again for a while.

He sensed that the sharpness and fighting spirit of the troops were drastically declining due to exhaustion and the incessant harassing attacks of the enemy. And his strong drive regardless of the life and death of his subordinates has made the soldiers tired and disgusted.

After all, soldiers are also human beings and have the ability to think, and it is self-deception to close their eyes and not let them think.

With such a depressed mood, dragging such a tired body, and colliding head-on with the enemy in front of you, what the result will be is indeed a matter worthy of serious consideration.

At this time, Fujisawa regretted that the troops had gone too far into the bandit area. Of course, this is not entirely his responsibility, since he is already the third commander to be replaced.

As for the first two commanders - Fujisawa can only curse fiercely: damn the Shina gunner!

……………

The early summer sun was tilted to the west, and the earth was burning, with only the occasional tree leaving a precious shade.

“…… The decisive battle, the decisive battle, the decisive battle that had been expected from the beginning of the sweep finally began, and judging from the intensity of the firepower and the fighting quality of the soldiers, the men and horses in front were indeed the main force of the Eighth Route Army. They waited for their work at ease, and relied on the fortifications they had built to block the way of our army......"

Fujisawa dictated the telegram to the staff officer in a tired voice, "It is now four o'clock in the afternoon, and our army is launching a fierce attack to try to break the current enemy before dark. ”

In the distance, shouts of killing were accompanied by artillery fire and gunfire, and limbs, dirt, and blood flew into the air.

Under the supervision of the same tired devils, the tired Imperial Allied Army launched an attack on the positions of the Eighth Route Army under the cover of artillery fire.

However, the enemy still encountered a really difficult opponent, and in front of the position, the defenders here were like a boulder, a nail, so that their several charges, almost without exception, received heavy defeats!

Unconsciously, the front of the position was full of bloody corpses, which was extremely deterrent to the Imperial Army.

Fujisawa held the binoculars for a long time, and a medium-sized village was still crumbling, still smoking and blazing, but the enemy was still resisting stubbornly, using the ruins to block the progress of his army.

In the back of the village, although there are few enemies to be seen on the surface, Fujisawa knows that all enemy movements basically rely on criss-crossing ditches.

It turned out that this was not only an obstacle to the advance of the mechanized troops of the Imperial Army, but also a ready-made trench for the movement of soldiers, so that whether it was retreating or increasing troops, it could effectively avoid the damage of artillery fire.

Moreover, it is clear that the enemy has set up a defense in depth, and even if he can break through the village, it will still not be an easy road.

The sound of gunfire and explosions continued, but Fujisawa could hear his own machine guns covering the charge intermittently, and the officers with pistols and command knives kept falling to the ground.

The enemy's gunners are not one or two, they are purposeful and targeted to kill valuable targets with cold guns, and they are also targets that have a great impact on their own troops.

Fujisawa was secretly frightened, because he found that the enemy on the opposite side had abandoned the usual tactics of avoiding the real and attacking the false, and chose to fight hard-to-go.

Behind this change, Fujisawa realizes the bigger plan, even though he can't believe that the enemy can completely eat his own people.

The sound of gunfire suddenly came from both sides, and in order to relieve the pressure on the frontal position, the Eighth Route Army began to send troops to flank the enemy.

Fujisawa looked at his watch, and it was already eighteen and ten o'clock.

The intensity of the battle was something he did not expect, although the quality of the devil's individual soldiers was generally better than that of the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, but because of the cover of fortifications, the defending side always had to take advantage of it.

Moreover, the devil is quite tired, which invisibly makes up for some shortcomings. Now the devils have the advantage, that is, their artillery fire, which is more than several times that of the Eighth Route Army.

As a result, the Eighth Route Army, which was responsible for holding back the enemy, suffered heavy casualties, especially after most of the village fortifications were destroyed.

And after the third charge was repulsed, Fujisawa's stern orders were handed down.

At the time of the fourth attack, the Imperial Allied Army, which was in the way and demoralized, was sent to defend on both flanks, and the devil officers gasped for breath and commanded their soldiers, and began a wave attack formation.

This formation, also known as a three-stage assault, is actually to arrange the attacking soldiers into three to five skirmish lines, and alternately charge forward under the cover of artillery fire.

If a skirmish line is broken, the remnants of the straggler line will retreat to the rear and regroup; If the casualties are too great to form a new skirmish line on their own, the remnants will join the last skirmish line to reinforce the forces there.

In short, it's a cycle of moving forward. This creates a sense of endless attacking forces for the opponent, and then destroys the enemy's self-confidence and breaks through the enemy's defense.

This wave-like attack formation was known as invincible in the early days of the invasion of China. In fact, in the first few years of the Sino-Japanese war, under the repeated impact of this formation, it is true that very few Chinese* troops were able to withstand this almost endless and crazy attack.

Killed 1,000 enemies and inflicted 800 self-losses, under the repeated onslaught of the enemy, Battalion Commander Li had repeatedly increased his troops to the first line of defense. The enemy suffered a lot of losses, and there were many casualties on this side, and both sides were actually desperately persevering, which was a fierce battle for strength and will.

Fujisawa's hands were shaking, and the two of them were also nervous and dignified.

"Retreat to the second line of defense, right?" Battalion Commander Li saw that the continuous onslaught of the Japanese devils had made the defense line crumbling, and he couldn't help but gasp and said to the instructor.

"Yes, let's get out of it first!" The instructor nodded vigorously, "The devil has played with his life, and the village fortifications have been basically destroyed, so it is the best policy to avoid the devil's sharpness." ”

With the order to retreat, the fire of the second line suddenly increased, machine guns and rifles opened fire at the same time, and the defenders of the first line fired fiercely, temporarily repulsing one of the enemy's skirmish lines, and immediately withdrew from the village and quickly retreated backwards.

"Push your breath and continue to attack, without giving the enemy time to breathe and adjust." Fujisawa saw that he had broken through a line of defense, and immediately roared and gave the order.

The fortifications of the Eighth Route Army were also poorly built, or adapted to local conditions. Plug up the ditch and use it as a trench.

After the devil broke through the defense line of the village, he screamed and killed from the village, and then charged forward in the whole team, which affected the speed and weakened the momentum of the charge.

At this moment, fierce gunfire suddenly erupted in the front ditch fortifications and in the woods on the left. The fierce fire of the crossfire caused the enemy's charge to be defeated again.

After the readjustment, the enemy once again sent the cannon fodder Emperor Allied Army to charge in front, followed by the two skirmishers of the devils, and launched another attack.

After the artillery was adjusted, shells were poured into the positions of the Eighth Route Army, and the explosions came one after another, kicking up large clouds of dirt and bursting out with dazzling flashes.

Light and heavy machine guns opened fire in unison, covering the enemy's forward attack.

Yamamoto, who was hastily bandaged, with a bandage on his head, personally commanded and rushed forward.

"Smack!" In the chaotic gunshots, the gunshots were not noticeable, but they were the end of Yamamoto's old devil's life.

"Smack!" Another gunshot rang out, and the roaring heavy machine gun stopped abruptly, and the devil machine gunner lay on the machine gun with a bloody face.

"Smack!" The leader of the devil squad wielding the command knife ended his wild roar, fell on his back, and threw the command knife out.

Taking advantage of the time of the Eighth Route Army's blockade, Shen Chen and Yu Baogen finally arrived in a roundabout way from the field, and silently started a sinister sniper behind the blocking position.

Successive casualties, confusion of the enemy was inevitable, albeit only briefly.

The enemy shouted, under the cover of artillery fire, continued to attack and advance, gradually approaching the blocking position. The heavy machine guns stopped firing, still spewing flames.

The blocking Eighth Route Army seemed to be suppressed, and the enemy had rushed to within fifty meters, and the distance was still shrinking.

Suddenly, the enemy only felt a darkness above his head, and a black grenade flew out of the trench in front of him and smashed it head-on.

Ahh Looking at the grenade that smashed on the head and landed under the feet with smoke, even the well-trained devil soldiers were frightened and let out a near-death scream.

"Boom, boom, boom......" The continuous explosions were continuous, and the metal storm overwhelmed the enemy in an instant.

Streams of gunpowder smoke rose up, and severed limbs, broken guns, and steel helmets were thrown up, and then fell, and were blown up again.

The grenades inflicted heavy blows on the enemy, and the screams and wails were accompanied by explosions.

Fujisawa held the binoculars, swallowed hard, and stared at the enemy's position, as if he was willing to burn all the enemies in front of him to death.

It was getting dark, and it was a long time before Fujisawa put down his binoculars and looked up at the crescent moon of his eyebrows that had appeared in the bright red clouds in the west, and his heart was slowly sinking.

After fierce fighting, the troops suffered heavy losses, and the Imperial Allied Army was even more demoralized. Moreover, the troops were already quite exhausted, flourishing and declining, and it was not easy to organize such a ferocious offensive as just now.

The night is getting darker and darker, the visual distance is not clear, and the advantage of your own artillery fire will not be fully exploited. Fujisawa felt acutely that he was facing an increasingly difficult and dangerous situation.

Attacking can only bring the exhausted soldiers to death again; Resting on the spot may cause more and more enemies to surround you; Calling for help, anxious to intercept the enemy's friendly forces attacking the county seat, they had to return at night.

"Report to Your Excellency." The artillery officer interrupted Fujisawa's thoughts, and his words were anxious, "Your Excellency, there is not much ammunition left......

"Yaga!" Fujisawa angrily interrupted the untimely and troubled subordinate, eager to shoot the bastard.