The remnants of the 12th Division, which had originally wanted to break through in the afternoon, quickly lost the mind to break through when they saw the heavy rain that was pouring down in the afternoon. How far can they go on just two legs in this kind of weather?

And most importantly, there is no air to cover them from the sky. Those Eighth Route Army, who were looking at them outside, how could they let them leave happily? After some consideration, Higami Shuizo once again ordered to decide whether to break out tomorrow.

The little devil who has rested for a long time seems to have recovered a lot. In addition, they don't have to worry about lack of food for the time being, and after eating a full meal, these little devils are also not idle in the afternoon, constantly strengthening the defensive positions in the core area.

As long as people who are not stupid in their brains know, the Eighth Route Army will inevitably attack them again tonight. If they don't hurry up and strengthen their fortifications, I'm afraid they will not be able to see the sun rising the next day again.

Even after some consideration, Hitomi Shuzo summoned his co-captains, pointed to the defensive area outside the barracks, and said, "Withdraw all the guards of the two lines of defense in front, and all these troops will retreat to the position in front of the camp to defend."

Presumably, tonight, the Eighth Route Army should dispatch their tanks and armor. Taking advantage of the fact that the Eighth Route Army has not yet launched an offensive, we will strengthen the defensive positions at the front of our positions and dig more anti-tank trenches, hoping that we will be able to hold out for a longer time.

If the Eighth Route Army attacks again tonight, then their attack will definitely be even more fierce than yesterday. The troops of the two lines of defense in front should be withdrawn in the evening, and do not alarm the Eighth Route Army that is monitoring us in advance.

The rest of the troops were all engaged in the task of building fortifications. Even if we may all die here in the end, I hope that before we die in battle, we can kill and wound a large number of attacking Eighth Route Army, so as to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor. ”

'Hey! ’

Under the order of Hitomi Shuzo, the Japanese troops who had rested for half a day were all engaged in digging fortifications and bunkers. For many Japanese soldiers, tonight was a very difficult night, and the more stable the fortifications, the safer they might be.

They all experienced the scene of the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery shelling yesterday. Even if there were no materials to build strong bunkers and potholes, they still wanted to build more anti-artillery holes to avoid the blows of small-caliber artillery.

As for the current temporary headquarters of the wounded battalion and the division, they have been transferred to a dead end position. With the help of the terrain there, it can still effectively avoid the heavy artillery attack of the Eighth Route Army. I don't think they will repeat the mistake of last night.

The Japanese soldiers who braved the rain to dig fortifications and bunkers also felt a little unfortunate when they watched the weather gradually darken and the rain gradually weakened. After all, if it's raining, it will also increase the difficulty of attacking troops.

Looking at it now, God seems to favor the Eighth Route Army. When it comes to such a critical time, God doesn't even help. But even so, the Japanese troops in the forward positions who received the order to retreat still quickly withdrew to the rear positions.

The observation post of the Eighth Route Army, which had been staring at the forward position of the little devil, immediately said in surprise: "Look, the little devil seems to have retreated to the back?" At this time, what is their intention to retract? ”

'Don't worry so much, report the situation immediately!' It's so late, it's impossible for the little devil to break through at night, right? Looking at it like this, it is estimated that he wants to shrink the defense line and fight a protracted war with us! If that were the case, the battle would be hard to fight at night. ’

As the forward observation post reported the news, He Zhengdao, who was having dinner at the headquarters, was somewhat surprised when he heard this. After thinking about it, he felt that the little devil should shrink his forces and prepare for the battle.

Thinking of this, He Zhengdao quickly said: "Let the reconnaissance brigade send a few reconnaissance teams to infiltrate the forward positions of the little devils." Let's see where the little devils have withdrawn their defensive line. ”

'Yes, Commander! ’

Now that the little devil has already made a move, He Zhengdao naturally needs to make some contingencies in time. For the little devil to shrink his forces to defend, He Zhengdao saw that there were not many surviving Japanese troops in Kongjiagou.

If it weren't for the problem of troops, the little devil wouldn't have to give up the blocking positions on the periphery. After all, it will take a little time for those Eighth Route Army to capture these blocking positions!

If the little devils have enough troops, they can completely use the blocking defense line established on the periphery to block the Eighth Route Army that is attacking. And not the abrupt withdrawal of the troops who had placed them on the front line, as is the case now.

With the small detachment of the reconnaissance brigade, a tentative attack on the forward positions of the little devils began. The reconnaissance detachment that arrived at the front-line position, after a careful search, found that all the little devils on the front-line position had withdrawn.

'Nothing found! The little devil walked very calmly, and the supplies and ammunition were taken away! ’

'Okay, continue to reconnoiter to the second-line position. Our task is to see where the little devils have withdrawn. Find out the defensive arrangement of the little devils and provide intelligence support for the follow-up army attack. ’

'Yes, Captain! ’

A group of members of the reconnaissance team sent two members to the rear to deliver the news that the little devil had abandoned the front-line positions on the periphery. Upon learning of this, Ho Zhengdao immediately dispatched offensive troops to take over these positions.

Since the little devils are going to retreat, they don't need to hide anything. The little devils want to shrink the line of defense, and the independent column will compress their line of defense. Kongjiagou is also so big, and the little devil will always fall into a point where there is no way to retreat.

When they arrived at the second-line position, they still did not find the blocking force of the little devils, and the soldiers of the reconnaissance squad felt a little surprised. It was only when they saw that the Japanese third line of defense, which looked stronger than last night's attack, that they finally knew why.

The news was transmitted back to the rear headquarters, and He Zhengdao looked at the three Japanese fortifications marked on the sand table. Pointing to the third line of fortifications, he said: "It seems that the little devil's losses last night were greater than we expected, and he was no longer able to send troops to garrison the two positions on the periphery.

Now they have reduced their forces and strengthened the third line of defense, presumably intending to fight us to the death in the third line of defense. Moreover, the reconnaissance detachment also found out that they had dug anti-tank trenches near their positions.

This meant that if our tank armor wanted to continue to advance at night, it would have to completely capture the third line of defense. It's just that the little devil's calculation is destined to fail, you must know that our troops are far more than he imagined.

The artillery regiments of the two divisions were ordered to advance the artillery positions some further forward. Since the little devils have put so much effort into building defensive positions, it is a bit of a disappointment to not check the level of their fortifications.

In addition, the armored regiment and the reconnaissance brigade were ordered to clear out the troops deployed by the little devils in the third line of defense when attacking at night. The engineer company directly under it must open an offensive channel for our armored troops in the shortest possible time.

Here in Kongjiagou, although there are many trees. But those trees are not thick, and I believe that the fortifications they built cannot withstand the shelling of heavy artillery. But it should be able to effectively defend against the attack of our mountain artillery and mortars.

By the way, let Zhu Definition command the trip. Tonight, I'm going to make these little devils a good idea of how terrible habits can sometimes be. It would be wishful thinking to resist our advance with fortifications. ”

Zhu Definition, who received the order, will also serve as the temporary commander of the artillery unit tonight. When he came to the headquarters, after listening to He Zhengdao's order, he was also a little happy and said: "Please rest assured, commander, I know what to do!" ”

'Good! Let's go down and prepare! In addition, please inform our attacking troops at the front to avoid accidental injuries as much as possible! ’

'Yes, Commander! ’

Looking at Zhu Definition, who left with a wicked smile, Wang Tianlin, a staff officer standing next to him, also smiled and said, "Commander, it seems that tonight's little devil is going to be unlucky." It is estimated that after such a toss, they don't know how to defend against artillery. ”

This kind of trick is the first time it works. If you use it a few more times, I'm afraid it won't work. However, it is still useful to use this method to make the little devils nervous and increase their casualties. ’

By the time the artillery units moved their artillery positions forward overnight, other units began to move into offensive positions. The officers and men of the armored regiment, who had also rested for a day, finished replenishing ammunition for tanks and armored vehicles, and drove towards the little devil's position again.

The roar of the engine naturally could not be concealed from the Japanese army, who were ready to engage in battle. It's just that the Eighth Route Army didn't shell them tonight, and many little devils felt a little surprised.

As the armored vehicles entered the second position, many little devils hiding in the third position were also ready to engage in battle. It was just to their surprise that the tanks that had entered the second line of positions did not seem to be advancing anymore.

At this time, two tanks, which looked clearly in the head, suddenly opened fire on their blocking position. Shells from two tank guns flew into position, one of which happened to land on a heavy machine-gun position.

Looking at the heavy machine gun position that was destroyed, Cao Cao, the Japanese soldier next to him, couldn't help but say: "Baga! ”

Just when many little devils were curious, these Eighth Route Army would not want to capture their blocking positions just by relying on tank guns. The artillery units in the rear, which had been preparing for a long time, knew that this was an order to open artillery when they looked at the sound of shelling from the front.

Zhu Definition, who was staying in the artillery position, said excitedly: "All artillery battalions are ready, first give the little devil a three-minute artillery bombardment!" ”

'Yes! ’

As a mountain cannon and a field cannon began to roar, the collective sound of firing made Zhu Definition also feel that the sound of these cannons firing in unison was somewhat insufficient compared to the deafening feeling of heavy artillery.

But for the officers and soldiers on the little devil's blocking position, such a uniform sound of artillery bombardment meant that the Eighth Route Army launched a large-scale artillery bombardment again. For a while, all the little devils began to hide in the previously constructed anti-artillery holes.

Of course, many soldiers who ran slowly were still killed by the incoming shells. In the face of such a fierce shelling, it is naturally impossible to save a single person. And this shelling was also the beginning of the general offensive of the independent column! (To be continued.) )