"Open fire..." Immediately afterward, on the artillery positions of the Japanese army, commanders at all levels sounded, one after another. A cannon that had already been loaded made a loud roar at the sound of the command. Huge shells, under the action of the huge impetus generated by the explosion of gunpowder, flew out of the barrels of the cannons, and with a huge whistling sound, flew towards the position of the Eighth Route Army a few miles away. With just one round of firing from twenty guns, the entire artillery position was enveloped in the smoke generated by the firing of the shells.

"It's not good, the little devil has started shelling, quickly, leave the observation post, and the rest of the people will immediately enter the anti-artillery hole..." At the same time, a shrill whistling sound of cannonballs quickly reached his ears. The commander of the first battalion guarding the forward position immediately understood the final intention of the army. As a result, the forward positions immediately sounded the orders of the battalion commander and commanders at all levels... Suddenly, the soldiers, who were still lying in the trenches just now, quietly waiting for the arrival of the little devil, immediately picked up their equipment and ran towards the nearest anti-artillery hole. However, although the first battalion commander's reminder was very timely, at the same time, the speed of the soldiers' retreat was also very fast. However, no matter how fast it is, it cannot be faster than the speed of the shell.

Just when the soldiers who retreated quickly and entered the anti-artillery hole were less than half the strength of the whole battalion. Twenty shells, as if with eyes, fell one after another on their forward positions, and there was a huge explosion. Huge fireballs rose in the dark night. At the same time, a few shells that fell in the trenches exploded into the sky dozens of fighters around them who had not had time to retreat.

As the screams of the soldiers sounded, one by one, the soldiers were in the huge wave of air generated by the explosion of the shells. It's like a fallen leaf, constantly dancing in the air. If you are a little lucky, you will be able to leave a whole corpse behind when you land. The unlucky warriors, when they flew into the sky, were still a complete corpse. However, by the time he landed, his entire body had been reduced to a pile of debris... However, fortunately, the army used various types of mountain artillery. Not the kind of mortar that fires extremely fast. Just when the second round of artillery shells of the Japanese army exploded on the position. The entire battalion, except for the dozens of soldiers who had just had no time to retreat and died in the artillery fire of the Japanese army. The rest of the fighters hid in their own anti-artillery holes. Unless the artillery shells of the army can accurately and directly hit the hole. Otherwise, the fighters hiding in the anti-artillery holes would not be in any danger. Of course, this kind of possible surname that directly hits the entrance of the cave is almost impossible for these mountain artillery.

"Instructor, what about the casualties of the soldiers. With such a loud sound of shelling, the regiment commander must have guessed the situation we encountered, did the regiment commander have any instructions? Feeling the slight tremor of the anti-artillery hole under the artillery bombardment of the Japanese army, the battalion commander patted the dust that had just fallen on his shoulder, and asked the instructor who had just gone to count the losses of the soldiers.

"Battalion commander, the artillery bombardment of the Japanese army came too suddenly. Before the fighters had all retreated into the anti-artillery holes, the first round of shells from the little devils came. Half of the battalion was just completely exposed to enemy fire. In the process of retreating, a total of 58 soldiers in the battalion were killed in the shelling of the Japanese army. In addition, there are 12 soldiers who are seriously injured and urgently need medical treatment, otherwise..."Thinking that his elite battalion had lost almost half of the strength of the infantry company before it had gone head-to-head with the army, the instructor's heart was sad.

"Damn, little devil, I'm at odds with you... Instructor, is there any new order from the regimental commander? Hearing the casualty data, the first battalion commander clenched his fists tightly and said fiercely. However, at this moment, the phone in the anti-artillery tunnel rang, and the communicator next to the battalion commander hurriedly picked up the microphone arranged in the anti-artillery cavity..."Battalion commander, it is the regiment commander who is looking for you...."Just when the battalion commander was about to say something. The correspondent's voice reached his ears. Seeing that the communicator's left hand was tightly covering the microphone, the battalion commander hurriedly bent over and walked over.

"Commander, the little devils have already begun to attack our forward positions. This time, the army had made a bloody effort, gathered more than 20 large-caliber artillery pieces, and suddenly launched a fierce artillery attack on our forward positions. Because the artillery bombardment of the Japanese army came so suddenly, many soldiers did not have time to retreat. Therefore, a total of 58 fighters were killed, and there were more than a dozen seriously wounded who were about to need surgery..."Taking the microphone in the communicator's hand, the battalion commander hurriedly reported the situation encountered in his forward position.

"Well, Battalion Commander Wang, I have just sent a telegram to the headquarters that we were attacked by the Japanese army, but the commander of the military region has not yet replied to us. Therefore, I ask you to hold the forward position, and without the order of the regimental headquarters, even if the entire battalion is exhausted, you cannot retreat. In a word, before receiving the order to retreat, your battalion must be nailed to the forward position like a nail and fight to the death with the Japanese army. After a brief silence, the sonorous command of the regiment commander came from the microphone.

"Yes, regiment commander, the first battalion is all gone, and it is necessary to block the attack of the little devils. Here, on behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the 1st Battalion, I told the regimental headquarters that we would fight to the death with the troops in the forward positions until a new order came. It's just that, regiment commander, in the shelling just now, we lost two heavy machine guns, and more than a dozen seriously wounded, and we need to be treated immediately...."After listening to the regiment commander's order, the will to fight in the heart of the battalion commander also burst out in an instant in the voice of the regiment commander's order, and he loudly assured the microphone in his hand.

"Well, it's very good, all I want is your ruthlessness. As for the lost weapons and seriously wounded that you just mentioned, you don't need to worry about this, and when the artillery bombardment stops, I will draw a platoon from the guard company to replenish your battalion. In addition, it will once again replenish you with a heavy machine gun platoon, three heavy machine guns, and a base amount of ammo. As for the dozen or so seriously wounded, I will immediately send someone to bring them back to the regimental headquarters for treatment, and you will clean up the little devils for me at the front line, and don't have any worries...."The regimental commander ordered with certainty.

"Thank you, Captain. Regiment commander, you can rest assured, the first battalion is guaranteed to complete the task, and the people are in the position, so they will definitely block the little devil in front of our position...."Hearing that there was also a platoon of reinforcements and a large amount of ammunition supplies, the battalion commander replied with an excited face.

Although, the order of the commander of the front line of the army, Wing Commander Ishiguro Daisa, was an artillery bombardment that lasted for half an hour. However, when he saw the forward position of the Eighth Route Army a few miles away, in the midst of his intensive artillery fire, he instantly fell into a sea of fire, and immediately changed his mind. Because he believed that such intensive artillery fire would only take a maximum of ten minutes to completely destroy the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army. If it really shelled for half an hour, it would undoubtedly be a waste of precious shells for the Empire.

"Yo Xi, order the artillery brigade of the wing to end the shelling early in five minutes. The First Brigade Matsuda Shaozo immediately organized the troops to prepare for an offensive, and they must occupy the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army in the first round of attacks..."Look at the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army, which are caught in a sea of fire. Wing Commander Ishiguro Osa put down the binoculars in his hand with confidence on his face, and ordered to the staff officers around him.

"Hi... Your Excellency, Wing Commander...."After receiving the order of the Wing Commander, Matsuda Shaosa, the Captain of the First Brigade who took over the first wave of offensive tasks from the hands of the Wing Commander, was very happy in his heart. Especially when he looked at the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army, which had completely fallen into a sea of fire. Because he believed that under this intensive shelling, the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army would definitely be blown up and there would be no bones left. And the only thing that his first brigade needs to do is to clean up the battlefield and seize this military merit of occupying the position of the Eighth Route Army.

"Your Excellency, I believe that under such intensive shelling by the artillery brigade of the wing, the Eighth Route Army on the mountain will definitely be blown up by our army. Therefore, I suggest that the first wave of the offensive only needs to send the strength of one squadron to occupy the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army. The main force of the brigade followed closely behind, taking advantage of the situation to capture the second blocking position of the Eighth Route Army..."Looking at the order just sent by the wing captain in his hand, the deputy captain suggested to the captain who was thinking blindly in front of him.

"Yo Xi, I think so too. The 1st Squadron was ordered to launch an attack on the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army as soon as the artillery fire was extended, under the cover of the heavy machine gun squadron. The main force of the brigade, following closely, launched an attack on the second blocking position of the Eighth Route Army at any time. After listening to the suggestion of the deputy captain Captain Suzuki, the captain Matsuda Shaosa nodded with satisfaction, and ordered in high spirits to the several squadron leaders beside him. The whole process, it was as if the aura of victory had been put on his head.

"Hi, Your Excellency Captain...."From the captain's face, several squadron leaders also seemed to see the victory in front of them, and they all took the order with smiles on their faces. In particular, the 1st squadron, which served as the head attacker.

Finally, just when all the officers and men of the 1st Brigade of the Chinese Army had put on their bayonets and were preparing for the attack, the 10-minute artillery bombardment finally came to an end. One artillery piece, under the command of the commander, began to turn the muzzle and fire extended to the rear of the forward position of the Eighth Route Army. At the same time, the heavy machine gun squadron, which had already moved to a distance of almost 300 meters from the position of the first battalion, and 12 heavy machine guns, under the personal order of the group commander Matsuda Shaosa, spat out 12 dense tongues of fire at the forward position of the Eighth Route Army, which had been blown into ruins 300 meters away... As for all the officers and men of the 1st Squadron, who were responsible for the first wave of the attack, under the personal command of the squadron leader, they immediately formed three straggler lines with three rows of stragglers spaced less than five meters apart in small squadrons, and slowly crossed the position of the heavy machine gun squadron and pressed towards the position of the first battalion. The entire squadron's attacking formation, like three yellow waves, slowly swept towards the top of the hill held by the first battalion.

"Baga, Your Excellency Captain, the offensive formation of the first squadron is too dense. If the Eighth Route Army encounters heavy machine gun fire, the casualties of the troops will definitely be very heavy. Your Excellency, Captain, would you like to send someone to remind the Squadron Leader of the 1st Squadron? Seeing that the first squadron of the brigade that was responsible for the attack, the interval between the skirmish lines, and the dense offensive formation of less than five meters, Captain Suzuki, the deputy captain of the first brigade, hurriedly reminded the captain Matsuda Shaoza beside him.

"No, Suzuki-kun, do you think that in the dense artillery fire just now, there are still surviving soldiers of the Eighth Route Army on the forward position. I think the leader of the first squadron is not a foolish person, he must understand this truth, so he dared to line up in such a dense offensive formation and launch an attack on the forward position of the Eighth Route Army. So, we don't need to be in a hurry, we just need to wait for the good news of the 1st squadron. At the same time, after the first squadron occupies the forward position, the main force of the brigade must immediately attack, cross the forward position, and launch a rapid attack on the second line of blocking positions of the Eighth Route Army..."The captain shook his head and confidently refused the deputy captain's reminder.

"Hi, Your Excellency Captain...", hearing the captain's unequivocal answer, he thought again about the intense shelling that had just lasted for ten minutes. Although the deputy captain always had a trace of uneasiness in his heart, he finally nodded helplessly and began to assemble the remaining three infantry squadrons of the brigade according to the captain's order.

At this moment, the commanders and fighters of the 1st battalion, who had been in the anti-artillery hole for 10 minutes, were brandishing their sapper shovels under the command of commanders at all levels to quickly repair the position that had just been blown up by artillery shells. The commander of the first battalion and the instructor were lying on a hidden observation point, quietly observing every move of the army under the mountain through the binoculars in their hands.

"Hehe, battalion commander, these little devils are so arrogant that they don't even take our battalion seriously. The offensive formation of a squadron is so densely dispatched, isn't he afraid of our machine-gun strafing? Seeing the offensive formation of the Yue army, the voice of the instructor immediately came from the side of the battalion commander.

"Instructor, if my estimate is correct, it must be that the little devil thinks that in the shelling just now, we have been blown to the ground, so we only sent a squadron of troops, and they lined up in an offensive formation that was almost equivalent to death. Since the little devils look down on us so much, I plan to fight their arrogance in the first wave of the army's attack. Let them know that our battalion is not so easy to destroy....... and at the same time, we also avenge the soldiers who died in the shelling just now...."The commander of the first battalion had red eyes, and there was a hint of murderous aura in his eyes..."Battalion commander, I agree with you, such an opportunity will be lost if it is lost. You just give the order, this time, we will give the little devil a good dismount...."Looking at the murderous aura in the battalion commander's eyes, the instructor nodded appreciatively and said.

"Okay, now I order, when the battle is going to be, no one is allowed to show their head without my order, and expose the target in advance. This time, we put the little devils close to open fire, and made good use of the 7 heavy machine guns and more than a dozen light machine guns in our hands, leaving all the 200 little devils in front of the position as much as possible...."As he spoke, the battalion commander began to assign their respective tasks to several company commanders around him. In less than half a minute, all the soldiers stopped what they were doing, and under the command of their respective commanders, they held all kinds of weapons in their hands, and squatted quietly in the trenches, waiting for the arrival of the little devil.

"Yo Xi, it seems that the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army on the mountain are really blown up by the heavy artillery fire we just now. It is said that the time has come for the imperial warriors of this empire to make meritorious contributions to the empire, and they will all kill me, occupy the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army, and eliminate the surviving soldiers of the Eighth Route Army..."Seeing that his squadron had already charged to a distance of only one hundred and fifty meters from the forward position of the Eighth Route Army, there was still no movement at all in the forward position. The squadron leader who led the team couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and shouted at the soldiers who rushed in front of him..."Long live this empire... Kill to give..."Listening to the encouragement of his squadron leader, whether it was the commander or the ordinary soldiers, they were all full of excitement waving the weapons in their hands, shouting loud slogans, while speeding up the pace of their own charge....120 meters... 100 meters... 80 meters... Looking at the forward positions of the Eighth Route Army that are getting closer and closer, there is still no movement. Almost all the little devils breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. There were even some brave soldiers who had already straightened their waists and quickened the pace of their own charge... A little devil, two little devils... Slowly, all the little devils stood up straight, and trotted all the way to the forward position of the Eighth Route Army, which was close to him. Because, in the eyes of these little devils, the Eighth Route Army on the mountain had already been blown up and lost in the shelling just now. Otherwise, why did one of my squadrons rush here, and the Eighth Route Army on the mountain still didn't make any movement. Therefore, the whole offensive process, for these little devils who are already one step away from death, is like a military exercise, and there is no danger at all.

However, what these arrogant little devils didn't expect was that just above the forward position that they thought was empty at this moment, there was a tiger and wolf army, quietly waiting for their arrival. At the same time, several pairs of murderous eyes were staring closely at the pace of the army rushing to the front, calculating the distance between the two armies.

(To be continued)