The Japanese infantry brigade, which had been harassing non-stop in the middle of the night, also seemed relieved when it looked at the troops gathered behind the offensive position at this moment. The pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info used to attack every half hour, which also made the infantry brigade miserable.

Fortunately, their mission has been completed at this moment, and the next battle has nothing to do with them. Although the infantry brigade lost a lot of troops, overall the losses were within what they could bear.

Despite the heavy casualties, they believed that the attack in the first half of the night had exhausted the defenders of the positions that had been fighting for two days. This also means that they will reduce the offensive pressure of these attacking forces.

Of course, this is just wishful thinking on the part of the little devils, and the specific effect will only be known after the next general offensive starts. And the order given by the 2nd Division to the attacking troops was also to take this main position at once.

As long as the main defensive position of the Eighth Route Army is taken, their attack will be much smoother later. It was precisely because of the fact that this defensive position was somewhat easy to defend and difficult to attack, that the Second Division also sent out the armored wing to which the division was attached.

Yoshimoto Sadachi, the commander of the Japanese division who was in charge of the command in the rear, looked at the time hand and there were less than ten minutes left before the start of the general attack. also said in a timely manner: "Have all our offensive troops been deployed in place?" ”

'General, they're all in place and ready to attack!' ’

'Yo! Command the artillery units, you can begin to carry out artillery shelling. Five minutes later, the general attack was in full swing! ’

'Hey! ’

With Yoshimoto Sada's order to start the general attack, the artillery units that had been deployed behind the Japanese offensive positions earlier and had not been used officially joined the general attack artillery camp tonight.

After two days of attacking, the Eighth Route Army did not use any artillery units to counteract, which made the artillery units of the Second Division feel good. Perhaps the Eighth Route Army, which was blocking in front of them, should not dare to carry out artillery counterattacks at will.

In order to relieve the pressure on the attacking troops that followed, the 2nd Division decided to carry out a saturated artillery bombardment. At least in Yoshimoto's opinion, such intensive artillery fire will also increase the psychological pressure on the defenders.

At this time, in the defensive positions of the 4th and 5th Divisions, the two division commanders have also been exchanging information on the positions. Based on the pattern of Japanese attacks in which the two positions were almost identical, both division commanders guessed that the Japanese were engaged in exhaustion tactics.

Even if they don't launch a general attack tonight, then tomorrow will inevitably be the time for their general attack. After all, the stalemate that lasted for two days is believed to be a good rest for both armies.

The defenders of the position, who were on high alert, saw that the time was approaching the early hours of the morning, and they felt that they should be able to breathe a sigh of relief. The defensive positions of the 5th Division also received a telegram from the 1st Regiment of the 4th Division, and the Japanese armored units were dispatched.

Despite the defensive positions of the two divisions, the distance was somewhat far. However, in order to strengthen the cooperation between the two forces on the front, the two main infantry regiments responsible for defending the main position also exchanged some information from time to time in order to strengthen analysis.

Shortly after receiving a telegram from the First Regiment of the Fourth Division, the front-line infantry regiment of the Fifth Division. The forward observation post, which was responsible for observing the movements of the Japanese army, was soon shocked to find that there was a dense artillery fire coming from the rear of the little devil.

'Shelling! Defense! ’

The observation posts, which blew the whistle of the shelling, quickly signaled the defenders of the position. The defenders on the position, when they just hid in the anti-artillery pit, found that this round of artillery fire was intensive, far exceeding the artillery fire used by the Japanese army before.

'Not good! The little devil is about to launch a general attack, order all troops to prepare for a counterattack! At the same time, quickly report the situation to the division headquarters and request the divisional artillery regiment to be ready to support at any time! ’

Understand that the little devils suddenly intensified the intensity of the shelling, naturally it will not be a joke. The raid that lasted for the middle of the night must have been for the general attack at this moment. Fortunately, the two divisions are in defensive positions, and at this moment the troops and weapons are sufficient.

When the little devils were carrying out heavy artillery bombardment, the officers and men of the Eighth Route who were resting in the anti-artillery tunnels were also carrying out emergency pre-war mobilization. Every officer and soldier seemed to know that there would be a real bloody battle ahead.

'Flares ready!' I unscrewed the caps on all the grenades, and I checked the weapons a little more carefully. When you hear the whistle, you immediately enter the position and prepare for battle. cheered up, and the next thing was to really die with the little devil. ’

The officers in the anti-artillery tunnels, while the heavy shelling was still raging outside, also told their soldiers to make preparations before the battle. Once you enter the defensive position, you will be aware of the official start of the hand-to-hand encounter with the little devils.

Compared with the defensive positions of the five divisions, it has a better terrain advantage. The defensive positions of the four divisions and one regiment were much more flat. The route chosen by the Second Division to break through was also the main position that hoped to break through the defense of the Fourth Division and One Regiment in one fell swoop.

If the officers and men of the two main positions could see the artillery fire of each other's positions at this moment, I believe that the officers and men of the Fifth Division would feel that the artillery fire they endured was still much lighter than that of the Fourth Division.

In order to facilitate the next assault of the armored forces, the number of artillery units deployed by the 2nd Division at the front of the 4th Division's position was naturally larger than that of the 5th Division. Such dense artillery fire plunged the positions of the Fourth Division into a scene of roaring artillery fire.

The commander of the regiment who stayed in the underground bunker, looking at the explosions that kept sounding on the position, also sighed: "I have to say, the little devil is really rich." After this artillery bombardment, the number of shells consumed is really a lot! ”

'Commander, it seems that the little devil wants to take our position with all his might! You said wait, do you want to fight back properly. I don't think the little devils should know that the number of troops we have in the position at this time is not less than theirs! ’

'Wait! Let's crush the attack of the little devils first, and as for the counterattack, we must get the consent of the division commander. Without the consent of our superiors, we cannot attack on our own. ’

While the two of them calmly looked at the artillery fire on the position, the officers and soldiers hiding in the anti-artillery tunnels also looked at the defensive trenches that were constantly being blown up. From time to time, some officers also instructed their officers and men to repair the trenches as soon as possible.

As for the anti-tank trenches that were dug earlier, in such a short period of time, I am afraid that there is no way to repair them. However, some anti-tank mines planted earlier have been detonated from time to time at this moment, which makes the officers and men feel a little regretful.

Fortunately, the officers and men all knew that the column had already sent the anti-tank detachment directly under it. Therefore, when the time comes to engage, the infantry of the little devils is in charge of them, and the tanks are in charge of the anti-tank detachments.

Between the roar of the artillery, the sentry who was hiding in the front line and was in charge of observation also quickly saw the headlights appearing in front of the position. From the constant shaking of the ground, you can see these lights, thinking that the little devil's tank is about to attack.

'Send a signal to tell the regiment commander that the little devil's tank is coming!' ’

'Yes, squad leader! ’

A soldier hiding in an observation post also transmitted this information back to the main position in due course. Knowing this, the commander of the first regiment also immediately said: "Chief of staff, tell the anti-tank detachment that the little devil's tank has come up!" ”

'Yes, Captain! ’

Tell our troops that the little devil is going to be real this time. Wait for the fight to start, give me a hard beating, and make sure the little devil knows. I want to get past my defensive positions, unless I'm all gone! ’

It was clear that this position was very important for the 4th Division, and even for the entire column. If they can't hold it, they may cause heavy losses to the rear troops.

Once this position defended by the Fourth Division falls, then the main position defended by the Fifth Division may be flanked by the enemy. For this reason, neither the defensive positions of the 4th or 5th divisions could tolerate any problems.

At this moment, when they received a call from the front-line position, the first reaction of the two division commanders was to send the main force of a regiment to the front. In addition to strengthening the forces of the second line of defense, reinforcements were also sent to the main position again.

This was done in order to ensure the security of the position. In the past two days, the officers and men of the two positions have actually fought very hard. If they can repel the attack of the little devils tonight, tomorrow they will decide to change their troops.

After all, although they did not have many defensive units deployed on the front line, they had quite a few troops on standby in the rear. If you fight with the little devils, they really don't worry too much.

Seeing that the armored troops had advanced to the front of the Eighth Route Army's position, the wing commander in charge of the command also said in a timely manner: "Tell the front-line troops to strive to take the position of the Eighth Route Army with one force, don't care about casualties, and must rush forward." ”

Although it is not clear why the division accelerated the pace of the offensive, it can be used as a front-line commander. They all knew that almost all the main forces of the division had been sent over. This is also the first time that the division has really gone all out.

If the position of the Eighth Route Army cannot be taken tonight, then the next offensive may be replaced by other troops. Many Japanese commanders felt that it was a shame for many Japanese commanders to be replaced.

The five-minute shelling ended, and the Japanese artillery fire began to extend. And the tanks that advanced to the front of the Eighth Route Army's position also stepped on the accelerator at this time and accelerated their charge towards the position of the Eighth Route Army.

The commander of the Japanese infantry who followed the tank also said in a timely manner: "Kill a few and give it to you!" ”

The Japanese infantry who were trotting to follow up knew very well that what they had to do next was to follow behind the tanks and take the opponent's artillery position. And this speed has to be fast, and the distance of the attack must be shortened as much as possible.

Seeing that the little devil's artillery fire began to extend, the commander of the first regiment also said in a timely manner: "Order the artillery battalion and start the shelling." The troops involved in the defense immediately entered their positions and prepared for battle, covering the comrades of the anti-tank detachment and striving to keep all these tanks behind. ”

'Yes, Captain! ’

The artillery battalion, which had not been used much earlier, also felt that it could be used at this time. The reason is very simple, the counterattack of the artillery battalion is more to buy time for the defending troops and suppress the speed of the little devil's attack.

As for the artillery counterattack of the little devils, I believe that when they counterattack, the artillery battalion will also be able to drag the mortars into the anti-artillery tunnel in time. After all, compared with mountain artillery and field artillery, the speed of erection and dismantling of mortar* artillery is much easier!