"Well, Lao Wang is right. In this way, I will give one of you three days to prepare for the war, and at eight o'clock in the evening three days later, we will launch an attack on the two county towns on time.

"Yes, Commander, I promise to complete the mission...", the two men replied at the same time with excited faces.

"Well, go ahead. Remember what I just explained..."Liu Hua nodded, turned around and began to continue studying the military map in front of him... As the two commanders returned to their headquarters one after another, in less than three days, the two army divisions gathered at least three main regiments of infantry and artillery regiments necessary for the siege of Shanyin County and around Baoding City.

With one army after another, in the stunned eyes of the defending troops, they walked out of the dense forest where they were hiding and surrounded the two county towns. The army in the two counties immediately changed from the shock just now to chaos... Because since they learned that the two main divisions that invaded the base area of the Eighth Route Army were ambushed by the troops of the Eighth Route Army and were finally annihilated. They knew that sooner or later the Eighth Route Army would launch a counteroffensive.

However, after hearing the order of the superiors, in less than half a month, there will be an army of 150,000 troops, stationed in the two cities, which made the defenders in the two county towns feel a lot more relaxed. Because, in their eyes, the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side, after continuous battles, must have suffered very heavy losses in the troops, and it will take at least a month to rest and recuperate before the troops can regain their combat effectiveness. At that time, the defenders in his county were not just a few thousand troops, but tens of thousands of troops equipped with various heavy weapons. Even if the Eighth Route Army wanted to attack, it would not be possible to take it... However, to the surprise of these defenders. Less than half a month after the end of the entire battle, the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side seemed to have regained its combat effectiveness. And unconsciously, he concentrated the forces of several main regiments and prepared to besiege his county seat. What's more, among the troops of the Eighth Route Army besieging their own county, dozens of large-caliber siege artillery pieces were discovered..."Baga, how could the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army recover so quickly, it has only been less than half a month, how is it possible." Eight-grid tooth road. Yours, immediately report the situation to His Excellency the Commander, and ask His Excellency the Commander for operational guidance..."Although the Eighth Route Army outside the city has not yet officially launched an attack. However, seeing the artillery with the muzzle of the black hole and the heavy machine gun glowing with blue light outside the city, the supreme commander of the garrison knew that under the fierce attack of such powerful firepower, the more than 1,000 Imperial Army troops and more than 2,000 Imperial Allied Army troops in the county town were simply not enough for the Eighth Route Army outside the city. Maybe after the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army outside the city, the 2,000 Imperial Allied Army troops under his command will fall apart and completely lose their combat effectiveness..."Hi, Your Excellency the Commander..."Looking at His Excellency the Commander of the Eighth Route Army's position outside the city with a solemn face, the communications staff officer hurriedly replied, leaving this as if he had fled, and could become the target of the Eighth Route Army's artillery attack at any time, fell into the city wall of a sea of fire, and ran towards the safest headquarters in the entire county... For a time, Shanyin County, Baoding City,. Almost at the same time, the supreme commanders of the two county towns sent one telegram after another to the commander in Shijiazhuang, General Okamura Ningji, asking for operational guidance..."What does the Eighth Route Army want to do, it has only been less than half a month, have they recovered from the last war?" Baga, what are the intelligence departments and special high-tech departments doing, why is the Eighth Route Army such a big troop transfer plan, but we haven't gotten any news..."Looking at the number of telegrams for help from the two counties in succession, I saw that I had received several telegrams asking for help from the two counties in a row. I thought that this encirclement and suppression operation would be foolproof, and I was confidently waiting for the commander of the 150,000 army to arrive. couldn't help but roar loudly at the deputy chief of staff in front of him. Because, as long as the two county towns are lost, the 150,000-strong army will lose its foothold... At that time, the entire plan of the encirclement and suppression campaign will be completely disrupted.

"Hey, Your Excellency Commander, do you see if we will immediately send reinforcements to reinforce the two county towns. Now the 150,000 troops sent by the South to reinforce them will arrive in five days at most. As long as we hold out for five days, we will be able to achieve victory, and then the readers of the Eighth Route Army will be unable to escape. The deputy chief of staff whispered..."No, it's too late. According to the deployment of enemy and enemy forces in the two county towns, even if our reinforcements arrived, the entire county would have fallen into the pockets of the Eighth Route Army's Reading Division. Therefore, the urgency of our delay now is not to hold the two county seats, but to preserve enough vital forces to block the offensive of the Eighth Route Army. After letting them occupy the two county towns, they no longer have the strength to continue to launch a new offensive. The commander, Senior General Okamura Ninji, replied.

"Hi, Your Excellency the Commander is wise," the Deputy Chief of Staff replied with a look in his eyes.

"Order, Shanyin County, the supreme commander of the defenders of Baoding City, to lead the troops to retreat immediately after inflicting large-scale casualties on the attacking troops of the Eighth Route Army with favorable fortifications... Other. From the surrounding county seats, immediately transfer heavy troops, in the north of Shanyin County, east of Baoding County, with the help of favorable terrain, to build fortifications, block the attack of the Eighth Route Army, and must hold on until the arrival of the main force..."Okamura Ningji Daisa ordered loudly..."Hi, Your Excellency Commander, I will immediately go and call back the supreme commanders of the two counties...."After the deputy chief of staff recorded the order, he turned around and left the room.

Just when the supreme commanders of the two county towns had just received a call back from General Okamura Ninji. A violent cannon fire began to ring out on the city walls ... After a dense explosion, the entire city wall was soon plunged into a sea of fire under the repeated shelling of two corps divisions, an artillery regiment, and dozens of heavy artillery. Under the reflection of the fireballs generated by the continuous explosion of this cannonball, the entire sky was illuminated red...... "Baga, the Eighth Route Army is very cunning... The first squadron on the city wall, one regiment and two battalions of the Imperial Allied Army, were ordered to hold the city wall. Without my orders, dare to retreat and kill without mercy... Order the remaining troops in the city to assemble immediately and prepare for a breakthrough..."Looking at the dense artillery fire at the head of the city, he looked at the telegram he had just received in his hand. A sneer appeared on the corner of Commander Dazuo's mouth, and he ordered to the officers around him.

And at this moment, there are more than 200 little devils and more than 600 puppet army troops who are sticking to the city wall. The defenders of nearly 1,000 men were left with less than half of the remnants of the artillery regiment after passing through the indiscriminate bombardment of dozens of heavy artillery pieces of the artillery regiment for 10 minutes in a row and hundreds of rounds of large-caliber shells. More than 400 puppet soldiers who were still able to continue fighting, under the threat of heavy machine guns in front of the supervising team behind them, had to lie on the city wall that had been blown up to pieces, and put up their last resistance....

And the troops of the Eighth Route Army preparing to attack the city outside the city, with the cessation of the shelling, a main battalion, more than 500 soldiers of the Eighth Route Army. Under the cover of dozens of light and heavy machine guns, in a loose offensive formation, they quickly rushed out of their positions and began to attack several gaps that had been blown open by artillery fire... Under the fire of the impermeable light and heavy machine gun bullets, the puppet army that still held on to the head of the city was almost so crushed that it could not lift its head.

Because, the dense rain of bullets fired by dozens of light and heavy machine guns outside the city was almost close to the edge of the city wall. As long as the soldiers lying on the city wall showed their heads, the final result was no surprise, that is, their brains were burst by the flying bullets, and even a complete corpse could not be left. As a result, the remaining more than 300 puppet soldiers on the city wall, looking at the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army who were getting closer and closer outside the city, there was almost no way. I can only look at the ocean and sigh, look at the troops of the Eighth Route Army, and approach the city wall that has been blown up step by step..."Comrades rush with me... "With the troops of the Eighth Route Army, it is getting closer and closer to the city wall. A shout of killing, mixed with the explosion of grenades, immediately began to sound in several gaps in the city walls... The troops of the Eighth Route Army, who had already rushed to the city wall, soon mixed with the puppet army on the city wall, which had no way to retreat, and began the most brutal hand-to-hand combat... However, just when the two armies of the enemy and us on the city wall were engaged in a life-and-death struggle. The supreme commander defending the city had already taken the remaining more than 2,000 troops in the county town and began to retreat from the north gate, and quickly ran out in the direction where the reinforcements were located, out of the range of the soldiers' field of vision....Without the reinforcements in the city, the remaining puppet army on the city wall finally lasted less than ten minutes, and all fell under the bayonets of the soldiers and disappeared into the wave of the soldiers' charge..."Comrades, rush..." After destroying the remaining defenders on the city wall, the troops of the Eighth Route Army did not stop at all, and immediately rushed into the already empty county town from the breach. The reason why it is empty is very simple. Because the entire Shanxi Province was completely occupied by Reading Power, these two county towns slowly developed into two military stations and two military camps because of the advantages of geographical location. As for the common people in the city, they either died in the war, or joined the ranks of the fleeing, or entered the base area....

In this way, the entire battle took less than half an hour from start to finish. The county seat, which was already empty, was occupied by two military divisions at a small cost. The various defending units that had retreated from the county seat, after converging with the reinforcements at a distance of several dozen kilometers from the county seat, began to take advantage of the favorable terrain and began to build blocking positions to block the attacking troops of the two army divisions..."The commander of the report sent a good news from the high commander of the second division, because after the army put up a little resistance, they took the initiative to abandon the county seat of Shanyin, and now the troops have completely taken over the entire county seat of Shanyin. In addition, it was reported that after the garrison and reinforcements of the army converged, they built blocking fortifications 20 kilometers north of the county town of Shanyin in an attempt to block our attack, and Commander Gao requested the next battle plan..."Just when Commander Liu Hua and Political Commissar Luo Ronghuan were anxiously waiting in the war room from the beginning of the battle, the good news of the Second Division came..." At the same time, the other troops, according to the original plan, began to implement the plan to break the city of Shanyin County..."Liu Hua nodded and ordered.

Less than five minutes after the chief of staff left, the telegram from the third district came one after another: "Commander, political commissar, Commander Wang telegram, the army took the initiative to abandon Baoding City, and now Baoding City has been taken... At the same time, the defending troops are thirty kilometers east of the county seat of Baoding, converging with reinforcements, and are taking advantage of the favorable terrain to build fortifications..."

"Commander, it's really unexpected, the little devil also took the initiative to give up the county seat... However, if nothing else, this must be Okamura's order. He knew that the county town could not be defended, so it was better to preserve the living forces, adopt the tactics of blocking and blocking, drag us until their reinforcements arrived, and then wipe us out and reclaim the two county towns. "Looking at two telegrams with almost identical contents. Political Commissar Luo Ronghuan keenly discovered this problem and said.

"Commander, political commissar, in this case, is it not the same telegram to the commander of the third division according to the call back from the second division just now?" Chief of Staff Li Qing continued.

"No, order Wang Nanhu, leave a certain number of troops, hold Baoding City, cooperate with the engineering troops, and implement our plan to break the city. The rest of the troops, under his personal command, concentrated their forces and continued to attack the army. Tell Wang Nanhu that he can fight as far as he can, in a word, the farther away from Baoding City, the better. But there is one thing, he must be allowed to control the casualties of the troops, and the big battle is still to come. Liu Hua shook his head and ordered affirmatively..."Commander, why is this?" Why did the 3rd Division continue to attack the devils, but the 2nd Division remained unchanged..."After listening to Liu Hua's order, the chief of staff asked rhetorically with a puzzled expression. Even Luo Ronghuan, the political commissar beside him, showed a trace of doubt on his face, looking at Liu Hua in front of him.

"It's very simple, in a few days, our offensive cluster in Tianjin will pass through Baoding City. We can't let the little devils see our tens of thousands of troops, swaggering past Baoding City, and going north... In order to be able to achieve the sudden surname of the operation, in addition to the Eighth Route Army in all parts of North China, which will launch a counteroffensive to cooperate at that time, we must also drive the little devils around Baoding as far away as possible, so as not to leak our plan in advance...."Commander, I understand, I will immediately call Commander Wang back according to your wishes..."After speaking, Chief of Staff Li Qing rushed out of the war room with an excited face and ran to the telegraph room of the headquarters.

After receiving the commander's order, Gao Yuan, the commander of the 2nd Division, immediately transferred the strength of an infantry regiment and a battalion of the artillery regiment to join the ranks of pursuing the little devils. As for the remaining troops, in addition to the troops left behind in Shanyin County, the remaining troops are battalions as units, sweeping away all the puppet troops and Han annihilation spies within dozens of kilometers around the county seat... At the same time, two engineer regiments were escorted by an infantry regiment along the way, carrying tens of thousands of kilograms of explosives. Taking advantage of the night, I secretly came to this moment, and the already empty county town of Shanyin began to prepare for the explosion in a few seconds a few days... Everything was very well organized, as if it had been rehearsed in advance....

At the same time, Wang Nanhu, who was also under order, in addition to leaving an infantry regiment in Baoding City and assisting two engineer regiments to arrange graves for the little devils. The rest of the troops, under the personal leadership of Wang Nanhu, left Baoding City and pursued the army dozens of miles away, which was building blocking fortifications... It's a few hours, and it's still dark. Although it is said that the puppet army has gathered more than 5,000 troops. However, in the darkness of the night, no permanent fortifications were constructed. Just in front of the warriors, relying on the favorable terrain, a trench was dug. And using a limited number of logs, a simple civil fortification was constructed... Seeing that it was only a few hours before the army was able to draw out a complete fortification in front of him. Commander Wang Nanhu was shocked, but he didn't take it to heart. Zhou Zhigang, the artillery commander beside him, asked: "Commander Zhou, the little devil's civil engineering fortifications, your artillery regiment, can you destroy them all..."

After listening to Wang Nanhu's words, Zhou Zhigang, the commander of the artillery regiment, did not answer immediately. Instead, he raised the telescope in his hand, and under the faint light of the fire, carefully observed the blocking fortifications a few hundred meters away in front of him... Finally, after two minutes of observation, Zhou Zhigang put down the telescope in his hand, and at the same time, a confident smile slowly appeared in his eyes: "Commander, don't worry, give me twenty minutes, I promise to raze the blocking fortifications that the little devils worked hard to build all night..."

"Okay, order the artillery regiment to prepare for battle and shell the positions of the Japanese army for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes later, the first regiment of Reading Li launched a group charge towards the position of the army, striving for an attack and taking the position of the little devil..."Looking at Zhou Zhigang with a confident face, Wang Nanhu loudly gave the order to attack to several regiment commanders around him.

In less than 10 minutes, a rumbling sound of artillery rang out on the artillery position, which was less than 500 meters behind Commander Wang Nanhu. The first round of 36 shells, with a hint of orange-red flames, flew out of the artillery position and accurately smashed on the blocking position of the Japanese army a kilometer away... In an instant, the blocking position, which was still pitch black just now, immediately illuminated the position with the continuous explosion of thirty-six shells, and the rising fireballs... The artillery observers, who had already lurked in front of the blocking positions of the Japanese army, quickly reported to the artillery positions behind them one by one the firepower points exposed under the light of the fire. As for the 36 guns in the artillery positions, they were cleared one by one by company according to the latest military firing points reported by the artillery observers... The rumbling sound of artillery was very unpleasant for the puppet army that was sticking to the position. At this moment, not one of the puppet troops lying in the trenches, as well as the little devils who served as reserves behind the blocking position, did not pray to God that the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army could end soon. However, such a dense sound of artillery and constantly rising fireballs are not only very pleasant to the ears of the soldiers who are preparing to attack, but also like a large fireworks set off by an artillery regiment for free... However, although the fireworks are beautiful, they are only twenty minutes after all. Just when the soldiers were pointing at the blocking position of the Japanese army, which was already in a sea of fire a few hundred meters away, the twenty-minute shelling had to end in the eyes of the soldiers... At this moment, after the baptism of nearly 1,000 shells weighing more than 10 kilograms, the civil fortifications hastily constructed by the Yue army have completely revealed their most primitive colors. Countless logs used to reinforce the trenches had been turned into piles of char under heavy artillery fire. And more logs, under the roasting of high temperatures, turned into piles of raging fires... Piles of bonfires that were constantly burning illuminated the already devastated blocking positions of the Japanese army.

As for the more than 1,000 puppet troops who were holding their positions, although they had the cover of trenches. However, during the twenty-minute shelling, most of the losses were made. In particular, one regiment of the Imperial Allied Army was almost completely lost in the dense artillery fire. Even if they weren't killed on the spot, at this moment, they were stunned by fright and lost their combat effectiveness..."Baga, the Eighth Route Army is very cunning, how can they have such fierce artillery fire, Bage Yalu... Immediately send a regiment of troops of the Imperial Allied Army to enter the position, and be sure to block the attack of the Eighth Route Army. At the same time, the overseers were to supervise the battle behind the position, and any soldier who dared to retreat would be killed on the spot..."Looking at the position that had been blown to pieces, after learning the news that a regiment of the Imperial Allied Army had almost been lost. While being angry, Commander Dazuo shouted an order to one of the Imperial Association commanders who served as reserves.

When nearly a thousand soldiers of the Imperial Alliance Army came to the position under the drive of more than a hundred little devils, everyone was shocked by the scene in front of them... Because, before the war, it was still very strong, and the various fortifications that could provide them with life support are no longer one in ten. What's more, the entire trench, in the midst of intensive artillery fire, has been able to continue to use less than a third of its length, as for the rest, almost all of them have been blown up by intensive artillery fire...

(To be continued)