In this way, in less than half an hour, around the headquarters of the division, almost two wings of infantry and more than 8,000 little devils were assembled. What's more, these little devils who came in advance have taken advantage of this short time to quickly build three simple ring fortifications in a vast area centered on the division headquarters.

At the same time, there were only more than two dozen mountain artillery, field artillery, infantry artillery left in the entire division. Under the command of Wing Commander Miyagawa Aoyama Daisa, an artillery position was erected less than a kilometer from the division headquarters..."Your Excellency the Division Commander, at least 8,000 Imperial Army soldiers have now been assembled around our division headquarters, and a large number of troops are still on their way. At the same time, we have already built three ring fortifications with a distance of 200 meters on the perimeter. More than 3,000 soldiers from three infantry brigades of the 15th Infantry Wing were stationed at the outermost periphery, troops from two brigades were stationed at the second line of fortifications, and troops from two brigades were arranged in the innermost fortification. At the same time, there are also two brigades of troops as the general reserve of the division and regiment..."I have just completed the task assigned to me by the division commander, Lieutenant General Kenji Dohihara. Chief of Staff Sano Osa, panting, rushed into the regimental headquarters and began to report on the specific situation.

"Yo Xi, Chief of Staff, you've worked hard. Order all troops to be ready for battle at any time, resolutely block the possible attack of the Eighth Route Army, in a word, we must hold out until dawn tomorrow. As long as we hold out until dawn tomorrow, we can launch a counterattack with the support of the planes. At the same time, after the troops who came after entering the position, all of them were used as the general reserve of the division and regiment..."The division commander who got the result he wanted, he was still nervous, and immediately relaxed.

"Hey, Your Excellency the Division Commander, I'll go deliver the order right away...", the Chief of Staff took the order.

And just when the army in the encirclement was reinforcing its own fortifications, more than 20,000 troops of the Eighth Route Army, under the orders of the headquarters, were slowly encircling this huge circular fortification. At the same time, the light and heavy artillery guns distributed in various artillery positions also turned their muzzles at Wang Nanhu's order, and all the black holes and muzzles were aimed at the positions of the Yue army in the encirclement..."The commander, except for a small number of little devils, was entangled by the troops of our two main regiments, and did not gather around the headquarters of the Yue army divisions. The remaining nearly 10,000 little devils have all gathered together now. In addition, according to the observations of the artillery observers, the army has built three rings of fortifications with their artillery positions as the center, and has arranged a large number of troops to stick to these fortifications in an attempt to hold on to the fortifications and wait for reinforcements..."In the command headquarters, where the sound of radio announcements was constantly sounding, the chief of staff reported loudly.

"Good... Are our troops fully in place now..."Looking at the constantly changing sand table in front of him, Wang Nanhu said excitedly. At the same time, pointing to the sand table in front of him, he asked the chief of staff who came to report.

"Commander, all the troops are in place, the infantry, artillery, armored corps are all ready. As long as you give the order, we can start shelling more than 100 artillery pieces in the assembly area..."The chief of staff replied in a loud voice. At the same time, the sand table in front of him was rearranged according to the latest enemy situation..."Old Chen, now that all the troops are ready, do you see, do you want to attack immediately?" "Looking at the large area that the army is holding onto, it has been completely surrounded by the small red flag representing the Eighth Route Army. Commander Wang Nanhu asked Chen Revolution, the political commissar beside him, while being excited.

"Lao Wang, since the fighter plane has appeared, of course it is fighting. And we must hurry up, in the shortest possible time, completely annihilate the little devils in the encirclement..."Political Commissar Chen Revolution said with a smile.

"Okay, Chief of Staff, now order. All the artillerymen, five minutes later, began to carry out indiscriminate shelling of the positions of the Japanese troops. My request is very simple, that is, to bomb the positions of the Japanese army to me severely, and as for the end time of the shelling, I will inform you in detail. After the artillery bombardment was over, all the troops launched an attack together, regardless of the assist and the lord, the whole army pressed up together, and constantly compressed the positions occupied by the enemy..."Wang Nanhu ordered loudly.

Five minutes later, more than 100 mortars from the entire 3rd Division, plus 54 heavy artillery pieces from two heavy artillery regiments, fired a raindown of shells at the same time... Dense shells, like rain, constantly exploded on the positions of the Japanese army. The huge fireballs produced by the explosion, like fireworks, illuminated the position of the army clearly.

With a clear target, under the command of an artillery observer, one heavy artillery piece, as if it had eyes, accurately fired shells at the target ... As a result, the artillery position that the army had just established had not had time to fire a single shell, and it was reduced to ruins in three rounds of fire from the heavy artillery regiment. Heavy machine gun positions, under intensive artillery fire, instantly turned into parts. Groups of little devils, in the rain-like shells, continued to appear casualties..."Baga, how can the Eighth Route Army have such fierce artillery fire, Bageya Road, order the troops to disperse immediately, disperse quickly..."All along, it was the enemy who was pressed and beaten by the artillery fire of the Imperial Army, so the division commander, Lieutenant General Kenji Dohihara, thought about concentrating the troops as much as possible and holding on for a longer time.

Because, in his eyes, it is impossible for the Eighth Route Army to concentrate enough artillery to compete with the artillery of his own division. However, this time, he made a mistake, and the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army was completely beyond his imagination. Because the soldiers on the position were so dense, almost every explosion of a shell fired by the Eighth Route Army would take the lives of several Imperial soldiers.

However, at this moment, the division commander, Lieutenant General Kenji Dohihara, even if he discovered this problem in time, it was too late. Because, around them, there are more than 20,000 soldiers, waiting for the little devils in the encirclement to hit their guns. What is even more important is that in the midst of this intensive artillery fire, the contact that had just been established with the forward positions was all blown up before they could play their due role.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander. However, the communications staff officer has just reported that our communication with the various units has been completely cut off, and we are unable to convey orders at all..."I felt the constant shaking of the earth. Chief of Staff Sano Osaku replied sensibly.

"Baga, send a herald and order the troops to disperse immediately and avoid the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army... In any case, we can't let so many Imperial soldiers all gather in this small area. Otherwise, in the midst of this dense artillery fire, it is tantamount to suicide, and immediately send a herald..."Looking at the position a few hundred meters away from the headquarters, there are constantly explosions. The commander of the division, Lieutenant General Kenji Dohihara, roared loudly: "Hey, division commander, I'll do it right away..." Soon, nearly a hundred heralds quickly left the division headquarters where the target had not yet been exposed, amid the order of the chief of staff Sano Daisa. To the forefront of the position, the position that had been caught in a sea of fire rushed over.

However, at this moment, in the position where explosions were constantly occurring, the commander of the army, who had received the order, wanted to do his best to contain the scattered troops and disperse them around. However, the troops of the Eighth Route Army, which were hiding directly opposite them, did not give them any chance.

Under the light of huge fireballs, almost all the movements on the position of the Yue army were reflected in the field of vision of the surrounding soldiers. More than 20,000 fighters and more than 100 heavy machine guns, all of them were solemnly prepared to fire bullets. As long as the little devils on the battlefield dare to show their heads, what awaits them must be impenetrable bullets.

Under the double blow of raining shells and impermeable bullets, the thousands of little devils on the forward position can be said to have a hard time. At this moment, the only thing they could do was lie in the trenches and pray that the shells would not fall on them. However, they forgot that this was the land of China, and their prayers would not have any effect... Under the cover of various heavy artillery, the light mortars deployed by the regiments were immediately moved to the forefront of the position. The mortar shells were accurately shot into the trenches just dug by the Japanese army, killing and injuring the living force of the little devils in the trenches... Although, compared to the power of the heavy artillery, these mortar shells hit the positions of the army like an itch. However, the special surname of mortar curving is not found in heavy artillery. The two types of artillery complemented each other, and the heavy artillery constantly killed the defenders on the surface of the army, destroying their fortifications. As for the light mortars, they used their excellent characteristics of curved shooting to shoot shells into the trenches of the Chinese army, which could not be shot into by heavy artillery shells, killing and injuring the living forces of the Chinese army in the trenches.

At this moment, in the entire Baitashan area, in addition to the sound of shells that constantly exploded, it was still the sound of explosions. The entire position of the Japanese army, a large area within a radius of several kilometers, was almost completely covered by artillery fire. The dense artillery fire, while killing and injuring the vitality of this little devil, constantly ignited the trees and dead grass around these little devils... In less than twenty minutes, more than 100 artillery pieces fired almost 5,000 rounds of various shells into this small area... The entire position of the Japanese army was full of trees that had been set ablaze by artillery shells, the corpses of soldiers that had been blown to pieces, and craters that had been blown out of them with a depth of one meter.

"Haha, Lao Wang, I really didn't expect that our Eighth Route Army would also have such a day, with such intensive artillery fire, the little devil couldn't lift his head, and could only be passively bombed, as a roast suckling pig..."

"Hehe, Lao Chen, this aspect is the credit of the two regiments of our heavy artillery brigade. At the same time, I would also like to thank Zhou Zhigang of the artillery regiment of our military division. If they hadn't destroyed almost all the artillery of the artillery wing, we wouldn't have fought so well. "Looking at the scene in front of him, Commander Wang Nanhu is also full of smiles..."Yes, when the time comes, I will definitely personally ask the commander for credit for these troops... Lao Chen, see if the artillery bombardment is okay, if it continues to fight, these more than 10,000 little devils will be wiped out by the artillery. We should have left a little scum for the remaining 20,000 or so infantry," Chen replied with a smile.

"Chief of Staff, order the two regiments of the heavy artillery brigade to stop shelling and be on standby. All the troops, immediately launch an attack, tell the commander of the front line, when attacking, must pay attention to the coordination of infantry and artillery, bring mortars to attack together, and use artillery shells if the infantry can't solve it, and pay attention to controlling the casualties of the soldiers...."Wang Nanhu nodded, and ordered loudly to the chief of staff next to him, who was also full of excitement.

"Tick tock... Tick-tock..."Less than two minutes after the chief of staff left, the artillery position, which had just been roaring incessantly, was immediately heard. However, the sound of artillery was followed by the loud sound of the trumpet. More than a dozen main regiments and more than a hundred trumpeters, in the sound of Wang Nanhu's order, sounded the trumpet of the charge at the same time....

The loud trumpet of the charge immediately began to sound throughout the battlefield. Immediately, more than 100 heavy machine guns arranged around the Japanese army's position erupted together in dense tongues of fire. More than 100 tongues of fire, surrounded by a semicircle, began to strafe back and forth on the positions of the Japanese army, which had been blown into ruins, to provide fire cover as much as possible for the attacking troops.

"Comrades, follow me... A roar that shook the sky overwhelmed the strafing sound of nearly a hundred heavy machine guns, and resounded on the huge battlefield... Groups of soldiers, under the command of their respective commanders, jumped up from their positions with rifles that had already loaded their bayonets, and launched a swift charge... The bayonet formations, illuminated by the firelight, emitted bursts of cold light... The dense bayonets quickly surrounded the army's position. At this moment, the position of the army is like a small island in the sea, slowly shrinking in the huge waves, and finally slowly disappearing... Because the forward position of the army was not only shelled by two heavy artillery regiments for nearly five minutes. More importantly, more than 100 mortars fired almost all the shells into this circular trench with a length of less than a few kilometers. Therefore, the several brigades and more than 3,000 little devils who were placed at the forefront by the commander of the division were almost lost at this moment... The only few hundred little devils left, in front of the dense warriors, were not even enough to stuff the soldiers' teeth, and they were quickly overwhelmed by the waves composed of the warriors, and there was not even a bit of scum left. And the forward position of the army was occupied by the soldiers in such a dramatic way.

With the occupation of the forward position of the Yue army, the soldiers did not blindly charge the second line of blocking positions of the Yue army. Because all the commanders know that the number of devils left on the second line of positions is much higher than that of the forward positions, and their blocking strength will be far stronger than that of the forward positions. In order to get the least casualties, in exchange for the greatest victory. These commanders wisely chose to suspend the offensive, preparing to replace the casualties of the fighters with shells and bullets, and solve their own problems..." Under the command of commanders at all levels, the heavy machine guns and mortars located in the rear moved to the forward positions of the Japanese army and began to suppress the second blocking position of the Japanese army two hundred meters away... Dense heavy machine gun bullets were fired almost close to the edge of the trenches, shooting and killing the little devils who dared to show their heads. One by one, the shells, as if they had eyes, landed accurately in the trenches, killing and injuring the living forces of the Japanese army hiding in the trenches... Finally, under the double blow of heavy machine gun bullets and artillery shells, the second line of the Japanese army's blocking position slowly quieted down, and no little devil dared to show his head and fight back..."Comrades, rush with me and occupy the second blocking position of the Japanese army..." However, as long as the army dared to take the lead, instead of attracting raindrops of heavy machine gun bullets, it was attracted to accurate shells... Units of the Eighth Route Army, under the cover of heavy machine guns and artillery fire, quickly rushed into the range of grenades. With a dense burst of grenade explosions, it sounded on the second line of blocking positions of the Japanese army... The second line of blocking positions that the army had painstakingly arranged was quickly occupied by the soldiers without any accidents.

At this moment, the entire position of the Japanese army, after losing two lines of defense, has been compressed into a narrow area with a radius of less than two kilometers. And with nearly 5,000 little devils in the two lines of defense completely annihilated, in this small area, there were less than 4,000 soldiers left.

"Report to Your Excellency, Division Commander, our first and second blocking positions have been completely occupied by the Eighth Route Army. Division commander, we must now find a way to break through. Otherwise, under the fierce attack of the Eighth Route Army, our 14th Division would not have held out until dawn..."Listening to the continuous explosions around me, the shouts of the Eighth Route Army to kill. Chief of Staff Sano Osa, who learned of the battle situation, rushed into the division headquarters with a panicked face.

"Baga, is it true that the excellent Great Emperor Army is really so vulnerable in front of the Eighth Route Army's readers? In less than an hour, the two lines of defense were occupied by the Eighth Route Army, and nearly 5,000 elite Imperial soldiers of the Great Empire were lost? The commander of the division, Lieutenant General Kenji Dohihara, did not directly answer the chief of staff's question, but asked rhetorically in confusion.

(To be continued)