"Okay, if you fight well, blow me up like this, and bury all the little devils in their turtle shells." Seeing the effect of the shelling, Shen Qinghua couldn't help but applaud loudly. At the same time, he turned to look at the communications staff officer next to him.

"Staff Officer Wang, immediately send a report to the second and third regiments, so that they are ready for battle. If nothing else, the little devil will definitely retreat to the county town and will not wait there to die. When the time comes, it will depend on their combat effectiveness. Shen Qinghua ordered loudly.

Sure enough, as Shen Qinghua said, the captain of the army at this time was standing in his turret in a daze, looking at the bunker that had been blown into ruins dozens of meters away in disbelief. As a captain of a field unit, he heard the shelling just now in the sound of artillery, and there were two types of shells, one was a very ordinary 75-mm mountain cannon equipped in the army, and the other was a 150-mm heavy howitzer that even the Great Empire was rarely equipped with.

"Baga, how can the Eighth Route Army have artillery support, how can there be such a powerful heavy howitzer" The captain said to himself, and at this moment, the phone in the running building rang. The sharp ringing of the phone woke him up from shock. The captain picked up the phone on the table and put it to his ear.

"Report to Your Excellency, the Eighth Route Army has heavy howitzers. In the shelling just now, one of my pillboxes was directly destroyed, along with the soldiers in the two surrounding machine-gun forts. I just counted it, and in the shelling just now, my squadron lost a total of 36 warriors of the Empire," came the voice of a squadron leader over the microphone.

"Baga, cunning Eighth Route Army, why didn't we get the information of the Eighth Route Army's heavy howitzers, Baga" heard the explosion of only two shells, and he lost most of the strength of the squad, and the captain couldn't help but be surprised, and roared loudly at the squadron leader on the other side of the microphone.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Captain. Captain, now that the Eighth Route Army is supported by heavy howitzers, will we continue to hold on? In front of the heavy artillery of the Eighth Route Army, our pillboxes and turrets are as fragile as a piece of paper. Captain, if the enemy continues to bombard with heavy artillery, we will all shatter the jade in these turrets, please think twice. We said that the imperial army would rather be broken on the way to the charge, rather than die under the enemy's artillery fire without even seeing the enemy. The squadron leader pleaded loudly, and while the squadron leader was deep in thought, the 12 heavy howitzers and 12 mountain guns that had adjusted the firing angle again. Almost at the same time, ammunition began to pour into the bunkers of the army. A loud whistling sound reached his ears, and immediately after, a dense explosion occurred around him. The huge wave of air generated by the explosion of the shell passed through the firing hole of the turret, almost knocking the captain of the team holding the telephone to the ground.

Just when the captain was pushed by the huge wave of air and was about to give the order to retreat, there was a busy sound on the other end of the phone. It is clear that in the explosion just now, the communication lines of the bunker cluster have been completely destroyed.

At the same time, after a round of shelling of 24 shells, many of the bunkers have become a pile of ruins, and countless imperial warriors, dragging their stumps and broken arms, shuttling back and forth among the ruins, screaming

Seeing the tragic scene outside, the captain finally made up his mind: "Heralds, immediately notify the squadron leaders, immediately abandon all the turrets, prepare to retreat, we will return to the county seat, quickly" Losing the communication equipment such as telephones, the captain of the group who made up his mind could only roar loudly at the heralds who were still sticking to the running building.

"Hey, Your Excellency Captain Woo Woo Boom Boom" Just when the herald received the order and just walked to the door of the turret, the second round of shells fired from the artillery position had already landed in the bunker cluster. A loud explosion exploded just a few meters from the central turret. The huge wave of air generated by the explosion of the cannonball threw the herald who had just walked to the door of the turret and slammed it into the solid wall of the turret, becoming a corpse.

At the same time, the fortified turret shook violently in the sound of this violent explosion. As the turret shook, some stones and cement powder continued to fall from the top of the turret. Seeing this turret that could collapse at any time, the captain couldn't help but turn pale with fright. You must know that he is a captain of the Shaozuo Brigade, and he can't be buried in the ruins by the turret just aggrieved. He wants to fight, he wants to pick up his command knife and fight his own soul on the battlefield.

However, it seems that the heavens do not want to give him this opportunity. Just as he turned around and picked up the command knife on his desk, ready to go downstairs and rush out of the turret. Another loud explosion, almost in his ears. A 75-millimeter mountain artillery shell accurately smashed into this turret, which was already in danger and could collapse at any time.

Although the power of the 75-mm mountain artillery shell is not particularly great, it is simply incomparable with the 150-mm howitzer shell. However, the cannonballs that hit the walls of the turrets directly produced great power. An explosion sounded, and the position hit by the shell was suddenly blasted out of a large hole with a diameter of two meters. At the same time, the turret, which was already in danger, also lost its balance because of the center of gravity, and went directly in the direction of the big hole.

A loud "boom" sounded, and the enemy's central turret, after hitting two shells, collapsed with a bang and turned into a pile of ruins up to three meters high. Together with a few little devil communication soldiers and the captain in the running building, they were buried in this pile of ruins.

As a result, the order just given by the group leader was buried in the ruins for the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity" before it could reach the ears of several squadron leaders. As for the little devils hiding in the bunker at this time, since there was no order to retreat, the only thing they could do at this time was to kneel on the ground and pray to their Amaterasu Okami, praying that the shells of the Eighth Route Army would not fall on their bunkers, and finally they could leave a whole corpse at the end

However, in the end, there were still two squadron leaders, and after seeing the captain buried in the rubble, they resolutely ordered their subordinates to abandon the defensive pillbox turret and prepare to retreat to the county seat. The remaining more than 300 little devils of the two squadrons took advantage of the gap in the shelling to break out of the bunker cluster that was already about to become the hell of Chengren, and wanted to retreat into the county seat.

However, the two or three regiments of this matter have long been solemnly awaited. Seeing the hundreds of little devils swarming towards him, without the commander's order, the soldiers took the initiative to put a strong light and heavy machine gun on the ground and loaded the bullets. The rifleman also pushed a yellowish bullet onto the chamber of the gun, and steadily aimed at the little devil who was getting closer and closer.

"Comrades, hit me hard, don't let go of a little devil" With the order of the regiment commander Wang Hao, hundreds of soldiers in front of the little devil pulled the trigger in their hands one after another. Suddenly, a dense rain of bullets shot at the little devil who was getting closer and closer. At the same time, the dense firepower network composed of more than a dozen light machine guns is constantly harvesting the lives of the little devils at their own speed.

In the end, more than 300 little devils, under the sudden blow of the soldiers, there was not a single one left, and all of them fell on the way to charge. And at this moment, the artillery shelling also stopped. With a loud trumpet of the charge, nearly 6,000 soldiers from the three regiments launched a charge against the cluster of pillboxes that had become a ruin.

"Comrades, rush, boom, boom" In the midst of the shouts of killing and the loud explosions, all the stronghold turrets that the soldiers passed through were blown into ruins with explosive packets. Half an hour later, the gunfire on the battlefield finally stopped. The whole battle, due to the roundabout outflanking of the fighters, a Kwantung Army brigade stationed outside the city, including the captain, was completely wiped out by the soldiers.

"Correspondent, immediately send a report to the division commander that the 1st Brigade of the column directly under me has eliminated a brigade stationed on the outskirts of the county town at a small cost of casualties. Now, please ask the division commander to arrange the next combat mission of the first brigade, and the commander of the first brigade, Shen Qinghua," Shen Qinghua ordered loudly to a communications staff officer who followed behind.

"Yes, Brigade Commander," the communications staff officer ran over to the operator who was following behind with a smile on his face.

"Good news from the division commander, division commander, and brigade commander Shen" Just when Zhang Hua and Zhao Dahe were sitting in the temporary command headquarters and discussing the situation of the defenders in the county, an exclamation passed through the thick curtain of the command department and reached the ears of the two.

"Report to the division commander, Brigade Commander Shen called, the little devils of a brigade stationed in the peripheral positions have been completely wiped out by our first brigade, and no one has missed the net, and Brigade Commander Shen has asked us for instructions on the next operation, whether to continue the offensive or retreat now." Chief of Staff Li Qing reported loudly.

"Hehe, so quickly, it seems that our first merit in this battle is our artillery. Chief of Staff, Political Commissar Zhao, what do you think. Now will we withdraw our troops according to the original plan and continue the offensive tomorrow night, or will we change the battle plan and attack tonight, capture this Yangquan county seat, and completely annihilate the remaining more than 2,000 little devils in the city" After listening to the words of Chief of Staff Li Qing, division commander Liu Hua said with excitement on his face.

"Division commander, I mean change the battle plan. The entire battle, from the beginning to the present, has only passed less than four hours. Suffice it to say, the whole battle went smoothly beyond imagination. I think that the captain of the army in the city is just as shocked as we are, shocked by the speed of our reading division's attack. If we attack now, it will be a victorious division against a demoralized force, and more importantly, it is not yet twelve o'clock in the evening, and we have six hours to storm the city. Therefore, I agree to completely settle the battle in one night and completely annihilate all the little devils gathered in Yangquan County. Chief of Staff Li Qing replied first.

"Political Commissar Zhao, do you have any opinions?" After listening to Li Qing's answer, Liu Hua nodded approvingly and looked at Zhao Dahe, the political commissar next to him.

"Division commander, I completely agree with the chief of staff, now there are only 2,000 little devils and more than 3,000 puppet troops left in the entire county. And we have the support of artillery fire, and we are fully capable of taking out the remaining enemies in the city and occupying the entire county before dawn. Zhao Dahe replied loudly.

"Okay, since you've all agreed to change the battle plan, let's change the entire battle plan. Immediately call back to Brigade Commander Shen Qinghua and ask him to send a regiment of troops to block the west gate of Yangquan County. The remaining main force is attacking the east gate with all its might, and artillery support can be called in at any time. Order, Zhao Dahe Zhao Political Commissar, you take one or two regiments of Reading Power, and set off immediately to reinforce Shen Qinghua. The guard regiment is responsible for protecting the artillery positions, and before dawn, regardless of whether our troops capture the county town or not, we must move our positions to prevent bombing by military aircraft," Liu Hua ordered with certainty.

Shen Qinghua, who received the order from the division commander, also knew that time was pressing. Without any hesitation, he immediately ordered Hou Guoying, the commander of the first regiment, to bring his troops to block the west gate of Yangquan County to prevent the little devils from abandoning the city and escaping. At the same time, with the strength of two regiments, he rushed through the outlying stronghold that had become a ruin, and killed the east gate of Yangquan County.

"Report to Your Excellency, Wing Commander, the defenders of Wulong Mountain and Fushan have lost contact, and it is estimated that all the jade has been shattered now. In addition, there was a violent explosion in the bunker group on the outskirts of the county just now, if nothing else, it has been shelled and besieged by the heavy artillery of the Eighth Route Army, and at the same time, the defenders outside the city have also lost contact" The chief of staff hurriedly walked into the headquarters and reported loudly.

"Baga, why is the speed of the Eighth Route Army's progress so fast. block, be sure to contact the defenders outside the city, and order them to retreat immediately, to the county seat, block. "I saw that in just a few hours, the two highlands that I claimed to be impregnable were easily occupied by the Eighth Route Army. After hearing that the outlying strongholds of the county were also attacked. The wing captain couldn't hold back any longer, and roared at the chief of staff in front of him.

"Hey, Wing Commander, I'm going to call" However, just as he turned and was about to leave, an operations staff officer rushed into the headquarters.

"Your Excellency Wing Commander, Chief of Staff, there was an accident with the Eighth Route Army, and the guards guarding the city reported that traces of the Eighth Route Army were found at the West Gate, and there were thousands of Eighth Route Army" Seeing the Wing Commander, who seemed to be a little dissatisfied with his behavior, the combat staff officer who rushed in hurriedly said.

"Nani, how is it possible, isn't the Eighth Route Army still fighting with our guards on the periphery now, how could it appear at the West Gate. Yes, it must be a small unit of the Eighth Route Army, ready to cut off our retreat," the wing commander asked rhetorically in disbelief.

And at this moment, another staff officer ran into the headquarters almost with a miserable face. "Report to the Wing Commander, the soldiers defending the city reported that a large number of soldiers of the Eighth Route Army were found in the direction of the East Gate, and preliminary statistics show that these people are at least four thousand in size, and they are armed with a large number of light and heavy machine guns, mortars. ”

"Baga, how can this be, what about a brigade guarding our outer position, why haven't we received any reports from them, why" Seeing that a large number of Eighth Route Army appeared in both directions of his county, the wing commander at this time had to believe that his county town had fallen into the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army's reading division.

"Hey, Wing Commander, if nothing else, in the midst of a dense explosion just now, an infantry brigade defending outside the city was also shattered," replied the Chief of Staff, bowing his head.

"Nani, Baga, the cunning Eighth Route Army, I am inseparable from you......" The Wing Captain clenched his fists tightly and scolded loudly.

"Hi. Your Excellency, this is not the time to curse. The Eighth Route Army has now encircled our entire Yangquan County and is likely to launch an attack at any time. Captain, what should we do now. Looking at the wing commander with an angry face, the chief of staff hurriedly reminded.

"Baga, do you need to say it. Chief of Staff, now immediately order all the soldiers of the Imperial Army in the county to hold the city wall and be sure to block the attack of the Eighth Route Army. As long as we hold out until dawn, we will be able to get support from the Air Force. At that time, we will be able to safely withdraw from the county seat with the support of the air force. The Wing Commander commanded loudly.

"Hi, Your Excellency Wing Commander" Actually, the Wing Commander didn't know that it was his order, and he didn't know how much burden it had reduced on the 1st Brigade of Reading Force. Because, after all the Yue troops were assembled on the city wall, the artillery in the hands of the reading force division caused a large number of casualties to the Yue army. Coupled with the casualties given by the infantry, it can be said that the remaining more than 2,000 little devils in the city were almost completely wiped out on the city wall.

"Report to the brigade commander, the commander of the first regiment called that the west gate of the county town has been completely blocked by our army. In addition, all artillery guns have adjusted their firing angles according to the reports of artillery observers. The division commander sent a telegram asking whether to launch an offensive or not, and there was not much time left for us. A communications staff officer came to the front of the brigade commander Shen Qinghua and asked loudly.

"Commander Wang, has there been any change in the defenders on the city wall?" After listening to the question of the communications staff officer, Shen Qinghua did not rush to answer, but looked at Wang Hao, the commander of the 1st Brigade and 2nd Regiment, who had been observing a few hundred meters away.

(To be continued)