After discovering the anti-tank trenches, both regiment commanders stopped the attack and at the same time sent fighters to check it. Soon after, the fighters who had been sent out returned to report that the anti-tank trench in front was ten meters wide and almost stretched across the entire battlefield, and the tanks could not cross it or bypass it at all. Receiving reports from fighters, the two regiment commanders reacted differently.

Wei Shaofeng, the commander of the 871st Regiment, had suffered a loss, so he had to be more careful, he left the chariot behind, and let the first battalion go out in front of the anti-tank trench to completely reconnoiter the situation before deciding how to attack the Japanese position. Wu Zhijun, the commander of the 877th Regiment, was not so cautious, he directly ordered the combat vehicles to advance to the front row of the anti-tank, and use fire to cover the infantry over the anti-tank trenches to continue to attack the Japanese positions.

Not long after, the officers and men of the 1st Battalion of the 871st Regiment were doing the work of filling some of the anti-tank trenches in front of the anti-tank trenches, and on the other side, more than 20 combat vehicles lined up in front of the anti-tank trenches, using vehicle-mounted heavy machine guns and vehicle-mounted artillery to suppress the Japanese positions 400 meters away, so as to cover the infantry to climb over the anti-tank trenches. The officers and men of the 877th Regiment scrambled into the anti-tank trenches.

Standing at the rear of the formation, Yamada Takuro Osa, saw that the chariot really stopped in front of the anti-tank trench, and excitedly shouted to Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi: "Your Excellency the division commander, the chariot of the Shina people has been parked in front of the anti-tank trench, and now is the best opportunity for the field artillery wing to bombard, please ask Your Excellency the division commander to give an order to Inoue Daisa to bombard." Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi also replied with a smile on his face: "Yo Sai! I will immediately give Inoue Daisa an order for artillery bombardment." ”

The field artillery wing of the 116th Division was equipped with 48 old 75-caliber field guns, which had a maximum firing range of 8,350 meters, and was therefore placed at the rear of the division's position. Wing Commander Inoue Shigeru Osaku had been waiting for the order to attack, and finally waited for the order to open the gun from the division commander himself, and shouted to his subordinates in excitement: "All attention, the direction X.X.X, XXX, open the cannon!"

In the wild roar of Inoue Shigeru Daisa, his gunners took action one after another, and after the shells were stuffed into the barrel, they pulled the firing rope, and a loud noise echoed in the position, and one shell after another also whistled towards the target. Soon the shells flew to the tanks and officers and men of the 877th Regiment. Hearing the familiar screaming sound in the air, Wu Zhijun's heart sank suddenly, and he secretly shouted: "Not good!"

Hearing the screaming sound in the air, the experienced soldiers already knew that it was the Japanese artillery shells flying over, and without waiting for the officers to give orders, the soldiers also began to choose a place to hide, and the soldiers in the chariot did not detect the Japanese shelling because the space was closed and they were shooting, until the shells fell in the war workshop, and they did not realize it. Zhao Wujun, the former commander of the light tank regiment who was in charge of the battlefield command in the heavy tank vehicle, hurriedly called the rest of the combat vehicles to disperse and avoid the Japanese artillery fire through the on-board radio.

The old field guns of the Japanese army are not very lethal to heavy tanks, and as long as they are not directly hit by light tanks, they will not be completely destroyed, but they pose a threat to armored vehicles, and it is needless to say that a direct hit is a shell that explodes at close range, and shrapnel flying around may also penetrate their weaker side armor. The tank was supposed to stop and shoot, but now it takes a few minutes to disperse.

In just a few minutes, the combat vehicles that followed the 877th Regiment suffered heavy losses, six heavy tanks were not lost, and one of the eight light tanks was unlucky, and was hit by the engine and ammunition compartment in the rear, resulting in the death on the spot, and all the crew members inside were also killed. The other was hit by shrapnel that pierced the armor next to the engine and damaged the engine, but fortunately, only one member of the crew was injured and everyone else was fine.

Fourteen heavy armored vehicles were not in a good situation, four of them were blown up, one of them was completely blown up by a direct hit, another had its engine damaged, and two of them were damaged tracks and could continue to be used after repair. The Japanese artillery bombardment made Tang Yu, the commander of the 462nd Brigade who supervised the battle in the rear, see it in his eyes and was anxious. Especially when he saw that the cannonballs fell directly into the group of vehicles that had stopped moving, Tang Yu hurriedly smashed his fist on the wall of the fortification.

All officers and men know that the heavy artillery brigade and the armored brigade are Wang Haitao's heart, and they were also purchased by Wang Haitao from Germany with great difficulty. Therefore, they are all the treasures of the whole army and soldiers, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is to exchange a platoon for a chariot, Tang Yu is willing, and the role of a chariot on the battlefield is far beyond a platoon.

Finally encountered the end of the Japanese shelling, looking at the bombed chariots on the battlefield, Wu Zhijun regretted a lot, he could only blame himself for being too light on the enemy, and the smooth offensive made him dizzy, and he even ignored the fact that the Japanese army still had artillery. Now, before the Japanese artillery positions are eliminated, not only the chariots must pay attention to concealment, but also their own subordinates must pay attention to the shelling of the Japanese army.

Because of the Japanese shelling, the attacks in both directions stopped at the same time, and Wei Bin and Wei Shaofeng of the 460th Brigade breathed a sigh of relief, this time it was their own luck, the target of the Japanese artillery was not themselves, otherwise the already small number of combat vehicles would be subjected to another round of bombardment, and it would be even more insufficient to assist in the attack. This is also because Wei Shaofeng was cautious and did not let the chariot rush to the edge of the trench, and the target of the Japanese army was the chariot, which allowed them to escape.

The situation was reported to Wang Haitao, after knowing the loss of the armored troops, Wang Haitao was also very distressed, these tanks are the weapons and equipment of later generations, and it is impossible to replenish them, and the heavy artillery brigade and armored brigade are his killer weapons, and they are also where his confidence lies in fighting less against the Japanese army. Wang Haitao said to Tang Longzai beside him with a cold face: "Longzai, send a reconnaissance team, you must find out the location of the Japanese artillery position as soon as possible, and then use heavy cannons to destroy it, otherwise it will cause great trouble to our attack." ”

Tang Longzai also thought of this, and was about to ask Wang Haitao for instructions, but Wang Haitao preemptively ordered him, so Tang Longzai responded: "Yes, commander." I'll arrange it right away. Tang Longzai went to find Xu Qun, the commander of the division's reconnaissance group, and arranged for Wang Haitao to do not mention the affairs ordered by Wang Haitao, here on the front line, after the offensive was temporarily stopped, Wei Shaofeng and Wu Zhijun, the two regiment commanders, returned to the temporary headquarters respectively.

Li Changwu sat behind a table, looking at the two regiment leaders in front of him, Wu Zhijun lowered his head with a guilty face, and Wei Shaofeng also stood there with a serious face and did not speak. The two brigade commanders Wei Bin and Tang Yu also stood beside Li Changwu, Wei Bin was better, Tang Yu looked at Wu Zhijun with extremely stern eyes, if it weren't for the fact that Wei Bin was in Li Changwu's shop, Tang Yu would have scolded Wu Zhijun.

Li Changwu said at this time: "Let's report the casualties of the troops." Wei Shaofeng replied first: "Report to Division Commander Li, our regiment suffered 216 casualties, of which 113 were sacrificed, most of them were casualties during the battle with the Japanese army. ”

After Wei Shaofeng finished the report, Wu Zhijun lowered his head and said: "Report to the division, our regiment suffered one hundred and twenty-eight palace soldiers, of which sixty-nine were sacrificed, one light tank was destroyed and one was damaged, two heavy armored vehicles were destroyed and two were wounded, and the crew suffered nine casualties and six wounded. After listening to Wu Zhijun's report, Li Changwu shouted to Wu Zhijun: "Commander Wu, lift your head for me!

Wu Zhijun was startled and hurriedly raised his head. Li Changwu looked at Wu Zhijun and said solemnly: "The Japanese artillery bombardment has caused losses to the troops, and you are responsible for your improper command, but you can't be blamed entirely, even I didn't expect that little Japan would come to such a hand." But will this defeat break the confidence and fighting spirit of your regimental commander? If so, I should really consider changing the regimental commander!"

Wu Zhijun's heart jumped, and he hurriedly replied: "Master, I just blame myself for causing such a big loss because of my carelessness, and my confidence and fighting spirit have not only not been defeated, but have become stronger, and I can't wait to kill the position of Little Japan now, so that they can pay for it with blood!" Li Changwu nodded and said: "Okay! This is my dignified Chinese son, and this is the spirit that my Chinese soldiers should have! A defeat is nothing, what we want is the final victory, and what we want is more annihilation of the enemy."

The chariot target is too big to move again until the Japanese artillery has been destroyed, but can our infantry not be able to attack without the coordination of the chariots? Are the weapons in your hands flaming sticks? Are the mortars and bazookas you equipped with decorations? I don't believe that without the cover of the chariots, you will not be able to attack the Japanese positions! I hope that you will go back and study an attack plan and strive to take the Japanese positions at the lowest cost!

Li Changwu's words lifted the spirits of the people in the room, especially Wei Shaofeng and Wu Zhijun. The two of them replied at the same time: "It's the division seat (Division Commander Li), and we will go back to the army to study the attack plan immediately." After seeing Li Changwu nod, the two of them left the temporary command post after telling everyone to retreat.

Seeing the two leaving, Li Changwu said to Wei Bin and Tang Yu: "Without the coordinated cover of the chariot, it will indeed be much more difficult to attack, and the casualties will be greater. You have to support them a little more in terms of artillery fire and troops, and I will report the situation to the commander, and the commander will have to give the battle order for the attack. Wei Bin and the others hurriedly agreed.

Seeing that the Chinese army stopped attacking, Lieutenant General Shunjiro Takeuchi and Yamada Takuro Osaku both breathed a sigh of relief, and Lieutenant General Takeuchi Shunjiro said: "Yamada-kun's idea is really good, the chariot troops of the Shina people have been severely damaged, and now they dare not attack anymore, and when the reinforcements arrive and defeat the Shina people, I will personally ask Commander Isamu Yokoyama for your credit." Yamada Zhuoer Dasa replied: "Thank you, Your Excellency, the commander of the division, but although the chariot of the people of China has been severely damaged, the strength of the infantry is still there, and I hope that Your Excellency the division commander will strengthen your vigilance and be more careful!"