What the Japanese army did not know was that Wang Ping, the commander of the Independent Regiment, knew better than anyone the gap between the Chinese and Japanese armies.

To put it more simply, the Japanese army has a huge logistics system, and the logistics department can immediately complete all kinds of equipment lost on the battlefield. Although the Eighth Route Army had a logistics department, the most important thing the logistics department did was to ensure the supply of food and ammunition to the troops, and as for the equipment, it was all up to the troops to replenish it by relying on the captures on the battlefield.

This means that the Eighth Route Army has a lot of equipment in its hands, and if it loses a rifle, it will lose one less, not to mention the precious mortars.

Therefore, when forming an artillery unit, the independent regiment had a special stipulation that unless there was an order, it was best for the mortars not to stay in an artillery position for more than half a minute, and to avoid artillery battles with the enemy as much as possible, unless there was absolute certainty. Because, the foundation of the independent regiment is thin, the capital is small, and it cannot withstand a war of attrition with the devils.

When the Japanese squad leader set up the mortar, and when he asked his subordinates for artillery shells with his right hand, the two mortars equipped by the third battalion had already been moved more than ten meters away to re-set the artillery.

After the "......" stuffed the shell into the barrel, the squad leader lowered his head, and a dull sound of the cannon ejection sounded at the muzzle.

Then, with a screeching sound, the shells smashed into the newly exposed artillery positions of the 3rd Battalion.

Soon, a violent explosion reached the ears of the squad leader.

However, the expression on the squad leader's face did not change at all, at this time, he only wanted to kill the artillery position of the Eighth Route Army, and there was no other distraction.

As soon as the hand was stretched, the second shell was stuffed into the chamber.

Ten shells were fired in a row for almost a minute before stopping.

"Captain, the artillery position of the Eighth Route Army must have been destroyed by us!" A gunner next to him said with great relief.

But before the words were finished, the screams of the shells that made them discolored resounded over the battlefield.

The squad leader first showed a look of disbelief on his face, and then shouted loudly: "Hide quickly, get down!" ”

"Boom!" As soon as he threw himself next to the mortar with his head in his hands, a violent explosion sounded in his ears, and several screams also reached the ears of the squad leader.

Taking advantage of the interval between the two rounds of shelling, the squad leader shouted an order as he got up: "Quickly transfer the mortar, otherwise the last mortar will be gone!" ”

In the end, the mortars mounted on the ground were not transferred. The entire artillery squad escaped alive, and only three people, including the squad leader, escaped.

At this time, the devils, who were being fired by two heavy machine guns, six Czech-made, and more than 200 rifles, had already lost more than half.

More than 20 devils who are still alive, although they have received the order to retreat, and are shooting back in embarrassment, want to escape from here as soon as possible. But the condescending fire of the two companies always stared at them.

It wasn't until they ran through a bend in the road that the two companies stopped firing.

At this time, the road of less than 100 meters was scattered with nearly 100 corpses of Japanese puppet soldiers, of which the Japanese army and the Imperial Allied Army accounted for half each.

There were more than 60 Imperial Allied troops left, because they were too close to the defense line of a company on the road, and the mortars equipped by the Japanese could not provide them with artillery cover, and the heavy machine guns were firing at the heavy machine guns of the independent regiments on the same two hills, and there was no way to cover them.

When the Japanese army retreated, Ma Qingyun, the commander of the first company, directly led two platoons to fight them and counterattacked.

After using a machine gun to kill the devil instructor hiding in the middle of the Imperial Army, the remaining fifty or so Imperial Alliance Army were obediently taken prisoner and escorted by Ma Qingyun behind the defensive line.

"Ma Qingyun fought well in this assault, and directly let the devil lose a company of the Imperial Army. Without the Imperial Army, without artillery, I will see how he will attack next! Chief of Staff Zeng Quan said very happily, his face full of appreciation.

Yan Song, the commander of the third battalion, immediately said: "I also think he is good!" Chief of Staff, the third battalion is still short of a deputy battalion commander, see if you can let him do both! ”

"Fight this battle first and then talk about the rest, don't forget the order of the regiment commander, it must be nailed here like a nail!" Zeng Quan replied with a serious face.

Then he added: "As for the proposal just now, I will mention it to the head of the regiment and the political commissar." Tell Ma Qingyun to do a good job, the most important thing for the regiment commander and political commissar is the merit! ”

Yan Song immediately understood that the chief of staff listened to his proposal, as long as Ma Qingyun fought the next battle, after the battle, there would definitely be no problem in being promoted to deputy battalion commander!

Then he hurriedly assured Zeng Quan: "Please rest assured, Chief of Staff, not only Ma Qingyun, but the entire third battalion will not disappoint the regiment headquarters!" ”

After speaking, he ordered the signal soldiers around him: "Notify the artillery platoon to find the devil's heavy machine gun position immediately and kill their heavy machine guns." Then freely choose the target of the shelling, the devil on the opposite side is equipped with a mortar, and he must have brought a lot of shells, and when the time comes, how many shells will be fired, I will personally go to the regiment commander to replenish how many shells! ”

"Others, get ready for the second round of attacks by the devils!"

The Japanese squadron leader was walking around in place with a heavy face at this time, and as for his brain, it was already a mess.

Because, the development of the current battle situation is completely beyond his expectations, and it is very different from what he imagined in his heart.

At this time, the radio communication corpsman came over, and after hesitating for a long time, he reported ruthlessly: "Captain, Your Excellency the brigade commander has sent an urgent telegram, asking us to quickly break through the defense line of the Eighth Route Army and reinforce the captain!" ”

"In addition, the cavalry brigade directly under the brigade has left the city and is about to go to reinforce the battlefield. The general asked us to cooperate with the main force of the brigade together with the cavalry brigade to annihilate the Eighth Route Army here, at least to inflict heavy losses on them! ”

When he mentioned this squadron leader, he was angry, and then directly regarded the communication soldier as his target to vent his anger.

"Baga, the Eighth Route Army is equipped with mortars and heavy machine guns, and our mortars have been blown up, there is not a single one, how to attack, how to break through the defense line of the Eighth Route Army!"

After a loud scolding, the squadron leader's mood improved a lot.

Facing the subordinates who were staring at him, he analyzed: "Garrison, everyone has seen the situation we are facing now. To put it mildly, the Eighth Route Army has terrain advantages, troop strength, and firepower advantages, while we have everything. At this time, there is no difference between forcibly attacking and sending to death! However, the general's order must not be carried out, otherwise all of us will be sent to a court-martial! ”

"I decided that instead of being court-martialed as a coward, we might as well fight and maybe we could kill it!

"I order: the second squad and the second company of the Imperial Allied Army cooperate to continue the attack, and the others provide fire cover. I don't care what method you use, we must attract the firepower of the Eighth Route Army on the two high grounds, otherwise our attacking troops will not have a chance to break through the defense line of the Eighth Route Army blocking the road! ”

The three heavy machine guns were the first to fire, firing a rain of bullets at the two high grounds.

A dozen grenadiers, regardless of whether they were exposed to the muzzle or not, moved the grenadiers as far forward as they could, and then fired grenades behind the high ground.

The whistling bullets and grenades falling from the sky soon blew up the two high grounds.

The two infantry companies were caught off guard, and more than a dozen people were directly blown over, and then they had to retreat more than ten meters.

"What about our small artillery and mortars? Fight back now and take out the devil grenadiers and heavy machine guns! The third battalion commander, Yan Song, reacted immediately.