Two hours later, the sun rose as usual.

At the same time, the attacking units of the 2nd Separate Mixed Brigade were urgently withdrawing from their positions.

Although the devils failed to achieve the expected goal, they did not break through the four lines of defense of the Eighth Route Army in one go. But they must return to the mountains by seven o'clock and wait patiently for the night to fall again.

This is the sorrow of losing air supremacy, and you have to vomit out as much meat as you eat.

Looking at the soldiers around him who were carrying supplies, Onodera Jiro Shozo of the Fifth Independent Infantry Brigade angrily clubbed his katana to the ground.

"Baga, I fought all night, and I didn't get any harvest to the end."

"I worked hard to grab the two lines of defense, and now I have to return them to the Eighth Route Army as they are! When did we suffer from this kind of anger in the army of the Japanese Empire! ”

"Even without air supremacy, the samurai dared to continue fighting in the face of enemy bombardment."

At this moment, ordinary soldiers did not dare to come forward to talk at all, and the atmosphere on the position dropped to freezing point for a while.

Anyone can see that his Shaozuo is in a bad mood, and if he rushes up to join in the fun, he will definitely have to eat a big fight, and maybe he will be forcibly sent to the death squad.

"Your Excellency Shaozuo, something seems to be wrong."

"Now the sun has risen, and the enemy has the initiative again. Theoretically, the Eighth Route Army is most likely to take the opportunity to launch an offensive and recapture the lost defensive line in a coordinated air-ground situation. ”

"However, there was not even a little movement on the other side, and I couldn't see that there was any intention to take action at all."

As soon as these words came out, the devil Shaozuo immediately trotted to the forward observation post.

As a grassroots officer with rich combat experience, Onodera Jiro has always adhered to the style of seeing is believing, and he has to check out any emergencies in person.

After a moment, he put down the telescope in his hand with a puzzled expression.

It's weird, it's so weird.

The opposite position looked like there was no one, and there were even two birds flying by unharmed.

Could it be that the Eighth Route Army can't even fight a tailwind battle? Shouldn't it be time to call the bombers to lick a wave of ground, and then directly concentrate superior firepower to carve a hole in your own defense?

"There must be something strange about this matter, what do you think of Matsumoto-kun?"

Although he didn't expect his own Shaozo to throw the question back, the chief of staff still gave a relatively reasonable answer.

"Send troops to reconnoitre, to find out the enemy's reality."

"I suggest that a reconnaissance team be divided into five groups, and each group should bring ten outstanding Imperial Allies to see what the Eighth Route Army is doing."

"If there is no one in the third line of defense, continue to go deeper into the fourth line of defense. If there are people, then be loyal to His Majesty the Locust. ”

This proposal is a very conventional solution.

Although some time will be wasted, there is even a certain chance that nothing will be found. But the victory is steady, even if the other side has an ambush, at most it is the loss of some ordinary soldiers.

There is no war of the undead, as long as it is not your own accident.

"Okay, you can arrange the investigators."

"I have only one request, I must find out the enemy's movements within an hour and a half."

"Major General Mano is urging very tightly, and there is not much time left for us. And no one knows when the air force of the Eighth Route Army will arrive on the battlefield, and it cannot be delayed for too long. ”

"Hey! Leave it to me! ”

······

Half an hour later, the third line of defense in Lijia Village.

"Captain Morishita, I didn't expect us to survive, it seems that the Eighth Route Army has really left the battlefield."

"What's next? Is it a thorough investigation of the third line of defense first, or continue to explore the fourth line of defense? There's plenty of time left to do our work. ”

The person who spoke was a private, and he looked around warily as he asked the detachment deputy about the plan.

When this wave of people received the order, they set out almost with the belief of dedicating themselves to the locust. But I never expected that this trip would go smoothly and abnormally.

Not only did they save their lives, but they also touched the enemy's positions.

"Let the cannon fodder act first, and let these lowly inferior people explore the way for us."

"The Eighth Route Army is not a good stubble, and it may leave some traps on the battlefield. Then be careful and don't hurt yourself by negligence. ”

"Let's go."

Following the order of the deputy of the detachment, ten puppet soldiers cautiously advanced towards the position ahead.

It is worth mentioning that among these two devils, there are not only puppet Mongolian soldiers, but also some Korean soldiers from the peninsula.

Compared with ordinary traitors, their combat effectiveness will be stronger, and they are definitely not the kind of waste who wants to save their lives when they hear the sound of gunshots.

"Bang!"

As it turned out, the luck of the two devils was not bad.

As soon as these people went deep into the position, they ran into the stumbling rope hidden by the soldiers of the old third regiment.

More than 50 offensive grenades exploded in the crowd, and countless fragments cut their bodies into flocculents, once again adding to the fertility of Shanxi's land.

Similar things are happening one after another between the various positions.

Seeing that the ten cannon fodder completed their task in an instant, Captain Morishita and the four devil soldiers stayed in place and did not dare to move, for fear of touching some trap and dying on the spot.

"Captain Wu, what should we do next?"

"If you really can't do it, just retreat, Shao Zuo is just letting us explore the enemy's reality. Now that there is not a single Eighth Route Army on the position, we can be regarded as having completed the task. ”

Hearing the words of his subordinates, Morishita nodded subconsciously.

This place is too vicious, and who knows what moths will be encountered if you continue to move forward, and it is definitely wise to retreat decisively.

If all the people die here, then no one will go back and pass on the most important information.

After making up his mind, Morishita looked at his surroundings, and then decisively ordered, "Withdraw!" ”

Blessings are incomparable, and disasters are not singular.

When the devils decided to return, there was a strange humming sound in the southwestern sky, as if some devouring beast was approaching.

At first, Morishita and the others were still lucky.

After all, when viewed from the ground from a high altitude, the size of a person is basically a point. Unless you're paying attention, it's hard to be targeted.

It's a pity that the explosion just now has become a beacon for the pilots of the 1st Air Division.

Rows of Browning machine gun bullets swept by, and most of the devil scouts followed in the footsteps of the second devil. However, their ending is relatively better, and they can still fall in a pool of blood and watch their own brigade be bombed.

······

"Report to the brigade commander, our department is unimpeded! Repeat! I'm unimpeded! ”

"At present, the Fifth Independent Infantry Brigade has broken through four lines of defense of the enemy in a row. The arrangement of the Eighth Route Army in the area around Tianzhen could not interfere with the pace of our advance in the slightest. ”

"Please give the order for a general attack, and let us kill Jule Fort in one go."

Hearing the news reported from the front, Goro Mano almost choked to death with saliva. He could see the bombing just now, but now it has become unimpeded?

Boasting about the results of the war can't be so outrageous, it's simply insulting to people's IQ.

It's clear that there are mutual victories and defeats, so why does the battle report look like a one-sided crush.

"Gao Songjun, why did you say that the Eighth Route Army would take the initiative to give up its position."

"Judging from last night's battle, they are definitely strong enough to continue to hold the line between the two villages. If the enemy chooses to hold on, it may turn into a tug-of-war. ”

"It's weird, I think there's a fraud."

The question of the commander of his own brigade made the entire command fall silent.

In the end, it was the chief of staff who took the initiative to speak, he first took out a piece of paper from the battle report, and then said to everyone:

"In my opinion, the main reason for the enemy's active retreat was casualties."

"The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region of the Eighth Route Army did not participate in large-scale battles after the Battle of the Hundred Regiments. The Battle of the Central Plains and the Second Battle of Taiyuan, they were both responsible for guarding the junction. ”

"That is, the enemy's soldiers do not have experience in large-scale field battles."

As soon as this point of view came out, it was immediately recognized by everyone.

After fighting all night yesterday, they lost a total of 3,000 soldiers. Although this figure includes a lot of Imperial Allied troops, the casualties should not be underestimated.

No matter how strong the Eighth Route Army is, how can it not kill 1,500 people.

1500 and 3000 are really nothing on the Eastern Front of Europe, and such a small number of people can't even make a splash. But it is very difficult to put it on the Asian battlefield, and it is definitely the standard for large-scale battles.

How many main forces do you have in a military division, and the casualties on the first night are so large?

Seeing that everyone accepted their point of view, Chief of Staff Takamatsu continued:

"The location of yesterday's battle was the plain, and the defenders, who had prepared the fortifications in advance, did have an advantage. But after an artillery battle, all the fortifications in the four lines of defense were destroyed, and they were of little use. ”

"If we keep fighting, we will be on the same page. And we have an advantage in numbers, their firepower and air superiority will be weakened at night, and it is definitely wise to abandon the position. ”

"What's more, the Eighth Route Army has not completely given up resistance, aren't those mines and the bombing just now the best proof of this?"

After a thorough analysis, Goro Mano suddenly became enlightened.

The Eighth Route Army, which was originally extremely fierce in his heart, did not seem to be as strong as he imagined.

In this way, it is not completely hopeless to avenge Abe Norihide and be promoted to lieutenant general.

"Takamatsu-kun, I have one more thing to add."

"The expansion of the force will inevitably lead to a decline in the quality of individual soldiers, and it is not so easy to train technical arms such as artillery. If you continue to fight on the plains, the enemy will expose more shortcomings. ”

"Retreating at this time must be to preserve your strength."

Under the inducement of the devils' brains and the 1st Division, the 2nd Brigade of the Independent Mixed Division was convinced of the weakness of the 1st Division in Jizhong.

For the next half hour, Goro Mano and his staff officers worked out a follow-up attack plan. The officer, who was slightly carried away, had even begun to think about how to attack Gaoyang in the rear of Tianzhen.

It seemed that within a week, they could penetrate directly into the rear of the defenders of Datong and relieve the pressure on the cavalry group and the 26th Division in front.

"Pass my orders! Generate electricity to Lieutenant General Shigetaro Kasuma and Admiral Ninji Okamura! ”

"Let's just say that the supreme locusts army is about to arrive in their faithful heavenly town! Victory and honor forever belong to the Japanese Empire! ”

What other famous stalks do the emperor have?

(End of chapter)