Chapter 231: Using Logistics to Crush the Poor

"Yamaguchi-kun, we don't have much time left. Let the troops prepare to break out to the north."

"A certain regiment behind us seems to have been unable to hold back and has chosen to retreat to the south first."

"Once they successfully leave the battlefield, we will be attacked from both sides, and then we won't even have a chance to resist."

The calm tone of the direct commander made Yamaguchi Hiroshi feel bad.

The battle on the west side of Zhongtiao Mountain has been going on until now, and the opponent is the only surviving general. The grassroots soldiers all follow his lead and regard him as the backbone of the army.

But the opponent is a diehard, who only wants to be loyal to Tianhuang and doesn't know how to be flexible.

Break out to the north?

The 37th Division has been confronting the Guosu defenders in Zhongtiao Mountain for so long, and Yamaguchi Hiroshi has long been familiar with the surrounding terrain. He knows all the paths and suitable places for breaking out.

There is a plain of several kilometers to the north, where transportation is convenient and there is even a road.

Although the main road is very close to the county town in the occupied area, the enemy will never give them a chance to escape. It is obvious that there must be a trap there.

Since the enemy can quietly reach the rear of the 37th Division, they will definitely deploy guards along the road and even arrange some ambush points.

You can't make the same mistakes as your opponent.

Moreover, the enemy is the Eighth Route Army, and they are good at besieging and attacking reinforcements.

If you rush in without any prior reconnaissance, the troops will most likely die without a burial place.

Before Yamaguchi Yoshi gave a clear answer, Major General Hirano Shigeki began to arrange the next specific arrangements on his own, without any reference to the other party's suggestions.

"Your regiment has the lowest casualties, the most complete overall strength and command system, and you will be the main force in the next offensive mission."

"Please be sure to break through the enemy's defense within two hours, tear a hole in front of the enemy, and open a lifeline for the follow-up troops to retreat."

"I will concentrate all the remaining artillery of the 37th Division to provide fire support for your regiment."

As the orders were deployed one by one, Hirano Chengshu's expression became more and more weird. He still had a gentle smile on his face, but his black eyes were constantly trembling slightly.

It made his face look like a thin mask, as if if the calm on the surface was accidentally broken, the madness and chaos inside would be released.

Yamaguchi Hiroshi finally figured out one thing now, that the madman in front of him didn't want to get out alive at all. The so-called breakout to the north was just an excuse to comfort the lower-level soldiers and officers.

Whose normal people fight, the first round of attack is the main attack?

At present, there are only three incomplete regiments in the entire 37th Division, and it is unknown whether they can gather 4,000 people.

Now, if they directly draw out 1,700 people and add all the artillery fire to cover, isn't it clear that they are going to fight in one go? Didn't they think that the artillery positions might be wiped out?

As for the result?

Either the breakout is successful, and the exhausted troops are swept away by the subsequent ambush of the Eighth Route Army, becoming a classic case in other people's textbooks.

Or the breakout fails, and they all die on the way to the charge, and future generations can't even hold their ashes to worship them.

After thinking for a moment, Yamaguchi Hiroshi had no choice but to accept the reality. He was just a colonel, and he didn't even have the qualifications to question the authority of the major general, let alone any resistance.

"I know, I will lead the team myself."

"I hope you will keep your promise and provide me with artillery support."

Although the subordinates did not use honorifics, everything was unimportant. What was there to worry about between two dying people?

Even the commander of the 37th Division, the lieutenant general, died on the battlefield. Even if Hirano Naruki could successfully return to Taiyuan, he would not have a good ending. Instead of trying to survive, it is better to fight to the death and return home.

Breakout? Just an excuse!

Attack as soon as they meet, one regiment will lead the charge, and with the help of artillery, the Eighth Route Army will definitely be caught off guard.

"Colonel Yamaguchi, just lead the charge, and leave the rest to me."

"Other regiments will follow closely, and will never betray their comrades. His Majesty Tianhuang and Commander Okamura will pray for us."

"Hi!"

The other party's hideous smile made Yamaguchi Yoshi shudder. He couldn't stand being in the same room with this madman anymore, so he trotted away from here.

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120th Division, forward command post.

It has been a full hour since the troops launched the attack. According to the current progress, the battle can definitely be ended before dark.

Division Commander Hu Zi and a group of staff are checking for loopholes. Their goal is to completely annihilate the 36th and 37th Divisions and never let go of any enemy larger than a squad.

At this moment, the phone in the command post rang.

Since the Japanese were the defending side and the enemy's artillery had suffered massive casualties, they were currently unable to destroy the telephone lines set up by the 120th Division. The divisional command post can now connect to any brigade or regiment-level unit.

"Division Commander! In the north of the battle line, more than half of the regiment of Japanese launched an attack on our regiment."

"The enemy is coming aggressively and has concentrated a large amount of artillery fire to clear the way for the infantry. We need support and artillery cover."

As soon as the words fell, the division commander Hu Zi and the political commissar rushed to the map in one step. The two of them took a closer look and analyzed the enemy's strategy.

"Half of the regiment was dispatched? And artillery?"

"It seems that the Japanese can't sit still anymore, and they are planning to break out to the north."

However, this idea was quickly overturned by the two. The north is not only a plain terrain, but also their own supply line.

If the enemy wants to break out, they should go south, instead of choosing the north with the strongest defense. In the original plan, the enemy would never attack there.

Unless the entire joint fleet fell from the sky and plunged into the Yellow River as a gun platform, there would be absolutely no way out.

A slight disadvantage is called a breakout, and taking the initiative to attack at a great disadvantage is suicide. But considering that the other party is Japanese, it is not surprising that they do anything.

"Since the devils are eager to die, let them do it!"

"Order! The 1st Artillery Regiment finds the enemy's artillery position! I don't care what method they use! Shoot down the enemy's mountain artillery for me!"

"Let the 4th Regiment, 716th Regiment of the 358th Brigade and the 717th Regiment of the 359th Brigade support the 719th Regiment, immediately encircle and annihilate the main force of the devils, and don't let a single enemy go!"

Commander Hu Zi knew that the other side was fighting to the death, so he simply sent two digital regiments and a basic regiment.

The support of three regiments plus the original strength of the 719th Regiment, that is almost tens of thousands of soldiers. Facing an understaffed regiment, it is no different from bullying.

Now the 120th Division has a rich foundation, and the soldiers are in high morale and have sufficient ammunition. With the air force and advanced weapons, it is not difficult to fight a tank division.

Our side is not short of heavy weapons, and the command is orderly and proper. The devil dared to take the initiative to attack, and he really didn't know how to write the word death.

······

Xu Jin Barrage is a barrage of artillery fire carried out under the guidance of a map corrector or a forward observer.

It is very deadly to troops that are exposed or lack concealment, and can effectively suppress the opponent.

The close cooperation between the Japanese infantry and artillery made the Eighth Route Army very embarrassed for a time, and the commander of the 719th Regiment, who was forced to switch from offense to defense, cursed.

Boom!

A 75mm shell landed 300 meters in front of the Japanese attacking column, and the violent explosion left a large crater.

"It's really disgusting! The mountain-breaking cannon is not powerful, but it is really annoying!"

"I don't know when our artillery can deal with the enemy, they are still unskilled!"

Although the Japanese Type 94 mountain cannon has the same caliber as the Eighth Route Army's M18 cannon. But the two have different chambers and dosages, resulting in a huge difference in power.

In the continuous bombardment, the communicator came to the commander with a portable communicator.

"Captain! The supporting brother troops are coming!"

"We only need to hold on for another 15 minutes! The division commander also gave the artillerymen a death order! The Japanese mountain artillery will not be arrogant for long."

Boom!

Another 75mm shell landed near the regiment headquarters, and the explosion raised a lot of stones and soil.

The commander carefully raised the observation mirror, and thousands of Japanese entered his field of vision. They crouched down and held their guns, rushing forward in a scattered line. In the team, some infantrymen holding crooked handles and grenade launchers can be vaguely seen.

There is also a huge observation balloon floating in the sky.

Although this thing looks stupid, in good weather, the observers on the balloon will clearly see the effect of their own artillery and the layout of the opponent's positions.

Through guidance, it can help the artillery complete the task.

Of course, all this has a prerequisite, that is, the party must master air superiority, otherwise the huge balloon will be a live target.

In the previous battle, due to the strong appearance of the Air Force 1st Division, the observation balloon never had a chance to be used.

But now the Eighth Route Army's air force has gone back to replenish ammunition, and the devils don't care about the loss at all, so they sent this killer.

However, the commander of the 719th Regiment was not afraid, but seemed to be somewhat fearless.

Obviously, the devils' desperate fight did not cause too many casualties to the 719th Regiment. He was even a little impatient, which showed his confidence in his own artillery.

At the same time, on the position of the 1st Artillery Regiment of the 120th Division.

The commander of the artillery regiment and the staff were discussing the attack plan around the map. Countering the enemy's artillery requires very strict calculations and mapping.

"Hurry! The comrades on the front line are still waiting for us!"

"Hurry up and find the location of the enemy's artillery position! Don't waste any more time!"

"Captain! We can only find a rough idea!"

······

"Colonel! We succeeded!"

"The First Infantry Battalion will immediately contact the enemy, and there is still a distance of 600 meters! The Second Infantry Battalion is following closely behind, and the Eighth Route Army has been suppressed by our artillery fire!"

Yoshi Yamaguchi did not gloat over the temporary advantage. He was worried while holding a telescope. Everything at present was based on the premise of artillery support.

Once the artillery counterattack of the Eighth Route Army was successful, the more than 1,000 people under his command would be dead.

Although the artillery bombardment had lasted for ten minutes and almost all the few shells were used up. But the old devil knew one thing, the artillery bombardment did not play any substantial role.

The Eighth Route Army on the opposite side was not only well-equipped, but also had a strong combat awareness and morale.

Even though the position looked miserable now, it was estimated that the morale had not dropped much. He could even imagine that the enemy's soldiers were sharpening their knives and thinking about how to counterattack.

Once the bombardment is over, or their own artillery positions are destroyed. They will use machine guns and mortars to let their people know what cruelty is.

The most important thing is that until now, the survivors of the 37th Division have not found the enemy's artillery positions at all, and have been passively beaten.

What you fear will come.

The shells that had been silent for two hours came again, and Yamaguchi's expression changed drastically.

One shell after another flew over his head with a whistling sound and flew towards the position behind him.

The first few shells did not hit the artillery, but as more and more shells flew, one mountain artillery after another was destroyed by the enemy's artillery.

Without the threat of artillery fire, the infantry of the Eighth Route Army also began to fight back.

In order to avoid too many casualties caused by the enemy's light and heavy machine guns and mortars, he deliberately asked his infantry battalion to maintain the maximum interval, and the distance between individual soldiers was even ten meters.

At this time, dozens of dazzling flames appeared on the enemy's position, and the casualties of his own infantry increased sharply, and a large amount of dust from bullets appeared on the ground.

Although the soldiers lay down in time, and some even found suitable shelters. But the number of casualties could not be stopped at all, and a squadron evaporated in an instant.

"It's dark! Get on board!"

Retreat is impossible, the arrow is on the string and has to be shot.

Thousands of Japanese soldiers gritted their teeth and launched a jade-breaking charge against bullets and shells.

From time to time, soldiers fell on the way to the charge, but under the urging of grassroots officers, the infantry still put all their efforts to continue running to the front position.

······

120th Division, artillery position.

Dozens of 75mm cannons roared continuously, and with the help of hydraulic retreat and recoil mechanisms, a high-explosive shell was fired every four seconds, falling behind the Japanese position with death and anger.

The soldiers adjusted the trajectory parameters in real time according to the feedback provided by the soldiers in front, striving to maximize the damage caused by the artillery fire.

At this time, the ground was covered with steaming shells. Behind each gun, there were soldiers waiting in line to load ammunition.

In the distance, a transport team specializing in transporting shells could be seen.

There were even hundreds of fellow villagers who came after hearing the news, leading their own livestock to help transport!

The head of the first artillery regiment, holding a portable communicator, watched the soldiers pull the matchlock again and again with satisfaction. The map on the table in front of him had long disappeared.

"I am indeed inexperienced and can't find your specific location!"

"But as long as there are enough shells! Cover the entire suspicious area! Sooner or later, one shell can hit!"

"Fighting with poor people! We must crush you with logistics! Anyway, the division commander said at all costs, I just used a few more shells!"

Tomorrow, ten thousand! Definitely ten thousand! Definitely ten thousand! Important words three times!