The four mortars that the Japanese had just moved to the new position had to use their small skills to fire shells at the new mortar position.

The remaining sixteen mortars of the independent regiment then launched a counterattack.

Although the shooting accuracy is poor, the number of shells is sufficient.

With just one salvo, the remaining four mortars of the Japanese No. 1 and 2 artillery positions were covered by artillery fire, and no one was spared.

Colonel Sakamoto is now chasing a duck and has to continue fighting with the Eighth Route Army, otherwise his artillery unit will be overwhelmed by the opponent and eventually the entire army will be destroyed.

Instead of doing this, it is better to fight to the end with the Eighth Route Army and die together, without anyone taking advantage!

As soon as his face sank, he began to give orders: "The remaining mortars from the No. 34 Artillery Position will counterattack immediately..."

"The remaining artillery pieces of the No. 56 Artillery Position and the Mountain Field Artillery Position are ready for battle. I will fight to the end with the Eighth Route Army artillery..."

At the same time, the remaining 12 mortars of the New Second Regiment also participated in the battle...

Then there are six mountain field guns left in the Independent Regiment, and four mountain field guns left in the New Second Regiment...

The remaining four mountain guns, infantry guns and 14 mortars of the new regiment finally participated in the battle...

Half an hour later, the artillery battle that roared for half an hour finally came to an end...

"Pah..." Colonel Sakamoto smashed the ammunition box in front of him in a circle, his face full of anger.

After being silent for a while, he asked calmly: "Are you sure that the entire artillery unit has been destroyed and not a single cannon is left?"

A battalion captain said sarcastically: "To be precise, there are still two mortars and one mountain cannon left, which is equivalent to the entire army being wiped out!"

"Nani...what's the use of having only three cannons left...the Eighth Route Army can just dispatch seven or eight cannons and kill them all." Colonel Sakamoto became more and more angry as he listened.

Another captain said helplessly: "Captain, calm down..."

"The Eighth Route Army at the foot of the mountain was too cunning. They used mountain artillery and infantry artillery in advance, causing us to misunderstand that their mortars had been exhausted."

"In the end, they actually hid ten or twenty mortars and waited until we had used up all their cards before firing..."

"This is obviously a conspiracy against our artillery force..."

"I suspect that the intelligence reported to us by the military is also false!"

"The Eighth Route Army that attacked us did not suffer heavy casualties in the daytime air raid. Everything was an illusion staged by them, which made us think of underestimating the enemy!"

"Otherwise, based on our understanding of the Eighth Route Army's artillery units at the foot of the mountain during the day, we will definitely not reveal our trump cards easily during the artillery battle!"

"What's the use of hindsight!" Yoshio Shinozuka cursed angrily.

"The artillery battle has been lost, and you are telling me this now. Can the gunners who died in the battle be resurrected? Can the artillery pieces that were blown up be restored?"

After saying that, he stared at one of the captains and asked: "How many artillery pieces are left in the Eighth Route Army at the foot of the mountain?"

"No more than thirty!" the captain replied hesitantly.

After speaking, he shook his head and continued: "No, in the last round of artillery counterattack, we killed several of their artillery pieces... and detonated several of their artillery shells during the artillery fire. The results were not small!"

"If we add up all these losses, the Eighth Route Army should have no more than twenty artillery pieces left!"

After hearing this result, Colonel Sakamoto looked much better.

The fewer artillery pieces left by the Eighth Route Army, the less pressure the defenders will face after the attack begins, and the easier it will be for them to block the Eighth Route Army's attack and defend Jinniu Mountain.

After thinking for a moment, he began to issue an order: "Inform the gunners of the remaining three guns. They are our only remaining long-range attack troops. They must not act rashly unless absolutely necessary!"

"After the attack begins, the Eighth Route Army will definitely move its artillery forward and attack the bunker we built on the position at close range."

"The next task of the artillery is only one... to strike accurately at the artillery that advances under our noses!"

"If these artillery pieces come within range of frontline grenade launchers, they can also fire!"

"As long as we keep those bunkers, the Eighth Route Army will not be able to break through our defenses!"

At the enemy headquarters of the Independent Regiment, although the artillery successfully killed the Japanese artillery unit, the faces of the three regiment commanders did not show the joy after victory.

I don’t know how long it took, but Chen Daliang’s phone rang first. Kong Jie grabbed the phone and heard the other party’s heartbreaking report: “Reporting to the regimental commander, the casualties of the artillerymen participating in the war exceeded 40%.”

"There are still 139 gunners in the mortar and mountain artillery units combined, but too many artillery pieces have been lost. There are only two mountain cannons, one infantry gun, and five mortars left. All of them can't even make up one."

even!"

Kong Jie was also heartbroken, but when he thought that almost all the forty or fifty artillery pieces equipped by the Japanese were destroyed, most of his gunners survived. As long as the artillery was obtained in the future, the artillery battery could be rebuilt immediately, and the heartache on his face suddenly changed.

Relax.

He quickly comforted: "As long as people are alive!"

"The artillery company directly under the regiment headquarters is temporarily compressed into an artillery platoon, equipped with two mountain cannons and an infantry cannon. You will be the platoon leader!"

"The artillery companies directly under each battalion are compressed into artillery squads and equipped with one mortar!"

"When we break through the Jinniushan blockade and return to the base area, I will definitely rebuild the mountain artillery company and mortar company."

When Kong Jie put down the phone, Li Yunlong put down the phone at the same time and scolded with a sullen face: "You damn little devil, how easy is it for me to save a little bit of property after all my hard work, only to lose it in one battle? Sooner or later, I will be responsible for this debt."

They count.”

After he finished scolding, he said to Kong Jie: "The losses of the New Second Regiment are similar to those of the Independent Regiment. There are still 116 gunners, two mountain guns, and four mortars!"

"Thankfully I listened to your suggestion. After being bombarded, leave the artillery alone and withdraw the gunner first, otherwise the gunner's losses would increase by several percent!"

"Currently, twenty gunners are equipped with one mortar, but as long as the artillery is captured in the future, it can be put into use immediately, and there will not be the embarrassing situation of having a cannon but no one to use it."

Ding Wei finally put down the microphone and said: The new regiment joined the battle last and suffered less losses than you!"

"There are 126 gunners left, two infantry guns, and seven mortars!"

"It's almost the same!" Kong Jie finally concluded!

"But our artillery cannot let down its guard yet!"

"It is not ruled out that the Japs still have artillery that can participate in the battle... In addition to covering the infantry attack, some mortars must be on standby to attack the Japs' artillery that may have survived!"

"Make sure our attacking troops are not hit by Japanese artillery fire!"

After saying that, he ordered the combat staff on the side: "Send the signal and prepare to storm Jinniu Mountain!"

"Bang bang bang..."

Three signal bombs slowly rose into the sky, bursting into three brilliant red lights at the highest point in the sky.

During the artillery battle just now, the main attacking force of the Independent Regiment had reached a position more than 200 meters away from the Japanese's first trench. If they went further, they would enter the killing range of their machine gun bunkers.

The moment the signal flare took off, the sound of artillery enveloped the battlefield again.

But this time the artillery unit was not attacking Japanese artillery positions. In addition to the six mortars that were standing ready, the remaining more than ten artillery pieces were all aimed at the Japanese front-line positions and pouring shells.

After a while, the front line trenches were shrouded in artillery fire, with orange fireballs and billowing smoke everywhere.

Although the Japanese kept firing flares into the sky, they still could not see clearly the front of the position.

The attacking troops took the opportunity to emerge from their hiding spots and quickly advanced one hundred meters.

Compared with the usual offense, tonight's offense was very strange.

In addition to weapons and ammunition, a large number of soldiers are also required to carry sandbags and engineer shovels...

Although the little Japs in the bunker didn't have to worry about being bombed, the fierce artillery fire covered the firing holes so tightly that the Japs inside couldn't see anything.

In order to prevent the Eighth Route Army from taking the opportunity to advance, they can only blindly shoot forward based on experience.

The effect was very poor. The independent group advanced to the predetermined position at only a small cost...

The soldiers carrying sandbags immediately piled the sandbags on the ground to form bunkers half a meter high...

Soldiers holding engineering shovels immediately dug trenches behind the bunker, and the excavated soil was smashed into bags and used as sandbags to continue to raise the bunker...

In less than ten minutes, a dozen sections of bunkers one meter high and more than ten meters wide appeared in front of the Japanese position...

The attacking troops hid behind, waiting for the final order to attack.

Huang Yu followed the attacking force with an assault company and three engineer platoons. Five or six soldiers were in charge of a thunder cannon, two soldiers carried oil barrels, and other soldiers carried explosive bags. They all lay on the ground, waiting for the attacking force to take over.

Forced out of the Japanese bunker...

"Tick-tick...tick-tock..."

The bombardment hadn't ended yet, and the loud sound of the "Charge" had already spread among the attacking troops...

"Comrades, rush..."

The battalion and company commanders scattered in the middle of the team rushed forward with their cannons and submachine guns raised...

"kill……"

The moment the attacking troops jumped out of the bunker, the shelling stopped...

"Go forward... let's set up the thunder cannon behind the bunker, find the Japanese bunker in front of us, and kill him with the thunder cannon..." Huang Yu ordered at the same time.

In front of the Japanese enemy's headquarters, Colonel Sakamoto stared at the battlefield motionless.

Several messengers stood behind him, each with a telephone beside him, ready to convey the latest orders from the regiment commander to the front line.

The garrison at the position was covered by artillery fire and could not see the attacking troops of the Eighth Route Army...

Colonel Sakamoto stood on the top of Jinniu Mountain, overlooking the entire battlefield from a high position, and could clearly see every move of the Eighth Route Army.
To be continued...