"Boom..." Two explosions came from the battlefield, and another armored vehicle was directly blown into pieces. In the splashing flames, the Japanese following behind the armored vehicle were instantly blown over...

At one glance, at least ten people fell around.

The armored vehicle after the explosion also turned into a ball of fire at this moment.

After the armored vehicle that was regarded as a shield by the Japanese was bombed, the Japanese who still survived behind were instantly exposed to the guns of the National Salvation Army.

In addition, the fireballs generated by the burning of armored vehicles shone brightly around, and dozens of machine gunners who were worried that they had not hit the target quickly targeted them.

The bullets flew towards them just like they didn't have money, and in the blink of an eye, they killed 10 or 20 Japanese soldiers.

"Sir, it's a rapid-fire cannon. The city's National Salvation Army is equipped with rapid-fire cannons. As long as it is shot accurately, a rapid-fire cannon can destroy one of our tanks." The chief of staff of the corps who had been staring at the battlefield suddenly reacted and looked at Colonel Takahashi's solemn report.

"Sir, the National Salvation Army in the city is also equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns. The gunshot just now were caused by anti-aircraft machine gun shooting. Although it could not kill tanks, the anti-aircraft machine gun bullets fired from close range can easily penetrate the protective armor of the armored vehicles." Another subordinate came out to report.

Then he pointed to the armored vehicle that seemed to have not been damaged on the battlefield but was motionless and continued to report: "The armored vehicle must have been hit by an anti-aircraft machine gun. It looked intact on the surface, but in fact the soldiers inside had been killed by bullets!"

Colonel Takahashi vaguely guessed the rapid-fire cannon and anti-aircraft machine gun in his heart, but he did not dare to confirm 100%.

As soon as the two subordinates finished speaking, he concluded that his judgment was correct. He was shocked and angry, staring at the battlefield and was anxious to order: "Ba Geyalu, we miscalculated!"

"If the National Salvation Army in the city is equipped with anti-tank weapons, no matter how many tanks we have, they will not be enough for them to explode!"

"Order the offensive troops to retreat immediately, we will not attack Yangquan!"

As soon as Colonel Takahashi's retreat order was released, the Chief of Staff arranged for people to implement it, and he strongly agreed with the decision to withdraw the offensive troops, but he did not approve of the second order of the captain of the corps.

He frowned and reminded: "Sir, we have already reached the outside of Yangquan City, and we are still one last step away from taking the county town. Moreover, the troops have paid a huge price to capture Yangquan. If we give up the attack like this, the warriors we died in battle before will die in vain. And those destroyed chariots are also destroyed in vain. Please think twice."

"Although the National Salvation Army in the city is equipped with anti-tank weapons, I think these weapons are definitely very limited. As long as we make sufficient preparations, let the artillery keep bombarding the city walls during the attack, and use gunpowder to block the sight of the National Salvation Army's artillery units, it will definitely reduce the hit rate of their anti-tank weapons."

"As long as a chariot covers the infantry and breaks into the city gate, we can use explosives to destroy the city gate and break into the county town.

At this time, Colonel Takahashi gave up attacking Yangquan County, and Colonel Takahashi was more unwilling to accept it than anyone else.

But the fact that the troops could not capture Yangquan County was in front of us. The anti-tank troops of the National Salvation Army killed three of their own tanks as soon as they took action. If they continued to fight, no matter how many tanks the chariot brigade dispatched, they would name one by one.

As for the price the troops have already paid to attack Yangquan County, it is indeed a bit big, but it is better than the end of putting all the troops in the National Salvation Military Defense Zone and unable to return.

After thinking about it, only the hero cut off his arm and terminated his attack is his best choice at present.

Even if he was sent to the military court by the military headquarters after making a decision, Colonel Takahashi felt it was very worthwhile as long as he could save the remaining troops and chariots.

As for the Chief of Staff’s proposal, it was all his wishful thinking.

The National Salvation Army arranged two anti-aircraft machine guns and two rapid-fire cannons in the city walls in front of them. Other directions must also be equipped with the same number of anti-tank weapons, so the losses of the other three attacking troops will definitely be less.

When the offensive troops withdraw from the battle, it would be nice to have one-third of the sixteen chariots participating in the battle retreated.

If the troops continue to attack, according to the Chief of Staff, the National Salvation Army will be blocked through artillery fire and smoke, and the chariot troops will be protected to approach the city wall, which will indeed reduce the hit rate of the opponent's anti-tank weapons.

But there are not many chariots left in the army. One less one is killed. The decrease in the opponent's hit rate does not mean that there is no hit rate. Perhaps they will be destroyed before they can reach the foot of the city wall.

If the entire army of the chariot brigade was destroyed outside Yangquan City, the infantry under his command would not only lose the opportunity to take over Yangquan County, but also rely on self-protection.

Without the cover of the chariot, only one or two thousand infantrymen would be sure that they would not be able to escape the encirclement and blockade of the National Salvation Army. Maybe they would not even have the chance to withdraw from the National Salvation Army’s defense zone.

In this case, Colonel Takahashi dared not bet at all.

When he divided his troops to raid Yangquan County, the reason why he dared to bet was because there was a chariot brigade behind him to support him. No matter whether it was a winner or loser in the end, the safety of the troops was still guaranteed.

If you lose the bet in front of you, the chariot brigade that you support will be gone, and the entire offensive force may be trapped in the national defense zone and will be eaten bit by bit.

Thinking of this, Colonel Takahashi became increasingly determined to give up his decision to attack Yangquan County.

But he did not explain anything to the Chief of Staff, and ordered again in response to his unwilling gaze: "Execute the order, if something really happens, I will be fully responsible!"

"Order the other three attacking troops to retreat to us immediately. After the entire army gathered, they marched and retreated from the national rescue military defense zone!"

The chief of staff can propose his own ideas for reference by the wing captain. Once the wing captain finally makes up his mind, he must implement it unconditionally.

Looking at Colonel Takahashi's extremely firm gaze, he could only suppress his unwillingness to his heart and then execute the order.

The offensive troops in front of them were the first to withdraw from the battle. Only one of the four chariots came back, and only half of the infantry from a squadron came back, and all the remaining soldiers fell on the retreat road.

The attacking troops were very close to the city wall. Three chariots were destroyed and left on the battlefield. Dozens of Japanese soldiers behind one of the armored vehicles were killed the moment the chariots were destroyed.

Although the Japanese behind the remaining two chariots were not killed on the spot, after the chariots were destroyed, they had no shields that could block bullets when they retreated, and were exposed to the guns of the National Salvation Army. So a large number of Japanese were killed on the way to retreat.

Seeing this scene, the Chief of Staff's thoughts of continuing to fight were obviously dissipated.

Because the losses of the offensive troops far exceeded his estimates.

When the troops were divided into raids of Yangquan, the corps leader and himself had already lost an infantry brigade outside the city.

This was the second attack on Yangquan. Three tanks and most of the infantry squadrons were lost in one direction, and even the Yangquan city wall was not touched.

If the losses of the other three siege troops were similar to those here, it would mean that the raid troops would lose half an infantry brigade and half a chariot brigade, and there would be one and a half infantry brigade and half a chariot brigade left in the entire army.

The National Salvation Army in the city has been fighting until now, and the troops have been hiding in the castle and have never come out, and the troops have almost no loss.

One has increased and the other has deteriorated, and the strength advantage of the raid troops has disappeared.

Except for the remaining dozen chariots, there is no other advantage.

On the other hand, the National Salvation Army not only has a terrain advantage, but now it also has an advantage in military strength and firepower. If you really have to fight head-on, the possibility of the raid troops being defeated is greater.

Even if the raid troops luckily entered Yangquan County as they proposed just now, with the current strength of the Yangquan garrison, they would definitely severely damage the raid troops at the last moment.

When the National Rescue Army reinforcements arrive at Yangquan at dawn, there are very few raid troops left. Even if Yangquan County is captured, they will not be able to defend it. In the end, they will be destroyed by the National Rescue Army reinforcements.

As he thought about it, the Chief of Staff had begun to recognize the wing captain's decision in his heart, and the idea of ​​continuing to make the decision became weaker and weaker.

"Sir, the troops attacking the county town in the east have been withdrawn!" A staff officer hurried over to report, with a very heavy expression, bringing the chief of staff who was in deep thought back to reality.

When the chief of staff saw his face, he realized that the attacking troops in the east had suffered a lot of losses and asked quickly: "How many people are they left?"

"There is still an infantry squad left in the siege! The heavy machine gun squad and the mortar squad did not lose, but the chariots that cooperated with their operations were destroyed by the National Salvation Army!" The staff member lowered his head and whispered, fearing that the superior would be angry because of his report, and finally vented all his anger on him.

The Chief of Staff was shocked. He never expected that their losses would be greater than those on his side. He asked incredible words: "How is this possible? He lost so many troops and chariots in just one attack. How did they fight?"

The staff officer didn't want to stay here, but the chief of staff's problem had already been released. No matter how guilty he was, he had to report: "The National Salvation Army in the east is too cunning. He waited until the chariot troops rushed to fifty meters outside the city before opening fire."

"Two anti-aircraft machine guns stare at an armored vehicle and fire at an armored vehicle. Two rapid-fire guns stare at a tank and fire at an gun. After the shooting, they immediately aimed at another tank to shoot."

"Because the attacking troops were too close to the city wall, although the second tank retreated at the first time, it still did not withdraw from the effective range of the rapid-fire gun. In the end, it was hit at 80 meters away from the city head!"

"Without the cover of tanks and armored vehicles, the infantry that had rushed to the near wall became the enemy's living targets, and two infantry teams were directly killed!"

Hearing this, the Chief of Staff's idea of ​​continuing to fight has completely disappeared.

Looking at Colonel Takahashi, he quickly reminded: "Sir, you are right. Yangquan County cannot be fought any longer. We must leave here immediately and march quickly to withdraw from the National Rescue Army Defense Zone."

"I will send someone to urge the other two attacking troops to retreat as soon as their people arrive.

Twenty minutes later, Colonel Takahashi hurriedly evacuated Yangquan County with less than 2,000 remaining soldiers.

After confirming that the Japanese really ran away, a telegram was immediately sent from Yangquan County to the riverside more than ten kilometers away.

After the Japanese army crossed the river through the temporary wooden bridge, in order to protect their only retreat, the engineer squadron and an infantry team stayed and continuously strengthened the wooden bridge.

After Zhou Cheng led his troops to Yangquan, he did not all enter the city.

Although the Japanese raid troops had a large number of troops, they were not equipped with heavy artillery, and the chariot brigade was their only support for attacking the county town.

As long as you find a way to defeat the Japanese chariot troops, you will not even be able to capture Yangquan County if you have one more infantry brigade of the Japanese.

The destruction of chariots is different from other Japanese troops. If there are no special anti-tank weapons and only rely on flesh and blood to fight, casualties will definitely be very large.

As the commander of the National Salvation Army, Zhou Cheng would definitely not do the stupid thing of exchanging human lives for the Japanese chariot.

Moreover, the National Salvation Army has a special anti-tank force, so there is no need to fight the Japanese.

Therefore, Zhou Cheng only ordered the air defense company and the rapid-fire artillery company to enter the city to support the Yangquan garrison, and led the remaining troops straight to the river, intending to intercept the Japanese who could not attack the city there and wanted to evacuate the defense zone of the National Rescue Army.

After arriving here, the first thing that caught my eye was the wooden bridge temporarily built by the Japanese army.

More than fifty Japanese were divided into two, guarding both sides of the wooden bridge, and the engineer squadron with more than 60 people remained strengthened the wooden bridge.

If you want to intercept the Japanese raid troops and keep them in the defense zone, the best way is to blow up the wooden bridge so that the Japanese cannot cross the river.

But in Zhou Cheng's eyes, this is just the worst outcome of this battle to encircle and annihilate.

His real purpose is not only to wipe out all the Japanese devils, but also to seize all the tanks and armored vehicles left by the Japanese chariot brigade.

There are infantry around the chariot, which provides fire cover for the infantry and acts as shields. The infantry is also responsible for protecting the safety of the chariot. Both sides complement each other and are indispensable.

So as long as they stay together, the chance of Zhou Cheng seizing the chariot is very low.

The best way to break the deadlock is to separate the Japanese infantry and the chariot brigade, so that you can easily take down the chariot brigade without infantry protection.

As he thought about it, a tactic that combined with the terrain in front of him slowly appeared in Zhou Cheng's mind.

Without any hesitation, he immediately looked at Shen Liwen beside him.

"Capital Commander Shen, I'll give you half an hour, and use the minimum price to quickly fight and win the wooden bridge in front and wipe out all the Japanese."

Shen Liwen replied confidently: "Although there are more than 100 Japanese devils here, the only one who is truly combative is an infantry team. Please rest assured that the mobile battalion can complete the mission within twenty minutes."

Zhou Cheng nodded, then looked at the cavalry battalion commander Tao Yongsheng: "After the mobile camp took down the wooden bridge, all the cavalry battalions crossed the river, hid on the other side of the river and lurked on standby. After the Japanese infantry swam across the river, they suddenly launched an attack, and be sure to wipe out all the Japanese who crossed the river."

"The two heavy mortar companies and the mortar platoons under the mobile battalion all set up artillery one kilometer away from the river, aiming at an official road two hundred meters long close to the wooden bridge, and immediately covered this section of the road with artillery fire after receiving the firing order."

"After the cavalry camp crossed the river, the mobile camp immediately exploded the wooden bridge, hid on both sides of the highway and stood by. After the artillery fired, it immediately launched an assault on the remaining Japanese troops and forced them to swim across the river!"

On the official road less than five kilometers away from the river, nearly two thousand Japanese guards marched around thirteen chariots.

Compared with a few hours ago, in addition to the shorter team, the morale of the troops was also very low, including the captain of the regiment, Colonel Takahashi, everyone's expression was very heavy.

Today's two chapters are integrated! Please subscribe! Please collect! Please recommend votes! Please votes for monthly votes!
Chapter completed!