Chapter 323 The end of Itagaki Division (20)

"Fire, fire..." Seeing the signal flare, the artillery position immediately sounded a series of orders to fire. Immediately afterwards, the entire artillery position was shrouded in white smoke generated by the firing of artillery shells. More than 150 various artillery shells, carrying

With a huge roar, it flew over the heads of the soldiers in the forward position and flew into the Japanese army's ring fortifications.

"Boom, boom, boom..." A burst of dense explosions exploded in the Japanese army's ring fortifications. The dense artillery shells fell like raindrops on the heads of the little devils, in the trenches, on the machine gun positions... In an instant,

The entire ring fortification was covered by this dense artillery fire. Looking around, the entire Japanese position was filled with the wailing of soldiers, the flying of broken limbs, and the explosion of ammunition...

The entire bombardment, under the command of the regiment leader Chen Guangrong not to spare the shells, lasted for ten minutes. During these ten minutes, more than two thousand shells fell on the Japanese army's ring fortifications. You know,

Two thousand artillery shells, even if two artillery shells killed one Jaap, could cause at least a thousand casualties to the Japanese army.

After the bombardment, the gunpowder smoke cleared. The Japanese army's position, which was orderly just now, had become a ruin. The entire ring fortification was full of broken limbs of soldiers. Looking at the entire position, there was almost no complete sentence.

The corpses. More importantly, the heavy weapons in the ring fortifications. In this fierce bombardment, almost all the remaining light and heavy machine guns of the Japanese army were blown into their most primitive parts.

Of course, no matter how fierce the shelling was, the Japanese division commander Seishiro Itagaki and the elite soldiers of a squadron around him were not seriously harmed. Because their safety was purchased by other soldiers around them who sacrificed their lives.

"Tick-tick...tick-tock..." At this time, the little devils on the battlefield could no longer think about anything else. Because, at this moment, the loud charge horn sounded. Along with the charge

What sounded was the sound of dense machine gun fire from the Eighth Route Army in front of the position.

The airtight rain of bullets was poured unceremoniously by the soldiers on the ruined Japanese positions. Those who had just survived the bombardment were thanking their Amaterasu, and the dense rain of bullets

He was knocked to the ground in one fell swoop. Of course, most of the surviving little Japs turned over and hid in the trenches at the sound of the charge, escaping the airtight rain of bullets.

"Comrades, charge..." With sufficient strength advantage, coupled with the lack of Japanese troops and ammunition at this time, Liu Hua did not divide the final general attack into a general attack and a feint attack. Instead, he completed it in one go.

The entire army attacked and slowly compressed the Japanese position.

Amidst bursts of shouts of killing, thousands of soldiers, led by their respective commanders, held up rifles with bayonets in their hands. Under the cover of dense rain of bullets from heavy machine guns, they rushed out of the hidden trenches and headed towards

A few hundred meters away, the Japanese army's position, which had become completely in ruins, launched a final charge.

Facing the densely packed Eighth Route Army soldiers rushing towards them, the two captains of the regiment standing in the trenches knew that in the face of the enemy's powerful strength and firepower superiority, they had less than a thousand troops left, and they could even fill the gap between the opponent's teeth.

Dissatisfied. However, in order to use the existing troops as much as possible to create chaos and create an opportunity for the division commander to break through.

The two captains made a wise choice and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Eighth Route Army. Because they all knew that if they carried out a long-range interception with their remaining troops, they would not wait until the Eighth Route Army rushed to them.

, will be exhausted under the dense fire net of the Eighth Route Army.

Faced with this idea of ​​the two Japanese commanders, the troops of several thousand people rushed within the throwing distance of their own grenades without encountering almost any resistance.

"Grenade cover, charge..." "Baga, throw the grenade immediately, everyone is ready to stab, prepare to stab. Kill them..." At the same time, in the enemy's and our troops

, the same command sounded at the same time.

Immediately, I saw a dense burst of grenades being thrown out by the soldiers, and they landed accurately in the Japanese trenches not far away. Similarly, dense grenades were also thrown out of the trenches by the little devils, and they landed accurately on the Japanese trenches.

Charge among the front ranks.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Violent explosions occurred in the two positions at the same time. The hundreds of soldiers rushing at the front of the entire army, faced with dense grenades, were undoubtedly all destroyed in an instant.

They were submerged in the smoke caused by the grenade explosion. As for the casualties of the soldiers, it goes without saying that they must have been heavy casualties.

The little Japanese couldn't bear to go there either. As grenades exploded in the trenches, the entire trench immediately became like hell, with soldiers' broken limbs and arms everywhere.

"Charge..." Of course, the casualties of hundreds of people could not stop the will of thousands of soldiers to charge. As the smoke cleared, the follow-up troops did not hesitate and quickly passed by their comrades and used their own blood to fight against them.

The charge road paved by oneself rushed towards the Japanese position just around the corner.

"Kill them... Warriors of the empire, the time has come to serve His Majesty the Emperor. Kill them..." Similarly, there were less than a thousand little Japs left on the Japanese positions. Between two

Under the command of the regiment commander, holding the rifle with the bayonet already fixed in his hand, he resolutely launched a countercharge towards the approaching Eighth Route Army.

"Chichi..." There was a sound of bayonet stabbing into the chest, and the two parties collided with each other in an instant. The little devils, who were completely desperate for their lives, rushed towards the Eighth Route Army's formation desperately. They tried their best to

Before he died in battle, he killed the Eighth Route Army's effective forces.

The sound of the clash of bayonets, the hiss of bayonets hitting the chest, the wailing of soldiers, and the occasional sound of grenades exploding immediately filled the entire battlefield. Until this moment, it was quietly lurking on the battlefield.

The division commander Seishiro Itagaki still made no movement. Likewise, 150 elite Imperial Army soldiers lay motionless on the ground, waiting for the division commander's order to attack.

Less than five minutes into the entire hand-to-hand battle, a gap finally appeared in front of the division commander Seishiro Itagaki. And this gap was officially opened by the commander of the division, Colonel Kurihishi, with his personal guards.

of a channel.

"Warriors of the empire, you should know your mission, which is to do everything you can to protect the flag of our fifth division and deliver it to the Taiyuan headquarters. I ask you that no matter what resistance you encounter,

Don't make any stops. You have to rush for me at all costs. Breaking out of the encirclement of the Eighth Route Army is victory." The division commander ordered again to the soldiers behind him.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander..."

"Yoshi, warriors of the empire, charge with me and kill..." After hearing the answer he was satisfied with, the division commander Seishiro Itagaki immediately pulled out his command sword and jumped up from the ground. He faced it.

The 150 soldiers behind them shouted orders, and they were the first to rush towards a gap opened for themselves by Captain Rifan.

"Kill..." 150 of the most elite little devils. Seeing their division commander rushing to the front, they immediately jumped up from the ground. 150 people formed a huge sharp knife.

The attack formation soon surrounded the division commander Seishiro Itagaki. He quickly passed through a passage opened for him by the commander of the regiment, Colonel Kuridome.

However, it can be said that these 150 little Japs are indeed the elite of the Japanese army. Because the soldiers who came to intercept along the way were stabbed to the ground by several bayonets almost as soon as they met these little Japs. And the entire charge formation,

Facing the attack of the Eighth Route Army, there was no confusion at all and they continued to charge.

In this way, under the impact of this sharp knife, the already very weak defense line was easily broken through almost a Japanese charge. On the other hand, on the road of the Japanese assault, almost bodies fell on the ground.

However, among these corpses, almost all belonged to the soldiers, and only a few were left behind by these little devils.

However, these little devils paid dozens of casualties and highlighted the encirclement of the soldiers. Can they really escape from Liu Hua's grasp and return to Taiyuan? The answer is no. Because everything on the battlefield, especially

It was the Japanese army's breakout, and everything was reflected in the eyes of Liu Hua and the chief of staff who were far away at the headquarters.

"Commander, you are really right. Itagaki Seishiro is really ready to fish in troubled waters. However, the combat effectiveness of this Japanese squadron is very powerful. In less than a few minutes, at least nearly a hundred soldiers fell.

Under their bayonets, these little Japs, on the other hand, suffered less than 30 casualties." He saw about a squadron of Japs rushing out of their encirclement and quickly disappearing into the darkness. The chief of staff said.

"Well, I guess these little devils are the only elites left in the Fifth Division. However, no matter how elite they are, they are still infantry. In front of the cavalry, even if they are elites, they can only wait to be beaten and annihilated.

." Liu Hua said with a smile, obviously he didn't take these little devils to heart.

"Commander, let the cavalry regiment attack. Itagaki Seishiro must be among these little devils..." The chief of staff nodded with deep understanding and gave the suggestion.

"Okay, that's what I mean. I will immediately report to Wang Hu that a Japanese squadron is fleeing west of Changgukou. In addition, among this group of little devils is Lieutenant General Seishiro Itagaki, the commander of the Japanese division. Order your troops to be sure to

Surround this Japanese army, annihilate it, and capture as many of the Japanese division commander Seishiro Itagaki as possible." Division Commander Liu Hua nodded and gave a loud order to the communications staff officer behind him who was waiting for orders.

"Yes, Commander..."

Soon, a king tiger lurking around Changguguchi received an order from the division commander. When he learned that the Japanese army he was going to destroy was Seishiro Itagaki, the commander of the fifth division, he did not dare to neglect and immediately summoned all the troops.

The battalion company commander began to assign tasks. At the same time, he sent all his scouts to Changgukou, and he also led the main force of the regiment, more than a thousand cavalry, to quickly insert to the west of Changgukou.

"Report to the leader, my reconnaissance platoon is two kilometers ahead and found about a squadron of Japs advancing rapidly towards Taiyuan." Just as Wang Hu led his cavalry regiment to advance rapidly, the cavalry regiment reconnaissance

The platoon leader quickly ran to Wang Hu and answered loudly.

"Okay, it finally appeared. Order, the 1st Battalion will immediately circle back to the front of the Japanese army and block their way. The 2nd Battalion will outflank the left wing, and the 3rd Battalion will outflank the right wing. Start taking action now..." After listening to the report of the reconnaissance platoon leader

, Wang Hu became excited and loudly ordered to the three battalion commanders beside him.

"Yes, commander..." Immediately, the three battalion commanders each took their own troops and ran wildly in the direction of their own attack.

At this moment, the Japanese division commander Seishiro Itagaki was marching quickly in the dark wilderness, escorted by less than 120 Japanese soldiers. Since there was no lighting from torches, the fast-moving troops were not sure if there were any.

He tripped and fell to the ground. However, no matter what, no one stopped. Everyone hurried on without saying a word.

"Division Commander, we are now four kilometers away from the battlefield. Should we rest for a few minutes? The soldiers are extremely tired after just fighting and marching for an hour. We don't want to rest for a few minutes while we are on our way.

Chi..." Finally, looking at the panting soldiers, a squadron leader who led the team ran to the division commander Seishiro Itagaki who was also panting and suggested.

"Yoshi, order the troops to stop and rest for five minutes, and then continue on their way after five minutes. Also, no one is allowed to use torches for lighting, which will expose our target." After listening to the squadron leader's suggestion, the division commander Seishiro Itagaki nodded.

, ordered.

"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander..." Immediately, the soldiers who received the rest order collapsed to the ground one after another under the double blow of fatigue and hunger, and began to fall asleep in less than a minute.

The company commander, Seishiro Itagaki, slowly closed his eyes after hearing the shouting.

At this moment, the 1st Battalion of the Cavalry Regiment had already detoured back to their front, less than a kilometer away, quietly waiting for the arrival of the little Japs. The soldiers of the two battalions that detoured back to the two wings of the Japanese army, in order not to alarm those close to them,

The little devils who were close at hand had already dismounted, pulling their horses, and slowly approached the little devils.

Finally, just five minutes later, when the Japanese army was preparing to continue marching, the encirclement of the cavalry regiment had been formed. At this time, more than 120 little Japs had completely become a meal for the cavalry regiment.

"No, division commander, listen, it's the sound of cavalry. It must be the cavalry of the Eighth Route Army coming after them." Finally, as the encirclement of the cavalry regiment gradually narrowed, the sound of hoofbeats of war horses finally woke up the little Japanese squadron leader.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves, the squadron leader's first thought was the cavalry troops of the Eighth Route Army, and he quickly reminded the division commander beside him.

"Nani, cavalry, cavalry of the Eighth Route Army. Baga, what are you still doing? Order all soldiers to prepare to meet the enemy immediately and retreat immediately..." Hearing the reminder from the squadron leader next to him, after hearing the Vietnamese

The division commander Itagaki Seishiro couldn't help being surprised by the loud sound of horse hoofbeats, and gave a loud order.

"Hey, division commander..." Immediately, more than 100 little Japs who had just rested for less than a few minutes got up from the ground amidst the roar of the squadron leader, and quickly assembled a defensive formation.

Under the leadership of the regiment commander Seishiro Itagaki, they retreated towards Taiyuan.

However, their good luck only ended there. When they were marching less than 500 meters, the first battalion of the cavalry regiment in front of them slowly came forward. Nearly 400 cavalrymen were lined up in two formations.

A line of defense, formed in a semicircle, slowly pressed towards the fast-moving Jaap position.

"Baga, division commander, our way forward has been blocked by the cavalry of the Eighth Route Army. I will lead all the soldiers to resolutely block the charge of the Eighth Route Army cavalry. Please, your Excellency, division commander, immediately bring your personal guards to retreat.
To be continued...