Through the sight of the artillery mirror, the Japanese artillery observer saw the artillery shells fired by the Eighth Route Army artillery. The first round of artillery shells hit the No. 1 infantry brigade of the No. 1 division.
The Infantry Battalion was in a good position, in a depression, but the Eighth Route Army's artillery shells seemed to have eyes.
As the dense explosion waves rose up, the unsuspecting soldiers of the Infantry Battalion were blown away and fled.
No matter how powerful the cannon is, no matter how powerful the gunner is, it is impossible to hit the target when hitting a target several kilometers away. It needs to be tested in advance, and then the shooting elements are calibrated according to the impact point, and finally the artillery fire coverage is implemented.
The better the cannon and the more experienced the gunners and artillery observers are, the less shells and time will be used during the test firing phase.
However, the Eighth Route Artillery did not conduct a test firing in advance. The first wave of artillery fire covered the area and most of the artillery shells hit the target.
"What a powerful artilleryman."
"How did the Eighth Route Artillery do it?"
With wonder on his face, this Japanese artillery observer began to look for the location of the Eighth Route Army's artillery positions as the observation balloon slowly rose.
The 3rd Division Infantry Regiment's 1st Infantry Battalion suffered considerable losses under a regiment-level artillery bombardment. The Japanese infantry fled in all directions. The Eighth Route Army artillery observers immediately informed them to stop firing.
The observation balloon rose several hundred meters, and the Japanese artillery observers finally discovered an Eighth Route Army artillery position to the east.
"How many soldiers from the 1st division are still alive?"
The Japanese artillery observer was about to report his position when Mizuo Nakazawa's questioning voice came from the receiver.
At this time, Mitsuo Nakazawa was most concerned about the soldiers of the 2nd Division who were in the ambush circle.
The Japanese artillery observers had no choice but to turn their artillery mirrors and look in the direction of the battlefield.
The battlefield was filled with smoke, but no fighting was seen. There was no sound of artillery or gunfire. The densely packed Eighth Route Army was cleaning the battlefield.
If there was a battle, the Japanese artillery observer would definitely be able to hear the sound of gunfire from this position.
The Japanese artillery observer took the receiver and microphone and shouted loudly: "Report to the division commander, all the soldiers in the surrounded division have been killed, and the battle is over! In addition, a large number of Eighth Route Cavalry and tanks are moving towards us."
“The Nani battle is over”
Mitsuo Nakazawa was suddenly startled at first, and then said in disbelief: "This is impossible. Could it be that all the remaining Locust Army soldiers have broken through?"
The Japanese artillery observer stared at the artillery mirror and said: "I saw the corpses of many Locust soldiers."
on the ground.
The Japanese Army's 3rd Division and 3rd Division Headquarters.
Mitsuo Nakazawa put down the receiver and microphone of the radio station angrily.
Kuroda Shigenori advised: "Nakazawa-kun, the scouts of our division have reported that the battle is over. I suggest returning to Datong immediately to avoid being surrounded by the Eighth Route Army!"
Although the attack posture has been deployed, since the battle is over, there is no need to continue fighting.
Any further fighting will only increase casualties.
Kuroda Shigenori really didn’t want to fight the Eighth Route Army in northwestern Shanxi.
He just wanted to lead the division back to Inner Mongolia as soon as possible. The life there was really comfortable, and he didn't want to live a frightened life in northwestern Shanxi.
Mitsuo Nakazawa was furious, but he quickly suppressed his anger. The matter had come to this, and no matter how hard it was to accept, it had to be this way.
"Kuroda-kun, please transfer to Datong."
Mitsuo Nakazawa waved his hand and closed his eyes in pain. At this moment, the old Japanese man's heart was as sharp as a knife.
More than 10,000 elite Locust troops were wiped out in a matter of hours. The First Division had never suffered such heavy losses.
"Yes." Kuroda Shigenori nodded and looked at the combat staff aside, "Give me the order to transfer all troops to Datong immediately. Move quickly."
Facts have proven that no matter how elite the troops are, they will be quickly wiped out once they are ambushed by a well-prepared enemy.
The main force of the Company Division has been wiped out. Now that the main force of the Eighth Route Army is free, they will definitely not be able to defeat them.
"Hi!"
The combat staff officer nodded heavily and turned to leave.
…
The former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.
"Commander, the forward artillery observer reported that the Japanese from the 3rd and 3rd divisions have retreated."
"Are we still chasing?"
Wang Dehou reported to Li Yunlong.
"What did you say, you retreated?" Li Yunlong's tone revealed a bit of surprise and disappointment.
The artillery, infantry, cavalry and tank units of the new regiment were all ready to fight.
As a result, the 2nd and 3rd divisions ran away directly.
After receiving Wang Dehou's affirmative reply, Commander Li said in a disdainful tone: "Kuroda and Nakazawa are not really men. They don't even have the courage to fight us head-on."
"Although the 2nd and 3rd divisions have escaped," Zhao Gang said, "our artillery has killed some Japanese from the 3rd division, so it is not without gain."
Kong Jie put down the telescope and said: "It must be the Japs observers on the observation balloon who discovered that the fighting here has ended, so the Japs from the 1st and 3rd divisions retreated."
"Observation balloon" Li Yunlong asked, "Where is it?"
Li Yunlong had been using the artillery scope to observe the direction of the battlefield, so he did not pay much attention to the Japanese observation balloons.
When Li Yunlong led his troops to attack Taiyuan, he shot down a Japanese observation balloon. The Japanese artillery observer fell out and was killed on the spot.
However, the Japanese observation balloon was raised from Taiyuan City and was within the range of the Eighth Route Army, so it was easily shot down.
"Lao Kong, look how far away the Japanese balloon is from us."
Li Yunlong looked in the direction Kong Jie pointed, and sure enough he saw the Japanese observation balloon in mid-air, slowly descending.
Because the distance is too far, only a small black dot can be seen.
"The straight-line distance must be at least seven or eight kilometers." Kong Jie put down the telescope and said.
"Forget it..." Li Yunlong said, "Order all ministries to quickly clean the battlefield and transport all the loot back to the base area."
Li Yunlong originally wanted to order the anti-aircraft artillery battalion to shoot down the Japanese observation balloons.
But it was too late. By the time the anti-aircraft artillery battalion arrived, the Japanese observation balloon had already landed and ran away.
Since the 2nd and 3rd divisions retreated, Li Yunlong did not intend to pursue them again.
However, Li Yunlong sent out cavalry scouts to conduct vigilance and reconnaissance in the direction of Datong to prevent the 2nd and 3rd divisions from killing a carbine.
At the same time, the sporadic ambush battles ended completely.
Li Yunlong immediately ordered Wang Dehou to prepare a successful report and report the situation to the headquarters.
Chapter completed!