Just as several staff officers had just finished distributing guns and ammunition to those staff officers and officers who either had no guns or only had a small pistol, and even the minefields around the mountains behind the brigade headquarters that Lin Zhiqiang explained had not yet begun to be deployed, at the foot of the mountain There were already dense gunshots and explosions. These gunshots and explosions indicated that the secret sentry of the security squad at the foot of the mountain had not yet had time to withdraw, and the Japanese and puppet troops exchanged fire.
Almost at the same time as the gunshots rang out at the foot of the mountain, the flares fired by the Japanese and puppet troops also rose into the sky, illuminating the top of the mountain where the brigade headquarters was located in white. At the foot of the mountain, two mortars from the Japanese and puppet troops were fired. He and a few grenade launchers were also constantly slamming the cannonballs into the mountain, regardless of how many cannonballs they were carrying.
According to Lin Zhiqiang's order, the security squad at the foot of the mountain did not fight with the advancing Japanese and puppet troops, but withdrew while fighting. At the same time, under the cover of the crooked machine gun on the mountain, security guards mounted anti-infantry troops along both sides of the mountain road. Directional mines and some landmines were mastered by Lin Zhiqiang in this guard squad. He was very skilled in laying mines and moved quite quickly. While retreating to the brigade headquarters on the mountainside, a simple minefield had been laid along the mountain road.
With the light of the flares, the Japanese and puppet troops who followed their retreat route were caught off guard and suffered numerous casualties from the mines, especially the infantry directional mines, which contained thousands of steel balls. District, and repelled the first wave of offensive by the Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain.
Although the first wave of offensive by the Japanese and puppet troops was repelled, due to the quick response of all personnel, coupled with the cover of the terrain and the power of the mines, only two were slightly injured. Although this was the first contact battle, it should be regarded as There were zero casualties, but everyone's hearts were weighed down by the scene before them.
With the help of the flares fired by the Japanese and puppet troops, everyone in the simple fortifications on the mountainside could clearly see that seven to eight hundred Japanese and puppet troops were densely packed at the foot of the mountain, and they were reorganizing their formations in preparation for the second attack. Waves of attacks, mortars and heavy machine guns fired continuously at the mountain to suppress the counterattack firepower on the mountain, while they were seizing the time to build fortifications and encirclement circles.
At the same time, on the other side of Straw Hat Mountain, intensive artillery fire was also heard representing the Japanese offensive. The fire caused by the shells could be clearly seen on this side of the mountain. Not to mention Lin Zhiqiang's order, there was no deployment. The three regiments on the front line of Straw Hat Mountain may be unable to reinforce the brigade at this time.
There are too few troops. It is impossible for the Third Regiment to hold the defense line and send reinforcements here. Moreover, judging from the number of enemy troops at the foot of the mountain, it is useless to come with too few troops. If there are too many, Straw Hat Mountain will definitely not be able to defend it. At this time, Straw Hat Mountain cannot be defended. Everyone in the brigade knew that there was no need to count on reinforcements from the Straw Hat Mountain. As for their side, all they could do was delay as much time as possible.
The Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain have obviously not considered the current feelings of the people on the mountain. The telephone lines connected from the front to here, exposed under the flares, and the high-power radio antennas erected high, all indicate This is a high-level headquarters of the advancing army.
The thought of being captured, possibly the highest-ranking prisoner of the Communist Army in history, made the Japanese and puppet commanders feel dizzy. At this time, they had already sent their superiors to the rear of the straw hat front line and adopted front and rear pincer tactics to achieve a breakthrough as soon as possible. He forgot about the order, and regardless of it, he pressed on all the troops of a puppet Manchukuo cavalry regiment, a Japanese infantry squadron and a mortar squadron.
Regardless of the steepness of the mountain and the extremely narrow attack front, all the troops could only attack along a narrow mountain road with a slope of nearly 50 degrees, and adopted the tactic of taking turns to attack. It was not too obvious from the appearance of the mountainside, but In his eyes, there is a big fish in the cave that launches a desperate attack.
Most of the people on the mountain, with the exception of the intellectuals from the Political Department, are from military backgrounds. If their original troops were here, they would naturally not be afraid of the seven or eight hundred Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain, but here they are. They had been transferred to the brigade headquarters at that time. Except for a pistol and the rifle that had just been issued in their hands, there was not even a single correspondent around them.
As the offensive of the Japanese and puppet troops became more and more fierce, the battle quickly entered a fever pitch, and the pressure on the mountainside became more and more intense. Although there was a favorable geographical location that could be used, the difference in troop strength and firepower was too great. As the Japanese and puppet troops invested The number of troops is increasing, and the pressure on the mountainside is increasing.
As illumination bombs hit the sky one after another, the firepower pouring down the mountainside became more and more fierce. The mortars fired by the Japanese and puppet troops up the mountain became more and more accurate in blasting points around the cave where the brigade headquarters was located. , the fierce artillery fire from two mortars and the bullets like splashing water from more than a dozen light and heavy machine guns suppressed the people on the mountainside and could not lift their heads.
The Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain didn't know whether they didn't want to waste too much time here and were eager to solve the problem here as soon as possible, or they were eager to catch the big fish in their eyes on the mountain and go back to ask for credit. Not only did they concentrate all their efforts as soon as they came up, The firepower suppressed all resistance on the mountainside, without any regard for the consumption of one's own ammunition.
Moreover, as the battle progressed, more and more troops were put into the attack. Although there was only a narrow mountain road that could be used as an attack route, the Japanese and puppet troops ignored the crossfire on the mountain and the rain of grenades that hit their faces. The establishment launched waves of attacks one after another.
As for the simple minefield on the mountain road that had repelled the first round of Japanese and puppet offensives, it had been almost wiped out by intensive artillery fire. The only crooked minefield was half an hour after the battle started. It was blown up by a grenade fired by the Japanese army.
The defensive troops on the mountainside were also suppressed by the Japanese and puppet troops' firepower at all costs, and their casualties were increasing. By the early morning of the battle, the number of defensive troops on the mountainside, including the officers of the Political Department, was no more than two. The ten-man security squad at the brigade headquarters had already suffered casualties by the early morning hours of the battle.
After several hours of fighting, the small amount of ammunition on the mountain was almost exhausted at this time. The once most abundant grenades only left a box of grenades made by the Anti-Japanese Alliance and a box made by ourselves at the base behind enemy lines. The grenades and fast-firing submachine guns have all been used up, and the submachine gunners have all been replaced by rifles that sacrificed their comrades.
The reason why they are still persisting now is that a few cadres used their experience to collect nearly a thousand rounds of bullets and dozens of Japanese-made bullets from the corpses of the Japanese and puppet soldiers who died in front of the position, despite the interruption of the Japanese and puppet army's flares. If the Type 97 and Type 91 grenades didn't have such a small amount of ammunition, I'm afraid they could only use the rocks and bayonets all over the mountains and plains to fight the Japanese and puppet troops.
Facing the increasingly severe situation, people around Lin Zhiqiang were a little anxious, trying to persuade Lin Zhiqiang to break out of the Third Regiment's position at Straw Hat Mountain. However, Lin Zhiqiang remained calm despite everyone's persuasion. Hit me, but I still don't move. I won't go there, just here.
In fact, Lin Zhiqiang knew very well that breaking out of the encirclement now was simply a fantasy. Although the Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain only had seven or eight hundred people, excluding the casualties from the midnight battle, the rest of the encirclement surrounded him even though the altitude was nearly a thousand meters. Although the overall area is not large, the hilltop is still very relaxing.
Where I am now, the straight-line connection with Straw Hat Mountain has been cut off. On the ridge at the connection between the two mountains, there are at least a hundred Japanese and puppet troops who have built fortifications. If it were not for the brigade headquarters, The top of the mountain and the Straw Hat Mountain have too complex terrain and the ridge is quite steep. The Japanese and puppet troops deployed in that direction would not mind a two-sided attack.
To break through in the direction of Straw Hat Mountain, they can only throw themselves into a trap and break out in other directions. As the battle progresses, the Japanese and puppet troops have already led the horses that were originally placed behind them for sneak attacks after discovering the direction of the telephone lines. Even in mountainous areas, a man with two legs cannot outrun a horse.
The Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain were worried that the people on the mountain would break out. Although the mountainous terrain here was not suitable for large-scale cavalry operations, under the circumstances that the surrounding mountain ridges had been tightly blockaded or blocked by firepower, some With the help of horses, the people on the mountain can completely block their thoughts and determination to break out.
Rather than leaving the cover of favorable terrain to risk a breakout when the surrounding area has been tightly blockaded by the Japanese and puppet troops, it is better to rely on the favorable terrain to persist as much as possible. In Lin Zhiqiang's view, the cover of local vegetation is not good. If you try to break out when the sky is already bright, the possibility of success is almost non-existent.
Although the mountains in Rehe are high in altitude and appear majestic, the mountains here lack vegetation coverage. Most of the mountains are covered with low grass. Even if there is slightly higher vegetation, it is still low. , mainly bushes that cannot hide people at all, and there are very few mountainous forest areas like the northeastern mountainous areas.
There is no dense and almost invisible vegetation like the Greater Khingan Mountains and Changbai Mountains in the northeast, and there is no boundless forest like the Zhangguangcai Mountains and Laoye Mountains. Under this kind of terrain and landforms, there is not even a basic shelter. There were no supplies, and breaking out of the encirclement was almost equivalent to directly exposing oneself to the firepower of the Japanese and puppet troops.
As for whether he could still hold on until the headquarters learned that he was surrounded and only had one squad of guards and some non-combatants around him, they urgently transferred a regiment from the two and a half cavalry regiments they had as mobile troops. When the reinforcements arrived at the front line of Straw Hat Mountain, Lin Zhiqiang was not too worried. At worst, he would die together with the Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain. Anyway, he had no intention of being a prisoner.
The most important thing is that Lin Zhiqiang believes that as long as he does not retreat, these enemy forces will not be able to turn to the front line of Straw Hat Mountain and form a pincer attack on the front line of Straw Hat Mountain with the Japanese and puppet troops attacking from the front of Straw Hat Mountain. In other words, , if you persist here for one more minute, the pressure on the front line of Straw Hat Mountain will be reduced by one minute.
Judging from the desperate movements of the Japanese troops at the foot of the mountain to attack, Lin Zhiqiang knew that this was the brigade headquarters. This was not simply a matter of whether to use a pistol. From the time the Japanese fired the first flare, he knew that Generally, only units above the regiment level, and even among the troops within the customs, only have the tall antennas necessary for the high-power radio stations used at the military region level, which is enough to expose what this place is.