Although the fall of Wuhan is inevitable, the New Sixty-Seventh Army and the 77th Army may also be trapped in the Japanese army's attack. However, in He Zhengdao's view, if this crisis can be reversed, it will be of great benefit to the Eighth Route Army's development in central China.

Once the Central Army abandons Wuhan, its main force will inevitably retreat to the rear. In Xinyang, which is trapped in the Japanese army, I am afraid that the Central Army will not easily send troops to fight the war behind enemy lines.

This means that for a long time in the future, He Zhengdao will have the final say here. Without the checks and balances of the Central Army, the Eighth Route Army will be able to let go of their hands and feet behind the enemy, and even the Central Army will not be able to stop their rise at that time.

The longer the Japanese army occupied these places, the more opportunities the Eighth Route Army would give to gather the hearts of the people in the occupied areas. In time, even if the Central Army wanted to recover the place, I would probably ask whether the Eighth Route Army and the people here agreed.

Send Li Xiangdong behind enemy lines to carry out armed war of resistance, which is also a tactic often used by the Eighth Route Army in the north. Break out of the Japanese encirclement and go to the outside to open up new situations, and restrain the Japanese army's front and rear developments.

As long as the troops sent can really open up new bases behind enemy lines, it will also play a rare role in the future activities of the Eighth Route Army in Hubei, Henan and Anhui, expanding the strategic depth of the Central China Military Region.

If the Eighth Route Army can really connect with the Eighth Route Army bases that are operating in Hebei, Shandong and Henan, then in the future, the Eighth Route Army will have the most stable strategic frontier if it wants to march into the south. This will also have a great effect on the future recovery of the South.

But all this is an idea. Whether this goal can be achieved depends on whether the Eighth Route Army can complete this strategic arrangement in the future. At least this time, the new Sixty-Seventh Army has given a chance.

If you don’t catch it, I’m afraid the Eighth Route Army will regret it in the future!

When He Zhengdao made plans to jump some of the main force to the periphery to fight based on the battlefield situation, the Fifth Infantry Brigade of the Third Division of the Japanese Army also arrived at the Xuji position defended by the Infantry Brigade of the 77th Army.

At around noon, the Japanese heavy artillery corps that had been deployed in place launched a fierce shelling first. Even the infantry brigade guarding Xu Ji knew that the Japanese army would attack them tonight. However, this offensive still shocked them.

Although many of the fortifications built by the infantry brigade in Xuji were able to withstand such heavy artillery, many trenches on the frontline positions were bombarded by heavy artillery. Many new recruits staying in the anti-aircraft artillery hole were also frightened.

On the other hand, some veterans said leisurely: "I'm afraid of a ball! Just relying on the Japanese artillery shells, we can't blow up our anti-aircraft holes. When the artillery bombing is over, we will run faster and kill a few more Japanese to earn some capital."

Although it is not clear how many troops the Japanese army attacked Xuji tonight were dispatched. However, these veterans who had been through the battle formation could tell that the Japanese were going to take serious action tonight through the artillery bombardment carried out by the Japanese.

This means that whether they can survive tonight is a question worth thinking about. Fortunately, they are all veterans, and they know that most of them have earned enough money in previous battles. If they can kill more, they will be one!

In the words of many anti-Japanese soldiers, killing one Japanese devil can make a profit. Killing two will make a profit!

The new recruit who was staying next to the veteran still said in a panic: "What kind of cannon is this? Why is it so loud?"

'This is the Japanese's heavy artillery. If you don't hide in this anti-cannon hole and stay on the position, if you really get this shell, you will be seriously injured if you don't die. If you are hit directly, you will probably not be able to find a complete body!'

The new recruits who heard the veteran's words were so scared that their faces were pale. Some veterans who could not stand it seriously said, "Okay, don't scare these new melon seeds. When you get off the position, you just need to follow us closely.

When you arrive on the battlefield, don’t be afraid of death. The more you are afraid of death, the more you will die. We will all listen to the superiors. Once the superiors order to retreat, they will follow us quickly. If the Japanese really catch up, they will be worse than death!"

When the Japanese were bombarding, the soldiers in the anti-aircraft caves were talking to each other. But for the brigade commander of the infantry brigade and Qiu Jingshan, they were staying in the bunker command center and watching the Japanese slowly pressing through the telescope.

Seeing that the Japanese dispatched so many troops at once, the infantry brigade commander said worriedly: "It seems that these Japanese devils want to take down our frontier positions in one go! There is at least one infantry regiment for the offensive troops that are invested at once, right?"

‘Since the Japanese want to do this, we will fulfill their wishes. Order the mortar troops in the rear, and wait for our orders at any time after the Japanese's shelling stopped, and also cover the attacking Japanese.

After the battle, they retreated early. The infantry from the other frontier positions only needed to repel the Japanese attacks once. They began to retreat and gave the Japanese to the Japanese. In this way, the frontier positions would gain time to retreat.'

‘At this time, will we use our artillery troops?’

‘If you don’t use it at this time, when will you use it? Give the artillery battalion a phone number and convey the order. Tell the artillery battalion that each mortar can fire up to five shells, and immediately withdraw the cannon and run away after the shooting is completed. Don’t let the Japanese’s heavy artillery target you.

In addition to the gunners, the rest of the infantry who cooperate with the artillery units can load the extra shells into the vehicle in advance. These shells are still very valuable to us, and they can also be used to fight guerrillas when we go backwards!’

Listening to Qiu Jingshan's words, the infantry brigade commander didn't say much. For him, the artillery battalion was also reluctant to abandon it. If this artillery battalion could be retained, they would have heavy weapons in the future!

After conveying Qiu Jingshan's decision, the infantry commander who was in the front line also said in time: "Transfer the order and tell us the troops on the front line. In any case, we must repel the Japanese attack.

The artillery battalion of our brigade will also provide artillery fire support. With this hammer transaction, we can finish the work after the battle. If anyone dares to hold back at this time, don’t blame me for being ruthless in military law!”

In fact, in addition to the supervision team equipped by the infantry brigade, there are also a group of supervision teams sent by the military headquarters in the front positions. As for the origin of these people, many officers and soldiers on the positions know that they are from the military training group.

Originally, the military training regiment was acting with the military headquarters, but this time, he resolutely came to the front line to participate in the war. For many front line officers and soldiers, they still couldn't understand it, but they also admired the courage of these people.

After all, the situation on the front line is very unoptimistic now. If you are not good, you may lose your life here!

When the Japanese artillery fire began to extend, the company platoon leaders who had already conveyed the orders also began to urge the officers and soldiers in the anti-artery holes to say, "I will be quicker. This counterattack will not restrict bullets, but I will kill you!"

When they said this, many veterans were still very happy. For them, the army was rarely so generous. But they all knew that after this battle, they would probably have to bury the valley to fight guerrillas.

But no matter what, there is a way to survive when going into the mountains to fight guerrillas. If the Japanese catch up, there is really no way to survive!

Qiu Jingshan, who had been staring at the progress of the Japanese infantry, watched the Japanese infantry have entered the best firepower range of the artillery battalion, and immediately said: "You can fire the artillery!"

The combat staff who called the phone in advance immediately said: "Battleman Commander Song, you can fire the fire!"

‘Yes, start shelling!’

After shouting at the artillerymen on standby outside, the artillerymen who were on the position immediately stuffed a mortar into the cannon. Dozens of mortars fired a barrage and sent the life-seeking shells to the frontline positions.

‘Baga, shelling! The Chinese army shelling! Leave down!’

The attacking sergeant saw the wave of shells, immediately shouted and the assaulted infantry fell down. But even if they had reached the range of the mortar, the result would not be very good even if they lay down.

On the other hand, at this time, the front-line defenders who were seizing the time to build a machine gun position and found a shooting position, but said with a smile: "Wow, do these artillery soldiers who locked the door want to live a life in the future? They are fighting so hard!"

For many veterans of the infantry brigade, they knew very well that the people in the artillery battalion were more serious than the life of the shells. When they were blocking the attack some time ago, they wanted artillery fire support, and most of them were sporadic artillery bombardment.

This time, before they called for artillery fire support, the artillery battalion opened up all fire, causing a downpour of cannon rain on the attacking Japanese. No wonder these veterans said such words when they saw this scene.

At this moment, the Japanese brigade commander who was staying behind and organizing troops to attack saw the artillery fire coming from behind the defenders and said unexpectedly: "Baga! These defenders actually have so many mortars? Aren't they afraid of our counterattack?

Order the heavy artillery wing to adjust the shelling parameters immediately to destroy the artillery positions of the Chinese army. Notify the attacking troops on the front line to temporarily withdraw first! After re-forming, then launch an attack!"

As the five rounds of artillery were over, the Japanese army in charge of the attack also heard the retreat from the rear. Many Japanese soldiers who were lucky enough to escape the artillery also hurriedly retreated from the frontier positions during the artillery stop.

Seeing this scene, the defenders of the position who had just fought with the Japanese for less than a minute also felt that the Japanese attack seemed a bit terrible. But no matter what, the Japanese retreated in the end!

Qiu Jingshan, who also saw this scene, immediately said: "Order the frontier defenders to retreat from the previously built traffic trenches. As for the defense on the positions, the supervision team will be in charge. When retreating, take the action lighter!"

‘This is withdrawn?’

‘If you don’t retreat at this time, it will be difficult to retreat when the Japanese attack again! Retreat! The previous round of artillery attacks would probably not be able to attack. If you don’t destroy our artillery positions, the Japanese will not dare to attack on a large scale again.’

As the commander of the 77th Army's military training regiment, Qiu Jingshan's combat command ability is naturally not bad. Most importantly, in the supervision team he brought, there are many experienced officers and soldiers of the Eighth Route Army reconnaissance unit!
Chapter completed!