Rise From Eight Hundred

The Japanese artillery had never stopped firing.

They were either bombarding Hill No. 3, which had been destroyed by bombs and artillery shells, or bombarding all the mountain roads that could support Hill No. 3.

Not to mention that Tang Dao and other commanders knew that the key breakthrough point of the Japanese army was Hill No. 3, which seemed to be the most flanking, even the most ordinary soldiers on both sides of China and Japan understood it.

The battle on Hill No. 1 and Hill No. 2 simply stopped, and the two sides were deadlocked at a distance of three or four hundred meters. Only the occasional cold gunshots and screams made people feel that this was also a battlefield of life and death.

However, except for the cold gunmen who killed the enemy coldly, most people subconsciously turned their attention to Hill No. 3, which was constantly rising with gunpowder smoke.

There was the key to victory or not on the entire battlefield.

"Sir, let my company go to support Hill No. 3! It will be too late if we are late." Li Jiujin, who had just withdrawn from the forest, was sweating all over his face, but he rarely volunteered to fight...

"Sir, this is the position of my Xue Shame Regiment. My Xue Shame Regiment will defend the position to the death. Please let us go to support it." The two majors of the Xue Shame Regiment looked at each other and took a step forward together.

Tang Dao stood in the trench of the temporary command post halfway up the mountain, holding a telescope and looking at Hill No. 3 where smoke was rising. He turned his back to the people who asked for a fight and did not answer for a long time.

Five minutes passed.

"No!" Tang Dao's cold voice came. "I believe that Captain Wei and Captain Cai will be able to hold on until sunset."

The officers looked sad, but no one dared to speak again.

Tang Dao was very easy-going in private, but on the battlefield, he seemed to be a different person, resolute and resolute. His military order meant that he had made a decision and would never regret it.

Tang Dao had his back to everyone. Everyone only saw his statue-like body, but could not see his bloodshot eyes.

This may be one of the most difficult decisions Tang Dao has made in his life.

Tang Dao knew that after he made the decision not to send reinforcements, the nearly 100 people still alive on the top of the mountain would have little chance of survival.

They would have to resist the attack of the Japanese army, which was several times stronger than them, for nearly two hours without any military support.

This was difficult. Even if he thought that the old base of the Fourth Camp was on Hill No. 3, he was not 100% sure.

But Tang Dao knew better that Kuniaki Zheng on the opposite side was also using an open conspiracy, and his artillery group was waiting for his reinforcements to be dispatched.

If Tang Dao calculated correctly, although there were at least four 105 howitzers participating in the battle at this time, these were not all the heavy artillery that Kuniaki Zheng had in his bottom box. He had at least 4 105 howitzers waiting for reinforcements to go to Hill No. 3.

The battlefield is not a chess game. Every choice made by the commander determines the life and death of hundreds or even thousands of people.

Tang Dao could not throw an elite infantry company into the artillery fire at will, nor could he let the lives of the Sichuan soldiers be consumed by the Japanese artillery shells.

So, he could only gamble that Wei Donglai and Cai Yongguan could hold on until the sun set.

However, how many of the more than 100 Sichuan soldiers still on the high ground could survive depended on the efforts of the chess pieces on the gambling table.

This was undoubtedly an extremely difficult and sad decision for any commander, and Tang Dao was no exception.

The outcome of the battlefield could prove whether Tang Dao's decision was right or wrong, but Tang Dao was undoubtedly correct in one point.

"Why, the Chinese didn't make any movement?" Kuniaki asked the Army Lieutenant Colonel Chief of Staff who had just hurried into the temporary command post from outside.

"Yes, the scouts ahead did not send any signals, and no enemy reinforcements were seen on the enemy's high ground." The Army Lieutenant Colonel shook his head.

"Chinese commander, it's hard to deal with!" Kuniaki's eyes showed a trace of surprise. "What are the intelligence departments doing? It's been almost two days, and they still haven't figured out who the commander of this Chinese army is. Don't tell me it's the 145th Division of the 23rd Army. If the unit has this combat power, can Li Shoushan and his men conquer Sihong and Jiepai?"

"Sir, the intelligence department reported that the Chinese are now in a panic. I guess they don't even know what troops are deployed." The lieutenant colonel of the army showed a bitter smile on his face.

Kunisaki Zheng was obviously a little speechless by this conclusion. He pointed to the front and sighed slightly: "In this southeast war, our army encountered such stubborn enemies everywhere, which impressed me deeply. However, they have such stupid superiors, which is a blessing for the empire!"

"Sir, even such stubborn enemies will be turned into smoke and dust under your command! Just like now, Colonel Takeuchi Yunshan is already gathering troops, and under the threat of our heavy artillery, the Chinese who dare not support will not last too long." The lieutenant colonel of the army flattered him lightly.

"I think that your tactical arrangement today is enough to be recorded as a combat case in the Army University."

Five kilometers behind the high ground, the blue muzzles of four 105mm howitzers were raised high. The coordinates had been set long ago, waiting for the military order from the front.

These were four of the eight 105mm howitzers belonging to the artillery battalion directly under the Kunisaki Detachment. They had never been used since the battle began in the morning.

Four 105mm howitzers fired at full speed for five minutes, and the artillery fire was enough to cover an area the size of a football field. In the absence of fortifications, people and animals were all killed.

If the four guns that had already participated in the bombardment were added, the total bombardment of eight 105mm howitzers could kill more than 90% of the infantrymen who were unprotected on the mountain road.

Kunizaki ordered Takeuchi Yunshan to attack Hill No. 3 with all his strength. His main purpose was to force out the reserve troops of the Chinese defenders and annihilate them in an open area with the heavy artillery he carried.

That was not all. In the hundreds of meters of forest between the two hills, Kunisaki also quietly sent an infantry squadron. If a small group of Chinese soldiers took the risk to enter the forest, they would also be attacked.

If the Chinese side did not dare to move out during the day, they would go all out to capture the position and break the closed loop of the triangular defense position.

In other words, after Kunisaki's set of combined punches, no matter what the Chinese commander chose, he would either lose a large number of troops or have his position captured. There was no third way to go.

The Japanese lieutenant colonel did not brag too much about the wonderful tactical deployment.

Kunisaki, who looked solemn, was obviously somewhat proud of his arrangement. He waved his hand slightly while looking relaxed: "The Chinese commander is already very smart. He has not yet dispatched enough troops for our artillery group to hunt and kill. The enemy's highland troops are even more stubborn. They are indeed one of the most stubborn enemy troops since our detachment entered southeastern China. We cannot easily claim victory until our army plants the general flag on the enemy's highland."

"Hi!" The lieutenant colonel of the army quickly put on a educated look.

Obviously, compared with the stern faces of the captains and lieutenants on the Chinese command, the Japanese command was much more relaxed.

However, the heaviest thing was the chess pieces thrown into the chess game by the commanders of both sides.

Just after killing another wave of small Japanese troops who refused to retreat, violent explosions sounded again on the top of the mountain. They didn't even bother to collect the bodies of the brothers who died in the battle. The soldiers who could still move and breathe all hid in the reverse slope tunnel behind the mountain.

Without this, Wei Donglai and his soldiers would have been reduced to ashes along with the rocks on the top of the mountain by the Japanese heavy artillery.

Wei Donglai was injured, and a 10-centimeter-long cut was made on his thigh by shrapnel. The entire tendon was cut off, and the bloody muscle was turned outward. The hemostatic powder had been used up long ago.

In a hurry, Wei Donglai sprinkled the ash from the wood burned by the artillery fire into the wound, and then bandaged it with his torn shirt.

This was nothing, a piece of shrapnel sank into his chest, and his breath was already filled with blood foam.

Therefore, before falling into a coma, Wei Donglai handed over the command of the front-line trenches to Cai Yongguan.

At this point in the battle, no tactics were needed.

The only thing needed was courage!

Wei Donglai fully trusted Cai Yongguan on this point.