At seven o'clock, the sun rises in the east, and the soft sunshine shines on the earth, illuminating the officers and soldiers of the First Town who are moving around.

"What are these things?" Hou Dehui, who had had a good sleep, came to the front line to observe. The 3rd Light Infantry Division didn't get much rest last night. Today they came to change defenses.

He was using a telescope to observe the attacking officers and soldiers of the first town.

"This should be a test by the enemy, a test before a large-scale attack." Li Yan thought for a long time before holding back a sentence.

The officers and soldiers of the first town were still four to five hundred meters away from the defense area of ​​the third regiment, and their composition was rather strange.

The number of officers and soldiers in the first town was at most a hundred and at least a dozen, operating in more than a dozen groups, of varying sizes, and the size of the force was undisguised.

The movements were also extremely slow, and many people stopped. There was a serious disconnect between the various forces, and it didn't look like an offensive formation.

Moreover, the officers and soldiers of the First Town did not make any hidden movements, not even a slight bend.

You know, this is not a mountainous area, but a plain agricultural area. There is no jungle nearby, so they are exposed to the eyes of the third group.

This is not the future. This distance is the distance at which the rifle can function. Generally, at this distance, the squad leader or platoon leader will start to organize a volley of guns, and the lethality is pretty good.

Therefore, Li Yan believed that this was a test, and the purpose was to find out where the heavy machine gun of the third regiment was located, and then use artillery to knock out the machine gun to clear the way for the follow-up troops.

"Order, concentrate all available mortar fire, and shell them in five minutes to teach them a lesson."

"Let the soldiers at the forefront fire two shots from time to time, and don't use machine guns." Hou Dehui picked up the telescope and put it down again, repeating it several times.

After the ordering soldier recorded the order, he turned around and ran away. The field fortifications were not concentrated at all, the trenches were only section by section, and the mortars were also scattered.

Bang bang bang...

Bang bang bang...

The soldiers at the front fired, but they did not use heavy machine guns, and there was no organized volley of guns. If they could hit a target from a distance of four to five hundred meters, it meant that the enemy had a good shot and the damage would be very low.

The sparse firepower was a little too perfunctory. Just when Hou Dehui was thinking about whether to increase the firepower to prevent the first town from choosing to charge, the first town moved.

But it was not a charge, but a passionate exchange of fire with the soldiers at the front with volleys of rifles.

The fight between the two sides was lively, and no gunshots were heard, but the outcome basically depended on luck.

At worst, the soldiers of the third regiment were in individual bunkers. It was difficult for bullets to hit them.

The soldiers in the first town were unprepared, but the soldiers in the third regiment had no rifles, and the density of firepower was extremely low. They were four to five hundred meters apart, and the people were smaller than the crosshairs, so the hit rate was extremely low.

So, it was a lively fight, but except for the very unlucky part, most people were fine.

Tong Tong Tong Tong...

Chirp~~

Time was limited, and the messenger only contacted fourteen 60mm or 82mm mortars, but it was enough.

Fourteen mortars sent hundreds of shells into the sky within one minute. After flying for nearly thirty seconds, the shells fell to the ground.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the first town were vigorously firing volleys.

Gun platoon, as the name suggests, involves people standing in a row to shoot. This can increase the density of firepower and improve the coverage of firepower. It is commonly used internationally.

Until the Anti-Japanese War, we were still using this tactic. The advantage was that it was simple, easy to use and easy to understand.

The disadvantage is that when firing, one must form a dense queue. If a shell falls near the queue, there will definitely be heavy casualties.

Just like the first town…

boom!boom!boom!…

Continuous mortar shells fell to the ground, causing explosions. The officers and soldiers of the First Town who were firing volleys were covered by artillery fire before they could react.

"That's it?" Hou Dehui looked at the officers and soldiers of the First Town who were running around in panic and then being killed by artillery shells, with black lines on their faces.

Because the preparations were hasty and there was no time to assign targets, the distribution of firepower was very abnormal. Most of the firepower was used to hit small groups of targets. Perhaps the artillerymen thought that the main target of more than a hundred people was already hit.

The more than 100 people who did not receive intensive attention from the artillery only received less than ten rounds of artillery shells, and they were still 60mm mortar shells. Their losses were extremely limited.

Then, they panicked and scattered in all directions, being affected by artillery fire that was not originally aimed at them.

Hou Dehui originally wanted to evaluate the combat effectiveness of this army. From the looks of it, this idea of ​​"evaluation" might be wrong.

…………

Under Duan Zhiquan's pressure, the First Town continued to launch attacks. The sporadic fighting lasted for more than three hours. The closest point between the First Town and the Third Regiment's position was more than 200 meters away.

"What do they mean?" Hou Dehui put down the telescope. Just now, they repelled another attack from the First Town.

The officers and soldiers in the first town gradually learned the lesson and stopped arranging in dense gun formations, and progressed to the skirmish line in one step.

However, there was no coordination among the skirmishers, and the unwatched soldiers usually lay down on the ground two to three hundred meters away and fired randomly.

The damage caused to the third regiment... many people were tired, especially the logistics.

"Are they trying to kill our energy? This frequency of attacks is abnormal." Li Yan strode into the regiment headquarters, grabbed a water bottle and started drinking.

"Maybe." Hou Dehui shook his head, "How was the reconnaissance?"

At eight o'clock in the morning, Li Yan went out for reconnaissance. Not only the Third Regiment, but also other scouts from the First and Third Light Infantry Divisions were dispatched to try their best to grasp the situation on the battlefield.

"Our unit scouted 20 kilometers south and found no enemy. I heard from the people of the Ninth Regiment that the enemy did not make large-scale movements. They were staring at the enemy's rear." Li Yan put down the kettle.

Early in the morning, he rode a 40-kilometer round trip and couldn't even get a drink of water.

"This is strange. They are attacking Mo Yanggong from the front without preparing for a side breakthrough. What do they want to do in such a hurry to come here?" Hou Dehui scratched his head, not understanding what Duan Zhiquan was thinking.

The leader made a beautiful turn, achieved a tactical deception, and then rushed all night. He arrived at the place immediately, but he didn't move?

"But it doesn't matter if we delay. The Second Light Infantry Division has crossed Weishan Lake and is moving south. The Second Guards Division will be liberated soon."

"Time is on our side. The longer we wait, the greater our advantage will be."

Hou Dehui said to himself.

…………

"Master Duan, please do it! Our brothers have suffered heavy losses. When we return to Beijing, we will not be able to explain to the emperor and the ministers!" cried the commander of the first town.

Duan Zhiquan clenched his fists tightly and looked at him coldly.

"The number of casualties in the first town was only a thousand, so why did it suffer heavy losses?"

"I asked you to feint attack, not to give them military honors!"

"Time waits for no one. The last time, the last time, I will personally lead the charge in the fourth town. Success or failure depends on this. Whether you want to follow or not, you decide for yourself!"

"I'm going to start with my ugly words. After all, this world belongs to the bannermen. If the fourth town is lost, the siege of Xuzhou cannot be lifted, the entire army will be wiped out, and there will be no more danger to defend on the way north. Think about it for yourself!"
Chapter completed!