Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

As the rising sun dispelled the darkness, Liu Peichen, the chief of staff of the 8th Army, stumbled into the underground command post. He looked so terrified that he even lost his military cap.

Commander Wang Tiexiang was just about to reprimand when the sound of thunder from afar interrupted his spell.

It was not a sporadic exchange of fire, but a series of explosions. The devastating shock wave came from the east like the Qiantang River tide.

"Commander, the Eighth Route Army launched a surprise attack late at night, and the Japanese defense line collapsed after only three hours."

"Maoling Mountain has been lost."

Logically speaking, if the two hilltops in the eastern suburbs were lost, the artillery of the Eighth Route Army could directly set up artillery and fire at the western suburbs. As the commander-in-chief of the puppet army in Shandong Province, Wang Tiexiang should have been terrified.

But the puppet army leader was extremely calm at this time, as if the defeated troops were not his master.

He stood up and stood beside the map table, stretching out his right hand to steady the kerosene lamp above his head, looking like he was sitting on a throne in a calm and composed manner.

Soon, the underground command post began to shake. If Wang Tiexiang had not grabbed the lampshade of the chandelier in advance, the underground command post would have been at risk of fire.

Without him, only familiar with Seoul.

Of course, no matter how stable it is, you still have to curse.

"Fuck, what level of bomb is this? How can it be so powerful? It's almost like a dragon flipping over."

"Could it be that the Eighth Route Army drove a shallow-water heavy gunboat into the Yellow River? Or did they pull out an ultra-large-caliber railway gun from some corner?"

"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have surrendered to Wangwangwang. It's better to beg for money in the mountains than to wait for death now."

The 12th Army of the North China Front Army deployed a total of two defense lines outside Quancheng. The eastern side was mainly built with fortifications relying on key points such as Maoling Mountain and Yanchi Mountain, while the western side was centered on the airport and La Mountain.

The straight-line distance between the two lines of defense was only 12 kilometers, so the puppet troops could naturally feel the powerful firepower of the Eighth Route Army.

During the time when Wang Tiexiang was cursing, the earth shaking finally stopped.

After repeatedly confirming that there was no risk, he decisively jogged down to the ground along the safety tunnel.

The moment I pushed open the security door, the morning breeze blew in with the smell of gunpowder. The eastern skyline was still glowing with a strange orange-red, as if the entire land was burning.

"Pass on my order! Have the brothers quickly take up their positions, and at the same time have a division's reserve force advance towards the airport to prevent a sudden attack by the Eighth Route Army!"

"Hurry, everyone, hurry up! If you delay the battle, you will be punished by military law!"

Watching his old partner enter combat status in an instant, Chief of Staff Liu Peichen stood there in a daze.

The commander of our army has always been a man who would take sides, but now he is ready to fight to the death for the Japanese. What is this old wily guy planning?
As if he had noticed his companions' confusion, Wang Tiexiang first spat in the direction of Quancheng, then lowered his voice and explained:
"According to the current situation, the Japanese 12th Army will undoubtedly be defeated. They will not be able to hold out until the day when reinforcements arrive in the north."

"The main reason why I let troops at all levels go to the front is to increase our surplus value and make it easier for them to temporarily join the Eighth Route Army as partners in the future."

"Only by raising the opponent's attack cost can you and I have more say. Limited resistance and orderly surrender have always been our skills in settling down and making a living."

You didn't have me at Versailles, but you remembered me at Verdun?
As a veteran fence-sitter, Wang Tiexiang is born to be a fence-sitter. His backbone is not bone marrow, but opportunism.

Seeing that the 12th Army was doomed, the old fox flicked his tail and immediately crushed the word "loyalty" and mixed it into the dog food bowl.

As for the old, weak and disabled soldiers under his command?

Wouldn't that be just a token of his allegiance? Without hundreds or thousands of people dying at the hands of the Eighth Route Army, who would show the significance of Commander Wang's uprising on the battlefield?

Surrender is a profound art, and one must surrender at the right time.

If you arrive a step too early you will be looked down upon; if you arrive a step too late you will become cannon fodder. Only by arriving neither too early nor too late can you keep your right to speak.

"okay, I get it."

"Then I will go to the front line myself and give instructions to my old friends, so that the second and third lines of defense can control the strength of their resistance."

Just when the two puppet army leaders were doing their respective duties and preparing to personally fine-tune the defense deployment, the ringing of a phone shattered their fantasy.

From a distance, the two could hear the incoherent reports from the Japanese defenders in the direction of the airport, as well as the sound of soldiers running and the wailing of the stretcher bearers.

"Eighth Route Army! Tanks! The tanks of the Eighth Route Army are coming around the old course of the Yellow River!"

"Wang Tiexiang, quickly transfer your general reserve troops here. The enemy's advance is too fast, and the airport will be lost soon!"

As soon as these words came out, Wang Tiexiang's pupils suddenly shrank. He subconsciously reached for the pistol at his waist, but missed it twice in a row.

"Crazy! Could it be that the Eighth Route Army of Shandong Province is really crazy? Hasn't the eastern suburbs defense line already fallen? Why are they still forcing an attack on the western suburbs?"

"They can't even tell the difference between main attack and assist. Who is directing this battle?"

"Quick, get the 29th Division to speed up the operation. The airport and Lashan must not be lost. The Japanese cannot die now!"

Although he had many complaints in his heart, Wang Tiexiang still picked up the phone at the first opportunity to mobilize troops and send lives to the front line.

Only if you hold on firmly are you qualified to surrender. If you are crushed at the very beginning, you will become a prisoner.

······
Ten minutes ago, 8 kilometers south of the Japanese airport, was the Western Command Post of the First Division of the Eighth Route Army in Shandong Province.

The dark green tent was half hidden in the woods, the canvas was covered with mud and dew, and was slightly trembling in the morning breeze. At the entrance, a dozen guards held submachine guns tightly, their eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

Inside the tent, a wooden table covered with a map of Quancheng took up most of the space. On the map were several rusty thumbtacks, marking the intersecting battle lines of the enemy and ours.

Just as Commander Song was explaining the deployment to the political commissar who had just returned from the team, a communicator in the corner suddenly reported:

"Report to the division commander! The first regiment and the tank company have infiltrated the perimeter of the Japanese airport under the cover of night. They have unimpeded access, all the way!"

Judging from the map, the First Division was located south of the western suburbs of Quancheng, separated from the Japanese airport by the Eighth Army's defense zone.

Logically speaking, if the troops wanted to go north, they would definitely be discovered by the enemy.

But what is amazing is that when the first regiment and the tank company advanced under the cover of night, several regimental-level units deployed by the puppet army on the defense line did not react at all.

I don’t know whether he was pretending to be dead or if he didn’t even arrange any sentry at all.

I can only say that the puppet army is indeed several times worse than the puppet army.

If they rely on this kind of stuff to fight a war, even a sow can climb a tree. Their role is probably not even as good as that of the Japanese overseas Chinese. This is the main reason why Tuqiao insisted on leaving a battalion on the Western Front.

After hearing the good news from the attacking troops, a hint of joy flashed across Commander Song's face.

In the battle on the western front, as long as the Japanese defenders at the airport were killed, the battle would be almost half won. With this in mind, he decisively ordered the communicator:

"Pass on my order. Have one regiment bombard the airport for half an hour. Then the entire regiment and the tank company will launch a general attack. The battle must be ended within an hour!"

"By the way, there's no need to avoid the runway when bombarding. Our new equipment can take off even in a big pit."

"Yes!"

As the orders were passed down to the front-line troops in an orderly manner, the fingertips of the political commissar of the 1st Division paused slightly on the edge of the battle map, and a barely perceptible hesitation flashed across his usually firm eyes.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally put aside his worries.

"Old Song, our artillery only has two basic shells left. If we open fire at the airport, I'm afraid our firepower will drop several levels when we fight the puppet army."

"Why not let the Second Regiment, which is fighting the reinforcements, detach a battalion of troops and keep more shells. This will give the comrades more confidence."

Hearing this, Commander Song waved his hand casually.

Compared with the several regiments attacking the eastern suburbs, the troops under his command were indeed weaker in firepower, and even their heavy firepower consisted only of 120mm mortars with insufficient ammunition.

However, who says that we cannot fight a war without adequate logistical preparations?

Haven’t you seen in World of Tanks that many crews carry only half of their maximum ammunition load, and level 10 artillery only carry a dozen or twenty rounds of shells before rushing into the battlefield?

War Thunder is even more exaggerated, with planes basically all equipped with low-fuel one-way tickets to rush to the war zone.

Besides, no matter how poor their First Division was, it was still much richer than it was during the Shandong Column period.

The troops didn’t even have many proper artillery pieces before, but they still fought the Japanese quite well. Now there’s no need to worry about anything.

Considering that his political commissar had been commanding work in Changqing County before, and there were many errors in obtaining information, Division Commander Song finally patiently explained:
"Don't worry, Lao Qian. I'll make arrangements for the ammunition."

"After we take over the Japanese airport, the morale of the puppet troops will inevitably plummet. Even if the troops are short of shells, they won't face too much pressure during the attack." "What's more, we still have tanks. The main gun of the Cicada is indeed a bit thin, but the 37mm high-explosive shells are still cannons."

While Song and Qian were talking, the attacking regiment had already prepared for the bombardment. More than a dozen 120mm mortars were lined up in a row, sitting firmly in the camouflaged gun positions.

On the side and rear of each gun, an L-shaped shell shelter was connected to the shell storage point.

Just in case, the comrades also built a 30-centimeter-thick sandbag wall on the edge.

After repeatedly confirming the time, the artillery company commander first raised his binoculars to observe the enemy airport, then raised the signal flag in his hand and ordered the entire artillery crew:
"Azimuth 270, distance 3800, target the Japanese sentry tower, bullet type high-explosive instantaneous fuse! Firing rate, rapid fire, five rounds!"

"preparation!"

Upon hearing this, the ammunition handlers pulled out a 120mm mortar shell from the wooden box. The gunners took the shells and hung them on the muzzle with the fuse facing downward.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the final order.

"put!"

With a series of muffled thuds, the shell slid into the barrel and gray-white smoke gushed out of the muzzle. Twenty seconds later, a series of black and red smoke columns rose almost simultaneously from the Japanese airfield in the distance.

"Confirmed hit! Correct 5 mils to the left and continue shelling!"

When it comes to offensive means such as mortar bombardment of airports, if the Eighth Route Army is ranked second, I am afraid no one in the world dares to claim to be first. This is a good start set by our Brigade Commander Li when he was still an infantryman.

After quick and precise adjustments, the gunner took the second shell handed over by the ammunition handler at the rear and stuffed it into the barrel again.

Then he bent down to avoid the blast from the muzzle. His movements were skillful and smooth, as if he had been tempered by a thousand blows.

······
Inside the airport, a whole battalion of Japanese soldiers were ready to go. Even some ground crew members who had no time to move had picked up their rifles, looking like they were ready to charge at any time.

During the long wait, a captain staff officer complained to his captain in boredom:
"Lieutenant Colonel Hirata, it's a waste of lives to stay in the western suburbs of Quancheng. The battle in the eastern suburbs is obviously fierce, why doesn't Lieutenant General Tsuchihashi let us go to support?"

"Oh, damn the Eighth Route Army."

Before the Japanese captain could finish his words, he suddenly heard a whistling sound from the southwest, and the sound was very familiar.

But he didn't think about the mortar shells.

After all, there were several defense zones of the North China Security Army between Changqing County and Zhangzhuang. No matter how strong the Eighth Route Army was, it was impossible for them to attack silently. Even in the era of cold weapons, they could not do such a thing.

But as the sound got closer, some of the Japanese soldiers with good eyesight present had already seen the black spot approaching at a very fast speed.

"Mortar! It's the enemy's mortar!"

It's a pity that it's too late. There are only one or two seconds left before the shell falls. What can we do?
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

More than a dozen 120mm mortar shells exploded inside the airport, and one of them luckily hit the enemy's truck. Gasoline and ammunition exploded at the same time, and a magnificent fireball rose up.

Before the Japanese infantrymen could recover, the second round of artillery fire followed, and the red and black smoke once again enveloped the entire airport.

"Enemy location!"

"Hold steady, quickly find the location of the enemy artillery."

As the brigade guarding the airport, Lieutenant Colonel Hirata and his men are all elite infantrymen with rich combat experience.

After the initial panic, most of them entered combat mode. Even the ground crew, led by a squad leader, rushed out of the barracks with weapons in hand.

Soon, the Japanese observers quickly found the artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army and calculated the approximate distance.

"Southwest! 3750 meters!"

Just as he finished speaking, a neighing sound suddenly came from the corner of the airport. A soldier from the reconnaissance team was seen riding a warhorse and waving a saber, rushing towards the southwest.

During World War II, there were indeed individual cases where cavalry destroyed artillery positions, but these cases were at least at the cavalry regiment level.

A cavalry charge without a large scale is tantamount to suicide.

Seeing his beloved cavalrymen begin to speed up, Lieutenant Colonel Hirata shouted with bloodshot eyes:

"Oda-kun! The value of a saber lies in its speed, not in fighting against artillery! Don't be impulsive!"

"Come back soon, I have other plans for your team!"

Hirata's heart-wrenching cry failed to stop the reconnaissance team's attack.

Squad leader Kazuhiro Oda knew very well that the infantry needed a certain amount of time to organize an attack, and the highly mobile cavalry was the best role to buy time.

"Gentlemen, the fate of the Locust Nation depends on this! Black card! Get on board!"

Under the shocked gazes of all the devils, Oda Kazuhiro led a dozen riders and rushed towards the battlefield without hesitation.

In order to attract the attention of the Eighth Route Army's artillery, they did not even choose to make a flanking maneuver, but instead rushed straight towards the enemy with their sabers raised.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

As it turned out, these Japanese cavalrymen were actually quite useful.

Their charge did attract the attention of the Eighth Route Army's artillery company, and it also shared the artillery fire for their own infantry behind them for nearly ten seconds.

However, after discovering that the cavalry were too mobile and that the slow-moving mortars could not hit them at all, the artillery company simply ignored them and continued to pour shells at the infantry around the airport.

"Baga, you cowards, if you have the guts, just shoot at me!"

"Why can't we fight like warriors on the battlefield?"

It was obvious that Oda Kazuhiro had lost his mind.

After finding out that his plan had failed, he actually began to curse the enemy for a full 19 minutes, and only stopped when the reconnaissance team approached the Eighth Route Army's artillery position.

At this time, the warhorses that had been running at high speed throughout the entire journey were already showing signs of fatigue, and their overall speed had dropped by more than 30%.

However, Oda Kazuhiro, who thought he had the meat in his mouth, did not care too much. He continued to urge his horse, with the gleaming tip of his knife pointing directly at the artillery group 200 meters away.

"Speed ​​up! Speed ​​through! No one can stop us now!"

Before he finished speaking, the turret of a Cicada tank with a unique appearance slowly turned, and the black flamethrower was aimed directly at the cavalry formation.

"boom!"

A red dragon of fire gushed out from the nozzle, thickened gasoline mixed with sulfur additives, drawing an arc of death in the air. The temperature of the flame exceeded 800°C, instantly engulfing the three cavalrymen in the front row.

"Masaka!"

The flames wrapped around the horses and riders like living things.

The horses neighed and stood up, their manes curled and carbonized in the fire, and their eyeballs burst due to the high temperature. They swung their bodies wildly, throwing the burning cavalrymen to the ground.

The cavalrymen turned into fire men, and their uniforms turned to charcoal in seconds.

Some people tried to slap the flames, but found that the sticky incendiary agent could not be shaken off. Their skin peeled off under the high temperature, revealing bright red muscles, and their screams were heartbreaking.

The air stank of barbecue and gasoline, and black smoke billowed up into the sky like the raised cloak of death.

Soon, the flames also hit the hind legs of Oda Kazuhiro's horse, and the animal's instinctive fear made it run away without control. He grabbed the reins tightly and looked back.

The entire team had turned into a long burning dragon. Several cavalrymen who were not affected drew their sabers and rushed towards the flamethrower tank hysterically.

"What a black card! Onboard!"

The tank commander who came to support sneered and immediately pulled the trigger of his machine gun. The bullets from the machine gun on the vehicle cut the attacker in half, and the remains and internal organs were scattered on the scorched earth.

The last surviving horse dragged half of the cavalry's corpses, staggered a few steps, and finally knelt down in the flames.

After more than ten minutes, the flames gradually died down, leaving only a charred skeleton.

However, the outlines of the man and the warhorse have been distorted together, and it is impossible to distinguish them from each other. (End of this chapter)