The Japanese army guarding the Henan border pass had a whole division, and there was a puppet army division on each side of the high ground, with a total strength of more than 40,000 men.

It is almost on par with the independent army that came this time, and they also have the natural barrier of the pass, which can be said to occupy a great geographical advantage.

The division commander, Yuneng Hirayama, stood in the front-line trench with a nervous mood, holding a telescope and looking at the Independence Army mobilized five kilometers away.

The distance was beyond the range of his telescope, and only a vague shadow could be seen. The figures of the Independence Army flickered rapidly in the blurred shadows, looking like ghosts.

"What are these Chinese going to do?" Putting down the binoculars, Hirayama Yuneng looked at his subordinates standing beside him suspiciously.

He really looked like he had sent a reconnaissance force to see what the Independence Army was doing on the other side, but given that the Independence Army was so famous that he was afraid that the people sent out would not be able to come back, he decisively gave up the idea.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, whatever the Independence Army wants to do, they will have to launch a decent attack to break through our defenses!" The chief of staff on the side looked at this strong pass with confidence, and said with a smile: "The imperial army has spent a lot of effort to build this pass, even if their army is twice as large as ours, it will be extremely difficult to attack here. Isn't there an old saying among the Chinese, calling a man to be the one who guards the pass, and we are now the one who guards the pass! ”

The surrounding devil officers all nodded in agreement, they were still very satisfied with the pass guarded this time. Although the length of this pass is a full four kilometers, an army of tens of thousands of people wants to pass through it, and four kilometers is still very narrow for them.

In addition, the Japanese have built a lot of bunkers and bunkers in this pass, even if tens of thousands of troops really attack it, they will inevitably suffer a big loss in the face of countless bunkers and bunkers.

"However, the reputation of the Independence Army is not for nothing. So many friendly troops are folded in their hands, we must be careful! Hirayama said carefully.

He had heard a lot of rumors about the Independence Army recently, and he had long been afraid of this army that would crisscross the land of China. Especially in the past two nights, he was frequently attacked by the cavalry under the Independent Army, which made him inexplicably afraid of the Independent Army!

As if seeing Hirayama's worries, the chief of staff smiled and said, "Your Excellency General, please don't worry!" Our positions were already on complete alert, and if the cavalry of the Independence Army dared to come, they would be met with the fiercest counterattack on our entire front. ”

After a pause, he smiled proudly again: "With our fortifications here, what is the independent army?" If they don't come, they do......"

Boom Boom Boom ...... Suddenly, before the chief of staff could finish his words, thousands of shells smashed into the high ground on both sides of the pass like meteors falling from the sky.

All the devils looked at the high ground on both sides in amazement at this moment, and thousands of shells fell in unison, turning the high ground on both sides into a sea of fire in an instant. A large number of puppet troops stationed on it shouted and struggled in the flames, but more shells immediately fell from the sky, drowning them in a sea of fire in the blink of an eye.

The hand of the chief of staff of the devil was still pointing in the air, and the unfinished words were swallowed back into his stomach, and the expression on his face was as wonderful as it was. He really forgot that the Independence Army was a very powerful force with artillery fire, how could they attack without firing artillery to destroy the surface force of the pass.

Hirayama Mengneng's face turned blue at the moment, and he looked fiercely at a group of proud and arrogant officers led by the chief of staff, and shouted loudly: "Don't you let me enter the position, waiting for the artillery fire of the independent army to blow you away?" It's a war."

Five kilometers away in the Independent Army, Yang Jihong shuttled through the artillery position, kept shouting loudly, and ordered the artillerymen to adjust the position of the artillery fire.

He gathered all the artillery of the Independence Army, from 70 mm mountain guns to 155 mm howitzers, divided them into five echelons according to their range and distance, and took turns to carpet bomb the high ground on both sides of the devil's position.

Artillery of a caliber of less than 100 mm is responsible for the gradual clearing of surface fortifications above the high ground, incidentally clearing ground combatants.

Guns of caliber of 100 mm or more, especially 155 mm howitzers, are specially used to bomb devils hiding in semi-underground bunkers or bunkers.

The intense bombardment was like combing through the hair, and it swept the entire high ground in a dense manner.

Over and over again, shells kept coming from the rear. This time was the most energetic of Yang Jihong's command, because Wu Hua, the commander-in-chief of temporary operations, ordered him to fight as much as he could, and not to worry about whether it was enough, he had already sent a telegram to the rear to deliver a steady stream of ammunition.

"Division commander, the ammunition for the 155-mm howitzer is running out, there are at most three bases!" An artillery commander anxiously came to Yang Jihong, the 155mm howitzer is the heavy firepower of the Independent Army, it is a baby, it must be saved!

Yang Jihong laughed, patted his shoulders and said, "Isn't it enough?" Just go to the logistics unit in the back to transfer, you can transfer as much as you want for me, don't be polite. ”

The commander of the artillery regiment looked at this division commander who usually picks the door in surprise, he cherishes the ammunition the most, if the soldiers miss the muzzle and do not hit the right direction, they will be scolded by him for a long time. What's wrong with this today, it's actually enough shell tubes!

"Division commander, there are not many remaining shells in the logistics troops, at most eight bases. We still have a lot of battles ahead of us, if it's over."

Before the head of the regiment finished speaking, Yang Jihong had already slapped him on the shoulder: "If you want to go, you can go, why is there so much nonsense?" Do you have to worry about it after the fight? Lao Tzu will solve it! But if you don't blow up these two heights for me today, I'll shoot you out as a cannonball!" ”

"Yes!" The artillery commander left with a stomach full of doubts!

"Put, put, put! Give me a hard time! Yang Jihong was about to go crazy, the deafening sound of the cannon made his blood boil, and it seemed that his blood was burning with the gunpowder of the cannonball.

After five hours of shelling, the Independence Army created the largest number of shells fired by the Chinese army at one time since the War of Resistance Against Japan, and a full ten bases of ammunition were bombarded on the high ground on both sides of the Japanese.

The height of the two highlands has been reduced by one-third, from the original dense forest to a sea of fire, the shouts of the puppet army that originally existed on the heights have long disappeared, and this place has become a dead land, and even the souls of the puppet soldiers have been blown away.

Hirayama stood in the semi-bunkered trench in a daze, watching as the Independence Army wiped out all the defenses on his two heights with powerful artillery fire.

That's his lifeline, and the two high ground can provide strong fire support for the frontal position. And the artillery fire groups hidden in the mountains and the heavy machine gun positions can effectively kill the independent army that breaks through the pass!

Now there is nothing, the puppet army, their own men, artillery groups, heavy machine-gun positions, bunkers. Everything was on fire!

In five hours, more than 20,000 puppet soldiers died under artillery fire, and a wing of devils followed to finish playing!

Now, he had to lead one of his divisions to hold the four-kilometre-long pass head-on to meet the onslaught of the Independence Army.

"You say, how are we going to fight the next battle?" Hirayama Mengneng asked his men in a trance, the loss of the high ground on both sides hit him too hard.

"Your Excellency, Division Commander, we are the Great Japanese Imperial Army, and we are proud Imperial soldiers. No matter how critical the situation, we must hold on to this place. This is the last passage to Shaanxi, we ......."

The Chief of Staff's words were once again swallowed back into his stomach, because the artillery fire of the Independence Army had been reversed and smashed directly at their frontal positions.

Boom Boom Boom ...... The violent explosion exploded in turn in the two positions of the devils, and the flames instantly engulfed a large number of devils running in the position. Many of the semi-bunker fortifications were destroyed in an instant, and many devils died in the flames before they could see how the shells exploded.

The earth was shaking, and the devil's position was shaking.

Hirayama Yuneng grabbed his chief of staff and shouted, "You say, how can we guard it now?" Independence Army, they want to blow us up! ”

The chief of staff was pushed out and slammed into the earthen wall outside the bunker.

A cannonball landed right near him, dismembering him in an instant, and a large amount of blood exploded in all directions like a fountain.

"Your Excellency the division commander, hurry up, this place can't be defended, let's retreat quickly!"

Hirayama Yuneng stared blankly at the chief of staff who was blown to pieces, and was suddenly grabbed by his arm by his subordinates, and involuntarily ran for his life towards the artillery position. Shortly after they left, a shell hit his headquarters directly, instantly blasting it into ashes.

Ghosts cried wolf howls on the devil's position, and the four-kilometer defensive position has been completely covered by artillery fire.

The devils could not expand in either direction, and the four-kilometer range was like hell under the bombardment of thousands of artillery pieces. A large number of devils rushed out of the trenches that had been half blown up, and ran to the rear without their lives!

They had no choice but to flee, because the Independence Army's artillery fire was simply trying to blow up their positions. Hiding in a bunker is no different from hiding in a coffin that is about to be buried, and if they don't want to die, they have to flee.

Hirayama Yuneng was able to mix in a large number of deserters, although he was extremely unwilling, but in the face of the independent army with the advantage of artillery fire, he had no way to turn the tide of the battle at all.

"Retreat, retreat! Here, I can't hold it! "Hirayama Yuneng roared all the way forward, which is worse than a lost dog.

"Order Division Commander Yang to stop the artillery bombardment!" Wu Hua calmly stood on a high ground and gave orders.

"Yes!" One of the soldiers was given the order and turned and left.

"Order Brigade Commander Lee's cavalry brigade to immediately launch a pursuit! These devils can kill as many as they can, and it's best to ...... Not a single one to stay! Wu Hua's voice was cold and harsh, at this moment, he was no longer a weak young man, but a fierce general who was decisive and decisive on the battlefield!