At noon.
The Japanese have swept up to 5 kilometers away from Xiying Town.
Two groups of Japanese raided Shangzhuang Village, Xinzhuang Village and Guanyan Village respectively.
Behind the Japs, the village was in flames, and the Japs and puppet troops burned wherever they went.
However, the people and food in all villages in the base area have already been transferred.
"Captain, the scouts discovered the Eighth Route Army position ahead."
A staff officer hurried over, with sweat dripping from his forehead and his tone of voice was urgent.
"Where?"
Kiyota Hamachi, captain of the 5th Battalion of the 226th Regiment of the 37th Division, asked in a deep voice.
"It's on the top of the mountain opposite." The Japanese staff officer pointed to the back.
At this time, they were behind the village halfway up the mountain, and it was on a reverse slope, so they couldn't see the mountaintop on the other side.
"Order the soldiers to stay where they are."
After finishing speaking, Kiyota Hamachi ran towards the commanding heights with the guards.
"Hi!" The Japanese staff officer lowered his head, and then shouted to the Japanese and puppet soldiers to stay where they were.
Arriving at the commanding heights of the mountain top, Hamachi Kiyota raised his telescope and looked.
I saw an open space of at least 500 meters wide in front of me, with a low mountain on the opposite side. Through the field of view of the telescope, I could see the Eighth Route Army carrying ammunition boxes moving around on the low mountain. Moreover, the Eighth Route Army had already dug trenches, but their firepower points were not exposed.
, and it was impossible to see clearly how many troops the Eighth Route Army had.
Hamachi Kiyota took out the map and saw that behind the hill on the opposite side, there were two large villages, part of their mopping up mission.
The Eighth Route Army established a position under the hilltop opposite, cutting off the road to the two villages behind the mountain.
After the staff officer gave the order, he came up and said, Hamachi Kiyo:
"The Eighth Route Army did not build positions on the mountainside, but at the foot of the mountain, which shows that the Eighth Route Army did not want to defend for a long time."
"But I want to break through from the front after a wave of attacks."
The Japanese staff officer also raised his telescope and looked at it for a while, then replied: "It seems that the Eighth Route Army is ready. Captain, should we attack or defend?"
"Of course it's offensive. What the Imperial Army is best at is attacking."
"Order!"
"Masao Kogushi immediately moved closer to the brigade headquarters."
Hamachi Kiyota leaned on his sword and gave orders to the Japanese staff.
"Hi!" the Japanese staff officer quickly ordered.
Following the order from the Japanese commander, the Xiaogushi Squadron, which had just finished sweeping Xinzhuang Village, moved closer to Hamachi Kiyota.
As a result, Hamachi Kiyota was surrounded by two Japanese squadrons, two puppet squadrons, and dozens of people in the brigade headquarters.
As well as more than 100 true and false troops following behind, the total strength exceeds 900, which is already a force with strong combat effectiveness.
In Hamachi Kiyota's view, the troops he had were more than enough to defeat a regiment of the Eighth Route Army head-on.
On the opposite side, the Eighth Route Army has at most one battalion.
The advantages are huge.
Hamachi Kiyota ordered: "Okushi-kun, have your Imperial Army troops launch a probing attack on the Eighth Route Army."
"Hi!"
Squadron leader Masao Kogushi immediately ordered a squadron of fake Japanese soldiers, that is, puppet troops, to attack the Eighth Route Army position.
The puppet troops were very arrogant when they started their raids yesterday, but when they actually entered the battlefield, they were all scared to death.
But the Japanese set up two machine guns behind them and aimed them at their backs. They had no choice but to rush forward.
More than 30 puppet soldiers took the lead, followed by more than 180 puppet soldiers wearing Japanese military uniforms, charging towards the Eighth Route Army position with rifles in hand.
The Japanese did not even fire artillery on the Eighth Route Army positions in advance. In the eyes of the Japanese, the lives of these Imperial Army soldiers were far less valuable than the artillery shells.
…
On the opposite position is the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment, and the battalion commander is none other than Guan Dashan.
The Independent Regiment has grown to 2,500 men, but it still has a three-by-three system, so one battalion of the Independent Regiment has a strength of 700 men.
It is equipped with 20 light and heavy machine guns alone. In addition to 20 machine guns, it is also equipped with 20 submachine guns.
And each soldier is equipped with weapons and sufficient ammunition.
"Batalion Commander, the Japanese have begun to attack."
The guard reported to Guan Dashan, who was lying behind a tree with his eyes closed and concentrating.
Upon hearing this, Guan Dashan stood up from the trench, raised his telescope and looked, and saw the Japanese and puppet troops rushing toward the position in a skirmish line on the open ground ahead.
Although the puppet army's acting skills are very good, they cannot escape the eyes of a battlefield veteran like Guan Dashan.
"All the people who came here are Japanese devils."
Guan Dashan's tone was disdainful, with a sneer on his lips.
"Give me the order to attack with only one company and only use three machine guns."
Although the headquarters ordered the war to begin, it would be a waste to waste a large amount of ammunition on the puppet troops.
[To be honest, I have been using Yeguo to read and catch up on books recently. I can switch sources and read aloud with many sounds. www. Android and Apple are available.]
When the puppet troops entered the forward position more than 30 meters away, Guan Dashan raised his rifle and aimed at a puppet soldier.
Snapped!
He pulled the trigger, and as his shoulder shook, the puppet soldier he was targeting fell to the ground.
The sound of a gun is the signal to fire.
Da da da…
Bang bang bang…
Gunfire crackled. One heavy machine gun, two light machine guns, and more than 100 rifles opened fire on the puppet troops.
Although the puppet troops were also firing at the Eighth Route Position, the puppet troops' marksmanship was impressive and it was difficult to hit them.
But the Eight Route Army soldiers in the position were shooting at the puppet troops as if they were targets.
Less than 3 minutes after the opening of the fire, dozens of puppet troops had already fallen, while the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment suffered very few casualties.
If it weren't for the Japanese machine guns watching from behind, the puppet troops would have fled long ago.
However, there were still many puppet soldiers who pretended to be shot and fell to the ground pretending to be dead.
"Captain, the gunfire on the 8th Route is very sparse, no more than 200 people at most."
"The Eighth Route Army has good marksmanship. It should be the main force of the Eighth Route Army, not a militia force."
At the Japanese position, squadron leader Masao Kogushi put down his binoculars with a sneer on his lips.
"Ogushi-kun, your judgment is correct." Kiyota Hamachi nodded, "This should be a small group trying to break out."
Masao Kogushi asked for a fight: "Captain, let our squadron go. It only takes one attack to wipe out this group of Eighth Route Army."
"Go." Hamachi Kiyo nodded, his tone full of murderous intent: "Cut off the heads of all the Eighth Route Army."
"Hi!" Masao Kogushi lowered his head, gave a ferocious smile, turned around and walked towards where his troops were.
Walking to the front of the Japanese soldiers, Masao Kogushi took out his command saber, pointed forward, and shouted sternly: "Kill the chicken for me!"
The Japanese soldiers stood up with rifles with bayonets in their hands and rushed towards the position of the first battalion of the Independence Regiment.
The puppet troops who were preparing to retreat were all beaten to the ground, some were still fighting back, and some were pretending to be dead.
As the Japanese approached, the puppet soldiers got up one after another and continued to attack the Eighth Route Army positions.
As the Japs joined the battlefield, the situation immediately changed. First, the Japs' light and heavy machine guns were set up in the distance to suppress the Eighth Route Army's firepower.
The Japanese riflemen's marksmanship was also very good, with a high hit rate within a range of 200 meters. Soldiers from the 1st battalion were shot one after another.
To be continued...