The reconnaissance platoon leader leading the team is a veteran, and being able to be selected by Su Yingqi as the vanguard of this interspersed operation shows that at least his military quality is quite high. He can quickly identify the situation and solve it quietly. After leaving behind the driver in the car, he led his team to climb into the courtyard from the back wall, trying to find out what was going on inside and get rid of the Japanese troops in the courtyard.
But what he didn't expect was that when he led a squad into the yard cautiously, he found that a dozen Japanese soldiers in the car were killing the hostess of the house and her daughter-in-law and daughter inside the house. , and the three male owners of the yard, together with several children, were stabbed to death by Japanese soldiers with bayonets in the yard. The two young men were tied to a tree in the yard.
Seeing this scene, a somewhat bloody Chinese could still control it. Although the experienced platoon leader led the team, he tried his best to avoid shooting when dealing with these Japanese soldiers. Taking advantage of the few Chinese women who were ravaged by them, he used bayonets to kill a dozen Japanese soldiers and captured two alive within a few minutes.
But it happened that at this time, an accident occurred. When a Japanese soldier, Captain Cao, was stabbed, his pants were still hanging on his legs. When he fell, the Southern-style pistol he was wearing was violently shot when he fell. The collision caused the gunshot to go off on the spot. Although no one was hit, the sound of the gunshot woke up even the ghost.
However, the first thing to react was not the Japanese troops in the Mandetang stronghold, but the Japanese troops in the Japanese field fortifications on a small hill less than 500 meters away from the courtyard. The gunshots had not yet completely fallen, and the machine gun bullets over there had already Sweeping over, several shells landed around the yard.
As for the Japanese troops in Mandetang, they may have been stationed in one place for too long and are accustomed to the tranquility of the past. However, their reaction speed is surprisingly slow. The machine guns and artillery here are firing with passion and enthusiasm. There was no response from the other side.
The reaction speed and way of the Japanese army were beyond the expectations of Su Yingqi, who was also five hundred meters away with the main force. But after all, this guy was a veteran who had fought guerrillas in the pass for several years. His psychological quality was quite impressive. On the top of the mountain Japanese machine guns and artillery fire came over, but he suppressed the troops and refused to fight back. He hid in the ravine and was not allowed to move.
Although the combat staff around him carefully reminded him that it was already less than ten minutes before the launch of the attack required by his superiors. He was still nearly two kilometers away from Mandetang. It was already too late. If he continued to delay here, , I'm afraid it will delay even more time.
Now the Japanese army is shooting blindly, and there is no danger. The troops should pass quickly, at least before the Japanese and puppet troops react at the Mandetang stronghold, and seize it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the sound of gunshots will not be alarmed. Mandetang is a Japanese stronghold, and once the action to seize Mandetang is delayed, it will affect the progress of the entire operation.
But Su Yingqi didn't seem to hear the urging of the staff around him at all. He just held up his telescope and used the flares fired by the Japanese army to carefully observe the suddenly exposed Japanese firepower point, which could not be seen without firing, and the Japanese army's firepower. The situation around the location of the firepower point.
Some of the Japanese soldiers who had been fighting before clearly discovered the gunshot fired from the Japanese standard pistol just now. It was probably just a misfire, or they contacted some parties to find out the possible cause of the gunshot. After a violent meal, After shooting, he found that there was no reaction from the mountain, so he stopped shooting.
However, the Japanese troops on the hills had obviously received orders. They only fired and conducted fire reconnaissance or fire suppression for suspicious movements. However, they did not send anyone down the mountain to see what was going on, even though they were only five hundred meters apart. , but no one was sent down at all.
Later, after interrogating the two prisoners who were captured alive, Su Yingqi understood that the Japanese troops inside and outside Kangbao City were independently organized into the Ninth Brigade, which was only responsible for fighting against the coalition. As for the surrounding security, the Japanese troops who were originally stationed here were still responsible for it. As long as Unless it is an attack by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, the independent mixed ninth brigade dedicated to defense will not leave its position.
This is why the Japanese troops on the mountain only used machine guns and artillery fire after hearing the gunshots, but did not conduct any reconnaissance or counterattack, because there was only one gunshot, which was the sound of the Japanese-standard Nanbu Type 14 pistol. There was no sign of a large force, maybe it was just a security case.
When the light brought by the flares finally disappeared, the entire area in front of him returned to calm and darkness. He turned the telescope to the direction of Mandetang. After observing it carefully, he turned to the commander of the reconnaissance company beside him and said: "This way , you divide your three platoons into three parts, and you lead one platoon to remove the machine gun fortification just now."
"Try to use a bayonet when touching, and don't shoot unless you have to. Judging from the situation during the day today, this machine gun fortification is definitely not alone. If you look at the two connected hills on the left and right, there is no fire just now. Guns, but there must be Japanese fortifications. You have your other two platoons, one on each side, to touch them all."
"After completing the mission, ask them to sweep along the ridge towards your position one by one and then regroup. After your mission is completed, cough slightly for three provinces on the walkie-talkie as a signal, but remember, don't commit all the platoons to it. The squad is organized and forms a triangular formation to touch."
"Although these hills are not high, you still have to be careful. I'm worried that the Japanese army will probably hollow out the hills in this area. They have other fortifications on the entire mountain. Let me tell you. The troops must be more careful when going up the mountain."
"If you find a fortification, touch it. When you go up the mountain, pay attention to your steps. The Japanese army may have laid mines in this hilly area. Don't step on the mines and expose our tactical intentions. That's the same sentence. If you can, don’t shoot as much as possible.”
Su Yingqi's deployment made the reconnaissance company commander stunned, but he scratched his head a little, not understanding what he meant. He forcibly restrained the impatience caused by his addiction to cigarettes, and Su Yingqi said: "This is only two kilometers away from Mandetang. Start from here. There is not much difference between an assault and an attack at Mandetang."
"Besides, the target of daytime reconnaissance does not mean that some changes will not occur. The Japanese machine gun fortification just exposed was not identified by the daytime reconnaissance force. Also, time no longer allows us to rush to the Mandetang line. , now that you are here, launch the attack from here, I will give you three minutes to prepare, and your troops will set off immediately after three minutes."
"After you open the passage, leave one platoon of troops to control this place, and then the rest of the troops will immediately continue to penetrate deeper. If you can eliminate the Japanese troops on these three hills without firing a shot, then after entering the depth , intersect towards the southeast."
"But if your actions are discovered, after opening the gap, expand to the east and west wings, and at the same time, the main force will immediately use the attack channel you opened to attack the Japanese position from here, cutting across from north to south. In this battle, I will not I leave the detailed plan to you, because I don’t know what the enemy situation is like in front of me, so I can only wait and see.”
After explaining the reconnaissance company commander impatiently, Su Yingqi turned to the combat staff behind him and said: "Tell the troops to prepare for battle. If the reconnaissance company screws up, we will have to attack by force. Tell the troops, except for the third company, In addition to the reserve team, the first company and the second company dispersed into battle formation."
Listening to Su Yingqi's somewhat irritable voice, the combat staff did not dare to say anything and hurriedly went down to set up. After the combat staff left, Su Yingqi raised the telescope. Although he knew that he could not see anything in the darkness, he kept on He didn't put down the telescope in his hand.
Time passed by minute by second, but there was still no signal of breakthrough from the mountain. There was silence in the entire valley. Faced with this situation, Su Yingqi was very calm, that is, he did not give in to talk to the crew. He urged, but did not order the troops behind him who were ready for battle to press forward.
Looking at the time on the watch, the combat staff beside him asked impatiently: "Commander, half an hour has passed, why hasn't the signal been sent back? Should we ask here, is it now as far away from the designated position as designated by the superiors?" More than 20 minutes have passed since the attack was launched."
In response to the urging of the combat staff, Su Yingqi did not even put down the telescope in his hand, but said lightly: "Have our superiors urged us to take action? If not, why are you so anxious? We can launch an attack within an hour at night. It won't delay anything major, and the sky will fall." If you don’t come down, you won’t be able to calm down about this matter. What can you do in the future?”
"They must have encountered a large-scale minefield. I know very well the capabilities of my own unit's reconnaissance company. Unless there is any unexpected situation, these machine gun fortifications will definitely be solved within fifteen minutes. I won't let them open. Guns and minefields must not be discharged bit by bit."
The combat staff officer was blushing at Su Yingqi's mild criticism, but he was very dissatisfied in his heart. It has been almost half an hour since the time required by his superiors to launch the attack. If it continues to be delayed like this, dawn will Before, no matter what, I could not reach the attack termination line required by my superiors.
With such slow actions, the sky will not fall, but failure to complete the tasks assigned by superiors will delay major events. A battle requires the cooperation of all parties, not just one's own side. This attack involves three parties. The two sides are jointly taking action, and the feinting direction over there has already started, but the main attack side here is still grinding away. What is going on?
It's just that although the staff officer was very disapproving, he had already been criticized, but he didn't dare to touch the regiment leader's bad luck no matter what. Since the regiment leader was not in a hurry, it was useless no matter how anxious he was. , he is only a combat staff officer, not a political commissar or chief of staff.
It is the tradition of the army that a staff officer will not even fart if he does not have a chief. The staff officer is responsible for providing suggestions for the military commander to consider, or formulating action plans based on the military commander's strategic intentions. As for the military commander's consideration, it does not matter. Within the scope of his authority, the staff officer behind him shut his mouth, and Su Yingqi naturally would not say anything more.
Su Yingqi didn't want to explain this matter. It was his usual style, and the most important thing was that he had no way to explain it. The enemy situation in front of him was unclear, but nothing could be seen from the surface. How should this battle be fought? , he didn’t know anything about it in his mind. Looking at it, it wasn’t just what he said. In the current situation, this is the only way to deal with it.
If you understand some things, just understand them. If you don't understand him, don't force him. When the battle starts, he will naturally find out his true intentions. But if the combat staff still can't understand his current intentions after the battle starts, then he will It’s time to consider changing the combat staff