At the former enemy headquarters of the Japanese army outside the mountain, the brigade commander, Major General Ikeda, personally sat here and directly commanded the upcoming large-scale sweep.
The chief of staff stood aside and pointed at the map on the table to introduce his mopping up plan for the fifth time. His mouth was almost dry, but the brigade commander still had no intention of stopping.
This does not mean that Major General Ikeda does not believe in this battle plan, but because this large-scale sweep is too important. Okamura Neji will defend the victory in Peking and cannot make any mistakes, so he cannot help but ignore it.
"General, we have taken into account the loopholes that may arise during the mopping up. As long as the mopping up troops are closely deployed, strictly implement the mopping up plan, advance and retreat together, do not advance alone, and do not give the Eighth Route Army a chance to defeat us individually, we can at most defeat them in their guerrilla warfare. We must pay some price under the attack, and the final victory will definitely belong to us." The chief of staff was very confident in his plan, and after speaking, he assured Major General Ikeda with certainty.
Ikeda stared at the map, his mind working rapidly, and he went through the entire plan in his mind before speaking: "Yes, the plan is very complete, and the issues are considered carefully. There are almost no loopholes. I can't make any additional comments. Order The troops participating in the war strictly implement the mopping up plan. Anyone who disobeys the command will be a problem and I will send him to a military court."
After saying that, he looked away from the map, looked at the chief of staff and continued to ask: "Are all the participating troops ready?"
"Ha Yi..." the chief of staff reported seriously.
"In order to reduce the pressure on the logistics supply of the participating troops and prevent the Eighth Route Army from cutting off our army's logistics supply lines after the troops enter the mountains, the command headquarters prepared three days of individual combat supplies for each participating soldier to carry with him."
"Three days of reserve supplies have also been prepared for each participating force, carried by the baggage troops. If the large-scale mopping up fails and the battle does not end within three days, these reserve supplies will be enough to support the participating troops until the end of the battle."
"All heavy weapons are transported by mules and horses to reduce the marching pressure of the infantry and concentrate all energy on the decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army."
"The guides have also been found, ensuring that each infantry squadron will be assigned one."
"As long as the brigade commander gives the order, the troops can enter the mountain immediately."
Major General Ikeda glanced at his watch and ordered: "Strictly follow the plan. It is now seven-thirty and eight o'clock in the morning, which is half an hour. All participating troops will set off on time."
…………
On the mountain path, more than a hundred puppet troops were in front, and more than fifty Japanese soldiers were behind. They were armed with rifles and machine guns, and spread out in a battle formation. They were scattered within a hundred meters with the path as the center. They were observing as they advanced. around.
When you encounter a suspicious bush, you raise your rifle with a bayonet and stab it inside to make sure there is no danger before moving forward.
This is a forward search team sent by the Japanese and puppet troops to ensure that there is no danger on the roadside when the main force passes.
"Da da da……"
There was a sudden sound of machine gun fire from a bush more than 40 meters ahead. Three Japanese and puppet soldiers who were searching and advancing fell to the ground. Each of them had two bloody holes in their chest. You could tell at a glance whether they were alive or not. saved.
The little devils in the team reacted very quickly. They squatted on the ground as soon as the gunshots were fired. The rifles were held flat in their hands at the same time. They pulled the triggers at the location where the shots had just been fired. The crackling sounds of gunfire soon rang out.
After the gunfire from the opposite side stopped, in addition to the Japanese machine gunners who continued to shoot at the bushes to suppress the opponent's firepower, the riflemen had already stood up from the ground, bent down, and quickly formed an offensive formation to kill the target, as if to kill the opponent.
"Boom..." Two explosions sounded in the crowd at the same time. In the thick smoke, three puppet soldiers and two Japanese soldiers fell to the ground. Three wounded were still awake, lying on the ground covering the wounds caused by the grenade explosion. Scream.
Although these two explosions did not stop the offensive momentum of the Japanese and puppet troops, they made them terrified, fearing that they would step on booby traps and follow in their footsteps. When he charged forward again, his steps were obviously much slower than before.
"Ta da da da... bang bang bang..." The familiar sound of gunfire rang out again. There were many more rifle shots than before, and there were several more locations. It felt like the Eighth Route Army was everywhere in front of them.
Five soldiers were hit, three died and two were injured. The remaining Japanese and puppet troops were so frightened that they had to squat and lie down again, for fear that their opponents would unleash stronger blocking fire.
As a result, the gunfire only rang out for one round and then disappeared, as if the attack just now had never happened.
The leader of the Japanese team was enraged by the Eighth Route Army's repeated sneak attacks. He drew his command knife and pointed forward and ordered: "Bagh Ya Road, the enemy wants to consume our troops through sneak attacks."
"We don't have many troops, so rush over and eliminate them immediately, with machine gun cover..."
The mission of the forward search team is to clear all potential safety hazards on the troops' march. Major General Ikeda's order not to take the initiative to attack does not apply to them.
As long as they don't run too far, it's okay to attack appropriately in order to ensure the safety of the main force.
After the squad leader gave the order to attack, none of his subordinates objected. He charged forward with weapons in hand. He was very fast and used various tactical moves with great proficiency. Even if there was the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side, it would be difficult to hit these fast-moving little devils. .
After a while, dozens of Japanese soldiers took down the bushes.
Apart from a dozen steaming bullet casings, not a single Eighth Route Army figure was seen there.
The Japanese immediately searched the surrounding area, trying to find traces of the opponent's retreat.
Although it was found, it also detonated two booby traps deliberately left on the road by the retreating troops.
In the violent explosion, several more Japanese and puppet soldiers fell into a pool of blood.
…………
Major Ikeda entered the mountain with the central mopping up troops. As soon as they arrived at the mountain pass, there was a burst of machine gun fire in front of them.
The chief of staff saw that the brigade commander's face suddenly became ugly, and he quickly stood up and explained: "General, the forward troops were attacked by the Eighth Route Army. This is all within our plan, and the price that the forward search team may pay is also within our ability to bear. Please Don’t worry too much, the Eighth Route Army’s sneak attack troops will soon be repulsed by them.”
"When we reach Mao'er Mountain, the Eighth Route Army hiding in the woods and fighting guerrillas will have to stand up and fight us in order to protect their base. At that time, we can avenge the shame of the warriors who died in the battle."
Major General Ikeda looked much better, waved his hand and said, "I know all the situations you mentioned."
"I just didn't expect that the troops would be attacked as soon as they entered the mountains. This shows that our opponents are fully prepared for this counter-mopping up. The casualties our troops will suffer in response to the guerrilla warfare are likely to exceed expectations."
The chief of staff said with an indifferent expression: "Please rest assured, general, I have already prepared for you."
"The two regiments of the Imperial Army are our cannon fodder against the Eighth Route Army's guerrilla warfare."
"The forward search team was mainly composed of the Imperial Association Army. After being attacked, the casualties were mainly from the Imperial Association Army. The proportion of the Imperial Army was very low."
"As long as there are no casualties in the main force of the Imperial Army, the combat effectiveness of the mopping up troops will not be affected, and we will be absolutely sure to annihilate the Eighth Route Army in Mao'er Mountain."
Seeing how confident the Chief of Staff was, Major General Ikeda didn't want to undermine his confidence in person, so he nodded to show that he believed in him.
Two minutes later, the firefight from the forward search team finally stopped. Major General Ikeda also entered the mountain at this moment. Looking at the increasingly complex terrain around him, and thinking of the firefight just now, he felt a faint uneasiness in his heart. It seemed like there was something I hadn't considered.
When I wanted to think deeply about this matter, my inner uneasiness disappeared again, and in the end I could only regard it as an illusion, thinking that I was too stressed and thought too much.
"Sir, the forward search team was attacked by the enemy..." A messenger suddenly ran to Major General Ikeda to report.
In order to make the brigade commander completely relax and believe that all accidents that happened in the mountains were within his plan, the chief of staff confidently asked: "Can you tell me more details?"
"Hai..." the messenger reported loudly: "About two infantry squads from the other side ambushed our army in advance and attacked us from a long distance with light machine guns, rifles, and grenades, but they have been repulsed by us."
"Five of our Imperial Army were killed and two were seriously injured. Six of the Imperial Alliance Army were killed and four were seriously injured. In order not to affect the mission of the troops, the wounded were left on the road. Please arrange for the troops to take over, sir."
The chief of staff knew that the search team would suffer casualties, but he did not expect that they would suffer such heavy casualties. Including the Imperial Alliance Army, almost half of the platoon was lost. He was stunned for a moment before he recovered from his embarrassment and asked quickly.
"Where are the casualties of the Eighth Route Army? The two sides have been fighting for so long, their casualties should be no less than ours..."
Now it was the messenger's turn to be embarrassed. He opened his mouth several times before summoning the courage to report: "The search team only found some bullet casings left by the Eighth Route Army on the battlefield, but not a single Eighth Route Army corpse."
"The captain believes that the Eighth Route Army took away the wounded and the bodies of dead soldiers when they retreated..."
"This is impossible..." The chief of staff was even more embarrassed than before, with a look of disbelief on his face.
As for the explanation given by the search team leader, it is simply impossible.
The Eighth Route Army was in a hurry to evacuate the battlefield. Time was precious. If they were delayed for a second on the road, they might face death. No matter how stupid the opponent was, they would not be able to retreat with the corpses. It would be good if they could take away the wounded.
This means that in the firefight just now, no one from the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack troops was killed, but half a platoon of the mopping up troops was wiped out, a casualty ratio of almost sixteen to zero.
If the following guerrilla wars have this kind of result, even if it does not affect the overall combat effectiveness of the mopping up troops, it will have a negative impact on the morale and morale of the troops.
Major General Ikeda had been prepared for the loss of troops to be far greater than planned, but when the loss turned out to be so much, he was immediately cast a shadow over the subsequent raids.
He let out a long sigh and said: "The appetizer prepared by the Eighth Route Army for us is too scary. We must find a way to break the situation. We can't be passively beaten all the time."
"Immediately strengthen the forward search team with twice the number of light machine guns and grenade launchers. After being attacked again, immediately use grenade launchers and machine guns to cover the enemy's hiding spots and not give them a chance to escape."
"Twice the number of light machine guns and grenade launchers is not enough, so increase it to three times. I don't believe we can't eliminate those sneak attackers."
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