At the Mao'er Mountain Guerrilla Brigade Headquarters, Zhang Xuan was studying the map with furrowed brows.
After Major General Ikeda added a large number of light and heavy machine guns and grenade launchers to the forward search team, although the results achieved by the sneak attack troops in the battle did not change, their own casualties continued to increase.
On average, if two Japanese and puppet troops are killed, the guerrilla brigade will lose one soldier.
Such a casualty ratio seemed like a great victory, but Zhang Xuan was not happy at all.
The Japanese and puppet troops mopped up more than 6,000 troops, and the guerrilla brigade participating in the battle had less than 600 troops. If the battle continued at this casualty ratio, the entire guerrilla brigade would only be able to kill more than a thousand Japanese and puppet troops.
"Let the sneak attack troops attack the Japanese grenadiers and machine gunners first?" Zhang Xuan thought of an impossible solution.
Deputy political commissar Wang Yu shook his head: "The sneak attack troops tried it. It worked at first, but it was useless when the Japanese reacted."
"They asked the puppet troops to stand on the outside and search and advance. The Japs followed closely behind. The artillerymen, grenade launchers, and machine gunners went to the rear. No matter how powerful the sneak attack troops were, they could not bypass the two or three rows of infantry in front to sneak attack on the rear. Grenadier."
"The Japanese have also strengthened the forward search team with a large number of grenade launchers and mortar launchers. If the sneak attack team is lucky enough to kill a few, it won't have any impact."
"What's going on? Everyone is looking sad. Could it be that the troops lost the battle in the mountains?" Huang Yu's voice suddenly came from the command department. He turned around and saw him hurriedly walking in.
"Captain, why are you back?" Zhang Xuan was startled by the sudden appearance of Huang Yu and asked quickly.
"Didn't they secretly attack the Japanese and puppet troops outside the mountain and force Neji Okamura to retreat? Could it be that the operation outside the mountain also went smoothly?"
Huang Yu did not hide his defeat at the airport. He shook his head and replied helplessly: "After coming out of the mountain, I underestimated the enemy and was tricked by Neji Okamura. The troops suffered heavy losses and had to retreat to the mountain."
"Looking at your solemn expressions, it seems that the war situation in the mountains is not optimistic either."
The worried expression on Zhang Xuan's face immediately became solemn.
The counter-mopping up in the mountains is not going well, but as long as you hold on and the captain's actions outside the mountains go smoothly, the guerrilla brigade will still have a good chance of winning the counter-mopping up.
Now that the captain had lost the battle outside the mountain, and thinking about the bad situation in the mountain, the last hope of victory in his heart was shattered.
Looking at Huang Yu, he said bluntly: "Captain, please punish us. We didn't fight well..."
"From yesterday to now, the participating troops have lost 200 people. They have only eliminated more than 400 Japanese and puppet troops, and they have not been able to stop the Japanese and puppet troops' offensive. As expected, they will be able to reach Mao'er Mountain tomorrow night and storm the day after tomorrow. Our station.”
As he spoke, he explained how the Japanese army counterattacked the sneak attack troops.
Huang Yu's face became more solemn as he listened. He had fallen into the trap of the Japanese artillery outside the mountain. He suffered heavy losses and had to retreat to the mountain.
Unexpectedly, the guerrilla brigade in the mountains was also beaten by Japanese artillery and grenade troops and suffered heavy casualties.
Zhang Xuan is absolutely right. If the guerrilla brigade does not have good tactics to break the situation as soon as possible, the situation will definitely become more and more unfavorable, and it will end in a disastrous defeat.
But Huang Yu didn't believe that there was a 100% perfect tactic in the world. As long as he used his brain more and kept his eyes open, he would definitely be able to find loopholes.
He immediately asked: "Tell me more about the true situation of the Japanese and puppet troops after they entered the mountains. The more detailed the better."
…………
At eight o'clock in the morning the next day, the Japanese and puppet troops continued to advance after a night's rest, planning to reach Mao'er Mountain in one go before dark.
Yesterday, we walked a mountainous road for a whole day, and there was almost no interruption in the battle between the forward search team and the Eighth Route Army. Although the losses were great, there were also a lot of lessons learned.
Yesterday morning, in the face of the endless sneak attacks by the Eighth Route Army, it was the forward search team that suffered the most losses on the battlefield, and the troops suffered particularly heavy losses.
By the afternoon, the two sides were actually tied and even gained some advantages.
Major General Ikeda is very satisfied with this result.
In his memory, the Imperial Army almost never won in mountain battles with the Eighth Route Army.
It is definitely a great victory that he can draw with them, and his opponent is the Yizhong Eighth Route Army, which even defeated Neji Okamura.
He decided to continue to implement yesterday afternoon's play today.
Use mortars and grenades to counterattack the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack troops. If three guns are not enough, arrange five guns. If five guns are not enough, arrange ten guns.
No matter how fast the opponent's transfer speed is, it can't match the flight speed of the cannonball.
As long as the artillery fire coverage is large enough, the Eighth Route Army sneak attack on itself can be eliminated on the way to escape.
"General, the forward search team is ready..." The captain ran over and looked at Major General Ikeda's report with admiration on his face.
Faced with the sneak attack by the Eighth Route Army, he was helpless yesterday. The only way he could think of was to resist and take the initiative.
The mopping up troops were not familiar with the terrain in the mountains, so a hasty attack would be like entering a tiger's mouth. This method was rejected by him as soon as he came up with it.
The result of the forced attack was very tragic. Even the five casualties of the forward search team may not be able to kill an Eighth Route Army soldier. It was such a disadvantage.
In desperation, Major General Ikeda took action, replacing his own hard-on approach with artillery counterattacks.
Although a large amount of ammunition was consumed in the battle, the forward search team's losses plummeted, while the Eighth Route Army's casualties plummeted. Compared with their own counterattack methods, the losses were as high as in the sky and on the ground.
"How many mortars and grenades have been arranged?" Major General Ikeda didn't have time to consider his subordinates' thoughts and directly asked the question he was most concerned about.
"Six mortars, six grenades... and six light machine guns, six heavy machine guns for the forward search team. The firepower is stronger than half of the brigade." The brigade leader looked forward to the report.
"Guarantee that the Eighth Route Army's sneak attack troops will not come back."
Major General Ikeda was very satisfied with this arrangement. He looked at his watch and ordered: "Yoshi, let them set off now. The main force should still keep one kilometer away from them..."
…………
On the mountain road eight kilometers directly in front of the Guizi Middle Road mopping up troops, a dozen soldiers were setting up booby traps and laying landmines on the mountain road and in all places where people could walk on both sides of the mountain road.
The only strange thing is that these mines and booby traps have no strings attached, so even if the little Japanese mopping up troops step on them, they will not be detonated.
More than half an hour later, these soldiers disappeared into the mountains and fields like ghosts.
Twenty minutes later, the Japanese forward search team appeared at the end of the mountain road, holding various weapons in their hands and advancing cautiously.
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There were no mines or booby traps under their feet. The Japanese and puppet troops all passed through the minefield smoothly without encountering any danger or noticing anything amiss.
The mountain road here is very winding. Just over a hundred meters away from the minefield, the forward search team walked to the back of the hills and disappeared at the end of the mountain road.
The dozen soldiers who had just disappeared appeared out of nowhere and cautiously returned to the minefield to string the mines.
The minefield that took half an hour to be deployed took only one minute to hang and quickly evacuated from the minefield.
"Boom, boom, boom... da da da... dong dong dong dong..."
A fierce exchange of fire suddenly sounded on the back of the hill, and the black smoke could be seen clearly from a kilometer away, including Major General Ikeda.
The forward search team was only equipped with six mortars and six heavy machine guns, and they could not produce such a fierce firefight even if they fired all of them.
As soon as they heard the sound of gunfire, they knew they had encountered an accident. They were worried and expectant, so they quickly ordered.
"The forward search team was attacked, and the troops immediately sent reinforcements."
"The second squadron will outflank the left wing, and the third squadron will encircle the right wing. The other troops will attack me head-on. If they can annihilate them all, they will be annihilated. If they cannot annihilate them all, they will be held back. Wait for the other two mopping up troops to come over and then gather together to annihilate them. Of."
As soon as the brigade commander gave the order, the mopping up troops immediately turned into a war machine, and the marching speed suddenly accelerated. The soldiers carried the rifles on their backs at the same time, loaded with bullets, and were ready to join the battle at any time.
"Boom boom..."
After running more than 300 meters, two explosions sounded in front of the team.
The Japanese's determination to reinforce the forward search team was not affected and they continued to move forward. As a result, the explosion was like thunder, and it was out of control and reached the ears of Major General Ikeda continuously. The fast-moving team had to stop due to too many casualties.
"General, there is a minefield laid out by the enemy ahead. More than 30 troops have been bombed and we cannot continue to move forward..." A second lieutenant rushed to Major General Ikeda and reported.
Major General Ikeda has already seen a lot of thick smoke rising from the battlefield. This alone can tell that the opponent is very strong. If we arrive too late, not only will the forward troops be wiped out, but the enemy's main force that we finally encountered will also escape right under our noses, which would be a huge loss.
After glancing at the terrain in front of the team, he gave an urgent order: "Abandon the mountain road, bypass the minefield and continue moving forward. The battlefield is on the back of the hills. You can kill it in a few minutes. Go faster!"
The second lieutenant frowned and replied: "The enemy has also laid mines on both sides of the mountain road. There is no way around it. Our captain is asking for engineers to support us."
"Baga!" Major General Ikeda became angry on the spot, pointed at the second lieutenant's nose and cursed: "By the time the engineers remove the mines, the enemy who attacked the forward search team will have already escaped."
"Let your captain arrange for the Imperial Alliance Army to help us clear the way. We must quickly pass through the minefield. If anyone refuses to move forward in fear of the enemy, he will be shot directly. The Imperial Japanese Army does not raise waste."
In the eyes of many Japanese soldiers, the puppet troops are just cannon fodder.
As long as they are not allowed to serve as human minesweepers, it does not matter how many puppet soldiers die.
After a while, the team that stopped on the mountain road started moving again.
A platoon of puppet soldiers was sent to the front of the team. The Japanese put rifle muzzles on their backs and shot anyone who walked slowly.
At first, this group of puppet soldiers didn't want to be human minesweepers and wanted to argue with the Japanese. After three of them were killed on the spot, the remaining puppet soldiers became afraid.
If you don't move forward, you will die now, and there will be no way out; if you bite the bullet and move forward, if you are lucky enough and don't step on a landmine, you can still survive.
To put it bluntly, even if you step on a landmine, you won't necessarily die.
If you are just injured, not only will you not die, but you can also take the opportunity to withdraw from the battle.
But no matter how the Japanese urged, under the threat of death, the Japanese and puppet troops marched much slower than before.
