The brigade commander of the Japanese 16th Brigade was talking to the chief of staff in a car when a bullet flew over, shattered the car window, and then penetrated into the back of the chief of staff's head.
The chief of staff leaned forward and lay on top of the brigade commander. The fresh snow and brain on his head covered the brigade commander.
The brigade commander was very angry and ordered the troops to catch these hateful attackers.
The Japanese army immediately sent out another infantry team and rushed towards the village while fighting.
This time, the militiamen had some experience and were no longer as panicked as last time. When they saw the Japanese rushing over, they did not rush to the tunnel. Instead, they used the natural defenses of the building to continue firing at the Japanese soldiers.
Although the militiamen's marksmanship was not accurate, the bullets had no eyes, and they still caused several Japanese casualties.
The Japanese were already very angry, and this infuriated them even more. They were determined to eliminate these hateful attackers, so they rushed over regardless of casualties.
Seeing so many Japs, the militiamen knew that they could not defeat them head-on, so they got into the tunnel again.
The Japs rushed into the village and wanted to kill some people in revenge, but they searched almost all the houses and did not see a single person.
The militiamen were all familiar with the terrain and knew that everyone in the village was hiding. Those who were active outside must be the Japanese. Therefore, they each hid at the shooting port and fired at the visible figures.
Because the shooting distance was so close, there was almost no need to aim, and the Japanese fell down one after another.
The Japs were crazy. Whenever they saw a muzzle flash, they would fire at it and then rush over.
They rushed to the place where the muzzle flash was, but could not find anyone. As a result, they were killed or wounded by bullets flying from another place.
By now, the Japanese soldiers finally understood that there must be a tunnel in this village. In this case, not to mention it was night time and the lights were on, even during the day they couldn't do anything against the attackers hiding in the tunnels.
The Japanese team leader knew that this was not the way to go, so he decided to withdraw from the village. But he was unwilling to be so cowardly, so he asked the Japanese to set fire to the houses in the village to vent their anger.
Some of the Japanese soldiers picked up matches and others took out lighters and prepared to set fire to them. The fire just revealed their position, and the bullets came quickly. Not only that, but grenades also flew over.
Several more of the Japs who were about to set fire were killed. Only then did the Japs squad leader become really scared, so he ordered the Japs soldiers to pick up the weapons of their dead companions and run out of the village.
At this time, the militiamen became more and more courageous as they fought, rushing to shoot and drop bombs at the Japanese.
The Japs themselves had already suffered a lot of casualties. They no longer bothered to take the weapons of their dead comrades and fled desperately.
The militiamen chased them and killed several more Japs. They stopped shooting when they saw the Japs running away.
The militiamen came out of the tunnels to grab the loot. A total of 16 Japanese soldiers died in the village, and 10 Type 38 rifles were seized, as well as bullets, grenades and other trophies. They made a lot of money this time. There were so many Japs beaten to death in the village alone. Although it was impossible to count the number of Japs beaten to death outside the village, it was estimated that the number was even higher than this.
For the village militia, this was a great achievement, enough for them to brag about for a long time.
The militiamen were very excited and felt that they had not had enough, so they came to the edge of the village and shot at the Japanese on the road.
Don't underestimate the attacks of these militiamen, they really made the devils very helpless. The country road is so close to the village, and the Japanese army, especially the vehicles, must pass through here. The Japanese were unbearable and had to detach some troops again to deal with the village militia.
The militiamen had had enough fighting today. When the Japanese came up, they dug into the tunnels. When the Japanese retreated, they continued to attack the Japanese on the highway.
This continued for an hour before all the Japanese on the road finally passed. When the militiamen saw that the Japanese were gone, they ran out to look for loot, and they actually got some.
Due to the darkness, some of the Japanese soldiers who died outside were not found by their companions. As a result, the militiamen seized three more Type 38 rifles and some ammunition.
In order to test how many Japs they had eliminated, the militiamen searched everywhere outside the village and found a total of 42 Japs corpses.
The militiamen came forward and seized the Japanese military uniforms, especially the leather shoes on their feet. These items were enough to prove how many Japanese soldiers they had eliminated.
They are all looking forward to getting up soon so they can show off their trophies to the villagers. They are also looking forward to reporting the good news to their superiors and receiving praise from them.
The Japanese 16th Brigade continued to advance and was blocked by the Eighth Route Army 6 kilometers away from the county seat.
What blocked them were the 600 students from the Special Warfare School. Although these guys were not as good as the members of the Mawushan Special Warfare Brigade, they were all absolute combat backbones. As soon as the Japanese army fought against them, they immediately tasted Come to the bitter end.
There were a total of six cadet teams from the Special Warfare School participating in the battle. They saw that the Japanese army was huge and there were no pre-built fortifications in their location. In a field battle, they would definitely not be an opponent of the Japanese army if they resisted head-on.
They adopted a mobile defense tactic. Six student teams were arranged in a zigzag pattern, with a distance of 200 meters between each student team. Each student team stood on top for a while and then retreated, and the next student team took over to block the attack. .
The Japanese army's offensive tactics were very rigid. They used the same tactics every time. After encountering an obstruction, they began to set up artillery. After the bombardment was completed, the infantry launched an attack according to the procedures.
The student team took advantage of this characteristic of the Japanese army and made the Japanese army repeat these dull movements over and over again, effectively delaying their advance.
After the commander of the Japanese Eighth Division encountered a plane bombing, he felt that the battle was too useless.
He despised the Japanese troops stationed in Shanxi. The majestic Yellow Army did not have the advantage of the air force, but was suppressed and beaten by the enemy's air force. He recalled that Yoshio Shinozuka repeatedly emphasized to him that after entering the Eighth Route Army's base area, the key was to destroy the enemy's airport. For the Japanese troops stationed in Shanxi, even if the Eighth Division only destroyed the enemy's airport this time, the battle would be considered a victory.
He now knows that both the 15th and 16th Brigades have encountered snipers from the Eighth Route Army. Relying on the main force to capture the enemy's airport will not be possible for a while. During this period, they are likely to still Will be bombed by enemy air force.
The commander of the Eighth Division said to the chief of staff: "I am afraid that both the enemy and we are unclear about each other's situation now. It is very confusing. We should organize an advance team and take advantage of the chaos to directly attack the enemy's airport."
The chief of staff nodded and said: "Your Excellency, the division commander, is wise. I think this is a good idea. I will arrange it now."
After speaking, the chief of staff got out of the car and sent someone to call Kondo, the squadron leader of the squadron directly under the division headquarters, and said to him: "According to the intelligence, the enemy's airport is to the southwest of the county, and it is only seven or eight meters away from here. kilometers. I ask you to lead your squadron through the enemy's blockade and destroy the enemy's airport. If you can complete this task, this battle will be credited to you."
Kondo is a young man in his 20s, full of energy. As the squadron leader of the squadron directly under him, he is responsible for the security work of the brigade and regiment headquarters. He rarely has the opportunity to go to the front line to fight directly, so he has no chance to make meritorious deeds. He is eager to make achievements and has long had the idea of going to the front line.
The words of the Chief of Staff made his blood boil. He puffed up his chest and said loudly: "Please rest assured, Chief of Staff, I will live up to my humble duty and capture the enemy's airport."
The chief of staff nodded and expressed approval, then asked the combat staff to bring him a map, marked the location of the airport on it, then handed the map to Kondo and said, "I wish you success!"
Kondo was very excited and said: "Thank you, Chief of Staff, I will lead the squadron to set off immediately."
Li Yunlong learned that the Japanese army was attacking Guancheng County, and he was anxious and kept urging the troops to speed up their march.
Sun Desheng's mood was the same. He couldn't wait for those mechanized troops and led the cavalry brigade to gallop.
Yoshio Shinozuka also stayed up all night, and he was also very excited at this time. He knew that the Eighth Division was approaching Xu Dalong's home base. As long as they can capture the county seat and destroy the enemy's command structure and the airport outside the city, they will win this battle.
In order to coordinate the actions of the Eighth Division, he continuously sent telegrams to various Japanese divisions participating in the battle, asking them to launch an attack across the board.
Troops from various divisions of the Japanese army were affected by the news that the Eighth Division had entered the hinterland of the Mawushan base. Every one of them was very excited. They were very crazy and kept attacking the front line, which put huge pressure on the defenders.
Chu Yunfei's 358th Brigade faced the fierce offensive of the Japanese 112th Division and felt unprecedented pressure. He issued a death order to the troops. All troops must hold their positions and fight to the death.
Under the fierce attack of the Japanese army, several defensive positions of the 358th Brigade were breached by the enemy. A unit of the Japanese 112th Division interspersed between Dongxiang County and Xinhe County. The troops of the 358th Brigade were divided. The main force of the 11th and 2nd Divisions was now launching a fierce attack on Xinhe County. Chu Yunfei also sent all the reserve teams up.
Fang Ligong saw the enemy-friendly situation map that the staff constantly marked, and saw that the main force of the Japanese army was getting closer and closer to Xinhe County. He said worriedly: "The Japanese army's offensive is too fierce, and our troops have suffered a lot of casualties. The situation is critical. , do you want to send a telegram to Xu Dalong and ask him to send troops for reinforcements?"
Chu Yunfei shook his head and said: "Brother Dalong is also under great pressure now. I'm afraid we won't be able to send troops to come for reinforcements. I think we should rely on ourselves. I believe that when Brother Dalong and the others repulse the Japanese attack, Troops will be sent for reinforcements.”
Fang Ligong knew that Chu Yunfei had a good reputation, so it was difficult for him to persuade him. After thinking for a while, he decided to quietly send a telegram to Xu Dalong, asking him to send troops for reinforcements.
At this moment, Xu Dalong sent a telegram asking the 358th Brigade about the situation here.
Fang Ligong sent the telegram truthfully, hoping that Xu Dalong would send troops for reinforcements.
To be honest, Xu Dalong really has no available troops now, but when the 358th Brigade requests support, he must not let them down.
After thinking about it, he sent a telegram to Zhao Gang, asking him to notify Bob's flying brigade to contact Chu Yunfei to bomb the Japanese 112th Division.
Chu Yunfei and Fang Ligong received a telegram from Zhao Gang, saying that a flying brigade had been arranged to provide them with air support and asked them to direct the flying brigade to the Japanese target.
This good news made them very happy, and they immediately informed their troops. When the officers and soldiers of the 358th Brigade heard the good news, their morale was greatly boosted. They immediately collected firewood and lit bonfires according to Zhao Gang's request to indicate the target for the flying brigade.
The commander of the Japanese 16th Brigade saw that his troops were making slow progress, so he left only part of his troops to contend with the enemy who was blocking the front, and allocated half of his troops to bypass the fighting area in front and attack the county town directly.
This Japanese army was mainly composed of the 32nd Regiment of the Japanese Army. They marched in a hurry and were very lucky not to encounter an obstruction from the Eighth Route Army.
Only two kilometers away from the county seat, they were discovered by militiamen from a nearby village. The basic militiamen in the village have been transferred to the county town, leaving only some ordinary militiamen. They did not have rifles in their hands before, and they were only temporarily issued before the start of this battle.
These militiamen only received the most basic training and had no combat experience. The only thing they relied on was the tunnel in the village, and they dared to shoot at the passing Japanese troops.
The Japanese army could not figure out who the attackers were, so they thought they had encountered the Eighth Route Army. They fired back with machine guns and artillery, and the fight was very lively.
The fierce sound of gunfire alerted a squadron from the nearby Guancheng County Brigade, and they rushed over. They saw a large group of Japanese troops and knew they were no match for them, but they still decisively blocked the attack.
Although the equipment of the county brigade in the Mawushan base area is not as good as that of the regular army of the Eighth Route Army in the Mawushan Military Division, it is still better than the general Eighth Route Army troops. This squadron is equipped with 6 light machine guns and a mortar, so their firepower is quite strong.
The Japanese army suddenly suffered a violent blow. They thought they had encountered a large force of the Eighth Route Army, so they could only get into position and reorganize their attack.
A large number of trenches had been dug around the county seat in advance. The members of the county brigade used the trenches and fierce firepower to withstand the first charge of the Japanese army.
The Japanese army had to take a short break and reorganize their attack.
The captain of the 32nd Regiment rushed to the forward position and saw that the Japanese captain was still organizing the attack according to the old offensive tactics. He was very angry and took over the command directly, ordering the troops to charge forward at all costs.
At the same time, he ordered other troops to bypass the Eighth Route Army in front and directly attack the county seat.
The squadron leader of the county brigade saw Japanese troops crossing the trenches in the distance, obviously trying to avoid them. Although he had limited troops, he still sent out a detachment to intercept.
(End of chapter)
