The gunshots fired back by the guerrillas on the mountain were very sparse, and it was obvious that they were running out of ammunition.
The Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain seemed to understand this. They were not in a hurry to attack, but only pushed forward slowly, obviously hoping to consume the few remaining ammunition of the guerrillas on the mountain.
It was obvious that the guerrilla group on the mountain was no longer capable of breaking through, and it was only a matter of time before the entire army was destroyed.
Are you going to save people? Xu Dalong felt a little embarrassed. Their mission is to escort the chief, and his identity is too important. If they attack rashly and attract a large number of Japanese and puppet troops, the leader will not be able to enter the customs smoothly. It will be difficult for Xu Dalong and the others to explain to their superiors.
Xu Dalong thought. Seeing his comrades being besieged by the enemy and refusing to save them, Xu Dalong definitely couldn't do such a thing. He was weighing how to balance escorting the leader and rescuing the besieged guerrillas.
He saw that it was not too far away from Chang Cheng. Even if the nearby Japanese and puppet troops were alerted by the fighting, with the combat effectiveness of the special operations squadron, they could still escort the leader across the Great Wall. Therefore, he decided to leave some people to protect the leader. He would lead other special forces members to attack the besieging Japanese and puppet troops and rescue the guerrillas.
Just when Xu Dalong was about to ask for the chief's opinion, the chief became excited first.
He said: "Captain Xu, those guerrillas are the few remaining backbones of the underground party outside the customs. We must not watch something happen to them and ask you to rescue them."
Seeing the chief's attitude, Xu Dalong felt more at ease.
Without saying any more words, he nodded and asked Monk Wei to lead a squad to protect the leader. He and Zhu Guangming led the special forces to attack the Japanese and puppet troops.
The guerrillas guarding the mountains are all veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles. The ammunition in their hands is indeed running out, with an average of less than three bullets per person. Facing the Japanese and puppet troops who were several times their own, they did not panic at all. They waited very calmly for the Japanese and puppet troops to approach, and only fired when they were very sure. Their marksmanship was very good, and they were almost always on target. Although the firepower was not fierce enough, it still caused a lot of casualties to the Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain.
The enemy officers and soldiers were very frightened and moved very carefully towards the mountain, trying to launch an attack, hoping to consume the bullets of the guerrillas on the mountain.
They were very patient because they knew that the guerrillas on the mountain had very few bullets and it was impossible to break through the encirclement with such firepower. Not only that, they also have reinforcements coming here, and sooner or later they will be able to eliminate these guerrillas in the mountains.
The Japanese and puppet troops were shooting and moving up the mountain. Every time they took a step forward, they looked at the bunker in front of them in advance. They suppressed the guerrillas on the mountain with fierce firepower, seized the opportunity, and moved up the mountain bit by bit. This did reduce casualties, and the guerrillas on the mountain also wasted some bullets.
A guerrilla stared closely at the Japanese and puppet troops at the foot of the mountain, and finally he saw a favorable opportunity. A puppet soldier emerged from behind the hiding rock, took two steps forward, and prepared to hide behind a rock in front.
The guerrillas seized this opportunity and quickly pulled the trigger. There was only a "click" sound, and the firing pin made a hollow impact. He's out of bullets.
"There are no more bullets." The guerrilla looked at his companion, who also smiled bitterly and shook his head, indicating that he also had no bullets.
The situation of the others was similar to the two of them. The guerrillas were basically out of bullets.
Seeing the Japanese and puppet troops approaching step by step, the guerrillas mounted bayonets on their rifles and prepared for a charge.
The officers and soldiers of the Japanese and puppet troops realized that the guerrillas on the mountain were out of bullets. They were very happy and did not want to wait until reinforcements arrived, hoping to get the credit alone. So they quickened their pace and moved forward faster and faster.
The Japanese commander was a second lieutenant. He had dealt with guerrillas many times and knew that these guerrillas in the mountains would not surrender. In order to reduce casualties, he shouted and asked the Japanese to prepare grenades and prepare to further consume the guerrillas' effective strength before launching an attack.
40 meters, 35 meters... The Japanese soldiers only need to advance another 5 meters to throw grenades on the mountain. The guerrillas on the mountain were familiar with the Japanese offensive tactics, and they had also seen the enemy's actions. If they stayed on the top of the mountain, they could only wait for death. So under the leadership of the commander, the guerrillas all stood up, gripped their bayonets and were about to rush down the mountain.
The Japanese officers and soldiers were also on guard against this attack. When they saw the guerrillas standing up, they raised their guns and shot at them.
At this moment, fierce gunfire and explosions came from the bottom of the mountain, and the Japanese and puppet troops were shot and fell one after another.
The sudden attack caused chaos to the Japanese and puppet troops. The guerrillas on the mountain hurriedly got down again, effectively avoiding casualties. They stuck their heads out to look down the mountain and saw a strange scene.
There were many Japanese soldiers at the foot of the mountain. I don’t know why, but they were attacking the Japanese and puppet troops on the hillside. Those Japs were very powerful. They had many light machine guns in their hands, and those Japs holding rifles were also very accurate in their marksmanship. They caused heavy casualties to the Japanese and puppet troops on the hillside.
The guerrillas on the mountain soon understood that these people wearing Japanese uniforms must be their own.
They saw the remaining Japanese and puppet troops on the hillside turning their guns to deal with those wearing Japanese military uniforms down the mountain.
The guerrillas fired the few remaining bullets and then rushed down the mountain.
The Japanese and puppet troops themselves had been beaten to the point where they were basically unable to fight back, and they were attacked from two sides. They soon collapsed completely, and the puppet troops surrendered one after another.
The guerrillas grabbed the guns from the puppet soldiers and went to attack the remaining Japanese.
Soon after, all the Japanese and puppet troops on the hillside were wiped out.
Those people wearing Japanese military uniforms at the foot of the mountain were probably worried about a misunderstanding. They did not go up the mountain, but stayed at the foot of the mountain. They all took off their hats.
Soon someone shouted towards the mountain: "Brothers of the guerrillas on the mountain, we are the Eighth Route Army from Guan Nei. Come down the mountain."
After the battle just now, the guerrillas on the mountain had determined that the people at the foot of the mountain were their own, and they descended the mountain without hesitation.
There were 23 of these guerrillas in total. After they came down the mountain, they quickly formed two horizontal lines and watched Xu Dalong and others coming forward.
Xu Dalong and the special forces team members saw these guerrillas in front of them. They were all in ragged clothes, with yellow faces, thin muscles, and unshaven beards. Their true colors could not be seen. They were like a group of beggars. But their backs were straight, and their bright eyes on their weather-beaten faces shone with perseverance. The intimidating aura they exuded from having experienced many battles was completely inferior to that of the special operations team members. They even had a more indifferent attitude towards death than the special operations team members.
Seeing Xu Dalong coming, a man in his early 30s came forward to greet him.
Xu Dalong first protected his family and said: "I am Xu Dalong, the captain of the Mawushan Guerrilla Brigade of the Eighth Route Army. Which army are you from?"
The leading guerrilla put his legs together, raised his chest, gave Xu Dalong a standard military salute, and said: "Reporting to the leader, we are the second brigade of the Songshan Guerrilla Detachment, and I am the brigade leader Guan Zhenshan."
Looking at these strong and unyielding guerrillas in front of him, Xu Dalong felt very emotional. If we count from September 18th to now, the guerrillas outside the customs have persisted in the war of resistance for more than ten years. Outside the Pass, there are the Kwantung Army with a total strength of 700,000, the Manchukuo Army of 600,000, and a large number of puppet police. The number of Japanese and puppet personnel exceeds 2 million.
With the enemy's situation in such a bad situation, the guerrillas did not receive any assistance, and even had to fight against the Japanese and puppet troops just to get a bite of food. It is really hard to imagine how they persisted until now.
Xu Dalong was full of respect for them, stood at attention and saluted them, and said: "You have worked hard."
The guerrillas have been fighting guerrillas here for several years. In the brutal battle, only 23 of them were left in the guerrilla brigade that originally numbered more than 200 people. They were blocked in the mountains by the Japanese and puppet troops and were in a state of running out of ammunition and food. Today they wanted to go down the mountain to find some food, but they were surrounded by the Japanese and puppet troops on the mountain and were almost wiped out.
Now I finally saw my comrades. Although the guerrillas looked calm on the outside, they were also very excited inside. They were strong men with tears in their eyes.
Xu Dalong didn't know much about the enemy situation in this area, and was worried that a large group of Japanese and puppet troops would come for reinforcements, so he led the special operations brigade and these guerrillas to continue to move in the direction of Changcheng.
When they arrived at the foot of Chang Cheng, the special operations team members first escorted Commander Wang through Chang Cheng. Then Liang Erhu invited Guan Tieshan and the guerrillas to follow them across the Great Wall and go to the station of the Second Military Division of the Central Hebei Military Region to recuperate and rest. .
Guan Tieshan shook his head and said: "Reporting to the chief, thank you for saving us, but we will not enter the customs. This is our hometown. We must stay and continue to fight." When he said this, his tone Very calm, but his eyes were full of determination and confidence.
The same was true for the guerrillas behind him. They had already sworn that they would never leave the border until they drove away the Japanese devils.
Xu Dalong was very moved and full of admiration for these steadfast and unyielding guerrillas.
He was thinking about how to help these guerrillas. Monk Wei stepped forward, pulled Xu Dalong aside, and said with red eyes: "Master Long, we can't leave them behind. I want to stay and help them."
Zhu Guangming's eyes were also sparkling with tears, and he said: "Captain, I also ask to stay."
Xu Dalong also wanted to stay and help these guerrillas, but his current task was to escort the leader, and he felt a little embarrassed for a while.
At this moment, the special forces team members on the city wall shouted: "Captain, the troops from the Jidong Military Region have come to meet us."
Xu Dalong said to Monk Wei and Guan Tieshan, "Wait for me here." After saying that, he grabbed the rope and climbed onto Chang Cheng.
Xu Dalong and others had already contacted the leaders of the Second Army Division in advance, and Xiang Donglai personally brought a regiment of troops to respond.
Xu Dalong handed the chief to Xiang Donglai and asked them to help him escort the chief to the Taihang Mountain base area. Then the special forces of Li Changshui and Li Qiulin escorted him to northern Shaanxi.
Xu Dalong decided to stay and help Guan Tieshan and the guerrillas.
After Xiang Donglai inquired about the situation, he transferred a reinforced company of troops to Xu Dalong, and then led the team to escort the leader away.
Guan Tieshan and his guerrillas were very moved when they saw so many Eighth Route Army troops coming to help them. They expressed their gratitude to Xu Dalong and others again and again, and then took the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers to their secret camp in the mountains.
The secret camps of Guan Tieshan and others were actually some simple shacks. In these shacks there were only some old pots, bowls, ladles, and a few empty grain bags that had been turned over.
Xu Dalong's military doctor with the team examined the bodies of the guerrillas, asked the special operations team members to take out replacement clothes for the guerrillas to put on, and gave the guerrillas a good meal.
The team members have eaten and drank enough, and their spirits have recovered a lot. Soon after, they washed and shaved again and looked much better.
Guan Tieshan and others were very grateful for the help provided by Xu Dalong and others, but what they were most happy about was that Xu Dalong and others gave them all the weapons and ammunition they had just seized.
Looking at the brand-new guns, the piles of bullets, grenades, and grenades, all of their faces were full of joy. I don’t know how long it’s been, but they haven’t had so many weapons and ammunition. What they want most at this moment is to quickly find the Japanese and puppet troops and have a good fight.
After exchanges, the Eighth Route Army officers and soldiers and team members gradually became familiar with each other, and Xu Dalong also deepened his understanding of Guan Zhenshan.
Guan Zhenshan is from Harbin. When the September 18th Incident, he was still a young student. At that time, the anti-Japanese movement was raging, and Guan Tieshan also joined the army and joined the guerrillas. So far, I have been fighting for 12 years. In the long-term battle, he has grown into a staunch and unyielding anti-Japanese warrior.
When talking about the past, he said with emotion: "For 12 years, I haven't gone home to see them, and I don't know how they are doing." Speaking of this, the corners of this strong man's eyes became moist.
Xu Dalong said firmly: "The little devil can't hold on much longer. Once you drive away the little devil, you will definitely be able to reunite with your family."
Guan Tieshan and the guerrillas lived in the mountains all year round and had very little information. They did not know the situation of the war and even many situations outside the Guan.
Xu Dalong introduced them to the fighting history of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and told them about the domestic and international situation.
(End of chapter)
