under fire

Chapter 1701 Who is the Master?

The sporadic gunfire from the south lasted only a few minutes, and most of the Japanese and puppet troops had already broken out of the Eighth Route Army's "encirclement" with great momentum.

After running nearly two miles in one breath and then running a thousand meters with a load, not everyone can maintain the speed.

Even though they were not being pursued, the puppet army ranks gradually became chaotic, and the squad and company commanders did not know where their men were.

After retreating to a distance of three miles, most of the puppet troops collapsed in exhaustion, and nearly half of them ran away.

The second lieutenant who was mixed in with the puppet army had an unhappy look on his face.

Fortunately, the Eighth Route Army's cold shooting in the dark was completely over.

After running nearly four miles, the Japanese second lieutenant decisively ordered the puppet battalion commander to stop the "breakout".

After shouting at the top of their lungs for nearly a mile, they finally managed to stop the group heading eastward.

The neatly organized elites under his command contrast with the chaotic crowd of the Imperial Army.

The lieutenant was angry, sad, and grinning.
The anger was because the puppet army's formation was broken and the generals did not know how to fight.
Sad because the lieutenant has been basically confirmed dead, and more than half of the elite imperial army squadrons have been killed or wounded.
The grim smile was because his judgment of the Eighth Route Army was accurate. The Eighth Route Army was still the Eighth Route Army, and their strength was not as large as he had imagined. He also roughly understood the entire process of the attack.

The Eighth Route Army still used the old method of attacking with landmines and concentrating their superior forces to attack the Imperial Army in the East.

After they succeeded, they quickly went behind the lieutenant and divided their troops into three groups to launch another surprise attack under cover of night.
I chose to break out to the east, which was unimaginably easy.

A breakout battle is actually about concentrating superior forces to attack one point!
He finally understood why the Eighth Route Army was often able to break out of the encirclement of the Imperial Army during previous mopping-up operations.

In this case, he still has a small team of elites under his command, so it seems that he can also infiltrate the Eighth Route Army under the cover of darkness?
The Eighth Route Army must be made to realize that the Imperial Army is the master of this land.

If you disrespect the Imperial Army, they will be slaughtered crazily and must pay the price with their lives.

By the way, try the interpenetration tactics often mentioned in the manual.
He set up a simple tent to block out the light and huddled together with his sergeants in the tent.

"We need to confirm the specific casualties of the Imperial Army."

"Then find a way to catch the Eighth Route Army's secret agents and find out their true strength and combat intentions!"

"The darkness is good for us, but it is bad for detecting the enemy."

"I have a suggestion. The Imperial Army and the Eighth Route Army are both Chinese. We can ask them to change into the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army and blend into the Eighth Route Army."

"Where can I find the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army?"

After a few minutes of discussion, the second lieutenant began to issue one order after another in response to the current situation.

The reconnaissance and scout team dispersed to scout the deployment and movements of the Eighth Route Army, and at the same time find a way to catch the spy!
The tactical supervision class guided the battalion commanders of the Imperial Army to regroup the scattered Imperial Army in the shortest possible time.

It was pitch dark, and perhaps because the "breakout" was unusually smooth, the Imperial Army did not completely disperse, and the team quickly reassembled.

The second lieutenant sent someone to summon the pseudo-battalion commander to listen to his hesitant report.

"From the beginning of the breakout to now, the casualties have been counted. Only two were killed, zero are missing, and there are a few lightly wounded. The current team..."

When the second lieutenant heard the pseudo-commander's words, his jaw dropped to the ground.

The rumors about him being an expert escapee were apparently true!

Beside them, there were constant groaning and wailing sounds.

A seriously wounded soldier of the Imperial Army who was carried out by a medical soldier was obviously dying. He kicked his legs instinctively, his face was hideous, blood bubbles were gurgling from his mouth, and he stared with his eyes wide open, struggling unwillingly before his death.

The pseudo-battalion commander watched the scene under the starlight in fear and silence, wondering about his fate.

Maybe it was because he was the battalion commander after all, and the guy opposite him was just a small team leader.

There was no slapping this time.

The second lieutenant didn't seem to have the habit of hitting people. "Now that you have regrouped, divide the team into three parts, left, center, and right, and reorganize them into a defensive formation according to the drill manual. Is that okay?"

"No problem!" The pseudo-battalion commander subconsciously stood at attention and saluted, and quickly agreed that as long as they did not launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army in the dark night, there would be no problem.

Although the other party was only a second lieutenant squad leader, and his rank was lower than his own, he obeyed the defensive order issued by the other party without any extra thoughts.

"After arranging the defense, follow the Imperial Army and advance steadily westward. Remember, do not advance rashly!" The second lieutenant was not very interested in allowing the puppet army to participate in the attack.

He planned to plan a exploratory attack.

These retreating Imperial Army troops needed to ensure that the Imperial Army would not be attacked from behind by the Eighth Route Army.

The second lieutenant even thought that it wouldn't matter even if the Eighth Route Army attacked from behind!
With the powerful offensive combat capabilities of the Imperial Army's elite, it is easy to penetrate into the Eighth Route Army's formation!
He now needs to fight back and find out the truth about the attack on the Eastern Imperial Army and the squadron leader.

Otherwise, I won't know how to write the script when I go back to write the report.
Of course it would be better if there was a reliable defensive position behind you.

If conditions permit, he intends to use the sharpest bayonets of the Imperial Army to poke holes all over the Eighth Route Army.

The puppet troops began to deploy.

The grassroots commanders of the puppet army who had been trained by the devils still had some abilities.

According to the Imperial Army training manual, the command system was established first.

Then the more than one hundred puppet soldiers were divided into two echelons and deployed.

After all, no one knows how long this battle will last, and we have been traveling continuously, so we still need to rest.

The puppet troops who had not had a chance to rest were digging trenches with sad faces, and the squad leaders began to call on their men to arrange light and heavy firepower.
Then, guard posts were placed all around, and messengers were asked to run back and forth to conduct tests.

A series of troop movements, position arrangements, and tight defenses were quickly formed.

All that remains is to dig the ground with bayonets.
The puppet army is best at running away, earthwork
Bayonet digging trenches, playing in the mud
"After so many years of raids, this is the first time I've done this kind of work!"

"Something's wrong. Looking at the situation, could it be that the Eighth Route Army will attack us again?"

"Who knows."

"Squad leader, when we dig trenches, should we defend the west or the east?"

"That is, are we defending against the Eighth Route Army's pursuit, or are we defending against the Eighth Route Army's outflanking from behind?" "Behind? Which side is behind?"

"You ask me, how the hell would I know?" The pseudo squad leader was also a little confused.

"I think, how about we dig a circle?"

...

Bang. Bang bang
Beep. Beep.
Less than half an hour of silence in the darkness.

Sporadic gunfire was heard again.

"The gunshot came from the second guard post." The observer pricked up his ears and spoke in a firm tone.

"These puppet soldiers are so courageous that they dare to come back and die," the communicator on standby muttered.

"No, from the sound of the gunshots, it seems to be the Japanese Type 38 rifle."

Li Laosi frowned and said, "Hurry up and get some people."

A dark figure quickly ran to Li Laosi's side and said, "Report, the brothers in charge of the second position said that some Japanese soldiers are trying to approach them."

Next to the north-south road.

There were several dark figures sitting there.

"Run away?" The voice came from Hu Yi, with a tired tone.

"Hehe, ran away..." Xiao Hongying said shyly, feeling a little embarrassed.

"How much did you run?"

"According to the captured prisoners, there was a squadron of Japanese soldiers and a battalion of puppet troops following us. Based on the statistics of the number of enemies killed, wounded, and captured, it is estimated that there were about a squadron of Japanese soldiers who escaped, about 70 to 90, and about a company of puppet troops. The total enemy strength is slightly over 200." Liu Yuanqing's voice was full of worry: "According to the report of the scouts hanging behind the enemy, the enemy did not run far and regrouped about five miles to the east."

"Report, Division Call"

"Content." Hu Yi asked directly. Being in an open area, they had to guard against the enemy's sneak attacks, so it was not appropriate to have bright light at this time.

"Request all units to deploy along the canal to harass and delay the enemy who attempts to cross the canal and advance westward."

"Various departments? Wasn't the telegram sent to us individually?" Xiao Hongying beside her asked quickly.

"The line from Guantao to Wei County west of the canal is the Second Division's defense zone, and further west is the Alliance Autonomous Army's base." Hu Yi had a clear idea of the general distribution of the enemy and us, and didn't even need to look at the map: "If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the Second Division that is taking action west of the canal. Let all units cooperate to prevent the enemy from crossing the canal to reinforce westward."

"How big an operation would it take for the division to ask each unit to launch a harassment attack on the enemy during a large-scale raid?"

"Perhaps, Yang Chengzhi and his men attacked the Guantao garrison yesterday afternoon, and the enemy tried to cross the river to retaliate."

"Why not just send a message and ask?" Liu Yuanqing suggested.

Hu Yi shook his head: "Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask, just follow orders."

“The division is not our direct superior.”

"If there are more than a squadron of Japanese soldiers coming, we won't be able to stop them with just our numbers."

"What are you thinking? There is no ferry here, nor a main road running east to west. Even if the Japanese were to cross the canal, they would not go through here."

"District Three is stationed in Donggu Town. Just give them a call and ask them."

The stars dimmed.

Li Laoliu, who had sneaked into the puppet army, sat on the ground, slowly digging the soil with his bayonet in his left hand.

I couldn't help but look to the west. The figures nearby were blurry, and in the distance it was pitch black and I couldn't see anything.

I never expected the puppet army to assemble so quickly.

The current situation is somewhat tricky. The puppet troops will disperse quickly after reorganization, and it is difficult to create large-scale chaos.

He carefully checked the condition of the rifle in his hand and unconsciously counted the bullets.

"Hey, are you from the second company?" a puppet soldier wielding a bayonet nearby whispered.

"Um"

"Almost all the people in the second company died. You are lucky to have escaped alive."

"Um"

"What's your name?"

"Um"

"I asked you what your name is"

"Um"

"Hey, you still have a revolver on your waist?"

"Um"

"You also carry a knife on your back. Is it a lancet?"