under fire

They used the water channel as a trench and hastily piled up a foot-thick layer of compacted soil on the north side as a fortified shelter.

More than thirty figures were squatting in the trench on the south side of the earthen mound.

"Listen up, everyone. Once the enemy starts shelling, no one should lean against the trench wall or lie on the ground. Don't be afraid, the chances of Japanese shells landing in the trench are almost zero."

"Squad leader, why is the chance of falling into the trench zero?" a soldier asked after taking the cotton ball out of his ear.

"First, the Japanese observer's measurement of the distance from our trench to his position was inaccurate, which reduced the chance of us breaking into the trench by half."

"Secondly, the Japanese artillery shells and grenades also have errors, reducing our chances of being bombed by half again... uh... only twenty-five percent."

"Third, the trench's facing side was raised by more than a foot. If the shells were fired too high, they would land behind the trench; if they were fired too low, they would be blocked by the earth piled up in front of the trench. So, the probability of them landing in the trench is less than five percent. Do you understand?"

"Five percent means there's still a possibility, not zero, right?"

"Do you understand rounding? Even if it's forty percent, it's still zero!"

What does "rounding" mean?

"You know what percentage is, don't you understand rounding?"

"Hearing you say that, I think I understand what you mean: the Japanese artillery shells can't hit us."

"Don't be so optimistic. The enemy's artillery shells can't hit us, but they still have infantry."

Suddenly, a voice came from the front of the position: "Attention everyone, the puppet troops have stopped advancing. The Japanese artillery is coming up. Prepare for artillery fire."

The Japanese major constantly assessed the battlefield situation.

The puppet army has begun to advance southward in a large-scale manner. He believes that the Eighth Route Army will never break through to the north, and the multi-encirclement tactic has basically lost its meaning.

Immediately adjust the offensive strategy, and have the artillery squad prepare mortars and more than twenty grenade launchers for artillery fire.

The mortar and grenade launcher teams quickly deployed, ready to establish positions and begin shelling as soon as the puppet army scouts engaged the Eighth Route Army.

All the necessary arrangements have been made; now we just wait for the results…

Those bastards from the Northern Special Police are still sending out telegrams from time to time to inquire about the progress of the battle.

They even gestured and demanded that the Eighth Route Army commander be captured alive... and that they be interrogated when they came over.

It is not yet possible to confirm whether the Eighth Route Army soldiers they are pursuing are the targets they are looking for.

In the pitch black, I hope those Eighth Route Army commanders who love to charge to the front lines won't get blown up by artillery shells...

boom.
The Eighth Route Army troops to the south finally couldn't resist opening fire in the darkness.

The Japanese observer positioned ahead of the enemy lines immediately shouted, "300 meters from the enemy trench!"

The Japanese lieutenant in charge of frontline command immediately ordered: "The puppet troops advance another fifty meters south, and the grenade launcher positions move forward 50 meters to re-establish their positions."

The Japanese infantry followed behind the puppet troops, forming two echelons.

Upon receiving the order, the grenade launcher hurriedly advanced south to the front to coordinate operations with the puppet army.

The mortar does not need to be moved forward. It can fire at a distance of two kilometers. It only needs to keep the base plate and spade stationary and make slight adjustments to the elevation angle of the barrel to adjust the impact point of the shell.
The grenade launcher had a limited firing range, so moving forward would bring them closer to the Eighth Route Army's trenches, allowing them to fire more accurately.

Setting up the position was very simple: just smash a grenade launcher on the ground and arrange various grenades next to it, and it would be set up in just half a minute.

everything's ready.

The messenger immediately shouted the first order: "Illumination flares, three ready. Firing!"

Thump thump thump.
Flares were launched from the left, center, and right directions, quickly ascending into the air and then rapidly descending after reaching their highest points in the sky.

The flares emitted a ghastly white light almost simultaneously.

The open space was illuminated as if it were daytime.

The second order: "Prepare for artillery fire. Target 250 meters, no test firing, ten rounds for coverage, artillery fire extended to 300 meters."

Thump thump thump thump.
Two mortars and more than twenty grenade launchers fired in succession.
Boom boom boom. Boom boom boom

Two shells exploded with deafening roars, sending up plumes of mud and shrapnel flying in all directions, amidst billowing smoke.

The subsequent explosions of grenade launchers were much quieter.

The explosion occurred precisely near the earthen trench, which was about a foot above the ground.

The newly built mound of earth was constantly being blasted open, creating gaps in it.

Amidst the deafening explosions, a voice continued to shout: "Don't lie on the ground! Don't lean against the ditch wall!"

Flares continued to be launched into the sky.

Boom boom boom. Boom boom boom.
In the pale light, plumes of mud and mist churned around the trenches.

The explosions continued not far from the trenches, and the ground trembled incessantly.

Just as the squad leader in the ditch said, not a single shell or grenade landed in the trench!
They are all veterans who have been on the battlefield; they are not so easily broken down.

After stacking three sandbags to observe the position, the observer kept shouting, "The enemy artillery position is 250 meters away."

"Two Japanese mortars"

"Grenade launchers 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 18, around 20"

Then, the messenger waiting nearby crouched down and ran back and forth in the trench, repeatedly shouting the enemy situation.

"The puppet army infantry has deployed, with two machine gun teams on each flank."

"Preliminary assessment indicates the enemy will launch an attack immediately after the shelling ends." "The puppet troops, flanking from both sides, have approached both ends of the trenches."

The explosion brought up a cloud of mud and rain, which, along with the smoke, filled the entire trench.

The messenger's voice was drowned out by the explosion, becoming a broken, hoarse roar.

You can't hear it at all if you don't listen carefully.

But he kept repeating it, his voice continuing amidst the sound of gunfire.

This allows soldiers who want to know the situation on the battlefield to hear it simply by pulling out the cotton in their ears.

The trenches attracted the attention of the Japanese observers.

Fortunately, the three large explosion points, pre-planned at a distance of more than 60 meters from the trench, were not hit by artillery fire.

Qi Laofei served as a frontline commander on the battlefield.

He divided his men into two tiers and three platoons.

To the north, there was a platoon with three light machine guns, a grenade launcher team, and a rifle team.

The configurations on the western and western flanks are almost identical.
The remaining people served as reserves. Naturally, Luo Fugui was in charge of the reserves.
The most important demolition team was personally led by Yang Fengzi.
More than ten light machine guns on the left, center and right formed a fan-shaped firing arc, with the firing arcs of the adjacent machine guns overlapping each other to create crossfire when firing at the enemy.

The Japanese were said to be well-equipped, but that was only in comparison to the National Revolutionary Army and the Eighth Route Army.

The artillery fire continued for only five minutes before abruptly ending.

It's not long at all.

More than two hundred grenades were thrown at the enemy's position, which was spread out horizontally by nearly two hundred meters, and then extended forward and backward by another one hundred meters. This was truly an insult to the term "artillery coverage".

On this ancient land, it was considered a truly grand spectacle.

The fake commander was in a very good mood because he was the main attacker.

The reason for my cheerful mood is that I will soon be able to obtain a large number of spoils.

After making arrangements with his battalion and company commanders, and dealing with the Eighth Route Army, they dug a hole and buried the intact rifles they had obtained. They planned to send someone back to retrieve them after the battle ended and the Imperial Army left.

He had done this countless times and had already negotiated with the Imperial Army lieutenant in charge of the front lines to share half of the spoils with him.
As for what half of the total, that's up to you.

Years ago, a rifle could sell for one or two hundred dollars on the black market, and it was very easy to sell.

Although the garrison regiment had a considerable amount of extra income, there were many shady characters in the city, so the actual amount they received was limited.

The meager salary he received as a regimental commander was simply not enough to support his three concubines and live a life of poverty.

To this day, I still owe the gambling den several thousand dollars.

People die for wealth, birds die for food; a person cannot get rich without windfall gains, and a horse cannot get fat without night grass.

If, as the Imperial Army judged, there were more than two hundred Eighth Route Army soldiers in the south, based on past experience, at least one hundred would be killed, and then a few dozen would be driven away.

When cleaning up the battlefield, it was said that the Eighth Route Army soldiers who had fled had taken the guns from the dead.
By concealing a hundred or two hundred items, ten thousand silver dollars were in hand.
The days to come are beautiful.

As for whether they would encounter resistance from the Eighth Route Army, even the main force of the National Army would be wiped out under the powerful artillery fire of the Imperial Army.

Moreover, his own light machine guns and rifles were not to be underestimated.

If any of their men died, they could apply for compensation from the Imperial Army, and then make a clean break.
War is just a business transaction, isn't it?
"Give me the order to kill!" The Japanese lieutenant in charge of the scene finally gave the order for the infantry to attack.

The number of flares was reduced to one after another, and the distance was about 400 meters away.

The objective was simple: to illuminate the open area on the Eighth Route Army's side, while the attacking side was in a very dark area.

Artificially creating the effect of the enemy being in the open while we are in the dark—what a brilliant tactic!

Three light machine guns were positioned on each of the two flanks of the attacking force and began to fire wildly in alternating bursts.

The sound suggested that only four light machine guns were firing, with streaks of light occasionally flashing amidst the dense bullets.

The tracer rounds, trailing like tails, indicated the position of the bullet trajectory to the machine gunner, facilitating the adjustment of the firing arc to suppress the distant trench with firepower.

A platoon-sized puppet army assault team crouched low and jogged south to launch an attack.

Next came the second echelon, two platoons of over sixty puppet soldiers running between the machine gun firing lines pointing south.

A distance of over 200 meters can be covered in just half a minute if you run fast.

About sixty meters from the Eighth Route Army's trench, a puppet soldier tripped over something and stumbled.

I was startled; I thought I had stepped on a landmine.
The guy quickly lay down on the ground, and after a while he realized he was okay, he quickly got up. His teammates in front of him had already run far away.

Looking at his companion's back, he subconsciously wanted to see what he had kicked.

Using the light from the distant south, it was discovered that it was a wooden stake stuck in the ground.

It was as thick as a child's arm, and the south side was cut with a knife, making it very smooth.

This guy, who had previously been a defeated soldier of the National Revolutionary Army before defecting to the Japanese as a puppet army soldier, suddenly remembered something and immediately shouted: "There's a ruler! There are rulers planted on the ground by the Eighth Route Army!"

Rulers are commonly used on the battlefield.

To achieve accurate shooting, wooden stakes were driven into the position before the battle, and the fuses were removed when test-firing artillery shells or grenade launchers to determine the approximate landing point of the shells.

The firing parameters are then calibrated based on the impact point. Once the battle begins, the artillery is fired according to the calibrated firing parameters, which can greatly improve the commander's accurate use of the artillery!
The groaning puppet soldiers suddenly noticed a mound of earth protruding more than 30 centimeters from the ground not far away.
Oh no, it’s a landmine!

A huge electric explosive charge, a grenade, a composite landmine
Years ago, the Red Army used this tactic during their encirclement campaigns! (End of Chapter)