under fire

In the eyes of the Japanese devils who had crossed the ocean, what was an eighty-meter-wide canal?
The land has been swept clean for five years, so losing a ferry is not a big deal.

The enemy was undoubtedly a local guerrilla force, so losing two squads of brave soldiers was not a big deal.

The infantry's swimming was supported by dense heavy firepower, and this rigorous tactic was always successful.

We've already considered that the Eighth Route Army has set up fortifications on the reverse slope of the riverbank opposite the ferry crossing, so there's no need to choose this tough nut to crack.

The staff officer has calculated the Eighth Route Army's ammunition consumption, and so far, the Eighth Route Army has been using Mauser pistols.

Taking a pistol to the battlefield and exchanging fire with a rifle is tantamount to suicide.

The Japanese engineers were not idle either, and were hurriedly dismantling the spare tires of cars and the doors of trucks.

After watching for a while, the big dog immediately understood that these dogs were planning to make a few simple boats out of tires.

The Japanese engineers were quite skilled.
No, the Japanese soldiers who swam across the river couldn't carry heavy weapons. Their purpose in building this small boat must have been to transport heavy weapons.

Thinking of this, the big dog even considered going down from the pillbox to help.
The more we ship, the better!
I waited and waited, and the Japanese commander turned around. Luckily, I drilled a hole in his forehead.

Having followed Hu Yi for so long, I know he's the kind of reckless man who would fight the Japanese head-on.

But even now, he still can't figure out how to deal with the Japanese soldiers' attempt to cross the river.

The little girl called Hu Yi "fox" not just because Hu Yi sounds like "fox," but because Hu Yi was a cold and ruthless person.

I fucking love this kind of insidiousness.
That dog commander still won't turn around, I can't stand it anymore.

He quietly turned the gun around and aimed it at the Japanese artillery position, which was 500 meters away.

It is said that the little girl once hit a dog 400 meters away.
If we don't fire a couple more shots, he'll probably suffocate.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched a Japanese soldier shove a mortar into its muzzle.

boom.
The sound of the rifle fired was a second and a half later than the sound of the mortar shell leaving the barrel.

The sound of the gun firing reached the vicinity of the pillbox almost simultaneously.

Then he quickly raised his binoculars and looked at the Japanese artillery position.
The Japanese soldier who turned around to grab the shell fell to the ground, and it was impossible to determine from which position the bullet came.

Anyway, Li Xiang will be here soon, so let's have some fun first.
On the opposite bank of the river, Hu Yi frowned as he watched the shells landing on the west bank and the bullets flying wildly in the distance.

They think too highly of themselves, don't they?
The Japanese must have been driven to desperation, which is why they were wasting ammunition regardless of cost.

The Japanese army's objective was to cross the river, and the randomly chosen crossing point was one that the Ninth Battalion could not defend.

But he remained calm and composed throughout, and it wasn't an act.

He even discussed the next battle plan with the little girl lying in the nearby grave.

Those who dare to stay on the west bank of the river must have something to rely on.

He was waiting, waiting for Li Xiang's gunboat!

It takes at least two minutes to swim across an 80-meter-wide canal with the necessary equipment.

Because there was no wind, the Japanese artillery shells rained down westward as if they were free, and it would take at least ten minutes for the smoke from the explosions to dissipate.

It would be more than enough time to wait for Li Xiang to bring the gunboat over.

At that time, the Japanese troops who landed and established positions would be attacked from both sides.

There are also variables; one is that the Japanese might attract airplanes.
The enemy only had one company, and given the Japanese equipment configuration, they shouldn't have been equipped with radios.
Even if they do, there's no need to worry too much; it takes time for the Japanese to summon planes.

The second variable was the mountain guns that the Japanese had set up on the east bank, which posed a great threat to the gunboats.

If Tang Dagou can't take down the Japanese artillery, the Ninth Battalion will have no choice but to run away.

Running away in open ground, the soldiers of the Ninth Battalion now have better living conditions and nutrition, and their legs are longer than the Japanese soldiers', so they don't have to worry about outrunning them at all.

Besides, this group of Japanese soldiers didn't come out to sweep through enemy territory; they were on a mission to reinforce the Allied forces, so it's unlikely they would abandon their mission and pursue them.

The trend did indeed unfold as Hu Yi had predicted.

Smoke began to thicken on the west bank of the canal, about a mile north and south of the ferry crossing.
Hu Yi finally gave the order: "Smoke bombs, prepare."

Boom boom boom.
Three plumes of thick smoke suddenly rose from the ferry crossing on the west bank of the canal.

The Japanese soldiers who had been observing from the opposite bank were somewhat confused. It seemed that they hadn't fired any chemical smoke bombs at the other side.

As the smoke on the riverbank quickly thickened, Xiao Hongying waved her arms and shouted, "Everyone, fire according to plan!"

So, the thirty-odd figures took advantage of the smoke on the riverbank to cover themselves.

Pull the firewood out of the ditch and then quickly set it on fire.

Once the fire had grown a little bigger, another pot of water was poured onto the firewood.
The Japanese observers scattered to the south, their vision now unobstructed, seemed to suddenly realize something: "Report to the Major immediately, the Eighth Route Army is producing large quantities of smoke."

The firewood didn't produce much smoke, but as smoke bombs kept falling from the sky, smoke billowed everywhere along the nearly one-kilometer-long riverbank.

There was no wind, and the smoke gradually thickened.
The Japanese soldiers on the east bank were dumbfounded. So much smoke suddenly appeared in the vast open space.

On the watchtower, looking at the thick fog stretching across the canal, one of the fake soldiers clicked his tongue at the big dog: "Tsk tsk tsk, Commander Hu has quite the grand scale, but I just can't understand where he got so much firewood?"

"The districts will send people in advance to arrange for the items to be placed in those ditches."

"Why didn't I know?"

"Before we arrived, the district had already received orders to use the canal to block the Japanese. They originally planned to burn smoke to delay the Japanese crossing the river."

The Japanese soldier suddenly noticed what sounded like an engine in his ear.

He turned his binoculars and looked south along the canal, then immediately cried out in wild joy: "Amaterasu! An Imperial Army gunboat is coming to the south as reinforcements!"

On the gunboat.

Li Xiang, standing at the bow of the ship, was leaning on a command sword, his face full of tension under the sunlight.

Uh... a face covered in scars makes me nervous.

He kept looking back and forth, shouting to the soldiers lying behind the sandbags on the ship's side: "Once the battle starts, the rifles will mainly be used to deal with the Japanese grenade launchers and machine guns. Don't worry about the Japanese rifles; their bullets can't penetrate the sandbags!"

"Leave the Japanese infantry on the shore to the light and heavy machine guns on the ship to deal with!"

In the smoke.

Wan Baxi ran up to Hu Yi and said, "Commander Hu, Li Xiang is here. The smoke is getting thicker. If the Japanese artillery and machine gun positions move, the observers won't be able to see the targets and the mortars won't be able to fire. If we fire blindly, we won't be able to confirm whether we've hit the targets. I suggest we fire now and take out the two mortar positions that the Japanese have set up!"

"Fire smoke bombs first to cover the fire!" Even though he had studied the theory in military school and had been exposed to it on the battlefield, Hu Yi was still not very familiar with the artillery branch of the military.

But right now, the Japanese artillery and machine gun positions on the other side of the river are not as important as the smoke.

Without boats, the Japanese heavy artillery and vehicles could not cross the river.

Hu Yi planned to deal with the Japanese soldiers in the smoke first.
He slung the rifle sling over his right shoulder and glanced at Mancang beside him: "The smoke will spread into the canal later, go find Li Laosi."

The Ninth Battalion's response was not complicated, so simple that...
Unexpected.

They did not take action while the enemy was crossing the river.

They also did not take action when the enemy established their positions.

Instead, they are using the smoke to create a geographical advantage!
Under the cover of smoke, there was no need to worry even if Japanese planes came.

Even if it's not dark when the smoke clears, just change into your military uniform, set up an air-to-air signal board, and the Japanese planes will be completely confused.

Victory is to hold out until dark!

As a good officer, one cannot calculate the time on the battlefield too precisely, because unexpected events can always occur on the battlefield.

The top student from the Army Officer Academy across the street was very meticulous, planning every step carefully.

They even devised a plan on how to pursue the elite Imperial Army soldiers who had successfully crossed the river.

As time passed, the gunboats coming from the south drew ever closer.

The Imperial Army soldier standing at the bow of the ship must have been a seasoned veteran.

Because of his face!
Perhaps because he was badly damaged by landmines fired by the Eighth Route Army, he did not retire.

The Japanese observer couldn't help but feel a deep sense of respect.

Soon after, a large, slowly spreading plume of smoke began to rise, engulfing all the Japanese soldiers who had occupied the west bank of the river and established positions amidst the smoke.
The Japanese engineers on the east bank quickly transported the collected gas masks to the west bank of the river.
Lieutenant Colonel Kujo Masao couldn't help but feel a little regretful; he should have brought two rubber boats.
Fortunately, the Imperial Army gunboats that were sweeping through the south arrived in time.
He immediately instructed the communications officer: "Send a message to headquarters informing them which unit is sweeping south of our current location."

"Issue to the following infantry battalions, ordering them to speed up." (End of Chapter)